“I think it’s so nice of you to look after these sweet little girls while their parents are working,” Anna’s daughter says. “What were their names?”
“Laura and Katie,” Anna replies.
“Adorable,” Anna’s daughter gushes. “Oh, and here are the dice you told me to look for.” Anna’s daughter pulls the dice out of a pocket and hands them over to Anna. Laura and Kaitlin hear the spirit of the dice speak.
“Laura Peters and Kaitlin Monroe, the spirit of the dice is no longer bonded to you. Enjoy what has been returned to you.” The implication is clear. The dice have been bonded to Anna now.
“Thank you, Louisa,” Anna says to her daughter. “I’m going to take these little girls over to go play.”
“If you need a few minutes to yourself, you can always drop them off at the mall daycare,” Louisa says. “They’re great.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Anna kisses her daughter on the cheek. “See you for dinner.” She pushes the stroller out of the store and over to a nearby play area. After locating a free chair, she stops the stroller and bends over to unbuckle Laura and Kaitlin.
“What now?” Kaitlin asks, removing her pacifier to speak. Anna takes her out of the stroller and sets her on the ground.
“You’re going to play while I look up more information about this magic shop.”
“But dithe-”
“Yes, they bonded to me now,” Anna says. She removes Laura from the stroller and sets her next to Kaitlin. “Hopefully that won’t make it difficult to return the two of you to your proper ages. And as for me rolling the dice, don’t worry. I’m not fond of accidentally ending up in your situation.” Anna shoos them away. “Go play! If you need a change or snack, just ask.” Laura and Kaitlin obediently toddle over to the section of the play area reserved for toddlers.
At first, the girls struggle to enjoy themselves. They keep glancing over at Anna to see what she’s doing, but they only see her messing on her phone. At one point, she makes a phone call. However, they quickly find themselves caught up in playing with each other and the other toddlers. While playing a game of tag, Laura stops to squat. After she messes her diaper, she goes back to playing.
Anna spotted this, however, and comes over to check on Laura and Kaitlin.
“Did someone make poopoo?” Anna coos at Laura. Laura shakes her head. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Laura says firmly, sitting on the ground. As she does, her eyes widen. Anna turns to Kaitlin.
“What about you? How are you doing?” she asks. Kaitlin shakes her head. “You have a clean diapy?”
“Yeth.”
“Not for long,” Anna says in a singsong voice. Just then, Kaitlin feels something enter her diaper. Her mouth falls open. She hadn’t even realized she was squatting to poop. Once she finishes, Anna takes Laura and Kaitlin’s hands and brings them over to the stroller to be changed. A nearby parent comes by.
“Twin girls?” he asks. Anna nods. “They both looked like they filled their diapers up. If you want, I can change one of them while you change the other, just so that neither of them need to wait.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful, thank you,” Anna says. She pulls out the various supplies from the diaper bag, including two changing mats, which are laid on the ground. The man picks up Laura and lays her on her back.
“What are their names?” he asks, removing Laura’s overalls.
“This is Katie. You’re changing Laura.”
“Laura?” The man removes Laura’s diaper and wipes her down. “My sister has that name.” Laura’s eyes widen. This isn’t a stranger, it’s her brother, Dan! She turns red from embarrassment. Dan tapes on a fresh diaper and puts Laura’s overalls back on. “There! All clean! Oh, but do you mind if I take a picture of her?” Dan asks Anna. “She looks a lot like my daughter did at her age.”
“Go for it,” Anna says. Dan pulls out his phone and takes a quick picture of Laura. Laura suckles urgently on her pacifier.
“Adorable,” Dan coos. “Thanks.”
“No, thank you,” Anna says, pulling Kaitlin’s dress back on. “Twins are a handful.”
“I can imagine. Have a nice day!” Dan walks away. Anna looks at Kaitlin and Laura, both wearing clean diapers.
“We go?” Kaitlin asks around her pacifier. Anna nods.
“Yes. While you two were playing, I looked up the information for the magic shop and called them. After explaining the situation, he told me what to do.”