Laura spots the employee entering the store and ducks behind a rack of clothes to hide. She waits until the employee goes into a back room, then dashes for the front door. To her displeasure, she isn’t as fast as she’d hoped, as the thick diaper she is wearing causes her to toddle. However, she manages to leave before the employee returns.
Once outside, Laura lets out a sigh of relief. She sits on the ground, painfully aware of the cushioning provided by her diaper. She wishes she wasn’t in it right now, but as she watches a few police officers walking around, possibly looking for her, she knows that she made the right decision.
A police officer comes up to her. Laura freezes. The police officer looks her over thoughtfully. Panicking, Laura does the only thing she thinks she can do to make the police officer think she’s a toddler: she wets her diaper. The police officer hears the soft hiss. He crouches down to smile at Laura.
“Hey, buddy,” he coos. “Did you peepee?” After a moment, Laura nods. “Aw, that’s okay.” He looks around the area, deserted aside from his coworkers looking for Laura. “I don’t see your parents around here…” To Laura’s horror, the police officer takes out his radio. “I got an abandoned toddler over here. Little boy. Not potty trained.”
“Sending an officer over now,” a voice crackles over the radio. The police officer sits next to Laura and talks at her, trying to engage her in a conversation. Unsure of how a toddler would talk, however, Laura stays silent. After a few minutes, a female police officer comes over.
“I’m here for an abandoned child?” the woman says. The first police officer nods at Laura. “I’ll take care of things from here.”
“Thanks.” The first police officer leaves. The woman looks Laura up and down.
“You’re big for your age, little guy,” she remarks. Laura merely sucks on the pacifier in response and hugs the security blanket. Her mind is racing as she tries to think of her next step.