She won’t get anywhere naked. Laura rushes to the section of the clothing store for children and hurriedly puts on clothes: a pair of underwear, a dress, and flip flops. She grabs a doll and sits down, pretending to play with it. After a few minutes, the police officer comes back, looking around for her.
“Hey, little girl,” the officer says. Laura looks up.
“Yes?” she asks.
“Have you seen a little boy? Toddler, wearing a dirty diaper?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Hmm.” The officer frowns at Laura. “Where are your parents?”
“Daddy’s in the dressing room,” Laura fibs quickly.
“All right.” The officer sighs and walks away. Laura plays with the doll for a little longer. A few customers glance at her, but no one says anything. After about half an hour, Laura stands up and leaves the clothing store. The fact she escaped by the skin of her teeth is sobering. She’s done goofing off as a kid. It’s time to get serious.
Laura goes back to her brother’s house, where she quickly gathers her things, stuffing them into a backpack. She waffles for a moment, but ultimately packs a few pairs of training pants and a couple diapers as well. Just in case she regresses to the age she was pretending to be not long ago.
Just as Laura’s about to leave, there’s a knock at the front door. Laura sneaks upstairs and looks out the second-story window to see who has arrived.