“Treat you your age.”
“But-” Jess starts.
“Yes, I’ve been treating you like a toddler. But it’s obvious you’re not even a toddler. You’re a baby. So that’s how you’ll be treated until you apologize to your brother,” mom says firmly. Jess pales. “Do you want to know how it’ll be different?”
“No,” Jess whimpers.
“Well, too bad. I’ll tell you. First, babies don’t need clothes. You can just wear your diaper for the rest of the reception. And speaking of your diaper, the second thing is that babies don’t ask to go potty. If you ask me to take you to the bathroom to poop or pee in a toilet, I won’t. You’ll have to use your diaper.”
“Diapy not-”
“You’re right. Your diaper isn’t thick enough to handle that kind of load, but I know just where to get a heavier duty one,” mom interrupts. Jess swallows nervously. “Third, babies don’t talk. If you try to talk, you’ll get spanked. You can ask for ‘mama’ and ‘baba’ but that’s it. Oh, that’s the fourth thing. If you get hungry again, you won’t get to use a sippy cup or eat solid food. You’ll be given a bottle of milk.”
“But-”
“Babies don’t say ‘but’,” mom says, holding a finger up in warning. “That’s your only freebie. If you say any more words aside from ‘mama’ or ‘baba’, you get spanked. Got it?” Jess nods mutely. “Good girl. The last difference in how you’ll be treated for the rest of the night is that you’ll spend it in a baby carrier. Babies can’t be trusted to wander around without supervision, and I don’t trust anyone except myself to supervise you.”
With the rules laid out, mom carries Jess out of the bathroom and back to the main area, still wearing only a diaper. Jess is handed off to a guest she doesn’t know while her mom goes to get the things needed for her continuing punishment.
Mom returns a few minutes later armed with a diaper bag and baby carrier. She takes Jess from the guest, pulls a changing mat out from the diaper bag, spreads it on the table, and proceeds to change Jess into a much thicker diaper, clearly meant for young babies. Jess blushes from the humiliation of being changed in public.
“To help enforce the ‘no talking’ rule,” mom says, “I got you this.” She pulls a pacifier out of the diaper bag and pops it into Jess’s mouth. “Suck on your paci, sweetie.” Jess does as she’s told. “Good girl.” Once the new diaper is taped on, Jess is buckled into the baby carrier. Given how her legs are spread apart by the diaper, even if she was allowed to wander around, she would be able to toddle at best. At worst, she’d be forced to crawl.
The baby carrier is placed on the chair Jess was sitting in earlier. Resigned to her new position, Jess watches sadly as people enjoy the reception, while she’s wearing a diaper and sucking a pacifier in a baby carrier.