Tina goes past the refrigerated aisle and grabs a juice box for Leah.
“Those crackers are probably making you thirsty,” she says by way of explanation. Leah nods. The juice box tastes a little funny, but Leah’s mouth is so dry that she ignores it and guzzles the juice box down immediately.
“Tina, I’m still thirsty, would you mind giving me another one?” Leah asks. Tina hands her another juice box, which Leah finishes quickly as well. Now satiated, she looks at the box, curious as to the flavor. Her eyes widen. No wonder it tasted weird. It’s prune juice. Hopefully, they’ll be leaving soon. Leah remembers being given prune juice as a child; she’s more sensitive to it than most.
Within minutes, Leah’s gut begins to make noises and she feels pressure in her abdomen. She crosses her legs tightly. The prune juice shouldn’t work this fast. Unless… Leah looks at the box of crackers she’s finished. They aren’t regular crackers. They’re crackers designed to help toddlers with constipation. Leah is minutes away from a serious mess. Tina’s phone rings. She answers it.
“Tina?” she calls. Still talking on the phone, Tina doesn’t respond. “Tina!”
“I’m on the phone, Leah, you can wait,” Tina says shortly. Leah squirms in the stroller, her discomfort growing. On their way out of the aisle, Tina accidentally bumps into the display stand at the end. The sudden jolt does the trick. With a loud, wet fart, Leah’s bowels empty into her diaper.
Making matters worse, Leah’s dealing with the same problem she had drinking prune juice as a child: it started the process of pooping, but didn’t finish it. Leah weighs her options for a moment, before deciding to finish the job. She’s already in a messy diaper, after all, and hates the sensation that comes from only partially going number two.
Grunting slightly, Leah pushes. Her bowels finish emptying. She adjusts her seat to avoid mushing around the poop too much. Tina finally gets off the phone.
“All right, Leah, what was the problem?” Tina asks. Her nose wrinkles. “Ooh, there’s a stinky baby nearby.”
“No, it’s me!” Leah bursts out, anger replacing her humiliation. “That’s what I was trying to tell you! You gave me laxative crackers and prune juice!” Tina covers her mouth in shock.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Leah,” Tina says. “At least you were wearing the extra absorbent diapers, right?” The joke falls flat. Leah glares at her stepmother. “All right, let’s get you cleaned up.” Tina pushes the stroller to the back of the store where the bathrooms are.
“At least I’ll finally get out of a diaper and into my proper clothes,” Leah grumbles, crossing her arms.
“Sorry, kiddo, but that’s not the case,” Tina says. Leah looks up at her.
“What do you mean?”