“I can’t let you walk around in panties after an accident of this magnitude,” Tina says. “You need to wear protection, just in case.”
“I’m a teenager! This was a fluke, caused by laxatives!”
“Still, at your age, you should have been able to hold it.” Tina pushes the stroller into the bathroom. She lifts Leah onto the diaper changing station. “Don’t worry, it’s just for the rest of the day. Unless you have another accident, in which case, I’m scheduling an appointment with your pediatrician right away.”
“But-”
“You can wear your regular clothes again,” Tina says. Leah sighs.
“…Fine.” Using the supplies Leah helped pick out earlier, Tina changes her stepdaughter’s diaper. She wrinkles her nose at the mess. “What?”
“I’ve seen a lot of poopy diapers, but that might be the worst one yet,” Tina replies. Leah blushes. Once she’s in a fresh diaper, Leah redresses in her old clothes. “Hmm.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No. Come on.” Tina grabs Leah’s hand and leads her out of the bathroom. They resume shopping, though Leah gets a few funny looks from the other shoppers. She’s confused until they pass by a floor-length mirror and she catches sight of her reflection. She lets out a soft gasp.
“Tina!”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you tell me it was obvious I was wearing a diaper?” Leah demands. In her skinny jeans, the distinctive diaper bulge is painfully visible. No one would mistake it for anything else.
“Look, you’re still the size of a little kid. People might just think you’re dressing up to look older,” Tina says. Leah huffs impatiently. “I have plenty of other little kid clothes that you could wear if you want that diaper to look less out of place.”
Leah considers that offer. She just got out of the little kid clothes, but what if Tina’s wrong, and people realize she’s a teenager in a diaper?