There’s babbling from inside the stroller. Tina quickly peers into it. Leah’s face is bright red. She babbles at Tina.
“Oh, sorry,” Tina says. “That formula is supposed to keep very loud babies quiet. I didn’t think it actually worked.” Leah’s jaw drops in surprise. “Now that I know it works, though, I think I have to pick up some more. It’ll be very convenient! We have a few screamers at work.”
Tina pushes the stroller back to the baby supplies aisle, where she gets more of the formula. After a moment, she selects some of the other kinds of formula that are supposed to do things, like make babies poop, pee, or fall asleep. It might be nice to have Leah test them out, to see whether they work.
Leah babbles from the stroller again.
“It should wear off in about twenty minutes,” Tina says. Leah’s babbling increases in volume, but, due to the formula, still stays very quiet. So quiet, in fact, that Tina is able to hear a soft hiss come from the stroller. She looks at Leah again. Leah is blushing. “Oh, is that what you were trying to tell me? That you needed to use the bathroom?” Leah nods. “I’m sorry.”
Tina takes Leah out of the stroller and inspects her stepdaughter’s wet diaper. The diaper is very yellow, but not actually that wet. Leah won’t need a change unless she has another accident. Tina explains this to Leah, then puts her back into the stroller.
Finally, the twenty minutes pass, and Leah can talk again.
“Aspen, sweetie, would you be willing to test more formula for me?” Tina asks.
“I like being able to talk.”
“These won’t get rid of your ability to talk. I just want to see if they actually work,” Tina explains. Leah crosses her arms, clearly thinking about it.