They finished shopping. Leah kept quiet as Tina pushed the cart towards the car, unloaded everything, and then buckled her into the car seat she kept for daycare emergencies. Tina put the cart back in the corral and got into the car. She looked at Leah in the rearview mirror.
“You’re probably wondering why I was treating you like a toddler,” Tina said. Leah nodded. “Well, sweetie, for a while I’ve been feeling like you’re too immature for your age. And messing yourself in the store, that’s just the final bit of proof that I needed.”
“What do you mean?” Leah asked.
“Mommy is going to take good care of her little girl Leah, is what it means. You’re going back to toddlerhood for a while. Whenever you’re ready to get a bit older, we’ll let you get a bit older. But for now, it’s diapers and naptime and daycare for you.”
Leah’s heart soared. She was getting what she had wanted when she messed herself in the store: a tender, loving, attentive mother.
“I’ll let your father and pediatrician know what’s going on, but they’ll be on board. Regression therapy like this has been brought up plenty of times before,” Tina continued. She smiled at Leah. “I’ll also enroll you at my daycare, so that Mommy can keep a close eye on you all day long. Does that make Mommy’s little girl happy?”
“Yes, it does,” Leah squeaked. To show her excitement, she peed, flooding her diaper with warmth. Tina chuckled and started the car.
“We better head home, since you need a change again already sweetie-pie!”