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This is a work of fiction about imaginary kids who wear diapers. If you don’t like the subject, don’t read the story.
Part
One
Seventh graders Nate Prado and Simon Quadrin had been best friends for a long time, ever since they first met while still in diapers ten years ago. They had instantly liked each other and had formed the kind of friendship that many people wait years and years to find. There was very little that they disagreed on and they never ever fought between themselves. If one was being victimized or treated unfairly, the other was absolutely certain to be there defending his friend. There was practically nothing they didn’t share with each other or know about each other. They lived pretty normal lives but that was about to change dramatically.
It all started innocently enough at a Prado family event. Nate, his fifteen year old brother Juan, and his seventeen year old sister Carla had gone with their parents to celebrate Grandpa Prado’s birthday. They met up with uncles, aunts, and cousins at a favorite restaurant and spent the afternoon enjoying a family reunion and birthday celebration. As the youngest grandchildren, Nate, and Juan presented their recently retired grandfather with the gifts the entire family had pitched in for: new golf clubs. Mr. Prado was thrilled- he went around hugging everyone and thanking them sincerely.
Stopping at Nate, he whispered into his grandson’s ear.
“Is our little problem all fixed?”
Nate tensed and shook his head to indicate that it wasn’t.
“Well, don’t worry,” he encouraged his grandson, “it won’t be long now.”
The party quickly broke up after that with Grandpa Prado saying he wanted to get nine holes of golf in before dark.
As they were leaving the restaurant Nate’s dad pointedly asked his youngest son if he was ready to go.
“All ready,” Nate answered.
“Are you sure?” his dad insisted.
“Positive,” Nate insisted back.
“Well, you’d better be darned sure,” his dad commented.
The drive should have taken about twenty minutes but halfway home Nate, who was sitting alone in the back row of the family SUV, suddenly began pleading for his dad to stop at a gas station or restaurant.
“Hurry,” he screeched.
“Didn’t I just ask you ten minutes ago? Besides, there’s no place to stop,” he answered with rising temper.
Carla, who had a sensitive nose, announced, “Never mind, it’s too late anyway.”
Juan turned around and sneered, “Gawd, Nate, you are such a baby. Dad’s really going to get you this time- look at what you did to the seat. It’s soaking wet.”
“Shut up!” screamed a panicked Nate.
“Quiet down, all of you,” their mother ordered. “Jorge,” she said turning to her husband, “why don’t you stop and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh, I’ll stop alright,” he agreed, “but not here. I’ll stop where it will do some good. We’ve put things off too long. We’ve got to do what we should have done weeks ago. What is this, the fifth or sixth time in the last month that something like this happens?” Mr. Prado questioned.
“Eight,” Juan answered. Carla snickered.
“What?” Mr. Prado responded, not following what Juan had said.
“It’s been eight times in the last month that Nate has wet his pants during the day,” he sneered.
“Juan, that’s not helpful,” his mother warned.
“But, dad asked how many times and I told him. I didn’t lie, did I?” he defended himself.
“That’s enough,” Mr. Prado also warned. Turning his attention back to his wife, he continued his train of thought, “We’ve been patient, we’ve been encouraging, we’ve spent a fortune on doctors and nothing has changed. You know what the last doctor said- there’s no way to know if this will go away in a month or two years or never. We’ve got to stop avoiding what needs doing.”
At this moment he took a right turn heading for the medical supply pharmacy in the strip mall. Nate let out a wail that came from the depths of his soul.
“No! No!” he begged, tears now streaming down his face, “Please, no. It wasn’t my fault, I couldn’t help it! Pleeeease, no!”
Mr. Prado parked as close to the pharmacy as he could.
“Take him inside, Cynthia,” he said to his wife. “Carla and Juan will wait here while I try to get the back seat cleaned up.”
But Nate was hysterical by now and he wasn’t listening to anything that was being said, and, most of all, he wasn’t going to leave the van.
“Jorge, we’re creating a scene,” his wife warned. “Try to calm down. Let me sit with him for a few minutes.”
Juan and Carla went with their father to the supermarket across the street to get some upholstery cleaner. Nate’s mom sat in the SUV’s second seat and quietly waited for Nate to calm down,
In just three or four minutes his sobs were reduced to sniffles as he caught his breath.
“You won’t let dad do this to me, will you?” Nate querulously asked.
“What do you think he wants you to do?” she countered evasively.
Nate couldn’t bring himself to say it. A new wave of tears streamed down his cheeks. His mom reached over and gently began stroking his hair.
“Nate, you’ve been lucky in the last month that these episodes haven’t happened in front of your friends or at school. Your teachers have allowed you freedom to come and go from the classroom as you need to. Isn’t it true that the pads you wear in your underwear aren’t doing the job anymore?”
More tears flowed down his face. Nate’s mom knew that logic wasn’t going to do any good. She’d have to appeal to another part of him, but what part? What could she possibly say to make him feel better? A few more minutes passed.
“Nate,” she said, handing him some Kleenex, “dry your eyes. We have to go inside now,”
“Please, do we have to? It’ll never happen again.” he answered weakly.
“I’m sorry, honey. We have to,” she encouraged gently.
He was emotionally and physically exhausted but still he couldn’t allow himself to be led into the pharmacy. He began resisting again. Just then his dad, Juan and Carla arrived back at the car.
“Now what, Cynthia?” he asked his wife.
“He’s too scared to move. I need more time to get him calmed down again.”
Nate’s dad wasn’t a very patient man and he was dangerously near the exploding point. His wife sensed this and took him for a private talk.
“Please, let me try one more time. If you go away for a few minutes, I’ll get him into the pharmacy. I’m sure of it.”
Cynthia felt a headache coming on, caused by her uncertainty on how to handle Nate. As she approached the back door of the van she saw Juan sitting inside. Amazingly, Nate was calming down while his brother quietly spoke to him. Not wanting to intrude and possibly upset Nate again she gently tugged at her husband’s sleeve in a sign to follow her.
“Let’s leave Nate and Juan alone,” she said. “Nate seems to be calming down.”
Incredibly, Nate let himself be led by Juan toward the pharmacy. Cynthia asked her husband to wait outside with Carla while she and Juan took care of the situation. She caught up with them just as they were passing through the door.
“Wait in there,” Mrs. Prado said pointing to a little hallway that led to a private area in the back of the store. Nate meekly complied.
Mrs. Prado had a million questions to ask Juan but this was neither the time nor the place.
Mrs. Tarabello, the pharmacy’s owner, was just finishing up with another customer when she noticed them coming into the store.
“Mrs. Prado, isn’t it?” she asked. “I thought you might be back soon. I see that things are not going well.”
“No, Mrs. Tarabello, they’re not. My husband is totally frustrated, Nate feels humiliated, and I’m just about at the end of my rope, too,” Nate’s mother admitted. She then introduced Juan to the owner and after the usual exchange of pleasantries Mrs. Tarabello returned to the original topic.
“Yes, believe me, I understand how difficult these situations can be,” Mrs. Tarabello commiserated. “ I am guessing that your son must have had an accident while the family was out together. What do you want to do?”
“I think we will have to go with the extreme measures I discussed with you a few weeks ago. Do you remember?” she sighed.
“Yes, of course. I presume you mean diapers,” Mrs. Tarabello said.
Nate could hear their conversation from the back and the word “diapers” sent him into tears again. Both ladies heard Nate’s renewed crying and Mrs. Tarabello signaled for Mrs. Prado and Juan to follow her.
“Here, take this cup of water to your brother. While you’re with him, your mother and I will get his things ready,” she whispered. “Have you decided on the type of diapers?”
“Yes,” she answered haltingly, “we don’t want to use disposables. They’re too expensive and I don’t like the idea of all those diapers ending up in a landfill. We’ll follow your recommendation; you seem to know what to do. Give me enough heavy pre-fold flannel diapers for double diapering during the day and triple at night.”
“Very well, then. Four dozen heavy flannel diapers, a dozen and a half daytime plastic pants, and ten nighttime plastic pants ought to be enough to get you started.”
As Mrs. Tarabello went off to collect the supplies needed for Nate’s imminent diapering, Juan returned and asked to speak to his mother.
“Uh, mom,” he said in a quivering voice, “I have to talk to you.”
“Of course, Juan, I don’t know what you said to Nate but it seems to have been very helpful. Thank you,” his mother complimented him.
“Well, um… that’s what I need to talk to you about,” he stammered.
“Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“Well, in the van with Nate, I was telling him that he had a condition that probably lots of other kids had and that he should be mature about it. Or, at least, to accept the fact that the treatments aren’t working and that something else has to be tried until he gets better. I kind of told him that if it was me, I would accept what had to be done and get on with my life. He told me that I didn’t know what I was talking about and that it was easy for me to say those things because I wasn’t the one who was about to be put into diapers. I told him that that didn’t make any difference and that I would accept diapers as a necessary part of treating the problem. He told me to prove it so I told him that I would ask you to put me into diapers, too, for the next couple of weeks, you know, until he gets used to them.”
Mrs. Prado was stunned. Juan took his mother’s silence to mean that she disapproved of what he had said to Nate.
“I know I was stupid. I just felt sorry for him and when he challenged me, I accepted the challenge without thinking it through.”
“Juan, you would really do this for your brother?”
“I guess I kind of have to now. I mean, I shot my mouth off and everything,” Juan answered apologetically.
“I don’t see how you can back down now. Nate will go into hysterics if he thinks you tricked him just to get him in here- and I wouldn’t blame him one bit if he did,” his mother said. “Let’s go talk to your brother in the back room.”
“Nate,” Mrs. Prado began, “I’ve been talking to Juan and he told me about your discussion in the car. You know, that is an awfully big sacrifice to ask of your brother…”
“I knew it, I knew it,” Nate snapped at his brother, “you just said that to get me in here. You lied to me, everybody always lies to me.”
Nate tried to push his way past his mother and brother so that he could leave the store.
“I did not lie. I’ll do it.”
“You will?” a stunned Nate said. “Really? Alright!” Nate dared his brother, “you first.”
Mrs. Prado shrugged and told Juan to follow her so that Mrs. Tarabello could recommend the correct size of diapers and plastic pants for him. Mrs. Tarabello was surprised when she heard about Juan’s offer but she quickly recovered and complimented him for being a good brother.
“How long will Juan be diapered?” Mrs. Tarabello inquired.
“Until Nate gets used to his diapers. Maybe two weeks?” the boys’ mother responded uncertainly.
“Then, I think you should buy Juan eighteen diapers, eight daytime plastic pants and five nighttime pants.”
“Why so many? Juan questioned. “It’s only for a couple of weeks.”
“It will be important to Nate that you be diapered exactly like he is. The plan for him is double diapers during the day and triple diapers at night,” Mrs. Prado explained.
“Will I be able to get my regular pants on over them?” he questioned.
“I seriously doubt it,” his mother answered.
For the first time, Juan looked worried and fretful about what he was getting himself into.
Mrs. Tarabello handed Nate’s diapers and plastic pants to Mrs. Prado and asked her to wait while she went off to get Juan’s.
“Now, come this way, please,” Mrs. Tarabello indicated, “and I’ll show you where you can diaper your boys.”
She led them to a curtained area containing an old-fashioned doctor’s examination table. A side table held various baby powders, oils, and wipes.
“I think you’ll find everything you need. You have pre-washed diapers, plastic pants, and two dozen large safety pins. I recommend using as least four pins on each diaper. Please feel free to use whatever powder and oil you want. When you’re finished we can discuss which powders and oils might be the best ones to buy.”
The store owner went back to the front. Mrs. Prado asked Juan to take off his pants and underwear and then to hop onto the table. Being naked in front of his brother wasn’t any big deal (as they shared a bedroom) but for some reason he was very shy about being naked below the waist in front of his mother.
Sensing this, she said, “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Juan, it’s not like I haven’t changed you hundreds of times already.”
Juan shyly got up onto the table. His mother ordered him to roll over while she used a baby wipe on his behind, and then to roll over again while she wiped his front. She decided not to comment on his erection that was growing rapidly. She then had him lift up while she placed the first diaper under him. As she pinned it on, she thought she noticed that he visibly relaxed and let out a sigh of pleasure. By the time she had him pinned into both diapers he seemed to be perfectly at ease. She thought he was going a bit too far when he seemed happy to pull up the plastic pants. Nevertheless, she was grateful for the calm example he was providing for Nate.
In the meantime, Nate was beginning to think that getting diapered wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Still, the sight of his diapers and plastic pants left him in shock. They were so much bigger than he had imagined. How could he possibly wear those without being detected?
“Take off you pants and underwear before getting on the table,” Mrs. Prado told her other son.
He took off his pants and underwear.
“That needs to come off, too,” his mom added, pointing to his shirt which was wet along the lower six inches. “At least your shoes and socks are dry.”
The now nearly naked boy got up on the table. The protective paper crinkled under him reminding him of the plastic sheet on his bed at home. Tears filled his eyes again.
“Roll over so that I can start by wiping your bottom,” his mother commanded. “Why can’t you boys wipe properly?” she commented.
Taking out a second wipe she continued cleaning her son.
“OK, turn over.”
As she continued to wipe Nate’s front he could not help getting aroused.
“Don’t be ashamed,” she soothed, “your reaction is only natural.”
Satisfied that he was clean, she asked him to lift up so that the diapers could be put into position. She then asked him to roll over again as she applied a liberal amount of powder to his behind. She repeated the process with his front, taking care to cover his entire diaper area. Nate’s whole body shivered as the first diaper was pulled up between his legs and double pinned on each side. The second diaper was added and pinned likewise. Nate could feel how bulky the material was in his crotch. His mother unfolded the plastic pants and shook them out to open them up. They were huge.
“OK, get up and step into these.”
The thickness of the material between his legs made him unsteady on his feet. He also could feel how high up the diapers rose, well above his normal waist.
“Lean up against the table,” his mom recommended.
She guided each foot (with shoes still on) carefully through the leg openings. The shock of it all was too much for Nate. He watched the plastic pants being pulled up his legs as if this were happening to someone else.
“Turn around so that I can check that no material is sticking out of your plastic pants…,” she was saying as she noticed Juan looking at himself in the full-length mirror on the other side of the little room.
He had pulled up his shirt so that he could see the whole of his diapers and plastic pants. He had an enigmatic look on his face as he twisted back and forth to better see himself and his diapered bottom. She wondered if he was still trying to make Nate feel comfortable or was he already regretting what he had done? She hoped that she wouldn’t have two unhappy boys on her hands. Actually, Juan was checking himself out to make sure that his erection was not showing through the thickness of his double diapers. Reassured, he saw that nothing was visible.
“OK, let’s get your packages and load them in the car so that we can go home.”
“Wait, you said that Juan and me would be exactly alike. Make Juan take his shirt off,” Nate whined.
“OK, OK,” Juan interjected. “It’s no big deal,” he said as he removed his shirt.
Both boys were now dressed only in shoes, socks, diapers, and plastic pants. Mrs. Prado was again thankful for Juan’s cooperation but she still didn’t understand why he was doing it.
“Now, let’s get the packages into the car,” Mrs. Prado ordered.
“But it’s parked so far away!” Nate whined once more.
“Wait here, then. I’ll finish up with Mrs. Tarabello and dad can bring the car out front,” his mother suggested.
Ten minutes later the packages were loaded into the car which had been moved directly in front of the store.
Mrs. Prado went to get Nate and Juan. They had just walked out of the little hallway when, as luck would have it, Nate’s friend, Simon Quadrin and his mother, were walking in. Nate and Juan hesitated for an instant, long enough for Simon and his mom to get an eyeful.
Because Mrs. Prado was behind her sons she blocked their escape route. Nate looked like he would faint and Juan stood blankly looking at them.
Mrs. Quadrin broke the silence by saying something totally unexpected.
“Well, Simon, isn’t this well-timed? Now you won’t have to worry about telling Nate about your little secret.”
Mrs. Prado asked the owner if they could use the back room again. Mrs. Prado looked expectantly at Jimmy’s mom; Nate stood on the other side of the examining table trying to hide his diapers as much as possible.
“This isn’t my story,” an angry-looking Mrs. Quadrin said as she eyed her son keenly.
His eyes were brimming with tears and he was shaking all over. He also couldn’t take his eyes off Juan and Nate.
“Can’t I tell Nate alone?” he begged.
“I’m sorry, Cynthia,” Mrs. Quadrin apologized to Nate and Juan’s mother, “I came in here angry and practically forced you and the boys into this situation. I beg your pardon for intruding into such an awkward moment for you.”
“Please, Gloria, don’t apologize. It’s not your fault,” Mrs. Prado countered. “Besides, it seems that this is an awkward moment for you also. Juan,” she continued, “why don’t you go home with Dad and Carla right now? Gloria, could you give Nate and me a ride home after the boys finish their talk.”
“That would be perfect,” Jimmy’s mom agreed.
After checking that there was no one who would see him, Juan made a dash from the door of the pharmacy to the family van. He jumped in and was greeted by Mr. Prado’s confused stare and Carla’s giggles
“I’ll explain as we drive home,” he said.
Inside the store, Cynthia and Gloria were giving directions to their sons.
“By the time we come back in ten minutes we want you to have told each other what’s been going on today. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” they agreed reluctantly.
Alone, the boys experienced an uncomfortable moment. Normally, they were eager to share stories and experiences. Today, neither knew how to start. Finally, Nate started.
“Uh, I got put back into diapers,” he said, stating the obvious.
“Why?” Simon asked.
“Because… because I’ve been peeing my pants a lot.”
“On purpose?” Simon squealed excitedly.
“No, of course not,” Nate responded, shocked at such an idea. “You know that I go to the bathroom a lot. That’s because I can’t hold my pee as long as most people can. Well, during this last month I’ve been wetting my pants more and more because I can’t get to a bathroom in time. Today, it happened in my dad’s car and he went ballistic.”
“Oh, that’s a bummer,” Jimmy empathized, “I’m here because I wet and poop my pants on purpose.”
“What?” Nate responded in an even more shocked tone than before.
Simon took a deep breath and plunged into his story.
“Last winter, I was watching this really good movie while I was home alone and I didn’t want to miss any of it even though I had to pee real bad. Anyway, I didn’t make it to the end and I wet my underwear and pants a little bit. I thought it felt real good- all squishy and warm. Anyway, a few days later, I tried it again- only peeing more this time. I almost got pee on the carpeting in my bedroom but I liked the feeling a lot. I kept experimenting and eventually pooped my pants as well. I liked how that felt, too. Anyway, my mom went to the supermarket this morning and I was home alone. I didn’t hear her come back to get her wallet and that’s how she caught me. Do you think I’m really weird?”
Nate didn’t know how to answer that so he decided to be evasive.
“Look at me, I’m dressed in only diapers and plastic pants. That’s pretty weird, too.”
The tension was broken as the boys laughed.
“Now what?” Nate asked. “Why did your mom bring you here?”
“After she found me she made me take a shower. When I got out she was still really mad and she made me tell her the whole story. I was dressed in only the towel I had wrapped around me so she made me take it off and she… spanked me,” Simon concluded in a whisper.
“She spanked you? But you’re twelve years old!”
Simon’s embarrassment became even more acute. He couldn’t seem to raise his eyes from the floor as he explained that his mother took a hairbrush to his bottom and made him count out twenty-five swats.
“Did it hurt?” Nate wondered.
“Of course it hurt! It hurt like anything.”
“Gee,” Nate marveled, “I guess my dad’s yelling at me wasn’t so bad after all. At least I didn’t get spanked. Now what’s your mom going to do?”
“She said that if I wanted to act like a baby, I would be dressed like a baby. She’s buying me diapers and plastic pants.” Simon suddenly remembered how Juan was dressed, “But, how come Juan is wearing diapers and plastic pants, too. Why did your dad go ballistic on him?”
Nate explained Juan’s conversation in the van and his brother’s offer to join him in diapers for the first couple of weeks.
“I think Juan is a pretty nice brother to do that,” Simon commented.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Nate continued, “It’s just weird, I guess. He’s been mean to me so many times I don’t know why he’s being nice all of a sudden. I mean, diapers.”
In the meantime, their mothers had gone into the store to talk. They agreed that they could not have planned things better. Mrs. Prado was grateful that Nate’s best friend now knew about his medical problem and Mrs. Quadrin thought that Simon might now be embarrassed enough to stop his childish behavior quickly.
Just as the boys were finishing their conversation Simon’s mother reentered the room carrying some diapers, plastic pants, an undershirt, and various other small items. Nate didn’t want to go out front dressed the way he was, but he also wasn’t sure if he should stay while Simon got diapered. Mrs. Quadrin solved the dilemma for him.
“You can stay or go out with your mother. She’s talking to Mrs. Tarabello about getting you some other items.”
He was relieved that he didn’t have to appear in the main part of the store dressed in only his diapers and plastic pants. Nate couldn’t imagine what else his mother might be buying but he wasn’t so curious as to go out there dressed like a baby. Mrs. Quadrin made Simon undress down to his shoes and socks. He hopped up on the table and winced in pain as his bottom hit the thinly padded table.
“Ooh,” his mother sympathized half-heartedly, “still a little sore, are we? Here this might help take your mind off of it.”
With that she took out a pacifier and shoved it into his mouth.
“Now, that had better stay in your mouth. Is that clear, baby?” she said sharply.
Simon’s terror-filled eyes looked over to Nate. Returning his gaze to his mother he slowly nodded in agreement. Nate seemed to be more stunned than Simon.
Because he had just recently showered, Mrs. Quadrin didn’t use any wipes on him. Instead, she began to generously sprinkle Simon’s front and rear with sweet-smelling baby powder. Simon was then pinned into two heavy flannel diapers just like Nate’s.
“Next,” Mrs. Quadrin said in a babyish sounding tone “we’ll put on our little baby pants to keep everything outside nice and dry.”
Reaching under the undershirt she picked up the plastic pants. Nate saw them first and gasped. They were semi-transparent white like his, but they were overprinted with colorful teddy bears, kittens, and other babyish animals. As soon as Simon focused on them he spit out the pacifier and tried to get up.
“Aww, baby’s lost his pacifier. Don’t fret,” she said easily pushing him back down on the table. “Here, all fixed,” she continued, putting the pacifier back between his lips. “Baby doesn’t want to make a scene or he’ll get another spanking right here, right now, now does he?” she threatened.
Simon quieted down and let his mother snap him into the baby-style plastic pants. Lastly, she reached for the undershirt. Only it wasn’t exactly an undershirt; it had a series of snaps just above the crotch. Nate and Simon knew what it was but they didn’t know what it was called.
“Last thing, then we’re done,” Mrs. Quadrin continued to chirp in a mock happy tone. “we put on your little onesie and we’ll be all comfie.”
Simon was aghast as he stood up. He could see in the mirror across the room that he looked like a toddler. His onesie was yellow and it made the part of his plastic pants that peeked out from the leg openings seem even more obvious.
“I don’t think I need to tell you that you will not take that pacifier out of your mouth or change any of your clothes by yourself, do I?” she warned.
Simon could only shake his head to indicate that he would follow instructions. Nate felt very lucky that his parents hadn’t gone that far with his treatment.
As he was thinking this, his mom came into the room.
“Come here, Nate,” she ordered. “I think Mrs. Quadrin is right. You are too old to go outside in just your diapers. Here, let me help you get this onesie on.”
It was an exact match to one Simon was wearing. She slipped it over his head and began snapping him into it.
“But, you said Juan and I would be treated the same!” he complained.
“Don’t worry, honey. I’ve bought some for him too.”
Unfortunately, Mrs. Quadrin had parked her car even further from the store than the Prado’s SUV had originally been. The boys were led out of the store carrying Simon’s new diapers and plastic pants. At least the packages hid their diapered state from anyone approaching them but not from anyone following them. If either of them had noticed that one of their classmates was watching them from a parked car it would have saved them quite a bit of worry later on.
Back home, Nate wanted to run up to his room to sulk but he wasn’t given the chance. His mother and father sat him down and explained the new house rules. He would be permanently diapered until such time as he could display enough control to keep himself consistently dry. Also, at least until they could trust him, he would wear only a onesie over his diapers and plastic pants while at home. Nate stormed out of the living room livid with rage. This wasn’t fair. Why were his parents treating him this way?
About twenty minutes later his mother came into his bedroom and opened the closet. She began taking out some of his brother’s old clothes. Nate pointedly ignored her.
“We’ll have to get you some pants that fit over your diapers but, for the time being, let’s see if any of this will help.”
Nate still refused to cooperate.
“Fine,” she said, “I guess you’ll just wear your diapers and a onesie to church and brunch tomorrow morning.”
Nate’s determination flickered. Would she really force him to leave the house with only a onesie covering his diapers and plastic pants? That thought scared him into cooperation.
“No, wait,” he said, “I’ll try them on.”
Only one pair of dress pants would fit. Nate’s mother, however, didn’t let him look in the mirror. There had been enough crises for today; tomorrow would be soon enough for him to discover that, even with pants that fit, he would sport a noticeable diaper bulge.
She then went off to find Juan who was watching a baseball game in the den with his father.
“Juan, now that you’ve had time to talk to your dad,” she said putting the TV on mute. “let’s make sure that we all understand each other. For the next two weeks you will be treated exactly like Nate. Unless we specifically say otherwise, your father and I will be the only ones to change your diapers. Also, you will be in diapers twenty-fours a day.”
“What about when I go out with friends or they come over here?” Juan questioned.
“Twenty-fours a day, every day, for the next two weeks,” she repeated. “You did tell Nate that you’d be treated exactly like him, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but…”
“No buts,” she interrupted, “this will help Nate only if you carry through with the deal exactly as you made it.”
“What will my friends say?” he worried.
“I suppose the same things that Nate’s friends will say. Now,” she added, “stand up and let me put this on you. While you’re at home you will only wear a onesie over your diapers and plastic pants. Also, I’ve got to measure you in your diapers right now so that I can go out and buy some pants that will fit. Unless, of course, you want to come with me to pick them out yourself.”
Juan declined the offer.
By seven-thirty Mrs. Prado had returned and delivered the pants to Nate and Juan. Luckily for them the styles tended toward the baggy (but their mom and dad still wouldn’t let them wear them as baggy as they would have liked). They thought that their mother hadn’t done too badly. Nate even thought that the cargo shorts she bought him seemed like something he might have chosen for himself.
Around eight o’clock Mrs. Prado prepared some sandwiches and drinks for anyone who was hungry. (Because of the birthday luncheon she hadn’t fixed dinner.) Nate said that he wasn’t hungry but he came down to get a drink.
All evening Mrs. Prado had been puzzling over Juan’s behavior today. He had never before done anything so overtly selfless for his brother. Also, why had Juan been looking at himself so intently in the mirror at the store? To put his brother more at ease? For some other reason? But what? Also, what about when they met Simon and his mom? Why hadn’t he seemed embarrassed by it? She wasn’t sure how, but she suspected that Juan’s behavior had to do with a lot more than just making his younger brother feel comfortable about wearing diapers.
Nate’s dad was also feeling awkward and a little ashamed. Now that he had calmed down, he wanted to reassure Nate of his affection.
“Nate, come here a minute,” his dad beckoned.
Nate knew that his dad had been angry with him that afternoon so he decided not to get him even angrier. He went into the den where Juan and his dad were watching another game. His dad turned the TV off and asked Juan to leave for a few minutes.
“I guess you’re pretty mad at me, aren’t you?” he said to his sullen looking son.
Nate didn’t answer. His dad sighed.
“Look, Nate, nobody’s perfect. I make a lot of mistakes and maybe today I was too harsh on you. I’m sorry.”
Nate looked up with hope-filled eyes.
“Do you mean I won’t have to wear the diapers?” he asked optimistically.
“Come here, Nate. If you’re dry,” his father said, “the diapers come off.”
By the look on his son’s face he knew he didn’t need to check them.
“Nate, before you wet the diapers you’re wearing, how much warning did you have?”
“A little.., some,” Nate hedged.
“What do you mean by ‘a little’? Would you have had enough time to get to a bathroom if you were anywhere but home?”
Nate knew the answer to that but he couldn’t admit it. Uncontrollably, tears filled his eyes. He sniffled. His dad got up and hugged him as Nate lost control and released the suppressed frustrations from earlier that afternoon.
His dad led him upstairs for a diaper change.
“Nate, are you tired? I can change you into your nighttime diapers if you want,” his dad suggested.
“OK,” he answered.
It had been a number of years since his dad had changed diapers but he did it gently and meticulously. In addition to the treatment he got this afternoon, Nate’s whole diaper area was covered with baby oil. While putting on the third diaper his dad explained that the outer diaper would be kept in a special pile since it was slightly larger to fit comfortably over the other two. Nate could feel the extra bulk between his legs and he wondered if he would be able to sleep. Also, he felt trapped in them. He had counted the pins his dad had used- a full dozen. While his dad was retrieving nighttime plastic pants for him to wear, Nate stood up and felt how thick the material of the three diapers was in his crotch.
“How am I ever going to get used to this?” he thought dejectedly.
His father noticed the tears filling his eyes again so he tried to distract him.
“How about you come downstairs with me? You, Juan, and I can finish watching the game together”
Nate was all mixed up. As his dad was helping him into his plastic pants and onesie Nate realized that it was stupid for him to blame his dad for what was happening. Also, he felt appreciative toward his brother for accepting to be diapered along with him. He knew that he would never have made a similar concession to Juan if the situation had been reversed.
After the game, the boys went upstairs where Mrs. Prado changed Juan into nighttime diapers and wished them a good night.
Nate’s crying woke Juan up at two-thirty in the morning. Juan turned over to see his brother sitting on the edge of the bed, sniffling.
“What’s the matter, little bro?” Juan asked.
“Mom…(sniffle)… Mom said that at night we have to use our diapers for everything. …(sniffle)… She says that’s why we get baby oil put on- to protect our skin from any irritation we might get from …(sniffle)… from pooping our diapers,” Nate answered unhappily.
“When did you talk to her?” Juan asked.
“Just now. I went to ask her to take off my diapers so that I could use the bathroom and she told me that neither you nor I should wake her or dad at night. If we have messy diapers in the morning we’ll get cleaned up after breakfast.” (Sniffle)
“No shit?” Juan asked, although Nate didn’t respond to the humor of the question.
Juan sat up and swung his feet to the floor.
“Come here,” he said, “sit next to me. I’ll help you relax.”
“Relax?” Nate asked confused.
“Yeah, relax,” Juan continued. “you obviously must be feeling uncomfortable or you wouldn’t have gone to ask mom to get you out of your diapers. You can get constipated if you hold it in too long.”
“I can’t do it sitting here next to you,” Nate announced after a few seconds.
“OK, get into your bed and lie on your back. Good,” Juan encouraged as his brother complied with his instructions. “Now pull your knees up and close your eyes. Just pretend that you’re in the bathroom about to take a nice big dump.”
“I can’t,” Nate whined.
“Be quiet and relax. Don’t talk. Just relax.”
For several minutes Juan gently stroked Nate’s forehead and hair. For a moment he thought that Nate might have dozed off but then he heard the sound of Nate releasing his bowel movement into his diapers. Nate whimpered a bit before he softly thanked his brother. He fell asleep almost immediately. As Juan got back into bed, the odor coming from Nate’s diapers began to fill the room. This didn’t bother Juan in the least. In fact, it caused a smile to come to his lips. He too was ready to mess his diapers. He had deliberately not asked to go to the bathroom before being put into night diapers so that he could have the opportunity to mess them. Now that his mother had not only given permission for Nate to poop in his diapers but had practically ordered him to do it, he couldn’t resist any longer. He was rock hard inside his diapers as he felt the first of his poop coming out and being pressed up against his thick diapers. The combined sensations were too much- without even touching himself he began to wildly ejaculate as the rest of his poop filled the back of his diaper. He eventually fell asleep, still rock hard.
The next morning their Dad came to wake Nate and Juan.
“Whooeee…,” he exclaimed. “I guess one of you is going to need extra time getting cleaned up this morning. I don’t think mom or Carla is going to want to serve you breakfast smelling the way you do. Now who has the poopy diaper?”
He fully expected Nate to admit that he had filled his diapers during the night, but he was caught off guard when Juan said that his were pooped in, too. Grabbing the changing pad from under the bed, Mr. Prado had Nate roll to one side so that he could correctly position it. Once in place, Nate’s diapers were unpinned and changed fairly quickly. Mr. Prado sent him off to breakfast.
“Wait a second while I take care of Nate’s diapers in the bathroom,” Juan’s dad said.
Juan could hear him rising the inner diaper in the toilet to remove as much fecal matter as possible and then dump the diapers into the pail that had been brought back out yesterday.
Lastly, his dad washed his hands before returning.
Last night, before going to sleep his wife had spoken to him about her confusion regarding Juan. She was grateful for his help in subduing Nate at a very difficult time, but she didn’t understand why he was doing it. She felt disloyal towards Juan for wondering about his motives but she couldn’t help it. Looking down at his older son on the changing pad Mr. Prado was noticing subtle differences between Nate and Juan’s diaper change. Nate had been sullen, not looking at his dad at all; Juan was smiling, making frequent eye contact and even sighing when the baby powder was applied and the diapers were pinned in place. Nate’s whole body had been tense, Juan was obviously relaxed. There seemed to be no way to get around it- Juan was enjoying this experience. “No,” Mr. Prado thought, “I’m letting my imagination run away with me. Juan is happy because he has a clear conscience in that he’s helping his little brother get through a difficult time. That’s all there is to it. And, yet…”
The boys were finishing getting dressed for church. They were wearing their new pants and Hawaiian-print shirts. As Juan turned sideways Nate noticed how the seat of his brother’s pants was noticeably bulging.
“Juan,” he said with rising emotion, “I can tell you have diapers on by the bulge in the seat of your pants. Can you tell that I have diapers on too?”
“Calm down,” Juan retorted. “You think you see the bulge only because you know I’m wearing diapers like you. No one is going to notice.”
Juan began walking from the room. For the first time Nate was aware of the distinctive rustling and crackling sound that Juan’s plastic pants were making. He took a few steps also.
“Listen to the noise we make when we walk! People will hear that for sure.”
“Don’t exaggerate,” Juan counseled his brother. “ No one will hear a thing. Trust me. You hear our plastic pants only because it’s real quiet in the house. Relax. If you act like there’s something wrong people will start looking for a cause; if you act normal no one will suspect a thing.”
Carla must have been warned about making any comments because she treated her brothers normally- that is to say, she ignored them.
All during church services Nate reacted nervously to every sound he thought he heard coming from him or his brother. Juan, on the other hand, was enjoying each one of those sounds especially since it seemed that no one else even knew that they were there. Furthermore, the thrill of being out in public in diapers and plastic pants was tremendously arousing.
By the time they had reached the restaurant, Nate was much more relaxed. He even enjoyed his brunch. Seated across the room was Nate’s classmate (who had seen him and Simon at the pharmacy yesterday) also enjoying his brunch, especially when he could get a good look at the bulges in Nate’s pants. Ironically, he didn’t even notice Juan’s bulge which was even more noticeable because of the larger size diapers he had on.
Later that afternoon Simon called to ask if he could come over. He said that he was bored because him mom wouldn’t let him wear any “normal” clothes for the next two weekends and he couldn’t go outside to play with his friends. Mrs. Prado gave permission for him to come over and, since Nate and Juan had finished their homework, she said he could also stay for dinner. Simon happily accepted. His mother dropped him off twenty minutes later. He ran from the car to the side door of the house unobserved. He was not wearing anything over his onesie and his pacifier was tied to a ribbon pinned to his chest.
“Boy, your mom is really taking this baby thing to extremes, isn’t she?” Nate observed.
“Yeah,” he sighed, “I never thought I’d feel jealous of someone because they get to wear plain white plastic pants. My mom only bought me baby-print pants.”
The boys spent the afternoon challenging each other at various video games. Nate was surprised that Juan wanted to join them. He supposed that Juan was bored, too, since he couldn’t go anywhere dressed in only his onesie, diapers, and plastic pants.
On Monday morning the boys were gotten up early for school so that they would have enough time for their diaper changes. Interestingly, Juan had messed his diapers overnight; Nate used the morning change as an opportunity to do number two in the bathroom. Even though he was more confident about wearing diapers publicly after yesterday’s experience at church and in the restaurant (since he didn’t know about the classmate who had already seen him in diapers and onesie) Nate still chose the baggiest of his new pants and the longest of his shirts to wear. However, Nate did worry about the rustling and crackling sound that his plastic pants made; he hoped the classroom would be noisy enough to mask any unusual sounds. Juan did not seem in the least perturbed by his diapers. He, of course, had to wear a pair of his new pants (since his older ones couldn’t possibly fit over the double diapers) but otherwise he didn’t seem to be doing anything extraordinary to hide his diapers.
Before school started Nate went to the nurse’s station to deliver the note his mother had written. It stated that for medical reasons Nate would be in diapers for the foreseeable future, that she hoped the school would allow her to dress him in cloth diapers because of her extreme opposition to disposables, and, that she would drop by around nine o’clock to bring changing supplies and to discuss the matter. The remaining notes he would give to his teachers as he met them during the day. He hoped that his mother hadn’t given them too many details. In his mind, the only thing that they needed to know was that he would need to leave the room “for medical reasons.”
Simon had not been on the bus this morning and he arrived a few minutes after Nate had left the nurse’s station.
“Your mom bring you to school this morning?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, she’s in the nurse’s office delivering my… stuff,” he said avoiding the diaper word. “She says that, no matter what, I can’t ask my teachers to leave the room during class time. The nurse can only change my… diapers (he whispered) during recess, lunch or after school. Worse, she says she’s going to explain to the nurse the real reason I’m in diapers. This is going to be so embarrassing- what if she treats me the way my mom does? Talking to me in baby talk and making me suck on a pacifier during changes?” Tears were beginning to fill his eyes as he contemplated the possibilities.
“The nurse is a professional. Maybe she won’t even go along with your mother’s plan.” Nate consoled his friend.
“That would be worse,” Simon lamented. “If she won’t change me then I’ll have to stay in the same diapers all day. What if I mess in them after lunch or what if they become so wet my plastic pants start leaking? What if my mom started dressing me in three or four diapers during the day so that they wouldn’t leak? Three or four diapers would be super thick- they would be so obvious everybody would know I had them on.”
The more Simon spoke the more panicky he became. Nate was trying to think of a way to calm him down but he couldn’t find anything comforting to say. He himself was beginning to shiver at the thought of being sent to school in triple- or quadruple-thick diapers. Luckily the bell rang and students began filtering into their classrooms.
The boys were relieved that no one noticed anything odd about them. By morning recess they had almost completely forgotten about their secret. Only Nate’s sudden flooding of his diapers as the class bell rang brought him back to reality. Nate went to his English teacher who readily dismissed him to the nurse’s office while Simon went back to class (wondering if he would be welcomed in the nurse’s office should he need a diaper change).
The nurse, Mrs. Wilcox, who had seemed rather business like and cold when he had delivered the note this morning, received him warmly.
“Come in, Nate, and shut the door. Don’t worry; it will lock itself so that no one can come in unexpectedly. I guess you’re here to have me help you,” she said in a warm and friendly manner. “Your mom already came by and explained the situation some more. I know that you would rather not have to wear what you will have to wear but let me assure you that you are not the only twelve year old who has this problem.”
Nate was beginning to like her already. She genuinely seemed concerned about him, and, most of all, she was deliberately avoiding using the diaper word.
“Yes,” he answered weakly, “I was just going back to class and I…” he trailed off, too embarrassed to finish the description of what had happened.
“No need to explain,” she said trying to ease his tension, “whenever you need me, just come in and we’ll get the job done. I’ll get your supplies if you’ll stand next to the bed and take off your pants.”
Returning with fresh diapers, plastic pants, and powder she noticed how long his shirt was.
“Oh my, I’m afraid your shirt will be in the way. You’ll have to take it off, too.”
Standing there in just his shoes, socks, diapers and plastic pants, Nate felt extremely vulnerable. He began shaking uncontrollably; the tears soon followed. He felt humiliated crying like this but he couldn’t stop himself. Mrs. Wilcox sat down in the chair next to the bed. Nate allowed himself to be pulled into her lap. She gently cradled him and let him have his full cry. She soothed him and tenderly stroked his hair. He was almost completely calm when he began wetting again. He tried to get off Mrs. Wilcox’s lap before she could sense what was happening but she held him tighter.
“That’s OK,” she said, “let it all out.”
Nate wondered if she was talking about his tears or his pee. Either way he was becoming increasingly embarrassed. Here he was, a twelve year old boy, sitting on the nurse’s lap, crying, and wearing only diapers and plastic pants! Part of him, however, felt very comfortable and wanted to stay there forever.
Mrs. Wilcox stood him up next to the bed and spread out a plastic changing pad. He had barely positioned himself on it when Mrs. Wilcox asked him to lift up. She removed his plastic pants in one swift motion. A strong smell of fresh pee hit Nate’s nostrils but the nurse acted as if nothing unusual was going on. She had unpinned the top diaper and was now working on the four pins of the inner diaper. Asking him to lift up again, she placed the diapers in the same plastic bag in which she had put his plastic pants. Having cleaned him thoroughly with a couple of wipes she began pinning him into fresh diapers. It was only then that she began to speak to him.
“Nate, I know that kids can sometimes be very cruel to people who have differences. I hope that no one ever does anything to hurt you because of what you have to wear. But, if anyone ever does, I hope that you will trust me enough to tell me so that I can try to help you.” Sensing that he was about to respond, she added, “No, don’t say anything now. I know that sometimes it’s hard for kids to talk to adults. It’s not necessary for you to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to what I just said; all I want you to know is that I am extending to you a permanent invitation that if you ever need me I will do my best to help you. Now stand up and let’s get your plastic pants on.”
Nate went back to class feeling happier than he had since before his accident in the car on Saturday.
During lunch Simon announced that he had to visit Mrs. Wilcox soon.
“Are you wet?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, and I have to do number two, too. If Mrs. Wilcox doesn’t agree to change me, I’ll be in real trouble.”
Simon approached the nurse’s office cautiously. He timidly knocked on the door jamb to attract Mrs. Wilcox’s attention. He had waited too long. On the way over to the office he had thoroughly messed himself.
“Uh…, Mrs. Wilcox, my name is Simon Quadrin.”
“Oh, yes, Mr. Quadrin, come in, please, and close the door.”
“Oh, oh,” he thought, “it’s never a good sign when adults call you ‘Mr.’ and when they are very polite”
“Your mother was here this morning and she explained your situation to me. I have never objected to helping students in need but from what she told me you wet and mess your pants on purpose. Is this true?”
Simon didn’t know how to answer such a direct question. It sounded like Mrs. Wilcox was leading up to telling him that she would not change him. He thought to himself that he might as well admit to the truth since she already knew what it was.
“Uh…, yes, ma’am,” he answered turning redder and redder with embarrassment. “I don’t know why it is but I do like the feeling of wetting and messing myself.”
“Well, at least you are an honest boy. I have to admit that you are not the first student I have come into contact with who has the same obsession. Before I agree to accept you for diaper changes you will have to agree to my rules. Do you want to hear them?”
“Yes, please,” he answered nervously, especially since the odor of his messy diaper was beginning to spread.
“Alright, then. They are really very simple. You will not go to the boys restroom at any time. You will never touch your diapers or take out any of your diaper pins yourself. If you want to wet and mess yourself you will do so entirely- that is, I will change your diapers only after they are thoroughly wet or messy. Your mother has made it clear that you are not allowed to leave the classroom while the lessons are going on. This means that you will have to wait until recess or lunch to visit me. Lastly, your mother says that you are to be given your pacifier during diaper changes. Do you accept these rules?”
“Yes, ma’am. I do. Can you change me now?”
“Yes, since it is obvious that you have already messed your diapers. Go over to the bed and take your shirt and pants off.”
Opening the bag containing his diaper supplies she was surprised to see that his plastic pants were all of a nursery print style. Looking over to him nervously waiting for her she smiled at the quite babyish plastic pants that he was wearing. She approved of this element that had been added to his diaper punishment. She decided that it might teach him a lesson if she fully played along with it also.
“Simon, which baby pants do you want? The yellow ones with the trains and cars or the green ones with the houses and trees?”
Simon felt his stomach tie itself up into a knot. Mrs. Wilcox was going to treat him just the way his mother did- she was going to act as if he really was a toddler who would be given “big boy” decisions to make.
“Simon, I don’t have all day? Which ones?” she repeated.
Simon knew better than to argue or sulk.
“The yellow ones, please,” he said without thinking.
“I agree,” she seconded, “they really are much cuter than the green ones.”
Simon groaned inwardly. She really was going to keep this up during the whole diaper change.
She laid out the diaper pad on the bed and asked him to open his mouth so that she could give him his pacifier.
“Can you get up on the bed by yourself?” she asked in a mocking tone.
When he began to mumble around his pacifier she interjected, “No, no, honey. When you have your pacifier in your mouth, I will only ask questions that you can answer by ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Just shake your head up and down or from side to side. Can you do that?”
Shaking with frustration he nodded his head up or down.
“See? That wasn’t hard, now was it? There’s no need to get upset.”
Unconsciously, he had begun sucking on his pacifier which did indeed calm him down.
She then proceeded to take off his baby pants, to make a big fuss over his ‘ducky’ and ‘teddy bear’ diaper pins, and to clean up his messy bottom. She pinned him into clean diapers while constantly keeping up her babyish commentary. Only after pulling up his plastic pants and checking for stray material did she resume talking to him in a normal fashion.
“Now, you have ten minutes before the end-of-lunch bell rings. Go outside in the yard with your classmates.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice. He quickly found Nate and recounted his experience with Mrs. Wilcox. Nate’s only comment was that she obviously had spoken to Simon’s mother and that he should probably expect more of the same treatment in the future. This wasn’t exactly the support he had hoped to get but he had to admit to himself that Nate’s need for diapers was genuine while his was the result of having deliberately wet and messed his pants. In a certain way, he could see that he probably deserved the baby treatment he was getting.
As usual after school, Nate and Simon went to Nate’s house. (Since kindergarten, Simon’s mother picked him up there after work on school days.) Since Juan got out of school earlier than they did, they assumed he would already be there. Sure enough, he was dressed in a onesie watching TV in the den. They wanted to talk to him about his day but Nate’s mother intercepted them at the door.
“Do you boys need to be changed?” she asked. “No?… Alright upstairs with you and get changed into the onesies I have laid out. Come back downstairs and I will have a snack and milk waiting for you.”
A white onesie with red piping around the collar and leg openings was waiting for Simon (one of his pacifiers was already pinned to it). Nate assumed rightly that the green onesie (that exactly matched Juan’s) was for him. The boys hurried back downstairs to get their snack and to talk to Juan.
“So, tell us,” Simon pressed Juan, “how did your day go?”
“It was OK,” Juan answered nonchalantly.
“Please,” Simon continued. “I want to know everything that happened. Did anyone find out that you were wearing diapers?”
Juan suspected that he and Simon had a lot of feelings in common about wearing diapers.
Despite Simon’s embarrassment at having to wear baby pants over his diapers, Juan didn’t think that Simon minded wearing them at all. He wanted to ask him at the nearest opportunity.
“Ok, I’ll tell you,” he said smiling mischievously. “Several people found out about my diapers.”
“What?” screeched Nate.
“Well, sure. First of all mom visited the nurse and left her my diaper supplies and then the notes I gave to my teachers said that I was wearing diapers.”
“What?” screeched Nate again. “The notes to your teachers said that you we were wearing diapers? How do you know? Did you open one?”
“Of course not, One of my teachers pulled me aside after opening the note and told me that he was sorry that I had to wear protection. He said that I didn’t have to ask to leave the room; he said that unless it became too frequent he would simply assume that I was leaving for the nurse’s office.”
“But mom wrote about your diapers in the notes to your teachers?” Nate repeated. “I sure hope that she didn’t tell my teachers that.”
“I bet she did,” Juan answered.
“Mooom…” Nate screamed as he ran outside to where his mother was gardening in the backyard, “you didn’t tell my teachers that I have to wear diapers all the time, did you?”
Putting down her weeding trowel she said, “Well, of course, I did, honey. I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. I assumed that you would take for granted that I had to tell them. I’m sorry if you’re upset,” she added.
“But, they’ll tell everybody,” he worried.
“Of course they won’t,” she assured him. “They’re professionals; they know when to keep things confidential.”
“What if they get mad at me in class and they accidentally let it slip out or something?” he said anxiously.
“Well, I guess that you had better behave very well in class and then they won’t have to correct you or get annoyed with you,” she said turning back to her weeding.
While Nate was out back with his mother Juan decided to ask Simon the question that was on his mind.
“Uh, Simon, can I ask you a question? You might think it’s really weird, but…, well…, do you like wearing diapers, I mean, even just a little bit?” Seeing the hesitation in Simon’s face, he added, “It’s because…, you see…, I kinda like wearing them myself,” he blurted out.
Simon smiled and then burst out laughing which made Juan turn red with shame and embarrassment. Sensing that he had hurt Juan’s feelings he quickly added, “No, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because ever since my mom put me in diapers as a punishment last weekend I’ve realized that I love them A few months ago when I started peeing and pooping my pants on purpose I thought that that was the greatest feeling in the world. Now, I know that peeing and pooping in diapers is even more fun.”
Now Juan was also laughing. He had never peed or pooped his pants on purpose but he had always dreamed of being put back in diapers. His offer to help his brother get over his fear of being diapered was just an excuse for him to get put back into diapers. The only sad part of all this was that he would have to give up his diapers in two weeks.
“Boy, what would Nate say if heard us now? He’s really afraid that people will find out about his diapers. I really do feel sorry for him, you know, because he has to wear them. You and I could decide to not wear them starting tomorrow, but he can’t.”
“Yeah, I know,” Simon added, “I’ve been feeling a little guilty about enjoying my diapers because Nate is so miserable. Do you suppose there is a way we can help him?”
Juan didn’t have time to answer that question since Nate was coming back to join them in the den.
“Mom told my teachers,” Nate said sullenly. “They all know- I’m doomed.”
“Why are you doomed?” Juan challenged. “did your teachers treat you any differently today?”
“Well, no,” he reluctantly answered, “but they could start tomorrow.”
“Look, we’re all in the same boat. If anyone picks on one of us because of his diapers, the other two will be there to offer support. If any or all of us get attacked, we’ll still stick together- I’m positive. Try to stop worrying, little bro.”
“Now, come on,” Simon chimed in, “tell us about your day.”
“Well, I met up with Tony and Vaskil (two friends at school) and we talked about the weekend and if anybody was going to this week’s football game, and then we discussed…”
“Juan, who cares about that?” Simon complained. “Tell us about how it felt to be in diapers. Were you scared that someone might find out? Did you get changed? How was the nurse?”
Juan laughed.
“OK, OK, I’ll tell you. But you have to tell me about your day afterwards. Agreed?”
They agreed.
“It was kinda scary at first. I didn’t start out being nervous this morning but as I was on the bus getting closer and closer to school it occurred to me that I was, like, totally committed. There was no turning back; I would spend a whole day in school in diapers and plastic pants and that was that. My friends saw that I was a little distracted and they asked me what was going on. I told them that I was tired from the weekend. Anyway, during first hour (English class) I totally forgot that I was wearing them. Near the end of class I started thinking that I would have to make a quick run to the bathroom before going to Spanish. Then I realized that I couldn’t go the bathroom because of the double diapers I had on. So, right before the end of class I released a little bit of pee and it felt great, so I let my whole bladder empty. For a second I was afraid that my plastic pants might leak but the diapers soaked everything up. In fact, by the time lunch rolled around I had peed two more times. At the end of lunch, I told Tony and Vaskil that I had something important to do and that’s when I went to get changed at the nurse’s office.
I was kinda embarrassed to ask for a change but I was sure that my diapers couldn’t hold much more. The nurse said that she was expecting me and that mom had left an ample supply of diapers and plastic pants for me to be changed regularly. After I had taken my pants off, she made me lie down on a disposable bed pad. She advised me that I had waited too long to see her and that, in the future, she wanted me to come for a diaper change after I had wet two times. She wouldn’t let me do anything myself. I wasn’t even allowed to put on my own plastic pants. It actually was kind of neat to be babied like that.”
Nate looked at him in a funny way but Simon nodded his head in understanding.
Nate and Simon then told about their day. Just as they were finishing Mrs. Quadrin showed up to pick up Simon.
The rest of the week was a carbon copy of Monday, except that Mrs. Prado was tired of the boys being inside the house all the time. On Wednesday afternoon, after they had been changed and put into their onesies, she sent them outside to the backyard. Nate didn’t want to go for fear of being seen. Juan finally convinced him that there was practically nothing to worry about: the old widow, Mrs. Van Lettler, who lived behind them rarely came outside, and that, even if she did, she was too short to see over the fence. The two neighbors on each side no longer had kids living at home, and, finally, none of those neighbors came home from work until after six o’clock. In just a short time Nate felt secure enough to join Simon and Juan who were throwing a football around the yard. Spending time in the backyard hanging out or throwing the football became part of the daily routine. Even Nate had to admit that it was silly of him to have worried about being seen in his onesie- the backyard was secure from prying eyes.
Monday evening when Mrs. Quadrin came to pick up Simon, Mrs. Prado asked her if she had a few moments to talk. The boys were still outside in the backyard so they sat down in the den.
“Gloria,” Mrs. Prado began, “I wanted to talk to you to ask if you’ve noticed any change in the way the boys are acting.”
“Has Simon been a problem?” she asked nervously.
“Oh, no, not in the least. What I mean is that the boys seem to be getting along better since they have been wearing diapers. No, it’s more than that- let me be blunt. Nate is coming along much better than I thought he would, probably became Simon and Juan are also in diapers. I think that Juan wanted to wear diapers all along and that that’s why he offered to ‘help his brother get used to them for two weeks.’ I know that you put Simon in diapers as a punishment for wetting and messing his pants but in my observation of him over the last ten days I don’t think it’s punishment at all. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you but that’s what I think.”
“No, Cynthia, you’re not offending me at all,” Mrs. Quadrin responded. “In fact, I agree with you about Simon. When I saw the look on his face the first time he wet his diapers I knew that I had made a mistake- this wasn’t going to be a punishment at all. But, it was too late to back down. I’ve been feeling very guilty about providing Simon with an outlet for this weird fascination of his, but I think he would have eventually snuck around behind my back getting diapers anyway. It’s so hard being a single parent. I wish Simon’s father was still around to share some of the burden.”
Mrs. Prado felt sorry for her friend but having never experienced single parenthood she didn’t quite know what to say to help relieve her friend’s sense of loneliness. Perhaps sensing Mrs. Prado’s discomfort, Mrs. Quadrin returned to something Cynthia had said about Juan.
“This is the second week that Nate is back in diapers. What will you do about Juan if he wants to stay in diapers longer?”
“I don’t know,” Mrs. Prado answered, “Jorge and I disagree on what to do. Jorge has finally agreed that my observations about Juan are right but he thinks that we can solve the situation by sitting Juan down and telling him that what he wants is impossible- fifteen year old boys do not wear diapers and plastic pants just because they want to. Jorge just doesn’t see that Juan’s desire has nothing to do with logic or reason. I’m not sure what’s going to happen but I guarantee you that if we take the diapers away, Juan will get some, one way or another.”
“Yes, I agree,” Mrs. Quadrin said. “Men sometimes have difficulty seeing what’s right in front of them. They say that we women are unrealistic, but I think that they are the ones who have trouble seeing reality, especially when it doesn’t fit their own experiences or preconceptions.”
Simon and his mother left for home shortly thereafter.
It was two days later, on Wednesday morning, that the crisis began.
The seventh grade classroom had just been opened and Simon was approaching his desk. His heart missed a beat because sitting on it was an official looking 5” x 10” envelope. It was not uncommon for teachers to give notes directly to students to take home to their parents. These notes usually spelled trouble but Simon couldn’t think of anything he had done wrong. He knew that he hadn’t missed any assignments and he couldn’t think of any misbehavior that would have gotten him into trouble. He examined the envelope and noticed that it wasn’t addressed to his mom but that it simply said ‘Simon’ in neat printing. He opened it and took out a folded sheet of paper; the note was obviously computer generated. It read: “Tomorrow, and every Thursday thereafter, leave the room before morning recess (maybe you can tell the teacher that you have to have your “you-know-whats” changed, hee, hee). Put five dollars inside a plastic sandwich bag and slide it into the bottom pipe at the far end of the bicycle stand. If you don’t pay or if you do anything to try to find out who I am, I will show everyone what’s inside the envelope. Don’t forget, I have many more just like these.”
Reaching inside the envelope he pulled out a half dozen photos- they were pictures of him, Nate and Juan dressed in their onesies in the Prado’s back yard. He quickly put them back into the envelope before anyone asked what they were. He glanced around the room to see if anyone was watching him but he saw no one looking suspiciously his way.
“Nate is going to have a fit,” he thought. He decided not to tell him about this until after school.
Despite his calm exterior, Simon was shaken up. He had only glanced at the pictures that had definitely been taken during the last two weeks. He and his friends were clearly visible wearing their diapers and onesies. Even his nursery-print plastic pants showed up clearly. Who did this? And, more importantly, how did he (she? they?) do this?
“OK,” Simon said to himself, “calm down. Even if these pictures become public there are all kinds of believable explanations that we can make up. For instance, almost everybody knows that photographs can be easily edited on a computer to make almost anything, no matter how wild, look real. With Juan’s help we’ll be able to figure out what to do about this.”
For the rest of the day, though, Simon remained very distracted. Nate asked him what was wrong but Simon wisely declined to explain while they were still in school.
Finally, Simon, Nate and Juan were together after school. Simon had waited until Mrs. Prado had left them by themselves before bringing out the envelope. He decided to get it over with quickly.
“Guys, we have a problem. Look at what I found on my desk this morning.”
Juan and Nate looked at the note and then at the pictures. This was also the first time that Simon could spend time examining the photos carefully. As expected, Nate panicked and became speechless, his eyes filling with tears. Juan tried to calm his brother and bring some sense of control back to the situation.
“Ok, let’s not panic. That won’t help us at all. First of all, you guys could simply short circuit his plan by showing up at school tomorrow in just your diapers and plastic pants. That way everyone will know and he won’t have any ammunition to blackmail you with.”
“What! Are you crazy?” shouted Nate.
“Lighten up, little bro.” Juan teased. “I wasn’t serious. I was just making a joke.”
“Well, that’s not funny. If anyone ever saw me in my diapers at school I would die.” Nate said peevishly.
“OK, I’m sorry,” Juan apologized. “We don’t have much time to respond. Is there anyone you can think of who would do this?”
“I’ve been trying to think all day. There are several kids in our class who live in the neighborhood but I don’t see any of them doing this,” Simon answered.
Juan and Simon continued to ponder the question of who it could be. Nate was still in shock and couldn’t think clearly. He had nothing to add to the discussion. In the end, it was Juan who proposed the first course of action.
“I don’t see how we can avoid paying tomorrow. There isn’t enough time to figure out a way to blow this guy out of the water. I think he has us cornered for the moment. Can we each raise our share of the five dollars to pay him?”
“Sure,” Simon affirmed, “but how are we going to stop him. What if he starts asking for more money and stuff each week?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Juan cautioned. “Maybe we can discover who he is first. For now, I have a five dollar bill in my room that you can put at the bicycle stand tomorrow. Let’s make a distinctive mark on it and maybe you guys will see someone spending it in the cafeteria or something.”
They used a red marker to make a one-half inch stripe along the top edge of the bill.
“There, that’ll be easy to see. Let’s hope this gets us somewhere.”
Simon followed the plan exactly but they discovered nothing. There was no doubt that the money was gone by the end of the day but they had no clue as to who had picked it up or when it had been picked up. Nate and Simon left school feeling dejected.
When they arrived at Nate’s house Juan was in the backyard and he was very upbeat.
“I think I’ve already discovered several important things just by looking at the pictures,” he said.
“What, exactly?” Simon asked.
“Well, look at the angles. The camera would have had to have been at about waist height in some pictures and about ten or fifteen feet off the ground in others.”
“Yeah, I can see that now.” Simon marveled at Juan’s perception. “But that’s impossible. No one was out here with a camera or standing on a ladder taking pictures when we were out here.”
“Unless it was a remote-control camera. Or a camera that took pictures at set intervals, you know, like the ones they use to take time-lapse pictures of stuff- flowers opening up, clouds moving in the sky, and junk like that.”
“But wouldn’t we see the cameras?” Nate said, joining the conversation.
“What if they were miniature cameras, like in spy movies?” Simon suggested.
“Maybe…, but who, in our class, could afford that kind of sophisticated stuff?” Nate asked.
Another period of silence followed while the boys thought some more.
“Let’s examine one of the pictures and try to figure out where the camera would have been, Maybe that will give us some more clues,” Juan proposed. “Let’s start with this one of you two guys. Go pose over there by the house in the same positions as the pictures shows. I’ll try to figure out where the camera was.”
After a few false starts Juan thought he had the line of sight figured out.
“But, that doesn’t make any sense,” Simon pointed out. “The camera would have to have been in plain sight on this side of the fence or it would have to have taken the picture right through the fence from the other side. Cameras can’t see through wooden fences, no matter how small or expensive they are.”
“That’s right, but they can see through knot holes in wood fences,” Juan said pointing to such a hole at just about the right height and angle.
“Nate bring one of the patio chairs over here,” Juan ordered. Standing on it he leaned over the fence and let out a satisfied exclamation.
“Stand up on the chair and take a look at the hole on the other side of the fence,” Juan suggested.
Nate and Simon immediately noticed what Juan had seen- there was a medium-sized nail and some fairly fresh duct tape near the hole.
“See,” Juan explained, “someone could have set a small camera on the nail and pressed it against the hole using the duct tape.”
The boys were fairly sure that they had solved part of the mystery as to how it was done. After a few more experiments, they decided that there had to have been a second camera hidden in the branches of Mrs. Van Lettler’s tree. So the mystery of how it was done seemed to be solved. But the big question still remained: who? Did Mrs. Van Lettler have a grandchild in the seventh grade at Nate and Simon’s school? But, even if she did, why would she be a party to this? They seemed to be at an impasse.
It was at this moment that Mr. Prado came outside to join the boys. He had left work early and was hoping to spend some time throwing the football around or just hanging out with his sons.
“What is that chair doing by the fence?” he asked.
“Nothing. We were just looking at something on the fence,” Juan responded.
“Well, bring it back here where it belongs,” he said sitting down at the patio table.
The boys became concerned when they realized that had carelessly left the pictures on the table. When Mr. Prado looked at them and then read the threatening note, he became very concerned.
“When were you boys going to tell us about this?” he asked sternly.
“Well, it just happened yesterday. We were trying to figure out how the pictures were taken. We were just discussing…” Juan attempted to explain.
Mr. Prado’s face softened.
“I’m asking because I find this very offensive. Somebody has violated your privacy and is now trying to blackmail you. That’s not only a crime, it’s also terribly anti-social behavior which must be stopped. Simon, you mother is going to be here soon. When she arrives I want you boys to tell us the whole story.
It didn’t take long for them to recount to the adults how Simon had found the envelope the previous morning, how they had lost the trail of the marked five dollars, and how, together, they had figured out where the cameras had been placed.
“That’s very clever of you to have deduced,” Mr. & Mrs. Prado complimented the boys. “But, I don’t want you to pay any more money to this person. You shouldn’t give in to this kind of blackmail.”
“But, mom,” Nate whined, “he was going to show the pictures to everybody!”
“Yes, I understand, but your mom is right,” Mrs. Quadrin added. “What we have to do is find out who is doing this before next Thursday. It’s obvious that this person is vicious and is willing to do serious social harm to you boys.”
“I think that Mrs. Van Lettler is the key,” Mr. Prado affirmed. “She’s a rather shy lady so I think I should visit her alone.”
“Aww, can’t I go with you?” Juan begged.
“Dressed like that?” he retorted, pointing to his son’s onesie.
“Well, maybe she wouldn’t mind,” a nonplussed Juan responded. Nate just rolled his eyes at his brother’s brazenness.
A short while later Mr. Prado was sitting in Mrs. Van Lettler’s kitchen. He had just finished giving her a summary of the last two days’ events.
“Oh, dear,” she said shaking her head, “I’m afraid that I’m responsible for what is happening to the boys. I’m so sorry but he seemed to be such a nice little boy. I never even suspected that he was up to something so unkind.”
“Would you tell me about it, please?” Mr. Prado prompted the old lady.
Her story was fairly simple and straightforward. About ten days before, a boy had come to her door explaining that he was doing a science project involving song birds. He told her that her yard was exactly the kind of place he needed because it was relatively large with lots of trees that attracted a variety of birds. He asked her for permission to place some special transmitters in there so that he could monitor and record the birds at various times of the day. He said that he would only need a few minutes to set them up and that in about eight or nine days he would return to take them away. He assured her that they were completely safe and that he would be very grateful for her help with this project.
“He seemed so sincere,” she concluded.
“If you saw this boy’s picture, do you think you would recognize him?” Mr. Prado asked.
“Yes, I’m sure I would,” she answered confidently.
He handed her Nate’s school memory book from the previous year.
“Here,” she declared pointing to a picture, “I’m positive that this is the one. I spoke to him twice for about ten minutes each time. There’s no doubt about it. When I think of how he lied to me and made me look like a fool…” she said shaking her head.
“Thank you very much for your help, Mrs. Van Lettler. I think anyone would have been taken in by him; don’t feel too badly- he’s going to be stopped before he gets any further. I’ll let you know how all this turns out,” Mr. Prado promised as he took his leave of her.
While Mr. Prado was visiting with Mrs. Van Lettler, Mrs. Prado was speaking to Juan.
“I bet you’re happy that your two weeks in diapers are up tomorrow,” she said. “It’s probably going to be difficult for Nate. Even though Simon will still be in diapers, I’m sure that Nate will miss sharing the experience with you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he even started acting up a bit. But, that’s not your problem, now is it?”
“No, I guess it isn’t. But, will Nate be OK?”
“OK, in what sense?” Mrs. Prado pursued. “He knows that his diapers are non-negotiable for the time being and he even told me a couple of days ago that he was “sorta” glad to be in diapers because he would certainly have wet himself in school on more than one occasion. I think he’s getting used to them, I just hope that they don’t become public knowledge because then he would really feel alone,” she sighed.
“Yeah, I guess he would,” Juan agreed. After a pause, he added, “Would it help if I continued wearing diapers for a while longer?”
“That’s an interesting question, now isn’t it, Juan? Don’t you think it’s time to be honest about why you agreed to go back into diapers?”
On numerous occasions Juan had tried to rehearse in his mind how he would answer that question if it ever came up. Could he vigorously deny liking diapers? Or could he admit to loving diapers and, even more so, plastic pants? Now that the moment was here he was still vacillating over his answer. The pause stretched to over two minutes as his mother waited patiently for him to respond.
Finally, he looked up and said, “ I guess I wasn’t very subtle was I? It’s just that as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to wear diapers. When Nate started having his problems I hoped that he would get put back in diapers so that I could wear one every once in a while. When he was freaking out in the van outside the pharmacy two weeks ago it just suddenly occurred to me to volunteer to wear diapers with him. I guess you could tell that I was happy about it. How will dad react, do you think?”
His mother wondered the same thing.
“Your dad already suspects that you want to be put back in diapers. I think he will try to deny it some more but, in the end, he’ll work very hard at understanding you.”
“Mom, if I stay in diapers for a while longer I’ll need to get some more diapers and plastic pants, won’t I?”
“Yes, Juan, I suppose you will. We’ll probably have to get you as many as we bought for Nate.”
Juan was very pleased to hear this. Now, to ask for the last thing, the riskiest thing.
“Uh, mom…,” Juan proposed tentatively, “when we get more stuff for me, can I have some plastic pants like Simon has?”
“Nursery print, you mean?” His mother tried to hide her shock. “Well, yes, I suppose you can.”
A short while later Jorge Prado came back from Mrs. Van Lettler’s.
“Here comes dad,” Juan said as he saw his father walking up the street. Juan was so anxious to find out if he had any news that he ran to meet him dressed in only his onesie and diapers. Nate cringed, even though darkness had already fallen. “What if someone sees him?” Nate thought. He was afraid that people might start noticing him if they saw how Juan was dressed at that moment. He also didn’t think it was fair for Juan to be seen tonight since he would be out of diapers (and, in Nate’s way of thinking, out of danger) in a couple of days. Juan’s father also noticed his son’s boldness.
“I guess you weren’t kidding when you said that you would have gone to Mrs. VanLettler’s in your onesie.”
“Well, you would’ve had to drive, I wouldn’t have dared to walk over,” Juan answered truthfully. “What did you find out? Anything?”
“Lots,” Mr. Prado answered, “but let’s get inside first.”
Nate glared at his brother but didn’t say anything because he also was anxious to know what his dad had learned. Simon, Mrs. Quadrin, and the Prados sat down in the den; even Carla was there.
Mr. Prado quickly summarized the information he had gained from Mrs. Van Lettler regarding how she was tricked into allowing the cameras to be set up in her yard.
“But,” Nate asked anxiously, “does she know who put them there?”
“She does. I asked her to look through your memory book from last year and she says she is positive about her identification, even though he carefully never gave her his name when he visited her,” Mr. Prado explained.
“Who is it???!!!” Nate was practically bouncing out of his chair with impatience.
“Bruce Dyar,” his dad answered. “Haven’t you talked about him before? I think I recognize the name.”
“Bruce Dyar! Oh no, not him,” Nate wailed. “No matter what we do, he’ll tell everybody anyway. He’s mean and he won’t care if people find out that he spied on us. Even the teachers are scared of him!”
“Now, Nate,” his mother chimed in, “take it easy. If he is the one who is responsible for the pictures and the blackmail note, he’ll be stopped. Trust us.”
“But you don’t understand,” Nate pressed, “nobody can stop him. He’s totally out of control. He’ll kill us if he finds out that we know it’s him. Please don’t tell anyone that we know. Please. I’ll pay all my allowance forever, but don’t let him know that we know.”
Nate was losing it. His face was flushed, his eyes were tear-filled, and his voice was cracking. He was obviously and genuinely terrified. Simon was undecided- part of him said that he didn’t care if Bruce told everyone about his diapers and baby pants, and part of him felt very bad about Nate being upset. Since Juan didn’t know Bruce at all because they went to different schools, he didn’t feel any personal threat except for the pictures potentially being shown to younger brothers or sisters of people he did go to school with.
Mr. & Mrs. Prado and Mrs. Quadrin tried to reassure Nate but they didn’t succeed. In fact, it seemed to them that were making matters worse. Nate wanted them to promise that they would do nothing, but they felt strongly that Mr. Dyar had to be contacted. In the end, it was decided that Mrs. Quadrin would telephone him in the morning.
Nate barely slept and, on Friday morning he was exhausted and irritable. Juan, on the other hand, was in an extremely good mood. This really irritated Nate because he thought that Juan’s good mood was connected to his getting out of diapers this weekend. (In fact, it was due to Juan’s mother having promised to take him shopping for the rest of his diaper supplies right after school. Juan was so looking forward to wearing nursery-print baby pants.)
“Come on, little bro, let’s go have breakfast. I’m only wet so I can wait until after breakfast to get changed. How about you? Did you poop your diaper?”
“No!” Nate answered testily.
“OK, sorry,” Juan answered reasonably, “you don’t have to bite my head off.”
Nate stormed into the kitchen, his scowling face announcing to everyone that he was is in a very bad mood. Originally, Mrs. Prado was going to talk to Nate some more about not worrying about the situation. Looking at him this morning she knew that that was a bad idea.
“G’morning, guys,” she said simply, “sit down and have your cereal.”
“Mom?” Juan asked a few minutes later. “Are we still going to go shopping this afternoon?”
“Yes, honey. And your father knows what you’ve decided. I told him last night.”
“Told him what?” Nate wondered out loud.
Mrs. Prado looked at Juan and waited. Juan picked up on the signal and decided to tell his brother everything.
“Mom and I are going to Mrs. Tarabello’s pharmacy to pick up more diapers and plastic pants for me. I want to stay in diapers because I like them.”
Nate had occasionally wondered about his brother’s boldness in not covering up his diapers but it wasn’t until now that he understood the reason for Juan’s behavior. First it was Simon who wanted to be in diapers and now Juan. Was he the crazy one for resisting diapers or was it them for wanting to wear them? He was more mixed up than ever.
Juan looked over to Nate and continued, “You’re going to find out soon anyway so I might as well tell you now. I really like the baby pants that Simon wears so I’m going to get some too.”
For some reason Nate found that to be very funny and started to laugh. Juan took it in good humor as they finished their cereal.
At school, Nate was very worried about Bruce Dyar. No one seemed to be taking him seriously, not even Simon.
“I’m sure we’re doomed,” Nate was saying. “There isn’t any way to control Bruce. He’s cruel to everybody and he even walks out of the classroom whenever he feels like it and none of the teachers stop him even though you can tell they are irritated by it.”
“I agree that Bruce is a pain in the butt, but I think my mom can talk some sense into Mr. Dyar. We don’t know yet what will happen when she talks to him. I think it’s too early to be worried. The important thing for today is to not look at Bruce or give any hints that we know it was him. We’ve got to be cool and calm.”
Since neither Simon nor Nate hung around with or spoke to Bruce, it was fairly easy to ignore him. Still, Nate’s nervousness wouldn’t go down. As a result he had to get an early diaper change.
“Come in, Nate,” Mrs. Wilcox said warmly.
Since he had showed up in the middle of the morning class period she knew that something extraordinary was going on. He never did this because he was afraid of calling attention to his visits to the nurse. Mrs. Wilcox wisely didn’t comment on his early arrival.
“Take your shirt and pants off and I’ll get your fresh diapers and plastic pants.”
Nate got on the bed and allowed Mrs. Wilcox to change him. She noticed immediately how wet he was.
“He surely would have leaked in a very short while,” she thought. Out loud she said, “ Not feeling well this morning?”
Nate silently agreed by a slight nod of the head. The nurse continued taking off his soaked diapers and cleaning him up. While she was pulling up clean plastic pants over his fresh diapers Nate began to cry. He sat up on the edge of the bed and she sat next to him to give him a hug around the shoulders. She was very surprised when he climbed into her lap and allowed her to hold him to her bosom while he let out the frustrations of the last two days. She soothed him for several minutes and she wondered if this was his way of asking for help with a problem. She decided to let Nate initiate the conversation. In about three or four minutes Nate was calm again.
“Mrs. Wilcox, Bruce Dyar knows about our diapers. He secretly took pictures of us and now he wants five dollars every week or he’ll show everyone the pictures,” Nate blurted out all at once.
Mrs. Wilcox was shocked and angered. She knew that she would help Nate and Simon as much as she could. She would talk directly to Mr. Dyar and to the school principal, if necessary.
“Oh, Nate, I’m so sorry,” she said. “But don’t worry. Have you told your parents yet?”
Nate went on to explain the events and meetings of the previous evening and how Mrs. Quadrin was going to call Mr. Dyar this morning.
“There, you see?” Mrs. Wilcox reassured Nate. “Your parents have come up with a perfectly appropriate solution. I’m sure that things will work themselves out just fine.”
While Nate felt a little better, he was still not very optimistic about an acceptable outcome.
“But, he’s so mean,” he sighed. “I don’t think he’s going to ever change. I’m scared.”
“Do you remember when I told you that I would help you out whenever you needed it? Well, I’m going to help you now. You have my guarantee that Bruce will not get away with this. I promise.”
Nate couldn’t see how Mrs. Wilcox could be so sure of everything, but he felt better knowing that she was on their side. He put his shirt and pants back on and headed to class. His eyes were still a little red but only two people noticed- Simon felt bad for his friend and Bruce gloated.
Just before the lunch break Principal McCally asked to see Bruce Dyar. She instructed him to take his backpack with him. None of the other students knew what was going on but Nate’s heart was pounding as Bruce turned around while leaving the classroom and deliberately stared at Simon and him. Bruce’s look of hate scared Nate all over again; Simon simply stared back with an equally challenging look. Simon was satisfied when Bruce broke off the stare first. In fact, he felt himself become hard inside his diapers.
The last class of the day seemed to drag unusually slowly for Juan. He still had trouble believing how easy it had been to get his mother and father to go along with his desires. Just thinking about it was making him… well, he’d better be careful or someone might notice an extra bulge in his pants. When the final bell rang he sprinted from the room out to the front of the school. (He had already sorted out the books he needed for homework so that he could save time by not going to his locker.) Unbelievably, his mother was waiting for him. She couldn’t help but notice how anxious and happy he was. “Maybe,” she thought to herself, “this diaper thing will make it easier to keep him under control for the next few years.”
“Have a nice day, honey?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he answered.
“Anxious to get to the pharmacy?”
“Sort of.”
“I think it’s more than just ‘sort of’,” she observed.
“Oh, God,” Juan thought, “can she tell how big an erection I have?”
In fact, Mrs. Prado was judging his anxiousness by the amount of squirming he was doing. Ever since he was a baby he squirmed whenever he was happy or looking forward to something. She hadn’t seen him squirm this much in years.
“How much are we going to buy?” Juan inquired.
“Let’s see,” she said, “for your supply to be equal to Nate’s you will need thirty more diapers, ten more daytime plastic pants, and five more nighttime plastic pants.”
At the pharmacy Mrs. Tarabello greeted them. “Ah, Mrs. Prado, so nice to see you again. How is the little one? Better? Do you need more supplies for him?”
“Nice to see you again, too,” Mrs. Prado politely answered. “My younger son, Nate, is just fine, thank you. We’re here today to buy more supplies for Juan,” she said pointing to her older son.
“I see, will he be in diapers much longer?”
She asked this because she remembered that Juan had pledged to ‘help out’ Nate for two weeks while he got used to diaper wearing again.
“I don’t know. Perhaps you should ask him,” Mrs. Prado suggested.
Without missing a beat or displaying the slightest embarrassment Juan announced that he wanted to remain in diapers indefinitely. Mrs. Tarabello looked questioningly toward Mrs. Prado who merely shrugged her shoulders.
“Very well, where would you like to start?” she asked Juan.
“Plastic pants, please.”
“We will be buying ten more daytime plastic pants and five more nighttime pants. Juan can decide what he wants,” his mother added.
She wondered if Juan would ask about the nursery-print baby pants since there were none on display. Not surprisingly, Juan wasn’t shy about asking for these either, although he did turn slightly red as he brought up the subject.
“I was wondering if you have any printed baby pants in my daytime and nighttime sizes.”
In the past, Mrs. Tarabello had sold such items for boys his age but this was the first time that a boy asked for them himself. Normally, as had happened two weeks ago with Mrs. Quadrin, it was an angry mother or father who purchased these for their children as some sort of bedwetting or pants-wetting punishment. While she didn’t like the idea of forcing children into such garments she had a business to run and justified her participation by saying that they would have found them somewhere else and the clients might not return to her store in the future. In any case, she led Juan and his mother to a counter in the far corner of the store.
“These are considered specialty items so I keep them here. Let me see what I have.”
She opened up two boxes, each containing daytime or nighttime plastic pants that would fit Juan.
There were basically two styles: one made from a semi-transparent plastic and the other from a non-transparent plastic. Juan wanted the semi-transparent style just like Simon wore. He noticed that there were not five different patterns in the nighttime size so he picked two yellow ones printed with teddy bears and balloons, one blue one with race cars and starting flags, and two green ones featuring nursery rhyme characters. In the daytime size, he found five different patterns in various semi-transparent colors and he selected two of each.
Mrs. Tarabello now asked how many diapers he wanted.
“Thirty,” he said, “and I think four or five of them should be in the larger nighttime size so they can fit over the other two.”
“Yes, I understand what you need,” Mrs. Tarabello assured him.
In a few minutes the sale had been rung up.
“Did you get changed since lunch?” Mrs. Prado asked Juan.
“Uh, no” he said sheepishly.
“How wet are you?” she continued.
“Pretty wet.”
“Mrs. Tarabello, may we use your back room again?… Good, thank you. Pick out the plastic pants you want to wear, Juan.”
Juan was really excited now. It seemed that his mother was not only going to allow him to wear the baby pants, she was going to encourage him at it, also. In the back room, Juan quickly undressed down to his diapers and plastic pants. Over the last two weeks he was no longer embarrassed to have his mother see him naked below the waist. Today, however, he was very embarrassed to have her see how excited he was at the prospect of being put into his new baby pants. As always, his mother paid no attention to his excitement. Juan was near the exploding point as his mother pulled the new baby pants up his legs. Only the thought of how embarrassed he would be if she saw him in the throes of ecstasy kept him in control… “but, when I get home…,” he thought.
“OK, Juan, you’re done,” his mother said folding his shirt and pants, “time to go.”
“Uh, what about my shirt and pants?”
“Do you want to wear them over your plastic pants?”
“Uh…,” He was on the spot. He knew that he shouldn’t even consider leaving the store dressed the way he was but the thrill of finally being in baby pants was too much. The longer he thought about it, the less he wanted to cover them up. But, walking outside like this? What were the chances of being seen by someone who knew him? How long would the walk from the door to the car take? Thirty seconds? Forty-five seconds? A minute? His thoughts were interrupted by his mother.
“Juan,” she said, “you’ve been playing a game with us for the last two weeks, right? You wanted to get put back into diapers, didn’t you? Last night, when you met your dad in the street, part of you was hoping that someone would see in your diapers and onesie, right? And today, you deliberately chose nursery-print baby pants, didn’t you? Tell me this, when the second quarter begins at school in three weeks, you have PE again don’t you? Were you going to stop wearing diapers during PE?”
“Well, uh, no, I guess not. I sort of want to wear my diapers and plastic to PE but ...”
He really was in a quandary. He didn’t want to cover up his baby pants… ever. Not even now. “OK, I’ll do it,” he thought. To his mother, he said, “I don’t want to wear my pants or shirt to walk out to the car.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he affirmed.
“Well, I think you should wear a shirt anyway. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
While she was out front, Juan had the chance to look at himself carefully in the mirror. He loved what he saw. His mother returned with an undershirt that seemed to be made from terry toweling material, only not as thick.
“Here, let’s try this,” she said pulling the yellow-trimmed shirt over his head.
It barely reached the top of his plastic pants. This was an unexpected surprise- he loved it. He wondered if his mom could be convinced to buy more. (She had already ordered an additional six, in varying styles and colors.)
“OK that will do. It matches your baby pants perfectly. Now, once we’re outside if you get embarrassed or scared just say ‘Mom’ in a really complaining voice and I’ll take it from there.”
“What do you mean?”
“You enjoy playing this game, right? Well, on occasion moms have enjoyed playing games, too. I’ll cover for you, trust me.”
Juan wondered what exactly she meant by that. Nonetheless, as he led the way back into the main part of the store he was feeling rather confident about his decision. There were no customers. Unbeknownst to him, his mother had given her car keys to Mrs. Tarabello (who had volunteered to load the diaper supplies into the trunk while Juan was being changed) so that there were no packages left to take out. He realized that his baby pants were going to be on display to anyone who happened to look.
“Now give me your hand.”
His mother led him out the door. His feelings were completely out of control. He was numb with excitement- or was it fear? Several people saw him from a distance but only one teenaged boy seemed to react. He began talking excitedly to his two friends and pointing toward Juan and his mother. However, they didn’t move or try to see him from closer up.
They arrived at the car. While they were inside the pharmacy, the cars that had been parked around theirs had all left, leaving Mrs. Prado’s car an island in the middle of the row. She put the key into the passenger side lock and opened the door. Immediately, the car alarm went off.
“Damn,” she said, “your father was supposed to get the short in the alarm system fixed last week. Do you remember what he said to do to get it to shut off?” she asked as she pushed various buttons on the alarm fob.
“Uh…, uh…, I think you have to relock the car and then reset the alarm.”
Mrs. Prado fumbled with the keys and dropped them. Juan noticed that the three teenagers were coming toward them. Also, people were beginning to peer across the lot to see what was going on. He had no place to hide and the boys were getting closer.
“Mom,” Juan said in the most whiny and complaining voice he could muster.
She looked up and saw the boys approaching. Juan had started to move backwards to hide on the other side of the car.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said firmly grasping his hand. “How many times did I warn you about teasing and fighting with your little brother? If you want to act like a baby, you’ll be dressed and treated like a baby. You stay put.” she scolded.
Juan was confused for only a second.
“I get it,” he thought, “mom is making it look like she is forcing me into diapers and plastic pants. She’s actually playing the game with me! This is cool.”
He was enjoying himself until he noticed the third boy who walked up behind the other two. His name was Robbie… Robbie Something… and he sat two rows over from him in math class. Did he recognize Juan? Robbie (What was his last name?) was a Freshman but because of his advanced math skills he had been placed in a Sophomore class. Robbie’s embarrassment was now genuine.
“I guess I won’t have to worry about PE class anymore,” he thought sullenly, “everyone will know by Monday. Great. What have I done to myself?”
Mrs. Prado has released Juan’s hand when the first two boys asked if they could help. From the smirks on their faces it was obvious that they had come over primarily to get a better look at Juan. Nonetheless, they did seem to know about car alarms and they had taken Mrs. Prado’s keys and were now attempting to silence the alarm.
Robbie stepped next to Juan and without looking at him directly said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Those guys are my cousins… they don’t know who you are and I won’t tell them… they live one hundred miles away.”
The alarm became silent. Robbie’s cousins then opened the driver’s door without incident. Mrs. Prado thanked them and offered them some money for the assistance they had given but they refused.
Driving out of the parking lot she turned to Juan and said, “I guess that was more excitement than you wanted, huh?”
“Yeah,” he said in a somewhat worried voice, “especially since one of those guys is in my math class.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Juan.”
He repeated what Robbie had said. He hoped that Robbie had been telling the truth.
Nate and Simon were walking up the street as Juan and his mom pulled into the garage. Juan was helping his mom take the packages into the house as the other two boys were walking up the driveway.
“Mom,” Nate complained, “why are you letting Juan walk around in just his diapers? Someone might see him!”
“Keep your voice down,” she said reasonably, “or people will start paying attention to us. Here take these bags and we can all go inside.”
Simon was fascinated by and envious of Juan’s daring.
“Did you leave the store dressed like that?”
“Sure. Walked half way across the parking lot,” Juan said with a smile.
Even though Nate knew his brother’s attitude towards diapers, he was still beside himself with anger. “But what if someone saw you?”
“Someone did.”
Mrs. Prado shot Juan a “keep-your-mouth-shut” warning look.
“Let’s get inside and you can talk later.”
After handing bags to Simon and Nate, she led them into the house. Put the diapers in the laundry room so I can prewash them. (Only the two diapers that Juan was wearing had been prewashed by Mrs. Tarabello.)
“Juan take the rest of your stuff up to your room.,” he mom instructed. “Does anyone need a change?”
“No,” came the group reply.
Nate headed into the den hoping that his mother would not insist that he change out of his shirt and pants and into a onesie today. Simon helped Juan take the remaining bags upstairs because he wanted to know what else Juan had purchased. Both boys were extremely aroused- Juan because he would be showing off his baby pants to Simon, and Simon because he would be seeing them.
“Wait,” Simon said as he hurriedly took off his shirt and pants. “Look, we’re wearing the exact same baby pants.”
Sure enough, they were dressed in identical semi-transparent yellow pants in a koala bear print.
“Kewl,” Juan said. “Now look at the rest of these.”
He poured the plastic pants out of the bag. Simon was delighted to see that Juan had chosen pants like his own. Simon’s mother had selected them for their babyish looks and he was glad that Juan was attracted to them, too.
“I’ve got these, and these, and these. I don’t have these or these but I like them!” Simon marveled.
“Yeah, I kind of liked the thought of my diapers being so obvious. Am I weird, or what?”
“If you’re weird then so am I.” Changing the subject, Simon surprised Juan by asking, “Do you ever jack off in your diapers?”
Juan was unsure how to answer. “Uh, well, yeah, I do,” he finally conceded.
“I learned about it last summer before I got put into diapers and now I love the feeling. Ever since I saw you in the garage I’ve been hard as a rock. Do you want to do it now?”
“Here? Now? What if we get caught?” a reluctant Juan asked.
“Everybody’s downstairs. We’d hear them coming up the stairs so we could stop before they found out.”
That’s all the convincing Juan needed. It took very little time for them to bring themselves to the exploding point. They were laying on the floor of Juan and Nate’s bedroom when they heard footsteps approaching.
“Are you guys coming down soon?” Mrs. Prado asked.
“Yeah, I’m just putting my stuff away,” Juan said, shoving most of the new plastic pants under his bed.
When she walked into the room she saw Juan arranging the “last” two plastic pants in his dresser. She also noticed that Simon and Juan’s baby pants matched.
“I suppose you don’t want to put anything on over your plastic pants either, do you?” she inquired of Simon.
“No, if you please,” he answered.
She repeated to Simon what she had said earlier to Juan- that it was not appropriate for him to go around in just diapers and plastic pants.
“Wait here, I’ll get you a shirt.”
She returned a few seconds later with an exact match to Juan’s baby shirt.
“Over the last few days your mother and I have been talking about how you and Juan seem to have the same desires as far as diapers and baby pants go. Today, when I bought Juan his baby shirts I thought you probably would want some, too.”
Identically dressed Juan and Simon proudly went downstairs to join Nate in the den. Nate groaned when he saw them.
“Are you trying to look like babies?” he asked incredulously. “Why are you doing this?”
“Just relax, we’re not hurting you,” Juan answered.
“But what is someone sees you. You don’t seem to care about people finding out, but I do. Besides, have you forgotten about Bruce Dyar? He already knows about us, please don’t make it so that everyone finds out about our diapers,” Nate pleaded.
Simon and Juan suddenly felt somewhat guilty about flaunting their diapers and baby attire in front of Nate. And he did bring up a good question about Bruce. They still didn’t know anything about Mrs. Quadrin’s and Mr. Dyar’s meeting that morning. Luckily, they wouldn’t have to wait long.
About thirty minutes later Mr. Prado and Mrs. Quadrin arrived almost simultaneously. Everyone was eager to hear Mrs. Quadrin’s report.
“I won’t keep you in suspense,” she began. “I checked the phone book and found a business entry under the name Dyar that seemed to point in the right direction. I was right- Mr. Dyar owns “Dyar Surveillance Services.”
“Ah, ha,” the group responded, except for Nate.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that Mr. Dyar owns a company that sells hidden cameras and other kinds of spying stuff,” Juan explained.
“Oh,” Nate mouthed with growing comprehension.
“Anyway,” Mrs. Quadrin resumed, “I arranged to meet him at his store at ten o’clock this morning. I had to wait a few minutes while he finished with a customer but he then led me to his office where he said we would be uninterrupted because he didn’t have more appointments until one o’clock.”
Mrs. Quadrin then reported their conversation practically verbatim.
“Mr. Dyar, here are some pictures and a note that my son found on his desk last Wednesday. One payoff has already been made and the father of the other boys in these pictures has talked to a neighbor who confirms that it was your son Bruce who lied to her and convinced her to let him set up the cameras (which she thought were tape recording devices) in her back yard.”
“What?” Mr. Dyar answered. “When did this happen.”
“As I understand it, Bruce went to the neighbor’s house twelve days ago or so and gave her a story about recording bird songs for a school project. He told her that her yard had the perfect variety of trees for attracting a wide variety of birds and that he would be grateful for her help, Obviously, she agreed. Now, I must say, she is very embarrassed to have been part of the cause of the boys’ current dilemma.”
“Yes, I understand,” he said picking up the pictures to examine them again. “From the quality that I see here, whoever took these pictures was using some of the latest digital camera and transmission equipment. I store some of my stock in my garage at home. Bruce could certainly have gotten into it to do this. He’s a very bright kid and very interested in electronics and computers.”
“I see,” she said.
Not wanting to force the issue right away she didn’t add anything to her comment hoping that Mr. Dyar would continue. After a short pause, he did.
“I’m on the road a lot. I have clients in over fifteen states. I not only sell the equipment but I also supervise its installation and provide on-site training to my clients. This means that I am sometimes away for up to two weeks at a time. In fact, that is exactly what has happened here. I was away for twelve days- I’ve only been back since last Saturday.”
“You wife must find it very challenging.”
“I don’t have a wife. I mean, my wife passed away when Bruce was only four years old.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Dyar. What does Bruce do when you’re away? Certainly, he doesn’t stay home alone, does he?”
“No, of course not. The situation isn’t ideal but I have a live-in housekeeper who takes care of him when I’m on the road. She’s a nice sweet older lady but Bruce has got her wrapped around his little finger. I’ve been worried about something like this happening. I know that I should be there more consistently, but I just can’t give up the business to stay at home all the time.”
Mrs. Quadrin knew the difficulties involved in being a single parent but she didn’t want to offer unsolicited advice so she kept her mouth shut.
“Mr. Dyar,…”
“Please, call me Rob,” he interrupted.
“Alright, Rob, but you’ll have to call me Gloria,” Mrs. Quadrin said.
“Fine, I’d like that.”
“Rob,” she started over again, “may I ask what you’re going to do? I came here to talk to you so that I could go home tonight and reassure my son and his friends that the situation was being handled and that no harm, social or otherwise, would come to them. What am I going to say?”
“Gloria, I know that my son must seem pretty rotten to you right now but let me assure you that there is a good kid in there who simply needs guidance. Don’t think that I’m going to let him slide on this. He’s in serious trouble and he will be severely punished. Tell the boys that I can guarantee that Bruce will not cause them any trouble, now or in the future. This incident has also taught me something: I need to spend a lot more time guiding my son. I don’t know how I’ll do it yet, but I’ll have to find a way to spend less time on the road.”
“Well, good luck to you, Rob. Thank you for your cooperation. Oh, I almost forgot, would you mind trading home phone numbers? I would like to know that I could reach you there if any other difficulties arise.”
“That’s a very good idea,” he affirmed.
“And, so,” Mrs. Quadrin said finishing up the report of her meeting with Mr. Dyar, “I said good-bye and left his office. I think he is a very sincere man. I think he meant it when he said that Bruce wouldn’t bother the boys any more.”
Nate and Simon then related their story of Bruce leaving the classroom just before lunch and not returning for the afternoon session. Simon trusted his mother’s intuition about people so he was confident that Mr. Dyar really would effectively take care of Bruce. Nate, on the other hand, was skeptical but he eventually agreed that all the signs seemed to be pointing to a successful conclusion to this problem. Besides, he now felt that given the way Simon and Juan were parading around the house in baby clothes it was they who were by far the bigger threat to having people find out about his diapers.
Monday morning in school Nate and Simon waited apprehensively for things to develop. Would Bruce behave himself? What was his father’s punishment and would it work? Would he leave them alone? Bruce arrived at school with a new haircut. It made his face look softer, less harsh. They wondered if his father had forced this haircut on him and if it would make Bruce even madder at them. They were pretty sure that if anything was going to happen it would happen during the morning recess. Waiting was the hardest part.
During the morning session nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The only troublesome sign was that Bruce seemed to be very impatient. He was squirming in his seat for the last half-hour before recess. Nate, forever the pessimist, thought that this meant that Bruce was anxious to get even with them, but when the recess bell rang he bolted out of his seat and ran down the hall. Neither boy was fast enough to see where he had gone but nothing happened during recess. In fact, they didn’t see him at all.
The same behavior was repeated when the lunch bell rang only, this time, Bruce showed up in the cafeteria about five minutes after lunch started. He hung around with his usual crowd but he seemed to be much quieter than normal. Simon noticed that his friends were teasing him mercilessly over his new haircut and he assumed that that must be why he was quieter. Whatever was causing it, both he and Nate hoped that it would last and that he would leave them alone for good.
Juan was also having a tense day. For starters, the bus was late and he hadn’t had time to drop off the bag containing his clean diapers and plastic pants in the nurse’s office. He would have to carry that around with him until after math class, just before lunch. Also, he was worried about Robbie Bretmeister (he had finally remembered his last name). While Robbie has seemed sincere when he said he wouldn’t tell anyone about their encounter in the pharmacy parking lot, he couldn’t be sure. They hardly knew each other and Robbie didn’t “owe” him anything.
“Oh, well,” he thought, “I would prefer revealing my diapers to my friends and other people in my own way, but if it happens, it happens.”
Despite his philosophical thoughts he was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the whole situation as math class approached. He walked into the room, put his bags down in the space next to his desk, and began preparing for class to begin. Robbie came in and did the same. Just before the bell rang, Juan look over to Robbie who smiled back at him. There didn’t appear to be any animosity at all. Juan relaxed as he became engaged in the class. Math was his favorite subject and he soon forgot all about his anxieties.
At the end of class Robbie approached Juan.
“Can we talk? Maybe during lunch? Or after, if you have friends waiting?” Robbie asked.
Playing it safe, Juan decided to have lunch with Robbie. He figured that he would at least find out where Robbie was coming from. Before they got halfway to the cafeteria their plans were abruptly interrupted.
Seemingly out of nowhere they were suddenly surrounded by five guys. Juan seemed to know at least one of them.
“Frank, I haven’t got anything to say to you. Now, get out of my way.”
Juan was speaking to Frank Sostro. There had been bad blood between them ever since the eighth grade when Juan earned the last place on the interscholastic soccer team instead of Frank. Frank was one year older than his classmates (he had been kept back in third grade) and was physically more developed than his peers. However, Juan was quicker and more agile so the coach had selected him. Frank had challenged Juan to a fight and to everyone’s surprise (except for the coach who knew he had picked the right player) Juan had bested Frank in less than two minutes. Frank hadn’t forgotten this humiliation and he was constantly looking for an opportunity for revenge. He had gotten it handed to him last Friday.
That was the day Juan and his mom had gone to buy his new diapers and plastic pants. All day long he had been distracted and anxious, something that always caused him to do a lot of squirming. As it happened, Juan was careless about keeping his shirt down and during English class it had ridden up in the back exposing three inches of Juan’s plastic pants. Frank, who sat behind Juan and one seat to the right saw it but at first couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Taking a second look (but not too long- after all he didn’t want anyone to see him staring at another guy’s behind) he confirmed what he was seeing. The guy was wearing diapers! This made Frank feel angrier about his humiliating defeat two years earlier. Had he been beaten up by a guy wearing diapers? He’d think about this discovery over the weekend and come to school with a plan on Monday.
“I said, get out of my way,” Juan repeated.
“Not this time,” Frank answered. “We’re going to have a little talk. And you,” he said addressing Robbie, “get lost, Frosh.”
When Robbie didn’t move, one of Frank’s friends grabbed him from behind and threw him against the nearby lockers. Frank and his friends “escorted” Juan to an area behind the abandoned school heating plant. (As part of a modernization project the steam boiler had been dismantled and replaced with a more efficient heating system located inside the basement of the main school building. The old plant had not been demolished (budget overruns) and it was now a deserted area of the campus.)
One of the guys took out a video camera.
“Well, Juanito, it’s finally pay back time,” Frank smirked.
“Oh, really,” answered an emboldened Juan, “How? Is it going to take five of you to take me down?”
“Hey, chill, man. No one’s going to get hurt. These guys aren’t going to touch you. They’re just here as witnesses.”
“Witnesses? To what?”
“To your babyhood,” he laughed.
The word ‘babyhood’ sent a chill through Juan. How did Frank find out? Bruce Dyar? Did Robbie just now set him up? He couldn’t take all five of them- what could he do? Distract them, he thought. But how? Unfortunately, his thought process was too slow.
“Strip,” Frank ordered.
Juan thought about a sarcastic comeback but decided that that was too risky. It might make Frank even madder. Resigned to his fate, he started taking off his outer shirt. He was also regretting having worn another pair of nursery print pants this morning. He was dreading how they were certain to howl at his green pants covered with yellow and brown teddy bears. He was just starting to take off his t-shirt when Robbie came running around the corner of the building and tackled Frank to the ground.
“What the fu…” Frank started to say, but before he could finish two of his friends had grabbed Robbie off of him. There was blood flowing from Frank’s mouth. “You little shit, I’ll beat the crap out of you for this.”
“Just cool it,” said one of Frank’s more reasonable friends. “You know that if you get into one more fight the school board is going to expel you. Do you want to go to that military school in Arizona?”
“OK, OK,” Frank answered, “just keep him away from me.” Then, with a triumphant smirk, he said in a singsongy voice, “Juanito, we’re waiting. Don’t make us undress you.”
With a sigh of resignation, Juan took off his shirt. As soon as the others saw the top of his baby pants they went into hysterics. Once his pants were also off, they were practically rolling on the ground. The video camera was catching him from all angles.
“Gentlemen,” Frank said, “I give you the darling of the soccer team. Now, please remember to spell his name correctly and to pronounce it slowly when you tell all your friends and his friends about what you see today.”
Juan was not going to give in to panic. With all the dignity he could muster, he stood there in front of them staring them straight in the eyes. With a small feeling of victory he got two of them to look away from his insistent stare.
Robbie, however, was not calm. He was swearing a blue streak against the two guys who were holding him back.
Frank walked up to him and said as sarcastically as he could, “Isn’t this touching. His friend is going to save him.”
“That’s right,” Robbie answered equally sarcastically, “everybody knows that you can easily be taken down.”
Fire flashed in Frank’s eyes but, once again, his reasonable friend calmed him down.
“Look, let’s just do the same thing to him as we’re doing to Juan. Strip him and leave him here.”
A smile of evil satisfaction crossed Frank’s face.
“OK, Frosh, take ‘em off.”
As Frank moved closer to Robbie, Robbie gave a quick kick in the air catching Frank squarely in the groin. The searing pain registered immediately as Frank fell to the ground.
Two of his friends went to him while the other two held Robbie firmly.
“What the hell is this kid thinking?” Juan wondered. “Frank will murder him for sure.”
Juan was so concerned for Robbie that he had completely forgotten that he was standing there in only diapers and baby pants. He went over to Frank hoping to stop him from doing something completely stupid. As he bent over Frank, the crinkling of his plastic pants reminded him of how he was dressed, but it didn’t matter, he wanted to stop things before there was bloodshed.
In the meantime, Frank’s friends were thinking along the same lines because they were hastily stripping Robbie down to his boxers. It seemed like they understood that it would be important for Frank to see Robbie in a humiliating state as soon as he recovered. Frank was on the ground moaning for some time. Finally, his friends helped him stand up on shaky legs.
“You little bastard, you little bastard, you’ll pay for that,” he croaked.
One of Frank’s friends saw the extra bag (in reality, Juan’s diaper bag) that Juan had been carrying and he thought that maybe it contained some bottled water or something else that he could give Frank to drink.
“Holy shit,” he said as he opened it. “Diapers.”
This distracted Frank from his thoughts of pummeling the kid who had just caused him so much pain. Another evil smile came over his face.
“Juan, you’re going to do your friend here a great favor.”
“What favor?” Juan asked suspiciously.
“You’re going to diaper him just like you’re diapered. If you don’t, or if he refuses, I’ll kick the shit out of him like you wouldn’t believe.”
Juan thought for a moment. With the five of them against Robbie it couldn’t possibly be a fair fight, even if he could get in a few licks of his own. He looked over to Robbie and shrugged. Do you want me to diaper you? Robbie looked at the five guys and shrugged back. What choice do I have?
Juan walked over to the bag and took out the necessary supplies: two diapers, eight pins, powder, and a white pair of plastic pants.
“Not those…,these,” Frank said reaching in and pulling out a yellow nursery print pair.
Juan motioned for Robbie to lie down on the grass. Once on the ground, Robbie lifted his butt and began pulling off his boxers.
“Don’t touch those,” Frank ordered, “Juan does everything for you.”
Frank’s friends smirked. The humiliation of both boys was to be total. The video camera moved in to record how Robbie was being diapered by Juan.
Juan pulled Robbie’s boxers down and off his feet. Robbie had moved his hands to cover himself as modestly as possible.
“Move those hands,” Frank ordered again. “Babies don’t worry about modesty.”
Robbie reluctantly moved his hands. Juan signaled for him to lift his butt so that he could place the diapers under him. He quickly sprinkled the sweet smelling powder over Robbie’s front and was about to pull the first diaper up and begin pinning it on when Frank stopped him.
“You’re not doing a very good job. Do you want baby to get a rash? You didn’t rub the powder in to make sure that his whole diaper area was covered. You also didn’t put any powder on his behind.”
Juan looked up at Frank with hate-filled eyes.
“Are you asking me to beat the shit out of the kid?” Frank asked again.
Looking back at Robbie, Juan excused himself for what he was about to do. He rubbed the powder around Robbie’s stomach and inner thighs being careful not to touch his genitals. A grunt from Frank and a kick against Juan’s shoe communicated Frank’s message. Rub the whole diaper area. Robbie shuddered as Juan touched him and spread the powder carefully over the whole area. He then made Robbie roll over so that he could shake some powder onto his behind. Frank seemed satisfied so Juan had Robbie roll over onto his back again. He picked up two corners of the inner diaper and tightly pinned them into place. The second, third and fourth pins were then also tightly put into place. The pinning of the second diaper followed quickly. Frank handed Juan the baby pants which Juan slipped over Robbie’s shoes and then up his legs. The diapering was complete and Robbie and Juan stood up.
“Aren’t they just so cute?” Frank taunted as he roughly pinched their cheeks. “Okay let’s take all their stuff and get out of here.” Speaking to Juan and Robbie he said, “We’re not stealing it, your stuff will be dropped off at the ‘Lost and Found’ in the main office. Have a nice afternoon.”
The camera was shut off and the five boys walked around the corner of the steam plant back toward the center of campus carrying all of Juan and Frank’s stuff. The end-of-lunch bell rang. Juan and Robbie looked nervously at each other.
“Well, we’re going to be absent from our next class,” Robbie said.
“I think that’s the least of our worries right now,” Juan answered. “Oh, and by the way, here’s a word of advice. The next time you come charging in like the cavalry to the rescue, make sure you bring the cavalry with you.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. But it all happened so quickly and I didn’t see anyone nearby that I thought could help. I guess I lost my head but I was so mad about what they were going to do to you.”
“Thanks,” Juan said appreciatively. “but you could really make my day right now if you said that you lived in one of those houses that abuts the back fence of the school property.”
“Sorry, I live on the other side of Wilkerson, in the Shady Oaks neighborhood.”
“Too, bad. That’s even further away than where I live. Our house is off Delaney Square, on Williams Road (more than two miles away).”
“Well, I guess we make ourselves comfortable back here and hope that, once school lets out, we’ll figure out some way to get our clothes back,” Robbie suggested. “Do any of your friends know that you wear diapers? Could we hide somewhere and call them over and explain the situation.”
“No, sorry. None of my friends know, except you,” Juan answered.
“Does that mean that you consider me a friend?” Robbie asked hopefully.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Juan chuckled. “After all, I did just diaper you, didn’t I?”
Robbie looked down while rubbing the smooth plastic of his baby pants. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said distractedly.
A few minutes later Juan brought up a terrifying thought.
“What if Frank or one of those other guys tells people that we’re back here?”
“Oh, shit,” Robbie moaned, “ we’ll be dead meat. We’ve got to get out of here. And fast.”
“I know, but how?”
“What about these railroad tracks? I wonder where they go? These must have been used to bring in coal when this steam plant used to provide heat for the school. Do you think they link up with the old tracks that go out towards Wilkerson?”
“Maybe- and, if they do, we could follow them to where they go by my street and then we’d be about a hundred yards from my house,” Juan said hopefully before adding, “But how will we get off campus? These must be the tracks that go by the practice fields. There are always people out there.”
“Not for the last ten minutes of the period when people go in for their showers. The place will be deserted until the next classes come out. Let’s go scout out the area.”
They cautiously left the shelter of the steam plant to cross over to the back wall of the gym. They peeked around the corner. Several PE classes were engaged in various activities but luckily they were all focusing their attention away from where the boys were standing.
“See,” Robbie pointed out, “once they leave we’ll have a clear shot to cross this end of the fields to where the slope dips down and the tracks leave the property. Once we get to the tracks no one will be able to see us.”
“Do you know where the tracks leave the campus?”
“No, but they must go off through the undeveloped part of the campus. At least there are a lot of trees there where can hide if we have to.”
Juan laughed nervously.
“What so funny?”
“I’m not so sure that being lost in the woods is any better than the problem we have now.”
“So you want to stay here and wait for about a thousand kids to see us?”
“OK, OK,” Juan conceded, “let’s try it.”
About five minutes later the area grew quiet. Juan leaned around the corner of the building to see the last few kids going back inside the gym.
“Ready?” Juan whispered, “It’s now or never.”
For a second Juan panicked and thought that he was alone running across the fields. He slowed to turn around and look which caused Robbie to slam into him and send them both tumbling to the ground.
“What did you do that for?” Robbie complained.
“Sorry. I couldn’t hear you running behind me and I was afraid that I was running all alone.”
“Duh,” Robbie retorted, “like I want to stay back there all alone wearing nothing but your diapers and plastic pants? Now let’s get out of here before someone sees us.”
They quickly got up and made it to the railroad tracks. Robbie had been right, they no longer could see the fields and gym which meant (they hoped) that they couldn’t be seen either.
The tracks entered the wooded area just west of the school. About three hundred feet later they reached the gates. It was evident that they hadn’t been opened in some time but what was more important to the boys was that someone had cut two large holes in the chain link so they could easily pass through.
“Now what?” Robbie asked as they walked past the old switch where the spur joined the main line.
“We go west, I guess. I just hope that the tracks stay in wooded areas like this.”
Juan and Robbie were feeling fortunate that the tracks had a lot of growth around them. The railroad did indeed own a wide right-of-way that had become overgrown since the line had been abandoned several years before.
“What time is it?” Juan asked Robbie who was still wearing his watch.
“One fifteen,” he answered.
“If everything goes alright we should get to my neighborhood in about half an hour. I hope we’ll be able to sneak around to the back of my house and get in.”
The boys began walking.
“Can I ask you a question?” Juan inquired.
“I guess, what?”
“Why did you kick Frank in the balls? Weren’t you afraid he would beat the crap out of you?”
“Oh, that,” Robbie chuckled. “When I get mad I lose it completely. When those two guys were holding me I just went berserk. I kicked him without thinking. But as soon as I did it I really got scared. That’s why I stopped fighting when those two guys started taking my clothes off. I figured that standing around in my underwear was a lot better than getting a few broken ribs. Then, when they found your diapers and Frank told you to put them on me, I nearly fainted.”
“Sorry about that,” Jaime sheepishly said.
“It wasn’t your fault. Don’t apologize for it. I just want to get revenge on those guys, that’s all.”
Juan didn’t answer but he thought that Robbie was living dangerously even thinking something like that. Those guys were serious trouble and he didn’t want any more confrontations with them.
“Can I ask you something?” Robbie asked.
“OK.”
“What did you do for your mother to force you back into diapers?”
Juan blushed crimson. Upon noticing this, Robbie got embarrassed, too.
“I’m sorry. It’s not my business. Never mind.”
“No, you deserve an answer. After all, it’s my fault that you’re stuck out here in the middle of town wearing diapers.”
Juan paused for a few seconds trying to make up his mind about what to say. In the end, he decided to tell Robbie everything. Robbie was amazed at what Juan told him.
“So, you wanted to wear diapers all along?” Robbie asked.
“Yeah. You probably think I’m sick, huh? Are you going to tell other people?”
“Nah. I won’t tell anyone. But, what about Frank and the video he made? God, I’m in that video, too. I think we’re both going to be in for some bad times.”
“You know, I wonder what Frank is going to do with that tape. He can’t really show it publicly because his voice and picture are on it, too. He’s been in a lot of trouble over the last few years and I know he’s on the verge of being expelled. It doesn’t do him any good to show that tape.”
“Maybe he just wants to view it privately, you know, so he can feel that he’s gotten revenge on you. Maybe he brought his friends along as a kind of threat- to intimidate you to not say anything about the attack on you. In that case, leaving us there in just diapers was a mistake. I mean, we could have just gone into school and reported him. I think the dean would have believed us. I mean, who would walk into school in just diapers and baby pants?”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Juan agreed. “It’s sick anyway. And, I’d like to know how he knew about my diapers.”
The boys knew that they couldn’t walk all the way to Juan’s house without having to cross some streets and roads. The first such obstacle lay about fifty feet ahead.
“Where are we, do you think?” Robbie asked.
“Maple Avenue, I think. There sure are a lot of cars crossing the tracks. Let’s move up to those bushes and see if we can figure out how to cross without being seen.”
Maple Avenue was a broad tree-lined street full of old Victorian homes. Including the center divider, the boys were facing about a one hundred foot distance to get to the other side where the tracks disappeared into dense foliage again.
“Man, how are we going to get to the other side? Somebody’s going to see us for sure,” moaned Robbie.
Just then they were interrupted by a voice a feet behind them.
“What in the world are you boys doing hiding there?”
Robbie and Juan jumped in surprise and tried to run back down the tracks but a middle-aged woman was blocking their path. So, they took off in the only direction available to them- toward Maple Avenue. They managed to get halfway across where oncoming traffic trapped them in the median. Despite the many trees that lined the street, the median was completely bare. They were trapped in full view of the motorists coming toward them. Several slowed down to stare at them and one even honked. Robbie and Juan wanted to melt into the ground. In fact, Robbie (whose bladder had been calling for attention for some time) lost control and he began wetting himself. Even though he could see how distraught Robbie was, Juan was enjoying himself.
“Oh God, oh God,” Robbie repeated like a mantra.
Juan noticed that his friend’s diapers were beginning to sag dangerously from the wetting they were getting. Robbie was vainly trying to hide his plastic pants but all that moving of his hands only drew more attention to them. Finally, they crossed to the other side and darted down the tracks into a secluded area where they could no longer be seen. Robbie was on the verge of hyperventilating.
“You’d better sit down,” Juan suggested. “Better yet. Lie down here and let me tighten your diapers before they fall off.”
Robbie hadn’t noticed how dangerously low his diapers and plastic pants had slid. Realizing what could have happened he nearly collapsed. Juan got Robbie to the ground and partially slid down his plastic pants so that he could get at the pins. The familiar smell of fresh pee excited Juan but he tried hard not to let Robbie observe this. Once the diapers were securely tightened Juan had Robbie stand up and pull up his baby pants. Robbie was still a little shaky.
“How can you be so calm after all those people just saw us?”
“Maybe I’m calm on the outside, but not on the inside. Besides, what if you had fainted? Would you have wanted me to faint, too? By now we’d probably have cops and ambulances all around us,” Juan suggested.
“OK,” Robbie responded. “you’ve made your point. But, still, I hope nobody who knows me or my parents saw me out there.”
The rest of the trip down the tracks was uneventful. The tracks crossed a little back street but no one saw them and they were now peering out through the bushes at Williams Road, where Juan lived. Before arriving at this point Juan had laid down his plan.
“We’ll have to make a run for it to my house and hope that we aren’t stopped or seen by anyone. The street is pretty quiet because it dead ends at the railroad property. I think our chances are pretty good. Once we get to my driveway we’ll make a quick right and hide behind the evergreen bush. No one will be able to see us hiding there.”
“Why are we doing that?” Robbie wondered.
“If we can get away with it, I don’t want to have to tell my parents about what happened today. I’m afraid they might make me give up wearing diapers to school. When we get to my house if my mom is home maybe we can sneak in through the front door and get up to my room. Then we can get some clothes on and pretend that we just arrived. If my mom isn’t home we’ll have a good hiding place to see her arrive, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be there. She doesn’t like to be away when my little brother gets back from school with his friend Simon. I have an older sister, too, but ever since my brother and I have started wearing diapers again she doesn’t like to come home until she absolutely has to. I don’t think she’ll be a problem at all.”
“How old is your little brother and why did he start wearing diapers again?”
“Damn,” Juan exclaimed, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you about him. He’s real sensitive about it. He’s twelve and he’s back in diapers because he has to wear them. The doctors say his bladder is too small and that he’ll have to wear diapers until he outgrows the problem. Promise me you won’t say anything to him. He gets real upset about it.”
“Yeah, sure, no problem. Is there anything else I need to know about your family?” Robbie questioned.
“No,” Juan answered, “unless you think that it’s weird that my dad likes to wear diapers, too.”
“What?” Robbie exclaimed.
“Of course not, that’s a joke,” Juan teased.
The boys took off at a run through the bushes. They quickly reached the pavement and ran all the way to Juan’s house.
The only person who saw them was four year old Emerson Platte who told the story at dinner. Unfortunately for Emerson, he had recently started telling tall tales and his parents reprimanded him for making up stories. When he insisted that he was telling the truth he lost his dessert and was sent to bed early. To punish his parents he deliberately wet the bed that night.
Once behind the big bush next to the driveway Juan took stock of the situation. The front door was open, meaning that his mother was home. The problem now was to figure out where she was in the house. Juan cautiously approached an open front window and listened. He could hear the washing machine filling up; his mother must be sorting clothes in the laundry room. Maybe if they moved quickly they could reach his bedroom before his mother was aware that they were in the house. He motioned for Robbie to join him and they quietly entered the living room. They were just beginning to go up the stairs when Robbie tripped, causing Juan to bang against the wall just as the washing machine stopped filling.
“Is that you, Juan?” his mother asked, the sound of her feet approaching.
“Quick,” Juan whispered, “pretend that we’re coming down the stairs and not going up. Let me get in front of you.”
Before Robbie could object he found himself obeying. For the third time in under two hours he found himself in front of a stranger wearing nothing but his shoes, socks, diapers, and baby pants. At least this time it was in front of someone who was used to seeing kids his age in diapers. Nonetheless, he could feel the color rising in his face.
“Juan, your father just called and he wants…” she began before cutting herself off. “Oh, I didn’t know you were bringing a friend home today. I guess I don’t have to ask what common interest you have.”
Robbie felt his face get even more flushed as it hit home that Juan’s mother thought that he wanted to be in diapers, too.
“This is Robbie,” Juan said by way of introduction.
“Nice to meet you, Robbie” she politely answered. “Welcome to our home.”
“Nice to meet you,” a flustered Robbie repeated.
“Juan, you know that I don’t like you going around the house without a t-shirt or onesie on. Please go back upstairs and put some shirts on. As a matter of fact,” she added, “it seems to me that you need changing. I’ll go up with you to take care of it immediately before Nate and Simon get home.”
Robbie wondered if she meant that she was going to change him, too. He was both repulsed and attracted by this possibility. Juan, on the other hand, was beginning to get nervous. Would his mother notice that they didn’t have any clothes lying around the room or that neither of them had a book bag. He decided that there was nothing he could do about it so he went into his room and tried to act as normal as possible. He started by getting two fresh diapers and some plain white plastic pants. He also took two onesies out of his drawer and handed one to Robbie.
“It seems that you need a change, too. Do you have any fresh diapers with you?” Mrs. Prado asked Robbie.
“No, ma’am, I don’t.”
“Well, never mind, Juan can lend you some of his. I wouldn’t want your mother to blame me for you getting a diaper rash.”
“Uh…, uh…, that’s alright,” Robbie nervously stuttered.
“No, dear, it’s not alright. If you’re going to visit with Juan you’re going to do it comfortably and safely. Wet and sagging diapers do not remain unchanged in the house- the could cause severe diaper rash.”
Her words sounded final. Robbie shrugged his shoulders and agreed to have his diapers changed.
“God,” he thought, “I just agreed to let her change my diapers. Why did I think my diapers? This is really getting out of hand.”
But first, Juan’s diapers were changed. Robbie was amazed at the speed at which she worked. He guessed that she must have had a lot of practice.
Now, it was his turn. She invited him to lie down on the bed. From that point on she did everything. She started by sliding down his plastic pants (Why was he thinking that they were his?) and removing both diapers. They really were very wet and Mrs. Prado chastised him for waiting so long to get them changed. She then cleaned his diaper area. Unlike this morning when Juan did it, Robbie actually felt comfortable with the experience. Once she was finished he felt clean and refreshed. Next he lifted up in order to have two fresh diapers slid under him. Even before she finished pinning on the first diaper he could feel his erection growing. He felt his face flush again. If she noticed anything while pinning on the second diaper she didn’t let it show. She then stood him up and helped him into the plastic pants. Mercifully, they were also plain white ones like Juan had just put on. The diapering finished, she handed him his onesie and left the room.
“That was so embarrassing!” Robbie exclaimed.
“From where I was standing I would have said that you were more excited than embarrassed,” Juan commented.
“Your mom was touching me- that’s why I got hard,” Robbie defended himself.
“No, you started getting hard when she was pinning you into the first diaper, not when she was touching you while spreading the powder around. The same thing happens to me. I get hard when I realize that I’m “trapped” in my diapers, that I couldn’t get them off quickly even if I wanted to.”
Robbie wanted to deny what Juan had said but, in truth, he couldn’t.
“Come on, let’s go play some video games down in the den. I’ll help snap you into your onesie.”
“Ok,” Robbie agreed, “But before we go down stairs we have to talk. What am I going to do about getting home? I’ll have to leave soon.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll loan you some of my clothes. I’m sure that I’ve got something that will look close enough to the stuff you were wearing” Juan assured Robbie.
A couple of minutes later a pair of jeans and a shirt very close to what Robbie had been wearing this morning were laid out on the bed.
“There’s one problem, though,” Juan said. “My pants are sized to fit over my diapers, you’ll have to keep those diapers on so that the pants will fit right.”
“That’s just great,” Robbie tried to say dejectedly but it didn’t come out that way.
They headed downstairs. Mrs. Prado was just going out to the backyard to read as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Juan, I almost forgot,” she said. “I started to tell you a while ago that dad called to say that he has to leave unexpectedly on a business trip tonight. He’s coming home in about an hour to take us out for an early dinner. Would you like to join us Robbie? I’m sure we’ll be back here by seven-thirty. I can drive you home then.”
Robbie was tempted. He had very few close friends and, after today’s adventure, he really felt close to Juan.
“Thank you very much, Mrs. Prado, but I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Nonsense, I’m sure Juan would like your company, especially since you seem to have so many common interests.”
Robbie’s face turned crimson one more time. “Oh, hell,” he thought, “what’s another couple of hours in diapers?”
“”Well, if it’s OK with you and Juan doesn’t mind…”
“Great,” Juan exulted, “let’s call your parents.”
Robbie decided to call his dad at work since he was always pushing Robbie to get out more and to meet new people. His dad was very happy to give permission for Robbie to go out with the Prados. It was only after he hung up that Robbie fully realized what he had committed himself to: he was going out to dinner dressed in diapers and plastic pants with a family who would think that he wore diapers and plastic pants “for fun.” Oddly, that thought made him smile.
“Looking forward to your second diaper adventure, I see. Hopefully, no one in the restaurant will figure out what you’re wearing under your pants,” Juan teased.
“How did you know I was thinking about that?” Robbie asked.
“I know everything. You and I think alike,” Juan smirked.
A few minutes later as they were finally getting ready to start up the computer they heard someone coming up the walk. Robbie tensed, dreading that someone else was going to see him in diapers.
“Relax,” Juan said calmly, “that’s probably just my brother and his friend Simon coming home. Simon likes wearing diapers, too, but remember don’t say anything about my brother, please.”
Instead of Nate and Simon coming through the door as expected, someone knocked.
“What the…?” Juan said questioningly, “who could that be?”
Even though he was getting very comfortable with the idea of people seeing him in diapers at home he cautiously looked around the corner to see who was there. He jerked his head back in surprise.
“Who is it?” Robbie questioned.
“The kid who took the video of you and me behind the steam plant. What the hell does he want?” Juan exclaimed. “What should we do? I don’t want my parents to find out.”
“I guess you have to let him in,” Robbie said reasonably.
“Shit.” Juan exclaimed as he headed for the door.
“Um, I guess you must be wondering why I’m here. I have your bags and the stuff that Frank took from you. But that’s not all, can I come in and talk to you?” the unknown student asked.
“I guess so. But watch what you say, I don’t want my parents finding out about this afternoon.”
Coming inside he introduced himself. “My name is Kevin. I’m really sorry about what happened. If I had known that’s what Frank was up to, I would never have agreed to be there. Once things started getting out of hand I was really scared of pissing Frank off so I continued. Here is your stuff. I’m really sorry,” he repeated.
Juan led him to the den where Robbie was sitting. Kevin looked at Robbie and nodded his head in greeting but didn’t say anything.
“I’ll be right back,” Juan announced, “I’m going to put these bags in my room in case my mom comes back in the house. I usually bring my stuff upstairs right away; I don’t want her wondering why my stuff is down here.”
Robbie once again felt totally awkward as Kevin looked over at him in his diapers. An awkward silence continued until Juan returned.
“OK, what have you got to talk about?” Juan challenged.
“Like I said, when Frank asked us to join him, he said he was going to have some fun. He said that he wanted me to bring a video camera because he was going to challenge you to a one-on-one goal shooting contest to prove who was the best soccer player once and for all. He said he wanted to get you on camera either agreeing to the contest or refusing. If you refused he said he was going to go around telling everyone that you were too scared to go up against him. At least, that’s what he told me. I think some of the other guys knew that things could get violent. But, I don’t know for sure. All I want to say is that I didn’t want to have anything to do with what happened. To prove it, if you look in your di… in the bag that your diapers are in, you’ll find the videotape.
“What?” Juan and Robbie said simultaneously.
“It’s true, go look.”
This time both boys went upstairs. They came right back with the tape.
“I don’t understand,” Robbie said. “Isn’t Frank going to go berserk when he finds out? He’s such an idiot he could do anything.”
“You got that right,” Kevin answered. “but it’s exactly because he is an idiot that I think I can fool him temporarily. He’s supposed to come to my house to work on editing the tape tonight. I have some old tapes that are screwed up that I can substitute for the real one. I’ll pretend that something went wrong with the camera. I know he’ll try something else to get even with you but maybe we can lay a trap for him next time.”
“Gee, thanks,” Juan expressed sincerely, “but why would you do this for us?”
“Well, it’s because I took what Frank did personally. I wear diapers, too- not during the day, but at night for bedwetting.”
Another “what?” of shock escaped from Juan and Robbie’s lips.
“I didn’t think you guys would believe me so I went home first and put on my diapers and plastic pants. See…,” he said unfastening his belt and exposing his bulging diapers and plastic pants.
“I don’t believe it,” Robbie giggled.
“Me either,” Juan seconded.
“Actually, I don’t believe that I just told you guys, either,” Kevin concluded. “Look,” Kevin continued, “I’ve got to get home. We have to talk some more. Can I come back here tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Juan agreed. “Hey, come to think of it, how did you know where I lived?”
“Inside your book bag. Your wallet was there,” Kevin answered as he ambled out the door.
Nate and Simon arrived moments later, closely followed by Carla (who had received a message at her friend’s house saying that the family would be going out for an early dinner). Simon was ecstatic to have what he thought was another diaper boy joining the group and Nate was, as could be expected, distraught that another person might find out about his diapers. Robbie was nervous about being seen by the younger boys, especially since he was afraid that they might tell others and that the story could get back to his own friends, or worse, his parents.
When Carla walked in about a minute later, Robbie almost swooned. He hadn’t expected her to show up since Juan had said she was rarely home. He stood there stupidly tying to hide the white edges of his plastic pants that peeked out from his onesie. His brain was telling him that she knew all about diapers and plastic pants because of her brothers but his emotions were running much faster than his brain. She was beautiful and he couldn’t help getting an erection despite his embarrassment. He felt like a total fool when he barely squeaked out a “Hi” to the introduction Juan made. Still, she was very nice but he could have done without her compliment about how cute he looked in his diapers and onesie. This wouldn’t be the final time he blushed today but it would the brightest.
Mrs. Prado had come in from the back yard.
Addressing Simon and Nate she asked, “Do either of you need a diaper change?”
“Mom!” wailed Nate, throwing a significant glance in Robbie’s direction.
“For heavens sake, Nate, Robbie might be coming over here often and he’s not making a fuss about being in diapers. Why, a little ago, he was even wearing baby pants like Juan’s.”
Robbie could feel himself sinking deeper into a web of untruths. Now that Juan had the tape back it was unlikely that he would have to let his parents know about this afternoon’s events unless another incident happened, which Robbie hoped wouldn’t be the case. But he was also smitten with Carla and he knew he wanted to visit as much as possible even if he would only see her rarely. But they would expect him to keep coming back in diapers- how could he change their expectations? His reverie was interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Prado.
Another round of introductions and more blushing from Robbie.
“I see you’re all dressed and ready to go the restaurant,” Mr. Prado teased (but with a straight face so that Robbie didn’t know if he was kidding or not).
“Yeah, I guess so,” Juan teased back (but also with a straight face).
Robbie’s look of utter distress finally made Juan burst out laughing.
“Got ya,” he guffawed.
“Why you…” Robbie responded taking a mock swing at him which Juan easily avoided.
“OK, boys,” Mrs. Prado said, “enough of that. Go upstairs and get dressed.”
Juan and Robbie bounded up the stairs two at a time.
“At, least we have our clothes back,” Robbie said. “Where are they?”
“They must be in my diaper bag.”
Juan unzipped it and declared, “Yeah, here are your clothes and mine.”
He tossed Robbie’s boxers to him and said “Better not let my mother see those or she’ll begin wondering what’s going on.”
After Robbie had put them in his book bag Juan handed him his shirt and pants.
“Yuck, what’s this stuff all over them?” Robbie protested.
Juan picked up his shirt and pants and felt the greasy liquid that Robbie had noticed.
“Oh, oh, the cap on my baby oil must have come loose. We can’t wear these until they get washed.”
Mrs. Prado heard the last comment as she was bring Simon and Nate to get their diapers changed.
“What’s the matter?”
Juan explained and his mother surveyed the damage and declared that Juan would have to loan some clothes to Robbie. She didn’t seem to notice that the clothes were already laid out. While Juan and Robbie removed their onesies and got dressed Simon and a reluctant Nate took off their shirts and pants to get their diapers changed. Robbie could sympathize with Nate over letting strangers see him in his diapers.
Just before leaving for the restaurant, Mrs. Prado sent Juan back upstairs to get jackets for him and Robbie. Juan muttered all the way upstairs about mothers who thought that their children would freeze if the temperature went below seventy degrees. In the meantime, Mrs. Quadrin had arrived to pick up Simon. After a little arm twisting from Simon and Mrs. Prado, Mrs. Quadrin agreed that Simon and she would join them for dinner. They waited almost five minutes for Juan to come back.
“What took so long?” Nate asked.
“Somebody moved my clothes around,” he said shooting an accusatory glance at his mother.
“I was just trying to organize that mess,” she defended herself.
Mr. Prado had selected an Italian restaurant for dinner. Carla, a natural organizer, arranged everyone around the table. She placed her parents, Mrs. Quadrin, and herself at one end and the “children” on the other. Robbie was somewhat disappointed that he was sitting at the very opposite end of the table from Carla. Still, he enjoyed dinner until he realized that he had to pee.
Leaning close to Juan who was sitting next to him he whispered, “I gotta pee.”
“Well,” Juan whispered back, “do it.”
“Here! In the middle of the restaurant?”
“Of course, I do it all the time. It’s really fun to wet when nobody suspects you’re doing it. Now, go ahead, do it.”
Mrs. Prado noticed that the boys were getting restless. She was enjoying the after dinner talk they were having, especially since Carla was in such a talkative mood. She didn’t want to break the moment so she gave five dollars to Juan and told the boys that it was her treat and to go play the video games that were in the waiting area of the restaurant. Robbie, in particular, was relieved to leave. Claiming that the restaurant was too hot, he went to sit outside. After changing the five dollar bill into quarters, Juan gave the money to Simon and joined Robbie who was sitting on a bench overlooking the parking lot.
“Did you do it yet?” Juan questioned.
“No, I can’t. Every time I think about peeing I get hard and then I can’t,” Robbie admitted with shame.
The days were getting shorter and the parking lot lights weren’t on yet so Robbie didn’t notice the tremendous smile lighting up Juan’s face. He now knew that Robbie was well on his way to becoming hooked on diapers. Juan would have to be careful though, if he pushed too quickly Robbie might get scared, and Juan really wanted Robbie to be his diaper friend.
“OK, you’ve done it before. Remember how you peed when that lady snuck up behind us and asked why we were doing hiding in her bushes? Well, you were even more exposed then than you are now; you can do it.”
“Stop it,” Robbie said. “Thinking about that only makes it worse.”
“Oh, sorry,” Juan apologized. “Well, anyway, thanks for helping me out today. I owe you big time. And I’ll probably owe you even more because of my stupid brother.”
“What’s you’re brother got to do with it?”
“Don’t be fooled by him. He’s got the world’s biggest mouth and by this time tomorrow everybody in his school will know about your wearing diapers at my house today. It will only be a matter of time before some of your friends hear it from their younger brothers and sisters.”
“What? You can’t be serious. He wouldn’t do that, would he?”
“I can only tell you what my experience tells me he’s going to do.”
Robbie was becoming very upset. He felt the first drops of pee leave his system. Very quickly he was peeing full force into his diapers. Despite a momentary fear that his plastic pants would leak, his diapers soaked up all his pee. Once again Juan was smiling broadly as he listened to the distinctive hissing noise of his friend peeing his diapers.
“Finished peeing yet?” Juan teased.
“Huh, what?” Robbie answered distractedly. “Oh, yeah, I am. But what about your brother?”
Robbie sounded panicked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about him- I just made that stuff up. He won’t tell anyone. Heck, he’s so terrified that someone will find out about his diapers that he wouldn’t even think of telling on you.”
“You did that on purpose!” Robbie objected.
“Of course I did. But you peed didn’t you? And you feel a lot better, don’t you?”
Instead of answering Robbie punched Juan on the shoulder.
“Ow!” he complained in mock pain. “That’s the thanks I get for helping out a friend.”
“Yeah, well now I’ve got another wet diaper to worry about.”
“So what? So do I. I peed twice during dinner.”
Robbie was getting hard inside his diapers again.
Back at the Prados, Robbie was wondering how he would get out of the wet diapers before he got a ride home. He signaled to Juan that he wanted to talk to him upstairs.
“OK,” Juan replied. “Mom, Robbie and I need to be changed,” he called out.
“Go on upstairs. I’ll be with you as soon as I put the wet laundry into the drier,” she directed.
“Why did you tell your mom that?” a somewhat annoyed Robbie questioned, “I can’t go home in diapers.”
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong. The pants you’re wearing are mine, right? They’re sized for wearing over diapers, right? It you went home wearing those pants without diapers underneath they would look really droopy. Your parents would know that something was different, right?”
Robbie suspected that there was something wrong with Juan’s logic but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Regardless, Mrs. Prado was on her way up to change him and he probably wouldn’t have an opportunity to ditch the diapers anyway. He decided to go with the flow and hope that his parents wouldn’t catch him. Besides, a few more hours in diapers suddenly felt very appealing to him.
Robbie went first and just like the last time he started getting hard as soon as Mrs. Prado began pinning him into the first diaper. Mrs. Prado asked Juan if he wanted to get changed into his nighttime diapers or would he rather wait until later. Juan chose the nighttime diapers.
“OK,” his mother agreed, “do you need to use the bathroom first?”
When he said that he didn’t need to go she was pretty sure that this meant that he wanted to mess his diaper tonight. Sighing inwardly she resigned herself to one messy diaper change tomorrow morning. If her husband wasn’t leaving on the redeye tonight, she would have tried to get him to change the boys’ diaper tomorrow morning.
Since no one asked Robbie to leave as Juan was put into his nighttime diapers, he sat on the other bed in the room and watched. He could hardly believe that Juan was getting put into three thick flannel diapers pinned in place by a full dozen pins. By the time Mrs. Prado pulled a yellow pair of nursery print baby pants up Juan’s legs Robbie was fully excited. He was thankful that his own two diapers and loose fitting pants hid the evidence. Instead of putting pants on him, Mrs. Prado finished dressing Juan by pulling a very short t-shirt over his head. He looked like a two year old- the only things missing were a pacifier and baby bottle. Robbie became worried about why these sights and thoughts had gotten him so excited.
“Are you ready for me to drive you home?” Mrs. Prado asked Robbie.
“Uh, yes, I think so,” he said grabbing his book bag.
He wondered why it was so puffy looking until he remembered his baby oil soaked shirt and pants. Juan must have put them in the bag; he hoped that Juan had put them into a plastic bag first as he didn’t want his books smelling of baby oil.
“Can I go along for the ride?” Juan asked. “I don’t have much homework and I can do it when we get back. It’s only seven-thirty.”
“OK,” she chuckled, “I’m not going to argue with you about going out in diapers. I must say, though, this is the first time you go out in nighttime diapers, isn’t it?”
Mrs. Prado kissed her husband good-bye on the way out as he would be leaving for the airport before she got back. Juan also wished his dad a good flight as he walked out the door with Robbie. Mr. and Mrs. Prado exchanged glances and shrugged in resignation at each other as if to say ‘what are we going to do with a teenager who doesn’t care if he’s seen in diapers and baby pants?”
Robbie gave them directions to his house in the Shady Oaks section of town. Mrs. Prado said that she wasn’t terribly familiar with the area but that she knew that there were some very pretty house in that section of town. In fact, as they got closer to Robbie’s street the houses were getting bigger and more expensive looking. Finally, he directed Mrs. Prado to turn into a set of gates. At first she thought that he lived in a gated community until she realized that they had entered private property. The driveway angled across a front yard twice the size of the Prado’s whole property. Juan and his mother were stunned but they didn’t want to show it. She pulled up to the front doors of a house that could have stood proudly in the center of Beverly Hills.
“Thank you very much for a fun evening, I enjoyed myself very much,” he very politely said. “I hope we can spend some more time hanging together,” he said to Juan. “Do you need directions on how to get back to Wilkerson Boulevard?”
“No, that’s OK, Robbie, I think I know my way,” Mrs. Prado stammered.
It wasn’t until they had driven back to the gates that Juan exclaimed, “Wow! He never said anything about being rich. I always thought he was just an average kid.”
“I think he’s an above average nice kid. But I know what you mean,” Mrs. Prado said. “He’s not the least bit stuck up or conceited. I think he must have very good parents.”
Once inside, Robbie found his dad watching an English football (soccer) game on cable.
“Hi, dad. Who’s winning?”
“Manchester United. How was your dinner out?”
“It was really cool. I think this guy Juan and I could be really good friends. He has a pretty nice family, too (not to mention a really pretty sister).”
Robbie went on to speak enthusiastically about his afternoon (leaving out all the diaper parts, of course). His dad was very pleased to see that Robbie had found someone to be friends with. He frequently worried that his son was too withdrawn and shy. He hoped that this would draw him out socially.
“I have some homework to do. Where’s mom?”
“Where else?” his dad chuckled, “at the mall shopping. She should be home soon.”
Robbie went up to his room to be alone. He didn’t actually have much homework to do (especially since he hadn’t gone to his last two classes today)- he just wanted some privacy to think about the day.
He threw his book bag down at the foot of his bed and when it didn’t make a ‘thunking’ sound he remembered that his clothes were inside and that he needed to hide them until he got a chance to launder them. When he opened the bag he discovered that his clothes were not inside. What he found instead were five diapers and two pairs of plastic pants- three for nighttime wear (with a post-it note indicating the larger ‘outside’ diaper) and two others, presumably for tomorrow morning. One of the plastic pants was identical to the baby pants Mrs. Prado had put Juan into a little while ago; the other was a generic white pair.
Robbie’s heart was pounding furiously and he was once again totally aroused. Robbie took off his shoes, shirt and pants. Sitting in his diaper and plastic pants he began gently stroking himself building up to a steady rhythm until an explosive release sent him over the edge. He knew that he couldn’t resist wearing the diapers tonight and again tomorrow morning.
He heard someone coming up the stairs. Was his mother home? Fearful that she would stop by his room, he scooped up the diapers and plastic pants along with his shirt and pants and dashed into his bathroom. He quickly put on the shirt and was just pulling up his pants when someone knocked.
“Just a minute,” he called, flushing the toilet and fastening his zipper and belt.
He opened the door and his mother walked in.
“Dad says that you met a nice boy at school and that you had fun together today.”
“If she only knew,” Robbie thought. Out loud he said, “Yeah, it was OK.”
Mrs. Bretmeister knew that this was probably the highest praise she would hear from her teenage son for the next few years so she let the matter drop.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your homework. Don’t stay up too late. Oh, and Robbie, don’t leave a mess on the floor,” she said frowning toward the contents of his book bag strewn about the floor.
At that moment Robbie focused on several objects that literally made him pee his diapers. Juan had included a travel-size container of baby powder and four additional diaper pins for his nighttime diapering. He distracted his mother before she could focus on them laying on the floor.
“Did you buy anything interesting?” he asked pointing to the shopping bag in her hand.
“I think so,” she answered, “but I don’t think I want to show you what I just got at Victoria’s Secret,” she teased.
She kissed him good night and left the room smiling over his red-faced embarrassment. He sighed in relief; that was close. What if he hadn’t heard her coming up the stairs? What if she had caught him in diapers and plastic pants? He shivered at the mere thought- but he was also getting another boner over it.
What was the matter with him? In less than eight hours of diaper wearing he was peeing uncontrollably at the slightest stress and he was getting sexually excited thinking about diapers and plastic pants. This was too weird; he was taking these diapers off, and returning them with the others he had just found in his book bag. Getting undressed he forced himself to take off the diapers before taking his evening shower. He dressed in boxers and a t-shirt and lay down on the bed to listen to some music. No matter how much he tried to concentrate his mind wandered back to the thoughts of diapers: Mrs. Prado pinning him into fresh diapers this afternoon; Juan being put into nighttime diapers; walking around outside in them; peeing in the restaurant parking lot and out on Maple Avenue; maybe someday Carla would change him…
“Stop it!” he reprimanded himself. He was aroused again. “No more…, think about something else.”
But it was useless. The more he tried to think about other things, the more he remembered the softness of the diapers, their comforting bulk between his legs, the gentle rustling and crackling of the plastic pants. A half-hour later he gave up the struggle.
“This is crazy,” he chastised himself, “you’re going to get caught.”
But his rational mind was having no effect. His hands continued to collect the diapers, plastic pants, diapers pins, and powder. He felt powerless to stop this diapering. Once he had rubbed powder all over his diaper area, it took some experimentation to figure out how to diaper himself. At first, he laid down and tried to pin them on but that was very awkward and the result was a very loose fitting diaper. Almost accidentally, he learned that if he positioned the diaper and then leaned up against a wall he could keep the diaper in place while he tightly pinned the two top pins. The rest was easy. The third diaper was in place and he pulled his plastic pants on. He had seen how much bulkier Juan’s nighttime diapers were compared to the daytime ones, but to actually feel the difference was delightful. He hadn’t really noticed when Juan had accompanied him home but these plastic pants crackled quite loudly. He decided that this added to the enjoyment.
Fearful that his parents might come by his room again, he got into bed to do some reading for his English class. He put on his headphones, turned on the music, and opened the anthology to the assignment for tomorrow. His diapers were a slight distraction but nothing like the distraction they had been before he surrendered to wearing them.
He fell asleep reading. The next thing he knew it was the middle of the night. Someone must have turned out the light and taken off his headphones. Also, his anthology had been moved to the desk. He sat up with a start.
“Did mom or dad see or hear my diapers? If they had, wouldn’t they have woken me up and demanded an explanation? Were they going to ask to talk to me in the morning?”
As frightful as these thought were he still managed to fall asleep a short time later. He woke up on his own about a half-hour before his normal time. Sensing that he would get no further sleep he got up went into his bathroom to get ready for the day. He washed his face and brushed his teeth before turning his attention to his diapers. He was surprised that they were wet- not a lot, but enough to indicated that he had indeed peed them at some point during the night. This worried him. Could he have wet them when whichever of his parents had “tucked him in” after he fell asleep reading?
He debated for several minutes whether or not to put on the remaining two diapers. What finally tipped the scale was yesterday’s experience with Frank. If Frank was going to harass Juan again, Robbie also wanted to be harassed along with his new friend. Taking a deep breath and hoping for the best he diapered himself for the day and went down to the kitchen.
“You’re up early today,” his dad greeted him.
“Yeah, I guess I was kind of tired last night and I fell asleep pretty early.”
He waited for a reaction but none came. Maybe he had worried over nothing. He relaxed and sat down at the breakfast table.
*****
At the Prado home Nate and Juan were also getting ready for the day. Mrs. Prado was changing Nate’s wet diaper while Juan was talking to him.
“You never said anything about Bruce Dyar last night. I guess everything must be OK.”
“I guess,” Nate said uncertainly. “He didn’t do anything to Simon and me but he sure acted weird all day.”
“What do you mean?” Mrs. Prado asked, inserting herself into the conversation.
Nate recounted how, at every break during the school day, Bruce would run out of the room as soon as the bell rang and reappear five minutes later.
“”That is weird,” Juan agreed.
“At the first recess I thought it was because of his haircut. But now Simon and I don’t know why he does it.”
“What about his haircut?” Juan asked.
“Well, I don’t know. I guess it makes him look littler. His friends really gave him a bad time about it yesterday.”
“Littler how? You mean not as tall?”
“No,” Nate explained, “it kind of makes him look like he used to look when he was in fourth or fifth grade.”
Nate got up and it was Juan’s turn to be wiped and changed. As his mother had expected, Juan was a poopy mess.
Back in school on Tuesday morning Nate and Simon were watching Bruce carefully. He wasn’t being aggressive towards them but there was s marked difference in his behavior. During class time he constantly had a worried look on his face. They were happy that he wasn’t picking on them but they were becoming more and more curious about his changed behavior. Did his father threaten him with punishment if didn’t do better in school? In fact, they didn’t even know what his punishment had been. Did his punishment have anything to do with his bolting from the classroom at each and every break? They knew what direction he ran in, now if they could only find out why. After two more days of pondering this mystery, Simon proposed a plan.
“This morning I’m going to wet my diapers extra heavy so that I can ask to go see Mrs. Wilcox about twenty minutes before morning recess. If Mr. Moore lets me go, I’ll be done in about ten minutes; if you add the three minutes that it takes to walk each way to Mrs. Wilcox’s office I will still have three or four minutes to get into position around the corner to see where he runs.”
Nate agreed that the plan would work as long as no teachers spotted Simon hanging around the hallways. At the appointed time, Simon received permission to go to the nurse’s office. Mrs. Wilcox was busy, delaying him by a couple minutes. He was afraid that he wouldn’t get to his vantage point in time. The Simplex clock in the hallway said that the bell would ring in thirty seconds. He picked up the pace; the bell rang with only one more corner to go. He picked up the pace again.
Slam!
Before he knew what was going on he and Bruce had collided. Bruce was laying on the floor on his back with Simon staring down at him. Bruce was angry and was about to say something rude when he realized that Simon was looking at his crotch. A two-inch circle of wetness was quickly expanding to four inches. Bruce hastily covered his pants with his hands and ran out a seldom used side door to the school.
It all happened so fast that Simon barely believed what he had seen. Had he really just seen Bruce pee his pants? Did this have anything to do with what he did to Nate and him? He went out to the yard to find Nate.
“Well?” Nate anxiously asked.
“You won’t believe this.”
Simon then told of his brief encounter with Bruce in the hallway. Nate agreed that this revelation brought up more questions than it answered. They spoke about it some more and their speculations became wilder and wilder.
“I know,” Simon said, “Mr. Dyar is giving Bruce some medicine that makes you pee a lot. I know my grandfather had to take something like that when he was sick last year.”
“I don’t know,” Nate answered, “that would be dangerous to give people medicines like that for no reason. What if Bruce really has a problem like me?”
“Nah,” Simon began to dismiss the idea as ridiculous until he realized that he would be making his friend sound like a freak. “What I mean is, that would really be an incredible coincidence.”
“I guess you’re right,” Nate conceded, “if Bruce had had this problem all along he wouldn’t be acting so different now. But it sure is strange, anyway.”
The bell rang and the students went back the remainder of the morning session. About halfway through lunch Simon and Nate had gotten their diapers changed and were heading outside to the yard when Bruce stopped them.
“Uh, oh,” Nate thought pessimistically, “now the trouble starts.”
“Can I talk to you guys?” he quietly asked.
Nate and Simon looked at each and shrugged.
“OK.”
“Out here,” Bruce indicated, pointing to the side door he had earlier used.
Nate was suspicious but he figured that he and Simon together could take care of Bruce. Of course, if Bruce had some friends waiting out there…
Checking that no one was watching them, Bruce led them out the door and down a sidewalk that led to a little walled-in area where the janitors hung out their mops to dry. He seemed to be unsure how to start.
“I… I’m really sorry about what I did.”
“Are you sorry because you got caught, or do you feel bad because you know you were wrong?” Simon boldly asked.
“At first, I was just mad- at you and at my dad. But now, after almost a week, I really am sorry for what I did. This morning when you… you saw me” he said to Simon, “I was so embarrassed that I came out here and cried. That was when I suddenly understood what you would have felt like if I had done what I threatened to do. Only, I would have told more than one person so it would have been even worse. I’m sorry.”
Simon and Nate were stunned by Bruce’s seemingly honest confession. His eyes were filling with tears and he began sniffling. Nate couldn’t believe that he was beginning to feel sympathy for Bruce. But his cautious nature took over again and he began to question Bruce.
“If you want us to believe that you’re sorry, you’re going to have to tell us the truth.”
It only took a few minutes for Bruce to admit that he was a lifelong pants and bed wetter; that he had always worn pull-ups of one kind or another; and, that despite all kinds of doctors’ visits the situation wasn’t getting any better.
“When my dad found out about the pictures and he came to get me at school,” Bruce continued, “he was madder than I ever saw him before. I got really scared when we got home and he sent me to my room. Usually, whenever I had done anything to get me into trouble he would lecture me and tell me not to do it again. This time, I knew I must be in extra big trouble. Finally, he calmed down enough to come and talk to me. He said that he was really disappointed in me. He asked me if I knew why I had picked you guys as a target. He said that he thought it was because I was angry about my pants and bed wetting and that by making fun of you I was trying to feel better about myself. I guess he’s right, I don’t know.”
“Alright,” Nate pressed, “but how come you’re not wearing pull-ups any more?”
“My dad said that the punishment should fit the crime. He said that I would now be left on my own with this problem. He took my remaining pull-ups and told me that I had to figure out what to do about it. He even took all my money away so that I couldn’t go buy more.”
“So, that’s why you wet your pants this morning?” Simon tried to ask as gently as possible.
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to stuff toilet paper into my underwear to soak up any leaks but it only helps for a little while. I even tried putting plastic wrap on the outside of the toilet paper but it slides around too much. My dad always buys me two pairs of the same pants so that if I have an accident I can change into the other one and no one will know. In the mornings, I come out here to hide the second pair of pants and some extra toilet paper.”
“How about at night?” Nate asked.
“I’m so sick of wet beds. My dad makes me change the bed and wash my sheets every day before school. I wish I could wear some protection again.”
“Do you really mean that?” Simon asked.
Bruce understood the question perfectly. After considering for thirty seconds, he nodded his head.
“What time is it?” Simon suddenly asked.
“What? Uh, twelve-ten,” Bruce answered after consulting his watch.
“Good. There’s enough time. Wait here,” he directed Nate and Bruce.
As soon as Simon was gone, Nate spoke.
“I’m like you,” he said flatly. “I mean, I can’t help wetting my pants or the bed either. I thought I was the only guy in the world with this problem.”
“Me, too,” Bruce responded, “I’ve been afraid all my life that someone would find out. Now that you and Simon know, I feel better about it.”
They fell into a companionable silence until Simon returned.
“I got some of my stuff out of Mrs. Wilcox’s office,” he said dumping his book bag on the ground.
Out came two diapers, baby pants, powder and a card filled with pins. The kittens and butterflies on the yellow baby pants were causing Bruce to have second thoughts.
“Maybe, I don’t need anything after all…,” he started.
“I said that to myself about a thousand times,” Nate interrupted him, “but it just won’t happen. Do this now, and you can stop worrying all the time.”
Bruce sighed and began stripping. He managed to strip his pants and underpants off at the same time so that the other boys wouldn’t see that they were wet and yellowed.
“Your shirt’s going to be in the way. It will have to come off, too.” Simon advised.
Standing naked except for his shoes and socks Bruce nervously awaited instructions.
Simon had laid out the two diapers. Simon had to readjust Bruce’s position twice before he was in the right place. Simon handed a wipe to Bruce and told him to clean his own diaper area. Next, he sprinkled powder over Bruce’s front which Bruce spread around himself. After telling him to roll over, Simon sprinkled more powder on his behind.
“Hurry,” a very embarrassed Bruce pleaded.
“I’m doing my best,” Simon assured him. “I don’t want anyone catching me putting diapers on you any more than you want to be caught without your pants on.”
He quickly pinned the two diapers in place and pulled the plastic pants up over them. Bruce stood up and Simon tucked in a few stray edges of diaper. Just then they heard the voices of some boys, Bruce’s friends Anthony and Paolo and maybe two or three others.
“I’m sure that he’s been leaving by this side door at every break,” Paolo was saying. “At least, this is the door I saw him use yesterday when he came back into the building.”
“OK, so what do we do now?” Anthony questioned.
“We wait here until he comes back and then we ask him what’s going on. I hate it when he leaves us out of his schemes.”
There was general agreement from others vices.
Inside the walled area, Nate, Simon and Bruce stood frozen in place. They could hear the slightest sounds made by the other boys as they walked to the steps and sat down. Simon had not done it on purpose, but he had provided Bruce with the stiffest of his plastic pants. Until Bruce got his pants on, the crackling noise they made would be distinctly heard by his friends sitting on the steps. Bruce attempted to bend down to retrieve his pants. His plastic pants made a deafening noise so he stood back up causing another round of crackling. Luckily, the boys outside were making their own noises and they didn’t react. Instead, they started talking about some newly released video games. Five minutes had passed and Bruce was getting more and more scared; he was sweating and his knees were beginning to shake violently. Simon was afraid that he would fall over so he put a steadying hand on Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce didn’t see this coming so he let out a yelp of surprise as soon as he felt himself being touched.
“What was that?” Paolo asked.
“Someone’s in there,” someone said, indicating the walled area. “Lets check it out.”
Bruce knew that he was about to die, maybe not literally, but if his friends saw him like this, his reputation as a tough guy would be gone forever. His whole life didn’t flash before his eyes but he suddenly remembered something his dad had told him many times while scolding him: “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.” This inevitable moment of humiliation was the direct result of what he had started by photographing Simon, Nate and Juan in their diapers. His whole plan was about to backfire; he was the one who was mere seconds away from being revealed as a diaper boy.
Anthony came around the corner first. What he saw shocked and pleased him. He had long been jealous of Bruce’s control over the other guys and now he saw that he had a chance to become the new leader of the group. He lunged at Bruce who was desperately trying to put his shirt on. Anthony pulled the hem upwards effectively trapping Bruce’s arms above his head and inside the shirt. Bruce was disoriented because he couldn’t see and Anthony easily grabbed him under the chin in a choke hold.
“Hey, guys,” Anthony chortled, “did you know that little Brucie liked kitty cats so much?”
Bruce was still fighting his captor which only made the others take greater notice of how much his plastic pants crackled. The taunts started and the newly arrived boys were mocking Bruce as if he had always been their mortal enemy.
“Did your Mommy pick those out or did you get to choose them yourself?” one boy questioned.
“Look, he’s wet,” another gleefully pointed out, “see how his diapers are sagging.”
Simon attempted to come to the aid of Bruce but he was stopped by Paolo and another boy. He tried to break free but his struggle against them only resulted in his shirt riding up and revealing the top of his own plastic pants.
“Look, another one!” Paolo exulted as he and the other boys overpowered Simon and stripped him of his shirt and pants.
Nate was standing in the corner of the enclosure trying to make himself invisible. The two remaining boys pounced on him, too, and in just a few seconds he was also stripped down to his diapers and plastic pants.
“Aw,” the larger of the two boys who had stripped Nate said, “this one must be a bigger boy. See, he’s wearing white baby pants just like bigger boys do, or did your Mommy run out of your cute little baby pants?”
“I don’t wear baby pants,” Nate said defensively.
This only made the other boys laugh all the harder.
Despite their humiliation neither Nate, Simon, nor Bruce had gone into hysterics. Instead, they were numb, as if they were dreaming. But they weren’t, and they knew that worse was yet to come. Each was hoping that an adult would show up soon. (Where were they? Couldn’t they hear all this noise coming from an area that was off limits?)
“We’re going to let you go, now” Anthony announced, “but you’d better be good… or we might have to do something drastic,” he added menacingly.
The boys knew they had nowhere to go.
“OK, pick up their clothes,” Anthony ordered. “we wouldn’t want them to get lost now, would we?”
Then, as if he just thought of something else, he added, “Now that we’ve touched their clothes we ought to wash our hands. In fact, I bet their baby pants leaked and their clothes need washing. I’m sure they don’t know how to do it for themselves so we’d better do it for them.”
He said all of this as he gathered their clothes and approached the janitorial sink that was used to wash mops. Simon was the closest and he tried to stop Anthony from putting their clothes into the sink. However, the other boys easily held him back as Anthony drenched their shirts and pants in a matter of seconds.
“NO!” Simon, Nate, and Bruce shrieked in unison.
“Washa, washa, washa…,” mimicked Anthony.
Finally, (thought Simon, Nate, and Bruce) Mr. Carter walked into the crowded enclosure.
“What’s going on here?” he boomed in anger.
Everybody froze, including Mr. Carter who was stunned by what he saw. What was going on here? Three boys in diapers and plastic pants; four boys “guarding” them; and one boy standing at the sink pushing something under water?
“I said, what’s going on here?” he repeated louder.
Simon broke the silence.
“These guys stripped our clothes off because they knew we had wetting problems and then they deliberately soaked our clothes so that we would have nothing to wear.”
It was sort of the truth and at least he had the satisfaction of seeing the disgusted look that Mr. Carter shot at the other boys.
“All right, you guys,” he ordered Anthony, Paolo, and friends, “into Mrs. McCally’s office. NOW! I’ll go with you and NO TALKING on the way. You guys (indicating Simon, Nate and Bruce) wait here until I get back.”
As soon as Mr. Carter had left with their tormentors, Nate broke down.
“I knew this would happen;” he wailed, “now everybody will know about my diapers.”
Simon knew that there was no answer that would make Nate feel better so he tried to make him think about something else.
“At least those guys are going to get it now. Mrs. McCally hates it when we make fun of each other. She’s really going to be mad about this. I bet Anthony gets expelled.”
This thought made Nate calm down a little.
“Do you really think so?” he asked hopefully.
“Who knows?” Bruce chimed in. “I can tell you this, though, I’ve been on the receiving end of Mrs. McCally’s discipline more than once. It’s no fun. She has a knack for making your parents feel like they have to be extra hard on you.”
“Good,” was all that Nate had to say about it, but the tears still streamed down his cheeks as he thought of the other kids knowing about his diapers.
The boys were wondering how they were going to get out of here. Simon went over to the sink to check out their clothes. He looked at the greasy looking brown water.
“Yuck, this sink must have been really dirty because our clothes sure didn’t make this mess.”
Mrs. Wilcox arrived; Bruce turned crimson in embarrassment to be seen in diapers and baby pants.
“Here are some t-shirts that might cover you up adequately,” she said. “The boys and girls are still in the yard or cafeteria. If you hurry we can get to my office before they come back in the building at the end of lunch.”
The boys hurriedly donned their shirts and headed toward Mrs. Wilcox’s office.
****
Robbie and Juan didn’t meet up until math class, just before lunch. As soon as Juan saw that Robbie was wearing the pants he had loaned him yesterday he knew that Robbie was still wearing diapers. Juan gave him a thumbs up and Robbie blushed. He was still new to this diaper wearing game and he couldn’t believe how quickly and recklessly he had adopted it. And that was his problem right now. He had wet his diapers twice this morning; would he be able to get fresh ones from Juan?
“Don’t look so worried. I’ve got you covered,” Juan assured him.
Robbie stared blankly at Juan. Juan looked over his shoulder to make sure he wouldn’t be overheard.
“”I’ve got fresh diapers for you. We’ll take care of it at lunch,” he announced glibly.
Juan’s seeming ability to read his every thought was getting on Robbie’s nerves.
“And, no,” Juan concluded before sitting at his desk, “I can’t read every single thought you have!”
Robbie gave up and laughed along with Juan. In a few seconds, though, he was back into a serious mood. He was having trouble concentrating on his classes today. Yesterday, at this time, he had not worn a diaper since the age of three and now he couldn’t stop thinking about them- about how soft they felt between his legs, about the thrill of being “trapped” inside two diapers fastened by eight pins, and about having a secret hidden from the other students. And then, of course, the plastic pants. Why were these so fascinating to him? All these experiences had overloaded his senses; he was now acting on feelings alone.
Class dragged on and on, but lunch finally arrived. Juan and Robbie ate quickly.
“Now what?” Robbie asked.
He was getting nervous about his wet diapers. If he didn’t get them changed soon they would start leaking.
“Two choices,” Juan proposed, “either you go to the nurse and get them changed or we have to find a private area to do it.”
“The nurse!” Robbie squealed, “I can’t ask her to change my diapers. She doesn’t know me, how would I do that?… What private area?”
“Do you know the new handicapped restroom they built next to the counseling center? Well, it’s pretty big, to accommodate wheel chairs, I guess. But, anyway, it was built for only one person so it has a lock on the door. There’s practically no one in the center at this time of the day; we can probably sneak in and get the job done.”
“OK,” Robbie agreed.
Things were as Juan had predicted. There was no one in the hallway when they entered the restroom. They locked the door and Robbie nervously began undressing. He was really wet and he needed to relieve his bowels also. Standing in the middle of the bathroom in just his diapers and plastics he was embarrassed to admit what he needed to do.
“What are you waiting for?” Juan asked.
“I, um,… kind of need to use the toilet first.”
“Oh,” Juan responded. “OK, pull down you plastic pants to just above your knees. I’ll unpin the lower pins and you do the top ones but hold your diapers in place. I’ll pull your pants back up over them and then I’ll take the diapers and plastic pants off together. That way I can roll them up and put them in my bag while you use the toilet.”
It was little bit awkward but it worked. Juan turned away from Robbie in order to give him some privacy and he busied himself putting the soggy diapers into a plastic bag and getting out fresh diapers, plastic pants, and the other supplies he needed. After the toilet flushed, he turned back toward Robbie.
“Do you want to clean yourself or do you want me to do it?” Juan questioned.
“You can do it,” Robbie allowed.
“OK, lie down on the floor.”
Juan took a couple of wipes and began cleaning Robbie’s diaper area. As he was working he reflected on how much had changed since yesterday. Just twenty-four hours ago Robbie had seemed humiliated at having his diaper area touched by Juan, now he was asking for it. This excited Juan because he was looking for a diaper buddy his own age and he was now sure that Robbie was as enamored of his diapers as Juan was of his. After carefully cleaning and powdering Robbie he began pinning him into the diapers. As usual, Robbie began to get hard as the first diaper was pinned. Juan also reacted in unison with Robbie. The thought of being “trapped” in the diapers was a turn-on both boys appreciated. Finally, Juan slid the plastic pants up Robbie’s legs. Today, he deliberately chose a pair of green baby pants featuring nursery rhyme characters. These were the most daring he owned because the crackled the loudest and, therefore, put the wearer at a higher risk of being discovered.
“Robbie,” Juan said, “I need changing, too. Should I go to the nurse?”
Robbie hesitated for only an instant, “No, that’s OK. I’ll do it. I need the practice, anyway.”
Juan was pleased. He got out the diapers and plastic pants he would now wear. Looking at the plastic pants Robbie saw that they were the mate to the green ones he was wearing.
“You planned on us being twins, huh?”
“Only if you don’t mind? These are my crackliest pairs so if I wear them people might notice the noise coming from both of us. It’s risky.”
Until that moment Robbie hadn’t really noticed how crackly his plastic pants were. Now that he was aware of it he began getting excited.
“Let’s go for it. I’m not afraid, not even of Frank,” Robbie said dramatically.
The diaper change went fast and Juan and Robbie were facing each other in their diapers and baby pants. Robbie was beginning to have doubts.
“We sound like about a hundred bowls of cereal snapping, crackling, and popping.”
“That’s because it echoes in here. Once our pants are on, it won’t be so bad.”
Robbie let himself be convinced. But, walking down the hallway out of the counseling center it was obvious that the noise of their baby pants could be easily heard.
“Dude, it’s a good thing we don’t have any classes together this afternoon,” Robbie observed. “But, I do have a question for you. Does your mom buy all your diaper stuff at the pharmacy in the strip mall where I first saw you in diapers?”
“Why?” Juan asked hopefully. “Are you thinking of getting some?”
“Think about it. How many of your diapers have I used in the last twenty-four hours? About fifteen, right? Obviously, I have to get my own.”
This was it. Robbie was hooked, too. This was great, Juan thought.
“You know they’re pretty expensive,” Juan started saying before he remembered that Robbie’s family was rich.
“Yeah,” Robbie answered smoothly, “I don’t get much of an allowance but my grandmother secretly gives me money every time I see her. I really haven’t had any reason to spend much of it in the last two years so I have about $500 dollars that my parents don’t know about.”
“Wow,” Juan commented admiringly. “You had that much money and you didn’t spend it!”
“Until now I didn’t have any friends to spend it with,” Robbie answered seriously. “Do you think you can come with me after school to the pharmacy to buy my stuff? I’m kind of afraid that if I go alone I’ll chicken out.”
“Sure,” I’ll call my mother before going to my next class and ask her if I can go over to your house after school. My dad can pick me up after work. Would that be alright?”
“Great. We can take the bus to the strip mall and then the #97 bus that stops there goes right by my house. This is so cool.”
The bell rang and each boy went his own way. Robbie was so happy he didn’t even notice the funny stares he got over the odd crackling noises his pants were making.
After school Juan and Robbie met up again.
“I guess your mom said it was OK for you to come with me,” Robbie observed.
“Yeah, I think she was happy that I was going to be out of her hair this afternoon. She said that she had gotten a call form my brother’s school saying that he needed to be picked up. I guess he’s OK because my mom didn’t seem worried or anything. I wonder if he got into a fight or something with that Bruce Dyar kid?”
By now the boys were on the bus heading for the medical supply store. There were very lucky that they had left school on a city bus and not on Juan or Robbie’s regular school bus. Kevin hadn’t been able to find them today to warn them that Frank was really on the warpath. He had become furious when he found out that the videotape had not worked properly (which, of course, was not true as Kevin had given the real video to Juan) and had sworn to Kevin that he would get Juan and Robbie after school. Even though Frank’s friends had looked carefully for them, they had missed Juan and Robbie because the school buses and the city buses picked up students on opposite sides of the campus. Kevin decided that he would somehow try to warn Juan and Robbie before school tomorrow. But the next shock for the boys wouldn’t come from Frank.
Robbie and Juan stood on the sidewalk a short way down from Mrs. Tarabello’s pharmacy. Robbie seemed to be having second thoughts and Juan was trying to gently encourage him.
“OK,” Juan was saying, “we can stop right here and go to your house. You can take my diapers and plastic pants off and you forget the whole diaper thing.”
Robbie decided to tell Juan the real reason for his hesitation.
“I haven’t changed my mind about the diapers and plastic pants. The reason I’m hesitating is because… Remember last night when I couldn’t pee because I was too hard. Well, the excitement of buying my very own diapers and plastic pants is making me hard, too. What if Mrs. Tarabello notices?”
Juan began laughing and Robbie looked very hurt.
“No, no, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that the thought of you buying diapers has made me hard, too. Look, we’re both wearing shirts that hang down over our fronts; she won’t know.”
Robbie approached the door and walked in, Juan right behind him.
“Mrs. Tarabello recognized Juan and thought that he was back for more purchases for himself or his brother.
“How can I help you, today?” she asked Juan.
“I’m not buying anything today, Mrs. Tarabello, my friend Robbie is.”
Put on the spot so abruptly Robbie became tongue-tied and the color rose in his face.
“I want to buy diapers,” he blurted out, embarrassed by his own abruptness.
Mrs. Tarabello took it all in stride. She had received a phone call earlier in the day telling her that Juan and a friend might be coming by within the next few days. Apparently, they couldn’t wait.
“How many would you like?” she asked in her best shopkeeper’s voice.
“I don’t know. How many do you have?” he asked Juan.
“Four dozen, I think. Isn’t that right, Mrs. Tarabello?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” she answered. “But, they’re quite expensive- $95 per dozen. How will you be paying?”
“Cash,” Robbie answered.
Mrs. Tarabello was pleased.
Now that Robbie had committed to buying the diapers he felt tremendous energy come over him.
“I will also need plastic pants. What types do you have?”
“I have plain semi-transparent white and also some printed varieties.”
“I would like some of each. May I see them?” Robbie questioned.
With Juan’s assistance, he chose about half in plain white and half in semi-transparent prints. Mrs. Tarabello had restocked her supply since Juan had come in the week before and Juan was somewhat envious of the new styles that were there, particularly a pair with a rocket and airplane motif. It was now Robbie’s turn to read Juan’s mind.
“Don’t worry. I’ll share with you. You can wear the rockets and airplanes pants first.”
Next came some baby shirts and onesies. These purchases were followed by a supply of powder, baby oil, and pins. Robbie had been carefully keeping track of the purchases so that he wouldn’t overspend. His money was now all used up.
“OK,” Mrs. Tarabello announced, “because you’re buying in quantity you get a 15% discount.”
“Really?” asked a surprised Robbie. “In that case can I add more things to my purchases?”
“Certainly,” she quickly agreed.
Robbie then added three more print plastic pants and one more onesie to his rather huge pile of purchases.
“OK, I guess that’s everything,” he announced.
Mrs. Tarabello returned the small amount of change he was due and asked how their current diapers were holding out. Juan wasn’t surprised at this because Mrs. Tarabello knew that he wore them all the time but the look of shock on Robbie’s face was priceless.
Before the boys could answer, she said, “I’ve been in this business for a long time. Even with today’s baggy styles I know who’s wearing diapers and who isn’t. When was your last change?”
“Twelve o’clock,” Juan answered.
“That’s too long for boys your age. Into the back room with you. Do you have fresh diapers, Juan? I know that your friend does,” she smiled at Robbie.
Juan took out two diapers from his bag but before he could select any plastic pants Robbie handed him the “rockets and airplanes” plastic pants that he had been admiring before.
“I got two more of these with the 15% discount. These are yours, keep them.”
Juan was thrilled at this unexpected gift and he thanked Robbie several times. Mrs. Tarabello hurried them along.
“Juan, you know where the back room is- please take your friend there and strip down to your diapers and plastic pants so that I can change you quickly. I’ll be along in a minute. I want to put this money in the safe,” she said, referring to the $500 she had just received from Robbie.
The boys went to the back room and stripped as requested. Mrs. Tarabello finally came in about five minutes later. She smiled to herself when she noticed that they were wearing matching baby pants and that those baby pants were of a type that crackled very loudly.
“Who’s first?” she asked, as she picked up the clothes they had laid on the changing table and put them in a bag that was sitting by her feet. Robbie was too nervous to wonder if there was any significance to her moving their clothes.
Robbie wanted to go first because his excitement had finally gone down and he wanted to get changed before there was any possibility that his excitement would come back. Mrs. Tarabello worked efficiently and had his baby pants and diapers off in just a few moments. She then wiped and powdered his diaper area equally expertly. As she began pinning the diapers, the inevitable happened. Robbie could not resist getting hard and his face turned crimson in embarrassment. He couldn’t believe that he would have the same powerful feelings even when a stranger was changing his diaper! Once he had been put into his new baby pants (Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam motif) Juan got on the table and when the first of his fresh diapers was halfway pinned on the front door chime announced that a customer had entered the store. She decided to tease Robbie.
“Robbie, dear, would you please go tell that customer that I’m busy but that I will be out in just a minute or two?”
As red as Robbie face had gotten a few minutes ago, it now turned equally white. His hands and legs began shaking, his eyes were round with fear.
“Dressed like this?” he croaked.
“Oh, well, if you’d rather not,” she continued to tease as she went out front.
“She wasn’t serious, was she?” Robbie questioned Juan.
“No, I don’t think so. I think she was just trying to press your buttons. Could you finish pinning my diapers on?”
“I would, but Mrs. Tarabello was taking the pins from her apron pocket and I don’t see any others around.”
“Well, never mind. I hope she comes back quickly.”
They heard Mrs. Tarabello speaking softly to the customer in the store followed by her footsteps coming back into the room. Only, there were two sets of footsteps, not one. Before they could react fully, Mrs. Tarabello was standing in the doorway with Robbie’s mother. Juan didn’t know who this woman was but Robbie’s reaction told him everything he needed to know.
“Mom!”
Robbie ran behind the changing table as if it could possibly be an effective hiding place. He also began that same nervous reaction he had had on Maple Avenue. His hands never stopped moving over the surface of his plastic pants and his feet never stopped moving. He was hyperventilating even worse than yesterday and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Surprisingly, he didn’t back away as his mother approached him and held him in a strong hug.
“Shush now, shhh, shhh, everything’s going to be alright,” she encouraged Robbie.
In the meantime, Juan was finished and he began rummaging in the bag to retrieve his shirt and pants.
“Not yet,” was all Mrs. Tarabello said as she stopped him. She then exited the room saying that she had to watch the store.
Juan was very curious as to how Mrs. Bretmeister found out about Robbie. How did she know that they would be here buying diapers today? He hadn’t known about it until lunchtime. He wanted Robbie to calm down so that he could find out some of the answers to his questions.
“Does this mean that you’re not mad at me?” Robbie finally asked.
“I don’t know; I haven’t decided yet,” his mother answered flatly. “And you must be Juan,” she said introducing herself.
“Yes…, I am, Mrs. Bretmeister. But how did you…?”
“That’s a pretty long story. You boys have caused your parents to sharpen their detectives skills quite a bit today. But before I tell you the rest, let’s get you dressed.”
Instead of going to the bag that contained their shirts and pants she picked up the two baby shirts she had brought in with her. Mrs. Tarabello must have chosen them out since they perfectly matched each boy’s plastic pants. Juan suspected that they would get the shirt put on them, but nothing else. He looked over to Robbie to see how he was taking it but he didn’t think that it had registered yet. Mrs. Tarabello confirmed Juan’s suspicions as she entered the room again and took away the bag containing their other clothes. Juan also suspected that Mrs. Tarabello had loaded the packages in Mrs. Bretmeister’s car so that the boys could be led out into the parking lot with no bags to hide behind.
“No shirt and pants?” Robbie asked, his voice catching.
“Soon,” was his mother’s enigmatic reply.
It was time to leave. Juan was feeling like an old hand at this, it being the third time in less than a month that he would leave the store dressed in diapers and plastic pants. He wondered if any of the other shopkeepers would remember him from the previous times. Robbie was exhibiting signs of resistance. He practically had to be dragged from the back room to the front of the store.
“Robbie, I never spanked you as a baby, but if you don’t stop this behavior right now and begin cooperating, I’ll take down your plastic pants and diapers and spank you right here in the store,” Mrs. Bretmeister threatened.
There was an edge to his mother’s voice that made Robbie take her seriously. As bad as walking to the car in the diapers and baby pants was, getting spanked in public was unimaginable. Robbie took a gulp of air (much like a swimmer going under for an extended period) and approached the door; his mother and Juan were close behind. He spotted their white Mercedes in the parking lot and took off like a shot through the door. He was one car away from it when it began to pull out. The girl sitting in the front passenger seat saw him and covered her mouth to giggle. She waved to him as they pulled away. Where was his mother’s car?!?! He was so panicked that he didn’t hear her calling to him until the third time. He turned and saw her pointing two aisles down. He took off between two parked cars and almost got hit by a car as he exited into the next aisle. The driver honked in irritation as he came to a screeching halt. By now Mrs. Bretmeister had reached Robbie and was scolding him for his carelessness.
“You could have been killed,” she remonstrated. “Now, calm down and don’t let go of my hand.”
The driver had exited his car, not in anger but out of concern that a mother had let her baby wander freely in the parking lot. Only as he approached them did he realize that Robbie was no baby (and neither was the other boy standing nearby). Confused, he smiled weakly at Mrs. Bretmeister and got back into his car. “What’s the world coming to?” he thought.
Meanwhile, Juan was acutely aware of the large number of people who had gathered. He was getting anxious to get into the car but Mrs. Bretmeister was still lecturing Robbie. Finally, she grabbed his hand and said, “Come along. And be careful about approaching cars.”
“Now, to get you some pants,” Mrs. Bretmeister announced as they were leaving the parking lot.
“Pants? At a store?” Robbie asked incredulously.
“Of course, at a store,” his mother confirmed. “Shall we go to the mall so that you can select from a wide range of stores?”
“No!” Robbie said sharply.
“Don’t use that tone with me, young man,” Mrs. Bretmeister scolded. “Now answer the question- where do you want to shop?”
Robbie thought for a few seconds
“The Levi store, please.”
Juan understood Robbie’s choice. The Levi store was in a very small strip mall so that there would be fewer people around to see them. Still, who knew if anybody from school would be there? They managed to get a parking space right by the front door.
“Juan, your mother told me that you don’t need any new pants but I won’t leave you dressed like that in the car. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come in with us.”
Juan wasn’t sure whether he was upset by this or not. Once again he was faced with his ambiguous feelings. On one hand, he really didn’t care if people saw him in his diapers and plastic pants. In fact, he enjoyed watching their reactions. On the other hand, what would his peers say or do to him if they saw him parading around in diapers and baby pants. That was a scary thought.
Once again, Robbie took the lead and dashed into the store to bury himself in one of the back aisles of clothing. The clerk wasn’t sure that she had seen correctly, but when Mrs. Bretmeister and Juan entered it confirmed that the first boy had indeed been wearing diapers and plastic pants. The clerk approached them and asked if she could be of assistance.
“Yes, please, my son who came in first will be buying at least three pairs of long pants and two or three pairs of shorts. Could you assist him?”
“Certainly, do you have any particular styles in mind or is he free to choose whatever he wants?”
The clerk asked this because she still wasn’t sure why these boys were in diapers. They didn’t seem to have any particular handicaps or deficiencies but years of experience had taught her to be careful about potentially volatile situations. It seemed to her that teenaged boys in diapers qualified as volatile. At least there weren’t any other customers in the store to complicate matters.
Robbie had heard the conversation between the clerk and his mother so he wasn’t surprised when she offered him assistance. He blushed a deep red as he politely declined. He managed to get Juan’s attention and signaled him over.
“Would you help me find what I want so we can get out of here fast? What size were the pants you loaned me yesterday?” Robbie softly asked.
He then described what he was looking for and they divided up to get the job done faster. The door to the store opened and two girls entered. Juan didn’t recognize them but he heard Robbie softly whisper ‘shit’ under his breath.
“Do you know them?” Juan whispered.
“Yeah, they’re both in my homeroom. Shit, shit, shit,” he repeated nervously.
They walked over to the girls department without noticing the boys. Robbie hoped that they wouldn’t stay very long, but since he didn’t have any sisters he didn’t know how unlikely that was.
Within a few minutes Robbie had all the pants and short he needed. The girls were still browsing and giggling together. Occasionally, the would shoot glances over to Juan and Robbie and giggle some more. Juan wondered how they were going to react when they got a clear view of them in their diapers and baby pants. Mrs. Bretmeister confirmed that Robbie was finished making his selections.
“Good, let’s take them into the fitting room to make sure they all fit,” she decreed.
Since this would use up more time Robbie was all for it until he realized that the fitting rooms were on the other side of the store, not far from where the girls were shopping.
“Please, I know they fit OK. Don’t make me walk past the girls like this.,” Robbie pleaded.
“This is your own doing,” Mrs. Bretmeister pointed out. “Now march.”
She finally was forced to lead him toward the dressing rooms. This argument and subsequent activity had peaked the girls’ interest. They stood bug-eyed as Robbie walked passed them in his plastic pants. As soon as he and his mom were in the dressing room area they headed toward Juan to try to find out what was going on. Juan knew that escape was impossible so he calmly waited for the inevitable.
“Ohmigod, this one is dressed just like Robbie,” the first girl exclaimed.
“Then the rumors must be true,” the second girl affirmed.
“Rumors? What rumors?” Juan asked, a sinking feeling overcoming him.
“After school today there was a rumor going around that some guy named Juan… that’s you isn’t it?… that some guy named Juan had done something to some guy named Frank and that this Frank guy was going to show everybody that you were just a big diaper-wearing baby. I mean, no offense, that was what the rumor said. Robbie wears diapers, too?” the first girl said in one giant breath.
This was bad news. Not just because the whole school would know about his diapers (and Robbie’s too, he supposed) but because Frank was obviously out for a fight. How could he and Robbie avoid fighting Frank? It wasn’t that he was afraid of Frank, he just didn’t like fighting on principle. He was also afraid that Robbie might go berserk again; he didn’t want his friend expelled for fighting, either.
The girls were waiting for an answer.
“Uh, yeah, that’s sort of what happened. Frank is a jerk and a couple of years ago he challenged me to a fight that I won. A little while ago, he found out about my diapers and he tried to use that as an excuse to get even.”
“But, you’re wearing diapers without pants, in public!” the second girl pointed out.
“Um, yeah, but this is something else, kind of a punishment, I guess.”
“Oh,” the first girl said, “how embarrassing. But, you’re both look so cute in them- I wouldn’t mind changing your diapers some day,” she said suggestively.
Juan hoped that his excitement wasn’t showing through his plastic pants.
“Thanks, I guess,” he stammered.
The girls left the store just before Robbie and is mother came back.
“OK, let’s pay for these and get out of here. We still have two stops to go,” she announced.
Juan would have liked to tell Robbie about his conversation with the girls, but this would have involved talking about Frank and yesterday’s events which he wanted to keep secret from his parents. He hoped he would get some time alone with Robbie later.
The next stop was at a private house. Juan and Robbie looked at each and shrugged. I don’t know what this is about, either. A matronly woman answered Mrs. Bretmeister’s knock.
“Come in, come in. I’ve been expecting you,” she said. “And these must be the boys. Oh, yes, I think I can fit them very well. Wasn’t there going to be another lady coming?”
Mrs. Bretmeister informed Mrs. Kelly (the lady who answered the door) that Mrs. Prado, Juan’s mother, had been detained because of a problem with her other son. Still, they would proceed as planned since she and Mrs. Prado had made their lists together.
“Good, good,” Mrs. Kelly said, “follow me and we can get started.”
She led to a sewing room at the back of the house. At the far end was a rack holding a variety of clothing items- baby clothes in youth and adult sizes. The boys looked at each other and communicated silently to each other. Baby clothes!
Robbie reacted first.
“Mom!”
“What, dear?” she answered reasonably. “Wasn’t it you who started wearing diapers on your own, without dad and me knowing? Do you want to stop wearing them now, forever? And how about you, Juan? No more diapers for you either?”
The boys were speechless. The price for wearing diapers was going to be allowing their moms to dress them as babies. They looked at each other and shrugged.
“Does that mean ‘yes’? Robbie’s mother pressed.
“You’re not going to make me wear these things in public, are you?” he answered.
“No, this will be private.”
The boys looked at each other and shrugged again.
“Then, let’s start by getting you measured,” Mrs. Kelly said to Juan and Robbie. Looking toward Mrs. Bretmeister she added, “It’s always so much easier when they show up in their diapers and they don’t have to get undressed.”
She spent the next few minutes measuring and recording her findings on a chart for each of the boys.
“You know, they’re almost exactly the same size. They’ll be able to share clothes if they want,” Mrs. Kelly added.
“Mrs. Bretmeister nodded in understanding. “Here’s our list, more or less as we discussed this morning. Mrs. Prado and I decided to take some of your suggestions so we added some “younger” clothing.”
“I’m sure you won’t regret it. The boys will find them comfortable, too. I may be able to fill some of this order from existing stock, if the colors and styles are acceptable.”
“That would be nice,” Mrs. Bretmeister acknowledged.
Mrs. Kelly walked over to the other side of the room and began opening drawers in the long cabinet that stood against the back wall. She began pulling our pajamas and corduroy pants. Next, she took off several hangers of clothing sheathed in plastic.
“As I told you on the phone this morning, I generally make my clothing on the snug side. What’s the point if their diapers aren’t prominent? Also, I think that plastic pants that peek out at the leg openings are just adorable.”
As she was talking she removed the plastic covering from the hangers revealing two baby rompers in a very old-fashioned style. The sleeves and legs openings were elasticized giving them a puffy look; the peter pan collar was trimmed in white piping; and, an adjustable belt in the back guaranteed that the diapers would indeed be very prominent. The outfit fastened with a series of small buttons running up the back of the garment ensuring that the wearer could not take it off himself. Mrs. Bretmeister’s broad smile testified to how much she loved the look of the garment.
“They’re adorable,” she said. “But how will they hold up. I’m sure that neither Juan’s mother nor I want to become slaves to ironing.”
“There made from wrinkle free cotton. They hold up very well. Just a moment and I’ll show you.”
She was about to leave the room when a girl of about seventeen or eighteen came down the stairs just outside the door to the sewing room.
“Cindy,” Mrs. Kelly said, “get your brother dressed in his green romper and bring him down here. I have some customers who want to see how well our clothing lasts.” Turning back to Mrs. Bretmeister, she proudly announced, “Cindy has started helping me with the sewing. She is coming along very fine.”
Upstairs, muffled voices could be heard. Obviously, Mrs. Kelly’s son didn’t want to model his green romper to strangers.
“Excuse me a moment,” Mrs. Kelly apologized. She walked to the foot of the stairs and called out her son’s name in that parental tone that is universally understood by all children. Without further prompting he agreed to let his sister dress him in his romper.
“Why don’t we try these on while Cindy is getting Kevin ready. What do you think,” Mrs. Kelly asked Robbie’s mother, “the yellow one for Juan and the blue for Robbie?”
Mrs. Bretmeister agreed. She took Robbie in hand while Mrs. Kelly attended to Juan. Off came their baby shirts and they stepped into the rompers. The buttons were buttoned and the belts adjusted to accentuate the roundness of their diapered bottoms.
“Oh, boys, you look so cute,” Mrs. Bretmeister beamed.
Before she could go any further, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Mrs. Kelly’s son was coming. Suddenly, the boys grew very embarrassed. Robbie’s mother had just said that this would be private but in less than one minute of wearing their rompers they were about to be seen by a total stranger. Mrs. Kelly’s son entered the room.
“Kevin!” Juan and Robbie exclaimed simultaneously.
“You guys!” Kevin answered.
Standing in front of them was Kevin, the cameraman from yesterday’s humiliation at the hands of Frank. Obviously, when Kevin returned the videotape and revealed to them that he wore diapers because of bedwetting he wasn’t telling them the whole story. On the other hand, neither had Juan or Robbie told Kevin the whole truth about their own diaper wearing. Juan wanted to make sure that Kevin didn’t let any information slip out about yesterday’s events so he decided to take the lead.
“We know Kevin from school,” Juan told the ladies.
“That’s wonderful,” Mrs. Kelly exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Juan agreed, “although we haven’t seen each other for a while, I think we have some classes together next quarter. Don’t we?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s right, I think…” Kevin seconded.
Kevin had gotten the message. Yesterday’s events were not to be talked about. But, Kevin wanted to tell Juan and Robbie about this afternoon’s events, especially about Frank looking for them after school.
“So, you guys are getting some of my mom’s clothes?” Kevin asked. “I’ve got more in my room. Mom, can I show them some of my other stuff?”
Mrs. Kelly was taken aback by this request. In the past, Kevin had bolted out of the room as soon as he was finished modeling his baby clothes. Obviously, he trusted these boys.
“Well, I’m not sure...” Mrs. Kelly said looking toward Mrs. Bretmeister.
“That will be OK,” the latter answered, “I have a few things to discuss with Mrs. Kelly. But don’t take too long. We’ll have to leave soon.”
At the top of the stairs Juan suddenly stopped.
“Is your sister up here?” he asked worriedly.
“Uh, yeah, but she usually stays in her listening to music while she does her homework. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her seeing you,” Kevin answered as reassuringly as he could.
They entered his room. It definitely belonged to a diaper boy. A changing table containing stacks of diapers and plastic pants stood against the far wall. The room also had that telltale mixture of odors: baby powder, baby oil, and pee. Laying on the bed was the yellow shortall and striped shirt he had been wearing before his sister changed him into his romper.
“I really didn’t ask for you to come up here to show you my other baby clothes,” Kevin said sheepishly. “I need to tell you about what Frank did this afternoon.”
Since Juan hadn’t had a chance to tell Robbie about his conversation with the two girls in the Levi store he took the opportunity to do so now. The girl’s story was based on rumor so Kevin corrected it on a few points.
“All day long I looked for you to warn you about Frank. He went real crazy yesterday when he came over and I lied to him that the tape didn’t record anything. As the school day went on today he kept coming up with crazier and crazier plans. When he couldn’t find you at your normal buses this afternoon he started telling everyone that you (meaning Juan) were a diaper wearer and that he had seen your diapers and plastic pants during English class last Friday. He practically invited anyone who didn’t believe him to just confront you to find out if it was true or not. I hope that no one is crazy enough to take him up on that. I’m worried about what Frank might do tomorrow.”
Juan thanked Kevin for the information but before they could discuss it, Mrs. Kelly called to them that Juan and Robbie needed to leave.
“Kevin, my mom is probably going to give us the third degree about your other clothes. Can you give us a quick tour so that we can answer her questions without her getting suspicious about what we talked about?”
Half of Kevin’s closet was filled with various styles and colors of rompers, shortalls, overalls, shirts, and various dressy clothes. His dresser contained play shorts, t-shirts, and toddler styles sleepers. Juan noticed something that made him smile. Even though Kevin opened every drawer in his dresser there was no “regular” underwear anywhere inside it. Did this mean that Kevin wore diapers all the time, too? Also, did this mean that Kevin wanted to wear baby and toddler clothes?
Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Bretmeister stood at the foot of the stairs watching the boys descend.
“You boys look good enough to eat,” Mrs. Bretmeister exclaimed, “like three little bon bons. And, I certainly agree, Mrs. Kelly, the way their plastic pants peek out at the leg openings is enchanting.”
“Mo-o-om,” Robbie protested. Kevin’s giggle surprised Juan but also made him suspect even more that Kevin liked wearing his baby clothes. Juan hoped that the three of them would spend many days together like this.
“OK, guys, into the car, we’re running a little late.”
“Like this??” Robbie protested again.
“Your baby shirts are in the trunk with the other new things I just picked up. Would you rather be dressed in only diapers and plastic pants? Besides, you can stay in the car at the next stop.” Turning to Mrs. Kelly she continued, “Thank you so much for your help. I look forward to meeting again soon when the rest of their clothes are ready.”
“My pleasure, I assure you,” Mrs. Kelly beamed.
Robbie’s mother announced that the next stop was the China East Restaurant.
“I ordered takeout while you boys were upstairs looking at Kevin’s clothes. Juan, your family will be dining with us tonight,” she informed him.
Juan wondered if he was in very much trouble. If it hadn’t been for him, Robbie wouldn’t be wearing diapers now. Mrs. Bretmeister didn’t act as if she was mad about it, but she was certainly determined to bring the whole situation up to another level. His own parents must have agreed since he was included in the baby clothes shopping spree. Maybe the real problem was going to be Nate’s reaction. Juan wondered what kind of problems his brother had had in school today. If someone found out about Nate’s diapers, Juan current state of dress would probably send Nate over the edge. Oh well, he thought, there’s nothing I can do about it now.
Mrs. Bretmeister brought Juan out of his reverie.
“What did you guys think of Kevin’s collection?”
Neither boy wanted to answer first for fear of betraying his excitement at owning such babyish clothes. But the truth was that each boy had become very excited about the prospect of being dressed (at least privately) in baby clothes. Juan and Robbie had become excited and hard inside their plastic pants at their first sight of the baby clothes. Mrs. Bretmeister hadn’t been fooled; she had seen their reactions.
“Will I have to wear this kind of stuff every day at home?” Robbie asked, avoiding his mother’s question.
“Yes, honey,” she answered.
She then revealed how Robbie’s father had gone into his son’s room last night to say good night and had found him asleep in thick diapers and plastic pants. He and Mrs. Bretmeister wondered what was going on but decided to wait to see what would happen next. This morning when he came down to breakfast in diapers (Honey, did you really think that we wouldn’t notice the rustling and crackling of your plastic pants?) they knew something big was going on. After he had left for school they went into his closet and found the five wet diapers from the night before. Since there was no other evidence of diapers they wondered if Juan had anything to do with this. They called the Prado home (since Robbie had left the number with his father the evening before) and, rather embarrassedly, asked if Robbie had been wearing diapers the previous day. Mrs. Prado was taken aback but it soon became evident that somehow or other Juan had gotten Robbie to try some of his diapers. Since Robbie had continued wearing (and wetting) the diapers it seemed like he liked wearing them, too. Mrs. Prado was the one who suggested that Mrs. Tarabello be informed that Robbie might want to buy his own diapers and plastic pants and that she should be on the lookout for him.
“And that’s how I got Mrs. Tarabello’s call,” Mrs. Bretmeister concluded. “Let me tell you, I was floored when she showed me how many diapers and plastic pants you had bought. By the way, where did you get that much money?”
For the first time Robbie felt a pang of guilt.
“Well, uh, um, I didn’t do anything wrong to get the money,” he answered defensively.
“I didn’t say you did,” she retorted, “but, please, answer the question.”
“Grandma Parker gave it to me,” he admitted.
“All at once?” she asked incredulously.
“No, a little bit at a time. Every time we visit she secretly gives me money.”
“How long has this been going on?” she pressed.
“I don’t know. A couple of years. This is the first time I spend any of it. I didn’t know what to spend it on before.”
This was a surprising admission that confirmed for Mrs. Bretmeister the depth of Robbie’s sudden attachment to diapers. She wondered what she and her husband did during his upbringing that could have caused Robbie’s surprising desire to act like a baby. Maybe they would never know; maybe there wasn’t an answer.
Returning to the subject of the money she asked, “How much more do you have?”
“Just a little bit of change, I spent it all today.”
They had arrived at the restaurant and Mrs. Bretmeister parked the car.
“I hope they have the order ready. You boys wait here, I shouldn’t be long”
As soon as she had left, Robbie unbuckled his seat belt so that he could turn around to talk to Juan.
“You boys look so cute,” he mimicked his mother.
“Shut up,” Juan answered, a smile on his face.
They became silent for a few moments.
“Are you upset that we’re going to have to wear baby clothes with our diapers?” Juan asked.
“No, not really,” Robbie admitted.
“Me, either.” Juan confirmed.
More silence.
“I wonder what’s taking my mom so long? It’s getting hot in here.”
“Why don’t you go in and ask her?” Juan teased.
“Is that a dare?”
“Maybe. Why? Are you chicken?”
“I’m not chicken. You’re the one who’s probably chicken.”
“I am not.”
“Prove it,” Robbie said. “go in with me.”
Each boy knew that he was pushing the situation to a dangerous level. They were now at the point of no return. Unless Mr. Bretmeister came out of the restaurant at this moment one or both of them would have to prove himself.
Robbie opened his door. Juan opened his. The boys stepped out of the car. Robbie pushed the automatic door locks.
“If we close the doors now, we’ll be trapped outside the car,” Robbie warned.
Juan shut his door; Robbie did the same.
“Holy shit,” Juan exclaimed, “I don’t believe you did that.”
“I told you yesterday, when people push me to the brink I kind of snap inside. I never back down.”
“Now what do we do?” Juan nervously asked.
“Well, we could try to keep ourselves hidden here next to the car and tell my mom that we accidentally locked ourselves out,” Robbie proposed.
“I guess so. But a lot of people have been coming and going out of this lot. Nobody has gone in or come out the restaurant. Do you think we’d be safer there?” Juan asked.
Two more cars coming into the lot and heading toward them convinced the boys to try the restaurant. They opened the door just as two old ladies were leaving.
“Thank you, young men. That’s very polite of you to hold the door for us,” the first one said.
“Yes, thank you,” echoed the second one. And, noticing what they were wearing, “Such pretty clothes. The fashions adopted by teenagers used to surprise me, but not anymore. Besides, this is so much nicer than the punk or grunge looks from several years ago. Don’t you agree?” she asked to her friend.
“Oh, absolutely. You boys look absolutely precious.”
The boys were desperate to get away before anyone else saw them. Going into the restaurant no longer seemed like a good idea.
“Thank you, ma’am” Robbie answered. “Is your car parked nearby?”
“Are you going to escort us to our car? How sweet,” the ladies giggled like school girls. “It’s right over there.”
Luckily, she pointed to the car right next to where they were parked. The ladies probably would have seen the boys sitting in their baby clothes anyway. After seeing the ladies to their car, Juan turned to Robbie and laughed. Robbie joined in and pretty soon they each had an uncontrollable fit of the giggles. Robbie’s mother came back to find them next to the car laughing.
“What are you doing outside the car?” she demanded.
This brought the boys back to seriousness.
“It was hot inside the car so we opened the doors to get some air and then we got locked out,” Robbie said all in one breath.
“Oh, how unfortunate.” Even though she suspected that there was more to the story than that, she let it drop without comment.
The trip back to Robbie’s house took less than five minutes. The boys grew quiet as they entered the driveway; each was concerned about what his father would say about his new attire. Mrs. Bretmeister parked in front.
“OK, guys, let’s get these packages inside,” she said opening the trunk. “Put these two bags from Mrs. Kelly’s in the entrance hall. You can take the pre-washed diapers up to your room; the rest go into the laundry room. I’ve cleaned out your closet but I doubt that there will be enough room. Your diapers and plastic pants will take up a lot more space than I imagined.”
Juan had only seen the outside of the house at night. In the daylight, it was even more magnificent. The lawns and gardens were immaculately maintained. The inside was like something out of the movies. The marble entrance hall opened up to a room on each side, a hallway extended toward the back of the house, and a staircase curved up to the second floor. The boys put down the bags of baby clothes from Mrs. Kelly’s and headed upstairs with the first load of stuff from the pharmacy. Juan marveled at the size of the house and the richness of the furnishings and carpets.
“Wow,” he marveled upon seeing Robbie’s room.
It was huge and it had its own full bathroom and walk-in closet. The windows overlooked the back yard, and, most notably, an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Juan was impressed.
“Let’s get the rest of the stuff,” Robbie suggested.
Back upstairs with the remaining bags as well as their school stuff, Robbie opened the closet to start putting away the diapers and plastic pants. The closet door had a full-length mirror attached.
“So that’s what I look like,” Juan said in awe as he saw his reflection for the first time.
Robbie stood next to him. “Yeah, kind of funny, isn’t it,” he agreed.
In the next few minutes they managed to fit the pre-washed diapers and the plastic pants on the shelves. Once the other diapers were washed there would be no way to fit them into the available space. Mrs. Bretmeister walked into the room and surveyed the job they were doing.
“We’ll have to get some new storage space for your diapers and baby pants,” she announced. Switching subjects, she asked, “Are either of you ready to be changed?”
Robbie said that he was OK but Juan asked for a change and for the use of the toilet. Mrs. Bretmeister took his romper off and unpinned his diapers. Nearly naked, he ran into Robbie’s bathroom to do number two. A few minutes later, he came back, modestly covering his privates. He hopped onto the changing pad that was spread out on the bed.
“Move your hands so that I can clean you.”
She gently cleaned his diaper area and powdered him. Since he had used up his diaper supply, she put him into some of Robbie’s new diapers. As usual, the ritual of pinning the diapers caused him to get an erection. Mrs. Bretmeister pretended not to notice. After sliding on a new pair of plastic pants she helped him get back into his romper. She fussed with it, getting the leg elastics just right so that the romper puffed out on all sides.
“OK, Robbie, you’re next,” she indicated.
“But, I don’t need to be changed,” he protested.
“I don’t want to change you, I just want to make you look nice, too,” she admonished her son.
He endured about two minutes of fussing while she got his outfit just right and also combed his hair. Just as she was finishing, Mr. Bretmeister arrived home.
“Come on, let’s go see Daddy,” she suggested.
She took Robbie and Juan by the hand and led them downstairs. Since Mrs. Bretmeister had already moved her car to the garage, her husband didn’t realize that she and Robbie were already home. He was in the entrance hall looking at the mail that was stacked on a little table. He looked up as they were coming down the stairs.
“Hi,” he said to his wife as he kissed her. “I see that you’ve had a productive day.” He then looked over to his son and said, somewhat ironically, “Hi, how’s my big boy today?”
“OK, I guess,” came Robbie’s cautious reply.
“And who is your little friend?” he prompted.
“This is Juan Prado, we’re in the same math class at school.”
“Pleased to meet you,” he said as he extended his hand and gave Juan a firm handshake.
Both boys were uncomfortable. Why wasn’t Mr. Bretmeister commenting on their attire? Was he mad at Robbie but waiting until Juan had left to express his displeasure?
As if in reply to their unspoken questions, he said, “Once the Prados are here we’ll talk about what’s been going on with you. For now, why don’t you go watch TV or go back up to your room until they arrive.”
The boys chose to go back up to Robbie’s room.
“You dad seems pretty cool,” Juan commented.
“Yeah, I guess so, but he was teasing me, too. At least I hope it was teasing,” Robbie answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you heard him call me his ‘big boy’ and he called you my ‘little friend’. He never says things like that.”
“Yeah, but I bet you were never dressed like an overgrown six-month old baby, either,” Juan teased.
For the next half hour, Robbie gave Juan a tour of his computer and some of the games he had. Once the Prados arrived, they were called downstairs. Another awkward scene of greeting was played out with Juan undergoing the scrutiny of his parents seeing him in a baby outfit for the first time. Mrs. Prado and Mrs. Bretmeister (Cynthia and Doris) exchanging pleased glances.
They sat down to dinner. The boys got another surprise as large nursery-print bibs were tied around their necks.
“You don’t want to dirty your new outfits, do you?” Mrs. Prado asked them.
“No, I guess not,” Robbie answered for both of them.
As dinner went on, the boys found out more about their parents activities that day. After the Bretmeister’s call to the Prados, Mr. Prado and Mr. Bretmeister (Jorge and Manfred) had met for coffee. Jorge had discussed Juan’s growing fascination with diapers and how he and his wife had decided not to fight it. Manfred had listened intently and had agreed with the basic approach used by the Prados. It was Cynthia and Doris who had wanted to see how far the boys were willing to go with their babyish ways. Cynthia had already noticed that Juan was visiting teen baby sites on the family computer, including sites that sold youth and adult sized baby clothing. The previous week she had accidentally found Mrs. Kelly’s page listed in a directory of AB/TB-friendly clothing sites. The fact that it was local was very appealing and she had contacted her for a catalogue and prices. This morning, after receiving the Bretmeisters call she decided to act. She called Mrs. Kelly again and asked if she could bring her son around after school. As an afterthought she called Doris and told her what she was up to. Doris said that she would probably bring Robbie over also if he persisted in his diaper wearing.
“Frankly,” Mrs. Prado said to the boys, “ when Mrs. Tarabello called to say that you were in her store buying diapers and plastic pants we couldn’t believe it. We were thinking that things would move much more slowly. By then, I had already picked Nate up from school so I couldn’t go with you to Mrs. Kelly’s.”
The mention of Nate’s name prompted Juan to ask what had happened. His father gave a brief synopsis of the episode and he assured Juan that his brother would be fine. They should expect, however, that Nate would need some extra attention and reassurance for a little while. He informed Juan that Nate was at home with Carla.
“Will the way I’m dressed cause problems for Nate?” Juan asked sincerely.
“Your mother and I were talking about that on the way over. We told Nate that some baby clothes had been bought for you and that you would be required to wear them at home until further notice. When he asked how come, we told him it was because you had provided a friend with diapers and plastic pants behind our backs. We’re pretty sure he already knows about your feelings about diapers and plastic pants, but dressing you this way at home might take some of the focus off him and make him feel better. I think you’d better get ready for some teasing from him.”
“Yeah, OK,” Juan agreed. “I guess I can take it.”
“Good. See that you do,” his dad said emphatically.
Dinner was over and the four adults were cleaning up the table and the kitchen. When the boys offered to help they were told to go wait in the den.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to do any chores when we’re dressed like this,” Juan remarked.
“Yeah” Robbie agreed, “but don’t count on it.”
A few minutes later their parents were ready to talk to them. Their dads each sat in an armchair while their moms sat next to each other on the couch. The boys were standing.
“We have to leave soon,” Jorge Prado began, “but we wanted to explain to you boys the new rules you are going to live by. None of us can say that he or she understands your fascination with wearing diapers and being treated like babies. We’re only concerned that you do it safely.”
“That’s right,” Doris Bretmeister agreed. “In fact, Robbie, I brought you to Mrs. Kelly’s today mostly to see how you would react. Mrs. Prado was already sure that Juan was interested in experimenting with baby clothes and I wanted to know how you would behave when presented with the possibility. Neither of you protested so I guess you’re both OK with it. Am I right?”
The boys shifted their feet and looked down at the floor, afraid to look their parents in the eye. They both wanted to say that the baby treatment was what they wanted but the words got stuck in their throats. A few seconds later their dads asked the boys to approach them. To their surprise, their dads took them by the hand and sat them on their laps. Mr. Prado repeated the question.
“I guess it’s OK,” Juan and Robbie whispered.
“What’s OK?” Mr. Bretmeister pressed.
“Wearing baby clothes. It’s Ok with me,” Robbie confirmed.
“Me, too,” Juan seconded.
“Then that’s settled,” Cynthia Prado said. “Here’s what we’ve decided about your daily activities. It seems that you guys have already decided to wear diapers all day, every day. On school days, you’ll be changed into whatever clothes we decide as soon as you get home. We don’t want you to drop out of any of your clubs or activities, though. You should continue with those as normal. However, when you don’t have any definite activities scheduled you are to return home right away. It won’t matter whose house you go to, the rules will be the same. We aren’t even going to try to keep your stuff separate; you’ll share your diapers, plastic pants, and baby clothes equally.”
As the boys were listening to Mrs. Prado, they readjusted themselves on the father’s laps and were now facing forward, leaning against their dad’s chests. For their part, their dads were loosely holding them around the waist. Mrs. Bretmeister wished she had a camera to take their picture. They were just so cute, especially with their puffy diapers and plastic pants peeking out of the leg openings. Mrs. Bretmeister was pulled back into the moment by Mrs. Prado.
“Would you like to tell the boys about the weekend rules, Doris?”
“Sure. Saturdays will be similar to weekdays. You should participate in all your usual activities. Sundays, however, are different. Sundays will be family days. You are not to plan on doing anything on Sundays; we will take care of that for you. This means that we will decide what you do, how you do it, and where you do it. You will be dressed in baby clothes all day. Any questions?”
The boys couldn’t think of any.
“OK, then that’s how things will go. I’m sure that unforeseen situations will come up. We’ll decide what to do as they present themselves. Now, I think it’s time for us to leave, it’s getting late and I’m sure Juan has homework to do.” Mrs. Prado concluded.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Mrs. Bretmeister exclaimed, “we haven’t divided up the clothes I got from Mrs. Kelly. The bags are right here in the entrance hall. It’ll only take a minute.”
The two ladies left the den. Robbie was squirming on his father’s lap.
“Not comfortable?” his dad asked.
“No, it’s OK. I have to get up”
“Why?”
“I have to pee,” Robbie admitted.
“So?” his dad challenged.
“And poop.” he added, shame-faced.
“So?” his dad repeated.
“But, it’ll smell.”
“We’ll all have to get used to it. Just try not to leak on me. You used to be an expert at that- never on your mother, always on me,” his dad chuckled.
A few seconds later Mr. Bretmeister felt the spreading warmth as his son thoroughly wet his diaper. He gently tickled Robbie’s stomach.
“Good boy, no leaks,” he teased. More seriously, he added, “Don’t hold your poop back too long, that’s not healthy.”
Robbie giggled from the tickling. Juan and Mr. Prado had watched this exchange between father and son. Taking his cue from Mr. Bretmeister, he also lightly tickled his son’s stomach.
“How about you? Are you going to try to leak all over me, too?”
Juan was extremely ticklish and even this minor tickling caused him to squirm all over his father’s lap.
“No, not that,” he pleaded, “or I will leak all over you.”
“Oh, you will, will you?” his father challenged. “We’ll see about that.”
The tickling became more severe.
“Stop…, stop. I can’t take it…. No…! OK, OK, you got your way,” Juan conceded breathlessly, “I’m wet.”
Everyone was laughing as Cynthia and Doris came back into to the room to announce that they had finished sorting the clothes.
“Juan, we’re leaving. Where are your book bag and your diaper bag?”
“Up in Robbie’s room,” he said, getting off his father’s lap.
“I’ll go, too.” Robbie added.
“That was kind of fun,” Juan admitted on the way up the stairs, “my dad hasn’t played like that in a long time.”
“Yeah,” Robbie agreed, “but I’ve got problem.”
“What? Are you scared to poop in your diaper?” he asked, referring to the conversation he overheard in the den. “I’ll help you.”
Juan proceeded to show Robbie how to relax just as he had done with Nate a few weeks before. Robbie had just finished when Mr. Bretmeister called from downstairs.
“Let’s go, guys. We’re waiting. You’ll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow.”
Juan said good-bye to Robbie who didn’t want to go back downstairs in a poopy diaper.
“Where’s Robbie?” Mr. Bretmeister asked.
“In his room.” Juan answered.
“Robbie, come down here and say good-bye to our guests,” he called.
“Do I have to?” Robbie answered. “I can’t, really.”
“Get down here, right now,” he insisted. “You’re being impolite.”
Robbie appeared at the top of the stairs and from the way his romper drooped between his legs it was obvious what his diapers contained.
“Son, don’t be embarrassed, poopy diapers are not going to be a rarity around here anymore.”
His dad’s direct reference to his sagging diapers embarrassed him even more but he continued down the stairs. He wanted to quickly say good night and then head back up to his room but his dad held him around the waist. The Prados were escorted to the door and they all went out to their car parked in the driveway. The night was a little bit cool and breezy. Robbie was grateful that his diaper smell was dissipated and not so noticeable. A last round of “good nights” was said and the Prados drove away.
“OK, Champ, let’s go back inside and get you changed into nighttime diapers. Then we can see what kind of jammies mom picked out for you.”
Robbie giggled at the silliness of it all, but he was happy. The only thing that could make it better would be a pacifier.
*****
Carla was watching television when the Prados got home. In answer to their question she told them that Nate had already gone to bed.
“Good,” Mrs. Prado said, “he had a rough day and he needs his rest. I hope he doesn’t wake up early and spend the rest of the night worrying about tomorrow.”
“I don’t think he will,” Carla answered, “he was really tired. I think he’s totally exhausted from today. Oh, I almost forgot. Mrs. McCally phoned. She said that the five boys involved in the incident have all been suspended from school. She said that she didn’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to, but she thinks that it would be a good idea for Nate to go to school tomorrow. In cases like this she thinks it’s important for kids to face their fears as soon as possible. She thinks that Nate and Simon will get a lot of sympathy from the other kids. She said that you can call at any time tonight, no matter how late it is. ”
“Thank you, Carla,” Mrs. Prado said, “I’ll call her right now from the kitchen.”
Carla then turned her attention to Juan. Even though she had been warned that he would be dressed in baby clothes, his ultra-babyish rompers took her by surprise.
“Aren’t you just the cutest little baby?” she joked, pinching Juan’s cheeks and patting his diapered rear. “”You are such a precious little baby boy, aren’t you?”
“Carla, quit it,” Juan protested.
“Is baby going to make a fuss? Maybe he’s tired and needs to go beddy-by, too.”
“Alright, Carla, you’ve made your point,” Mr. Prado interrupted. “Juan, don’t you have homework to do? Since Nate is already in bed, you can do it down here at the dining room table. How are your diapers holding out?”
“They’re fine. I only have about an hour’s worth of homework so I can get changed after I finish.
While he was doing his homework he got distracted several times by “oohs” and “ahhs” coming from the den. Mrs. Prado was showing Carla the rest of his new baby clothes and also describing for her the other items that were on order. She also confided in her daughter that she and Mrs. Bretmeister, after seeing how fast Juan and Robbie had accepted their rompers, had decided to change the orders in favor of the more babyish styles.
To avoid disturbing Nate, Juan was diapered in the den. This was also the first time that Carla had volunteered to help out. She probably would have denied it, but the baby clothes were a real turn-on for her. She was thrilled when her mother invited her to put Juan into his new footed-sleeper. Like his romper it was yellow. In addition, it was decorated with a sleeping lamb sucking a pacifier. Juan ran to the bathroom to take a look at himself. He was thrilled with how the sleeper emphasized the roundness of his behind. He even imagined that they made his plastic pants noisier. It took him a while to get to sleep.
The next morning Nate woke up before anyone else had begun stirring. His first sensation was the usual one: wet diapers. A few moments later he remembered yesterday’s events and became depressed.
Mrs. Wilcox escorted the boys to her office and changed their diapers while Mrs. McCally called their parents. His mother, Mrs. Quadrin, and Mr. Dyar arrived almost simultaneously. Unfortunately, Mrs. McCally had neglected to ask them to bring clothes for their children. Nate had resolved not to cry in front of his mother but his resolve broke down when he found out that neither she nor any of the other parents had brought fresh clothes with them. Bruce was also having trouble keeping the tears back. He was worried that his father would blame him for what had happened and that he would be mad about his asking Simon to put him in diapers. Simon was the only one who wasn’t near tears although he was burning with rage against Anthony, Paolo, and the three others who had manhandled him and exposed his diapers.
Mrs. Wilcox took charge as soon as the three parents arrived. She offered them chairs and invited the boys to sit on the floor near their parents.
“On behalf of Mrs. McCally I want to apologize for today’s unfortunate events. I know that she only had time to give you a thumbnail sketch of what happened. As we speak, she is dealing with the parents of the five boys who assaulted your children. She will join us as soon as possible.” Turning to the boys she gently asked, “If you think that you can manage it, would you tell us your side of the story?”
Telling the story from their viewpoint helped the boys calm down. Simon confessed to his spying activities that led him to discover Bruce’s wetting problem. Bruce told about revealing his hiding place in the back of the school and asking Simon to let him wear some of his diapers. He shakily told about how the others had discovered them and how Anthony had jumped him and pinned him helpless inside his shirt. Nate finished off by telling how he and Simon were stripped of their clothes and how Anthony had deliberately drenched them.
Just as they were finishing, Mrs. McCally entered the room.
“I’m so sorry that this has happened. I have just finished dealing with the last of the other boys’ parents. I have suspended them from school pending a hearing in front of the school board. But, that’s not what’s important now. How are you guys doing?” she asked, meaning Simon, Nate, and Bruce.
All this attention was beginning to make the boys nervous. As their adrenalin was wearing down they just wanted to be left alone. For his part, Nate wasn’t so much worried about what happened today; he was worried about what would happened tomorrow. How many people would the other guys tell? Would there be daily attacks on them, of guys trying to pull their pants down? Would they face continual taunts? His mother noticed that he was on the verge of tears again.
“I think it’s too early to answer that question,” Mrs. Prado answered for the boys. “It might be best if we took them home and discussed this later.”
Principal McCally agreed. When the boys stood up (revealing their plastic pants in the process) she realized that she had not asked their parents to bring extra clothes.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, “I didn’t ask you to bring clothes for your children to wear.”
“That OK, the shirts you gave them are pretty long. It’s just a short walk to the car. I don’t believe anyone will notice,” Mrs. Quadrin explained.
“Thank you, again, for your understanding,” Mrs. McCally reiterated, “I will call you this evening if anything of significance happens.”
Fortunately, they got out of the building without being seen by any of their classmates. The boys got into their respective cars while their parents continued talking in the parking lot. The serious looks on their parents’ faces made the boys wonder if they were in trouble. When Mrs. Prado got into the car she told Nate that Simon and Bruce were coming over to the house with their parents. They still had things to discuss. Nate wondered if Simon and Bruce were becoming worried, too.
The group was sitting in the Prado living room. Mrs. Prado began.
“Nate, it seems to me that you didn’t learn an important lesson last week when you found out that someone had been spying on you. Isn’t it true that you felt scared when the pictures of you, Simon, and Juan were sent to you?”
“Yes,” Nate answered, not sure where his mother was going with this.
“Well, then how could you turn around and agree to spy on Bruce not even one week after it happened to you?”
Nate didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t made the connection and, from the look on his face, neither had Simon.
“I’m sorry,” Nate and Simon blurted out together.
“Don’t apologize to me,” she told them. “Apologize to Bruce.”
Before they could, Bruce spoke up.
“It’s all my fault. When I saw them walking out of Mrs. Tarabello’s pharmacy I decided to try to hurt them. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t been mean to them first.”
“Well, that’s very big you, Bruce,” Mrs. Prado complimented him, “but what I’m trying to get you boys to learn is that spying and prying into other people’s lives is wrong. Can you understand that?”
“Yes,” they agreed.
“Well, I’m glad that’s settled,” Mr. Dyar interjected. “Does this mean that you guys are going to be friends from now on?”
“Yes,” they heartily agreed again.
“Bruce,” Mr. Dyar said his son, “I’m sorry I made you give up your pull-ups as a punishment for spying and blackmailing these guys. Don’t misunderstand me. What you did was very wrong and you deserved severe punishment. The one I gave you, though, was wrong.”
His admission brought tears to Bruce’s eyes. He gave his father a hug and said that he understood that he needed to be punished.
“Back in Mrs. Wilcox’s office you said that you asked to wear some of Simon’s diapers. Do you really mean that you would prefer wearing cloth diapers and plastic pants instead of pull-ups?”
“Yeah,” he admitted, “I think if I could wear diapers I wouldn’t be so worried about leaks and, most of all, I wouldn’t have to change my bed so often. I would like to have some just like Simon’s”
“OK, then I guess it’s off to Mrs. Tarabello’s for us.”
“Dad, do I have to go, too?” Bruce whined. “couldn’t you buy them for me?”
“I’m sorry, but Mrs. Tarabello will know how to measure you to make sure that everything fits right. You’ll have to come,” he insisted.
“I have a suggestion,” Mrs. Quadrin said. “Simon and Bruce are the same size. I could go with you to help out. Also, you will need to buy Bruce some new pants. I can help you with that, too.”
“Yeah!” shouted Bruce. “Please, please, let Mrs. Quadrin go with you.”
“I can stay here with the boys,” Mrs. Prado suggested. “when you’ve finished, you can come and pick them up.”
Seeing that he was opposed on all sides, Mr. Dyar graciously agreed to those arrangements. He and Mrs. Quadrin left a few minutes later.
At this point, Nate became aware of his parents moving around in their room. It was becoming light outside. His mother knocked on the door and came in. She greeted Nate and began waking Juan.
“Come on, sleepy-head, time to get up, Juan,” she prodded.
Nate noticed that Juan was wearing yellow pajamas. There was a baby lamb embroidered on the chest! They must be baby sleepers! He then remembered the phone call from Mrs. Bretmeister shortly after Simon and Bruce had been picked up yesterday. Apparently, Robbie and Juan were at Mrs. Tarabello’s buying diapers and plastic pants. Mrs. Prado had told Robbie’s mom that she couldn’t go with her but that she should follow through with all the plans they had already made. When Nate asked what the phone call meant his mother told him about Juan’s punishment in baby clothes for having provided Robbie with diapers behind everyone’s back. Mrs. Bretmeister was going to take Robbie and Juan to a special store to buy them baby and toddler clothes that they would have wear for the foreseeable future. Nate didn’t think that Juan would consider that a very big punishment but he kept his opinion to himself.
Juan was now fully awake. His stretching made him aware of his sleeper. He luxuriated in the feeling of soft cotton all over his body, kind of like a wearing a diaper all over. He was becoming excited.
“OK, boys, let’s get going. I want you downstairs in two minutes for breakfast. Nate, put something on your feet; it’s a little cool this morning.” Mrs. Prado left the room.
Juan was sitting up in bed, his diapers puffing out his sleepers at the waist. Nate couldn’t stop staring at his brother.
“Mom put you in real baby clothes, huh?”
“Yeah,: Juan agreed, trying not to sound happy about it. “I’m sorry about what happened to you yesterday. Are you going to be OK?”
“I guess so,” Nate agreed uncertainly. “At least I wasn’t alone. I don’t want to go to school today, though. Do you think that mom and dad will let me stay home?”
Nate had finished putting on some socks so the boys went down to the kitchen. Nate didn’t waste any time asking his question.
“Mom, do I have to go to school today?”
“I think you should, honey. If you put off going back to school too long it will only make it harder. Besides, why so you think it will be so hard today?”
“Mom, people know that I wear diapers! Of course, they’re going to pick on me. It will be awful,” he said shrilly.
“Don’t let your imagination run wild. I don’t think any such thing is going to happen.”
Seeing that she was not making any headway she offered him a deal.
“If Simon doesn’t going to school today, you won’t have to either. Why don’t you call him to find out what he’s doing.”
Nate ran to the phone silently praying that Simon didn’t want to go to school either. He had a short and quiet conversation with him. As soon as Nate came back into the kitchen everyone knew that Simon was going to school.
“He said the same thing you did. He says that whatever might happen it’s better to get it over with right away. He also said that his mom and Bruce’s dad talked last night and Bruce is definitely going to school today.” Nate sighed in frustration.
“Try not to be so sacred,” Carla said encouragingly. “Mrs. McCally runs a good school. She’s not going to let things get out of control.”
“I know that,” Nate answered sharply. “I’m scared of what the other kids will do when I’m alone and I don’t have any friends or teachers around.”
Unfortunately, no one could reassure Nate on that point. Only time would tell.
Carla decided to lighten the mood. “Come on, little Juanito, time to get you out of your jammies and into some dry didees. You’re going to be a big boy today and go to school,” she gleefully announced.
The outburst was so unexpected that everyone sat there stunned for a moment. Mrs. Prado began to laugh and very quickly the rest had joined in, even Juan- at whom the joke had been aimed.
*****
Nate got a ride to school from his mom. She was afraid that he would succumb to fear or panic if left alone too long this morning. Simon and Bruce were waiting for him near the entrance. Simon read the fear in Nate’s eyes.
“Stop worrying. Bruce and I have been standing here for about ten minutes and nobody has said anything mean to us. I think we’re going to be OK.”
“Really?” Nate questioned. He didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have them come crashing down again.
“Yeah, really. Come on- the bell’s about to ring,” Bruce encouraged.
The classroom was filled with the usual morning bustle. Students were talking in small groups getting their materials organized for the day. Nate, Simon, and Bruce were not treated any differently than normal. Their usual friends said hello; Nate was hopeful that word hadn’t yet spread. Melissa, the fraternal twin of one of the boys who had accosted them yesterday, approached.
“I’m sorry my brother is such a jerk,” Melissa said. “He’s really getting it from my parents. He’s going to be grounded for at least a month. My dad is really mad that he picked on you because of your diapers,” she added casually.
Nate’s eyes darted around the room trying to see if anyone had heard her remark about their diapers. Melissa noticed his action. “Nate, almost everybody knows about you guys now. Everybody was talking about it yesterday. I don’t think that very many people will pick on you, especially not knowing what’s going to happen to Anthony, Paolo, my brother, and those other guys.”
At recess Nate was reluctant to leave the room. Simon and Bruce were trying to convince him to go outside like usual.
“But, everybody knows!” he argued.
“Yeah, and they’re going to know tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. You’re going to have to confront them sometime.” Simon countered.
“Simon’s right,” Bruce continued, “it won’t get easier if you put it off. If anyone gives you trouble, someone will defend you. You heard Melissa this morning: everybody already knows. If something bad was going to happen don’t you think it would have already happened?”
“I don’t know. Maybe,” Nate conceded.
“At least you have an advantage of me,” Bruce proposed.
“I do?”
“Yeah, yesterday when my dad and Simon’s mom went out to buy my stuff my dad asked Mrs. Tarabello to provide me with exactly the same stuff as she provided for Simon.”
“So?” Nate asked skeptically.
“Exactly the same,” Bruce repeated. “If someone pulled down your pants you’d at least be wearing white plastic pants. Mine are like Simon’s, my dad only got me nursery-print baby pants.”
“Oh,” Nate gasped, aghast at the thought of anyone pulling down their pants again.
“Now, come on,” Simon insisted, “I don’t want to miss all of recess.”
Much to Nate’s surprise no one picked on them. Except for a few sideways glances (probably to check out if their diapers were noticeable), they were treated exactly the same as always.
*****
Juan and Robbie were nervous going to school. Frank was an unpredictable wildcard, a loose cannon rolling on the decks. He had tried to hurt them badly twice; could a third attempt be far away?
“We know that Frank was looking for us yesterday and that he started a story going around about us wearing diapers, or, at least, about me wearing diapers.” Juan was saying.
“I think our best protection is to stay in crowded public areas. At least we won’t have to use the bathrooms,” Robbie smirked at his own joke.
Speaking of which, are you now “official” with the nurse?”
“I suppose so,” Robbie answered. “My mom said she would talk to her and deliver a supply of diapers and plastic pants after she dropped me off. Was it weird the first time she changed you?”
“Kinda,” Juan admitted, “but being pinned into diapers by someone you don’t know is also thrilling, too.” Juan smiled to himself for a moment.
“Really?” Robbie said with interest. He hoped he would enjoy the experience as much as Juan said he would.
The central problem still remained unsolved as the first bell rang” where was Frank and what would he do? Robbie knew that he would only meet up with Frank outside of class. Juan and Frank, however, were enrolled in the same first-hour English class.
“Here goes nothing,” Juan said as he and Robbie separated to go their respective first class of the day.
His friends Tony and Vaskil were there but Frank wasn’t.
“Juan, where have you been hanging?” Tony said in a challenging voice. “Aren’t we good enough for you any more?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Juan retorted.
“I think you do,” Vaskil said. “You’ve been hanging around with your new rich friend and not us.”
“Him being rich has nothing to do with it,” Juan asserted ungrammatically.
“Then, what?” Tony challenged again. “Diapers?”
So, they had heard the story that was going around. Juan’s hesitation in responding was all the evidence they needed.
“Shit, I don’t believe it. It’s true, isn’t it?” Tony demanded.
Juan didn’t answer, not sure what to say.
“Look, Prado,” Tony said while retreating to his seat, “just stay away from me. I don’t want to be a friend to the diaper set. Vaskil followed him silently, pointedly avoiding Juan’s gaze.
Practically everyone in class heard this exchange. Many were staring at Juan or giggling behind their hands. Juan slunk over to his seat and tried to become invisible. Losing his friends publicly like that was more humiliating than what Frank had put him through on Monday. He had always prided himself on knowing how to make and keep friends. “Well, not anymore,” he thought.
Frank never showed up during English class.
When Robbie and Juan met during math class, Juan was in a dark mood and feeling sorry for himself.
“What’s wrong?” Robbie asked earnestly.
“Tony and Vaskil dumped me as friends. I think they set me up to admit that I wear diapers. At first, they accused me of hanging around with you because your family is rich. When I said that that wasn’t the reason, they asked me if it was because of diapers. When I didn’t answer right away they knew that the rumors were true. They don’t want to see me again.”
“I’m sorry,” Robbie sympathized.
“Yeah, right,” Juan said cynically. “That’s easy for you to say, only a few people know about your diapers.”
Anger flashed across Robbie’s face. “You know, your whining makes you sound just like your brother.” He turned his back and went to his desk to get ready for class.
Juan continued sulking and feeling sorry for himself. He tuned out the class and became lost in his own pessimistic and egocentric thoughts. About fifteen minutes into class he became aware of a slight commotion going on to his right. He looked over and saw two girls and a guy pointing toward Robbie’s desk. Following their gaze, Juan saw that Robbie was slouching in his seat and that his shirt had “accidentally” ridden up exposing the top of his baby pants. (Not plain white plastic pants, but the airplane and boat motif baby pants like Juan had worn yesterday.) Robbie pretended to suddenly become aware of what was going on as he nonchalantly pulled his shirt back down. He used the opportunity to glance toward Juan. See, now people know about me, too. Juan looked back at him. You are one crazy bastard. But Juan had to admit that he felt better.
During lunch Juan apologized to Robbie for his behavior. They had just gone back to their discussion about Frank when Kevin came up to them.
“ Hey, guys,” he said.
“Hey, Kevin. What’s up?” Robbie returned the greeting.
“I think I’ve got some news for you, about Frank.”
“Really? We were just talking about him. Have you seen him around today? Do you know what he’s going to try?” Juan asked Kevin excitedly.
“Yeah, I have. But he didn’t come to school. You don’t have to worry about him today, or ever, I hope.”
“If he’s not in school where did you see him? And how come you say that he won’t be a problem ever again?” Robbie questioned.
“That’s kind of complicated. Let me explain. Frank and I have known each other for a long time. We used to live next door to each other before his family moved to a bigger house. Anyway, when we were in the fourth and fifth grades we used to like sleeping over at each other’s house. He knew that I wore diapers back then because he saw me in them whenever we spent the night at each other’s houses. Now here’s the significant part- somewhere near the end of fourth grade he started asking if he could wear some of my diapers, you know, in secret. So, at least five of six times that I can remember, he wore diapers to bed and he used them.”
“What!?!?” Juan and Robbie loudly exclaimed.
“Sshh. Keep your voices down,” Kevin warned. “People are staring. Let’s go outside where it’s noisier and people won’t be able to eavesdrop so easily.”
They went out to an area next to the cafeteria where students congregated after they had finished eating.
“Anyway,” Kevin resumed, “Frank would ask me to put him in diapers and he would actually be wet in the morning when he woke up. He would take the diapers off and add them to my diaper pail. I don’t think my mom ever figured it out. This morning I met him while he was walking to the bus and I confronted him. I told him that what he was doing to you was stupid and that if he didn’t stop spreading stories I would tell people about his borrowing and wetting my diapers. He got really mad at me and said that I couldn’t prove a thing and that he would tell people that I was the one who wore diapers. This is when I told him that I still wear diapers every day and that I like it. I told him that he could tell everyone about my diapers; I didn’t care. He laughed at me and called me weird. He said that I would get my wish- he would tell everyone about me being a diaper wearer, too. This is when I dropped the bomb on him.”
“Bomb? What bomb?” Juan questioned.
“Until I got to thinking about it last night, I had forgotten that I did have proof of his diaper wearing. One summer night when he was sleeping over at my house, I took some pictures of him asleep on top of his sleeping bag in nothing but my diapers and plastic pants. He’s laying on his back and you can see that they’re wet. I took them with my own camera and he didn’t even wake up. As soon as he saw them he threatened me even more and accused me of faking the pictures. I told him that they were real but that I had already scanned them into my computer so he could rip them up if he wanted to- I could always print more.”
“Are you serious?” Robbie wanted to know.
“Absolutely, and he knows it, too.”
Silence enveloped the boys as they digested this information.
“So, why didn’t he come to school?” Robbie queried.
“That’s just the way Frank is. If he gets upset by something he loses track of everything else. I wouldn’t worry about it. I know Frank pretty well. He won’t risk the possible exposure of his diaper wearing past. He’ll stop picking on you guys. Besides, he knows I’m crazy enough to not care how many people find out about my diaper wearing. In fact, I asked my mom this morning if I could wear diapers all the time again. She likes me being a baby, so she said yes.”
“I guess this makes us an official club,” Robbie pronounced solemnly. “Anybody got a good name for it?”
Final Part
The next few weeks saw the shaping of new routines for the boys. For a little while, after Anthony, Paolo, and the other boys returned to school things were a little shaky for Nate, Simon, and Bruce. At the first sign of trouble, though, Mrs. McCally wisely called the five trouble-making boys into her office.
“I have heard that since you’ve came back to school after your suspension you have been trying to stir up trouble against Simon, Nate, and Bruce.” Before they could even begin to protest, she cut them off. “Don’t say a word. I don’t want to hear lies in this office. I know that you can’t have forgotten what the school board said when they reinstated you: any more disciplinary trouble or attacks on other people, either verbal or physical,” she stressed, “and you face expulsion. Strange as it may seem to you, I don’t want you to get expelled. So, I’m going to give you a job that will keep you busy and out of trouble.”
“What job?” Anthony asked suspiciously.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing very hard. All you have to do is make sure that no one picks on Simon, Nate, or Bruce. Whenever you hear someone say something against their diapers, you’ll make sure that you say something to bring them back to proper behavior.”
“But, we can’t make anyone do what they don’t want to. This will make it seem like we’re on their side,” Paolo complained.
“I can see that you still don’t get it, do you?” she said crossly. “There is to be no ‘our side’ against ‘their side.’ Your job is to keep the peace and to educate anyone who thinks that bullying other people is a good idea.”
“But we don’t know how to do that,” one of the other boys pointed out.
“I think you do,” Mrs. McCally retorted. “Are you telling me that if someone suggests doing something to embarrass one of those boys, no one here can think of what to say in response?”
She decided to let the boys think about this for awhile. Eventually, Melissa’s brother spoke up.
“I guess we could say something like, ‘Big deal, everybody already knows what they wear. So what’?” he offered tentatively.
“That’s a start, I guess,” Mrs. McCally said approvingly. “You need to think about this some more. Remember, I’m expecting you to take care of this and if you don’t…” she trailed off menacingly.
The boys left the office with a strict warning not to let anyone know that they were carrying out her instructions. She didn’t know if this would work or not, but at least she had put the five boys on formal notice that they were being watched and that she wouldn’t tolerate any misbehavior in this area.
Now, over three weeks later, there had been no trouble over the boys’ diapers. She hoped that this meant that Simon, Nate, and Bruce had been accepted ‘as is,’ diapers and all. She and the faculty had been watching carefully and they detected no ostracizing or exclusion of the diaper-wearing boys from any of their usual activities. Once, Mrs. McCally even saw Melissa’s brother quietly go over to Bruce during a basketball game to tell him that his shirt had ridden up and that his plastic pants were exposed. At the very least, she was grateful that there had been no ugly incidents, whatever the reason.
*****
The new quarter had begun at the high school. It just so happened that Juan and Kevin were scheduled into the same PE class that was just beginning. They were determined to do two things: not give in to any pressure and to wear their diapers in the locker room. They decided that the best way to do this was to be open about everything. On the very first day, they walked up to their lockers, stripped to their white diapers and plastic pants, and put on their gym shirts and t-shirts as if nothing odd was happening. Word had already spread about Juan being in diapers and plastic pants but Kevin’s revelation took everyone by surprise. Nothing happened on that first day.
A few days later the gym teacher told the class to divide up into six groups of four to play two-on-two basketball. Fifteen points would win the game. Kevin and Juan partnered up against two guys by the names of Jim and Bradley. Juan knew that there was going to be trouble when he realized that Jim constantly tried tugging at his gym shorts to distract him. After about six times, he had had enough and stopped the game.
Looking Jim squarely in the eye, he said, “What? You want to see my diapers and plastic pants? Is that why you keep trying to pull down my gym shorts?”
Before Jim could respond, Juan tore off his shorts and threw them outside the court.
“There, now you can see them all you want. Now, let’s play ball.”
Jim was embarrassed by Juan’s exhibitionism, especially since Juan’s outburst had caused some of the other games to stop. Jim felt challenged and was just about to start a fight when the coach came up. He told the other groups to get back to their games before he turned his attention to Juan and Jim.
“What’s the beef?” he asked, eyeing Juan suspiciously.
Juan told him how Jim was tugging at his shorts, trying to distract him. For his part, Jim told the coach that he was merely aggressively guarding Juan and that Juan was oversensitive.
“Jim you know better than that,” the coach responded. “You can’t pull at people’s clothing and not get called for a foul. Get back to your game.”
“Coach,” Kevin interrupted, “can I take my gym shorts off, too? Bradley has been doing the same thing to me.”
“Uh, OK, I guess,” the coach responded. “Just play the game, will you?”
Play resumed. Because of the time lost arguing, the other two-on-two games ended well before the match between Juan/Kevin versus Jim/Bradley. The other guys in the class had gathered round to watch the ‘diaper boys’ take on Jim and Bradley. Much to their consternation, Jim and Bradley lost 15-9. The coach made sure that they shook hands publicly and that they congratulated each other for a well-played game.
Despite these minor setbacks in school Juan, Robbie, and Kevin were happy with the way their lives were going. After school, they were getting together for “baby time’ about four times each week (not counting Sundays, the “family day”). They established a routine of going to each others’ houses in turn. Mrs. Kelly had finished Juan and Robbie’s outfits in ten days. They each now had three old-fashioned rompers (with peter pan collars, puffy sleeves, and elasticized leg openings), two overalls (with snaps all along the inseam), two shortalls (also with snaps in the inseam), two elastic-waist toddler pants, three elastic-waist toddler shorts, and about a half-dozen juvenile shirts. For nighttime wear, they had two sleepers and two snap-waist footed-pajamas. Their mothers were surprised to find out how much they actually preferred being dressed in the rompers, the most babyish clothes of all. Bowing to the inevitable they ordered three more so that Juan and Robbie would have six, just like Kevin.
Simon fell in love with the idea of wearing baby clothes the first time he saw the three older boys wearing theirs. After a week of begging his mother bowed to his wishes and arranged for him to be fitted by Mrs. Kelly.
*****
Things were moving along between Mrs. Quadrin and Mr. Dyar. Even though their initial meeting had been unpleasant (regarding Bruce’s misbehavior against Juan, Nate, and Simon), they were developing a warm friendship. Bruce’s return to diapers and his growing friendship with Nate and Simon also contributed to strengthening their association. Bruce now spent every afternoon with Nate and Simon and Mrs. Quadrin frequently met up with Mr. Dyar when she came to pick Simon up. On several occasions already they used this ‘chance meeting’ as an excuse to take the boys out for dinner instead of cooking at home. Mrs. Prado had noticed how their relationship was warming up.
“I think that Gloria Prado and Rob Dyar are beginning to hit it off,” she commented one night to her husband.
“Yes, so it seems,” he agreed.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Simon comes up with a new brother pretty soon.”
“So, you think it’s that serious?” her husband commented.
“I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am. There are definitely sparks flying there,” she said ending the conversation.
A week later, Gloria confided to Cynthia her interest in Rob.
“Do you think I’m being silly?” she asked. “I haven’t dated in a long time but I find Rob so interesting to talk to.”
“You’re not being silly at all,” Mrs. Prado countered, “Rob Dyar is obviously a very nice man. I have been watching Bruce interact with Simon and Nate every afternoon for several weeks. Rob is doing a fine job of raising him, especially now that he is spending more time with him. If he had a wife like you, both of them would be much better off- and happier, too.”
Gloria blushed and tried to dismiss the idea as ridiculous.
“Why is it ridiculous?” Cynthia asked her friend. “Don’t you see how Rob looks at you? He’s very interested in you- I’m positive. On top of that, look at how well Simon and Bruce get along. They’d be thrilled to be brothers.”
“I’m sure they would,” Gloria agreed. “In fact, they might even have too much in common. I’m not sure that I could keep up with them.”
Mrs. Prado didn’t want to pry so she let that comment pass. A few nights later she thought she understood what Gloria had been referring to.
When Rob had come by to pick Bruce up he had surreptitiously handed her a bag containing some clothing. “Bruce wants to surprise the other boys tomorrow with this. He asked me to try to get it to you without the other guys finding out. I guess he wants to fit in better.”
Mrs. Prado didn’t need to be told what was in the bag, she already knew. After Mr. Dyar left she took the bag to the bedroom and opened it up. Another romper. Bruce had decided to be dressed like a baby, too. She chuckled and shook her head at the thought. Just a month ago he wanted to be the ‘tough guy’ in school and, now, here he was asking to be put into a baby romper.
Bruce had picked his debut day for maximum effect. He chose a day when he knew that Juan, Robbie, and Kevin would also be there. He went in last for his diaper change and waited for the other boys to go back down stairs before asking to be put into the romper. Mrs. Prado obliged and fussed extra long with it so that he would look perfect. He giggled the whole time he was walking down the stairs to join the guys in the back yard. Simon was the first to notice.
“Bruce!” he exclaimed, “your dad let you do it! Right on!”
He was immediately joined by the others who complimented him on his new look- all the others except Nate, of course. Nate hung back and sullenly looked on. He was now alone. Everyone else had succumbed to the ‘baby attraction,’ as he called it in his mind. Over the course of the next week he grew quieter and more withdrawn. Mrs. Prado hoped that he would snap out of it soon.
The following Sunday a big barbecue had been planned for ‘family day.’ The Bretmeisters hosted the event that was attended by all the other families. Near the end of the meal Gloria and Rob asked for everyone’s attention.
“We have an announcement,” Rob began.
Cynthia Prado prodded her husband in the ribs. “I told you so,” she whispered.
“Yes,” Gloria joined in, “we’ve decided that we want to get married. We’ve already discussed it with the boys, so, since we have their permission, we’d like to invite all of you to our wedding next month.”
They received the hearty congratulations of everyone in attendance. Nate, however, looked even more depressed than ever. His mother knew that she needed to talk to him as soon as possible.
The rest of the evening was dedicated to talk of the upcoming wedding.
“We both have very small families so we’re planning a simple ceremony followed by a dinner. In fact, except for you who are here tonight, we will be inviting only about two dozen other people. Tomorrow I’m going to start calling around to see where we can rent a room for the ceremony and dinner.”
The Bretmeisters exchanged glances. “May I make a suggestion?” Doris asked. “Would you consider having your wedding here? If the weather is nice, you could have an outdoor wedding and if not, the house will easily accommodate up to seventy-five people. We would also be happy to host the dinner in our dining room. But, please, I don’t want to impose on you; if you’d rather do it somewhere else that’s perfectly fine.”
“Having it here would be no imposition on us,” Mrs. Quadrin responded, “but, it would be too much of an imposition on you.”
“Nonsense,” Mr. Bretmeister interjected, “we bought this house to share with our friends. We would be honored if you got married here.”
Rob and Gloria looked at each other and shrugged. “If you’re sure it’s no imposition…”
“”Absolutely no imposition whatsoever. I’m glad that’s settled,” Doris stated with a tone of finality.
The ladies went off to start discussing arrangements and to look at the interior of the house. Carla and Cindy joined them. The men sat back and discussed the day’s games and debated who had the best chances of winning it all this year. The boys, except for Nate, went up to Robbie’s room to play on the computer.
“What’s wrong, Nate?” his dad asked. “Not feeling well?”
“I’m OK,” he answered quietly, “I not in the mood to play computer games.” He withdrew from them and stretched out on one the chaise lounges by the pool.
*****
The next week was filled with talk of the wedding. Mrs. Quadrin and the ladies had decided on yellow and white as the primary colors. Mrs. Quadrin had purchased a yellow dress with matching hat that was very becoming. Mr. Dyar would wear a navy suit, white shirt and yellow necktie. The ceremony was going to be very simple. There would be no formal marches but Gloria and Rob would walk in together followed by Simon and Bruce who would each be carrying a jeweler’s box containing the ring his parent would give to the other. The dinner menu was decided upon and the Bretmeister’s insisted on paying for the catered affair. Everything was falling into place when Bruce and Simon came to their parents with a surprising proposal.
“Can we wear rompers to the wedding?” they asked. “We’ve already talked to Mrs. Kelly and she says that she can make us white ones with yellow piping and stitching that will match the wedding colors.”
“Well, are you sure that you want to be seen in them at such a public event?” their parents asked in return.
“Everybody in school already knows we wear diapers and this isn’t much different. Besides, the guests at the wedding will be either from out-of-town or grownups that we don’t know. Can we, please?” they begged.
Their parents gave in and said that they would allow it.
“Can we ask one other thing?” the boys continued.
“What’s that?”
“Juan, Kevin, and Robbie want to wear rompers, too. We were thinking that they could wear white ones with navy blue piping and stitching that would match dad’s suit,” Bruce explained. “They could be sort of like ushers.”
“I guess we don’t have any objections,” they answered, “but it’s up to their parents to decide.”
After a round of parental phone calls it was decided that the boys could wear rompers to the wedding.
*****
There were two weeks left before the wedding and the Prados were becoming more and more concerned over Nate’s obvious withdrawal from family and friends. He was becoming increasingly sullen and uncommunicative. They had tried subtlety drawing him out but they had gotten nowhere with that approach.
After dinner one night his mother sat him down for a talk. She would try the direct approach.
“Nate, something’s bothering you, isn’t it?”
“I’m fine,” he said somewhat crossly.
“Alright, then just listen to me for a minute. If what I say is completely wrong, we’ll just forget about it. But if I say things that are pretty close to the truth, we’ll talk about them. OK?”
“I guess so.”
“You’ve been moping around looking unhappy for about the last three weeks. This coincides with Simon’s decision to join Juan, Robbie, and Kevin in wearing baby clothes. Shortly after that, Bruce joined them. All of this had made you feel left out, hasn’t it? But, I want you to notice that no one has excluded you from anything. I’ve been watching and what I see is that you’re the one who is refusing their invitations to join them. I don’t think that they’re excluding you, I think you’re excluding them.”
During her short speech Nate’s eyes filled with tears which were now slowly streaming down his cheeks. Mrs. Prado felt like hugging him close to her but she could sense that he wouldn’t like that kind of contact right then. She waited for him to speak.
“They all know that I hate wearing diapers but they go around deliberately showing theirs off by wearing baby clothes. It isn’t fair.”
“What isn’t fair? That you have a problem and have to wear diapers to control it? Bruce has the same problem. Maybe it isn’t fair to either of you, but you have to take life as it comes. When you try to fight against things that you can’t change, you just make yourself unhappy and frustrated. Right now what you need to do is to accept your diapers and then get on with your life. If you get stubborn about it, you’ll never be happy with yourself.”
Nate cried for a few more minutes but he allowed his mother to gently stroke his hair. After he had calmed down, he shared some of his thoughts and she promised to help him out with what he had revealed. By the end of their discussion he felt the best he had in several weeks. In fact, his improved mood was noticed by everyone.
*****
The weather was going to be perfect. It would be sunny but not too warm. The wedding was scheduled for two o’clock but the Prados, Kellys, Quadrins, and Dyars had agreed to meet at the Bretmeisters at eleven to make sure that everything was under control. At ten o’clock Mrs. Prado was prodding the boys to get into the shower so she could get them into their wedding clothes.
Juan went first and when he was finished she began dressing him for the big day. Even though the boys were the ones who requested to be dressed in rompers, they weren’t allowed to see Mrs. Kelly’s creations ahead of time. The mothers wanted to surprise them on the day of the wedding itself. Mrs. Prado was busily diapering Juan when she announced that she was going to put him into three diapers.
“How come?” he wondered aloud.
“Mrs. Kelly has designed your new rompers in a more formal looking style. The heavier diapering will make them look better, fuller.” What she didn’t mention was that it would also guarantee that their plastic pants would peek out at the leg openings, something their mothers thought was extremely cute.
Next she took out some new plastic pants. They were a shiny transparent deep blue.
“New pants?” Juan asked.
“Yes, dear, to be in theme with the colors. Your rompers and trimmed in navy blue and this will go along with that theme.” Again, what she didn’t mention was that the blue pants would give a soft blue color to the bottom of the romper making it seem two-toned, especially outside in the bright light.
At last, she took the romper out of its protective clothing bag and showed it to an increasingly impatient Juan. He was delighted. It was similar to his others, but fancier. As he expected, the collar, puffy sleeves and elasticized leg openings were trimmed in navy blue piping. What made the romper stand out, though, was that Mrs. Kelly had designed the front to look like a tuxedo shirt, including false buttons running from the collar to the waist. The pleats were highlighted by navy blue stitching. Finally, the romper’s back-buttoning belt was navy blue with white buttons for contrast. The overall effect was spectacular and was guaranteed to make the boys stand out even more than normal.
It was 10:30 and Mrs. Prado hadn’t yet finished getting herself ready and she still needed to get Nate dressed.
“Jorge,” she called to her husband, “I’m running late and Nate isn’t dressed yet. Why don’t you take Carla and Juan in the SUV to pick up the wedding cake at the bakery? Nate and I will take my car and meet you at the Bretmeisters. Does that sound OK?”
It took another twenty-five minutes for Mrs. Prado to get ready and to dress Nate. They arrived at the Bretmeisters and at about 11:15. The front door was open so she and Nate walked in and followed the voices coming from the dining room. Much to Nate’s chagrin, silence fell over the room as the adults stopped their talking to look at him. Mrs. Quadrin recovered first.
“Nate, you look very handsome this morning,” she smiled. “Have you decided to be an usher, too?”
He shyly nodded his head.
“Well, we’re thrilled that you did. Come over here and let me give you a hug.” He accepted her open arms and allowed her to hug him. “Thank you so much,” she whispered in his ear.
After releasing him she kept hold of one of his hands and looked him over carefully, straightening his collar and primping his romper where her hug had rumpled it.
“The guys are up in Robbie’s room,” Mrs. Bretmeister told him. “Why don’t you go up there and show them your new clothes?”
“OK,” he accepted and left the room with determined steps.
The enthusiastic greeting he got upstairs confirmed his acceptance by the others. They were full of questions that he would eventually answer, but not right away. Today was going to be a day of rejoicing and happiness. Explanations would come later.