Memoirs of a Diaper Boy II
Chapter 6
In The Summer Time
Senator Miller, could I see you for a minute?” Brad’s teacher inquired a few weeks after the end of the boys’ Spring Break.
“Sure Jeremy. Have a seat.” The younger man was told with a wave indicating one of the seats in front of desk Brad’s dad was sitting behind.
“What can I help you with?” Ian asked once Brad’s teacher was comfortable.
“As you know, I mentioned that Brad seems a lot brighter that his scores had showed with his last teacher.”
“I remember.” Ian responded thinking back to the conversation they had a week after Jeremy had started tutoring Brad.
“Well, I think I figured out why Brad’s scores seemed to be on the low side.”
“And what would that be?” came inquiry, with Ian giving the man before him his full attention.
“Well, I asked Brad to give me all of his work to date so I could see where exactly he was having trouble so I could spend more time in those areas.”
“I remember. And?”
“Well, things didn’t look right to me for some reason so I went to see his principal and asked her to look into it and I got the re-graded papers back last night.”
“And what did you find out about them?”
“That Brad’s last teacher was grading him extremely harsh. It seems he considered anything below 90% to be failing.”
“Excuse me, but did you just say that he felt that anything below Ninety percent to be failing.”
“Yes, sir. And there’s more to it than that.” Ian was told as he was handed over a large envelope.
“These are the grades that Brad should have received on his assignments along with the results of the Mid- term placement test that he took to see where he’s at.”
“Well, Brad will be happy to see these. He’s been worried that he wasn’t going to make it up to the point he needed to be. If you wouldn’t mind running Brad through his paces for today and I’ll let him know about all this at dinner tonight. Since it seems that he’s not going to be needing a tutor after this week how did you want to handle things” Jeremy was asked as Ian read through the papers he was given.
“Well, with your permission, I’d like to finish out the year with him. I’ll just come in for a few hours each day and give him some extra time on some of his weaker subjects and to help him review things for the placement test he’ll be taking instead of finals.”
“That’ll be fine. And since it seems that we won’t be needing you for as long as we first thought, I’ll make sure you receive some compensation for the lost wages.”
“I appreciate the thought sir, but that isn’t necessary.”
“I insist. Now, Brad should be just finishing up his swim lesson with Steve if you’d like to go out and get him.” Brad’s teacher was told in a final sort of way.
“Of course sir, and thank you again.” Jeremy said as he headed for the office door.
Once Jeremy had left the room Ian placed a few calls to Stonehenge to make sure the information he was reading was correct. After this Ian placed another call to the camp he had planned on sending Brad and Brian too for the summer since he and Steve were going to busy with work over the coming summer and he wanted to make sure that the boys didn’t just sit around the house all summer.
“Dang, that kid can really move.” Brad’s teacher thought when he saw his pupil cutting through the water.
“OK, Brad. Looks like your teacher is here so time to get out.” Steve called when he saw Jeremy walk up.
“You know if he doesn’t make his swim team next semester I’m going to be surprised. “ Steve was told.
“He should make it as an alternate, but he still has a bit to go for the regular team.” Came the reply.
“Hey, Mr. Louis.” Brad called as he climbed out of the pool and started to head over to where the towels were.
“Hey Brad. You ready for another fun day for learning?”
“I guess so.”
“Ok then, I’ll see you in the study once you’re dressed.”
“So, Brad, what do you have planned for the summer?” Jeremy asked once his pupil took his place at the desk that had been set up for him in the den.
“I don’t really know. I thought I’d be spending most of my time getting ready, so I could join my brothers at Stonehenge this coming fall.” Brad answered with a shrug.
“Well, that won’t be a problem anymore. Things have changed a bit. I’ll let your dad cover that one though. Jeremy stated with a smile as he jumped into the lesson he prepared for the day. .
“Dad, what was Jeremy talking about earlier when he said that I wouldn’t have to worry about spending all summer studying so I could go to Stonehenge next year?” Brad asked during dinner that night.
“Well it seems that Mr. Rutherford was a bit too strict when it came to grading your homework and tests. Jeremy had them re-graded and your scores were high enough to warrant getting you passed along, providing you do well on the placement tests you’ll be doing instead of final exams.” Brad was told with a smile.
“Great, so if I’m not going to be having to spend all summer getting caught up, what will I be doing?”
“Steve and I thought you’d like to join Brian at camp.”
“Great!! You’ll love it there.” Brian announced loudly.
“Is David going to be going too?” Brad asked while looking at his older brother.
“David will be going to camp, but not with you guys. He was offered a spot as a junior counselor at a Scout camp.”
“Oh. Uh how is the camp going to deal with my problem?” Brad asked suddenly as it finally sunk in that his dad had mentioned that he was going to be joining Brian at camp.
“The same way we do here. And don’t worry about it. Some of the other boys that go there have the same problem that you and Brian do. To one extent or another.” Steve stated answering Brad’s question. Seeing that his brother didn’t quite get the final part of what his dad said Brian explained what his dad meant.
“Dad means that some of the other the boys at the camp have a problem with wetting, though some only have the problem at night. The camp though insists that everyone with this problem wears some type of protection to bed and during the day if they need it then as well. I can show you more about it after dinner. I’ve been going there for Three years now. You’ll have lots of fun.” Brad was told excitedly. Brad still gave his dads a skeptical look.
“Don’t worry Brad. Brian is right you’ll have lots of fun. I’ve been to camp lots of times myself and always had fun. Look at as a way to meet new friends.” David piped in. Brad just shrugged at this and decided to give his dads the benefit of the doubt.
“Brian are you sure about my going to camp with you?” Brad asked his cousin after having gotten ready for bed that night.
“Sure, you’ll love Camp Hell.” Brian said with a small laugh.
“Camp Hell?” Brad asked nervously when he heard the name.
“You better not let dad hear you calling that.” David called out from the bathroom when he heard what his brother was talking about.
“Yeah, I hear you.” Brian called out before turning back to Brad.
“It’s actually called Camp Damien for Boys.”
“But why camp hell?” Brad interrupted
“Because the camp is located in Perdition, Maine.” Brian responded with a smile wondering how long it would take Brad to figure out how the camp got its nickname.
“I don’t get it.”
“Perdition is another name for hell, Brad. Not to mention that Damien is the antichrist.” David explained while walking into the room.
“Oh, I guess that makes sense now. So what is there to do there?”
“All sorts of stuff. This is my packet from last year it’ll give you an idea as to what to expect in the way of activities. We’ll be getting the new packets any day now and we can go over them together to see what’s new.” Brian stated while handing his cousin a folder.
“There’s also a CD in there to give you an idea of what the camp looks like.”
“Thanks. I’m still worried about people teasing me about my problem.”
“You won’t have anything to worry about on that. The camp has a strict zero tolerance policy when it comes to teasing and other forms of harassment.”
“Don’t worry about it so much Brad. Brian and I have been going there for years and I’ve only heard of one bad experience concerning teasing. And that kid got sent home the next morning.” David said joining the conversation.
“What if I get homesick or something?” Brad asked.
“Dad will explain all that once we get the new information packets.” Brad relaxed a bit at hearing this.
“But are you sure I won’t get teased by anyone in our cabin?”
“I’m sure. They normally put all the kids that bed wet in the same cabins so there’s no reason for any one to get teased. There are some times though that a non-bed wetter will end up in the cabin but they’re told to keep quiet about what goes on at night in the cabin.”
“OK, but how do they expect us to be able to do all these things?” Brad asked as he flipped through the pages of activities.
“They don’t. You’ll sign up each week for the things you want to do each day.” Brad just nodded at this as he read more of the information his cousin gave him.
“Boys, Lights out in five minutes.” Steve announced a few minutes later.
“OK dad, we’re just wrapping up now.” David said as he helped Brad pick up the papers Brad had spread over his bed.
“So Brad did Brian show you some of his in formation about camp last night?” Steve asked as the yawning boy walked into the kitchen the next morning.
“Yeah, and it sort of looks like fun. I’m just worried about how people will act when they find out about my problem.” Brad said glumly as he sat down at the breakfast bar.
“I know Brian must have told you about that but I don’t mind going over it again. Nothing will be said on the matter. And if something is said, aside from normal curiosity, just let your cabin counselor or another adult know about it and things will be taken care of. I can assure you that there will probably be others there that at least have a bed-wetting problem and handle it the same way you do. In fact, the camp insists that protection be worn for all campers that have a wetting problem. Even if it only happens once or twice, the camper will end up padded for the rest of their stay just as a precaution.”
“Did that happen to you?” Brad asked wondering if Steve was talking about himself.
“It did. But I was already wearing them at the time due to some medication I was on at the time. I had just stopped wetting at the time so it wasn’t that big of a deal to me to end up back in them.” Brad was told with a smile.
“Isn’t that where you and Brad had your first run in?” Ian asked with a smile as he came up behind his hubby and caught the tail end of the conversation.
“As a matter of fact, I think it was.” Steve said with a smile.
“I’m still surprised that you both weren’t sent home for that.”
“Well, I’m sure you remember the fast talking the both of us had to do. Of course, it helped that no one else saw the slight altercation. You know I don’t even remember what that fight was about now.” Steve said with said with a shrug.
“I do. And I’d hardly call that fight you had a “slight altercation”. Ian said with a grin as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that Jason and I both saw the fight and what started it. But then again, I think the whole camp knew about that.”
“You mean Brad blabbed it all over the camp.” Steve said suddenly remembering what started the fight.
“Nah, it was one of the other people in your cabin and I think you can figure out who.”
“Anderson.” Steve said after a few minutes of thinking.
“Right in one.”
“I should have known it was him. Brad was still in diapers as well at that point if I remember.”
“Kind of. He had stopped wetting a few months before camp but mom insisted he still wear them at camp just in case.” Ian said with a shrug.
“Don’t worry about that Brad. Brian has been going to Damian for the last five years and he has yet to have anything bad said about his wearing diapers.” Brad was informed as his dad gave his shoulder a light squeeze on his way past.
“How are changes and such going to be handled at camp?” Brad asked as he joined his dad at the dinning room table.
“We’ll go over all that when the new information packet arrives. It should be in the next day or two.” Ian said calmly knowing that it was probably going to be a long talk as they tried to lay all of Brad’s concerns to rest.
“Brad why don’t you go up and get ready for your swim lesson.” Steve said as he gave Brad a small nudge.
“OK dad.” Brad answered as he got up to do what his dad had asked of him.
“Ian, do you really think Brad is ready for something like this?” Steve asked once Brad was out of the room.
“I think so. I talked this over with Dr. Genault a couple of months ago and he feels that Brad needs something like this. I’ve informed the camp already of Brad’s situation and they don’t feel that there’ll be any problems.”
“If you say so.” Steve replied not totally convinced that Brad was ready for this.
“Boys after dinner I need to talk to both of you.” Ian announced during dinner a few days after the talk he had with Brad.
“What is it dad?” David asked before his brother could.
“Actually, David , I was referring to your brothers. Their camp packets came today and I need to go over it with them.” came the chuckled reply. On hearing that the packets came, Brian started asking questions about it. Steve noticed that Brad remained silent and looked a bit scared at this news.
“I said after dinner, Brian.” Ian laughed at the scene his son was making. This got Brian to settle down a little bit but not by much. The rest of dinner went by to slowly for Brian and too quickly for Brad.
“What are you heading for the office for Brad?” Steve asked once all the dinner dishes were taken care of and he saw Brad headed for Ian‘s office.
“Dad said he wanted to talk to me and Brian.”
“We do, but this isn’t the type of talk we need to use the office for.” Steve said with a smile as he saw the boy relax visibly on hearing this.
“OK, guys now that we’re all comfortable let me start by going over the camp rules.” Ian said opening the meeting.
“Aww, c’mon dad they couldn’t have changed that much since last year.” Brian whined on hearing this.
“There have been a few minor changes but this is more for Brad’s benefit than yours.” Brian was told with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, sorry.” Brian mumbled turning a bit red at this.
“Anyway, as I was saying, I’ll start off with the camp rules.” Ian said again as if he hadn’t been interrupted.
Brad was like a coiled spring with how tense he had become as his dad had read over the camp rules. He didn’t seem to realize that the camp rules weren’t much different than what he already dealt with at home.
“Don’t worry about it. They really aren’t any worse than what we deal with here.” Brian whispered to his brother as he rubbed his back a little to get him to loosen up.
“I’m just nervous about how they’ll deal with our problem.” Brad whispered back.
“I’m sure dad will get to that in a minute.” Brad was assured.
“Okay.”
“Now comes the fun part guys.” Ian told them with a smile.
“What’s that?” Brad asked in curiosity .
“Going over the list of the activities that the camp offers.”
“Kewl!” Brian said excitedly as he snatched the pages his dad was holding out and started reading them. Brad was a bit more reserved with how he took the pages being offered to him. After a few minutes of reading it, Brad had to admit that he might be able to have fun.
“I just have a couple of requirements to the activities you choose.” Brad and Brian were told after Steve gave them a few minutes to go over the list.
“What’s that?” Brian asked warily.
“That you both have fun doing them and that you each pick at least one team sport.” Steve said with a smile to his son.
“Man, after looking at this, I wish I was going with you guys.” David complained enviously as he looked over the list that Brian had just set down.
“Hey, we gave you the chance but you said you wanted to go on that jamboree with your troop.” Ian stated with a chuckle on seeing the look of longing David had on his face.
“Now are there any questions?” Ian asked after going over the activity with Brad and Brian for a few minutes .
“Nah, I’m good.” Brian announced.
“How is the camp going to handle my problem?” Brad asked nervously.
“You’ll be responsible for all your changes. One of the counselors can help you in the event of a messy accident but other than that you’re on your own. Of course, you do most of your changes here anyway so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“What about if someone starts making fun of me?”
“Then let a counselor know about it. They’ll take care of it. I doubt you’ll have any trouble with it though. The camp tries to place most of the people with wetting problems in the same cabins so that there won’t be any teasing. I just want to stress to both of you boys that if I here that either of you have gotten into any fights because of that , I’ll bring who ever was involved right home and if that happens then they’re going to be very sorry. Am I understood?”
“Yes, sir.” Both boys answered in unison.
“Will you bring me home if I get home sick?” Ian was asked softly after a few moments of silence.
“I’ll make the same deal with you, Brad, that I did with your brothers, if you still happen to be homesick after three weeks, I’ll bring you home no questions asked. But I expect you to hold out for those three weeks. Deal?”
“I guess.” Brad said reluctantly not seeing the smiles on his brothers or Steve’s face.
“Good. Now I want you both to head up and get ready for bed. Brad, I’ll let you bunk in Brian’s room tonight, since I’m pretty sure you’ll both want to go over those lists a bit more.” Ian said with a smile as he sent the two younger boys up to bed.
“And don’t stay up to late. We’ll have a long day tomorrow getting all your gear.” Steve called after the two boys retreating backs.
“So what things are you wanting to try ?” Brian asked after he had gotten ready for bed and came back into his brother’s room.
“I don’t know. I’m not really sure what my interests are.” Brad replied as he finished getting ready and climbed into bed with Brian.
“Well, they normally send a DVD with the packets describing each of the activities. We can watch that when we get home tomorrow. That should give you some idea as to what sounds good to you. Something else you could try is during the first week or so, is to try a bit of everything and see what you like best. A couple of my friends did that the first year I went and that seemed to work for them.”
“I guess so. I’m still nervous about what people are going to think when they find out that I wear diapers.”
“Don’t worry about. I’ve found that if you don’t make a big deal about it most other people won’t either.”
“If you say so. We’re not going to be carrying them with us are we?”
“Nah. All our stuff will be shipped to the camp a couple weeks before we go. And dad normally arranges for Uncle David to ship a couple of cases of diapers as well. Of course, you never know what you’re going to end up with when he does this.” Brian said with a chuckle.
“What do you mean?” Brad asked nervously at this comment.
“Well, Uncle David heads up the R&D department at Jordan’s Inc. You know what R&D stands for right?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, I know what it means.”
“Just checking. Anyway, He normally uses me as a guinea pig to see how things work outside of the lab. And let me tell you, not all of the things that they’ve tried over the years have worked out all that well.” Brian announced with a laugh thinking back to some of the more spectacular failures he had to endure.
“Oh.” Brad said even more nervously than before.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we can have dad ask that Uncle David not do that with you this year.”
“I’d like that.” came the relieved reply.
“We better get to sleep before dad comes into check on us.” Brian stated after looking at the alarm clock over his cousin’s shoulder.
“Morning boys.” Steve said when Brian and Brad came down to breakfast the next morning.
“Morning dad.” Brian and Brad replied in unison as they walked past.
“You boys get back upstairs and change.” Anna stated forcefully as she blocked Brad and Brian from getting near the breakfast table looking at the drooping diapers that both of them were sporting.
“Yes, ma’am.” Brian said sheepishly as he took Brad by the shoulder and held him in between himself and Anna.
“And Brian, would you mind getting Ian up once you’re done if he’s not already up?” Steve asked with a smile as he watched his son back out of the room.
“Sure dad.” Brian answered as he released a confused Brad and then turned tail and ran for the stairs.
“What was that all about?” Brian was asked once Brad managed to catch up with him.
“Oh, Anna has a nasty habit of trying to give me a diaper wedgie when I come down to breakfast with out changing first.
“Oh.” came the chuckled reply as Brad framed the picture of that happening.
“It’s not funny.” Brad was informed peevishly as his brother walked off to his own room. With a shrug, Brad entered his own room and preceded to change into a clean diaper.
“Come back here you little imp!” Ian yelled as he came running into Brad’s room hot on Brian’s heels, shaking water from his hair as he did so.
“You got to catch me first!” Brian laughed as he pulled Brad from where the shocked boy was standing so Brad was now between Brian and his Dad
“Like that’ll be a problem.” Ian laughed as he closed the door behind him.
“Help Brad save me.” Brian laughed as he kept his brother at arms length in front of him. Not knowing where it came from Brad grabbed his brother’s wrist and stepped back flipping Brian over his hip, giving his dad the opening he needed.
“He’s all yours, dad.” Brad said with a smile as he finished getting dressed.
“What?! Help! Daddy!” Brad yelled once the shock of what had just happened and saw grinning Ian reaching for him.
“Now let’s see who needs a shower.” Ian announced as he flung his son up over his shoulder and headed for the bathroom.
“AAIIEEE! That’s cold! Brad heard Brian yell as his dad dumped him in the shower and turned the water on.
“Thanks for the help Brad.” Ian laughed as he walked past Brad and out into the hall.
“You were supposed to protect me.” A drenched Brian announced as he stumbled back into the room.
“Oh, OK. I’ll try to remember that for next time.” Brad laughed as he left the room.
“What was all that yelling about?” Steve asked as Brad came back downstairs a few moments later.
“I don’t really know. Dad came chasing Brian into my room as I was getting dressed. Brian tried to use me as a shield between him and dad, but got caught anyway.”
“OK and then what happened?”
“Dad tossed took Brian into the bathroom and dumped him into the shower.” Brad answered with a smile at the memory of the look on Brad’s face when he came out of the bathroom. When he looked back over to see Steve’s reaction to this Brad got a little scared by what he saw, until Steve started laughing out loud.
“I’m glad you found that little story funny.” Ian chuckled as he took his own seat at the table.
“Are you kidding? I’ve thought about doing something like that for years.”
“What stopped you?” Ian asked but only got a shrug in reply.
“Dad, could I ask you something?” Brad asked once breakfast was over and Steve was upstairs getting his shower and dressed.
“Sure, Brad. What can I help you with?” Ian asked his son.
“Well, Brian told me last night that Uncle Dave likes using him as a guinea pig for new products and that you normally get the supplies Brian uses at camp from Uncle Dave.”
“That’s true, but I wasn’t aware of Brian doing any testing of new products.” Brad was told in surprise since Ian was truly unaware of what his brother had been doing.
“Oh. Well, I was going to ask if you could have Uncle Dave not do anything like that to me.”
“Don’t worry Brad. I’ll be sure to have a long talk with my brother about that. You won’t have to worry about that happening to you. Now why don’t you go up and change if you need to. Steve will want to be in a hurry to get started since you guys have lots to get done before you leave for camp next month.”
“Thanks Dad.” Brad said with a smile as he gave the person he had come to regard as his new dad a hug.
“You’re welcome now get going and tell Brad that I’d like to see him for a moment.” Ian stated as he broke the hug.
“Ok.” the smiling boy said as he raced up the stairs to do what his dad asked him to.
Twenty minutes later, Ian heard the Steve and the boys pull out of the driveway. Asking David to watch the trips for a little while Ian headed into his den to make a phone call.
“Miller residence.” A voice asked after a couple of rings.
“Kellen? Is your dad there? It’s Ian.”
“Yeah. Let me call him.”
“Thanks.” Came the reply before Ian hastily pulled the phone away from his ear.
“DAD, UNCLE IAN’S ON THE PHONE AND WANT TO TALK TO YOU!” the boy yelled to his father.
“He said he’ll be here in a minute. He’s taking care of something at the moment.”
“Gotcha.” Ian replied with an unseen smile at his nephew’s obvious amusement knowing what the “something” probably was.
“Hey, Bro was up?” a familiar voice said a few minutes later.
“Nothing much. Just got back from seeing Jason and Madge a few weeks back.”
“I know. I saw a bit they did on Brad’s second medal. I have to say that I was brought up short at how much Brad looks like his old man. By the way, I never heard back from Brad on how he liked the book.”
“That’s strange. I know he sent it since I was with him when he did. I’ll ask him about it when he gets home later. Anyway the reason I called is I was needing to talk to you about send the boys prototypes of products while they were at camp. Brian said that some of them were complete flops and that this caused a good deal of embarrassment when they failed.”
“I’m sorry to hear about any embarrassment that was caused, but yeah we normally supply the camp with prototypes. They still go to Camp Damien right?” David asked as he typed some on his computer.
“That’s right.”
“Ok, before you go all ballistic I just pulled that file up and according to this the camp has a standing request that we ship them any prototypes we have in development. I guess they’re trying to save money or something..”
“I see.”
“I take it that this is a problem?” David asked catching the tone of his brother’s voice.
“OH yeah. There’s a problem alright. You see they get the diapers they use from a grant that dad and I set up with Jordon’s when the owners son took over for his dad. They’re supposed to be getting the premium line not the ones that are still in development.” Ian explained as he heard some more typing in the background.
“Well, from what I can see here of the camps that apply for that grant, Damien is the only one that requests that prototypes be used.”
“Can you look up how long they’ve had that request in and who arranged for it?”
“Sure, give me a few seconds. I take it you smell something?”
“Yeah, and it isn’t the boys diapers either.” Ian told his brother with a grin.
“I’ll bet.” David laughed as he pulled up the information his brother asked for.
“OK here we go. From what our files show the request was placed about three years ago by a C.E. Barkley. “You want me to send you the info?”
“Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind. And do me a favor, if the order hasn’t already been sent out replace it with the premium ones and note on the invoice that only the camp owner can sign for it.”
“Not a problem. By the way, is Brad going to going to Damien this year?”
“That’s the plan. Steve is out with him and Brian now getting their gear.”
“Good. Kellen’s been wanting to meet his new cousin.”
“I’m sure everyone else has been as well.”
“True. I need to go Ian. I just had a little stinker walk into the room that needs to be taken care of.”
“OK. You take care. Give everyone on your end my love.”
“You too Bro. Talk at you later.” David laughed as he hung up the phone.
Ian was smiling as well as he booted up his office computer and found the information he wanted already waiting for him. After a few minutes of reviewing the information his brother sent him Ian placed a couple of more calls. Once those were completed he joined David and the Trips in the pool.
“Do both of you guys have your lists?” Steve asked as the pulled up to a local Wal-Mart.
“Anytime you’re ready Brad.” Brian told his brother when he saw that Brad was still standing by the car.
“Is this the right place?” Brad asked since all the other times he’d gone shopping with one of his dad’s they’d always gone to some upscale place.
“Yeah. They always do the bargain stuff when picking up our clothes for camp since they know they’ll get ripped up and stuff.” Brian said with a smile.
“Oh. Ok.” Brad replied as the two boys ran to catch up with their dad.
“Brad when choosing the pants and shorts be sure to get them slightly looser than you normally get. The camp normally uses slightly thicker diapers than normal so the guys that wear during the day don’t have to stop as often to change.” Steve whispered to his son as the three of them walked into the boys department.
“Ok.
“Also get normal board style swim trunks instead of Speedos.”
“How many do I need to get?”
“Just go off your list. It’ll tell you what you need and how many. Just ignore the underwear.”
“Alright.”
“Let Brian know that I’ll be over in the sporting goods area picking up some of the other things on the list and I’ll meet you there if you get done first.”
“I’ll let him know.” Brad said. With a smile, Steve gave Brad a small swat to his padded rump to send him on his way.
“You guys have everything?” Steve asked about ninety minutes later when he came up to Brian who was waiting for Brad to come out of the changing room
“Almost. Brad’s trying on some swim trunks right now.”
“Ok, how many more things do you have to go on your lists?”
“Except for the Camp shirts, I think this is the last of it.” Brian replied as he saw Brad come out of the room he had been in.
“How do these look?” Brad asked as he modeled the suit we was wearing for his dad and brother.
“I think you might want to go with something slightly larger. You can tell what you have on underneath.” Steve said softly in Brad’s ear as he bent down to act like he was adjusting the waistband a bit.”
“I had those on at first but Brian told me that they normally use something slimmer than this under their trunks when swimming and suggested that I get something smaller.” Brad explained while looking over at his brother.
“Those are just about right dad. They normally have us use a swim diaper under our trunks and those are a good deal slimmer that what we have on right now.” Brian said while looking over Brad’s trunks and nodded that they’d be just right.
“If you’re sure then I’ll take your word for it. Now while we’re on this subject how’re your pants doing?”
“I’m a little wet but it should be ok since you have me in some thicker pants.” Brad said softly so others wouldn’t hear what he said.
“I could use a change.” Brian replied in a normal voice causing some of the people around to at him slightly. Steve just smiled at the showing off Brian was doing and after having the boys grab their shopping carts headed for the front of the store.
“Hop up here Bri and we’ll see about getting you into some dry pants.” Steve announced after all the stuff they had bought was stored in the car and a changing pad had been spread over the tailgate. This took Brad a bit by surprise and made him glad that he didn’t feel like he needed to be changed at that moment.
Brian for his part just hopped right and took position on the pad like he got changed out in the open like that every day of the week. Brad found it interesting that Steve was able to have Brad stripped, cleaned, lotioned, powdered and re-diapered in only about Three minutes. Steve laughed at his son a bit when the boy hopped off the tailgate and headed for the car door before he even had the chance to put Brian’s shorts back on him. With a shake of his head, Steve put the changing gear away, closed up the back of the truck and moved around to the drivers door.
“Guys I think we’ll just stop somewhere and use the drive-thru for lunch since Brian’s not dressed enough for us to go inside.” Steve told the boys with a laugh as he put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot.
The girl running the window where they stopped to get lunch needed to do a double take when their car pulled up to the window and got an eyeful of seeing Brian in his car seat in nothing but a t-shirt and diaper. Steve clearing his throat brought her attention back to what she was doing. Brian and Brad both laughed a bit at this as they drove off
“Make sure you have all of your trash cleaned up when you get out of the car. After you get it thrown away I want both of you to help me carry all this stuff inside so we can get it sorted and tagged. It needs to be done today so we can get it packed and I have time to pick up anything we might have forgotten.” Steve announced as they pulled into the driveway.
“But I was planning on going over to Mike’s.” Brian complained on hearing this statement from his dad.
“I’ll tell you what, you can go over to Mike’s now if you want but if you do, you’ll be responsible for getting all your things ready for camp. This means that if anything is missing or doesn’t get done it’s on your head. Now what’ll it be?”
“I’ll help you guys out.” Brian replied glumly at this. Knowing that his dad was serious about holding him responsible if anything got messed up with his gear.
“Alright then let’s get started.” Steve said with a smile once Brian’s back was to him.
Several hours later, Brad and Brian joined David and the Trips in the pool to relax a bit after all the work they had done trying to get ready for camp that would happen in less than a month’s time.
“Boys, I’ll be taking you to school this morning since Brad needs to go in for his placement test to see how he‘s doing..” Steve announced a couple of weeks after the little shopping spree. Hearing this caused Brad to start choking on the drink he was taking at the time he heard this.
“Easy there Brad. We told you this would be happening a few days ago. Think of the placement test you’ll be taking as your finals to see whether or not you advance. It’s just like your brothers are doing.” Ian said as he was slapping Brad on the back to help clear the juice he had inhaled.
“Besides Brad, you’ve been reviewing everything with Jeremy and your brothers and they all seem like you’ll do fine. Just take your time in answering the questions. If you get stuck on any just go one to another question and then come back and answer it as best you can with the time you have left.” Steve added.
“Also you’ll be riding home on the bus with Brian and David once you’re done.”
“What if I get done early with my tests?”
“I doubt that’ll happen, but we can ask Mrs. Dubov about that when I drop you off.” Steve said after a few moments thought.
“Now why don’t you go up and get changed into your school clothes. And don’t forget to pack a couple of extra changes for when you need them.” Ian stated after he looked at his watch.
“Okay.” Brad said getting up from the table and headed for his room.
“Brad, just relax. I’m sure you’ll do just fine on the test.” Ian said as he pulled Brad into a hug as his son walked past him.
“Now get going you don’t want to be late.” Ian said once he felt the boy relax a bit. Ian was pleased when he got a small laugh when he tickled Brad in the ribs before letting him go.
Steve noticed that Brad had gone with one of his slightly thicker diapers when Brad came back down from getting his clothes on. Since the extra padding looked like it was only noticeable if you knew what to look for Steve decided not to say anything about.
“Okay guys, I’ll see you tonight and I expect you to do well on all your tests today.” David and Brian were told when they got out of the car at school and started to head off to their homerooms.
“We will. Brad, don’t worry about anything. You’ll do fine and we’ll see you at lunch.” David told his father and brother.
“Well, we better get a move on ourselves.” Steve said taking Brad by the shoulder and steered him towards the Admin building.
As luck would have it, Mrs. Dubov was just coming out of her office when Steve and Brad came into the main office.
“Ah Steve good to see you again. And I see Brad’s all set as well.” The principal said warmly as she walked up to them.
“Mrs. Dubov, a pleasure as always.” Steve said with a grin as he took the offered hand.
“I see you’re still as big a flatterer as ever.” came the laughed reply.
“Why change a good thing?”
“Too true. Now Brad let’s see what we can do to get you set up for the day.” the principal said turning her attention to the smaller boy.
“Oh that’s one thing we had a question about. Brad was wondering what he could do to pass time in case he got done early. He’s going to be riding the bus home with his brothers.”
“Oh I doubt that’ll happen. After he’s done with the written portion of the test we’re going to be having him go through a Phys. Ed. And swimming test as well. You do still have your gear here I assume?” Brad was asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I had asked Brian to pick them up for me since we share a locker. I just hope he doesn’t pick them up before I can get to them.”
“That won’t be a problem. I’ll send a note down to the coaches office and let them know that he doesn’t need to get them for you. Steve I’ll take things from here and let you get back to whatever you need to do.” They were told as Mrs. Dubov placed a hand on Brad’s shoulder and led the boy towards the back part of the office.
On his way back to the car, Steve started thinking that it was a good thing that he and Ian had insisted that Brad exercise for a couple of hours each day aside from his swim lessons.
“Damn, I’m glad all that’s over.” Brad thought as he finished getting dressed from his P.E. tests. He had heard some of the people snickering as he pulled his pants up over his diaper. He ignored this since he knew that nothing was going to be said openly to him about it after what had happened to the last person to do this. Thinking back to that little incident Brad had to smile.
“Hey Brad. Coach Dunbar wants to see you in his office when you’re done getting dressed.” One of the older boys called out.
“Thanks Frank. I’ll be right there.” Brad replied as he sat down to put his shoes on.
“You wanted to see me coach?” Brad asked a few minutes later walking into the coach’s office.
“Yeah, Brad. Close the door and have a seat.”
“I was wondering who your last swim coach was.”
“Except for my dad and Uncles, I’ve never had a swim coach. My uncles have me swim laps a bit each day but I’ve never had anything formal.”
“What about at your last school? Your file just says you were home schooled but you still would have needed to take Phys. Ed. Classes at a regular school.”
“Uh. I never took normal P.E. classes I just worked out in my free time. Why is there a problem?”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’d really not say. The principal knows what my background is but I’d really not talk about it.” Brad said nervously.
“I’ll let it slide for now. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I’d like to sign you up for a swim program over the summer.”
“I didn’t think I did that bad.” Brad said misunderstanding what the coach was meaning.
“Brad, you misunderstand. I’m wanting to send you to a camp to help you do even better. Hell, boy. You were 3/10th of a second away from breaking a state record that’s stood strong for almost three decades. You sure as hell shattered all of the standing school records. And I don’t just mean for your age group. If you were already on the swim team I’d be changing the times already. So what do you say are you game?”
“I’d really like to, but my dad already has me set up going to camp for the summer.”
“I see. In that case I’ll choose someone else. I expect to see you at the swim team try outs when we hold them next year. You do this well then and I can almost certainly promise you a spot on the J.V. Squad possibly even a shot at the Varsity.”
“I’ll talk to my dads about it. Who set the current record, if you don’t mind my asking.” Brad asked as he got out of his seat.
“B.J. Miller. His picture is right over there by the trophy that went with it.”
“You Okay?” Brad was asked with concern when the coach saw him turn a bit pale when he saw the photo.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I need to go meet up with my brothers.” Brad said and started walking away so the coach wouldn’t see the tears in his eyes.
“You alright Brad?” David asked when Brad sat down at the table his brothers were sharing with Hutch, Anakin, and a couple of their other friends.
“I guess, I just had my swimming test.”
“Hey don’t worry about it. You can retake the test next semester. You don’t really have to pass it till you get ready to start the Ninth grade.” David said thinking that his brother had failed the test.
“Yeah, Brad. At this point all you have to do is complete it.” Brad piped in.
“Hey guys, we better get out to the bus area they should be here in a few minutes.” Hutch said looking at his watch.
“You think you’re hot shit there Miller?” an older boy yelled as he came up and shoved Brad into a nearby locker.
“Fuck off, I don’t want to hear it.” Brad stated as he started to walk away.
“Oh so now you think you’re some kind of tough guy.” The boy said loudly as he pushed Brad back into a locker. Before things could go any further the guys friends grabbed him and started walking him away when they saw a teacher coming down the hall.
“What the hell was that all about?” David asked in confusion.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Brad mumbled as he walked out the door and to the bus stands.
“Way to go Miller.” A boy called as he walked past Brad and his brothers. Several other people had as well before the boys managed to make it to the bust stand. Try as they might, neither David or Brian could get Brad to open up about what was bothering him.
Brad headed up to his room the moment they got home and said hello to the dogs and Trips. Brad smiled a bit when all of the Trips came into his room and climbed into bed with him and promptly fell asleep next to him.
“Brad, the boys tell me you seemed a bit upset when you joined them after school today. You want to talk about it?” Steve asked during dinner.
“Not really. It’s nothing.” came the mumbled reply.
“David also mentioned that one of the people on the Swim Team came up and tried to start a fight with you on your way out of the building. What was that about?” Steve pressed, gathering that whatever was bugging Brad was anything but “nothing”.”
“I don’t really know what that was about.” Brad replied honestly.
“Okay. I just want to let you know that if the other boy tries anything else while you’re at school tomorrow I expect you to walk away and let a teacher know about it. Okay?” Steve said.
“I will.” Steve still sensing something was wrong decided that since he had the day off he’d make a run up to the school the next day and talk with Brad’s gym teacher.
“Aside from the little run in, how do you think you boys have done on your tests so far?” Steve asked his sons.
“Not bad.” all three of them replied at almost the same time. This caused their dad to smile a bit at this.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, Since all of you have been working so hard over this last week and tomorrow is your last day of tests, I’m going to let you all have the night off. So after the dishes are done, you guys jump into your trunks if you want and go play in the pool for the night.” This announcement was met with great approval from all three of the boys.
Steve kept a close eye on Brad the rest of the evening to see if he could see what might be troubling him. When Ian got home later that night, after the boys were in bed, Steve explained what he had been told and what he planned on doing the next day. Ian agreed with this course of action.
“Coach Dunbar?” Steve asked walking into the Coach’s office the next morning.
“Yeah?”
“I’m Steve Levinson. Brad Miller’s Uncle. I wanted to know if you have a few minutes to talk?” Steve asked as he came into the room.
“Sure what can I help you with?”
“Well, Brad seemed a bit upset when he came home yesterday and his brothers said that he had a slight run in with one of the people on the swim team. Since I think the two are related, I thought you’d be the one to try and shed some light on things.” Steve explained.
“I’m assuming that Brad then didn’t tell you how his Swimming test went yesterday then?”
“No, he didn’t. Given his attitude, I felt that he didn’t do well, and I didn’t want to make him feel worse by pressing the matter.”
“That’s understandable. However, your assumption is wrong.”
“How so?” Steve asked in confusion
“Because Brad, managed to shatter several long standing school records not to mention damn near broke a state record that’s stood for almost thirty years.” Dunbar stated as he handed over the form that had Brad’s times from the previous day on it.
“Are these right?” Steve asked in shock at the times.
“I double checked the tapes myself to make sure. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but if it wasn’t for the drag that Brad has below his waist he would have busted that record with no problem. I’ve already asked him to try out for the teams next year and all but guaranteed him a slot on the JV squad if he does as well as he did yesterday. He might even have a shot at the Varsity.”
“I see. Did you happen to say who held that record?”
“Brad asked about that. I told him who it was and said that the person’s picture was next to the plague he earned.”
“It’s right over here if you want to have a look.” Steve was told as the coach got out of his seat and walked over to a nearby case.
“Here we go. B.J. Miller.” The coach said showing Steve the photo and award.
“Oh. Shit. No wonder Brad was a bit messed up last night.”
“Why? What’s the problem.”
“The kid in the photo happens to be Brad’s father.”
“Damn. no wonder he looked so familiar. I’ve been passing that picture for the last six years, and I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before. You say that Brad had some kind of run in after school with a team member?”
“That’s what his brothers said. They said it was just a bit of pushing Brad into a locker but nothing more.”
“Okay. I’ll check with Coach Romanov and see if we can find out who was responsible and handle things from there.”
“I appreciate that.” Steve said as he took the offered hand and shook it.
The rest of the day went by quickly for both Steve and the boys and soon they were getting out of school for the summer.
“Brad, You and Brian need to be in bed in Twenty minutes after we get home.” Ian announced as their group walked out of the restaurant after having gone out to celebrate Brad passing all of his tests so he could join his brothers at Stonehenge the coming school year.
“Aww, Dad it’s only 7:30pm.” Brian complained as he glanced at his watch.
“I’m aware of the time. But both you and Brad have an early flight to catch in the morning and I don’t plan on letting you be late because you overslept.” Ian replied in a way to let both boys know that the subject was closed.
“Yes sir.” Brad and Brian replied as they got into the car.
“Make sure all your stuff is laid out and ready to go before you get into bed.” Steve added as he helped put the Trips into their car seats. The boys nodded at this request. Brad had started feeling nervous again now that the departure time for him going to camp had finally arrived.
“Don’t worry about things Brad. I’m sure you’ll have loads of fun.” David told his brother on the ride home.
“I know I probably will but I’m still nervous about it.” Brad replied. David just chuckled at this and messed Brad’s hair up as he did so.
By Eight O’clock, Brad and Brian had both gotten their showers and diapered for bed. Brad was surprised that he was told to use one of his overnight disposables instead of his normal cloth diapers.
“It’s not all that surprising Brad. This way they don’t have to smell our ripe diapers till they get enough of the Trips used up for a load of laundry.” Brian explained.
“Yeah, I guess that does make sense.” Brad replied after thinking it over for a moment.
After he was done getting his carry-on bag ready for the flight the next day, Brad went down to say goodnight to everyone. Devon started having a fit when he realized that Brad was going to be leaving.
“Brad, no go!” Devon yelled as he clung to his brother when Brad attempted to put the toddler down after giving him a good night hug.
“C’mon Dev you need to let go of Brad so he can get to bed.” Steve said calmly while trying to pull his youngest off of Brad.
“NOO!! Brad Stay!” Dev yelled, nearly blowing Brad’s ear out in the process.
“Dad, if you don’t mind I’ll take care of Dev.” Brad said before the tug-of-war could go any further . Carrying the still crying toddler upstairs Brad entered his room and sat down on the edge of his bed .
“Let go Dev, okay?”
“No!” Brad heard his brother say as the younger boy increased his hold.
“It’s okay. I’m not leaving yet. Just relax.” Brad said softly as he rubbed Dev’s back.
“Okay.” Brad barely heard as the grip around his neck loosened. Setting Dev on his lap, Brad started talking softly to his brother.
“I know you don’t want me to leave but dad really wants me to give this a try okay. I’ll miss you as much as you’ll miss me.”
“Uh huh.” Dev sobbed a bit.
“Well, I have something I’d like for you to do for me While I’m gone. I’d like you to look after Gunny for me while I’m gone. Do you think you could do that?” Brad asked as he pulled his teddy bear over and handed it to his brother.
“Uh huh.” came the soft reply as Dev clutched the bear to his chest.
“Okay, now lets get you tucked into bed so dad doesn’t get mad at us.” Brad said while tickling his brother in the ribs as he did so. The giggle he got in response to this was exactly what Brad wanted. In just a few moments Brad had carried Dev into his room and had him tucked into bed. Once this was done Brad went back down stairs and explained what he had done to his dads so they wouldn’t try to take the bear away from Dev while Brad was at camp
“Time to get up Brad.” Brad heard what seemed like just a few minutes after he fell asleep. Looking over at his alarm, Brad saw that it was just after six in the morning.
“UHHGG.” Brad groaned as he turned over and tried to go back to sleep. Before he knew what was happening he felt himself getting yanked out of bed. Looking around to see what was going on, Brad received a good morning kiss from Otto, who had just yanked him out of bed.
“You have ten minutes to get changed, dressed and downstairs.” David told him after making sure Brad was awake. To make sure of this he left Otto in the room. The Moment Brad tried climbing back into bed, Otto grabbed onto Brad’s shirt and started growling.
“Okay, okay. I’m up.” Brad grumbled once he had been released. With a sour look, Brad picked up the Travel diaper that was laying on top of the clothes he had set out the night before.
“Nice of you to join us.” Ian said as he joined everyone at the breakfast table.
“UHH.” came the groaned reply. Ian just laughed at this as Brad sat down.
“Don’t get to comfortable. We’ll be leaving for the airport as soon as Brian joins us.” Brad was informed. Brad was shocked to see David in his scout uniform.
“I’m meeting up with some of guys from my troop so we can head for out camp remember.” David said when he saw the look on his brother’s face.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Brad grinned.
“Boys, I want you all to have fun this summer and I better not hear about you getting into any trouble. Got it?” Ian said as he dropped Brad and Brian off at their gate and turned them over to the Steward that was going to be watching them during the flight.
“Got it.” came the stereo reply.
“And remember you’ll be met at the gate by someone from the camp. They’ll have on the shirt I told you about last night. Don’t go with anyone else but them.”
“We got it dad.” Brian replied wanting to get onto the plane and get his summer started.
“Watch the attitude young man.” Brian was told. After one last hug the boys were led onto the plane. Ian stood by the window till the plane had pulled away from the gate. As he walked back to his car, David’s, Brian’s, and Brad’s dad couldn’t help shake the feeling that something was going to happen over the summer to the boys. If he had known what it was exactly, it would have been doubtful that he would have let the boys leave his sight.