Eddie and Ty left the house in a state of nervousness and excitement. They decided to take the slightly longer route because it was quieter and less heavily traveled. While it was true that Bryin sometimes went outside wearing only diapers and a t-shirt, Ty had never known him to go further than one or two houses away from his own. To walk the three blocks in diapers and plastic pants from his house to his cousin’s was definitely not the norm (even though he and Eddie had done it accompanied by their mothers this afternoon).
Approaching the house they saw that the sprinklers had already been turned on and that the front door was open.
“Maybe your uncle and aunt came home early,” Eddie suggested.
“I don’t know,” Ty responded. “They would have called my mom if they were going to do that.”
The boys had stopped walking and were standing at the foot of the driveway.
“I guess we have to go in and check,” Ty finally decided. “My aunt and uncle are going to find out about my diapers sooner or later. I hope that I don’t get Bryin into a lot of trouble.”
They approached the screen door and walked in.
“Well, finally, there’s my baby boy,” Ty’s father greeted them sarcastically. “I thought it was asking too much for a little baby in diapers to take care of a house so I came over here to do it for you.”
Two empty beer cans lay at his feet and he held a third in his hands. Ty knew that his dad occasionally had a drink or a beer but he never knew him to have three in a row. The tone of his dad’s voice also made him uncomfortable.
“Don’t stand at the door, come in and sit down. I want to talk to you,” he commanded, a slight alcoholic slur in his speech. “Eddie, you can stay or wait outside- whatever you want.”
“May I please stay?” Eddie asked, fearful for Ty’s safety.
“Sure, sure, the more the merrier. Oh, wait. Don’t sit down yet. Are either of you wet?”
“No,” Ty answered, “we just got changed.”
“Really? Well, let me check. I don’t think you’re old enough to know any better.”
Ty hesitated to approach his dad.
“Over her, now!” he bellowed.
Ty cautiously drew near. His dad grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled him closer.
“Now, stand still,” he said releasing Ty’s hand. He pulled down the plastic pants and ran the palm of his hand down the front of the diaper.
“Well, what a good baby. You’re still dry. Pull up your baby pants and sit down.”
Ty’s eyes had filled with tears from his dad’s abusive treatment. They now overflowed and a tear streamed down each cheek.
“Goddammit!” Mr. Hardymon exclaimed. “What’s happening to you? Are you becoming a pants-pissing sissy?” he shouted as he shook his son by the shoulders.
“Oww, you’re hurting me,” Ty screeched through the tears. “Let go of me.”
What happened next felt like it happened in slow motion. Eddie tried to pry Ty out of Mr. Hardymon’s tight grasp. This wasn’t very effective, so he hauled off and punched Mr. Hardymon in the face. Momentarily stunned Mr. Hardymon relaxed his grip allowing Ty to escape. Ty and Eddie fled the house and didn’t stop running until they had turned the first corner.
The boys were very upset. Ty, embarrassed to be seen crying, dried his tears with the hem of his t-shirt. Eddie worried what would happen to him for having punched Ty’s dad.
“I guess we’d better go back to my house,” Ty sniffled.
Just as they started to walk, Mark Haddlin approached on his bicycle. Amazingly, he acted as if nothing was unusual. In truth, Ty was more embarrassed by his red-rimmed eyes than by his diaper and plastic pants. He hoped that the growing darkness hid the evidence that he had been just been crying. In any case, they would find out what Mark thought of them now that they were back in diapers.
“Yo, guys.”
“Hi, Mark,” they answered.
“Watcha doing?” he asked.
“I’m taking care of Bryin’s house while they’re gone to Disney World,” Ty said not untruthfully.
“Oh.” After a slight pause, he added, “ My mom told me that she met you this afternoon. Are you going to be wearing diapers all the time like Bryin does?”
Mark’s direct question released the tension that had been in the air.
“Yeah,” Eddie affirmed. “Will it bother you? I mean, will you still want to be our friend and hang around with us? All the other guys are going to find out, too, you know.”
“Yeah, I guess everybody will know pretty fast. But why are you walking around the streets without your pants?” Mark smiled.
“Our moms haven’t gotten us big enough pants yet,” Eddie answered.
“And my mom is making me do all my regular stuff, even if it means leaving the house in just diapers and plastic pants,” Ty added.
“Wow. I sure wouldn’t want to be seen walking around the neighborhood in them even though I think it would be really kewl to wear diapers, too,” Mark marveled.
Ty was beginning to worry that someone else would see him in his diaper and plastic pants.
“I’ve got to get home. Later, OK?”
“Yeah, later,” Mark answered as he remounted his bike and headed for home.
Ty and Eddie were silent the rest of the way back to the house. Mostly, Ty was wondering if he should tell his mother about what happened between him and his dad. In the end, he decided that he had to. It only took a few minutes to recount the story to his mother and Mrs. Pfelgaur. Melinda was so shocked that she could hardly believe what Tyler was telling her. She didn’t doubt her son; she simply couldn’t fathom why Luke was reacting so violently to Ty’s diapers. She had expected him to blame her sister June and their brother-in-law Henry for allowing Bryin to have this influence on Tyler. She never imagined that Luke would ever become verbally or physically abusive toward Tyler. This was an altogether different man from the one she thought she had married.
Ty had started sniffling again as he told his mother the story. She gave him a hug and sent him and Eddie upstairs. She needed Bunny’s help in what she was going to do next.
“I’ve got to talk to Luke right away,” Melinda said to Bunny. “I’m going over to June’s to try talking sense to him. I just don’t understand what’s going on in his head. He’s overreacting big time.”
“Yes, I agree,” Bunny encouraged her friend. “I’ll stay here. Take all the time you need. I can sleep on the couch in the den. Will Josie be OK for the rest of the night?”
“I almost forgot about her,” Melinda said with a guilt-tinged voice. “She should be OK. But if she does wake up in pain, her pills are in our bedroom on the dresser. She can have up to two pills every 4 hours. Thanks for your help.”
“Don’t be silly. You’d do the same for me. Now, go. I hope everything turns out OK.”
Upstairs the boys had finished talking about Ty’s dad. Eddie changed the subject.
“Did you pick up on what Mark said?” Eddie asked Ty.
“What? That he wouldn’t want to get caught wearing diapers around the neighborhood. Duh… who would?”
“No, not that part. The part where he said even though I think it would be really kewl to wear diapers, too.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember that.”
“I wonder if he really meant it the way it sounded?”
“I don’t know,” Ty giggled. “How hard should we try to find out?”
*****
Melinda drove over to her sister’s house only to find it locked up and dark. She didn’t have a key but she was fairly certain that Luke was no longer there. She drove back home and immediately noticed that Luke’s car was gone.
“That was quick,” Bunny said in a worried tone as Melinda walked into the door.
“Luke’s not there. Did he come by to pick up his car. It’s gone now, too.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Bunny apologized. “I was in the den listening to the nine o’clock news when I heard a car start up. I thought it was a neighbor; it never occurred to me that it might be Luke.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. Even if you had seen that it was Luke you couldn’t have done anything about it. Thanks for offering to stay, though. Will you be going home with Eddie now?”
“What would you like? For us to go or for us to stay.”
“I’d like it if you would stay. Ty could use the company, too. Eddie was there when Luke… went crazy. The sooner he talks about it with someone, the faster it will heal, I think.”
“Good. How about this? Let’s wait a while and we’ll play it by ear.”
They didn’t have to wait too long, though. Luke called at 9:45. Melinda could tell that he was distraught and ashamed at his behavior. She could also tell that he had been drinking.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“At Henry and June’s.”
“I was just there and you weren’t,” she said accusingly.
“That’s right. After Ty and Eddie left I sat here for a little while, feeling ashamed. I finally got the nerve to go home to talk to them. When I got there, your car was gone and I thought you had gone somewhere with them. I took my car and drove back here. How is Tyler?”
“Upset,” she said as neutrally as she could. She was really very angry with Luke but she knew that only calm discussion could get them over this considerable bump in their marriage. “Why did you go back to Henry and June’s?”
“I’m so ashamed of myself,” he admitted. “I’ve lost my nerve again. I can’t talk to Ty tonight. Please forgive me. I’ll stay here tonight and be home in the morning.”
He hung up. Melinda called right back but he wouldn’t pick up the phone. Despite spending the next hour discussing Luke’s odd behavior, neither Melinda nor Bunny could figure out a satisfactory explanation for it. Bunny made a suggestion.
“Why don’t you get an overnight bag ready for Luke. He might feel better tomorrow morning after he’s cleaned up and has fresh clothes. He might at least get the message that you still care about him and are concerned for him Since he isn’t comfortable talking to you, maybe I can deliver it.”
“Would you do that? I’d be so relieved if you could at least talk to him for a minute tonight.”
“OK, let’s get a bag ready,” Bunny encouraged.
Bunny reported back to Melinda after she had dropped off Luke’s things.
“I’m afraid he’s more than a little bit drunk. He wouldn’t let me in at first but I insisted and he finally opened the door. He accepted the overnight bag and promised to be home tomorrow morning. I think he’ll be alright. I would say that he feels tremendously guilty about the way he acted.”
This didn’t completely relieve Melinda’s anxiety but she was grateful for Bunny’s efforts. The biggest mystery was Luke’s drinking. Since she had known him he had never taken more than one alcoholic drink at any given occasion. Why was alcohol suddenly in the picture?
“I’d better take Eddie home now,” Bunny announced.
When they went up to Ty’s room they found them both asleep on top of Ty’s bed.
“I guess we can leave them like that,” Melinda said. “They can take care of themselves without us.”
“Alright, but send Eddie home first thing tomorrow. You certainly have enough on your mind without having to feed and extra teenager… or change his diapers for that matter.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Melinda responded. “It won’t be long before neither of us will be able to remember exactly how many times we changed either boy’s diapers.”
“I think you’ve got that right,” Bunny chuckled.