Mommies and Daddies

What's worse, is the police won't do anything about someone illegally taking a handicapped parking space. The space is on private business. So a complaint has to come from the business owner. Only then will the police ticket the illegally parked vehicle.  

Chicken fried rice

Mongolian chicken, egg rolls (from frozen), Szechuan eggplant (leftover from takeout) and fried rice (also from takeout)  We used to make it with beef instead of chicken, but that was back when flank steak was a cheap cut of meat. <heavy sigh>

Chapter 11 - Observation Lunch proved to be a quieter affair after such an eventful morning. George was still conscious about his new overalls, but amongst the heaving crowds of shoppers he didn’t stand out. Quite the opposite. Several times on the way to the food court he was almost run over by people in too much of a hurry or too glued to their phone screens to notice they were about to run into him. The food court itself was a large oval plaza overlooking the main entrance hall to the mall below them, with a semicircle of various fast food stations surrounding it and currently swarming with people in the middle of the lunchtime rush hour.  Alice had asked him to go and find some seats for them before disappearing into the line, and he was happy to both do something useful and avoid the throng of people massing for food. About ten minutes later, Alice reappeared with their food and George put away his DS in his pocket: Bacon & Cheese burger with extra fries for him, and some sort of Japanese soup for her. He didn’t waste any time tearing into it. “Dont’ forget to come up for air.” Alice joked and he blushed, slowing his pace a little. But her gambit that a healthy serving of junk food would improve his mood had paid off. He seemed at ease again. “Listen, I think we’ve done enough of the mall for one day, don’t you?”  George’s eyes lit up at the idea of a reduced sentence.  “A friend of mine asked if I could meet her this afternoon. Not anything for you to worry about, but do you think you would be ok to spend the afternoon over with Jane and her father?”  Alice wasn’t privy to her neighbours exact goings on, but she knew their schedule pretty well. Both Jane and her dad were almost certain to be in at the moment, and the father was a friend of hers. He’d have no problem keeping an eye on them. Chances were they’d be playing outside anyway. “Um, yeah, yeah, sounds great!” George replied between burger bites. “Thank you for being flexible about this George. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be, but it shouldn’t be any longer than a couple of hours at most. You’ve got my number on your phone, don’t you?”  George nodded. “Excellent. Why don’t we finish up and we can get back on the road then?” Fifteen minutes later they were back in the car. And about half an hour after that they were driving back into the familiar suburb. The traffic was mercifully much quicker leaving town at this time of day. As they parked up Alice engaged the brakes and pulled out her phone, double checking her messages. She motioned to George in the rear view mirror, indicating he had permission to undo his seat belt and leave the car. The first was a reply from Paul, Jane’s father, saying he was perfectly happy to look out for George for a couple of hours for her. As well as inviting the two of them over for dinner sometime next week. She smiled at that. Paul was always dependable, but his hospitality wasn’t unappreciated either. She sent a quick reply thanking him for the invitation and giving a tentative confirmation of their attendance. If nothing else it would be nice to skip cooking for a night. The second was a message from the office of Dr. Paige.  Hello, Miss. Warding – This is Ellen Chan writing;  Dr. Paige’s assistant. Thank you for getting in contact about getting young George the help he needs. The next thing we need to do is book you and George in for a consultancy appointment. I’ve attached a link at the bottom of this email to our app, where you can sign up and book a time that suits you.  We have a few appointments open over the next few days if any of those suit you. Thursday tends to be the day we have more slots available. Could I also ask you to bring along any medical notes or medications that he takes as well.  Feel free to call me at the clinic number if you need any more information or want to discuss anything before your appointment.  Looking forward to meeting you, Kind regards Ellen Chan Alice rolled her eyes. Why did everything need to have its own app these days? She wasn’t too concerned though. It looked like they were about to pull the trigger on some major actions to tackle George’s problems, and she felt satisfied at that.  Clicking the provided link, she was redirected to the app store and found the app for Dr. Paige’s clinic. She was surprised to see the icon for which was a white diaper on a light green background. It seemed a little too blunt in her mind, but she supposed it made sense. They were all about dealing with toileting problems and bedwetting in children, according to Melissa. Speaking of which, she would need to get on her way if she was going to turn around to meet her. When the app finished downloading, she logged in with the pre-set username and password Ellen had provided in her email. She grumbled as it made her go through the tedious process of resetting the password and clicking through cookie settings and licence agreements, before it finally let her access the appointment section. She found an appointment time for tomorrow at 2PM, which suited her just fine. She could take George out somewhere nicer for lunch than the mall canteen beforehand. It might improve his mood a bit. There were other tabs on the app, but she didn’t bother looking through them just yet. She waited for the app loading icon to stop spinning and confirm her appointment was booked.  “Finally,” she muttered to herself. She closed the screen with a click and slipped the phone into her pocket before opening the car door and stepping out into the warm afternoon sun. She looked around, not seeing George anywhere in the driveway. And the keys to the house were still in her pocket, so he couldn’t have gone inside yet. She raised her hand to try and shield herself from the uncompromising glare of the summer sun as she fumbled in her purse for her sunglasses and put them on.  She spotted George a few seconds later. Over on the other side of the house about 20 yards away, talking to a familiar face.  “Sorry to interrupt” she made her presence known as the two adolescents broke from their conversation and looked around at her. She noticed that Jane was once again in a muddy  soccer kit and wondered if her dad ever tired of the constant laundry. “George, I need to head out for a bit. Just a couple of hours. I'll be back in plenty of time for dinner. Are you ok to stay here and play with your friend until I’m back?” She watched as he nodded along and seemed a little embarrassed in his new overalls, but he otherwise nodded along. “Uh, yeah. Sounds good. I think we were going to go down to the river and skip stones again.” He turned to Jane and she nodded in confirmation. “Great! Sounds like you have an afternoon penciled out for you. I won’t be gone long, but I’ve got my phone with me if there’s any emergency or you need to contact me. Oh, and I think Paul still has a spare key to the house if you need to get inside.”  “Oh, that reminds me.” She fished the keys out of her pocket. “Just need to head back in and throw your jeans in the wash. Don’t want to leave them laying in the car in that state.” She smiled and bowed out to make a retreat back inside, and she picked up George’s conversation as she left. “What happened to your jeans?” “Uh, nothing. Just, um, spilled coke all over them at the mall.” “Oh, Well I like your new overalls…” Alice smiled a little to herself as she took the jeans and George’s other new clothes back into the house. It was good to see him socialising more, especially after the rather tense morning they’d had so far. Five minutes later she was back in the car and pulling out of the suburb, having slowed down only to catch George and Jane as they were about to walk down the dirt path that wound its way to the river. She told him to stay safe and try to keep his new clothes clean, and he’d nodded impatiently, eager to go back to stone skipping. She took the hint and let him go, then asked Jane to say hello to her dad for her before she drove away.  Her luck with the traffic seemed to hold, as she made good time. In 20 minutes she was in sight of the lane that led to Melissa’s home. The houses here were older builds of well kept red brick and white wood. Not something Alice would have gone for herself, but clearly still a very upmarket neighbourhood. She slowed down as she hunted for somewhere to park, eventually scooting beside a red sedan in a dedicated parking bay just a little down from Meissa’s home. She wasn’t going to be here long, so hopefully no one would mind. She parked, cut the engine and stepped out. Realising she felt slight trepidation. Not entirely sure what she was about to see. But if Melissa swore by it, it was worth seeing. She walked up to the frosted glass of the front door and hit the doorbell. It chimed and she could hear noises in response from inside. Muffled talking. Someone calling down from upstairs. Then more footsteps and the door swung open. “Hi! Alice, it's been too long!” A woman about Alice’s age looked back at her. Melissa’s blue eyes glinted in the sunlight. Her brown hair fell just over the shoulders and met the top of a comfortable looking orange tank top that hung loose over faded navy chinos. “I know, it's great to see you!” Alice and Melissa hugged then pulled apart. “Must have been since Debbie’s birthday I think!” “I know, too long.” Melissa commemorated. “But hey, I hear you’ve got a kiddo of your own to keep you busy these days!” She laughed and led Alice through to the messy looking kitchen.  Dirty plates and cups encroach on much of the surface space near the sink. A frying pan complete with spatula sat idly on the cooker. A box of Cheerios sat next to the tabletop radio, the half empty plastic packaging slumped next to it with a blue clip holding it closed, a job half done. You could tell that multiple people used this kitchen who contributed little to its upkeep. “Yes, yes I do.” Alice smiled as she sat down. Melissa moved over to start making them tea whilst they talked. “George is great. A bit quiet and reserved, but I think he’s really started to come out of his shell in the last few days. It would be perfect, but well, you know.” “Oh, I know.” Melissa nodded in sympathy as she set the kettle to boil. “Has he just started having accidents? These things can be triggered by sudden changes, you know.”  “As far as I know. His mother never mentioned anything to me before he came over, and that’s not the sort of thing she would have left me in the dark about. But it's been a real dampener on our summer so far. We’ve had a fight or two about it. Even today, he had an accident at the mall and just about had a meltdown over it. So, I’m really hoping your doctor friend can give us a hand here.” She looked up at Melissa hopefully as she came over with two steaming mugs of tea and an understanding smile. “Alice, I’ve been exactly where you are right now. You won’t regret teaming up with Dr. Paige on this.” She took a sip of tea. “I was at my wits end with my boys a few months ago. Mark has always had a bit of a problem staying dry at night but it's gotten worse lately. Nothing we tried seemed to be of much help. We tried Goodnites and similar overnight protection but he always leaked right through it.”  “At least yours kept his protection on.” Alice said. “I got George something similar to help and he ripped them off as soon as my back was turned! So we had another set of ruined sheets to deal with in the morning.” She vented, fingers rubbing on the warm sides of her mug. Melissa nodded eagerly. “That’s exactly the sort of thing this programme helps in tackling. It's a holistic approach. It's not just about dealing with the accidents - though that’s a big part of it, don’t get me wrong - it’s about addressing the underlying behavioural issues and dysfunction in their lives, which exacerbate their problems.” Alice gave a noncommittal hmm as Melissa went on, but nothing else. It all sounded a little vague so far to her. Like a work seminar so full of jargon and corporate-speak that you couldn’t pin down what the key point was meant to be. But she had come here giving her friend the benefit of the doubt, so she let her continue on. “I didn’t realise you had issues with Mark.” “Oh, about similar to what you told me about George. Lots of fussing and tantrums, not listening to me, fights with his brother - Oliver made a habit of teasing Mark about his bedwetting and it always started fights and shouting matches. It was exhausting. But with both of them being in the program for the last few months, it's like a switch was flipped. They actually get on with each other now. They listen to me. We’re a proper family again.” “Ah, I see. So Oliver is a part of this program as well?” “He is. He didn’t have the same bedwetting issues as Mark does, but it was recommended we enroll both boys in the program, since as I said it's bigger than just dealing with the bedwetting.” “About behaviour and relationships, got it.” Alice nodded. “So, it's more of a therapy thing then? I suppose that wouldn’t hurt George. He could use some help with adjusting.” “Well, yes and no.” Melissa said in a tone that Alice found annoying evasive. “It's - Well, maybe it's better if I just show you around and you can meet the boys? I’m not very good at explaining.” She shook her head. “I’l answer any questions you have, but let me just show you first, alright?” “Well, I suppose…” Alice trailed off and quickly took to sipping her tea. She wasn’t sure what kind of miracle cure Melissa had employed with her boys, but her friend's behaviour so far wasn’t inspiring much confidence, and a little unease. Maybe coming here was a mistake. It did all feel like the other shoe was about to drop and she was going to be roped into some sort of pyramid scheme. Melissa was her friend though, right? And she’d never done anything that seemed untoward or untrustworthy in the years that she’d known her. Besides, she hadn’t committed to anything. Whatever happened, she could just be polite, nod along and promise to give it some thought before going home again. She might as well see what all the fuss was about.  She realised her tea cup was empty and quietly set it back down. “Go on then. Show me the secrets of your dark arts.” She joked. “Oh, thank you Alice. I promise you won’t regret it. It's unorthodox to be sure, but I can’t argue with the results.” She put her own tea down and ushered Alice from the kitchen and down a hall towards the living room. As they approached, Alice could hear the sound of a TV blaring behind the door. Melissa stepped up and opened it, ushering Alice in before her. It was a perfectly normal looking living room. Several soft blue couches and chairs against one wall, facing a mounted TV opposite, with a heavy wooden table in the space between. Perpendicular were a set of large sliding windows that Alice could see opened out onto a large wooden decking area and an enclosed backyard behind it. It held all the signs of a place subjected to the rigor of family life. The carpet had the odd stain here and there, the side table next to the couches was cluttered with coasters, plastic drinks glasses and a games controller of some sort.  Alice’s eyes went around the room, drinking in the details before landing on the sole occupant of the couch. He looked about George’s age, with messy blond hair and soft blue eyes. He was watching a cartoon show of some sort on the TV and didn’t see that he had company at first. It was what he was wearing that caught Alice’s attention though. She was acquainted enough with Melissa’s kids to know this was Mark, but he was wearing an unusual looking garment - a sort of one-piece jumpsuit that fit his body snuggly with its light blue cotton colours, from his neck to ankle. She also couldn’t help but notice the obvious bulge showing through around his legs and front area. Alice said nothing, but it was obvious Mark was wearing a diaper under that jumpsuit. A substantial one at that. Clearly bigger than either the Goodnites or Easy-Ups she had tried with George. “Hello Mark.” She raised her hand and smiled at him, hoping to be polite and not let the boy think she’d been spying on him.  Mark turned around from his show and looked at the two women in the doorway. He shifted his sitting position and Alice could quite easily hear the rustling and crunch-crunch sound emanating from below his waist. The bulge was rather prominent.  For about two seconds there was an awkward silence in the room, and Alice winced a little internally, realising how she put the boy in a bit of a spot, but she was saved by Melissa as she pulled up beside her. “Mark, this is a friend of mine, Alice. You’ve met before, I’m sure. Remember the big barbecue last year?”  Mark seemed to vaguely recall and nodded. “Oh. We kicked that ball into your car.” The boy's cheeks grew very slightly red. I’m sorry about that. Really.” “Hello Mark.” Alice repeated herself. “Sorry for interrupting. Your mom was just showing me around. And it's fine, I promise. No harm done. But you don’t need to worry about that now I promise. Ancient history.” She tried to dismiss Mark’s fears, but he still looked rather nervous with this practical stranger in his living room, and it wasn’t hard for her to guess why. “Alice has been looking after the son of a friend of hers. He’s been having a lot of the same problems you and Oliver did, so I said she should come over and see how we do things with you and your brother now.” Alice nodded along carefully. “Oh, yes, well, I was hoping whatever this program is might be able to help George as well, if it's been working out for you and your brother. Maybe we could even arrange a playdate. I’m sure George would love to make some more friends his own age. He’s come all the way from England so he’s rather on his own at the moment.” Melissa turned to her son. “Well, what would you say Mark? Is Dr Paige’s program working for you and Oliver?”  Mark shifted again, a little uneasy at being put on the spot like this, but he found his voice quickly. “Um, I think so. We used to fight a lot, and we don’t really anymore…” He trailed off. “That’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?” Melissa replied. “These two were fighting constantly. Lots of backtalking, tantrums, not listening to me or David. Every day we seemed to have a screaming match about something. But that’s all behind us now. Isn’t that right Mark?” “Y-yeah, we fight a lot less now.” Mark nodded nervously.  “And we’re a lot closer as a family.” Melissa beamed at Alice. “Speaking of which, do you know where your brother is? I thought you two were watching cartoons together.” “We were, but he got bored and went to play outside.” Mark motioned with a hand towards the sliding doors.” Melissa sighed. “He’s supposed to ask before he goes out. He’s going to get his Sunsuit covered in mud again.” She muttered to herself. “I think we might have to put his tamper mitts back on if he’s going to keep doing this.” Alice was struggling to follow along with all of this. It was like she’d fallen into some odd world of family life and was stuck as a silent observer, drawn into what she didn’t have context or understanding for. “Sorry about this Alice, I was hoping you could meet the boys together, but plans have changed I suppose.” “Oh don’t fret about that. I can meet Oliver a little later I suppose.” “Well, I think this one needs a change right now anyway.” Melissa turned back to Mark, who suddenly stiffened, his cheeks flush. “Now?” A hint of alarm entering his voice. “Yes, now. You’ve been in that thing all morning. Come on, let me check you.” Melissa snapped her fingers and Alice was surprised at such an assertive tone from the normally fair mannered Melissa. Mark shifted up off the couch reluctantly, the bulge around his waist emitting more muffled crinkling sounds as he did.  “Right here?” He asked, glancing nervously at Alice, who suddenly felt like she was intruding on something private and should be making herself scarce. “I’ve checked your diapers for months now Mark, don’t get fussy about it now. Alice is a good friend of mine and she wants to see if this therapy could work for her son. Don’t you think it would be nice to help out another boy who’s struggling like you and Oliver were?” “I guess.” Mark mumbled, shifting in place slightly. He rubbed his elbow nervously with his other hand and seemed to have developed a fascination with the carpet. “George is just my God-son, actually.” Alice gently corrected her friend. “And thank you, really, but I can step outside for a few minutes if you need some time alone to look at him.” She offered. Melissa shook her head. “No, it's fine Alice. You’re not the first person he’s had to have a diaper change in front of, and part of the therapy is getting past feeling ashamed and embarrassed about his needs. Isn’t that right Mark?”  Mark managed a couple of head shakes up and down. “Yeah. I suppose…” “There we go. Mark is fine with it. Besides, if you’re putting George into the program it's important you know what you’re getting into and can see how it all goes.” “Well, if he’s alright with it…” She looked at Mark, almost apologising. He looked at Alice, clearly getting embarrassed, and she gave him her best. “It's alright, don’t worry about it.” Smile, to unknown affect.  Melissa motioned with a small hand movement for her elder son to turn around, and Alice watched with intrigue as he meekly obeyed, turning on the spot with a quiet shuffle and revealing the zipper of his outfit to the women. Alice noted that the seam appeared to be covered at the top with some sort of flap, locking the zipper pull behind it and some sort of circular button-like device.  She watched on in awkward silence as Melissa retrieved her keys from her pocket, and was confused until she saw her find a battery shaped device on the keyring.  A magnetic lock? She thought silently as Melissa pressed the end of the battery shaped key to the circular button on the flap covering the zip. There was a quiet click sound as something reacted to the key, and Melissa pulled the flap away, put the keyring back in her pocket, and pulled the zipper down in one smooth practiced motion all at once. Melissa couldn’t help feeling sorry for the boy as he was unveiled like a prize on a quiz show. His Jumpsuit pulled apart and crumpled as his back and torso were exposed, and he gently stepped out of the bottom half himself. His mother gathered the garment together as he pulled his legs out of the bottom cuffs, leaving him dressed in nothing but his diaper and socks. And this was no Goodnite or Pull-up. This was a proper baby diaper. Four adhesive tabs holding the white front panel in place against Mark's midriff, the bulky white garment held snuggly about his waist, even as it was noticeably drooping and swollen in the front. The analytical part of Alice’s mind couldn’t help but note the excellent symmetry and positioning of the four light blue tabs that acted as the lynchpin of the entire diaper's structural integrity. Alice’s experience in changing diapers didn’t extend beyond a few babysitting jobs she’d taken as a teenager, but she knew enough to know that Melissa was no stranger to changing her older son’s diapers.  Which only raised further questions. It didn’t look like any kind of medical diaper she had ever seen, nor did it resemble the Goodnites and easy-ups she’d been buying for George. It looked for all intents and purposes like a sized up baby diaper, with the plain white backing accentuating the patterns of yellow and black construction equipment that covered the front panel and extended around the sides and seat. With some surprise she also noticed the wheels of some of the vehicles were faded, and it dawned on her that they must be functioning as wetness indicators. She watched silently as Melissa retrieved a large bag from under a nearby table and opened it up, her eyes wide in attention as she watched her retrieve a changing mat, a clean folded diaper of the same kind Mark was currently wearing, and a pack of wet wipes and baby powder. The former two items clearly large enough for a boy of Mark's size. Silently, Mark got down onto his back on the changing mat as his mother unfurled it and ushered him onto it. The light blue plasticy cover matches his eyes. His legs spread slightly to allow easy access to his diaper and his hands up and behind his head, out of the way. It was clearly a familiar routine for him. The only sound in the room was the concurrent rip of fabric on plastic as Melissa undid the four tapes one by one, pulling the front panel of the diaper down between Mark's legs to get to work on cleaning him up. At this point Alice averted her gaze, developing a sudden fascination with the sofa upholstery as she tried to give the poor boy a little privacy. She did not have to look away for long. Twenty seconds passed as she heard the shuffle of items, the sound of wipes on skin, the rustle of a new diaper being unfurled and the scent of talcum filling the air. She looked back over in time to see Melissa helping Mark to his feet, fresh diaper strapped between his legs as he started pulling his jumpsuit back on quickly. She didn’t blame him, even as he turned around and Melissa pulled up the zipper and re-locked the magnetic tab with the key fob. “There we go. Now, be a good boy and go put this in your diaper pail.” She handed him the balled up diaper he’d been changed out of and made his way for the door with haste, eager to dispose of it. The sound of his footsteps echoed as he made his way upstairs somewhere, leaving the two women alone. “I think you must have a lot of questions.” Melissa broke the silence. “It definitely comes across as odd, this therapy. I was the same as you at first. But if you decide to go forward with it I promise you won’t regret it. Mark has been night and day compared to when he started on Dr Paige’s system.” She talked as she took a seat next to Alice. “Yes, I suppose I do.” Alice replied, trying to get her thoughts in order. “So this is what you were talking about before, in the group chat? Putting Mark back in diapers and babying him?” She hoped she didn’t come across as too hostile, but the scepticism in her tone was unmistakable. Melissa raised her hands. “I know, it seems outlandish. Strange even. But I can’t argue with the results. Dr Paige can explain it more, as I keep saying, but it's about putting structure back into their lives and dealing directly with their toileting issues with what you’ve just seen. Dr Paige thinks that the problems Mark and Oliver and George have are as much psychological as anything physical, so pushing them back into a position where they’re no longer worrying about that part of their lives, where they rely on you more, allows us to work together and move them forward again when they’re ready.” She went on. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling and not very good at explaining it.” She adjusted her hair. Alice didn’t know what she thought. Psychology was not her area of expertise and she had no idea what she was doing half the time looking after George. But she did know Melissa. She knew she was a good person and a good mom, and even as her thoughts oscillated back and forth on this bizarre situation, she felt anchored by their friendship. “You really think this has helped him?”  “Beyond a shadow of a doubt.” Melissa nodded, certainty in her eyes. “He and his brother were constantly fighting, constantly tearing down the house in screaming matches. The whole nine yards. It only got worse after Mark's bedwetting started up again.” “But they’re better now? They don’t fight? Do they listen to you? No offence Melissa, but I find it hard to believe that Oliver doesn’t mock his brother when he’s like this?” “He’s in the program as well.” She said, “Dr Paige advised it. Said it would help head off any future issues with him and be a part of the family-oriented approach to therapy.” “I see.” Alice nodded. “Look, why don’t I give you a proper tour of the house? Show you what we’re all about? You can see what the program looks like at home and you can think it over some more.” “Alright then.” Alice said and stood up. “In for a penny, in for a pound.” Melissa beamed. “That’s the spirit! Come on then, let me take you upstairs and show you the boys room first.” She led the way, and Alice followed. The upstairs of Melissa's home had fewer rooms than Alice’s, but they seemed more spacious. At least that’s what Alice thought as she passed a door that looked like it led to the master bedroom and then further on to the boys room further down the upstairs landing. The door was the same faded white as all the others, but this one stood out easily, the boys names spelt out in soft-fonted blue and orange letters that dominated the centre of the door about two thirds of the way up. “So your boys share a room then?” Alice commented. Melissa nodded. “We thought it would be a good idea to have them share a room, can you believe it?” She shook her head at her naivete. “It was going to be a home office at one point before we had Oliver, but when he came along we thought it would be nice for the boys to share a big bedroom together.” “So, separate rooms if I have kids of my own. Got it.” Alice tried to inject some levity into the conversation. “Yeah, wish I’d know.” Melissa nodded. “But like I keep saying, the program worked wonders for them. They actually get along now. It's amazing.” She opened the door into the bedroom and welcomed Alice inside. It was certainly a large bedroom, even for a pair of boys their age. A pair of parallel beds sat as the focal point against one wall with matching sets of cartoon animal print duvet covers. Matching side tables sat next to them with night lights and alarm clocks and tissue boxes. It all seemed very symmetrical and identical. In fact the only obvious difference between the two sleeping setups was the different coloured pillow sets at their heads.One a soft blue, the other a glowing red. The rest of the room was where it got weird. The white workdesk with schoolbooks was normal enough, as were the bookshelves and wardrobes. But it was the padded worktop that caught her attention, causing Alice to blink before her mind registered that she was looking at a diaper changing table. A rather large one by the looks of it. The blue foam covered station and its shelves shouldn’t have shocked her at this point, but she still hesitated as she took it in and the reality of Melissa’s family plan crystalised in her mind and she began to properly comprehend it all. This was all looking to be a very real commitment. Could she really be thinking about putting George through all of this over the summer? So engrossed was she in her own thinking that she didn’t even notice Mark was there, still dressed in his bulging blue jumpsuit as he deposited his wet diaper into the pail with a fwump and closed the lid. Alice had caught sight of him mid deposit and his eyes met hers just as he dropped the diaper. It would have been a comical sight if it wasn’t so awkward. “Oh, there you are Mark, does your pail need emptying?” Melissa turned to face them both and acted like she’d just asked him the most mundane question imaginable. “Uh, no.” Mark mumbled and looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. “Are you sure?” His mother raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m sure!” He nodded forcefully.  “Alright. But if you’re just trying to get out of this because you’re shy being seen by mommy’s friend like this, I can have you empty it tomorrow morning - in just your Mighty Diggers.” Alice wasn’t sure what she was referring to, but then it clicked for her as she remembered the construction equipment patterns on Mark's diaper that she’d seen downstairs.  Mighty Diggers. That must be the diaper brand.  Never heard of them before. She thought quietly. “It's not full, I promise!” Mark protested. The sincere desperation in his voice seemed to satisfy his mother, because she relented. “Alright then. Go downstairs and get a bottle from the fridge. I need to go find your escape artist brother.” She nodded at the doorway, and Mark couldn’t get through it fast enough as he disappeared downstairs. “That seems a little harsh…” Alice spoke up once it was just the two of them again. Melissa nodded as if she was giving the feedback some thought. “I can see how it might look that way. But you’ve not seen Mark like he was before the program. He was an absolute terror and only getting worse. His brother as well.” She put a hand on Alice’s shoulders and smiled. “Taking a firm approach to discipline is an important part of the program. They need structure and consistency to shape them. It’s what Dr. Amanda says: their dependency is reinforcing the relationship, and the relationship is the soil that their behaviour grows from. If the relationship is strong, the behaviour will be positive.” Alice shrugged. “Well, I suppose that's what the good doctor said…” But privately she wasn’t so sure. Melissa’s little stump speech hadn’t been all that convincing to her sceptical mind. In fact it felt somewhat stilted. Like Melissa was reciting memorised lines or something. On the other hand, she was new to looking after young boys like George, so perhaps Melissa did have the right idea after all. Maybe structure and more discipline was what George needed from her as well.  “Ah, there he is.” Melissa moved towards the wide window that looked out directly onto the back garden. Alice joined her, looking out onto the well kept lawn and the large plastic climbing contraptions and swings that took up much of the floorspace. It took a second of looking but she soon found what Melissa had seen, and saw Mark's younger sibling crouching down behind one of the large plastic blocks. You could see the familiar resemblance. The same eyes and same soft cheeks Melissa had. His short black hair AND clothes covering his skinny frame ruffled in the gentle breeze as he squatted in place.  He was dressed differently to how Mark had been. His legs were showing and the white vest like garment he was clad in hugged his figure from his shoulders down to the familiar looking bulge between his legs. It was like he was wearing an oversized vest, one that continued down his body and met between his legs. It stirred some ancient memories in Alice and she realised she’d once seen a garment like this before. Many many years ago, on George when he was still a toddler. The name came to her - a nappy shirt.  Then something odd happened, as she watched Melissa’s younger boy deepen his squatting position and hold it for a while. Her eyes went wide as she could see the seat of his nappy shirt and the nappy underneath began to tent out and sag, as Oliver maintained a focused look on his face. Alice wasn’t an idiot. She knew what Oliver was doing. “I didn’t realise…” She found herself thinking out loud and quickly trailed off. “Realise that they use their diapers for everything?” Melissa finished her thought for her. “I know, it sounds gross, and a lot more work. But the point of the program is consistency, and it would just defeat the point and confuse them both even more if they were supposed to use their diapers sometimes but not others.” She paused their conversation to open the window and poke her head out into the garden. “Oliver, get your butt inside now young man! You need a change!” Oliver glanced up suddenly at his unwanted observers, and , startled, lost his balance and fell down on his rear right onto one of the smaller plastic boxes. He grimaced as the contents of his diaper were pancaked across his rear, but seemed to not let that overwhelm him as he came to his feet and scarpered back inside. The two boys and two women all met again downstairs a minute later, and Alice watched recent history repeat itself as Oliver was dressed down in every meaning of the word. “If you can excuse me Alice I need to get this little munchkin cleaned up. I'll be back down shortly.” She declared as she pulled Oliver's removed nappy-shirt over her shoulder and escorted the mortified younger boy by his hand back up the stairs for a badly needed change. His diaper - now on full display, bulged at the back and hugged his rear keeping his accident contained. And was surprisingly effective at keeping the obvious smell contained as well. His diaper seemed to be of a different make than the Mighty Diggers she’d seen Mark in earlier. These seemed smaller - which made sense as he was younger - and had some kind of green dinosaur patterns as opposed to construction equipment. It disappeared along with its wearer up the stairs before she could get a proper look. With the two of them now alone, Alice realised she had an opportunity to get some candid opinions about what was going on here, and turned to Mark. “So. Uh, hi.” She half raised her hand out to shake his before stopping when she realised how silly that was, then put it back down. “How, uh, how are you finding this behaviour program your mom has you and your brother in? She says its really helped the both of you.” She probed gently. Mark shifted in place, diaper scrunching and crinkling under his outfit as he did so. In the quiet of the downstairs, it was surprisingly audible. “Uh, well. It's alright, I guess.” He replied with the sort of automatic apathy you expected from boys a few years older than him. “I mean, I guess I fight less with Oliver like she said.” He added.  “And this whole, you know.” She glanced down at his waist. “Being in diapers. You feel alright about it?” She pushed, noticing his cheeks flush slightly at the mention of the “D” Word, even as she tried to be tactful about it. “Well, Mom says it's not up to us.” Mark said, looking away. “You can feel differently about things you don’t control you know.” Alice told him. “I want to know how you feel about it.” She managed a smile of empathy. “I have - well, George isn’t my son, he’s my godson really. But I’m looking after him right now and he’s got a lot of the problems that it sounds like you and your brother had. Having accidents, feeling moody and upset at things, fighting, you know. Your mom said the therapy you and your little brother are enrolled in might help him as well. That’s why I’m here today. She wanted to show me.” “Oh!” Mark replied in understanding. “Well, uh. It's weird. Definitely weird. I didn’t like it when we started. I still don’t like it a lot of it.” He admitted.  “But do you think it helped? With you getting along with your family better? Are you happier?” Alice pressed her point. That was what mattered for her and George, at the end of the day. Mark seemed to take a second to think, then replied. “Yeah. I think so. Some of the stuff we do… It's nice. Like when we were younger. But I don’t like the diapers.” Alice nodded. “Sounds to me like it's worth it. I can understand not liking some parts of it.” She glanced at his waist bulge again. “But maybe it's like medicine, you know? Sometimes the medicine you take to get better doesn’t taste nice or feel good at first. But it's all for the greater good in the end. Of making you better.” As she spoke, she wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him, or herself. Perhaps it was both. Whatever it was, she didn’t have time to think on it further, because at that point Melissa came back downstairs with Oliver in tow. Now dressed in a similar jumpsuit to his brother, but in light red rather than blue, and with a similar waist bulge. Alice couldn’t help but find it all very cute, regardless of her revelations. “Take your pacifiers boys, I’m going to warm up some bottles for you before dinner.” Melissa told them as she held out a pair of large pacifiers. They had blue and red shields to match their outfits, and if Alice wasn’t so close to see she would have sworn their size was a trick of the light. They were bigger than any baby pacifier she’d ever seen. Which admittedly wasn’t many. This therapy seemed to go further and further, she realised. As Melissa mentioned dinner, she glanced at her phone and realised just how much time she’d spent at her friend's house so far. “Melissa, this seems like a good point for me to say goodbye. I should really get back to George and start on dinner. But thank you so much for this. It's been very… informative. I’ve got an appointment with Dr. Paige coming up soon, so uh, will let you know how that goes.” Melissa blinked and nodded curtly as her boys put their pacifiers into their mouths and looked sheepish. She could see now they came with lanyards that attached to their clothes to stop them going missing.  “Oh, exciting!” She said, her eyes ablaze. “You won’t regret this, I swear to you Alice. You’ve made the right choice. Now, I’ve got to get bottles ready for these two before they start fussing. Have a safe journey home and please let me know how it goes with George and Dr. Paige. It would be wonderful for Mark and Oliver to have another friend in the program with them. We could even arrange a playdate or two!” “Well, let's see how it goes, but anything’s possible!” Alice replied tactfully. “Have a nice night Melissa. You as well, boys.” She glanced at both of them and winked at Mark, which provoked a hesitant smile from behind his pacifier. She adjusted her shoes and stepped outside, the door closing behind her with a click. She made her way back to the car, noticing how low the sun was hanging in the sky and realising she must have been here a lot longer than it felt like. Just one of many unexpected things today. She ran to her car, dodging the rain as well as she could, and closed the door, fastened her seatbelt, but hesitated to start the engine. Her head was swimming as it processed the last few hours. It was definitely not what she had expected. Diapers? Pacifiers? Baby clothes? It all seemed so out there as to be farcical. She wasn’t sure what therapy for George’s issues would have looked like, but this definitely wasn’t what she’d had in mind! But she couldn’t deny that Melissa seemed utterly convinced it was working. And she wasn’t about to go calling a long time friend a liar, even in her thoughts. Melissa was a good person. Clearly a capable mother. And Alice wasn’t. She always prided herself on being willing to consult with experts on matters about which she knew little, and surely that should apply to raising children as much as business practices, right? But it all seemed bizarre. How would George even feel about it? Mark definitely hadn’t been a happy camper with a lot of it from what she had gathered. Maybe this was too much. She should stick to making George wear protection and try to stay the course with her elaborate summer holiday plans for him. That might be best. She sighed, adjusted her grip on the steering wheel, and moved her hand to turn the key in the ignition. Then she glanced up at Melissa’s house again, and saw through a window with the blinds open into the living room with the light on. The same room she’d met Mark in before. There she saw a peculiar sight. Melissa was on one of the large couches, with both boys snuggled about her, one on either side. Both appeared to have traded their pacifiers for baby bottles, and were drinking contently as they watched something on the TV that she couldn’t see. They looked content. Happy. A family. And all of a sudden she imagined herself in such a position. George snuggled next to her and drank a bottle she’d made for him. It was an idyllic image. And she realised now that she wanted to make it real. She wanted to be a worthy godmother to George. She wanted what Melissa had.  She turned the ignition and the engine roared to life. Her mind was made up. She pushed her foot to the accelerator and began the drive home.

Hi everyone, I’m Mommy Anna or Anna for short, 43 years young, and I’ve been a Mommy for over 20 years. I absolutely love ABDL and DDLG, and it’s something that has always been a really special passion of mine. I’m so thankful to be part of this community, and I’m excited to meet new people, make some connections, and start exploring my Mommy side again. I’m a switch, but I’d say I’m about 90% soft Mommy Dom with just a little bit of my middle side peeking through when it feels right. And of course, there’s always a little scatterbrain Anna mixed in because apparently my brain runs on squirrels and good intentions. I’m just here to be myself, learn, connect, and hopefully bring a little softness and happiness with me along the way.