Canada

Chapter 63 – Retail Therapy [9:00 PM] Kelly blinked, looking at the security guard, and tried to decide how to react. She already knew that he’d left the property. Her first instinct had been to demand that the security guard call the police… but, there was no way to un-ring that bell, and little chance that it wouldn’t get back to Chris at some point, if there ended up being an Amber Alert put out for Zack. Kelly didn’t know if that would be the protocol or not, and she didn’t want to find out. That kid is going to be hobbling along one of the sidewalks, probably half a mile from here, or less. He can’t go up or down staircases, he has no money, he has no phone, and he doesn’t know where he is. I can find him. “Well, uh, thank you for finally doing something. I am going to have to notify the police, I’m afraid.” The guard gave Kelly a tight-lipped nod. “That was my thought as well – I can call them for you. We talk to them several times a day. I’m sure that they can ask their squad cars to be on the lookout for him, and that he’ll turn up in no time. He can’t be moving very quickly.” “Uh, thank you, but I would prefer to call myself. I have some things I need to convey to them, about my son. He’s... developmentally, well, a bit delayed, and he tells wild stories. Who knows what situation he’s talked himself into, out there, if someone’s asked him what he’s doing on the street at this time of night. I’ll call them.” The security guard watched as the blond, tall, well-dressed lady made her way back out the front entrance of the hospital, once again not acknowledging the guard who held the door open for her. She expected to see the lady reach for a phone, but instead, she walked towards a taxi stand.   __________   Kelly walked up to a white Volkswagen that had just dropped a passenger that looked like a priest of some sort, at the taxi stand. She took the door out of his hand as he exited, preventing him from closing it behind himself, and then sat down inside. “Are you a taxi?” she asked the gentlemen who was driving it, who looked South Asian to her. “I am rideshare, Lyft, but also taxi,” he replied. “Do you take credit cards?” “I use the square app, so I can. Where do you need to go?” “I have no idea. I’m going to pay you to get you to drive me around for a while.” The man looked at her in the rearview mirror, perplexed. “You don’t have somewhere you need to get to, you just want to drive around?” “I am looking for someone who might be walking around somewhere down here. It will be easier to find them if I am in a car. They are on a scooter, and I really need to find them. Are there any businesses around here that are still open?” “There is a sandwich shop that is really good, a little ways up…” “I’ve already been there. Something else,” she snapped. The driver looked back over his shoulder at her. “There is a twenty-four hour pharmacy up the street from here?” “Take me there.”   ______ [8:45 PM] Officer Riley finished dabbing at Zack’s scuffed knee and palm with alcohol wipes. The boy had winced and sucked air in in response to the stinging antiseptic, but he hadn’t withdrawn or started crying. She didn’t know exactly what to expect from him; in one sense, he was very stoic and seemed to act older than he looked, but then he would get confused and act unsure of what to say, and he would suddenly seem much younger. Mrs. Katrina held his good hand in hers, until his wounds were clean and bandaged. Still holding his hand, she gave it a squeeze and said, “Now, Adam, Officer Riley and I need to have a bit of a closer look at you, just to make sure that you’re not injured, and also, you’re, uh, your one-piece outfit… it’s been damaged, so we want to find you something else for you to wear. Is it okay if we take your, uh, outfit…" Zack interrupted her. “It’s a romper,” he whispered flatly. Mrs. Katrina looked at Officer Riley, and then continued. “Is it okay if we take your romper off, Zack?” Zack became acutely aware of the dampness below and around his midsection. On the one hand, he hated the idea of being undressed by two women, both strangers, in a police station, but on the other hand, he could not realistically fathom the idea of staying in the soaked toddler diaper that was under the larger medical diaper he was wearing. He didn’t know what state the outer diaper was in; it felt puffy between his legs but not particularly heavy. “It’s fine,” he whispered, in a lower voice. Officer Riley reached down between Zack’s thighs, and grasped hold of the leg cuff on his uninjured leg, before pulling the two sides of material away from each other. The snaps disengaged in a linear fashion, snap snap snap snap, until the bottom of the garment was open, and then Zack raised his arms expectantly, and the two women drew the damaged and soiled romper up and over his head. They made eye contact briefly as Zack’s large white diaper was revealed. The expanse of white plastic travelled from his diaphragm to his thighs, down between his legs, and then went more than halfway up his back. The side panels covered his hips like an oversized bathing suit, and the rear puffed out to form a sort of bustle where it enveloped his behind. Two blue tabs on each side almost met in the middle of the diaper, below and above his navel. Mrs. Katrina had expected there to perhaps be a smell about him, once they took his outwear off, but there was only the faintest hint of pee, and maybe baby powder, lingering around. “Do you have anything on underneath your diaper?” she asked. “Yeah,” he whispered, “another diaper.” The police officer furrowed her brow. “Is it another one like this?” she asked him. “No, it’s… it’s a baby diaper. Or like, one for toddlers.” “Do you usually wear… two diapers, when you go out?” Zack’s cheeks reddened, and he looked at the ground. How can I explain that they didn’t have anything my size at the hospital, without leading them back to where they’re looking for me? He stayed quiet. Mrs. Katrina cleared her throat. “Well, then, are you… are you wet, sweetie?” Zack nodded solemnly, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. “Your diaper, the baby, er, toddler-sized one – it feels like maybe it needs to be changed?” the officer asked. “Yeah,” Zack more mouthed than said. “Do we need wipes as well?” Zack shook his head, and blushed harder. “Well, I’m going to run out to a local pharmacy and see if I can scare you up something that maybe fits a little better than this ensemble of a diaper that looks five sizes too big, and one that’s probably a little small. While I’m doing that, why don’t you go with Mrs. Katrina and have a look at what we have in our miscellaneous clothing box – I’m sure that there’s going to be something in there that fits you.” Officer Riley got up off of her knees and addressed Mrs. Katrina. “If you take him down the hall with you, and go into that main area in there, there is a cabinet in the far corner – it will be the only one that doesn’t have a lock on it. In there, you’ll find a couple of bags and a box of random clothing – I think the box holds most of the kids’ clothing. You should be able to find something that fits him.” Mrs. Katrina nodded at Officer Riley, and then took Zack by the hand again, as the officer opened the interview room door, and walked out, making a left, towards the motor pool. Mrs. Katrina looked at her charge, and she wasn’t sure exactly how this would go… would he follow her willingly down the hallway of a busy police station, dressed as he was? She reached over with her other arm and wheeled his damaged scooter so that it was within reach of him, and silently, he put his casted leg up onto it. She gave his hand a gentle tug, and to her surprise, he started gliding along a half-step behind her, being towed, essentially, by his outstretched hand, because he was not looking at where he was going, he was only focused on her feet. A soft rustling accompanies his steps, as the plastic diaper folded and unfolded around the upper thigh of his working leg. When they entered the main office, a couple of the half dozen or so officers working in the room or passing through it turned their heads towards the child, but then quickly looked at the social worker instead, not wanting to stare at the unfortunate boy she was leading. Clearly, he had been dressed by someone ill-equipped to deal with him. They could all imagine a version of what the story likely was – this was a room full of police officers. If the social worker had been carrying conjoined twins, many of them probably would have shrugged. Their jobs intersected with unexpected weirdness on practically a daily basis. Tears collected on Zack’s cheeks and then dribbled down randomly, causing him to taste saltwater as he licked his lips. The social worker put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair. “It’s okay, Adam, everyone here is a professional – this is just like being in a hospital. Sometimes when police officers have to arrest people, or rescue them, they’re in bed, in the bathtub, or even on the toilet. Think about that! They don’t care that you wear diapers, Adam. And they know that you’re being a very brave little boy. Now, let’s see if we can find anything that we can pull up over your cast… hmmm….” Mrs. Katrina started rummaging through the box that she’d located in the one far cabinet without a lock, just as the police officer had described.   _______   [9:10 PM]   Officer Riley pulled her marked SUV half up onto the curb and left it parked with the four-way flashers on, rather than the overhead lights. She exited the vehicle and hit lock on the key fob. Down here, you never know. Just as she approached the entrance to the pharmacy, the windows for which were covered with bright pictures of happy people doing happy things, a white Volkswagen sedan pulled up behind her cruiser, and one of the back doors shot open. A tall, blond woman exited the car, smoothing down her skirt as she scanned the front of the store, before fixating on the entrance. Officer Riley heard the car come to a stop and looked behind her reflexively, across the sidewalk, which was bathed in bright light from the large 24 Hours sign above the store. She stepped back and held the door open for the women, who gave her a curt nod, and breezed past. Shit, Kelly said to herself as she passed the police officer. I can’t very well start questioning the staff about a missing child, with a cop standing in the store. She looked around the brightly-lit interior of the business, before settling on the aisle the furthest to the left of the entrance. She decided to wait the cop out down there, and then she could make an inquiry at the front counter, reasoning that a police officer stopping in at a store mid-shift probably would not be there long. The bloody cab driver better stay put. Officer Riley walked in the opposite direction from the lady she’d held the door for, over towards the front counter. A short Black woman with a nametag pinned to her blouse was behind the counter, placing products into a bag for a customer. The lady’s nametag said Justine, and below that, Manager. “Hello, can I you a question,” Officer Riley inquired as she walked up to the counter. An elderly man in a long, brown overcoat gave her a passing glance over his shoulder, and then took his bag from the lady who was packing it, and headed towards the door in a slow shuffle. “Hello, officer,” the woman said in a lively voice, “how can I help you?” “Hi… I’m looking for some assistance finding in finding something on your shelves. Diapers, specifically, but in a slightly larger size than would be common.” “Are you looking for adult incontinence products?” the woman inquired. “No, not for an adult, but not for little kids, either. I have a situation involving a child who is about ten, I think. He’s wearing a diaper, but it is really oversized on him, and we need to change it. I want to find something more appropriately sized.” “We have pull-ups down aisle twelve that should work. They’re categorized by weight. Do you know how much he weighs? Here, let me get someone up here and I’ll show you.” The lady picked up a phone next to the cash register, hit a key, and then the subtle overhead music stopped. “Sales associate to the front counter, sales to the front counter please.” Her voice carried across the breadth of the store. A young man who looked like he was about eighteen years old, wearing a beige uniform shirt, and black pants, emerged from an aisle and headed towards the front. Officer Riley and the manager walked towards the opposite side of the store. “I’m not sure pull-ups would work, either – the child has one leg in a very large plastic cast, almost like a winter boot. And given the size of what he’s wearing currently, I think we might need more… capability. This isn’t just a bedwetting situation.” “Hmmm… I see. Let me show you what we have.” As they turned into the back aisle, Officer Riley noticed the woman that had preceded her through the door, standing at the other end of the alley of shelves. She looked up, made a surprised face, and then exited the aisle, turning towards the pharmaceutical counter at the back of the store. Something in the woman’s mannerisms caught the officer’s eye. She’d been a cop for a few years now, and she knew when someone was avoiding her. As to the why of that, well, there could be a number of reasons. She might be shoplifting, or trying to access narcotics, or she might be hiding from something, or, she might not like cops – it could be as simple as that. The way the lady was dressed, the fact that she had arrived in a cab, and that she’d walked right past the officer while she was holding the door, rather than veering off… Officer Riley felt that whatever was up with the lady, it probably wasn’t something worth getting distracted over. Lots of people avoid cops. Justine led Officer Riley down the aisle, reviewing the products on display as she went. “At this end, we have the infant diapers, and then the baby and toddler products, which aren’t what you’re looking for. On the opposite side, we have adult products, but the smallest of those that I’ve seen have about a twenty-five-inch waist, which, it sounds to me, might be too big. Further down......,” the lady trailed off as she took a few strides towards the end of the aisle. “We have the training pants, pull-ups, overnight briefs, etcetera. They’re sized for toddlers, all the way up to one hundred fifty pounds or so. But I have another suggestion, as well… we don’t sell a lot of these, but, one of the specialized brands just launched an intermediate size diaper, for handicapped kids. We keep them behind the counter, because they don’t get included in our shelf planning – they’re not advertised yet.” Justine exited the other end of the aisle and walked up to the pharmacy counter, with the police officer following behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted the tall woman once again rapidly depart from their sight, down one of the middle aisles. I’m going to keep an eye out for her. She seems up to something. However, the presence of the police officer in the store reassured her somewhat. But in a downtown twenty-four-hour pharmacy, anything could happen. “Dave,” Justine said to the short, bald man in a white coat, who was standing with his back to the store, feeding pills into a counting machine, “what are those medium-sized diapers called, the ones we keep back here?” “Run N’ Play,” the man said, looking over his shoulder. “Can you pass me a package of them?” “Sure, Justine – give me one moment.” He waited until a certain number had been reached on the machine, withdrew a green pill bottle, and snapped matching lid onto it, before peeling a label from a sheet beside him, and carefully applying it to the side of the bottle, centered from top to bottom. He walked towards the pharmacy counter and smiled. “I don’t want to forget who those were for.” “Of course, Dave,” Justine said, smiling back. Dave went to the right of the cash register and opened a cabinet door, reaching down into the bottom and well to the back, almost to the point of climbing into the unit. He emerged holding a rectangular white plastic package that had its own clear plastic built-in carrying strap. He deposited it on the counter and pushed it over to Justine, who picked it up with both hands to read the print on the font. Officer Riley, who was taller, read over Justine’s shoulder. Run N’ Play Active Fit Diapers, the package proclaimed in bright blue letters on a yellow background, in a strip across the top of a large panel on both sides. Below that, in smaller letters, the text read Intermediate Youth Diapers – 12 Hour Comfort. Beneath that text was a diagram of the inside of an unfolded diaper, showing Dual Leak Guards and Snug Leg Gathers, plus a Lockaway Stay-Dry Core, Strong, Refastenable, Easy-Change Tabs, Elastic Waistband, and a Moisture-Proof Cottony Plastic Top Sheet. Next to the diagram was a picture of a folded diaper, viewed from the top, showing the cover print options, one of which consisted of yellow giraffes, pink lions, blue elephants, and green trees, all on a white background. The other was simpler, just one large, yellow rubber ducky, centered on the front panel. An arrow extending from the words Wetness Indicator to both images pointed to a yellow line on the lower half of the front of the diaper. On the bottom right corner of the package, in black letters, were the numbers 60 to 85 lbs. +. The bag held 30 diapers, stacked in one row. “Does this look like what you’re after, officer?” The police officer nodded. “I think these will work. If they really last twelve hours then a bag should get him through a few days, anyway. Can I pay for them here?” “Absolutely,” the pharmacist responded, and then picked up a wand and scanned the barcode. “That’s $27.99. The state doesn’t charge sales tax on baby diapers.” “Well I’m glad they don’t!” Officer Riley noted. “That’s not cheap. Although I guess this isn’t a common size.” “Nope,” the store manager replied. “We get them from a clinic just outside the city, that has their own store. They bring them in from somewhere. We just started carrying them to replace another brand that was out of stock for months.” Officer Riley pulled a billfold that held a credit card from one of her uniform’s many pockets, and the pharmacist swiped the card, which caused the machine to immediately beep and print a receipt. “No signature required, Officer.” “I never understand how that works. Sometimes it wants a pin number, sometimes it wants a signature, sometimes the card just taps. Well, anyway, it worked. Thank you both for your help.” Dave nodded and then went back to sorting pills, while Justine gave wave and then went off to look for the woman who seemed to keep dodging them whenever they encountered her. Officer Riley walked towards the exit, carrying the package by its built-in strap, and turned her head to look down the aisles as she turned towards the door. The blond lady was down a middle aisle, intently studying a device in a large yellow box. She glanced at the officer quickly as she crossed the top of the aisle, and then pulled her eyes away just as fast. Curious. But I don’t have time to get sidetracked. Kelly eyed the large, yellow box in her hand, wishing she hadn’t looked up at the police officer. She knew that the cop would be passing by the end of the aisle, as she’d been listening for her distinct footsteps, which were heavy on the glossy floor, because of her shoes. As much as she was feigning interest in the contents of the shelves to avoid making eye contact with the police officer, she was intrigued by the contents of the box. It contained two baby bottles, air lines, a conical contraption with a screw-on lid attached beneath it, and a small round device in a soft yellow colour. A breast pumping kit. She thought about the herbs and the medication she’d picked up from a naturopath, what seemed like a lifetime ago, but had only been a week, when she’d left the kids at he sister’s cottage to run an errand. She hadn’t started taking them yet – everything had been turned upside down by Zack’s injury. This has been one shitty week. I deserve something. Kelly waited another minute, then walked to the end of aisle and scanned the entrance to the store. The cop was gone. The store manager was back at the front, organizing a display. Kelly walked over to counter, carrying the yellow box under one arm, while trying to appear casual. “Hey,” she said to the manager, “can I ask you a question?” Justine looked at the lady. She’d had a glance down the aisle as she followed the police officer out, to make sure that she wasn’t loading her pockets or preparing to rob the pharmacy counter, but when she noted that her attention was on the maternity equipment, her suspicions softened a bit. They were near a large downtown hospital. Maybe this lady was here to support someone who was in the throes of labour or about to undergo a C-section, and maybe her mannerisms and skittish nature were a side effect of the stress she was under. She certainly wasn’t hiding the expensive device she was carrying. “Yes?” the store manager replied. “Have you seen a boy tonight, he’s eleven, he would have been by himself, riding a push scooter, with a cast on his right leg?” Justine furrowed her brow. “Not that I can think of. I can ask the other employees if they’ve seen him. What was he wearing?” “A light blue romper. He has blond hair.” Justine called back to the pharmacy, and ran the description past Dave, who said that he had not seen anyone like that. Then, she paged the part-time kid back up to the front, and he confirmed that he hadn’t seen anyone, either. Kelly responded to the news by turning her head and scanning the store again quickly, as though he might have rolled inside while they were talking at the counter. “Well, anyway, I’ll take this. Does it require batteries?” “No, I think it plugs in, ma’am. Will that be cash or credit?” “Credit.”

Pretty intense chapter.  Well it had its lighter side as well.  I bet Ian wasn’t expecting the judge to make him personally responsible for all those girls.  Girls are much harder to raise than boys and that age of being a college student is especially difficult.  Girls that age know everything and are not shy about telling you how it is going to go either.  I can see how an all out search for those missing children could definitely make Ian a target.  He is the sole person driving the search and his cover had been blown. Priscilla will need to be on her toes.  I will be looking forward to seeing what happens next. 

I never got in to the baby play aspect.   I tried a bottle and pacifier once... but eventually tossed them out as they did nothing for me.  Ultimately I'm also more of a little, not a baby.  When I was a baby I was in cloth diapers.  Disposables were still a few years away at that point.  But, by the time I was aware of still wanting diapers, that's what I was seeing.  So too it's ironic that I'm fixated on printed disposables.

Daddy picks him up and holds him: "Hey, Little Man. Did you have a good nap?"

Yep, why can't they just do a change and cuddle us on the couch without waking us if they want to be "bright eye and bushy tailed". Especially when we are having such a good dream. They should tell by the twitchy little knob during the change now. It's like when a dog "runs" in their sleep hehe