Single Father with girls from two different moms

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi frowned and stared at her lap. She was really scared. She didn’t want to relive everything she’d gone through with her mother. It was hard just to think about. She felt some tears in her eyes and her stomach still had that pit. 

She scooted closer to the window when Imelda leaned on her. She wasn’t trying to be mean, but she just wanted a little space. She didn’t know Imelda that well still. It seemed Imelda was quicker to befriend Lexi than Lexi was to befriend her. It wasn’t that she didn’t eventually want to be Imelda’s friend, but she just wasn’t ready. Lexi didn’t trust as easily as Imelda did, so it was hard to let people in. 

She wanted to tell Imelda that she didn’t understand, but she didn’t want to be mean. Lexi instead turned inward, and started to think of how much she had messed up. She still felt like a lot of things were her fault, mostly because her mom conditioned her that way. She still blamed herself for her parents splitting up. 

Lexi squirmed in the backseat, both from being nervous, and from her privates itching. 

[Ishigreensa]

Imelda sighed.

She didn't understand why Lexi kept pulling away from her, but she decided that trying to force her to be friends wasn't something that would work.  If Lexi wanted to be friends, then she would be friends later.  It was not worth trying this hard if the other girl didn't want anything to do with her, so she scooted away from her and looked out the other window.

The car ride seemed too quiet all the way to the pancake House (IHOP) for breakfast.

When they got there, Robert looked in the back at both girls, and he smiled.

"We need to have some breakfast, and then it will be about time to see the judge, girls."

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi climbed out of the car, putting her bag onto her shoulders. She continued to fidget, she was pretty nervous. She’d never had to go in front of a judge before. When her parents split up, she was too young to really speak her mind to the judge about who she should live with. 

She followed Robert, gripping his hand tightly. Her palms felt cold and clammy. She kept wiping the other one on her dress, trying to get rid of the sweat. 

She kept her head down as they headed to the booth. She didn’t know what to do. Her mind was racing with all the questions that she might get asked. She sat silently in the booth, squirming and fidgeting, trying to alleviate the itchiness of her underwear. 

[Ishigreensa]

When it was their turn to go before the jjudge, Robert got his girls up, and walked them up to see him.

The judge smiled at Lexi.  He already had the investigative reports from the police and the social services, so there was really nothing to ask Lexi about what happened.  If both parents were equally fit to take care of her, he might have asked her who she wanted to stay with, but at this point, there was no point in asking her because the state would definitely not be sending her back to stay with her mom.  Instead, the judge directed his questions and comments only to Robert.

"Of course, we know you are taking care of your other child, already, but that doesn't guarantee anything.  You will be contacted where you live by social services within a couple of weeks to set up your first screening to see how Lexi is getting along.  Then you will have three surprise visits in the next six months.  If all goes well, then you and your family will not be pestered after that unless something causes us to look in on you."

Robert nodded.  "I understand, your honor."

"Then you may take your children with you and go wait in the county city office for the legal papers so you can take your child home with you.  It shouldn't be more than a couple of hours of waiting to get all set up."

"Thank you, your honor."

And then Robert took Lexi and Imelda by the hand to take them down stairs to the main part of the county city office.

As they walked, Robert kept noticing that Lexi looked quite uncomfortable even though they were basically finished.

"What's wrong?" he whispered to her stopping and bending down to her in the hallway.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi squeezed Robert’s hand very tight and was clinging to his arm when they went before the judge. She was terrified. If she had anything in her bladder, she would definitely have leaked by now. She was almost shaking. She was so scared, she didn’t really know why. Maybe she thought she’d be sent back with her mom, or taken from Robert. She didn’t really know. 

She was glad when things were over, but she was still squirming. She wasn’t really nervous anymore, but she was still super itchy and uncomfortable. She was trying not to scratch herself or tug too much at her underwear while they walked. 

Her cheeks got bright red when Robert asked her what was wrong. She felt like she had gotten a sunburn all of a sudden. It was embarrassing that she was itchy down there, partly because she knew it was from wetting the bed. Her mother made sure to let Lexi know that her itching was because of wetting the bed and didn’t clean Lexi up until after she’d been uncomfortable for basically a whole day at the minimum. She’d never had to tell anyone besides her mother about her privates itching. 

“Um...” She whispered, shifting her weight uncomfortably. She didn’t know what to say. She looked away, trying not to pull at her underwear in the back, though she had to a few times. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert had no idea of what was bothing her, but seeing her cheeks get a little peeky and her silent umcomfortable non-answer noise told him she was embarrassed about something.  He picked her up and held her to carry her while putting his other hand out to Imelda to keep her close.  Then he whispered to her.

"Honey, I know you're a girl, and that I'm your father, so some things might be embarrassing to tell me.  This might also not be the right place to tell me certain things, but you do need to trust me and tell me no matter how embarrassed you are about something, or I can't help you, baby.  You don't have to tell me right now because we are in public, but once we get in the car, I want to know what is wrong, okay?"

He kissed her cheek.

He continued walking her not expecting her to say much else, but the way she was squirming, he thought it had to do with her privates.  She wasn't old enough to start that girl thing, was she?  And she surely didn't have to pee, yet.  He really didn't know what it was that was bothering her, but he hoped she would tell him sooner rather than later, even if he had to wait for them to be in the car so it was more private.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi felt tears well up in her eyes. She didn’t know what to do. It was mortifying to have to admit that she was itchy because she wet the bed. She knew it was because of her bed wetting that she was so itchy. She didn’t like admitting that wetting the bed was a frequent occurrence either. She hadn’t told Robert that yet. At this point, she was probably starting to get a rash, if she didn’t already have one. 

When Robert picked her up, she hid her face in his shoulder. She didn’t even know how to tell Robert about what was wrong without sounding like a little kid. She tried so hard to act how she thought was age appropriate, but it was hard sometimes. 

When they eventually got to the car, Lexi looked down when she was put in the car. She tugged her dress down as far as she could. She didn’t really know why she did this, but it just seemed like it might hide some of her embarrassment somehow. She continued to fidget even more when she was sitting, since her underwear were rubbing against her privates even more now. 

“I’m sorry Daddy.” She said sadly. She felt guilty that he was worried about her, and that she didn’t know how to tell him what was wrong. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert decided to get in the back seat and sit in the middle of his kids so he could comfort them.  When the door was closed, he hugged them both to his sides, and he softly spoke.

"I don't know why you're sorry," Robert said.  "Even if you had just now peed your pants, and I can tell you didn't, it wouldn't be anything so bad as you would need to apologize to me, baby.  So, since you didn't even wet your pants, and there are no other signs that you've misbehaved at all, I don't understand why you think you have to say you are sorry, baby."

Imelda looked over at her.

"Are you still scared because you peed the bed?" she asked.

Robert looked sternly at her.  "How did you know about that?"

"Daddy, you had to strip the bed because of it.  There was no way I'm that blind.  I wasn't going to say anything, but she's acting all weird since this morning, and I think it's because she's scared she's in trouble for peeing the bed."

Robert shook his head.  

He looked over at Lexi.

"Honey, are you scared I'm going to punish you just because you wet the bed, baby?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi felt giant tears well up in her eyes when Imelda mentioned her wetting the bed. She couldn’t help but bury her face in her hands and start to cry. She wasn’t really afraid of being punished for wetting the bed last night. She figured he would’ve done it already. She was nervous that if he knew she almost always wet the bed he’d be mad, but he didn’t know yet. 

She shook her head and cried into her hands. She was humiliated that Imelda knew. She wanted so badly to keep it a secret between her and Robert. She didn’t want anyone else to know. 

She was still squirming though, she was extremely uncomfortable and itchy. It even kind of hurt. She shook her head and moved her hands. “I’m sorry cuz you’re worried about me and I don’t know how to say what’s wrong.” She croaked out quietly, her voice fragile and distressed. Her voice got softer the more upset she was. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert rocked her and patted her back.

"Well, how about we start with a few questions, because you don't look very comfortable to me, and I can't be comfortable knowing you are squirming all over the place because something is bothering you, honey."

He looked at Imelda.

"Next time, if you notice something embarrassing about your sister," he told her.  "Can you please not say it out loud?  I had to take the sheets off of the bed because of the rules at the motel, but you should have figured out I was trying to help her hide it when I sent you to the car and my wallet wasn't even there."

Imelda looked down.  "I'm sorry."

He patted her shoulder.  "It's okay.  I just want you to think about your sister's feelings.  Think about whether you want her to call you out if you wet your pants, and then do what you hope she will do for you, okay?"

Imelda nodded and looked down.  "I'll try."

 

Robert looked back at Lexi.

"By the way you are squirming, it kind of looks like you itch.  Does your leg itch, honey?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi frowned when Robert was talking to Imelda. She felt guilty now. She stared at her lap and sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get her in trouble.” She squeaked out, not wanting Imelda to hate her for getting her in trouble. 

When Robert mentioned that she was itchy, her face got redder. She was embarsssed that it was that obvious to him. She shook her head though. It wasn’t her legs that were itchy. 

She didn’t want too many embarrassing questions though, so she decided to say as much as she could think of without being outright about it. “Not my legs that are itchy.” She mumbled. She fidgeted with her dress. She had her bag on her lap, but she didn’t want to seem like even more of a baby by taking out her owl and blanket. It was bad enough Imelda knew she wet the bed. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert frowned.

"Then I think we better go stop somewhere so you can show me where it itches, honey," he told her.  "I don't know what you told your mommy, or what she would do about it, but I think I'm starting to put it together, sweetie.  If it's what I'm afraid of, you might need to see a doctor and until then, we need to at least get you some medicine to help it there."

He pulled her closer to him and kissed the side of her head.

"Daddy isn't mad, honey.  And it's okay to be itchy down there.  But it's not okay to hide it and suffer in silence about it.  It can only get worse if we don't do something about it.  Hopefully, it's not as bad as I'm worried it might be."

He looked over at Imelda.

"You had a similar problem last year, remember?"

Imelda nodded and blushed.

"I used to wet the bed all the time," she admitted to Lexi.  "The doctor said that because of that, and some other things that were wrong with my diet and stuff, I got an infection.  It was easy to get rid of, but daddy had to be more careful about what I ate for a while, and especially cut back on my sodas, and then he gave me special medicine.  It's kind of embarrassing to put the medicine on, but it helps it a lot!"

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi shook her head. “Mommy told me why.” She said quietly. She was used to having rushed on and off when she’d go through periods where she’d wet the bed frequently. She’d never gotten an infection luckily, but rashes were frequent. 

She shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore, at least around Imelda. She hung her head and gripped tightly onto her bag. She didn’t want to talk about such embarrassing things around Imelda. It was hard enough to tell Robert, let alone her sister whom she’d just met the other day. 

She leaned into Robert, but kept her mouth shut. She was too embarrassed and upset to talk. She just wanted to curl up with her blanket and owl and Robert and cry. She was overwhelmed and embarrassed. Everything was changing and so difficult for Lexi. She didn’t want to be more humiliated than she already was. She was really struggling. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert patted Lexi's back and rubbed it gently.

"Okay, baby, I think I know enough for now.  When we stop, I want to take you potty and check how bad it is, okay?  And then maybe we can get some medicine for you.  I do want you to do something for me, though.  Actually, two things.  One, as soon as, and I mean almost as immediately as you realize it, I want you to ask me to stop so you can use the bathroom.  I don't want you holding it any longer than you have to.  Second, if I don't stop in time, please let me know that you're wet so we can do something about it as soon as we can.  Wearing wet pants for a long time won't help your condition, okay?"

He hugged her.

"Now you know what I'd like from you, I think we should drop the matter for now.  It's probably embarrassing at eleven years old to talk about something like this especially in front of your sister.  Especially because you don't know her that well.  But I promise, Imelda will be nice about it.  she knows what it's like to wet herself, so I don't think she's going to be mean about it, okay?"

He figured if his little daughter had a rash that bad, maybe this wasn't the first time she had wet herself or her bedding, but he didn't want to come out and say that he knew it.  She already admitted as much by saying that her mom told her why she had the problem, so hopefully, so Robert had misunderstood, her mom had taken her to see a doctor before, and had gotten her medicine for when it happened.  Even if it was just a rash, there were things you needed to help it go away.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi nodded and kept her head down. She was still crying, but she wasn’t making any sounds this time. She was so embarrassed and overwhelmed that she didn’t know how to cope. She didn’t have to go to the bathroom, but she didn’t tell Robert that, for fear of him being mad at her. 

She looked at Imelda for a minute before hanging her head again. Even if Imelda didn’t say anything, she knew and Lexi knew that she knew. She was mortified and humiliated. She just hoped Imelda would keep her mouth shut and not mention it to anyone again. Even if she found out, she’d prefer to be able to pretend she didn’t. 

Even though Lexi’s mother had told her why she got the rashes, she rarely ever cleaned Lexi up immediately. And she never took her daughter to the doctor. Usually she’d spray Lexi off or harshly wash her, but only after making her stay that way to try and teach her a lesson. Even if Lexi couldn’t control it, her mother believed that making Lexi sit in wet clothes or even dry clothes without cleaning up would shame and embarrass her enough to make her stop having accidents all the time. 

She nodded though, not wanting to be bad. “Okay Daddy.” She said in a barely audible tone. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert was complete the opposite of that thinking though.  He didn't think an eleven year old would ever pee her pants by choice, and that if it happened, then there was a cause beyond the child's control.  He didn't think that, even if he had wet on purpose for some strange reason, that embarrassing it out of her would work,  because having already wet her pants would have been the most embarrassing and humiliating part of it happening.  If it were just wet pants, he figured she could have gotten them wet in otherways, and so wet pants alone would not be any more embarrassing than having known she had peed herself.

He didn't think that shaming kids for actions that were out of their control would stop the action from happening either, so even if a child lied because they were scared, or if a child snuck into the food in the middle of the night because they were hungry, that shaming them would make it stop.  These were things that were out of a child's control.  Sure, the child could choose to lie or not, or to eat or not, but they couldn't help feeling scared or hungry.  There were better ways to teach them what he wanted them to do rather than just shaming them.

Robert also didn't want little kids to think that feeling embarrassment and shame was supposed to be a punishment either, because sometimes, shame and embarrassment were natural, and might happen when he had a genuine concern and need to ask embarrassing questions or had to check his kids over for scars or injuries in extreme cases, which would embarrass any eleven year old or older.  These kinds of things were not something that would be healthy for a child to think they were being punished with.

He held Lexi for a few more minutes wanted to make sure she was calm before scooting out from the back and getting in the front to take his girls somewhere where he could check on Lexi's predicament and to give both girls a chance to pee.  They had neither one been to the bathroom all morning because of the waiting to talk to the judge, and now, it was already going on noon.  They had to use the bathroom for sure by now, so he thought, and they would likely be hungry as well.

He patted Lexi on the back.

"I think we better go somewhere where you girls can get into a bathroom, eat something, and I can check how bad it is down there, okay?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi continued to silently cry while Robert held her. She wanted to disappear and hide from all the embarrassment she was suffering through. She hated feeling humiliated, even if she was kind of used to it. She just couldn’t cope very well anymore. She’d gone through so much and it seemed to be never ending for the poor girl. 

She didn’t have to go to the bathroom at the moment because she hadn’t drank much at breakfast and even if she did, her stomach hurt from anxiousness and she was distracted by her itchiness and embarrassment to really think about her bladder. Her cheeks continued to burn, the embarrassment and humiliation seemingly never ending. 

“I’m sorry Daddy.” She said quietly. She didn’t really even know why she was apologizing at this point, it just seemed like the right and appropriate thing to do. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert decided to ignore her apology this time thinking that she couldn't help but say the words.  It seemed that her mother had trained her to say them anytime she was uncertain, just in case she had done something bad and didn't know it.  That was really stupid, to make their daughter apologize for something she had no idea of what she had done, but it was going to take time and understanding for Lexi to realize that she really didn't expect that from her.  He wanted it to mean something if she said she was sorry, and it only meant something if she knew why she was apologizing and she really was sorry for it.

Robert moved Imelda out for a minute so he coudl get out and get in the front seat, and then Imelda got back in and closed the door.  She looked over at Lexi wondering what she was supposed to do.  Lexi had already shown that hugging her or trying to show that she cared with any kind of contact was not appreciated.  She felt like Lexi didn't want to talk about what made her upset or anything else at the moment.  She just really didn't know what a younger sister, if only by one year, was supposed to do when her big sister was so upset.

Robert started the car and started to look for a place to go eat dinner.  He decided to go ahead and start towards the interstate though as though to start on the way back home, too.  There was nothing else to keep them where they were, and Imelda had school to get back to, and Robert only had a few days off from work.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi stayed silent for the ride, aside form a few sniffles and sobs here and there. She was pretty hungry, but she didn’t want to speak up about it, not wanting to cause any trouble. She tried to distract herself with happy thoughts, but it was hard. She was overwhelmed. She just wanted some juice and then to be able take a nap with her blanket and owl. 

For a moment, she locked eyes with Imelda before averting them. She felt bad. She knew she wanted to help, but Lexi was just so upset and had had so much happen to her. She was still trying to deal with everything. It was tough for the little girl. Even if she was eleven, she was still a little kid, even if she’d never admit it. 

Eventually, Lexi did feel the urge to go to the bathroom. She bit her lip and frowned. “Um, Daddy?” She squeaked out anxiously. She didn’t want to make Robert mad by distracting him while he drove. Lexi was used to having to remain silent while her mother drove. 

“I um, I gotta go potty.” She said quietly with red cheeks. She felt like a little kid, but she was trying to do what he had asked of her. She just hoped that stopping for a bathroom wouldn’t delay their trip to somewhere to eat for lunch. She was still extremely itchy and kind of hurting, but she still hadn’t verbally complained about it. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert looked back at her through the mirror when she first called his attenion.

"Yes, honey?"

He listened to her as he drove, and when she quietly asked about stopping for the bathroom, he smiled towards her.

"Of course, we'll stop somewhere for you to go, honey."

He stayed on the highway for a few more minutes though as he didn't see a place to pull over yet.

Imelda looked over at her sister a couple of times, but she stayed quiet not wanting to make her any more upset than she already was.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi blushed and put her head back down. She was pretty embarrassed about the current situation. She’d wet the bed the night before, so now she had a really itchy rash, which she had to show to Robert, and she had to ask for the bathroom like a little kid. Lexi didn’t even want to think about having to show Robert. Lexi already felt a lot of shame about her body, having Robert see her rash would only add to that. 

Lexi kept her eyes averted from Imelda. She didn’t know what to do anymore. She knew Imelda wanted to be nice, but Lexi was struggling with a lot of serious issues so it was hard to connect with new people. She just wanted to be with Robert as much as possible. 

When they finally stopped somewhere, Lexi held Robert’s hand while they walked to find the bathroom. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be allowed to go potty before showing him the rash. She hoped so, because she didn’t want to have to hold it that long and potentially pee her pants. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert took both his kids into the bathroom, and he made Lexi wait a minute while he settled Imelda into a stall.

"You stay in here and keep it locked until I knock," he told her.  "You ask who it is, and if it's me, then you unlocked the stall.  I need to talk to Lexi privately, and this is the only place where I think you'll be safe.  I'll be in the bathroom, but we'll be in the handicap stall so it's big enough for me to check on your sister on something."

Imelda nodded.

"Good girl."

Robert then took Lexi by the hand to the handicap stall, and let them both in.

"I'm going to turn around and let you try to pee first," he told her.  "Once you are done peeing, let me know so I can see what's going on with you, okay?"

He then turned his back to her to give her a minute to pee without him watching her.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi kept her head down while Robert talked to Imelda. She was so embarrassed about her whole situation. She was embarrassed and ashamed about her bedwetting, her unpredictable emotions, feeling like she couldn’t do anything right, and her father having to check on her rash even though she knew what it was and why it was there. 

Lexi nodded and embarrassedly got onto the toilet and peed. She stared at her lap, trying to forget Robert was there. It was embarrassing to have to go to the bathroom in front of someone else. 

She wiped and got up, leaving her underwear around her ankles. Her cheeks were hot and she was uncomfortable, physically and emotionally. “Um I’m done Daddy.” She squeaked out quietly. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert walked over to her and bent down.

He inspected it a little and then he reached for her undies to pull them up.

"Well, it doesn't look as bad as I was worried about," he told her.  "But we still should get you something to put on it.  It's not good for you go without medicine when stuff like last night happens to you.  And by the look of your rash, this isn't the first time in recent days, is it?"

He got her panties up and started to pull up her pants.

"It's okay, though, honey.  I'm not mad or anything.  I do want you to tell me from now on though if you're wet.  I want to make sure you don't make the rash worse than it is, and when I get a chance, we'll buy you something for that, okay?"

He got her pants fixed up, and then he took her back out in the main bathroom to wash her hands while he went to get Imelda.

Soon enough, they were on their way out to the car.

"Is she okay, daddy?"

"Yeah, she's okay, Imelda.  She's just going to be uncomfortable until we can get her some stuff for her itchies."

[Shy-Diapers]

Lexi kept her head down while Robert looked at her. She was so embarrassed. She didn’t like the idea of having to put something on her rash, especially since she’d never had anything to help her rashes, and she was worried it wouldn’t help but would make it worse. 

“I told you I was wet.” She said quietly, feeling like Robert didn’t think she was being honest. “I woke you up.” She said with a sigh. She was starting to wonder if Robert was doubting her, much like her mother used to. 

She ignored the comment about it not being from the past few days. That specific rash was pretty recent, but she wasn’t really sure. She just knew that she had another rash again, since they weren’t really a rare thing for her. 

Lexi washed her hands and kept quiet once she had her underwear back up and had fixed her dress. She was extremely embarrassed about everything, and didn’t want to talk about any of it. And she didn’t want to be mean, but she didn’t want to talk to anuone except maybe Robert at the moment. She was feeling kind of fragile and on edge.