Love and Corona

[Cute_Kitten]

It's been a while since I've posted a new story here. I hope everyone has been doing well and staying safe in these crazy covid times.  A friend requested this story and I'm posting it here for free because I want to share some entertainment and distraction from the world. This story features Alex and Bernadette from my novel "Secrets To Keep" (it's available on Amazon. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read it for free, along with several other stories such as Daddy's Girl, Summer Swim, Beach Baby, and The Rainbow's End.)   My books on Amazon.

You don't need to read Secrets to understand this story.  I wrote this for a friend who also named the teddy bear.

 

 

LOVE AND CORONA

by CK  Cute Kitten

 

 

Alex pressed his cheek against the sun warmed glass. Outside the window, little robins hopped about on their tiny legs, ruffling their feathers and tweeting at the blue sky. Pink and white magnolia blossoms filled the air with their sweetness while green leaves budded on dark tree branches. 

 

“This sucks.”   He slumped back in his wheelchair with a loud crinkle from his freshly changed diaper. The fresh spring breeze wafted in through the partially open window, taunting him.  He’d been stuck in the house for weeks, but it felt like months. The most he did was play fetch in the backyard with Sarge, his golden retriever. The family dog was old, so he wasn’t up for much playing. 

 

The Covid-19 virus shut down the bustling small town. People only ventured out in masks and gloves for necessities. His mom, Ella, would not let him go anywhere; she claimed that even with a mask and gloves it was too dangerous for him. 

 

Alex looked out the window. Below the tree, in the driveway, sat his shiny blue Mustang. It had special, modified hand brakes so he could drive it. He felt it calling his name; he itched to leave the house. Go anywhere or do anything, even run to the grocery store for a bag of their crappy, too-thin and leak prone diapers. Baby powder. Suppositories. An enema. Whatever. He just wanted out, a change of scenery.

 

He tried bargaining with his mother, but Ella wouldn’t budge. She was the Berlin wall between him and freedom. As a stay at home mother, she was here all the time to watch over and check on him all the time. He couldn’t even sneak out for a trip to a fast food drive through. She confiscated his car keys the first time he tried. 

 

He puffed his cheeks out in annoyance. He knew she was terrified of him catching the virus and she just wanted to protect him, but her smothering was driving him up a wall. He pushed backwards on his wheels, rolling back and gazing about his room to look for something to take his mind off of things. 

 

The bedroom walls were a pale baby blue with white trim work. Glow in the dark star stickers decorated the ceiling above his bed with the white and navy striped duvet and a waterproof mattress cover in case his diaper leaked during the night. Basketball trophies filled several shelves on the walls and framed photos of his basketball days were turned face down, some with cracked frames. Photos of him with his old group of friends, the popular kids at school, were gone. Those fair weather friends had drifted away after his accident. The only frames still up were photos of him with his parents and him and his girlfriend Bernadette. 

 

His room was tidy; he’d kept it neat and orderly even before his accident. A mint green laptop sat on his desk. His schoolwork for the week was complete. So was Bernadette’s. Due to the virus, schools had closed down and classes had switched to online. Alex had been so bored he worked ahead then did Bernadette’s work as well. He was a straight A student, always on the honor roll and scoring top marks while Bernadette barely managed to pass her classes. 

 

Alex didn’t miss any of his classmates, but he deeply missed his girlfriend.  He rolled to his neatly made bed where a pile of plushies sat and grabbed a powder blue teddy bear off his bed. It was a birthday gift from Bernadette when they were in first grade. He’d named the bear Count Snuggly von Snuffles the IV or Snuggly for short. He hugged his favorite plushy tight, burying his face in the soft fur. He and Bennie grew up together. Their parents were friends, so the they had grown up lifelong best friends. They had only been dating for a short time, since Valentine’s Day.

 

Their relationship was like a tropey, cheesy romance. Just a few months and he already needed her like needed air to breathe. He had loved her his whole life; they were the other half of each other’s hearts. Soul mates down to their dirty little secrets. Alex was an AB and Benni an AB Caregiver. The plot was like something written by a tacky ABDL author on the diaper story forums Alex liked to read. 

 

He and Bernadette were polar opposites in many ways. Until his spinal cord injury last summer, Alex had been the star basketball player of the highschool team. With his shaggy blonde hair, big blue eyes and pretty boy good looks, he’d naturally fallen in with the popular kids like a duck takes to water. Bennie was cute and pretty with her brown hair and brown eyes, but she’d never be a stunning beauty queen. She favored loud neon clothes and loved performing magic tricks and body contortion. She’d always been the weird girl, the bendy neon freak. Now, in their senior year of highschool, Alex was a social outcast as well due to his wheelchair and diapers. 

 

“Snuggly, I miss Bennie.”  He rubbed his cheek against the plush blue fur then gazed down into the blue marbles of Count Snuggly von Snuffles the IV’s eyes as if the inanimate object held the answers to his problems. He knew, rationally, the plushy was just a pile of stuffing sewn up in blue fur, but cuddling the bear helped him to not feel so alone. He’d slept with the bear every night since Bennie gave it to him, and cuddling the bear now made him feel closer to Bennie. 

 

Modern technology kept them in touch; they texted and called each other daily and video-chatted and watched Netflix together via remote screen sharing, but none of that was the same as face to face, in-person interaction. Especially when it came to their AB games. They didn’t indulge much- just little things like Bennie feeding him or changing his diapers. He often had her push his wheelchair on dates when his arms got tired, like their last date through the long halls of the local Botanical Gardens and Aviary.  

 

He booped Snuggly’s nose with a fingertip.  “At least Bennie is gonna get all A’s in her classes now.”  He sighed wistfully, thinking of how lovingly Bennie changed his diapers. She’d perform magic tricks like making his clean, folded up diaper disappear. He knew it was a sleight-of-hand trick but he hadn’t figured out. She blew playful raspberries on his flat, bare tummy after taping a new diaper on him, making him laugh and squirm. She’d bought him a bib and a few pacifiers he kept hidden for when they were alone in private and safety. She would make silly airplane sounds when she fed him. Her lips would buzz as she flew the spoon or fork through the air.  “Boom! Uh-oh, an engine just blew! Mayday! Open the hanger for an emergency landing!” She’d swivel the utensil, threatening to spill the bite of food as Alex giggled and opened his mouth. When she pushed his wheelchair, she often bent over to steal quick kisses on his cheeks or the back of his neck. 

 

The memories made him feel warm and fuzzy inside like a small child with not a care or worry in the world. His heart ached, wanting to feel like that again. His pink lips twisted in a pout. The blank flatscreen TV across from his bed reflected his image. Between his expression and Count Snuggly von Snuffles the IV, he looked like a whining toddler about to throw a tantrum. 

 

Alex scrunched his nose at the image and turned away.  “All this moaning and moping isn’t doing any good. I know there’s people out there with bigger problems than mine. This whole thing just sucks. I need to do something.”  He looked down at Snuggly as if the bear could answer him. “But what?”

 

Nothing. He had nothing to do. No job- after his accident, both his parents fussed too much if he even mentioned looking for a job. He used to work part time at a home improvement store as a stock boy. Now, his mom Ella insisted he needed time to adjust and heal. He’d been doing that for the better part of a year. At this point, he thought she needed it more than he did. His father was a doctor with his own thriving practice. Ella insisted Alex have an allowance. His dad didn't argue; he never argued with his wife. He was rarely home enough to have a full conversation. His life was work, and his wife was the head of the household. And Alex was on the receiving end of most of her attention. 

 

“Snuggly, she could at least let me do some chores.”  He hated getting an allowance for nothing. That was another battle between him and his mother.  “I like to play baby, but I’m not a baby.” He frowned. Ever since the virus cancelled Ella’s social activities, she’d been more focused on her disabled son. 

 

A long, warm wave of pee streamed over his crotch. The thick padding swaddling him absorbed it all so fast he wondered if he’d truly just wet himself. The damage to his lower spinal cord left him unable to tell when his bladder and bowel were full, but his automatic empty reflex remained intact, which was unusual in lower injuries like his. There were other methods of incontinence control he could use, such as catheters and a bowel program, but diapers made him feel safe and secure. Anytime, anywhere he was protected from an untimely accident. He found them easier to deal with. 

 

The wall next to his closet was stacked floor to ceiling with cases of adult diapers. Puffy, thick, ultra absorbent adult diapers in a wide array of ABDL prints. His parents did not know about hishidden AB side. He just told them he liked the colorful prints. White was boring, and designs on his diapers made them feel more like regular underwear. His parents found it odd but did not question it since it seemed to help him cope. 

 

When toilet paper started to become scarce, Ella panicked and went into survival mode. She stocked up on non-perishable foods, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and diapers for her son. As a result, he ended up with a few cases of girly and sissy diapers from her panicked misclicks as she hurried to place an order before the diaper supply vanished as fast as the toilet paper.

 

Alex shuddered at the bags of pink and purple diapers. He dreaded when he’d have to wear those. He’d rather wear a boring, plain white incontinence brief instead. His current diaper was green with cartoon dinosaurs on the front panel. 

 

Loose, light colored khaki pants almost concealed the enormous bulk of his protective padding, but close inspection revealed the tell-tale bulge of a very thick diaper. The light coloring of the soft fabric showed diaper leaks too easily, so he never wore them to school or out of the house. He wore a pale green t-shirt with his favorite band under a navy flannel shirt. 

 

Stuck in the house all day, every day, he easily live in just pajamas. But that felt like giving up on his freedom, his connection with the outside world. So he got dressed every day. He refused to get stuck in an imposed rut. 

 

Thanks to Ella’s restrictions, he had more free time than he knew what to do with. He was ahead in school work. He had begged Bernadette to let him do her work, too. She’d happily complied. He finished that a few days ago. He already re-read his favorite books, including Lord of the Rings and all seven of the Harry Potter books. Shows and movies he streamed with Bennie in the evenings on Netflix. He had texted her earlier, but was still waiting for a reply. 

 

Unlike him, Bernadette was very busy. All of her live performances and engagements for her magical contortion act had been cancelled. So she used this time to promote herself online. She made Youtube and TikTok videos of magic tricks or contortion stunts. To help with her lack of income, she hosted live video chat magic lessons where she taught people basic, easy sleight of hand tricks. 

 

She was a daring entrepreneur who never gave up on her plans and dreams. She planned to become a world class, famous magician. She wanted her name right up there with the magical legends- Houdini, Penn and Teller, Seigfried and Roy. Hard work and planning was slowly turning those dreams into a reality. The local news station and a few news papers featured her several times. Around the town she was a well-known performer for birthday parties, weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc. 

 

She still had a long way to go, but he knew she’d achieve her big dreams. He felt it in his bones, a certainty in his guts. He admired that about her, and wished their parents could see it too. Instead, all they saw was the danger and risk, not the reward. They had no faith in Bernadette, in her dream. Just like they had no faith in Alex’s ability to take care of his paraplegic self. 

 

Alex scrunched his nose and told Snuggly,  “I could put my leg braces on again and crutch around the house…”  But his legs were still tired from when he did that this morning after breakfast. Ella had hovered worriedly behind him with his wheelchair. Alex pushed his body too far in his boredom. Standing up straight gave him a different vantage point, almost made him feel whole again. His wheelchair was his new normal, and while he was used to seeing the world from that perspective, he hated always having to look up at people. 

 

He spent most of his time in his wheelchair. His stamina sucked; this morning had proved that quite nicely. After breakfast he walked around the house on his leg braces and crutches, pushing himself past his limits. Slowly he had crutched all over the house, diaper crinkling loudly with each movement. It felt so good to be up and moving, to do something different. He hadn’t wanted to stop, not even when his digested breakfast filled the back of his diaper. His mom noticed and wanted him to stop for a diaper change. He feigned ignorance and kept going. His muscles fatigued and he’d wobbled dangerously. He would’ve fallen if his mother hadn’t been right behind him with his chair. Maybe all of her worrying wasn’t so pointless. 

 

He had collapsed in his wheelchair, so exhausted he didn’t notice the mess in his diaper squishing all around. He was too tired to deal with a diaper change, let alone a super messy diaper change, so he allowed his mother to take care of him. Ella had changed him then tucked him into bed for a mid-morning nap. He’d woken up from that a while ago, changed out of his soaked diaper, and enjoyed some quiet time without his mom hovering over him. 

 

“So, what do I do, Snuggly?”  Alex shifted in his wheelchair, diaper crinkling loudly. Periodic shifting of his weight helped him avoid pressure sores from sitting most of the time. The powder blue bear tumbled out of his lap; he leaned forward from the waist, stretching down. His diaper crinkled noisily and a warm squirt of pee spread over his front as he snatched Count Snuggly up and hugged the bear tight. 

 

“I could play cards, but I’m tired of solitaire. Tired of video games, too. Maybe I can talk Mom into a board game after lunch. Or-” 

 

His bedroom door opened, cutting him off mid sentence as his mom bustled in.  “Oh, good. You’re up, sweetie. I know you’ve been bored under quarantine, so I’ve got a friend for you to talk to.”

 

[WBDaddy]

Love this angle.  Nice start! 

[Cute_Kitten]

On 4/21/2020 at 8:51 PM, WBDaddy said:

Love this angle.  Nice start! 

Thank you for the comment  

[Cute_Kitten]

Alex looked at his mother’s smiling face and squeezed his blue bear tight. Ella’s dyed blonde hair was in a stylish shoulder length bob. She wore a navy sweater, mom jeans, and a golden heart necklace studded with real diamonds Alex and his dad got her for mother’s day several years ago. Inside the locket was a picture of the three of them. A pair of diamond and gold earrings completed her casual look. 

 

 A small worm of suspicion wriggled in his gut. He knew that expression on her pretty face. Her smile was too tight, underlined with a nervous tension. She was afraid of how he was going to react to what she’d done. 

 

His parents did not approve of him and Bernadette dating. They never objected directly, just dropped small, subtle hints in what they said, their facial expressions and tones, the things they did not say. Ella was close friends with Bernadette’s mom, so she heard first hand all the gripes about Bernadette refusing to go to college. She thought the magical act was a pipe dream, that Bennie was throwing away her future. There would be bad consequences to that action and Ella feared Bernadette would drag Alex down with her.  

 

Ella told Alex he and Bennie were far too young to be so serious. He countered by pointing out his grandparents married when Grandma was just sixteen and she never even finished highschool. His grandparents were still together. Ella said times were different now so his point wasn’t valid. 

 

Ella said another reason the relationship would never work out was they were headed in different directions. Alex was going off to college after graduation and summer vacation. Bernadette was going nowhere fast if she didn’t screw her head on straight and pick a college and a major. A major that actually offered future employment and job opportunities. Alex said he and Bennie already talked about that, and were determined to make it work.  A lot of celebrities got divorced all the time, but his mother’s favorite singer, Dolly Parton, had been married for over 50 years. Alex and Bennie were going to do the same thing, no matter how famous Bennie got. 

 

Ella’s last argument had crossed the line with Alex. He loved his mother very much, but she saw him as a helpless cripple who would always need care and support, would never be able to live independently on his own. Bernadette was never the most reliable person, so who was going to take care of Alex while Bennie was off frittering her life away on a wild goose chase of fame?  His mom assumed he was always going to live at home until his parents could no longer care for him, then he’d move into an assisted living facility. She had no faith in his ability to care for himself, and that burned. Alex held his hurt and anger in, but refused his mother’s help even more than he already had. She thought she had to sacrifice her life to take care of her now-disabled son, and refused to entertain the idea Alex could take care of himself, by himself.

 

Alex held his silence. He hated fighting with his parents, and his mom brushed aside his arguments. His dad never listened, never intervened. Dad just kissed his forehead, patted his shoulder with a “Talk to your mom about it, sport.” then headed off to work or plunked himself down in a chair and buried his face in a newspaper or the television.  

 

Being trapped all day every day in the house with his mom brought the tension bubbling to the surface. Ella and Alex skated around it. Talking about it would only end in arguments and shouting. Neither wanted that, so they continued on  with Ella trying to baby Alex, and Alex resistant every step of the way.  Ella’s latest tactic to break up Alex and Bernadette was to introduce her son to other girls. Any and every single girl around his age or a little older.  She asked her friends and friends of friends. So far she’d only been able to turn up a hand full, but she still kept trying. She wasn’t picky; it would just be casual dating after all. In her eyes, her son was too young and still adjusting to life after his accident. 

 

“You’re doing it again, Mom.”   Alex hugged Count Snuggly von Snuffles the IV tight like the little stuffed bear was a shield for his emotions. 

 

Ella’s smile faltered under Alex’s blank stare.  “Doing what? Me, the dog, and Bernadette are the only people you’ve talked to in over a month. You haven’t seen your old basketball friends since you came home from the hospital. It’s not healthy, Alex. I’m just trying to help you expand your social horizons. Cathy is a very nice young lady. I think you’ll like her a lot. She’s the daughter of one of your dad’s golfing buddies.”

 

His pink lips puckered in a sour scowl.  “I’m not dating her.”  

 

Ella’s laugh sounded forced as she went over to Alex’s desk and opened his mint green laptop, turning it on.  “Who said anything about dating? I really don’t know where you get these wild ideas from. Probably from hanging out with Bernadette so much. Her head is always in the clouds. It won’t hurt to just talk with Cathy. Maybe you’ll make a new friend? She’s been stuck in the house just like you. What else are you going to do?”

 

Alex puffed his cheeks out, ready to scream.  If he pointed out his mother only kept introducing him to single girls his age, she would just brush it off as him reading too much into things and being overly paranoid. He’d rather do anything than meet yet another girl.   “Study.” 

 

“At breakfast you told me you were ahead, so you can take a little break and chat with Cathy. Same goes for reading or watching a movie.”

 

“I was gonna take Sarge into the backyard for some fetch.”  Alex rubbed Snuggly’s soft blue fur, trying to stay calm.

 

“He’s sleeping now. You can do that after lunch. Speaking of that, how about some grilled Islay’s barbeque chipped ham and cheese sandwiches with potato chips? I got your favorite sweet onion chips. Last bag at the store.”  Ella opened his laptop and clicked on his video chat software.  

 

“Fine.”  Alex clenched his teeth.  His mom only did these things because she cared about him and worried for him. But at eighteen, he was a grown up. He was graduating highschool soon. She needed to listen to him, not bulldoze right over him like she did his father. He didn’t know how to get her to listen. Starting a fight with her would only cause more problems, make her double down instead of opening up. 

 

“Cathy likes potato chips, too. Won’t you just talk to her, for a little bit? Please? For your Mommy?”  Ella turned around to stare down at her son with pleading eyes. 

 

“Fine. Just for a little bit. And this is the last time.”  Alex sighed, burying his face in Snuggly’s belly so he didn’t have to look at his mother. 

 

Ella beamed.  “I know you didn’t hit it off with the other girls. But I’ve got a good feeling about Cathy. Just as friends, of course!”  She hummed to herself as she fussed with Alex’s hair, running her fingers through the blonde locks.  

 

“Mom!”  Alex squirmed and ducked. His diaper rustled loudly.  

 

“What? I’m just trying to fix your hair. You never get a chance to redo a first impression.”  

 

Alex growled and smacked his mother’s hands with Snuggly. The soft plush didn’t hurt, but it made her take a step back with her hands raised up.   “Okay, okay. Grumpy pants.”  

 

He smiled and hugged Count Snuggly to his chest. 

 

“Anyway, I’m glad you said yes, sweetie. Because I talked to Cathy’s mom and Cathy is waiting for you to call. I got her screenname and everything. It’s all set up, so you just have to talk and have fun. Making a new friend.”   Ella went behind Alex’s wheelchair and pushed him to his desk. 

 

He jumped when his chair suddenly rolled forward.  “Mom!”  He hated being manhandled like that, even by his mother. She was the only one who dared. The only time Bennie pushed him was when he asked her to, usually through non-verbal communication. They’d been so close all their lives they could practically read each other’s minds. He hated asking for help, and Bennie always just seemed to know, to sense, when he needed it. When his arms got tired on a long outing, or when his diaper needed changed. She’d give him a questioning look; he’d nod, then she’d take care of it. Ella just assumed and plunged full steam ahead like a runaway train that would not be stopped. 

 

“What? Did I scare you? Sorry, sweetheart.”  Ella kissed the top of Alex’s head in apology.  

 

He clenched his fingers in Snuggly’s blue fur.  “Tell me if you’re going to push me. I don’t like being moved like that.”   Someone moving him like that made him feel vulnerable and violated, his personal space invaded. His wheelchair was a part of him. 

 

“I said I’m sorry. Geeze. You really are grumpy. Maybe you needed a longer nap. Does your diaper need changed?”

 

“Mother!”  His cheeks turned pink in frustration as his temper rose. “I can take care of my own diapers.” 

 

“Like this morning?”  Ella stood to her full height, towering above her son, hands on her hips. Alex winced.   “Maybe I worry too much and go overboard. Sorry if I do. I try not to. But you’re my son. I can’t help it. It’s what mothers do. My instinct is to shield you from the world and protect you. I know you’re growing up and I need to start letting go. But after-”   

 

She bit her lip, glancing at his wheelchair.  Alex felt his face grow hot.   She sighed, deflating. Her shoulders sagged.  “But after. It’s just a little harder for me. I know it’s hard for you, too. I’ll try a little harder if you’ll try to be patient with me. I love you.”  

 

Alex wanted to bash his head off the desk. She completely missed his point. He sometimes wondered if she did it on purpose.   He sighed.  “I love you too.”   

 

She held out her arms, and he relented, allowing her to hug him.  She bent down, her arms slipping around his slender waist. He closed his eyes as their bodies pressed together. Her sweater was soft under his cheek, and he could smell her perfume. It was his dad’s favorite scent.  

 

“So, how’s that diaper?”  His mom whispered in his ear. 

 

“Just a little damp. I changed when I woke up.” 

 

“Do you want a dry one for meeting Cathy?”

 

“Why waste a diaper? They’re expensive.”   He shook his head and squirmed, diaper rustling. 

 

Ella took the cue and stood up.  “Alright. I’ll leave you to it. Just press the button on the screen and you’re all set to go.”   She headed to the door then paused, one hand on the wooden frame.  “And baby? You might want to put your bear down.”   She smiled over her shoulder then headed to the kitchen to make lunch for herself and her son. 

 

Alex stuck his tongue out in a moment of childish defiance then turned to his laptop.  “You’re staying with me.”  He told Snuggly then opened up the video chat with a reluctant click. 

 

[WBDaddy]

The sheer awkwardness of that whole passage was cute.  I'm not sure I buy Mom's little soliloquy - it feels like it would have been more convincing had she reverted to the "Ella the mom of a toddler" mode while struggling to pretend she wasn't doing exactly that.  

At least, that's the vibe I get from her actions and other dialogue.  

Meh, it's all pontification.  By all means, I'm glad to see an update and look forward to more. 

[Cute_Kitten]

On 6/9/2020 at 7:59 PM, WBDaddy said:

The sheer awkwardness of that whole passage was cute.  I'm not sure I buy Mom's little soliloquy - it feels like it would have been more convincing had she reverted to the "Ella the mom of a toddler" mode while struggling to pretend she wasn't doing exactly that.  

At least, that's the vibe I get from her actions and other dialogue.  

Meh, it's all pontification.  By all means, I'm glad to see an update and look forward to more. 

I don't know how I missed your reply, but I just noticed it today. Thank you for commenting, I appreciate the feedback.   It's interesting pontification. I love hearing feedback and what readers think because it lets me know how they perceive the characters/ how the characters are coming across. That lets me know if my intentions/ plans for the story are on target or if I bungled something up lol! But I'm very pleased to hear Ella isn't coming across as believable. My intentions for her are she's never had to deal with a person with disabilities before and while she tries to support her son, deep down she's convinced he will never be able to be independent. She sees his disability as more severe than it actually is.