Shifting Sands - Chapter 68 - 01/25

[Andyman3]

7 hours ago, Tracey said:

Wow do you write your own stories? Nice idea, it could definitely happen. I would love the dynamics of it happening to Maddy too. 
 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Have always thought that it was not good enough to publish..
 

Really? Well your spirited, practice at whatever you need and you can do it. The think about art is anyone can do you just need heart.

[Andyman3]

I know like with the Mangas give the author at least a week. I just really love this story. Many stories I've read recently are so crazy and consuming. This story has many realistic elements and often makes sense. I haven't read very many of those since high school ended for me. It's so enjoyable this way. 😄

[Alutheria]

14 minutes ago, Andyman3 said:

I know like with the Mangas give the author at least a week. I just really love this story. Many stories I've read recently are so crazy and consuming. This story has many realistic elements and often makes sense. I haven't read very many of those since high school ended for me. It's so enjoyable this way. 😄

Yeah, the grounded nature of this is part of what I really like about it. Like Dr. Paige's treatment program doesn't feel very  fantastical.

[Tracey]

29 minutes ago, Alutheria said:

Yeah, the grounded nature of this is part of what I really like about it. Like Dr. Paige's treatment program doesn't feel very  fantastical.

Kelly now has Zach under control, his treatment has become normalised and he is doing what she ask of him with no complaints. There is no challenge in that outcome for Kelly, she needs another point of focus.

Little Maddie though is trouble. Kelly pulled her into line initially by making her use a bib and sippy cup at home, wear pullups at home and to school and then ride in the stroller nursing a pacifier when Kelly and Donna went jogging, but has since then she has been given free reign. Apart from diapers for bed at the lakehouse, but that is nothing special because all of the girls have them for bed. Will the trip to Grandma’s cabin be the catalyst for her downfall, as the smallest of the kids by far she will she be singled out by Grandma as the baby of the family? If that occurs she is feisty and will push back, Kelly likes a challenge, any push back would present itself to her as a challenge to take on and control.

[Andyman3]

11 hours ago, Alutheria said:

Yeah, the grounded nature of this is part of what I really like about it. Like Dr. Paige's treatment program doesn't feel very  fantastical.

True the treatment makes sense. It's what Kelly is doing with it that Is crazy. 

[Little Sherri]

Sorry folks, crazy busy week for me, still dealing with my parent's situations, and I've had my sister and my brother around a lot, which doesn't give me a lot of time for writing. I'll try and post something this week - thanks for your patience! 

[Little Sherri]

Chapter 40 – A Small Request

Zack thanked Kevin, Hunter and Colton for showing him the boat, while they stood on the deck. Kevin took the batteries out of the remote and the boat for charging. The girls had gone as a gaggle around to the front of the house with Linda, to look at a tree that sometimes had bats in it in the evening. Kim motioned for Zack to follow her into the house, then handed him his plastic panties and his diaper shirt from the bag.

“It’s that time, buddy. Kelly is going to be back in these parts shortly, and I need you looking the part. Here, turn around.”

Kim pulled a bottle of water from the bag. Zack, slightly bewildered, turned, and Kim pulled back the waistband of his diaper, and quickly dumped half a bottle of water down into it. Zack arched his back.

“Whoa! Cold!”

“Sorry, buddy, but I didn’t think you weren't going to be wet enough for Kelly to believe that you’ve been in this diaper since last night. I figured I’d help out a bit.” She gave him a wink.

Zack cracked a smile, and then started pulling on the pink plastic panties. Kim helped him into the snap-suit and zipped up the back for him. She thought that she’d need the magnetic ball to get it to latch, but it clicked shut with a push from her thumb. Zack was once again secure in his light blue diaper shirt, with folds of pink vinyl showing around the bottom edges. Zack pulled at the material and tried to adjust the fit, finding the snugness confining, now that he’d spent the afternoon outside of it.

“Zack… one more thing.” Kim placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes?”

“I don’t think it’s… realistic that you would have been confined to that one diaper for coming up on twenty-four hours, and not had to use it at all.”

“But it’s, uh, pretty wet…” Zack blushed slightly.

“No, Zack, that’s not what I’m talking about. Do you get the picture?”

Zack blinked.

“Can you make a poo for me, Zack?”

Zack’s face fell. “I… I don’t really need to, Aunt Kim.”

“But could you?”

Zack looked at the floor, but nodded ever so slightly.

“Good boy, Zack. I’ll leave you to it.”

Kim walked towards the door. Zack turned away and focused his eyes on the floor as the door swung shut. He knew that he could probably fulfil her request. He just didn’t want to. But, she’d been so nice to him all day, and he didn’t want to seem ingrateful, or, worse, give Kelly a reason to not leave him in anyone else’s care but hers. With a grimace, he pushed, at first only passing some gas, before eventually feeling that something was in motion below. With another squeeze, a small nugget passed out of him and dropped into the back of his diaper. He realized that he was also peeing again. He walked out the door, cheeks slightly flushed.

When they convened at Kim’s SUV, Cassie asked Zack to pick her up, which he did, with some reluctance.

I really just want to get the hell out of here…

Kim took a moment to address Hunter and Colton in particular.

“Listen, thanks, guys for being so hospitable with Zack. You were really good with him.”

They shrugged. “He can come back anytime,” Colton said.

They said their goodbyes, and then climbed into the car. Zack had only managed to produce a small poop, but sitting down on it was still unpleasant. Kim asked Elaine, who was in the front seat, to rummage in the diaper bag and find the bottle of formula for Zack. Elaine handed it back to him.

“Better work on that while we drive, Zack – she might be on the driveway when we get there.”

Zack put his head back and suckled diligently, managing to finish the bottle just before Kim turned into their driveway. The uncomfortable stickiness inside his diaper was starting to become more noticeable. When the SUV’s headlights panned across the gravel parking circle behind the cottage, Kelly’s Mini was sitting there with the hatch up. Kelly stepped around from behind it, holding a box, and waved. Kim parked the SUV and hit the unlock button.

Samantha and Elaine walked over to Kelly and gave her a hug, while Zack and Maddy walked a little slower. Kelly looked at them in the fading light and said “Pacifiers?”

Maddy shrugged and Zack held up his bottle. Kim interjected, saying, “Sorry, Kel – we packed up quick this morning and I forgot them.”

Kelly smiled. “No problem. You two scamper in there and get them.”

Maddy and Zack shared a glance, and walked up the back staircase at a fast walk.

“How’d the kids treat you?” Kelly asked, while she closed the hatch on her car.

“They were really good. We went over to a neighbour’s place – Linda and Kevin – and had a bit of an impromptu barbecue. They have three kids, two boys about Zack’s age, and a little girl.”

“How’d they do?”

“They were easy to get along with, really. Zack obviously had to go dressed as he was, but Maddy and Samantha were good about having thar baby nappies put on when it was time. Nobody raised a fuss. Zack was driving a remote-controlled speedboat for a bit. I think he had a good time, actually, despite his outfit. He was palling around with the two boys and Kevin.”

Kelly looked thoughtful. “Well, I’m really glad to hear that. I was afraid that everything we tried to do on this trip was going end up in a fight over his nappies. How do you think he’ll do at Mom’s?”

Kim raised an eyebrow. “Hard to say. She can be a lot. Them showing up already dressed should help. I don’t think Zack will fuss much about it, with everything he’s experienced over the last few days. I’m more worried about Elaine; it’s been a couple of years since she’s been in baby nappies. This is going to be an adjustment for her, using them for a few days and being changed.”

“Well, we know all about that!” Kelly exclaimed, and they both nodded. “I’m worried about the number of cloth diapers I brought for them, though. I’m not sure a couple a day is going to be enough if it rains and we can’t dry them in the sun.”

“Mom has a closet FULL of cloth diapers. I don’t think you need to worry about it. She’ll be more than happy to contribute. How did your trip into town go?”

Kelly paused and raised an eyebrow at Kim.

“Well, I didn’t exactly run into town. I went on a bit of a journey.”

“I thought you were gone for a while – where’d you get to?”

“I managed to combine a couple of errands, but I also ended up having a great conversation with Dr. Paige. I called her about Zack’s meltdowns on the boat trip and at your place. I thought I was just going to leave her a message, but she happened to be by the front desk when I called, and she made a few minutes for me. She had some amazing ideas on how Zack and I can strengthen our bonds, while helping him get more comfortable with his new reality. And, she suggested a couple of places out this way that I ended up visiting.”

Kim noted the conspiratorial look in Kelly’s eyes. “What kind of places?” she asked.

“One was a compounding pharmacist, if you can believe it. But first, I had to visit a naturopath, to get a prescription! The second place is called Maternity Village.”

Kim furrowed her brow. “A prescription? Maternity Village? What in the world are you up to, Kelly? Are you and Chris trying to have a baby?”

“Ha! I have all the babies I need. It’ll be a few weeks until I even know if this is going to work… I’ll keep you in loop! But the original reason for my trip was to visit a lady from Etsy who happens to live out this way. She made matching gown and bonnet sets for Zack and Maddie, but there wasn’t time for her to ship them to me before we left. I think mom is going to love them!”

Kim and Kelly walked through the back door to a dressing down from Roofus, who was offended at having been left by himself for a good part of the day. Zack and Maddy were seated on one of the couches, pacifiers in place, with Sam and Elaine next to them.

“Well, Zack, I hear that you were good for your aunty.” Kelly announced. “I think you’re probably overdue for a fresh diaper. Do you want to try going poop before you’re changed? And maybe taking a shower?”

Zack looked at Kelly, then at the ground in front of him. “I… I don’t need to poop.”

Kelly beamed. “Did you use your diaper already? Good boy! Show me! Come, let’s get you out of that snap-suit.”

Zack walked over to Kelly and turned around, and Kelly employed her clicker to unlock his snap-suit. She unclipped his pacifier, then peeled the snap-suit down around his waist and let him take it the rest of the way off. She pulled the rear waistband of his plastic panties and his diaper back and had a quick glance.

“Yup, time for a change. Here.” She turned him towards her, knelt down, pulled down one side of the pink vinyl, and tore the two tabs away, letting the plastic pants hold the diaper on. Zack turned and walked over to the bathroom.

“Hang on a sec, Zack. Kim said. She walked over to the laundry room and returned with a towel that she handed to him.

Ten minutes later, Zack opened the bathroom door and walked out, holding the towel around his waist with one hand, and his diaper and plastic panties with the other. Kim took the diaper from him and headed toward the garage. Kelly made an ‘after you’ arm sweep towards her room, and Zack walked down the hall with her following.

Once in the room, Kelly took a Little Lambs from the suitcase, walked over to the bed, and spread it out. She stood back and looked at Zack, which was the cue for him to drop his towel and lie down on the diaper, pulling the front up over himself. Kelly came over, placed his pacifier in his mouth, applied baby powder, and fastened his diaper for him.

“I think we’ll give your skin some time to breathe, so I won’t put you in a snap-suit for the moment. Do you want to wear a t-shirt?”

Zack nodded.

“Well, because Kim tells me you were good for her today, we can go without the tamper mitts for now. Go up to your room and choose a shirt, then you can come down and have a bottle by the fire before bed.”

Zack headed upstairs, and Kelly went to the kitchen to prepare his bottle. Next, she and Kim went down to the lawn beyond the deck to start a small fire. Kelly spread a blanket out next to the camp chairs arranged around the stone perimeter of the fire pit. Kim carried kindling and wood over from a pile under the deck, and arranged them in the middle of the stones, overtop of some crumpled newspaper. She struck a lighter and ignited a corner of the newspaper, and the fire quickly began to grow.

Kim sent a text to Elaine, and within a couple of minutes, the girls appeared. Elaine was in a long nightshirt, while Maddy and Sam were in t-shirts over their cloth diaper ensembles. Zack followed them down a minute later, wearing a baseball jersey over his nighttime disposable.

Kelly turned to Kim. “What do you think about putting the girls in disposables for the night? Then, we wouldn’t have cloth diapers to deal with in the morning.”

“I like the idea, but I don’t have disposables for Sam.”

“Do you think that one of Maddy’s pull-ups would work?”

Kim rubbed her chin. “Hmmm. Not sure. Sam, how wet are your diapers in the morning, these days?”

Sam’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I… I don’t know. Kinda wet, I guess? It depends.”

“So, some days, you’d say that your diaper could be pretty wet, would you agree?”

Sam nodded.

Kelly chimed in. “Okay then, we don’t want to roll the dice on you leaking through a pull-up. I have lots of the baby diapers we brought for Zack, would you wear one of those?”

Sam looked over at Zack, then dropped her eyes. “Sure,” she said.

Kelly looked at Zack. “Zack, go get a baby diaper for Sam. I think a Digger should do it – a Lambs would be huge on her.”

Zack nodded and headed down the hall towards Kelly’s room.

Kim addressed Sam. “Do you want me to put it on you?”

Sam looked at Elaine. “Can Elaine do it?”

Elaine looked at Kim. Kim nodded.

Zack came back from the bedroom with a Mighty Digger diaper, which he extended to Sam. Hesitantly, she took it. Elaine turned and walked towards the staircase, with Sam following.

“Maddy,” Kelly said, “run up with them, and exchange your diaper for a pull-up. Just leave the clean diapers folded on your dressers, we’ll use them tomorrow for the car ride.”

Maddy nodded and trotted after the two girls.

A few minutes later, they all filed back down the stairs, Maddy in a pull-up, and Sam now wearing one of Zack’s daytime diapers, which looked bulky on her.

Kim led them out on to the deck, and began laying out a blanket, as they sat down on the camp chairs. Kelly went and sat down on the blanket.

Zack had just settled into a chair, when Kelly said, “Zack, come lie down on the blankie and drink your bottle.”

Zack stood slowly, walked around the fire, and situated himself on the blanket next to Kelly. Elain could see hesitation in his motions, so she stood up from her chair and walked over.

“Can I feed Zack his bottle?” She asked.

Kelly looked at Zack, then got up and sat on an adjacent chair. “You two are becoming fast friends, aren’t you? Sure, you can feed him,” she said. "But Dr. Paige said I have to make more one-on-one time for you, Zack, so Elaine can't be doing all the feedings." 

Zack felt an unease in the pit of his stomach. 

Elaine sat down on the blanket, and patted her thigh. Zack moved so that he was perpendicular to her, using her leg as a headrest, and she held the bottle for him while he started to suckle. He closed his eyes, to avoid Kelly's persistent gaze. The light from the fire made his diaper look vaguely orange, like it was Halloween themed. The formula was warm and bland and he drank it without giving it much thought. Kelly heard the gurgling of his bottle and smiled.

[007specialk]

Thank you for another great chapter did not see that coming. I did think she wanted to have more of a bond with Zach. And honestly I think he needs it to help keep him in line. Dads always  working moms not in the pictures.

[sklawlor]

I'm going to predict that Kelly will soon start lactating which will just freak Zack the hell out. 

[Cute_Kitten]

1 hour ago, sklawlor said:

I'm going to predict that Kelly will soon start lactating which will just freak Zack the hell out. 

I thought that as well. I'm wondering if Zack will have a breaking point or if Kelly will manage to completely pyschologically shatter him. Or both!

[CDfm]

2 hours ago, Cute_Kitten said:

I thought that as well. I'm wondering if Zack will have a breaking point or if Kelly will manage to completely pyschologically shatter him. Or both!

I believe Zack is already at that breaking point.  I think the incident on the boat just about put him over the edge. I agree that Kelly seems to be planning on introducing him to some breast milk. I guess we will see if that causes a mental breakdown.  If the breastfeeding isn’t enough the gown and bonnet addition combined would be more than enough for me. I hope Zack can manage to cope. 
I did want to say I had really been looking for a new chapter here and wasn’t disappointed this evening when I saw the addition.  Looking forward to the next chapter now. 😁

[A_Pale_Spirit]

Another very well-written chapter!

[Tracey]

11 hours ago, sklawlor said:

I'm going to predict that Kelly will soon start lactating which will just freak Zack the hell out. 

Kelly’s plan is coming together. First a quickstep at maternity village to buy nursing bras and nipple pads for any leaks, then a naturopath to induce lactation. If she is cleaver Zach and Maddie will both be drinking breastmilk from bottles then once they are used to the taste she can switch to breastfeeding. 

13 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

I have all the babies I need. It’ll be a few weeks until I even know if this is going to work… I’ll keep you in loop! But the original reason for my trip was to visit a lady from Etsy who happens to live out this way. She made matching gown and bonnet sets for Zack and Maddie, but there wasn’t time for her to ship them to me before we left.

Even though Maddie is younger and much smaller than Zach she isn’t going to willingly let her stepmon dress her up as a baby. Tension is building, it feels like the fireworks are about to start.

[Andyman3]

10 hours ago, CDfm said:

I believe Zack is already at that breaking point.  I think the incident on the boat just about put him over the edge. I agree that Kelly seems to be planning on introducing him to some breast milk. I guess we will see if that causes a mental breakdown.  If the breastfeeding isn’t enough the gown and bonnet addition combined would be more than enough for me. I hope Zack can manage to cope. 
I did want to say I had really been looking for a new chapter here and wasn’t disappointed this evening when I saw the addition.  Looking forward to the next chapter now. 😁

Ikr that's what it seems like. Kelly just won't stop

It's amazing how much some respect can do like Zach got with everyone else. Kelly really is crazy, this story itself shows how wrong she is. If he has to go through something the respect everyone else gives him is better. 

It does seem like there is a interesting possibility. Now the other kids are getting the diaper treatment when they go to grandma's. That is an interesting way the story can go. 

[Little Sherri]

Chapter 41

Zack woke up to Kim lightly tapping him on the shoulder. His left cheek was sticky with drool, which had run out of the corner of his mouth, around his pacifier. He sat up in bed and looked around the room. Sam and Maddy were already up and packing their suitcases, still in their overnight outfits. Maddy’s pull-up looked unremarkable, but Sam had a bit of a waddle to her movements in her big diaper. Elaine was rolled up in a ball on her bed, with the covers pulled over her head. Zack swung his feet onto the floor and looked over at his suitcase. He didn’t have a lot to pack – mostly t-shirts and socks. However, his tamper mitts, which Kelly had put back on him when she tucked him in, would definitely slow him down a bit.

He stood up, and Kim gave the back of his diaper a pat. “I think we’ll leave you in this one until it’s time to get into the car. No point starting the drive already wet.”

Kim turned to Elaine. “Time to get up, sweetie.”

Elaine rolled over and opened her eyes. “Do I have to wear a diaper, mom?”

Kim smiled. “Yes, sweetie, I’m afraid so. I have a diaper on my bed downstairs for you – I didn’t think you’d want to be diapered up here with everyone around. Please pick out a pair of Sam’s waterproof panties and head down.”

Elaine sat up, turned, and put her feet on the floor. She put her elbows on her knees, and her face in her hands.

“I hate wearing diapers, Mom.”

“I know, sweetie,” Kelly replied, “but all kids wear diapers at Grandma’s. That’s her rule, not mine. You’ll get used to it.”

Elaine slowly rose to her feet, and walked morosely over to Sam’s dresser, before pulling open the top drawer, and balefully considering its contents. Eventually, she extracted white plastic panties with pink hearts on them, and held them up for Sam. “Is it okay if I take these?”

Sam smiled and nodded. Elaine walked out of the room and down the stairs.

“I’ll diaper you two, and Zack, when I’m done with Elaine. Unless you prefer Kelly do it for you, Zack?”

Zack let out a breath, shrugged and began gathering his belongings as best he could.

 

                                                                                          _____

Downstairs in Kim’s bedroom, Elaine sat on the edge of the bed. Behind her were two layered white cotton pre-fold cloth diapers, laid out on a colourful changing mat. She had placed the plastic panties on the edge of the bed beside her, bunched up in a ball. Kim came into the room and opened a jewelry box on her dresser, pulling out two safety pins. She walked over to Elaine.

“Stand up, sweetie.”

Elaine rose, and Kim gently lifted the hem of her nightshirt above her panties, which were a peach colour.

“You’ll need to take those off, honey.”

Tears formed in the corners of Elaine’s eyes, and her lower lip quivered.

“Please, Mommy, I don’t want to wear a diaper right now. Can we put it on once we get there?”

Kim sighed, hooked her thumbs gently over the waistband of the panties, and slid them down to the floor. Elaine emitted a muted sob.

Kim walked back over to the bedroom door, talking over her shoulder. “I thought that this might happen, Sweetie,” she said.

She looked down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Kelly…?” she called out.

Kelly responded from her room down the opposite hall. “Yes Kim?”

“Elaine is having a moment here. Do you think she could borrow one of the pacifiers?”

“No problem – I’ll wash one and bring it right over.”

Kelly pulled the zipped bag of pacifiers from Zack’s diaper bag, chose a purple one, and went into the washroom with it. She rinsed it with hot water, and then poured mouthwash over the nipple, before rinsing it again. She carried it down the hall to Kim’s room. When she walked inside, Kim was standing by the bed, with her hands on Elaine’s shoulders, talking earnestly to her in low tones.

Kelly walked over, extending the pacifier to Kim, who took it without breaking eye contact with Elaine. Delicately, she pressed the nipple to Elaine’s lower lip. Elaine leaned forward slightly and accepted the pacifier.

“There, there, sweetie, it’s not so bad. Let’s get you diapered for the drive, like a good little girl.”

Kim reached behind the trembling girl, and slid the changing mat over so that it was directly behind her at the edge of the bed, and then put gentle pressure on her shoulders. Elaine sat down on the mat, and then laid back, closing her eyes and turning her head to the side, breathing raggedly around the soother, which had a slight taste of mint to it.

Kim picked up a white tub as she spoke to Elaine. “Because you’ll be in them so much of the time, Kelly and I have decided that we’re going to put nappy rash cream and baby powder on all of you while we’re at Granma’s.” She began applying the cream.

Then, Kim took one pin, and Kelly took the other, and together they diapered Elaine, with Kelly copying Kim’s motions, a step behind, until the cloth diapers were fastened and snug. Kim took the plastic panties that Elaine had dropped on the edge of the bed, unbundled them, leaned over, and fed them over her feet. Then, she slid them up to Elaine’s knees, stood up, and grasped both of her hands, which were lying at her sides on the comforter. She pulled, and Elaine sat up, eyes still closed.

“Stand up, honey.”

Elaine stood, and Kim slid the cover up over her diaper. Elaine’s nightshirt rested on the puffy edges of the plastic cover.

“Very cute,” Kelly commented, looking at the heart pattern on the white plastic. “Where did you get those?”

“I order them online from the same place I get the pre-folds. I’ll send you the link.”

Kim placed a hand on Elaine’s shoulder. “It’s all over, babe. You won’t have to go through this again until bedtime tonight. Go upstairs and choose a dress to wear. Send down the girls while you’re there.”

Elaine opened her eyes, hung her head, and walked out of the room at a shuffle, feeling the unfamiliar bulk of the diaper, as it tugged and pulled with her steps.

_________

The girls were just about finished packing up when Elaine made her way upstairs and appeared in the doorway, looking shellshocked. The girls’ eyes widened at the sight of her in plastic panties.

Without really addressing anyone, Elaine whispered “Nexth” around her pacifier.

Maddy and Sam made eye contact, and wordlessly picked up their cloth diapers and covers, before heading downstairs.

Zack got up off his bed and sat down next to Elaine on the bed, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?”, he asked.

Elaine drew in a ragged breath, hung her head, and looked at her knees. “I canth thalk wighth now.”

Zack nodded, and drew her closer to him. They sat in silence.

A few minutes later, the girls appeared, dressed like Elaine, but without the soothers. They seemed to have weathered their diaperings better, as they were chattering unconcernedly. Maddy fixed Zack with a conspiratorial gaze. “You’re turn, Zack!” Sam giggled.

It was Zack’s turn to hang his head. Reluctantly, he got up off the bed, inserted his pacifier, and padded toward the door. His diaper crinkled lightly in his wake. Elaine laid back on the bed and rolled herself up in her covers, her soother pulsing rhythmically.

When Zack reached the bedroom, he didn’t expect to see both sisters waiting for him, but waiting they were. He paused only briefly before shuffling toward the bed and the waiting change pad.

Kim spoke. “Zack, I was amazed at how well your tractor baby nappies worked for Sam. I think she could have worn that one for the weekend!”

Zack nodded, not sure what response she was looking for.

“Well, thank you for lending them to her, Zack.”

Zack shrugged. Kelly made eye contact with Zack and squinted slightly.

“Your wewcome.” Zack enunciated around the silicone nipple between his teeth. Kelly smiled.

With a sense of inevitability, Zack climbed up onto the bed, turned and lay down, spreading his legs and putting his hands behind his head. Kim unfolded two cloth diapers while Kelly tore the tapes off the front of his disposable.

“Bum up,” Kelly said. Zack planted his heels into the bed and raised his hips. Kelly withdrew the plastic diaper and rolled it up, while Kim slid the cloth diapers underneath him. He lowered himself onto them, and Kelly sprinkled him with baby powder. Then, she began applying diaper cream. The coolness of it against his skin caused Zack to sit up on one elbow and look at Kelly, rather than fixating on the ceiling as he usually did while being changed.

“You’re going to be spending a couple of days in cloth diapers, Zack, so we need to make sure you don’t get a rash.”

Kim then drew one side of the layered diapers up over his front, and pinned them into place expertly, while Kelly followed suit, a bit slower in her motions. Zack noted that they hadn’t given him the option of privacy, as they had with other times he’d been diapered, probably because of the cream. He also noted that, remarkably, he didn’t really care much anymore. His experiences over the past couple of weeks had largely burned the embarrassment out of him.

Kim threaded his heels through the legs of a fresh pair of light blue plastic panties, and his eye caught the lace around the waistband and leg elastics, causing his cheeks to redden. So, he could feel embarrassed, after all; he almost found it interesting. Kim slid them up to just above his knees and asked him to stand, before pulling them the rest of the way up. Kelly pulled the drawstrings through the mag lock at the back, and then tied them into a bow.

“Good boy. You look very cute. You can take your paci out if you want to – you’ve been a very compliant fellow.” Kelly beamed. Zack nodded, pulled his pacifier out.

Kelly spoke over her shoulder as she reached into a bag beside the bed. “Zack, I think you should wear one of your snap-suits.” She pulled a white one out and held it open and level with Zacks knees. He stepped into it, and she pulled it up around his waist and let him put his arms through the short sleeves. Kim pulled the zipper up his back and then secured the locking mechanism.

Zack looked down at himself. The bulky cloth diaper was only emphasized by the snug garment, and the blue colour of his plastic pants showed through the white stretchy snap-suit. At least the ruffle across the back was mostly covered. He hung his head and made his way toward the stairs.

Just as he was leaving the room, Kelly spoke behind him.

“Oh, and Zack, tell the girls to put dresses on. You’re welcome to wear one as well, if you like. Any of Sam’s would be the perfect length.”

Zack shot Kelly with a burning gaze, and silently turned the corner.

 

                                                                           _____

 

Kim piloted the SUV along twisting two-lane roads that skirted lakes and forests. While she drove, she explained how the living arrangements at her mother’s trailer would work.

“Grandma’s trailer isn’t a trailer, really, it’s more of a mobile home. It has three bedrooms, so the four of you will be sharing one of them, Kelly and I will be sharing the second, and Grandma’s is the third. There’s a bathroom in the house, but it’s kept locked, and it’s only for big people to use. Grandma’s rules. There is a laundry shack next to the main house, with a change table and a diaper pail – that’s what you guys will be using. If it’s nice out, we can hang your baby nappies and plastic panties to dry after they’ve been through the wash. If it’s rainy or cloudy, Grandma has a dryer, but it burns propane, so she prefers not to use it.”

“There is a swimming hole down a path through the woods,” she continued, “and I think you’ll want to be spending a fair amount of time there, if the weather is nice, because you don’t have to wear nappies to swim.”

“Except Zack,” Kelly interjected.

“Yes, right. Zack, we brought a couple of your swimming nappies. Grandma doesn’t like disposables, but because you can wear them a couple of times, we’re going to skirt her rules a bit, so that your skin gets some time out from wearing cloth.”

“We’ll try to get three changes in per day, probably when you get up, again before dinner, and once more before bed. If we start running short of diapers, we might have to move to two per day – it depends on the weather and how well the laundry equipment is working.”

Kim continued talking, but in the third row, Zack was far enough back that he was able to tune it out. He closed his eyes, leaned back against the headrest, and gave in to the soothing motions of the car, drifting off to sleep.

He slept fitfully, at one point dreaming that he was in a hallway at school, and needed to pee, but every door in the hallway led into a classroom. The hall seemed to stretch out over the horizon, and it was lined with students who were looking at him and talking indistinctly, as he ran with increasing urgency from door to door. Each time he opened one, there was a class full of students behind it, and a teacher he’d interrupted, who all turned to stare at him, before he pulled the door shut and ran to the next one. He became aware that the doors he pulled shut were opening behind him, and students were coming out into the hall to see what was going on, as the next door, and the next, opened to reveal another classroom full of kids. Finally, he reached a door that had a washroom sign on it, but when he tugged at the handle, it came off in his hands. He turned away from the door, holding the metal handle incredulously, as he felt a terrible warmth spreading inside his pants. Throngs of students were standing, staring at him, and he dropped his other hand to the front of his pants… and felt slippery plastic under his stretchy snap-suit. He heard the hissing of tires, and the rushing of wind. He opened his eyes, finding himself in the back of Kim’s SUV, sitting in a slightly damp cloth diaper.

Kelly looked over her shoulder. “Sleepy head is back with us, I see,” she said, as she passed back four baby bottles filled with orange juice. Elaine took hers and began unthreading the top, which Kim noted in the rearview mirror and stopped with a loud throat clearing. Elaine retightened the lid and reluctantly suckled at the nipple. Maddy and Sam seemed not to mind the novel drinking implements. Zack put his into the cupholder in his seat’s armrest. He didn’t need any more liquid on board just now.

Kim hit the turn signal and began slowing down, causing the kids to look up from their activities in curiosity. She turned right into the exit ramp of service station & rest stop that had a mom & pop restaurant attached to it, and rolled up in front of the full-service pumps.

“Does anyone want to get out and stretch their legs?” she inquired.

The three girls answered in the affirmative.

Yeah, but they’ve got dresses on. I’m wearing girly plastic panties and a diaper shirt.

Zack shook his head, no.

“Okay Zack, you hold down the ship, I’m going to take the girls inside and pick out a snack. We’ll get you something.”

A bearded man in a plaid shirt stepped out of a hut situated between the pumps and addressed Kim.

“Fill’er up?”

Kim nodded, and the passel of girls headed across the lot towards the restaurant. The man fiddled with the pump for a moment, and then walked over to the side of the truck, carrying the nozzle. The fuel filler was located on the rear quarter panel of the SUV, putting the attendant face to face with Zack, through the tinted glass. Zack quickly took the baby bottle out of the cupholder in his armrest, and put it down at his feet.

The man smiled, and then looked down as he appeared to fiddle with the fuel cap. Finally, he looked back up and spoke to Zack through the glass.

“Is there a fuel door release in the car?”

Zack could barely make out what he was saying, because the glass muted most of the sounds coming into the car from outside, but based on the situation, he guessed what the man was after. Zack shrugged and held his hands up in a helpless gesture.

I don’t know anything about this car.

The man tapped his finger against the glass, and pointed it toward the driver’s seat.

“Can you check under the steering wheel?”

Zack shook his head.

“Come on, man, just go have a look around the driver’s seat – there’s got to be a release.”

Numerous swear words occurred to Zack, none of which he spoke out loud. He swallowed hard, and reached down to unbuckle his seatbelt, considering his outfit as he did. He hoped that the tinted glass of the car would provide him with some cover, as he stood up and simultaneously grabbed the sides of his snap-T and stretched them as far down as they would go. Now, the question was… was he better off climbing the obstacle course of seats between him and the steering wheel, with his butt in the air as he clambered over them, or, was he better off getting out of the back door and in through the front?

He looked around. The bearded gas station man stood with the nozzle in his hand at the rear passenger side of the truck; it seemed unlikely that he’d abandon his post, as he’d have to put the nozzle back on the pump. On the driver’s side of the car was a couple of lanes of roadway that lead back to the highway, and beyond them, a shoulder, on which sat an RV, with nobody visible in the windows. Beyond it was the highway, with traffic passing in twos and threes, at speeds that Zack thought were probably not conducive to detailed observations of distant subjects. He looked up and down the bypass road, but there were no cars on their way into the service station at the moment.

He folded the driver’s side rear seatback forward, leaned forward, and pulled the door handle. Nothing. He pulled it again, and the door unlocked, causing the dashboard to emit a binging sound. Zack stepped out of the back of the vehicle, feeling the wind run over his exposed legs as he pulled his the leg cuffs of his shirt down as far as he could over his ridiculous plastic pants. He stepped quickly over to the driver’s side door and tried opening it. Again, nothing.

If I pull the release from the inside, will that open it?

He decided to try, and stepped back into the rear door, leaned through the gap between the headrest and the door pillar, and, with a stretch, managed to grab the door handle. Giving it two pulls elicited the same bing from the dash, and caused the door to unlatch. Zack quickly jumped out of the back door, closed it, and opened the front, before dropping his eyes to the lower dash.

What would a fuel door release look like? He wasn’t sure. Would it be a button? A lever? A pull? Then, something caught his eye, right at the base of the driver’s seat. It was a black plastic lever with a picture of a gas pump on it. He gave it a yank, and it produced a tactile thunk as it lifted. He looked up and over the headrests, and saw the man give him a thumbs up and a nod.

Victory.

He backed away from the front seat, and swung the door closed. There was an audible click when it closed, which, ominously, emanated from all sides of the car at the same time. He made a quick grab for the door handle on the driver’s side rear door, but it pulled forward without engaging anything. The car had somehow locked itself. Zack stood, pressing his back to the door, as the wind tussled his hair. A car and a pickup truck were both making their way up the entrance ramp to the service center, and over his shoulder, on the other side of Kim’s car, Zack could hear young voices approaching, which he hoped were those of Sam and Maddy.

Craning his neck to look around the rear of the SUV without taking his back off of the rear of it, Zack searched the lot past the pumps. There were indeed young voices approaching. There was a family of five, with two young boys and a girl between the ages of maybe six and eight, Zack thought, and they seemed to be on a trajectory to pass right by him as they arced towards the parked RV.

On the other side of Kim’s truck, the gas station guy stood motionless, holding the fuel nozzle. Zack felt butterflies in his stomach.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Sliding along the side of the truck without breaking contact with it, he moved around to the front, and sat on the bumper, using the bug-spattered grill as a backrest. His hope was to put most of the large SUV between him and the approaching family, as well as the oncoming traffic, without having to confront the pump guy.

Maybe they’ll walk by and they won’t even see me.

The pump clicked, and the pump guy pulled the nozzle out of the side of the vehicle, and hung it back up on the pump, before going into the little shack.

I hope he realizes that I’m not paying for this, and doesn’t try to talk to me.

The family was passing around the rear of the SUV now. Zack could hear the young kids twittering, and then the mom said “Everyone hold hands, we’re crossing a road.” He turned his head toward the gas pumps, hoping to avoid eye contact or any possible interaction. Based on the cadence of their steps and flow of their speaking, it did not sound like he’d been noticed, and he hoped it stayed that way, as they drew towards their RV and away from him.

Then, another young voice rang out across the asphalt.

“Zack! Why’d you get out of the car? You don’t have any pants on!”

Goddamn it, Maddy!

Zack looked down at his knees, and then rolled his eyes toward the RV, glancing through barely opened lids. The family had stopped and were unlocking the door, and the three kids were all looking across the roadway, directly at him.

“Mommy, why does that boy have no pants on?” One of them asked.

“Shush, dear, get into the motorhome, please. Don’t stare.”

But they continued to stare, as they waited to climb the metal staircase that had telescoped from the side of the bus-like conveyance.

Maddy and Sam came jogging over, holding bags of chips. They walked right up to Zack and stood expectantly, waiting for him to stand up. Reluctantly, he abandoned the minimalist cover that sitting on the bumper offered, and he once again tried to stretch his diaper shirt down to his knees.

“Why’d you get out of the car, Zack? Everyone can see your diaper!”

Zack’s head hung so low that his chin almost rested on his chest.

“I had to help the guy release the fuel door. And then the doors locked behind me.”

Sam gaped at Zack. “Oh, wow, that was Mom, she thought she’d maybe left the car unlocked with her purse on the front seat, so she locked it with the remote.”

Kim and Kelly walked up next, with Elaine trailing silently behind, holding her hand over her mouth to obscure her pacifier.

“So you did decide to stretch your legs!” Kim intoned.

Maddy spoke up. “Nope, he came out to open the fuel thingy and he got locked out and had to stand in his diaper until we got back!”

“Well, he does have his diaper shirt on,” Kelly noted. “Now do you wish you’d chosen a dress?”

Fire came into Zack’s eyes briefly. Maddy interrupted the moment.

“Well, still, it was dumb to get out of the car. Do you want some chips, Zack?”

Zack looked at Kim. “Please, just unlock the car. Please.”

Kim reached into her pocket and pulled out the key fob.

“We’re going to do a quick diaper check before everyone gets inside. Zack, you can be first – I think you’ve earned it. Come here.”

Zack shuffled a couple of steps toward Kim, grateful that she wasn’t Kelly. Kim gave his diaper a pinch through his shirt and the plastic panties.

“Good to go, Zack. Hop in.” Mercifully, she hit unlock on the remote, and the doors all emitted the same click again. Zack fairly leapt into the truck and settled into the rearmost row. One by one, the younger girls lifted their dresses so that Kim could check their diapers. Zack could see through the window that a couple of the kids in the RV had appeared at one of the side windows, and were staring in fascination.

Elaine stood mutely with her hand over her mouth, looking like a person who was watching some kind of disaster unfold, and made no move to lift her dress, so Kelly stood and provided some screening from the road with her body as she lifted the hem up at the front so that Kim could palpitate her diaper.

Kim clicked her tongue. “Use your diaper like a good girl, Elaine.” She gave her a pat on the bum. “In you get.” Elaine climbed into the back seat and put her head against the headrest, eyes closed.

The younger girls tucked into their snacks and sipped from their bottles as Kim angled the SUV back towards the highway, smoothly accelerating and merging with the sparse Northbound traffic. Zack found himself dozing again, in response to the rocking motions of the vehicle and the fading light.

The next moments he remembered were when the highway was behind them, and they were popping and pinging over gravel roads. The girls in front of him all seemed to be sleeping, although with Elaine, it was hard to tell. She had had her eyes closed for most of the trip.

Up ahead on the righthand side of the road was a sign: Granite Ridge Trailer Park, Next Right. They slowed down as they drove past it, and then Kim made a hard right down a dirt driveway, lined with tall, old pine trees. They drove past a gate that was open, and then what looked like a combination of an office and a general store. There was a map on a placard nailed to a post, but Kim ignored it and took the second crossroad that they encountered.

The road took them past a hodgepodge of homes that had at one time also been mobile; some looked like small houses, some were travel trailers, some, a merger of the two. Many were well kept, a few were not, and most had older cars or pickups parked in front of them. There were bicycles and Big Wheels and scooters leaning against many of the residences, speaking to the presence of children, most of them probably visitors rather than occupants.

They passed over a creek on a wooden bridge that was barely wider than their truck, and then Kim hung a quick left as they approached a hill. At the top of the rise was what looked like an old schoolhouse, with no lights on.  Kim continued down the road, and in moments, they pulled up in front of a trailer that occupied a larger lot than most, backing onto the creek. Next to the trailer was a smaller outbuilding finished in the same siding, that had a stack protruding from a flat roof. It had a central door and a window. Kim pulled up in front of it, momentarily illuminating the dusty screen door, before she turned the engine off.

“What’s that?” Maddy asked.

“That’s the laundry shack,” Kim said. “That’s actually a fairly new addition, although you wouldn’t know to look at it. When I was a kid, we used to wash our clothes and diapers in the creek, and hang them to dry. It really made you want to use as few of them as you could!”

Kelly nodded. “I still remember how red and cracked my hands would get in the winter.”

“Didn’t your mom do any of that stuff?” Sam inquired.

“Ha!”, Kelly barked. “Her philosophy was, whoever was wearing them, was washing them. I think we were doing it from the time we were five or six. And you learned pretty quickly to do a good job, or they’d look bad hanging on the line, and smell when you had them on, so that the other kids wouldn’t want to play with you.”

“You wore diapers… all the time?”

“We called them ‘nappies’,” Kim said, looking at the kids in the rearview mirror. “But all the other kids called them diapers. Except when we were at school, we were usually in nappies. Grandma’s house doesn’t have sewers, and she doesn’t have a septic tank – all she has is a holding tank, so she has to pay someone to pump it out whenever it gets full. After dad passed away, she couldn’t afford to have it pumped out very often, so the toilet was for adults and guests only. Kids wore nappies.”

“Is that why we have to wear diapers up here?”

“That’s most of the reason, although Grandma is going to tell you that dressing like big kids leads to big ideas, and she thinks it’s better for little kids to know their place. But, really, I think it’s mostly about keeping that tank empty. But I didn’t really figure that out until I was in my teens, and we struck a deal that allowed me to go out with my friends without wearing baby nappies, as long as I ‘did my business’ at their places.”

Maddy piped up again. “So, we can’t use the bathroom… AT ALL?”

Kim smiled. “Well, you can brush your teeth in there, but don’t run the tap while you do it. There’s a changing table in the bedroom where you’ll be sleeping, but it’s small and kind of rickety. I never really trusted it once I was big enough that most of my legs hung off it. I preferred to be changed on the picnic table if it was nice out. We can also change your bums in the back of the truck, if you want, and there’s a changing table in the laundry shack. When Kelly and I were kids, we didn’t even have a car to get changed in! And disposable diapers were for the rich. You had to be able to get into town to get them.”

Kelly rotated and projected her voice toward the back seat. “Hear that, Zack? Do you feel lucky now? How would you like it if I sent you to baseball practice in cloth diapers? That’s what Kim and I used to go to Sunday school dressed in.”

Zacks eyes were wide and his cheeks felt hot. He definitely did not want to go to baseball in a cloth diaper. The one he was in felt damp from stem to stern, and seemed absurdly bulky. He wordlessly shook his head.

“Good, then I don’t want to hear a word of complaint about wearing disposables, once we get back home. On that topic, I have a surprise for you when we get back: Mr. Burke texted me about some new products that they want us to try out. One’s called, uh…” Kelly pulled her phone out and quickly flicked across the screen for a moment, before looking back up. “Run N’ Play Active Fit Diapers. They have stretchy sides like Pampers, and the plastic is covered in cloth, so they’re quieter.”

Kelly handed her phone back to Sam, who studied it intently with Maddy. Even Elaine looked over briefly from behind her pacifier. Finally, Sam held the phone over her shoulder, and Zack reluctantly took it, after letting it hang until Sam started wiggling it.

He looked at the image that Kelly had blown up on the screen. It showed a picture of a folded diaper, with a drawing of a yellow rubber ducky on the front. When he swept the picture up, the next image was of a girl around Maddy’s age, standing astride a bicycle on a sidewalk, smiling widely, wearing a bright yellow shirt and one of the diapers, like it was the best day she’d ever had, out in the summer sun with no pants on.

Zack clicked the off button and dropped the phone over the seatback, into Sam’s lap. She passed it forward to Kelly.

“So I figured I’d order you up some of those and see how they feel at baseball, and for running around with your friends.” Kelly looked back expectantly, as though she were awaiting some hearty praise.

“Uh, thanks…. Do they make them for boys?” Zack responded.

“They’re unisex. Look.” Kelly unlocked her phone and flipped to another picture, which she held up, showing a boy preparing to throw a basketball, also wearing one of the diapers, and some high-top basketball shoes. “I figured you could wear these to baseball or out biking with your friends. He also said they’re bringing in some new plastic panties that look more like shorts, so you can wear them without anything over them, and be nice and cool, and nobody will know you’ve got plastic panties on. Isn’t that great?”

Zack hung his head back and stared at the headliner.

What planet are these people from?!?

“Okay, folks, let’s grab our stuff and go see grandma.” Kim proclaimed, as she opened her door and simultaneously hit the button that powered up the hatch.

 

[sklawlor]

I like the way you're so descriptive of the environment around the drive out. I felt like I was there. great attention to detail.

[keith60]

this story is crazy 

[A_Pale_Spirit]

As usual, another excellent chapter. Love your descriptive writing!

It should be interesting when Zack gets his “Run N’ Play Active Fit Diapers," always looking forward for more of this story!

[keith60]

i wish a woman baby me like zack but i know it won't happen 

[Andyman3]

I have to say, the details and focus on basic stuff on car ride was wonderful. Really made you feel like you were there. And you keep surprising us lol, with what happens. 

I like that and agree. A diaper that isn't as loud and plastic pants that look like shorts, that is going to be wonderful. 

[CDfm]

Such a pleasant surprise to see a new chapter posted. Not so sure Zack or Elaine are having such a good time. At least the matching outfits hadn’t been introduced yet. Actually here I think Zack was almost more concerned about Elaine than he was with his own diaper. That is at least until he was caught outside and on full display of young strangers. At least he doesn’t know them and will likely never see them again. Looking forward to seeing how the visit at grandmas goes. 

[garyg]

Sounds like unisex diapers could be the first step in turning Zack and Mattie into twin  baby sisters.

[Andyman3]

When you find an artist you like and you don't see something from them, you start worry for them. Hehe the fun of being a fan 😄

[007specialk]

I second that!

[Little Sherri]

Chapter 42 – One of the Girls

Kim and Kelly pulled open the creaky screen door and knocked on the sun-faded wooden door behind it. A lone lightbulb, enshrouded in cobwebs, shone on the wall beside the door.

A voice sounded from behind the door, although it seemed to also come through the walls around it. “Come on in, girls.”

Kelly turned the doorknob and entered the mobile home, with Kim following behind. The younger girls entered next, carrying their overnight bags, while Zack and Elaine trudged in last. Maddy and Sam wore smiles, Zack looked pensive, and Elaine’s expression was hidden behind the shield of her soother.

Sam & Elain’s grandmother sat on a cracked green leather recliner, in a room adorned with dark fake wood paneling, and a brown shag carpet. She wore a grey housecoat and bright pink socks. A haze of cigarette smoke hung in the air. Illumination came from table lamps with multi-coloured glass shades, positioned in the corners, making it hard to tell what colour the ceiling was.

Kelly spoke. “Kids, this is our mother. Sam and Elaine call her Gran.”

“Hello, children,” the old lady croaked, before taking a drag on the remnants of a cigarette that had been teetering on the edge of heavy glass ashtray. She directed her gaze at Sam. “Come, let’s see you.”

Sam looked at Kim. Kim nodded, and Sam walked across the room, side-stepping a dark, low coffee table made of peeling laminated wood. Gran reached down and lifted the hem of Sam’s dress.

“You brought them in nappies I see. I appreciate that, Kim.” She inserted a finger under the elastic of Sam’s plastic pants at her hip. “She’ll need changed soon. I expect they both will. It’s a bit of a drive. Did you do a poopy, dear?”

Sam gave a slight nod.

“Well good, dear, that’s what your nappy is for. Come, who’s the next little miss?” She let Sam’s dress fall, and wiped her finger on a tissue.

“This is Maddy,” Kelly replied. “She’s my stepdaughter. Her brother’s name is Zack.”

“I can see from over here that Zack’s already in a nappy. Does Maddy need to borrow one?”

“No, mom, I have her in one as well.”

“Well, come over here and I’ll have a look.” Maddy walked forward until she was standing where Sam had been, and Gran lifted the front of her dress, put a finger under a leg elastic, and then let it drop again. “She’s in the same state as her cousin.”  Gran directed her gaze towards the older girl, next. “Elaine, I can see you’ve got your pacifier, does that mean you’re in a nappy as well?”

Elaine nodded but remained fixed in her place, so Kim gave her a pat on the bottom and urged her forward. Elaine walked over and stood next to Maddy, and Gran lifted her dress next, before letting it drop. “This one is even more wet! Send the boy over.” she proclaimed.

Elaine turned and walked back toward Zack, who changed places with her. Gran studied his onesie, before sliding a finger up the side of his left leg, under the elastic of his plastic pants. “That’s some contraption you’ve got on. Did you poop as well? I can’t tell.”

Zack shook his head.

“Well, you will, young man. You all will. We have to try to keep down the amount of laundry you’re making, with four of you running around in baby nappies, so we won’t be changing you every time the wind changes direction, I’ll tell you that. The water is free but the soap and the electricity certainly are not.”

Zack nodded weakly and walked back over to the front door.

“Take them into the bedroom and let them put away their stuff,” Gran announced. “Diapers and dirty clothes go straight into the diaper pail, or right out to the laundry shack – no stinky clothes get left on the floor. Watch your step when you’re climbing up onto the changing table in your room, it’s a bit unsteady, because it’s almost as old as I am. I expect my daughters have already told you that my toilet is off limits to little people. I have to pay to pump the tank out, and there’s no need for it when you’re perfectly fine going in your nappies.”

Kim turned and led the kids up a short hallway. The first door on the right had a padlock on it, which Zack assumed meant it was the washroom. There were two more doors on the right, and then a door at the end of the hall that also had a latch on it, however the lock in this case was hanging off to the side, rather than engaged. They followed Kim into that room.

Once through the door, Zack noted that there was barely any floorspace in the room. It was small to begin with, but was further choked by the presence of four old wooden single beds, jammed together, and an old white changing table that had a stepstool in front of it. The shelves of the changing table were stocked with folded cloth diapers and plastic pants. A shelf above the table held baby powder, and a tall bottle of clear liquid with a pink cap that Zack couldn’t identify. Next to the changing table was a low bucket with a lid on it, which Zack guessed was the diaper pail.

It's literally a pail.

Kim turned to Sam once they were around the corner from the hallway, and out of earshot of the living room. “Was Gran right – do you have a, uh, deposit in your nappy?”

Sam nodded solemnly.

“Well, do you think you’ll be okay for a bit, and we’ll do nappy changes right before bed?”

She shrugged.

“Okay, that’s what we’ll do then. Everyone, if you think you need to go, I suggest you take care of that in the next hour or so, because after dinner, it’s into your bedtime nappies, and you won’t be changed again before the morning. I have one more word of advice: don’t try and hold it for too long. Gran loves dispensing castor oil to children whom she thinks might be withholding. You’re better off doing it on your own terms.”

The two younger girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Elaine looked at the floor, and Zack once again looked at the ceiling.

Kim walked over put her hand on Elain’s shoulder. “Are we done with the histrionics for a bit? Can I take your paci? You’re all in the same boat, and Kelly and I have been in your shoes a hundred times. Wearing baby nappies isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened, I assure you. Gran’s washroom is nasty anyway, I wouldn’t envy me, if I were you.”

Elaine made eye contact with Kelly, and the shadow of a smile passed over the corner of her lips. Kelly took the pacifier out of her mouth and put it on top of the shelf above the changing table.

“I’ll put fresh paci’s for all of you up here on this shelf, for bedtime,” Kelly announced. “Zack, let’s get you out of that snap-suit for a bit of skin time so you don’t get a rash.” She pulled a mag-lock clicker out of her pocket and walked over to Zack, unlocking the collar of his diaper shirt and running the zipper down. Zack slipped out of it and passed it to Kelly, who folded it and placed it on top of his bag, which she deposited at the foot of one of the beds. The girls placed their bags on the crowded floor and then filed out, following Kelly.

When they got back into the tight living room, Gran locked eyes on Zack, standing awkwardly in just his lacy blue plastic panties.

“Get that boy something to wear! He’ll catch pneumonia.”

“Gran, it’s probably eighty degrees in here, and he needs some skin time so he doesn’t get a nappy rash. He’s been in a onesie all day. I really don’t want anything over his diaper for now.” Kelly responded.

“We’ll get him a dressing gown, something. Pneumonia don’t care what he’s wearing.”

Kelly and Kim locked eyes.

“I happen to have something I picked up for him and Maddie in the car.”

Kelly walked outside and returned a moment later with a cream-coloured cotton bag that neither Zack nor Maddie had noticed before.

Kelly walked down the hall and went into a bedroom. Everyone’s eyes followed her. A couple of minutes later, she returned, holding a white short-sleeved nightdress in thin white cotton, with a lace collar and buttons up the back, suspended between her hands in front of her. Another one was folded over her left arm.

“I found a lady online who makes vintage-looking babydoll dresses, and they were just too adorable to resist. Everything else I could find in the lengths I wanted were pink, or had a had a lot of frills, but these were just perfect.”

She held it up in front of Zack, noting that it fell to just above his waist, which would appease Gran’s concerns about his chest being exposed, without covering his diaper.

“Arms up, buddy.”

Zack’s face fell. He lowered his head and took a heaving breath, trying to collect himself. He knew that if he put up a fight, here, in front of Kelly’s mother, Kelly’s response would be completely unpredictable, and possibly measurable on the Richter scale.

He imagined what she might say. “You had no problem running around in your sister’s panties, but now you don’t want to put a nightdress on? I don’t understand…”

Zack grimaced.

Yeah, it might go something like that.

Taking another breath, he extended his arms for Kelly. She pulled the translucent garment over his head. He was too conflicted to offer any resistance. The dress smelled vaguely floral. Kim stepped behind him and fastened the buttons as a lone tear ran down his reddened cheek.

Gran smiled. “You look lovely, and now you’re not going to catch your death. Look at me, I went from having two granddaughters to four, in one night!” Gran cackled until a coughing fit interrupted her. Sam and Maddy giggled briefly.

Zack blushed and studied the floor. The coverlet was undeniably girly, but it didn’t look much worse than his plastic panties did. Elaine approached him and straightened his collar and pulled down his hem at the back, which was hung up on the bulge of his diaper. She took his hand and stood wordlessly beside him.

Kelly addressed Maddy. “I got one for you that matches, my little sweetheart. Take your dress off and let’s try it on.”

Maddy lifted her dress over her head without hesitation, and Kelly replaced it with the delicate white garment. Maddy tilted her head and smiled. Zack took in the image of his younger sister wearing the same outfit he was in, and frowned.

“Wait, I almost forgot…” Kelly left her statement hanging as she walked back to the bedroom, before returning with the cream bag. She reached inside it and extracted two swatches of what looked like white linen. She unfolded one, revealing a bonnet with a lace fringe, and string ties.

She walked it over to Maddy, pulling it around the back of her head and tying it under her chin, before tucking her hair back under the sides.

Gran sucked in her breath. “Adorable,” she whispered.

Kelly unfolded the other bonnet, and advanced toward Zack. She noted a trembling tear at the outside corner of his left eye, and wiped it with the crook of her finger before fastening the bonnet under his chin.

“There, there,” she whispered. “Be a good little boy and smile for Gran.”

“They’re picture perfect,” Gran stated. In response, Kelly walked over to her purse, and picked up her phone.

“Zack, go stand by your sister,” she said.

Zack stood as though bolted to the ground.

Kelly sighed. “Maddy, go stand beside your brother.”

Maddy walked over and stood next to Zack, smiling brightly in an attempt to counterbalance his morose facial expression. Kelly took a picture with her phone.

Gran cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention, and then she waived a finger around the room. “I expect four BM’s by bedtime, or it’s castor oil for the little ones.”

Maddy furled her brow. “What’s a B-M?”

“A poop, Maddy,” Kim answered.

“Oh. What’s castorall?”

“Castor oil – O – I – L. It makes you poop.”

“Oh. Yuck.”

“We’ll start the bedtime diaper changes in about an hour, kids. Why don’t you read or colour and we’ll heat up some of Gran’s chicken soup for dinner,” Kelly announced.

 

________

 

The kids went back to their bedrooms and sat or laid on their beds. Maddy and Sam talked about what they were going to do when they got back to the cottage, with its boat and deck and dock and boathouse full of squirt guns and goggles, which they had a new appreciation for, in their current spartan surroundings.

Elaine rolled onto her side and tried to avoid thinking about her increasingly soggy diaper. Zack turned away toward the wall and concentrated on making a poop, however small. He succeeded at first only in further wetting himself, but after much effort, he was able to push a small, hard pellet out. Maddy didn’t seem to be giving it any thought, and he had no idea if Elaine would be able or willing to do it by bedtime, either.

I do not want to take whatever that oil is that makes you poop.

“Hey, Maddy.” He said in a low voice.

“What’s up, Zack?” Maddy responded.

“Have you pooped in your diaper.”

“Zack! That’s none of your business.”

“Well it’s going to become all of our businesses if Gran makes us take that nasty oil. So try.”

Maddy rolled her eyes and looked at Sam. “Fine. I’ll try.”

She made a scrunched up, red face and let out an exaggerated growl.

“I did it, Zack. Happy?”

“I don’t believe you. That was fake.”

“Well I don’t care if you believe me. When I get home I’m going back into underwear, like everyone else here, and you’re stayin’ in baby diapers, and then I’ll be the one checking if you’ve pooped, and bringing your diapers to Kelly so she can change your bum.”

“SHUT UP, Maddy…”

Zack was thinking of something else to say, when the bedroom door opened and Kim leaned in.

“Dinner, kids, everyone out to the picnic table.”

Zack sat up quickly. “Whah… we’re eating outside?”

“Yup, it’s a nice night out and Gran has lights strung over the table.”

“But… I’m wearing a nightie.”

“It’s a babydoll. And it’s fine, Zack – nobody around here knows who you are. If anyone happens by, they’re just going to think you’re one of the girls.”

Zack found that to be slim consolation, but the other kids were already getting up and making their way out. Zack followed them reluctantly, wishing he had something else on. He could feel the string from his bonnet digging into the skin under his chin. Kelly had tied it securely.

Once they were seated at the picnic table, Gran placed bowls of soup in front of them, accompanied by buttered brown bread. Zack picked up his spoon and tasted the soup, which was hot and thick, more like a stew.

Greasy but not bad.

“Hang on, jackrabbits – these babies need bibs over their dresses,” Gran proclaimed.

Kim walked into the trailer and emerged carrying four white cotton bibs. Kelly and Kim quickly tied them over the kids’ chests.

The bread tasted homemade. Zack, Maddy, Sam and Elaine set about eating their dinners in silence, amidst the tinking and scraping of spoons on ceramic.

After a few minutes, Gran cleared her throat and addressed the table. “Has everyone done their BM in their baby nappies?”

Maddy, Sam and Zack slowly nodded their heads. Elaine fixed her gaze on the remains of her soup.

“I guess you’re too old and sophisticated, Elaine? Big girl clothes giving you big girl ideas? Well, we’ll see if a little castor oil can put you back in your place.”

Elaine fixed Gran with an adversarial face and said, “I’m not going to eat it, Gran.”

Gran chuckled. “Obstinate girl! You already have. All of you have. It’s in the soup!”

Elain’s mouth fell open.

“Now off with you, babies, go and get your nappies changed and then get into your little beds. I can’t wait to hear how you’ve slept in the morning.”

Gran pushed back from the table and walked back to her old, cracked recliner.

Kelly stood up. “You heard Gran, girls. Zack, stay here and collect the dishes. Elaine can help, since she’s not getting her diaper changed tonight.”

Maddy and Sam looked at each other, got up from the table, and headed to their bedroom. Zack stood and started collecting bowls and cutlery. He waited for the younger girls to leave with Kelly and Kim, and then addressed Elaine in a whisper.

“Elaine, you should see if you can go, even a little, and then they’ll change your diaper so you won’t have to go to bed wet.”

Elaine shook her head. “No, I can’t Zack – I can’t do it.”

“You’re going to be so uncomfortable, Elaine.”

Elaine looked away, and started stacking dishes on the counter.

After a few minutes, Sam and Maddy came walking out, Sam in a pink babydoll dresses, Maddy still in the one Kelly had given her.

“Maddy and I are done, Zack – it’s your turn.”

Zack nodded and walked up the hall. Gran was sitting in her chair, being illuminated by Wheel Of Fortune on an old TV that looked like a piece of furniture. She watched him walk past.

When Zack got into their bedroom, Kelly and Kim were both waiting. He made his way to the stool at the base of the changing table, and climbed up before awkwardly turning and sitting down. Kelly pressed the mag release to the latch on the back of his panties, and then Kim but her hand on the back of Zack’s head and said “Lay back.” Kelly rolled the nightie up to his chest.

Zack laid back onto the table, which was only long enough to accommodate his torso and the tops of his thighs. The rest of his legs dangled off into space, his heels not quite reaching the top of the steps. Kelly slid his panties down around his ankles, leaving them on, and then she stood up and began opening his safety pins. Kim came up next to her, holding a box of wipes, and then Kelly put an arm under his knees and raised his legs until they were almost on his chest. Kim began the cleanup, while Zack studied the back corners of the ceiling and tried to imagine he was somewhere else.

“Now this is going to be a little chilly, Zack,” Kim said, as she reached above him and pulled down a bottle filled with clear liquid, with a pink cap.

“What’s that?” Zack asked, half to himself.

“Baby oil, sweetie. It helps with diaper rash.”

With that, a trickle of cold oil was drizzled across his bum.

What’s with the weird oils out here?!? Castor oil, baby oil…

Kelly pulled the front of his new diaper up and over him, and then Kim pinned it in place, before his plastic panties were pulled back up and secured. His old diaper hit the bottom of the adjacent pail with a thud, and then he was sitting up and sliding off the end of the table, down onto the stepstool.

Kelly nodded her approval. “Good boy, Zack. I like working at this height better than sitting on your bed. I think when we get home, we’re going to get you a changing table, but something a little, uh, sturdier than this thing.”

It was a statement that didn’t require a response, so Zack made his way out of the room. Kim stuck her head out into the hall and summoned Elaine, who started her gallows walk down the hall as Zack passed by.

If they’re not going to change her, what do they need her for?

A few minutes later, Zack had his answer, when Elaine came walking back out, Kim leading her by the wrist. Tears were in the corners of her eyes, her pacifier was back in her mouth, and she was wearing a light blue babydoll dress. On her hands were Zack’s tamper mitts.

Gran laughed when she saw the mitts. “Oh, you got yourself into a bind, didn’t you, little one?”

Kim sat Elaine on the floor and then joined Kelly in the kitchen, preparing bottles for the kids to take to bed with them. They handed them out and then Kim took Elaine by the wrist and stood her up, leading her back to the bedroom. Kelly motioned for the other kids to follow.

Once they were in their room, Kelly passed them their pacifiers, and told them to get into their beds. Kim turned off the lamp in the corner by unplugging it from the wall, and they both backed out the door into the hallway.

“Sleep tight, girls….” Kim said as she pulled the door closed. The kids heard the lock being clicked into place on the latch mounted high on the other side of the door, and then footsteps receding down the hall.