Published: November 4th 2020, 3:00:03 pm
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Janet grumbled under her breath. This was letting Bernice see her even longer, giving her more chances to take pictures and videos to show her former co-workers, and admitting to her that she was little better than a toddler, needing her help... But she knew that she did.
What was she going to do against those college students on her own?! She was no match for them like this. Maybe, on a normal day, out of diapers, she could have threatened to go get a lifeguard or something, and tell them about how her seat had been stolen, and that might be enough to send them scattering, but now... There was no way she was going to intimidate them when she was crawling around in a dirty diaper, unable to so much as stand up.
"Wait!" she called out, crawling desperately towards Bernice, trying not to lose her in the crowd. Down on her hands and knees, it was hard to get a good view of anything more than a bunch of feet and legs. "Bernice, hold on!" she cried, not knowing, for sure, if the woman could hear or, or was bothering to listen, though she took out her pacifier to give herself the best chance.
Thankfully, after a few tense moments, weaving her way through the sea of legs, she found a couple pairs that weren't moving, glancing up to find Bernice there, arms crossed, looking down at her. "What, Janet?" she asked. "There's nothing you're going to do, or say, that's going to make me delete those pictures."
"I know, I know," Janet shook her head, trying to get to her feet, to feel a little less overwhelmed by the height difference between them, only to be thwarted by her diaper's bulk. She whined, holding up her hand, attempting to get help, but Bernice left her hanging, forcing her to stay on the ground, helpless.
"Then what do you want?" Bernice demanded.
Janet blushed, removing the pacifier once more, and wishing it was still there for her to nibble anxiously on. "I-I need your help with something else," she admitted.
"I told you, I don't have any spare diapers," Bernice reminded her. "I can't change you."
"Th-That's not it, either!" Janet insisted, no matter how nice a clean, fresh diaper sounded, despite who it came from, at this point.
"Well, I'm not sure what else I can do for you," Bernice said.
"I-I need your Mommy skills," Janet mumbled.
"For what?" Bernice arched an eyebrow. "And why can't your Mommy do it?"
"It's complicated!" Janet sighed. "But I need you to do it, or I could be in really big trouble..."
"You don't think you're already going to be in trouble for making such a big mess in your Pampers?" Bernice teased.
Janet cheeks darkened further. "Th-They already know that... B-But I was supposed to stay in my beach chair, a-and when I was up and talking to you, it got stolen, a-and..."
"What?" Bernice knelt down, finally looking Janet in the face, rather than forcing her to crane her neck upwards to see hers. "You don't think they're going to take you seriously? I can't imagine why not..." She gave the other woman's giant diaper a swat. "And why should I do this for you?"
That was the part Janet hadn't worked out yet... She really had nothing to offer Bernice. She already had evidence of this to show off to the other people at the office, and she could easily do that at any time, with no need for Janet's permission. Janet didn't work with her anymore, so she couldn't suggest covering shifts for her, or looking the other way if she wanted to duck out early, or anything... Harrison's wealth might have come in handy, but Janet had none of it with her, even her checkbook, and there was no reason for Bernice to believe she'd follow through on paying her off later.
"W-Well..." Janet's mind raced. "Umm..."
To her surprise, it was the woman's daughter who spoke up next. "But Mommy!" she tugged at the woman's hand. "She's just a baby... Wouldn't it be mean for us not to help her?"
Janet didn't like that Melba had said 'us', as if she was so much more grown-up and mature than Janet that it was her responsibility to look after her, too, but, with nothing better to say herself, she stayed silent, nodding. Bernice glared at her, eyes narrowing, then softened as she turned back towards the little girl. "That's a very good point, sweetie," she said. "We'd be almost as bad as the bullies if we didn't help stand up for the people they're picking on, wouldn't we? All right, Janet, where's your chair?"
Janet held her hand up again, and, reluctantly, Bernice took it this time, helping her to her feet, keeping ahold of it so Janet could toddle her way back around the pool. Janet felt bad, hogging Bernice's hand, the other carrying her bag, and leaving Melba to walk on her own, but she stuck close to her mother, not appearing to mind, probably thinking it was obvious that the one still in diapers needed more attention. Janet wished that wasn't true, not knowing how many years she had on the kid, other than that it could be measured in decades, surely; unfortunately, it was, at least at the moment. She was glad when they approached the destination, and she could point out her beach chair, still occupied, hopefully bringing an end to this humiliation.
"Excuse me?" Bernice said loudly, in her best 'mom' voice, one that made even Janet squirm. "Is this your chair?"
Janet saw one of the girls wince, her cheeks turning a bit pink, but the others didn't look bothered at all, probably thinking that they were too old to be intimidated by some random lady with two kids. "Yeah," the other girl spoke up, "it is. Do you have some problem with that?"
Janet was definitely glad she hadn't come here on her own... The girl was tall, young, pretty, confident... Next to her, Janet wouldn't have stood a chance, diaper or not. Bernice, on the other hand, didn't miss a beat.
"You do know this is the shallow end, don't you?" she sniffed. "This area is mostly for kids, and their mothers... Do you feel good about taking up one of the few empty seats around here from them? Poor Janet here has been waddling around in a dirty diaper for quite a while now because I can't find anywhere to sit and change her!"
Janet blushed, not liking that Bernice had used her real name, or was bringing that up, staring down at her feet bashfully.
"I should make one of you do it," Bernice threatened, although Janet wasn't sure if that was meant to be more scary for her or them. "Do you not know how to swim? Is that why you're down here? Or do you just like making things more difficult for people who are already trying to wrangle their children, and keep an eye on them, and...?"
"Let's just move," one of the boys spoke up.
"No," the girl snapped. "We have as much of a right to be here as she does... If we wanted, we could take up a whole row of chairs, but we're being nice and only using one."
"W-Well," the other, quiet, girl pointed out, "th-there was only one..."
"Shut up, Daisy," her friend glared at her. "Maybe we don't know how to swim. What would you say to that? Do you think we deserve to have to go over to the deep end and risk drowning so you can change your little baby's diaper in peace?"
"I think," Bernice stepped closer, voice growing a bit chillier, "that maybe some time in diapers might do you some good, too, young lady. You see her?" Bernice gave Janet's bottom a swat, nearly making her tumble over until she grabbed her hand again. "She used to be a uppity little brat like you, too... Take a good look; she isn't a toddler. I could do the same to you... Is that what you want?"
Janet's stomach churned, the attention of the college kids firmly on her now, studying her face, probably having mostly overlooked her until now. She knew that it hadn't been Bernice who had done this to her, but they didn't...
"You wouldn't dare," the girl smirked.
But all Bernice had to do was start to reach into her bag to send even her scrambling. "F-Fine!" she huffed, gathering up her things. "It's boring over here anyway!"
"It's too bad I don't actually have any diapers with me," Bernice chuckled, watching them scurry off. "That actually might have been fun. But, here you go." She set Janet down in the beach chair. "All yours."
"Th-Thank you," Janet blushed. "I-I don't know what I would have done without you..."
"Well, it wouldn't have been very nice of me to leave a baby like you to defend herself," Bernice shrugged, setting her bag down next to the seat. "I guess that really is what you are, huh? Maybe I should stay here and look after you until your Mommy comes back."
"N-No, you don't have to do that!" Janet answered automatically, shaking her head, though, a moment later, visions of Bernice possibly giving Hazel and Kenzi the same dressing down she'd used on those college kids began dancing through her mind. That would certainly be entertaining... Of course, that also ran the risk of her telling them who Janet really was, and she still wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or not.
"Hmm," Bernice raised an eyebrow. "Well, is there anything else you need, while I'm here, then? It doesn't look like you have anything to drink, and I wouldn't want you getting dehydrated."
Janet bit her bottom lip, hating how much she was missing her paci, and waiting for the moment when she could stop talking and pop it back in. She glanced down at Bernice's bag, sitting right next to the beach chair... The phone was right inside. Would Bernice take the bag with her, if she sent her off on a little errand? Or would she leave it there, and give Janet a chance to dispose of the evidence, however she could? She might have accidentally made the best choice she could have, asking for the woman's help...
But was it really worth it? She was on Bernice's good side now, to some extent... Should she really run the risk of changing that? She knew the threats against the college kids had been empty, however, that didn't mean the woman wouldn't find some way to make her miserable if she realized Janet was trying to play her.
"Come on, Janet," Bernice said. "I know Melba is anxious to get in the pool, so if you don't need anything, I'd like to get to that."
"Hold on," Janet's mind was furiously running through the possibilities. Getting a drink would probably require some money, and Bernice had to be keeping that in her bag... Maybe Janet would be able to snag the phone before she left, but that would be risky. The vending machines weren't terribly close, so if she pulled it off, she'd have a little time with the phone.
Then again, there was still the towel... It would be nice to be able to hide her diaper with it, and she could truthfully tell Zella she hadn't gotten it herself... And there would be no reason for Bernice to take the bag with her to get it. It wasn't that far away, though, so if she did that, there wouldn't be time to try to guess the woman's passcode or anything... She'd have to toss it into the pool if she wanted to be certain to stop Bernice from showing off the picture.
Or... Maybe she should take Bernice up on her offer, have her stick around and talk to Hazel and Kenzi. She had no idea how that conversation was going to go, but it might be worth a shot... Or it could end up making things at home even worse.
She looked up at Bernice, seeing her impatience starting to show, knowing she had to make a decision soon. What should she do?
Ask for Bernice to get her a drink, and try to sneak the phone out of her bag?
Ask Bernice to fetch the towel for her, and throw the phone into the pool?
Ask Bernice to wait with her until Hazel and Kenzi get back?
Or tell Bernice she's fine as she is, and to go enjoy her time at the pool with Melba?