Published: July 1st 2023, 12:00:04 pm
"Are you excited to see Daddy, sweetie?" Bernice smiled down at Jane, who had been sitting patiently in her carseat, happily suckling her pacifier.
"Dad...dy?" Jane shifted in her seat, frowning slightly, the movement making the straps holding her in place rub against the soggy diaper she was wearing through her shortalls, and the white fuzzy onesie beneath them, as her Velcro sneakers swung back and forth beneath her at an increasing pace.
"Yes, of course, silly," Bernice chuckled. "He's coming home early, remember?"
That didn't quite seem right... She had a Mommy, of course, who dressed her for daycare, and breastfed her, like she had before she'd been picked up to go to daycare, and changed her diapers... But a Daddy? Jane sucked harder and harder, trying to work through the fog in her mind that made it so easy for her to be a happy baby, ever since the birthday party, when Mommy had shown everybody that a baby was all Jane could ever be...
"Haww...ison?" Jane blinked, the name coming to her seemingly out of nowhere, like a long-forgotten dream.
"That's right!" Bernice beamed proudly. "He's going to be waiting for you after I pick you up after daycare! Won't that be fun? Although, I know Melba will miss having such a sweet little playmate..."
"Harrison is coming home today!" Janet squealed, everything suddenly snapping back into place. So much of the last few days felt fuzzy to her, after the birthday party... Or, more specifically, Lexi changing her messy diaper, right there, in front of everyone, as they cooed at her, laughed, took pictures, her former friends and co-workers all seeing what a baby she had become, and she realized there was no more point pretending she was anything else.
It had been easier this way, less stressful... Until now, as she looked out the open car door, past Bernice, and saw the daycare she was about to be put into, that her husband was going to be picking her up from in a matter of hours. She couldn't let him see her this way! Not him, too! She whimpered, shaking her head, but Bernice was already plucking her from the carseat, resting her on her hip and carrying her towards the daycare.
"What's wrong?" Bernice asked, giving her a bounce. "You're awfully fussy this morning!"
Janet sniffed, shook her head. Bernice wasn't going to listen to her, to help her out, so there was no point making a scene here, no matter how panicked she was starting to feel. Of course, once she was inside the daycare, it was clear there would be no escape from in there, either, as the workers took her from Bernice, telling her how much they were going to miss her, stripping her out of her shortalls so she wouldn't get too warm before putting her into a baby walker to bob helplessly in place, surrounded by bright, cheery buttons and toys she could press or spin to make them light up or play music.
She knew what all of them did; she'd spent a lot of time in there since the party, and it had kept her occupied very well. Today, however, it wasn't going to do the trick... She had to figure out a way to put an end to this, to keep Harrison from discovering how she'd been spending her spring break.
But... How? The thought of telling the workers here, after everything they'd seen her do, was horrifying... And would they even believe her?! That might be worse, confessing it all, then having them right it off as a childish fantasy... She had to do something!
Stuck in the walker, however, there truly wasn't much she could do, other than let herself be fed bottles of Lexi's breast milk for lunch before getting a diaper change, getting tucked in for a nap. She'd hoped to stay up, that she'd be able to think more clearly outside of the humiliating walker, yet, unfortunately, almost as soon as the lights were dimmed, she felt herself beginning to drift off.
"No," she groaned to herself, fighting her instincts. She had to think, to find a way to keep Harrison from seeing her like this!
"Come on, Jane," the worker scolded her quietly, stroking her hair. "You've been so good lately... You don't want your last day to end on a bad note, do you? You know you have to be quiet so everyone can get some rest."
And, within a couple minutes, Janet herself was fast asleep, worries completely forgotten. She wanted to tell the workers to leave her out of the walker when she was done, but when she was taken directly to the changing table, she was too embarrassed to say anything, and wasn't able to remedy that in time before being slid back into the seat and left there.
She was still wracking her brain fruitlessly when Bernice arrived to pick her up, no better off than when she'd dropped her there hours earlier. Janet's stomach fell at the sight of her across the room, kneeling down to give Melba a hug first, shocked to see that her time was already up. This couldn't be happening! Harrison was now only a short car ride away, and she was no closer to getting out of her diapers, or her infantile outfit, nor to having a good way to explain either.
"Are you ready?" Bernice asked her when she came over to pick her up.
"No!" Janet sniffled.
"Aww," Bernice put her hand to her heart. "So sweet... You're going to miss it, aren't you?"
That wasn't it at all, though Janet couldn't tell her that, couldn't admit the truth while Bernice was putting the shortalls back onto her, leading her around to say goodbye, and thanks, to each of the workers, who gave her a hug and a diaper pat before sending her on her way.
The ride home had never felt shorter, nor had arriving there ever made Janet feel worse, more like she was going to throw up as she saw another car sitting in the driveway, behind her own, which hadn't left its spot in months. She didn't recognize it, but surely it was Harrison's rental. Her diaper warmed in fear as Bernice unbuckled her, got her out, putting the diaper bag over her shoulder and leaving her there, on her front lawn, to face the inevitable.
Janet's hands clutched the strap of the diaper bag as she peered down at herself, at the ridiculous clothes she was wearing. Maybe she could take them all off, throw them into the outside trash can... But she knew that was silly, because it wasn't like showing up naked would be much better, and she had even less of a good explanation for that.
She could at least hide the pacifier, she thought, unclipping the leash from the front of her shortalls, blushing as she realized she'd still been sucking on the paci before she pulled it out of her mouth, stashing the whole thing into the bib pocket. How much of a difference would it really make? She wasn't sure, especially after she looked at herself again, nose wrinkling as she noted how much her diaper bulged out, how obvious it seemed, to her, that she was wearing it.
If she was quick enough, maybe she could waddle her way past him, up to their room, and get changed... Unless he was unpacking, but hopefully he'd be relaxing in the living room, and wouldn't ask too many questions about why she didn't stop by to say hi to him after so long apart.
She took a deep breath, looking in her diaper bag, finding her keys there, along with her phone and her wallet, as well as the usual changing supplies. Knowing that the longer she dawdled in the yard, the more chances there were of him spotting her there, before she even had any hope of making it to her closet, she forced her legs to move, to carry her towards the door, unlocking it, letting herself in, toddling as fast as her tiny legs would take her, though, unfortunately, that took her right past the living room.
She didn't want to risk seeing him there, locking eyes, yet she couldn't help herself, had to glance over so she'd have an idea of if he might be in their room instead. He wasn't in the living room... Neither, to her surprise, were her baby toys, or her playpen, all of which she'd forgotten to be anxious about earlier, not that she could have done anything about them from daycare. Perhaps Lexi had taken some mercy on her and cleaned all that up herself...
"Janet?"
A bolt of fear ran up Janet's spine, freezing her in her tracks, making her spin around, seeing an older, tall woman smiling, walking towards her. It wasn't Harrison, which was a relief, but she didn't know who it actually was, who was lurking around her house uninvited... Nor what she was going to do about it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," the woman stopped. "Didn't Harrison tell you I was coming over?" Janet gave her head a small shake, though it had been quite a while since she'd looked at her phone, so she had no clue if he had or not. "Poor thing," the woman said, clicking her tongue. "I didn't mean to spook you! Harrison was so sure you'd be home when I arrived, but I couldn't find you anywhere! I'm Aunt Ingrid. It's so good to finally meet you!"
Janet was pulled into a hug, slowly recalling that Harrison had told her Ingrid would be at the family vacation, although if he'd mentioned her coming to visit them afterwards, it had slipped her mind.
"I-It's nice to meet you, too," Janet replied politely. "I-Is Harrison here, too?"
"Did he not tell you that, either?" Ingrid sighed. "Honestly, that boy... No, his and Hazel's plane was delayed, but they should be here by Friday. Luckily, I had an earlier flight, so here I am! I hope you don't mind."
"Oh, no, of course not," Janet forced a smile.
"That's a very cute little outfit you have," Ingrid observed, Janet squirming as she felt the woman looking at it, at her. "Very... youthful." Janet blushed, knowing exactly what the subtext of that was, that 'childish' or 'babyish' would be more accurate, yet much less polite. "What have you been up to today?"
"O-Oh, I..." Janet gulped, feeling her diaper warming further, imagining having to confess the truth to her Aunt Ingrid, telling her she'd spent most of it bobbing up and down in a baby walker, sucking her paci.
"Babysitting?" Ingrid ventured a guess.
Janet blinked. "Huh?" That was certainly not a possibility she'd considered for a cover story.
Ingrid smiled. "The diaper bag," she pointed out. "I assume that's why you have that."
"R-Right," Janet nodded, holding the bag closet to herself. "Well... D-Do you mind if I go get changed? We can talk more afterwards, but you know how taking care of babies is, I'm sure... I feel so sticky and gross..."
"I'm so sorry!" Ingrid said. "Go ahead! You must be so tired... Here, let me take that diaper bag for you, and you go get yourself all cleaned up."
Janet couldn't think of any justification to keep the bag, so she handed it over, headed off to her room, doing her very best to keep from waddling despite the thick, swollen diaper between her thighs. As soon as she was through her bedroom door, she closed it quickly, breathing a huge sigh of relief.
She had a little longer before Harrison got there... That would be good, even if she was stuck entertaining Aunt Ingrid, who she didn't know at all. She toddled over to her bed, unbuckling her shortalls, letting them fall to the floor and stepping out of them, falling backwards onto her bed with a squish, relaxing for a moment, then reaching for the snaps of her onesie, wrinkling her nose as she fumbled for them, the bulk of her soaked diaper putting them just out of arm's length from her position, earning a groan of annoyance from her. Much as she hated to admit it, having someone else to dress and undress her was quite convenient.
She didn't realize how long it was taking, how frustrating it was, how much she was mumbling to herself about it, until she heard a knock at the door, startling her as she stood there, right after tossing the onesie aside, standing there in only her wet diaper, frilly ankle socks and Velcro sneakers. "Everything all right in there?" Ingrid asked.
"Y-Yes!" she squeaked, embarrassed to be standing there, dressed this way, with the woman so close, right on the other side of the door. "Give me five minutes!"
"Okay, honey!" Ingrid called back.
Janet hurriedly toddled to her closet, grabbing a dress, knowing that would be quick and easy, then heading to her dresser, pulling open her underwear drawer. Panties had been risky even before spring break, and she didn't want to have an accident in front of Ingrid, but, at the same time, she didn't want the woman to see her in a diaper, either, so she'd have to be extra careful, and hope the last few days of total regression hadn't wrecked her potty training further.
Unfortunately, all she could see in her underwear drawer after she pulled it open was more diapers, piles of them, decorated in baby prints, just like the one she was currently wearing. On top of them was a note. 'I think it's best if you stay in diapers for a while,' it read, signed 'Lexi' with a heart over the i.
She cursed under her breath, though the worst she could think of was a very mild, "Dang it!" as she stomped her foot, which immediately got a, "You okay?" from the other side of the door.
"Yes!" she answered. "Just another minute!"
With no other choice, she quickly changed into a dry diaper, pulling the dress over top of it, pulling on a pair of sandals just as the door began to open. "All dressed?"
"Yes!" Janet told Ingrid, rushing to the door and ushering Harrison's Aunt through it before she could see the discarded baby clothes scattered across the room, resolving to deal with them later, leading her back to the living room to make idle chit-chat. Janet did feel a little better, being out of clothes that were explicitly babyish, and being talked to like an adult, although she certainly wasn't comfortable enough to tell Ingrid what had been going on the last couple of weeks, or even before then, when Hazel had been around.
"Why don't we go get some dinner?" Ingrid suggested, and Janet was happy to agree, sending Ingrid off to start her car while she grabbed her purse, putting her keys, phone, and wallet from the diaper bag into it, then slipping in an extra diaper and some powder, just in case.
Janet was still feeling pretty good until they arrived at the restaurant and the hostess smiled at her sweetly, ignoring her as she tried to signal that they needed a table for two, turning, instead, to Ingrid. "She's so cute!" she exclaimed. "Will she be needing a high chair?"
Janet's fingers tightened around the hem of her skirt, her cheeks darkening in shame as she felt herself dribbling into her diaper, afraid of what Ingrid was going to say if she didn't speak up, which she couldn't bring herself to do. Thankfully, she didn't need to answer, because Ingrid did it for her. "This woman is an adult, young lady," she snapped.
"M-My apologies," the hostess said, grabbing a pair of menus and meekly escorting them to their table.
The waitress didn't make the same mistake, though whether it was because she knew Janet was a grown-up already, or because she'd been warned by the hostess, Janet didn't know. Once they'd ordered, however, Ingrid blind-sided Janet again. "Did you and Harrison adopt a baby?"
Janet's eyes widened. "H-Huh?"
"I understand if you want it to be a surprise for the rest of the family," Ingrid told her. "I do think he should have let me know before he invited me, though, just so I could bring a gift."
"B-But..." Janet shook her head, confused.
"You don't have to be coy with me," Ingrid smiled. "While I was waiting for you, I did a little exploring and saw the nursery. I have to know, where did you get those diapers from? They're so adorable, and I don't recognize the prints!" Janet stayed silent, her diaper warming further beneath her. "Wait... Are you pregnant? Have you not told Harrison yet?! Oh, goodness! This is so exciting! Is it a boy or a girl? Do you know?"
Janet was feeling overwhelmed, even before she wriggled in her seat, frowning, reaching down, between her legs, and feeling a wetness there. She was leaking! She hadn't realized she was that wet yet! She'd known there were a few trickles while she was talking to Ingrid, but she'd felt so mature, relatively speaking, so adult, that she hadn't paid attention... And now she'd soaked through her diaper!
"I-I need to go to the pot... the bathroom..." she mumbled.
Ingrid furrowed her brow. "Are you all right, honey?"
Janet nodded, bolted to the bathroom, locking the door behind herself, wincing as she looked at the mirror, turning, seeing a large wet spot on the back of her dress. Reluctantly, she lifted her dress, examining her sodden diaper, confirming there was no way it would be able to take anymore.
"Janet?" Ingrid knocked on the door. "Are you in there?" Janet couldn't answer, couldn't speak. "Please let me in, honey. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been poking around."
Janet didn't know what to do. She had felt so big around Ingrid, in a way she hadn't in so long... But she had no idea how she was going to get out of this mess now. Reluctantly, she unlocked the door, letting Ingrid in, standing by, staring at the floor. "What happened?" Ingrid asked gently.
"I-I had an accident," Janet sniffed, feeling tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
"It's all right," Aunt Ingrid assured her, stepping closer. "Why don't we get this dress off of you, and we'll get you cleaned up, and..."
Janet's hands clung to the hem of her skirt as Ingrid reached for it, shuffling away with a fearful, "No..." like a scared child.
"It's okay, Janet," Ingrid said. "Let me see." Janet closed her eyes, letting go of the dress, knowing it was inevitable, feeling it being lifted up over her head, leaving her standing there in the bathroom in her diaper.
"I-I've been having accidents a lot lately," she confessed, able to see Ingrid's confusion, even through her closed eyelids.
"Oh, Janet," Ingrid gave her a hug. "It's going to be okay. Let's see... Do you have anything you can change into?"
Janet gulped, opening up her purse and taking out the spare diaper. Ingrid nodded, taking it, then scooped Janet up, carrying her over to the changing table on the wall. Janet's tears began to speed up as she was laid down, Aunt Ingrid starting to change her. She'd really hoped things were going to get better, but now, she felt like she was slipping further still into babyhood, as she was powdered and snugly diapered.
"There we go, nice and dry," Ingrid smiled, Janet fidgeting as she sat up in just her clean diaper. "You know, I think I have an idea... But if you'd rather go home, we can do that."
"N-No," Janet wiped her eyes, grateful to have someone more clever than her to get her out of this. "L-Let me get dressed, and we can eat, and..." She frowned, watching Ingrid slip the dress into her purse. "W-Wait..."
She squirmed as Ingrid picked her up, cuddling her bare chest into her side. "Play along," she instructed. "It's going to be all right."
Before Janet could speak up, they were out the door, back in the restaurant proper. She whimpered, trying to burrow deeper into the woman, to hide her bare flesh. "I think we'll need a high chair after all," Ingrid told their waitress. "And a bib as well, if you don't mind."
"Ingrid!" Janet protested, though she was so scared, she wasn't certain any sounds actually escaped her mouth. The waitress returned quickly, putting the high chair into place while Ingrid tied the bib, fortunately big enough to cover most of her chest, around Janet's neck before buckling her into the chair, locking the tray into place. Janet looked around the room in horror, wiggling in just her bib and diaper, already growing wet again beneath her.
"Ingrid," she hissed. "C-Can we go? I-I don't..."
"And here we are!" the waitress placed a plate of food in front of Ingrid, Janet's mouth watering at the sight of it, thinking of how long it had been since she'd gotten to eat grown-up food. She'd ordered the same thing, so it ought to be just as good...
Except, when hers arrived, it was a collection of small bowls filled with mush, along with a baby bottle of milk. She opened her mouth to protest she'd gotten the wrong thing, only to realize the mushes were the same colors as the things on Ingrid's plate. They'd given her the same thing, just in the form they thought she needed. She was so embarrassed, so resigned, that she didn't notice as Ingrid requested, "Could you bring her a spoon?", simply reaching in with her fingers and starting to eat.
Ingrid watched, surprised at first, chuckling, then, when Janet attempted to unscrew the top of her bottle to have some milk, only to discover her fingers were too messy, instructing, "Just use the nipple, sweetie."
Janet pouted at Ingrid, though, by this point, it seemed pointless to pretend. She held her bottle with both hands to keep it from slipping out of her messy grip and drank, continuing to eat, making quite a mess of her hands, her face, her bib, finishing up just as the waitress returned, setting the spoon down on the tray, Janet's face turning bright red as she saw that, if she'd waited, she could have kept at least a bit of her dignity... But it was too late for that.
Ingrid did do her best to clean Janet up, though there was little she could do to make her feel like an adult again tonight, especially as she toddled out past the hostess, soggy diaper on full display. It had been a very, very long day, between fretting over Harrison's imminent arrival and discovery of her, to being her aunt's pretend baby at dinner, and Janet was exhausted by it all, and utterly mortified at the roller coaster she'd been through, so it was hardly a surprise that she fell fast asleep on the car ride home.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ingrid did have to wonder if she'd made the right call or not; walking out of the restaurant would have been embarrassing, too, she knew, so she'd thought perhaps leaning into it, pretending Janet was a child, would be better in a way. She wasn't certain if it had been or not, though she hoped Janet would forgive her if it wasn't.
She peered over to ask the girl's opinion, only to smile, seeing the girl curled up, thumb in her mouth. She really was quite adorable, Ingrid had to admit... And she looked perfectly natural like this, playing the role of a toddler. She drove as slowly as she dared, not wanting to go over any unnecessary bumps that might wake Janet up, pulling into the driveway and gently unbuckling her, carrying her inside, feeling, as she did, that Janet's diaper was wet once more.
She didn't want to leave her in it any longer than she had to, so she carried her past the master bedroom, into the nursery she'd found, laying her out on the changing table, which she fit onto perfectly. The girl stirred slightly as she did, Ingrid cooing, "It's all right, sweetie... Just sleep."
Janet obeyed, eyes staying closed while Ingrid cleaned her up, taped her into a fresh diaper, then walked over to the closet. She chuckled as she opened the door, looking at the array of baby girl clothing, the packages of packages of diapers waiting in there. She probably ought to take her back to her room, yes... But she couldn't resist the fuzzy pink sleeper she saw hanging up there.
"It's just one night," she told herself. And, as she slid Janet into it, she found that her nephew's wife fit into it perfectly as well... And into the crib, too, Ingrid smiling as she watched her in there, swaddled in her infantile sleeper, thumb in her mouth, looking like she was exactly where she belonged.