Diapers for Jessica

Chapter 13

"Of course, Mom. I kinda feel I owe it to Jess after what I've done."

"Perhaps. Let's just hope that when Jess gets back, she won't take it the wrong way."

That night, as the dishes were being cleared away and a delicious caramel apple pie was being laid out for dessert, Mrs. Anderson took the envelope from her back pocket and took a deep breath.

"Jessica, honey, this came for you in the mail today," Mrs. Anderson said, handing Jessica the envelope.

"Why didn't Liz hand it to me when she took the mail in this morning? I was sitting right there," Jess inquired as she took the envelope.

"Yes, well..." Liz started.

"There's no need, Elizabeth," Mrs. Anderson chided. Mr. Anderson said nothing during the whole proceeding.

A look of utter shock grew over Jessica's face as she opened the envelope and examined the contents.

"What the hell is this? How did this all happen?"

"Well, Jess," Elizabeth began, stammering at first but then mastering her voice, "I kind of entered you in that contest. That letter came today, announcing that you've been chosen as a semi-finalist."

"And WHY did you enter me?" Jessica demanded. "Do you think I'm some kind of baby or something?"

"Jess," Elizabeth began nervously, "a few weeks back, we were around the house watching TV. As we were making lunch, I caught a glimpse of a white plastic waistband when you bent over to grab something from the fridge. I asked you to hand me the mustard, not believing my eyes, and, sure enough, I saw the waistband of your diaper. When you stood up, I could make out the outline of your diaper beneath your jeans. When I found out about this contest, I thought it would be good for you. You're my sister and my best friend, and I love you. I did this because I want what's best for you."

"Well, surely then you would have noticed that I stopped wearing diapers about two weeks ago," Jess retorted indignantly.

"Yes, Jess, I did notice. I also noticed the other day when you nearly wet your pants because you weren't wearing a diaper and didn't realize you needed to pee until it was almost too late."

Jess had to concede that point. It was true that she nearly wet her pants. This didn't forgive her sister's actions, however. Suddenly she raged at her sister.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU DID," Jess screamed. Her parents and Elizabeth were taken aback. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON IN MY LIFE. AND HERE YOU GO ENTERING ME INTO THIS CONTEST LIKE I'M SOME SORT OF BABY. WELL, I'M NOT GOING! I'M NOT GOING, AND I DON'T WEAR DIAPERS, AND I'M NOT A GODDAMNED BABY. SO STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!!!"

"Your father and I have both decided," Mrs. Anderson began, "that you will be going to this conference, sweetie. It will be good for you. We're not mad at you. We just want to support you. And the reason your sister doesn't know what's going on in your life is the same reason that your father and I don't. You won't tell us. We know that you snuck diapers from the Roberts' while babysitting, and you were a bit careless about hiding the diapers you had bought for yourself. Elizabeth is not the only one to have caught you. But you're missing the point. This is not a punishment. We're trying to help you to figure out what you want and what you need. If you go to this conference and come back deciding you want to be back in diapers, then that's fine by us. Your father, sister, and I will do what we can to accommodate you. If you want to be babied, we'll see what we can do. And if it's just diapers, that's fine as well. But you need to be honest, first with yourself but also with your family. We love you, diapers or not."

At this point, Jessica burst into tears. "I'm not a baby. I'm not a baby. I'm not a baby," she sobbed.

In spite of her words, urine was flooding into her shorts. She only noticed it as she was catching her breath and beginning to calm down. Elizabeth, Mr. Anderson, and Mrs. Anderson all caught each other's eyes and waited for Jess to recognize what she was doing.

Sure enough, no sooner had Jess's breath returned to normal and her heart rate slowed than she realized that she had indeed wet her pants just like the baby she said she wasn't. Horrifically ashamed, she ran upstairs to her room, slammed the door behind her, and flung herself on her bed, not even bothering to put on something dry, crying, utterly ashamed of herself.

"I'm proud of you, Liz," Mr. Anderson said. "It took a lot of courage to do what you did. I just hope, for Jess's sake, that the desired effect is achieved."

"I believe we all do, Dad," Liz remarked.

Upstairs, Jess was an utter disaster. Her emotions were at war with each other. She was horrified and angry with Elizabeth for entering her into that contest, yet she knew she wanted to go. Here was the opportunity she should be longing for, but it had awful timing and even worse delivery. Deep down, she knew that her sister and parents wanted what was best for her, but it was just the way it happened. Here she thought no one knew about her diaper-wearing, but apparently everyone knew. They had known for weeks. It was as if the bigger secret was that Jess's secret wasn't secret at all.

As if that weren't bad enough, just as she finished asserting that she wasn't a baby, Jess realized she was wetting her pants. That was real mature of her, wetting her pants like a three-year-old. Jess just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Yes, crawl. That would be awful fitting for a big baby who needs to be put back in diapers where she belongs.

Despite her incessant sobbing, Jess heard a soft knock at the door. "Go away! I don't want to talk to anyone!"

"Jess, it's your mother."

"I said I don't want to talk to anyone!"

"Jess, I love you. Do you know what you do when you love someone, Jess? You stand by them through thick and thin. If you think I'm going anywhere, you've got another thing coming."