When I heard the sound of the car in the driveway, I hurried to shift the couch back into its usual place. Scrubbing the carpet with cleaning products had made the puddle larger than we thought, and then I'd decided that it was better to push the couch aside so that the towel could cover the whole thing. It was dry now, of course; and the towel was in the laundry hamper under the ones I had used for my shower. It smelled of fruity, soapy stuff, but that wouldn't have been any clue even if Mum sniffed it. My sister's little secret was safe now. I'd done everything else I promised as well, including putting clean covers back on the cushions. So when they returned, the only thing left to do was putting the couch back in its usual place. It was heavy, but there were little impressions in the carpet where it had sat for so long, so as soon as it was nearly there it just slid back into the right place.
I'd washed their lunch dishes as well, to make the kitchen tidier. And I was halfway through folding up the clean clothes from the washing machine as well. I might still be working when they returned, but Mum knew I'd needed to wash some stuff after so many days of blazing sun. Maybe she'd be happy that I'd done it, and give me a little reward. I knew I should go back into the laundry room and finish with the folding and ironing, but I was exhausted now and my energy just evaporated. I stepped from the lounge into the hallway, and then leaned against the door for a second to get my breath back.
"...like she didn't have any friends there." That was Mum's voice, coming closer up the path. I could only guess from the sentence fragment, but I assumed she was talking about me. Tagging along to a barbecue with my sister's crush, all of her new friends, and many of their parents. There hadn't been any real reason for me to be there, save to give Mum an excuse to go so that she could take a little break from the household chores. I was sure she would appreciate it, but it sounded like she was worried about me as well.
"Oh, I know why Sally wanted to come," Lindy said with a little giggle. I didn't know what she was going to say; because I was sure she hadn't heard my earlier comments about her attraction to this Niall girl, and wouldn't even have thought about my excuses to get us all out of the house. She wouldn't tell the truth, would she? That was beyond belief, and there was no advantage to her. "I worked it out. But promise you won't tell her I said."
"Does she know someone in that neighbourhood? Somebody who could have been there? Because I know she's been a bit more energetic lately, and if I didn't know better..."
"Oh no. Nothing like that, unless you count Hugo. She finally got an excuse to spend time with him."
"But he wouldn't be all the way over in–"
"No. But Sally wanted an excuse to get us out of the house. So when I said Niall was having a party she was pushing me right out the door. Said she'd catch up with me in five minutes, like she's got something to hide. I bet you anything baby Sally had an accident again, and she thought if we're both out she might be able to change her diaper without telling you."
"Sally wouldn't–" Mum started, but she didn't sound as confident as I would have hoped. And I couldn't believe that Lindy would tell such an outrageous lie. What was she even thinking? I could hear them so clearly now; they'd stopped on the doorstep. Was this Lindy's attempt to delay Mum, making it less likely their arrival would take me by surprise? If it was, then she had to know that this wasn't the right approach. But she'd shifted the blame onto me preemptively, and if I made the same accusation it would seem like I was the one lying.
"You emptied the bins this morning, didn't you? So if there's a diaper in the bin in her room, you'll know she got changed after I left."
"She said she needed to change. Playing basketball is sweaty work, and she needed a shower. So I know there'll be one there."
"A wet one?"
"Well, I doubt that very much. But I might check, and if I find one I promise I won't say anything. It could be entirely my own suspicion, after all. Does that satisfy you?"
There was a pause of a few seconds, and I heard the key in the door. I pushed myself away from where I was leaning and strode quickly back towards the laundry room.
"Of course, I might not need to check," Mum's voice wasn't so clear as I left the room, but I could hear her last words. That made me feel more confident that she trusted me, until I heard the very next thing she said: "I know Sally pretty well, and I've seen how she reacts. If she's feeling guilty about something she'll try to get in my good books in advance. Maybe cleaning up the kitchen, or similar contribution to the chores. That's when I need to wonder what she's been up to."
I froze, almost panicked now. I was in the laundry room, with a bag full of clean clothes and three separate piles of neatly stacked and folded outfits, carefully ironed for the ones that needed it. The kitchen was spotless, and the lounge had clearly just been vacuumed. Was that because I was feeling guilty? To me it just meant that I'd wanted to show that I could take care of things. But I couldn't deny that I felt bad about everything I'd put my sister through, especially conditioning her to the point that the sound of the TV in the background could make her wake up embarrassed.
"So will you make her–" Lindy said, and then went silent. The door closed behind them, and I could imagine Mum shushing her even if I couldn't hear it from where I was standing. She had more awareness than Lindy, and must have been able to hear the hissing of the iron letting off steam; that or she could smell the faint traces of laundry detergent on the air, and knew where I would be after doing the laundry.
"Sally? We're home. Thanks for cleaning up!" She came into the laundry room right away, and gave me a gentle hug. Maybe my sudden anxiety was on display, because she whispered "Good baby" once she was close enough for Lindy not to overhear. "We should have a little chat later, so I can tell you how proud I am of my little one."
I was overwhelmed by blushing then, and didn't know what else I could say. She had bought what Lindy told her, and anything I could say to counter the lies would be a confession to eavesdropping, as well as being not at all persuasive. But Mum was so kind, so gentle, and had no problem softly talking down to me until I felt six inches tall, and nothing that happened could possibly be my responsibility.
* * *
I was on the phone to Nadine later in the evening, comparing our days. I couldn't tell her what had happened, but I mentioned how happy I was that she'd come to watch the game. I said something afterwards had been really embarrassing; and hinted that Lindy might have been spreading lies about me again. But I didn't want to tell her the details, and she didn't keep pushing. Nadine could always be trusted like that. We moved on to less controversial topics when I heard Lindy open the door to her room; it was too easy to be overheard in here.
I heard gentle footsteps, and I knew Mum was standing outside. She didn't knock, but I wrapped up the call quickly in any case. So what was she going to say? There was no real pause for thought before there was a knock on my door, and I went over to open it. Once upon a time I might have wondered if she was listening in on me as well, but I knew now that the parental control app would tell her who I was calling and when. For a Mum who never wanted to interrupt me, it was a really useful feature to let her know when I was chatting.
"Hey," I said, trying to put on a brave face. "What's up?"
"Nothing really. You can ask me to leave you alone if you'd rather keep it to yourself. But I can see that you're worrying, and I want you to know I'll always be here for my little girls. Even at your age, you're still my baby. Aren't you?"
I mumbled and blushed, not able to find the right words. Right away, I was nervous. I knew what lies she'd heard, but I couldn't debunk them unless she repeated it. But somehow, when she dealt with me like a little one, the embarrassment wasn't oppressive. I knew that was strange, but there was no other way to explain it. Even if she yelled at me for doing something wrong, even when she'd decided to spank me, it felt more like a gentle rebuke. A reminder that I didn't have to feel bad because nothing was my responsibility. It was the exact opposite of my self-doubt beating me up over any time I didn't act mature enough, or every consequence I didn't plan for. Being told off by Mum was almost comforting.
She wasn't harsh, and she didn't mention any of the things Lindy had said. Perhaps she really had dismissed it, and she'd only pretended otherwise to try giving Lindy a break as well. She teased me a little about the childish clothes I was wearing now; and looked around my room while I showed her the latest little gifts from my friends, trinkets and ornaments that had only sentimental value.
"I don't think these were here last time I came in," she said, pointing at a trio of little figurines playing basketball on the edge of a shelf. They were some pro players, I explained, who he saw as representations of the different styles of me, Chain, and Meghan.
"I'll have to come watch you guys sometime. It's amazing you've turned into such a big girl, with so many skills." Then there was a little pause, and she turned around suddenly. "Actually... I didn't see those this morning. I was doing a little spring cleaning, and I think I might have forgotten to come up here. Of course, everything's pretty tidy up here, and I can see a hundred percent more floor than I can next door. But I shouldn't do the rest of the house and miss you out."
I started to say something about how she didn't need to help me, until I realised what she meant. She had come to empty the waste paper basket under my desk, which was only ever used if I wanted to throw out unpleasant letters from my teachers, or empty Pringles tubes. I hadn't had any snacks up here since the summer started, so it was certain to be already empty. Except that right now, she found it heavy with the weight of a diaper. In a bag of course, to contain the smell, but there was no denying what it was.
"Wait, what?" I gasped in surprise. I'd known Lindy had told Mum something, but I'd never expected this. She must have been planning her lie even before the party; leaving a diaper in my room while I was busy downstairs cleaning up after her. I realised when I thought back that she'd even said "the bin in her room," but I had overlooked that tiny detail.
"Now, what was the rule?" Mum asked. "About if somebody has an accident?"
"Tell you right away," I answered. "I don't know... I mean, I thought she..."
"No," Mum cut me off. "It seems like somebody's been lying to me. And trying to blame your sister for your little accidents as well. I thought you were being kind to her, trying to make her feel like she wasn't alone in her punishments. But perhaps you just wanted to hide your own little problem? Is that it?"
"No, Mum," I said, but I didn't know what I could add. There was nothing else I could say without dropping Lindy in deep trouble. Maybe after everything she had done to me, even when I tried to help her, it would have been justified. But after so long, I knew that I couldn't reveal the truth. It wasn't believable. "I didn't..."
"I might even think you set your sister up. Why would you do that, do you want me to punish you?" And that was the even scarier accusation, because Mum knew that I liked to be babied. If she thought I had been doing this deliberately, she would never respect me again. And I couldn't bear for my sister to hear about how I'd enjoyed being a little kid, or any of my friends. This had gone too far now, and I was finding out that there was no way to stop this train.
"But Lindy–" I gave it one last try.
"Don't blame your sister," Mum snapped. "I could understand being embarrassed, or something like that. But trying to dump your problems on your sister is unacceptable. You two are supposed to be best friends, aren't you? Together against the world? Everything else, I might have overlooked. But I want you to understand that whatever happens, we are a family. We are in this together."
I was terrified then, but there was nothing else I could say. All I could do was turn around for another spanking.