Riddy had mixed feelings as he packed his bag under his mother's supervision. On the one hand, he was quite excited: it would be Christmas in two days. On the other hand, he had some concerns about the upcoming trip to Grandma's house. He loved his grandmother for sure, but he was not looking forward to the way she always treated him like a baby. Also, despite his parents' reassurances, he was a bit nervous about Santa knowing to go to the right place.
Distracted by these thoughts, the young fox tossed a bundle of shirts from his dresser into his bag.
``Now Riddy, you have to pay attention when to do that,'' his mom, Liz, corrected. ``If your clothes are all jumbled, they won't fit as well. Here, let me show you.'' She took the shirts out and rolled each one into a tight sausage shape. She then neatly lined them up in his bag. Riddy followed suit with a few pairs of pants, under his mom's guidance. ``There, that was easy, wasn't it?''
``Yeah, it was!''
``Now, let's make sure we have everything.'' Together they went over a checklist. He had packed shirts, pants, winter clothes, pajamas, toiletries, his Gamecub, CD player, and an extra little bag for snacks. One category of item, which one might expect in an eight-year-old's luggage, was notably missing: underwear. Rather, what Riddy wore in their place was the next item his mom addressed.
``You should pack a couple pullups for the car ride.''
``Okay, mom.'' He rustled through the bag in his bedroom closet. ``There are only four left in here. Should I just take the whole thing?''
``Oh, just two should be fine. Dad picked some up at the store for the visit.''
Riddy put the pullups in his bag and zipped it up. For about five months now, Riddy had worn DryJams brand pullups full-time. While he had originally worn them only for their intended nighttime use, daytime accidents had made the extra protection necessary. At the start of this arrangement, he had made a deal with his parents that he would go back to big kid underwear if he could go a week without a daytime wetting. So far, the longest he had gone was four days, and he rarely made it more than two. Of course, with his protection, he didn't have quite the same obligation to make it to the potty on time. While Riddy had held some hope of getting back into regular underwear for the first few weeks, he no longer really thought about it and pullups had simply become the norm.
``Okie dokie, are we all packed up, then?'' Riddy's dad, Mark, called from downstairs. Riddy looked to his mom, who nodded.
``Yeah, Dad. We'll be down in a minute,'' the kit called back. He zipped up his bag and carried it downstairs. His mom grabbed her own bag on the way down.
``Alright, then. Everyone's packed up. Has everyone gone to the bathroom? If all goes well we're looking at a seven-and-a-half-hour drive so I'm hoping for minimal delays.''
``Yes,'' Riddy and Liz said in unison.
Mark looked at his son. ``Your pullup's dry?''
``Yup,'' Riddy said with a bit of a proud grin.
``Alright then, let's get this show on the road.'' And with that, the family carried their bags out to the car. Riddy's mom strapped him into his booster seat while his dad loaded up the bags: a couple in the trunk and a couple in the rear seat for anything they might need to grab during the trip. Soon they were off. It took about fifteen minute to reach the interstate. Riddy settled in and leaned against his window; the family didn't often make long trips like this, and the young fox liked to watch the countryside go by. For a while he looked out as they went past trees, barns, cow pastures, and the occasional town. Feeling slightly hungry, he reached into his bag and munched on a few sunflower seeds.
``Don't eat too many of those,'' Liz said, looking in the rearview mirror. ``We'll be stopping for lunch at some point.''
``Okay,'' Riddy replied
``So, what's the weather supposed to be like again?'' Mark asked, looking up at the overcast sky.
``It says it should be clouds and the occasional drizzle all the way through. They're talking snow tomorrow.'' Liz replied.
``That's good. I won't have to drive with the sunset in my eyes. And hey, look's like it's setting up for a white Christmas.''
``Do you think we could go sledding?'' Riddy asked.
``We didn't pack a sled but maybe Grandma has one,'' Liz said.
``Cool, I'll ask her when we get there.''
``So, did you hear back from Darla yet?'' Mark moved on to the next subject
``Well no. I emailed her twice - ''
Riddy knew this was going to be a boring adult conversation, so he pulled the CD player and headphones out of his bag and popped in a Cubs' Songs disc, one he always had on these long road trips. The first song started and the car almost seemed to rock with the rhythm.
I'm gonna shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away...
With that, Riddy just listened to the music and zoned out as he returned to watching the countryside, cars, and trucks go by. After a while he reached the end of the album and popped in a second CD. As that one was nearing its end, Riddy noticed that the pressure in his bladder had started to grow. He took off his headphones. ``Hey, I gotta use the bathroom.''
``Sorry to say kid,'' his dad said, ``but we just passed a rest stop. Next one's not for 50 miles. Think you can hold it?''
``I'm not sure.'' He winced a little.
``Well, if it's too much trouble, you have your pullup,'' his mom reassured him.
``Okay, Mom.'' He blushed a little and flattened his ears at this. While he had gotten somewhat used to having accidents and the occasional not-so-accident in his DryJams, he still felt some embarrassment if his parents suggested he use them. It felt like they were treating him like a smaller kid. For the moment, though, his need was not urgent so he returned to his music. Partway through the third CD, however, he found himself starting to squirm. At this point he couldn't enjoy his music or the scenery going by. Rather than continue his discomfort, Riddy relaxed and released a stream of pee into his pullup, breathing a little sigh of relief. The pullup became warm and swelled up a bit, but it wasn't quite soaked. Content and comfortable once again, he kept on listening. Feeling a little thirsty, he took a sip from his water bottle.
By the time the CD got to Down by the Bay, Riddy's dad gave him a tap on the knee. ``Hey kiddo, we're coming up on that rest stop in a few miles. Do you still need to go?''
``No, I uh, went in my pullup.'' Riddy blushed once more.
``Okay, that's what they're there for. Do you need a change?'''
Riddy shifted a bit to get a better feel. ``No, it's not that wet.''
``Alright then. If you think it can hold more, you can just use your pullup if you have to go again. I might look for a place to stop for lunch in an hour or so.''
``Alright, Dad.'' Riddy once again returned to his music but was getting rather bored with it toward the end of the CD. Once it finished, he pulled out his GameCub and started playing Piratoids Zero. The little bit of rocking and bumping in the car made playing a bit harder, but he soon got used to it. He had been stuck for a while trying to navigate the underwater level. Soon he was fully immersed in trying to solve the puzzle that the game had posed. He once again tried the route that seemed most likely, but that one ledge that would lead to the next path was just out of reach. Perhaps spurred on by all the water in the game, Riddy once again felt the pressure in his bladder. Rather than let it be a distraction from the game, he simply used his pullup without a second thought. Perhaps the relief in pressure gave him some clarity, and Riddy soon found an item that let him hold his breath longer. This allowed him to take another route: the ledge was just a red herring.
Not five minutes later, Mark announced ``Okay, that took a bit longer than expected, but I think this is a good place to stop for lunch.'' They pulled off into a rest stop that had a sign for a fast food restaurant. Riddy felt the weight of his soaked pullup as he stood up out of the car. It was a feeling he had gotten used to over the past few months, though, and right now his hunger took priority. They got in and ordered their food: his parents got subs Riddy got a burger and fries, which he devoured with gusto. He also had some ice water to counteract the salt.
When the family was finished eating, Mark spoke up. ``Alright, anyone who needs to make a run to the bathroom, do so and we'll meet at the car.''
At this, Riddy leaned in and said quietly, ``I don't have to go, but I need to change my pullup.''
``Okay' I'll take you there.''
The father and son make a quick trip to the car to grab a spare pullup, which Riddy discretely slipped under his shirt, before heading to the men's restroom. Riddy went into a stall to change while Mark took his own bathroom break. Off came the sodden pullup, then he gave himself a quick wipedown, and on went the new one. While Riddy didn't really mind being in a wet pullup for a bit, there was always something nice and refreshing about putting on a clean one.
The family met back up at the car. Liz noted that they were about halfway there and offered to drive the rest of the way. About a minute later, they were back on the highway. For a time, the drive was uneventful. Riddy once again occupied himself with his video game. He struggled to make any further progress with it though. He wasn't sure why. Maybe the vibration from the car was getting to him, or maybe he was just a bit tired. He kept falling off platforms or getting killed by low-level enemies. After a while he grew frustrated and turned off the GameCub. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and just let his mind wander. For a bit he just sat like that, not thinking about anything in particular. He wondered what Santa would bring, how much snow they would get at Grandma's, and exactly how fast Santa's reindeer could fly. At times he didn't even think, just listening to the sound of the highway and feeling himself breathe in and out.
He was broken out of this reverie when he felt the car slowing down. He opened his eyes and looked around. ``Are we there?''
``No, honey, it's a traffic jam,'' Liz said.
Riddy leaned sideways for a better view out the front. Indeed, he saw brake lights and bumper-to-bumper traffic stretching around a curve in the highway and out of sight. The car slowed to a crawl and, after a minute or so, came to a complete stop.
Mark groaned. ``What do you think? Roadwork?''
``Maybe an accident,'' Riddy chimed in, a bit of excitement in his voice.
``Well better hope it clears up soon.'' Mark said impatiently.
Traffic was stop-and-go for a while, the car maybe moving a few hundred feet between stops. It continued like this for a while.
``Are we ever gonna get out of this?'' Riddy whined
``Hang tight, kiddo,'' Mark said with a pat on his knee.
Eventually they came to a point where traffic merged into the left lane. It was a rather chaotic affair as everyone was trying to get ahead. The disorder slowed the whole process. Mark huffed with impatience, trying not to swear in front of his son. Soon enough, another driver let them in. Once they had merged traffic continued at a slowed but steady speed. A few minutes later the cause of the whole traffic jam came into view: The remains of a semi truck were half off the road, the front end appearing scorched and melted. Riddy couldn't help but stare in amazement at the sight.
``Jeez, I hope the driver got out okay.'' Liz said as they passed the wreck.
Finally the highway opened up again and traffic returned to a normal speed. By this time the overcast sky was starting to get dark.
``Better not be any more delays like that,'' Mark quipped.
The comment was a bit poorly timed for Riddy, who was just about to say that he needed to use the bathroom again. The drink he'd had at the restaurant was starting to work its way through him. Rather than annoy his dad further, Riddy decided to stay quiet. Still, he decided to wait a bit in case his dad announced another stop. He stared out the window in boredom. Despite a day of little activity, Riddy felt himself growing tired. After a while, he gave a stretch and a yawn before laying back in his booster seat. Giving up on his dad pulling into a rest stop, he once again relieved himself in his pullup, then laid back in his booster seat and relaxed. His eyelids grew heavy and he soon dozed off to a shallow sleep.
He was stirred awake as he once again felt the car slowing down. It was now fully night, but he could see by orange glow of the highway lights that they were exiting the interstate.
``You awake, Riddy? We're getting close.''
``Yeah,'' he said a bit blearily.
For the next few minutes they traveled along a country road. Riddy had been down it before, but the dark of night hid most of the familiar sights. Still lit up was a familiar barn with a mural showing the barn itself, including the mural, and so on repeatedly. A few minutes past the barn they turned down a familiar street and into a subdivision. They took a few more turns, winding their way through a series of rather monotonous suburban streets.
Finally, the family pulled into Grandma's driveway. At this point, everyone was glad for the chance to stretch their legs. Each member of the family grabbed a bag and went up do the door and Liz rang the doorbell. Almost immediately a vixen, who looked very much like an older version of Liz, opened the door and greeted them warmly. ``Well, hi dears, I've been looking forward to this for so long.'' She gave Liz a hug and kissed her on the forehead.
``I missed you too, Mom.'' Liz hugged her back.
``And there you are Mark. You're looking good.''
``Hi, Joanne.'' The two hugged as well, albeit more briefly.
``And you, Riddy. Look how much this little guy has grown.'' She pinched his cheek and pulled him in for a hug as well. While he didn't exactly appreciate the cheek pinch, he enjoyed the warmth of the hug. There was also a nostalgic smell about her, one of potpourri and old furniture.
``Hi Grandma,'' was all he could manage.
Joanne pulled back. ``Well don't just stand there. It's getting nippy out.'' She waved them in.
``I still have a couple more bags in the car,'' Mark said.
``Oh, that's fine. You can unload those in your rooms first. You know where you're staying, right Riddy?''
``Yes, Grandma,'' he said tiredly. He remembered his way around the house from previous visits. He carried his bag to his usual room, which had once belonged to his uncle Jason, and returned to the living room after leaving his bag at the foot of the bed. He could smell chicken pot pie. There, his dad was bringing the last bags into the house. Riddy decided to get one rather embarrassing matter out of the way.
``Hey Dad,'' he said quietly. ``Do you have my pullups?''
``Didn't you pack them?'' Mark asked.
``Just the ones for the car ride. I thought you had the rest.''
Mark motioned for Liz to come over. ``Did you pack Riddy's pullups?''
``No, I put them on the shopping list for the trip. I thought you had them.''
``I thought we were just low, so I put them in his closet.''
Liz pinched the bridge of her nose. ``Well, it's not too late. I suppose we could run to the store.''
At this point, Joanne approached. ``Did you forget something? I was going to run to the store anyway. There were a few things I thought I should get before the storm.''
``What storm?'' Mark asked.
``There's a big blizzard that's supposed to hit, probably early tomorrow morning. They expect at least a foot of snow by Christmas morning.''
``All I saw was snow in the forecast.''
``Well, we'll need to stay in for a couple days, but we had planned on that anyway. Now, what was it you needed?''
``One second.'' Liz left the room and came back seconds later with the last remaining DryJam from Riddy's bag. ``Riddy has been needing to wear these lately.'' She showed it to Joanne. ``We thought we packed more, but there were only a couple for the drive up here.''
``Oh, is he having problems with that?'' Joanne asked. Riddy hid behind his dad, feeling as though he might die of embarrassment. So much for Grandma not seeing him as a baby. Seeing this, she continued. ``Oh, it's okay. Other kits your age have accidents, too. Sometimes I think they make kids grow up too fast anyway.'' That comment did not help matters. ``Well,'' she took out a pen and notepad and wrote in it, ``I'll get to that after dinner. The pie is just about done.''
``Why don't you go get cleaned up for dinner?'' Liz said to Riddy. Hanging his head, he took the pullup from her and headed for the bathroom. There, he changed into the fresh pullup, disposed of the wet one, and washed his hands. He came back to the living room, avoiding eye contact with any of the adults. He was initially reluctant to even eat, but soon the smell of his grandmother's cooking overcame any resistance. It was utterly delicious. He knew in the back of his mind that the pot pie had vegetables in it, but he barely noticed them in the mix of savory flavors. A good meal like this could do wonders for a foul mood. The adults made conversation at the table, but Riddy paid little attention; he usually didn't understand what they were talking about anyway. Once the pot pie was finished, they moved on to dessert: cookies and cream ice cream. If dinner hadn't been enough to make Riddy forget his troubles, dessert certainly was. Soon, perhaps too soon in Riddy's opinion, dessert was finished too and the young fox was licking the last bits of vanilla goodness from his bowl.
``Now,'' Joanne said with a stretch, ``this old vixen should get over to the store before it's too late.''
``Can we give you some money for the D - '' Mark began.
``Oh, no need for that.'' Joanne cut him off. ``Consider it a Christmas gift. Though if you insist, you could do the dishes while I'm gone. I should be back in half an hour.''
Riddy, in the meantime, decided to return to his room to unpack. He finished this pretty quickly so he took out his GameCub to try and make it through the next part of the still-frustrating underwater level. He was still tired enough from the trip that he was having trouble focusing on the game and found himself dying a lot, even on relatively easy enemies. While Riddy was invested in his game, he heard the door open as his grandmother returned from the store. There was a brief conversation that Riddy couldn't quite make out.
Soon, there was a gentle knock on the door. ``Riddy, I have to talk to you about something.'' She opened the door. ``There was a little mix-up at the store and Grandma wasn't familiar with your pullups, so she got these by mistake.'' She held up a box. It looked a bit like a package of DryJams, except the name on the box was Kits. Under the name it said ``extra absorbent diapers for big kids.''
``Diapers!?''
``Shh,''
``But I'm not a baby. Have Grandma take them back!''
``Now Riddy, Grandma already bought these. It's getting late and she needs her rest.''
``Could we take them back tomorrow?''
``I'm afraid not with this blizzard coming. Besides, it's Christmastime and we didn't want to hurt Grandma's feelings, so we didn't tell her they were the wrong kind.''
``What if I just wore regular underwear?''
``We didn't pack any, and besides, you're still having too many accidents for that. Listen. You'll just have to wear these for a few days until we get home. Okay?''
Riddy swallowed. ``Okay.'' He hesitated for a moment. ``Do I have to put one on now?''
``If your pullup is still good you can just stay in that until you need to change. I'll probably need to help you put it on, at least the first time, so let me know.''
He blushed again at this thought. ``Okay. I will.''
Liz left the room and Riddy put the box of diapers in the corner next to the dresser. He sat on the bed for a minute, trying to avoid looking at them. Even though they said ``for big kids'' he still felt he would be losing major big kid points if he wore them. Finding himself unable to ignore them, he decided to join his family in the living room.
They are all gathered on the sofa, watching television. The old stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was just starting. For a moment, Riddy hesitated, at first thinking of it as a little kids' movie. But the familiarity of the movie still drew him in, and he took a seat next to his mom. The movie soon had his full attention, though he knew all the beats by now. A couple times his parents commented on their own childhood memories of this movie. His mom had wanted all of the misfit toys. His dad had wanted to look for silver and gold like Yukon Cornelius. How old was this movie? He thought.
The movie ended and Frosty the Snowbear started. Liz informed Riddy that it was time to get ready for bed. The fox kit complained a bit, but then headed off to his bedroom. He took off his day clothes and pullup and grabbed a towel that was hanging on a hook, then walked to the bathroom down the hall. He took a moment to use the toilet, both to pee and poop. He realized, as he sat there, that this was the first time he'd actually made it to the toilet since morning. Finishing up with that business, Riddy ran himself a nice hot bath. The warmth drove away a bit of a chill, one that seemed to creep in despite the heated house and his warm fur. He laid there for a bit, just letting it soak in. After relaxing for a bit he shampooed and rinsed his fur.
His bath finished, Riddy dried himself off and returned to his room, wrapped in a towel. He apprehensively looked at the box of diapers in the corner. He was not quite ready to take that step. Fortunately, he saw his DryJam from earlier in the evening, which he had left on the floor rather than throwing it away. Since it was still dry, he figured it was still good for tonight. He picked it up and stepped into it, but his balance was a bit off. He stumbled a bit, his foot caught the elastic side of the pullup and RIIIIIP! One side of his Dryjam was torn completely open. Riddy tried pulling it up, but there was no way it could stay on. Swallowing his pride, he opened the bedroom door enough to poke his head through.
``Mom! Could you come here a minute?'' he called.
He heard her excuse herself from a conversation and a few seconds later she arrived. ``What is it, sweetie?''
Riddy explained what happened and showed her the torn pullup. ``Is there any way of fixing it?''
``I'm sorry, but these were made to be thrown away, not fixed. Looks like I'll have to put you in a diaper. You look pretty tired, so just lie down on the bed and I'll put it on you. I can show you how to put one on yourself in the morning.''
He followed her instructions, and she opened the box, took out a diaper, opened it, and slid it under him. She folded it up between his legs, secured the front tapes, and then made him sit up to secure the tail tape. Finally, she had him stand up so she could check that everything was properly secured.
Riddy looked down at himself. The diaper was plain white aside from the blue tapes and landing strip and the yellow wetness indicator running down the middle. It was noticeably thicker than his DryJams. He looked up to see himself in the mirror. ``I feel like a baby in this.'' He said at last.
``They make these for big kids, though. So this doesn't make you a baby.'' She reassured him. ``And remember, it's just for a few days. You'll probably be having enough fun that you'll forget you're wearing them.''
``I guess if it's only for a few days...'' though he still did not feel very reassured.
``Don't worry, it won't be so bad. Now, finish getting in your PJs and then to bed with you. It's already past your bedtime.''
``Okay. Good night, Mom.''
``Good night Riddy, I love you.'' She kissed him on the forehead and left the room.
Riddy took another look at his diaper and sighed before putting on his pajamas. At least those served to cover up the diaper, though not as thoroughly as he would have hoped: unlike with his DryJams, he could discern a bulge through his pajama pants. With nothing more to do, he turned out the lights and slipped under the covers. With embarrassment he felt and the unfamiliar bulk between his legs, he initially thought he would have trouble falling asleep. But the exhaustion from the day won over and he soon drifted off.
The dream that came was not a pleasant one. He was insisting to everyone that he was not a baby, but nobody believed him. He sat down in class and the teacher asked if he had gotten lost on the way to daycare. The girls in his class doted on the ``cute baby'' that had wandered into class. The scene changed and he was stuck in the playpen at a daycare. Instead of his GameCub, all he had were blocks and teething rings. He felt the need to pee. He tried to tell a caretaker, but all he got was, ``that's fine. I'll change you when you're done. Maybe soon we can start potty training!'' The scene changed again. He was back home in his room, but it was all different. All his toys and books had been replaced with ones more fit for a toddler; his bed replaced with a crib. He saw himself in the mirror from his seat on the changing table. He couldn't be more than two years old, wearing a onesie that had popped open to reveal a dirty diaper.
