Riddy was immediately excited when he woke up: he knew what day it was. He looked over at the clock. It read 7:01 AM. It wasn’t quite time to get up and open presents, but he was too excited to stay in bed. He got up and rushed to the window. Outside, the wind was still howling, but not as ferociously as yesterday. It was snowing, but he could see a lot farther. The ground and every car and rooftop in sight were covered in a sculpted landscape of snow drifts. He crept into the living room, resisting the urge to run. There he saw all the wrapped presents under the tree. Santa had come! He looked at a couple of labels and saw that some were for him. This sight allayed his fears that Santa wouldn’t be able to find him. Though he was slightly disappointed that everything was wrapped and boxed, so there would be no early peeking.
All this excitement, though, had distracted him from his bathroom needs. Needing to pee was no big deal: for that he used his diaper without a second thought. A bit more troubling was the growing pressure in his bowels. He made it as far as the bathroom door when he remembered he wasn’t supposed to take his diaper off by himself. He walked away and looked at the clock in the kitchen: 7:25. His parents said they would get up at 8:00. Riddy figured he could wait; he remembered how annoyed his parents were last time he woke them up early. To take his mind off the situation, Riddy turned on the Christmas tree lights and sat cross-legged in front of the tree, taking in its beauty; the light shining off the glossed wrapping paper and silvery tinsel.
Minutes passed and Riddy’s discomfort grew. He looked at the clock again: it read 7:37. He decided to disobey this one rule and head to the bathroom. He was sure his parents would understand that it was an emergency. He got to the bathroom, shut the door, and tried to take off his PJs. Unfortunately, the zipper on the back was not in an easy position to undo. He felt around the back of his neck but couldn’t find the top of the zipper. Instead, he felt a small flap of cloth that was buttoned in place, blocking access. It would be easy enough to undo if it was in front of him, but since it was out of sight and in an awkward position, he could only fumble for it. It was hard to split his attention between the button and holding in the impending accident. He finally got the button undone, but now the zipper proved stubborn. He got it down an inch or two but had to stop when he couldn’t twist his arm any further. He tried another angle. But this worked against him, for in all his awkward twisting around, he ended up giving his bowels a little push.
A warm, mushy log started going into the back of Riddy’s diaper. At this point there was no stopping it. Riddy bent forward slightly and relaxed, letting the mess out. He felt a mix of emotions running through him. There was shame and disgust: wearing a diaper like a toddler and now filling it like one. At this same time, he felt a great amount of relief as the pressure went away. But there was another feeling; a word he had just recently learned. Was this… nostalgia? There was something warm and fuzzy, bringing up vague memories, but with a strangely powerful emotional pull, of a more carefree time. He finished his mess, giving another little push to make sure everything got out. These emotions continued to swirl as he lifted a leg slightly, feeling the weight of the loaded, wet diaper. Physically at least, it didn’t feel terrible.
With nothing else to do, Riddy left the bathroom, waddling a bit because of the bulk. The clock now read 7:43; still some time until the adults woke up. He decided to pass the time by looking at the tree, laying on his belly to avoid sitting in the mess he had made. His mind began to drift. The lights on the tree had a sort of timelessness to them. For the moment, the little fox all but forgot his age: was he two? Four? Eight? It didn’t matter. It was just Christmas. He lay like this for a while, simply losing himself in the yuletide feelings.
His trance was broken by the sound of alarm clocks. He shook his head and brought his mind back to the present. Sounds of Riddy’s parents and grandmother stirring came from their rooms. Now was the time to remedy his predicament. He stood up, noticing that his diaper was starting to get uncomfortable, and went to wait outside his parents’ bedroom.
They emerged a few minutes later. Riddy look up at them sheepishly.
“What’s wrong, Riddy?” his mom, Liz, asked sleepily.
“I uh, need my diaper changed. I had an accident.”
“Oh that’s no problem. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“But not like this one.” Riddy felt a bit like crying.
“What do you mean—” she sniffed the air. “Oh.”
“Please, I didn’t mean to. I couldn’t get my PJs off!”
“Shh, it’s okay honey.” She knelt down and hugged him. “I’m a mom, and I volunteer at the children’s center. I gotta be used to dirty diapers.”
“But I’m not a baby.”
“But you’re still my little one.”
Joanne emerged from her own room. “What’s going on?” she asked before catching a whiff of the air herself.
“I don’t want grandma to see me like this.” Riddy said
“Oh don’t be embarrassed.” Joanne said. “Strange as it is, this brings me back to your last Christmas here, when you were still a little tot.”
Riddy buried his face in his mother’s shoulder.
“Oh me and my big mouth. I think what I meant to say is: don’t let this get you down. Just let it be Christmas.”
Liz held Riddy at arm’s length and looked him in the eye. “How about that? Let’s just enjoy Christmas.” She wiped a tear from his eye. “Now, let’s get you changed.” She led him back to his bedroom, laid a towel out on the bed, and unzipped Riddy’s PJs before bidding him to lay down on the towel. From there, she untaped his diaper and began wiping.
Riddy covered his eyes, not wanting to see the damage, almost trying to hide from it. He didn’t want to look at his mother either, who surely must be disgusted and annoyed by the task. But as he lay there in that self-imposed darkness, he noticed she didn’t convey any of that. Her movements seemed caring and gentle rather than impatient. Instead of sounds of disgust, she was humming a simple but cheerful tune, as if this were as routine as doing laundry or making her morning coffee.
He began to relax. The tension in his arms eased, and his eyes, though still closed, were no longer crammed shut. If she wasn’t upset about this, maybe he shouldn’t be either. As the shame faded away, his mother’s demeanor continued to soothe him. This was a level of care and attention he didn’t get at his age, except maybe when he was sick. He felt very safe, free from even those responsibilities of an eight-year old. Once again that feeling of nostalgia crept in. He let his arms fall down at his sides, but still opted to stare up at the ceiling than look down.
Liz finished wiping and removed the dirty diaper from under him.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked.
“Y-yeah. I’m sorry about this.”
“No need to apologize. Really, this is no big deal.” She disposed of the dirty diaper and got a fresh one out of the box.
“Really?”
“Really. It is what diapers are for after all.” She slid the new diaper under him.
“But I’m not wearing them for that kind of accident,” Riddy protested.
“Well, okay then. Maybe we can come up with a plan so you don’t have to use your diapers for that.” She fastened the front tapes and made sure everything was snug.
“O-okay. That sounds good.” He sat up to let his mom fasten the tail tape.
“There you go. All done. How are you feeling about this otherwise?”
“I guess I’m okay with them. I’m starting to get used to it.” He didn’t want to be quite so open about that nice feeling he’d had. How he got a feeling of safety once the clean diaper had been taped on. Something about it seemed inappropriate for his age.
“All right then.” She gave him a kiss on the nose. “Get yourself dressed and we’ll go open some presents.”
“All right!” Riddy said excitedly.
As Liz left the room, Riddy got a shirt from his luggage, and some pajama pants. Unlike his jeans the elastic waistband and looser material fit easily over his diaper. He also figured, still with a touch of embarrassment, that they made for easier diaper changes than the overalls.
He left his room, emerging into the hall to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. As he entered the living room, his parents and grandmother were seated at the table across from the Christmas tree, making light conversation while they had their coffee. A fire was going in the fireplace. Mark was the first one to seem him enter.
“Hey champ. You doing better?”
“Yep!”
“Well, Merry Christmas then!”
“Merry Christmas, Dad!”
“Come on and have a seat.”
Riddy sat cross-legged on the floor, eliciting a slight crinkle from his diaper. He looked once again in wonder at the presents arranged around the tree.
“All right Riddy. You know the drill. Youngest first,” Liz told him.
“Cool!”
“Let me pick something out for you,” she said as she reached into the pile.
She pulled out another roughly rectangular package, similar to the one from last night. Riddy felt the inside was once more something a bit soft. His ears tilted back slightly, betraying his annoyance. Not more clothes, he thought. He reluctantly tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a pair of blue jeans. He held them up against his waist. They seemed a bit bigger than the ones he had brought for the trip.
“I know, it’s clothes honey,” Liz said. “I figured we should get this part out of the way, then get to the more exciting stuff.”
“O-okay. Thanks mom.” Though it was clear from his voice he wasn’t thrilled with the gift.
“All right, it’s Mom’s turn.” Mark leaned into the pile and got a box-shaped present, which he handed to Liz.
She carefully peeled off the wrapping paper, revealing a book.
“Oh, thank you. I love Kafka.”
“What is it?” Riddy asked.
“Come take a look,” Liz beckoned.
Riddy stood up by his mom’s side and looked at the book. The front cover bore a sketch of a giant beetle laying on a bed. Riddy made an attempt at reading the title: “The Franz Kafka Ant- Antho…”
“Sound it out, dear,” she encouraged him.
“An-Thaw-Low-Gee.”
“Very good.”
“What’s an anthology?”
“Oh, it’s sort of a collection of different stories.”
“And this Kafka guy wrote them?”
“That’s right. He writes these sort of weird, scary stories.”
“So I wouldn’t like them?”
“No, probably not. Maybe when you’re older. Now,” she put a hand to her chin, “let’s see about one for your dad.
“Ooh! I know!” Riddy was practically bouncing on his paws. He craweled through the presents, searching for the right one, finally arriving at a nearly cubical box with the tag to Dad from Riddy. He handed it to his dad.
Mark took the box. “I wonder what it could be.”
He unrapped it and opened the box, which contained a coffee cup that read “World’s Best Dad”. It was orange with a black handle and white letters, matching the family’s fur colors.
“Oh wow! This is wonderful. Thanks, Riddy!” He pulled his son in for a hug.
Next was Grandma’s turn: she got a framed picture of Grandpa. Then the cycle repeated with Riddy. He got a sweater, but at least it featured Kit Flash fighting the Big Bad Binturong. As the gift exchange continued the grown-ups got books, dinnerware, movies, and clothes. Mark was particularly happy about some movie, which Riddy was told wouldn’t be allowed to watch until he was thirteen. But the young fox’s attention was mostly on the presents he got: a variety of toys (the best of which was an RC car), the latest WonderWolf movie, and a book about bugs. It seemed that Santa was better at providing interesting presents than his parents were. As the pile of presents dwindled, Riddy felt the need to pee again. Once again he just went in his diaper, not even letting it distract him from examining the latest toy he had unwrapped.
Finally, one last gift remained for Riddy. It was a bit bigger than the others. The young fox excitedly unwrapped it, revealing a GameBox 2.
“Wow! Really!? A Gamebox 2!?” Riddy looked up at the ceiling. “Thank you Santa!”
“Gotta give us some credit, too,” Mark said. “We got a good word in with Santa.”
“Really? Oh thank you.” The kit ran over and hugged his parents. “Can I open it now?
“Sure thing, kiddo.” Mark ruffled Riddy’s headfur.
The young fox set about opening the box, being careful not to rip it. Right on top, set into the styrofoam, was another surprise.
“Piratoids 2!? It’s the exact game I wanted!” He picked up the game and held it to his chest. “Oh thank you again!”
He dug through the box, finding the console itself, a controller, and the various wires it needed.
“Can you help be set it up? I wanna try it out!” He was practically vibrating with excitement.
“Sure thing,” Mark said. “But let’s get breakfast first.”
“O-okay.” Riddy was hesitant at first. But he just now realized how hungry he was.
The family went into the kitchen. Within a few minutes, Grandma had some oatmeal going for everyone. Riddy took cinnamon sugar in his, and got to have a candy cane afterward. With breakfast out of the way, he and his dad went about setting up the new GameBox. Mark showed Riddy how to hook it up to the TV. The rest was pretty easy; similar to the original GameBox. Soon Riddy was exploring the new island of Piratoids 2. It proved to be much harder that Piratoids 1: Riddy found himself dying on the first miniboss. But the added challenge only drove him harder. He beat that miniboss, started into the main storyline, and went on a search for new, stronger weapons and defenses. He got completely absorbed in his quest. He had lost track of time, and it didn’t seem like long to him before he was being called for lunch. This consisted of cream cheese bagels, which had somehow become the family’s tradition. Admittedly, they weren’t Riddy’s favorite, but it still lent a sense of Christmastime.
His hunger sated, Riddy returned to his game, going through a segment with a lot of exploring around, but no major fights. Eventually, he came to a place where he had to extend a bridge to cross a ravine, but he just couldn’t figure out what the trick was. Did he need to get an item? Some piece of equipment? Was there a person to talk to? He wandered around, backtracking to see if there was anything he had missed. For all his focus on the game, he barely noticed his bladder feeling full. It was of little concern, though, and he simply used his diaper, not even letting it break his focus. Eventually, he was able to solve the puzzle that led to the hidden release lever.
Riddy didn’t have long to bask in this accomplishment, though. His dad entered the room and addressed him.
“Okay, squirt, you said you wanted to go sledding, didn’t ya?”
Riddy paused the game. “Oh wait, we can, now?”
“Yeah. Storm’s clearing up.”
Riddy looked out the window. It was still snowing, but lightly. A layer of fluffy white snow still covered everything.
“Oh cool!”
“But,” Mark held up a finger, “we gotta shovel first.”
“But I thought we could head right out!”
“Work first, then play. You’ll enjoy the play more that way. Think of it as a Christmas present for grandma.”
Riddy sighed. “Okay.”
“First thing’s first, though. How’s that diaper holding up? Don’t want you going out in the cold if it’s wet.”
“I uh,” Riddy poked his fingers together. “I guess I should get a change.”
“Right, then. Head to your room. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Riddy headed off to his room, removed his pajama pants to get ready, and sat on the bed. He looked down at his diaper, which was much more swollen than it had initially been, the wetness indicator now blue. A DryJam this wet would have been near capacity, but this diaper still felt like it could hold more, perhaps twice as much.
A minute or so later, Mark entered the room with a bundle of clothes under his arm. He set them down on the bed.
“All right, kiddo. Lay down and I’ll change ya.”
Riddy did so, still a little embarrassed. His dad set the new diaper next to him, untaped the wet one, and did a quick wiping. It wasn’t quite as tender as when his mom did it. Not rough by any means, but Mark seemed more focused on being quick and efficient. The new diaper was taped on quickly, though carefully, as well.
“Okay,” Mark said. “How about you try on your new jeans? I don’t think your pajama pants will do well in the snow.”
Mark handed Riddy the jeans he had gotten that morning. The kit pulled them on. They were indeed bigger than the ones he had brought for the trip, and fit comfortably over his diaper.
“And these,” Mark held up some overall-style snow pants and a pair of gloves, “were your uncle Jason’s. I thought they might fit you.”
“O-okay.”
Riddy took the snowpants. At first glance they seemed the right size. He stepped into them, zipped them up, and fastened the velcro tail flap. It felt like they were a size too big, though not a terrible fit.
“Eh, it’ll do for now,” said Mark. “You’ll grow into them. Go get your goat and shoes on.” He left the room.
Riddy grabbed his coat and headed to the door to put his shoes and gloves on while his dad was putting on his own winter clothes. Mark left the living room and returned with two snow shovels.
“All right, let’s get this done.”
He opened the door and the two stepped out. A blast of cold wind met them, thought it was tempered by their foxy fur. Not much snow was falling by this point, but more continued to be whipped off rooftops by the wind. The trees, houses, and lawns were all covered in a blanked of virgin snow, but the street appeared to have been recently plowed.
“Alright, Riddy. We’ll do the walkway together, then I’ll get the driveway while you do the sidewalk.”
“How far should I go?”
“To the neighbor’s driveway.”
“Where’s that?”
Mark paused for a moment, looking out over the snow drifts, which gave little hint as to what lay beneath them.
“How about you go to that little tree there?” He pointed to a sapling about forty feet away.
“Okay.”
The father and son set to shoveling. Working together, they made short work of the walkway. The progress was slowed a bit because the snow had two layers: a loose, powdery layer on top and a somewhat sticky layer below. Soon they set about shoveling their own section. Looking back at his dad, Riddy realized he had the easier job, since he didn’t have to deal with the hard, dense snow piled up by the plows. He felt sorry for his dad for a moment, but was soon preoccupied with the task at hand. It was a bit of an awkward job, since the shovel was sized for an adult. Still, he managed to fall into a good rhythm, and he got to that tree only a little after his dad finished with the driveway.
As he walked back toward his dad, he saw the neighbors, a family of deer, were shoveling their own sidewalk. There were two fawns to looked a bit older and a bit younger than Riddy.
Mark gave Riddy a pat on the shoulder. “Good work, Riddy. I think Grandma will be pleased.”
“Thanks, da-” WHACK!
A snowball hit Riddy square in the muzzle. He looked to where it came from: the two deer kids were looking at him.
“Sorry,” the younger of the two shouted. “I was aiming for my brother.” He pointed to the older fawn.
“Oh, that’s your story?” Riddy said with a smile.
He scooped up his own snowball and shot it at the younger deer, grazing his shoulder. What followed quickly turned into a chaotic three-way snowball fight as the three kids ran up and down the block. Another errant snowball deer kids’ dad, and soon both he and Mark had joined in the snowball fight. Little teams formed on a whim and dissolved just as quickly from friendly fire: kids vs adults, foxes vs deer, or teaming up with whoever happened to be taking cover behind the same hedge. Riddy found he was good at getting in sneak attacks. Lots of fun was had be all parties.
Of course, it could not last. Eventually, the youngest deer called out “I have to go potty.”
The whole deer family headed inside at that point. This made Riddy rather glad he was wearing a diaper. He knew the experience from before. They’d go inside, peel off layers of clothes, and use the bathroom. And by that time their clothes and socks would be wet from melted snow, and then it just would not be worth it to put that all back on and go back outside.
As Riddy sat back in the snow to catch his breath, he noticed his diaper was already a bit swollen. Wait, when had he even gone? Right, when was laying on a small knoll, waiting in ambush. He’d hardly paid it any mind. Still, even without a diaper he would probably have used his DryJam under those circumstances.
His dad came up to him, breathing heavily. “Hey, kiddo. Still up for going sledding?”
Riddy leaped back up to his feet. “Yes!”
“Alright.” He gave Riddy a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll grab ‘em out of the garage.”
Mark went into the garage and returned with two saucer-shaped metal sleds: One red and one blue.
“Oh, those are cool!” Riddy exclaimed.
Mark handed the blue sled to Riddy. He slung it over his back, holding it by one of the two rope handles. They walked a couple blocks to their destination. While the area was mostly flat land typical of the Midwest, there was one good hill in town for sledding, which happened to be nearby. A handful of kids were already there, under the watchful eye of their parents. They had even created a small mound of snow near the bottom of the slope, acting as a crude ramp.
Riddy and his dad set themselves up at the top of the hill, waiting for the path top be clear. Then they slid down. Riddy had never been on a sled like this one. If there was a way to steer it, he didn’t know what that was. He tried touching a hand to the ground as he accelerated, but that just sent him spinning. He had no real sense where he was going, only coming to a stop when he crunched into some uncompacted snow near a little past the bottom of the hill. That was fun! If anything, the lack of control made it more fun. Though as good was it was, the trip back up the hill was a bit of a trudge. But it was still worth it for the next trip down.
Riddy kept trying to hit the ramp, but he kept just missing it due to his inability to steer. Finally, he hit the ramp, but instead of making a nice clean jump, he somehow landed upside down. It only hurt a little bit. One of the other kids could be heard laughing.
“You all right, buddy?” his dad called.
“Yeah!”
He made more tries, and despite still not figuring out a way to steer, he figured out how to angle himself at the start to hit the ramp with some consistency. But he still fell off each time he hit it. But that was half the fun. He liked crashing. Some minutes in, his dad became tired and sat with the other adults, making light conversation. Some kids went home, and a couple more arrived.
After some time, Riddy had no idea how long, he too began to grow weary of the cold. Little chunks of snow made their way into his shoes where they melted, wetting his socks and chilling his feet. After the latest trip down the hill, he looked up to his dad.
“Can we go back now? I’m cold”
“Sure thing, I’m cold too. Grab your sled and let’s head back.”
Riddy did so and walked to top of the hill where his dad waited, then they walked back up the street together. The trip back felt longer, made worse as the cold crept into him, though he got some relief from that as he let some warmth spread through his diaper.
Then, finally, they arrived at the front door. He stomped the snow from his shoes and shook more from his tail before stepping inside.
“Did you have a good time?” His mom asked, coming in from the kitchen.
“Oh yeah!” Riddy said, taking off his shoes and snow pants. At this point he realized just how wet his socks and pant legs had gotten from the snow. It had gotten quite cold and uncomfortable.
“You’d better take off those pants and socks, too. I don’t want you walking on the carpet with them soaking wet.”
“But mom! I don’t want to be seen going around in my diaper.”
“Everyone here knows you have one. But if it’s that big a deal, I’ll bring you your pajama pants.”
“O-okay, Mom.”
She left, and returned a moment later with the promised pants. Checking that Grandma wasn’t looking, Riddy quickly took off the sodden socks and jeans, and traded them for the pajama bottoms, which he quickly put on.
Liz hung the wet clothes on the back of a chair near the fire. “Now, back to helping Grandma with dinner.” She returned to the kitchen.
“I don’t know about you,” Mark said “But I could go for some hot chocolate about now.”
“Yes, please!” Riddy said, with an excited swish of his tail.
Riddy sat in front of the fire, extending his feet toward it to warm them. His dad joined him a minute or so later, with mugs of hot chocolate for both of them.
“Thanks, Dad.” Riddy took his mug.
Father and son sat together, sipping their hot chocolate in silence and staring into the flames. By now, it was hitting Riddy just how tired he was. Possibly helped along as the delicious taste and aroma of the hot chocolate put him at ease. This smell was joined by that of the ham now roasting in the oven. He looked over at the Christmas tree, then back to the fire. Once again he got that feeling of timelessness, not feeling any particular age: just that it was Christmas. Eventually, the hot chocolate was finished. Mark returned to the kitchen to help with dinner preparations, while Riddy moved to the sofa, where he pulled a blanket over himself and drowsed for a bit, enjoying the warmth not just of the blanket, but of the general atmosphere.
He was roused some time later by the call to dinner. He joined the rest of the family at the table and looked over what had been prepared. At the center was a large ham, accompanied by candied yams, mashed potatoes, and ugh, green beans. His dad gave him a serving of each, as he served himself and the rest of the family. Riddy eyed the green beans apprehensively, and he wasn’t too keen on the yams, either.
“I know that look, mister,” his mom addressed him. “But you’ll eat those veggies if you want to have snickerdoodles later.”
“We have snickerdoodles?” Riddy perked up at this.
“Well, not yet. We’re going to make some, so dig in.”
Riddy looked at the dinner hesitantly for a moment, then stabbed his fork down into the green beans, deciding to get them out of the way. They weren’t as bad as he expected. He didn’t like them, but something took the edge off them, butter perhaps. And he could wash down the taste with some orange juice. He joined in the conversation with the adults, talking mostly about the snowball fight and his new video game. He made it through the veggies so he could get to the good parts: the ham. The potatoes were also quite good with a bit of juice from the ham. In his excitement, he was the first to finish his food. He was antsy for the cookies to get started, but still had to wait for the adults.
Finally the moment came.
“Do you want to help with making the snickerdoodles, Riddy?”
“Can I? Yes!”
His mom and grandma walked him through the ingredients and guided him through measuring and mixing the ingredients, balling up the dough, and rolling it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Liz, though, took responsibility for putting the cookies into the hot oven.
“Those will take about ten minutes,” Liz said. “In the mean time, you’re probably overdue for a change.”
“Uh, yeah…” He was still a bit embarrassed about talking about that subject in front of Grandma. He had actually wet once more not long ago, while making the cookies.
“I’m sorry. I should have changed you earlier, but things got a bit busy making dinner.”
“Th-that’s okay. I don’t mind it that much.”
“But you will mind if you get a rash. Let’s get you changed.”
They went to his room where he laid down in his bed for the change. Seeing his diaper exposed, it was much thicker than before, and definitely soaked past the capacity of any DryJam.
“Looks like you did a number on this one.”
Riddy’s ears went back a bit.
“Oh I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I-it’s a little weird, but not really bad.”
“Oh really?” She untaped his diaper. “I was worried you’d feel like I was treating you like a baby.”
“Well no, I-” Riddy went silent for a moment, contemplating what he felt, and how and whether he should tell her. “I guess it does feel a bit like that, but it’s actually kinda nice.”
“Oh is it?” She began cleaning him.
“It makes me feel… cared for a-and a bit like good times when I was little.”
“Well that’s a bit of a surprise.” She removed the old diaper. “Most kids really want to appear mature.”
“I mean I do, but if it’s just with you and dad…”
“You’re okay with not being treated like such a big kid?” She taped the fresh diaper on him.
“M-maybe sometimes... A-and the way you changed me this morning…” He sat up and looked down at his diaper, wiggling his feet nervously. “I guess, as long as I’m wearing them, I would be okay with using these for… the other thing.”
Liz looked surprised for a moment. “Really?”
“I won’t do it if you think it’s too gross.”
“Oh, no.” She leaned in and held his hands. “I would be okay with it. Like I said this morning, in a way, this brings me back to hold times too. Lots of moms feel a bit sad when their kids grow up too fast.”
“So it would be okay?”
“Yes, sweetie.” She gave him a little scritch behind the ear and a kiss on the top of his muzzle.
“Thanks, Mom.” He leaned forward and hugged her.
By now the smell of cinnamon was working its way into the room
“That smells good. Are they done?” Riddy asked.
“Oh, they’ll be a few more minutes.”
“Okay!” Riddy put his pants back on and scurried into the kitchen.
Grandma was relaxing on the couch, watching television while his dad was washing dishes. Riddy sat at the table eagerly, yet patiently. The time going off still made him jump. Liz came in, grabbed an oven mitt, and took the baking sheet out of the oven. The aroma was nearly irresistible.
“Are they ready?” Riddy asked.
“They’re done baking but they need to cool. Just a few more minutes.”
A few more minutes passed.
“Okay,” Liz told him. “You can have one. I don’t want you having too much sugar this close to bedtime.”
Riddy was a bit disappointed he couldn’t have more, but he figured it was a fair deal. Just as he reached the tray, his dad reached over him and grabbed a cookie.
“Don’t mind if I do. Mph, these are good.”
Riddy reached out, grabbed a snickerdoodle, and took a bite. The cinnamon, the sweetness. If Christmas had a taste, this was it. He ate it slowly to savor it. When he finally swallowed the last crumb, his mom spoke to him.
“All right cutie, I want you to take a bath, brush your teeth, and get in your Pjs. Then you’ll have an hour until bedtime. I thought we would relax and watch some TV. Remember, we don’t want to get on the road too late tomorrow.”
Riddy didn’t object. He had been re-energized by dinner, but that was starting to fade.
“Okay, Mom,” he said with a yawn.
He went off to his bedroom and undressed to get ready for his bath. He untaped his diaper carefully, being sure not to tear anything. Then he grabbed his towel and went in for a nice warm bath. He thought about his day as he lay in the water. The fun he had had with his new game, and playing out in the snow. And, of course, of the diapers. He had adjusted to them quite quickly. Of course, he would be mortified if anyone outside the family knew, but secretly he had come to like the convenience of them, as well as the care he got from his mom. His thoughts were interrupted when Liz called from outside the door.
“Don’t take too long in there, Riddy.”
“I won’t, I’m just finishing up.”
He got up out of the tub and dried himself. Liz, at the end of the hall, saw him emerge wrapped in a towel
“Are you ready for your PJs?” she asked.
“Yep!”
She followed him into his room, where she had him lay down. The diaper from before his bath was still clean and in good shape, so she decided put it back on him.
“You’re still feeling good about this?” she asked as she re-secured the tapes.
“Yeah. I think I’m already used to it.”
“That’s good to know. Some other kids would fight this tooth and nail. I’m glad to hear you’re comfortable. Up up.”
He stood up from the bed and Liz presented him with the same footed pajamas from last night. Riddy looked at them for a moment, hesitantly.
“And you’re good with these?”
“Uh, yeah.” Riddy nodded.
He stepped into them, and his mom zipped up the back. He looked at himself in the mirror. Once again he saw that he looked like a toddler and, after the day he’d had, he rather felt like one. But maybe, he thought, that wasn’t so bad.
His mom once again broke him out of his reverie.
“Come on, don’t want to miss the shows.”
He followed after her into the living room, where Mark and Grandma were already sitting around the TV. The kit sat down on the sofa, with a slight crinkle, next to Liz. The TV was still playing a commercial break, but that soon ended, and a new show was starting up, one Riddy hadn’t seen before. It was about a cat and a mouse seeking out their cricket friend to calm the bustling New York City on Christmas with his music. As the story ended, Riddy leaned against his mom, hugging her tail with one arm. Next came a cartoon about a clumsy young elf who lived at the North Pole. As the second show was drawing to a close, Riddy was struggling to keep his eyes open.
“Let’s get you to bed.” she told him.
Riddy just nodded sleepily. Liz led him back to his room and tucked him in with a goodnight kiss and an “I love you.”
Riddy felt the love in it, but otherwise it hardly registered. The light was barely off before the young fox nodded off.
===Epilogue: December 26===
Riddy woke with a stretch. Muffled conversation could be heard outside his room as he looked around. The gap in the curtains seemed to glow brightly, evidence that the sun was out. He sat up in bed, feeling the familiar thickness of his wet overnight diaper. He rubbed his eyes and walked over to the window. Outside, the sun reflecting off the snow was blinding. The sky was almost clear, with only a few wispy clouds floating by; quite the transformation from yesterday. It took a moment for his eyes to readjust as he turned away. A grumbling from his stomach told him that it was time to get breakfast.
Walking down the hall, it barely registered to him as he wet his diaper once more. He sat at the table, where his parents were drinking coffee while Grandma was having her breakfast.
“How’s it going buddy?” Mark asked. “Yah hungry?
“Yeah,” Riddy said, still a bit groggy.
“You got your choice of breakfast. You want waffles? Cinammon squares?”
“Cinnamon squares, please.”
Mark poured him a bowl with some milk. The flavor reminded Riddy of the snickerdoodle from last night. He finished it with gusto.
“Alright, kiddo, let’s get you changed,” Liz said.
She led him back to his room where she unzipped his Pjs and changed him into a fresh diaper. By now diaper changes were becoming routine for him, but no less caring.
“Right,” she said as she laid out a shirt and overalls for him. “We have a little cleaning up to do and then we’ll start packing, so better start getting your stuff together.”
“Already?” Riddy half whined.
“Yes, honey.” She kissed him on the nose. “So no lollygagging.”
“Okay,” he groaned.
He set about packing up his clothes, rolling them up like his mom had showed him at the start of the trip. This left room, even for his new book and footed pajamas along with his Gamecub. Basically everything of his from his room except for his diapers. He carried his bag out to the living room and set it by the front door.
“Oh, and grab your diapers too.”
Riddy blushed at this. As used to his diapers as he had become, he was still embarrassed by the thought of having them out in the open like that. Still, he obliged and carried those to the door as well. He was then recruited to help carry other things to the door. The family was building a small orderly pile before heading out, so as to not track snow and salt through the house. The leftover food was divvied up, with Grandma giving the family the bulk of it, including the cookies.
“Please, there are three of you and only one of me,” she insisted. “It would spoil before I got through it all. And I think this tyke has more of a sweet tooth than I do.” She pinched Riddy’s cheek.
Between the food and the Christmas presents, it took surprisingly long to gather everything. Through all of this, Riddy started to feel the need to use the bathroom. Peeing in the diaper was no matter; he did so without even thinking of it. But he also felt the need to poop. Despite admitting that he would be okay with using his diaper for that, he was hesitant. There was some feeling of embarrassment still there, of not wanting to feel like a toddler. Still, it was starting to get uncomfortable. He decided to get it over with. The kit propped himself against the arm of the sofa, bent forward slightly. He took a deep breath and gave a bit of a push. It came out into his diaper quite easily, the back filling up quickly. He still had some feeling of revulsion, but without the same edge as yesterday’s accident. But still, it was good to have relief. Once again he felt like a toddler, which still brought up some mixed feelings. Of embarrassment, but also a sense of a lack of responsibilities.
“Making stinkies?” came a voice behind him.
He turned around to see Liz. “Mom, don’t call it that.”
“Sorry. Are you finished? You want a change?”
“Uhh…” He blushed as his ears flattened against his head. “Yeah.”
“Come on let’s get that taken care of.”
Mark walked into the room, carrying a box.
“I’m going to get Riddy changed. Think you can finish up?” Liz asked him.
“Yeah, there are only a couple things left,” Mark replied. He looked at Riddy. “Good thing you got that out before we got on the road.”
This prompted an even stronger blush. Liz grabbed a diaper out of the box and led Riddy back to his room.
“Right, you know the drill.”
Riddy laid down and his mom untaped the diaper and cleaned him up. He still didn’t want to look, but at least he didn’t feel the urge to hide. Once again, Liz worked with a calm, caring aura. Almost before he knew it, he was in a fresh, clean diaper again.
“Right, all clean,” she said, giving him a pat on his padded rear. “Now, go get your coat on.”
Riddy leaned forward and hugged her.
“Doing okay little guy?”
“Yeah, I just love you, mom.”
“Love you too.”
They separated and Liz left the room. Riddy put his overalls back on and headed to the living room to put his coat a boots on.
Mark greeted him there. “All cleaned up?”
Riddy nodded bashfully.
“Good to hear. Let’s hope this one lasts the whole way home.”
Riddy’s ears flattened once again.
“Right then,” Mark said. “Let’s get the car loaded up.”
The three then carried all their boxes and bags out to the car, which took a much shorter time than gathering them did. With everything in the car, it was time to leave. At the door, Grandma gave a hug to Mark, then Liz, and finally to Riddy.
“Oh, I’m going to miss you. I really hope you can come back soon.”
“Oh sure,” Mark said. “Maybe we can make plans for Easter.”
“Yes, we should consider it.”
“Well, no point in dawdling.” Mark chuckled.
“Right, try to get back before rush hour. Drive safe.” Grandma pulled them in for a group hug.
The family went out the door and got in the car. As the car started moving, they all waved back at grandma, who was standing in the doorway.
They retraced their route back to the highway. Riddy watched the landscape, now covered in snow, move by. A few kids were out playing in it; Riddy thought he recognized the deer family he’d played with yesterday. Soon they left the suburbs and were back out on country roads with fields of white stretching out around them, seemingly without end. As the car climbed the ramp onto the interstate, Mark spoke up.
“Your mother and I had a bit of a talk,” Riddy tensed for a moment, “you still have plenty of diapers left over, enough for more than a week, and we’d rather not let them go to waste. So we were thinking, maybe we could keep you in them through the new year.”
There was silence in the car, as Riddy was a bit stunned by the proposal.
“Would you be all right with that?” Mark continued.
Riddy hesitated for a moment; he’d expected to just go back to his DryJams when they got home.
“Uh, y-yeah. That would be okay I guess.”
And as he thought about it, Riddy couldn’t help but let a little smile come to his face.
