While Lia was gone, Deborah looked around. The terrorist and his friends got into a Prius with Washington plates. The girl was young looking, maybe nineteen or twenty. She wore a greenie shirt that said “Go Veg!” on it. The man with her was in his mid-twenties. He wore regular clothes. She watched as the Prius drove away. She didn’t know whether to be relieved they were gone, or worried about what they were about to do.
She shivered. Her pee-drenched jeans were beginning to cool and the wet clammy fabric clung to her. People driving by slowed and stared at her. She covered her wet crotch with her hand, but it only rubbed the fabric of her panties against her privates. She blushed and held her hand further in front of her. She knew she would need to explore this feeling later, but now she had more reasons to want to change into dry pants.
She thought of the past accidents and thought about what triggered them. They occurred whenever she was alarmed and scared about something to do with the attack. Last night’s bed wetting was the exception, so maybe it was an anomaly or maybe she was just off about the whole accident thing to begin with. She did know she had no way to stop them or even predict them. She thought of the bag of Depends on the floor of her closet. A tear ran down her cheek when she realized what she would have to do.
Lia came out of the restaurant about fifteen minutes later. “They didn’t have any French silk. I got Reese’s peanut butter cup pie,” she said. She unlocked the passenger side door for Deborah and took the pie out of the plastic bag. She put the bag on the seat. “You can sit on this bag,” she said. When she sat down on the plastic, Lia handed her the Styrofoam box the pie was in and went to the other side.
“Lucky you made it,” said Deborah. “You only had one bag.”
Lia ignored her. “Let’s get you home and out of those wet pants.”
“Thank you, Lia,” she said. “Most people would have stopped being my friend. I guess I am embarrassing to be around. I have this.” She pointed with both hands to her lap.
“I can’t say I am not tempted, Alison.” Lia concentrated on driving, so she did not look at her.
“I promise I won’t leave puddles behind anymore,” she said. She thought of the Depends and how she didn’t want Lia to see them. She didn’t trust herself to stay dry anymore, so she would have to show Lia before they went to bed.
“Alison, you couldn’t help it,” Lia said. “Don’t make a promise you don’t know that you can keep.”
“You’ll see what I mean when we get to my house. It’s so embarrassing wetting myself all the time. I wonder what my mother is going to say when she sees me come home like this.”
“We can stop at my house and I can run in and get something for you to change into. You’ll have to change in the car.”
She wouldn’t mind changing in the car, but she was going to wear the diapers her mother got her until it was safe. “No, I don’t want to pee on your clothes too. Let’s just get to my house.”
When she got home her mother was not too happy. “What happened, Alison?” she asked. She saw Lia come in behind her. “Lia, go on up to Alison’s room.” She turned back to Deborah. “This is getting to be a problem. I am going to make an appointment at the doctor’s office for you. Until then, we’ll put you in the Depends I bought.”
“During the day too?” Deborah asked. She didn’t blame her if her mother did make her wear them.
“That is up to you,” her mother said. “No one will know if your wear them, but they do know if you wet your pants. When Lia leaves in the morning we’ll start on the Depends. At least until the doctor tells us what is wrong.”
Deborah closed her eyes. “I’ll wear them.” If this wasn’t a punishment for wetting her pants, the whole situation was a punishment for not saving those children. “I’ll wear them now.” She kept her head down and could not even look at her mother.
“Go take a shower. I will get your things. Lia will never know you are wearing protection.”
Deborah went to the upstairs bathroom and peeled off her wet clothes. She looked at the image of Alison in the mirror. “I’m sorry things had to work out like this, kid.” By the time she showered and dried off, her mother knocked on the door.
