Mommy and daddy had told me to lie about all my accidents, and I wanted to obey them so I wouldn’t get sent to an institution, but I had another feeling that this was a lie I wouldn’t be able to get away with.

“Yes… I had an accident. But I had just gotten distracted with all my cousins over for Thanksgiving.”

“And what happened after the accident? Did your cousins tease you? Were you punished for it?”

I took a brief pause again. I couldn’t give the wrong answer, but if mommy, daddy, and my sister were going to also be saying that I didn’t have potty accidents, my answer needed to match what they would say.

“They did tease me, but mommy just sent me back to my room to get cleaned up.”

“Are you sure that’s what happened? You don’t have to be embarrassed or afraid.”

“That’s really what happened,” I said with a stammer in my voice.

“Well, I think that is all for now,” the lady said, leading me out of the bedroom.