Chapter 11

Ally woke with a start, noticing the light streaming in through her window. She had only intended to rest her eyes for a few minutes while Laura cleaned up, but must have nodded off completely.

“Oh good, you’re awake” Sue observed, walking past Ally’s room. Ally pulled her covers up to her chin. She didn’t know if her mother had noticed that she’d slept with the back zip pyjamas on once again, but was keen to avoid explaining herself if she hadn’t.

“I know I’m still technically on leave, but I’m going to have to run into work for a few hours today” Sue told her. “Laura said she’d stop past, so you might want to get dressed”. Ally merely grunted in reply, not knowing what to say. Despite the now soaked diaper she was wearing, she resolved to wait for Laura to arrive rather than suffer the indignity of asking her mother to be release from her pyjamas once again.

Sue left a half hour later. She was a little miffed that Ally was still in bed, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. After all, if she didn’t want to be up when Laura arrived that was her business. Upon seeing that her mother had left, Ally quickly jumped out of bed. Now that Sue had gone, Ally would have no choice but to wait for Laura to arrive before she could change into some fresh clothes. She hoped her friend wouldn’t take too long.

Fortunately for Ally, Laura arrived less than 20 minutes later, giggling slightly when she saw Ally’s attire. “Oh just hurry up and let me out of this” Ally chided, annoyed both that Laura had put her in these pyjamas last night and that she was now laughing about it.

“Sure thing” Laura replied, still trying to suppress a smile. “Looks like that diaper held after all” she observed, undoing the tab from Ally’s pyjamas. “Wow, it’s really soaked” she said, pulling the zipper down a little further than she needed to.

“Shut up, Laura” Ally shot back. Even though Laura knew all about Ally’s bedwetting, she thought it was still a little mean of her to comment like that.

“Oh, lighten up” Laura responded. “And pop those pyjamas back on when you’re finished, I’ve got a present for you”. Ally didn’t know what sort of present Laura had in mind that would require her to wear the pyjamas, but was nonetheless intrigued. She did as requested, replacing the diaper with clean underwear and zipping the pyjamas back up as far as she was able.

“This better not be some sort of practical joke” she warned Laura, as her friend pulled the zipper the remainder of the way up.

“No joke” Laura replied, “now close your eyes and hold out your hands”. Ally did as she was instructed, still intrigued. She felt her friend slip something over her left hand, then her right.

“OK, you can open your eyes now” Laura offered. Ally looked down, surprised. Over each hand was a thick woollen mitten.

“Do you like them?” Laura asked. “I didn’t get a chance to give you anything on your birthday, you were overseas, so I hope these make up for it. They’re actually from the same company that makes those pyjamas – they’re supposed to match. That’s why I wanted you to wear them. I was looking up the pyjamas for Tommy and when I saw those mittens. I remembered how much you complain about the cold, and thought they’d be perfect for you!”

Ally examined them more closely, not sure what to say.

“Gee, they’re pretty thick though” Laura observed, a little worried. “I don’t think you’ll be able to use your hands too well while wearing them”

“I think that’s the idea” Ally observed

“What do you mean” Laura asked, confused.

“Um, you know these are special needs pyjamas” Ally thought she was stating the obvious. “I think these are supposed to stop you from using your hands. You know, hitting out or tearing at the pyjamas. You see those fasteners.

“Yeah?” Laura asked. To her they didn’t seem all that different to the fasteners on any other pair of mittens.

“Try doing them up” Ally challenged. Laura did as she was asked, managing the task easily.

“Now, how do you think I’m supposed to get them off?” Ally held up her hands for emphasis. Laura stared at them closely. The fasteners looped around each wrist and were held in place with a fairly sturdy looking buckle. The excess strapping fed back into the mitten, making it impossible to hook around something or even grip with teeth. Laura realised that Ally was right. With the thick padding, Ally would not be able to manipulate her fingers to remove them.

“Geez, I’m sorry Ally” Laura apologised, sounding dejected. “I swear, that had all sorts of clothing on that website. I just assumed they were extra warm. Like maybe for poor circulation. Maybe I can send them back”

“No, don’t” Ally told her, sad to hear the disappointment in Laura’s voice. The mittens may have been a fairly lousy present, but it was the thought that counted, and Laura had clearly put a fair bit of thought into them. “They might not be designed for it, but if you just leave the fasteners undone they’ll be easy to get on and off and really warm as well”.

“Really?” Laura said, her voice lighting up. She realised that Ally was right, maybe they would be useful after all. She undid the mittens, allowing Ally to slip them off easily.

Ally led Laura into the living room and flicked on the TV, jumping around movies on Netflix. Her mother normally wouldn’t approve of so much screen time, but since Sue wasn’t there to have a say on the matter it seemed like a good idea. Ally had been tempted to ask Laura to remove her pyjamas again, but they were warmer and cosier than any of her other clothes on this freezing winter’s day. Anyway, Laura already knew all about them, it wasn’t like she had anything more to be embarrassed about. She fiddled with the mittens. Her justification to Laura had only been to assuage her friend’s hurt feelings, but the more she wore them the more she relished the extra warmth and the more sense her explanation seemed to make. They slipped off very easily when unsecured, though, so Ally had taken to securing the left mitten, preventing it from falling off while leaving her right hand free to remove it as needed.

“I’m going to grab a drink, you want one?” Ally asked.

“No drinks on the carpet” Laura replied, firmly.

“Pardon?” Ally asked, surprised. This was, after all, her house and not Laura’s.

“It’s not my rule, it’s your mum’s” Laura explained, seeing the look on Ally’s face. “She noticed that spill last night, and said we weren’t to have any more drinks on the carpet. You can have it in the kitchen, of course”. Ally made a face. She wanted to sip her drink while watching the movie, not to pause and gulp it down.

Just then Laura’s phone rang.

“Hi Mum. Oh, OK. Sure. OK. Will do” Ally could only hear Laura’s side of the conversation.

“That was my mum” Laura explained, hanging up the phone. “She wants me to run back home and put the washing out on the line. I’ll only be a few minutes, wanna come?”

Ally thought about it. Normally she would have agreed readily, but she wouldn’t be caught dead walking down the street in her current attire. Changing clothes seemed too much effort, so she politely declined. Laura stepped out the front door, leaving Ally to watch the movie alone. Still thirsty, she decided to grab a drink after all and carried it back to the TV. What Laura didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

“Forgot my keys” Laura said jovially, stepping back into the room. Her smile turned to a frown as she noticed Ally with her drink.

“Come on, Ally” she said, taking the drink out of her friend’s hand. “You know what your mum said”

“Oh, mum says those sort of things all the time” Ally replied, dismissively. “She was just a little annoyed last night that’s all”

“That’s easy for you to say” Laura retorted. “I’ll be the one who’s in trouble, as I’m the one she told”. Even if Ally wouldn’t see the sense in her mother’s request, Laura expected that her friend wouldn’t want her to be the one to take the blame.

“Even better, then” Ally tried to lighten the mood. “I can have a drink, and you can be the one to get in trouble for it”

Laura’s expression showed that she wasn’t amused.

“Look, Laura” Ally started, not understanding why her friend was making such a big deal out of this. “If anything does spill – and it won’t – you can always tell mum that you told me not to but that I had it while you were out. It’s not like you’d have any way to stop me. Whatever I say now I can just grab it as soon as you leave”

“Actually, I certainly do have a way to stop you” Laura told Ally. Before Ally could even comprehend what she meant, Laura had reached for the fastener on her right mitten and firmly secured it.

Ally’s face turned to outrage as she realised what had happened. “You can’t do that!” she urged.

“Looks like I just did” Laura observed. “Now, are you going to behave while I’m gone, or would you rather wear those until I get back?”

“You can’t blackmail me!” Ally shouted in anger.

“Suit yourself” Laura replied nonchalantly, stepping out of the living room and closing the door behind her. Ally tried to open the door to follow but her mittens prevented her from getting any grip, and she was unable to turn the handle. She tried to get around this by gripping the handle between her forearms, but gave up on the attempt as she heard the front door close as well. She wouldn’t be able to follow Laura outside anyway.

Ally collapsed onto the couch, plotting her next move. She tried to bite at the mittens, using her teeth to undo the fasteners but that idea proved fruitless. In desperation she placed her left hand between her feet and tried to use them to pull the mitten off, but all she succeeded in doing was straining her arm. She kicked off her socks, trying to use her big toe to release the fastener, but this too proved futile.

Ally realised she was stuck. To add insult to injury the movie had finished, leaving a blinking screen waiting for her to select another title. With her mittens secured she was unable to operate the remote and was forced to sit idly and wait for Laura to return.

10 minutes passed, then 15. Ally paced backwards and forwards, unable to even leave the room thanks to her mittens. It was perhaps 20 minutes before she heard the front door open, signalling Laura’s return.

“TAKE THESE OFF” Ally shouted at Laura the moment she stepped back in, punching her in the arm to emphasise her point. With the padding provided by the mittens Laura barely even felt the strike and chuckled softly, infuriating Ally even further.

“I MEAN IT, LAURA, TAKE THEM OFF NOW” Ally continued unabated.

“What, so you can hit me harder” Laura retorted, annoyed herself that Ally would think to strike her. “I’ll take them off when you calm down and apologise for that!”

“You want ME to apologise?” Ally shot back. Laura sighed, realising there was no point in arguing with Ally in this state.

“Let’s see how you feel in a little while” she said. She picked up the remote and flicked to the next title before leaving the room and closing the door firmly behind her. Ally fumed, her hands still firmly enclosed in the mittens. Having no other choice, she sat back down and devoted her full attention to the screen. She wasn’t sure what title Laura had selected, but whatever it was it seemed to be intriguing. She felt her frustration ebb away gradually.

Laura gave Ally 15 minutes or so to calm down before coming back into the lounge. “Do you have something to say?” she asked, hoping not to provoke a confrontation.

“I’m sorry, Laura, I shouldn’t have hit you” Ally admitted.

“And I shouldn’t have forced you to wear those mittens either” Laura replied. The two girls hugged, in typical teenage fashion they were the best of friends once again. Laura undid Ally’s mittens and slid them off. Ally ran to her bedroom and threw them into the back of her closet, keen not to have to wear them again.

Chapter 12

Sue sat at the kitchen table, sipping at a large mug of coffee. Her good friend Helen sat across the table chatting. Sue hadn’t seen Helen since before the vacation, and she was keen to hear about the latest events in her life.

“And how’s Zoe?” Sue asked. Zoe was Helen’s only daughter. At 10, Zoe was two and a half years younger than Ally and so the two had never really been close friends. Nonetheless the two girls got along well enough. Each girl knew that the other still had bedwetting problems and Zoe looked up to Ally.

“Not terribly well, I’m afraid” Helen answered. “Some little terror at school found out that she still wets the bed and has been giving her hell about it. Now Zoe’s refusing to wear her diapers at all! I just can’t handle all the washing!”

A sense of déjà vu overcame Sue. This was exactly what she’d gone through with Ally!

“Ally had exactly the same problem when she was about Zoe’s age!” Sue exclaimed. Neither girl would be at all pleased to hear their mothers discussing such private details, but Sue and Helen had been outlets for each other for many years. If anything, this shared challenge had kept them together as friends.

“Really?” Helen asked. “How did you deal with it?”

“Well” Sue chuckled, able to look back and laugh with the benefit of hindsight. “My sister gave me these pyjamas that zip up in the back. Ally couldn’t get them off, so she couldn’t take off her diapers either!”

“Did that really work?” Helen asked.

“Oh, beautifully” Sue confirmed. “I only had to use them once before she got the hint. As a matter of fact, I’ve still got them. Let me show you what they look like.” Sue strode over to Ally’s room and collected the pyjamas from her closet. She held them up for Helen to see.

“Well, they certainly look … different” Helen wasn’t quite sure how to describe them. And they go on and off easily enough?

“For the adult putting them on, very easy. For the kid wearing them – no chance. Ally still can’t get them off herself.” Sue explained.

“How do you know that?” Helen asked. Sue explained the recent mix up with the luggage to a much bemused Helen.

“You may as well see how they work” Sue offered, keen to help out her friend. “ALLY” she called out loudly, without waiting for Helen’s reply.

“WHAT IS IT?” Ally shouted back from the lounge room.

“COME HERE” Sue called back. Ally did as she was told, not sure why she was being summoned.

“Ally, could you show Helen how these go on?” Sue asked politely. Ally’s face went red. This wasn’t something she particularly liked being showcased. “Just pull them on over your clothes”

“Oh Sue, she doesn’t have to” Helen interjected, sensing Ally’s embarrassment.

“Nonsense, she doesn’t mind, do you Ally?” Sue replied. Her response was phrased as a question, but from her tone Ally could tell it was more of a command.

“No, it’s fine” Ally replied, not wanting to sound like a petulant child by objecting and causing a scene. She tried to pull the pyjamas up over her pants, but the pants were too thick to allow it.

“Maybe get changed in your room?” Sue suggested, seeing the complication. Ally complied wordlessly and took the pyjamas into her room. She stripped down to her underwear and pulled on the pyjamas, zipping them up as far as she could manage. Ally returned to the kitchen gingerly. She told herself that she was just doing Helen a favour, but deep down she still felt a little foolish.

“Oh, good. Thanks Ally” Sue said, noticing her.

“Now, you just zip them up like this” Sue demonstrated, directing her instructions towards Helen. “And secure the tab like this”

While there was now no way that Ally could remove the pyjamas herself, she was actually pleased to have them zipped all the way up. The unzipped portion of the pyjamas had flapped against her back, giving her an irrational feeling of exposure.

“And they’re comfortable?” Helen asked Ally.

“Yeah, I can’t complain” Ally replied. The pyjamas were in fact extremely comfortable, but Ally didn’t want to sound too enthusiastic about them.

“And you can’t get out of them?” Helen asked the real question.

“No” Ally said. She moved her fingers around for the tab, demonstrating her reach. As before, she was barely able to brush her fingers against it, and certainly couldn’t get a grip to release it or to undo the zipper.

“Do you mind if I try?” Helen asked, sounding interested.

“Sure” Ally shrugged. Helen undid the tab on the back of Ally’s pyjamas and slid the zipper down a short distance. To complete her test she slid the zipper back up and secured the tab into position.

“Seems easy enough” Helen pronounced. “You know, it might be worth a shot!”

“You can have Ally’s, if you like” Sue offered. “I don’t think she’ll be needing them again” Even though the comment was made in jest, Ally still blushed at the implication.

Helen chucked. “Thanks for the offer, but Zoe’s a lot smaller than Ally. There’s no way those would fit her.”

Sue gave Helen the details of a place where she could order her own set of pyjamas before releasing Ally from her pyjamas. Helen left shortly after, leaving Ally to wonder how Zoe would react.

Chapter 13

It wasn’t until the following Thursday that Sue saw Helen again, during which time Ally had started back at school. While she’d greatly enjoyed the holiday, she was also happy to get back into something approaching a normal routine.

“How did it go with Zoe?” Sue asked, eager for an update.

“Terribly, I’m afraid” Helen replied, despondently. “I bought the pyjamas as you suggested, but she outright refused to wear them. I tried bribing her, punishing her, but there was simply no way she was going to let me put them on”.

“Hmm, I never ran into that one with Ally” Sue replied honestly. “Really just the threat of it was enough to get her to behave; I never had to force the issue.”

“Well it was worth a try.” Helen replied. “I guess all I’m out is a pair of pyjamas”.

“Maybe not” Sue replied, another idea coming to mind. “What if we have Zoe over for a sleepover and Ally wears hers as well? Maybe if Zoe sees Ally wearing them she won’t have such a strong objection.”

“Well, actually that sounds like a great idea” Helen replied. “But will Ally go for it?”

“Oh, I’m sure she will” Sue replied confidently.

Sue waited until Ally returned home from school before telling her about her plan.

“You want me to do WHAT?” Ally was startled.

“Calm down Ally” Sue replied, “It’s only for one night, and you’ve been wearing them so often anyway.”

“It’s not the same thing!” Ally replied. “I didn’t have anyone else over!”

“You had Laura over” Sue pointed out. “Anyway, you’ll be doing Zoe a favour. I’ve already told Helen she can come, please tell me I don’t have to call and cancel.”

“I guess it’ll be OK” Ally accepted, far from thrilled with the plan. She wasn’t really sure how much of a choice she had in the matter.

“Great then, it’s settled” Sue confirmed.

Helen and Zoe arrived around 7:00 the following evening, just in time for the four of them to share a late dinner. Helen and Sue conversed easily, but Zoe and Ally quickly excused themselves to play on Ally’s Nintendo. Zoe picked the game, Mario Kart, which she’d obviously had quite a bit of experience at. Despite the fact that she was two and a half years older, Ally found herself struggling to hold her own and only managed to win three of their seven races. Zoe beamed as her character pulled past Ally’s just before the finishing line, winning the final decider.

“Haha, I won!” Zoe gloated.

“Rematch!” Ally declared.

“Not now, girls” Sue interjected. “It’s time for you two to get ready for bed.”

Ally knew that was code for ‘change into your diaper and put your pyjamas on’ and she knew better than to argue, particularly in front of Helen and Zoe. She’d already showered before Zoe arrived, so ran into her room, stripped down and taped on her diaper. She pulled her back zip pyjamas on and zipped them up as far as she was able before returning to the lounge. Zoe stared at her as Sue finished zipping up the pyjamas and securing the tab, taking in her attire. Ally wasn’t sure whether Helen had remained silent about the pyjamas, or if Zoe was just surprised to actually see her wearing them.

“Your turn, Zoe” Helen declared. Doubt was evident in Zoe’s face, and for a moment Ally thought she was going to refuse outright, but eventually she relented. Helen led Zoe into Ally’s room and the two emerged a few moments later. Zoe’s pyjamas were identical to Ally’s but for the colour. Where Ally’s were striped in green and white, Zoe’s featured pink and white. Even though she’d had no input into the colour selection, Ally decided she preferred the green.

Zoe scratched at the top of the pyjamas as she followed Helen out. While she must have thought she was being surreptitious, it was clear she was trying to find the release to the tab. Ally knew that she’d have no success on that front.

“You’re not going to laugh at me?” Zoe asked, half hiding behind her mother.

“That’d be pretty silly when I’m wearing the same pyjamas” Ally replied, sensibly.

“OK, time for bed” Sue declared. Zoe followed Ally into her room as Helen bid her goodbyes. Sue had set up a camping mattress on the floor with a spare duvet, which Zoe jumped onto. Ally took her own bed as Sue said goodnight and closed the door behind them. Unsurprisingly, the two girls were too hyped up to get to sleep easily. Ally found her iPad, which she had left in her room after returning from school. Sue didn’t approve of electronics after bedtime, and Ally wasn’t sure if she would made an exception for tonight or whether she’d just forgotten about the iPad. The two girls sat on Ally’s bed, jumping somewhat randomly through YouTube videos. Ally kept the iPad volume on low, hoping that Sue wouldn’t hear them.

The two chuckled loudly after bringing up a particularly hilarious cat video. They tried to cover their mouths, but Sue had clearly heard.

“OK girls, lights out” Sue announced, opening the bedroom door. She wasn’t angry, but nonetheless took the iPad from Ally’s hands. Ally did as instructed and lay down on the bed. From the floor beside her she could hear Zoe struggling with her pyjamas.

“You won’t get out of them, you know” Ally informed her, the noise starting to become an irritation. Zoe sighed, realising Ally was right.

“I can’t believe mum would do this!” Zoe complained.

“They’re not that bad” Ally tried to comfort Zoe. “After all, they’re warm and comfortable”

“And you can’t take them off!” Zoe explained her grievance.

“Well, yeah, but it’s not like you need to at night. Unless, you know, you’re trying to take off your diaper – which is kinda the point.” Ally explained pragmatically.

“It’s not like I even need diapers!” Zoe shot back, now getting to the root of the grievance. “I hardly ever wet the bed!”

“Well, even if it’s only sometimes, it’s still a lot of washing that has to get done, and the mattress still stinks.” Ally observed. “I’d rather wake up in a diaper than a wet bed”

“I’d rather not wake up wet at all” Zoe complained, ending the conversation. Ally didn’t say it, but she was quite glad that Zoe was wearing her diaper and pyjamas – she didn’t need her carpet to be smelling of pee.

Chapter 14

The girls woke late the following morning, having had fairly little sleep.

“Come on girls, breakfast’s ready!” Sue said, coming into Ally’s room.

“We still need to get dressed” Ally replied.

“Are either of you wet?” Sue asked. Both girls shook their heads, with Ally blushing a little.

“Then let’s eat first, before it gets cold”. Sue had cooked bacon and eggs, which Ally and Zoe devoured eagerly. They looked a bit silly in their pyjamas, Ally reflected, but the bacon and eggs was too good to pass up.

* DING DONG * Ally froze momentarily as she heard the doorbell ring, before realising it would only be Helen here to pick up Zoe. Sue let Helen in.

“You girls are up late!” Helen commented upon seeing their attire. Neither Ally nor Zoe responded.

Sue and Helen unzipped their daughters’ pyjamas once they’d finished, leaving them to get dressed.

“We must have Ally over at our house soon” Helen commented politely.

“How about tomorrow night?” Zoe replied, eagerly. Helen thought about it. Normally she wouldn’t like two sleepovers in as many days, but she realised that it might help establish a pattern to convince Zoe to wear her pyjamas.

“Well, only if it’s OK with you, Sue.” Helen replied.

“Fine by me” Sue approved. “I’m going out tomorrow night anyway.”

“It’s settled, then” Helen declared. Ally realised she was the only one who hadn’t had any input into the conversation, but decided against objecting. For one thing, she didn’t want to upset Zoe, but she’d also quite enjoyed the night.

Sue dropped Ally off at Helen’s early that evening and didn’t linger, she had her own plans for the night. Ally fired up Zoe’s Nintendo, keen to improve upon her performance the previous night. Much to Zoe’s dismay, Ally managed to win five of their seven races, causing Zoe to throw down her controller in disgust.

“OK girls, I think it’s time for bed” Helen interjected, hearing the sound of the controller being thrown. “And don’t throw that, it’s very expensive!”

It was not yet 9PM, but Helen reasoned from her daughter’s behaviour that she must be overtired. She presumed the girls had had very little sleep last night, so an early night tonight might be a good idea.

“Oh mum, not yet!” Zoe objected.

“I mean it, Zoe” Helen said in a no-nonsense tone of voice. Zoe huffed, disappointed. Ally complied first, changing into her diaper and pulling on her pyjamas. Helen zipped Ally’s pyjamas up, which felt a little strange to Ally. After all, she didn’t really know Helen all that well.

“Your turn” Helen declared to Zoe. Zoe had agreed easily enough the previous night, but now in her own home she was less cooperative.

“I don’t want to wear them!” she declared angrily.

“Come on Zoe, you don’t want me to be the only one, do you?” Ally asked, trying to defuse the situation. Zoe hesitated for a moment, seeming to relent.

“One more game, then I’ll put them on” she offered.

“You promise?” Helen asked.

“Promise.” Zoe declared. Helen wouldn’t normally have given in to that sort of blackmail, but right now it seemed easier than getting into an almighty argument. She only hoped Zoe would keep her promise.

Zoe flicked the game back on, now keen for a rematch. Ally picked up her own controller, feeling just a little uncomfortable to be stuck in her diaper and pyjamas while Zoe sat next to her in her regular clothes. Zoe had selected a Grand Prix event, which stretched the definition of one more game, but Ally didn’t say anything. The two were neck and neck until the final race. Realising that Zoe would demand yet another match if she lost, Ally intentionally swerved off the track in the final lap, allowing Zoe to overtake her.

“I won!” Zoe declared proudly, having no idea Ally had let her win.

“OK, DEFINITELY time for bed now” Helen said emphatically. Coming off the high of victory, Zoe put on her diaper and let her mother secure her pyjamas as promised and the three of them headed into Zoe’s room.

Ally hadn’t seen the room before, and was a little surprised by what she found. Zoe’s large double bed sat in the corner of the room, half covered in plushies. Realising that they would be sharing the bed Ally hopped in, pushing the toys aside as she did. Zoe followed her right in after. Rather than leaving the girls alone, however, Helen pulled a chair to the side of the bed and took out a book – A Series of Unfortunate Events – and began reading. Ally was surprised, her own mother had quit reading to her well before she was Zoe’s age, but Zoe seemed to enjoy it. Ally lay back, imagining the events in the book to Helen’s soothing voice. She sensed Zoe starting to snooze beside her. Up until now, Ally hadn’t realised quite how tired she was, and she fell asleep herself shortly after. Realising that both girls were asleep, Helen put down the book and quietly left the room.

Chapter 15

“Wake up sleepyheads!” Helen called, coming into Zoe’s bedroom the following morning. Ally groaned.

“Did either of you have an accident last night?” Helen asked

“I’m dry!” Zoe proclaimed proudly. Ally blushed. Her diaper was more than a little wet and she certainly wasn’t used to discussing it so openly.

“That’s OK Ally” Helen said, noticing Ally’s red face and reluctance to respond. “Do you need any help cleaning up?”

“No” Ally replied simply, her face turning even redder. Helen unzipped Ally’s sleeper and she ran to the bathroom to change. Helen repeated the process with Zoe’s sleeper, and both girls switched into normal daytime attire. The two girls ate a fairly standard breakfast of cereal and toast before Sue arrived to collect Ally.

“That was fun” Zoe commented. “You’ve got to come over again soon.”

“You’re welcome anytime” Helen confirmed.

“Uh huh, sometime soon.” Ally answered, noncommittally.

“How about Friday?” Sue offered. “I’ve got a late night conference call scheduled with customers in three different time zones. I could be working well into the night, so it would actually be really helpful if you could take Ally.”

Ally wasn’t keen on being talked about as if she were a child in need of a babysitter, but Sue’s words were directed to Helen, not to her.

“We’d be happy to take Ally” Helen agreed.

The week proceeded rather uneventfully. Ally quite liked all of her teachers, and felt she’d made rather a good start to the new school year. Friday came around almost before Ally realised it. It had been decided that Helen would pick Ally up from school so that Sue wouldn’t need to leave work before her meeting. Ally had packed her pyjamas and diaper in her school bag, which thankfully hadn’t been noticed by anyone at school. She spotted Helen’s car waiting for her as she left the school grounds and hurried over to meet her. She was surprised, however, to find that Zoe wasn’t in there.

“Where’s Zoe?” Ally asked.

“Her dad’s going to be away on business for a couple of weeks, so he wanted to take Zoe this weekend instead of next.” Helen explained. Ally knew that Zoe’s father usually took her on alternate weekends, ever since he had split from Helen.

“Oh” Ally said. “You didn’t say anything.”

“He only told me about it yesterday, apparently it was quite last minute.” Helen elaborated. “I would have cancelled, but I didn’t want your mum to have to arrange something else at the last minute when she’ll be working”

“I could have just stayed home on my own” Ally protested. In truth, Sue probably wouldn’t have allowed this, but she didn’t want Helen to know that.

“Maybe” Helen said. “But I’m sure she would have been worried about you. Tonight’s important for her, she doesn’t need any distractions.” Ally understood, and resolved not to discuss the issue further.

“Zoe was very disappointed to miss tonight, she asked if you could come over next Friday as well” Helen requested.

“I guess” Ally replied, not wanting to get the evening off to a bad start.

“Hey, if Zoe’s not here does that mean I don’t have to wear those pyjamas?” Ally asked. Helen chuckled, surprised that Ally would ask for her permission.

“Of course you don’t have to” Helen confirmed. “But did you bring any others?”

“No” Ally replied. Of course she hadn’t had any reason to.

“Well, I suppose we could stop past your house. Do you have a key with you?”

“No” Ally replied again. Sue didn’t like her taking keys to school when she wouldn’t need them, just in case they got lost.

“Well then, I guess that’s that” Helen told her. Ally was disappointed. Wearing the back zip pyjamas for Zoe’s benefit wasn’t so bad, but wearing them when she was alone with Helen would make her feel very childish.

They arrived back at Helen’s, and Ally flicked on Zoe’s Nintendo. Zoe’s selection of games was limited, however, and mostly designed for younger children. Playing them with Zoe might have been fun, but playing them alone lost its appeal very quickly. Ally wandered out into the kitchen, looking for something else to do.

“Bored already?” Helen commented. “Why don’t you get your homework done?”

Ally made a face. Friday night was meant for relaxing; she never started her homework until Saturday.

“All right, all right” Helen said, laughing at Ally’s expression. “Tell you what, why don’t you help me with dinner?”

That didn’t sound like the most enjoyable way to spend a Friday night, but Ally had nothing better to do and didn’t want to say no in any case. Helen was cooking stir-fry and Ally asked what she might do to help. Even though she didn’t have a lot of experience cooking Ally was a bit put out at being assigned tasks like slicing the vegetables with a butter knife, that might normally be allocated to a much younger child.

“Now can you bring me the sauce?” Helen motioned. Ally picked up the pot of sauce, which Helen had left sitting on the far benchtop. She carried it carefully towards Helen, but her feet slipped on the recently polished floor. Ally reached out to steady herself, managing to avoid a fall. She stared down at the school dress she was wearing, half afraid to look. A sizeable amount of sauce had spilt over the top of the pot and was now running down her dress. Helen noticed only a moment later.

“Quick, get that off, I’ll have to soak it before it stains.” Helen proclaimed. “Run and have a shower, then get changed.”

Pushed on by Helen’s frantic tone, Ally did as she was told and ran to the bathroom. She left her clothes outside the bathroom door and took a long, hot shower, composing herself as best she could. Wrapping herself in a towel, she opened the bathroom door. Helen had thrown her underwear and dress into the wash. Only then did Ally remember that she hadn’t packed a change of clothes as fitting them into her schoolbag would have been too difficult. She had planned to put her uniform back on for the trip home and change in the morning once she arrived.

With that no longer an option, she rushed into Zoe’s room. She thought about her options but could only come up with one, so despite the fact that it wasn’t even 6:00 she dug her pyjamas out of her bag. Without even a spare pair of underwear, Ally had no choice but to tape on her diaper before pulling on the pyjamas and returning to the kitchen. By now Helen had finished preparing the stir fry.

“Wouldn’t you rather change into some normal clothes? It’s not that late yet” Helen asked.

“I forgot to bring any” Ally said, apologetically.

“Oh, well. In that case, nothing wrong with getting your pyjamas on early. They’re probably more comfortable anyway!” Helen replied kindly, trying to lift Ally’s spirits.

“I guess” Ally replied, unconvinced. She didn’t know if Helen had noticed the diaper, but hoped that she hadn’t.

“Would you like me to zip you up?” Helen offered. Ally simply nodded as Helen pulled the zipper to its full height.

“I know, how about we make some cookies for desert, that’ll cheer you up!” Helen offered enthusiastically. Ally doubted it, but appreciated the sentiment. Helen prepared the dough and Ally began to knead it, adding a healthy supply of chocolate chips to the mix. She felt a little silly baking cookies in her pyjamas, but quickly forgot about it and began to enjoy the task. Helen had been right, she realised. They placed the dough into the oven and began to eat dinner as the cookies baked.

“Careful now Ally” Helen admonished as she placed the bowl of stir-fry in front of Ally. “You don’t have anything else to wear, so don’t spill any on your pyjamas!”

“I won’t” Ally promised.

“Let’s just be sure” Helen stated, remembering how clumsy Ally had been with the sauce. She took a cloth from the linen press and tucked it underneath Ally’s chin, into the neckline of the pyjamas forming a bib. Ally turned a little red, but couldn’t reasonably object after the earlier incident. She finished her meal, careful to avoid spilling any.

“There, all done” Ally declared. Helen walked up to Ally and grasped at the cloth. Rather than simply removing it, however, she rubbed it against Ally’s lips and around her face, collecting sauce.

“There, much better” Helen commented. Ally knew she was a messy eater but blushed further at this.

Ally polished off most of the cookies before returning to the Nintendo. She flicked through games, trying to find one she might like.

“Would you like me to play that with you?” Helen offered. Ally nodded, surprised. Her own mother never liked to play on the Nintendo.

“How about Wii Sports, I know that one” Helen suggested. They picked the Tennis game and each took a controller. Ally felt strange wearing her diaper while playing, as it made it just that little bit more difficult to move, but she greatly enjoyed the game. Helen might have known Wii sports, but Ally was far more experienced and won easily.

“I think it’s time for bed” Helen declared, as she lost the final round.

“It’s only 8:30!” Ally protested. That was far too early for bed on a Friday night.

“I know, but I’ve still got work to do.” Helen declared. As a writer, Helen had a great deal of flexibility as to when she worked, but still had to meet deadlines.

“You can do your work, I won’t interrupt” Ally promised.

“No, Ally, it’s time for bed.” Helen said, firmly. While Ally was certainly old enough not to need constant supervision, she was also likely to make too much noise for Helen to concentrate.

“All right” Ally relented, realising that Helen had done both her and her mother a big favour by taking her for the night. “Can I use the bathroom first?”

“Of course, Ally, you don’t need to ask” Helen replied.

“Actually, I kinda do” Ally admitted, pointing to the zipper on the back of the pyjamas. Helen chucked, realising her mistake, and unzipped Ally’s pyjamas. Ally carefully untaped her diaper before using the bathroom. The diaper featured a large landing zone, allowing her to retape it easily. She grabbed her iPad from her school bag and headed back to Helen.

“Does your mum let you use your iPad in bed?” Helen asked, zipping up Ally’s pyjamas.

“No” Ally admitted.

“Then you’d best hand it over” Helen insisted. Seeing the reluctance on Ally’s face, Helen made an offer. “I’ll tell you what, if you’d like I’ll read you the next part of that story we started last week.”

“OK” Ally agreed. While she felt a little old to be read to, she had nonetheless enjoyed the experience the previous week and didn’t want to reject Helen’s offer either. Ally hopped into Zoe’s bed as Helen pulled out the book. Helen spoke in quite an animated voice, and managed to make the story sound quite exciting. Ally found herself enjoying it despite herself.

“Good night Ally” Helen said, finishing the chapter. Ally fell asleep shortly after.

Chapter 16

Ally woke early the following morning, having had such an early night the night before. While she wanted to get the day started, she also didn’t want to wake Helen who had been working until quite late. She resolved to stay in Zoe’s room until Helen got up. Briefly she considered doing her homework, but it all required the use of her iPad. Helen hadn’t let her keep it in the room, and going out to find it would undoubtedly wake Helen. Ally found a colouring book and pencils that Zoe had discarded on her bedside table, and decided to kill time by finishing one of the sheets. She carefully worked her pencils up to the edges of the lines, and didn’t even notice Helen as she came up to the doorway.

“Uh, how long have you been standing there?” Ally asked.

“Not long” Helen replied, walking up to Ally. “You’ve done very well” she offered, looking down at the book.

“I was just killing time” Ally stammered, embarrassed at having been caught in such a childish pursuit.

“I know, I’m only teasing” Helen replied. “Any accidents last night?” Helen continued. Ally shook her head, embarrassed at how directly Helen was addressing the issue. She headed for the laundry to find her clothes. Unfortunately, Helen didn’t have an electric dryer, and while she had hung Ally’s uniform up to dry it was still much too wet to wear.

“Sorry, Ally, but you’ll have to keep those on after all” Helen said, rubbing her hand against the uniform. Ally was disappointed, but realised there was no other option.

“OK, but I’d like to use the bathroom” Ally requested. Helen unzipped the pyjamas and Ally headed to the bathroom, taping her diaper back on as she left. Helen once again zipped up the pyjamas and poured Ally a bowl of cereal along with a big glass of orange juice for breakfast. Sue arrived part way through breakfast.

“Oh, you’re not dressed yet” Sue commented, surprised.

“I spilt sauce on my uniform and Helen washed it, so I don’t have anything else to wear” Ally admitted.

“Well, you’ll just have to get changed at home then” Sue replied. Ally followed her into the car, waving goodbye to Helen.

“This isn’t the way home” Ally observed.

“We have to stop past my office on the way back” Sue replied. “It was so late last night that I left some important documents there, which I’ll need to work on over the weekend.”

“Can’t you go back later?” Ally complained, not wanting to be stuck in the pyjamas for any longer than necessary.

“No, I can’t” Sue responded, a little frustrated. “I’ve got a ton of work to do as it is, it’s not my fault you spilt food all over your uniform!”

Not wanting to provoke her mother further, Ally didn’t respond. The trip to Sue’s office took almost 45 minutes and she slouched down in her seat the entire way, hoping that no-one she knew pulled up beside them. By the time they arrived Ally was ready to use the bathroom again, but there was no way she was going to follow Sue into the office dressed as she was. She resolved to wait, hoping her mother would be quick. 10 minutes passed, then 20. By now the effects of the orange juice were starting to make themselves known and Ally crossed her legs in an attempt to squeeze shut her bladder. She realised that it was hopeless. Even if she held on until Sue returned, she wouldn’t last the entire trip back and even if she made a bee-line for the toilets in the office she wouldn’t be able to get her pyjamas off to use them. Left with no other alternative she released the contents of her bladder into the diaper, glad to be rid of the pressure even as she felt the warmth pool around her legs.

It was another 15 minutes before Sue made it back. She apologised, having been caught in a discussion with a colleague relating to the previous night’s meeting. By the time they made it back home Ally’s diaper was cool and soggy, feeling much like it did when she woke up wet in the morning. Ally ran into the house quickly, praying none of the neighbours would see her.

“Could you unzip me?” Ally asked.

“Sure” Sue complied. If she noticed the condition of Ally’s diaper, she didn’t say anything.

Chapter 17

Sue dropped Ally off the following Friday, much to Zoe’s delight. Zoe flicked on the Nintendo and the two played up until dinner time.

“OK girls, you’ll have to get ready for bed soon” Helen declared after the girls had finished dinner. “I’ve got a lot of work to get done.”

“Ohhhh” Zoe sighed. “Can’t we stay up for a while longer? It’s a sleepover!”

“What if we promise to be extra quiet?” Ally added, not wanting to go to bed at a time that qualified as early for a 10 year old.

“Well, all right then” Helen relented. After all, it wasn’t often that Zoe had someone over, and she didn’t want to ruin the night for her daughter. “But you’ll have to put yourselves to bed, and you’ll have to get ready now.”

“Fine with me” Ally agreed.

“So long as you’re in bed by 9:30. I don’t want to have to come out and remind you!” Helen said, firmly.

“First night back in normal pyjamas!” Zoe declared. Ally looked surprised.

“What do you mean?” Ally’s question was directed more towards Helen than Zoe.

“Oh dear, I texted your mum earlier but she mustn’t have read the message” Helen apologised. “Since Zoe’s been so good about wearing her pyjamas for the last two weeks, I told her she could go back to the regular ones as long as she doesn’t try to take off her diaper.”

Ally’s face fell. No-one had told her about this, so she had only brought the back zip pyjamas she’d worn the last few times. Zoe put on her diaper and changed into her pyjamas immediately, proud to have them back. Ally was far more hesitant, but as she’d just agreed to get ready she didn’t really have much choice. Helen zipped her up and left the girls to their own devices.

Zoe’s expression was smug as Helen left the room, but thankfully for Ally she didn’t comment. True to her word, Ally kept an eye on the time and the two girls hopped into bed as 9:30 hit. Zoe fell asleep easily, but Ally found it that much more difficult knowing that Zoe could get in and out of her pyjamas when she could not.

Ally woke in the middle of the night to the sound of loud groaning beside her. She bolted awake, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from her. As the fog of sleep lifted, she realised that it was only Zoe having a nightmare. Relieved, she rubbed the younger girl’s shoulder, trying to comfort her.

“Ally?” Zoe said, still half asleep.

“Shhh, it’s OK. You were just having a bad dream” Ally comforted. She adjusted her position in the bed, feeling as she did so that her diaper was mildly damp. It would easily hold another wetting, she knew, but was nonetheless irritating.

“Hey Zoe, since you’re awake can you unzip me? I’d like to use the bathroom.” Ally didn’t particularly want to admit the state of her diaper to Zoe.

“Sorry Ally, I can’t” Zoe apologised. “Mum made me promise before you came over the first time that we wouldn’t try to undo each others pyjamas. She said I’d be in so much trouble if I did.”

Ally had wondered why Zoe had never asked her to remove her pyjamas previously. Now she had her answer.

“I’m sure she won’t mind” Ally pressed.

“No Ally, I can’t!” Zoe started to sound angry. “Ask mum if you need to go.”

Ally thought about it, but decided against it. Waking Helen over an only slightly wet diaper didn’t seem like a great idea.

“Never mind” Ally said, defeated. The two girls quickly went back to sleep.

Zoe woke first the following morning, jostling Ally awake as well.

“Shhh, we’ll wake your mum” Ally admonished, quietly getting to her feet. Thankfully, her diaper was no more wet than it had been when she’d woken during the night, but now she really did need to use the bathroom.

“Sorry” Zoe apologised, doing her best to remain quiet.

“Zoe, could you unzip me now?” Ally asked quietly.

“Ally, I told you last night that I can’t!” Zoe replied, forcefully.

“I don’t think your mum meant in the morning!” Ally shot back.

“You’re just jealous that I don’t have to wear those silly pyjamas when you do!” Zoe exploded. “You’re just trying to get me into trouble! If you don’t want to wear them then stop getting in trouble!”

Ally recoiled a little at Zoe’s anger. She hadn’t meant to upset her.

“I’m sorry” she apologised. She could hardly blame Zoe for thinking that she too had been forced into the pyjamas by her mother, after all that was the story they’d all spun to her in the first place.

“What’s going on?” Helen bellowed, hearing the commotion and running into the room.

“Ally wanted me to take her pyjamas off” Zoe tattled. “I said no.”

“That’s a good girl” Helen praised. The look on Ally’s face was indignant, but she could hardly criticise Zoe for obeying the very explicit instructions she herself had issued. Helen unzipped Ally’s pyjamas and Ally ran to the bathroom to relieve herself. Zoe’s anger ebbed away as the three of them ate breakfast, and by the time Sue arrived to collect Ally she was as happy as ever.

Chapter 18

Another week went by of relative normality. Sue had planned yet another date with Nathan that Friday, only this time she would be staying out with him for the whole night. To this end she’d arranged for Laura to stay with Ally once again. She was a little apprehensive about leaving the girls alone for such a long time – she wouldn’t likely be back until late morning – but reasoned that they had done well while she was out on her shorter dates so there was really no need to worry. For her part, Ally was excited at the prospect of spending an entire night without adults.

Friday morning came and Ally rushed home from school, eager to get the night started. An hour or so before Sue was due to leave she heard her phone ring.

“Who could that be?” she asked aloud, hoping it wasn’t Nathan calling to cancel. It was Helen.

“Oh Sue, thank god you picked up.” Helen said. “My mum’s taken a fall and I really need to be with her tonight. Is there any chance you could take Zoe for the night?”

Sue grimaced. Under other circumstances she would have been more than happy to, but Nathan had purchased very expensive and non-refundable theatre tickets for the two of them. She couldn’t cancel on him. Nonetheless, she wanted to help out Helen if she could, particularly given that she had taken Ally without complaint when she’d had to work.

“I’m going out tonight” she responded. “But Ally will be here. I’m sure the sitter won’t mind looking after Zoe as well.”

“Oh really, that would be great. You’re a lifesaver, Sue” Helen responded thankfully.

Sue hung up the phone and told Ally about this latest development. Ally had been looking forward to spending the night with Laura, but she didn’t really mind having Zoe around as well. Helen dropped Zoe off and Laura arrived shortly after. The three girls played on Ally’s Nintendo while Sue finished her preparations and left the house. They only had two controllers, though, so had to share between them with each girl taking their turn to sit out the action. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and watching, they each took this chance to take a shower and change into their pyjamas. Ally was glad to be back to her regular ones, now that Helen was letting Zoe back in hers as well. Playing this way got dull after a while, though, so Ally flicked on Netflix and browsed through the titles.

Ally’s room had been big enough for her and Zoe, but wouldn’t fit Laura as well, so they pulled as many blankets and pillows as they could find into the living room and setup a makeshift sleeping area. It was messy, but they’d have time in the morning to pack it all up. Sue had a home popcorn maker which Ally flicked on, much to Zoe and Laura’s delight. They all snuggled under the blankets as they watched the show. “OK you two, time to get ready for bed” Laura insisted as the clock ticked towards 9:30. She’d noticed Zoe’s yawn and half expected her to fall asleep before the movie was finished. Zoe and Ally complied, changing into their diapers. The credits began to roll, but Ally wasn’t yet ready for the night to end. Neither Zoe nor Laura objected as she flicked on another title.

Ally woke with a start a few hours later, feeling something rub against her side. She yelled out in surprise, loudly enough to wake Laura and Zoe.

“What’s wrong?” Laura asked, sounding a little scared. Ally realised it had only been Zoe’s foot, they hadn’t exactly co-ordinated their sleeping positions. From the light still emanating from the TV, Ally realised they must all have fallen asleep before the second film had finished.

“Nothing” Ally noted, relieved.

“You scared me half to death!” Laura replied, standing up and walking over the blankets. After that adrenaline rush she needed to move around.

“What the hell?” Laura asked. It took Ally a moment to realise Laura wasn’t referring to her yell. “Ewwww, it’s all wet!” she said in disgust, picking up a blanket. She stared at Zoe and Ally.

“Which one of you wet the bed?” Laura asked, holding up the blanket. Sue had told her about Zoe’s recent diaper refusal and associated bedwetting.

“Not me” Zoe and Ally insisted together.

“Maybe it was an accident, maybe one of your diaper’s leaked” Laura said, offering a way out. Both Ally and Zoe shook their heads.

“I’m not wet!” Zoe added.

“Well, it had to be one of you. Let’s check your diapers.” Laura said.

“Laura!” Ally said indignantly. She didn’t want Laura checking her diaper!

“See, see, it’s her! She won’t show you her diaper.” Zoe chimed in.

“It is not” Ally said, turning red.

“OK, Zoe, you first” Laura requested. She knew that Zoe was by far the more likely suspect, but needed evidence before accusing her. Keen to prove her innocence, Zoe pulled her pyjama bottoms down to her ankles, showing Laura her diaper.

“Looks dry” Laura commented, although it wasn’t all that easy to tell from the light of the TV. Laura placed two fingers against the diaper. “It is dry” she confirmed. Zoe pulled per pyjamas up with a huff.

“Your turn Ally” Laura commanded, starting to wonder if it had in fact been Ally. Realising that the burden of proof was now on her, Ally slid her bottoms down just enough for Laura to get a look. Laura placed her fingers against Ally’s diaper as well. “Dry too” she confirmed.

Laura sighed. The only other explanation was that one of the girls had taken off their diaper earlier and put it back on to thwart detection after realising they’d had an accident. Again Laura was almost sure it would have been Zoe, but had no proof.

“OK, one of you must have taken it off earlier” Laura articulated her theory. “Which one of you was it?” She stared back and forth between Ally and Zoe, but neither girl had a guilty look to confirm her suspicions.

“Well then, if neither one of you will own up, you’ll both have to wear your other pyjamas to make sure this doesn’t happen again” Laura insisted. Helen had left Zoe’s back zip pyjamas with Sue just in case, and Laura was confident Ally’s would still be in her closet.

“That’s not fair!” Zoe and Ally said at once, staring at each other.

“Then is someone going to own up?” Laura asked. Zoe and Ally shot smouldering glances at each other but both stayed silent. Laura retrieved both pairs of back zip pyjamas and handed them to Zoe and Ally. Both girls looked angry, but their anger was directed at each other not at Laura and they both changed pyjamas without further complaint. Laura zipped them both up and secured the tabs.

Laura left the room to soak the blanket and Ally and Zoe lay back down on their makeshift beds. For the first time in quite a while, Ally struggled at the neckline of her pyjamas, trying to get them off. Zoe smirked, causing a jet of anger to surge through Ally.

“Why didn’t you own up you little shit!” Ally yelled, grabbing Zoe harder than she’d intended to. Ally had expected Zoe to deny it, perhaps even yell back, but hadn’t expected the younger girl to burst into tears.

“I’m sorry, Zoe” Ally apologised, realising she’d gone too far. Zoe’s tears only intensified.

“What’s going on?” Laura asked, running back in.

“She hurt me!” Zoe insisted, pointing to Ally.

“Ally?” Laura asked, wanting her side of the story.

“I didn’t mean to” Ally replied, weakly. Now it was Laura’s turn to be annoyed. She realised Ally was upset, but for god’s sake Zoe was only ten. What was Ally thinking intimidating a much smaller child?

“Wait here” Laura commanded. Zoe’s tears gradually subsided as Laura returned with the mittens she’d bought Ally only a few weeks earlier.

“Laura, no” Ally insisted, realising what her friend had in mind.

“Then you shouldn’t have hit Zoe” Laura replied, firmly. Realising she didn’t have a choice in the matter, Ally held out her hands and let Laura secure the mittens in place. Zoe had stopped crying and was staring at the mittens, never having seen anything like them before. She poked at Ally’s mittens, and Ally pushed her away in frustration. This time Zoe only giggled, the mittens were so soft that she barely felt Ally’s push.

“Zoe, enough or I’ve got a spare pair for you as well!” Laura insisted. This was a lie, of course, but believable enough to send Zoe scurrying back under her covers. Ally did her best to pull her blanket back into place and tried to get some sleep.

Chapter 19

Light streamed through the thin living room curtains, waking all three girls up early the following morning. Ally was first to rise. Her hands were still enclosed in the mittens Laura had put on the previous night, and she was keen to get them off. She was about to ask Laura to remove them, but Zoe chimed in first.

“Laura, can you let us out of our pyjamas now?” she asked.

“That depends” Laura said. “Are either of you willing to own up?” Both Zoe and Ally shook their heads.

“Then you can keep them on until your mums get back” Laura insisted, laying down the law. Zoe sighed and threw herself back down on the blanket. She flicked the TV on and brought up some early morning cartoons. Ally, on the other hand, had a different battle to fight.

“Can you take off these mittens now?” she asked.

“That’s up to Zoe” Laura replied. “She’s the one you hurt, so she can decide when to take them off.”

“Come on, Laura” Ally pressed.

“What do you think, Zoe?” Laura asked. She wasn’t trying to punish Ally here, but simply to give them a chance to reconcile before the adults returned. Ally shot Zoe a pleading look, realising that it was going to be her decision.

“Not yet” Zoe decided. She wasn’t above dragging this out to get her own back for last night.

“Bitch!” Ally said, giving Zoe a shove. Zoe laughed at the futility of it, barely feeling the push.

“In that case DEFINITELY not yet” Zoe concluded. Ally realised that provoking her wasn’t the best course of action. She lay back down on the blanket, trying everything she could think of to pull the mittens off while watching the cartoon. Laura ignored her efforts, knowing they were futile.

“I’m going to get breakfast” Zoe declared after the cartoon finished.

“How about you let me out of these mittens now then?” Ally requested.

“Hmm. Still no” Zoe responded.

“Come on Zoe, I want to get breakfast too!” Ally pleaded. Zoe thought about it. She relished the feeling of power she had with Ally at her mercy, but didn’t want her friend to go hungry either.

“How about I get you breakfast!” Zoe offered.

“No” Ally said firmly, “now take these off now!”

“Suit yourself then” Zoe bristled at Ally’s tone. She left for the kitchen and grabbed a pack of cereal. Ally realised that she would need to go along with Zoe’s plans if she wanted to get out of the mittens anytime soon.

“OK then, you can get me breakfast” Ally relented.

“Oh goody” Zoe sounded excited. She poured Ally a bowl of cereal as Ally sat down at the kitchen table. With her mittens on, Ally had no way of spooning up the cereal so Zoe took it upon herself to scoop up a spoonful and lift it up to Ally’s mouth.

“Open wide” she commanded, nearly spilling it as she went. Ally complied and Zoe inserted the spoon into her mouth, causing milk to dribble onto her chin.

“Oh, what a mess” Zoe commented, looking at Ally’s chin. She took a tea towel from the bench and tucked it into Ally’s pyjamas underneath her chin, much as Helen had done two weeks earlier. Ally didn’t say anything, realising it was probably for the best. After all she would be the one who got the blame if Sue got back to spilt milk all over the kitchen.

Zoe offered up another spoonful, and Ally opened her mouth to accept it. This was fun, Zoe thought. A little like feeding her dolls, but for real! Zoe’s gestures became increasingly animated with each spoonful, and by the end she was making aeroplane noises as she circled the spoon around Ally’s mouth. Ally began to laugh, Zoe looked so silly sitting there in her back zip pyjamas zooming the spoon around, and she imagined she must look even sillier receiving it! Ally’s laughter was infectious, and Zoe began to laugh as well. Unfortunately for Ally, this didn’t do much for Zoe’s aim, and by the time the bowl was finished her face and the tea towel were both covered with milk.

“Glad we used a bib” Zoe commented. She pulled the tea towel out of Ally’s pyjamas and began to thoroughly scrub the milk off her face.

“Look Zoe, I’m really sorry about last night. Can you take these off now?” Ally said, holding up her hands. Ally’s request was fair, Zoe thought, but she wasn’t above making her beg.

“Say please” she insisted.

“Please” Ally offered.

“Say pretty please” she continued.

“Pretty please” Ally complied.

“Say pretty please with sugar on top” Zoe demanded.

“Come on Zoe, enough is enough” Ally said, getting frustrated.

“All right then” Zoe relented, undoing the mittens from Ally’s hands. Relieved, Ally pulled them off and placed them on the table next to her. Zoe poured her own bowl of cereal and Ally sat with her as she ate it, chatting about school. Zoe had some of the same teachers’ that Ally had had years earlier, and was keen to hear her stories. Zoe’s eyes kept darting to the mittens as she talked, and Ally could see that she was intrigued by them.

“Do you want to see how they feel?” Ally asked after Zoe finished her cereal.

“What?” Zoe asked, embarrassed that her attention to them had been noticed.

“The mittens.” Ally said simply. “You can try them on if you like” Ally’s encouragement built Zoe’s confidence and she gave a slight nod.

“Promise you’ll take them straight off?” She asked, seeing Ally’s assurance.

“Promise” Ally replied. Zoe held out her hands and Ally secured the mittens into place, first the right then the left. “There, how do they feel?” she asked. Zoe giggled as she tried to pick the spoon back up, failing completely.

“OK, take them off now.” Zoe requested.

“One thing first” Ally responded.

“What’s that?” Zoe asked, surprised.

“This” Ally said running up to Zoe and starting to tickle her.

“HAHA ALLY HEHEHE STOP HAHAHAHA” Zoe laughed, rolling to the floor and curling up. She tried to push Ally away, but now it was Ally’s turn to laugh of her attempts as she barely felt Zoe’s blows strike. Zoe had had her fun making her stay in the mittens until breakfast, now it was Ally’s turn!

“What’s going on?” Laura asked, hearing the commotion and running into the room.

“HEHE LAURA HAHAHA HELP!” Zoe giggled.

“Oh, I’ll help” Laura laughed, getting in on the action and starting to tickle Zoe as well. Finally, Zoe managed to roll out of their reach and the older girls decided enough was enough.

“Oh no” Zoe said, clambering to her feet, which was more difficult than normal with the mittens still on.

“What is it?” Laura asked.

“Uh, nothing” Zoe replied, sheepishly. Ally was perplexed, but Laura seemed to know exactly what was going on.

“You wet your diaper, didn’t you?” Laura asked.

“Well, you two were tickling me!” Zoe said, defensively.

“It’s OK, Zoe, that’s what it’s for” Laura responded sensibly. “Did you bring a spare?”

“It’s in my bag” Zoe said. Laura removed the mittens and Zoe led them back to the living room. “Hey, where’s my bag?” Neither Ally nor Laura had the slightest idea and all three girls looked around trying to find it.

“There it is!” Zoe said hunching down and spotting it hidden underneath the couch. “Hey, it’s all wet!” Zoe opened the bag, mystified by what had happened.

“My drink bottle broke, someone must have stepped on it” she observed.

“So that’s what it was, nearly broke my foot last night!” Laura said, regretting that statement as soon as she said it.

“So that ‘bedwetting’ last night was just the drink bottle?” Ally said, incredulously.

“And you made us wear those terrible pyjamas for nothing?” Zoe elaborated, direction her attention towards Laura.

“Because YOU stepped on Zoe’s drink bottle” Ally continued the train of thought

“And because YOU can’t tell the difference between water and pee?” Zoe kept it up. Laura backed away, sheepishly. Zoe and Ally were united against her, which didn’t bode well for Laura.

“Oh, the pyjamas aren’t that bad” Laura tried and failed to diffuse the situation. “Here, let me take them off now” she unzipped Ally’s pyjamas, but this was a case of too little too late.

“How would you know, you’ve never worn them!” Zoe complained.

“Well … I …” Laura spluttered, not knowing what to say.

“Hey, that gives me an idea” Ally said, her eyes lighting up.

“Ally, no” Laura realised immediately what she had in mind.

“You made us wear them when you thought one of us was responsible. Turns out it was your fault all along!” Ally pulled off the pyjamas entirely and advanced on Laura, holding them up in front of you.

“All right, all right” Laura said, realising that neither Ally nor Zoe was going to give up. She slipped off the pyjamas she’d been wearing and took Ally’s back zip ones from her. She stepped into them and Ally took great pleasure in zipping them up completely and securing the tab. Ally and Zoe changed back into the pyjamas they’d been wearing earlier the previous night.

It was still early so Ally flicked Netflix back on and the girls pulled the blankets back over themselves. Ally grinned. She could hear Laura struggling with her pyjamas. Evidently getting them off was more difficult than Laura had thought. Ally could hear her sigh as she gave up, realising she’d have to wait until Ally or Zoe relented.

“Hey, how about some more Nintendo?” Zoe asked as the movie finished. Ally readily agreed. Laura acquiesced somewhat more reluctantly. At least while watching Netflix her pyjamas had been covered by the blanket, but now they were on full display. Still, she was a good sport about it, recognising that she’d made Ally and Zoe put up with the pyjamas all night. Her wearing them now seemed to even the scales. They played a few games after which Ally realised it was time to let Laura out. Sue and Helen would be arriving home soon.

“How are they pyjamas?” Ally asked, unable to resist rubbing it in a little further first. To her credit, Laura hadn’t complained about them the whole time.

“They were so easy to get on and off when you were the one wearing them!” Laura commented. “I was sure I’d be able to get out of them.”

“Not so easy, is it?” Ally snickered. She undid the zipper on the pyjamas for Laura and all three girls changed into their regular clothes. Together they packed up the blankets and pillows, managing to finish just in time before Sue returned.

Chapter 20

“Oh, Ally, I’ve got some news. I’ve been asked to deliver the keynote at a conference for work in a couple of week’s time.” Sue informed her daughter as they drove home from school the following week.

“That’s great!” Ally exclaimed, excited for her mother.

“Unfortunately, I’ll be away for over a week, though. The conference is overseas”. Sue continued. Ally thought about this. Aside from school camps, she had never actually spent that long away from her mother and wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.

“Does that mean I can stay home on my own?” Ally asked, suspecting she already knew the answer.

“Don’t be silly” Sue chortled, putting an end to that line of thought. “You can’t stay home on your own for that long! But Aunt Jenny’s agreed to look after you while I’m away”. Ally’s heart sank at that news. She’d never liked Aunt Jenny terribly much.

“Could I stay with Laura instead?” Ally asked.

“No, honey, I can’t ask that of Laura’s mum” Sue responded. “You’ll be fine with Aunt Jenny”.

Sue hoped this would be the case, as truth-be-told Jenny hadn’t sounded too keen at the idea either. Dylan was due to spend an entire fortnight at camp, which, while fun for him, was really intended to give the parents some respite from the pressures of looking after a special needs child. Sue knew that Jenny had been looking forward to a childless fortnight, but Jenny had seen her sister’s desperation and relented. Sue had reassured Jenny that Ally wouldn’t be any trouble, and she’d barely even know she was there. Jenny had almost pulled out upon hearing that Ally still needed diapers, as dealing with Dylan’s mess was one of the things she found hardest about special needs parenting. She vividly recalled the complaints Sue had made over the years about Ally’s reluctance to wear them, but after a great deal of effort, Sue had managed to convince Jenny that Ally could manage them entirely on her own and that those days were firmly in the past. For her part, Jenny hoped that Sue was telling her the truth and not just what she wanted to hear, and further that Ally would be as cooperative with her.

The next few weeks went past quickly, and the date of the conference fast approached. As well as taking care of Ally, Jenny had kindly agreed to drop Sue off at the airport, avoiding the need for car parking or public transport. While Sue’s flight didn’t leave until midnight, the airport was almost an hour’s drive away, and with the airline advising passengers to arrive three hours before departure time they’d agreed it would be easier for Jenny to pick Sue up from work.

Jenny arrived at Sue’s house shortly before 6PM as arranged to pick up Ally, who had finally been allowed to stay at home alone after school. She was keen to see her mother off, though, so would be accompanying them to the airport.

“Ally, we’ll need to get going soon” Jenny called out to her niece.

“All ready” Ally replied. She’d dressed up in a new pair of jeans, wanting to look her best for her mother’s flight, and was wearing a thick woollen jumper over her T-shirt.

“I think you should have your shower now, before we go” Jenny advised. “We probably won’t get back until well after midnight, I don’t think you’ll be in the mood for one then”. This was good advice, Ally considered, not having thought past the flight itself.

“You may as well change into your pyjamas as well” Jenny continued.

“Why?” Ally asked. “I don’t want to be seen roaming the airport in pyjamas!”

“We’re only dropping your mum off” Jenny advised, “so you won’t even get out of the car. That way you can go straight to bed when we get back”

“All right then” Ally sighed. She could see the sense in this plan, even if she didn’t completely agree.

“And one more thing, I’d like you to wear your diaper in the car as well” Jenny continued.

“What?” Ally asked loudly. Surely Aunt Jenny realised she only wore them at night.

“Don’t bite my head off” Jenny tried to calm the situation. “But given how late we’ll be back and how long the trip is, you’ll probably fall asleep in the car. I’d just rather avoid any accidents”. Ally was irritated that her Aunt would think she’d have an ‘accident’ in the car, but decided it was best not to start a fight before her mum had even left.

“All right” she shot back through clenched teeth.

Ally went to have a shower and taped on her diaper as requested. She picked out a pair of Hello Kitty pyjamas and stepped back out into the living room. By the time she’d done so it was well and truly time to leave, and she jumped into the back seat of the car. She moved back and forth, not used to feeling the padding of her diaper in the car. Jenny drove to Sue’s office building, which was only a short distance from her home. By the time she arrived, Sue was already waiting patiently for them.

Ally, Sue and Jenny chatted about Sue’s upcoming trip, and the journey to the airport seemed to pass in a flash. They arrived with plenty of time to spare and Jenny set about trying to find a spot for the car.

“Shall I drop you off right near the terminal” she asked Sue.

“Oh, I thought we might all go in and have a quick bite to eat before I have to board” Sue replied. “A last meal, since I won’t be seeing Ally again for ages”. Ally froze. She didn’t want to refuse her mother’s offer, but really didn’t want to be seen in the airport dressed as she was”.

“Uh, I’m not really dressed for it” Ally said apologetically. Sue glanced back, noticing Ally’s pyjamas for the first time.

“Oh, you’re wearing your pyjamas. Well, that won’t matter. People are flying in and out to all different time zones, there are bound to be plenty of kids wearing pyjamas. Come on, let’s go in”.

Jenny parked the car in the short-term parking and helped Sue pull her bag out of the boot. Not wanting to be left alone, Ally hopped out as well. Despite her mother’s reassurance, she felt supremely uncomfortable. She wished she’d at least thought to bring some shoes, or even a jumper to go over her pyjama top. Worse yet was the feeling of her diaper. The loose cotton pyjamas she was wearing made it feel completely exposed and she wondered if anyone would notice the bulge. Her mother hadn’t commented on it, though, and she rationalized that if Sue didn’t notice it would be unlikely for anyone else to.

Ally followed Sue and Jenny into the airport, and they settled on dining at McDonalds. Ally and Sue grabbed a spare table while Jenny waited in the long queue to order their meals. Ally was relieved to be seated somewhat out of sight. Contrary to her mother’s assurances, the kids wearing pyjamas were almost exclusively toddlers. The queue moved quickly, though, and Ally wolfed down her meal without delay. She sipped on the large Diet Coke that had come with her meal, hoping that having such a big drink so late wasn’t a mistake. Even though she knew it was unlikely, she would have liked to show her Aunt Jenny by staying dry throughout the fortnight.

“Crap” she exclaimed as she accidentally knocked her drink onto the floor. She reached down and scooped it up. The lid had stayed on, so the spillage was minor.

“Ally, you might want to cover up” Sue whispered to her. Ally looked down, noticing that her pyjamas had slid part way down her waist as she’d bent over, exposing the waistband of her diaper. She instantly hitched them up, her face turning bright red as she looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Fortunately, no-one seemed to be looking in their direction. Embarrassed, Ally changed the subject quickly.

Jenny and Ally waved goodbye to Sue as she passed through security and began the long drive home. “Wake up, we’re here” Jenny said gently as they pulled into her driveway. Ally was startled. She had only intended to rest her eyes for a little while, but had ended up sleeping for almost the entire trip back to Jenny’s, just as her aunt had predicted. Thankfully, though, her diaper was still dry.

Ally followed her aunt inside. They had moved into the house only recently, having decided to downsize after Brandon graduated college and moved interstate. After all, he only came home a couple of times a year so keeping a bedroom for him seemed inefficient. The house was an older, period design with two small bedrooms on the upper floor and the master downstairs. What it lacked in space inside, it more than made up for outside with a big backyard. It even backed onto an unkempt wooded reserve, which seemed to stretch on for miles. Ally could only guess her Aunt had bought it with Dylan in mind, she knew her autistic cousin loved the outdoors.

“You can stay in Sarah’s room” Jenny told her. Sarah was Jenny’s only daughter, who had just completed her first year of college. She had decided to spend the college break holidaying with friends, which disappointed Ally somewhat. Sarah had often looked after her, starting from when Ally had been only six or seven but becoming less frequent during Sarah’s high school years. She hadn’t seen her at all since Sarah had started college, and would have liked to catch up.

Ally ran upstairs to Sarah’s room. The death metal posters hanging on the walls weren’t at all to her taste, and she didn’t even know what the electronic equipment haphazardly pushed under Sarah’s desk was for, but she realised she would only need to stay here for a fortnight. She collapsed on the bed, asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

Chapter 21

Ally woke with a jolt, alarmed by the scratching noise coming from her bedroom window. As the sleep cleared from her mind, she realised it was just the possums. They were much louder on Aunt Jenny’s colorbond roof than back home. “3:14” she whispered to herself, glancing at the clock. She adjusted her position in bed, noticing as she did so that her diaper was completely soaked. “Guess that Diet Coke was a bad idea after all” she thought.

She slid down her pyjama pants and pulled off the soggy diaper, dropping it in a trashcan that Sarah helpfully kept beside her bed. She got up to grab a fresh diaper, realising too late that her suitcase was still in the car. “I can hardly go get it at 3AM” Ally thought to herself. Aunt Jenny would be furious if she woke her, as even without the interruption she was only likely to get a few hours sleep before getting up for work. “Well, I guess I’ve already emptied my bladder, I’m unlikely to wet the bed again” she reasoned. She pulled her pyjama pants back up and quickly fell asleep.

“Ally, time to get up, you don’t want to miss your bus” Jenny called out, coming into her room. Ally woke with a start, having been soundly asleep. “What on earth!” Jenny exclaimed, noticing the huge wet patch on Ally’s doona cover. Ally stared down silently, scared and ashamed at the same time.

“You were supposed to be wearing your diaper” Jenny accused, disgusted.

“I did, but it got soaked during the night” Ally explained. “All my others are in the car and I didn’t want to wake you since you’re so busy”

“I bought a spare pack and put it on the desk!” Aunt Jenny exclaimed, not knowing how her niece could be so shortsighted. Ally looked over, noticing them for the first time in the midst of Sarah’s junk. In the light of day that seemed obvious, but during the dark night they had escaped her attention.

“I didn’t see them” Ally stammered.

“Well, I’m going to be even busier now cleaning this up, aren’t I?” The anger was clearly evident in Jenny’s voice.

“I’m sorry” Ally apologised. “I didn’t think this would happen”

“That’s the problem” Jenny shot back. “You didn’t think”

“I’ll clean it up” Ally offered.

“No, you’ve got to go to school” Jenny rebuked. “Just get out of those wet pyjamas and throw them in the washing basket and leave me to deal with this”

Ally did as she was told, grabbing her school uniform and getting changed in the bathroom. She was keen to be out of range of her aunt’s anger, and managed to sneak out to school without catching her eye.

Ally struggled to concentrate on her classes that day, knowing that her aunt’s mood was unlikely to improve by that afternoon. As planned, she caught the bus back to Aunt Jenny’s after school and was grateful to find her aunt had not yet returned. As the hours moved on, that gratitude turned to concern that her aunt hadn’t yet returned. She dreaded the conversation that was to come, fully expecting to be castigated for her thoughtlessness.

It was well after 7PM by the time Aunt Jenny finally arrived home, evidently having had a long day at work. She walked past Ally into without saying a word, still upset by the morning’s antics. Having had to clean up Ally’s mess before dropping Dylan off for camp, she’d ended up being quite late for work and had nearly missed a very important meeting. While Sue might have expressed her displeasure by yelling at Ally, Jenny’s preferred strategy was to give her the silent treatment.

“You’d better have a shower and get ready for bed. I think tonight should be an early night” Jenny finally broke her silence, her tone bordering on icy. Ally wasn’t sure if Aunt Jenny was sending her to bed early as a punishment or simply because the previous night had been so late, but decided against asking. She complied quickly, eager to avoid upsetting her aunt further.

She stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around her body. She entered Sarah’s room, which directly adjoined the bathroom and started looking for her pyjamas without success. After a while she gave up on finding them there. “Aunt Jenny” she called out, hoping her Aunt might be in a better mood. “Have you seen my pyjamas?”

“I put them in the wash this morning” Aunt Jenny replied, walking up to Sarah’s room so as to avoid yelling across the house. “Did you unload the washing machine?”

“No” Ally replied. Sue always handled the washing back home, Ally hadn’t thought to do it. She realised now that, left in the machine, her pyjamas would still be wet and would take quite some time to dry.

Jenny sighed, annoyed that her niece could be so thoughtless. The least she could do would be to help out with some basic chores, Jenny thought, given that she would be looking after her all fortnight. “Well then, it’s a good thing I stopped past your house to pick up some spares” she informed Ally.

“Here you go” Jenny held up the back zip pyjamas Ally had worn only a few weeks earlier. She had been surprised to have found them hanging up in Ally’s closet when she stopped past, and reasoned that Ally’s diaper removing days hadn’t been as far behind her as Sue had led her to believe. Taking them had seemed a good contingency.

“Those are the ones you chose?” Ally replied, incredulously.

“I thought they might be handy if you wet the bed again tonight” Jenny told her. Ally blushed, realising her Aunt hadn’t chosen them randomly.

“I told you last night was an accident” Ally tried. “I really don’t need those”

“Well, they’re the only dry ones I have for you right now, so you’d better wear them” Jenny answered. She did feel sorry for her niece, but was also secretly pleased to know that there wouldn’t be any problems that night.

“Maybe I could just wear some of my regular clothes?” Ally asked.

“No, I’d rather you wore those” Jenny replied, firmly. Ally was infuriated at her aunt’s implication, but after the morning’s events she really didn’t want another big argument. She nodded curtly, signalling her consent.

“Oh, and you may as well put on the diapers I bought you and keep your own for when you get home” Jenny noted. “After all, I won’t have any use for them once you leave”.

With that, Jenny left the room. Ally did as she was instructed; taping on the diaper Aunt Jenny had provided and stepping into her back zip pyjamas. She pulled the zip up as far as she could manage, then went downstairs to find her aunt to finish the job. She found Aunt Jenny sipping a cup of tea while watching the TV. Not even needing to be asked, Jenny expertly pulled up the zipper to its full height and secured the tab, pleased that her niece hadn’t made a big deal about wearing it. Somehow the pyjamas felt tighter and more restrictive to Ally than they had when she’d chosen to wear them, as if this new context was having a physical effect. She pulled at the collar, trying to adjust the fit, regretting now having capitulated so easily.

“You can watch TV for another 15 minutes while I have my shower” Aunt Jenny told Ally. This seemed a suitable reward for not having kicked up a fuss about the pyjamas. “But then it’s time for bed”. Ally sat down in front of the TV, unused to doing so while wearing a diaper – she normally only put it on right as she was going to bed. Just then, she heard the doorbell ring.

“Who could it be at this time of night?” Ally thought to herself. She looked around for her aunt, but the sound of water running in the nearby bathroom let her know that she was still in the shower. Reluctant to answer the door at this time of night, and even more reluctant to answer wearing the back zip pyjamas, she ignored it.

“Ally, it’s Laura” came a voice from the door. Ally sprang up. Answering the door for Laura was a different matter.

“Just a minute” she called out, hurrying to the door. She opened it to find her friend standing outside on the dimly lit porch, wondering what she was doing at this time of night.

“Hey Ally, I must have grabbed your phone by accident at school” Laura apologised, holding up the aforementioned device.

“I know how worried you must have been. I didn’t have your aunt’s number, and obviously couldn’t call you, so mum drove me down to drop it off”. She continued, pointing to her mother’s car down the drive. Ally actually hadn’t noticed her phone was missing, having assumed it was still in her school bag, but didn’t want to make Laura’s trip for nothing by telling her this.

“Thanks, Laura” she replied, “I thought I’d lost it”. She stepped forward to grab the phone, the porch light better illuminating her as she did so. Laura giggled.

“Why on earth are you wearing that again?” She asked.

“I didn’t have any clean pyjamas in my suitcase” Ally told her. “So my Aunt stopped past home and picked these up. I guess they were the first ones she found”. This was stretching the truth, but the last thing she wanted to do was admit to Laura that her aunt was forcing her to wear them.

“Wow, she sounds pretty thick” Laura observed, not sure how anyone could think that those were the best option.

“Actually, could you unzip me? My aunt’s still in the shower and I need to use the bathroom” Ally asked, seeing an opportunity to change into something more normal for the night.

“Sure” Laura complied, removing the tab and pulling the zipper down to where Ally could reach it.

“Thanks” Ally expressed her gratitude.

“I’d better go, I didn’t realise you were getting ready for bed.” Laura observed before jogging back to the car.

Ally flicked off the TV and ran upstairs. She changed quickly into a regular T-shirt and shorts from her suitcase and jumped into bed before her Aunt was even out of the shower. Aunt Jenny came up the stairs moments later.

“Oh, you’re already in bed” she noted. Ally nodded, holding the covers up to her chin to disguise the fact that she’d changed her pyjamas.

“Well, goodnight” Jenny offered.

“Goodnight” Ally replied, relieved her aunt hadn’t noticed. She knew that Aunt Jenny would find out for sure in the morning, but reasoned that keeping her diaper on and the bed dry all night was the best way to show her that she didn’t need the back zip pyjamas. She relaxed, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Given the relatively early hour, she wasn’t all that tired which made falling asleep difficult. She rolled over again, still unable to sleep. The diapers Aunt Jenny had bought were a low quality store brand. They felt uncomfortable and even slightly itchy against her skin. Ally reached into her pants and adjusted the tapes, loosening them slightly so they wouldn’t press so tightly against her skin. Feeling better, she finally fell asleep.

Chapter 22

“Ally, time to get up” Aunt Jenny called out, stepping into Sarah’s room to wake her niece. She stared at the bed, noticing the tell-tale dampness on the covers. She wondered whether Ally’s diaper could have leaked, or if her niece had found a way out of the pyjamas and taken it off. She pulled off the covers violently, intent on finding out. Ally’s attire gave her all the answer she needed.

“ALLY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING” Aunt Jenny bellowed, well past being able to control her temper. She understood now why Ally had capitulated so easily to wearing the pyjamas so easily, as she was clearly able to get them off herself.

“It’s not what you think” Ally stammered, hastening to stand. She felt the wet diaper sliding down in her shorts as she did so and grabbed clumsily at it to prevent it from pulling her shorts down entirely. She realised immediately what had happened – the cheap store diapers her Aunt had bought didn’t have refastenable tabs, and she had in fact gauged large chunks out of the plastic when adjusting them during the night, preventing them from holding together.

“Please, let me explain” she tried, but her Aunt was in no mood to hear an explanation.

“Explain? What could there possibly be to explain?” Aunt Jenny shouted back. “I told you to wear those pyjamas to stop you playing around with your diaper during the night, and yet you pull them off and do just that as soon as I turn my back”. Ally’s face turned even redder. Aunt Jenny was making her sound like a naughty toddler, and that wasn’t what had happened at all.

“You’re supposed to be past this stage by now!” Aunt Jenny continued, venting her anger. “Don’t you realise I’m doing you and your mum a favour by looking after you for the fortnight. Why do you have to make it as difficult as possible for me?”

“I’m sorry” Ally replied, meekly. Tears were beginning to well in her eyes, and she didn’t know what else to say.

“Get dressed and go to school” Aunt Jenny commanded, waving Ally away. “Let me clean up this mess, I’ll decide what to do with you when I get home tonight. Now I’m going to be late to work for a second day in a row!”

Ally did as she was instructed, keen to escape her Aunt’s anger. She changed hurriedly into her school uniform and ran for the door, fearful of what she would be in for that night.

Chapter 23

It was after 8PM by the time Aunt Jenny arrived back home. Ally was starting to wonder whether something had happened to her, having returned from school hours ago. While she was in no great rush to see her Aunt after the morning’s events, the tensions caused by having to wait for Aunt Jenny’s reaction was worse in many ways.

“Go upstairs and have a shower” were the first words out of Aunt Jenny’s mouth. It had been a long day at the office, and she was somewhat annoyed that her niece hadn’t thought to do so on her own given the time.

Ally complied without commenting. Her Aunt’s tone had been curt, but she still had no idea what sort of punishment she would be in store for, if indeed there would be any at all. She showered quickly, not wanting to upset her aunt further by wasting water. She dried off and changed into her Hello Kitty pyjamas before coming back downstairs to face her Aunt.

“Not those pyjamas, Ally” Aunt Jenny sighed, irritated. After the events of the previous night did Ally really think she could act as if nothing had happened.

Ally paused, surprised and disappointed. She could understand why Aunt Jenny would want her to wear the back zip pyjamas if it weren’t for the fact that, as far as her aunt knew, she’d managed to get them off herself the previous night. Surely that should have rendered them pointless. The one redeeming thing about the previous night’s antics, Ally thought, would be that Aunt Jenny would realise she couldn’t physically prevent her from removing her diaper, and perhaps acknowledge her maturity.

“And you’re not even wearing your diaper” Aunt Jenny continued, irritation turning to exasperation. After a long day’s work this really wasn’t something she wanted to deal with.

“But it’s not even 8.30!” Ally protested.

“And you’ll be going straight to bed just the same” Aunt Jenny replied in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

Ally turned red. The previous night she’d been able to think of the early bedtime as a way to compensate for the earlier late night, but this time it was impossible to look on it as anything other than a punishment, and a rather childish one at that. “I’m really sorry about last night” Ally tried, hoping her aunt would be receptive. “I didn’t take off my diaper, I swear, those crappy tapes must have just popped open”. That was only partly true, but she didn’t think explaining how she’d tried to adjust the tapes would help her cause. She glanced at Aunt Jenny’s face, hoping for a positive reaction but finding only barely repressed anger. It was clear her aunt didn’t believe a word of it.

“Get changed, NOW” Aunt Jenny shot back. Defeated, Ally ran back up to Sarah’s room. She was upset that her aunt refused to believe her, but not really surprised. Still, Ally thought, it could have been much worse. If an early bedtime and another night with the back-zip pyjamas was to be her only punishment then maybe she’d been worrying herself too much. Ally taped on another of the diapers Aunt Jenny had bought and pulled on the back-zip pyjamas before descending the stairs once again. She presented her back to Aunt Jenny, allowing her to pull up the zipper and secure the tab.

“And these too” Aunt Jenny said, holding up the mittens that Laura had bought weeks earlier. Assuming that Sue had encountered this problem, Jenny had stopped past Sue’s house on her way back from work, hoping to uncover her solution. When she had noticed the mittens in Ally’s closet, she realised they must have been it. She silently cursed her sister for leaving Ally with her without telling her about this problem. She knew how important the conference had been to Sue. Had she not been willing to take Ally for the week Sue may not have been able to attend, but that was still no excuse for covering this sort of thing up!

“I don’t need those” Ally stammered, “I can’t get these pyjamas off myself. The only reason I got them off last night was that Laura stopped past to give back my missing phone while you were in the shower and unzipped them!”

Even after uncovering them in Ally’s closet, Jenny had been somewhat reluctant to use them on her niece, but her obvious lie about the tapes coming off themselves had convinced her that Ally’s apologies weren’t sincere, and that she’d certainly repeat her antics that night. This most recent lie cemented in her mind that this was the right course of action. Did Ally really expect her to believe that story, she hadn’t even mentioned a missing phone! Perhaps wearing the mittens for a night would be enough to convince her niece that she was no pushover.

Ally held her hands behind her back in an effort to prevent her Aunt from putting on the mittens.

“Ally, enough” Aunt Jenny said, her tone firm but controlled. “I’ve taken you in for a whole week while your mother’s been away, despite this being about the only child-free time I should get. And rather than being mature and helpful you’ve so far repaid me by refusing to keep your diaper on, pissing in Sarah’s bed and making me late for work twice! I can’t handle a third day like this! Now, if you cooperate and let me put these on now I’ll let you stay up for another half hour, but you’re going to wear them one way or another!”

Near to tears, Ally realised that her Aunt wasn’t going to back down. She held up her hands tentatively. Aunt Jenny took them firmly one by one and secured the mittens around them. Realising that the mittens would prevent her from doing most activities, Aunt Jenny flicked on the TV, leaving Ally to sit in front of it while she went upstairs to take her own shower.

Ally didn’t bother trying to pull of the mittens, she knew it would be futile. The TV wasn’t terribly interesting and she paid little attention to it, replaying recent events in her mind instead. As the minutes passed, her feelings turned from remorse to anger. After all, she hadn’t done any of this intentionally, and Aunt Jenny was refusing to even listen to her side of the story! With renewed vigour, she plotted her next move. She knew that after the last two nights her Aunt would insist on her wearing the back-zip pyjamas, and quite possibly the mittens as well, for her entire stay. Perhaps if she could convince Aunt Jenny that the tapes had indeed broken free without her interference she would rethink things.

The store brand diapers she was wearing were a kind that Ally had worn before. While the tapes on them were normally quite strong, Ally knew from experience that they could sometimes break open when the diaper was filled to capacity. Maybe if she flooded the diaper and moved around vigorously that night she could cause that to happen.

Eschewing her regular policy of avoiding drinks close to bedtime, Ally tiptoed into the kitchen. Aunt Jenny had a mixer tap with a large handle that was easy enough to operate despite her mittens. She realised that she’d struggle to hold a glass while wearing her mittens so instead placed her mouth directly under the faucet and drank deeply. She stopped drinking only when she was convinced she could take no more and pushed the tap back into its closed position before returning to the TV.

She began to feel the effects even as her Aunt came downstairs. Rather than hold it in or ask to use the bathroom, she relaxed her bladder and allowed the contents to flow directly into the waiting diaper, for once pleased about the feeling of warmth around her groin. It was nowhere near enough to flood it to leaking point, she realised, but it was a start.

“Time for bed now, Ally” Aunt Jenny called out.

“OK” Ally replied, hoping she didn’t sound like she was up to something.

Aunt Jenny followed her upstairs, surprised at Ally’s change of attitude. She pulled forth the bed covers, aware that Ally’s mittens would make it difficult for her to do so herself. Ally climbed into the bed, finding it a little more difficult than usual without her hands free.

“Ally, is your diaper wet?” Aunt Jenny asked, astonished. She had noticed an abnormally large bulge inside Ally’s pyjamas but could scarcely believe that could be the reason.

“No” Ally lied unconvincingly, her face turning bright red. Recognising the lie immediately, Jenny grabbed her by the arm and hoisted her to her feet. With her free hand she deftly unzipped Ally’s pyjamas down below her waistline and placed two fingers inside her diaper, checking Ally as one might do a toddler. Ally squirmed, unaccustomed the feeling of someone else’s cold fingers down there. She didn’t remember the last time she’d had her diaper checked, but she couldn’t have been older than two or three.

“Ally, you’re soaked.” Aunt Jenny exclaimed. That might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but Ally wasn’t about to debate it. Embarrassed and ashamed, she simply stared at the floor. “You’re not supposed to have accidents when you’re awake!” her Aunt continued. “What happened?”

“I must have fallen asleep in front of the TV.” Ally’s lie was weak, but she hoped her aunt would believe it.

Jenny wasn’t at all convinced by this explanation. After all Ally had been alone in front of the TV for only minutes, hardly enough time to fall asleep and have an accident. Moreover, her niece’s evasive tone convinced her something else was going on. Nonetheless, Ally was clearly upset and pushing it further seemed pointless. She reached to release Ally’s mittens to allow her to change but paused with her hands still on the fasteners. Could this have been Ally’s plan? Get her to release the mittens only to refuse to have them put back on again? Jenny didn’t want to risk a long confrontation by removing the mittens, but she could hardly let her niece go to bed wearing a wet diaper. She decided on a third alternative.

“Lie back down” Jenny commanded. Ally did as she was told, unsure what her Aunt had in mind.

Aunt Jenny whisked Ally’s pyjamas down to her knees leaving her wet diaper fully exposed. Ally moved her hands instinctively to cover it, but Aunt Jenny simply batted them away. With her hands enclosed in the mittens she had no viable way of resisting. Aunt Jenny undid the tapes on her diaper one by one and slid it out from under her. Defeated, Ally simply let her head fall back onto the pillow, wanting this to be over as soon as possible. Only after bundling up the old diaper and dropping it in the trash did Aunt Jenny pick a fresh one from the pack on the desk. She slid it gently underneath Ally’s backside, pulling the wings up in front and firmly securing the tapes.

Ally clambered to her feet and stood wordlessly as her aunt zipped her pyjamas back up. The experience had been mortifying, and she wished she had never come up with her foolish plan. Above all, though, she was relieved that it was now over. She climbed back into bed as Aunt Jenny left the room, closing the door behind her.

Chapter 24

Ally woke early the following morning, having been sent to bed so early the previous night. She glanced at the clock sitting on Sarah’s desk. The display showed 6:55. Ally groaned, momentarily forgetting the mittens she was wearing as she tried in vain to wipe the sleep from her eyes. She clambered to her feet, feeling her diaper squish as she did so. Given how much water she’d drunk the previous night she was not at all surprised to find the diaper wet, but it felt full almost to bursting point. For a minute she wondered if she could make the previous night’s plan work after all. She bent her body around awkwardly as if she were trying out for cheerleading, hoping to dislodge the tapes, but without success. Ally frowned. Given the obvious weight of the diaper she was quite surprised it was still in place. Either the quality of these diapers had improved substantially since she’d tried them, or Aunt Jenny had done an amazingly good job of taping them. Disheartened, she tried to pull the tapes free with her hands but between the mittens and pyjamas that was quite impossible.

Knowing it would still be a half hour before Aunt Jenny came in to wake her, Ally decided to go downstairs and ask to be released. That idea failed at the first hurdle, however, as she was unable to operate the bedroom door handle through her thick mittens. “Aunt Jenny” she called out tentatively, but heard no response. Dejected, she lay back down on the bed feeling keenly the cold soggy mess around her groin.

“Oh good, you’re already awake” Aunt Jenny chirped, coming into the room a half hour later. “See, isn’t it so much nicer waking up in a dry bed?” she asked, noticing Ally’s pyjamas were still unsoiled for the first time this week. Embarrassed, Ally didn’t respond.

“Before you get ready for school, we need to talk about the punishment for your behaviour. Sit down” Aunt Jenny’s tone was calm and considered as she motioned for Ally to sit down on the bed next to her. Ally did so, feeling her diaper squish underneath her. She really didn’t know what more her Aunt wanted to discuss, but wished she would let her change first.

“The mittens?” Ally asked.

“No dear, the mittens are just to help you stay dry during the night” Aunt Jenny explained patiently. “A little like your diapers or your pyjamas. We both know there won’t be any more wet beds while you’re wearing them” Ally turned red at this comment.

“But your disobedience over the last couple of days still needs to be punished. So you’re grounded until further notice.” Ally didn’t say anything. Being grounded was never fun, but neither did it seem entirely unreasonable.

“Now, so that there’s no misunderstanding” Aunt Jenny continued matter-of-factly. “In this house being grounded means you come straight home after school and stay in your room unless you’re given permission to leave. It also means no TV or other electronics”. Ally nodded. Those rules weren’t all that different to her mother’s.

“Good” Aunt Jenny replied, pleased that her niece was being cooperative. “There’s one more thing. Sarah’s coming home tonight, she’ll be here for a few weeks so she’s going to need her room back. I thought you could stay in Dylan’s. He won’t be back from camp until after you leave.”

Ally nodded at this too. After all, she didn’t have any particular connection to Sarah’s room and all her things were in her suitcase.

“Then it’s settled” Aunt Jenny confirmed. “I’ll move your things into Dylan’s room while you get ready for school. Aunt Jenny undid the mittens with a calm efficiency and unzipped the pyjamas, allowing Ally to run into the bathroom to change.

“Oh, and just so you know” Aunt Jenny called out offhandedly through the bathroom door. “I keep a baby monitor in Dylan’s room. Sometimes I have to keep an eye on him with his Autism. So if you’re thinking you can watch TV until I get home and that I can’t do anything about it, don’t. I expect to see you in that room after school, and I’ll be checking from my phone.”

Chapter 25

Ally took her time leaving school that afternoon. She was tempted to stay in the library and finish her homework before returning to Aunt Jenny’s but knew her aunt would consider that a reason to punish her further. Upon arriving, she was surprised to find her aunt’s car sitting in the driveway. Had her aunt simply gotten off work early to compensate for the inordinately late finish the previous night, or had she left early to keep an eye on Ally? Ally didn’t know which was the more likely explanation.

After opening the front door for her, Aunt Jenny led Ally up to Dylan’s room, saying little aside from a some curt directions. She opened the door to Dylan’s room and motioned for Ally to enter. Ally stared, taking in her surroundings. The room itself seemed decorated more for a toddler than a teenager, with soothing pastel shades and toys cast around the floor. Ally vaguely recalled her Aunt once mentioning that, like many autistic children, Dylan loved trains and she could certainly see that influence here. If there was a prevailing theme for the room it was Thomas the Tank Engine, with posters of Thomas and Gordon lining the walls and a toy train set taking up much of the floor space. Dylan’s dresser sat on one side of the room, with a large mirror hung above it, but it was the other piece of furniture that caught Ally’s attention the most – an enormous special needs crib pushed against the wall. Ally stared at it intently. The base and the mattress were low down, only slightly above the floor but the wooden sides were high, stretching well above Ally’s head and looked to be solidly built. One side of the crib opened with a hinged gate, allowing entry and exit.

“You don’t expect me to sleep in that do you?” Ally asked, shocked.

Aunt Jenny laughed at here niece’s indignation. “If you leave the gate open it’s really no different to any other bed” she reminded Ally, “But of course if you prefer you can sleep on the floor. Sarah’s got a camping mattress I can bring in.

Ally thought about it. She hated camping, and didn’t think she’d be able to sleep on a camping mattress – she had always had a great deal of difficulty doing so on school camps. “I guess I’ll see how it goes with the gate open” she decided. She could always change her mind later.

Aunt Jenny left the room, but not before insisting that Ally hand over her phone and iPad. Ally had hoped that her aunt would forget about these, but hadn’t really expected that to happen. With her aunt gone she looked around the room more thoroughly, but found little to interest her. All of Dylan’s toys were too childish to attract her attention. With nothing better to do, she decided to make a start on her homework and pulled her books out of her school bag. Dylan had no desk in his room, which made it more difficult than normal to get any work done but she persisted anyway, spreading out her books on the floor. Given her lack of electronic devices she was fortunate that none of her homework involved research, just some math and English questions that she was able to plough through fairly quickly.

She had barely finished when Aunt Jenny called her down to dinner. She was glad to get out of Dylan’s room for a while, but Aunt Jenny was still annoyed enough to give her the silent treatment and they ate dinner without a word being spoken.

“I’m going to have a shower” Ally declared after clearing off her plate. It was very early to do so, but she wanted to avoid returning to Dylan’s room for as long as possible. She took her time showering, and then changed back into the clothes that she’d been wearing. She certainly didn’t want to put on the back-zip pyjamas any sooner than necessary, and feared that Aunt Jenny would be annoyed if she created more washing by putting on something else.

Ally returned to Dylan’s room, and surveyed it for something to do. Dylan’s toys attracted no more of her interest than before. His crib was probably the most interesting thing about the room and Ally had never seen anything like it before. Standing in front of it, she pushed the wooden gate closed, hearing a firm click as she did so. She tried to pull the gates apart again, but they didn’t move. Ally examined the locking mechanism more closely. It consisted of a simple metal plate that featured two round finger sized holes. She placed her fingers inside them, pulled the plate towards her and twisted, causing the gate to spring free immediately. It seemed simple enough to Ally, and she knew she wouldn’t have had any more trouble release it from inside the crib than outside, but guessed that it was a sufficient deterrent for most special needs children.

“Perhaps not in Dylan’s case, though” she thought to herself, noticing for the first time a second latch situated well above the first. The workmanship showed that this one had clearly been added later on, presumably after Dylan had figured out how to open the first. Unlike the main latch, it didn’t close automatically with the gate, but featured a small knob to turn it into the lock position. It would have been even easier to open and close than the first latch, were it not for the large wooden plate mounted behind it, which made it impossible to reach from inside the crib.

Ally sighed. Her inspection of the crib having reached it’s conclusion, she once again found herself searching for something to do. In desperation, she began rummaging through her suitcase and struck on her copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Ally was relieved. A keen reader, she only recently started the series but was enjoying it greatly. She normally read books on her iPad, and had forgotten she’d even packed any physical books. Given the limited furniture in the room, she plonked herself down on the crib mattress and set about discovering Harry’s latest adventure.

Aunt Jenny’s words from that morning played through her mind as she read. “I keep a baby monitor in Dylan’s room” she had warned. Ally assumed this meant a video monitor. Had Aunt Jenny been checking on her earlier as she did her homework? Was she watching her right now? Had she even been telling the truth, or was it just a bluff to convince her to behave? After all she couldn’t see a monitor anywhere. Ally told herself it didn’t matter, that she wasn’t doing anything her aunt would disapprove of anyway, but she still felt uncomfortable.

Ally decided to do something about it. Standing up, she opened Dylan’s cupboard and found what she was after – a huge spare blanket. She grabbed her torch out of her suitcase, carried both it and the blanket back to the crib and stepped inside. After making doubly sure that she could operate the latch from the inside of the crib, she closed the gate and threw the blanket up over the top of the gate. The effect was as she desired. The blanket completely blocked her view but also prevented anyone from looking in. For the first time since she’d arrived, she felt as if she had her own private space that she could do with as she pleased. It also blocked out much of the light streaming down from the ceiling, but her torch solved that problem easily. Satisfied she returned to her book and was soon captivated by the story. Reading it by torchlight somehow made it feel more real, like she was actually there experiencing the events in the book.

“Ally, time to brush your teeth!” Aunt Jenny called up from downstairs. “I’ll be up in twenty minutes to help you get ready for bed”. Ally blushed. She knew that ‘help you get ready for bed’ was just a euphemism for ‘zip you into your pyjamas’ and it had only just gone 8.00. She did as she was told, however, and moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth, managing to open the crib gate almost effortlessly. After brushing her teeth and using the toilet one last time for the night, she returned to Dylan’s room. She knew her Aunt would expect her to have put on her diaper by the time she came up, so grabbed one from the pack Aunt Jenny had bought and stepped back into the crib. She secured the gate and made sure the blanket was in place. She really didn’t think her aunt would be watching now, but wanted the extra privacy just in case.

She pulled the diaper into the position and was about to secure it when she had a thought. Her previous attempt to convince her aunt the diapers were at fault for the wet bed had failed because she had used the diaper beforehand. Ally realised that she really didn’t need to – if she secured the tapes loosely enough it was bound to leak anyway. Ally thought about it. On one hand, she didn’t particularly want to cause Aunt Jenny any further inconvenience, nor did she relish to prospect of waking up in a wet bed once again, but she also didn’t know how long her aunt would insist she wear the mittens and pyjamas. It might only be a day or two to teach her a lesson, but what if it were for her entire stay? She REALLY didn’t want that to be the case.

“Blow it”, Ally decided. Aunt Jenny hadn’t exactly been understanding towards her, so why should she think too much about Aunt Jenny’s inconvenience. She decided to give it a go, loosely taping the diapers and pulling on her pyjamas. She sat against the side of the crib and returned to her book.

Perhaps 10 minutes later Aunt Jenny made good on her promise and knocked on the door. “Come in” Ally called, surprised her aunt had bothered knocking at all.

“What are you doing, building a blanket fort?” Aunt Jenny laughed, noticing the blanket hanging over the edge of the crib.

“Something like that” Ally replied, blushing a little. That was essentially true, although she didn’t really want to tell her aunt the reason why.

Aunt Jenny lifted the edge of the blanket and looked in on her niece. “I see you’re all ready” she said approvingly. After last night she had been afraid her niece would kick up a fuss, but Ally seemed to be cooperating.

Ally presented her back to Aunt Jenny, hoping she’d zip her up and leave quickly without getting suspicious. Aunt Jenny reached between the slats and pulled the zipper to its full height then secured the tab.

Ally held forward her hands without even being asked and allowed Aunt Jenny to put the mittens in place.

“Goodnight Aunt Jenny” Ally said, prompting her aunt to leave.

“Goodnight Ally” Aunt Jenny replied, her voice sounding kind for almost the first time since Ally had arrived. Ally almost felt bad about her plan, but between the mittens and the pyjamas she couldn’t re-adjust her diaper now even if she wanted to.

Aunt Jenny flicked off the bedroom light before leaving the room. Ally interpreted that as a pointed hint that it was time to stop reading, but her torch was still on and she decided to continue anyway. Leaving the book propped open on the mattress, she read up to the end of the page. She tried to turn the page through her mittens, but she wasn’t able to get any sort of grip. Annoyed, she resorted to scrabbling at the page with her elbows, and was finally able to turn it. She read through the next two, but when she tried to turn the page once again she lost her grip and the book snapped shut. Realising that this wasn’t going to work, she kicked the book away. Turning off the torch proved more difficult, but the button was large and she managed to hit it with her toe.

Not wanting to sleep with the gate closed, Ally stood up to open it. She pushed at the blanket and managed to dislodge it easily, causing it to fall to the floor outside of the crib. It was only when she reached for the latch of the crib that the realisation hit her – with her mittens in place there was no way she’d be able to open it. She pushed hard at the gate, but knew even before doing so that her efforts would be futile.

“Aunt Jenny!” she called out, but heard no response. The old house had excellent soundproofing between the upper and lower floors, and Ally doubted her aunt would hear her at all. She paced back and forward inside the crib, hoping her aunt would come up after all. She was only able to manage a couple of steps in either direction before reaching the end, which made her feel particularly constrained.

“Aunt Jenny!” she called again, but by now she knew it was futile. Realising she had no other choice Ally lay down and tried her best to sleep.

Chapter 26

Ally woke with a start, her body covered with sweat. She had had a nightmare, she knew, but even now the details were fading leaving only a lingering feeling of dread. She wanted to get up and get a glass of water, but the after-effects left her too scared to even pull away the covers. She adjusted her position under the covers, feeling the wetness in her diaper as she did so. She lay silently that way for several more minutes, before she was able to convince herself that she was being silly. The nightmare, whatever it had been about, hadn’t been real. She was 13 years old, she wasn’t about to lie there, cowering from the dark in a wet diaper! She hoisted her legs out from under the covers, hearing a thud and feeling her foot bang against something.

“Fuck!” she exclaimed, out of frustration rather than pain. Not until that moment had she remembered that she was in Dylan’s crib at Aunt Jenny’s rather than home in bed, and that the thud had been her foot banging against the slats of the crib. She also remembered how loosely she’d taped her diapers. She couldn’t see for sure whether they’d leaked or not, but in her mind they had and, be it real or an illusion, she felt as if she were soaked from the waist down. The prospect of waking up in wet pyjamas hadn’t seemed so bad, but lying here until morning with them seemed far worse. Still, Ally knew there was nothing she could do about it and moving around too much was only likely to cause further leaks. She lay back against the pillow and tried to ignore the wet diaper around her waist. Surprisingly, she felt somehow safer in the crib, as if the same slats keeping her from getting out would also prevent whatever had caused her nightmare from getting in. She knew how irrational that was, but couldn’t help feeling it anyway. Gradually, she drifted back to sleep.

In her dream someone was opening the gate of her crib. She felt scared, but a calm hand on her shoulder reassured her that everything would be OK. She couldn’t make out the face that went with that hand, but felt as if she should trust it nonetheless. Now that hand was unzipping her pyjamas. She still had them on, but with the zipper undone the hand was able to untape the diaper from around her waist and put a fresh one in its place. Ally smiled at the dry feeling. Things were going well for her in her dreams, at least.

Ally woke early that morning, smiling as she saw the sunlight streaming through the slats in the crib. The nightmare seemed such a distant, foolish memory and the dream that followed left her feeling good about the day ahead. Then she noticed her diaper was dry.

She stared down at her pyjamas. Had the dream been real, or had she only dreamt that she’d woken up wet? She tried the crib gate again, hoping she would have more success in the light but that proved to be just wishful thinking and she plopped herself back down on the mattress, defeated. She considered calling out for Aunt Jenny, but didn’t know what time it was. She didn’t want to set herself up for an unpleasant day ahead by waking her aunt at sunrise on a Saturday morning, when she would doubtless want to sleep in.

Ally was saved from a long wait as she heard the door open just a few minutes later. It wasn’t Aunt Jenny that entered, though, but her cousin Sarah.

“Hi Ally” Sarah said cheerfully, not commenting Ally’s attire.

“Hi Sarah” Ally replied. “Could you, um, let me out?” Ally was embarrassed at having to ask.

“Sure” Sarah replied, opening the gate to the crib easily. Ally held out her hands and waited patiently as Sarah removed her mittens.

“Sarah, did you come into my room last night?” Ally asked, trying to fathom the previous night’s events.

“Sure did” Sarah replied. “I got home late and heard you cursing, sounded like you’d had a nightmare. You were fast asleep by the time I got in, though. Looked like you’d had a bit of a leak. I didn’t want to wake you so late, so I took care of it for you”. Ally blushed. Sarah had changed her before, but not since she was much younger.

“How did you manage that without waking me?” Ally asked, surprised.

“Well, I’ve had plenty of practice with Dylan” Sarah replied, sensibly.

Not wanting to discuss the matter further, Ally waited in silence as Sarah unzipped her pyjamas. She removed her diaper and changed into a T-shirt and shorts.

“Remember, you’ll have to stay in your room until mum says otherwise” Sarah reminded her. Ally scowled. She’d hoped that Aunt Jenny would lift her punishment by the weekend, but she seemed determined to drag it out.

With little else to do, Ally returned to her book. She read for much of the morning but soon grew bored. Reading could only keep her occupied for so long, and she was keen for some physical activity. Wanting to burn off some energy, Ally decided to practice her handstands. She managed four successfully but overbalanced on the fifth, her feet kicking out trying to find a solid surface.

CRASH

Ally’s feet collided with the mirror, sending it flying from the wall to break apart into a thousand tiny pieces. She landed with a thud on the remnants of the mirror, wheezing heavily.

Sarah ran into the room immediately, having heard the sound of the mirror falling. “Ohmygoodnessareyouok?” Sarah’s words rolled into one in her panic.

“I think so” Ally said, trying to move into a sitting position.

“Don’t move!” Sarah yelled. “There’s glass everywhere, you’ll cut yourself!” Thankfully Sarah was wearing solid shoes, and she walked confidently over the broken glass towards Ally. Grunting with the effort, she lifted her cousin up off the floor and put her down on the crib. Only then was Ally able to survey herself. She brushed some strands of broken glass off her T-shirt. The glass of water she’d left on the dresser below the mirror had broken, spilling its contents over her shorts, but other than that she seemed completely unharmed.

“I’m OK” Ally confirmed, much to Sarah’s relief. “Um, sorry about the mirror, I’ll clean it up” Ally promised, reaching for a nearby piece of glass.

“No, you’ll cut yourself” Sarah grabbed Ally’s wrist.

“OK, what do you want me to do?” Ally asked. Sarah thought about it momentarily. Ally was likely to be more of a hindrance than a help when it came to cleaning up the remains of the mirror, and her cousin was already behaving quite recklessly.

“I’ll take care of it. You, take a nap” Sarah instructed.

“A nap?” Ally exclaimed. This was about the last thing she’d expected her cousin to say. “I’m not tired”.

“Perhaps, but I think you could use a bit of time to calm down and reflect on your decisions, don’t you?” Sarah chided. Ally blushed, feeling like a naughty child on a time out. She had expected a punishment of some sort, though, so sat on the crib mattress without complaint.

“One more thing.” Sarah continued. “I’m not going to make you change into your pyjamas, but I do want you to wear one of these in case you have a little accident.” Sarah held up a goodnite that she’d retrieved from Dylan’s closet. “Dylan wears them during the day, and I’m sure they’ll fit you”.

“I’m not going to go to sleep, or wet the bed!” Ally protested. Sarah sighed. Normally she wouldn’t have created an argument with this request, but her mother had told her about how Ally had wet herself after snoozing for only a few minutes in front of the TV just two days before. She didn’t have the energy to clean up both the mirror and a wet bed.

“Just in case” Sarah half told, half pleaded. Realising she was in a poor bargaining position Ally pulled down her shorts and underwear and pulled on the goodnite while Sarah carefully collected some of the larger shards of glass. Ally was about to pull her shorts back on when she realised just how wet they were thanks to the spilled water.

“I’m just going to grab some fresh shorts from my suitcase” she told Sarah, stepping down from the crib mattress.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Sarah screamed, aghast, causing Ally to stop in her tracks. “There’s broken glass everywhere”

“It fell over there, not here” Ally pointed at the larger shards dismissively.

“The small pieces will spread all over the floor” Sarah tried to remain calm in the face of her cousin’s stupidity. “Do you want to be pulling shards of glass out of your feet?”

“No” Ally said, chastised.

“Then give me those and let me grab you some fresh ones” Sarah whisked the wet shorts from Ally’s hand. Making a snap decision, Sarah drew the crib gate closed and almost instinctively flicked shut the second latch. Ally might not like it, but at least this way she wouldn’t cut herself, Sarah thought.

Ally realised Sarah’s aim as soon as she heard the latch close. Secured as it was, the crib made an effective playpen and Ally knew she was stuck until Sarah released her. Part of her wanted to shout at Sarah, to demand that she release her immediately, but she thought better of it. Even if Sarah did let her out, her eventual punishment would no doubt be more severe. Sarah was busy collecting glass, and hadn’t yet retrieved her shorts but Ally decided it wasn’t worth it to interrupt her now.

Realising how conspicuous she looked standing up with only a pull-up below her waist Ally sat down in the corner of the crib and covered herself with the bedsheets. She wished she had left the Harry Potter book inside the crib, then at least she’d have something to take her mind off the situation. She watched silently as Sarah collected and disposed of as much glass as possible, left the room, and returned with the vacuum cleaner. Sarah flicked Dylan’s toys out of the way as she pushed the vacuum cleaner over the carpet, causing a small bag to land near the crib. Ally reached through the slats and pulled it into the crib with her. She looked inside to find it filled with Lego blocks, which Dylan evidently enjoyed playing with. She had never really tried Lego herself, but right now beggars couldn’t be choosers. At least it might take her mind off what was going on around her, Ally thought.

By now Sarah had left the room to empty the vacuum cleaner, leaving Ally alone in her crib. She stood up and looked around. When she’d been stuck in the crib last night she’d had her mittens on, but maybe without them she’d be able to get herself out. She reached between the slats in an attempt to grab the latch, but its design prevented it from being reached from the inside. She tried to climb up the crib’s slats, hoping scale the gate, but there was no grip and she lacked the upper body strength to pull herself up over the high sides. Ally fell back down on the crib mattress, landing next to the bag of Lego. Sarah had left without remembering to provide her with fresh shorts, and even though she was alone in the room she was embarrassed. Not since she was a toddler had she worn nothing but a T-Shirt and diaper, even in private. Ally was thankful that at least it wasn’t a tape on diaper, but the colourful cartoon patterns on the front made it feel in some ways even more childish than her usual ones.

Ally pulled pieces out of the bag of Lego. She wasn’t sure what exactly to make but settled on an aeroplane, which seemed a simple enough design. She set to work constructing it.

Meanwhile Sarah finished emptying the vacuum cleaner into the garbage bin, taking care to avoid spilling any glass. She returned to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Her mother had told her to keep an eye on Ally, as she expected to be out all day, but Sarah hadn’t expected something like this to eventuate. She gulped down the glass and refilled it, trying to decide what to do next. She realised that she needed a few minutes to calm her nerves while she planned her next move. Ally would no doubt be frustrated at being cooped up in her crib, but she was safe in there at least and Sarah knew she couldn’t really dislike it that much, as her mother had told her that Ally had voluntarily spent most of the previous afternoon in her ‘blanket fort’. She flicked on her computer and checked her Facebook page as she thought things through.

Sarah knew that her mother’s first instinct would be to punish Ally further, perhaps even to call Sue back from her conference to collect her, but Sarah herself disagreed. She had seen the look on Ally’s face as she lay in front of the broken mirror and knew that it had been an accident born of boredom rather than deliberate misbehaviour. If her mother was going to keep her grounded in Dylan’s room without any way to burn off energy, an incident like this was inevitable. Sarah sighed. She knew her mother would disapprove, but her priority was to avoid a repeat of the day’s antics. The only way she could do that was to give Ally an outlet and perhaps tire her out.

Her mind made up, Sarah returned to Dylan’s room. She couldn’t help but crack a smile as she saw Ally standing in the crib, her hand stretched high above her head as she pretended to fly her Lego plane. Holding the plane up like that had caused her T-Shirt to ride well above her pull-up, leaving it fully exposed. Sarah chuckled as she heard Ally muttering faint engine noises. Ally turned red as she finally noticed her cousin’s presence. She dropped the plane over and tried to pull her T-Shirt down to cover the pull up.

“That looks like restricted airspace” Sarah joked, causing Ally to blush further. Sarah retrieved a fresh pair of shorts from Ally’s suitcase, realising she’d completely forgotten about it before. Ally gratefully slipped them on as Sarah released the latch on the crib.

“You know I only left you in there so you wouldn’t hurt yourself?” Sarah said. Ally nodded. She didn’t agree that it had been necessary, but now that she was out there was no point in arguing over it.