On the one hand, getting ready for bed was far too early for him, on the other it did mean finally getting out of his dress. His grandmother took him to the spare room and unbuttoned his dress for him. Once he was out of it she told him to go and wash his hands & face and brush his teeth. Ideally, he’d rather do it wearing more than his homemade knickers. When he returns to his room, he finds his grandmother waiting with folded arms. On his bed is a big white nappy, a pair of plastic pants, a pair of big cotton knickers with frills around the legs, and a little white nightie with more frills on every edge. He freezes and stares in disbelief at the items.

“Time to get ready.” his grandmother ordered.

He gulped and scanned the items. Even just the nightie would be torturous to wear, but a nappy and plastic pants too! “Please don’t make me wear that granny.” he pleaded. “I promise I’ll be good.”

“I’m sure you will be Peter,” she said in a quiet calm voice. “Now why don’t you be the good boy you’ve just promised to be…” she said, taking hold of the nappy, “…and let me put this on you.”

In a raised voice Peter said, “But I’m too old to wear…” but his grandmother silenced him with a single finger on her lips

Calmly and quietly, she said, “The girls’ bedroom is on the other side of this wall, so unless you want them to hear everything, you should keep your voice down.” she explained as he hung his head. “Now… yes, you are too old to wear a nappy, but nether-the-less you will be wearing it.”

“But…” he said in a hushed tone, “…why granny? I don’t wet the bed.”

“Shame and humiliation Peter. It’s the best antidote for boys like you,” she replied. “If you’re left to your own devices all you do is cause trouble in town with those friends of yours, smoke cigarettes and probably shoplift with them too.” she explained, “So for the next few weekends you’ll be staying with me, which means knickers by day and nappies by night.”

“But…” he moaned.

“But nothing Peter… if you don’t like it I’m sure your so-called friends would just love to see you playing on the swing or learning to skip. But I’m sure you wouldn’t want that would you?” she smiled as he shook his head ever so slightly. “I thought not… so… shall we get you ready for bed?”

His grandmother laid the nappy flat on the bed and Peter shamefully laid upon it. He couldn’t look at his grandmother so instead, he concentrated on the hairline cracks in the plaster which criss-cross the ceiling. He clamps his eyes shut as she fastens the nappy around him. “I haven’t done this since you were a toddler.” his grandmother said as she slipped his feet through the elasticated leg holes of the plastic pants and shuffled them into position. “There you are.” she smiles, “That wasn’t so bad was it?”

Peter sat up and looked down at himself. The rubber knickers were completely transparent so his nappy was completely visible beneath them. To add insult to injury, the nappy had one of the Disney Princesses printed on the front. He wanted to burst into tears with the humiliation but fought them back as he didn’t want to start crying like a girl too.

He willingly pulled the big frilly cotton knickers to hide his nappy and rubbers. These squashed the nappy tightly around him, reducing its bulk considerably and making it far less conspicuous. He pulled on the little nightie which unfortunately wasn’t quite long enough to hide his frilly white over knickers.

“Perfect.” his grandmother smiled as she looked down at his pale thin legs.

After being given a pair of fluffy white slippers, his granny told him to come for some supper. Peter said he wasn’t hungry and wanted to stay in his room. “It’s far too early for bed Peter,” she said before insisting that he return downstairs. “Plus you’ll need to wash your undergarments  for tomorrow.”