Courtney stood perfectly still, saying nothing. She looked at the diapers she held. She remembered seeing these on Saturday Night Live. She didn’t think they were real. Wordlessly, she moved out into the parking lot, with everyone silently following her. They moved out of the parking lot, making it to the sidewalk. Melanie honked as she drove by, bringing more attention to the diapered group. “Grace?� Courtney finally said. �Let me see the list.� Grace passed the list to Tiffany, who handed it to Courtney. The third item was a gallon of milk. Great.
�We need a gallon of milk,� said Courtney. �How much money do we have left?� Grace pulled the money she was carrying out of the pocket on the side of the wheel chair.
�Two dollars fifty cents,� she reported dispassionately.
�Can we get milk with that?� Courtney asked. Tiffany nodded her head yes in reply.
“OK,� said Melody. �Where should we go? 7-11? They have milk.�
�There isn�t’ a 7-11 within walking distance though,� said Grace.
�There is a Winn Dixie,� said Tiffany.
�All right everybody,� said Courtney. �Winn Dixie it is.�
The four walked through the automatic doors, with nobody paying attention. None of them had any objections. They moved quickly towards the dairy section, getting looks and stares from everyone around them. Courtney was still carrying the bag of diapers, and was now also holding a gallon jug of milk. She moved toward the check out line, with the other three in tow. There were lines everywhere. Even the express lane was backed up. “Great,� said Tiffany. �A guaranteed wait.�
Courtney picked a lane, unfortunately the wrong one. Melanie’s Mum was standing right in front of them. On top of that, someone was already in line behind them, making it impossible to back out. “Well hi there Courtney!� Courtney looked away, pretending not to notice Melanie’s Mum .”It looks like you’ve made quite a mess of yourself,� she continued. She glanced at the diapers. �Do you want to be changed?� Everyone within hearing distance stopped what they were doing to look at the girls.
�They’re wearing diapers!� came a voice.
�Diapers?!� People began to gather from across the store, staring at the group of girls. Courtney wished she wasn’t here.
�I’ll fix you right up!� her Mum declared. She ordered people to move aside, and told the other three girls to stand back. Courtney, dumbfounded, didn’t say anything. She didn’t resist when Melanie’s Mum laid her against the floor, and opened up the diapers Melanie had given her. She pulled out two of them, and expertly taped them around her already padded waist. The new diapers were extremely fluffy, and poofed outward a great deal. She was stood back up, and presented to everyone.
Courtney didn’t know what else to do but cry. She looked down, and through the tears could see the diapers read on both the front and back, “Oops! I Crapped Myself!� in bold, colourful letters. Courtney was inert in tears, not doing anything. Seeing what was happening, Tiffany took action, pushing Courtney into Grace’s lap. Tiffany and Melody wheeled the girls out of the store, leaving the two fifty with the cashier to pay for their milk. Three down, seven to go, thought Tiffany.
The group moved down the street once again, with Courtney still in Grace’s lap. She was still sobbing slightly from being humiliated in front of the entire store. Tiffany looked at her, and took the list from Grace.
“We’re supposed to find plastic playground balls now. What are those supposed to be?� Tiffany asked.
�You think maybe like they would have at a McDonalds playground, maybe?� volunteered Melody.
�Yeah,� said Grace. �That’s probably what she’s talking about.� Courtney looked up, finished crying now.
�There aren’t any restaurants with play places in this part of town though,� she said weakly. �She went out of her way to put us in the worst part of town for something like this.� The girls nodded. Melanie wasn’t making it easy for them at all. They continued walking along in silence, each thinking of where they could find their next item. As they walked past a large white building with big glass windows, Courtney stood up, and looked more closely at what it was. “Hey, wait! Look at this,� she said, pointing at the buildings sign.
It read “Kid Sports : Indoor Playground and Fun Centre”.
�You think they would have some?� asked Tiffany.
�You know,� said Melody, “we’ve been everywhere else, and been humiliated everywhere else. We might as well go inside and try this place.�