Marge nodded thoughtfully and said “You’re right, I do need to get some new clothes.” She turned to the playpen and nodded toward Thomas, “I’ll need to get him some clothes too! Remember, I gave you all Tommy’s old baby clothes I had when Bobby was born. If I hadn’t just bought a new package of diapers last week to use for dust cloths, I don’t know what I would have put Tommy in last night. With all the furniture moving and hurrah about our rejuvenation, I completely forgot to buy any baby things for Tommy. I thought I had everything here. The baby bottle I gave him this morning was a present I bought for Bobby and the plastic pants I have were some that got left here the last time I babysat the neighbor’s little boy and became mislaid after I washed them. The crib sheets he slept on, his nightlight and the blankie that’s in his playpen were part of Bobby’s birthday present too.

When I got Tommy’s old baby furniture out of the attic to put in his room, I found the plastic pants in a stack of old towels I had washed a couple of years ago and had stored in the garage as cleaning rags. There’s really no point to giving my neighbor the plastic pants back; they’re so stiff and brittle from age that they’ll crack and leak within a week. Frankly, they need to be pitched! I only used them last night and this morning because they were all I had. Certainly my neighbor can’t use them, her little boy has out of diapers for over two years. He’s in Kindergarten now. I remembered about needing a playpen yesterday morning and called my neighbor to see if she had any baby clothes from when her little boy was a baby. She didn’t, but she still had the playpen you see here and she agreed to sell it to me for twenty dollars. So you’re right about me needing to go shopping for Tommy. He went through three cloth diapers last night and he’s wearing two right now. I only have a few left and the plastic pants he’s wearing are really too big for him. If he has a really big ‘accident’, he’ll leak everywhere. I really need to go buy diapers and plastic pants for him before I do anything else.”

Mary nodded and said, “Why don’t you run up to the grocery store and get some disposable diapers for Tommy? Cloth diapers are great at home, but they’re such a nuisance when you’re away from the house. You’ll need some diapers to go shopping, and I only brought enough diapers for an afternoon with Bobby. I’ll stay here with Tommy and baby-sit until you get back.”

Marge quickly agreed and left Thomas alone with Mary. Once Marge was gone, Mary looked down her nose at him in the playpen and sneered derisively, “I guess you’ve finally got your wish, didn’t you, Baby? You’re Mommy’s little baby again, aren’t you?”

Mary half-smiled as a plan to humiliate her ex-husband formed in her mind. She well remembered the funny looks she got from Tom whenever she nursed Bobby. However rich his discovery made her, the knowledge that his twisted mind had come up with a way for him to leave her and become a little baby again rankled her. She took Bobby out of the playpen and said in syrupy tones intended to invoke her ex-husband’s jealousy, “It’s time to feed Mommy’s baby. Is Bobby hungry? Does mommy’s baby need to be fed?”, she said while she unbuttoned her blouse.

She lifted her breast out and guided it into Bobby’s hands and mouth. Tommy stared in frank admiration at her teats, totally mesmerized by the sight of their baby nursing there. He gaped in rapt attention at her erect nipple. Unconsciously, his hand reached into his diaper and fondled his infantile penis. The tight pinning of the diaper had loosened as he had steadily regressed that morning; only they elastic waistband of his plastic pants kept them from falling off his baby tush. He was easily able to slide his hand down into the front of his diaper to address the gnawing, tingling sensation that was growing in his groin. As he pushed back on the elastic, the diapers slipped from his hips and slid halfway down to his knees. Thomas never noticed what happened to his diapers; his attention was elsewhere. Mary sensed his yearnings and glanced away from Bobby to check on him. She was startled when she saw what he was doing; he was standing in his playpen with his diaper at half-mast, furiously jerking off . She returned his stare with a shocked look on her face which grew into a mischievous grin. “I’ll take care of you in a minute, Tommy, just as soon as Bobby is finished.”, she said.