…”
When it was revealed that the girls were in diapers, things promptly went from bad to worse.
“Well,” said Jessica. “I see she has control over both of you now.”
“I need this,” Megan reminded her.
“And I chose this,” said Carrie.
“Sure you did.”
“You’d better watch yourself,” Ricard said jokingly to Stephen. “You could be next, young man.”
“Heh.” He chuckled nervously. Ricard was more right then he could ever imagine.
“Jess,” Drew began, speaking in a pained, quavering tremble. “If you are going to stay, then sit down and be quiet for chrissakes!”
She merely laughed. “Sorry Dad, but I stopped taking orders when I moved out. Come on, Ricard. Let’s sojourn to someplace more palatable.”
Ida pressed her hands to her ears. “Enough fighting, please!”
“Very well,” said Jess, sitting back down. “We’ll stay…for you’re sake, Nana.”
They ate in an uneasy silence. No one wanted to draw first blood. No one wanted to light the spark that would cause them all to be consumed by flame. No one dared laugh nor cry nor venture to be themselves. With nothing to say, they ate…. and they ate well.
“Meat came out well,” Glen remarked.
“Thanks, Dad,” said Drew. It was what he’d been waiting to hear.
“Megan,” said Jess. “A word with you.”
“Sure,” she replied as her sister drew her aside.
“This whole thing with the diapers…. it was originally your idea, correct?”
“Yup,” Megan answered.
“But you said you need them.”
“That’s right.”
“And where is Mom in all of this?”
“She changes me,” Megan told her.
“Ah.”
“I like the attention. Carrie does too.”
“You…what?”
“Look, Jess. Mom and Dad are not horrible parents. Get over it.”
“I concede that they are not the Antichrist,” Jessica replied. “But you have no idea how many times they blocked the path to my happiness.”
“There are more important things than being happy all the time.”
“Like what?”
“Being safe. Being cared for. Finding a…a balance, I guess.”
Jessica smiled. “Been reading philosophy, Meg?”
“Nope. Well…not since this class I had in the fall.”
“Then why the new perspective?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been thinking a lot, getting input from a lot of different people.”
“Oh really?”
“Yup. Friends, family. I talked to a counselor.”
“What about a spiritual advisor?”
“Huh?”
“There’s a guy that Ricard and I go to,” she explained. “Or, I suppose it can be a priest.”
“I never thought about that.”
They were interrupted by a high-pitched shriek. Whilst they were talking, Ricard had taken it upon himself to resume his feud with Carrie.
“So,” he said, contemptuous as ever. “My soon-to-be sister-in-law has now taken it upon herself, in her never-ending quest for an identity that she will likely never be able to hold onto, to regress. She now believes that by delving into a a time in her past when things were more stable, she will gain stability in her current situation. Am I warm so far?”
Carrie remained mute-and soured face.
“Unfortunately,” Ricard continued, speaking as if Carrie wasn’t even there. “This attempt is both repugnant and puerile…not to mention short-sighted. What happens when it loses its flair, so to speak? Or when she becomes immersed too far?”
This too failed to draw the desired response.
“Hey Stephen. Do you get to change your big sisters’ diapers and boss them around?”
“Rick,” Carrie said at last.
He rolled his eyes. “What?”
She then leapt into his arms and planted a big, wet kiss on his cheek. “I wuv you,” she whispered.
“Gah! Get her off meeeee,” he screamed.
Everyone began to laugh and Carrie climbed off of him triumphantly.
“That was great,” Megan told her later.
“Thanks,” Carrie answered. “I had to use a lot of mouthwash later, but it was worth it, don’t you think?”