“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Your sister is going to be wearing diapers for awhile,” Drew stated. “And I don’t want either of you to give her a hard time about it.”
This caveat did not deter Stephen, who only continued to find it uproariously hysterical. And who wouldn’t? His big sister, who did a fair amount of bossing around when she was home, was now diapered and being cuddled like a baby.
“Wait until Billy hears about this,” he said under his breath.
“You won’t breath a word of this to Billy or anyone else,” Nancy sternly rebuked. “Unless you would like to join her.”
This threat was sufficient enough to quell his laughter and bring about acute embarrassment. “Sorry,” he said, hanging his head.
“The same goes for you, Carrie.”
She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t going to say anything, Mom!”
“Watch the attitude,” Drew cautioned. Disgusted, she retreated to her room once again. Stephen lingered a moment longer, captivated by the amount of attention Megan was receiving. And while he was overwhelmingly glad he didn’t have to wear diapers, he found himself the slightest bit jealous.
Megan was held and cuddled for what seemed like a very long time. At long last, she was cleaned up and had her diapers changed before being tucked into bed.
“Not going to read to me?” Drew teased her father.
“You’re old enough to do that yourself.”
“Drew…” Nancy cautioned.
He sighed. “What would you like me to read to you?”
“I was just joking,” said Megan.
“Well now I’m not.”
She shrugged.
“OK,” he retorted. “How about the story of the accountant and his lovely wife and children…”
Megan slept pleasantly that night and awoke feeling invigorated. That she had gone to sleep at an earlier hour than usual may have had something to do with it. Or, perhaps it was all the time she spent in bed over the course of the past few days. Whatever the cause, she finally felt well rested and ready and to take on the world.