“Yeah, I’m tired too,” agreed Erin. “And I think I might have gone on one ride too many, my guts feel a little off.”

“Do you think you’re going to be sick?” asked Martin.

“No, I think I’m fine. It’s not that strong, just barely enough for me to notice.”

“Well, if it gets worse, let me know. I’ve probably got a bag or something in the trunk that you could throw up in.”

Hailey spoke up. “When the security inspected the backpack before we went into the park, I noticed there was a trash bag in there. I guess it was for putting a wet diaper in or something? Anyway, you could probably use that.”

Erin didn’t honestly believe she would be sick in the car, but she opened the backpack, and sure enough, along with a few diapers, a pack of wipes, and a change of clothes, there was a trash bag. She removed it, and zipped the bag back up, placing both on the seat between herself and Hailey.

“Why’s there a change of clothes in here?” she asked Martin. “I thought the diaper was supposed to make it so I didn’t need to change my clothes if I had an accident today.”

“Your aunt was probably just being safe. The last time we had someone in diapers was back when Hailey was a toddler, and she was really good at making it leak, so we’d usually bring a change of clothes in her diaper bag.”

“Dad!” complained Hailey, blushing. Not that she was seriously embarrassed; after all, Erin knew things a lot more secret than her mishaps as a toddler.

“What?” he replied, feigning ignorance.

Hailey folded her arms in front of her and sighed loudly, making it very obvious that she was pretending to be angry. Her gesture was so excessive, though, that all she succeeded in doing was make Erin giggle, and her father chuckle. She joined in.

As the mild laughter subsided, Erin spoke up again. “My diapers haven’t ever leaked, though…”

“Yeah, but your aunt probably figured it would be better to be safe than sorry,” said Martin. “If you had an accident, leaked, and didn’t have a change of clothes, you’d have to walk around with wet shorts for a long time, and it would be rather noticeable. With the change of clothes, you’d only be wet for as long as it took us to get to the locker and then the bathroom.”

“I guess so,” admitted Erin. She was quiet for a little while. She’d still been meaning to apologize for lunch earlier today; she’d ruined their meal by withdrawing into her shell and forcing them to stop talking. “By the way, I’m sorry about what happened at lunch. I didn’t mean to make you stop talking on my behalf.”

“Erin, you need to stop worrying so much about us,” said Martin. “It was pretty obvious that you didn’t want to continue that conversation. I don’t mean to sound condescending, but I know you’ve been through more than I can imagine, and we figured it would be better if we let the conversation die.”

“Well, yeah, I didn’t really want to talk about it, but that doesn’t mean you two couldn’t keep talking to each other. I’m old enough to handle keeping my own feelings in check, and I don’t want you to be inconvenienced by me.”

“Erin, you aren’t an inconvenience to our family, you’re a blessing. We’re very glad to have you here, and it seems like Hailey’s been enjoying her time with you greatly.”

“Yeah,” agreed Hailey.

Martin continued. “We can only hope that you’re as glad to be with us as we are to have you.”

“Well, I am glad to be here, apart from the circumstances that brought me here…” She didn’t really want to think about that too much, so she tried to steer the conversation back to its original apology. “You all have been great, and I just don’t want to burden you with my memories. I can deal with them on my own.”