Finally, I set the pen down, and, with a soft, contented smile, picked up the pacifier. The rubber bulb slipped past my lips, then my teeth, invading my mouth, which started to suck on it almost instantly, as if by instinct. I closed my eyes again, the darkness closing around me as I faintly heard the clock on the mantle back in the living room begin to chime midnight. I felt my skin begin to crawl, sure that was a sign that it was beginning to work. I began to shiver again, uncontrollably, as I gave myself in to it. In the distance, I thought I heard a sound, perhaps a door opening.
Was it Nancy? Perhaps the spell only worked on one person at a time… Maybe I had freed her after all.
And yet, no matter how long I seemed to wait, nothing more seemed to happen. After what seemed a long time, I heard the sound of Nancy’s Mary-Janes approaching my door, and I reluctantly opened my eyes, expecting to see her puppy dog eyes staring at me, asking why I’d left her there, on her own, all this time.
Instead, she asked, “What in the world are you wearing?”
“You’re all right!” I exclaimed, leaping off the chair and over to her in a single bound, pacifier falling from my lips on the way. I wrapped my arms around her, dragging her down to the floor. “Oh my God, you’re all right!”
“Yeah, I’m fine…” she said, puzzled. “But I think I sat in something, because my butt’s all wet…”
I couldn’t help but giggle at that, relieved that the whole thing seemed to be over. “Yeah, you did. I’ll throw your costume in the washing machine,” I offered. “You might want to take a shower, too.”
“Yeah, I was planning on it. I was just looking for you to see what was up first. My clothes were scattered all over the place, and you were nowhere to be found… I wasn’t sure…”
“Your clothes?!” The shock shot me to my feet, and propelled me back to the living room, where, sure enough, the diapers had transformed themselves back into her regular clothes. I looked at them for a few moments, just long enough for Nancy to catch up with me, and then started to laugh.
“What is wrong with you?” she demanded, shaking me slightly. “And why are you dressed like that?”
I calmed myself down, trying to come up with an explanation. How much of the night did she actually recall? “Don’t you remember?” I tried, shrugging. “I decided I liked your costume so much, I’d get one that matched. They didn’t have any in my size, though.”
She stared at me for a long couple seconds, during which I was sure she was about to declare that a lie, then she shook her head. “Oh yeah, of course. Silly me…” She gave it her best fake laugh, but I knew those missing memories were already starting to bother her. But, if she ever tried to ask me about them, I wouldn’t tell. It was over now, for real… No need to burden her with it.
We both got changed, then, true to my word, I stuck the costumes in the washer, though I left it off so Nancy could take her shower first. I did my best to stay up, but the night had been far too long, so I called through the bathroom door for her to turn on the machine for herself, and shuffled up to bed. I expected the man with the scar to be there, waiting for me in my dreams, but fortunately for me, that night I was wrong.