Ruth led him by the hand docilely up the staircase and tucked him in his bed. She sat on the side of the bed and said, “I called your psychiatrist this morning to tell him the good news. He told me to tell you not to worry about the diapers for now, he’s sure you won’t need to wear them during the day in a couple of months. He told me he was pleased to hear you had recovered so quickly and would like to see you tomorrow. We’ve got to get you some clothes to go over your diapers, Tony. I saw some sweats in your closet you can wear shopping this afternoon, but you’ll have to have more than one change of clothes to wear. I was thinking of buying you a couple of pairs of overalls and some more sweats. I can put some snaps in the seams of the crotch and legs to make it easier to change you. I think I saw some footed sleepers at Wal-Mart that you could wear around the house. Some new curtains for this room and some decorations for the walls would be nice too. Maybe I can find a nice nursery motif like teddy bears,” she mused aloud.

“I can’t sleep, it’s too early,” Tony said crankily. “Please let me come down and watch TV,” he begged.

Ruth smiled and cooed down at him, “Mama will take care of that, baby. Just lay right there and mama will be back in a minute.”

She returned with a brown furry object under her arm and said, “Here baby, take this and put your arm around it.”

Tony took the object from her a discovered that it was a fluffy brown teddy bear with sad eyes. He noticed she had pinned one of Jay-Jay’s cloth diapers around its waist and covered it with plastic pants. He tucked it in the hollow of one shoulder and curled his arm around it as she explained, “Teddy didn’t used to have to wear dydees until recently. Now he’s sad because he doesn’t think anybody will love him because he wears diapers. Will you be his friend, Tony? I think you understand how he feels.”

Tony nodded at this with wide eyes and giggled as he felt the plastic crinkle against the bare skin of his side. Ruth handed him a baby bottle full of formula and said, “Mama brought you a bottle of warm formula to drink, Honey. She wants you to take your medicine and drink your formula until it’s all gone. Will you make a happy bottle for mama?”

Tony nodded gravely as she handed him his antidepressant capsule. He swallowed the capsule and began to suck on the nipple as she continued,

“Mama will read a story to you, Honey. It’s all about a little bear named Pooh who was exceedingly fond of honey. I think you and your new friend will like it.”

Tony closed his eyes and cuddled his bear feeling sooooo comfortable. The soft flannel blanket snuggled against his skin luxuriously, while the diapers gave him the feeling his bottom was being gently caressed. He suckled the warm formula from the bottle avidly. His rapidly filling stomach made him sleepy and his eyelids began to droop. Ruth stroked his hair as she read the story, lulling him into a peaceful sleep. His breathing slowed and became deeper as he drifted off into a dreamland filled with soft, furry creatures who were never cross or even said an unkind word. He knew they were his friends when he saw that they all sucked their thumbs and wore diapers just like him. They laughed and tumbled together on the soft, moss-covered earth of his dreamland, happy to be alive and play in the warm sunshine. One of the bears wet his diapers and began to giggle uproariously. All the others joined in and laughed as they good-naturedly changed his soggy diaper. They were such jolly playmates! Then they went to look for a baby bottle tree so they could all sit down and have some formula for lunch. When they finished their bottles, they all lay down for a nap together in a heap. Tony snuggled against his new friends and dozed with a smile of contentment on his face as he lay amid his furry companions. When they awoke, they changed each other’s diapers with howls of delight as they saw the messes each of them had made. Then it was off to an afternoon of play as the comrades crawled and somersaulted together on the soft green grass. Tony’s face shone with happiness as the dark cloud that been hiding his smiles evaporated under the loving sun.

Ruth put a bookmark where she had stopped the story and kissed Tony lightly on the forehead. She wasn’t in any hurry to finish the story, she knew that she’d be reading Tony and Teddy stories for a long time before he was ready for her to stop.