Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 89

The Webb family walked to the neighborhood cul-de-sac where the party was centered. Long tables were set up in the street under garden lights and surrounded by folding chairs. Buffet tables were set up on the sidewalks and filled with seasonal and unseasonal foods. Giant men were working giant barbecue grills upon which sat the delicious remnants of giant beasts. Nearby, people were roasting chestnuts over makeshift grills. Someone had a pot of mulled wine simmering over a portable stove; Jamie could smell the sweet, deep, rich redness of it even before they reached the tables. The air was crisp and smelled of chill, dust, many-colored leaves, and edible delights.

Becky set down her dish on the dessert table, and they moved into the crowd. Jamie stayed close to Becky, craning his head up to see who was talking, not being able to make out much of the conversation over the din and vertical distance. All around him were thighs at eye level, a forest of blue denim legs. He instinctively moved closer to Becky until he was in front of her, almost standing on her toes, confident he wouldn’t get stepped on there.

From where he was, Jamie could only catch glimpses of people walking passing by on the sidewalk. He thought he saw other littles or young children; he couldn’t quite tell. He could tell people brought their dogs, though, giant walls of fur moving through the crowd. A roar met by a growl as leashes tangled not very far away sent him scrambling up Becky’s leg.

“Whoa, hey, I got you. You’re okay,” Becky said.

“You can’t prove that,” Jamie muttered. He wasn’t exactly afraid of the bears anymore, but they did make him nervous. He could picture himself being dragged off to a what they called a doghouse and devoured in privacy, the bear being burying his bones around its suburban yard, leaving the homeowner complaining about what their beloved pet had done to the lawn.

“This is Jamie,” Becky introduced him.

“Hi, Jamie,” the neighbor said in a high, cute voice, “I’m Andrea. I live next door to you.”

“Hi, Andrea,” Jamie replied.

“So anyway,” the woman said to Becky, “Our air conditioner went out the very last week of summer.” Jamie preferred the bears to listening to people discuss the woes of homeownership. Amanda looked like she feeling the same way. He tugged her pantleg and held out his arms to her, and swooped him up.

“What’s up,” she whispered.

“I was just bored.”

“Let’s go see if we can find something to do then. I’m taking Jamie, Mom.” Two front yards down, a group of littles and small children were playing together under the watchful eyes of a group of bigs. “Here,” Amanda said, setting him down, “Go play.” She sent him off with a pat on his bum. Jamie cautiously, uncertainly stepped into the yard, not sure what he was supposed to do with this group. He worked his way over to a little wearing a romper and seated on his unusually thickly diapered butt in the grass and sat down next to him.

“Hi,” Jamie began. “I see you have a ball there. Do you want to play with your ball?” The little looked at Jamie and smiled a wet, open-mouthed smile and laughed. In a fast, jerking motion the boy whipped the soft ball at Jamie, bouncing it off his head quite by accident. Jamie caught it on the rebound.

“That’s a very good try,” he said patiently, seeing it wasn’t malicious. “Why don’t we try rolling the ball?” Jamie scooted back and sat with his legs open. He rolled the ball back to the little. It bounced gently off the little’s leg, who laughed, picked it up with both hands, and in an awkward, jerking motion threw it over Jamie’s head. Jamie went to get it.

Amanda watched Jamie come back and try again, proud of how patient he was with the deeply regressed little. She saw older teenager from next door and approached her. “Hey, Amy. You here with someone or you just watching?”

“Just stopping by. Which one is …”

“Jamie. He’s right there.” She pointed him out running to get the ball again.

“Aww. He’s so cute. I love how you dressed him up in those overalls.”

“They’re his favorite. How’s school going for you?”

“Good year so far. I’m on the varsity football team this year.”

“I’ve seen you practicing in the yard.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll get better by the time I graduate. What game do you think Jamie is playing?”

“I think he’s playing Catch, and the other little is playing Fetch. I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around. I thought for sure you’d come over as soon as we brought him home.”

“I went to camp this year instead of staying home, and I guess I’ve been busy with school and football since I got home. I figured you guys had your hands full with a new little at home too.”

“School hard for you this year?”

“Meh. Just math and science.”

“Is Mr. May still teaching?”

“Yep, and I got him.”

“When’s he gonna retire?”

“When he’s taught everyone all there is about geometry or when he permanently loses his voice from shouting out theorems.”

“I have flashbacks.” Amanda had been terrible at geometry.

“So how are things going with Jamie?”

“He’s doing real great. It’s been, wow, next month will make six since he got here. He’s finally starting to adapt and enjoy his new life.”

“How are you doing with it? You weren’t exactly enthusiastic about having a little.”

“And then I met him. He’s my favorite person now.” Amanda beamed.

“Aww. See? You’re a softie like the rest of us.”

“You just try to resist it when it’s you someday. The first time you see them yawn in their sleep you legit wanna gobble them up. And then the first time they smile at you, forget about it. Done.”

“Don’t need to convince me. He’s very good with that other one.”

“He worked with kids where he’s from. He’s still very shy with littles who aren’t as regressed. It’s easier for him with a really regressed boy like that; the less regressed ones are more unpredictable. Jamie hasn’t figured out how to deal with that yet.”

“That’s kinda cute. Is he getting better at it?”

“We’re working on it. You wanna meet him?”

“Yeah, duh,” Amy said, already walking toward Jamie.

“Jamie,” Amanda said as he was walking back from his latest sojourn to get the ball, “This is Amy. She lives to the left of us.”

“Hi, Amy. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve seen you through the fence.”

“You were spying on me?”

Jamie decided to go with a cute answer. “I can’t help it. I’m just a little.” Amy laughed, and Amanda blushed.

“Who taught you that line,” Amanda asked.

“Ella.” Jamie handed the ball back to the other little, who seemed content to finish the game by sucking on it.

“Cute friend ya got there,” Amy teased.

“What do you do,” he asked.

“I go to high school with the big kids. What do you do?”

“I go to daycare.”

“Do you get good grades?”

“I’ve never gotten any frowny faces.”

“What a good boy you must be then.”

“Thank you.”

Amanda realized she hadn’t explicitly said Jamie wasn’t regressed and admired Jamie’s patience with her. “Jamie isn’t regressed at all,” she interjected.

“That’s so neat. Not regressed but just as cute.”

“Are your parents here,” Amanda asked.

“Somewhere.”

“I think it’s time to eat, if you wanna eat with us.”

“Sure.” The teen, the 20-year-old and the 30-year-old went to find Rebecca and claim a spot at one of the tables. There was no highchair for Jamie, so he ended up in Becky’s lap for just a moment before they went to the buffet tables. Jamie saw a much wider variety of food than was cooked in his own home. There was meat to be sliced off the bone or stewed in thick, brown broths or shredded next to big sandwich rolls; potatoes and yams roasted and mashed and julienned and fried; browned onions dripping butter and root vegetables sprinkled with sea salt; salads with every kind and color of dressing and vinaigrette; round pasta and long pasta and flat pasta and bow tie pasta served hot and cold with red and white and oil sprinkled with olives and capers and cheese and; at least a dozen kinds of bread; fresh fruits, cooked fruits, candied fruits; and so many cakes and pies and turnovers and Becky’s humble brownies. Jamie held his own plate while Rebecca filled her own and his well past what he could possibly finish.

“You have to eat the vegetables first,” she said. There were an awful lot of them.

“Why so many,” he asked.

“They’ll help your tummy.” If there was something wrong with his tummy, this was the first he was hearing about it, but he figured she was just being a mom pushing vegetables.

They returned to their seat, and Becky kept one arm around Jamie’s waist as they both fed themselves. Jamie dutifully began with his vegetables, mostly. About ten minutes into the meal, a man with white hair stood up on a chair in the middle of the street between the rows of tables and rang a hand bell.

“Welcome! WELCOME! Ahem … Welcome to another Harvest Day Festival, when once more we gather as a community to give thanks, enjoy the company of our neighbors, and celebrate another year together. I know none of us wants a long speech, so I’ll skip all the jokes my wife told me aren’t funny and go straight to the benediction: We give thanks to the land that has yielded us this bounty that we may share it with open hearts for all to partake. May our friendship and love for one another warm us through the winter and remind us of the richness of our homes and hearths, and the wealth of spirit that sustains us.

“Now, go eat if you haven’t, and keep eating if you have!” Everyone politely clapped and then followed his instructions.

“That was a good speech,” Jamie remarked.

“It’s tradition,” Amanda replied.

“Are there any other traditions?”

“Many years ago they’d sacrifice a lamb and then roast it,” Amanda chimed in.

“But people decided that was cruel so now every big takes a turn tickling the least regressed little,” Amy said with a straight face.

“Stop it, you two,” Becky interjected. “You’ll give him nightmares.”

“The lamb part was true,” Amanda replied.

“So what does happen then?”

“Fireworks,” Becky said. “Jane and Rosie are going to come over. Rosie is afraid of fireworks, but if you want to stay up to watch, you can. She’ll hopefully sleep right through them.”

When they were done feeding themselves past the point of fullness, they couldn’t tell if Jamie was waddling because he was too full or because his diaper was too wet. Amanda playfully prodded his belly, mock-gasping.

“What,” Jamie asked with a smile on his face.

“You have a food baby!” She probed his tummy. “Yep, those are its potatoes. And – ah-ah – here’s its vegetables. And I think this is either roasted lamb or shredded pork – hard to tell since you had both. But these,” she said as she tickled his tummy, “these are definitely brownies and cake.” He giggled and jerked when she tickled him.

“He’s just darling,” Amy’s mom, Maria, said from behind them. Amy smiled proudly as she’d been the first to discover the secret of the adorable little next door. Jamie blushed because someone had called him darling.

“We hardly ever see you anymore,” Becky said as she stood up to give Maria a hug.

“Jamie,” Amanda said, “This is Amy’s mom and dad, Maria and Bill.”

“I heard a rumor this guy isn’t regressed,” Bill said.

“That’s right,” Becky answered.

“Kinda silly then,” Bill replied. Maria subtly stuck her elbow in his side, but he took no notice. “I mean, if he were regressed this would make sense, but, I dunno, you tell me Jamie – isn’t it a little ridiculous for you to go along with all this? Isn’t it embarrassing? Or are you one of those diaper fetish littles.”

“Bill,” Maria stage-shouted as she gave him a death ray glare. “Why don’t you go see if anyone needs help packing away their food?” He glared back and wandered off. Amy looked angry and embarrassed.

“He doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s just …” Maria tried to apologize.

“I know,” Becky said with some sympathy for Maria, a lot of sympathy for Amy, and none for Bill, the neighborhood’s high-functioning alcoholic asshole.

“Really …” Amy said as she got to her feet.

“Don’t worry about it,” Becky told her. She felt sorry for Amy, having a dad like that.

“Amanda,” Jamie interrupted, “Please put me down,” he asked in a subdued business-like tone of voice.

“Sure, buddy,” she complied with a grimace.

“We have some friends from another neighborhood stopping by for the fireworks. We should get home to meet them,” Becky said by way of exit.

“Of course,” Maria said. She turned to her daughter. “Amy, did you get enough to eat?”

Jamie, Becky, and Amanda walked back to their house quietly. Once inside, Jamie said, “I’ll be in my room.”

“Okay,” Becky said.

She and Amanda went to the kitchen. Amanda closed the pocket door behind them before taking a deep breath and letting it out. Just when it seemed she was calm, she got as loud as she could without Jamie hearing down the hall. “Motherfucking asshole piece of shit! I hate that guy!” Becky knew when Amanda needed to just rant. “Why doesn’t she just divorce his ass? Even Amy doesn’t like him! He’s just a total fucking prick! FUCK!”

“Amanda, honey, it’s okay. We’ve known for a while that not everyone is enamored with unregressed littles. We can make this better.”

“I should have stood up for Jamie! And for us!”

“By calling him all those names?”

“And by telling him to fuck off and mind his own fucking business.”

“And you didn’t because Amy was there.”

“Yeah.”

“And you were right to because Amy was there, which is why I didn’t say anything and also because Jamie would have been even more embarrassed if he were the center of a public scene.”

“Yeah …” Amanda said, finally done pacing. She folded her arms across her chest.

“Tell you what. Why don’t you go check on Jamie, and I’ll get your sheets from the drier … That’s not why you’re so upset, is it? Because it’s not a big deal if you …”

“JAMIE DID IT!”

“Okay! Okay! I’m just teasing. Here – give me a kiss.” Amanda gave her mom a kiss, and the two of them hugged for a moment while Becky rubbed her back. “Now, go check on our little boy.” She prodded Amanda along with a pat on the butt, unusual for her, but then a lot of things between them had come back round to how they used to be since Jamie arrived. Both of them did it often enough to Jamie. Something about his cute butt in a diaper – it just needed to be patted. Amanda went down the hall into Jamie’s room, where she found him sitting in his recliner clutching a pillow.

“Hey, buddy,” she said softly. “Can I come in?” He didn’t say anything, so she came in and knelt down in front of the chair. “Are you alright?”

Jamie sighed. “I feel stupid.”

“Baby, don’t …”

“I’m not a baby!”

“I know you’re not,” Amanda said, changing her tone from soft and gentle to plain and rational.

“He’s right,” Jamie said. He sounded hurt.

“About what?”

“About this! All of this! I shouldn’t like this. I shouldn’t let you or Becky or Mel or anyone treat me this way!”

“Okay.”

“’Okay’ what?”

“We’ll stop. If that’s how you feel, we’ll just turn things back more to the way they were around when you first arrived.” Jamie sat silently. Amanda stood up and sat down in the rocking chair. She watched as his shoulders slumped forward. He didn’t say anything or look at her. She let him be for a few minutes.

“Or,” she started again, “We can march over to their house and tell Bill to go fuck himself sideways and then do whatever you want to do that makes you happy.” Jamie chuckled mirthlessly. “Or we can skip the first part and just do the second part.” He looked at her with his cheek on the pillow.

“You don’t … think it’s ridiculous, the way we …”

Amanda got up and knelt in front of him again. “What? The way we have fun together? The way we love each other? The things that make you laugh? No, I don’t think any of those things are ridiculous.” He looked at her and smiled just a little. “What do youwant, Jamie? That’s what matters. You being safe and happy is all that matters to me and Mom.”

Jamie picked his head up and displayed a sour frown. He rolled his head and said with contempt, “Fuck him.” Jamie let go of the pillow, and Amanda picked him up into a firm hug.

“There’s my good boy!” She swung him gently as her hips twisted back and forth, one hand supporting him and the other running up his back until her hand was in his hair and she held him against her chest. “You’re perfect the way you are.” He squeezed back and shuddered, her reassurance making him feel safe in his own skin.

Amanda carried him to the kitchen where Becky was folding Amanda’s sheets. “Everything alright,” Becky asked.

“Yeah,” Jamie said.

“Good. I’m sorry he said that. He’s not a very nice person.”

“He’s not mean to Amy, is he,” Jamie asked, concerned for her.

Becky told the truth. “I think when she was younger he hurt her feelings a lot. Now she knows not to pay much attention to him.”

“That’s sad too.”

“I bet she’d like to get to know you better,” Amanda suggested. It would be good for all of them; they could use another standby little-sitter.

“I don’t know where Jane could be. She should be here.”

Jamie turned to whisper in Amanda’s could hear. “I gotta go.”

“Okay. Let’s …” she whispered back as the doorbell rang.

“Speak of the devil.” Becky went to answer the door and came back momentarily with Jane, who was holding Rosie fast asleep on her hip.

“Aww,” Amanda fawned, “Her pumpkin outfit is just so adorable. Now I’m wishing we found one for Jamie.”

“Hey,” Jane said, “I haven’t seen you two in forever!” She gave Jamie a half-hug with her free arm and then did the same to Amanda. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the pink sheets on the table. “Ohhh, Amanda, honey, you didn’t …”

“Jamie slept in my bed, alright? He did it! For the millionth time.”

“Sorry,” Jane said, embarrassed.

“I’m not,” Jamie grinned. “It’s just my way of showing her I love her so much.”

“In that case, Rosie has shown me more than a few times how much she loves me, usually when I’ve put her down in my bed without changing her first.” Becky laughed. “Speaking of, whose is that,” she said, peaking over Rosie’s shoulder and pulling out the back of her pants and diaper.

“It’s this guy,” Amanda said. He’d really needed to go and decided it made little difference if he had privacy or not. No one noticed him going while it happening, except Manda who was holding him with her arm under his butt. She didn’t let on or go to change him right away in case he wasn’t done. She learned that trick the first time he needed to be changed twice in twenty minutes, to his embarrassment and her chagrin. Jamie blushed hard thinking if he’d known it would be a topic of conversation with guests, he’d have held it, but he was feeling awfully full from his feast.

“Can we change the subject,” he asked.

“Yes,” Amanda said, “let’s talk about something other than who went what where,” she finished pointedly. “Especially since it was Jamie both times,” she muttered. He gave her a dirty look.

“How was your feast,” Jane asked as she sat down at the table.

“I’m gonna go get Jamie into some fresh pants,” Amanda said.

“And why don’t we talk about it while I put these back on Amanda’s bed,” Becky said as she picked up the sheets. “Do you want to put Rosie down? I’m sure Jamie won’t mind if she uses his crib.”

“Not yet. It’s past her feeding time.”

When Jamie was legs up again on the changing table, he apologized. “Sorry I wet your bed.” He still wasn’t sure if he was waking up to do it and not remembering or if he really was wetting in his sleep. It hadn’t bothered him when it first started happening, but he was more often wondering how it could true bedwetting, if it was true bedwetting. He hadn’t wet the bed in decades, but then he hadn’t been in diapers all day every day in even longer.

“It’s not your fault. I should have checked to make sure your diaper would last through a nap.”

“Still, sorry you’re embarrassed.”

“It’s alright. Mom’s probably just disappointed is all.”

“Huh?”

“She loved getting to take care of me when I was in diapers at night. She insisted on putting them on me right until I stopped and for a month afterward.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. I didn’t mind. It was our special time together. When I was little, we’d snuggle and she’d read to me; when I got older, we’d talk kinda the way you and I talk when I change you. She just misses it.”

“Do you?”

“Special time together? Yeah, but we make up for it in other ways. And no, I’ve no desire to go back to bedwetting or diaper wearing, thank you very much.”

“Good,” Jamie said, “I’d probably be jealous watching Mom change your diapers. Littles sometimes get jealous when there’s a new baby in the family,” he said with a Cheshire Cat grin that Amanda smiled back at, letting him have his joke with no retaliatory tickling. She folded the used diaper and dropped it into the pail. “Sorry about your bed anyway,” Jamie said. “And sorry for you having to do this twice today.”

“Not surprised since you ate almost as much as I did. Probably jumpstarted your system.”

“Sorry anyway.” In a flash she was blowing raspberries on his tummy as he shrieked in delight.

“What’s going on in there,” Becky shouted from the front room.

“Nothing, Mom. Jamie just gave himself a raspberry again, that’s all,” she shouted back. Looking back at Jamie, she said, “Stop apologizing for stuff you can’t help. It’s gonna be late by the time fireworks are over. Do you mind going straight into your jammies?”

“Nope.”

The two emerged from the nursery with Jamie clad in one of his warmer sleepers and thicker nighttime diapers, under which was a creamy layer of rash cream to get him through the night. Amanda added a diaper cover over it, joking she’d be darned if he’d wet her bed twice in one day, making Jamie look forward to snuggling with her all night long. He liked the way the thick diaper and soft cover hugged his hips and butt so tightly; he wanted his underwear and toilet privileges back, but he now allowed himself to appreciate that sometimes a fresh, soft diaper felt good. Amanda set him on the couch next to Becky and went to make him a bottle of water and a glass for herself. At first, Jamie thought Rosie was still asleep on Jane’s lap, just in a different position, and then he looked away embarrassed.

“So Jamie, did you like the festival,” Jane asked

“Yep.”

“Did you get enough to eat?”

“Sure did.” His voice was clipped, his cheeks were pink, and he was conspicuously trying to look everywhere in the room except at Jane.

Not one to dance delicately around anything, Jane asked, “Are you embarrassed so see me nursing Rosie?”

“Not at all! That’s silly.”

“Then why are you craning your neck to look behind you? It’s no big deal. I’m just feeding my little girl. No different than feeding her a bottle. You can look.”

Jamie turned slowly so as not be rude but didn’t look directly at her.

“Did you ever try this, Becky.”

“No. We never discussed it when we learned Jamie wouldn’t be regressed.”

“Hmm,” Jane said in response. Amanda came back in and thankfully gave Jamie a direction to look in.

“So do you want to watch the fireworks,” Amanda asked. “They should be starting soon.”

“Is Rosie going to stay inside,” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jane answered. “She prefers to sleep through them. I gave her a little something to help her do that, and a belly full of her mama’s milk should help too. Just hope she sleeps all the way through them; she woke up last year terrified.”

“I have an idea.” Jamie left and came back with his headphones. “When I worked at summer camp we’d always take the kids who were afraid of fireworks into the office and turn the music up super loud and have a dance party. Maybe just the noise canceling on these will help.” He nervously approached Jane, still with her open, and handed her the headphones. He looked at Rosie, fast asleep even as she slowly nursed.

“Thank you, Jamie. That’s very nice of you.” He stood still. “She’s gonna be sorry she missed you. You can give her a goodnight kiss if you want.” Jamie bashfully leaned forward and kissed her hair, cognizant of how close he was to Jane’s open bra.

“She can use my crib,” he said when he straightened back up, “and my teddy bear.”

“That’s so sweet of you. I’m sure she’d be happy to borrow your bear,” Jane said, reaching out and caressing his cheek.

Becky sniffled. “What,” he asked.

“I’m just very thankful today.” He walked over to climb into her lap, but she stood up before he got there and lifted him to her hip. “Fireworks time.” Amanda took the blanket off the back of the couch, and the three of them walked to the front door, where Amanda picked up another blanket she’d stashed there.

She spread the blanket from the foyer on the grass, and Becky set Jamie down with his bottle of water. Becky and Amanda sat down on either side of him, and Becky shifted him into her lap and took over holding his bottle while Jamie nursed.

“O!” Amanda jumped up and started walking down the street. “I’ll be right back.” Jamie finished his bottle.

“Thank you for a fun day, Mommy.”

“Aww. You called me that again. I like it when you do that.” She hugged him, and over her shoulder he saw Bill in the next yard. He solemnly flipped him the bird and went back to snuggling his mommy. Amanda came back with their partially eaten pan of brownies, set it down on the blanket, and walked inside, passing Jane on her way out.

“I was putting Rosie down and saw this in your crib and thought you might want it,” she said, handing Jamie his pacifier. He smiled bashfully and took it from her. Amanda emerged a moment later with milk, three regular cups, and one of Jamie’s. “Could you leave the door open in case Rosie wakes up?”

“You think we’ll hear her all the way out here?”

“If the fireworks wake her up, yes, definitely.” The foursome settled on the blanket and dipped their brownies into the milk.

“Good job, Becky,” Jane said with a mouthful.

“Jamie helped.”

“I just broke the eggs.”

“That’s the best and hardest part!”

At last they couldn’t hold any more chocolate, at least not until breakfast when Jamie hoped he’d have the chance to polish off the pan. They laid on the blanket, Jamie snug between his mommy and his sister, Amanda between her brother and the woman who had practically been her surrogate mommy growing up (she even called Jane ‘mommy’ until she was three), and waited for the fireworks under their blanket. It was past Jamie’s bedtime, and the pacifier and heavy belly didn’t help, but he managed to make it to the fireworks.

The wait was worth it as the inky sky lit up in bursts of red and white and orange and blue and yellow in a torrent of stars forming circles and streaks and canopies and trails as they whistled into the heavens and snapped, popped, cracked, and kaboomed their way into the sky and back down in a hiss of dwindling fire.

For a moment, Jamie was transported back to the baseball fields in the park he’d go to as a kid on the Fourth of July, the smell of dust and sweat and spilled soda and hotdogs and summertime all around him while he waited on a blanket with his foster brothers and sisters for the fireworks to start, back to when he was a kid and all the falling stars seemed like wonders and the booms echoed in his thin chest, the very peak of childhood summer. This time was even better because he wasn’t one of many kids seated on a blanket,; he was Jamie, laying in the warm, soft, safe embrace of his family.

When it ended in a crashing crescendo of explosions and star shine, the four of them laid still for a moment before stretching out their arms and sitting up. Jamie yawned wide, and his soother fell from his lips. Amanda picked it up, cleaned it off by putting in her own mouth first, then gave it back to Jamie. “Go on upstairs, and I’ll be there in a minute,” Amanda said.

“Goodnight, Jane,” he said.

She snagged him before he could take another step, pulling him into a hug and saying, “Thank you for being so nice to Rosie.” She planted a kiss on his cheek and let him go. He dragged himself inside and up the stairs, ready for the lights to go out. He waited ten minutes, listening to Jane collect Rosie and say their goodbyes until Amanda came in with his bear and bedtime bottle. He was full, but he wouldn’t say no to a warm bottle, especially on a cool night.

She set the bottle and bear down. “Stand up for me, buddy.” Jamie stood on the bed, and Amanda unzipped his sleeper, reached inside the diaper cover, and gave Jamie’s diaper a squeeze. “Still dry. Perfect.”

She arranged the pillows at the head of the bed, sat down with her back against them and gestured for Jamie to climb into her arms. He wrapped an arm around his bear, and she cradled him in her elbow, removing his pacifier and putting the bottle to his lips.

After a few swallows, Jamie opened his eyes. “What is this,” he asked in a happily surprised voice.

“Jane left it for you.”

“Is it …”

“Yep. Do you not like it?”

“No. It’s … I like it a lot.”

He opened his mouth, and Amanda continued to feed him. Jamie’s little body wiggled from his nose to his toes as he sighed a soft mewl and gradually went limp as the long day overtook him and he fell asleep. Becky came in and sat on the bed, running the back of two fingers across Jamie’s little-soft cheek.

“Is that the bottle Jane left for him?”

“Yep,” Amanda whispered.

“How does he like it?”

“He wriggled, went ‘hemh,’ and fell asleep,” Amanda quietly chuckled.

“We might have to talk about that then.” She rubbed his cheek again. “Remember to use the potty before you go to sleep, hun.”

“Jamie did it, mom,” she hissed.

Rebecca laughed as quietly as she could, trying not to shake the bed. “I know, baby. I’m just teasing. Sleep well.”

“You miss it, don’t you, Mom.”

“Do I miss our special time together, yeah. But we still find special times together, don’t we?”

“Yeah, Mommy, we do,” Amanda sighed

Becky leaned over Jamie and gave her daughter a kiss. “Night, Manda.”

“Night, Mom.” Becky slid off the bed and went to her own room. Amanda took the empty bottle and set it on her nightstand before replacing Jamie’s binky. She eased him out of her arms and onto the bed, then gently stepped out of the room to use the potty, brush her teeth, comb her hair, and change into her pajamas.

When she awoke the next morning, her arm was asleep from Jamie laying on it for who knows how many hours, and there was a teddy bear looking down at her from atop the pillows. Furtively, she slid her hand out from under Jamie’s chest and put it under Jamie’s hip, feeling a swollen diaper and a dry bed, and then put it under her own hips. “Thank gawd,” she said in dry relief.