Finding A Solution

“Mom, you’ve gotta be kidding… Right?” Shiloh rolled her eyes, looking down at what was laid out on her bed. There was no way the woman could be serious about this… And yet, there it was, sitting there, mocking her.

“Shi, it’s not a big deal,” she sighed. “Nobody is going to know except for us, and it’ll make things easier for me.”

“You’re right!” Shiloh crossed her arms. “It isn’t a big deal! I told you, Mom, it isn’t going to happen again, so there’s really no need for…” She gestured towards her bed, nose wrinkling as she turned, saw the thing again. “Those things are for babies, anyway, they’re not even going to work on me!”

“I see no reason why they wouldn’t,” the older woman shrugged. “You’re within the weight range on the package, so I think they ought to fit just fine. If they don’t, I have…”

“Well, they won’t!” Shiloh fumed. “I’m not a toddler, I am a grown woman!”

“A grown woman who wet herself last night,” her mother reminded her. “And that’s okay… I’m not trying to shame you, sweetie, it happens sometimes, and I know you’re under a lot of stress right now… I wouldn’t have minded if you had just stayed in your bed. I could have gotten your old plastic sheets out, and…”

“I don’t need plastic sheets!” Shiloh whined. “I’m in an unfamiliar place, that’s all! I’m more used to it today!” She’d just separated from her husband, who had decided he was going to keep their house. With nowhere else to go, Shiloh had moved back in with her mom, and being in her childhood bedroom probably wasn’t doing much to help her mental state. ‘Unfamiliar’ wasn’t exactly the right word for it… Perhaps she remembered it too much.

“That’s true,” her mom admitted, to Shiloh’s surprise. “Plastic sheets aren’t going to do you any good. For those to work, you have to stay in your bed.”

“It’s not my fault!” Shiloh told her.

“I didn’t say it was,” her mother replied soothingly. “But if you’re going to be sleepwalking, that means your protection has to travel with you, and this was the best I could come up with. I’m sorry, Shi, I just don’t want to have to deal with finding and cleaning up puddles every morning.”

The sleepwalking had started much earlier, before the separation; she’d hoped it would go away once that was done with. It still could, although, so far, there was no sign of that. Bedwetting was a whole other thing, and so much worse, especially in conjunction. She couldn’t even tell her mom where it happened, to make the search easier – assuming it happened again, which it had for the past three nights, so, like it or not, there was a very good chance. She could take care of the messes herself, but her mom was up earlier than her anyway, so she’d almost definitely be done before Shiloh was out of bed, and discovering her wet underwear.

“Fine,” Shiloh huffed. “Whatever.” She wasn’t going to say it out loud, but her mother did have a point, and she couldn’t dispute it. The woman was right about the things fitting her, too, which made Shiloh feel even sillier, looking at herself in the childish Pull-Up, knowing these were designed for people far younger than her, ones still struggling with their potty training… Yet, here it was, around her waist, like it was meant to be there.

To add insult to injury, the pajamas she’d brought with her had all been peed in, and were awaiting the laundry, so she had to rely on her old PJs. Of the ones that still fit, the best option was a set adorned with Hello Kitty, which did nothing to make her feel more mature. “This is so dumb!” she complained, when her mother came back in to check on her. “I look like a toddler!”

“No, you don’t,” her mom assured her. “But you’ve been acting like one about this, so I found a little something up in the attic while you were getting changed.”

Shiloh gaped at her mother in disbelief, seeing what was in her hands. “Very funny,” she sniffed.

“You always sleep better when you have something to drink right before,” the woman held her hand up. “Maybe, if you have this, you’ll stay in bed.”

“Fine!” Shiloh ripped it out of her hands, lying down on the floor. “Is this what you want?” She hesitated a moment, then popped the nipple of the baby bottle into her mouth, starting to suck down the juice. “Look at me, I’m a little baby!”

Her mother sighed, shook her head. “You’re just proving my point for me,” she said, as Shiloh pretended to play with her feet. Her mother couldn’t help but wonder if she’d noticed, behind her, the things she’d bought as a back-up, in case the Pull-Ups didn’t fit… Or, if they weren’t good enough. She had a feeling the girl wasn’t going to be happy about them when she did see them… She already wasn’t, though, so what difference did it make?

The Stepdaughter – Chapter 25

“Y-Yeah,” Janet blushed, nodding bashfully. “M-Maybe you’re right… Maybe you should stay with me…”

“Fine, then,” Bernice shrugged. “Get out of the chair, in that case.”

“O… Kay…” Janet frowned, wondering if Bernice had misunderstood her somehow. After the help the woman had just given her, and hoped would continue to give her in the future, she didn’t push her luck, carefully clambering out of her seat, standing by awkwardly.

“But Mommy!” Melba pouted, stomping her foot. “I wanna swim!”

“You can, sweetie,” Bernice told her. “Go on… I’ll be right here, watching, okay? I just have to watch little Janet, too, so don’t go too far.”

“Okay!” the little girl beamed, slipping out of her flip-flops and rushing over to the edge of the pool, carefully climbing in and starting to splash around.

Bernice sat down in the chair Janet had just vacated, explaining why she’d had her move. Janet started to sulk – after everything, she lost her seat anyway?! – but she knew she couldn’t complain too much… This was better than her alternatives. She didn’t have to face the college kids on her own, and, even if it meant she’d have to stand, or sit on the ground, herself, Bernice was around to help her with Kenzi and Zella.

“Come here,” Bernice said, as Janet looked around at the ground around the chair, trying to decide what would be the most comfortable spot. She reached over, grabbed her, and, while the girl squeaked in surprise, pulled her onto her lap. Janet fit there quite easily, Bernice’s hand automatically drifting down to her diaper, patting it softly.

Janet squirmed, cheeks red, thinking back to all their little arguments at the office; there was no way either of them could have imagined that, one day, they’d end up like this. “I can’t wait to meet your Mommy,” Bernice said. “She must be quite the person, to have done this to you.”

“I don’t have a Mommy!” Janet shook her head. “I-I mean, I have a mom, but…”

“Then a Daddy?” Bernice raised an eyebrow, a wicked smile starting to cross her face. “Is he cute?”

“No!” Janet whined. “I-It was… Umm… Sh-She’s my stepdaughter.”

Bernice burst out laughing, unable to control herself for a good few minutes. “Some kid did this to you?” she asked, once she could finally speak again, giving the girl’s full diaper a squeeze. “I guess if you allowed that to happen, you deserve this!”

“I-It’s not as simple as that,” Janet blushed, fidgeting. “Sh-She’s not a kid… She’s only a little younger than me… I-It’s complicated, but she thinks I’m this girl she used to babysit, who needed diapers, a-and…”

“Are you sure you aren’t?” Bernice mocked. “It definitely seems like you needed this one!”

Janet grumbled, starting to think this hadn’t been the best choice after all, that she might not be getting the help she wanted from Bernice. She sat on Bernice lap silently, only letting out a squeal of shock when the woman started jostling her leg, bouncing her up and down a little.

After a few minutes, Bernice reached into her bag, took out her phone. “Keep an eye on Melba,” she ordered.

There wasn’t a lot Janet could have done to help the girl, if she’d seen her get in over her head, or slip and fall, or anything like that… Any other time, she would have relished the chance to turn the tables on Bernice, to give her a lecture on how irresponsible it was of her to pass off her responsibilities like that… Right now, however, all things considered, she wasn’t in the position to reprimand the woman about anything.

And, to be totally fair, Bernice did look up from the screen every couple minutes, confirming that everything was all right. After all of her plans for getting rid of that phone, and the evidence on it, it was a bit infuriating seeing it there, so close, while she was bobbing on the woman’s knee. She could reach over and grab it… But, even if Bernice’s grip didn’t immediately tighten, keep Janet from yanking it out of her hand, she might be fast enough to snatch it back before Janet could toss it into the pool… And Janet wasn’t confident she could throw it that far, anyway. Of course, if it landed on the ground instead, it would probably smash, which would do the job just as well… If it didn’t, though, Bernice would still be angry at her, and Janet would have accomplished nothing.

Either way, she suspected she’d end up turned over on the woman’s lap, given yet another spanking. It likely wouldn’t hurt much, through the layers of padding, and the mess, but it would certainly be humiliating… Especially if that was how Kenzi and Hazel found her when they returned.

In the end, she was glad she didn’t try it. “Mommy, Mommy!” Melba exclaimed, after what felt like a mind-numbing amount of time for Janet, sitting there on Bernice’s lap. The girl ran up, flapping her arms excitedly, sending water flying everywhere. “Did you see? I went underwater, and it wasn’t even that scary, and I think I made a friend, and…!”

“That’s wonderful, baby,” Bernice smiled. “You’re so brave!” She kissed her daughter on the forehead, not appearing to worry about how wet the girl had just gotten her phone. “I saw her, and she looked very nice… What’s her name?”

Melba cocked her head, thinking for a moment. “I dunno,” she answered, finally.

Bernice chuckled. “Did you ask?”

Melba shrugged, turning back towards the pool. “Oh, there she is! She’s back!” she grinned. “Bye, Mommy!”

“Silly girl,” Bernice said to herself, shaking her head affectionately. She looked around for a moment, then grabbed the back of Janet’s tankini – totally dry, of course, since she’d not even been that close to the pool herself this whole time – and used it to dry off her phone. “Thank goodness they have waterproof phones now, right?”

“R-Right,” Janet agreed, although, really, all she was thinking was how lucky she was not to have tried anything with the phone. There was a difference between surviving a splash or two, and making it out of a dunk in the pool itself. She hadn’t even considered the possibility that the phone could have survived, however… How awful would it have been to risk even more of Bernice’s ire, only to discover her phone, and the incriminating photos, were still fully intact?

Janet was taking her job of watching the pool seriously, despite knowing any actual rescue would have to come from Bernice, so she had no warning for the sound of her babysitters’ voices returning. It started with the pair of them giggling, Janet thinking it was them, but not certain… Until she heard Kenzi speak.

“This is where we left her, isn’t it?” she asked. “I don’t see any babies sitting on their own…”

“That’s because she isn’t,” Hazel told her, her voice making Janet’s skin crawl, her legs kick slightly, trying to decide what she was going to do now, the fateful moment upon her. “See, she made a friend.”

They sauntered over, Janet blushing, staring down at the ground, her heart pounding, wondering how this was going to go, if Zella would be mad at her for losing her seat, even if, really, she was simply a few inches higher on it. “Hi, there,” Hazel said. “I hope our little Prissy hasn’t been too much trouble for you…”

Janet turned, looking at Bernice. She hadn’t had the chance to speak up, to make the choice about whether or not she should have Bernice tell them who she really was or not… It was too late now. She’d just been sitting there, bouncing on her knee, for so long, she could have brought it up at any time, so she knew it was her fault for being too embarrassed, but she’d hoped there would be more time.

“Prissy, huh?” she laughed. “That’s the perfect name for you, isn’t it? And no worries, she was trouble, of course, but it was worth it to see her like this…”

“Oh?” Hazel raised an eyebrow. “You know her?”

This was it! Janet should have known they’d end up at this place eventually, if she worked up the courage to discuss it beforehand with Bernice or not, and here it was… This might be it, the moment this whole thing ended, and she got to go back to her real self, and out of diapers… Though, honestly, that last part felt less likely, after all the accidents she’d been having… She might need them for a little while longer anyway, but she’d rather be able to start getting out of them now, instead of after Harrison’s return.

It hadn’t been that long… There couldn’t have been that much damage done… This day was drawing to a close, but she had all of Sunday to fix this… Thinking of it that way, however, made her shudder, recall that it hadn’t even taken a full day for Hazel to do this to her, to reduce her from a fully functioning adult to a helpless, diaper-filling toddler. Even if she got out of these diapers, and stopped having accidents, the knowledge of how close she must be to that already, to have fallen so far, so fast, was going to haunt her for a long time to come.

“Oh, yes,” Bernice answered. “I worked with Janet here for quite a while…”

And there it was. Janet had tried to make Hazel listen, to accept that she was Janet, not Prissy, and been denied every time… Now somebody else was calling her that. She’d have to listen now, have to acknowledge that she’d made a mistake… Wouldn’t she?

Zella paused, then started to grin, looking from Bernice to Janet, sitting there, sucking away at her pacifier, squirming nervously in her dirty diaper. Janet noticed it, wasn’t sure what it meant, what she was going to say. It did appear to throw her, however, if ever so slightly, her response taking an extra moment or two to start. Or was she drawing it out, making Janet wait longer to hear it? Janet wasn’t sure, though, by the time it started, she was on the edge of Bernice’s lap, wondering…

What was Hazel going to say?!

“Oh, you must be mistaken, Prissy here is obviously barely mature enough for school, much less work!”

Or, “I’m so sorry! I’m sure she was a handful… But, as you can see, we know just how to deal with little brats like Janet.”

This decision has already been made, but if you’d like to catch up on the story, and help decide where it goes next, you can find it, and other exclusive stories, at my Patreon!

The Stepdaughter – Chapter 24

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Janet grumbled under her breath. This was letting Bernice see her even longer, giving her more chances to take pictures and videos to show her former co-workers, and admitting to her that she was little better than a toddler, needing her help… But she knew that she did.

What was she going to do against those college students on her own?! She was no match for them like this. Maybe, on a normal day, out of diapers, she could have threatened to go get a lifeguard or something, and tell them about how her seat had been stolen, and that might be enough to send them scattering, but now… There was no way she was going to intimidate them when she was crawling around in a dirty diaper, unable to so much as stand up.

“Wait!” she called out, crawling desperately towards Bernice, trying not to lose her in the crowd. Down on her hands and knees, it was hard to get a good view of anything more than a bunch of feet and legs. “Bernice, hold on!” she cried, not knowing, for sure, if the woman could hear or, or was bothering to listen, though she took out her pacifier to give herself the best chance.

Thankfully, after a few tense moments, weaving her way through the sea of legs, she found a couple pairs that weren’t moving, glancing up to find Bernice there, arms crossed, looking down at her. “What, Janet?” she asked. “There’s nothing you’re going to do, or say, that’s going to make me delete those pictures.”

“I know, I know,” Janet shook her head, trying to get to her feet, to feel a little less overwhelmed by the height difference between them, only to be thwarted by her diaper’s bulk. She whined, holding up her hand, attempting to get help, but Bernice left her hanging, forcing her to stay on the ground, helpless.

“Then what do you want?” Bernice demanded.

Janet blushed, removing the pacifier once more, and wishing it was still there for her to nibble anxiously on. “I-I need your help with something else,” she admitted.

“I told you, I don’t have any spare diapers,” Bernice reminded her. “I can’t change you.”

“Th-That’s not it, either!” Janet insisted, no matter how nice a clean, fresh diaper sounded, despite who it came from, at this point.

“Well, I’m not sure what else I can do for you,” Bernice said.

“I-I need your Mommy skills,” Janet mumbled.

“For what?” Bernice arched an eyebrow. “And why can’t your Mommy do it?”

“It’s complicated!” Janet sighed. “But I need you to do it, or I could be in really big trouble…”

“You don’t think you’re already going to be in trouble for making such a big mess in your Pampers?” Bernice teased.

Janet cheeks darkened further. “Th-They already know that… B-But I was supposed to stay in my beach chair, a-and when I was up and talking to you, it got stolen, a-and…”

“What?” Bernice knelt down, finally looking Janet in the face, rather than forcing her to crane her neck upwards to see hers. “You don’t think they’re going to take you seriously? I can’t imagine why not…” She gave the other woman’s giant diaper a swat. “And why should I do this for you?”

That was the part Janet hadn’t worked out yet… She really had nothing to offer Bernice. She already had evidence of this to show off to the other people at the office, and she could easily do that at any time, with no need for Janet’s permission. Janet didn’t work with her anymore, so she couldn’t suggest covering shifts for her, or looking the other way if she wanted to duck out early, or anything… Harrison’s wealth might have come in handy, but Janet had none of it with her, even her checkbook, and there was no reason for Bernice to believe she’d follow through on paying her off later.

“W-Well…” Janet’s mind raced. “Umm…”

To her surprise, it was the woman’s daughter who spoke up next. “But Mommy!” she tugged at the woman’s hand. “She’s just a baby… Wouldn’t it be mean for us not to help her?”

Janet didn’t like that Melba had said ‘us’, as if she was so much more grown-up and mature than Janet that it was her responsibility to look after her, too, but, with nothing better to say herself, she stayed silent, nodding. Bernice glared at her, eyes narrowing, then softened as she turned back towards the little girl. “That’s a very good point, sweetie,” she said. “We’d be almost as bad as the bullies if we didn’t help stand up for the people they’re picking on, wouldn’t we? All right, Janet, where’s your chair?”

Janet held her hand up again, and, reluctantly, Bernice took it this time, helping her to her feet, keeping ahold of it so Janet could toddle her way back around the pool. Janet felt bad, hogging Bernice’s hand, the other carrying her bag, and leaving Melba to walk on her own, but she stuck close to her mother, not appearing to mind, probably thinking it was obvious that the one still in diapers needed more attention. Janet wished that wasn’t true, not knowing how many years she had on the kid, other than that it could be measured in decades, surely; unfortunately, it was, at least at the moment. She was glad when they approached the destination, and she could point out her beach chair, still occupied, hopefully bringing an end to this humiliation.

“Excuse me?” Bernice said loudly, in her best ‘mom’ voice, one that made even Janet squirm. “Is this your chair?”

Janet saw one of the girls wince, her cheeks turning a bit pink, but the others didn’t look bothered at all, probably thinking that they were too old to be intimidated by some random lady with two kids. “Yeah,” the other girl spoke up, “it is. Do you have some problem with that?”

Janet was definitely glad she hadn’t come here on her own… The girl was tall, young, pretty, confident… Next to her, Janet wouldn’t have stood a chance, diaper or not. Bernice, on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat.

“You do know this is the shallow end, don’t you?” she sniffed. “This area is mostly for kids, and their mothers… Do you feel good about taking up one of the few empty seats around here from them? Poor Janet here has been waddling around in a dirty diaper for quite a while now because I can’t find anywhere to sit and change her!”

Janet blushed, not liking that Bernice had used her real name, or was bringing that up, staring down at her feet bashfully.

“I should make one of you do it,” Bernice threatened, although Janet wasn’t sure if that was meant to be more scary for her or them. “Do you not know how to swim? Is that why you’re down here? Or do you just like making things more difficult for people who are already trying to wrangle their children, and keep an eye on them, and…?”

“Let’s just move,” one of the boys spoke up.

“No,” the girl snapped. “We have as much of a right to be here as she does… If we wanted, we could take up a whole row of chairs, but we’re being nice and only using one.”

“W-Well,” the other, quiet, girl pointed out, “th-there was only one…”

“Shut up, Daisy,” her friend glared at her. “Maybe we don’t know how to swim. What would you say to that? Do you think we deserve to have to go over to the deep end and risk drowning so you can change your little baby’s diaper in peace?”

“I think,” Bernice stepped closer, voice growing a bit chillier, “that maybe some time in diapers might do you some good, too, young lady. You see her?” Bernice gave Janet’s bottom a swat, nearly making her tumble over until she grabbed her hand again. “She used to be a uppity little brat like you, too… Take a good look; she isn’t a toddler. I could do the same to you… Is that what you want?”

Janet’s stomach churned, the attention of the college kids firmly on her now, studying her face, probably having mostly overlooked her until now. She knew that it hadn’t been Bernice who had done this to her, but they didn’t…

“You wouldn’t dare,” the girl smirked.

But all Bernice had to do was start to reach into her bag to send even her scrambling. “F-Fine!” she huffed, gathering up her things. “It’s boring over here anyway!”

“It’s too bad I don’t actually have any diapers with me,” Bernice chuckled, watching them scurry off. “That actually might have been fun. But, here you go.” She set Janet down in the beach chair. “All yours.”

“Th-Thank you,” Janet blushed. “I-I don’t know what I would have done without you…”

“Well, it wouldn’t have been very nice of me to leave a baby like you to defend herself,” Bernice shrugged, setting her bag down next to the seat. “I guess that really is what you are, huh? Maybe I should stay here and look after you until your Mommy comes back.”

“N-No, you don’t have to do that!” Janet answered automatically, shaking her head, though, a moment later, visions of Bernice possibly giving Hazel and Kenzi the same dressing down she’d used on those college kids began dancing through her mind. That would certainly be entertaining… Of course, that also ran the risk of her telling them who Janet really was, and she still wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or not.

“Hmm,” Bernice raised an eyebrow. “Well, is there anything else you need, while I’m here, then? It doesn’t look like you have anything to drink, and I wouldn’t want you getting dehydrated.”

Janet bit her bottom lip, hating how much she was missing her paci, and waiting for the moment when she could stop talking and pop it back in. She glanced down at Bernice’s bag, sitting right next to the beach chair… The phone was right inside. Would Bernice take the bag with her, if she sent her off on a little errand? Or would she leave it there, and give Janet a chance to dispose of the evidence, however she could? She might have accidentally made the best choice she could have, asking for the woman’s help…

But was it really worth it? She was on Bernice’s good side now, to some extent… Should she really run the risk of changing that? She knew the threats against the college kids had been empty, however, that didn’t mean the woman wouldn’t find some way to make her miserable if she realized Janet was trying to play her.

“Come on, Janet,” Bernice said. “I know Melba is anxious to get in the pool, so if you don’t need anything, I’d like to get to that.”

“Hold on,” Janet’s mind was furiously running through the possibilities. Getting a drink would probably require some money, and Bernice had to be keeping that in her bag… Maybe Janet would be able to snag the phone before she left, but that would be risky. The vending machines weren’t terribly close, so if she pulled it off, she’d have a little time with the phone.

Then again, there was still the towel… It would be nice to be able to hide her diaper with it, and she could truthfully tell Zella she hadn’t gotten it herself… And there would be no reason for Bernice to take the bag with her to get it. It wasn’t that far away, though, so if she did that, there wouldn’t be time to try to guess the woman’s passcode or anything… She’d have to toss it into the pool if she wanted to be certain to stop Bernice from showing off the picture.

Or… Maybe she should take Bernice up on her offer, have her stick around and talk to Hazel and Kenzi. She had no idea how that conversation was going to go, but it might be worth a shot… Or it could end up making things at home even worse.

She looked up at Bernice, seeing her impatience starting to show, knowing she had to make a decision soon. What should she do?

Ask for Bernice to get her a drink, and try to sneak the phone out of her bag?

Ask Bernice to fetch the towel for her, and throw the phone into the pool?

Ask Bernice to wait with her until Hazel and Kenzi get back?

Or tell Bernice she’s fine as she is, and to go enjoy her time at the pool with Melba?

This decision has already been made, but if you’d like to catch up on the story, and help decide where it goes next, you can find it, and other exclusive stories, at my Patreon!