Sleepover

Anna stepped quietly past the living room, careful not to wake her 14-year old daughter and her friends, strewn, no doubt, haphazardly around the furniture. Once in the kitchen, she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and held it under the water dispenser in the fridge.

But before she could take a sip, she heard the unmistakable sound of a door latching a floor below her, where she owned and operated a day care. Who on earth would be in the day care at 4 in the morning? She set down the glass and tiptoed down the stairs.

A small sliver of light could be seen under the door to the diaper room, a small pantry which housed all of the diapers supplied by the mothers of infants and toddlers alike. Not wanting to scare whomever was inside, she lightly knocked on the door with one knuckle.

Immediately she heard a scrambling from the other side of the door. "Hello?" she asked quietly. 

Anna opened the door and squinted in the light to find her daughter's friend Zoe, dressed in a cotton nightgown and a mortified look on her reddening face.

"Zoe, what are you doing down here?" Anna whispered gently, and with genuine curiosity. 

Embarrassed, the young girl just shrugged, looking away.

Anna knew the answer. The same tone as before, she asked, "Were you looking for a diaper?"

The girl shrugged again.

Anna waited a beat to see if the 14-year old would answer. After a brief silence, "Zoe? Did you find a diaper?"

Another long pause,before a barely noticeable nod. Anna smiled, and gently whispered, "Let's see." She gesture for Zoe to lift her nightgown. "It's okay, Sweetie."

The girl looked at her for the first time, squinty-eyed, tears threatening to make an appearance.

"Shh." Anna comforted. "It's okay. Let's see."

With shaking hands, the young girl lifted the hem of her nightgown up her skinny legs and above her waist, revealing baby blue cotton panties,  Inside the panties, Zoe had hastily stuffed an open Huggies diaper. She hadn't had time to locate anything that may fit her, so she wore the diaper between her legs like an oversized maxipad. The top of the diaper clearly visible over the elastic waistband of the panties.

"Let me help you," whispered the older woman. She stepped inside the small room, past Zoe, bending to a low cupboard and sliding a Goodnite out of a bag inside. Zoe's eyes never left Anna as she tried to process what was going on.

Anna held the Goodnite up in front of Zoe's pelvis, checking the fit. "Here." she said. "These should fit. Do you want my help?" 

She looked up at the young girl with large, thoughtful eyes.

A nod from the fourteen year old.

Without another word, Anna hooked her thumbs into the waistband of the baby blue panties and slid them down the girl's thighs, along with the open diaper. Then she held the Goodnite open at Zoe's ankles. The girl braced herself with one hand on Anna's shoulder as she stepped into the pull-up diaper. First one ankle, then the other.  Anna slowly slid the diaper up Zoe's thighs and snugly into place.

Anna stood up began backing the younger girl out of the small closet. "All right, sweetie," she whispered. "Let's get you back upstairs before anyone notices." Turning back to turn out the light, she noticed the blue panties on the floor, deftly picking them up along with the diaper. She handed the panties to Zoe and began re-folding the unused Huggies to put back on the shelf, when she noticed Zoe staring uncomfortably at it. "You want this?" she asked, holding out the diaper.

A nod. A smile.

Anna handed it to her, turned out the light, and pushed the young girl toward the stairs.

"And Zoe?" she whispered. "If you need me to change your diaper tomorrow, just ask, okay?"

In the darkness, she did not see the young girl grin from ear to ear.