Lizzie - Chapter 10 - The Surprise Present

It was still early morning as the kids sat in a large semicircle before the tree. They had all woken up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the big day.

The morning had been a hectic one. Lizzie had awoken to a massively swollen diaper. The padding had greatly expanded from the soaking, causing her to waddle as she had made her way to the washroom.

She hated to admit that her aunt had been right, a single goodnite might have leaked.

But thankfully, that was all behind her, and now, in front of the bright Christmas tree, Lizzie couldn’t help but smile.

Despite being one of the oldest in the bunch, she found herself waiting in joyful anticipation. She loved opening presents. Even though her parents were quite frugal, the surprise of ripping open the wrapped gifts never ceased to excite her.

And there were certainly a ton of gifts this year. Under the tree were boxes of all shapes and sizes, wrapped in a rainbow of colors.

“Can we open them, can we open them?” Alice asked, certainly the most excited of them all. She had been the first one up, and had practically bounced on her parents’ bed to wake them up. Lizzie watched as the little girl struggled to sit still, “Please, pretty please.” Alice whined.

“Alright, we finally have everyone accounted for,” Aunt Mira said, “And I see camera operators one, two, and three,” she continued, pointing in turn to each parent with a phone, “are all in position. So let’s begin!”

The kids rushed in, each grabbing their gifts before bringing them back to their spots. Then, as was tradition, they took turns going around.

Calvin got a large box of Minecraft-themed Lego while Noah got a Kindle. Alice got a baby doll, one of those that you could take care of, and Lucas got a large squishmallow which he hugged with glee. Of course, the spoiled Charlotte got a brand new pair of airpods.

Lizzie held her gift. It was relatively light, but in a large box. She frowned, she had made it pretty clear to her parents that she really wanted the new Mario game but this was far too big.

She shook the box, but there was no sound. What could it be?

“Just open it already,” Charlotte called out.

Lizzie looked up to see everyone’s eyes on her. Blushing, she tore off the wrapping to reveal a large Amazon box.

Her father handed her his swiss army knife which she used to rip open the box. Inside was just a bunch of packing material.

She dug her hands through it for a few seconds, before her fingers eventually found something.

Pulling it out, she found a copy of Super Mario Bros!

“Yay!” Lizzie said. “Thank you!” She ran to hug her parents.

“We had to be a little creative with the packaging, because she’s too good at guessing,” Philip explained to the others.

The kids went a few more rounds until all of the wrapped gifts were opened. Lizzie only received one more gift, another Switch controller. Her parents explained it was so everyone could play together, so it really wasn’t even a gift for her, but Lizzie was okay with that. She was already satisfied.

The kids opened their stockings too, which contained a bunch of little toys from the other parents. Inside Lizzie’s stocking, she found a cute beanie, a small bag of candies, and a pretty notebook with some gel pens.

Their family had given the other kids each a small board game, which Lizzie thought was the clearly the best of the stocking gifts.

“Here, we got you a board game too,” Lizzie turned around to see her mom handing her a box.

Exploding Kittens the box read. Ivie had brought it over once and the entire family it had been a blast. Lizzie loved the game with its cute kitties and had really wanted a copy, but thought her parents had forgotten all about it.

“Thank you!” Lizzie said excitedly, giving her mom a hug.

“Alright, looks like it’s time to clean up,” Aunt Mira announced as the final presents were opened.

“Sorry, wait!” Aunt Jenny came walking in with Lucas, each of them carrying a small stack of boxes.

“Lucas has a surprise for everyone.” They sat the boxes down. And Lucas began reading the nametags, handing them out to the other children one by one.

“I know we usually have a policy not to give any big gifts between families, but Lucas worked really hard to prepare these for everyone,” Grant explained to the other parents.

“Oh you really shouldn’t have!” Aunt Katherine said.

“Oh it’s okay, they weren’t expensive. Lucas was just really excited. He handpicked each of these so I really hope you’ll all enjoy them!” Jenny said.

“Thanks Lucas!” Lizzie flashed Lucas a smile as he handed her a thin rectangular box covered with reindeer wrapping.

“Alright, go ahead, let’s open them all at once.”

The kids didn’t have to be told twice, they each ripped into their surprise gift.

Peeling back the gift wrap revealed a nice looking box. It was light blue with The Care Inc. written at the top in gold lettering. The lid came off to reveal a light blue pajama top with a Rosalina figure in the center.

“Aww, pajamas?” Calvin said as he pulled out a two-piece set of red and black plaid pajamas. His voice didn’t hide his disappointment.

“Calvin!” His mother immediately said, but the expression on Lucas’s face made it painfully obvious that it was too late.

Calvin noticed it too, and immediately began to stutter.

“I like them!” Lizzie spoke out, “I love Rosalina, I think you picked the perfect one for me Lucas,” Lizzie said cheerfully.

“Anna!” Alice said cheerfully, revealing a pink footed sleeper with a portrait of the Frozen princess. “Now I have both Anna and Elsa! Thank you Lucas!”

“They are very comfy looking, thanks Lucas!” Noah added, holding up a matching pair to Calvin’s.

The compliments helped, and Lucas’s frown was quickly replaced by a big smile.

“Why don’t we try them on and take a family picture?” Aunt Katherine asked.

The kids rushed off, Lizzie included.

She genuinely liked the pajamas. While perhaps not the most mature-looking, Lizzie always had a soft spot for Rosalina. And feeling the surface, she found they were made of really soft material as well, she couldn’t wait to feel how comfortable they would be on her.

Shutting the door behind her, Lizzie took the top out of the box. However, as she did, the top unfolded, revealing that her pajama top was actually a one-piece.

In fact, at the bottom of the pant legs were a pair of socks. Lucas had gotten her footed sleeper, just like Alice. These were definitely not going to be sleepover pajamas.

Wait. Lizzie thought as she realized the zipper was nowhere to be seen.

Her worst fears were confirmed as she flipped the sleeper to find the zipper in the back. The design looked identical to the one she had borrowed from Lucas during Thanksgiving, down to the flap at the top.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. “Lizzie, do you mind if I come in?” The voice belonged to Aunt Jenny.

“Sure,” Lizzie said, still somewhat stunned as she unlocked the door.

“Hey Lizzie, I’m so glad you liked the pajamas. Lucas was adamant about getting you a Rosalina one, so when he saw it at the store we usually shop at, he begged us for it. We checked four different stores, but that was the only one with Rosalina. Grant and I debated for quite a while, on one hand, we know how much you love her, but on the other hand, we were obviously a bit worried about the backzip and how that might be inconvenient for you.

“However, then I remembered how comfortable you thought they were last time, and I’m sure you have plenty of other pajamas for things like sleepovers, so wearing these once in a while should be okay.”

“Thanks,” Lizzie said, still a bit lost for words.

“Oh no, did we get it wrong?” Jenny asked.

“They’re…” Lizzie paused. Seeing her aunt’s face, she couldn’t find the heart to tell her the truth. Besides, it was just for a few pictures, then she could take them off and stash them into her suitcase, where she wouldn’t have to wear them ever again. “No, you’re right, I like them! I was just a bit surprised to find the zipper in the back,” Lizzie said, forcing a smile.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so glad. Lucas was super anxious about the gifts, but yours in particular, he’ll be so happy to hear that you like them. While I’m here, did you want some help putting them on for the pictures?”

Lizzie sighed internally.

Just a few pictures and you’ll get on with your day, she told herself.

She replied in the affirmative. Jenny stepped out, letting Lizzie change into the sleeper, pulling the zip as far up as she could before her aunt returned to zip it up fully.

The sound of the tab snapping shut sent a small shiver down Lizzie’s spine. Knowing that she was now officially trapped in sleeper until someone helped her out. Grabbing her discarded clothing, she turned to leave, eager to get the pictures taken so she could change back into her regular clothes.

“Wait!” Jenny said. “Your pajamas actually came with these as well.” Jenny pulled from the box a pair of mittens and a wand with a star at the end. “Did you want to try the mittens? They might be a bit difficult to move with.”

“Sure, why not?” At this point, she just wanted to get it over with, taking the mittens from Jenny.

They were a light blue, matching the rest of her sleeper. As she pulled them over her hands, Lizzie realized they didn’t have any fingers. The fabric itself was soft, but seemed ever so slightly thicker than the ones on her pajamas. Two ribbons hung off the wrist, presumably to help fasten the mittens. Lizzie fiddled with them, but with just one hand, the ribbons kept slipping from between her fingers.

“Here, let me help you with those,” Jenny said, picking up the ends, she wrapped them around her wrist before tying them in a neat bow and handing her the wand. “Wow, I knew we made the right choice, you look absolutely adorable!”

“Thanks,” Lizzie said, taking a peek in the mirror. She had to admit, she looked quite cute, the blue looked good on her and the wand really completed her outfit. However, she couldn’t help but feel a bit like a little girl dressed for Halloween.

Lizzie rejoined the others in the living room where she frowned at what she saw. From Alice’s and her sleeper, she had assumed that Lucas had gotten one-pieces for all of the girls, but was dismayed to find that Charlotte’s were a two-piece set. Her top was a light purple with a bunny jamming out to some music while the bottoms were a simple grey with white polkadots.

At least Alice had a one-piece like her, Lizzie thought. Although the thought of being grouped with the youngest kid in the group wasn’t much consolation.

Charlotte glanced up from her phone, “Nice PJs, they really suit you.” Lizzie couldn’t tell whether or not it was sarcasm.

“You too.” Lizzie replied, deciding it was best to just ignore her.

“Well aren’t you a cute princess,” Philip said as he saw her.

“Dad!”

“Beautiful princess,” he corrected.

“We’re both princesses!” Alice screamed with glee as she practically leapt onto Lizzie’s back.

When she eventually got her off of her back, Lizzie frowned yet again as she realized that Alice’s footies actually zipped up in the front. Meaning that aside from Lucas, it was only Lizzie who needed help getting in and out of her pajamas. The thought instantly made Lizzie even more self-conscious.

“What, I want a wand too!” Alice complained, either not noticing or not caring about the difference in zippers.

“Here,” Lizzie handed it to her, no longer wanting it anyway. As Alice took it, she realized the younger girl also didn’t have any mittens with her outfit.

Finally, Lucas returned, having changed the slowest. Lizzie was in for yet another surprise as Lucas actually wore a two piece set. The top was white with green sleeves, and had a large crocodile in the middle, while the pants were a matching green.

The hierarchy was painfully obvious to Lizzie. At the top were two-pieces for the older kids. Next up was the front-zipped one-piece for the younger Alice. And at the very bottom was the back-zipped footies for herself.

“Wow, aren’t you all adorable!” all of the moms practically squealed in delight as they began snapping photos of the children.

Adorable. Lizzie didn’t feel like being adorable at the moment. She hid herself in the back row, letting those in front of her cover as much of her pajamas.

After what felt like an eternity, the moms finally had enough pictures and Lizzie immediately ran off to get changed.

“Lizzie, not so fast, what have we said about cleaning up after yourself?” Her mom’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

Lizzie turned to see all of her cousins working to throw away the wrapping paper and empty boxes. “Yes mom,” Lizzie said, head down, as she went back to help.

The cardboard boxes kept slipping out from her mittened hands as Lizzie realized she couldn’t get a firm grip on them. Trying to take them off, Lizzie realized the bows around her wrist made that impossible. She pulled at the ends to try and untie them, but they kept slipping between the soft fabric of the mittens.

Frustrated, Lizzie yanked at them with her teeth, eventually pulling the knots free and stashing the mittens into her pockets. At least her pajamas had those.

When she finished, Lizzie got up to leave.

“Lissie changing already? Lissie no like?” Lucas asked with a frown, somehow picking up on her intention.

“Yeah, does Lizzie not like her pajamas?” Charlotte echoed with a sly smile, “But everyone says they look adorable on you.” This time, the sarcasm was crystal clear.

“They even have feet, it’s like you’re twinning with my sister,” Calvin said with a light snicker.

“I—” Before Lizzie could respond, Aunt Mira suddenly interrupted.

“This is perfect!” The entire room turned to look at Mira, who looked up from her phone. “Willy’s is doing a Christmas week promotion, all kids wearing pajamas get free pancakes!” She said, showing the promotion.

“Wow, that is perfect!” Aunt Katherine, and all the other adults nodded in agreement.

“Alright kids, looks like we’re going to Willy’s for brunch, everyone meet in the garage in five! And everyone stay in their pajamas for the free pancakes!”

With that, most of the family began filing out.

“Looks like you get to wear your adorable outfit to eat,” Charlotte teased, before skipping away.

Lizzie groaned, realizing she couldn’t even change into different pajamas because it would be admitting to Lucas she’d lied about liking the sleeper.

Now, she had to go out in the sleeper. Quickly, she swung by her luggage to grab a jacket to help cover her outfit somewhat. She put on her boots, hoping they would hide her socked feet.

***

The family soon arrived at the restaurant. As they walked in, Lizzie tried her best to stay hidden behind her father.

The host seated the family at two large booths. The adults and Lucas sat in one booth while the remaining kids sat in the other.

“Hello everyone, welcome to Willy’s. I’m Amanda, and I’ll be your server today, would you like any drinks or did you have any questions?”

Most of the servers and hosts were all wearing pajamas as well. Amanda’s top was green with streams of Christmas lights while her pants were a dark brown.

“You look like a Christmas tree!” Alice commented, causing Charlotte and Calvin to chuckle.

Amanda however didn’t seem to mind. “I am! Thanks for noticing! I see you are also all dressed up for Willy’s Pajama Party. I assume you all of you kids want some free pancakes today?”

“Pancakes!” Lucas said.

“I’ll take that as a yes! Just to make sure though, I’m going to have to confirm that you’re all wearing pajamas! Okay, you look adorable as Anna… Oh, you two are matching, that’s awesome… and wow, that’s a cute kitty… and… Hey, sweetie, if you don’t mind, could you take off your jacket?”

It took Lizzie a moment to realize Amanda’s question was directed at her. Blushing, Lizzie slipped her jacket off.

“Oh wow, a Rosalina onesie, it looks great on you! Is she your favorite character?”

Lizzie nodded, face burning as she tried to sink into the seat.

To make matters worse, a group of teenage boys happened to walk by their table. Lizzie could swear one of them glanced their way before snickering. She could already imagine him laughing with his friends about how funny she looked.

“She’s my favorite too! I’m so jealous, where did you get it?” Amanda asked.

“It was… a gift.” Lizzie managed to stutter out.

Thankfully, Amanda left it at that. She chatted with the parents table for a bit as well before leaving to get some drinks.

Lizzie quickly slipped back into her jacket, still red from the entire encounter.

That feeling persisted even after their food arrived. The eggs, sausages, and hashbrowns looked boring on the plate. Even the pancakes looked unappetizing as she played with her food.

“Hey soldier, the food is not gonna eat itself,” Philip asked as he swung by the table.

When Lizzie didn’t respond, Philip continued. “I know, what about some of these?” He said, revealing a plate of bacon. “Come on, it’s your favorite.”

“I’m not hungry,” Lizzie muttered.

He tried to put some onto her plate, but she waved his hand away.

“Suit yourself, but try to eat a bit so you aren’t too hungry later, okay?” When Lizzie didn’t answer, Philip just shook his head and returned to his seat.

Eventually, the families finished eating and they got ready to leave. Lizzie tried to remain small and hidden as they exited the diner.

***

As soon as they got home, Lizzie quickly pulled her dad aside.

“What’s up?”

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“This isn’t school, you don’t need to ask for permission to use the restroom,” Philip said with a chuckle.

“I need you to help me.”

“Help with what?” Philip asked, much to Lizzie’s frustration. She dragged her dad to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Slipping off her jacket, she turned to reveal the back zip. Her dad didn’t react. Just how dense could he be?

“The pajamas Lucas got me zips in the back, I can’t take it off myself.” Stating the fact aloud made her feel even smaller inside.

Her dad laughed. Lizzie turned and glared at him.

“I’m so sorry Lizzie,” Philip said after eventually catching his breath. “I didn’t even notice. I knew they were footed sleepers, but I didn’t even notice the zip was in the back. That Aunt Jenny really got you those inescapable PJs for Christmas?”

“Well, Lucas picked them out because of the design. And Aunt Jenny and Uncle Grant thought it was okay because I mentioned they were comfy last time I wore them. Now please let me out, I really need to pee.”

Philip looked like he was about to chuckle, but immediately shut up when Lizzie craned her head and gave him her best death stare. Silently, he helped Lizzie with the snap and zipper.

“Do you need a change of clothes too?” Philip asked.

“Yes please.” Lizzie said, mentally slapping herself for making the same mistake as last time.

Her father soon returned with a mismatched set of clothes, but at the moment, anything was better than her new pajamas.

Finally, Lizzie was out of the cursed outfit, and she happily rejoined the other kids, who were all playing with their new Christmas gifts.

Lucas was a bit sad when he found Lizzie had changed, but seemed to quickly forget about it when they began playing games.

With several new toys and games, the kids had a blast throughout the afternoon, yelling, screaming, and laughing all the way. They only took a short break for dinner, before quickly resuming the fun, and before Lizzie knew it, Aunt Mira was telling the children to get ready for bed.

Lizzie volunteered to shower last, trying to prolong the inevitable. She’d been dreading this moment for hours. Nighttime meant changing into those diapers once again.

Worse yet, she’d have to ask her parents for a new one, which would be admitting that she’d wet the previous night.

“Mom,” Lizzie said, finding her in her room typing away on her laptop.

“What is it?” Jennifer asked, stopping to look up.

“I… Need a diaper to change into.”

“Oh.” Jennifer’s voice was even. “Sure, your Aunt Jenny gave me a couple extra.” She got up and dug around her suitcase before handing it to Lizzie, who took it without a word and headed off to get ready for bed.

A quick shower and change later, Lizzie stood frowning at the mirror. The diaper bump seemed painfully obvious to her today, despite her best efforts at smoothing it out. Once again, she adorned the hoodie, but even then, it still stuck out like a sore thumb.

With a sigh, Lizzie left the bathroom to join the others. They played a little bit of Switch before they began getting settled for the night.

Realizing she’d forgotten her water, she headed for the kitchen. As she rounded a corner, she bumped into Charlotte exiting the bathroom.

“Watch it,” Charlotte cried. “I almost dropped my phone!”

“Then you should’ve looked at where you were going, rather than having your head buried in your phone all day,” Lizzie retorted.

“Whatever crinkle bottoms.” Charlotte rolled her eyes.

“What did you say?”

“I said whatever crinkle bottoms,” Charlotte repeated louder.

“What?” Lizzie’s eyes darted around.

“Stop acting dumb, we all know you’re wearing diapers because you wet at night like a little baby.”

“No I’m not. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then what’s that crinkling I kept hearing last night?”

“How… How could you possibly hear anything with your earbuds in all day, stupid? You’re probably half deaf by now.” Lizzie winced at her own weak comeback.

Thankfully, Philip and Uncle Joseph called for the two of them at that moment. “Just a sec, I need to get water,” Lizzie replied quickly.

“Okay Lizzie, quickly please, the others are already tucked in.”

“This isn’t over,” Charlotte whispered as she left.

Skipping onto the stairs, Lizzie cringed as she heard the unmistakeable sound of the thick padding crinkling. This was bad, Charlotte would be waiting for her, and there was no way she wouldn’t get exposed at this rate.

She had to do something. Diverting to the bathroom, she quickly stripped off the diapers. In her hurry, the tapes ripped off bits of the diaper, but that wasn't important to her now.

It felt oddly bare as she slipped back into her pajama pants.

With no good place to put the discarded diaper, she stuffed it in a cabinet. She’d have to figure out where to throw it out tomorrow.

She rushed to grab her water before returning, quickly tucking herself in as her father came to shut off the lights. He made sure everyone was in bed, before coming by Lizzie’s mattress.

“Good night soldier,” Philip whispered, sneaking a kiss on Lizzie’s forehead before she could react.

Lizzie opened her mouth to protest, but Philip just gave her a wink. With that, he shut off the lights and left the room.

“Aww. The cute baby gets good night kisses. Try not to wet your diapers tonight, okay?” Charlotte whispered.

“For the last time, I’m not wearing diapers.” Lizzie whispered back.

“If you’re not wearing any diapers, why don’t you just prove it?”

“Shut up. The lights are off, just go to sleep before we get in trouble. Besides, I don’t need to prove anything to you,” Lizzie turned away, pretending to sleep.

“Prove it tomorrow morning then, I’ll be waiting," she taunted, practically singing the end. Even in the pitch black room, Lizzie could visualize Charlotte’s smirk. But little did she know, this time, Lizzie was one step ahead.

After the others fell asleep, Lizzie grabbed a pair of underwear from her suitcase and changed into it under her sheets. Just to be safe, she even took a quick trip to the bathroom to empty her bladder once more.

Tucked back in, she smiled, rubbing her legs together as she tossed and turned in bed. Her underwear felt so much better than the tacky diapers. It was freeing to sleep without the extra bulk between her legs.

The next morning, she would be able to prove that she didn’t wear diapers, quashing all of the taunting once and for all, and Charlotte and the others would be none the wiser. With that lingering thought, Lizzie drifted off to sleep.