Lizzie - Chapter 5

Author's Note

I want to first apologize that this chapter has taken so long to release. In truth, the first draft of this chapter was completed over a month ago. But some significant things happened in my personal life that impacted my mood and ability to write. If you'd like to learn more about my hiatus, read here.

Given the circumstances, I don't think this was my best work. But at this point, I decided to move forward and get this published, rather than spend another month in turmoil. So without further ado. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts and critiques.

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As soon as Lizzie stepped in, she was bombarded by her cousins.

“Lizzie, we can’t decide on what to play, help us choose a game,” Noah said. “I wanted to play Smash.”

“I want to play house,” Alice said.

“Yuck, house is boring, let’s play tag,” Calvin said.

“Tag? In the house? Someone’s going to get hurt. We should play Ticket to Ride instead. It’s this board game I just got, it’s super fun,” Charlotte said.

“How about hide and seek then?” Calvin asked.

Everyone turned to look at Lizzie. She sputtered, struggling to decide. Honestly, all of the options sounded like fun. She checked the time, with their early dinner it was only six. “Let’s try Ticket to Ride first, we can play the other games later,” she said eventually. Lizzie had heard that it was an interesting game, but had never had a chance to play.

“But I don’t know how to play,” Alice frowned.

“Don’t worry, I can teach you,” Charlotte said, her face lighting up. She didn’t seem angry about earlier, if anything, she even seemed a little friendlier than usual.

Soon, the kids were seated in a circle around the board.

“This is so confusing!” Calvin complained after Charlotte finished explaining the rules.

“It’s not that bad,” Noah said, adjusting his glasses, “it’s just about drawing train cards and completing routes. Getting routes grants points, and getting the most points wins. There’s some other ways to gain or lose points, but it’s all pretty straightforward.” He looked at Charlotte and Lizzie who nodded.

“Nerd,” Calvin said, sticking his tongue out.

“Just because you’re stupid doesn’t make me a nerd,” Noah muttered.

“What did you call me?” Calvin said, leaping up.

“Stop it you two!” Lizzie shouted. All eyes turned to her. I’m the eldest, I need to be the responsible one. Lizzie took a deep breath.

“No name calling.” Lizzie said, trying to make her tone firm. “How about we demonstrate by playing a few turns so everyone gets an idea of how to play? Maybe Charlotte can start off and guide us along.” She glanced toward her.

Charlotte nodded. She patiently played out a few turns, explaining the rules again as she went. Soon, even Alice got the hang of it, and the kids became immersed in the game. They were no longer kids sitting in Charlotte’s living, but instead travelers, venturing around and exploring the various cities of America.

Joseph stopped by to watch, giving tidbits of trivia and funny stories of his travel to some of the cities.

Charlotte ended up winning the game, with Lizzie a close second. But Lizzie wasn’t disappointed at all, it seemed like everyone had a good time. The game was no chess, but it was certainly more strategic and fun than Monopoly.

“What should we play next?”

“Hide and seek?”

“Sure, but let’s invite Lucas too,” Lizzie said. He had come by when they were playing Ticket to Ride, but the game was a bit too advanced for him, so Jenny had taken him to play other games. “But who wants to be it?” Lizzie asked.

“Not it!” they all chimed in unison.

“It’s not nice if we make Lucas be it,” Lizzie frowned.

“How about we get one of our parents to be it?” Noah suggested.

“Sure, let’s ask my dad,” Lizzie suggested.

As they went to Lizzie’s parents’ room, the kids bumped into Jennifer stepping out.

“Hide and seek? Sorry Lizzie, your dad just got a call from work, he’s going to be busy for a couple hours at least.”

“Aunt Jennifer, do you want to be it then?” Alice asked. “Please?”

“Pleaseeee…” All of the other kids echoed.

“Oh, uh… I actually have some—”

“Oh, come on sis, how can you say no when they ask so nicely?” Katherine came up from behind. “Why don’t we both be it?”

“Alright, alright, but just for one game, okay?”

Three games later, the two moms were left panting after having finally caught the last kid. Even with two seekers, the big house left many hiding spots, and Calvin taught everyone a version where the seeker had to tag the hiders to catch them. Calvin and Lizzie, the quickest of the kids, were especially problematic, oftentimes ducking out of reach after being found, outrunning the moms before finding a new hiding place.

“Alright,” Jennifer said, still a bit out of breath, “that’s enough for me. That was fun though,” she smiled, before retreating to her bedroom.

“Thank you!” the kids said. Katherine nodded before exiting as well.

“Let’s play Switch next?”

The kids hurried down to the basement. However, as they seated down, Mira came down and called Calvin over. The two talked for a while before rejoining the group. Lizzie noticed that Calvin shuffled along, his head hung.

“What’s wrong?” Lizzie asked, noticing Calvin’s puffy eyes.

“Hey everyone, Calvin will be sitting out for tonight. Don’t worry, the rest of you can play, but his father found out about what happened last night and he’s barred from playing video games for the next week,” Mira explained. “He can watch, but he’s not allowed to play. Lizzie, can I trust that you’ll make sure he follows the rules?”

“Yes aunt Mira,” Lizzie replied. Mira nodded before leaving the room.

The remaining kids hopped into a game of Smash, but Lizzie couldn’t focus. Glancing over several times throughout the game at Calvin’s disappointed face.

“Hey,” Lizzie said quickly after the first game was over, “why don’t we do something different for tonight so everyone can play?”

So the crew went on to play house, much to Alice’s delight. She demanded to be the mom, catering to all of her little children. They decided to go for a camping trip, and even dug out Charlotte’s old toy kitchen set to prepare the meals. Calvin, acting as the father, even created a mock tent using some chairs and a blanket.

Surprisingly, it was a lot of fun. Alice especially seemed to be overjoyed at the chance to be the adult. Lizzie, got the role of the youngest daughter. She decided to fully embrace her role. As they ate, she accidentally knocked over her food, making Calvin and Alice clean up after her as she giggled. It was surprisingly relaxing to sit back and be taken care of. At bedtime, Alice tucked Lizzie in, sneaking in a kiss on her forehead. Lizzie blushed as the others giggled.

Soon, uncle Samuel came by and whisked Alice to get ready for bed, and Charlotte and the others wanted to move on. The rest of the kids had some time before bed, but they were now fresh out of ideas. Most of the adults had gotten together to watch an old movie, but it didn’t seem interesting.

“Well, none of you would be interested in a game of chess, right?” Lizzie half joked.

“Why not?” Noah replied.

“We did just learn how to play last month,” Calvin said.

“Do you know how to play?” Lizzie asked Charlotte.

“A bit, but aren’t you like a pro or something? My parents said you played in a tournament when you were young.”

“No, not at all!” Lizzie shook her head. “I played it quite a bit with my grandpa back in the day, but I would say I’m just an enthusiast.”

“I bet I could beat you then!” Calvin said.

“Oh, you’re on,” Lizzie said. Noah just shook his head and face palmed.

Lizzie won the first game in four moves with a classic scholar’s mate. That quickly shut Calvin up. Lizzie decided to go easy on him during the second game, purposely sacrificing her queen early for a couple of minor pieces to make the game interesting. However, even with this handicap, she was able to win the game with relative ease.

Noah and Charlotte played next. Lizzie cringed a little as she watched the two players played. They moved quickly and carelessly, blundering turn after turn, but she forced herself to keep quiet. It was rare to have even one other person interested in playing chess, let alone an entire group.

After the game, she gave both of them a few pointers. She taught them about basic tactics like pins, forks, and skewers, as well as some basic strategies, like controlling the center, simplifying while ahead, and utilizing all of ones’ pieces.

Noah paid the closest attention of the bunch, even going to get a notepad and pencil to jot things down as Lizzie demonstrated it on her board.

The second game felt very different. Lizzie carefully observed the two players. Noah sat with his head resting on his hands, brows furrowed in focus. He now made sure to take his time with every move, thinking carefully before playing. Lizzie was genuinely impressed by some of the lines he attempted. Although he still made plenty of mistakes, it seemed like he was always trying to calculate a few moves ahead.

He honestly looked pretty cool all serious and focused. A stark contrast to his twin, who had played several of his moves with little thought, always looking like he was nearly ready to leap out from his seat.

Charlotte’s play was interesting as well. Her playstyle was cunning and devious. She tried several tactics throughout the game, idly twirling her hair as she setup her trap. While some of her tactics were faulty, Lizzie was still impressed that Charlotte had the eye to go for these trickier plays.

In the end however, Noah’s careful, calculated play prevailed, and he won two out of the three games they played.

“Hey everyone,” Mira stepped into the room, “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s time for all of you to get ready for bed.” Calvin and Noah groaned, but Mira quickly reminded them that they were already past their usual bedtime. “We already let you two stay up a bit later because it’s a long weekend and you were doing something more educational for once.

“Lizzie and Charlotte, you two need to get ready as well, but your parents said you can stay up for another hour.”

Lizzie checked the time, it was nine. She wasn’t exactly tired, despite the many events of the day, but an hour meant more meant she’d be allowed to stay up later than usual. Besides, she couldn’t wait to wash all the sweat off from earlier and get dressed in her…

***

“What do you mean all of your pajamas are dirty?” Jennifer asked. Lizzie sat on the bed in her parent’s room, her mom was pacing about.

“Well, Calvin spilled pop on my flower set, and the one with cats got dirty too.”

“How did the other ones get dirty? And I thought we asked you to bring three sets.”

“I… forgot the third set, and I had an… accident last night,” Lizzie muttered, head down. “I tried to wash them, but I forgot to dry them when we got home and when I went to check on them just now they smelled really bad.”

Jennifer shook her head. “Well of course they smell, they’ve been sitting in the washer for practically the entire day.” She threw her hands in the air.

“It’s alright.” Philip entered the room. He put an arm around Jennifer to calm her down. “Accidents happen. I just talked to aunt Katherine and we can wash and dry them for you. But they’re pretty smelly, so we’ll probably have to soak them first. It’ll be past your bed time before they’re done, so you’ll need to sleep in something else for tonight.”

“But I can’t sleep well without pajamas.”

“Well, you and Charlotte are about the same size, maybe you can borrow some of hers,” Philip suggested.

“No!” Lizzie blurted out. She took a breath before continuing, “please, it’s so weird to ask for someone else’s pajamas.”

“Well, I’ll just go ask her for you then,” Philip moved toward the door.

“No, wait.” Lizzie called out. “It’s okay, I’ll go ask.” Lizzie said. The thought of her dad asking was even more embarrassing.

Lizzie walked over to Charlotte’s room and knocked on the door. “Hey, Charlotte, do you by any chance have some PJs I can borrow? Mine got dirty last night from Calvin spilling soda and I forgot to wash them,” Lizzie blurted.

“What type of pajamas?” Charlotte turned around. “I just wear this to sleep,” she pointed her pink t-shirt and shorts. “I don’t have any sleepers and stuff, unlike the rest of you.”

“Never mind then, thanks anyways,” Lizzie muttered, quickly returning to her parents room and told them the situation.

“We can figure out the pajamas, but Lizzie, do you have any goodnites left?” Philip asked.

“I ran out of those too,” Lizzie muttered, sitting onto the bed.

“What? Why didn’t you say so sooner?” Jennifer asked from her seat at the desk. “We could’ve bought some earlier today at Target.”

“I didn’t tell you because I was going to get it myself. I brought my allowance and had a plan and everything… but… but then you made me hold onto the cart the entire time and ruined it,” Lizzie stammered.

“Oh, so now it’s my fault?” Jennifer stood up, her voice rising.

“Now, now. Let’s calm down for a second,” Philip raised his hand, putting it on Jennifer’s shoulder, guiding her to sit down on the other end of the bed. He plopped down in between the two. “Lizzie, your mom does have a point, why didn’t you tell us you were out of goodnites?”

“I didn’t want to get into trouble.”

“Lizzie, we’d never blame you for your bedwetting. We never have, and we never will. You understand that, right?” Philip asked.

Lizzie sniffled, slowly nodding.

“Besides, you only ran out because of what happened with Calvin last night, so it wasn’t even just because of the wetting. Was there any other reason you didn’t want to tell us?”

Lizzie thought for a bit before responding. “I didn’t want anyone else to see the goodnites and find out, especially Charlotte and the others.”

Jennifer got up, sitting back down beside Lizzie, “Of course we would have made sure no one else found out. But you need to trust us so we can help you,” she rested a hand on her lap.

“I thought I could do it myself. I hate wetting, I’m not a baby, I wanna be a grownup,” Lizzie felt the tears forming again.

“Oh Lizzie, we know you are responsible and want to solve problems all on your own. But if you truly want to be like an adult, then you got to face your problems like an adult. You can’t just try to do everything by yourself. Adults know when to ask for help. So if you really want to be mature, you need to learn to ask for help.” Both parents wrapped around her, squeezing her in a tight hug. “We will always be here for you, okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Lizzie muttered. Why had she made a mess out of everything? “I’m sorry,” she sobbed, the tears flowing out.

“Lizzie, it’s okay.” Lizzie continued to sob as they held her in their embrace. Despite what they said, Lizzie couldn’t help but feel like her parents simply didn’t trust her. But could she blame them? She couldn’t even manage to do the laundry or buy a pack of goodnites. And now, she was crying again like a little baby. Of course they were worried about her. When had she become such a crybaby?

Eventually, the crying slowed to sniffles. “Now, go and shower, brush your teeth, and wash your face, your mom and I will figure something out for tonight, okay?” Lizzie nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes and heading back upstairs.

***

Lizzie was wrapped in a towel and had just finished drying her hair when there was a knock on the door. Lizzie opened the door and Jennifer stepped in, holding a plastic bag.

“Here, put this on first.” Jennifer pulled out a bundle and plopped it onto the counter. It took Lizzie a moment to recognize it as one of Lucas’s diapers.

“Wait what?” A diaper? This must’ve been punishment for what happened earlier. “Where did you get that from? You can’t honestly expect me to wear that, right?”

“I got it from your aunt Jenny. And before you get angry, she already knew about your goodnites, and she knows it’s not your fault Calvin got them dirty. And yes, your dad and I do expect you to wear this tonight. This is not a punishment, we just can’t have you wetting someone else’s bed.”

“Can’t I just not wear any protection tonight, I haven’t drank much water and I will pee before going to bed, please?”

“Lizzie, you know that’s irresponsible. When was the last night you didn’t wet?”

“I… But…” Was it four nights ago? Five? She’d lost count.

“And besides, this isn’t our home, we can’t just replace the mattress and duvet if you wet.”

“But the others will find out.”

“You’re in a room alone with Alice all night, and she will be fast asleep before it’s time for you to go to bed. You can change out of it first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Fine, I’ll just take it off at night when you’re not watching,” Lizzie muttered as she took the diaper.

“Oh, I’m not too worried about that,” Jennifer said, “since you’ll be wearing this on top.” She pulled out a second bundle from the bag and dropped it onto the counter. It was a navy blue with white dots. Lizzie realized with horror that it was the back zipped sleeper she had borrowed from Lucas.

“No, I’m not wearing that!”

“You don’t really have a choice. We just put your pajamas back in the wash, and they won’t be done until well past your bedtime. Charlotte doesn’t have pajamas. The other kids are too small for their pajamas to fit you. These are the only ones remaining, and you already admitted that you can’t sleep without pajamas.”

“But they’re uncomfortable,” Lizzie lied, hoping to fool her mom.

“That’s not what Alice said. When I went to get these from your room, she said you were wearing them last night. They seemed perfectly fine then.”

“But… I…” Lizzie stammered, unable to find any more excuses.

“Again, Lizzie, it’s not a punishment, this is the only option. It’s only for one night Lizzie, cooperate with me on this, okay?” Lizzie eventually nodded, realizing her mom was right. “Now, did you want me to help you with the diaper or do you want to do it yourself?”

“I can do it myself,” Lizzie said, still somewhat stunned.

“Alright, make sure to pee before putting it on.” Jennifer left the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

The two bundles stared back at her. She knew that it was the only option, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was being punished.

She sighed at the mess she’d gotten herself into. Lizzie relieved herself, before unfolding the diaper, wrapping it around herself, trying to remember what aunt Jenny had done the day before. She fiddled around with the tapes, securing them as best she could around her waist.

Lizzie slipped into the sleeper, her feet slipping into the now familiar footie socks at the end. As she pulled it over her body, she had to once again admit how comfortable the pajamas felt against her skin. She pulled the zip up her back, as far up as she could get it to go, before cracking opening the door.

Jennifer stepped back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. “Let me check your diaper.” She stepped behind Lizzie and pulled down the zipper.

Before Lizzie could react, Jennifer slid her finger around the waist causing her to yelp. “This won’t do, if you wet like this it would leak everywhere. Let me help you tape it properly,” she said. At this point, Lizzie was too tired to argue, and let her mom slide the pajamas off her shoulders and reposition her diaper.

Lizzie stayed silent this entire time, just wishing for it to be over. The tapes were refastened, and Jennifer guided Lizzie back into the sleeper. She pulled the zip all the way up, securing the flap at the top.

“Wait, but now I can’t take it off myself,” Lizzie complained.

“Well, it doesn’t make sense to keep the zip halfway down, it will scratch against you while sleeping. Also, I don’t see why you would need to take your pajamas off until tomorrow morning. If there’s an emergency, you can always come find your dad and I. Besides, now I know for sure you’ll be keeping your diaper on tonight.” Jennifer chuckled at the last statement, but Lizzie wasn’t particularly amused. “Anyways, you still have some time before bed, and I think the others were waiting for you in the basement. Go have fun, I’ll go call you when it’s bedtime.” With that, Jennifer left the room, leaving Lizzie alone.

She ran her hands around her crotch, feeling the ample padding in the area. The diaper was significantly larger than her goodnites, and Lizzie checked the mirror to make sure it wasn’t visible. Thankfully, as she’d noticed earlier, the sleeper did a pretty good job at masking the padding.

Taking a few steps around experimentally, Lizzie listened carefully for any crinkling. It was noticeable to her, but if she walked slowly enough, the soft fabric and support from the sleeper seemed to muffle the sounds enough that the others would be unlikely to notice.

She took a look at herself again in the mirror. Lizzie was supposed to be a teenager, someone entering high school the following year. But in her reflection, what she saw was a small little girl, dressed in a diaper and sleeper, with a cute baby face on top. Any semblance of her maturity gone.

And what made everything worse was the fact that she was stuck in her little outfit. She was a little girl who couldn’t be trusted to stay dry at night. A baby who needed to keep her diapers on, less she wet the bed. Was this what the future held for her? Would she forever be a little baby?

Lizzie shook herself back to reality. She noticed her hand had moved behind her, idly fiddling with the tab. She felt for her diaper through her sleeper, barely able to grasp it through the fabric.

She tried halfheartedly to take her diaper off, knowing it was futile. After her mom had fixed the tapes, it was wrapped tightly around her waist. If she tried for long enough, perhaps she could rip the tapes off, but even then, she wouldn’t be able to take the diaper off completely, and it would only cause her to leak in case she wet.

She grunted, pulling at her sleeves, then at her collar. The fabric had little give, so the sleeper fit tightly around her, perfectly wrapping her body in its warm embrace. The collar too ended a tad higher than most shirts, and fit snugly around the base of her throat. She could barely fit a few fingers in, so she certainly couldn’t slip an arm out from inside.

Several scenarios ran through her head. It would be easy enough to get someone to unzip her, but then what? Even if she took it off for now, she’d have to put it back on when her parents came to check on her before bed.

With a final sigh, Lizzie left the bathroom, deciding to just deal with her special pajamas for another night. She snuck into her room, Alice was already fast asleep. Digging around, she found a thin jacket. She put it on, hoping it would hide the fact that her sleeper was a one-piece and that it zipped in the back, before heading back downstairs.

When she made it to the basement, she found Calvin, Noah, and Charlotte still huddled around her chess board. They had all changed into their nightwear, with the boys wearing loose-fitting two piece pajamas, and Charlotte wearing the t-shirt and shorts Lizzie had seen earlier.

“What are you wearing?” Calvin asked, causing the two others to turn their head around.

“You’re wearing that again?” Charlotte snickered.

“Hey, you have those kiddie pajamas have feet on them, like the ones Alice has,” Calvin joined in with the mocking. “What, do your feet get cold at night too?”

Lizzie decided to fight fire with fire, “I’m wearing these because someone spilled soda all over my good pajamas, and I didn’t have enough time to wash them.”

“Isn’t that like the ones Lucas wears?” Noah asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Yeah, I ran out of pajamas, but I had borrowed this from aunt Jenny and uncle Grant yesterday to get Lucas to peacefully get onto the car. But I like sleeping with pajamas, so I decided to wear these for tonight.”

“Why don’t you just sleep in a shirt or something? You sure you don’t just enjoy wearing kiddie pajamas?” Charlotte teased.

“No. The feet are a bit different, but these are actually quite comfortable. Much more comfortable than some lousy shirt.”

“They do look pretty soft,” Calvin admitted as Lizzie joined them at the board.

“Can you just play your move already?” Noah asked, rolling his eyes at Calvin. “You’re just buying time because you know you’re about to lose again.”

Calvin grunted, playing a move. Lizzie sat down, causing a crinkle between her legs. She jolted her head up, scanning the others to see if anyone noticed. But everyone seemed focused on the board.

With a small sigh, Lizzie joined in, analyzing the game. Noah seemed to have a positional lead, his pieces controlled the center and his king was already safely castled. Calvin on the other hand seemed to have his pieces positioned randomly, his dark squared bishop blocked behind a row of his own pawns.

As she watched them play, Lizzie caught Charlotte looking her up and down. She tried to ignore her stare.

“Are those pajamas one piece?” Charlotte asked.

“What if they are?” Lizzie shot back, trying to sound annoyed.

“Where’s the zipper?” The question sent a cold shiver down Lizzie’s spine. She took a look at herself, cursing herself for not fully zipping up her jacket.

“It’s on the back.” Lizzie squirmed as all eyes turned to her. She could feel a heat rising, the collar suddenly felt tight around her throat. “Aunt Jenny said it was uhh… Something about being uhh… Being more comfortable to sleep in. Or something,” Lizzie replied, trying her best to seem nonchalant.

“Weird.” Was all Charlotte said, and she turned her attention back to the board. Lizzie let out an internal sigh of relief, happy that the others seemed to have bought the explanation. Lizzie excused herself to grab some water.

Upstairs, she ran into Lucas and his parents in the kitchen.

“Hey Lizzie, I see you’re wearing the PJs again,” Grant said, looking up.

“Hey,” Lizzie gave them a shy wave. “Yeah, I guess I ended up wearing your pajamas again, Lucas,” she said.

Lucas looked up, but didn’t say anything.

“You look adorable in them,” Jenny said.

“Thanks,” Lizzie said, blushing as she remembered that Jenny knew about the diaper she was wearing underneath. She hurried to get her water, hoping to head back down. However, as she walked by, she noticed Lucas was not sitting in a normal seat, but instead in what looked like a large highchair.

“Is that Lucas’s highchair?” Lizzie asked.

“Yeah, he’s using it while playing,” Grant explained, gesturing to the assortment of Play-Doh on the table.

“Why can’t he just sit in a normal chair?” Lizzie asked.

“Well, normally he can, but Lucas was throwing a bit of a fuss earlier. He wanted to play with the rest of you guys.”

“Sorry about that, we did include him in hide and seek and house but the other games were a bit—”

“Oh Lizzie, please don’t worry about it,” Grant quickly interrupted. “Lucas knows that some games aren’t suitable for him, and we already really appreciate that you made the effort to include him. Besides, we have a lot of toys that Lucas can play with, right buddy?” Lucas didn’t answer, but went back to playing with the clay.

“He’s really alright, Lizzie, he’s probably just a bit tired, it’s his bedtime soon.”

Lizzie stood for a bit, unsure if she should stay more, but eventually, she nodded, heading her way downstairs.

She arrived back just as Noah was finishing the game with a resounding win. “That’s an easy three to zero,” Noah taunted, to which Calvin just stuck his tongue out.

“Anyone wanna play Uno next?” Charlotte suggested, bringing out the game. The Noah and Calvin agreed, and Charlotte started dealing out the cards. Lizzie sat there, unable to take her mind off of the conversation.

“Actually, you guys go ahead, I’m going to hang out with Lucas for a bit, he seemed a bit lonely.”

“Suit yourself,” Charlotte said.

“Seems perfect, given you’re already wearing matching outfits,” Calvin added with a light snicker.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” Lizzie said, she emphasized an eye roll. She got up, leaving the other kids behind.

“Hey Lucas,” Lizzie said as she returned to the kitchen. The boy looked up. “Do you mind if I join your Play-Doh party?”

“Lissie wanna Play-Doh?” Lucas asked, to which Lizzie nodded. “Yes!” Lucas said, his face brightening. He pointed to an empty seat which Lizzie took. She looked at the table, noticing the various plastic cookie cutters, rollers, knives, and other tools.

“Lucas, why don’t you show Lizzie what you were making?” Jenny prompted.

“I make dinner!” Lucas excitedly began showing off his culinary skills. He had made a pizza, a dozen green beans, and an assortment of cookies of all shapes and sizes.

“That looks delicious!” Lizzie said, “Can I make something too?”

“Lissie make pasta,” Lucas said, pointing to one of the tools. “I make meatballs.” He began grabbing some brown Play-Doh and rolling it. Lizzie grabbed the tool, it was a tube-shaped container with many small holes on one end, and a plunger on the other. It only took a few seconds to figure out how to work it. Lizzie filled the container with some yellow Play-Doh and squeezed it out the other end using the plunger. The result was several long strands of spaghetti.

Jenny helped the two plate their meal, while Grant took pictures. The crew didn’t stop there, and soon, they had created an entire feast, almost as magnificent as the Thanksgiving meal they had the previous day. The kids then served the food to Grant and Jenny, who pretended to eat and give praises and critiques. Lucas was overjoyed as everyone enjoyed the meal. After a meal was finished, Lucas let out a big yawn.

“Alright big boy, it’s time for bed,” Grant said, much to Lucas’s disappointment. He unfastened Lucas from his highchair and hoisted him up, before leading him toward their room.

“Thanks for hanging out with Lucas,” Jenny said after the other two had left the room. She began sorting through the Play-Doh.

“I didn’t want Lucas to feel left out, and besides, it was actually pretty fun!” Lizzie said, “I forgot how cool making things with Play-Doh could be, although we made quite the mess.” She waved at the table, little shreds of clay were scattered all over the table, chairs, and floor. “Would you like help cleaning up?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, you should probably be heading off to bed soon, right?”

“I think I still have a few minutes before my mom comes to call me. Besides, I’m not even tired yet.”

“It’s alright Lizzie, thanks for offering but I’ll handle it for tonight. I’ll let you relax for a few minutes before bed.”

Lizzie nodded, standing up, she took another look at the highchair. It was very different from ones she’d seen before. This one had a tall, straight back with a bit of padding. Attached to this back was a harness that looked not unlike the one on the car seat. She looked closer, wondering if the buckles were also childproofed.

“Do you want to see how it works?” Jenny said, clearly noticing Lizzie’s stare.

“Oh, uhh…” Lizzie wasn’t sure if she wanted to be stuck in a highchair, but she also was curious. “I was just wondering if it’s safe or if the child can climb out or cause it to tip over since it’s made for larger kids,” she said.

“I can fasten you in and you can find out yourself,” Jenny nudged.

Lizzie debated her options, but in the end, her curiosity won. “Sure, but only for a few minutes.”

“Of course,” Jenny said, and she helped hoist Lizzie onto the highchair, and fastened the straps around her. Compared to the car seat, the harness seemed to have a bit of give to it. Also, unlike the car seat, there wasn’t a chest clip, and the buckle at the crotch looked normal to Lizzie. She moved her hands to test it.

“Wait, there’s one more thing,” Jenny said, picking up the table part. She slid it over Lizzie’s lap with a serious of clicks until it rested snugly against her stomach. On the underside of the table, there was what felt like a block of foam that was now pressed firm against her diaper, forcing Lizzie to spread her legs.

Aunt Jenny ducked under the table, guiding Lizzie’s feet onto what felt like shoes, which tightened over her socked feet.

“Alright, now we’re done, how does it feel?”

“Tight,” Lizzie said, shifting around in her seat. The table had soft padding along the edges which pressed lightly against her stomach, holding her even firmer than the harness seemed to.

“You wanted to see if you could tip it over, right?”

Lizzie nodded, and began rocking back and forth. What she hadn’t realized earlier was that the chairs legs spread out wide on the floor, which kept the chair stable. Jenny explained the bottoms of the feet were also flared wider and had anti-slip material so that even an adult couldn’t knock the chair over.

Lizzie put this to the test, kicking out her legs, trying to get as much strength. Or at least, she tried to. As Lizzie tried to move her feet, she realized they were firmly stuck in place.

“Hey, why are my feet stuck?”

“Oh, they’re in foot rests. They’re not locked or anything, but they’re like shoes, so once the laces are on your feet are stuck until you untie them. As you’ve probably guessed, it’s another safety mechanism to prevent the chair from tipping,” Jenny explained.

“What about if someone tries to climb out? That could cause it to tip over, right? I noticed the buckle looks normal, so how do you prevent someone from escaping?”

“Why don’t you give it a try? I’ll tell you what, I’ve got to clean up the Play-Doh, if you can get out before I finish, I’ll convince your parents to let you stay up for an extra hour if you’re not tired yet.”

An extra hour? That would probably mean her pajamas would be dry, and Lizzie wouldn’t have to be stuck in Lucas’s pajamas for the rest of the night. “You’re on!”

It was simple, all she had to do was unfasten the buckle and slip out from the top. Lizzie reached for the buckle, but quickly encountered a small problem. The buckle was currently situated under the table, which was securely firmly against her waist. She was able to sneak a couple fingers through, but her hand was certainly not going to fit.

Simple enough, all she had to do was remove the table like she had with the car seat. Lizzie felt around the table, confident there would be a similar latch.

However, she soon realized that this table was much wider than the one on the car seat. This provided more room for eating and activities. The problem was that even with Lizzie straining against the harness, she could barely reach around the table’s outer edges. So, even though Lizzie could guess where the latches were, they were far out of reach.

Lizzie grunted as she tried her best to reach, but her arms were far too short. This elicited some minor chuckles from Jenny as she placed the containers of Play-Doh into a bag.

“I will get out!” Lizzie said, moving onto plan B. She had noticed there wasn’t a chest clip guard, so she tried slipping the straps over her shoulders. A bit of struggling and squirming, and the straps fell over her shoulders. She looked at Jenny and gave her a triumphant grin. Now, Lizzie just had to push herself up and slip out through the top.

Lizzie pushed against the chair to elevate herself. This plan, however, had a minor flaw. As she pushed herself up, she came to an abrupt stop. With dismay, Lizzie realized that her feet were still stuck in the footrests. She twisted and kicked with all her might, but her feet remained firmly planted.

“Okay, I give up,” Lizzie said, exhausted.

“Not so easy to escape, even without any locks, right?” Jenny said. Lizzie nodded, feeling a bit flushed. “I’ll let you out in a minute, let me put this back in our room,” Jenny grabbed the bag of toys and leaving the room.

“Wait,” Lizzie called out too late as the door swung shut. Plunging her in the suddenly quiet room. Lizzie imagined how she must look like. A girl in her diaper, a footed sleeper, and sitting in a highchair she couldn’t even get out of herself. She really was like a baby.

Lizzie found herself squirming in the chair. The padding of her diaper and chair squishing softly together as she twisted about. What if Charlotte or Noah or Calvin walked in right now and saw her?

The door swung open, causing Lizzie to jolt. Thankfully, it was just aunt Jenny.

“Having fun?”

“It was interesting, but I’d like to be let out now,” Lizzie said. “Please?”

“Of course dear, I hope I didn’t scare you by leaving, I just wanted to give you another minute with the chair since you seemed so intrigued by it.”

Lizzie wasn’t sure what gave her aunt that impression, but was glad to be released from the seat. Right as she hopped down, her mom entered the room.

“Hey Lizzie, come on, time for bed,” Jennifer said.

Lizzie let out a quiet sigh of relief, it didn’t seem like her mom had seen her in the highchair. “Coming!” she said, saying good night to Jenny before heading to her room.

“Did you have fun tonight? We let you have a later bedtime to hang out with your cousins.” Jennifer said as they arrived outside the room.

“Yeah, we had a lot of fun, thanks.”

“I’m glad sweetie,” she put a hand on Lizzie’s back and guided her to bed. Lizzie felt like she didn’t need to be escorted but decided against complaining.

“Did you need to pee before bed?”

Lizzie shook her head.

“Okay then, sweet dreams.” She let her mom tuck her in before they wished each other good night. Plunged in the darkness, Lizzie could hear Alice’s slow breathing. She reflected on the long and exciting day as she closed her eyes, letting herself drift away.

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