The Error, by LittleMatt

Chapter 16
Chapter 16

Chapter Description: By LittleMatt. The story is unfinished so far.

Chapter 16

“Good morning honey.”

Tom looked up at his mother smiling at him “Good morning mom.” He yawned and without even thinking rolled over on his back while she lifted his covers and began pulling down his PJ bottoms.

“Kirsten said you were a pleasure to babysit” she said while she undid his sodden nighttime diaper “So we can go the toy store on our way from from school if you want.”

Tom smiled and rubbed his eyes. His teddy bear was still nestled under one arm even as he was changed “I guess I thought she was a pretty good babysitter too.” He said.

She lifted his PJ top over his head “That’s good to hear. Now go get in the shower and don’t forget to try that soap.”

In the shower he looked over the strange bottle once more. He’d been shown more than once how it was meant to be operated but he just couldn’t get it right. His morning shower was his last true refuge of maturity and afterward he’d walk right back into his mother’s arms to be diapered and dressed for the day. He sighed and sat the bottle back down, he did the best he could with the bar of soap and finished up.

As he lied down on his bed his mother took a diaper from the bag and looked him over. “Still having a little trouble with that soap huh?”

“Do I really have to use it? I just can’t figure it out.”

She slid the diaper underneath him and reached for the powder “Don’t worry about it I’ll just give you a little help tonight before bedtime” she said as she shook out some powder and taped his diaper in place.

“Can’t I just take an extra shower or something?”

“It’s just a little bath, it’s no big deal” she paused and poked a finger to his chest taking a slightly sterner tone “Now don’t give me any trouble or I might have to rethink going to the toy store.”

Tom quieted himself and stood up to be helped into his clothes. “That’s better” she said adjusting the straps of his shortalls “I bet going to bed feeling all nice and clean will make you forget all about it. Now let’s go get some breakfast and get you to school.”

At preschool the sun shone brightly through the large windows, brightening the room’s already cheerful hues. It was the first bit of sun in days and as Tom sat with his morning snack and watched cartoons his teachers were busy preparing the class for a trip to the playground. Ms. Kelly came by to give his diaper a quick check before declaring him ready to go out and moving on to the next student.

Once all the students in need of a change had been tended to, everybody was ushered outside to a playground sat in the corner of the yard surrounding the entire daycare complex. Tom hung back for a moment while his classmates mobbed the swings and slides.

Tom found an empty swing and sat down. He let himself dangle while he watched the others, unable to bring himself to participate. Soon he felt a pair of hands at his back. He turned around to see a red headed boy smiling back at him. “I’ll give you push” he said excitedly.

Tom nearly laughed. He wasn’t quite a giant here, but he was certain that such a small child wouldn’t be able to budge him at all. A moment later he was arcing through the air. Another sturdy shove as he neared the ground sent him even higher. His shock at the strength of his classmate soon gave way to the simple joy of being on a swing. He’d forgotten what it was like to feel the wind in his hair and the short weightless drift as he hit the top of his swing.

Finally he noticed something off on the other end of the playground and skidded to a stop. In his excitement he took off running. The merry-go-round had been a favorite of his and he wanted a chance to try this one out. He leaped onto it as it slowed. He expected that one of the teachers might give it another shove but instead another boy hopped off and gave it a heave. Tom held tight as the merry-go-round lurched suddenly. One by one boys and girls hopped off to give the ride a forceful spin. Tom wondered if this was something else where he was barely keeping up with his new peers.

With a ring of a bell Mrs. Peterson called the class into a disorderly line in front of the door to the classroom. As they marched inside a quick diaper check sent each child either to the changing tables or directly to the nap room. Mrs. Hansley pulled Tom over to the tables.

“Did you have fun outside” she asked as she sat him down.

“Yeah” Tom admitted as he lay back “The swings were pretty fun.”

“Looks like you got a little boo-boo” she said.

Tom looked the small scrape on his elbow “I guess I got that on the merry-go-round. I didn’t even notice.”

“Don’t worry” she said untaping his heavy diaper “the LumiGro will help that while you’re taking your nap.”

“LumiGro?” Tom said in bafflement.

She fasten a fresh diaper to his hips “It doesn’t just help you get big and strong, it helps your boo-boos too.” She smiled and handed him over to Ms. Kelly who led him to the nap room and helped him into his crib.

Tom gazed at the soft blue light emanating from the corners of his crib. Now he knew what it was. And now he knew why he’d been the runt of his elementary school classes and why even his classmates here were so surprisingly strong. It dawned on him that he might belong here more than he’d realized. The lights went down as the teachers left the room and the familiar lullaby began to play. He snuggled the stuffed bunny that had taken up home in his crib and fell softly asleep.

He awoke to the sound of his crib being unlatched and lowered. Mrs. Peterson hooked a finger into his diaper. “Wet again? We might have to start charging your mommy for extra diapers” she teased.

He was ushered back to the changing table and sent to play with the other children. He sat and contented himself with some toys while he eagerly awaited going with his mother to get his own. When he saw her come through the door he could barely contain himself from bounding over to greet her.

“Hi mom” he said cheerfully

“Hey baby” she chuckled “Looks like somebody’s excited about going to the toy store.”

“Can we go right away?” he asked

“I don’t know” she teased “were you a good boy today?”

Mrs. Hansley laughed as she handed Karen the sign-out sheet “Tommy is a joy to have around. You should have seen him today in his crib with his stuffed bunny. Just adorable.”

Tom blushed bright red “It’s just really comfortable in there”

His mother finished with the sign-out sheet and gave his hair a ruffle “Come on cuddle-bun, let’s go get you some toys.”

“Moooom” Tom groaned “Cuddle-bun?”

“I’m sorry there tough guy” she said lightly tapping his chin with a playful fist “You still want to come with me for some toys?”

He nodded excitedly and without waiting for it to be offered or even giving it a thought reached for her hand and walked with her to the car.

As they walked into the toy store a bell attached to the door merrily announced their arrival. A kindly faced older man with a pair of bifocals perched on his nose looked up from the counter and smiled warmly at them. “Welcome to Children’s Kingdom. Can I help you find something?”

“My son is here to pick out some toys”

Tom looked around him. There was more to this place than toys. A large section to his left trailed off into a selection of more practical needs; furniture, clothes, and other sundry items.

“Preschool toys are right over here” the man said motioning towards a circle of colorful shelves.

Tom walked over and found himself surrounded by a colorful array of boxes and displays. Some toys he recognized from school, some were new. He looked over a few that had been taken out of their boxes and put on display while the adults talked behind him.

He picked out the same robot he’d played with the night before and a toy race car kit like the one at school. On his way back to his mother he passed a crib just like the one he took his naps in at school. He paused stared at it. For a moment he considered asking for it. It was always so comfy and he wanted to be able to keep up with the other kids.

He felt his mother’s hand on his shoulder.

“Find something else you want?” She asked.

“No, just looking” Tom said pausing just a little too long to be believable.

“It’s OK if you’d rather sleep in a crib. I was thinking of getting you one but I wasn’t sure you’d like it.”

“Don’t they have any regular beds with those light things” Tom asked the shopkeeper.

He shook his head “Sorry son. The effect stops working after a while, so none of the big kid beds have them.”

Tom looked back at is mother “OK, I like the one at school I guess.”

She smiled “I think that’s a good idea honey.” She turned to the shopkeeper “When can you have one delivered?”

He quickly looked over a sheet of paper “Looks like we can fit you in tomorrow.”

“Great. Sign us up, and he’ll take these two toys too.”

As he climbed back in the car Tom sat his new toys in his lap “Thanks mom.”

“You’re welcome honey. We can make this a weekly treat for being a good boy if you want.”

Tom nodded excitedly “I’d like that. There’s some other stuff I wanted too.”

“Good, I’d like to get some extra sheets for your crib, just in case your night diaper doesn’t hold out.”

Tom blushed slightly “ Do you really think the crib is a good idea?”

Karen nodded emphatically “Yes I do. You’re going to have to sleep in one for a while if you want to be a big kid.”

“I guess it will be alright for a while” Tom mused. As his mother pulled the car into traffic he wondered how long a while would be.

At home he waited patiently through a diaper change before finally getting to open his new toys. He pulled a bag of robot parts from one box and unfolded a large sheet of directions. After a few attempts he managed to get the most basic first stages done on his own but he found the rest of the instructions trailed off into far more difficult territory. “Ask a grown-up or other big person for help” the instructions cheerfully suggested.

“Mom?” Tom called hesitantly from his spot on the floor “Can you help me with this? Please.”

She looked up from some papers she was working on and smiled “I guess I can take a break.”

She sat down beside him and put an arm around his shoulder while she studied the directions. “This part goes with that part” she said pointing to some pieces laying on the carpet. She guided him through the rest of the process pausing several times to handle more complicated steps. Finally he snapped the final piece in place.

“Alright, good job” his mother said giving him a  gentle pat on the back.

Tom happily turned his new robot over in his hands “You helped with most of the hard stuff” he thought for a moment and gave her a hug and a little kiss on the cheek “Thanks mom.”

“Awwww” she cooed as she hugged him tightly and returned his kiss “You’re welcome sweet boy.”

She embraced him for a longer moment before giving him a pat on the bottom “I need to make dinner. Why don’t you play with your new toys?”

Tom picked his robot back up and spent the rest of his evening keenly absorbed in is new toys. He paused for dinner chatting happily with his mother about his day before breezing out again to living room for more playtime.

After a while his mother tapped her watch. “It’s getting close to your bedtime” she said with calm authority “Let’s get you into the tub.”

Tom looked up at her with pleading eyes “Can’t I just keep doing that myself. Please.”

“Once you learn to do it yourself you can, but I’m going to help you until then.”

“But...” Tom started.

“Don’t you want to be a good boy like we talked about before?”

Tom quietly took her hand and she led him upstairs to the bathroom. She started the tap before turning to get him undressed. “There we go” she said as she unfastened his diaper “just sit down in the tub and I’ll get you all nice clean. You’ll feel a lot better, you’ll see.”

Tom stepped into the tub and sat down. He watched as his mother took the bottle of soap that had given him so much trouble and deftly worked its mechanism to soap up the water. She squirted out some more on a washcloth and began washing him head to toe.

Tom wasn’t sure if it was the nice warm water, the pleasant calming smell of the soap, or just his mother’s loving care but he was slowly able to just relax.

She gave him a little tickle under his arm “I told you so” she said and began to lather up his hair.

Tom just closed his eyes and felt the soap and water wash over him.

“There we go all nice and clean. Now just step out and I’ll get you ready for bed”

As Tom got out of the tub she wrapped him in a big fluffy towel. He peeked out at his mother from its generous folds as she dried him thoroughly “Thanks mom. That feels a lot better. Sorry I tried to argue with you.”

“You’re welcome honey” she said as she finished up “And I know you’re just trying to be big. You’re still a very good boy. Now how about some PJs and a nice bedtime story?”

“Bedtime story?” Tom asked.

“Sure” his mother responded while she hung up his towel “Kirsten said you seemed to enjoy it. So unless you’re just in a hurry to get to sleep...”

“OK” Tom said with a amused smile “I guess it was pretty nice.”

In his room Tom lay back on his bed while his mother gathered a fresh nighttime diaper and baby powder. As she began applying the powder he asked “What story are you going to read?”

She smiled “Something special I think you’re going to like.”

She slid the extra thick diaper beneath him and taped it snugly in place before helping him into his PJs. She tucked him in as he settled down in his bed with his teddy bear in his arms.

“I just saw something today while I was getting lunch and it made me think of you” she said taking a  large thin book with sturdy pages titled The Story of Gavin Giraffe.

Tom blushed slightly “That book made you think of me?”

She sat on the side of his bed “You said he was your favorite and I thought we might give it a try.”

She opened the book and began reading the story of how Gavin came to join the other characters and how, at first, he thought he was bigger than everybody else. Tom held his bear closer and found himself laughing at the voices his mother had chosen for the characters. In the end Gavin understood that he had a lot to learn from the others and they all became friends.

She closed the book and stood up giving her son a kiss on the forehead “Good night sweety” she said softly.

Tom sat up enough to give her a kiss on the cheek “Good night mom.”

She turned off the light on the way out and closed the door quietly behind her. Tom closed his eyes and thought about his mother finding that book and thinking about him. He knew he had played his part to make this strange situation work out as well as possible for both of them. And it seemed more and more every day that it might be an easy part to fit into. He hugged his teddy bear to his chest and drifted off to sleep.