Relationship Upgrade

Chapter 1

Chapter Description: Andrew and Linda are a married couple preparing to move into their new house. The only shadow on their life is Andrew's wish for a child, something Linda is less than enthusiastic about. Might a mysterious merchant have the perfect magic gift for them?

Andrew and Linda were walking through the streets in search for last stuff in preparation for their move into their new house.

“Buying these wine shelves was a great idea,” Andrew commented.

“Yours with the bench for the veranda was perfect, too,” Linda replied. “I can see us two sitting there, watching the garden.”

“Having a nice lunch,” Andrew added.

The couple smiled at each other, kissed and finally hugged, before continuing their way arm in arm. They paid little attention to the shops for a while, until suddenly something caught Andrew’s attention.

“Hey look.”

Linda followed his eyes and stiffened. Baby’s World. This was a shop she had no intention of visiting, yet Andrew softly pushed her to the glass front.

“Isn’t it something we could buy for the free room?” Her husband asked.

Reluctantly Linda looked at the crib in the store window. It was a white one with a white canopy and even a mobile with colorful birds.

“It is nice,” she admitted and even managed to keep a neutral tone.

“Especially the birds,” Andrew noticed. “Babies love to watch pretty birds.”

Linda didn’t reply, but looked down. In front of the crib were little baby mannequins in the midst of wooden and plush toys. One was sitting on its butt, the other in a position which seemed to indicate it was crawling around. The one sitting wore a pink onesie with red and white hearts and frills while holding a little plastic shovel, the one crawling a blue one with white stripes. Boy and girl.

They are even diapered under the clothes for god’s sake!, Linda thought. The perfect trap to touch the customer’s heart. I won’t fall for it.

“You know we agreed to speak about it later,” Andrew reminded her.

Linda looked up. His tone had been soft, but even without looking in his beautiful face, she knew how earnest he was about this topic.

“Yes,” she admitted. “But don’t you think we will have already enough trouble moving and finding new friends?”

She could feel him being slightly hurt and felt guilty.

“Just not now. Okay?”

Andrew nodded, but his wife still had to softly pull him away from the window to continue the shopping tour. This wouldn’t do for long. Linda knew it. Andrew had always wanted children, even when they had been young enough that others just thought of partying. She had found this attractive in him back then, mature, but not really felt the obligation that came with it. Not then. She had thought he would change his mind later, but he never had. Half the reason he worked so hard at his job was they would eventually have enough money for a child. She on the other hand would have been happy if it remained just the two of them. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t want to give him anything he wanted, but she couldn’t see herself caring for a child. Had he even any idea how much work this would bring?

They still had plenty of time, still she knew eventually their biological clock would tick louder and louder until one day he would force her to decide.

But not now!, she swore herself.

Linda pushed these thoughts away and grabbed her husband’s hand harder. Much to her relief he returned the grab. She thought about what she could do tonight to lead his thoughts away from the topic and looked out for a shop with special toys, when she noticed another sort of shop. It seemed like a second-hand furniture store. The exterior was not exquisite, but something attracted her.

“Let’s go in there,” Linda suggested.

Andrew smiled. “Still looking for a new mirror?”

His wife nodded, but thought: No, something which convinces you to turn the free room into a man cave. Still better than a nursery!

As they entered the store, they instantly smelled the soft hint of incense along with spices they couldn’t identify. The counter was vacated, so they guessed the owner was busy deeper inside and walked down the aisles. The interior was larger than expected from outside, for sure due to it extending into the building. They passed some mirrors Linda pretended to be interested in, while she searched for something to interest Andrew in. Unfortunately, he found something first.

“Look,” he said and picked up a wooden rattle, its pieces red and blue.

Linda tried her best not to roll her eyes as he shook it, producing the typical rattle sound.

“Oh, someone has an eye for high-quality toys!”

They turned around to see a woman in a wide green dress standing behind them. Her eyes were of the same green, sparkling with life. In a bit of contrast, grey showed already in her brown hair.

“I’m sorry,” Andrew quickly excused himself, putting the rattle back on its place. “Are you the owner?”

“Oh yes,” the woman confirmed. “I’m Selene.”

“Andrew.”

“Linda.”

“Nice to meet you,” the woman said, still smiling. “Looking for a toy for your baby?”

The following silence was longer than it should have been.

“We …” Linda stopped. “I am still undecided.”

She threw a look at Andrew who gave her a faint smile, clearly appreciating her truthfulness.

“I see,” the shop-owner said after a moment. “Maybe I have something for you. Come.”

With this Selene walked to the counter and after sharing a brief look, the couple followed. There the shop owner searched in the counter’s many drawers. After opening a few, she finally had success and put a small wooden box on the counter. As she opened it, it revealed red satin on which rested a golden amulet with a stone as green as Selene’s eyes.

“This is beautiful,” Linda admitted. “But how can it help?”

“Watch!”

With this the older woman put the amulet on. She then touched the stone and it began to glow.

The couple’s eyes widened, but they guessed it was some sort of electronic trick. Some LED in it. It was only when the grey in the woman’s hair vanished and the wrinkles on her face melted away, that they gasped. In a matter of seconds, the woman looked younger than even her customers!

“You have to admit.” She smiled on their disbelieving looks. “Quite a show to make a sell.”

“How …” Andrew began, wide eyed.

“Magic,” Selene stated. “When you are in this business as long as I’m you know quite a bit.”

“How long is this?” Linda asked.

The other woman just smiled at her.

“This is … wow!” Andrew finally admitted for the lack of better words. “But how can it help us?”

“With clarity,” Selene revealed, her voice suddenly sounding solemnly. “You wish to know if you want a baby?”

Her deep green eyes rested on Linda, who nodded.

The woman turned to Andrew. “Are you willing to do everything to proof that she will want to be a mother?”

He nodded.

“I suggest the following.” She looked at both of them. “You Andrew use this amulet to turn yourself into a baby. Let your wife see what it is like to take care of one and discover it joys.”

“Into a baby?!” Andrew couldn’t believe it. “But this is … it is even possible?”

As an answer Selene touched the amulet. It began to glow and just like this, she began to shrink and the features of her face became less sharp, until they were smooth.

“I think this is an answer,” the shop owner noticed.

Andrew and Linda starred at her in disbelieve. Before them stood a little girl of maybe six who practically swam in the green dress she had worn before.

“But won’t this affect my mind?” Andrew asked, when he found back his speech.

“The body shapes the mind,” the little girl admitted, her high, innocent voice sounding unsettling strange for these words. “But only over weeks. Let’s say you stay a baby for three days …”

“One day,” Linda interrupted.

“One day,” Selene agreed, lifting her dress which was now more her tent to look at her little feet. “There won’t be any effects except for the hormones … they are always tricky.”

“One day.” Andrew looked at his wife. “I will show you that it is wonderful to have a baby around.”

“And if you change your mind?” Linda asked.

“This talisman can offer you both eternal youths. Just wish yourself younger again and again,” the girl explained, having touched the talisman and slowly growing to her former age. “This is my offer.”

“Why?” Andrew asked. “I’m thankful, but why do you want to help us? Why are you giving it away?”

“What makes you believe I need such a trinket to be the age I want?” Selene asked, her voice slightly changing during midsentence as she went through puberty. “You share a bond. A bond which is in danger. It is good to help such as you from time to time. This is what I get from it.”

Andrew looked at Linda. The latter wasn’t convinced but nodded, knowing she couldn’t make a step back now without risking him. Also, eternal youth …

She looked at Selene, who was again the age they had met her, now taking of the amulet and placing it into the chest.

“Agreed,” Linda decided.

“Amazing!” Selene said, as if she had just sold a dress and not a magical artefact. “This makes 200,- $.”

Seeing her customers unbelieving stare, she smiled.

“No magic beats the taxes,” she explained, not without regret in her voice. “If you use Mastercard I add the chest and the rattle for 5,- $. Preferential price!”

Such the pair left the store with a little chest containing a wooden rattle and a magical amulet.

***

This wasn’t their only purchase of this day though. To properly prepare, Andrew had insisted on a visit to the baby story they had seen earlier and came out with a large box of baby supply. A bit later, the same box stood in between them in the living room of their house. Linda pulled out a package of Pampers Cruisers size 5 – according to the seller the best one for a 2 ½ year old, the age they had agreed Andrew would change into – and pointed at the smiling toddler laughing at them from the front.

“You really want to be one of this?” She asked.

Andrew stood in front of her and shrugged. The shop owner’s change in mind, he had decided to undress except for his underwear.

“Except if you have changed your mind,” he replied teasingly.

She starred at him, looking at the amulet in his hand.

“Try it,” she dared him. “But there is no way any baby could charm me the way a man can.”

He smiled and took the amulet over his head. Then he touched it the way the show owner had shown. Linda saw her husband hesitate and for a moment dared to hope he would get cold feet. Instead, the talisman began to glow.

***

Andrew hesitated a moment as the weight of this whole idea came crushing down on him, having more weight than when he had first agreed on it. Then looked at Linda and thought how she could one day hold their baby in her arms and touched the talisman. At once he felt a warm sensation around his neck. As instructed by the shop owner, he imagined himself to be 2 ½ old.

“No need for a clear picture,” Selene had explained, as she had handed him back his Mastercard. “Wish yourself the age you want to be by imagining the number and the talisman does the work.”

Andrew now did so, imagining a little boy and a number: 2 ½, 2 ½, 2 …

Instantly he felt the warmth of the talisman spread through his whole body. Linda gasped, so he guessed at least his face had begun to change already. Looking down at his free hand he noticed its skin becoming softer, lighter and as he looked back at his wife, he saw her beginning to grow larger. Already he had to look up at her. It was not just her though, but also the room, the couch and the table, everything seemed to grow … though he knew it was he who was shrinking.

Feeling some movement at his waist, Andrew looked down, discovering that his boxer shorts had fallen off, as they were no longer supported by his hips. The floor they rested on was constantly getting closer, just as his shirt covered first his knee and then nearly reached his feet.

At last, the warmth receded, telling Andrew he was done. He looked at Linda … up at Linda, who now hovered over him like a giant, as she starred at him in disbelieve. Then he looked down at his feet which he freed of the boxer shorts, looking at them much the same way the shop owner had looked at her feet after she had turned herself into a little girl … one much older than him now.

“Andrew is …” Linda swallowed. “Everything, all right?”

“Yes, I …” He stopped, the sound of his voice being discomfortingly strange. “I feel fine.”

He didn’t know if this was true though, especially as he starred at his hands.

So small, he thought. So chubby.

He touched his face, noticing it being rounder, softer, without even a hint of stubbles. Needing to see himself, he raced through the living room, passing the gigantic table and the couch he would now have to climb on to. After a lot of little steps, he reached the large mirror in the main floor they planned to replace.

A toddler boy awaited him from the other side of the mirror, starring at him in wonder.

Andrew had been shown enough old baby photos by his mother to recognize some features in the mirror as his own. Even if he hadn’t had, the tent of a shirt and the amulet hanging near his stomach proofed it to be his reflection. Still, he found himself not quite believing it, as he touched first his small nose and then the surface of the mirror. Needing to see more, he got rid of the shirt, first trying to pull it over him and then just letting it fall down his shoulders. The sight of his naked body gave him goosebumps. Slightly shorter limbs in relation to the body. Soft, rounded features padded by baby fat. A navel standing out a bit more. His penis … just a stub.

After a moment he noticed Linda, or rather her legs standing behind him and turned around to look up to her.

“We can stop this as soon as you wish,” she reminded him.

He thought about it a moment and then shook his head.

Linda sighed. “Then what now?”

Andrew looked back at his naked form in the mirror. Clothes most likely, but first …

“A diaper.”

***

Linda watched Andrew sit down on the disposable changing mat which she had placed in the middle of the living room. She briefly wondered if the shop owner had somehow bewitched her. It had sounded reasonable in the shop: One day of essentially babysitting and be done with it for eternity.

Now it seemed more like a surreal nightmare.

She tore open the package of pampers cruisers she had placed besides her shrunk husband and pulled out a fresh, folded diaper. It had been a long time since she had held one, though not as long as Andrew had needed one for sure. She had maybe been eight and used to play at her friend’s Kathy’s home. It had been great except for Ken, her friend’s stupid baby brother. He had always crept into his big sister’s room when they were busy playing. Demanded attention and claimed toys they played with.

One day Kathy’s mother had called her out of her friend’s room, asking for her help. Wanting to be polite, she had followed the adult, only for the latter to pick up Ken who had been busy playing with his big plastic cars in the living room and place him on the changing table. Linda had smelled the contend of the diaper even from afar, but Kathy’s mother had made her stand on a little chair close by. As the adult opened her son’s diaper, she had nearly fainted.

Nothing like that should come out of a human!

Kathy’s mother had grabbed the toddler’s ankles and pulled his feet in the air to use baby wipes on his butt. Almost cheerfully she had explained to Linda that it was perfectly natural and something all mothers did for their babies. Even her own mother had done it once for her. Linda had nodded, all the while trying not to gag. Ken had looked at her with a wide smile, as if he knew that he was the source of her disgust and proud of it.

Finally, Kathy’s mother had handed her the bag containing the used diaper and the wipes and asked her to put it in the trash can besides the table. All what had kept Linda from just running away was that she had had no idea what to tell her own mother. So, she had taken the bag with two fingers and quickly let it fall in the trash can, where it landed with a disgusting soft thud. Afterwards following the instructions of taking a fresh diaper and how to unfold it had been child’s play in comparison.

“See, no problem,” Kathy’s mother had said as she placed the unfolded diaper under her son’s butt. “With your own baby it will be even easier.”

Linda had nodded dutiful, seeing the adult apply baby powder on the toddler’s private parts. Still, when the scent – disgustingly sweet for her – had reached her, she had sworn to never have one. For sure a cute boyfriend or a husband, but not a stupid, stinking baby.

Seeing Andrew now sitting in front of her, she considered the irony of this situation and felt not amused by it at all.

“Lie down on your back,” Linda told him, as she unfolded the diaper. “Better we have your butt covered fast.”

He obeyed and she reluctantly grabbed his ankles, carefully lifting them and thus rising his butt until she could place the diaper under it. Part of her wanted to just close the tapes and be done with it, but she knew enough about baby-skin from commercials to realize that she needed to apply some protection on it. So, she took a bit of baby cream and began applying it to his butt and groin. When she came to her husband’s shrunken testicles, she felt him shudder slightly due to this strange touch, but herself felt little pity. She already missed his usual equipment. Maybe more than he did.

Linda finished it by sprinkling baby powder all over the area, while she tried her best to stay out of the extending cloud. She smelt the sickening sweet smell. It was as bad as she still remembered it after all these years. Part of her wanted to vomit … but she managed to keep it down, knowing she would have done so over her shrunk husband.

Concentrating on the present, she realized she had probably overdone it with both cream and powder. Andrew’s groin and butt now showed more white than pink. As she cleaned her hand with a baby wipe, she found she didn’t care.

I told you I’m bad at this, Linda thought, looking in Andrew’s calm face, as she taped the diaper shut. If you don’t like it go to Ken’s mother and ask her to do it for you.

Her husband didn’t complain though. Once he realized she was done, he sat up, moved his butt a bit on the changing mat and touched the front of the diaper as if to check the padding. Looking down he seemed to notice for the first time the cookie monster on the waist-band and Elmo on the diaper’s front, the latter along with some letters and numbers as if anyone needing it could understand such. Still Andrew seemed to like what he saw, for when he looked up, he smiled at her.

“Fits perfectly,” he commented.

Linda groaned.

***

A bit later Andrew watched Linda trying to fix a booster seat on the chair. She was doing it wrong, just like she had put the diaper wrong on him. Not that he was an expert and the padded feeling between his legs was unusual enough, but the tapes of the diaper felt like they had been fixed too tight, making it hard for his stomach to expand while he breathed. Another problem was his penis, which had been put into the diaper showing upwards, so it would sure release its yellow stream outside rather than where it belonged when the time came … which luckily wasn’t now.

Seeing his wife was still starring at the straps of the booster chair while cursing under her breath, Andrew slipped behind an armchair and pulled up the green shirt with Barney on it. Then he grabbed in his diaper and repositioned his shrunk, but still important part. Satisfied the purple dinosaur was safe, he put the shirt down just in time to hear his wife’s slightly worried voice.

“Andrew?”

He came forth from behind the armchair, smiling at her in what he hoped was a good imitation of a mischievous toddler’s smile.

“It doesn’t get any tighter,” she noticed, looking at the booster chair made out of green plastic. “What do you think?”

“Couldn’t do it any better,” Andrew said.

This was another lie. He probably could make the straps go tighter and add some knots, but for a toddler who wasn’t going to fuss on it, it would be safe enough. He wouldn’t fuss. He wouldn’t complain. He would not just be a baby for his wife for her to realize babies weren’t some unsolvable problems, but the perfect baby, so in one day she would truly want one.

Andrew prayed he could do so.

“Okay,” Linda said. “Take place and …”

His wife stopped, looked down on him and then wordless grabbed him under his armpits. She did so awkwardly, but given his little weight she held him tight enough to place him in the booster-seat which was clearly too high for him to reach on his own. After watching him a moment, she put the harness on him, trapping him there, before going to the kitchen to take the meal.

Andrew was fine with that. Sitting there was a strange feeling. For once he felt the fabric of his diaper pressing against him and preventing him from really feeling the plastic surface of the seat. Then there was the height. While his head wasn’t even near where it normally was when he sat there, his bare feet were in the air in what seemed a dangerous height, easily the length of his new body. Suddenly he felt he should have told Linda to fix the booster seat better.

After what felt longer than it should have been, Linda came back with two plates of Mac and Cheese, one of which she put on the table in front of Andrew. Seeing there was no way for him to reach it, she put the chair closer to the table. The latter reached half of Andrew’s breast, promising to make eating the meal unusual at best. The other option would have been the tray which was an optional part of the booster seat and would have allowed him to place the plate in a more comfortable position. His wife hadn’t seen the need to install it though and given the way she had secured the seat, this might have been the better option.

Trying to make the best out of the situation, Andrew grabbed the fork and after a few failed tries realized his hands were much too small now to hold it the adult way. Grabbing it with the whole hand instead, he found he could handle it well enough to pick up a noodle, yet freeing it from the cheese proofed an even more difficult task. When he had finally done it, he looked in wonder, as its seemingly enormous size and presented it to Linda, before eating it with a smile.

***

If he already plays pretend, she thought, why not make it more realistic?

Linda stood up from the chair, walked past her husband who didn’t ask what she was doing due to still chewing and went through one of the kitchen drawers. Andrew tried to look behind himself, but was hindered by the firm booster seat and the harness, so he was visibly surprised, when his wife put something around his neck from behind.

“No reason to make Barney dirty,” Linda commented as she fixed the kitchen towel on Andrew, by making a knot behind his neck, effectively turning it into his bib. “Seems you forgot to buy some things after all.”

Andrew first looked at his make-shift bib which now covered his front side and looked up to his wife more than a bit embarrassed.

Good, Linda thought, as she returned to her own chair. Did you really think it would be easy?

She continued eating, watching Andrew pick up his meal even more careful now. Still, due to the unpreferable height of the table and the unhandy size for his hand, he couldn’t properly work with the knife. He had to work with the fork alone. The result was that a bit later a noddle landed on the bib. Andrew grabbed it with his hand and quickly put it in his mouth, still, the stain was visible on the towel and as he looked up to his wife, she smiled at him.

Thought so, she thought amused, cutting a bunch of her own noodles with adult skill, before putting them in her mouth. I wonder if this is motherly foresight.

Andrew scowled slightly in response and tried to grab his glass with cola. First, he used one hand, then – realizing the futility of this – both. Still, it was a shaky hold.

“Wait a moment,” Linda told him.

She stood up and easily took the glass out of his little hands, which didn’t even surround it. She put the glass on the kitchen counter, then walked into the living room to the box with baby equipment and fished out a sippy cup with two handles. This she filled on the sink and handed it to her husband.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Use both handles,” she told him, taking place on her chair.

Linda watched him obeying, grabbing both while leading the beak to his mouth. She guessed it would be harder for him to use one if it was a nipple and made a mental note for later. He struggled a bit to get the liquid flowing, as she could see by watching the liquid in the green plastic decorated by a monkey, a zebra and an elephant. The result was what she had expected.

“Hey,” Andrew protested, removing the beak. “What happened to my coke?”

Linda smiled, knowing he had been unable to see her fill the sippy cup with soda water instead the contend of his glass.

“Well, I poured it in the sink, of course,” she told him in the warm tone adults reserved to lecture small children who didn’t know better. “Toddlers aren’t allowed to drink limo or even coke! Imagine what people would say if they could see me giving you such unhealthy things. So be a good baby and drink clear water. It is much healthier … except if you want to throw a tantrum?”

Now he glared at her, even more when she rose her own glass of lime and drank from it. She realized he had disliked her tone and made another mental note to use it as often as possible. A small victory, even when he was already putting the beak back into his mouth.

***

While his wife did the washing up, Andrew walked to the living room for a bit of television. He held the sippy cup with one hand while doing so, having been handed it by Linda after she lifted him out of the booster chair along with the order to drink up. He wouldn’t, but he planned to sip from it from time to time to satisfy her.

Though he had the body of a toddler, Andrew was no fool. He knew his wife wanted to make him quit or cause a problem to proof herself right, but he wouldn’t give up so easily either. Linda probably didn’t believe it, but he had known what he was doing when he had used the amulet. Of course, this didn’t mean he would make the brief return to babyhood any messier than needed. The regressed adult placed the sippy cup on the living-room table and looked down at his diaper. Strangely Elmo on the waistband looked larger than before and worse, the too tight diaper pressed more on his now full stomach and bladder. Maybe he shouldn’t have given in to his instincts and eaten as much as he could. His body probably wanted all the calories to grow up, but he knew he didn’t need it. Still these giant noodles had been so good …

Nothing to be done about it, Andrew thought, worry about this later.

He turned around and faced the couch. His favorite place of evening amusement had turned into a mountain to be climbed. Never one to give up in face of a challenge, Andrew lifted his right leg until it reached the top of the couch and then managed to pull himself up, arriving on hands and knees. As he sat down, he couldn’t but respect the freedom of movement the diaper gave him. Even as he now sat, the padded feeling wasn’t as strong as it had been when he had sat on the booster seat, maybe due to the softer ground.

Andrew leaned himself on the backrest, pretty much falling back, as it was so much farther back than he had expected. In awe he saw how his feet barely reached the edge of the couch. Maybe he had been too pessimistic about the whole experience. Maybe he should see this as a little adventure no matter the outcome and even as an opportunity to see the world from the perspective of the child he hoped to soon father. Thus, would help him a lot to make the new house child proof.

Satisfied, Andrew was ready to switch the tv on to watch some episodes CSI, when he noticed that the remote control was on the table, easy to reach for any adult by simply leaning over, but far out of reach for him now. Cursing his own thoughtlessness, he robbed forward until he sat on the edge of the couch. The way down was long, though not as long as the one from the chair had been.

Andrew let himself fall.

Maybe it was the slight shudder which went through his body, as he touched the laminate floor, or the slight bending of his knees to soften his landing, which triggered the reaction, but suddenly he started to pee. Shocked Andrew called on all his willpower to make it stop, but the control of his bladder had seemingly regressed with the rest of his body and was now too weak to end the stream of urine he felt being released with some force. All the regressed man could do, was helplessly feel his diaper go warm. First the crotch, then the middle, then the area around his butt, as the material distributed the liquid for better storing. And it did a good job at it, for while Andrew felt the warmth, he barely felt any wetness at all.

Finally, the stream died down on its own. As Andrew looked down, he could see his diaper expand a bit, but it didn’t sag, as he had seen it with his young cousin once when he had been young and thus was babysat by his mother. Maybe it was the brand or the new development in diapers in the years since then. Instead, there was a new firmness which along with the warmth that still lingered created a strange, but not uncomfortable feeling, especially since he didn’t feel wet at all. This was being helped by the fact, that he couldn’t smell the urine as he knew he would have worn normal underwear. Maybe it was part of the absorption, maybe the smell of baby powder and cream overlayed it.

As he felt save enough, Andrew made one step to the remote control, then another, noticing how the swollen diaper pushed his legs slightly apart, shifting his movements all so carefully to a toddle.

“Plates are clean,” Linda noticed, entering this very moment. “But I tell you, tomorrow you will help and if you have to use a step stool.”

She looked down on him, sensing something.

“Everything all right?”

“I …” Her husband searched for a good word. “Tingled.”

Linda’s looked at his diaper and finally even her untrained eyes noticed the expansion.

“Oh great.”

“I wasn’t the one insisting I drink more,” Andrew protested.

Linda sighed, shook her head and walked to the box with baby utensils, pulling out the changing mat again.

“Come lay down,” she told him irritated as she extended it on the floor. “I just wished you could change these things standing.”

As he toddled to his wife, Andrew held his tongue. He knew that the Easy Up Pampers for his size came exactly with this feature and had even considered to buy a package of them. That Linda didn’t know about a product every adult could easily have remembered from a commercial told him, that her aversion to getting a child – or maybe babies in general – ran deeper than he had guessed. Better not to tell her, nor binding on her nose that given the urine was contained, she could open the tapes, remove the diaper and clean him while he stood.

Like an obedient toddler, Andrew sat on his butt in the middle of the changing mat. Despite the pressure, felt only a bit of moistness and an odd feeling like sitting on firm gelee, but no wetness. Strange, but nor really uncomfortable, as long as he ignored the nature of the liquid. As he laid on his back, he guessed a lot of scientists had worked very hard to give him and true babies this feeling and their mothers a more relaxed time while changing them. Given the look on Linda’s face as she opened the diaper’s tapes, she probably wouldn’t appreciate him mentioning it.

So, he remained silent, as she lifted his behind by pulling him slightly up by his ankles. Linda was beginning to pull the diaper away, only to stop, as she realized his butt wasn’t clean, yet. She lowered him again and searched the box, until she pulled out a package of baby wipes. She placed the package besides Andrew, opened it, lifted his butt again and began cleaning it. It was a strange feeling to have such a private thing being done by someone else and overcome by a sudden feeling of helplessness, Andrew looked to his right and discovered Mickey Mouse, smiling at him from the package of baby wipes, which he found strangely funny.

When Linda was done, she put the dirty wipes in the diaper and pulled it away from her husband, as she lowered his clean butt back to the changing matt. As she pulled a bag out of the box to put the dirty diaper and wipes away – Andrew had thought of this, too – he suddenly felt cold around his groin and shuddered slightly, as he looked at the ceiling, which seemed so far above him. He was so small!

Already he felt his legs being lifted again and as he looked back at Linda, she was putting a fresh diaper under him. This time she used baby powder, but not in this mass as before and no baby cream. He didn’t mind this, especially since he felt his penis pointing down this time. It was only when she began putting the tapes on, that he spoke.

“Not so tight please.”

His wife gave him a short look, but nodded and this time seemed to get it just right, making him feel the diaper firm, but not tight. He wanted to thank her, but a look in her face told him better.

I should have gone for Easy-Up-Pants, Andrew thought.

***

Linda wasn’t happy.

Not just she already had to make her first diaper change – though thank god only pee – but Andrew hadn’t minded it … at least not as much as she had hoped for. Instead, he had even told her how to do it better!

I should have let him wear it until he cried, she thought. Isn’t this how it is done with true babies?

Now she saw her regressed husband sit up, newly pampered and looking quite relaxed with himself. Linda got the feeling she had started it wrong. Maybe she should have changed into a toddler to let herself pampered by him? This would have been a better way for him to learn his lesson.

Instead, she watched in a mix of fascination and terror how Andrew placed the remote control on the couch and then climbed on it. He even managed to look proud, as he had done so and now kneeled on the top and began to search for his favorite afternoon shows, for sure beginning with CSI.

No way I let you have a nice evening after I had to change your diaper!, Linda thought.

She took the remote control out of his hands, just as he had switched for his show.

“Hey!” Andrew protested.

“CSI is hardly what you would let see our child while it still is in diapers,” she commented and searched the channels, until she found Nick Jr, where Barny was just starting. “Perfect! Look it is Barney from your shirt! Have fun with big kids and a dinosaur singing happy songs.”

Andrew glared at her, but she just smiled, placed the remote control in the top of the couch’s back and took up a book.

“I’m a little teapot, short and stout ….” Barney sang.

With obvious reluctance, Andrew turned his head to the tv.

***

“When I get all steamed up, then I shout …” Barny continued.

While his wife was reading her book, Andrew tried to watch the show as he knew a real toddler would. He would have preferred reading, too, but knew very well, Linda would insist he read one of the picture books he in turn had bought for reasons he no longer understood. Why had he insisted to make it so real?

“Tip me over and pour me out,” Barney continued, making poses.

There was no way out now except if he was willing to let Linda win, so he concentrated on Barney and the children dancing with him. The children looked indeed big, partly due to the large size of the tv – which was even larger for him now – but Andrew knew this was only half of it. The purple dinosaur was even bigger, fluffy and smiling a big smile. Not knowing when it started, Andrew found himself more and more enchanted by the cheerful voice and movements of the show in front of him, just as thousands of other toddlers were right now.

“I’m a very special pot, it is true

Here, let me show you what I can do

I can change my handle and my spout

Tip me over and pour me out!”

Without realizing it, Andrew spoke the last words with them

 ***

Linda grew more and more worried, as she watched Andrew following the kids’ shows with actual interest, even enjoyment. He had been enthralled by Barney, likewise the Paw Patrol and now Sesame Street, watching Big Bird with a smile he probably wasn’t aware of. She had to put a stop to this, both because him resembling a real toddler this way was just too strange and also, she had no chance of winning this if he continued enjoying his regression. What could make him possibly give up, if even a diaper change hadn’t worked?

Linda thought a moment, then she smiled and stood up from the couch, leaving the room without her regressed husband even noticing.

 ***

Andrew was following Dora the Explorer through some jungle, when suddenly the tv went dark. Surprised he looked around to find his wife not on the couch besides him, where he had been sure she was still sitting on, but further back by the stairs, leading to the first floor, holding the remote control.

“Enough tv for a little boy,” she explained teasingly. “Come upstairs. I have something for you.”

With this she went upstairs. Startled, but not knowing what else to do, Andrew let himself glide of the edge of the couch. Landing a bit more secure this time, he followed his wife. The stairs were more of a climb than he had expected, as he had to lift his feet by each one very high, but clutching the rails, he managed to do so. As he looked back, he suddenly felt a bit dizzy, though, for the way down seemed so very steep and dangerous.

I need to buy a baby gate the moment Linda is pregnant, he thought.

As he turned around, he noticed his wife at the door to the bathroom, beckoning him to follow, she entered. Still startled, he followed her, only to find the bathtub was filling with water and foam. Besides it, Linda was undressing with the back to him.

“Bath time,” she explained mildly, as she got rid of her shirt. “I think we both need time … to relax.”

With this she opened her bra and let it fall to the ground. Next, she opened her trousers and stepped out of them, getting rid of socks and panties. Finally – and slowly for the effect – she turned around. Long legs, soft skin and perfect breasts. Linda was breathtaking, even more from this perspective, where Andrew was level of her vulva.

“Unfair!” He complained.

Linda knelt to face him on eye-level.

“Well, I am enjoying my adult body,” she noticed. “If you want to enjoy it with me you need only to say.”

Andrew remained silent.

“Oh well.” She stood up and stepped in the bathtub. “Get undressed and hop in.”

Obeying, Andrew got out of his Barney shirt and opened the tapes of his diaper to let it fall to the ground. As he was about to join Linda in the tub, he noticed that it was even higher than the couch and without something to stand on was impossible for him to climb.

“Mh … Linda?”

His wife looked at him, noticed what was going on and sighed, before grabbing him under the arms and lifting him in. The water reached Andrew’s shoulders while barely reaching Linda’s navel. Vaguely a part of his mind thought of a small bath tube for babies, but most of his mind was occupied with the sight of his wife beginning to clean herself with a sponge.

She was so hot!

In a way she was even more attractive for him now, that she seemed so large. In another way she was not. Andrew needed a moment to realize why. His mind was wanting her very much, knowing the fun they could have, would he be his normal age. His body though, was very much that of a toddler and such lacked the maturity and hormones to react to this feeling. This conflict left him in a sort of daze, as he watched his wife open mouthed.

“Someone is having big boy thoughts,” Linda noticed.

“You are beautiful!” Andrew said, happy to not think about the conflict raging in him.

His wife smiled. “Just imagine what a pregnancy would do to this body. Stretch marks, more pounds, hanging boobies ...”

“You will always be beautiful for me!” Andrew insisted.

“Liar,” Linda replied, pushing a bit of foam at him. “Careful, or I will wash your little mouth with soap.”

Andrew grinned. “Careful or I alert the authorities!”

“Oh, but they would take you with them and put you in an orphanage!” She teased, moving closer. “You would be able to play with other babies your age and watch Barney with them.”

“I rather play with you,” Andrew replied.

With this he got up and jumped at Linda, throwing his arms around her neck. Laughing she fell back, embracing him. She even tickled him under his arms, making him slightly sway his legs and laugh. Silently they looked at each other, then Linda began softly clean her regressed husband’s body with the sponge. As she was done, she proceeded to put water over his hair and helped him put shampoo into it.

Once they were finished, Linda lifted him out of the tub and got out herself. As she picked up a towel for drying herself, she realized the other hung too high for Andrew to pick one himself. Without thinking, she began to dry him with the oversized towel, before drying herself and then blow-drying first him – he actually giggled when the warm wind met his sensitive skin – before finishing herself.

“Do unused diapers get put back on?” She asked, as she put her bathrobe on.

Andrew wasn’t sure, but before he could answer, Linda shrugged.

“A new one then,” Linda decided, putting the old diaper in the trash and his old shirt in the box with used clothes. “It isn’t that we risk running out of them until I turn you back … I hope.”

Andrew nodded, walking with her to the floor. At the top of the stairs he hesitated, which Linda noticed.

“It is a scary world for someone such small,” she noticed and picked him up, carrying him downstairs. “I can only imagine how it is like … or to take care for someone.”

“You do great,” Andrew assured her.

In all honesty he stiffened at the sight of the way down, now being even farther down due to her holding him. He wrapped his arms around her neck. The feeling of his wife’s strong arms and the soft bathrobe on his naked skin was soothing him a bit, still he let out a sight of relieve, as they reached the ground floor. Linda carried him to the living room, setting him down on soft carpet and watching him.

“Guess you need your underwear more than I do,” she noticed.

Not hearing complains, she pulled out the changing mat and made him sit there, as she went through the box with baby supply.

“Do you need this?” She asked, presenting him baby oil.

“Guess so,” Andrew answered.

Indeed, he didn’t, but the thought of her applying this on him seemed attractive. So, he watched her put the oil on her hands before beginning to massage it on his skin. The smell was so good! She seemed to enjoy it, too, for she smiled, as she applied it to every part of his body.

“Someone has a stiffy!” She noticed.

Surprised Andrew looked down and indeed, his little penis was erected. He knew he should be happy by this sign of maturity, instead he felt embarrassment. He looked at his wife, feeling his cheeks grow red, but she just laughed.

“Lie down little Romeo,” she ordered.

He obeyed, still red cheeked and tried to enjoy the feeling of Linda massaging his legs and then his feet. She seemed to enjoy it and even finished diapering him without even a frown. Her husband being done, Linda picked him up and carried him to their room, where she placed him on the bed as she began searching for her own clothes.

Andrew smiled, watching her. It seemed to go right.

***

Linda was dressing in something comfortable, when she realized things were going wrong for her. Not just that the last hour with Andrew as toddler had been fun, also putting him into a fresh diaper hadn’t meant so much to her. Even now she could smell the oddly relaxing smell of his baby oil and had to admit she felt slightly sad for not having it around this time tomorrow anymore.

She secretly looked in the large mirror next to cabinet and saw Andrew on their bed, lying on his back and pulling his feet to his face. If he was testing the dexterity of his body, had an urge to suck on his toes or was just trying to look cute for her, she couldn’t say, but at last he seemed distracted. Which was good. She needed to make some plans – Now! – or she would soon admit defeat and this was just something she couldn’t allow herself to do.

What was there still to convince him to give up? Linda’s eyes wandered to the ceiling and she smiled to herself.

As she finished dressing and turned to her husband, she made sure the smile was gone. Andrew was sitting Indian Style, watching her with interest.

“Time to get you dressed,” Linda explained sweetly, as she picked him up and carried him to the living room. “No reason to let you catch a cold.”

In there she placed him on the couch and searched the box until she found just the right thing for him to wear.

“Look what I have for you!” She told him.

Andrew scowled, as she presented it to him. Linda could understand him. It was a blue onesie with a teddy bear on it. She would have died from shame from wearing something like this, but her husband now had no choice. Quickly she pulled it over his head, helping him getting his hands through the holes for the arms and then pulled it all down, until she closed it by pressing three snap buttons at the crotch. She could just see him disliking the pressure there and loved it.

“Kodak moment,” Linda noticed.

Andrew’s eyes grew wide. “Don’t you dare!”

She laughed, picked him up and tipped the end of his nose.

“Nah.” She placed him on the carpet in front of the tv. “Would be a bit hard to explain if someone found this on my smartphone. Mommy needs you to wait here a bit, while I do stuff.”

“Stuff?” Andrew asked suspicious.

“Adult stuff,” Linda explained with a smile, going through the box with baby supply. “You had more than enough tv time today, but I think you bought something even more fun …. Ah! Here!”

She presented him a box with a baby ring stacking toy.

***

As Linda left, Andrew looked after her, feeling worried what she might have planned. When she was out of sight, he looked around. Still sitting on the carpet, he was surrounded by the ring stacking toy, a shape sorter box, a small red bouncy ball and drag along turtle. He had seriously no idea why he had bought all this stuff, for he had not planned to play with it. Maybe he had just been too much in a frenzy?

Determined to make the best of it, Andrew leaned over and took the red ball. His diaper rustled and his onesie felt soft on his torso, but he ignored both. He felt the need to do something. As much as he hated to admit it – and would never admit it to Linda – this got on his nerves. Not just the diaper, the onesie and the rest, but the constant feeling of being weak and helpless. Gathering his strength, he threw the ball, hitting the couch just in the right angle and with the right energy to have it roll straight back to him.

Feeling strangely mature through this accomplishment, Andrew gave the ball a kick with his bare foot and watched it move again. This was fun! He nearly would have clapped, but could control himself in the last moment. The shop owner had told him he was safe regressing for such a short time, but there was no reason to let yourself get carried away, especially since he still had to convince Linda. On the other hand, he could test out the toys for his future child so … What if he combined it?

Andrew smiled. He would show his wife that she wasn’t the only one who could plot.

***

Linda felt quite well, as she walked back into the living room. She had prepared her little surprise for Andrew and knew he wouldn’t like it. Just as much as he hadn’t liked the toys … no even less. Still, she felt little remorse for him. He had dragged them into it, so it served him to stew in it.

As she entered the living room, she found him doing very little stewing. Instead, he just placed the last ring on the stack, creating an upturned ring pyramid, showing a look of merry concentration on his face. This sight shocked her, but not as much, as when he looked up and smiled innocently at her.

“Quite a tower,” he noticed.

“Maybe you should consider changing to a construction worker,” Linda replied, somehow managing to banish the shock from her voice.

Andrew laughed. “Sit down and let us make another one.”

“I really don’t want to,” Linda admitted. “Besides you sound just a tad too young for me.”

Her husband grabbed the packaging of the ring stacking toy.

“Various colorful rings of different sizes and shapes make for hours of stacking fun for babies. Wonderful textured rings …” He read. “Of course, I’m no baby, but we are training for our own. So, why don’t you play a round with me, just to know how it is?”

Linda knew her husband had her with this, so she sat down on the carpet besides him and watched him undo the tower, spreading the colorful rings between them.

“One round,” she insisted.

Andrew nodded and handed her the first ring.

“You know,” he thought loud. “I think this is amongst the best parts of being parents. To help your child learn. See it grow.”

“This is a ring,” his wife said, showing it to him and speaking slowly as if to a real toddler. “It is blue.”

Andrew was at first sour, but then he smiled as Linda put it on the stack.

“See!”

She rolled her eyes. “It is not such easy with a real child. We can make mistakes. We can even royally mess up. Sometimes without even noticing. I had enough friends whose parents were like this.”

“You would make a great mother,” Andrew insisted.

Linda wanted to deny this outright, but then she looked straight at him. Despite him being so small and despite the diaper being partly visible under the bear-onesie, she couldn’t but see her husband there, touching her with his words the way only he could. She didn’t want to lose him ever. At the same time, she could see the child they might have right now. A boy or girl with the same brown hair and thoughtful eyes. A child which would play with them, just like Andrew now put his yellow plastic ring on the stack. Wouldn’t this …

She shook her head. Andrew really had nearly gotten her. Quickly, to finish this game as fast as possible, she put her green ring on the stack.

“You think?” Andrew asked after a while.

“I think …” Linda said, finishing with the last ring. “It is easier to train a pet.”

Her husband scowled, then his face suddenly lit up.

“I have one!” He explained, quickly standing up and walking to the drag-along-turtle. “See!”

Linda rolled her eyes. “You are silly.”

“I can even take it for a walk!” Andrew insisted and began drag it around her. “Look Mommy!”

The silly way he talked, the way he lifted his legs while he walked around her and then even the goddamn turtle making noises and movements as it was dragged around. Linda gave her best, but in the end the laughter burst out of her. Andrew smiled at the sight of this and she knew he enjoyed his victory, but strangely this made her laugh even more.

Little rascal, she thought.

It was at this moment, when she laughed and Andrew stood in front of her, that he suddenly stopped smiling. In a short time, his face changed from happy to worried, to horrified, until it turned into a mask of concentration. Linda couldn’t understand why, until she noticed that he bent his knees slightly and curled his toes, also there was the ever so slightly rustling of an expanding diaper.

Oh no, Linda thought.

Still there was no denying. Already a faint, but easy to identifiable smell crept in her nose. Linda found herself transported back to the time at the changing table of her friend’s baby brother and their mother telling her it was natural. She had been helpless to protest back then, as she had only been a child and now, she was helpless to protest, as she was the only adult in the room.

Unfair!, her eight year old self screamed in her mind.

One thing was different though. Where Ken had been uncaring of the mess he had created, even proud, as he had laughed at her, Andrew was far from it. So much was evident when he looked at her after the tension of his body indicating the opening of the bowels, had finally left him. His face showed shame, insecurity and even fear. It made him look even smaller and for a moment pity overtook her irritation.

No, she steeled herself. This is no innocent child who had an oopsie. This is my husband and he brought this on us both.

“I …” Andrew began.

“Skip it,” Linda stooped him. Her tone being icy, as she stood up. “Just be silent.”

Andrew obeyed, looking hurt and for a moment she felt sorry, but then she thought of the task ahead and it passed. As before, she pulled the changing mat out of the box and placed it on the floor.

“Lie down,” she ordered, before turning back to the box.

As she had fished out the necessary supplies, Andrew was already lying on the mat, obviously doing his best to be obedient and unproblematic.

Too late for this, Linda thought, as she knelt down beside him.

She opened the snatch buttons at the crotch of the onesie and pulled it back, until it went over the navel. Deep down she had clung to the hope, that it wouldn’t be as bad, that diapering him before had prepared her for what would come. This illusion vanished the moment she opened the diaper’s tapes, its front fell down and fully revealed the power of the stench.

Linda gagged, held one hand before her face and tried to breath with her mouth.

God no!, she thought.

There was no way around it, though. Linda grabbed his ankles and lifted his butt as she had done before. She was rewarded with a scary brown sight.

I used to find this butt cute, she thought, as she grabbed some wipes and reluctantly began the cleaning. It will be a wonder if I ever do again.

Linda at first moved the wipes front to back – vaguely remembering Ken’s mother doing so. She did so very careful not to get anything of the stuff on her hands, wishing she had thought of plastic gloves. Then she cleaned the only slightly dirty areas, where it had become dirty when Andrew had sat down. Next came the thick stuff and she tried to imagine herself on a sandy beach somewhere as she removed it.

The rest was cleaned fast enough and she felt relieved, as she could finally pull the diaper with the wipes in it away and lower the now clean butt on the changing mat. Carefully she grabbed the messy thing and threw it into the bag she had prepared. After closing the bag very, very tight, she let out a sight of relieve. Putting a new diaper on was nearly too easy. She put some baby cream around Andrew’s butt and groin, adding some baby powder just to make sure … and get the rest of the stench out of the air.

Linda fixed the diaper with the tapes, not caring if Andrew found it too tight again. Part of her wanted him to complain just to get an opportunity to shout at him. She only looked at her husband after closing the onesie’s button. He looked worried, even a little bit scarred, clearly sensing her anger. In what she guessed was instinct, he had brought his right hand to his mouth, looking close to suck on it.

No, Linda thought mellowed and maybe a bit ashamed of herself of making him feel such way, he doesn’t need a scolding.

“Up with you,” she said, picking him up. “Time to sleep.”

Linda didn’t hear any protest. Maybe her husband was still scarred, maybe he was too tired. She didn’t know, but as she walked to their bedroom, she instinctively and subtly moved him along her body, until his crotch rested on her left hip. It seemed a perfect spot and his diaper meant it didn’t feel too hard holding him there. More so, it felt natural, even more when he rested his head on her shoulder. Linda nearly regretted it, when he lifted his head the moment, they entered their bedroom and he saw what she had prepared for him.

“Hey!” He said, more in surprise than in protest. “This is …”

“… the travel-crib Stacy and Brandon offered us,” she finished it. “I never thought we could have use of this thing, but you insisted. It spent some time in the cellar, but it looks like you were right.”

“I don’t need it,” Andrew insisted.

“Oh, I think you, do,” Linda said, as she lowered him on the mattress. “Mommies don’t want their babies get crushed when they roll over in their sleep.”

Her husband wanted to reply something, his eyes looking up at her, but as she let go of him, he seemingly underestimated the softness of the mattress and fell on his padded butt.

“See? Better have you safe here,” she commented with a laugh. “Except you say you want to be an adult again and sleep in the big bed with me.”

Andrew looked up at her, obviously humiliated but determined.

Stubborn brat, Linda thought almost lovingly at what everyone else would just think of as a toddler.

“Oh well,” she said, turning to their bed.

She took something from it and placed it in the crib besides her husband. It was a white stuff bunny.

“This is Mr. Hop,” she introduced the plushy. “I grew too big for him, but you are just the right size. You can keep each other company.”

With this she walked to the door.

“Hey!” Andrew stood up in the crib again, looking after her even as his eyes barely reached past the edge of the crib. “You don’t stay?”

“Babies need a lot of sleep, meaning adults can stay up longer sweety,” his wife noticed, standing at the door. “Have sweet dreams for mommy.”

With this Linda switched off the light and closed the door. As she walked to the living room for an evening with wine and her favorite shows, she couldn’t but smile. With this aspect of being a mother she could live.

***

Andrew watched the door close, feeling completely and utterly helpless. There was no way out. Well, he still could always call Linda and tell her he would give up but … No! He wasn’t there yet. Despite the way their bedroom suddenly looked alien. Despite how much he remembered the feeling of his bowels no longer obeying him and his diaper filling. Despite the stench …

The regressed man sighed and let himself fall on his butt. The diaper felt odd again, but right now he didn’t care. He was damn sure he wouldn’t have to use it for the big number two again. What bothered him, was that he was also pretty sure Linda had lost all positive feeling for motherhood he knew she had begun to feel before. He looked through the mesh netting to the door and tried to suppress the rising depression, as he heard the faint sound of the tv showing one of her favorite shows. No, he wouldn’t give up.

Looking around in the crib, he discovered his wife’s old plush rabbit, Mr. Hop, sitting next to him.

“Was she always such stubborn?” Andrew asked.

Mr. Hop remained silent. Maybe because the secret code of honor for plush toys prevented him from revealing the secret of an owner. The thought made Andrew smile.

“I’ll tell you a secret,” he whispered, leaning forward to the rabbit. “I think Linda would make a great mother!”

Mr. Hop didn’t reply something, but Andrew had for a moment the impression that one of his polished beady eyes blinked. Probably his imagination. He looked up at the clock, learning it was just a few minutes past seven. Linda wouldn’t come to sleep in a while, so maybe he should just wait and think about what to say to her then. The regressed adult laid down in the crib, extending his feet until they reached one end of it and enjoying the strange sensation of the mesh netting on his bare soles.

Andrew grabbed the blanket Linda had placed in the crib, pulling it up for the warmth, but he didn’t feel tired. The diaper pressed him a bid, so he moved his legs a bit farther apart. Under normal circumstances he would now sit in front of the tv with his wife, watching CSI and …

He looked around, surprised to realize he was lying on his bed. Why he was surprised, he couldn’t say. Something had happened, but he couldn’t remember what. It had something to do with his child. His and Linda’s. Andrew jumped from the bed and ran through the floor to a room he was vaguely aware shouldn’t be there, but at the same time felt it was. The nursery. He opened the door which was already slightly ajar and was for a moment awed. Soft panels, a group of elephants next to the changing table. A box of toys under the window. The crib …

Andrew was shocked to see two men dressed in suits standing near the crib. Instinctively he knew they were from the CSI. Something bad had to have happened.

“Mr. Parker?” One of them asked, as he stepped closer.

“Yes?” Andrew asked, feeling his mouth dry. “What is wrong?”

“Take a look,” the one closer to the crib said. “It is empty.”

Andrew stepped to the railing, looking down into it. Indeed, it was empty. It was a frightful sight. The crib shouldn’t be empty.

“No!” He propped himself on the railing. “What can I do. I … I …”

Andrew couldn’t keep his eyes from the empty crib. He could even see Mr. Hop sitting in the corner, but no child and … and …

Suddenly the world in front of his eyes turned, with the only thing being constant being the plush rabbit. When Andrew could see normal again, he still could see it, but it was closer … and much larger. He realized he now sat in the nursery. Looking down at himself, Andrew noticed he wore only a diaper. Confused he looked up at the now gigantic men from the CSI.

“The crib is filled,” the one close to the crib noticed.

“Case closed,” the other concluded satisfied.

Both men left the nursery, leaving a more and more confused Andrew to watch them go through the rails. Case closed? Something seemed wrong with that, but he couldn’t quite figure out what. He looked at his feet and curled his toes, smiling at the sight. Maybe everything was okay. He had been worried, because the crib had been empty, but now he sat in it. He was a baby and it was his crib, now all he had to do was to wait for daddy and mommy to pick him up and play with him.

This thought felt perfectly reasonable and reassuring at the same time. Andrew put his thumb in his mouth and began sucking on it, feeling the front of his diaper go warm, as he relaxed.

***

Linda didn’t feel quite well, when she walked back to the sleeping room. Four hours of watching tv with half a bottle of wine and not having to think about anything remotely connected to baby-stuff had relaxed her amazingly. As she opened the door, she found her bedroom quiet. Their bedroom, though Andrew currently not occupied their bed. She crept to the crib, finding her husband lying there fast asleep, even having his thumb in his mouth.

Linda didn’t know if he had done so with purpose to look very cute, but she knew that there was no way another person could see him now and not think him to be anything other than a toddler. She could hardly believe it herself. He did look cute, with Mr. Hop holding guard besides him and she nearly forgot the smell of his diaper … nearly.

Mommy.

The memory of him uttering this word hit her. It was her fault of course, as she remembered having it used first mockingly. What if there would be one child of her own now? Wouldn’t it be worth changing a few messy diapers? Linda extended her hand to caress his hair, but held herself back in the last moment. What was she doing?

Linda walked to her bed, undressed in the dark and slipped in the bed, thinking. Andrew would change back tomorrow and ask her if she wanted a child. Would she still be able to reasonable deny it? She feared not. Her husband was winning, but she couldn’t let him. No way. She would have to plan.

Thinking Linda lied in the darkness.

To be continued …