The Error, by LittleMatt

Chapter 14
Chapter 14

Chapter Description: By LittleMatt

Chapter 14

Tom awoke to the sound of his mother preparing breakfast below. He held his teddy against his chest nestled in the curve of his body. He’d gone to sleep with it beside him, but he always seemed to wake up this way. His sleep had been getting deeper since he’d started sleeping with it too, part of the learning benefits he assumed.

The door slowly opened and his mother peeked in. “Good morning sleepyhead” she smiled “I was starting to think you were going to sleep all day.”

“Good morning mom” he responded “I guess I was just kind of tired.”

She walked over to his bed and pulled back the covers “It’s Saturday, do you want to try getting out today?” She said as she casually pulled his pajama bottoms to his knees.

“Sure” Tom answered “What is there to do?”

“We’ll talk about it during breakfast” She untaped his sodden diaper and dropped it in the pail. “You just keep on waking up wetter and wetter. I may need to get you some thicker diapers before you start leaking.”

Tom didn’t even have time to respond to that embarrassing suggestion before she pulled his top over his head.

“Now do you want to take a shower yourself or do you want some help.”

“Mom, I can do it myself.”

She looked slightly disappointed “But you we’re so nice and clean yesterday. You’re sure you don’t want a grown-up to do it ?”

“Believe me. I’m sure”

“OK. But if I don’t think you’re doing a good job I might change my mind. I left some new soap in the shower I want you to use.” she stood up and tussled his hair as she left “Just hurry up. I’ll have breakfast ready soon.”

Tom sighed and shuffled to the bathroom. He turned the shower knob and began one of the few personal tasks still left to him. He let the water run over him for a few moments before noticing what his mother was talking about. He picked up the plastic bottle and turned it over a few times. Inside were three chambers filled with clear, amber, and blue liquids each with a small button. They fed into another chamber which seemed to rotate, maybe for mixing Tom guessed. He experimented with it for a few moments without any satisfactory result. When he could get something out of the bottle it was either a small glob or a jet of watery liquid. He put it back down in disgust wondering why everything had be so hard. He picked up the tiny sliver of bar soap that was left, it was small but it would have to do.

Having heard him finish his shower his mother followed him to his room. “Just lie back and I’ll get you ready for the day” she said as she pulled a diaper from the bag on his dresser. Tom did as he was told and watched as his mother collected his clothes.

She got him into his diaper and playfully poked his chest “I can tell you didn’t use the right soap”

“I couldn’t figure it out. Is the normal stuff not good enough?”

She held out his pants “You’ll need to start using it to prevent diaper rash.”

Tom compliantly stepped into them “But that’s what the wipes and powder and stuff is for. Why do I need the soap too?”

“Because that’s just not enough” She pulled his shirt down over his head and took a moment to adjust it “I’ll give you some time to figure it out on your own, OK?”

Tom sighed “Alright, I’ll try”

“Good boy. Now let’s eat breakfast.”

In the kitchen she sat a stack of pancakes on his plate and got a small sippy cup from the refrigerator.

“Mom! I can drink from a normal cup.”

“This is what you drink at school. Your teacher says you like it, it comes from the store like this.”

Tom looked at the cup for a second and thought about the wonderful sweet tasting treat he enjoyed at preschool. But he shook his head. “No thanks, I’ll just have some orange juice.” He watched as she set it back, halfway wishing he could just bring himself to ask for it.

She gave him a glass of orange juice and sat down at her own plate. “Have you thought of anything you’d like to do today?”

“Not really”

“Well I have some shopping to do but I heard there’s a really nice amusement park here. Would you like to go that?”

Tom shrugged “Sure”

After they were finished Karen quickly cleared the table. She took a cloth and ran it under the sink briefly. “So store first and then park?” she said as she wiped a bit of syrup from Tom’s mouth.

Tom tried to recoil from the sudden intrusion but it was over before he could react. “Yeah I guess” Tom answered while he watched her pick up a large blue bag and hoist it to her shoulder. “Mom, is that a...” He stammered.

“It’s just so I can carry some of the things I need. It’s a big purse really.”

Tom looked at the powder blue thing in horror “But it’s got teddy bears and stuff on it. It’s all... babyish.”

“It looks just fine. The important thing is that I can change you while we’re out. Would you rather have to rush home every time you’re wet or just never go out?”

“No. But do you really need that?”

She nodded “I just want to take care of you the best I can. Just trust me. Remember what I said about you being my little guy?”

Tom looked down and blushed “Yeah I sort of remember that I guess.”

“Well I meant it. And that means I’m going to do the best for you even if you think it’s a little embarrassing at first.” She looked him in the eye “So are you going to trust me on this one or do you just want to stay home all day.”

Tom looked up at her. Deep down he knew she had his best interests at heart “It’s OK” he sighed “Let’s go.”

They climbed into the car and a short drive later they pulled into a supermarket parking lot. Tom was sure he knew what this was about. And sure enough he was led to the baby aisle and told to wait by the cart. His mother quickly found a fresh package of diapers, larger than the one he had already nearly depleted. Tom watched as she piled extra wipes and powder into the cart as well. Then she turned her attention back to the packages of diapers. She paused at a row of items that promised “Extra night-time protection.” She looked at her son “Stars and moons or animals again.”

“Huh?” Tom replied, not fully understanding the question.

“Nevermind honey, I think I’ll get these” she said tossing a package into the cart. Now Tom could see that this brand seemed to be decorated with the same baby animal motif as his current diaper, but this time they were portrayed sleeping on little cartoon clouds.

The clerk gave him a warm knowing smile as she rang up their purchase. “Somebody must be a heavy sleeper.” She said to his mother.

“He’s almost soaked through every night. I just hope these don’t leak.” She replied.

Tom looked at the ground. Even without his toddlerish school clothes she still immediately knew they were for him.

“Mine was the same way, but these always held up well” The clerk said.

“That’s good the hear” Karen said as she collected her bagged groceries. “Have a nice weekend.”

Back at the car Tom’s mother took the diaper bag from her shoulder and took a moment to stock it with new supplies. She quickly checked Tom’s diaper “You’re OK for now. Ready for the amusement park?”

Tom just nodded. He wasn’t sure what to make of this public outing but at least it would be something different.

They drove across town and walked up to the ticket booth. Karen paused to retrieve the stroller from the trunk. She turned to her son as she unfolded it “This is just in case you get tired or if we run into any crowds. I don’t want you getting lost again.” Tom just sighed and followed her to the ticket booth.

 “One adult and one child” Karen informed the attendant.

Two tickets were slid beneath the glass “We have special programs today for kids at the planetarium” the attendant said glancing between the diaper bag slung over Karen’s shoulder, the stroller, and the child standing quietly near his mother’s side. “I suppose you’ll be interested in the Little Astronauts Club. They’ll have a puppet show at noon. Just after the big kids have their lab.”

“We just might look into that” Karen said as she ushered her son towards the gate.

Once inside Tom’s eyes followed the twists of the roller-coaster before him to its intimidating summit. The ride had been visible from some distance, but here in its shadow it all seemed like far too much.

“I’m sorry Tommy. Looks like we’ll have to find some other rides.”

He looked over to his side, a large sign with a red line about two inches above his head announced “You must be at least this tall to rise our roller coasters.”

“Oh, that’s too bad” Tom said trying to sound disappointed as he looked back at the frightening mass of wood and steel before him. A group of elementary schoolers passed by on their way to the coaster, somehow taller and somehow unafraid. Not regretting the former for once he followed his mother as she pushed the stroller towards the other side of the park.

They passed under a large archway bearing the words “Tyke’s Land” and into a broad courtyard surrounded by festively colored rides. Tom surveyed them cautiously, he could guess which one his mother would suggest.

“Would you like to go on Floppy Bunny’s Forrest Romp” she offered, pointing towards a tree decorated building into which various animal shaped cars disappeared at regular intervals.

“Sure” Tom said.

They checked the stroller at a small booth and climbed aboard a smiling frog. The ride’s mechanism clicked below them and they were pulled into a long corridor dressed up fairly convincingly like a forest. The voice of Floppy Bunny echoed from somewhere above, inviting them to chase him to his den.

“Want to try and steer?” His mother asked

Tom took a non-committal hold of a steering wheel in front of him as the ride entered a much larger room.

Before them stood an image of Floppy Bunny. Tom peered at it quizzically, unable to figure out if it was a projection, a hologram, or some other strange technology. The room shuddered and began to spin as the rabbit began diving behind trees. Tom began to realize that the room was something like a bumper car ride. He found a pedal and begin to move the car forward. The rabbit leaped wildly about and Tom began steering more and more eagerly in its direction. He bounced off a tree and laughed never noticing his mother’s bemused grin as she watched him play.

Finally near the center of the room he caught up with his quarry. The mysterious animation disappeared  and the lights came up. “Congratulations friends!” a voice echoed “You did a really good job catching me. Let’s play again soon.”

A mechanism caught the car and began moving it to another passage and up a ramp. Tom beamed proudly at his mother. “That was fun.”

“I could see” she said mussing his hair “And you were pretty good at it too.”

Tom was too lost in his victory to even bother dodging her hand. The ride came to a halt in the same place they started. As they exited the ride he scanned the other offerings. “Mom, can we go do the maze.”

“Sure hon” she responded while the retrieved the stroller “Just wait up a bit.”

Tom waited impatiently until she walked up beside him. “Can we go now?”

“Not quite yet” his mother answered while casually giving his diaper a quick check “We’ll go after I get you changed.”

“Oh yeah” Tom said suddenly remembering his diaper.

Without a word she took his hand and headed for a small nearby building marked with the blue and white figure of a diapered baby. Inside scenes of small children enjoying the park alongside cheerful cartoon characters adorned he walls. Several toddlers were already being attended to by their mothers. Tom was helped up onto a table where he laid back and joined them. She lowered his pants and reached into her well organized diaper bag. In just a few moments Tom was back in a dry diaper and helped back down to his feet.

As they stepped out into the park Tom quickly forgot about that embarrassing interlude and focused again on the maze. He eagerly made his way to the entrance and waited impatiently for his mother to catch up. She arrived and he quickly decided to take the path in front of him. He hurried through a few turns before arriving at an intersection with a sign post indicating the four cardinal directions. A small sign attached was emblazoned with a cartoon penguin trudging merrily through the snow; “Follow Peter penguin to his snowy home” it suggested on bold blue lettering. Tom pondered for a moment. He recalled something from one of the videos at preschool about penguins only living in the South Pole. Excitedly he urged his mother down the southern route. As he continued along this path he encountered more progressively difficult riddles and with each he dashed enthusiastically ahead but took care to stay within her sight.

He reached the end of the maze and turned around to beam back at his mother as she pushed the stroller up to the last stretch.

“Good job” she said as she approached.

Tom looked down slightly once again realizing his childish enthusiasm. But he was genuinely proud of having figured out the last few bits without making any mistakes.

“Thanks” he said  with a hint of bashfulness “It kind of helped that we learned some of that in school.”

She smiled and mussed his hair “I’m glad you’re learning so much. She checked her watch “We should start getting home. Are you ready?”

Tom nodded and began to follow her towards the exit. Karen paused for a moment and looked back at her son. With no fun left to have Tom was beginning to feel tired from all his running around.  “Do you want to sit in your stroller honey?” she offered sweetly.

Tom shook his head “No thank you.”

“You mean I had to follow you around with this thing for nothing?” she teased.

Tom looked at his mother and smiled. He could see she just wanted to let him rest, and he did feel tired.  He sat down in the stroller and settled himself in. In a moment he was being pushed along the park’s twisting walkways. Sometime before they reached the parking lot he dozed off.

He came to as his mother was opening the passenger side door. She helped out of his stroller and fastened his seat belt for him as he watched her groggily. She paused for a moment examining his seat belt and seeming to contemplate something. “Just go ahead and go sleep sleep sweety” she said kissing his forehead.

“I guess I’m just getting used to naps” Tom responded settling deep his seat and closing his eyes. He heard his mother quickly putting his stroller and diaper bag into the trunk. With fresh memories of the day he’d spent with her drifting pleasantly through his head he drifted back to sleep.