The Third Wish

Chapter 6
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"Leave me alone!" Tom seethed as he retreated into the bathroom.

Evelyn followed him into the room before closing the door behind her, "it was just a joke, lighten up," she said.

"Well I didn't find it funny," he retorted.

"Keep your voice down or Camila will hear you," she whispered.

"I don't care if she finds out about your stupid lamp," he fumed, "and I hope mom finds your damn money," he added.

Evelyn paused for a moment and glanced over her shoulder to check that she had in fact closed the bathroom door, then took a step towards Tom.

"If she does, then you'd better get used to wearing diapers," she warned in a hushed tone.

He opened his mouth and almost swore at her, then managed to compose himself. Although he was well within his rights to be angry at her, he understood that it wouldn't actually accomplish anything and might even make the situation worse.

"Even if mom doesn't find your money, what do you think you're gonna do with it?" Tom asked.

"If mom finds it she'll make me save it for college tuition, I don't even wanna go to college" she replied.

He thought it more likely that their mom would involve the police, but decided not to mention it.

"I wanna buy a house in Beverly Hills, or maybe one of those really big flats in New York," she continued.

He was somewhat amused by the suggestion that the cost of college tuition could be compared to the price of a mansion in Beverly Hills, she wasn't right, but in a way she wasn't entirely wrong either. He mused that by the time that Evelyn turned eighteen the cost of going to college might not be far off the price of a stylish flat in New York.

"Wait here, I'll bring you another diaper," she said, then she opened the door and disappeared into the hallway.

Tom briefly contemplated locking the door behind her, he thought that if he was sealed in the bathroom then he might be able to negotiate with her. But he dismissed the idea when he imagined Evelyn using her third wish to unlock the door, or perhaps do something worse.

She returned to the bathroom carrying another pull-up diaper, then she tossed it on the floor and placed her hands on her hips.

"Go on," she whispered.

He sighed, then pulled his pajama bottoms down to his ankles and stepped out of the leg holes. The diaper sagged between his thighs and when he pulled it down towards his ankles it plopped onto the floor. Moving quickly, he picked up the fresh diaper, stepped into the leg holes and pulled it up to his waist.

Evelyn stared at at the discarded diaper and wrinkled her nose, "put that in the trash," she instructed.

"Me? I thought you were the babysitter," he countered, as he reached down to pull up his pajama bottoms.

"Ugh I don't wanna touch your pee," she replied.

"Then why did you make me piss myself?" Tom huffed.

Evelyn stared at the discarded diaper for a few moments, then stooped down and moved her hand slowly towards it, as though she thought that it might be poisonous. She picked the diaper up, gripping it between her thumb and her index finger, then held it at arms length.

"Come on, follow me," she said, gesturing towards the door.

He followed her into the kitchen and watched her throw the used diaper into the trash, then she led him back into the living room.

Camila was sat on the couch and Levi was stood next to her, showing her one of his toys, then she looked up at Evelyn and asked "is Tom okay?".

"He's fine, he just gets a bit grouchy when his diaper needs changing," Evelyn replied.

"He get's more talkative as well, it sounded like he was arguing with you," Camila observed.

"Yeah...he uh...puts up a real fight when I try to change him," she chuckled nervously.

Camila smiled at Tom then pointed to the toy that Levi was holding, "Tom, come over here and see what Levi's got," she said.

Evelyn placed her hand on Tom's back and gently nudged him in Camila's direction. He traipsed towards her, not wanting to seem overly enthusiastic. Levi was holding a toy racecar, which he held out for Tom to look at, who pretended to be interested.

"It's the same color as mommy's car," observed Levi.

"Wow, your mommy has a red car?" Camila asked with feigned surprise.

Levi smiled and nodded.

Then Camila turned to Tom and asked "what color is your mommy's car?".

Before he could answer her, Levi frowned and interjected "it's the same car".

This amused Tom, if anyone was going to expose Evelyn as a liar it was Levi. Camila remained silent, she looked puzzled.

"Hey Levi, do you want to play in the garden?" Evelyn asked, "the weather looks nice," she added hopefully.

"Can Tom play as well?" he queried.

"Why don't we all go outside," Camila suggested.

When Tom stepped outside the wind ruffled his hair, it was sunny but there was a moderate breeze. He didn't particularly like the idea of going outside but he didn't hate it either. He hoped that their neighbor, Mrs Miller, might see the four of them playing unsupervised, in which case she might decide to investigate.

Levi ran towards the trampoline and was about to climb on it, then changed his mind and made a beeline for the red plastic slide. He clambered to the top of it and then slid down to the bottom whilst screaming "yee-haw", then rose to his feet.

"Tom, come play," he hollered.

It had been a long time since Tom had been on a slide, he thought that if Mrs Miller saw him playing then she might wonder who he was, so he obliged to the request.

He was making his way towards the slide when Camila called out "Tom, wait". He turned around in time to see Camila following behind him, when she caught up with him she said, "be careful climbing that slide sweetie".

Tom blushed and felt the the urge to admonish her, he imagined himself saying "I know how to use a damn slide, I was climbing trees before you were even born", but he remained silent.

As he ascended the steps on the back of the slide Camila stood behind him and then gently placed one hand on his back. He felt guilty for being angry with her, she wasn't deliberately trying to embarrass him, she genuinely believed that he was a toddler and she was trying to protect him. He liked that about her and thought that she would make a good babysitter.

When he reached the top of the slide he sat down and peered over the side, it seemed a long way down to the floor and he hesitated for a few moments. Then he took a deep breath and slid down to the ground.

"Well done, did you like that?" Camila queried.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling sheepishly.

Levi was now bouncing on the trampoline and yelling something incomprehensible about Optimus Prime.

Camila tousled Tom's hair and asked "do you want to go on the trampoline?"

He thought about it for a moment and realized that he did want to go on the trampoline, although perhaps not at the same time as Levi. Then a troubling thought occurred to him, although he had felt embarrassed, he really had enjoyed going down the slide. Now he really did want to bounce on the trampoline, even though he knew that he would feel ashamed if he did so.

He wondered whether Evelyn had already made her third wish and whether he would soon come to believe that he really was an infant. But adults did go trampolining and he was pretty sure it was an Olympic sport, adults did sometimes use slides, particularly when they visited waterparks. So he decided that there was nothing unusual about wanting to have fun, bouncing on a child's trampoline wouldn't turn him into a child.

He wandered towards the trampoline and Camila followed behind him.

"Levi, can Tom have a go on the trampoline?" Camila asked.

"Tom, get on," he urged, as he continued to bounce.

"He's only little, it might be safer if you get off first Levi," she suggested.

Levi threw himself onto his back and giggled, then clambered back to his feet and hopped down onto the floor.

When Tom climbed on to the trampoline Camila stood close to him, making sure that he didn't fall. The trampoline was more springy than he had imagined and he had difficulty keeping his balance just walking across its surface. He bounced, then bounced again before losing his balance and falling on his bottom. Levi and Tom laughed in unison.

"Oopsy daisy," Camila chuckled.

Tom clambered to his feet and caught a glimpse of Evelyn, who was stood on the opposite side of the garden. At first he was puzzled by her demeanor, he had expected her to delight in watching him behave like a clumsy toddler. Instead she was scowling at him.

Then it occurred to him that she might be jealous of the attention that Camila was giving him. Or perhaps it was that Evelyn enjoyed tormenting him and now that he appeared to be actually having fun he was spoiling her game. But it was becoming increasingly clear to him that Evelyn would not enjoy having a two year old brother and that thought gave him hope that she would turn him back into an adult.

He wondered whether his strategy had been flawed from the beginning. He had attempted open defiance and he had also tried reluctant cooperation. He had not tried enthusiastic participation, would reverse psychology work on a twelve year old?

Tom continued jumping on the trampoline and this time he managed to get a few more bounces in before falling over. When he rose to his feet and started bouncing again Camila shouted encouragement "Yay, go on Tom, you're getting better,".

He continued to bounce and then squealed "look at me, watch me,". When he saw Evelyn approach the trampoline, he grinned and tried to bounce even higher.

"Hey Camila, watch this", Evelyn said, then hopped onto the side of the trampoline.

Tom looked up at Evelyn and slowed the pace of his bouncing, then she leapt onto the trampoline, landing in front of him. He recoiled instinctively, but the sheer weight of her propelled him into the air and he fell backwards, fortunately he landed on the trampoline. Then he sat upright and saw Evelyn giggling.

"That was a bit mean," Camila remarked.

Evelyn stopped laughing, "it was just a joke," she said defensively, before hopping off of the trampoline.

Camila smiled at Tom and asked "are you okay?".

He felt fine, but seeing an opportunity to drive a wedge between Evelyn and Camila, he did his best impression of being upset. He contorted his face, whimpered slightly and said "I don't like the tramo-ween,".

"Awh it's okay sweetie, she won't do that again," she reassured him, then she turned to Evelyn and said "will she?".

"There's nothing wrong with him, he's faking it," Evelyn protested.

"He's two," Camila replied, with a look of disappointment.

Tom rubbed his nose and sniffled, then said "Camila, I'm thirsty,".

"Then how about we go find something to drink," she suggested, before helping him to climb down from the trampoline.

When Tom's feet touched the floor he reached upwards with his right hand and grabbed onto her left hand, she reciprocated and closed her hand around his. As Camila led him back into the house he felt a pang of shame that he was holding hands with her like he was a little boy, but he sensed that his elaborate performance was having its intended affect.

Evelyn followed behind them and said "he's my bro....my cousin, not yours,".