As soon as Randy was dressed, his shorts stretched tightly over the diaper, his parents showed him the brochures Dr. Shermann had given them. After studying them, Randy picked fitted diapers that fastened with Velcro.

"You’ll need plastic pants too," Shane reminded him.

"But they look so babyish!" Randy protested, his face reddening.

Mr. Wolfe flicked through the papers again, then handed over one that Randy had missed. "Look at these."

In the end, Randy chose plain plastic pants in blue, white and beige, the same as his regular underwear. The printed ones were cute, but some were just too childish. A few were downright babyish, especially those decorated with cars, cartoons or diapered cartoon characters.

Armed with the brochures, the family drove to a large medical supply store which Dr. Shermann had recommended. It had a whole section designated to incontinence aids and protection. Here, a smiling salesman greeted them and asked how he could help. Randy explained about his small bladder and the trouble it was causing him, then handed over the paper on which he’d marked his choices.

The salesman skimmed over the list. "I think we can get you rigged up, sonny," he said, "come with me."

Randy glanced at his parents.

"Go on, dear," his mum encouraged him, "we’ll wait here while the man gets you fitted."

"Fitted?" Randy repeated.

"That’s right," the salesman answered, "We need to make sure you get the right size. It’s a lot like buying undies or any other clothes."

Randy nodded and followed the man to a room at the back of the Incontinence department. There, he removed his shorts and let the man measure his waist, thighs and through the crotch from his navel to the small of his back.

"What will these diapers look like?" Randy asked as the salesman finished entering his measurements in to the computer.

"There are a variety of different designs," the man replied, "what would you like?"

"Plain white," Randy answered at once. "I don’t want to look like a baby just because I need diapers!"

The salesman pulled a box from under the computer table and extracted a sample diaper. Taking it in his hands, Randy was startled by the thickness.

"Gosh!" he exclaimed, "My pants’ll never fit over this!"

"That’s only a daytime diaper," the man said, reaching in to the box again. "The night diapers are even thicker. Here."

"Whoa! Any thicker than this and I won’t be able to close my legs!"

There was a tap on the door, and the salesman stuck his head out to meet the concerned face of Mrs. Wolfe.

"How are things in here?" she asked.

"I was just showing Randy what the diapers are like," the man explained.

Randy, still in just his shirt and the disposable diaper, held out the cloth diaper he was still holding. His mum gaped as she fingered it.

"You’re right," she said. "We’ll have to get you some new pants."

Turning back to the salesman, she added, "How long will we have to wait for the order? And how much will the diapers cost?"

"I’ll give you the bill in a sec," the man answered. "As for the order, you’re in luck. We’ve just received a new shipment in his size. I’ll put a stalk together for you. By the way," he added, turning to Randy, "I don’t want to sound rude, but you look as though you could use a change."

Poor Randy turned scarlet as he realized the man was right. He’d wet himself without even noticing! It must have been the shock of it all.

"Could you help me, please, sir?" he asked.

"Sure," the clerk answered. "I can even show you how to diaper yourself. Come over here behind the curtain."

Randy climbed on to the big changing table behind the heavy curtain and let the man change him.

"I feel like such a baby!" he muttered as he hopped down.

"Don’t feel bad," the man assured him, "There are lots of people your age and older who need diapers. Some just wear them for fun."

"NO!" Randy cried, his eyes wide with amazement. "Who’d want to wear diapers for fun?! They’d just get laughed at!" After a pause, he added, "How do you know this?"

"I’ve seen some of them," was the patient reply.

The salesman then explain how Randy could diaper himself. The trick was to pin the back of the diaper between your bum and the wall, then pull the front through your legs and fasten it tight.

"How do you know all this?" Randy asked.

For an answer, the man made sure the curtain was closed, unbuckled his belt and dropped his walking shorts to reveal blue plastic pants. Randy stared, astonished.

"You wear them?"

"Yes. I’m 24 now, and I’ve worn them full-time since I was 17."

Why?" was Randy’s next question.

"I was hit by a car while cycling home from school," the man answered. "The jerk ran a red light and got me from behind. I flew off my bike and wound up hanging over a fence by my hips. The shock ruptured my bladder."

"OUCH!" Randy gasped, wincing at the idea of such an injury.

"Doctors say I’m really lucky," the man continued. "They were able to repair my bladder, but not the muscle that stops you from weeing. Besides, the bladder is now about half its original size. So, in a way, I’m just like you."

Suddenly, Randy no longer felt so self-conscious. Here was an adult who needed diapers and didn’t mind talking about them. What was more, he talked to Randy as though he were his own age, not as though he were just a little child.

The clerk pulled up his pants, then tossed Randy his own. "Let’s head out before your parents wonder what I’ve done with you," he chuckled. "And by the way, my name’s Barry Hiller."

They shook hands, then Barry led Randy to the stalk room and began piling cloth diapers in to boxes. Randy ended up with three dozen day diapers, and a dozen night ones, all thick and fluffy. Barry included a number of plastic pants, being careful to keep to Randy’s preferred colours. The larger ones, for the night diapers, only came in clear plastic, but Randy didn’t mind. Nobody would see them except him and his parents.

Shane and Grace were waiting when Randy and Barry emerged with the parcels. Shane paid for everything and was surprised to learn that there was a ten percent discount, since they were buying in bulk.

"Thank you, Mr. Hiller," Randy said as they prepared to leave. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem," Barry replied, "and please call me Barry."

Grace raised her eyebrows at this.

"Oh, it’s nothing," Said Barry, "many of my customers use my first name. It helps them feel more comfortable."

Their next stop was for new pants and shorts. In spite of himself, Randy began to feel embarrassed again. Even in the dressing room, he felt reluctant to remove his shorts, exposing his diaper.

"Dad?" he asked, "how can I hide the diapers? All these pants fit so tight."

Shane thought hard. Randy was right. Anything large enough to hide the bulge of the diaper was far too big in the waist and too long in the leg.

"What about overalls?" Shane suggested. "There’d be nothing around your waist to draw attention to the diapers."

"Yes," Grace added, "and we can buy you some sweats to wear around the house or for PE."

Even in the sweats, the diapers still showed.

"It looks as if we’ll have to get some pants tailored for you," Shane said at last.

"Won’t that be expensive?" Randy asked.

"What about that website we saw in the brochure?" Grace reminded her husband.

Shane snapped his fingers. "I’d forgotten about that!" he exclaimed. "We’ll have a look when we get home."

As soon as they got home, Shane booted up the computer while Grace went to start the first load of the new diapers. (Barry had recommended they wash them once before using them.) Randy changed in to the last clean disposable diaper and joined his father at the computer. Shane logged on to the site. There was a wide assortment of clothes with pants specially designed to fit over diapers.

"They look so babyish," Randy said disappointedly.

Shane clicked on to another link. Here, there were clothes that looked identical to regular ones except for the roomier seats in the pants. The choices ranged from sports clothes to smart dress suits. There was even a tuxedo.

As Randy browsed, Grace came up from the laundry room. "I like those," she remarked. "They don’t look babyish at all."

"How can we get these, Dad?" Randy asked.

"There’s an order form here," Shane answered. "Pick the stuff you’d like, and I’ll fill it out."

In the end, aided by his parents, Randy chose several pairs of jeans, some fashionable walking shorts, a handsome dress suit, and some corduroys for the winter. He also picked a pair of rain pants and three pairs of shorts for PE. Shane filled out the form and sent it off.