The boys went inside to watch their movie. They plopped down on their stomachs side be side in front of the TV, their plastic pants lightly brushing together. Every time something funny of exciting happened they nudged each other at the hip, causing them to move closer together until their plastic pants were in full contact. Rather than feeling that their space had been invaded, they felt comfortable and content.

Mrs. Calewell unwittingly broke this mood by insisting that it was time for her to check their diapers. Trevor was genuinely put out, while Terry was tremendously embarrassed, when Mrs. Calewell ran her fingers inside the leg openings of their plastic pants to check how wet they were.

“All right, both of you… upstairs.”

“Aw, mom, we’re not that wet,” Trevor protested.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she countered. “Now, march!”

The boys paused the movie and reluctantly headed upstairs. This time, they selected matching pastel diapers in a checkerboard pattern—the most babyish of the lot—and some more silvery plastic pants. (Actually. Terry didn’t see any other option.) Mrs. Calewell smiled at their decision to dress like twins.

“OK, who’s first?”

Mrs. Calewell was concerned about the condition of the boys’ skin so she applied diaper-rash cream to each of them. They headed back downstairs to finish their interrupted movie. They turned the corner to enter the den and practically ran into a young man and woman.

“Marsha!” Trevor screeched. And then, remembering that he was dressed in only a diaper and plastic pants, he tried to cover them with his hands. “You promised! Why are you doing this?”

Terry was stunned and for a moment didn’t know what to do. He had no idea who these people were but he felt himself color under the young man’s gaze. Trevor ran back up to his room with Terry close behind. Trevor slammed the door and, with tears running down his cheeks, repeated over and over again, “She promised!”

Terry was really in a panic now. His breathing was labored and his heart was pumping fast. He jumped when a knock sounded at the door.

“Trevor, let me in. please. I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose… please, let me explain.”

“Go away!” Trevor screamed through his tears. “Leave us alone!”

“Please!” the voice pleaded.

“No!” Trevor screamed in reply.

Terry didn’t know what was going on but he was on the verge of crying, too. The realization that strangers had seen him in his baby diaper was beginning to hit home. He suddenly couldn’t hold back and began sobbing deep, heart-wrenching moans. He felt utterly humiliated. He was so absorbed in his misery that he was surprised to suddenly realize that Trevor’s mom was holding him in her arms, stroking his hair and consoling him. He gradually became aware that Trevor was also sitting by his side trying to calm him down.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have panicked like that. That was my oldest sister, Marsha, and her boyfriend,” Trevor explained.

His eyes were still red from crying but he was almost completely back under control.

“Your sister?”

“Yeah, she promised that she was going to be gone all day with Tom—he’s her boyfriend. Tom doesn’t know about my diapers or, I guess I have to say, he didn’t used to know about them. That’s why I got scared.”

“Oh,” Terry answered.

“Yes, that’s right,” Mrs. Calewell confirmed. “Let me explain to both of you what’s happened. This afternoon, Tom asked Marsha to marry him and she accepted. They came here to tell us the news. Originally, Marsha asked Tom to wait out on the patio but, when she heard our voices upstairs, she told him to come inside and to wait in the den. Before she could settle him there and come up to warn you, you guys came bounding down the stairs and ran into them. They’re both very sorry about what happened. Won’t you please allow them to apologize?” she asked in a motherly tone.

“Well, I guess so,” Trevor agreed.

“Good. Wash your faces and then we’ll go downstairs.”

The cool water helped Terry finish calming himself. When Mrs. Calewell began absently straightening Trevor’s diaper and plastic pants, he understood that they would be going downstairs exactly as they were dressed. He shot a look of appeal toward Trevor who shrugged his shoulders.

“My sister’s seen me like this a zillion times,” he explained. “If she’s really going to marry Tom, I guess he’ll see my diapers a lot, too.”

That sounded very logical as far as Trevor’s circumstances were concerned but Terry wondered what that had to do with him. He wasn’t part of this family and he didn’t want Tom and Marsha to see his diapers again.

“Please,” Trevor suddenly said, “I don’t want to go downstairs alone. Please come with me,”

Terry could hardly refuse. He would feel like a traitor to Trevor who seemed to be feeling just as scared as he was about the whole thing. He felt warm all over when Trevor gave his shoulder a squeeze just before they walked into the den.

“Thanks,” Trevor whispered.

“It’s okay,” Terry answered.

The apology went very well. It turned out that it was Tom who had the most trouble getting over his embarrassment. He kept apologizing over and over and promising the boys that he would keep their secret.

“Tom, I think my brother and his friend get it,” Marsha eventually said.

“Yeah, we believe you, don’t we?” Trevor asked and Terry agreed.

“Good, I’m glad that’s settled,” Mrs. Calewell said.

Marsha and Tom then announced their plans. They would wait a year after they graduated from college to get married. (This meant they planned on marrying in about 14 to 16 months.) Trevor seemed to be really happy for his sister and Terry began feeling good for them, too.

“Tom, do your parents know yet?” Mrs. Calewell asked.

“They know that I planned on asking Marsha today. They don’t know her answer yet,” he smiled.

“Why don’t you call them? I think this calls for a celebration. Sammie and my husband will be home soon so we’ll all be together.”

A questioning look on Terry’s face made Trevor explain that Sammie was his other sister, who was sixteen and a sophomore in high school. Seeing that Trevor wasn’t making a move to get dressed, Terry resigned himself to another introduction dressed in just a diaper and plastic pants.

*****

While the evening didn’t turn out anything like they had expected, Terry and Trevor had a lot of fun. Since his shirt and pants were still in the washer (and, in any case, not suitable for the restaurant they went to), Terry borrowed some things from Trevor. It made Terry feel that he and Trevor had become almost like brothers. He also learned a lot about the Calewells. They seemed very close and teased each other constantly (but never, never made any references whatsoever to Trevor’s diaper wearing). He figured out early on that this was one of the ways they showed love to each other. They also seemed truly happy for Marsha and Tom. He felt kind of envious, as if he had been missing out on something all his life. For the first time ever, he seriously wondered what it would be like to have a brother or a sister.

Tom’s parents went directly home from the restaurant and Marsha and Tom went off together to continue their evening alone.

“Well,” Mrs. Calewell sighed with satisfaction, “this has been an event-filled day.”

She was referring to more than Marsha and Tom’s news; she was also thinking about Trevor’s new friendship with Terry and how it was changing each of them. (She still couldn’t believe how they had chased each other around the yard in their diapers!)

“OK, time for you boys to change for the night,” she said snapping her thoughts back to the moment.

“But we want to stay up tonight!” Trevor complained.

“OK, OK,” she answered impatiently, “I didn’t say go to bed I said change for bed. You can still stay up late.”

“Do you want me to help you?” Sammie asked.

“Sure,” Trevor answered immediately.

Terry literally peed his diaper in surprise. Did Trevor answer for both of them or would Mr. or Mrs. Calewell still take care of him?

“Thank you, honey,” Mrs. Calewell added, “I am a little tired.”

Terry was in a daze as he walked up to Trevor’s room.

“You sister is going to change my diaper!?” he said in alarm.

“Oh, sorry,” Trevor responded. “She and Marsha do it all the time… I didn’t think. Do you want me to ask my mom to come up to change you?”

Before Terry could answer Sammie entered the room.

“I’ll get the changing pad, the diaper rash cream, and baby powder while you guys get your diapers, plastic pants, and sleepers ready.”

The boys stood staring at each other.

“Something wrong?” Sammie asked.

“I forgot my sleeper,” Terry answered with a knowing smile in Trevor’s direction.

“I can lend you another one of mine,” Trevor said poking him in the ribs.

He took a yellow sleeper out of his dresser and laid it on the bed. The boys went to retrieve the diapers and plastic pants. Trevor selected matching Spiderman plastic pants while Terry carried the big nighttime diapers. The last thing Trevor did was to grab another yellow sleeper that was hooked onto the back of the closet door. Terry was extremely happy that, once again, they would be dressed exactly alike.

“Guests first,” Trevor said.

Terry nervously got onto the changing pad.

“I don’t think Terry ever had a girl change his diaper,” Trevor explained.

“His mom must have changed him… and she’s a girl,” Sammie teased.

“You know what I mean!” Trevor answered.

Terry wished that Sammie would get on with it. Now that he was ready, he wanted things to move fast.

“OK, then,” she said turning her attention to Terry, “I’ll try to do as good a job as your mom.”

“Actually,” Terry answered, “your mom does a better job.”

Sammie thought that that was funny and laughed.

“That’s probably because she’s had lots and lots and lots and lots of practice with… you-know-who.”

“OK, OK, we get the picture,” Trevor half-seriously complained.

“Well, anyway,” she continued, “the way I figure it, my mom and dad have changed him at least 5,000 times, so I guess they should be considered experts.”

“Enough,” Trevor complained again.

“Well, it’s true isn’t it?” she said defensively.

Trevor stuck his tongue out at her and she reciprocated. Terry wondered if they were mad at each other but a few seconds later they laughed.

“You should feel honored,” Sammie said as she picked up the plastic pants. “These are Trevor’s favorites.”

“Sammie!” Trevor said blushing furiously.

“Well, they are, aren’t they? … Boys can be so dumb sometimes. What’s so hard about telling someone else that you like them?”

Trevor began blushing even more furiously. Terry came to his rescue.

“Thanks,” he said. “I like them, too.”

“You’re welcome,” Trevor responded without looking up from the floor.

*****

The boys went downstairs to finish watching their movie. Terry was concerned that he had caused problems between Trevor and his sister.

“I’m sorry I caused you and Sammie to fight.”

“Fight? That wasn’t a fight. We always talk like that to each other. Promise not to tell her, but I kind of like her. I think she’s a pretty cool big sister.”

For the second night in a row, Terry fell asleep in front of the TV… and so did Trevor.

Terry woke up first the next morning. He and Trevor were in Trevor’s big bed. He wondered if he had walked up on his own power or if he had been carried. He was a little embarrassed to think that Mr. Calewell may have carried him upstairs. He was even more embarrassed to think that Trevor may have seen him being carried like a baby.

Trevor rolled over and faced him but he didn’t wake up. The night had been warm and they had kicked the covers off. Terry smiled to himself at the sight that Trevor presented. The bright red and blue of the Spiderman plastic pants shone through the thin yellow material of the sleeper. Additionally, the thick diapers gave his bottom a rounded toddler-like look. Terry knew that he himself must look just the same and this caused his smile to broaden.

“Hi,” Trevor said, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “What are you laughing at?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Come on, if we’re going to be friends, we have to tell each other stuff,” Trevor persisted.

“I was just thinking that we look pretty funny with our big diapers and Spiderman plastic pants.”

“Yeah,” Trevor giggled. “But I think it’s pretty cool, anyway.”

“Me, too,” Terry agreed.

It was only seven-fifteen and nobody else was up. Terry and Trevor went down to the kitchen. They toasted some toaster tarts and went into the den.

“Do you want to finish the movie or watch cartoons?” Trevor asked.

“Cartoons,” Terry answered without hesitation.

“Cool,” Trevor answered.

Terry was beginning to notice that cool was one of Trevor’s favorite words.

He also learned things about himself during the sleepover. He discovered that he had never had a friend like Trevor before; that is, someone he could say anything to. By comparison, he now realized that he only talked about shallow things with Andy and Jarrod—happenings at school, TV shows, sports results, and the like. In the short time he had known Trevor, they had already talked about their biggest fears and shared some of their secret joys. To be fair, though, Trevor and he shared a personal problem that was still a secret to Andy and Jarrod. If he told them, would it make them closer friends or would they completely reject him? He and Trevor talked a little bit about that but they couldn’t figure out which reaction was more likely..

*****

In the last month before the school year ended, Terry had no problem balancing his time between Andy and Jarrod and his new friend, Trevor. Andy and Jarrod were very involved in the spring play and had little time for Terry on weekdays. This suited him well. He could spend more time with Trevor and it created an acceptable reason why he and Trevor had become close. Now that school was over, he hoped that the four of them could become friendly together.

The second day after school let out, Jarrod arrived all excited at Terry’s house. Luckily, Terry was just leaving for Trevor’s so he had his pants on.

“I’ve got something to show you,” he said with a big smirk. “Your mom isn’t around is she?” he asked in a whisper.

“Yeah, she’s out on the patio, reading the paper,” he answered.

“Then, let’s go up to your room,” he said bounding up the stairs.

Terry’s heart skipped a beat.

“No, wait,” Terry answered. “We can’t. It’s a mess.”

“Who cares? You’re going to love what I’m going to show you.”

“No, let’s go to your house.”

Jarrod ignored him and continued on his way upstairs. Terry ran after him but he was too late. Jarrod stood in the doorway of Terry’s room, a confused look on his face.

“What’s this stuff?” he asked.

The ‘stuff’ he was referring to was the diapers and plastic pants that he had returned to his room and left on the bed. All of his diaper supplies had arrived within two weeks of his mother placing the orders. Since then, he hadn’t exactly become casual or careless about leaving them in plain sight; rather, this morning, he was planning on putting them away after he got back from Trevor’s. Terry’s eyes were intently fixed on the bed but he could sense that Jarrod was staring at him. He was tongue-tied and he began to feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“They’re… They…” Terry stammered.

“Why do you have baby diapers in your room?” Jarrod insisted.

“Because… they…” Terry stammered again.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears; he was feeling lightheaded; his legs felt wobbly; and, his hands were shaking.

“Are they yours?” Jarrod asked. Then, suddenly, he seemed to get very angry. “You wear baby diapers, don’t you?”

Terry felt like he was in the middle of a nightmare. He couldn’t move or talk. Jarrod grabbed him by the wrists and pushed him onto the bed.

“Is baby wearing diapers now?” Jarrod asked mockingly.

He roughly pulled Terry’s shirt out of his pants. The diaper and plastic pants came into view. This seemed to enrage Jarrod even more. Terry was frozen with fear. All his strength left him and he was too paralyzed to fight back. Jarrod started undoing Terry’s belt.

“No! Please, no!” Terry pleaded through tear-filled eyes.

“Listen to the baby cry,” he ridiculed.

He pulled Terry’s pants below his knees and backed away.

“You’re disgusting,” he spat, “…nothing but a disgusting diaper-wearing baby!”

Terry had imagined all kinds of negative reactions if Andy and Jarrod discovered that he wore diapers, but nothing as horrible as this. He completely lost it and began to cry uncontrollably. His mom heard the commotion and she decided to scold the boys for their bad behavior.

“Don’t ever talk to me or look at me again!” Jarrod shouted as he left the room.

He ran for the stairs and started stomping down them. He couldn’t wait to get away from here. He was one-quarter of the way down when Mrs. Aldersen startled him by asking what was going on. He missed the next step and tumbled the rest of the way. The sickening sound of breaking bone stunned both of them.

“Oh my God!” Mrs. Aldersen exclaimed.

Jarrod was lying in a twisted position at the foot of the stairs. His right foot pointed in a most unnatural direction.

“Don’t move,” Mrs. Aldersen instructed him.

She ran to the phone and dialed 911. She described the situation and she was given instructions on what to do until the emergency services arrived.

Terry was still upstairs crying. He was only vaguely aware that something had happened. His mom called him twice before her voice penetrated his consciousness.

“Terry, come down here. I need you,”

“In a minute,” he answered.

He didn’t want his mom to see how much he had been crying. What’s she want, anyway? he thought.

“Not later, now,” she answered testily. “Jarrod’s had an accident.

Good, he thought.

“Terry, get down here now!” she said in a no-sense sort of way.

He wiped his eyes with his shirt and buckled his belt. He was still sniffling as he descended the stairs. He was shocked to see Jarrod lying all twisted up. Despite her concern for Jarrod, she noticed that Terry was very upset. She knew that they had been fighting. I’ll get to the bottom of this later, she thought, but first things first.

Jarrod was in extreme pain. Mrs. Aldersen’s efforts to stop him from moving were mostly successful. Terry was still angry enough to feel smug about Jarrod’s plight and he moved quite slowly getting the blanket and pillow that his mom had requested.

“I don’t know what you two have been fighting about but that’s no reason to be acting this way,” Mrs. Aldersen scolded Terry.

This really stung him. It was Jarrod who had been mean—he was the one his mom should be angry at. She left the two of them alone so that she could call Jarrod’s mother.

The ambulance and Jarrod’s mother arrived almost exactly at the same time. The first thing the EMTs did was to take his vital signs. One of them opened Jarrod’s shirt and was surprised to see two magazines stuck into his waistband. He removed them and handed them to Mrs. Aldersen. She looked at the first one and was startled to see that it was a rather raunchy girlie magazine; so was the second. This was mystifying. Is this what they had argued over? She jumped when Jarrod screamed in agony as he was strapped onto a backboard and then lifted onto the gurney. Despite his upset over what Jarrod had just done to him, Terry felt very sorry for him.

Once the ambulance carrying Jarrod and Jarrod’s mom had left, Mrs. Aldersen confronted Terry with the magazines. The genuine look of surprise on his face convinced her that he didn’t know anything about them.

“If not this, then what were you fighting about?” she demanded.

She was stunned when Terry immediately became hysterical. Tears streamed down his face and he was totally incoherent. She was even more surprised when he threw himself into her arms and clung tightly to her. It took a full five minutes to calm him down.

“Here, honey. Wipe your eyes and blow your nose,” she said handing him some tissues. “Do you feel better now?”

He apparently wasn’t sure of himself because he only nodded his head.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

He chocked out a yes and recounted what happened after Jarrod saw his diapers and plastic pants on the bed. He had to stop three times to collect himself before finally getting to the end of his story. Mrs. Aldersen was appalled. She couldn’t imagine why Jarrod had acted like that. She wasn’t sure what to do, but now was not the time to get to the bottom of it.

“Are you still going over to Trevor’s?” she asked.

“I don’t feel like it,” he answered.

“Well, then, you’d better call him to let him know.”

Trevor heard the upset in Terry’s voice right away.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

“Not really,” Terry answered.

“Then, can I come over to your house instead?”

*****

Tears filled Trevor’s eyes as Terry told the story one more time.

“What a f—ing creep!” Trevor barked. “What a lowdown f—ing creep!”

Terry giggled at Trevor’s crude language, which he took as a sign of Trevor’s absolute support.

“What are you going to do?” Trevor wondered.

“I don’t know. But, he’s already been paid back, sort of…”

“Good,” Trevor said after Terry told him about Jarrod’s broken leg.

“Yeah, I guess so. But it was so scary when they took him away. He was really screaming.”

Trevor remembered his bus accident and how afraid he had been.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. We shouldn’t gloat. Having an accident is really scary.”

They spent the rest of the morning quietly, avoiding the subject of Jarrod. However, neither of them could get it out of his mind, especially in relation to the central question: what exactly would Jarrod do with his new knowledge?

Mrs. Aldersen received a phone call in mid-afternoon from Jarrod’s mom. He had just gotten out of surgery for his right leg. He had broken both the tibia and the fibula; luckily, each was a ‘clean’ break. Unfortunately, his left knee was very swollen and the doctors weren’t sure what treatment, if any, he would need.

“Thank you for calling,” Mrs. Aldersen said. “I’ll pass the news on to Terry.”

“Yes,” Jarrod’s mom said hesitantly, “I guess that would be good to do.”

Mrs. Aldersen wondered how much Jarrod’s mom knew about what went on before Jarrod fell down the stairs.

“Did Jarrod express a wish that Terry not be told?” she asked.

“No, no,” Jarrod’s mom said, “he’s still in the recovery room—not totally conscious yet. It’s just that Jarrod said something very strange on the way to the hospital… He said that God had punished him for what he did to Terry. I’ve been worried ever since. What did Jarrod do to Terry?”

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Aldersen answered. “I was hoping to avoid this conversation until tomorrow. You must be exhausted… perhaps this can wait until a better time.”

“No, I’d rather know now. Jarrod will be in the recovery room for at least another hour. May I come over and talk to you?”

Jarrod’s mom arrived a few minutes later. Mrs. Aldersen had made a fresh pot of coffee and some sandwiches.

“I thought that perhaps you hadn’t had a chance to eat yet,” she said by way of explanation.

“How nice. Thank you. On the drive over I realized that I had a slight headache, probably due to not having eaten all day.”

“Can I get you some aspirin or ibuprofen?” Mrs. Aldersen enquired solicitously.

“No, no. I’m sure this wonderful sandwich will do the trick, thank you.”

The social niceties having been dispensed with, Jarrod’s mom asked to be informed about what was troubling her son. Mrs. Aldersen tried to speak as objectively as possible so that Jarrod’s mom wouldn’t get defensive. She started by laying out Terry’s recent health problems and the solution that had been implemented, before going into that morning’s events. Jarrod’s mom listened attentively and sighed at the end of the narration. A long silence followed as both mothers contemplated the situation.

“I’m so sorry,” Jarrod’s mom apologized. “Terry must have been crushed. Is he alright?”

“Yes, I think so.” she answered. “He has another friend, Trevor by name— maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s in the same class as our boys… Anyway, Trevor knows about Terry’s diapers and he came by this morning and spent time with him. When he left shortly before lunch, Terry seemed much better.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

There was another period of silence during which Jarrod’s mom seemed to be trying to make up her mind about something. She finally spoke.

“I think I know why Jarrod reacted so… so unkindly. When he was in first grade we had some problems with him. He suddenly began wetting his bed again… three or four times a week. My husband and I concluded that he was doing it on purpose, as a way of not having to go to school. In order to break him of this, we threatened to put him into overnight diapers for two full weeks each time he wet his bed more than once in four days. So, we took a calendar and hung it in his room. Every night that he wet, we wrote the word BABY in big letters on that date. It took us several months, and many nights of crying as we forced him into diapers, before he finally kept his bed dry every night. I don’t know what we could have been thinking. It sounds so cruel now that I say it out loud.”

“I’m sure you were doing your best,” Mrs. Aldersen said charitably.

“Perhaps, but it’s clear to me that seeing those diapers in Terry’s room revived all those awful memories. I’m sure that he regrets what he did and that he probably doesn’t even know why he reacted as he did.”

“May I let Terry know about this? As a way of explaining what happened, I mean.”

“Certainly, and be sure to blame me… and his father… for all of this. Please apologize to him for us.”

“Aren’t you being too hard on yourselves?” Mrs. Aldersen asked with concern.

“We deserve it, believe me!” Jarrod’s mom answered. “And, we are certainly not out of the woods as far as our son is concerned.”

“I’m sorry to hear that his condition is so serious.”

“That’s not what I meant” Jarrod’s mom said. “When the surgeon informed me of Jarrod’s condition after the surgery, he stressed that Jarrod could be off his feet for four to six weeks… three, for sure. It’s actually his left knee, to be exact, that is the source of concern. They didn’t do anything to it because it is too swollen for them to know what sort of damage may have been done. They are giving him anti-inflammatory drugs to bring the swelling down but it will take time. And, even after the swelling goes down, it will probably take an additional week or two to decide what to do. Therefore, he suggested that I speak to the pediatric nurses about how to change diapers on an immobilized boy. He’s going to have an awfully hard time accepting that… especially considering what we taught him about boys who use diapers!”

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Aldersen sympathized. “Terry went through a big depression before he finally accepted wearing diapers. Perhaps he could speak to Jarrod, to make him feel better about it.”

“You’re being very kind,” Jarrod’s mom answered, “but I doubt that Terry will even want to speak to Jarrod after what Jarrod did to him, never mind try to help him out. Thanks for the offer, though.”

“I’m not so sure that Terry wouldn’t do it,” Mrs. Aldersen countered. “He was certainly very upset by Jarrod’s behavior but I also saw a lot of sympathy in his eyes as Jarrod was being carried out. I think he still values Jarrod’s friendship and that he would be open to reconciliation. Let me speak to him about everything you’ve told me and I’ll let you know.”

Jarrod’s mom left for the hospital ready (but not anxious) to tell Terry about his temporary need for diapers. Mrs. Aldersen promised to speak to Terry and to call Jarrod’s mom as soon as she had some news. They traded cell phone numbers to speed up the process.

Mrs. Aldersen decided that she, too, should speak to her son immediately. She went up to his room and found him at his computer. She could barely suppress a smile as she gazed at his adorable cartoon character diaper. Terry listened patiently, as his mom had asked, until she was finished.

“Will Jarrod walk again?” he asked with concern.

“I think so, honey. He may need a lot time to recuperate, though… and a lot of painful physical therapy.”

Terry thought of Jarrod’s agonizing screams as he was put onto the gurney. Terry wasn’t sure what to say. He still felt very hurt by the treatment that Jarrod gave him even though he sort of understood what could have caused him to act like that.

“Can I talk to Trevor before I make up my mind?” he asked.

The call didn’t take very long. Fifteen minutes later, he found his mom in the kitchen.

“Trevor and me think that we should talk to Jarrod together.”

“Really? Is Trevor going to tell Jarrod about his diapers?”

“I told him not to, but he says that he wants to.”

“Do his parents know this?”

“He says he’s going to tell them. He says that his parents have been wanting him to trust other kids with his secret.”

“What about you?” Mrs. Aldersen asked. “Are you sure that you want to talk to Jarrod about wearing diapers?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Terry answered. “If Jarrod is really sorry for what he did, it’ll be OK.”

Mrs. Aldersen marveled at the resiliency and trust of young people. She hoped that Jarrod would agree to talk and that things would turn out well for all of them.

*****

As arranged, Terry and Trevor were brought to the hospital the next morning. Mrs. Aldersen and Jarrod’s mom went down to the cafeteria for coffee.

“You know,” Mrs. Aldersen began, “I apologize, but I don’t even know your name. I’m Doris—Doris Aldersen.”

“How silly of me,” Jarrod’s mom answered. “I’m sorry for not having introduced myself. I’m Nora Broadly.”

“Is there anything new in Jarrod’s prognosis this morning?” Mrs. Aldersen asked.

“No, Doris,” Nora Broadly answered, “things are still up in the air.”

“How did Jarrod take the news about…?”

“Better than I expected,” Mrs. Broadly answered. “He was obviously upset and his eyes did tear up a few times but I think he’ll survive. He did brighten up a bit after you called. He’s a little nervous about facing Terry and Trevor but I think he’ll get over his embarrassment fairly quickly.”

“I just hope that Terry doesn’t say something to stir up the pot again!” Mrs. Aldersen worried.

“Don’t even think it!” Mrs. Broadly laughed. “In any case, it’s Jarrod who has to take responsibility for ‘stirring up the pot’ as you say.”

As their moms talked, Terry, Trevor, and Jarrod were nervously testing each other.

“Thanks for coming, guys,” Jarrod said.

“That’s OK,” Trevor answered. “We wanted to come, didn’t we?”

“Yeah. That’s right,” Terry agreed. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“Kind of,” Jarrod said. “It’s funny but my left leg hurts more than the one I broke… and my back hurts, too.”

A short silence followed.

“I’m sorry.” Jarrod said to Terry. “My mom told me about why you need diapers. I shouldn’t have…”

His voice cracked and he was unable to finish the sentence. He wiped tears from his eyes. He tried to speak again and failed.

“I know,” Terry said magnanimously. “It’s OK, don’t cry.”

Terry’s understanding attitude made Jarrod feel even worse about his behavior the previous day. It took several minutes to get himself under control. The boys were uncomfortable with all the emotion that was in the room. Trevor decided to break the tension by revealing his secret to Jarrod. He told him about his accident and about how scared he had been to let anyone know about his diapers. He even raised his shirt so that Jarrod could see the Disney-character diaper and silvery plastic pants that he was wearing. Jarrod was speechless.

“Do you know that I’m going to have to wear diapers for a while?” Jarrod asked.

“Yeah, my mom told me,” Terry answered. “Trevor knows, too, because I told him.”

“The worst part,” Jarrod continued, “is that I won’t be able to go into a bathroom for at least three weeks.”

Terry and Trevor looked politely at Jarrod who could tell that they hadn’t figured out what he meant.

“I have to poop in them, too,” he said sullenly.

“Oh!” Terry and Trevor answered in unison.

Jarrod sat there biting his lower lip, desperately trying to keep himself under control.

“That’s awful,” Terry commiserated.

“When are you going home?” Trevor asked in order to change the subject.

“Maybe the day after tomorrow, if the x-rays come back OK.”

“Do you think your mom will let you have a sleepover sometime?” Trevor wondered.

Terry smiled at the question. He wondered if Trevor would ask to have a sleepover every time he told somebody else about his diapers.

“Would you really want to have one? I mean, we couldn’t do very much stuff if I have to stay in bed.”

“We could think of plenty of things to do,” Trevor said confidently.

“OK. I’ll ask,” Jarrod agreed.

Terry and Jarrod’s moms walked into the room just as Jarrod was speaking.

“Ask what?” his mom wondered.

“When I go back home, can Terry and Trevor and I have a sleepover?”

“We’ll see. It’ll depend on what the doctors say.”

Their moms were happy that they had made up and apparently wanted to continue being friends. Later that day, Mrs. Broadly was surprised to learn that Trevor also wore diapers on a permanent basis.