The next day, Winnie caught up to me just as I got off my bus.

“Where’s Willie?” I asked.

“You’ll never believe what happened,” he said all out of breath. “He got attacked again!”

“What!” I exclaimed in disbelief. “Why? Was he defending Terrell?”

“I don’t know. I just heard about it on the bus,” Winnie explained. “All I know for sure is that mom came to pick him up.”

“Really?” I responded. “Was Terrell involved, too?”

“I don’t know,” Winnie answered in an exasperated voice. “I’ve already told you everything I know.”

We turned the corner onto our street and I noticed that mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway.

“I guess it can’t be that bad,” I said. “Mom didn’t stay home from work.”

We hurried the rest of the way.

“Be careful what you ask,” I advised Winnie. “He’s probably really mad. He might not want to talk about it. Take it easy on him. OK?”

“But I want to know what happened,” Winnie whined.

“So do I,” I answered. “But we won’t get anything out of him if we make him madder.”

I was surprised to see him calmly watching television in the den. I was even more surprised when he turned around and smiled at us.

“Did you hear what happened?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “Are you OK?”

He thought that my question was really funny.

“What gives?” I asked. (I was beginning to wonder if he was hysterical.)

“Do you guys need a diaper change?” he said, ignoring my question.

“Kind of,” we answered.

“OK, I’ll tell you everything after I change your diapers.”

Willie deliberately drove us nuts by refusing to say anything until we were back downstairs in fresh diapers and plastic pants.

“OK,” I said impatiently, “give!”

“Yeah,” Winnie agreed, “tell us what happened.”

This set Willie off into another fit of laughter and it was only after we threatened to pummel him that he started to tell the story.

“Remember, yesterday, when I said I had to figure out a way to help Terrell?” he asked rhetorically. “Well, I figured it out. I set those guys up so that they would come after me.”

“You did?” I asked with a degree of skepticism. (I wondered if he was inventing a face-saving story.) “How?”

He started giggling but stopped when he saw that Winnie and I were getting really impatient with him.

“OK,” he said quickly, “I’ll quit stalling and tell you everything. This morning those guys really went after Terrell. Every chance they got, one of them said something to make him mad… just like they did yesterday—only more often. I figured that I would have to do something while he wasn’t around… and fast. So, at the end of lunch, when he said that he needed his diaper changed, I told him that I was still dry.”

“Were you, really?” I asked in amazement.

“Yeah,” he said, mildly annoyed, “I can hold it a long time, you know. I don’t have to use a bathroom as often as you do.”

Then, immediately regretting what he had said, he began to backtrack. On any other occasion, I might have gotten mad at him for making reference to my weak bladder but I was so anxious to hear the rest of the story that I let it slide.

“OK, OK, I know what you mean,” I agreed. “Just stick to the story.”

“Well, as soon as Terrell left the cafeteria, I saw those guys make their move to follow him so I got in their way. ‘Are you gonna gang up on him, six to one? You’re nothing but sissies, afraid to take us on one at a time,’ I said. Duncan, the biggest mouth of them all, got mad at me. ‘We are not chicken,’ he said. ‘I didn’t say that you were chicken, I said that you were sissies!’ This got him really mad and he said that he would fight me after school. ‘Why not now? And alone.’ I answered. ‘Or are you going to run home to your mommy so that you won’t have to fight at all?’ He couldn’t back down now, so the two of us snuck outside and around the building where no one is allowed.”

“Weren’t you afraid that the others might follow and jump you?” Winnie asked.

“Nah,” Willie answered. “I had already said that anyone who would

do that was a sissy. Anyway, Duncan pushed me and I pushed him back. Then he came at me and I grabbed his hands and we fell on the grass. While we were rolling on the ground I started yelling for him to stop tearing my shirt off.”

“He was tearing your shirt off?” I asked in surprise.

Willie started laughing again.

“No… that was me doing it to myself!”

“What!?” Winnie and I exclaimed.

“That’s why I grabbed his hands. While we were rolling around on the ground, I hooked his hand and mine inside my shirt and started making the buttons pop off. Duncan didn’t know what was going on!” Willie said gleefully. “He started to panic and tried to get away but I just kept on screaming that he was ripping my shirt off. Then, I kicked off my shoes and my pants started coming down.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, “how come your pants started coming down?”

“Because I took my belt off before lunch and I secretly unbuttoned my pants as we were walking out to the side of the building,” Willie said, flashing a self-satisfied smile.

“You mean everything was faked?” Winnie asked.

“Yup,” Willie confirmed with an even bigger smile. “I guess I overdid the pants thing, though. Duncan got so mad at me that he actually grabbed them and yanked really hard. He ripped the pockets right off. Mom is really mad about that,” he added as an aside.

“OK, so what happened then?” I asked.

“I guess Mr. Jaspers heard me yelling. He came running and grabbed Duncan off of me. He told me to put my pants back on but I showed him that they were totally wrecked. When he asked me what had happened I thought that it would look better if I started acting embarrassed about him seeing my diaper and plastic pants. Anyway, Duncan kept trying to butt in and say that he hadn’t done anything—that I had ripped my own clothes. Of course, Mr. Jaspers didn’t believe him. Then he took us into Mr. Hallin’s office. Mr. Hallin was real nice to me and asked me to wait for mom in the conference room. I heard Mr. Hallin yelling at Duncan for a long time before he told him to sit on the bench outside the office. His mom showed up pretty soon after that and she really let him have it, too.”

“Except for the pants, how mad was mom?”

“Not very,” Willie answered. “She talked to me about not fighting and how I should have told one of the teachers that those guys were bothering Terrell and me, but I don’t think she really expected me to do that.”

“You are so lucky,” Winnie said. “If mom ever finds out what you really did, you’ll be dead for sure!”

“Well, she’s not going to find out. Is she?” I asked threateningly.

“No, of course not!” Winnie objected. “I’m not a snitch.”

Just then Terrell ran up our front steps and called for Willie.

“Come on in,” Willie answered.

Terrell entered, wearing nothing but his diaper, plastic pants, shoes and socks.

“Did your mom bring you?” Willie asked.

“No. But, she said I could come over on my bike and stay for a half-hour.” After a short pause, he added, “I really needed to tell you that I was sorry.”

“You already did that last week,” Willie pointed out.

“I mean about today,” Terrell answered. “If I hadn’t started it two weeks ago, Duncan wouldn’t have attacked you today.”

“Duncan didn’t attack me,” Willie said with a proud smile. “I attacked him.”

“But everybody said that they saw you with Duncan and Mr. Jaspers walking towards Mr. Hallin’s office and that you were in your diaper and plastic pants because your pants and shirt were all torn up.”

“That’s kind of true,” Willie agreed. “But I’m the one who ripped my shirt off.”

Terrell was clearly confused. Finally, after five minutes Willie finished his explanation of how he had trapped Duncan. The only thing he left out was that his primary motivation had been to save Terrell from the effects of his own quick temper. Terrell was obviously moved by Willie’s selfless act.

“You did it so that they would stop picking on me? Why?”

Willie didn’t answer right away and I wondered if he was going tell the whole truth. He didn’t… not exactly, anyway.

“What do you think would have happened if you got into a fight with him? I didn’t want you to get kicked out.” Then, lightening the atmosphere, he added with a smile, “Besides, that would have left me as the only kid in the class wearing diapers!”

This made Terrell laugh.

“Can I ask you a question?” Willie asked Terrell.

“Sure,” he answered.

“Why did you come over here dressed like that?” he asked, pointing to Terrell’s diaper and plastic pants.

“Because I owed you. The kids in school saw you in just your diaper and plastic pants… twice… and it’s my fault this whole thing started.”

“Oh. Can I ask something else?”

“What?”

“What happened at your grandfather’s birthday party?”

It must have been really bad because Terrell turned bright red and wouldn’t answer.

*****

On Friday afternoon, I got more and more nervous as Peter and I rode the bus home. Peter noticed.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“No,” I answered too quickly and too sharply.

“Would you quit worrying?” he answered in an exasperated voice.

I felt bad that he saw that I didn’t really trust him. I tried to explain myself without the others on the bus hearing.

“Sorry. It’s just that this is so embarrassing…”

“So, you don’t want me to go home with you,” he said flatly.

I could hear the hurt in his voice but I still hesitated in giving him an answer.

“OK,” he sighed. “I guess I’ll see you next week.”

“No,” I answered quickly. “You can come over.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really,” I said trying to smile.

“Cool!” he smiled back.

No one else was home when we got there.

“What do you want to do?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Watch TV?”

We started for the den.

“Umm,” he said hesitantly, “I thought that you weren’t supposed to wear your pants in the house.”

“”You won’t squeal on me?” I asked.

“Of course not. I just don’t want you getting into trouble. I wouldn’t want your mom to say that I’m not allowed to come over again.”

“Oh,” I answered sincerely, “thanks. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Are your brothers coming home soon?”

The words were barely out of his mouth when we heard them coming up the driveway with their friends. The moment had come… but I still wanted to delay it.

“I have to put on a dry… I have to change. I’ll be right back.”

I know that I blushed as I was speaking. I ran up the stairs to my room. My brothers and Terrell joined me just as I was pinning my diaper.

“You owe me fifty cents,” Winnie said smugly to Willie.

“OK, OK,” Willie answered impatiently. “I already told you I’d pay.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked innocently.

“Willie bet me that you would chicken out and tell Peter not to come,” Winnie giggled.

“Well. I didn’t,” I barked, pulling up my plastic pants and storming out of the room.

“Geez, what’s the matter with him?” I heard Terrell ask.

“It’s long story,” Willie answered.

I was halfway down the stairs before I remembered that Wayne, Winnie’s friend, must be waiting downstairs, too. If I could have thought up a good excuse, I would have gone back upstairs. As it was, I resigned myself to facing them alone. They were intently watching TV as I tried to make an unobtrusive entrance. My plastic pants crackled as I sat down. Peter turned and smiled; Wayne said hello. Even though they weren’t making a big deal out of it, I felt myself blushing.

“This is pretty good,” Peter said, referring to the program. “The guy… there… with the beard… is an undercover cop and he’s trying to break up a car-theft ring. But, the bad guys know about it and are setting a trap for him.”

There was ‘danger music’ playing so I knew that something was about to happen. “Thanks,” I said, keeping my eyes focused on the screen. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I noticed that Peter was looking at my diaper and plastic pants. I felt my face get redder. Luckily, a gunshot attracted his attention back to the program. After it was over, Willie and Winnie and their friends wanted to play Chinese checkers. Peter and I agreed. We set the game up on the floor and I couldn’t decide whether I should sit crossed-legged or lie on my stomach. Sitting upright would allow me to hide more of my diaper with my shirt while lying on my stomach would hide the wet condition of my diaper once I had peed in it (which was imminent). I chose the second option and instantly regretted it when I looked at Peter’s face.

“Sorry,” he said in a whisper. “I didn’t know that your diapers made your bottom so rounded.”

“That’s because the air inside our plastic pants gets pushed to the back when we lie on our stomachs,” Willie gleefully explained. “In a little while, the air will be gone and Wade’s butt won’t look nearly so big!”

“Willie!” I said as threateningly as possible while blushing.

“Don’t get mad at me,” he answered defensively. “You know that’s what happens!”

Actually, I was mostly mad at myself until he and Winnie lied down on their stomachs to demonstrate the point further. Then I was mad at them but I couldn’t do anything about it without looking like a jerk. Besides, their antics did serve to take the attention off of me. Despite my initial nervousness, Peter and I had a good time together. Mom came home with takeout Chinese for dinner and it wasn’t until 9:00 o’clock that our friends went home.

“See… I told you that Peter wouldn’t make fun of you,” Willie said just after they had left.

“Well, he could have!” I answered heatedly.

Mom heard the tenseness in my voice and told all of us to settle down.

“You are such a ‘fraidy-cat!” he whispered so as not have our mom overhear.

“Am not!” I answered barely above a whisper.

“Then how come you didn’t invite him to come over again tomorrow like me and Winnie invited Terrell and Wayne?”

“Because he’s probably got better stuff to do,” I answered.

“Fraidy-cat,” he said again, running out of the room.

I went after him and we ran smack into our mom. She calmly informed us that it was time to be put into our night diapers.

*****

The next day, I was kind of bored in my self-imposed exile after Terrell and Wayne showed up. A short time later, mom told me that I had a visitor.

“Who?” I asked nervously.

“Come and see,” she answered enigmatically.

“I don’t want to see anyone!” I said stubbornly.

“Well, someone came to see you and you are not going to ignore him. I won’t tell you again,” she warned.

“But I’m wet!” I further protested.

“Stop it!” my mother said sharply. “We do not keep guests waiting. That’s very impolite.”

And how polite is it to greet a guest when you’re wearing a wet diaper? I wondered to myself as I followed her down the stairs.

“Peter!” I exclaimed. “Why are you here?”

“I came to visit you,” he answered in a hurt voice. “Don’t you want me to?”

“Of course I do,” I semi-lied.

“Of course he does,” my mother said echoing me. “He’s been moping around the house all day.”

The truth of the matter was that I didn’t know what I felt. It was true that I was bored, but I didn’t want Peter to be bored, too.

“Your brothers sound like they’re having a lot of fun in the backyard,” Peter noted.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I agreed, noticing the noise coming from the backyard for the first time.

“Do you want to see what’s up?” he asked.

We walked out the patio door and Peter and I laughed at the same time. My brothers and their friends had set up the sprinkler and a heavy sheet of plastic like we used to do when we were really little and they were running and sliding through its spray. I watched for a few seconds when I noticed that they were all wearing diapers and plastic pants, including Winnie’s friend Wayne.

“Come on, you guys. This is really fun!” Winnie called to us.

I was in shock over what Wayne was wearing. I wondered if mom knew.

“OK,” Peter answered. “Can I borrow some of your stuff?” he asked me.

I must have stared open-mouthed for about three seconds.

“Well, answer Peter,” my mom said. “Are you going to lend him a diaper and plastic pants?”

I still couldn’t find my voice. Finally, though, I croaked out an affirmative answer.

“Thanks,” he said, turning on his heels and heading back into the house.

I practically had to run to keep up with him. We reached my room and he kicked off his shoes and began removing his socks, shirt, and pants. I mechanically began collecting the necessary supplies. I laid out a diaper and a doubler on the bed.

“What’s that?” he asked pointing to the diaper doubler.

“Oh,” I said blushing. “I guess you don’t need that.”

“But, what is it?” he pressed.

I explained that our mom had bought these to put inside our diapers to make them more absorbent. He giggled and asked if I minded if he tried it. I was now beyond surprise and agreed. I sprinkled powder on the diaper and doubler. He lied down on them and I sprinkled powder on him.

“That feels cool,” he commented as he spread the powder over his diaper area. “Do you like wearing diapers better with a doubler?”

“They’re OK,” I answered somewhat uncertainly. “I guess they work. I mean, I don’t need as many changes.”

“Doesn’t you grounding end this weekend? I mean, could you start coming over to my house and going other places next week?”

“Yeah,” I answered happily. “But,” changing tone, I added, “I still have to wear my diapers and plastic pants all the time.”

“So?” he continued, “Everybody knows about them anyway.”

Yeah, I thought glumly, everybody knows about them alright. Then, I thought of something else.

“I might not be able to go other places if my mom is still working late next week. I don’t think she’d let Willie watch Winnie all alone.”

“Can’t Elaine help?” he asked.

“Her play practices are going to last for another two weeks.”

“But, I could still come over here, couldn’t I?” he asked smiling.

I agreed. I handed him a pair of plastic pants and helped him make sure that his diaper was totally contained within it. I took off my shirt, socks, and shoes and followed him downstairs. I was amazed at how big and rounded his bottom looked. I got really embarrassed thinking that I must look the same. However, once we started playing in the sprinkler I forgot about my reservations.

“OK, boys,” my mother called to us. “It’s still early in the season and you’ve gotten enough sun for one day.”

“Aw, gee, mom,” I complained. “We’ve only been out for a few minutes.”

“It’s been over an hour,” she said to my surprise. “I’ve got a nice snack and some cool drinks ready on the patio.”

We dried off and sat down at the picnic table.

“After you’re finished, I’ll change your diapers. You guys are hanging pretty low,” my mom said.

This made us all giggle. All the sliding on the plastic sheet had caused a considerable amount of water to get into our plastic pants. Plus, in my case anyway, I was already wet when we started. I was actually kind of glad that mom asked Peter and me to go first. My squishy diaper was getting pretty uncomfortable. We went upstairs and Peter laid down on my changing pad. My mom unpinned his diaper and cleaned him off. My first surprise came when I noticed that he had peed the diaper while wearing it; the second came when my mom told me to get him a clean one.

“Huh?” I observed stupidly.

“A diaper,” she repeated. “Get me a diaper.”

I looked over to Peter who smiled at me. I couldn’t believe that he wanted one! I felt like I was reliving the day I caught my brothers wearing my old diapers—and I didn’t understand why my mom was encouraging him. I snapped out of my stupor and retrieved diapers and plastic pants for both of us. Mom dressed us in t-shirts, socks, and sneakers.

“And stay out of the backyard. The grass is too soggy to play on.”

“But it’s too hot to stay in the house,” I complained.

“Then go out front.”

“Out front!” I shouted. “We can’t…”

Before I could finish, Peter pulled me out of the room.

“What’s the matter with you?” he asked. “Do you want to get grounded again? Isn’t today your last day?”

“Yeah, “ I answered reluctantly, “but…”

“We can sit on the side porch,” he said cutting me off.

Let me explain. We lived in a two-storey house that had been built in 1910. The main feature on the outside was a long porch that ran the full length of the front and along two-thirds of the side. Not only did it provide a fairly private place to sit on hot days, it also helped keep the downstairs rooms cooler. That said, I was still nervous about going out front in my diaper and plastic pants… and more than a little bit annoyed with Peter. I sat down on the floor of the porch while he chose a rocker chair opposite me.

“Why are you sitting down there?” he asked.

“It’s cooler,” I replied.

We both knew that that wasn’t the truth. Thick bushes reached to the top of the railing and effectively hid me from view. He began to rock.

“You can make a nice breeze by rocking back and forth,” he commented.

“So?” I responded.

“You should try it,” he continued.

I didn’t want to talk about rocking chairs and breezes.

“What are you doing?” I asked irritably.

“Rocking,” he answered.

“That’s not what I mean!” I answered loudly. “Do you want somebody to see you wearing a diaper and plastic pants?”

He got me even more annoyed by giggling before he answered.

“I thought that wearing a diaper might be fun. That’s why I asked your mom if I could try your diapers.”

“You asked my mom what?” I shrieked. “When?”

“Yesterday. Right after Wayne asked if he could try Winnie’s.”

“Wayne asked, too?”

These revelations were making me dizzy.

“Didn’t we have fun running through the sprinkler and sliding through the water?” he continued.

“Well, yeah. I guess so,” I answered evasively. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I don’t know. I just think it was more fun with all of us in diapers. I know that your brothers don’t really need to wear them.”

I was speechless. My brothers had told him that they had chosen to wear diapers!

“Well, I don’t wear them because I want to!” I said heatedly.

“Everybody knows that,” he answered calmly.

“Everybody knows what?” Willie asked as he and Terrell came out onto the porch after their diaper changes.

There was a pause as they waited for me to answer the question. I didn’t want to get into it, especially not in front of Terrell.

“Nothing,” I finally said.

Willie shrugged his shoulders and headed down the steps with Terrell.

“Where are you guys going?” I asked.

“Mom said that I could invite Jimmy to come over, too.”

“You’re going to his house dressed like that?” I gasped.

Mom had dressed Terrell and him the same way as she had dressed Peter and me—t-shirt, white socks, sneakers, diaper, diaper doubler, and plastic pants.

“Why not?” he answered. “It’s only up the street.”

“Yeah,” Terrell agreed. “I came a lot further on my bike.”

Even though I knew that they were saying this to get my goat, I couldn’t help reacting. I couldn’t stand it. I stormed into the house and pounded up to my bedroom. After fifteen minutes, I cooled down and wondered what the others were doing. I could hear them making noise in the front yard. I crossed the hall to my brothers’ bedroom and looked out. Jimmy had joined them; it struck me how odd he looked compared to everyone else wearing diapers. Judging from the noise they were making, they were having fun but my pride stood in the way of joining them… and the fact that they had moved off the porch and onto the front lawn. I didn’t want to risk being seen by the neighbors in my diaper and plastic pants. I was lost in my thoughts when my mom’s voice made me jump.

“Wade, you really should come back down. Peter feels badly that he upset you.”

Her comment about Peter made me feel guilty.

“Honey, I think you should go downstairs,” she repeated gently.

“I can’t. What if someone sees my diapers?”

“Wade, haven’t all the boys in your school already seen you wearing diapers?”

“Yes,” I agreed, my voice cracking.

She paused for a few seconds.

“Has Peter been making fun of you?”

“No,” I answered.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” my mother asked.

As I made my way downstairs, I realized that my bothers’ attitude had been having quite an effect on me. I had grown comfortable hanging around in them. In fact, I had started enjoying our time together. And, I realized quite dispassionately, my mom was right about the guys in my class: they had all seen me on multiple occasions wearing diapers and plastic pants. So what if a few more saw me now? I felt an enormous weight leave my shoulders. Peter smiled broadly as I joined him on the front lawn and I smiled back.

Never again did I fret over who might find out about my need for diapers or see me wearing them.