Karl knew that this was going to be the most fun night of his life. The moment he saw his father dressed in toddler clothes he knew that something special was planned. He didn’t know what to expect but he was sure that Peter and he were going to like it. This sense was reinforced when his Aunt Madge threatened to spank anyone who might cause them to be late. His dad had immediately put him down and grabbed his hand as they ran together to the SUV. It was delightful. Peter and his Uncle Steve were ahead of them and he enjoyed watching them run/waddle to the car. (He giggled at the thought that he and his dad must have presented the same picture.) On top of this, he also reveled in the combined rustling and crackling noises made by their plastic pants. It also occurred to him that some of the neighbors might see them but he was having too much fun to care.

They got into the van and Peter and Uncle Steve sat in the third seat; he and his dad sat in the second; and Aunt Madge and his mom were up front. It only took a few minutes to reach their grandparents’ house. They were welcomed effusively. Their grandma gushed over their attire and their grandpa promised to take lots of pictures. Grandma made his dad and Uncle Steve blush by asking them if they were wet. Not believing their answer, she checked and declared that even though they were somewhat damp they could probably last another hour or two. Peter and Karl were flabbergasted: they themselves were still dry! Each secretly vowed that their fathers were not going to get more diaper changes than them!

“While you’re all still nice and neat, let’s take some pictures by the fireplace,” grandpa said.

“That’s a good idea,” grandma agreed. “The ladies and I will finish getting dinner on the table.”

Peter and Karl didn’t need a second invitation. They ran to the fireplace and posed exactly as their fathers had in the first picture of the diaper album. Grandpa took several shots and then declared himself satisfied.

“This is so much nicer than the old days,” he said. “With the digital camera I can look at the results right away. I’ll probably be able to download all the pictures to CDs before you leave… Now, are you guys ready to take picture number two?”

“You mean like in our dad’s diaper albums?” Peter asked with a smile.

“That’s right,” his grandpa answered.

The boys stood up and made to undo the bib of their overalls.

“Uh, uh, uh!” their grandfather said. “Babies aren’t allowed to change their own clothes.”

“Oh, yeah,” they answered, looking over to their dads.

“Don’t look at us,” Uncle Steve answered. “We’re not allowed to change ourselves or you, either.”

Grandpa helped them out of their overalls and meticulously folded them on the couch. (It was easy to see where Henry got his habit of always wanting his clothes to be perfect.) The boys returned to their positions in front of the fireplace but grandpa made them get up so that he could adjust their diapers and plastic pants to his satisfaction.

“OK, Henry and Stevie. Your turn,” grandpa said.

They dutifully went over to the fireplace and knelt next to each other.

“No,” grandpa said, “I think it would be cuter if you sat Indian style.”

They looked reluctant to do so and Karl and Peter understood why as soon as their dads were in position. Their plastic pants and diapers stuck way out from their very short shortalls. The boys started giggling at their dads’ discomfort. Peter gasped as he noticed something else.

“Look at our dads’ arms and legs,” he whispered into Karl’s ear.

It took a second for Karl to notice what Peter had seen: their dads’ arms and legs were hairless. The boys looked at each other.

“Wow!” Peter said.

“Yeah,” Karl agreed. “Our dads have really gone all out for us.”

They felt a tenderness towards their dads that they hadn’t felt for a very long time. It was really nice of the boys to think warmly of their dads but they were overlooking one thing: despite appearances to the contrary, their dads were having every bit as much fun as they were.

*****

Dinner was served: mashed potatoes, meatloaf, green peas, and gravy. The boys had large bibs tied around their necks and were seated next to the adult who was going to feed him. Karl and Peter were to be fed by their mothers, Henry by grandma, and Stevie by grandpa. Plates were prepared and each adult took charge of feeding their boy with a rubber toddler spoon piled high with food. The boys opened their mouths as wide as they could but not all the food could get in. By the end of the meal, they were quite giggly despite their cheeks and chins being smeared with mashed potatoes and gravy. Their faces were cleaned using their bibs and their chairs were pulled away from the table.

“No dessert?” Karl’s dad whined.

“Of course there is, sweetie,” grandma answered. “Run along with papa and we’ll serve dessert once we get everything cleaned up,” she said to the boys.

They went into the den to watch TV. The boys all sat on the couch while grandpa sat in his easy chair. After a few minutes, grandpa had to separate Henry and Stevie who kept poking each other in an attempt to get more space. Stevie pouted until grandma came into the room carrying a tray of ice cream.

“Yeah,” Stevie cheered, “chocolate ice cream!”

“With marshmallow sauce,” grandma added.

“Oh boy!” they all shouted.

“This is going to be messy,” Karl’s mom said. “I think we’d better undress you down to just your diapers and plastic pants. You’ll all need diaper changes soon, anyway.”

The look of surprise on Henry and Stevie’s face was priceless. Karl and Peter suddenly realized that their dads must have known about the previous events of the evening, but being stripped down to their diapers was obviously something they hadn’t been told about. Their shortalls were removed and their very soggy diapers revealed. Karl and Peter were just as wet but they couldn’t help gigging over their fathers’ embarrassment. All their t-shirts were removed (Karl and Peter’s dads’ chests were also hairless) and they sat together on a blanket to eat their ice cream.

Karl’s mother had been right. The combination of ice cream and marshmallow sauce was very hard to handle with a rubber toddler spoon. By the time the boys had finished, there was ice cream and marshmallow sauce everywhere— all over their faces, chests, plastic pants, and even the blanket.

“It’s a good thing we took precautions, isn’t it?” grandma said. “Let’s get you babies all cleaned up and ready for the night. Helen and Madge, will you take the older boys while I take care of the little ones? ”

Judging by their father’s reactions, this was another surprise. They were led away to separate bathrooms to be cleaned up. Afterwards, Karl and Peter were led to grandma’s bedroom and their dads to the guest room. A changing pad, thick nighttime diapers, plastic pants, and pajamas were already laid out on the bed.

“Karl, we’ll start with you, I think.”

He didn’t need a second invitation—nighttime diapers were his favorites. He loved to feel the heavy bulk between his legs, and the noisy, crackly baby pants made him want to giggle with each step he took. His wet diaper was removed and his grandma gently washed his diaper area. He blushed at his inability to hide his excitement. His grandma slid the diaper under him and pulled it between his legs. His eyes widened in surprise.

“I thought you’d notice how thick this new diaper is. Do you like it?” his grandma asked.

“Yes, thank you, grandma!” Karl excitedly agreed.

Peter was also excited by the idea of thicker diapers.

“Can I see, grandma?” Peter asked reaching for his new diaper.

“Of course, honey,” she answered as she began pinning Karl’s diaper.

He picked it up and marveled at the extreme thickness of it.

“Wow, this must have eight layers of terry cloth in it!”

“Ten, honey,” his grandma said with a smile.

“Do our dads’ diapers have the same number of layers?” Peter asked hopefully.

“Of course, dear. What’s good for one baby is good for another.”

The boys could hardly wait to see them. Grandma used six pins on Karl’s diapers before pulling on his new baby pants. They were imprinted with brightly colored baby blocks. She invited Peter to get up on the bed and she treated him to the same care as she had given Karl. His baby pants were covered in brightly colored baby blocks, too.

“OK, time for your jammies,” she said.

She picked up the first of two light yellow garments. Unfolding it, it became apparent that it is was a baby-style sleeper, complete with ‘feet’. A teddy bear was embroidered just below the left shoulder with Karl’s name written in childish handwriting just beneath it. She helped him into it and zipped him up. Peter was now very excited to get put into his sleeper, too. It was identical to Karl’s, except for the name embroidered under the teddy bear, of course. They ran to grandma’s closet to inspect themselves in the mirrored doors. They were very pleased, especially since the design of their baby pants was visible through their sleepers.

“OK, boys. Let’s go back downstairs.”

The boys waddled noticeably in their heavier diapers. Grandpa gave each of them a big hug and asked if they wanted their pictures taken again. They agreed readily.

“I’ll go see what’s taking the other boys so long,” grandma announced.

Grandma came back a few minutes later just as grandpa was finishing up.

“They were being a little fussy,” she said enigmatically, “but I straightened them out. You won’t have to give any spankings, at least not this time.”

Karl and Peter were amazed. Was grandma kidding? And, what about grandpa when he answered, “Good. They’d better not forget that they’re never too old to get punished when they deserve it.”

Their fathers came down looking sheepish. They were dressed identically to their sons. Their diapers and baby pants were just as prominent and their names were written out in the same childish scrawl.

“Now,” grandma said sternly, “are you ready to behave?”

“Yes, mommy,” they answered quickly.

“Good boys,” she said softening her tone. “Daddy wants to take pictures. Would you like to do that?”

The rest of the evening passed quickly. Despite their afternoon naps, the boys were still quite tired and had trouble keeping their eyes open. Karl had a vague recollection of being carried out to the car and then being carried up to his bed and tucked in. He woke up once during the night and took great delight in wetting his diaper.

*****

Their two-week punishment passed quickly (mostly because they spent so much time together enjoying their diapers) and their privileges were restored. For Karl, however, there was an added provision should he misbehave—not only would he be grounded and lose Internet privileges, he would also lose diaper-wearing privileges.

“Gee,” Karl commented to Peter, “has that ever happened to you? Having your diapers taken away?”

“No,” Peter answered. “Sometimes my mom threatens it, but my dad never does. I think it’s because he wouldn’t want to lose his diaper privileges, either!”

Karl and his dad settled into a routine that he found very pleasant. They wore their diapers and plastic pants around the house almost all the time. When the family went out, they more often than not wore thinner diapers without plastic pants. This definitely wasn’t as good as ‘real’ diapers since they couldn’t wet them, but it was better than nothing. Evenings were Karl’s favorite time of the day. He and his dad would be heavily diapered and put into their sleepers. They now had three: yellow with the embroidered teddy bear, green with an embroidered kiddy train, and blue with black and white soccer balls. (They were always dressed as twins.) He particularly like sitting with his dad in his big recliner to watch television.

*****

One day, after school, Karl asked Peter a question.

“Would you like to wear diapers all the time?”

“Of course, I would,” he answered immediately.

“Yeah, me too,” Karl agreed. “Our dads were lucky to be able to get away with it.”

“It’s too bad that one of us doesn’t have a history of bed wetting that the other kids knew about,” Peter sighed.

The boys talked about this a few more times, but they couldn’t imagine a diaper-wearing scenario that would be believable.

*****

“How would you guys like to go on a fishing trip up to grandpa and grandma’s cabin on Columbus Day weekend?” Henry and Steve asked their sons.

The cabin was actually as comfortable as a regular house. Most importantly, there was a washer and dryer (installed specifically for Henry and Steve’s needs as boys).

“Really?” they answered excitedly.

“Yup, just the four of us.”

The boys were flying high as kites when they left Thursday after school. After a stop for dinner, they arrived at nine o’clock.

“OK, early start tomorrow,” their dads said. “Let’s get ready for bed.”

By nine-thirty they were all diapered for the night and snug in their ‘soccer’ sleepers. They were in bed and asleep by ten o’clock. Nonetheless, morning came too quickly for Karl and Peter. At five-thirty, their fathers were shaking them awake.

“Aww, can’t we sleep a few more minutes?” Karl begged.

“”None of that,” their fathers answered pleasantly. “The fish are waiting right now for us to catch them.”

They pulled the covers off the boys and unzipped their sleepers. In a few minutes, the boys were in fresh daytime diapers but still barely awake. It wasn’t until they were in the bathroom being handed their toothbrushes that they woke up completely. This was when they noticed that they were dressed in long sleeve onesies and bright red corduroy overalls.

“”We going fishing dressed like this?” they giggled.

“I don’t think the fish will care,” their fathers answered.

The boys then noticed that their dads were similarly dressed in bright blue corduroy overalls. They ate a quick breakfast and were out in the middle of the lake shortly after six o’clock. There were several other boats out on the lake. The morning started out cool and the boys were glad to keep their jackets on to cover their juvenile red overalls and bulging diapers. However, by eight o’clock the sun was up and the temperature was rising fast.

“It’s getting too warm to keep your heavy jackets on,” Karl’s dad advised.

The boys hesitated.

“Uncle Henry’s right,” Peter’s dad added. “I can see that you guys are sweating. Take your jackets off like we did.”

The boys reluctantly handed their rods to their dads and removed their jackets. They were relieved that the other boats had actually drifted farther away and that no one seemed to be paying attention to them. By ten o’clock, they had caught five nice looking trout. Only Peter’s dad hadn’t caught anything and Peter himself had caught three. They returned to shore and were tying up the boat when an older man approached them. Karl and Peter were somewhat embarrassed but their dads greeted him warmly.

“Mr. Barrett!” Henry said warmly. “Did you just get here?”

“Yup. Me and the missus pulled in about two hours ago. How have you been?”

“Very well,” Steve answered. “It’s been a while since we’ve been up here at the same time. Do you remember my son Peter?”

“This is little Peter?” Mr. Barrett exclaimed. “Why he was only so high (indicating about two and a half feet tall) when I last saw him.”

“And this is my son Karl,” Henry added. “Boys, say hello to Mr. Barrett. Mr. Barrett and grandpa used to work together. They bought these cabins up here at the same time. We used to spend a lot of time together.”

“Those were the days, weren’t they?” Mr. Barrett chuckled. “I’m glad to see that some family traditions haven’t changed, though,” he added with a twinkle in his eye.

Karl and Peter blushed while their dads chuckled along with Mr. Barrett.

“Well, anyway,” Mr. Barrett continued, “Flora and I noticed that you were out in the boat so she’s busy preparing lunch if you’d like to join us later.”

“That would be very nice,” Steve answered. “We’ve got some fish to clean and diapers to change. What time would you like us there?”

“Twelve o’clock would be fine. See you all later.”

“Dad!” Peter complained as soon as Mr. Barrett had left. “Did you have to mention that Karl and me needed diaper changes?”

“Who said I was talking about you?” his dad answered smugly.

Even Karl, who had been feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation, laughed.

Mrs. Barrett turned out to be a nice old-fashioned lady. She fussed over her four ‘boys’ and was genuinely happy to see Henry and Steve.

“Now, you boys (meaning Peter and Karl) will call me Auntie Flora like your dads used to, OK?”

Lunch was more fun than Peter and Karl thought that it would be. Mr. Barrett was a great storyteller and Mrs. Barrett’s homemade chocolate was wonderful.

“So, what have you got planned for this afternoon?” Mrs. Barrett wondered.

“We thought we’d take the boys down the hill to the air museum,” Peter’s dad said.

This was the first that Peter and Karl had heard of it and they became immediately anxious to leave.

“It’s not polite to eat and run,” Karl’s dad reminded them. “Besides, we have to help Mrs. Barrett clean up.”

Despite her protestations, the boys pitched in and helped with the table and the dishes.

“That was very kind of you. Eddie (Mr. Barrett) and I were planning on going down the hill, too. Now we can leave earlier.”

The boys and their dad went to change into more ‘normal’ clothes before heading out to the museum. Nobody needed a diaper change but a diaper bag was prepared for later on. They were in very high spirits when the accident happened.

They were nearing the foot of the hill and slowed down to make a left turn. Halfway through the turn a car came careening down the road they were turning onto. The impact was so violent that their SUV was pushed almost 200 feet down the road. Henry and Steve were badly shaken and Karl and Peter appeared to be unconscious. Their dads panicked when the saw blood coming from both of them. Luckily, the Barrett’s were only about thirty seconds behind them. Mrs. Barrett was a practicing nurse and her training took over automatically. With the assistance of her husband, she got Henry and Steve away from the car. While her husband went to check on the other driver, she gingerly climbed into the SUV to check on the boys. She immediately saw that Peter probably had a broken arm or wrist. She couldn’t see any other external injuries on either boy. She also felt reassured that their vital signs appeared to be pretty strong.

Mr. Barrett returned from examining the other car.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It looks pretty bad. How are these guys doing?”

“Fine, I think. Have you called for help?”

“Yes. It’s on its way.”

“How about Henry and Steve?”

“I told them to stay put.”

Karl started to wake up.

“What happened?” he asked.

He looked at Peter and panicked.

“Don’t worry,” Mrs. Barrett said soothingly. “He’s going to be OK.” Then, turning to her husband she said, “Get the blanket out of the car so that we can keep these guys warm.”

Karl and Peter’s father had now sufficiently recorded to be able to walk. Mr. Barrett intercepted them before they reached the car.

“Flora is tending to them. I need you to help me get a blanket and her medical kit.”

Actually, Mr. Barrett thought that it would be better if their dads didn’t see them right away, especially since Peter still seemed to be unconscious. They had just retrieved the blanket and medical supplies when the paramedics arrived. Mrs. Barrett gave them a quick report of what she had observed. She went over to the boys’ frantic dads and tried to calm them.

“They’re a little banged up and Peter may have a broken arm but, otherwise, they seem alright. I took their vital signs and they were good. Now, how about you?”

She managed to distract their dads until the boys had been taken out of the SUV on backboards and stretchers. Peter had regained consciousness. Flora determined that neither dad had any obvious injuries. The boys became genuinely scared when they couldn’t see their dads.

“Dad!” Karl called out. “Where’s my dad? Is he alright?”

“I’m right here,” Henry said approaching the gurney his son was resting on. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“Same here,” Steve assured his son.

They were loaded into ambulances and brought to the nearby county hospital with the Barrett’s following close behind. Henry and Steve called their wives to tell them what was happening. Henry managed to convince them not to leave right away, at least not until they knew if the hospital they were going to was their final destination. The boys were tended to first. The doctor on duty ordered x-rays to determine if there were internal injuries and another set to check on Peter’s arm. In the meantime, Henry and Steve were given a more thorough checkup. The doctor cleared them and wrote a prescription to take care of the aches that he was sure they would feel later on. An embarrassing moment occurred when the doctor asked Henry and Steve what medical condition was at the root of them and their sons needing to wear diapers. Steve blushed and said simply that there was no medical problem, that is was just a “family tradition.” The doctor looked at them oddly but let it drop.

The police showed up next to take statements. Neither Henry, who was driving, not Steve could offer much information. The car had seemingly come out of nowhere and rammed them.

“Did you hear the screeching of brakes?” one police officer asked.

Neither dad could remember.

“We understand,” the police officer said sympathetically. “We’ve towed the vehicles to the police impound. I’m afraid your vehicle is a total loss. Here’s my card. Have your insurance agent contact me, if necessary. I hope your boys are going to be OK.”

“It looks good so far,” Steve answered.

“I’m glad,” the office said sincerely. “Well, thank you for your help. You have my card; if you need anything, please let me know.”

“Thank you,” Henry answered. “Before you go—there is one thing. What happened to the other driver?”

“It’s pretty serious but they that he’ll make it.”

*****

Karl and Peter were released from the hospital the following Tuesday. They both had nasty bruises and, as Mrs. Barrett had foreseen, Peter’s wrist was indeed broken. It was decided that they would be kept out of school until the following Monday to allow them to get more rest and to give their bruises additional time to fade. As far as their fathers’ injuries were concerned, they had a few days of stiffness but nothing really serious.

“Dad,” Peter asked the first night he was home, “can Karl and I wear diapers all the time now?”

“Have you and Karl been talking about this?” his dad asked in return.

“Yeah, there wasn’t much else to do in the hospital.”

“I think this needs to be discussed by everybody,” his dad suggested.

“You mean you’ll think about it?” Peter asked excitedly.

The meeting was held the following night.

“What you guys are asking for is pretty radical,” Karl’s mom pointed out. “Have you thought about how the other kids will react?”

“Yeah,” Karl answered. “But we’ll never have a better chance—coming back to school after the accident, I mean.”

“Are you going to lie to your friends about why you’re wearing diapers?” Henry asked.

“No,” Peter answered. “We figure that we won’t have to tell them why we’re wearing diapers. We’ll just say that we are, without giving a reason.”

“How long do you think you can get away with that?” Peter’s dad followed up.

“I don’t know,” Peter admitted. “But you didn’t have to wear diapers, either. Only Uncle Henry had to.”

“That is true, Steve,” Peter’s mom agreed.

“Yes, but times are different now. Kids are harder on each other,” Henry interjected.

“But we never had a fight in school,” Karl said defensively.

Actually, the decision was a foregone conclusion, given their dads’ history. The following Monday, they went to school wearing regular daytime diapers. Their friends were really happy to see them back. Peter’s cast caused a lot of comment and he had many requests to sign it. They were asked questions about the accident but they had to admit that they didn’t really remember any of it. Nobody noticed that they were in diapers so it came as a shock when Peter and Karl told their friends. (They were very careful, however, not to lie.)

“There is one thing Karl and me want you to know,” Peter said introducing the topic. “We’ll have to go to the nurse’s station a couple of times every day from now on.”

“Why?” one of their friends asked.

“To change our diapers. We’re going to be wearing them all the time now,” Karl explained.

“Is this because of the accident?” another wondered.

“Yeah,” Karl continued, “it’s related to the accident, but we really don’t want to talk about it. OK?”

Their friends were shocked and sympathetic, so they let the matter drop. Word got around school quickly and some of the boys who didn’t know Karl or Peter thought that twelve year-old boys in diapers was really funny. This led to a near fight during lunch. Kevin, who played AYSO soccer with Peter and Karl overheard a kid laughing about Karl and Peter so he called him out. Luckily, Karl and Peter were close by and they could intervene.

“No, Kevin, don’t get into trouble because of us. We don’t care if this kid thinks it’s funny that we wear diapers now.”

The kid was surprised that Karl and Peter were so open about their diapers. Nonetheless, he started calling them names directly to their face. In fact, he was so intent on mocking them that he didn’t notice that a teacher had also come onto the scene.

“Kelly, I think you’d better come with me,” the teacher said. “And you two boys,” he said to Peter and Karl, “you certainly are acting very maturely. I’m going to ask Mrs. Pelson (the principal) to tell your parents how well you’ve behaved.”

Peter and Karl would rather have not had their parents learn about the altercation but there didn’t seem to be any way to stop it. At least one good thing came out of it: the kid was suspended on the spot and this stopped any others from making blatant comment about their diapers. In fact, it only took a couple of weeks for the whole novelty of the thing to die down and everybody started treating them normally again. They continued participating in soccer and they felt comfortable changing for PE class without worrying about snide comments.

Peter and Karl could not have been happier. They definitely felt like the luckiest kids in the world.

The End