A Trip to Betty's: A Sneak Peek
Tim was reading the newspaper when Diane walked into the dining room with a cup of coffee.
"Do you know what your son asked me yesterday?" Tim lowered his newspaper and studied the face of the vixen in front of him. She didn't look overly concerned, so it couldn't be anything particularly awful.
"Which one?" He asked, as that was always the first factor to determine. "Junior or Michael?"
"Junior, of course." Tim considered it. His eldest son was fifteen years old, so naturally there were a lot of questions that the todd could have asked. Within a few seconds, however, he had it.
"He wants to stay home from your aunt's." The look in his wife's eyes proved he'd hit it right on the head. Smiling to himself, he returned to his paper, but Diane would have none of that.
"Don't you have an opinion on this?" She asked shrilly. Tim shrugged.
"If he wants to stay home, let him stay." He looked his wife right in the eye. "It's only week." Diane groaned.
"What'll we tell Michael? He doesn't want to go either, you know!" Tim smiled.
"Michael isn't even ten until September. He can come with us. Besides, if we left the two of them home alone, they'd kill each other." Diane shook her head.
"Well, since you seem to have it all figured out, I guess I have no opinion in the matter."
"Unless you want him to come along, dear. I would never want to undermine you." The vixen sighed.
"I just worry about him. I mean," she paused. "I know he's almost grown up, but I can't help but see a little kit there, still wearing a soggy diaper." She paused for breath before starting on a new tangent. "Besides, it's not like we can call to check in. Betty doesn't even have a phone at her cabin and our phones won't get a single bar way out there!" Tim could see his wife getting steadily more frantic, so he stood up and kissed her forehead.
"He'll be fine."
Upstairs, T.J. was just waking up. Pulling back the covers, he glared at the diaper around his waist. For the last two months, he had been diapered every night by, as ridiculous as it sounded even in his own head, his old teddy bear. He'd tried everything to get rid of the bear, but he somehow kept finding his way to the shelf above T.J.'s computer. He quickly ripped open the tapes and tossed the wet diaper into the trash can. It immediately disappeared, for which T.J. thanked whatever magic was messing with his life. The teenage fox quickly made his way to the bathroom that he shared with his younger brother, glad that his sleep schedule was at least half an hour ahead of Michael's. He peed and then quickly took a shower. The diapers vanished, but the stale scent of urine in his fur did not, so he rubbed his entire body with shampoo.
Standing under the gentle rain of the shower, T.J. considered his situation. He was fifteen years old. Today was the last day of his freshman year of high school. His old teddy bear had been treating him like a baby plushie every night for the last two months. He had no idea why the bear diapered him every night and he had even wondered if he might just be going insane. Every night happened practically identically to the last. He was diapered, bottle-fed, and then put to bed with Teddy's arms wrapped tightly around him, patting his padded bottom every now and again.
"This has got to stop." T.J. muttered as he shut off the shower. Heading back to his bedroom, he shut the door and tossed his towel into the laundry basket in his closet before going to his dresser to find what to wear for the last day of school before summer. He was excited for summer, but he would have been more excited if the entire family wasn't heading to his great aunt's tomorrow morning. "A week with Betty is gonna be hell." He muttered to himself as he stepped into a pair of green boxer briefs.
Once he was completely dressed, T.J. headed downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning!" His mother said cheerfully as she placed a bowl of cereal in front of him, along with a glass of orange juice.
"Has dad already left for work?" His mother nodded.
"Yep. He's putting in a little extra time before he takes week off."
"Do I really have to go, mom?" Diane sighed.
"We'll talk about it after your father gets home." She said softly before switching back into her urgent motherly voice. "Now eat before you make yourself late!" T.J. began to eat, slightly annoyed that his high school started twenty minutes before his brother's school did. He was just about to leave when his brother came booming down the stairs. "Michael!" His mother yelled. "Stop it with that racket!" T.J. closed the door behind him and began the walk to school.
Since it was the last day of school, nothing particularly important got done, but T.J. was still thrilled as he exited the building for the last time until September.
"Now on to Aunt Betty's." T.J. muttered as he began the walk home. He considered taking a few detours to avoid having to go home and pack, but something about the conversation he'd had with his mother that morning drew him home.
"I'm home!" He yelled as he walked in the door. His mother emerged from her bedroom.
"How was your day?" T.J. shrugged.
"Could be better, could be worse. At least I'm done for the summer!" His mother smiled.
"That's what your brother said, almost word for word." T.J. nodded and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a can of soda from the refrigerator.
"When's dad getting home?" His mother shrugged.
"Five thirty or six, same as always." T.J. began to walk upstairs. "Hey! Do your laundry so that it isn't left in the hamper for the next few weeks!" T.J. sighed, but obeyed. Placing his soda on his desk, he walked over to the closet and grabbed his hamper. A strange smell, almost like cinnamon, floated up to his nose. Pausing, he searched for the source of the enticing aroma, but didn't find one until he realized that it was coming from the laundry basket. Picking up a pair of his underwear, he sniffed it. Immediately, he was flooded with sensations of warmth and security and he wanted to wrap himself within it. Shaking his head, he pulled himself out of the aroma's spell and carried the basket down to the basement, where he tossed his clothes into the washer. That done, he returned upstairs and just lounged on his bed.
By the time his clothes were back in their drawers, it was nearly dinnertime which meant the return of his father from work. Just as Tim walked through the door, T.J. was downstairs, lurking about, trying to act as though he wasn't there simply to hear his father's verdict on the trip to Betty's.
"I know why you're down here and it can wait until after dinner." Tim said simply. T.J. tried to hide his disappointment with limited success. Throughout all of dinner, T.J. yearned to ask, but he knew that doing so would most likely hurt his chances of staying behind.
At long last, dinner was over. As his father pushed his plate away, T.J. prepared to hear the verdict.
"Junior." Tim said, turning to look at T.J. "Would you mind doing the dishes?" T.J. sighed, but nodded.
Hopefully this will help my chances. He gathered up the dishes and carried them into the kitchen. His mother followed behind.
"I'll dry." She said. They set to work in silence, but his mother spoke up after a few moments. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"
"Nope." Back to silence until the dishes were all put away.
"Why don't you come join your father and me in the living room so we can discuss tomorrow?" T.J. grinned, eagerly following her. His father sat regally in his armchair, reading a book whose dust jacket had been misplaced for as long as T.J. could remember. He looked up as Diane and T.J. entered and set the book aside.
"Son." Tim said. "Your mother and I have been talking."