All My Mother's Rules

Chapter 22: A Sudden Change

"Sarah," Mom said sternly, as I lay on the couch reading, "you need to come with me to my bedroom."

My heart skipped several beats at that announcement. To be brought to Mom's room was only for the most serious of punishments or discussions. That's where she had given me that whole discussion about the birds and the bees. That's also where I'd received one of my most painful spankings ever after failing a test.

If Mom had any inkling that I had secretly changed myself out of a wet pull-up without her permission, she hadn't let on at all so far this evening. Or had she only been waiting until after Emilia had been put to bed? That wouldn't be like Mom though. If I went afoul of her rules, the punishment was dealt out the moment she became aware of the transgression. Mom wasn't a believer in justice being delayed.

"I'm coming," I told Mom as I got off the couch.

I was at a loss as to what this was about, but I knew better than to ask or – even worse – to delay at all in obeying her. I could feel my heart pounding as I followed behind her to the bedroom. What could I have done? Had she found out about how I'd changed myself? Had she discovered how I was taking Emilia's pull-ups? Had I gotten a failing grade on an assignment that I hadn't noticed yet?

My heart was beating faster and faster, and I could feel a bead of sweat beginning to trickle down from my forehead. I entered her bedroom to see that the box I had placed on her bed earlier in the day was now open. Inside it was a plastic-wrapped package with the image of a disposable diaper on it. The question as to what was in the box I had carried in from the front steps earlier today was now answered. The implications – unbelievable as they were – became readily apparent.

No. She couldn't have. This had to be some kind of joke. It couldn't be real.

"Sarah, sit down," Mom said, patting the edge of the bed next to the right of where she had taken a seat herself. "We need to have a talk."

What Mom meant wasn't exactly the same as what she said. Having a talk meant me listening to her tell me about something I needed to do and then doing it without a word of complaint. It would be one of those one-way-road type of conversations.

I took a seat wordlessly next to her, my feet dangling a couple of inches off of the floor. Had she really done it? Had she really bought some diapers online for me? The look of distress on my face must have been evident as Mom tried to take on a comforting tone.

"Sarah, we need to find a better way to deal with... what has started happening again at night."

Neither of us said anything for a while after that. The elephant in the room was too awkward to address head on. But there was no escaping it. Mom had brought the issue to a head by bringing out the package of diapers.

"The pull-ups aren't working at night," Mom said at last.

I didn't look at her. I kept my eyes focused squarely on the door as I gave a simple nod in agreement. There was no arguing that point.

"You're not getting enough sleep, and neither am I, with having to get everything cleaned up in the middle of the night."

I wanted to interject to say that Mom could get all the sleep she wanted if she would only let me change myself, but I bit my tongue.

"I went online and found... something else for you to use at night," Mom said, again not naming what was in the box. "The reviews are really good, better than all the options in your size, so it should work well enough so that you could sleep through the whole night without getting interrupted."

Mom's logic was infallible. I couldn't deny that my bedwetting had resumed itself in full. I couldn't deny that the nighttime pull-ups were now pretty much useless at keeping my bed dry. I couldn't deny that waking up in the middle of the night to change the sheets and the pull-up was leaving me more and more exhausted each day.