All My Mother's Rules

Chapter 55: Extra Layers

A large brown box was sitting in front of the doorway when Samantha's mom dropped me off at home that afternoon. I had an inkling of what might be inside it. Mom must not think that my bedwetting was likely to end anytime soon if she was already stocking up on diapers. Knowing her, she probably got some kind of Black Friday deal on them.

"I wonder if someone's Christmas present has arrived early," Desi said, commenting on the box as we pulled into the driveway.

"Who knows?" I replied, trying to feign ignorance. "I'll have to see what it weighs like when I carry it in."

After Samantha had to be rescued because of a leaky diaper, we took things slower the rest of the morning at the mall. For Samantha's benefit, we stayed far away from the corner of the mall where the accident had taken place. We grabbed some cinnamon pretzel bites to eat and browsed through other stores. Lisa and I didn't make any further purchases, but Desi was able to find a pair of new shoes and Samantha came away with a new jacket, one that was long enough to cover her bottom and keep the pull-up outline out of view.

After conceding the potty-training contest to Lisa, both of us managed to avoid any further accidents during the remaining time at the mall.

When Samantha's mom picked us up early in the afternoon, Samantha lied about why she was wearing new clothes, saying she had needed to get them after having spilled coffee on herself, a claim the rest of us casually backed her up on.

When I picked up the box on my way inside the house, I recognized the brand name of the company Mom ordered my diapers from written in small print. With these diapers, combined with the ones remaining in my closet, I'd probably be set for the next two or three months at this point.

I jiggled the handle on the front door to find that it was already unlocked. I called out to let Mom know I was home as I stepped inside the doorway, but didn't hear anything back from her. I carried the box to my bedroom, setting it down next to the closet. I'd let Mom deal with opening and tucking the new diapers away. I tried to keep any conversations with my mom about my bedwetting to a minimum, outside of what was necessary when it was time to get ready for bed.

I took a quick pit stop in the bathroom, and when I got out, what Mom was up to came as a surprise.

Mom was back in the dining room at the front of the house. A separate large box that I must not have noticed when I was walking in was sitting in front of the window. The contents of this box weren't ambiguous. It was another Christmas tree. Next to that were another five dusty boxes Mom must have retrieved from the attic.

As if the nine-foot-tall one in the living room wasn't enough for our small house.

Our Christmas tree had already been up since the start of the month. Mom wasn't one to wait until after Thanksgiving to begin her Christmas decorations.

"There you are Sarah. Why didn't you let me know you were home?"

"I yelled when I stepped inside. You must not have heard."

"Hey, don't talk back to me."

I wisely chose not to continue that argument.

"Why do we have another Christmas tree?"

"I went out to get it this morning," Mom said. "There were still a couple of boxes of ornaments that didn't fit on the tree, and I didn't want them to go to waste."

Mom didn't bother to ask me anything about how my own shopping trip went.

"I'm going to need your help getting this put up."

I knew better than to complain about the request. I had been drafted into the war for Christmas, and I was going to need to do my part.

This newer tree model was at least easier to assemble than the one in the living room. It was only three separate pieces that had to be unfolded and connected together. And it came with built-in lights on the branches.