Chapter Thirty-One - Charlie's House

“Cooper!” Mom exclaimed dramatically, rushing into the hallway. She must have come running from the living room as soon as she heard Ross’ key in the door, anxiously holding out her hands to receive me in her arms before Alex’s Dad had even brushed his huge booted feet on the doormat.

“He’s had a bit of a fright.” Ross reported in a calm sober tone, carefully handing me over to Mom so that she was supporting me under my bum. She squeezed me impossibly tight, showering my still damp muddy hair with smothering kisses.

“Mooom…” I mumbled in embarrassment, but I didn’t try to wriggle away. Ross's strong grip had been comforting, but the feeling of Mom’s soft hands running through my hair made me feel extra safe. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, squeezing back.

“Oh, I was so worried!” she gushed, rocking me slightly up and down in her arms as if I were a bawling infant. “Poor baby. You’re shaking!” she observed.

“I’m not…” I mumbled into her cardigan, though I was trembling like a leaf in the wind.

“Shh…” she whispered in my ear, tenderly rubbing my back. “Mommy’s here.”

I felt every muscle in my body tense and then relax again at those two comforting words. It was like a stopper coming off a bottle, all the worry and angst I had built up over the last few hours and perhaps even since I had first moved to Canada released in one tender moment. I took a deep breath, a single tear crystallizing in the corner of my eye and my chest heaving with a heavy-hearted hiccup “I’m sorry mommy…” I sobbed.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” she whispered in my ear. “All that matters is you’re safe.

“He was in quite a state when I found him.” Ross continued to report, the rest of the group now also starting to file through the door. He counted each of them in as they passed through the frame, patting his slab of a hand atop each of their shaggy-haired wet heads. “Zach told me he slipped and fell in the swamp, and he had a little bit of a potty accident as well, unfortunately.”

“Oh, sweetheart!” Mom exclaimed sympathetically, squeezing me even tighter. I couldn’t help but squeal in humiliation, feeling almost as bad as if I’d wet my pants all over again.

“It’s my fault.” Laurie interjected morosely. “I was tickling him.”

I gulped, wriggling around from my place on Mom’s hip to look down at Laurie “It was only a game…” I mumbled, hating to see him looking so guilty.

“Thanks for getting him cleaned up.” Mom told Ross earnestly, ignoring my flush-faced ramblings. She pinched two fingers against the soft material of my bunny nightie, examining it in admiration. “This is a lovely nightie. Is it yours, Alex?”

“Kinda.” the girl agreed happily. “But Cooper can keep it if he likes.”

I didn’t get to object before the door to the living room creaked open - my Dad, Ms Diaz, and Charlie’s little brother Leo crowding into the hallway. Ms Diaz was cradling baby Julie on her hip in much the same way that Mom was holding me, sighing in relief at the sight of Charlie lingering somber-faced at the back of the group.

“Charlie!” Leo exclaimed, pushing past Zach and the Beavers to wrap his arms around his brother’s tummy and burrow his little face into his big brother’s soggy beaver vest. He was already dressed for bed, clad head to toe in a faded cozy-looking pair of pajamas themed to look like Woody from Toy Story. His brown eyebrows lowered morosely as he looked up to meet eyes with his brother. “I missed you…” he squeaked sweetly.

The eight-year-old looked a little awkward at first, but his stony sad frown soon broke into a genuine relieved smile. “I missed you too, Leo.” he murmured under his breath, squeezing back.

The Kindergartener’s mood turned on a dime, his brother’s affirmation prompting a broad toothy smile. He broke free from his hug, jumping happily up and down on the spot “We’re having a sleepover!” he declared, his celebrations escalating into a kind of impromptu clumsy dance.

Ms Diaz waded through the crowd, taking Leo’s hand to calm him down. She chuckled at his excitable attitude, warming the thoroughly dejected beavers with a cheery smile of her own. “It’s probably best if you all stay here tonight.” she affirmed. “There’s no use heading back out in that weather.”

“Where’s our Mom and Dad?” Zach interrupted brusquely, reaching possessively across to grab Laurie’s hand.

The four adults exchanged an awkward glance, an uneasy silence hanging for just a moment. Ms Diaz broke it, speaking in a calm, measured voice. “We tried to get through to them, but we couldn't get through to their mobiles. The hospital said they were out on an emergency call.”

Zach blinked, his face flashing furiously angry for just a moment before it moderated to a sad glower. “Oh.” was all he could muster.

“It’s okay, Zach.” Laurie tried to comfort him, pawing at his arm. “They’re out saving people in their ambulance!”

The mention of an ambulance excited Leo one again. “Wee-woo, wee-woo!” he imitated.

“Wee-woo, wee-woo!” Laurie joined in, playfully swinging Zach’s arm and still smiling encouragingly up at him.

“Stop!” Zach snapped, snarling at the pair. They went silent at once, eyes wide with innocent surprise. “Sorry…” the cub scout apologized at once. “Sorry. I’m just tired.” he told the grown-ups.

“It’s okay, Zachary.” Ms Diaz nodded understandingly. “I’m sure they’ll be here in the morning.” She clapped her hands together, turning instead to logistics. “For now you can all get cleaned up and ready for bed.” she announced. “Why don’t we have Cooper in the family bathroom, Laurie and Zach in my ensuite, and Alex and Charlie in the guest ensuite?” she suggested.

Mom nodded along to the plan, snuggling me close again. “Do you want some help in the bath?” she whispered in my ear. “Or are you okay?”

I blushed, very embarrassed indeed. Mom definitely treated me like a little kid sometimes, but she hadn’t supervised my bath time in years and years! “I can do it!” I insisted quickly, wiggling in her arms to get free. She put me down on the carpeted floor of the stairs straight away, leaving me to smooth out the bunched up drapes of my nightie.

I felt Leo’s eyes on me, the four-year-old’s head cocked curiously as he stared. “Is Cooper a girl?” he asked his Mom, sounding as if he might think it were a genuine possibility.

“No sweetie, it’s just a nightie!” Ms Diaz told him, tutting in admonishment. “He’s just borrowed it from Alex. It’s the same one we bought for her birthday, remember?”

“Oh.” Leo nodded in understanding. “He looks pretty!”

I let out an audible gag of embarrassment, cheeks burning even redder still as I scampered away as fast as I could up the stairs. My reaction seemed to elicit a few polite chuckles from the grown ups, the laughter echoing up from the lofty foyer below.

“Poor Cooper.” I heard my Dad commiserate. “You’ve gone and embarrassed him.”

“Boys are handsome, not pretty.” Laurie pointed out sagely.

“Oh!” Leo remarked. “Then he’s pretty handsome!”

There was another bout of laughter, the conversation soon turning back to the practicalities of getting everyone cleaned up. I ignored them, pushing open the heavy wooden door to the shiny white bathroom beyond. As soon as the door was closed I started to yank the nightie off over my head, throwing it to the floor.

The washroom mirror was large, perfectly framing my little body in it. I hadn’t really been thinking about what I looked like throughout the dark night, but I was covered in dirt and grime. I could see where Alex’s Dad had washed my face, chest and hands since they were the only parts of me that didn’t seem pot marked with caked-on dried dirt. I ran my hand through my hair, only making the brown mess tangle up even more. I growled, shaking the shaggy mess out of my eyes. Maybe it was time I just buzzed down my hair to a short crop like Zach’s. But Mom would never allow it.

I pulled open the ocean themed shower curtain, revealing a bathtub that was obviously used frequently by a little kid. There were toys, tugboats, rubber duckies, and soaps and shampoos of all kinds - a bright green rubber safety mat stuck to the bottom. Swinging my leg over the side, I turned on the water and pulled the curtain back. I didn’t bother to put in the plug, not wanting to sit in my own muck. Besides, a proper bath like that felt more like a baby thing. I was having more of a sit-down shower. I was too tired to stand up properly.

The water was very cold for a moment, reminding me of the lashing downpour outside, but it soon started to warm up. I watched passively as the temperate water thundered down at high pressure to rinse the dirt and muck from off of my chestnut hair and pink skin, the water staining a murky brown before it washed back down the drain. I shivered a little, amazed at how dirty I had managed to get in a single afternoon.

I took a few deep breaths, calming myself down under the relaxing hot water. This was the first time I had really been by myself since watching cartoons that morning. Mom had seemed so happy to see me, but that was a given. I was still certain that there was a severe punishment coming when I got downstairs. We’d been out late, broken into Alex’s Dad’s workshop, and made them all think we were missing. I’d even peed my pants like a baby. I frowned sadly and ran my hands over my face, trying to think of how I would explain what happened.

I looked around for some shampoo, cringing at the literal baby soap sitting on the edge of the tub. The Paw Patrol themed bottle beside it almost seemed mature by contrast. Squeezing a dollop into my hand, I started to clean myself properly. It smelled weirdly familiar. I looked at the bottle more closely, noticing that it was a ‘No Tears’ type of soap just like I’d used at Laurie’s house. I took a deep breath, appreciating the sweet smell. I briefly wondered if I should ask Mom to buy me the same kind, but quickly dismissed the idea. I was eleven! I couldn’t go around smelling like a shampoo for preschoolers.

I had to wash my hair almost three times before the water finally came out clear. Pulling back the curtain I stepped out of the tub and grabbed the nearest towel. I wrinkled my nose, noticing that it was a duckling themed hooded towel. I searched briefly through the cupboards in search of some slightly more mature attire, but found nothing - reluctantly pulling the poncho-style terry cloth over my head. I flipped the hood over and looked at myself in the mirror again, now all clean. I really did look little. It was no surprise Ross had treated me like he had.

I frowned unhappily, the duckling theme once again reminding me of those pull-ups I’d worn at camp. But what else was I supposed to wear? The nightie on the floor didn’t seem too appealing, no matter how ‘pretty handsome’ it made me look. Sticking just with the towel for the time being, I peered into the hallway. I hadn’t actually been in Charlie’s room before, but we were about the same size. Maybe I could borrow something?

I pushed a door open at random, surprised to find Ms Diaz, Laurie and Leo. “Umm, hi.” I squeaked awkwardly at them. Laurie was similarly in a towel, though his was considerably more mature than mine - a regular white sheet of terry cloth wrapped around his waist. I narrowed my eyes in confusion as I took in the rest of the room, seeing that the three of them were gathered around a small dresser with some kind of squidgy pink mat on top.

“Hello Cooper.” Ms Diaz greeted in a sweet gentle voice. “This is Julie’s nursery.” She explained, the corners of her lips upturned in mild amusement at the confusion on my face. “It’s just where I keep all the night time underwear.”

“Oh… Uh…” I stammered and blinked at the dresser, identifying it as a baby’s changing table. The bottom draw was open, lined wall to wall with stacks of small thick crinkly white rectangles. Real baby diapers!. My face flushed and I felt nauseous, panic starting to set it. Was she going to tell me I needed to wear a diaper? Was it because I had an accident earlier? I was struck with a mental image of myself crawling around with Julie on the carpet in the living room wearing only a diaper and a baby bonnet, babbling nonsense through a pacifier while the whole beaver colony cooed and laughed at me.

“I don’t need a diaper…” I insisted in a weak voice, taking a fearful step back.

Laurie looked almost as scared as I did, drilling his foot anxiously into the carpeted nursery floor. “Cooper didn’t really have an accident. I was tickling him.” He explained to Ms Diaz. “We were playing a game.” He gave a little gulp. “If anyone should wear baby diapers, it’s me!” He sobbed, his bright green eyes overflowing with guilt.

Ms Diaz let out a melodic tinkling laugh. “Oh sweeties, you are much too big for those kind of diapers.” She chuckled at us, reaching down to take out one of the diapers. It was very small, a little number two printed on the front. Clearly it was only big enough to fit baby Julie. I blushed afresh, feeling even more embarrassed that I had actually believed Ms Diaz would put me back in baby diapers. I stepped forward again, watching curiously as she pulled open the top drawer and produced one paw patrol themed Goodnite and two generic pull ups that were the same slightly larger brand Laurie used. They both had ducklings on them this time. “These are Charlie’s old ones.” she explained “I was saving them for Leo, but you two can have them for tonight.”

“I want a big one too!” Leo huffed and crossed his arm.”I’m a big boy!”

Leo’s Mom ran her hand through his hair and cuddled the back of his head into her side, seeming to quench any brewing tantrum he was about to have. “Let’s let our guests have theses, hmm?” She asked her middle child.

“I’m getting big though.” Leo went on.

“I know honey.” Ms Diaz finished, handing the papery disposable underwear to me and Laurie.

My tummy twisted. Was I really going to spend another night wearing these things? It was all very well doing a favor for Laurie at camp, but Ms Diaz seemed to think I actually had accidents. “I don’t need these at all.” I told her, trying to get her to understand. At least, I didn’t think I needed them. I frowned, remembering what had happened at Laurie’s house - and what had just happened out in the woods.

“Just think of it like underwear.” She stated cheerily, causing me to look down at my feet. “You didn’t bring any spare of your own right? Why don’t you just wear these tonight so you have something?”

I grumbled. It didn’t seem to me like a very good argument. I couldn’t really argue with her, though. It was either accept the duckling themed pull ups or somehow beg to borrow some of Charlie’s undies. We were about the same size. I'm sure they would fit me. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be too thrilled about sharing my own underwear. I didn’t want to embarrass him. “O-Okay.” I mumbled, feeling the papery material of the pull up in my hand.

Ms Diaz helped Leo into his while I went to a corner and quickly pulled on my own pair under my hooded towel. Though I’d been mortified by the childish towel before, I was actually rather glad of it now - the skirt of it hiding the pull up. Laurie by contrast, forced to discard his unwieldy towel, was now just standing in the room with only the happy ducklings quacking across his butt giving him any modesty - his little red cheeks flushed red with sufficient embarrassment. We exchanged looks of solidarity.

“Why don’t you boys head to Charlie’s room?” Ms Diaz suggested, putting her hands on Laurie’s bare shoulders to turn him towards the door. “I’m sure he has some pajamas you can borrow.”

“Yes!” Leo exclaimed, pulling his toy story pajamas quickly up over his Goodnite and marching towards the door. “I’ll show you!”

“L…like this?” Laurie asked, showing me a pained look. I shared his trepidation. It was all very well Laurie and little Leo seeing me in a pull up, but Charlie and Alex were a different kettle of fish.

“It’s only two doors down.” Ms Diaz dismissed our complaints, opening up the door. “Off you go.” she instructed.

Laurie gulped, but obeyed - the two of us scampering as fast as we could out of the safety of the nursery and into the hall.