Chapter 8: Shopping

The movie ended, and I wished it would just keep going forever. As long as the credits didn't roll, I didn't have to stand up. I didn't have to face the swollen pull-up between my legs or the humiliation waiting the second I moved.

Everyone got up, stretching, yawning, hugging Jenny and Scott goodnight. I stayed seated as long as possible, hoping to slip out unnoticed. One by one, the girls headed upstairs—Josie, Sabrina, Katie, and then Brianna. Scott followed them up to tuck them in.

"Come on, bud. Busy day tomorrow," Jenny said gently.

I stood, and the minute I did, I felt the soaked padding sag between my legs. I looked down—there was no hiding it now. The bulge was huge. My legs didn't even want to close all the way.

Jenny's eyes flicked immediately to my awkward stance. Her expression changed—soft but knowing.

"Come here for a second," she said.

"What?" I tried to sound clueless, but it came out weak and shaky.

She stepped closer, lowered herself a little to my level, and whispered, "Did you wet yourself?"

"No..." I said, but even I could hear how unbelievable it sounded.

"Jacob," she said, voice firmer. "Don't lie to me. Did you wet yourself?"

I felt cornered. My throat tightened. I gave a tiny nod.

Jenny clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Why didn't you use the bathroom? Or tell me you had to go?"

I couldn't look at her. I just shrugged, staring at the carpet. My whole plan had fallen apart instantly.

"That's not acceptable, bud," she said softly but firmly. "That's not what big boys do. Come on—let's get you a fresh one."

I followed her up the stairs, heart pounding. In her room, she grabbed the pack and pulled out a new pull-up. That's when Scott walked in.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"This one wet himself during the movie," Jenny said.

Scott looked at me, eyebrows lifted. "Aw, bud. I asked you if you had to go. We would've paused it. Why'd you do that?"

"I don't know..." I muttered, barely audible.

"Not good," he said quietly. "We can't be doing that."

Jenny handed me the pull-up. "Here. Go to the bathroom and change."

I walked out, clutching it in my hand. In the bathroom mirror, the swollen front of the pull-up looked even worse than it felt. The soggy padding clung to me. I ripped the sides, tossed it to the floor, cleaned myself up, and stepped into the fresh one. It felt soft and dry—way better than the clammy mess before.

I came out holding the wet one awkwardly.

"Where should I put this?" I asked.

"In the garbage, silly," Jenny said.

"But... someone will see it," I whispered.

"I'll take out the trash in a bit," Scott added.

Relieved, I dropped it in the pail and headed to bed. As I lay down, I kept replaying everything. Why didn't I just get up and go to the bathroom? Such a dumb plan. Not exactly the best first impression in a new home.

At some point I drifted off. Later, the soft sound of little footsteps running toward Jenny and Scott's room woke me. Jonny, heading to their bed as usual. I shifted—and realized my pull-up was wet again.

I hated the feeling. So I slipped it off, tossed it on the floor, and pulled my pants back on. I'll be fine now, I thought.

I wasn't.

I woke again to Sabrina leaning over me.

"Wakie wakie, Jakie! We're going shopping for our ro—" She stopped mid-sentence, staring at the floor. "Why is there a wet pull-up on the ground?"

I shot upright. "It's probably Jonny's."

She frowned. "It looks way too big to be his."

"I don't know—maybe they buy them big for him," I said quickly.

Before she could question it more, I felt something cold and awful against my thighs. I looked down.

My pajamas were soaked.

Again? Seriously? How am I even doing this?

"I'll tell Jenny there's a dirty pull-up on the floor," Sabrina said, heading for the door.

"No!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. "It's fine—I'll take care of it. Don't bother her."

"...Okay?" she said, giving me a weird look before leaving.

As soon as she was gone, I stared at the new stain on the sheets. This was exactly what the pull-up was supposed to prevent. And now I had to explain why I took it off.

Jenny popped her head in a few minutes later.

"Good morning, bud. How'd you sleep? Better night?"

This was my chance.

"Good morning," I said quietly. "I slept good... but I had an accident."

"That's alright. That's what they're there for," she said.

"Well... actually... I had a couple." My voice cracked.

"They're pretty absorbent," she reassured.

"Yeah but... I took it off after the first one. I didn't like the feeling. And then I wet the bed too."

I pulled the blanket back to show the stain.

Jenny exhaled. "Buddy... I wish you hadn't done that. You have to keep it on all night so things like this don't happen."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"I know. But if you want to stay dry, you need to keep it on. Now get dressed and come down for breakfast. I made eggs, bacon, and sausage. I'll deal with the sheets."

"What about the wet pull-up?"

"Throw it away," she said.

I changed clothes, threw the pull-up in the trash, and headed downstairs. Everyone talked about their plans: Katie had a soccer game, Brianna was going to a friend's house, Scott would take Katie and Jonny, and Jenny would take me, Sabrina, and Josie shopping.

After breakfast, we loaded into the van. Another booster seat waited for me. I didn't argue.

We headed to Target. Josie picked out Tinker Bell stuff; Sabrina took forever choosing décor. I already knew I wanted Spider-Man everything, but before I could grab anything Jenny got a phone call.

Katie had broken her leg.

We rushed to check out the girls' things and hurried to the van. We'd have to come back tomorrow for my stuff. I understood, even though I was disappointed.

On the drive, I felt the urge to pee building. I didn't want to make things harder for Jenny, so I stayed silent. She grabbed us lunch from a drive-thru, and the Sprite made everything worse. Ten minutes later I was squirming.

"Uh... Jenny? I really gotta go to the bathroom."

"Oh, bud... the next exit isn't for a while. Can you hold it until the hospital?"

"How long?"

"GPS says twenty-two minutes."

I swallowed. "I'll try."

She smiled at me through the mirror. "Okay. I'll get us there as fast as I can without speeding."

Twenty-two minutes felt like a lifetime. About halfway there, my stomach hurt from holding it. The pressure was unbearable. I clenched tighter, trying to breathe through it.

Then a wave hit me—stronger than the last—and that was it.

Before I could stop it, my bladder let go.

Right there in the seat.