The Weekend Visit, Part 39

Our aunt continued speaking to me as if I were a child. “Diapers are no excuse for this kind of behavior, Annie,” she said, “Now, can I trust you to act like a proper young lady for the rest of the meal, or should I make other arrangements for you?”

Other arrangements like what? It didn’t matter. Focusing on Aunt Miranda and doing my best to ignore Kate, I said, “You can trust me.” Mostly. Except for the fact that I was stuck going along with whatever immature ideas Kate continued to come up with. It was belatedly dawning on me that our relatives learning about my ‘accidents’ had been an early motivator where the diapers were involved, but didn’t change very much now that Kate had more leverage on me.

I didn’t necessarily want to stay at the country club, as every minute there was another minute I was stuck in wet diapers. However, I couldn’t imagine that the alternative would be better. My first thought was that she would have a babysitter come pick me up or something, which I’m sure Kate would love.

Meanwhile, Aunt Miranda didn’t seem to have any of the initial amusement she demonstrated when Kate first told her that I was ‘pretending’ to be younger. “I hope so,” she said, “Kate, bring her back in when she’s calmed down.”

But- but I WAS calm!! Well, maybe ‘calm’ wasn’t the right word. However, I was perfectly capable of returning to the dining room.

At least Kate seemed to believe the same. That, or she didn’t feel the need to lecture me again, considering we had just been out here alone earlier. She just shot me a smirk and reminded me to smile.

That was going to be a questionable endeavor. It had been one thing to act all bubbly and giggly when there was an understanding that no one actually believed it. Now that our aunt was actually treating me like Kate’s little sister without a trace of a knowing look on her face, as well as the state of my diapers, I ended up returning to our table with a rather frustrated attitude. I didn’t lash out at anyone or whatever, but mostly ended up sulking in my chair while the others conversed without including me much along the way.

Thankfully, no one was interested in dessert, which meant we were only there for so much longer. After Uncle Rob paid the bill, however, I learned that we weren’t heading out quite yet; we still had to take a family photo.

I was immediately opposed, as I didn’t at all look like myself, but I knew better than to complain when our aunt would only see it as immature whining. The twins protested a little bit, saying that they didn’t always have to do the photo thing at the country club. It was simple enough for their parents to shut them down by pointing out that this was different than the usual family picture, as this would be with their cousins.

Naturally, Kate seemed to agree with the adults. Because she was a suck up, and no doubt wanted a photo with my pink clad self. A photo that would potentially be sent to our parents, or other relatives. Was there no way out of something like that? I looked so young!

Sensing my hesitation, Kate took my hand and walked us over to the side of the spacious foyer that would serve as our backdrop. “Here, Annie,” she said, “How about . . . ” She released her grip as quickly as she took it, and guided me to stand right in front of her. It wasn’t difficult to imagine how she’d look like the older sister in every way imaginable as she towered over me and affectionately held my shoulders from behind.

Aunt Miranda found a staff member nearby to take the photo, while the others found their places around us. This time, I had no choice but to smile. It was a force of habit when a camera was involved, plus I would almost certainly end up being told to do so anyway by the young man holding the phone.

He took a couple with each orientation, going the extra mile for the tip that he was given afterwards. Right when we were done, Kate’s hand found mine again in a matter of seconds. “Stay with me, little sis,” she said, very much within earshot of all of relatives, “I don’t want you wandering off and getting lost.”

As if walking out the front door and to the car was something I couldn’t be trusted with. At least that’s where we were going. Heading back out to where the valet already had both our aunt’s car and our uncle’s car waiting for us, I once again had to suffer through being buckled into the car seat. The wet diapers certainly didn’t make it any more comfortable.

The drive back to the house was painless enough, save for the fact that Kate and the twins briefly talked about upcoming camp activities. I still didn’t believe that I was actually going, as I was too old for that and would only be here through the end of the weekend, though the mental projection alone was embarrassing.

After we pulled into the garage, Kate helped me out of the booster seat while fussing over my dress along the way. “What do you say, Annie?” she asked, once I was finally standing outside the car without her totally invading my personal space.

Lightly blushing as our aunt and our cousins looked on, I begrudgingly muttered, “Like, thank you.”

“Good,” she nodded, “Remember, manners are important! Now, come on. You haven’t used the bathroom in a while. Are your diapers still dry?”

I froze.

It was just now hitting me that everyone knew. Our cousins had been informed at the mall, and our aunt had been told at some point. I didn’t know when. However, I wasn’t prepared for Kate to casually ask about my diapers in front of all three of them, and for no one to bat an eye.