The Weekend Visit, Part 35

Ordering wasn’t quite as quick or as simple as I had hoped.

When our server came over and greeted the family that he clearly already knew, as well as acknowledging and asking about me and Kate, Aunt Miranda told him that she wanted to wait until we were all here before getting started. Until our uncle arrived, we were apparently just going to be sipping water and grazing on bread from the cloth-covered basket on the table.

She had told us earlier that he wouldn’t be long. Normally I wouldn’t care about the delay, as it was common courtesy to wait until the whole table was present. However, I really needed to use the bathroom. The moment our aunt mentioned the wait, I tried to give Kate an imploring look. She was too busy chatting with Lilah about something. I couldn’t just blurt out what I needed, especially in such a nice establishment, but I also knew that every minute was dangerous when I was pinned into diapers that I didn’t know how to remove on my own.

Luna commented about how I must be hungry, oblivious to the fact that the little growls from my abdomen were coming from my bowels rather than my stomach.

Squirming in discomfort for what could have been three or thirty minutes, as there was no clock within my line of sight, I finally spotted Uncle Rob at the edge of the room. He was talking with someone I assumed was one of those golf friends we had been told about, or maybe some other friend he knew from the country club. Either way, all I wanted to do was scream at him to come sit down so we could all order. So I could be escorted to the bathroom by my sister.

When he finally wrapped up his conversation and spotted us halfway across the room, it didn’t take long for me to realize that my problems weren’t instantly solved just because he sat down. It took another minute or two for our server to return to our table, only for him to take a new round of drink orders from the two adults at the table. Since our uncle hadn’t had very long with the menu, our server ended up stepping away and prolonging my daunting wait.

“Kate . . . ” Trying to get my sister’s attention, which was difficult when she was in the middle of a drawn out discussion about wardrobe/closet organization of all things, I resorted to giving a small tap to her upper arm. It felt so childish, but I didn’t know what else to do.

“Annie.” Immediately chiding me, she only glanced my way long enough to say, “It’s rude to interrupt someone when they’re having a conversation. You need to apologize. To me, and especially to Lilah.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts,’ little sis. You need to learn how to be a polite young lady. Otherwise, you won’t be invited to a place like this next time. Would you rather stay home with a babysitter?”

Definitely not. Based on my most recent look in the mirror, there was no doubt in my mind that a babysitter I had never met before would believe in a heartbeat that I was actually the age Kate had set me up to be this weekend. And, considering everything else I had already gone through, it wasn’t the end of the world to simply behave the way Kate was telling me to. “Like, I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“Sorry for what, Annie?” Kate asked, “A good apology is specific.”

“I’m sorry for, like, interrupting. And, umm, for being rude.” What else was there?

“That’s better,” Kate said, “Now sit there like a good little girl, okay? I know you love talking to me, but you’re going to have to wait a few minutes.”

And that was that. With Kate and Lilah paired up, and Luna chiming in to ask her father something about the business concept he had been going over with his golf friends near the end, I ended up just awkwardly sitting there and trying my best not to think about my body’s urges that were getting more difficult to ignore.

When it was finally time to order, I was starting to worry that there wasn’t enough time to both make it to wherever the bathroom was and get the diapers off. I still wasn’t over how unnatural it felt; normally I had no problem holding it when I needed to, even when I had to wait for the end of a test, or a long walk, or whatever. Of course, this weekend was a far cry from my normal routine, so maybe that was what was disrupting my normal self control.

I had picked out the salmon dish for myself, since that sounded lighter than anything else, and I really wasn’t that hungry. Before I got the chance to do so, Kate ordered for me. Chicken alfredo. Not a dish that I disliked, but definitely one that a tween might order at a more upscale place. Instead of showing our aunt and uncle–both of whom knew my actual age–that I had decently mature tastes, Kate made it look like I was a picky eater due to the simplicity of what she picked out for me.

Resisting the urge to shoot her a glare, as I was perpetually stuck forcing the peppy attitude in order to avoid more potential embarrassment, I merely fidgeted in my seat and waited for our server to finish up with everyone else’s meal choices.

After he made his way to the other end of the room and the conversation between our aunt and uncle resumed, Kate finally turned towards me. “Was there something you wanted, Annie?”

Obviously. I already told her, before we sat down. Repeating it was going to be worse, as now she was asking me in a way where there was no mature way to answer. “I need to, like, use the restroom,” I muttered. It was about the best I could do in terms of keeping it proper at a place like this while also maintaining the filler word quota. As if she was actually keeping track, when such a high number was probably more meant to build the habit that had indeed started forming.

“Oh. I guess I need to come with you, don’t I?” She probably meant it in the ‘potty training’ sense, when all I really needed was for her to deal with the diaper pins.

“Umm, yeah,” I replied. Otherwise, I would have just excused myself and gone alone.

Lilah was the only one who was paying attention, as she had just been talking with Kate. She quietly giggled at my response, as what kind of twelve year old couldn’t manage a solo bathroom trip?

Kate just sighed. “Fine. At least you’re actually asking, instead of having yet another accident.” I could practically hear the phrase ‘in your diapers,’ which she probably omitted simply because of both the setting and the proximity of so many others.

She took the lead on excusing the two of us, and proceeded to take my hand like usual when I stood up.

I managed to keep a straight face when a small cramp hit me simply from the action of getting out of my chair, but that was almost nothing compared to what hit me as we stepped out of the spacious dining area. My eyes widened as I felt a much more pressing urge coming from my backside, and I ended up freezing in place. I was genuinely worried that taking another few steps forward would make things worse.

“What is it, Annie?” Kate asked, when she was no longer able to effortlessly tug me along.