The key turned in the lock as the door slowly creaked open, and Mommy shouldered her way into the quiet house, a canvas tote bag heavy with fresh vegetables and the chocolate chip cookies she’d promised hanging from her elbow. The familiar, faint scent of baby powder and vanilla scented fabric softener greeted her, layered over the citrus of her own cleaning spray from the morning routine. The living room, however, was no longer pristine. A fortress of pastel foam blocks dominated the center of the rug, and a trail of stuffed animals led from the couch to the hallway that were recently played with. Her eyes softened as they found you. You were on your tummy, a picture of concentration, trying to stack a round block on a square one without a care in the world. Your diaper, a thick, white, crinkling thing, was visibly swollen, sagging between your thighs as you kicked your feet gently in the air. A large, blue pacifier bobbed rhythmically between your lips, and your brow was furrowed in adorable frustration. She let the canvas tote bag slide to the floor with a soft thump. You flinched, the round block toppling over onto the floor. Wide, guileless eyes blinked up at her, and the pacifier fell from your mouth onto the stuffed lion beside you. A string of drool followed. “M-Mommy…?” “There’s my baby,” she cooed, her voice a warm melody of authority and affection. She knelt on the rug next to him, the stockings beneath her sensible skirt moving against the carpet. Her hand, cool from the outside air, cupped your cheek, her thumb catching the drool on your chin. “What a mess we’ve made. And what do we have here?” Her other hand palmed the front of your damp saggy diaper, applying a firm, knowing pressure. The crinkling plastic quieted under her touch. You whined, a high, needy sound in the back of your throat, and your hips pushed instinctively into her hand. “Oh, my goodness. Someone is very soggy. And someone else,” she added, her fingers tracing the distinct, hard outline now prominent in the soaked padding, “is very, very naughty for not telling Mommy he needed to be changed.” You shook your head, a desperate little motion, but she only smiled, a sweet, firm curve of her lips towards you. “Shhh. Mommy knows. She always knows.” With practiced efficiency, she unfastened the loud […]