Shooting Star - Thanksgiving Chores (Patreon)

"Grace, could you come set the tables?"

Grace groaned, turning to look over the back of the couch at her mother, standing in the doorway, wearing an apron. "But Mom," she whined, "I'm watching the parade! Can't...?"

"Set the table, please," her mother repeated, waving her spoon in the direction of the dining room. "There will be a rerun of the parade later, you'll be fine."

"But..." Grace pouted before letting out a sigh, seeing that she wasn't making any headway. "Fine..." She pushed herself up off of the sofa and shuffled into the kitchen to fetch the plates and silverware as her Mom went back to attending to the dishes simmering away on the stove while her Dad rolled out dough for the last pie.

"No need to be grumpy," she told Grace. "You could have done it earlier, before the parade was on, and you..."

"I know, I know," Grace huffed. Sometimes she hated coming back home for the holidays... It felt like she'd never left, like she'd never grown up into the adult that she knew she was, even if her parents didn't always treat her like it. Maybe she would have set the table before people had begun to arrive, had her mother not been so condescending about it... She'd used the excuse that they didn't know, exactly, who was coming, that they never knew if her uncle Daniel was going to bring along his girlfriend or not, but really she was just annoyed.

If she started with the kids' table, she could peer into the living room, see a bit of the TV. If she took long enough, she might catch Santa's sleigh going by, she thought, slowly setting out the plates for all her little cousins. As she looked into the other room, however, she found herself getting distracted not by the television screen, but the window next to it, curtains thrown open, revealing her younger cousin Dolly frolicking, giggling, carefree as she tumbled into piles of leaves, her father standing by and keeping an eye on her.

It was so unfair... She got to be out there, no responsibilities, no chores, nothing... And Grace was stuck inside, doing her mother's bidding. Dolly was old enough that she could set out some forks! It wasn't like she was one of the really little cousins, lying on the floor of the living room, burbling and drooling... She was big enough to run around, yet still young enough that she wasn't getting asked to step away from what she wanted to do to help out.

Grace's feeling of resentment only grew as the day wore on. She did remember how, not all that long ago, really, she'd been practically begging to get to sit at the big table, but now that she was here, she couldn't stop staring at the kids' table, wishing she could be there, rather than trapped listening to her family's boring conversations.

And then, when it was over, it was her job to clear the table and do the dishes. "Why me?" she complained.

"Because you didn't help cook," her mother reminded her. 

"Neither did any of them," Grace scowled into the living room where the rest of the family was gathered.

"They don't live here. Don't be rude, Gracie."

"I don't live here anymore either," Grace rolled her eyes, but apparently that didn't count, since she'd slept there the night before. Grace grumbled as she began to ferry all the dishes into the kitchen, starting with the big table now. By the time she got to the kids' table, she could see Dolly curled up on a blanket on the floor, fast asleep.

It didn't get much better as people began to leave, Dolly's family one of the last to go, the girl yawning as her father picked her up, cuddling cozily into his arms while Grace's Mom ordered, "Go fetch the vacuum, Grace."

"This isn't my house," Grace hissed at her. "And you invited all of them! Why do I have to clean up after them?"

Her mother sighed impatiently. "I didn't say you did, young lady... I only asked you to get it. With that attitude, though, maybe you should."

Thanksgiving used to be a nice, simple, carefree holiday, Grace thought to herself that evening as she brushed her teeth. What had happened? When had it gotten to be so much work? It wasn't her fault that her parents usually hosted it, or that she was the oldest of the cousins. "I wish I didn't have all these responsibilities," she pouted. "I wish everyone would treat me like Dolly was treated so I could actually enjoy my Thanksgiving."

Safely inside the bathroom, she had no idea that there was a shooting star passing by overhead at just that moment...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Good morning, Gracie!" her mother exclaimed, Grace groaning, turning over.

"Go away," she mumbled. "It's Friday, we don't hafta do anything."

"Don't be silly," her mother chuckled. "You don't want to skip right over Thanksgiving, do you?"

Grace frowned, blinked. "What are you...?"

As she began to wake up more, however, she suddenly became aware of another, more important, issue. She pressed her legs together, feeling a weird bulk there, soft and thick... And clammy. 

"Come on, let's get you nice and dry before anyone else gets here." Before Grace could react, her mother had thrown aside her covers. Grace gasped, grabbing for them, then for the hem of her nightshirt, trying to pull them back over herself as she looked down, cheeks burning at the sight of what she was wearing underneath.

"Look at that," her mother said, pushing Grace's hands aside easily. "That's not so bad, Gracie! Only a little soggy tonight! Good job!"

Grace squirmed, mortified that she was being praised for that... She shouldn't be wet at all! Then again, she shouldn't be wearing this diaper taped around her waist either... Why did her mother know about it, and why was she being so nonchalant about it, as if it was totally normal?!

It wasn't until her Mom commented, "I bet you'll be out of nighttime diapers before Dolores after all," that she began to put it together. She hadn't realized Dolly still wet the bed... She seemed a bit old for that, but Grace didn't really know how long it was normal for that to happen. 

Not that it mattered, of course. This was a dream... It had to be. She'd gone to bed resenting Dolly, thinking about how much better of a day she'd gotten to have, and so that was what her dream was about... And she did recall, vaguely, her mother mentioning at some point that Dolly was a bedwetter, though that was long enough ago that Grace had mostly forgotten about it, and assumed it was no longer true; it was weird how brains pulled together all this disparate stuff to create dreams.

Knowing it was a dream did make it slightly less embarrassing, if not by much, to be lying there in her bed, looking around at her room, decorated as it had been when she was a little girl again, everything she'd added - or taken away - as she moved into becoming a teenager reset. It was nostalgic, taking it all in, and helping distract her as her mother walked across the room, over to the dresser, and pulled out...

"Nooo!" Grace whined, wriggling on her bed. "Mom, I don't need another diaper!"

"Of course you do, silly," her mother told her. "Don't you remember what we talked about? With everything going on today, we aren't even going to worry about trying to do any potty training."

Even knowing this was a dream, hearing those words was so humiliating Grace found herself reverting to squealing out, "Mommy!", which only mortified her more. "I am potty trained!" she protested.

The way her mother laughed at that just made it worse. "You don't have to be self-conscious about it, sweetie... Remember, Dolores is going to be here today, too! So you won't be the only older girl in diapers!"

"Wh-What?" Grace blinked. "Dolly wears diapers still?"

"You really must be sleepy," her mother stroked her hair. "Maybe we'll have time to get you down for a nice nap later today, okay? For now, we have to get you changed!"

Reluctantly, Grace allowed it to happen, shivering at the touch of the cool baby wipes against her privates. Since she knew it was a dream, she ought to be able to take control, she thought, but she wasn't sure how to do that, how to put a stop to this. It felt so real she was afraid to do anything too drastic, to risk getting in trouble if she failed. So, instead, she was diapered, dressed up in a little red party dress, white ruffled tights, and black Mary Janes, very similar to what Dolly had been wearing the day before.

"Happy Thanksgiving, princess!" her father greeted her as she toddled into the kitchen with a kiss on the top of the head... And a crinkly pat on the bottom. "Nice and dry?"

"Daddy!" Grace squeaked, so humiliated that he knew about her diapers that, suddenly, she could no longer say yes. She gasped, feeling a dribble of warmth begin to soak its way into her padding, her hands immediately clamping between her legs in horror.

"Guess not, huh?" her father gave her mother a wink over Grace's head, only making Grace feel smaller, more embarrassed.

"She did pretty well last night, anyway," her Mom shrugged. "Today is just an exciting day, though, so we can't blame her too much."

"No, of course not," her Dad smiled down at Grace, ruffling her hair. "You'll get there when you're ready, kiddo."

Grace wanted to tell him that she was ready, that she was potty trained, obviously... But the fresh dampness in her diaper stopped the words short. All she could do was quietly eat her breakfast, than go to sit on the sofa.

"Here," her mother offered, trailing after her, "why don't you sit down here? We don't have time to clean the couch if you leak, sweetie."

"I'm not gonna leak, Mommy!" Grace pouted, watching as her Mom spread a blanket out on the floor. Dolly had been sitting on one most of the previous day... She'd assumed it was because there were only enough real seats in the living room for the adults, but, at least in her dream, maybe that wasn't the case...

"Better not to take any chances," her Mom told her.

Grace sighed, sitting down on the blanket, feeling very silly as she stared up at the cartoons playing on the TV, waiting for the parade to start. She was almost grateful when she heard the first doorbell, even if she didn't really want the rest of her family to see her while she was wearing a diaper, hopping up off the floor, calling out, "I'll get it!"

"No, you don't!" her mother scolded, rushing out of the kitchen. "You sit down, young lady! You know better than that!"

"B-But Mom!" she whined. 

"I know you know who is and isn't family," her Mom said, "but it's better to be safe."

She hadn't even really thought of opening the door as a chore, or a responsibility, although she supposed it did count. And it was nice to not have to think about it... Even after Dolly got there, and she found herself looking awkwardly at her, wondering how, yesterday, she hadn't realized that she was diapered, because now it felt so obvious. Then again, yesterday, she hadn't been looking for it, or sitting on the floor... With their outfits being so similar, she couldn't help wondering if it was obvious she was diapered, too, making her tug anxiously at the hem of her dress.

"Look at that!" her mother exclaimed. "Our little twins! We're going to have to get pictures later!"

"Of course!" her uncle agreed. "Do you mind if we borrow Gracie's room for a minute? She needs a change after the drive."

"Go ahead," her mother said. "Could you do me a favor and check her, too? I bet she's pretty soggy by now."

"Mommy!" Grace squealed, horrified that she would say that, or so nonchalantly ask somebody else, even a family member, to change her. As she wiggled on the floor, however, she realized that her diaper was, indeed, quite wet... When had that happened?!

"Sweetie, I'm too busy to do it myself," her Mom apologized. "Your uncle has plenty of experience... He'll do fine."

"B-But Mommy," Grace pouted. "C-Can't I...?" She didn't even have to finish the question. She hadn't wanted any responsibilities, and this could definitely be seen as that... And clearly Dolly wasn't expected to change herself, either. She was sent, bashfully, to her room to stand by as her younger cousin was cleaned up, taped into a fresh diaper, just to be laid down for her own turn next, hiding her face in shame.

She didn't have to set the table, though, and that was nice, getting to go outside and run around with Dolly instead. Of course, with her uncle watching, she was only allowed to go so far into the yard, to do so much, so he could keep an eye on her, and keep her from getting her dress too dirty. It had, honestly, looked a lot more carefree from the other side of the window... And she had to be constantly cautious to keep her skirt from flying up, showing off her diaper.

Things got better when it was time to eat, sitting down, obviously, at the kids' table, not even having to fill her own plate... Which also meant that she didn't get to decide what she had. "Mommy," she complained, staring at what she'd been given, "why did you put so many green beans on there? You know I don't like..."

"You have to eat your vegetables," her mother lectured. "And I want you to finish them if you think you're getting any pie later."

But the final, worst indignity came after the meal. She didn't have to clear the plates, or wash them, could just go lie down, curl up on her blanket, tummy full, eyelids heavy... It was only then that she discovered how bad her potty training was, as she began to squirm, feeling a strange discomfort. She couldn't quite figure out what it was at first, what was going on, something odd and icky spreading through her diaper... Until she smell hit her.

She was pooping her pants, right there in front of everyone. She laid there, frozen, mortified, praying they wouldn't notice... But - as had likely happened yesterday, too, as she was off in the kitchen - her uncle lifted the back of Dolly's skirt. "Oof, that's what I thought. Sorry, everyone... I'll give her a few minutes to finish up, then go change her, all right?"

"What about Gracie?" she heard one of her aunts ask, her stomach lurching in humiliation, feeling her own skirt being raised, exposing her dirty diaper to the whole family. "Yep, she needs a change, too."

Grace was just waiting to wake up at that point, to put an end to this, but instead, she was stuck there, pretending to be asleep, grunting as softly as she could as she continued to fill her diaper, her skirt still tucked up so everyone could see what she was doing. At the very least, she told herself, once she went to bed in the dream - much earlier than she really had, and taped into an extra thick diaper for the night - she would wake up back to normal.

She actually woke up in the middle of a puddle, her room still decorated in the same childish style, the diaper she was still wearing soaked and leaking. "Oh, poor thing," her mother cooed when she came in to check on her. "That was a big day yesterday, huh? Maybe we'll take the rest of the weekend off from potty training, too, to let you recover..."

"B-But Mommy..." Grace whined, heart pounding as she realized it hadn't been a dream at all, that her wish had, somehow, come true... And that she had no idea how, much less any idea how she could reverse it, if that was even possible