Bottoms Up, Part 15 [Conclusion!] (Patreon)

This is, in fact, the final chapter. I want to thank you all for coming along with me on this journey.

Fifteen: Grown-Ups

Two things had happened.

First: Grace had gone before CALM during their next weekly meeting, and had given an impassioned speech about trusting the adults of this city to do the right things with their personal lives. If someone wanted to buy diapers - and it didn’t harm anyone else - was there really a need to make a big deal about it? CALM could do greater things, she reminded them. Predatory banks. Shady car salesman. Telephone scammers. Businesses that actually forced their way into people’s lives and caused harm.

A handful of members agreed with this. The rest still thought the diaper store was a boil on the ass of the devil. Grace stepped down as the chairwoman and as a member. And as she explained this to the rest of the group, she pissed in her diapers. She had been hoping to do more - but she hadn’t quite reached that level of comfort yet.

Second: the remaining members of CALM, with their new spokesman - the loud and boorish Gregory Handscomb - took their argument to the city council, as scheduled. They pleaded their case - Gregory listing the potential concerns he saw with a store that catered to ‘our neighbors inflicted with the curse of infantilism.’ But there were no charts. No studies. No proof of such trauma or troubling behavior in the years since Bottoms Up had opened. It likely would’ve been quickly dismissed anyways, though councilman Hamish Bellenourt still made a point to call out the organization for wasting the council’s time.

“We pride ourselves on not being the thought-police,” Bellencourt had said. “And until anyone can show me certifiable proof on how this business adversely affects our city, then I say that this business is a welcome part of our local economy.”

There were rumblings within the group that Grace had gotten too close to the owner of the diaper store. He had charmed her, or at least paid her off.

Not that it mattered. CALM would be shuttered soon after.

--

“What is that?” Harper asked, walking into the kitchen, exhaling the last drag she had taken from the vape.

“Dinner,” replied Syd with a grin.

“Dinner? Like...you’re cooking?”

“I’m growing,” they said. “Trying new things. Finding new and exciting ways to burn my arms with hot cooking oil.”

Harper sniffed at the air. “I’m catching notes of...garlic, onions, tomato, basil, and...something I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s stronger - the strongest, really. I want to say it’s foul. Like...absolutely putrid?”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say about my cooking,” Syd said with a smile.

Harper got closer and kissed Syd on the cheek before orbiting behind them so she could pull open the back of their pants and look inside.

Diapers hadn’t been an everyday occurrence between the two. Usually once a week one of two things would happen: Syd would find a diaper waiting for her on the bed after a morning shower; or half a day would pass before Harper realized Syd had surprised her with a little extra bulk in her pants.

“Ah, I see the problem,” she said. “You have something else cooking back here.”

“I...was going to tell you about that.”

“Oh yeah? When? Because I could smell your diaper before I could smell the pot on the stove.”

“Who do you think you are?” they asked. “My mommy?”

“I think that’s exactly who I am, and you know it.” She wrapped her hands around Syd, leaning in to kiss their neck before playfully swatting the odourous diaper in their pants.

“Well I need to watch this pot and make sure it doesn’t burn,” Syd said with a shrug. “It’s not like I can leave it for a diaper change.”

“You’re so difficult.”

Syd shrugged again.

“Fine, finish cooking. But I’m warning you right now, if you’re telling me that you don’t want a diaper change now, you don’t get to come ask me for one later. You’re staying in that stinky thing until I decide you need to be changed.”

“Suit yourself,” Syd teased. “I’m sure you’ll want my bottom nice and clean for dinner.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Harper shot back. “I think it would enhance the mood knowing that you were sitting across the table from me while sitting in your own filth.”

“We have company coming over,” Syd said, stirring the deep red sauce vigorously. “That wouldn’t be very nice.”

“Normally I’d agree. But this company? I’m sure they’d understand.”

“You know, for someone you divorced, I still feel like we see an awful lot of Layne.”

“Too much, you think?”

“I’m kidding. Though…I definitely feel like you two are closer now than back when you were hitched.”

“Life is funny like that,” Harper said, musing on that strange new reality herself. “Besides, the boy needs a Mommy. And Grace is no more a caregiver than he is.”

“How do you think they even function when they’re together?”

“I just imagine them rolling around on their backs sobbing because nobody’s there to change their diapers. But what do I know?”

The house had been sold. The divorce was finalized. But the most extreme changes were the good ones. The friendly ones. The weekends they set aside so that Harper could dote on her favorite babies - all 3 of them. She was just as clueless as Syd was on how Layne and Grace’s dynamic worked, but she had come to terms with the fact that she didn’t have to care. She liked the smaller world she cared about now; the one where she and Syd lived together and were falling more in love everyday.

--

“Excuse me, miss?”

“Yes?”

“I’m looking at these two and...I’m not sure which is better. Do you have any...recommendations?”

Effie smiled. “Well, these ones here - The Ultrafluffs - they’re known for being quite absorbent. Quite possibly the most absorbent diaper on the market, as far as ones made for giant babies like yourself go.”

The young man - barely out of his teens, with an ill-advised goatee and haircut combination - blushed a little at this remark but said nothing.

“If thickness is your thing - or if you’re planning on wearing the same diaper all day - you really can’t go wrong with the Ultrafluff. But these other ones? They may just be my personal favorites.”

“Really? W-why?”

“The Buttercups are a little less absorbent. A little less thick. But, I mean, it’s still a diaper made for big babies. You’re going to feel that bulk. And you could easily fit a two-liter of Coke in there. Y’know - if you had to. Plus, there’s something about the design that I just really like. It’s cute and innocent and it just feels like...good memories.”

“Good memories?” The young man scratched his head.

“Or, I have good memories associated with them. Feel free to make your own memories.”

“Can I, uhm, ask what your favorite memory of these diapers is?”

“You cannot. I admire your boldness though. I’m sure that was hard for you to spit out.”

“I’ll...take these,” he said defeatedly, flopping the thick pack of Ultrafluffs up on the counter. She wondered if she could’ve sold him on the Buttercups with a story about getting an enema.

“These are probably the better choice for you anyways,” she said. “You look like a baby who wants to stew in his own juices for a while.”

It wasn’t until after the young man paid for his purchase and left that Layne turned around. She was impressed that he hadn’t butt in once during that entire transaction.

“That was good,” he said. “Though I can’t decide if it’s a perk or not to have my manager insulting the customers.”

“He loved it,” Effie said, shrugging. “He’s going to go home and cream his diapers while thinking about me.”

“You’re happy with that?”

“We sold him some diapers, right? And he’ll be back.”

“Fair enough. Oh, and, uh, memories? What memories do you have associated with Buttercups?”

“I admire your boldness,” Effie said again with a smile. “But...I just made that up.”

It had been months since she had first spent time with Margaret - back when she had ulterior motives and didn’t just want her bottom paddled - and she had yet to tell Layne what had happened. It had been a little bit of a relief to see that it had still mattered in some small way - she liked to think she had contributed to the dissolution of CALM - though time had proven that she cared less about that than she thought she did.

She suspected that Layne had suspected something. Maybe he didn’t know exactly what she did, but it was as if he knew that she had helped in some way. He had been nicer to her following that night she threatened to quit. And then, just a month ago, he gave her a promotion to Associate Manager, along with the promise of a budget that would allow for her to hire someone herself - in addition to making a few changes around the store, as she saw fit.

“Just a reminder that I won’t be in on Saturday,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s right,” he said. “I can take over that day. What were you doing again?”

“I just have an appointment.” That usually worked. He never cared for elaboration when the a-word was dropped for fear of stumbling into an awkward conversation about the nature of that appointment.

“Right, right.”

She made a mental list of the things she’d need to pick up before Saturday. She wanted a new pacifier. Maybe that new onesie with the flower print. Probably another pack of Buttercups too - you can never have too many.

“Alright,” he said. “I’m heading out. I’ll be driving down to Morristown tomorrow, and I probably won’t be back in the store until Friday. If you need me, text me. Don’t burn down the store. Don’t let anyone poop in here either.”

“Haven’t seen Hanson in months,” said Effie. “A shame too, because I would’ve loved to yell at him again. You know, as a manager.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you did such a good job yelling the last time.”

“So this Morristown thing is happening?”

“We’ll see,” he said. “I like the location, and we’d be getting a pretty good deal on the lease there. I guess I just need to decide how much I want to operate two of these damn stores.”

“Well you’re not alone,” she said. “I got your back, no matter what you choose.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. Hurry up and say something snarky, or else I’m going to think you’re getting too soft.”

“Hurry up and get out of here, Baby-Man. And don’t forget a diaper when you go - it’s going to be a long drive.”

“That’s the stuff,” he said with a calmed sigh.

--

“I wish you were coming with me,” he said, kissing Grace’s lips.

“I wish I was going with you too. But maybe it’s for the best that I’m not.”

“You think?”

“It’s getting cold out,” she said with a shrug. “So we’d have to keep the windows up. And can you imagine that drive with two full diapers sitting next to each other?”

He laughed. “Well, it’s not like you’re doing nothing.”

“I’m nervous,” she said.

“Really? Why? You’re a great public speaker. I still remember that time I dropped by that CALM meeting and heard you speak. You almost convinced me to hate my own store.”

She gave him a playful punch to the arm. “You don’t have to butter me up anymore. You’ve got me.”

“I prefer you buttered,” he said. “It tastes better that way.” He kissed her lips again.

“Well thank you for the morale boost.”

Grace was back to volunteering and speaking about issues that mattered to her. Except her platform had changed a little - this would be the first meeting for AKAF, the Alliance for Kink-Aware Friends, a small group that hoped to advocate for fair treatment of alternate lifestyles.

“You’re going to wear a diaper while you speak?”

“Should I?”

He shrugged. “I’m not saying you have to use it. But I bet it’d make you feel better. I thought I heard that once - the secret to public speaking is to have a secret that nobody else knows. It’s a power thing.”

“Well that’s about as much power as a diaper gives you,” she mused.

“But let’s talk about tonight.”

“Oh right - dinner at Harper and Syd’s?”

Layne nodded excitedly.

“Never thought you’d be so happy to see them.”

“Syd’s cooking, so I’m not as excited for that. But…”

“You need some motherly love?”

“Don’t you?”

She nodded slowly, her cheeks becoming a little rosy.

“Let’s pick out some diapers and get ready.”

“And you’re going to change your pants too, right?” she asked.

He looked down at his heather-grey sweatpants. He smiled and kissed her again.

“One of these days,” she said, “one of us is going to have to learn how to grow up a little.”

“Why the hell would we do that?”

She didn’t have a good answer for that.

--

The door opened, jingling the bell. Just one woman. Dark skinned with tight curls atop her head. She looked familiar.

“Well, well well,” she said. “If it isn’t Baby-Man himself.”

He stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “Kiwi?”

“Kiri,” she said with a smile. “You’re still a smartass, I see.”

“We’ve tried everything,” he said. “Drugs, therapy, electro-shock. As it turns out, it can’t be cured.”

“Every once in a while, I like to drive by your store,” she said. “I’ll peek in through the front window and see who’s there. It’s always the girl.”

“Effie,” he said with a nod. “She’s a manager now.”

“Does that mean you’re here even less now?”

“That sounds judgmental.”

“Good.”

“What can I do for you today?” he asked.

“I have a need for diapers.”

“Well you’ve come to the right place. We have a few here.”

“I see that.”

“You know, Effie would’ve been happy to have sold you some diapers. You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“I got it in my head, I think, that I had to get them from you,” she said, starting to meander through the store, looking at the shelves of diapers and infantile supplies.

“Because of my amazing personality?”

She laughed and shook her head. “There was something about you that I really liked. That night we met in the bar all those months ago? You told me these humiliating things about yourself in a way that felt so normal. I guess I really appreciated that boldness. It’s something I’ve strived for myself.”

“I also might have been tipsy.”

“It’s possible.”

“Probable,” he said.

“Anyways, it’s been a good thing that I haven’t seen you here. I’ve been working up the courage to tell my boyfriend I wanted to experience some fun with diapers. I’ve been dropping little hints here and there, but I don’t think he’s put it all together. And, I thought, for as long as I didn’t see you in this store, I didn’t actually have to buy diapers and show them to him.”

“But here I am,” he said. “The day has come.”

“Yeah,” she said, laughing to herself. “I guess so. Time to be a grown-up, buy some diapers, and then beg my boyfriend to participate.”

“Do you want to try a diaper on?” he asked.

She tilted her head a little. “I’m getting the mental image of a communal shared diaper that you let everyone try on.”

“I’m sure there’s someone out there who’d like that very much. But, no, I just have a nursery in the back. More of a closet, really. But it’s got enough space for a curious woman to slip into some thick padding and get a feel for it.”

“Is the room full of secret cameras?”

“Ah damn,” he said. “You know something? I never thought of that.”

“The diapers aren’t for me,” she said. “They’re for him.”

“Oh?”

She pointed to some diapers - the Carnivals. There was a hand-drawn sign next to them, courtesy of Effie, that proclaimed them to be ‘The Best-Sellers!’

“Is this true?” she asked, referring to the sign.

“They’re my personal favorites,” he said.

“The problem is,” she said, “it’s hard for me to pick out diapers without being able to imagine what they look like on him.”

“I could give you a sample or two, if you want. Free of charge. Take them home and have a ball.”

“That’s not a bad option,” she said. “Or…”

“Or?”

“Baby-Man, what do I have to do to get you into a diaper today?”