Game Over: Life's Over

Normal

I missed being home more than I realized. I grew up in the house for the first seventeen years of my life. It was all I knew until I moved in with Theo and Eric. And while I was getting comfortable living with them, I was always going to call my original house home.

We made it home close to seven in the evening. Mom said she was going to get the food delivered to the house while we got ourselves settled in. She wanted to enjoy the time we had together as long as she could.

I really liked this new side of Mom.

I wasn't all that close with Mom growing up. I spent most of my time with Alex and his family. His Mom took me to practice and cheered for me at games. She made me dinner and helped me with my homework. Mom just paid the bills and gave me a place to live. Maybe my condition was a chance for her to make up for the past and give us a new, fresh start.

I hoped we could get that. I wanted it for us. I wanted us to get close like mothers and sons typically were.

But I lived over two hours away from her so I knew spending time together would be limited to whenever she was able to come visit. I was willing to do what I could to make it work and it seemed Mom felt the same.

Mom set two plates down on the coffee table. "What do you want to drink?"

"Can I have a Pepsi or something?"

She nodded. "Sure. Do Theo and Eric let you have soda at their house?"

"Sometimes. Theo's big on healthy stuff. He's always getting low-calorie stuff."

"Do they want you to eat healthy? I'd be glad to keep that up while you're here, too."

I groaned. "Please don't."

"Healthy stuff is good for you, sweetie. I try to eat as healthy as I can myself."

I scowled. "They probably know that I'm not going to keep the same routine as I do with them. I doubt they'd care."

"Let's compromise. I'll let you have a cup each day but the rest of the time, I want you to drink water or something that isn't soda."

"You're taking all the fun out of being here."

She laughed. "Find something for us to watch. I'll go get you a drink."

Mom wasn't one to eat at the coffee table. If she were to have her way, we would have eaten over the sink or trash can to prevent any crumbs or mess. She liked keeping the house clean. I wasn't sure what made her change her mind this time.

I turned on a movie for us to watch and crossed my legs under me. As I did so, I felt my diaper squish and I groaned. I hated that my body made me use diapers. I hated not being able to go to the bathroom like a normal adult.

Mom came back into the room carrying two cups. She had a regular cup for her and one of my water bottles with a straw in it for me to use. Sippy cups didn't like soda.

Before she could sit down, I spoke. "Mom, I need my diaper changed."

"Okay. Let me find your diaper bag." She set the drinks down and then headed toward the front door. My bags were still sitting by the door. We were too busy talking when we got home that we never thought to put my bags in my room.

Mom grabbed the pack of wipes and a clean diaper and followed me upstairs. She instructed me to go into her room. She grabbed a towel and laid it on the bed.

I laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling fan as she pulled my shorts down and opened my dirty diaper up.

"You'll have to tell me if I'm doing this wrong. I haven't changed a diaper since you were little."

"I wouldn't be able to do any better." Theo told me he would show me how I could change my own diapers and while I wanted to learn, it was easier to let someone else do it. I'd gotten used to Theo and Eric changing me. I was still getting used to Mom doing it but I was trying to push past my own feelings of discomfort. They weren't going to judge me for needing diapers.

Mom laughed. "Maybe this is a good chance for me to practice."

"Are you planning to have another baby?" I asked.

She laughed a little harder this time. "Definitely not. I'm perfectly okay with you being my only baby."

"Mom," I groaned.

"No matter how old you get, you'll always be my baby." She taped up the clean diaper and helped me put my shorts back on.

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of her bed. It was one that sat up higher than normal. I usually couldn't touch the floor when I sat on it but ever since I shrunk a few inches, I was even further from the floor.

"Come wash your hands so we can go eat. We don't want the food to get cold."

"I'm surprised you'll even let me eat it since it's not healthy."

Mom sighed. "Honey, I'm only trying to take care of you."

"Yeah, but it feels like you're trying too hard. My life already sucks as it is. I don't need you guys making it worse."

"We're not trying to make things worse for you. I understand life isn't going the way you thought it would. But our job is to take care of you. You might not understand why we make certain decisions but we're only doing it to benefit you."

I sighed and hid my face in her shirt. "I just want things to go back to normal."

Mom patted my back. "I know you do. Let's go have dinner and pretend things are normal for a while."