The Worldwide Rewind 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 3

Jess found herself sitting in a rear-facing car seat as her mother drove them wherever she pleased. Though somewhat content, the seat was surprisingly comfortable, albeit embarrassing. During the drive, Jess's mother played toddler tunes, initially frustrating Jess but eventually becoming enjoyable, though she'd never admit it.

It wasn't a long journey, no more than a 5-minute drive, but due to traffic lights, it took around 7 minutes. The roads were mostly empty since many places were closed, and people stayed home or left work. It had been some time since the event, so most people had already left the roads.

Upon arriving at Jess's grandmother's house, her mother retrieved the diaper bag and unstrapped Jess from the car seat. They knocked on the door, and Jess's grandmother, upon seeing her mother alive and well, tearfully ushered them inside. Lorilie greeted, "Oh mom, it's so good to see you." Lydia, Jess's grandmother, replied, "I think I should be the one saying that. It's been so long since I've seen you, you know, considering you were presumed dead." Lorilie replied, "Yeah, I know. Jess told me," as she pointed shyly toward her daughter, who was held at her hip, embarrassed to be seen like this.

Lydia then remarked, "Oh wow, that's Jess? She's absolutely tiny, and she remembers everything they said on the news. Some of the really young ones seem to have lost their memories, but it's too early to say for sure."

Lorilie pointed out that she was right there and they could just ask her. Realizing her rudeness, Lydia apologized, saying, "Oh, of course, sorry. When you see a baby, you don't really think to ask them questions like that. So, Jess honey, how are you? Is everything going okay since this happened?" Jess replied, "Nuh, dis stinks. I was in a tinky diapie when it happened. Witerawee." (Literally)

Lydia chuckled somewhat and said, "Yeah, that does sound like it stinks, hun. But it looks like it can't be helped. Now come on, you two, let's sit and have some tea. Ahhh, you know, I still have Jess's playpen set up. Why not put her in that, and I'll catch you up on what you've missed?" Though annoyed by being put away like an untrained dog when guests come over, Jess figured it might be for the best, considering her difficulty in communicating since this happened. So she didn't argue and let things proceed.

Soon, Jess found herself in a playpen filled with baby toys. Although she didn't feel a real inclination to play with them, she picked up a stuffed bunny and became somewhat enthralled with its softness as her mother and grandmother spoke.

"So, Lorilie, you know that the car accident you got into did you in, but did you know that after I took over caring for Jess?" said Lydia, to which Lorilie responded affirmatively.

"OK, good. So, do you know about what Jess was, or I guess is, like?" said Lydia. "Actually, no. For the most part, she hasn't really been all that talkative. Mostly blank stares and faraway glances," Lorilie said, somewhat depressed about her daughter's predicament.

Lydia was about to drop a bit of a bombshell on her, saying, "Well, the girl was a complete slacker. She never followed any directions, and if I'm gonna be completely honest, she was a brat, which I feel is my fault. I did my best, but the girl really needed her mother, and that wasn't me, not really. So this just might be a golden opportunity for you to do the job I couldn't and show her as much."

Lorilie was stunned by this new information, and she had no idea, so she asked, "What would you propose I do then?"

Lydia thought for a moment and said, "Well, maybe the best thing to do is just treat her the way she looks, re-raise her, so to speak. While she still remembers being the way she was, it doesn't mean she needs to grow up that way again."

Lorilie pondered for a moment and finally spoke up, saying, "But don't you think she'd resent me for treating her like a baby? Besides, she's mentally still a teen."

Lydia quickly responded, "She may have the mind of a teen, but when she had the body of a teen, she acted like a child still. So really, her mind is closer to her age than it's ever been."

Lorilie was shocked again and asked, "Was she really that bad?" Lydia simply gave her a look and nodded.

Lorilie ended up agreeing with her mother, and they spent some time catching up on what Lorilie had missed while she was "dead." They stopped a few times to check on Jess, who didn't appreciate the attention in the way she was receiving it. A couple of times, Lorilie attempted to treat Jess like a baby, coming over to check her diaper, and on the second time, she found it to be wet, most likely due to the bottle she had before they left the house.

So Lorilie said, "Uh oh, looks like my little angel needs a diaper change, doesn't she?" Jess looked at her like she had two heads and said, "Why are you talking like that?" But her comments were ignored as Lorilie hoisted her from under her arms and brought her over to a changing pad that had been laid out for just such an occasion. The diaper bag was near the pad, and Lorilie began getting the supplies she needed to change Jess's diaper, deciding to take her time to make it a more intimate experience for Jess so they could bond, which would make sense for a normal baby. However, to Jess, it was mostly just confusing; she had seen her mother quickly change her diaper just before they left, but now she was taking her time, and it was eerie, to say the least.

Halfway through, her mother picked up the stuffed rabbit and started making voices, trying to make it seem like the rabbit was talking. With Jess's newly undeveloped brain, she couldn't tell it was her mother just putting on a silly voice and really thought the rabbit was talking to her. The bunny said, "Hey there, little lady. I see you're getting your diaper changed. That must be rough, huh?" Jess then said, "Why can you talk, but how's that possible?" Her mother giggled and continued speaking for the rabbit. "I'm a magic bunny. Only babies can hear me, dontcha know?" Jess's eyes went wide, and she said, "Wow, really? Does that mean mommy and grammy can't hear you?" The bunny responded, "That's right, only you can hear me, and I wanted to let you know you're my best friend, but I gotta be quiet. If I talk too much, I'll run out of my magic. Understand?" Jess nodded seriously, not wanting her new bunny friend to run out of magic. Lorilie gave Jess the bunny and finished wiping her down, powdering her, and finally taping up the fresh new diaper.

After Jess was all cleaned up, she was put back into the playpen, wearing just a pink shirt with glitter and a diaper. She watched as her mother walked back to the living room, feeling frustrated about the baby treatment she was receiving. She was glad she didn't have to deal with her mother and grandmother babying her.

Jess decided to use the extra time to see if she could get used to her new body. Attempting to walk, she noticed how wobbly she was, and after just two steps, she couldn't make it any further, landing on her diapered butt. She realized she would have to learn how to walk all over again due to the unfamiliar body.

Opting to crawl for the time being, she then tested her cognitive ability by trying to read something. However, she couldn't find anything to read because she couldn't read anymore; her brain couldn't retain what she had learned in school.

Putting off finding something to read, she ended up reinforcing her grandmother's point about her being unmotivated and lazy. Despite that, she discovered that she had a subconscious reflex of sitting uprightish on her knees. After a while, she shrugged off the odd experience, thinking it was just a baby body thing.

Getting bored with her experiments, Jess became enthralled with a toy. However, she soon noticed a stink in the air and verbally declared, "tinky." Though she didn't like the smell, she eventually went nose blind and ignored it.

Not long after, Lorilie came back to check on her princess and immediately noticed the obvious sag in her diaper. She said, "Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?"

Jess, completely oblivious to the state of her diaper, looked over and said, "I'm good, me playing with my blocks." She was in a sitting position, playing with blocks clearly labeled with big, bold capital letters on them.

Lorilie said, "Oh, that's nice. Mind if mommy comes in to see how your blocks are going?" Jess seemed confused by the question but nodded, so Lorilie stepped into the playpen with Jess and crouched down next to her. While complimenting Jess on her play, she sneakily checked the back of her diaper by pulling the back elastic and taking a look inside. Jess jumped a bit and asked, "What are you doing?"

Lorilie responded, "Well, I thought I smelled something, and it looks like you made a stinky, baby." Jess looked at her like she was crazy and said, "Nuh uh, I didn't even feel it." Lorilie explained, "I wouldn't imagine you would, after all, babies don't know when they need to go potty, so it would make sense that you wouldn't know. But nothing tipped you off that you had done it?"

Jess's face turned red as she remembered the position she got into and the smell that soon accompanied it. Still, she was determined to deny it, saying, "Nuh, I didn't make a stinky," sounding very unconvincing.

Her mother seemed done talking about it and picked her up, bringing her back to the changing pad. Jess sat there, arms crossed, annoyed, not so much about the dirty diaper, but more about being torn away from playing with her blocks. Her mother did her best to make quick work of the messy diaper, but this one was a bit of a chore compared to the previous changes.

Jess zoned out and didn't even notice when her grandmother walked over and placed a pacifier in her mouth, saying to Lorilie, "Well, that might keep her quiet for a while." She laughed, and so did Jess, not because she was in the know, but simply because seeing her grandmother laugh made her laugh too. Lorilie couldn't help but laugh as well, and soon they were all laughing together.

Lorilie finally finished up the changing, repowdered, and diapered Jess. Back to the playpen, Jess went, allowed to enjoy her blocks with no further distractions. Lorilie then asked Lydia if it would be possible for her to babysit Jess while/if she was able to go back to work.

Lydia had a look on her face that said, "I'd love to, but..." Lorilie knew it meant she'd have to find someone else or resort to taking Jess to a daycare. She said thanks anyway, packed her stuff, and collected Jess from the playpen, ready to treat her like the baby she now was, all thanks to her mother's guidance.