College or Cribs

Chapter 28
Tuesday Night: Guy's Night In.

Chapter Description: In which Chris gets to see a new side to his father

Chapter 28

Tuesday Night- Guy’s Night In.

“Alright,” Roxanne went down the list. “You know where Chris’s bottles are?”

“Yes, dear,”

“And he’s already eaten, but you know where his little snacks are in case he gets hungry again?”

“Yes, dear,”

“And you know where the butt cream is in case he gets a rash?”

“Yes, dear,”

“And-?”

“Roxanne,” Dr. Cole cut his wife off without raising his tone or altering his typical blase demeanor, “I’m a doctor for God’s sake. I think I can take care of a baby for one night.”

“You’re right,” Roxanne sighed. “Sorry, Christopher. You know how I get.” She favored her husband with a kiss. He smiled, slightly looking into her eyes before giving her the briefest of hugs.

“Get going,” Dr. Cole told her as he glanced at the old grandfather clock by the front door. “You and the girls don’t want to be late.” As if on cue, Bri...or was it Sammy?...probably Bri honked the horn in Roxanne’s “Mom Mobile” to get her to hurry out the door and drive them to the movie theater.

Chris witnessed this entire exchange from his spot on the floor. Clad now, in a fire engine red onesie that must have had something clever on it - because everyone who looked at it smiled and giggled the first time- Chris looked up at his father and step-mother with a twinge of apprehension wriggling around in the back of his mind.

It was his third consecutive day as an adult baby in this reality, and if he understood the pattern like he thought he did, that meant he would switch over to his normal, fetish-less, adult life at the stroke of midnight. That wouldn’t be so bad in Chris’s mind if he hadn’t been so afraid that this might be his last time in diapers.

Eventually, this would all end, the girl in his dreams - some bizarre messenger courtesy of the wizard- told him. Sooner or later the switch would stop and he’d have to make a choice: Which part of himself would he embrace forever? The adult? The baby? Which? Would he be asked to make the choice when he was an adult? Would he get another turn as a baby after this one in a few days? He felt like an addict being told he’d have to either go cold turkey some day or O.D. AND he wouldn’t be able to know when he’d make that choice.

That was the seemingly distant problem on the horizon. The problem right in front of him had just kissed Roxanne goodbye for the night. Roxanne and the girls had wanted to go see a movie, “Hearts in Texas” or “My Best Friend’s BFF”, Chris thought he had heard. Definitely some girly girl chick flick.

One of several advantages of everyone seeing you as younger than you actually are is that no one particularly wants to take the baby to an annoying girly movie. But rather than spring for a babysitter and give Chris the night alone with Sherry, Dr. Cole- dad to some- had volunteered to watch Chris if that meant not having to be dragged to a movie he didn’t particularly want to see.

This mean that Chris was going to be babysat by his dad. He was going to be alone...in diapers...with his father. No part of this appealed to his rational adult mind. He shuddered thinking about what Dr. Cole would be like as the sole caregiver; mostly because he wasn’t able to disentangle his Dad in this reality from how he behaved when Chris was an adult.

Sherry was sweet, supportive, sensitive, and prone to friendly teasing no matter how old Chris was.

Roxanne had always had a quiet nurturing nature that could be flipped into a stern “don’t-fuck-with-me” vibe depending on whether the situation merited it.

Bri was a bit of a brat and prone to silliness. Sammy tried to be quieter and was a people pleaser.

Dr. Cole was: Polite? Withdrawn? Amiable as long as you were discussing sports or work? Really, how well did Chris know his father outside of seeking his approval or fearing his quiet wrath? Really, he didn’t match at all the stories of the rambunctious, enthusiastic, and empathetic young man that Grandma Cole had told him about in those old stories.

How had dad gone from that to...well, that? What caused him to become so withdrawn, and more importantly, was there any of the old Christopher Cole III left inside Dr. Cole?

Now Chris had the opportunity to find out.

Sitting on his padded rear, Chris patiently waited for his father to turn around after all but pushing Roxanne out the door to go the movies. When Dr. Cole turned around, his cool eyes scanning the room and settling on his son, Chris lifted his arms into the air, in the universal baby sign for “up!”.

“Hey Dad,” Chris called up from his spot on the floor. “Dad, give me a lift!” “Let’s play or something!” His dad regarded him, all but expressionless. His eyes swayed to the side as if pondering deep in thought or looking for an out.

“Oh come on!” Chris tried to playfully tease his father. “I know you don’t hear what I’m saying as English, but everybody so far has been able to get the gist of what I want!”

Dr. Cole reached down by his foot and picked up a rattle that was laying by his foot, “Is this what you want, champ?” he asked while shoving the plastic toy into Chris’s palm. Almost involuntarily, as if by habit or politeness, Chris’s fist closed over the rattle’s wand.

Dr. Cole stood back up to his full height and looked down at Chris. “Well?” he gestured to the rattle, expectantly. Chris eyed the rattle, and then looked back up to his father, who was clearly already losing interest from the way he kept staring at the clock. Chris’s teasing smile, beckoning for his father to play with him and pick him up, felt a little too heavy all of a sudden.

Exhaling through his nostrils while his teeth hid behind his sealed, straight lined lips, Chris lamely shook the rattle for his father. Dr. Cole whipped his head to the sound of the beads smacking up against the hard plastic dome, seemingly shaken from a dream, and gave Chris the thinnest of smiles. “Atta boy,” he half-heartedly praised Chris. “Have fun with that for Daddy.”

His smile didn’t last even half a minute before he was glancing at the clock, and the door. Feeling slightly bolder than he otherwise might have, Chris dropped the rattle and crawled over to his father.

“Dad,” Chris nagged, tugging on Dr. Cole’s pant leg. “Come on. Pick me up. Play with me! I’ve got an hour tops before my bedtime and when I wake up, you’ll be…” Chris paused for a second as his mouth almost finished the thought before his brain did. “You’ll be...ashamed of me again.” Chis felt a little misty eyed at that thought.

“Huh?” Chris’s father looked down at him. “Oh. Go play buddy,” he gave him a brief swat on the but to shoo him along, “Daddy’s busy.”

“You’re looking at a door,” Chris objected. “And go play? I’m a baby, not five, dad. You gotta watch me or I’ll...I’ll...hnnng!” Chris broke the thought off and started grunting while he pushed. He had spent 6 days in diapers without potty training or any expectations thereof; the last three of them had been consecutive. Chris didn’t even think about messing himself, he just stopped what he was doing and did it.

The immediate pressure release was damn near sublime as the seat of his onesie expanded. His diaper crinkled as the mess settled in behind him. Even the smell wasn’t that objectionable. But then again, everyone liked their own brand.

“Oh shit…” Dr. Cole cursed looking down at his infantilized son. “Not now.” His nose wrinkled in disgust. His lip curled up in contempt. He all but sneered at Chris. “Great.” Dr. Cole groaned. “Juuuuust great.”

Chris found himself being lifted up off the ground, but instead of by the waist and having his weight supported, Chris was being dangled off the ground by his armpits held out literally as far as his father’s arms would stretch. What was even more ridiculous was that he and his father were roughly the same height and Chris’s feet were really only a quarter inch off the floor

“What’s the big deal?” Chris asked, slightly indignant at the way he was being manhandled “It’s not like I’m not a baby to you right now. You used to take care of…” and Chris let the thought trail off. Had he ever seen him interact with Sammy or Bri when they were infants and toddlers? Had he ever witnessed his father change a diaper?

A light tapping at the door left that question unanswered.

“Thank God,” Dr. Cole sighed with relief, putting Chris back down on his bum, causing the mess to squish around in the back of his diaper.

“Pizza?” Chris complained. “You’re letting me sit in this for pizza?” Heedless to his babified sons wants or needs, Dr. Cole practically sprinted the ten feet to the door and opened it quickly.

A woman slipped in before Chris’s father whispered the door shut and locked it before the woman threw her arms around him. They kissed passionately, moaning while they ran their hands down each other’s backs.

“I’ve missed you,” Dr. Cole purred to this strange woman; this intruder into their home.

“Dad?!” Chris spoke up. “Who the fuck is that?!”

“I’ve missed you too,” the woman purred back, oblivious to or ignoring Chris’s presence right then. Chris’s ears burned. That voice! He knew that voice!

“What kept you?” Dr. Cole wrapped his arm around the newcomers waist. “I was starting to get antsy.”

“Sorry,” Chris heard her, “I saw Roxanne coming around the block, so I had to reverse and take the long way around your neighborhood. They didn’t see me though.” she added.

“Good.” Dr. Cole nodded approvingly, before breathing her in. “Mmmm…” he moaned, “you’re even wearing her same perfume. Good. Now I don’t have to throw anything in the wash right away,” he concluded before letting her go and walk deeper into their home. Chris finally got a look at the interloper’s face. He recognized the short cut brown hair was almost the opposite of Roxanne’s pale locks. Her matching brown eyes distinct from Roxanne’s crystal blue.

“Barbara?” Chris eeeped out. “Barbara?!” It was Roxanne’s friend. The one whom Chris had first encountered in the library. The one whom had that hyperactive little brat, Angela. She was Roxanne’s friend...and Dad’s mistress?

Barbara walked over and bent over. “Why hello there, Chris!” she cooed. “How are you tonight?”

“Seriously?!” Chris called out to his father. “Dad? Seriously! You’re cheating on Roxanne? You’re cheating on Mooo...on the mother of two of your kids?” Dr. Cole seemed to be more interested in staring at Barbar’s bent over ass. Chris felt his blood begin to boil. His hands clenched into tight, white-nuckled fists. The entirety of his skin started to turn pink as Chris started to pant and unconsciously growl in agitation.

How dare he?! How dare this mother fucker?! Not only was he cheating, but he was using a babysitting gig to make it all go down! What kind of fucking brass did his dad have? What gave him the right?

“Uh oh,” Barbara cooed. “I think he’s a little fussy.” Then she sniffed the air. “And I think I know why.” She turned her head back towards Doctor Cole, “I think he pooped.”

“Yeah,” Dr. Cole shrugged apathetically. “I really don’t do diapers. Do you mind?”

“Oh you are such a man,” Barbara rolled her eyes.

“That’s what you like about me though,” Dr. Cole smirked, winking at her. “It’s about his bedtime, why don’t you put him to bed. You smell like Roxanne, so maybe he’ll go to sleep for you.”

“Alright,” Barbara agreed, hastily lifting Chris up onto her hip. “I’ll put him to bed, before I take you to bed,” she flirted. “Say goodnight to daddy,” she leaned Chris into arms reach of his own father.

Still growling, practically foaming at the mouth, Chris swung at his old man. He connected right on the chest, and with savage blows. For a good five seconds he thrashed and hit Dr. Cole dead scenter, enough to cave in his sternum. He yelled and frothed, and screamed in pure rage at what he had just scene and was being subjected to.

All of this sound and fury did nothing, though. Chris had the strength of an infant comparatively, and his dad didn’t even flinch. “Just get him to bed,” Dad ordered before walking away into the living room to turn on the T.V. “I’ll be watching something to get in the mood for when you two are done.”

Wordlessly, with Christ still impotently struggling in her arms, Barbara, Roxanne’s so called “best friend” went to the kitchen to get a bottle, and then toted the man-baby into his nursery.

Chris raged and wriggled all through the proceeding diaper change. Chris was in a clean diaper, but he felt dirty just being touched by this woman right now. Each wipe across his backside only caused him to burn more. He felt like he was being violated...like some essential part of his innocence was finally being shed and tossed aside like so much garbage. Into the diaper pail the last naive imagery of his father went with the rest of the shit.

Then came the bottle. The milk poured down his throat, and Barbara rubbed his tummy as he couldn’t help but suckle. It was swallow or choke, while she laid him down in his crib and hurriedly force fed Chris so that she could go fuck his dad while his surrogate mother and sisters watched a movie. Maybe it was the milk acting as nature’s NyQuil, maybe it was that sleep was Chris’s only sure fire escape from this nightmare, but soon enough after Barbara left the nursery with the lights off, sleep claimed him.

Chris woke up the next morning, in his adult bed, in his upstairs bedroom, his pillow soaked with tears, but his bed otherwise dry. Thankfully, he was right about the pattern. He was an adult now, and would remain so for the next four days. This was good. He didn’t want to have to look either of his parents in the eye after what he had just witnessed.

Chris felt something behind his ear. He reached behind it and felt a little piece of cardstock between his fingers. He held it in front of him. It was a business card. On the front it read:

“Professor Bumble’s (Very Humble) Antique Mall and Magic Emporium”.

On the back it read: “You’re ready now. Come see me. -Prof. B.”