Bob was walking along the footpath with his girlfriend Marie when they encountered an odd sight. Another couple was approaching them from the other direction. There was a young woman who looked normal enough, but she was leading a man by the hand. The man, though much taller than the woman, was clearly being led. He was wearing baby blue bib overalls with a big applique yellow ducky on the bib. The fully grown man was shirtless under the overalls and was padding along in bare feet as well, the legs cuffed up over his ankles to protect them from the wet footpath.
“What on Earth is that?” Bob whispered to Marie as they approached the couple.
Marie couldn’t help but chuckle too. “A bit early for Halloween isn’t it?” she whispered back.
The woman noticed them staring though and while they both quickly tried to avert their gaze it was too late, they were caught.
“He’s quite a cutie-pie isn’t he?” she announced, not seeming to be embarrassed in the slightest.
“I’m sorry?” Marie responded, taken aback.
“My little Danny boy here. He’s awful silly looking I know, but isn’t it darling?”
“I… um, yeah, he does look silly,” Marie agreed.
“Is it for a party?” Bob managed to ask.
The woman chuckled and shook her head, like that was a ridiculous idea. The man just gaped slack-jawed at them and, yes, that was drool on his chin, dripping onto the bib of his overalls. His eyes were just completely empty of comprehension, of any kind of complex thought.
“No, Danny here is all done with parties I think. We had a big office party coming up, but I don’t think he’ll be going back to work there again,” she mused.
The woman nodded. “Danny’s an accountant you see. Well, I guess he used to be one anyway. All those numbers, all those sums. I don’t think little Danny could count to three now, even if he used his fingers or toesies. Isn’t that right dear? Can you tell Mummy how many toesies you have?” she asked the drooling man.
Danny gaped down at his bare toes, wiggling on the wet, dirty pavement of the footpath. “Dem feets!” he babbled brightly, smiling a big idiotic grin.
The woman laughed and gestured at them as though to say her point was proven.
“Right, well, we have to be um, going,” Bob interjected, wanting to end the awkward encounter.
“Oh, of course. But do look out for the street magician. He’s just down a block or so. Danny loved his show, didn’t you sweetie?”
“Sweepy timeth!” the grown toddler announced cheerily.
Marie and Bob just nodded and smiled indulgently as the woman led the giggling, drooling man-toddler past them.
“Well that was something,” Bob commented.
“You can say that again,” Marie agreed as they continued on their way.
Sure enough a block along they noticed a man standing on the footpath behind a box for donations. He was wearing a magician’s top hat and black coat with tails. Upon noticing the arriving couple he bowed to them and greeted, “Hello lady and gentleman, I am the Great Mesmeri. Would you like a little show?”
Bob rolled his eyes but Marie held him back and whispered, “It’s best just to be polite, let him do a trick.”
“Fine, whatever,” Bob agreed.
“Lovely,” the magician pronounced as they stopped. “Now I’m not really here to pull a rabbit from my hat. But I am going to make a transformation. But first, I have told you my name. Would you tell me yours?”
“I’m Marie and this is Bob,” she answered while Bob tried not to look too bored.
“Wonderful a pleasure to meet you Marie,” the magician followed up, reaching out his hand.
Marie reached out to shake it, but as she did Mesmeri grabbed her wrist and brought her hand right to her face. “Just look at the palm and focus on the point right in the very centre of it, right on the lines at the centre of the palm, focusing as intently as you can, as tightly as you can.”
Bob was surprised to see Marie actually looking intensely at her own palm. The Mesmeri reached his free hand around and tapped the back of her head roughly while also shoving her hand forward to touch her face, all while ordering, “Sleep!”
And just like that Marie’s head dropped limply forward, chin touching her chest, shoulder slumping, whole body clearly relaxed.
“Very good Marie, now in a minute you’re going to wake up and remember that you’re out for a lovely walk with your sweet little baby boy Bobby. He used to be your grown-up boyfriend, but he isn’t anymore and that’s perfectly fine, it’s just lovely, because he is the most playful, sweet little tot and you love him so deeply, so completely just as he is. You love that he’s totally dependent on you for everything, that he can’t care for himself at all.”
Bob didn’t like this one bit. Marie wasn’t fighting back at all, she seemed to be just soaking up this nut’s words. He wasn’t just going to stand there and let him do that to her.
“Now hold on a second…” Bob snapped, grabbing Mesmeri’s arm.
In a flash the magician grabbed Bob’s hand, yanking it forward but down, pulling his head right next to Mesmeri’s. And then the magician whispered in his ear, “Deep sleep,” and snapped his fingers next to Bob’s other ear.
It was all so disorienting. Bob didn’t know why but his body seemed to just give in, going all relaxed. His head slumped forward and he fought it so hard, but the feeling of exhaustion and sleepiness was too much and he just found himself drifting off.
Bob woke up to the feeling of sticky warm air on his legs, the solid and wet pavement under the soles of his bare feet, the warm wetness of a soaked diaper around his bottom, pressed against it by the soft cotton of the onesie he now wore.
He lifted his head off his chest, awareness returning fully. They were still right there, on the street. But they weren’t alone anymore. Others had stopped to watch the show. They were smiling, enjoying it, thinking this was all normal, that Bob was probably in on it.
He wanted to complain, to call out and tell these people it was no show, he hadn’t consented to be dressed in this ridiculous outfit. But there was something in his mouth, a pacifier, a huge one, big enough for his adult size. And he was sucking on it. He couldn’t stop. He mumbled around it, but couldn’t say a word.
He blushed bright red as the small crowd laughed and laughed. A little boy was pointing and calling, “He wet his diaper! Lookit, he wet his diaper like a baby!”
Then Mesmeri snapped his fingers next to Marie’s ear and she woke back up instantly. She looked over at Bob in his crazy outfit and she didn’t laugh like the others. He could see the love in her eyes. She smiled and went to his side and gave him a huge cuddle, like no one was even watching.
Then he felt her hand patting his thickly diapered bum and she cooed, “Have you made a present for Mummy? Is there a boom-boom in your diapee yet?”
Bob wanted to scream, wanted to deny any such loss of control, but he was still muffled by the binkie he couldn’t spit out. He could only shake his head.
“No boom-booms yet?” Marie said, sounding disappointed. “That’s okay, I’m sure you’ve at least made some tinkles haven’t you? Oh yes, that’s a warm diapee,” she cooed as she pushed her hand on the front now.
Bob stepped back, willing this humiliation to end. Mesmeri came to his side, smiling still, clearly enjoying this all.
“Do you want the shame to stop?” he whispered to Bob. “I’ll leave it up to you, when it ends.”
“Now!” Bob managed to mumble around the giant pacifier.
“Really? You’re sure. You know you can’t take it back.”
“Now!” Bob repeated desperately.
Mesmeri shrugged. “Okay, your choice. Danny lasted five minutes before he asked for me to take his shame away.”
Bob blinked in confusion. Take his shame away? He remembered Danny now, the grown man giggling and smiling as he drooled all over himself. No, that wasn’t what he meant!
Mesmeri stroked his hand over Bob’s head and said, “Happy time for Bobby.”
It was a delightful release. It wasn’t prolonged or painful as Bob might have feared. No, it was all over in an instant. That was a mercy really, having it done so quickly, no time to think about it, to be scared. One second he was Bob, angry, ashamed, trapped. And then Mesmeri’s hand left his head and he was Bobby. He was happy and silly and out for a lovely walk with Mummy.
Bobby grinned around his binkie as soon as Mesmeri’s hand left his head. He wriggled his bare toesies against the pavement, then he turned and ran wide-legged staight for the biggest puddle and jumped right into it, hopping up and down and giggling his head off as he made splashes.
Soon the crowd had disappeared, Mesmeri vanishing along with them and Bobby was left to splash in the puddle to his heart’s content. Only Mummy was there to watch him play now, but that didn’t matter, she was all he needed anyway.
“Spwish-Spash!” he crowed brightly around his dummy.
“Yes sweetie, you’re a very splashy, messy boy,” Marie agreed, smiling and taking a photo of her adorable little one on her phone.
“Yep, this one’s going straight on Facebook,” she told Bobby.
The young man kept splashing. He didn’t mind, didn’t care that all his old friends would soon see how far he’d fallen. He didn’t even know what Facebook was. He didn’t even understand how Mummy’s phone worked. He had more important concerns, like getting himself soaked from head to toe.