Ryan and Brad came back home around three o’clock. He had his nap at pre-school, so he didn’t need one when he got home. He expected to just watch some TV until dinner, and then go to bed. It wasn’t much later that the phone rang. Ryan didn’t even bother to answer the phone. It never was for him anyway, and he would just get in trouble if he didn’t answer it correctly. Ryan barely paid any attention to it, and eventually his mom answered the phone. 
A few seconds later his mom cried out, “Ryan, phone.” 
“I know mom, someone else got it.” Ryan just figured his mom wanted him to answer the phone. 
“No, I mean the phones for you.” 
Ryan had no idea who it could be. No one ever called him. “Who is it?” 
“I don’t know. Maybe one of your friends.” 
Now Ryan was really confused. He didn’t have any friends, except for Chad. Chad almost never called, and his mom would know who he was. He raced through his mind to think who it could be, but came up blank. 
“Hello?” Ryan said in a questioning voice. 
“Hi.” The voice was excited, but Ryan sensed the fear in his voice. He still had no idea who this was, but sensed to go on. 
“Who is this?” 
“Scott.” 
Ryan tried to remember any Scotts he knew. There weren’t any on his baseball team, or in his class. There was one who went to his school, but he was a few grades older than Ryan, and wouldn’t call. 
“Scott who?” 
“Scott from daycare. You remember the day you were . . . .” 
At first Ryan thought it was one of the kids in the pre-school, but then he remember his daycamp. He remembered Scott, but barely knew him. They really hadn’t talked much, except for that afternoon he wore Goodnites. Then Ryan remembered how nice Scott was when everyone else made fun of him. 
“Yeah, I remember now.” 
“You haven’t been back. What happened?” 
Ryan wondered whether to tell Scott the whole story, or just give him a lie. He decided to just tell Scott that he doesn’t go there anymore. 
“Is it because of what happened?” 
“Sort of.” 
“You’re lucky. I hate it, and wish I didn’t have to go.” There was a little pause, and then Scott asked, “Are you doing anything?” 
“No.” 
“Wanna come over and play.” 
Ryan knew he wouldn’t be able to leave the house, and said, “I don’t think I can.” 
“Well, can I come over to your house.” 
Without thinking about, he blurted out, “I think so, I’ll go ask my mom.” 
Ryan went straight to his mom. “Mom, can my friend Scott come over to play.” 
“Yeah, but are you sure you want him to come over. He will see your diapers.” 
“Oh yeah. Well, maybe I can not wear them when he’s here.” 
“I don’t think that will work, and besides you really do need them.” 
“OK, I’ll tell him he can’t go.” Ryan was really dejected. 
“Don’t do that. If you really want to come, invite him. Just remember that he may not accept that you need diapers.” 
Ryan thought seriously about it. He really wanted to make more friends, and Scott seemed like such a nice guy. He already knew about the Goodnites, and it wasn’t that much of a stretch to go into diapers. Ryan sensed that there was more to the story than what Scott had let on, and maybe he would let Ryan know more today. On the other hand, what about Sara? Sara would certainly point out Ryan’s inadequacies in front of Scott. She would almost certainly tell Scott about the crib, and they would have play with baby toys. Ryan thought about the bad points and good points, and left Scott on the phone for a few minutes. He eventually decided to invite Scott over, and risk losing the friendship he never really had. 
It took Scott five minutes to ride his bike to Ryan’s house. It was the longest five minutes that Ryan had ever spent. He kept wondering how he was going to show Scott his diapers, and what Scott would say when he saw that Ryan was wearing a diaper. 
Ryan debated the best way to tell Scott, and thought every possible way for Scott to find out. In the end, the one way that Ryan feared most is what actually happened. With all his nervous energy, Ryan pooped in his diaper while he waited for Scott to get to his house. 
Ryan’s mother had just started to change his diaper when the doorbell rang. Sara answered the door, and Scott asked, “Where is is Ryan?” 
Sara couldn’t resist telling Scott the reason Ryan didn’t answer the door. “He’s getting his diaper changed. You can go in and watch.” 
Scott didn’t quite believe what he heard, but saw the truth when he walked into the living room. Mrs. James was changing Ryan’s diaper right there on the floor, and was carefully wiping Ryan’s bottom. It was obvious that Ryan had just pooped in his diaper. Ryan almost screamed when he saw Scott walk in as he was getting his diaper changed. He kept expecting Scott to laugh at him, or walk out. He mostly wished Scott would walk out, because he figured Scott was just waiting to tease him after he was diapered. Scott didn’t say anything, and just sat quietly on the couch watching TV with Brad. 
When Mrs. James finally finished with Ryan, Scott looked at him and calmly said “So you have to wear diapers now.” 
“Yeah.” Ryan said dejectedly. 
Sara was about to tell Scott about Ryan’s crib when Mrs. James interrupted “Sara!” It was a stern warning, that stopped Sara in her tracks. 
Ryan realized he wasn’t going to get any privacy in front of Sara and said, “Let’s go up and play with my toys.” The two boys went up to the play room, and started playing with the toys. 
Scott didn’t seem at all uncomfortable with Ryan being in diapers. He asked why, but it wasn’t with a mean spirit. Ryan promptly told Scott the entire story, including going to nursery school that morning. 
When Ryan finished with his story, Scott began to talk. Ryan felt that this was something that would forever endure both boys together, and intently listened as Scott told his story. 
“That’s kind of why I wanted to play with you. When I saw you in Goodnites, I wanted to become your friend. I still have accidents myself, and have to wear Pull Ups.” Scott pulled down the front of his pants showing Ryan the front of his Pull Ups. The stars had disappeared, so the Pull Up was wet. 
“Were you in Pull Ups that day at daycamp?” 
“No, but I had an accident that afternoon, so I wore them the next day.” 
“Do ever have to wear diapers?” 
“Not anymore. I used to, but since I turned nine mom said I was too big. I wish I still could. Diapers are much better, and don’t leak as much. I miss them.” 
There was a bond between the two that was stronger than anything that could ever break. They were in the same boat, and respected each other because of it. They played with the Legos together, and started building a house without trying. Ryan wasn’t very good at playing with friends, since he tended to ignore them. In this case, the two were working together, and built a really great house. 
After building the house, they wanted to go outside to play. At first Mrs. James was reluctant, since no one was outside to watch them. Even though Scott was old enough to be outside, she didn’t want Ryan to be outside without supervision. Of course, she couldn’t say anything to Scott, because it would just embarrass Ryan. 
Fortunately, Joyce had come to visit, and offered to go outside with the boys. They went straight to the sandbox, and played in the sand as Joyce watched. Scott’s Pull Up was already drenched, and couldn’t hold anymore pee. He suddenly let go some more, and really flooded the front of his pants. 
The urine quickly spread through his pants, and Joyce immediately noticed Scott’s little accident. “Look’s like another little boy has a little problem. Did you wet your pants?” 
Scott was a little embarrassed to wet his pants in front of a stranger, especially one as pretty as Joyce. With a quiet, sheepish voice, he said “Yes.” 
Joyce was no stranger to potty accidents, especially this summer. “Let’s get you out those wet clothes.” She took the boys into the bathroom next to pool, and help Scott take off his wet clothes. She noticed the Pull Ups, and realized he needed a new one. “Do you have anymore of those?” 
“No.” 
“Well, let’s see what we can do about this.” Joyce went up to Mrs. James, and said “Mary, we have a little problem.” 
“What happened?” 
“Scott wet his pants.” 
“What? Not another boy. What is it about little boys?” 
“It gets worse. He wears Pull Ups, and doesn’t have an extra one. He really wet the one he has, and needs a change. Do we have more Pull Ups?” 
“No, and I threw all of Ryan’s underwear away. All we have is diapers. I guess he just going to have to wear a diaper.” 
Joyce went back to Scott, and said “Scott, I’m afraid that you’re going to wear diaper. We don’t have any Pull Ups, and Ryan doesn’t have underwear anymore.” 
Scott’s face barely hid his excitement, and pretended to be remorseful. He tried to get out a dejected “Ok,” but it came out with a hint of excitement. 
Joyce took Scott to the changing table, and proceeded to put a fresh diaper on him. Sara saw it, and said “Another boy in diapers. Do any boys use the potty?” 
Joyce laughed at Sara's comment, even though she wanted Sara to stop teasing Ryan. “I don’t know Sara, not in this house.” 
Scott spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying his diapers. Being in diapers was far from a disappointment for Scott, who loved the extra attention he received when he was changed. The boys played together for another hour before it was time to leave. At the end of the afternoon Mrs. James changed Scott’s diaper before he left. 
Mrs. James had to call Scott’s mom to explain why Scott was going to come home in a diaper. While Joyce was putting Scott in the diaper, Mrs. James called his mother. 
“We had a little problem with Scott, but it’s nothing that we couldn’t handle.” 
Scott’s mom already knew what happened, and was embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe he still does that. Did he have his Pull Ups?” 
“Well, that’s what I wanted to tell you.” 
Scott’s mom had gone through numerous guilt trips about keeping Scott in Pull Ups, and wasn’t going to let a stranger tell her how to raise her son. “You don’t understand, they work for us. Without them, he would just wet all his clothes.” 
Mrs. James knew right away why Scott’s mom reacted that way. “You don’t understand. I know about that, and I have the same problem. In fact that’s why I needed to call you. I’ve got two boys myself who have those problems, and right now both are in diapers. We didn’t have any Pull Ups, or underwear, so we had put Scott in a diaper.” 
“You mean Ryan is wearing diapers as well.” 
“Yes.” 
“And you put Scott in a diaper because you didn’t have anything else for him to wear.” 
“Yes, is that all right. I’ll find something else if you want.” 
“No, that’s fine. I’ve been tempted to go back to diapers. They are so much cheaper than Pull Ups, and he uses them the same.”