Big
thanks to Gray Cloud and Carotte for letting me steal their idea.
Big
Changes (an Ogre Momma Story)
By Raynar
Brusk
Chapter 1: The Expositioning
Miss Francis banged her ruler on her desk. “Class, your attention please.
We have a guest speaker today.” She banged her ruler a few more times until the
majority of students were looking at her.
Olivia Cameron awoke on the second bang, and didn’t look up until the
forth. She found Miss Francis’ lectures to be an excellent cure for insomnia,
but a guest speaker might actually be interesting. The village was small enough
to only need a school with four classrooms, and this one contained the oldest
group of students, ranging from 15 to 18. Guest speakers were generally
employers looking for potential employees, and with Mrs. Cameron nagging her 17
year old daughter to find a job, it couldn’t hurt to listen.
The classroom door opened and a tall man with a neatly trimmed beard and
receding hairline stepped in. He nodded to the teacher. “Miss Francis.” He
cleared his throat. “Good afternoon, students. I’m Professor Cornelius
Underwood, Chief Ogrologist of--”
A student cut him off. “Ogres? C’mon!” Other students giggled.
Miss Francis pointed her ruler at the offending student. “Mr. Thomas!
I’ll see you after class.” This elicited more giggles.
“Thank you.” Professor Underwood continued, “Don’t think I haven’t heard
all this before. Ogres stay on their side of the Forbidden Woods. There hasn’t
been an ogre sighting in over a hundred years. They don’t affect us, why should
we care, right?” He nodded to himself. “I’ll tell you why. To make sure they
stay on their side of the woods, and we don’t see them in our territory.”
Rolling her eyes, Olivia turned her attention back to the paper on her
desk, which she had been using to draw unflattering pictures of her teacher.
“Vigilance is required, but I’m only one man. I need an apprentice to
carry on my work. I have special permission to go into the Forbidden Woods to
make contact with the ogres and make sure there are no... problems. This forms
the basis of my research, and my apprentice would join me on these expeditions.”
He glanced around the room to see if any students showed an interest.
The boy in front of Olivia raised his hand. “Wait. You want someone to go
with you to meet the ogres? Isn’t that really dangerous?”
Underwood let out a little chuckle and shook his head. “Ogres are quite a
bit bigger than humans, so they don’t view an individual as any threat. Larger
numbers might set them off, which is why I go alone. I’ve picked up some Ogrish
over the years, so I know they trust me enough to start bringing an assistant,
which is why I’m here.”
Olivia yawned. Learning Ogrish didn’t sound like her idea of an exciting
job.
The professor continued. “Applicants need to submit a writing sample. A
five page report on the trees found in the
“Indeed.” Miss Francis looked around the room, finally settling on
Olivia. “There are many students who could benefit greatly from this
opportunity, if only to improve a sagging grade. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss
Cameron?”
Olivia fought the urge to comment on what else was sagging, but admitted
that her grades needed the help. At the very least, a hike in the forest would
get her away from her mother’s badgering for a while.
Underwood gave a brief bow. “My residence is on the outskirts of the
Forbidden Woods on the south side of town, reports can be submitted there or
with your teacher. Thank you for your time.” He shook hands with Miss Francis
and made his exit.
“Well, I hope to see reports from all of you.” Once more Miss Francis
locked eyes with Olivia. “That brings us to the end of the day, class
dismissed... except you, Mr. Thomas.” With one groaning exception, the class
gathered their supplies and filed out of the school.
Blinking in the sunlight and still somewhat tired from her impromptu nap,
Olivia took a meandering path home hoping to be fully awake by the time she
arrived. She first made her way past the south gate to catch a glimpse of
Underwood’s house. Sure enough, a small residence that was little more than a
shack was barely visible in the distance, right near the edge of the Forbidden
Woods. “He must be crazy to live there.”
“Oh, I believe it helps, but it’s hardly a necessity.”
Olivia tried not to gasp as she turned and saw Professor Underwood
towering before her. Suddenly she was quite interested in her shoes. “Uh, good
afternoon. Sir.”
“No need to be embarrassed, you’re hardly to first to make that
observation, Miss... Cameron, was it?” Waiting until after she nodded, Underwood
continued. “It’s because of the wolves that inhabit those woods, correct?”
Olivia had managed to get her blushing under control by this point and
met his gaze, which was no easy feat. And 6’-8”, he was nearly a foot and a half
taller than her. “Well, the wolves and the ogres... but I guess you have an
understanding with them. So mainly the wolves.” She nodded to herself after
working out the logic.
Underwood chuckled. “It’s partly because of the ogres that I have nothing
to fear from the wolves. You see, the wolves will instinctively run from the
scent of an ogre, and after years of interacting with them...” He trailed off.
Olivia stared blankly for a moment until a look of disgust crossed her
face. “Oh... I guess that’d do it.” She leaned forward a little and sniffed.
“You don’t smell that bad... no offense.”
“None taken, the scent’s hardly noticeable unless you have a keen sense
of smell.” Underwood stroked his beard. “I’ve taken up enough of your time, I’m
sure you have a report to start. Good day, miss.” He winked and passed through
the gate.
Olivia rolled her eyes once his back was turned. “Good day, professor.”
She continued on her way, noting that the wood and brick houses she passed must
be more sophisticated than whatever caves the ogres were using. Even at the edge
of the kingdom, they could do better than that. After taking a few more detours,
Olivia arrived at the small house she currently shared with only her mother, as
her father was currently with a logging crew far to the west and wouldn’t return
for nearly a month. After closing the door and setting down her school supplies,
she shouted a greeting, “Mom, I’m home!”
“Olivia? You’re a little late, aren’t you?” Mrs. Cameron emerged from the
kitchen, undoing the apron she had been wearing. She looked like an older
version of her daughter, with her auburn hair starting to show streaks of grey.
Come on now, dinner’s ready. They both sat down at the table, and the elder
Cameron immediately set to work. “Wasting time after school again?”
Olivia shook her head as she shovelled a forkful of corn into her mouth.
“We had a guest speaker today, and I stayed late to talk to him.” While not the
whole truth, it was close enough. She did speak to him after class ended.
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Guest speaker? With a job offer, perhaps?”
Her eyes seemed to light up as she spoke.
“Uh-huh.” Olivia quickly nodded. “It was Professor Underwood, that ogre
expert. We’re supposed to write a report on the
Mrs. Cameron paused a moment before leaning in close and saying, “Ogres,
you say? Sounds dangerous. I heard a girl around your age from two towns over
vanished in those woods to the south; they say the ogres got her.”
“Oh, people exaggerate.” Olivia said. “I heard she was running from the
law, she’s probably in a new town with a new name by now.”
They made small talk for the rest of the meal, but Mrs. Cameron brought
the subject up again as they cleared the table. “Well, you better get a move on,
you’ve still got a few hours of daylight to go into the forest to start your
research.”
Olivia whined, “But mo~om...”
“No buts, young lady.” Mrs. Cameron sternly waved her finger. “I’ve heard
from Miss Francis enough times already this year.”
Olivia sighed. “Fine, just let me go change.”
Mrs. Cameron shook her head. “And make more laundry? I think not.”
Olivia glanced down at herself. She was wearing a long green dress with
short sleeves. “You expect me to go hiking in a dress?”
“You’re not climbing a mountain, you’ll be fine.”
“Fine.” Olivia sighed. She grabbed a green ribbon that matched her dress
and used it to tie her hair back so it would stay out of her eyes. After
collecting a pen and paper, she said goodbye to her mother and set out for the
west gate.
Chapter 2: The Thing Goes
South
After about 90 minutes of
walking, Olivia had to admit she was impressed with herself; she had covered
quite a long distance. At the time, taking notes while walking seemed like a
good use of time, but spending a little too much time paying attention to her
paper and not where she was going had left her somewhat confused. As she passed
another group of unfamiliar trees, she was worried about not getting home by
night fall.
“Hello? Anyone out there?”
Olivia asked again. She had hoped to find a fellow student also wandering the
woods, but so far she seemed to be alone. After a few more minutes of wandering,
she came upon a river. “Ah-ha! This river leads back into town.” She smiled to
herself, until she realized she had no idea if the town was up river or down
river. It was an important point, as the river not only passed through the town
and the Western Woods, into continued south into ogre territory. “Follow the
river flow, and into town you go? That doesn’t sound right...” She ceased her
efforts to remember the old rhyme when she heard a rustling in the nearby
bushes. “Hello?”
Taking a deep breath, Olivia
took a tentative step forward. “Hey, are you out here for that report too?” She
asked rather hopefully just as the wolf emerged from the bushes. Olivia might
have been thinking that she must have wandered into ogre territory, since
hunters keep the wolves in check near her town, but she wasn’t thinking about
much as she ran in a blind panic. Not even aware of what direction she was
going, Olivia pumped her legs harder than she ever had in her life. While not
fat by any means, she carried a few extra pounds and running wasn’t one of her
standard activities. “Help! Wolf!” After what seemed like hours but was more
like minutes, she had the misfortune of getting the hem of her dress snagged on
a stray tree branch. Her momentum jerked her around and sent her tumbling down a
nearby hill, where she landed in a heap.
Blacking out for a few
seconds, the first thing Olivia noticed was a sharp pain in both of her legs.
Already pushed to the limit, the fall had done them no favors. While they didn’t
feel broken, it would likely be some time before she could walk easily. The
second thing she noticed was that she had apparently landed in a puddle. A warm
puddle, which she soon realized had recently been the contents of her bladder. A
sudden lapse of bladder control was the least of her problems, as she heard a
growling at the top of the hill and getting closer. “Um, nice wolfie?” The wolf
approached, and Olivia looked around to see if there was a rock or a stick she
could use as a weapon, but found nothing. Preparing for the worst, Olivia was
surprised when the wolf whimpered and turned around, ruining back the way it
came. “Ha! That’s right, I showed you!” She glanced down at herself and sighed.
There was a nasty gash up the side of her skirt where it snagged the tree, and
now it clung to her legs because she wet herself. Olivia tried to stand, but
fell right on her posterior. As she did so, she heard what sounded like a
chuckle behind her. “That’s not a wolf.” Slowly turning her head, her jaw
dropped at what she saw.
She could almost be mistaken
for a well-built human, if not for the greenish-grey skin. Olivia had never seen
an ogre before, and she took a moment just to look her over. She wore a simple
black knee-length dress and a pair of leather shoes. Her hair was a very light
red, almost pink, and was tied back using what looked like a bone. She was
smiling as she leaned over towards Olivia and said something she didn’t
understand.
Unsure of what to do, Olivia
gave a quick wave. She guessed the ogre’s height at around 15 feet, so she felt
it was a good idea to stay on her good side. “Um, thanks for scaring the wolf.
You wouldn’t happen to know which way leads out of ogre territory, would you?”
She didn’t know how the ogre would respond, but she didn’t expect to be scooped
up. “Hey!” The ogre gave her bottom a pat and said something else. “Oh, I don’t
usually do that... are you giving me a lift?” Ruffling her hair, the ogre set
off, although Olivia wasn’t sure where.
They soon entered a
clearing, and Olivia got her first look at the ogre village. Expecting caves,
she was surprised to see row after row of stone huts, that while simple by human
standards, were considerably more advanced then what she assumed they were
capable of. “Hey, nice place you’ve got here. Now, if you turn around, I can
show you mine, sound good?” Olivia sighed; she almost hoped that would work. It
was starting to get colder out, and her torn, wet dress was beginning to feel
quite uncomfortable. She gasped as they stopped in front of two axe-wielding
ogres, thinking they were about to finish her off, until she realized they were
chopping wood. The younger ogre stared at Olivia, while the other had a
conversation with her rescuer. They both nodded and made motions with their arms
as they spoke, but Olivia had no idea what was going on.
After finishing with the
woodsmen, they continued into the village and stopped in front of a house, where
the ogre knocked on the door. It was answered by another female ogre, this one a
bit shorter and a bit heavier. Her brown hair was too short for a bone
decoration, but Olivia was slightly amused by her earrings, which appeared to be
made of turtle shells. They had a conversation just as unintelligible as the
last, and Olivia squirmed a little, trying to get her damp skirt to stop
clinging to her. The two ogres laughed, and ‘Shelly’ (which was how Olivia had
decided to identify her) waved and closed her door.
Finally, after walking two
more houses down the line, they stopped. Olivia asked, “Is this your house?” The
ogre carried her around to the side of the house and set her down next to a
wooden washtub, which looked like it might be used for laundry. She could hear
the river nearby, which must be where it was filled. “Are you going to wash my
dress? That’s okay, I can do it at home.” Olivia thought she was right, as the
ogre easily pulled her dress off. “Hey! That’s not necessary!” She tried to
cover herself, but the ogre quickly stripped her of her shoes, undergarments,
and hair ribbon. Before Olivia could object, she found herself dunked in the
washtub, sputtering and splashing. Whistling a happy tune to herself, the ogre
went about cleaning her with a wash cloth, doing a thorough job, much to
Olivia’s chagrin. After what seemed like entirely too long, Olivia was pulled
out of the tub and wrapped in a towel, cradled in the ogre’s arms.
She was carried to the front
door, where the woodsmen had arrived carrying some sort of table. They were
allowed in, and they set it down in an empty corner. The hut itself was sparsely
decorated; Olivia could only make out a bed, a table and chairs, and what
appeared to be a fireplace. The windows lacked glass, and instead relied on
wooden shutters to keep the elements out.
While Olivia observed all
this, Shelly arrived with an armful of cloth. She placed the largest piece,
which looked like a mattress, on top of the table. She then stocked the table’s
lower shelf with the other pieces, most of which looked like white towels.
Olivia was freed from her towel, having since been dried off, and placed naked
on the table. She attempted to cover herself while her rescuer took one of the
smaller white towels Shelly had brought and wrapped it around her waist and
hips. Shelly handed her a metal object, and it was used to secure the towel in
place. Olivia stopped resisting at this point, as she was busy trying to figure
out what was going on. It all seemed strangely familiar. “That looks kind of
like a safety pin... this is a diaper! Hey! I don’t usually wet myself, it just
happened that one time!” She tried to tug down on the diaper, but the ogre
grunted something and gave her a swat on the bottom before sternly waving her
finger. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave it on.” She was finally dressed in a loose
fitting grey dress, which she guessed might have been intended as a shirt.
Olivia was pretty distracted
while getting dressed, as she now noticed a second piece of furniture had been
brought into the hut, and a mattress and sheets had been placed within it. She
stared blankly as she figured it out. She wasn’t put in diapers because they
thought she was incontinent, they thought she was a baby! She was scooped up
again and started to protest, but Shelly handed ‘Momma’ a bottle, which was
promptly placed in Olivia’s mouth. She wanted to complain, but she really was
thirsty. And the way Momma rocked her was pretty soothing, especially after such
a rough day. She was being carried to the crib as she drifted off.
Chapter 3: Adventures in
Ogre-sitting
Birds were a chirping, a pleasant breeze was blowing, and Olivia groggily
awoke as the first rays of the sun shone through the open window. What a crazy
dream she had that night. Instead of safely returning from her trip through the
woods, she was attacked by a wolf and rescued by an ogre, who mistook her for a
baby and took home. She shook her head at the silly notion as she stretched, but
encountered an obstacle in rolling out of bed. Suddenly wide awake, she realized
she was in a crib, and was indeed still in the home of the ogre.
She looked around, and found
the ogre she had dubbed ‘Momma’ in her bed, snoring lightly. “Hello? Good
morning! Can I get out now?” Momma continued to snore. Olivia suspected some
maintained crying might get her attention, but really didn’t want to risk
angering her. “It’s okay; I’ll just sit here for a while.” She sighed, and
attempted to stand, using the crib bars for support. Her legs still felt quite
sore, and she was barely upright for a few seconds before falling back down on
her diapered rear. She lifted up her dress to examine the garment and sighed as
she noticed the feeling in her bladder. “No chance for a bathroom break, huh?”
Getting no response, Olivia pondered removing the diaper. The light swat on the
bottom she received following her attempt last night had been just a warning,
should she tempt fate? Looking around, it was clear that even if she got the
diaper off, she didn’t have anywhere to go but the mattress she was sitting on.
Olivia sat fidgeting for several more minutes, until the pain grew too
great and she decided to just do it. It took a moment of straining to get
started, but once she did, she was unable to stop until her bladder was nearly
empty. Blushing furiously, she shifted about and found the diaper barely felt
wet, and certainly better than her damp dress had the night before. Noting that
Momma was still snoring, she laid back in the crib once more to wait.
The next thing Olivia knew, Momma was leaning over the side of the crib
and smiling at her, so she suspected she had drifted off again. “Uh, hey there.”
She waved meekly. Momma smiled wider and waved back, then gave her bottom a pat
and said something. Olivia squeaked and tried to scoot away from the pat, but
Momma scooped her up into a hug before laying her down on the changing table.
She was quickly stripped of her dress and left wearing just her wet diaper,
crossing her arms in an attempt to cover herself. “Hey now, I keep telling...”
She trailed off as Momma unpinned her diaper and placed it in a bucket by the
table. Now attempting to cover up on top and down below, she glared at Momma,
then giggled uncontrollably as her bottom was cleaned with a damp wash cloth.
After applying some sort of powder, Olivia found herself pinned into another
diaper.
Momma gave Olivia a poke in the stomach, eliciting another giggle, and
pulled a shirt over her head. Olivia stared at it and realized it was in fact
the top of her green dress, the torn skirt having been removed. Momma then put
her in some simple booties and used the hair ribbon she had been using the night
before to secure some sort of stick in her hair. Olivia reached back and
realized it was a bone, much like the larger one in Momma’s hair. “Um...
thanks?”
After looking her outfit
over and nodding to herself, Momma carried Olivia to the table and sat down with
the girl sitting on her lap. “Couldn’t find a highchair yet, huh?” Momma shifted
Olivia so she was sitting facing the side, then took a spoon that was sitting in
a bowl and held it in front of Olivia’s mouth. She eyed it suspiciously. “What’s
that?” Opening her mouth was all the opportunity Momma needed, and she forced
the spoon into her mouth. She tried to resist, but it actually tasted quite
good; Olivia guessed it was some sort of fruit. “Ooh, more please.” She smiled,
being pleasantly surprised by the taste, and having not eaten since dinner.
After finishing the bowl of mashed fruit, Momma set Olivia down on the floor
with a bottle and went about eating her own breakfast. Olivia drank the milk,
which tasted slightly different from the cow’s milk she was familiar with, and
made a note to try to see what kind of animals the ogres kept around. She
couldn’t see everything Momma had to eat, but did notice a rather large citrus
fruit. Once Momma had finished and cleared the table, she scooped up Olivia and
took her empty bottle, then held her so she was facing over the ogre’s shoulder.
“What’re you doing?” Her question was answered as Momma gave her several pats on
the back until she burped. “Oh.”
***
Professor Underwood answered the furious knocking on his door expecting
an overly eager student ready to hand in their report. What he saw was a
distraught looking middle aged woman he didn’t recognize, although she seemed
vaguely familiar.
“You’re Underwood, the ogre expert, right?” the woman asked.
Underwood nodded. “Indeed I am. How may I help you, Miss...?”
She answered, “Mrs. Cameron, Loretta Cameron. My daughter Olivia said she
talked to you about a report yesterday.”
“Ah, yes.” Underwood motioned for her to come inside. “Does she need
help? Oh, I was just making tea, would you like a cup?”
Mrs. Cameron declined the offer. “She never came back.”
Raising an eyebrow, the professor asked, “Never came back from where?”
“The woods!” Mrs. Cameron said, flustered. “She went in to research that
report last night and never came back!”
Patting the back of Mrs. Cameron’s hand, Underwood tried to sound
reassuring. “I’ll set off immediately, if the ogres know anything about what
happened, I’ll find out.”
The color drained from Mrs. Cameron’s face. “You think the ogres did
something to her?”
Realizing his mistake, he quickly shook his head. “Of course not, they
never attack humans at random. It’s just possible that if your daughter is lost,
they might have seen something.”
This calmed down Mrs. Cameron somewhat. “Thank you, professor.”
Underwood escorted her to the door and retrieved his walking stick. “I’m
going to the ogre village with all haste, I’d advise you to wait at your home.”
***
About an hour after breakfast, there was a knock at Momma’s door. Olivia
was sitting on the floor leaning against a leg of the crib, craning her neck.
She recognized the caller as Shelly, one of the ogres she encountered the night
before. Momma and Shelly had a discussion, and Olivia noticed a second, younger
ogre hiding behind Shelly’s leg. After a few more moments of talking, Shelly
bent down to give the younger ogre a hug and urged her into the hut. As Shelly
waved and departed, Olivia got a better look at the new arrival she assumed
Momma was now babysitting. She looked like a typical girl of around four or five
years old, except for the way she was about 9 feet tall. She wore nothing but a
short yellow dress, and had a sunflower tucked behind her left ear. Olivia
guessed she was Shelly’s daughter, since her hair was the same shade of brown,
done up in pigtails. She quickly settled on the name ‘Sunny’, for her flower.
Momma led Sunny over to where Olivia was sitting and they spoke to each
other a moment until Momma nodded. Sunny smiled widely and picked up Olivia.
“Hey!” This was becoming a far too common occurrence, and Olivia squirmed in
Sunny’s arms. Randomly getting picked up wasn’t the only problem, however. “This
has been interesting, but I think it’s time you let me take off this diaper.” A
familiar sensation indicated it would soon get unpleasant, but Sunny just
giggled at what she likely thought was baby talk. Olivia continued to squirm,
and Sunny set her back down on the floor.
Momma smiled at the two children and said something, then sat down at the
kitchen table and began working on something using what looked like knitting
needles.
Still squirming, Olivia once again tried to pull her diaper off, but
Sunny giggled and batted at her hands, shaking her head. “Hey! I just want to be
potty trained like you.” Before she could argue her case any further, Sunny
reached down and started to tickle her, possibly mistaking her fidgeting for
boredom. “Ack! Cut that out!” She laughed and flailed about, trying to scoot
away. The building pressure in her bowels was forgotten, and she soon found
herself soiling her diaper, continuing to laugh at the tickling all the while.
Sunny finally stopped tickling, noticing that Olivia’s face had turned a
deep shade of red. She lifted Olivia up by the shoulders and sniffed her diaper,
making a disgusted face and giggling. Olivia couldn’t do much to respond but
continue blushing while her legs dangled and her diaper sagged. Still holding
Olivia like that, she carried her over to Momma, who wrinkled her nose and asked
a question. Sunny smiled and nodded, and in short order Momma had placed Olivia
on the changing table.
Olivia groaned as she was
set down on her full diaper. “Can we get this over with please?” She looked
puzzled as Momma returned to the table and took her chair, setting it up next to
the changing table and helping Sunny stand on top of it. “Hey! I’m not a
teaching aid!” Olivia could’ve died from embarrassment right there as Momma
walked Sunny through the process of changing a diaper. Throughout the change,
Sunny alternated between looking disgusted and giggling.
Momma pinned the new diaper
in place herself, which Olivia appreciated. She helped Sunny down from the chair
and handed Olivia to the younger ogre. Sunny grinned and hugged Olivia tightly,
and Olivia sighed as she hugged back. “I’m still older than you.”
***
Professor Underwood was fast approaching the ogre village when he
encountered a female ogre going the opposite direction down his usual path. He
made a greeting in Ogrish and asked if she had seen or heard of any humans
passing through ogre territory recently.
The ogre, who wore earrings made out of turtle shells, asked if the human
he was asking about was an infant.
Underwood explained that he was looking for an adolescent female who went
missing in the Western Woods, and might have gotten lost in the south. The ogre
seemed puzzled, so he explained again.
The ogre appeared to think this over, and then shook her head, stating
that she hadn’t heard of an adolescent human in the area. She assured him she
would tell him if she learned anything about the missing human, and she turned
back the way she came.
Stroking his chin, Underwood tried to place what felt so odd about what
just happened. She was walking the path that led to his house, and turned back
after talking to him, almost as if she was seeking him out. He shrugged and
turned back as well, to see if there was any news about Olivia.
Chapter 4: Fancy Meeting You
Here
Following the diaper change, Sunny continued to play with Olivia for a
while longer, which mainly consisted of carrying Olivia from place to place,
setting her down, and running circles around her until she repeated the process.
Olivia’s legs were still sore, so there wasn’t much else she could do. Shelly
returned and had a few words with Momma, who seemed quite pleased. After Sunny
was pried away from giving Olivia one last hug, they waved and made their exit.
Olivia watched Momma curiously as she gathered up various sheets and
articles of clothing from around the hut, piling them by the door. Once the pile
was taller than Olivia, Momma carried it outside and returned a moment later to
collect her charge. Olivia was carried around behind the hut, by the same
washtub she was bathed in on her arrival. “Hey, I think you did a fine job
getting me cleaned up during that last change.” Instead of being bathed, she was
placed in a cloth harness that hung from nearby tree. There were holes for her
legs, and she realized it was like a baby swing or carrier. Momma handed her
another bottle, and went about washing several ogre-sized dresses. This was as
exciting as it sounded, so Olivia observed what she could of the village as she
drank. In many ways, it wasn’t all that different from her. Children played, the
adults worked on various crafts, and when she squinted, she saw something in the
distance that made her giggle. A very pregnant looking ogre was berating one of
the woodsmen who brought the crib and changing table over, and suddenly Olivia
knew how they finished them so quickly. Having a ‘baby’ on hand bumped Momma up
on the waiting list.
By this point, Momma had
finished washing her dresses and had hung them from one of the ropes hanging
between the house and another tree. Olivia watched as she started on the sheets,
and the splashing water reminded Olivia on the effect her recently finished
bottle was having. Letting out a resigned sigh, she wet her diaper and hoped
Momma would finish soon.
After hanging the last of the sheets, Momma approached the swing. Olivia
gasped as Momma stuck a finger in one of the swing’s leg holes to check her
diaper, and chuckled as she carried the girl back inside. Momma deposited the
wet diaper in the bucket, and carried Olivia back to the swing with the bucket
in her free hand. She couldn’t help but feel a little humiliated as Momma washed
her used diapers and hung them from the line. The job done, Momma carried the
washtub away and dumped it out, sensibly getting new water after cleaning the
diapers.
Night was starting to fall, and Olivia expected to be taken inside.
Instead she was carried into the village square, where several ogres were
gathered for singing and dancing. Momma carried her around to greet a wide
variety of ogres, most of whom wanted to pat her head or tickle her stomach.
After being introduced in this fashion to what seemed like every ogre in the
world, Olivia was dropped off in a small fenced in area with several infants and
toddlers, all younger than Sunny. She had barely glanced around before she saw
something that made her jaw drop.
Sitting just ten feet away was a girl with short blonde hair. She wore a
pale blue dress with matching booties, and a bulky diaper was peeking out. She
was also a human, not much older than Olivia, and her jaw was hanging open as
well. After a moment of staring, she crawled over to Olivia. She was a little
bit taller and a little bit lighter than Olivia. “Hey, how’d they get you?”
Olivia blinked several times. “I was in the woods... there was a wolf...
she scared it away.”
“Yeah, wolves don’t like them much.” The girl nodded. “I’m Veronica.” She
held out her hand.
Olivia tentatively reached out and shook it. “Ol... Olivia. What’re you
doing here?”
Veronica shrugged her shoulders. “Would you believe I wanted a change of
scenery?” She smirked.
Olivia raised an eyebrow, and something clicked in her mind. “Hey! You’re
that girl who disappeared in the woods while being chased by the police!”
Smirking even wider, Veronica nodded.
“Wow... what’d you do, anyway?” Olivia asked.
“Stole a pig.” Veronica answered matter of factly.
Puzzled, Olivia said, “That doesn’t sound that bad.”
“Well, I didn’t finish.” She glanced around conspiratorially. “I stole
it, and I set it loose in the mayor’s house.”
Olivia laughed. “For the love of... why?”
“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” Veronica answered with a shrug.
Olivia shook her head. “I can’t believe my mother was right. She said the
ogres must’ve gotten you, but I thought you were in a new town with a new name.”
“Well... I am.” Veronica chuckled. “They call me Runey here. I think they
mangled Veronica when I tried to tell it to them.”
“Have you tried to leave?” Olivia asked. “I hurt my legs before she found
me, and they’re still too sore to walk on.”
“Well...” Veronica stalled. “At first, I stuck around since I figured I
could lay low for a while. But it’s not so bad. Free room and board, someone
waiting on you that loves you unconditionally. And...” She leaned forward
towards Olivia a bit. “If I act fussy around bedtime, they’ll give me some of
their ale to calm me down.”
Olivia blinked. “Why’d you lean in to whisper? It’s not like any of them
can understand us.”
“Oh...” Veronica blushed. “I wasn’t leaning forward to whisper.” That’s
when Olivia noticed the smell.
“Did... did you?” Olivia gaped.
Veronica just nodded. “Sorry. I’m pretty used to just going. Trust me,
you don’t want to get backed up, their cure isn’t very fun.”
Olivia shuddered at the thought. “Oh.”
“Things aren’t too bad, aside from that.” Veronica said. “I’ve even
picked up some of their language; I think I’ll be ready for my first words
soon.” They made small talk for a while until the ogre Olivia assumed was
Veronica’s ‘mother’ arrived to check her diaper and picked her up. “My ride’s
here, I’ll see you later. Maybe we’ll have a playdate.”
Olivia waved. “Yeah, nice meeting you.”
Grinning, Veronica waved back. “Yeah, it’s great to finally have someone
who understands how mature I am.” She adjusted her sagging diaper and was
carried off.
Olivia smirked, and was left alone with the ogre babies. They weren’t all
that different from human babies, aside from the smallest of them being around
Olivia’s size, meaning she had to scoot away to avoid the more rambunctious
crawlers from time to time.
Eventually, Momma arrived to pick her up, and carried her home for the
nightly routine. She was fed another bowl of fruit mush, bathed, and diapered
for bed. Instead of the poorly fitting shirt she wore the north before, Olivia
was surprised to be dressed in what appeared to be a footed sleeper. The dark
green garment covered her from the neck down and was tied securely at the back.
It fit perfectly, and she realized it must be what Momma was working on with the
knitting needles earlier in the day. “Um, thank you, I guess.” Olivia found
herself smiling a little at the thoughtfulness as Momma tucked her into the crib
and kissed her on the forehead.
Chapter 5: Rude Awakening
Somehow, Olivia found herself back in the woods, which seemed quite odd
since she recalled being in her crib. She was still in her sleeper, so perhaps
she had sleepwalked away during the night. “Have I sleepwalked before?” She
asked no one in particular. She glanced down and found that she wasn’t in her
sleeper, but was wearing her dress. It was intact, even though she remembered
the skirt being torn and ruined. “Whoa, did I dream that whole thing?”
The trees around her were all gnarled and leafless, and in the distance
she saw a pair of piercing yellow eyes. And then another, and another, until it
seemed as if she were completely surrounded. Suddenly, the trees immediately
around her receded, and she was alone in a clearing. Olivia frantically glanced
about as one after another, wolves emerged from the woods and circled her,
staring at her with their yellow eyes. She looked for an opening, but they were
all around her. Just as she wondered why Momma wasn’t there to scare them away,
one of the wolves lunged at her and she screamed.
***
When the screaming stopped, Olivia opened her eyes and looked up at a
concerned looking Momma. The ogre was sitting down at the table, rocking Olivia
and making soothing sounds. Olivia held onto her tightly and repeatedly told
herself she had just been dreaming. She noticed that the hut was well lit, so it
was probably morning. “Hey, I’m okay now.” Once her breathing was under control,
she meekly smiled up at Momma to help get her point across. Momma smiled back
and went about feeding the girl her breakfast of mashed fruit, since they were
already at the table.
While Momma burped her, Olivia realized she’d get her diaper changed
soon, but found she was unable to wet herself. She shifted around, and blushed
brightly as she realized imaginary wolf attacks had the same effect on her
bladder as real ones. Olivia was stripped of her sleeper and wet diaper, and was
dressed in the same outfit as the day before. “Making the sleeper took up all
your time, right?” Momma smiled and cooed in response to her assumed babbling.
An idea struck her then. Remembering what Veronica had said about being
renamed Runey, Olivia waved to get Momma’s attention, and then clearly
enunciated her name. She repeated it several times, pointing to herself each
time. “Oh-liv-ee-ah.”
Momma responded with something that sounded very much like “Livi?”
Olivia nodded vigorously. “Olivia.”
“Livi?” It went back and forth a few times, but Livi was the closest she
could get to her actual name. She’d take it; there were probably a few ogre
names she just luckily avoided.
With the matter of names settled, Momma handed Olivia a bottle and
scooped her up, leaving the hut. “Where’re we going today?” Momma walked down a
few rows of hut, greeting several ogres along the way. She came to a stop in
front of an ogre Olivia was sure she had seen before, finally realizing it was
Veronica’s caretaker from the night before. While drinking from her bottle,
Olivia observed her. She stood half a foot taller than Momma, and was dressed in
a simple brown shirt with matching pants held up by a rope belt. Her black hair
was in a bun with two bones sticking out of it. Olivia considered ‘Ropey’ and
‘Boney’ as potential nicknames, and realized she really needed to rethink her
criteria.
Momma was led to a nearby hut with a playpen set up out front. The sides
were made of criss-crossing wooden strips, and sitting within was Veronica, who
was bouncing a ball off one of the sides. She caught the ball and waved to
Olivia. “Hey neighbor!”
Olivia was placed alongside Veronica, and handed her finished bottle to
Momma. “I’m actually a few huts down.”
Veronica looked Olivia over. “Weren’t you wearing that yesterday? It
doesn’t look like it was made here.” She tossed her ball to Olivia.
After catching it, Olivia glanced down and shrugged. “I don’t have
anything else that fits, other than some pajamas she made for me yesterday. It’s
actually the top half of the dress I was wearing when I got here.” She took a
look at Veronica’s dress. “Isn’t that what you were wearing last night?” She
tossed to ball back.
The other girl shook her head and attempted to balance the ball on one
finger, without success. “Most of my clothes are blue; they must’ve figured I
liked it because I had a blue shirt when they found me.”
“Oh yeah, that must be why my sleeper’s green.” She stopped to listen to
the ogres, recognizing the words Livi and Runey. “I told her my name and ended
up with Livi.” She crossed her legs nervously.
“Closer than Runey.” She smiled at Olivia. “Need to do something?”
Olivia quickly shook her head, but her fidgeting gave her away. “What
makes you think that?”
“Because that’s how I used to look.” Veronica smirked. “Remember what I
said would happen if you get backed up? First, they take a big...”
Olivia covered her ears and shouted over her. “Shut up!”
Veronica didn’t even pause. “... and they stick it right up your...”
“Okay, okay!” Olivia got up on her knees, noticing that her legs felt a
lot better. “Are you just going to watch?”
Veronica feigned disappointment and bounced her ball off the other wall.
“I wont. But I let you watch me, y’know.”
Olivia stuck her tongue out despite the fact Veronica couldn’t see here,
then closed her eyes and grunted. Although she found it easier to go while a
hyperactive ogre was tickling her, she had soon filled the seat of her diaper
with a warm mess, wetting it as well for good measure. When she opened her eyes,
she saw Veronica looking straight at her, wearing the biggest grin she had seen
in her life. “Hey! You said you wouldn’t watch!”
“Nuh-uh!” Veronica shook her head. “You asked if I would JUST watch, and
I said no. But I also bounced my ball for a lot of it. Hey, you know how I said
I was almost ready for my first word?”
Olivia nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”
Still grinning, Veronica pointed at Olivia and said the same Ogrish word
a few times. Momma approached the pen and checked Olivia’s diaper, then nodded
to her friend. Veronica’s mother smiled proudly and patted her daughter on the
head.
Olivia raised an eyebrow at Veronica. “What’d you say?”
Veronica smiled to her mother and waved to Olivia. “Stinky.”
Olivia glared as Momma scooped her up. “You ratted me out!”
Giggling, Veronica said, “You say that like you wanted to stay in that
dirty diaper.” Her mother scooped her up into a hug as well, and exchanged a few
words with Momma.
The color drained from Olivia’s face, which was impressive with how red
it was. “I do not!”
“Settle down, I was just joking.” She smiled warmly. “I think your
mother’s saying she’s going to take you for a walk along the river, so I’ll see
later.”
“But I still can’t walk.”
Veronica rolled her eyes. “I’m not a linguist, I guess she’ll do most of
the walking.” Her mother adjusted her dress and gave her bottom a pat.
Olivia smirked. “Is someone else stinky?”
“No.” Veronica said defensively. “I’m just wet.”
“Oh? You said that like you’re proud of it.” Olivia winked. The two girls
laughed and were carried to their respective homes for changing.
Chapter 6: The Great Escape
(great meaning large or immense)
On the way back to the hut, Momma gently tossed Olivia into the air a few
times, always safely catching her and chuckling at the girl’s squeals of
delight. Upon arriving she quickly went about cleaning up Olivia’s stinky
bottom, but used enough of that sweet smelling powder that Olivia sneezed a few
times. Without the embarrassment of being changed by a child to focus on, Olivia
was able to appreciate just how nice a clean diaper felt after sitting in a
messy one. She smiled up at Momma as her snugly rediapered bottom received a pat
and she heard ‘Livi’ among what she was saying. She held up her arms and was
rewarded with a hug, and was then carried out of the hut.
Momma walked behind the hut and Olivia expected her to retrieve the
previous day’s laundry, but the lines were clear. She recalled that both the bed
and the crib had sheets, and since she hadn’t seen Momma for a while after being
placed with Veronica and the babies she figured the laundry had been brought in
then. Momma continued walking until she reached the river that ran through the
village, and began taking a leisurely stroll alongside. She began speaking, and
Olivia guessed it was some sort of story about the river.
The woodsmen were visible in the distance, drinking from large mugs while
their axes rested against their hut. “They were right there when you first
brought me here, so that means we’re going north, right?” Olivia tried to
remember the geography again. The river ran north/south through the ogre
village, and continued north through the Forbidden Woods until it reached the
Olivia was snapped out of her thinking when Momma came to a stop, after
covering a fair amount of distance. Momma spread out a blanket on the nearby
grass and lay down on her back. She positioned Olivia so she was also facing up,
balanced on Momma’s stomach. She wasn’t sure what was going on until she heard
the snoring, as well as feeling it. Wheels started turning in Olivia’s head, and
she carefully climbed down from her perch. She landed on her feet, noticing only
minor pain. She stretched her legs and took her first steps in two days. Her
legs were still tender, and the diaper forced her legs apart, but she still felt
confidant that she could walk back.
Until she heard Momma’s snoring again, and a wave of guilt washed over
her. The ogre had saved her life, brought her into her home, and had taken care
of her. She did all that without expecting anything in return, and now Olivia
was planning to abandon her. Olivia watched her for a moment and let out an
exasperated sigh. She snuck and gave Momma a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
Taking one last glance back, she started north down the river.
Olivia encountered no wolves on her journey. Whether this was due to her
now smelling like an ogre, or if she was simply far enough north to be out of
wolf territory when she started, she had no idea. The walk was longer than she
had anticipated, and it was approaching nightfall when she the town’s west gate
in the distance.
Still hidden in the fringes of the woods, Olivia examined her clothing
and wondered what to do. She couldn’t arrive in town wearing a diaper, but going
bottomless would be even worse. She arrived at a compromise and unpinned the
diaper, then wrapped it around her waist as a makeshift skirt. She still needed
the pin to hold it on, but she decided it was a step up. The booties were fine,
and the shirt and hair ribbon were hers to begin with. All that was left was the
bone, which she tossed away, feeling a little bit of guilt.
Taking one last glance around, Olivia hurried through the gate. Had she
arrived any later, the gate would have been sealed and she would have had to
explain herself to a guard. As it was, she hurried to her house and tried to
avoid making eye contact with anyone, hearing at least one passer by comment on
what an ugly skirt she was wearing. She reached her house and frantically
searched the front garden for the hidden key, then let herself in. She had
barely snuck into her room and wrapped a robe over her shabby clothes when she
heard movement behind her.
“Olivia!” Mrs. Cameron had a look of shock on her face. “Where have you
been?” She rushed over and gave her daughter a hug. “What happened to you?”
They sat down on Olivia’s bed and Olivia told a selectively edited
version of what happened to her. She had fallen and hurt her legs. Her clothing
was damaged, which is why she rushed to get the robe. While waiting for her legs
to heal, she survived on fruit. As she told the story, her mother brought her a
sandwich and a cup of tea, both of which rapidly ingested.
Mrs. Cameron nodded along, and at the end said, “I’m so relieved, I
thought the ogres had done something terrible to you.”
Olivia paused. “Nope. No ogres doing terrible things to me.”
“Good.” Mrs. Cameron nodded once more. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Well... I’d like to just go to bed.” After quickly washing up and using
the bathroom for the first time in two days, Olivia changed into her nightgown.
Exhausted from all the walking, she stuffed her diaper, booties, and the remains
of her dress in the back of her closet and was asleep almost as her head hit the
pillow.
***
Professor Underwood awoke to the sounds of knocking on his door. He
squinted out his window, and saw that it was barely dawn. “Mrs. Cameron, is that
you?” The knocking continued, but it was quite a bit louder than during Mrs.
Cameron's previous visit. He pulled on his robe and opened the door, finding an
ogre hunched over to see him. They very rarely ventured this far north, and this
was the first time one came all the way to his home.
He looked her over and noticed her turtle shell earrings, thinking back
to their earlier meeting and the odd way she asked about a human infant. This
time she admitted that a human infant had been found to the south, but now she
had vanished, despite being too young to walk. Underwood had done a little
research, and no people had gone missing recently, aside from Miss Cameron. He
explained this to the ogre and she asked him in a pleading tone to keep an eye
out.
The ogre left, and Underwood returned to bed. He awoke a few hours later
when the postman arrived. They made small talk as he signed for a package, and
the postman happened to mention that Olivia Cameron had returned home.
***
Veronica was lying on the floor, which struck her as odd since she
usually slept in a crib. She opened her eyes and saw a very cheerful ogre with a
sunflower tucked behind her ear, rambling on about what a good babysitter she
was. Veronica then noticed the young ogre was in the process of unpinning her
soggy night diaper, and she tried to hold still to avoid being poked. She
glanced around and saw her mother, who was busy comforting Olivia’s, who
appeared quite distraught. Olivia herself was nowhere in site, and there were
know other adults, leading Veronica to believe her ‘babysitter’ was in fact the
one being babysat. Her change completed without any stab wounds, Veronica was
scooped up into a hug and she tried to listen in on the adults’ conversation.
Her mother said something about a ‘tiny doctor’, but that didn’t make any sense.
***
After nearly falling onto the floor, Olivia realized there were no bars
surrounding her. “Oh yeah.” She chuckled to herself and rubbed her eyes, then
stepped out of bed and stretched. Her legs felt better than before, and she
hoped they’d be fully healed in another day. She tossed her nightgown onto the
bed and got dressed in the first outfit she came across, a grey tunic with black
leggings. Looking at herself in the mirror, she lets out an annoyed sigh as she
realized this was the outfit she would’ve worn into the woods had her mother not
insisted she not change clothes.
Arriving in the kitchen, she was surprised to see her mother sitting with
Professor Underwood, drinking tea. “Here she is now, good morning, Olivia.” Mrs.
Cameron said.
The professor nodded. “I’m glad to see you’re all right after what
happened.”
Olivia gave a little wave and sat down at the table. “Hello.”
Underwood steepled his fingers. “Now, as I was just explaining to your
mother, I feel awful that this happened to you while working on an assignment
for me. I plan on compensating you for your trouble.”
Mrs. Cameron was quite pleased by this. “That’s hardly neccessary. And
it’s ‘Loretta’ with two ‘T’s.”
Ignoring the grinning woman, Underwood continued. “The report was due
today, but it would be cruel to hold you to the deadline after your ordeal. Meet
me at my house later today and I’ll interview for the job personally.”
This pleased Mrs. Cameron even more. “Did you hear, Olivia? A job
interview.”
“Oh, thank you, sir.” Olivia said. “When should I arrive?”
Underwood thought it over. “In about an hour, I think. I’ll see you then.
Good day, Mrs. Cameron, thank you for the tea.” He winked as he passed Olivia,
and she wondered what it meant.
Chapter 7 (Finale): The
Exposition Strikes Back
An hour passed, and Olivia nervously knocked on Underwood’s door. “Ah,
thank you for coming, Miss Cameron. Please come in.”
Olivia was directed to sit down at the table. “So, you’re going to
interview me for the job, professor?”
Underwood shook his head. “Oh, I believe you already have the job.”
Raising an eyebrow, Olivia asked, “But you don’t even know if I’m
qualified for any of that stuff.”
The professor chuckled. “But I do know. You are uniquely qualified to
study the ogres, and to act as a liaison between our two races.” He leaned
forward. “You didn’t spend these past few days lost in the woods, did you?”
Glancing about, Olivia stammered, “What... whatever gave you that idea?”
He then explained his theory, noting the mysterious infant that he could
find no record of, and how her discovery by the ogres and later disappearance
matched up exactly to Olivia’s fateful trip to the woods. “Ogres have a
reputation for not being able to judge human ages; to them, we all come in one
size: smaller than ogres.”
Olivia slinked back in her chair as he told his story. “So, um, they
wouldn’t think it was strange if I didn’t grow at all? Hypothetically?”
Hiding a smirk, Underwood nodded. “If you were to live among them, your
growing understanding of Ogrish would simulate increasing maturity.”
Olivia blinked. “But... why do you want someone to live among them?”
“There’s still so little we understand about their culture,” Underwood
began. “You’ve been accepted into their society, so you’d have an extraordinary
opportunity for research.”
Clicking her tongue, Olivia thought it over for a few minutes. “Okay. For
the sake of argument, let’s say I have been accepted. I’m supposed to just
abandon my life here?”
“It would be leaving for a job.”
“How would I do that job?” Olivia asked. “A baby couldn’t really make
reports to you. And my mother would wonder why she couldn’t see me; you work
right on the outskirts of town.”
“As my assistant, your work would include travelling to the University to
file my reports and conduct research at the library.” Underwood smirked. “Not
that you’d actually go, but it’s a useful cover story. But mainly I’d tell her
you’re working in the field, gaining their trust and whatnot.”
Olivia shook her head. “It still wouldn’t explain NEVER seeing her, she’d
think they ate me and round up an angry mob or something.”
A thoughtful look crossed Underwood’s face. “I have an idea.”
***
Smiling proudly, Mrs. Cameron hugged Olivia. “My daughter the scientist.”
Olivia nodded. “Yep. Professor Underwood told me to pack; I’m supposed to
set out later today.”
“Of course, of course. I’ll leave you to it. You must’ve impressed him
during the interview, huh?” Her mother continued smiling. “Just wait until I
tell Sally...”
“I guess he thought I was destined for... big things.” Olivia began to
pack her bags, taking everything she would need to travel through the woods or
to the big city. It was all for show; most of it would be left in the back of
Underwood’s closet. All except the items he specifically told her to pack. After
making sure her mother wasn’t nearby, she reached into the back of her closet
and retrieved the remains of her dress, along with the booties, diaper, and pin.
Olivia hugged her mother goodbye, and wondered if the professor’s plan
would work. She walked through the town, waving to everyone she could see, and
passed through the south gate. As she did, Underwood quickly ushered her into
his house. “So, how’d it go?” she inquired.
“As well as I hoped.” Underwood said. While Olivia packed and made her
farewells, the professor had returned to the ogres and spun his story. He told
them he had finally learned the identity of the baby girl. She was an orphan
whose parents had been killed by wolves, a cover story which explained how an
infant had gotten so deep into the woods for her initial discovery. Later, she
crawled along the river and was found by humans a short distance from where
Momma last saw her. As she had no other family and appeared well cared for,
Underwood had been given permission to return her to the ogres, on the condition
he is able to remove her from the village on occasion to allow human doctors to
check up on her.
Olivia’s eyes glazed over. “That sounds really complicated.”
Underwood nodded. “Indeed. Did you bring the clothes they dressed you
in?”
Olivia pulled them from the bag, blushing some as she got to the diaper.
Underwood pulled it away from her and dunked it in a bucket of water. “Hey! I
didn’t use it!”
“Ah, but they’ll think you did.” He hung it to dry after a quick rinsing.
“Having been recently washed will be the best explanation for it to be clean.”
Olivia stared. “Why not just SAY you washed it? They believed all that
other stuff.”
Once the diaper was dried, Olivia was given privacy to change into her
ogre-wear, taking several minutes to get the diaper pinned reasonably well. She
packed the clothes she had been wearing in her bags and left them in the corner.
She poked her head out the door, which she was thankful faced towards the forest
and away from the village. “I’m set.”
Underwood nodded. “Take a seat, you can’t walk, remember?”
Olivia emerged, knowing it was impossible to avoid being seen in her
current outfit. She plopped down on the path leading into the forest to wait. As
the sun started to set, Shelly stepped out of the woods, followed by Momma, who
immediately ran to Olivia. The girl found herself scooped up into a tight hug,
and smiled broadly as she returned it. “Hey.”
Just as quickly, Momma set Olivia down and gave her padded seat several
swats, then sternly waved her index finger as the girl rubbed her bottom.
Underwood chuckled. “She said not to run off again, you gave her quite a
fright.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Thank you, I think I got the gist.” She held up
her arms and was pulled into another hug, and then had a bottle placed in her
mouth. As she was fed, Olivia listened to Underwood and the ogres talk, but
could only make out ‘Livi’.
The discussion ended, and Underwood said. “I’ll check in on you a week
from now.”