“Ohh, I think the edible is making him sleepy,” said Marcia.
It was my second time hanging out with these girls and the routine was mostly the same: they jokingly asked if I wanted to hold their male roommate, Leon, on my lap and carried him over to me. The last time, it had seemed like some kind of silly joke or prank until they told me he needed to be changed into a diaper when he started getting sleepy.
This time, I had a suspicion that he was already wearing something bulkier than underwear under his shorts.
“Is the vitamin we gave you making you sleepy, buddy?” asked Kelly, reaching over and running her fingers through his hair.
Alondra stood up and left the room. When she came back, she was holding a pacifier. She offered it to Leon.
“Noo…not in front of her…” Leon rubbed his eyes.
“When he gets fussy like that it usually means it’s time to change him,” said Kelly matter-of-factly, setting down her phone and standing up.
She walked over and helped Alondra hoist Leon off my lap.
“I think he might already be…um…” I stopped, chewing on my lip. Was it weird for me to say that I could feel how warm and heavy his bottom was in my lap?
“Come here, Leon,” said Alondra. It was pretty clear that Alondra was the most protective of Leon. She talked to him in a softer voice than the other girls, and didn’t tease him or roll her eyes as often as they did.
Leon turned away from me a little bit as Alondra undid his pants.
“You have an accident, bud?” asked Marcia. She turned to Kelly and mouthed, “did he leak?”
Kelly peeked over Leon’s shoulder and shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she mouthed back.
Marcia started to get to her feet. “Do you need me to get a diaper, Alondra?”
Last time I was over, I was surprised that they changed Leon right in front of me on the living room floor, as if it were no big deal.
“Yes, please,” said Alondra. “Thank you, Marcia. Can you get the changing mat, too?”
Kelly reached up and pushed down on Leon’s shoulder. I guess it was some kind of cue because he sat down on the floor, and Alondra offered him the pacifier again. He turned his face away from me, and when Alondra drew her hand away, the pacifier wasn’t in it anymore.
Marcia came back with the changing mat and supplies. She helped Alondra lay them out. Kelly came back over to the couch and sat down next to me. She turned the volume up on the soccer game we had been watching, but both of our eyes were on Leon.
He was trying to pull his shirt down but Alondra kept taking his hands away, and Marcia was saying, “Stop fussing!” He decided to cover his face instead.
The scene was interrupted by the doorbell. Kelly had ordered a pizza. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed her wallet off the coffee table.
Alondra helped Leon stand up, too, and took him to his room.
“The yellow PJ shorts are clean,” Marcia called after her. “We just washed a bunch of his stuff yesterday.”
She came over and sat on the floor next to the couch. “He goes through clothes really fast,” she said, “so we have to throw his stuff in with our laundry.”
“He’d probably hate that I told you that,” she said, laughing, and reached for the remote. “I’m tired of soccer. Let’s find a cartoon or or a nature show or something.”
Kelly came back with the pizza and Alondra and Leon came back. Leon was wearing an oversized tshirt and yellow shorts.
“You probably don’t want to hold him while he’s eating,” said Marcia. “He spills a lot.”
“No I don’t…” mumbled Leon.
“Come here,” said Marcia. “Sit next to Alondra.”
Alondra let him lean into her and ran her fingers through his hair.
Kelly had gone to the kitchen to get plates. I kept trying not to look at Leon and Alondra. Marcia didn’t seem to be paying attention anymore. She had found a channel she liked and was watching TV again.
Kelly came back from the kitchen with plates and napkins. She took one and tucked it into Leon’s collar and laid the other across his lap. “You’ve gotta take this out if you’re going to eat,” she said, popping the pacifier out of his mouth.
The pizza was good. We sat around talking for a while longer until Leon started to doze off, head on Alondra’s shoulder.
“Is it bedtime for somebody?” asked Marcia.
“I think so,” said Kelly, and Alondra stood up, helping Leon off the couch. She picked his pacifier up off the table and they left in the direction of his room.
“Do you want to sleep here?” asked Marcia, looking at me. “We have a guest room.”
I’d also taken an edible and I was still feeling the effects. “Yeah, that sounds good. I don’t really want to drive home right now.”
Kelly showed me the bathroom and gave me a spare toothbrush.
I thanked her and Marcia for letting me stay over and started getting ready for bed.
On my way to the guest bedroom, I passed by Leon’s room. The door was ajar and I could see Alondra sitting up in his bed, reading a book aloud. Leon had one arm around her middle and the other hand pressing his pacifier against his mouth. Alondra made brief eye contact with me and shut the door with her foot.
Leon’s room and the guest room shared a wall. I could hear the soft, muffled sound of Alondra’s voice as I crawled between the sheets. It was soothing, and my body felt all heavy and calm from the edible.
Alondra stopped reading and I heard shuffling from the other room. Then Leon started to whine a little bit. I thought about covering my ears with the pillow, but I didn’t. I moved closer to the wall.
Now I could hear Alondra talking again. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but I was pretty sure Leon was answering, “yes, Mommy.”
I felt my hips press hard against the mattress. I could feel a dream coming together in my head, mixing with the noise from the next room and the things I’d seen that evening.
