When I awoke, it was clear some time had passed. The room was completely dark. It must be night time. I stretched... And as I reached up, my hand hit something solid. I remembered I was in the crib and as I reached to the side, I could still feel the crib bars... And something else. I could feel some fuzzy, soft items around me. Running my hands over them in the dark found little arms and legs, and bunny ears... Stuffed animals? Of course, when I was placed in here, there were stuffed animals lining the sides. In my sleep, I must've moved them around. What else was in the crib with me? A quick reach to the top confirmed it was still closed. I tried to reach out towards where I remembered the latch being, but again, my efforts were just a bit short. I was still trapped. But the fumbling around had revealed something else disturbing. My clothes were gone! Now that I was out from under the bed covers, I could feel I had no shirt. My legs and feet were also bare. Worse, I could now feel something large and padded on my lower body. A few seconds poking and prodding with the sound of crinkling and I realized I was wearing one of those ridiculous oversized diapers that Karen had on the changing table. Slipping my hand down the front of the diaper, I could feel it was dry and so very, very padded. It was so padded, I couldn't even bring my legs together. I was distracted from the diapers by the feeling that there was something long and heavy attached to the sides of my head. Reaching up to touch, it was apparent that my hair had been braided into a pair of braids, one on either side of my head. I immediately remembered Karen telling me she wanted to put my hair into braids. I could feel ties at the side of my head and down near where the braid ended. Well, I wasn't putting up with that! These braids were coming out! After a few minutes struggling, it was clear they were too tight to move, and knotted in such a way I couldn't find any way to untie them. What the heck? I guess for now they stayed.
There was only one conclusion I could make. At some point, when I was asleep, someone (I had a good idea who!) had removed all my clothes, put me in a diaper and braided my hair? This was unacceptable! I would not be treated like that! I was furious! I considered yelling out in anger, but it was dark, it was clearly the middle of the night... And I remembered how noise-proof this room was. Perhaps this would be a better discussion in the morning when people were rested. Pausing for a moment, I realized the pressure on my bladder was gone. But the diapers were dry? I'd already checked them. My rage began to fade as I realized I must've completely let go and wet my adult diaper. I immediately felt shamed. OK, so maybe I did need to be changed. And yes, this disease I was fighting had left me somewhat limited. My mom had commented how now I slept so deeply she had problems waking me. So maybe, just maybe, they had tried to wake me and failed. Then they just decided, since I needed to be changed, they wouldn't go into my suitcase. No, they'd just use the diapers from the nearby changing table. That seemed reasonable. And maybe they had just braided my hair so it wouldn't get all tangled while I slept. I had lost my elastic on the plane so my hair had been down and loose. So maybe they were just looking out for me. I guess I could reasonably explain everything, except they could've at least removed the stuffed animals. By now, my rage had completely evaporated, and turned into embarrassment. I couldn't believe I'd wet myself on my first night, and someone, Karen's mom likely, had found me wearing a soggy diaper and had to change me. How humiliating!
But then a touch of anger returned. If I hadn't been locked in the crib, none of that would be an issue! I would've been able to go to the bathroom. I was not a child! Even if I was so asleep you could braid my hair without me noticing it, that didn't mean it was acceptable! I was the only one who should change my clothes! They should've tried harder to wake me. And now I was doubly resolved to get my long hair cut if this was what Karen and her mom were going to do with it. I felt my embarrassment rising thinking about how they had just made assumptions. Worse, I'd even told Karen directly that I wanted nothing to do with those ridiculous costume diapers and that I had my own adult diapers in my suitcase. For the first time, I wondered if it had been wise to accept Karen's mothers offer of help. Yes, I'd grown up with these people, but that was so many years ago. And in the intervening time, how much had changed? But I reassured myself. I knew Karen's mom was a good, caring person who would never hurt anyone. That's it! It must've been Karen who had been responsible. Yes, that made sense. She had been behaving strangely. In the morning, I'd have a word with Karen's mom and we'd get Karen punished for this. At least the one thing I could count on was that Karen's mom would always listen to me. And she wouldn't hesitate to punish Karen if she got out of line. Despite all my questions and my unquiet mind, the fact I was locked into the crib gave me nothing to do but lay down and soon I drifted off to sleep again.
---
When I awoke again, I was startled to see both Karen and her mom leaning over the crib!
"Aww, he's waking up. But he looked so adorable!", Karen's mom said. "Look how's he's hugging that little pink bunny!" They were looking at me, talking about how adorable I looked surrounded by stuffed animals! My one arm was around a stuffed pink rabbit, and the thumb on my other hand was in my mouth? I sat up immediately, tossing the stuffie aside and taking my thumb out of my mouth. Karen's eyes were wide with mirth.
"Aww", she said with a disappointed air. "I put your thumb in your mouth while you were sleeping... It looked so cute!", she said, looking amused. "You looked just like a doll!" She had gone too far. I wanted to yell at her, but I also wanted Karen's mom as an ally, and I knew she never looked well upon tantrums or losing your temper. So I decided to start my objections casually.
"Ha ha, very funny Karen. You got me." I, of course, meant it as 'You got me with your prank.' But instead of any kind of acknowledgement that she'd gone too far, Karen got a bit of a far off look in her eyes and seemed to misunderstand what I was saying.
"Yes... I do have you, don't I?" she asked rhetorically. What a weird response, I thought. But before I could respond, Karen's mom began to speak.
"I'm so glad to see you are making yourself at home. Karen has been so looking forward to this... I'm so happy to see you two together again, playing. I remember when you were kids, Karen always wanted to play dress-up with you, but your mother always said no for some reason. I'm thrilled that you two have already found something you can have fun with!" She thought I was dressed like this voluntarily? That I had asked for this? Well, I'd soon correct that mistake and let them both know just how upset I was to find myself waking up like this. I just waited for a moment to calmly interject. It felt so very surreal to having Karen's mom speaking to me while I sat in a crib designed for a princess, wearing huge puffy diapers, my hair fixed into pigtails and having her be happy about it all because she thought we were playing? All I could do was nod along and look around. Now that I could see in the light, it was clearly worse than I'd imagined. I could really see how utterly childish these diapers were. Huge padded monstrosities that felt like I was sitting on a pillow. I mean, they weren't even boys diapers. They were so pink and decorated with princesses dancing with teddy bears. I also got to look at the braids. Obviously I couldn't see where they were attached at the side of my head, but I could feel large bows and ribbons attached. The braids were long enough I could see they were tied off at the bottom with pink lace bows and I was sure the top must match. A moments examination revealed they were knotted so the only way I was getting them off was with scissors. That's why I hadn't been able to untie them during the night. I suddenly realized that Karen's mom had been talking the whole time, and I snapped back to attention. "I am so very sorry that I have to run off like this..."
"Wait... What?" was what came out of my mouth. Karen smiled while Karen's mom took my interruption in stride.
"As I was saying, I'm sorry, but this opportunity to do the costuming and wardrobe for this reality show came up at the last minute. So I'll be gone for a few months. I'll be on-site for the whole time it's being recorded." It was finally penetrating through my foggy, just woken mind that she was dressed up and wearing a coat, as if she was going somewhere. "But you don't have to worry. When Karen heard you were in need, she decided to take the year off school. At first I wasn't happy, but when she pointed out that your disease has made you miss more school than that, how could I stop her? We cleared things with school authorities and they suggested Karen could increase her out-of-school activities to make up for the lost time. Hearing about your condition and that you needed someone to look after you... Why, I've never seen my Karen happier! It makes me so proud that she's so happy to take care of someone in need and you'll have the very best twenty-four hour care." I was definitely surprised to hear this news. My mom and I had been operating under the assumption that it would be Karen's mom looking after me while I recovered from this disease. We had assumed Karen would be at school.
"Wait... So Karen will be looking after me? By herself?" Both ladies had joy in their eyes. But while Karen's mom was overflowing pride in her daughter, Karen's was a little more difficult to identify. Was it almost... Predatory? I did not like the direction this was all going... I tried to gather the thoughts in my head, to articulate why this was not what was expected. I tried to figure out how I was going to protest. But Karen's mom was still talking.
"I'm so proud that my Karen is volunteering to take care of you. Oh Kendal, you'll find that our Karen has become an amazing young women. She had already been volunteering at the hospital, sewing, cooking, learning so many life skills. But since she knew you were coming, she's been working extra hard around the clock. She's taken courses on babysitting and providing long term care, she's learned how to administer your medicines and learned so much about potential side-effects and things to avoid. She's taken other courses, learning about wood-working, learning electronics... My goodness, she's even took a course on welding and even a few more I probably forgot. I couldn't keep up! And the things she can make are amazing! You don't have to worry, whatever you need while you are here, Karen can provide it. She's going to make an amazing wife for some lucky man." And she looked at Karen with a love and admiration I'd never seen between her and Karen as a child. I was still processing this last bit of information as Karen's mom continued on.
"But I've bragged too much. I need to get to the airport. Karen, I'll just grab the last of my things. Meet you at the car." As Karen's mom walked out, she stopped at the door. "And don't worry. Karen told me about your little secret. You can rest assured that I'll tell no one. See you in a few months!" And with that she was gone. Little secret? I turned to Karen.
"What 'little secret' was your mom talking about?" Karen just shrugged her shoulders, but her smile betrayed her attempt to feign ignorance.
"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I have to drive my mom to the airport, but when we get back, I'll tell you all about it." And with that, she quickly swung the top of the crib shut, right at my head! I had to duck down slightly to keep from being smacked in the head, and when I did, I was away from the bars. Karen was able to quickly throw the latch and I couldn't even attempt to stop her... Not that I would've been able to.
"HEY!" I cried. Karen again flashed that smile of hers.
"Just til I get back. Later!" She quickly closed the door and I knew that I was again trapped.
As I held the bars in my hands, I realized that this wasn't a place for me to sleep. This was a prison. It was a cage. This was MY cage. That the child seat and the crib had latches that I was just barely unable to reach wasn't coincidence. Karen had admitted my physical characteristics... My height, my weight, my reach... were all in the medical documents they had been provided with weeks ago. I stretched to try to reach the latch on the crib, and stretching for all I was worth, I was only a hairs length short. And I knew that it had been placed exactly where it was so I'd be unable to reach it, but to an observer, to Karen's mother, it would look like I could. I kicked the bars, I shook the plastic top, but just confirmed it might as well be steel. Obviously, I wasn't going anywhere. All I could do for now was wait. But when Karen got back... It was time to have this out. It was time for a showdown.
---
When Karen returned, I could immediately see a difference in her. She'd left with such a happy, pleasant demeanor. When she came back, she seemed much more serious and intense. She's left in a tight, brightly coloured t-shirt and shorts, showing off her incredible body with her long hair loose and flowing. When she walked back into the room, her hair was tied back in a severe ponytail, wearing a black workout top, tight black stretch pants with a leather studded belt and boots with buckles that looked like they could kick someone into next week. This wasn't an outfit to show off her body... This was an outfit that someone would wear to a fight. It was intended to be intimidating. It was working.
I had planned to blast her with my annoyance when she got back. I hated that childish, puffy diaper she'd put me in. I was very upset that she'd locked me into the crib like it was a cage! And I wanted her to admit it had all been on purpose! Seeing how she looked, the righteous indignation fled me like air from a balloon. Even though I was annoyed to still be locked in the crib, I decided to be cautious and careful with the conversation.
"Is something wrong?" She barely spared me a glance as I spoke, but stayed silent. She had some papers with her... From where I was, it looked like my medical records. She also had a black book that I was sure I'd never seen before. It was all black except for some writing on the front. I couldn't quite make out what it said.
"Umm, I'd very much like to get out of the crib now." In my mind, that was a statement. But coming out of my mouth, it sounded like a small child who has done wrong asking to get out of time-out. Even I was shocked at how timid I sounded.
Karen seemed to not hear me at all. After she flipped through the papers, reading intently, with an awkward silence surrounding us, finally she walked over the the crib, eyeing me warily. She flipped the latch open, and lifted the top of the crib off. Yes! Finally I was getting out of this cage.
Shaky as I was, I was able to stand in the crib. Using the side bars for support, I met Karen eye to eye. I had to stand a bit bow-legged because of that awful diaper and the padding between my legs that kept me from bringing them together, but I did alright with a bit of assistance from the railing. We both stood that way for a few uneasy seconds. Then Karen looked straight at my eyes, staring directly at me. I locked eyes for a second, but then my eyes submissively fell to the floor, only glancing up at her occasionally. She sneered and somehow I knew she was testing me somehow and I had lost. Looking down, I saw I was high enough up that just jumping out might be painful. I was going to need a hand and Karen didn't seem inclined to give one. But then it seemed like the mood broke and Karen's face changed into a beautiful smile. I smiled in response despite myself and, without thinking, instinctively held my arms out so she could lift me out of the crib and lower me to the floor. Instead, she turned her back and returned to the documents and parcels she'd been looking through earlier. My arms went down, holding the crib railing for support. She pulled out a bag, looking inside. Satisfied it was what she was looking for, she returned to the crib. Once again, I stiffly held out my arms, expecting assistance. I kept them out, hoping that assistance was coming. She came close, right up to me.
Without warning, she put her hand down the front of my diaper!
At this point I have to explain that the disease I had, Tropical Mentior Profligatus, actually affected my nervous system. As I've mentioned already, part of the reason for my muscle weakness was that it had 'messed things up', forcing me to relearn how to do things like write and walk. Put simply, the disease had messed up my internal wiring, particularly in my groin region. Maybe because that area has so many nerves? You already know how I'd discovered that the pressure of hitting a bump in the road had caused me to throw out my arms and legs uncontrollably and robbed me of the power of speech. I'd also mentioned that we'd discovered another horrifying example before I had left the hospital. I really didn't want to talk about it before. But I feel that you need to know about it so you can understand what happened next.
---
Once, my girlfriend Skyla had been at the hospital after I'd had my bath and I was wearing nothing but a robe. I was all clean and she'd helped put lotion on my feet which felt wonderful. As she worked up my body working the lotion in, she started to do my legs, then worked up above my knees. She'd snuck her hand under the robe, and began applying lotion to my inner thigh. Having your beautiful girlfriend stroking your inner thigh? Let's just say it was a little bit of a turn on. I was getting aroused like crazy and a small tent began to appear in the front of my robe. We both blushed and giggled, but she didn't stop. From the gentle smile on Skyla's face, it was pretty self-evident it wasn't an accident. And her hands were still creeping up, up, up... And for just a second, I felt her gentle touch in my most private place and I knew she was going to do something very intimate to me.
All of a sudden, my arms and legs had just started spasming! Skyla screamed as I lost complete control. I couldn't speak, I could only make gurgling noises so I couldn't tell her what was happening or call for help. It was scary because I was utterly helpless! My arms and legs had just gone into a series of alternating muscular contractions and relaxations. Luckily Skyla's scream brought immediate help. The nurses rushed in and comforted me until I once again regained control of my body. Much later, we learned the medical term was 'clonic spasms'. It seemed that the disease had been tied to the nerves in my... sexual region and scrambled them completely. Think of it like a hiccup, only a massive hiccup that overrode everything else my body was trying to do and took forever to end when I was stimulated down there. The doctors assured me it would go away over time, but needless to say, Skyla had gone back to focusing on taking care of my hair and refused to touch me below the waist. And now you know why we spent so much time on my hair, and why it grew so long...
I didn't blame Skyla at all. Heck, it scared me so much, I hadn't even dared touch myself down there since. Which probably explained why I was so aroused every time I saw Karen. Sure she was beautiful, but it didn't take much to set me off nowadays. Having a living, breathing goddess right in front of me was trouble. Well, if she wasn't acting so weird. Her strange behavior was certainly a turn-off. At least until just now when she actually grabbed me down below!
---
So you can guess what happened after Karen stuck her hand down my diaper! She grabbed my boy parts, gently stroking. I was again flooded with those insane sensations as I had been in the hospital with Skyla. The best I can describe it is as fireworks going off in my brain. I fell down back into the crib, arms reaching to touch objects that weren't there, and legs kicking helplessly. And as I lay there spasming, looking up into the lunatic smile on the face of Karen, I realized with dawning horror that she'd read all my medical papers and knew exactly what she was doing.
I tried to say something, forced myself, but I couldn't properly control my mouth so it came out as "Goo goo ya-go bhhhp". She gently intensified the stroking on my little guy, and the spasming intensified with it. Now I couldn't even make a noise. Like way back in the car, it was like that feeling when you've been drenched with ice water. I could barely breath! That made her even more amused. As she gently stroked me with one hand, keeping me completely at her whimsy, she began unclasping the diaper with the other, soon rendering me utterly naked.
"Wow, I didn't believe that medical report could be true. Can you imagine, just touching your little wee-wee messes up your nervous system so much? The car seat was funny, but this is hilarious. A little gentle massaging down there and you revert into an infant!" I wanted to tell her it had nothing to do with 'reverting'. It was just that the disease had messed up with the wiring in my brain and that when a lot of nerves fired at once, they overwhelmed my system and these were normal responses for an overwhelmed nervous system. I tried to say that. It all came out like gurgling and baby talk. Even I had to admit, laying their in the crib making baby noises with my feet kicking helplessly and my hand reaching and grasping for invisible objects, I did look exactly like an infant. But I wasn't a baby, dammit! It was just a medical disorder!
I couldn't really see what Karen had pulled out of the bag, but I did feel her putting some kind of lotion on me down there, which just made me spasm even more. Then I could feel something being placed that required her to exert some force and kind of squeezed. I heard the audible 'click' of a lock snapping into place. By this point, Karen had stopped stroking me. She took a few steps back, looking at me expectantly. It took a few minutes, but the sensations slowly wore off. I was gradually able to regain control of my limbs. I slowly sat up, and took a look at what she'd done. What I saw was something metal that had been locked around my genitals. It squeezed everything down there, tight but not painful, pulling it back and making it almost disappear. I could see a hole that I could urinate out of, but it looked like, with the way it was pulled back and pointed down, I'd have no choice but to sit down to urinate while I had it on. It looked like some kind of hi-tech, modern version of a medieval chastity belt. I grabbed it and gave a tug. I realized there was no way to remove it without removing my bits with it. My grasping fingers felt a keyhole for a lock around the back where I couldn't see it. I was perplexed. Karen hadn't said anything, only stood there looking at me expectantly, so I started asking her questions.
"What the hell... What are you doing? What is this thing? How am I suppos... GAH GOO GUH" In mid-sentence, I fell back into the crib. I was again spasming and unable to make coherent words. I could feel a low hum from the device as it vibrated, stimulating me. I watched helplessly as Karen walked back to the crib, flashing the remote control that was in her hand. She deliberately held it in front of me, clicking the 'off' switch. My arms and legs continued to spasm for a few minutes. Finally, once again, I could move. I slowly and gingerly sat up. Feeling a bit fuzzy and out of sorts, I slowly turned to look at Karen.
"We're going to have some fun with this!" She said, wiggling the remote at me and flashing that model smile of hers. Maybe it was because I was feeling fuzzy and confused. It was like I couldn't quite think right, like I was in that state where you've just woken up, but you're still not awake. But I felt the anger rise.
"ARE YOU CRAZY!" I screamed, jumping up in the crib. "You don't know what that's like! It's like, fireworks are going off in my brain and nothing wo..." Click went the remote, and down I went again, looking to all the world like I was pretending to be a baby. I tried to regain control of my limbs, even an arm, but it was like I'd get just a fraction of a second control and then the fireworks would go off again and my arm would move on it's own. After what felt like an eternity but was likely only a few minutes, she turned it off again. Again, I laid there while the fireworks came less and less often until they stopped. Then my body was once again my own. Even through my foggy haze, I realized she could keep doing this to me all day. Anger was getting me nowhere. I needed to communicate. I spoke as calmly and politely to Karen as I could.
"Doing that to me... It... The doctors said it could be messing me up permanently!" I was hoping to appeal to her sympathy so she'd stop. Karen looked somber for a minute, then nodded.
"That's true." I was surprised at her frank admission. Karen shuffled through the medical papers, finally arriving at the one she was looking for. Then she began to read from the page. "'While subject should receive daily stimulation to conclusion as part of therapy, it should happen at regular intervals with slightly longer duration as detailed below. Irregular intervals will not support reconditioning and this should be avoided. Attaining conclusion is essential. Otherwise negative effects will be prolonged'." Karen looked up at me from the page. "Ewww! It sounds like the doctors want me to wank you off on a schedule in order to get you back to normal. That's disgusting!" The way she scrunched up her face, it was pretty clear she wasn't going to be following the doctors orders. If that's what I needed to get back to normal... What would happen if it wasn't done? But before that scary thought could fully develop, Karen continued.
"Reading this, it sounds like you need to reach 'conclusion' in order to return to normal. It sounds like if I just randomly zap you at different times each day, getting you all roused up but never letting it go all the way, it could take a really long time for the effect to go away. Maybe it never goes away! Interesting. I'd better not do that, hmm?" The evil grin returned.
"You wouldn't dare..." I said softly, almost to myself, but Karen heard me. Her evil grin intensified.
"I don't think you know me well enough to declare what I would and wouldn't dare." Her evil grin turned back into an innocent smile. "Oh, but wait, the best part is coming up." Looking back down at my medical records she said, "This part is all in bold and underlined. It says 'Subject should not be exposed to extended simulation without relief! If subject receives extensive and prolonged simulation without relief exceeding listed safety thresholds, there is a risk of permanent paralysis.'" She turned the paper towards me, pointing at the line she had just read. I noticed that she used her hand to cover the parts that actually showed how much time was dangerous. Placing the papers back out of my reach, she returned to lean over the crib. She continued speaking, in a very soft, almost ditzy voice. Like she was pretending not to understand what the doctors had written.
"'...subject should receive daily stimulation to conclusion.'", she said, reading back what she'd previously read. "Oh, that's just disgusting. I'm telling you now, I'm having no part of that. If you want to stimulate yourself to conclusion, you'll just have to do it yourself." But then she pretended to have an epiphany. "Oh, but wait! Whenever someone touches you down there, even you, you lose control of your limbs." She looked up from her paper, staring me straight in the eyes and smiling. "Oooh, that must be so frustrating!" She giggled. "Although I bet it would be funny to watch!" And Karen laughed out loud at the thought of me trying to masturbate, only to lose control of myself before I could finish. I could do nothing but stare at her. Then she looked back down at the papers, getting serious again. "Well, these doctors didn't think this through very well. They're telling you that you have to orgasm to get better! But there's only two of us here. I would certainly never take advantage of my poor patient that way. And you can't do it by yourself. So it just can't be done! I'm going to make a little note here... 'Instructions unclear'. And until we hear from the doctors about some kind of alternate plan when you see them again in a year, we'd better keep this little fellow locked up. I'd hate for something to make your condition worse!" With that she gently tapped the outside of the device around my bits. And right then I knew that this wasn't 'something like a chastity device'. Whatever else it did, it was exactly a chastity device and there was no 'relief' anywhere in my future as long as Karen was around. Without being able to masturbate to conclusion, I wouldn't be able to retrain my body and get better. I'd be stuck with my system all messed up! I had been worried. Now I was scared. There was no way I wanted my condition to last any longer than it had to and putting me in a chastity device meant no improvement! Worse, the longer it stayed the same, the harder it would be to fix later. My condition could become permanent! I tried to be reasonable.
"So, umm.. You'll take this off at some point, right?" Maybe there was some way I could masturbate without controlling my hands? Karen laughed. Somehow I figured I wasn't even going to get a chance to try.
"Of course not! You'll wear that 24/7 except when it's being cleaned, and that only takes a few minutes. I bet if I clicked the remote, I could have it cleaned and back on you before you even regain control." With that, her whole pretense of being a nurse taking care of me faded and she just spoke frankly. "Best of all, I can think of all sorts of amusing fun I can have while you have this condition. It's only fair I get to have some fun with you, right?"
"Umm, I guess", I said, knowing that I really didn't like this at all. I really wanted to demand she take it off me immediately, but I didn't want to antagonize her while she was holding all the cards. And she knew it.
"Really, as the document says, the only risk would be if I just turned it on and then forgot all about it. If it sat there buzzing, if it kept you there helpless, for long enough, eventually your poor nervous system would just give up forever, according to the doctors. 'Permanent paralysis', they say. Oooh, doesn't that sound terrible? Don't you worry your pretty little head about it though. I'll take very good care of this remote. I'll have it with me always. I'll even have a few extra ones hidden around in case something happens to this one. And because we're such good friends and you always do exactly what I tell you, you'll never have to worry."
I had no idea how to respond. I had a million thoughts running through my mind, but none that wouldn't risk getting me in trouble. I felt a chill go through me thinking about my situation. Thinking about what Karen was saying here. It was too much to process. I was just standing there, completely naked except for the chastity device locked on me. At least I could do something about that?
"I'm... umm.... almost nude here. I'm getting a little cold. Could I get something to wear?", I asked. The reaction was not what I expected. Karen broke into a maniacal laugh like I'd just said the funniest joke in the world.
"Oh, sweetie, I'd LOVE to get you dressed. I've been dreaming about it for years! We have such a full day ahead of us and you need your proper wardrobe!"
I was starting to realize that, with my mother overseas for a year, and Karen's mom gone for months, I was in the sole care of Karen for quite some time. And I realized that this Karen was very different from the one I'd known as a kid. She didn't seem right in the head at all. Another chill went up my spine and I realized just how much I was at her mercy, at the mercy of one button press on that remote, for the foreseeable future. This was not at all what I'd expected. And I asked the one question that needed to be asked.
"Why?" Karen opened her mouth as if to respond, but then seemed to think better of it and stopped. I noticed that her eyes had flashed toward that black book that was with my medical records, a black book I'd never seen before. Somehow, I knew it was tied to that book. I had to find out what was in that book.