“HELLO?”
“Hey, Tink. Can you, uh…You think you could come over?”
What? “Right now?”
“Please?”
“It’s Wednesday, CEO. I’m at work…I have to work tomorrow. And anyway, aren’t the girls home?”
We’ve been together every other weekend for the past few months, meeting up when the girls go to their grandmother’s house at either his place or mine. I have yet to see Willow or Evangeline since the cruise. They have no clue we’re seeing each other and he was adamant it stay that way. So, him begging me to come over in the middle of the week is taking me completely off guard.
“Evangeline got her period,” he finally explains, sounding completely at a loss for what to do.
“Oh…”
“She’s locked in her room and won’t stop crying. It’s the second day of school and everyone saw…It was all over her pants.”
“Oh, God, that poor baby.”
“Gina?”
“Yeah?” I ask, trying to figure out how the heck I’m going to leave in the middle of the work day to drive out there.
“I don’t have anyone else. I—I didn’t know who to call.”
“I’m on my way.”
§
Two hours later, I’m climbing the familiar stone steps, about to knock on Jeff’s front door. This roiling acidic feeling in my gut, however, is new. I’m not sure he’s thought this through or what he plans to tell his kids about why the woman he could barely tolerate on the cruise is suddenly showing up on their doorstep.
Ah, well, guess I’m about to find out. Taking a deep breath, I press my finger to the doorbell and wait.
“Oh, thank God,” Jeff says, swinging the door open and ushering me inside. “Thank you so much for coming.”
“No problem.” I clear my throat, trying to disguise the hurt in my voice. No hug. No kiss. Not even a fucking handshake or a pat on the back. I knew not to expect the affection I’ve come to crave from this man with the girls around, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still sting.
“Gigi!” Willow screams, running at me from the living room. The sight of those little pig tails bouncing tugs on my heart. I’ve missed her more than I even realized. “What you doin’ here?”
“Hey, baby girl.” Swinging her up into my arms, I hold her close, giving her a good, tight squeeze. “I’ve missed you.”
“I misseded you too. Did you bring Tyle?”
“No. Not this time. I’m sorry. I came to see about Vangie. Your daddy told me she’s having a rough day.”
Willow huffs a long and drawn out breath. “Her’s in her room bein’ dratic.”
Furrowing my brow, I look to Jeff for clarification.
“Dramatic.”
Ahh. “Got it…So, what exactly do you need me to do?”
Jeff shrugs. The poor man looks so defeated. “I guess just try to calm her down and teach her how to handle all of that.”
“You did get her feminine products, right?”
“Of course,” he says shaking his head at me. “I did have a wife, you know.”
“Just checking.”
“I picked her up from school and dropped her off at home, so she could get in the tub. Then, I went to the grocery store and grabbed her literally one of everything. Probably even two of some. I just threw a bunch of things into the cart. She’s got bags of shit to choose from, Tink.”
Pulling in my lips, I hold back a laugh. “Great. Okay, well…I’m goin’ in. Wish me luck.”
§
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Leave me alone, Dad. I’m not going back there. Ever!”
Yikes. “Hey, Evangeline, it’s me, uhh Gina. Can I come in?”
“Gina?” she questions from right on the other side of the door. “What are you doing here?”
“Your dad thought maybe you needed a woman to talk to…” I lean my head against the door, listening to her sniffling.
After a long pause, the lock clicks and it slowly starts to swing open. “Oh, honey,” I say when I get a look at her red, swollen face. “Come here.”
Evangeline falls into my arms sobbing. “It wa—was awful, Gina.” Her little body shakes and my heart twists into knots, as I smooth down the hair at the back of her head.
After about a minute she moves to sit on the edge of her bed, patting for me to sit beside her. “One of the football players tapped me on the shoulder as I was leaving class and told me.” Huge sobs wrack her tiny frame. “A football player! My life is over.”
“Evangeline.” I wait for her to calm down and look at me. “Today sucked,” I agree. “But I promise this is not the end of the world. Even though I know it must feel like it right now.”
She snorts. “Maybe not for you.”
“I’m not going to downplay your embarrassment, Vangie. It will be rough for a few days and then everyone who saw will forget, and it’ll all blow over. And who knows? Maybe that boy was the only one to see and is enough of a gentleman to keep his mouth shut.”
“Maybe,” she agrees, but doesn’t look at all convinced.
My eyes well up as I look at this little girl becoming a woman without a mother to show her the way. Mine was a piece of work, but she had me loaded down with hygiene products in my backpack from the age of eight. As soon as my first period finished, that woman had me at the doctor’s office for birth control. Just what every eleven-year-old girl needs. “Vangie,” I say, giving her hand a little squeeze. “You’re becoming a woman.”
She snorts, laughing through her tears. “That’s such a cliché thing to say, Gina.”
“But it’s true, and I know it’s scary and disgusting, but it’s also a rite of passage. We all go through it, baby. You are not alone. The important thing now is to make sure you’re prepared not only to deal with the mess, but with all of the other changes that go along with it.”
“I know.” Vangie waves me off. “I know all about how babies are made. They taught us that in like fifth grade.”
“Good,” I say breathing a sigh of relief. “But there’s more.”
“Yippee!”
“First things first,” I say, slapping my hands together. “Show me the supplies your father picked up.”
After sorting through the bags, we determine she has enough pads and tampons to last her through an apocalypse. I explain to her about trying out the different sizes and seeing which ones feel most comfortable, but also control her flow. I explain about Toxic Shock Syndrome and the importance of changing her tampon at least every eight hours.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be using those anymore. I tried one earlier and it hurt so bad.”
Well, that doesn’t sound right at all. “The tampon hurt to put in? You shouldn’t really feel it once it’s inside.”
Evangeline laughs. “That’s what the instructions said too, but that plastic hurts. Maybe the one I wore was too big?”
“The plastic?” Oh, God. “You mean the applicator?”
“I guess.”
This time I can’t help but to laugh. “You left it in?”
“Uh…yeah. I did what the instructions said. I put it up in there and pulled the skinny piece out and threw it away…Why are you laughing? Did I do something wrong?”
“Give me a damn tampon,” I say, snatching a box from the side of her. “Okay. Pretend my hand is the opening to a vagina, okay?” I ask, making a loose fist, so I can insert the tampon into the hole. “Okay, so you take off the wrapper and stick the fat part up inside.”
“I did that.”
“Okay, so this is the step you missed. Pay attention. After you stick it in, you have to push the skinny tube into the big one…Oh, but make sure you’re still holding the big one too.”
Vangie’s eyes grow big.
“It sounds a lot more difficult than it really is. We’ll practice a few times before you try it again. Anyway, so you push this little tube, and that will force the cotton wad, which is the part that is supposed to stay in there, up higher into your vagina. Then you pull both pieces of the plastic applicator out and are left with a string which will hang an inch or two out of your opening…When you go to the bathroom to change it, you just pull the string, and it comes right out.”
After practicing a few times in her hand, Vangie ventures to the bathroom for another attempt. When she comes out smiling, I know she’s one step closer to being able to deal with all of this.
“All right, let’s go.”
“Go?” she asks looking around her sanctuary. “Where’re we going?”
“To the store. We need face wash for pimples, Midol for cramps, and a little pocket calendar to keep track of your schedule. And ice cream, Evangeline. We’re gonna go eat our feelings. How’s that sound?”
Evangeline’s face lights up. “Thank you, Gina.”
“Anytime, sweetie.”
