“No, sweetheart. I’m sorry, but you’re going.”
“I can’t go, Daaaadddyyyy! It hurts,” Devil Delancy’s daughter whined. “In fact, I think I’m dying! Make sure you bury me in purple,” she instructed theatrically.
“Yeah, you’re laying it on a bit thick there, princess. I think you’ve been hanging out with Uncle Mannie a little too much,” Devil scoffed, rolling his eyes without looking at his little girl, his mind already preoccupied with the financials he needed to review before his first meeting of the day.
Shifting from foot to foot as she stood at the bottom of the staircase, Devlynn pressed a hand to her belly and winced as another cramp nearly bent her in half. “Seriously, Dad, you gotta let me stay home.”
“Baby girl, you already know you can’t miss school. Your mom would be mad at you and furious at me, and since I like staying on her good side, I’m gonna have to insist you attend class this morning.”
Shaking her head, Devlynn’s bit her lip. “Dad, you don’t understand. This isn’t just any old stomach ache. I swear!”
“Spawn, I’m sure you’re fine,” Devil assured his kid, using the nickname he’d called her from birth since she was, in fact, the Devil’s spawn. Usually using her nickname made his kid smile, but today her accusing eyes just glared at him. Slightly remorseful, he sighed. “Look, more than likely, this is just a little stomach ache. You’re probably just hungry. Eat some breakfast and see if it goes away,” Devil ordered as he gathered the papers he’d been going over off the coffee table and stuffed them into his briefcase. Glancing at his watch, he noted they were already running fifteen minutes behind. With Molly visiting one of her best friends in Paradise, Tennessee, for the past week, he’d been left in charge of their challenging tween. Needless to say, he had decided that at fifty-one, he was too damn old to fight any battles. Molly was due home tonight, so he knew his time as a single parent was coming to a close, and he wasn’t going to wreck the parenting train now by letting their kid play hooky from school. Molly would never let him hear the end of it if he made that kind of rookie mistake.
Groaning, Devlynn pressed a hand to her gut as she walked down the last few steps into their family’s living room. “Daddy, it’s not just my stomach. I’m bleeding, too,” she whispered as she bit her lip and waited for her father to react.
Frowning, Devil looked at his kid over his shoulder as he bolted to his feet. “Where?” he barked as he turned to and hurried toward her, his worried eyes already scanning his daughter for signs of injury. Other than looking a little paler than normal, he couldn’t see any obvious signs she was hurt. What if she was truly ill? Where was his phone? Should he call Molly first or an ambulance?
Staring at the floor, Devlynn’s hair fell in her face. “It was on my panties this morning when I went to the bathroom. Seriously, Daddy, I’m scared. Do you think I’ve got cancer or something? I mean, who bleeds down there?” she asked anxiously, crossing her arms over her chest as she lifted her head to stare at her father.
“Down there?” Devil echoed dumbly as his mind began to process exactly what his child had revealed to him. “Oh, shit.” He started shaking his head as realization dawned. “This can’t be happening,” he muttered. His baby…his angel was becoming a woman right before his eyes.
Oh, yes. He was definitely too damn old for this!
“What? What can’t be happening?” Devlynn asked, alarmed. “It’s true, isn’t it? I really am dying! I’m going to bleed to death! When I haven’t even kissed a boy yet? When I’ve never even gotten to go on a date? I’m gonna die! I can’t die! You gotta fix it, Dad! Call a doctor or something,” she yelled, growing more panicked by the moment as she shoved a hand through her long, thick red hair.
Seeing the real fear shining in his kid’s blue eyes, Devil quickly got a hold of himself. He fleetingly thought of calling his brother-in-law Grant. The man was an OBGYN, after all, and would surely know all the answers. But hearing another whimper, he knew it was time to man-up and be there for his kid. While he knew Devlynn would really want her momma for his talk, right now, he was all she had. And he was an intelligent guy…surely, he could handle one simple conversation with his kid about her… her… period.
“Dad!” Devlynn yelled, shaking a cell phone in his face. “Should we call 9-1-1?”
Reaching for the slim black phone, Devil shook his head. “No, baby. We don’t need an ambulance.”
“Why? Is it too late for me?” Devlynn’s freaked voice questioned. “Are you just gonna let me die here at home?”
“No, honey. You’re not gonna die here at home,” Devil consoled her quickly.
“So, I’m gonna die in a hospital? I hate hospitals!” Devlynn shrieked as tears filled her eyes. “I want Mom! Call Mom, Dad! Tell her to come home now! Tell her I’m gonna bleed to death!” she yelled, pacing in front of the couch.
Grabbing his daughter by the arms and forcing her to stand still, Devil looked into his kid’s frightened eyes. “Devlynn, listen to me. You are not dying. I promise you, you’re not.”
Blinking, Devlynn stared at her dad with wide eyes, not quite believing what he was saying. “But I’m bleeding,” she whispered. “And it feels like my guts are being ripped out of my body. Believe me, Daddy. Something isn’t right.”
“I’m afraid it is, Baby Girl. Your child’s body is becoming a woman’s body,” he tried to explain, wishing with every fiber of his being that his wife was here for this discussion. If Molly were having this talk, she wouldn’t feel awkward and foolish. No, she’d be confident and calm. Unfortunately, Molly wasn’t here and his kid was stuck with him. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that your mom hasn’t talked to you about the changes your body is facing, has she?”
Flushing, Devlynn shrugged stiffly. “Well, when she took me to get my training bra she mentioned that my growing boobs were just the first of many changes my body would be facing. But I just thought she meant I was gonna get bigger, y’know? Like taller and fatter.”
“Well, those changes will happen, too, but there’s some other stuff going on inside you right now, too,” Devil tried to explain.
“What stuff?” his daughter asked warily, her blue eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Inhaling deeply, Devil gestured toward the couch. “Sit down, Spawn. You and I are gonna have to have an uncomfortable conversation and we might as well sit while we have it.”
“Dad…maybe we should wait for Mom,” Devlynn suggested nervously, taking the seat her father pointed out on the sofa.
“No,” Devil denied. “I’m not gonna let you sit around and panic for the next six hours until she gets here. How about I share the basics and you ask her any questions over what I tell you when she gets back this afternoon. Deal?” he asked.
Nodding once, Devlynn answered, “Deal.”
Devil spent the next embarrassing hour trying to explain periods, cycles, tampons and pads, cramps and Midol, mood swings, and the healing powers of chocolate to his pre-teen daughter, and he wasn’t sure which one of them was more horrified by the experience. When he’d finished rambling, he’d looked over at his shaken offspring and wanted to hug her. The poor girl looked equal parts terrified and mortified. Lifting a hand to settle over his baby’s neck, he murmured, “I know you have questions, kid.”
“Uhhhh…. Yeah. Like is it too late to decide I wanna be a boy?” she asked hopefully, wrapping her arms around her stomach.
“I’m afraid so, kiddo. I promise, this gets easier. Your mom goes through it once every 28 days, and she’s survived so far.”
“I guess,” Devlynn muttered doubtfully. “It all just sounds so… sooo… gross,” she declared with a shudder.
“If it helps, according to your mom, your Aunt Sami, and your Aunt Viv, this is supposed to be empowering.”
“Sounds like a bunch of crap they made up to make you feel inadequate if you ask me, Dad,” Devlynn shared sympathetically.
“Maybe,” Devil admitted with a shrug. “But what I know for sure is that you’ve got this, kid. It’ll be an adjustment, but there’s nothing you can’t handle if you make up your mind to do it. Now, do you need me to go buy you some of those supplies we talked about?” he asked gently, not wanting to humiliate her any more than he already had.
Nodding, Devlynn mumbled, “The pads, please. I don’t think I could deal with tampons today. Or any day, for that matter. They’re just too… invasive, y’know? I mean, I’m not putting anything up there EVER!” She insisted adamantly.
No father could have ever been happier to hear that than Devil was.
“I mean, YUCK, right, Daddy?”
“Totally,” Devil agreed gratefully, even though he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Pressing a kiss to his daughter’s temple, Devil rose from the couch. “Just give me half an hour, baby, and I’ll have those supplies here, okay?” he asked, already reaching for his cell phone and keys.
“What about school?” Devlynn asked, tilting her head as she stared at her father.
School could suck it as far as Devil was concerned. His baby was emotionally confused and physically hurting. However, he was still pretty sure that Molly wouldn’t appreciate him sharing that sentiment with their daughter, so he went with a more diplomatic answer. “I think we’ll give you a pass today, Spawn. After all, you’ve already gotten your health class out of the way today. That ought to be enough to satisfy both your mom and the school system, I think,” he declared with a firm nod before rushing toward the door.
“Don’t forget the chocolate, too, Dad! Remember, you said it was a really big part of Mom’s monthly coping process,” Devlynn called out before the door closed.
Smiling as he closed the door, Devil sighed. “Like mother, like daughter,” he murmured, heading toward his car.