Page 54 of Hero for the Holidays

I have pads. I bet she hasn’t used tampons.

God in heaven.

She said she wants period underwear.

We’ll have to go to the store to get those. And probably Mapleton?

Do you know what those are?

Obviously.

Well, it wasn’t obvious to him.

“Hang tight,” said Landry to Lila.

Will you please bring over some pads?That should help at least.

On my way.

“Fia is on her way with some pads.”

“Great. But I hate those. I usually get the underwear.”

“I don’t know what those are,” he said.

“Are you one of those men who get squeamish about mentions of periods? My mom says that we should be comfortable talking about bodily functions. And that using blue liquid on commercials is a form of shame.”

He blinked. “I mean, I’m not opposed to an open discussion...”

“Good,” Lila said, making the kind of bold, confrontational eye contact teenagers excelled at. “Because I refuse to be ashamed of normal anatomical functions.”

“I don’t want you to be.”

“Periods are part of life,”Lila said, spreading her arms wide.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I just don’t have a lot of experience dealing with them. Fair?”

She got quiet. And then her eyes filled with tears. “I forgot for a second that my mom doesn’t really say anything anymore.”

He stopped, kind of unsure of what to do. A tear slid down her cheek and he moved forward, wrapping his arm around her. It was way more important he got this right than what he’d just said about periods. He took a breath, he prayed a little. He tried. “Maybe not. But she said those things to you, right. And they were good things. They became part of who you are, and even if she can’t say them to you now, you just said them to me.”

He thought of all the bad things his father had left behind inside of him. And he could only be grateful that when she was being formed, his daughter had been given something better. Better than what his father had given her. Better than what he could’ve given her.

Fia got there in less than five minutes, and she had a big package of pads in her hand.

She handed the package to Lila as soon as she walked in. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Lila said, looking back up the stairs. “I have to start school soon. Can you get... I need the underwear.”

“Yeah. It’ll take me a little bit to get back with them.”

“That’s okay,” she said.

“You don’t want to go shopping with me?” he asked.

“No. I have school and... I just want the stuff that I’m used to.” She looked sad then. And he felt it in his own chest. Like his own heart was crushed. She was confident and bold, and not embarrassed at all.

But she was also vulnerable, and experiencing something she probably didn’t really want to experience withhim.

---