Page 28 of Summer Escape
"You don't think your dad can handle you asking for pads or tampons?" I asked, curious about their relationship.
Her face tight, she said, "I mean—we've never talked about it. I don't know if my mom warned him about it."
From her expression, I took it she hoped that she hadn't. "I don't mind helping you out. But it wouldn't hurt to talk to him about this stuff. I bet he can handle more than you think."
"He wasn't around a lot. I only saw him a few times a year when he was on leave. But we used to send letters and later emails where we talked about everything: what was happening in school, my frustrations with my mother. I loved being able to talk to him."
I glanced over at her. "Did you stop sending them at some point?"
She chewed her lip. "In the last year."
Her transition to becoming a teenager… I bet it had a chilling effect on their relationship. "He probably loved hearing from you."
"Yeah, but talking to him in person is different. I don't know if he understands what I'm going through."
"He's trying to understand." I chewed my lip, wondering if I should tell her his secret. Thinking it could help, I said, "He's reading a book on teen girls and development."
"Really?" Hayden asked.
"Yup."
"That's kind of cool."
"He wants to connect with you, and he's worried that it's too late. He's wondering if he should have left the military sooner."
Hayden was silent for a few minutes. "Why does he think that?"
"Because you were different when he came home this time. You didn't want to spend time with him. It's perfectly normal, but he's worried that he messed up with you."
"What if he goes back to the military or takes a job far away?" Hayden asked carefully.
"Have you talked to him about your concerns?" I asked her, turning onto the main road that went through the island.
"No."
"Maybe you should. Something tells me he'd welcome this conversation."
"I don't know." She looked out the window at the dreary weather.
The traffic was light, so I arrived at the island store in no time. It was located on the second floor of a shopping center filled with palm trees, greenery, and large cages of parrots. Usually, I'd take my time, and visit with the parrots, but today, I wanted to get out of the rain, so we hurried to the covered second floor.
I grabbed the items that I'd seen Marshall buy over the last few weeks: fruits, veggies, yogurt, milk, and eggs. I stopped in the bread aisle to get rolls for my sandwiches, and we finally made our way to the fish counter. "What do you like?"
"White fish," Hayden said simply so I placed an order for flounder and grouper, not exactly sure which one was Marshall's favorite. Then Hayden chose potato salad from the offerings in the deli section.
Satisfied that we had food covered, I steered us into the feminine products aisle. "Do you know what you want?"
Hayden quickly found the packages she wanted and set them in my cart.
"Do you need anything else? A pain reliever, heating pad?"
She shook her head. "I have everything else."
"Let's check out and head home.” Our groceries were put on a conveyor belt, and we picked them up on the first floor of the parking garage on the way out. It was a nice service when it was raining.
On the drive home, Hayden looked out the window at the rain which was coming down harder now.
"One of the girls at the senior center wants to hang out tonight. Do you think Dad will let me?"
