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“Yes,” she said quickly. “I can hang on.”
“Good girl. When we hang up, call your mom and tell her I’m going to come help you, okay? I’m sure she’ll want to know what’s going on, and even though she can’t be with you, it’ll make you feel better to talk to her, I promise.”
“I’ll call her.”
“I’ll be there soon, Sagie. We’ll get you all fixed up.”
Once we hung up, I sat there for a solid minute, frozen in fear. Not that I was afraid of periods or helping Sage. My fear was I’d screw this up for her—a momentous moment in a girl’s life. She’d look back and always remember her dad’s incompetent girlfriend who’d made it weird.
I quickly snapped out of it by making a list of what I needed to do. First, text Jake, then grab all the work I needed to complete tonight and pick Nellie up from day care. I lined up everything one by one, so I knew exactly what I was going to do.
My calm and confidence were in the details.
Centered now, a game plan laid out in my mind, I was on my way to Sage.
Jake opened the door for me, worry creasing his brow. “Hey, sweetness.” He took my hand and pulled me into his arms. Since Nellie was on my hip, she was part of our embrace, which made her giggle.
“Hi, Jake,” she squealed.
Plucking her out of my hold, he balanced her on his arm. “Hi, Nell-Belle.” He smoothed a hand over her messy hair. She was always a wreck when I picked her up from day care. “You look like you had a wild day. Want me to braid your hair?”
“Two braids, please,” she asked sweetly.
“Of course.”
His eyes met mine, and they were full of concern. I’d texted him to tell him what was going on, so he’d hurried home from work, but Sage hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. Surely, it had stung, but I understood her. When I’d gotten my period around her age, I’d been mortified my mother had told my dad and brother.
“Where’s our girl?” I asked.
He blinked a few times. “Uh—she’s in her bathroom. She refused to come out and asked me to leave her alone until you got here.”
I held up my bag of supplies. “Don’t worry about a single thing. I’ve got her covered. Are you okay to hang out with Nellie while I take care of Sage?”
“Yeah. Of course.” He palmed Nellie’s head. “I’ve got my work cut out for me with this munchkin. We’ll keep busy.”
I leaned in and kissed him. “Don’t worry,” I said softly, “I’m well seasoned at this. I’ll get her through it.”
He held my gaze for a long beat. “I would never doubt you.”
After showing Sage how to use a pad, I got her to shower and change into fresh clothes, then settled her in bed and placed a heating pad on her abdomen. Reaching into my bag of supplies, I pulled out a chocolate bar and a bottle of ginger ale.
“This is my magic concoction. Chocolate doesn’t fix everything, but it certainly helps.”
She took the treats, but her shoulders remained slumped, and her mouth was turned down in a pitiful frown.
“Thank you.” She blinked up at me. “Do you think you could sit with me for a few minutes? I don’t really want to be by myself.”
“I’d love to.” I took a seat on her full-size bed, propping up against the headboard. She curled onto her side to face me, and I helped her adjust the heating pad. “Do you feel better now?” I asked.
“I think so.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “I feel kind of stupid too. All my friends have their periods already. I’ve been wanting mine to come for a long time, but now that it’s here…I don’t know, I guess I’m a little sad. Why do you think I’m sad, Clara?”
“There could be a lot of reasons.”
I slowly reached out, wanting to stroke her hair but unsure she’d accept it. When she didn’t move away, I smoothed my palm over the top of her head and ran my fingers through the ends.
“It could be something as simple as your hormones making you emotional. To be honest, that’s probably a big part of it.” I scooted down a little, bringing myself closer to her level. “I was around your age when I got my first period. It happened at school, and I bled through my pants. Luckily, someone told me before everyone saw, but guess who that person was?”
Her mouth twisted. “I hope it was a teacher with a quiet voice.”
