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The overhead lights of the pharmacy are bright and harsh, and we seem to be almost the only ones in the place. Greeting us kindly, the pharmacist waves us over. She’s an older woman with dark blond hair, for which I’m thankful. It might seem silly, but I don’t want to be asking a male pharmacist for EllaOne.
“Absolutely,” the pharmacist tells me when I awkwardly ask for the pill. She fishes it from a shelf behind her, setting the package on the counter in front of me. “Is there anything else I can get for the two of you today?”
Dan squeezes my hand to get my attention. “You really should get on birth control, Elise. Almost every sexually active woman your age is.”
“You are starting to sound like my mom,” I roll my eyes, snatching the EllaOne package off the counter. “Why don’tyouget on birth control?”
“It’s called condoms, sweetheart, and I’ve got plenty of them in my bag if you want.”
“No, not condoms. Something like pills,” I turn to the pharmacist, who has an odd look on her face now. “Isn’t there a pill or something similar he can take instead of me?”
I hear Dan chuckling as the woman scratches her head, looking uncomfortable. “I’m afraid, at the moment, that the only real option for men is condoms. Or a vasectomy, but that’s––”
“Absolutely not!” Dan interjects. “You aren’t cutting me. That I can guarantee you.”
I look between Dan and the pharmacist. “Wait, are you being serious? It’s 2022 and there isn’t a single pill he can take?”
“Unfortunately, no.” She shakes her head, but there is a look of sad understanding on her expression. “I get your frustration, though. There is certainly a gap in the availability of birth control between men and women, but if you don’t like the pill, there are other long-term options that you can look into that you won’t have to think about every day. I can give you some pamphlets to look over if you’re interested in implants or something of that nature.”
“That’s just silly,” I fume. “I should talk to my Aunt Maud about this. She’s a project development manager in a lab in Germany. I’m sure she knows what’s up in the birth control field.”
Dan raises one eyebrow, “Yes, Elise, I’m sure your aunt is going to stop whatever project she’s working on to go and help develop a pill for me.”
“It’s not just for you Dan,” I insist. “It will be for men all over the world.”
“Yes, fantastic, but for now we’re here for us, not to save the world.”
“If you want to get started, I’d recommend this pill which is very light and has the least side effects.” The pharmacist jumps into the conversation, “But it will take ten days to become effective. So, you’ll definitely need a backup plan.”
“She means condoms,” Dan says for the second time, nudging me with his shoulder.
“I’ve got it,” I grumble, taking the round, pale yellow pill holder from the pharmacist and dropping it into my purse. I’ll read all the instructions and details later. “We’ll try this, but I’m still talking to my aunt about it.”
“Good luck,” the older woman says earnestly. “Male birth control would certainly be a wonderful innovation.”
After paying for the EllaOne and the birth control, we climb into the car that Dan had told to wait for us, and he gives the driver the location of a small coffee shop in Piazzetta. I look at him, surprised because I’ve been under the impression that we were going back to the villa. Dan’s eyes are soft as he raises our still joined hands and kisses the back of mine.
“Just humor me, I’m not ready for my afternoon with you to be over yet.”
I smile in agreement and snuggle into his side for the drive over. We don’t speak much, even after the little squabble over birth control in the pharmacy, content in just being in each other’s company.
The cafe is tucked into a corner of the street, and we seat ourselves at a wrought iron table under a vast umbrella. When the server bustles over, we both get espressos and San Pelligrinos, parched and a little tired from our sexy beach workout earlier. Dan insists on a small piece of tiramisu for us to split, reasonably explaining that it’d be best for me to have some food on my stomach when I take the new medication.
The sugar goes well with the hot, bitter espresso, and I chase the first drink and bite with the EllaOne and a sip of water. I’m a little more apprehensive about birth control, flipping through the tiny pamphlet that is inside the pill case with a frown. It unfolds like origami, with print so tiny that I have to squint to read it.
“How do they expect anyone to understand all of this? Look at how long the list of side effects is!”
“Just take the pill, Elise,” Dan drawls over his espresso cup. “You’ll be fine.”
I pop the pill out of the blister pack, taking it with a swig of sparkling water before I can have any more second thoughts. I don’t want to give Dan any reason to back out of us sleeping together again, so I’ll take the stupid pills if I have to.
I’m in the middle of scheduling an alarm to remind me to take birth control at the same time every day while glancing at the text on the prescription pamphlet when I hear my phone go off in my beach bag. Dan is reading an article on his phone while I peruse my medication literature, and he only offers me a quick glance as I dig the mobile out and flick the screen on with a touch of my finger.
I still, my chest getting a little tight when I see that it’s my father who has messaged me. I expected it to be Andries railing against Dan and I for driving Johan away, but even that correspondence would be preferable to talking with my dad right now.
The message is free of any words from him personally, though. Instead, Dad has simply sent me a link to yet another article about Roxanne’s Bar Rouge scandal. I sigh, thinking that it’s probably just another rehash similar to all the others, but the tone of this article seems more serious than the others. It doesn’t outright say that anything new has happened, but I get the feeling as I read more and more that tensions are rising even more back home.
Then Dad messages me again, and it simply says,Pretty interesting, huh?
