There were many things about the Dixon family that made their family what it was, but two things were always certain.
One, they were a family of early risers and two, they had a big breakfast every Saturday.
It was barely eight o'clock and Daryl was already at the counter, mixing the pancake batter, and Beth was coming inside with a bowl of fresh eggs that she had gotten from the chickens in the coop they kept in the backyard. They both looked up when Hunter hurried into the kitchen, his eyes instantly going to his mom.
"Abby needs you. It's an emergency," he said in a rush.
"What is it?" Beth was quick and careful to set the eggs down on the island in the middle of the room.
"She just needs you," Hunter said. "And not dad," he was quick to add when he saw Daryl start to put his spoon down to go, too.
Daryl frowned. "She actually say that?"
"In not so many words," Hunter said and Daryl still frowned, watching Beth hurry from the kitchen and a moment later, they heard her feet on the stairs, hurrying to the second floor. Daryl then looked back to Hunter and he shrugged. "She's thirteen," he then said.
"So?" Daryl's brow furrowed at that.
Upstairs, it took Beth less than five seconds to realize what was wrong. Abby was curled up in bed on her side, hugging her middle. Beth knelt down next to the bed and brushed hair from Abby's face. She couldn't help but smile a little at her daughter.
"It's okay," she said, but Abby shook her head and closed her eyes. "Hey." Beth put a hand on the side of Abby's face so Abby would open her eyes again and be able to see Beth's lips as she talked. "It will be, I promise." She smiled a little again. "This is a period and it happens every month and lasts for a few days and this is natural and it means you're healthy and growing up."
Abby frowned at that. I don't want to, she signed.
Beth kept smiling and brushing her face. "You're still my Miss Abby. No matter how old you get, you will always be mine and your daddy's Miss Abby."
Why do we bleed? Abby signed with a heavy frown that reminded Beth of Daryl so much in that moment, she had to purse her lips together to keep from laughing.
"Well, women bleed every month and have done so since Eve," Beth answered. "It's our body's way of telling us that we're ready for a baby."
Abby's expression became one of absolute terror at that and Beth leaned in and kissed her head.
"We'll get more into that later," Beth promised. "Right now, we are going to get you into a nice warm bath and that will help with your aches while I wash your sheets and I have a pad and I'll show you how to place it into your underwear. Okay?"
Abby nodded.
"Come on, baby."
Beth stood up and Abby slowly sat up, looking down at the small spot of blood that had stained her bed sheet, her face exploding in an embarrassing blush.
"Everything okay?"
Beth lifted her eyes to see Daryl standing in the doorway.
"Everything's fine," Beth smiled at him. "Abby is going to take a bath and I need you to run to the store for us and get us a pack of pads."
She knew it took Daryl a second to get what she was asking for and she saw the second that he realized what she was telling him.
He visibly swallowed. "Oh."
"I have a spare one under our sink, but I only have tampons. Abby can't use tampons," Beth told him and she hoped she didn't have to go into why she didn't want Abby to use tampons. But Daryl visibly swallowed once more and gave a jerky nod.
"Yeah," he then said as if he understood perfectly. "Why can't you go?" He then asked.
Beth did her best to not smile. She knew this wasn't ideal. She had never been one of those girls who sent their boyfriend or husband to the store to buy feminine products and she knew that Daryl had never even gone down that aisle in a store even by accident.
Abby wasn't wearing her hearing aids – she never did when she slept – and she wasn't looking at either of them to read their lips, so Beth was able to tell Daryl flat out.
"She's scared. I'm going to draw her a bath to help with the cramps and get her sheets and pajamas washed," Beth told him. "I will never make you do this again. I promise."
As soon as Beth said "scared" and "cramps", something flipped in Daryl. He straightened a little and looked to Abby for a moment. She was still sitting on the edge of the bed, not wanting to stand up with Daryl in the room, and he figured out why. He looked to Beth.
"'course I'll go," he said. "I'll be back as quick as I can."
"Thank you," Beth gave him a relieved smile. "There are going to be a lot of options, but get the regular. And make sure you get pads."
"Pads," Daryl repeated with a nod of his head. "Got it," he said though Beth could see that her husband was slightly terrified at the moment. "'m gonna take Hunter," he then quickly added and Beth couldn't stop from smiling.
"Good luck," she said, only half-joking.
Daryl did his best to smirk as he turned to leave the bedroom, but he stopped then and went back, going to the bed. He put his hands on either side of Abby's head and kissed her on the top of it, and he then turned again.
"We'll have the pancakes when I get back," he promised.
When his steps disappeared down the stairs, Beth turned back towards Abby and now that her dad was gone from the room, Abby finally stood up, carefully keeping her thighs clenched together. Abby liked wearing dresses every day, but to bed, she liked to wear boys' boxer shorts and tee-shirts she got at the same thrift store where she got her dresses. She tugged down on the hem of the tee-shirt now so that it covered her bottom.
Beth looked and saw the small spot of red on the pink bed sheet. She then put her arm around Abby and kissed her on the side of her head. "Come on. A warm bath will help with the cramps. I promise. And then I'll get you my hot water bottle and you can stay in bed all day and read."
And for the first time since waking up, Abby perked up.
…
"Come on, dad," Hunter sighed for what was probably the tenth time since they had entered the store's feminine hygiene aisle. "Mom said get the regular pads."
"Yeah, but there's six kinds of regular pads," Daryl grumbled, looking at all of the packages that lined in front of him. "Who the hell is makin' all of these?" He frowned. "And are they always this much? Almost ten bucks for somethin' women have to use?"
"They'll be more at the register," Hunter said and Daryl looked at him. His son didn't seem at all uncomfortable being surrounded by tampons and pads. He leaned against the shelf and looked at the women's razors and shaving creams on the other side of the aisle.
"What do you mean?" Daryl asked, wondering what the hell the difference was between Always and Kotex. And what the hell were wings? Did Abby need pads with wings? Beth hadn't said anything about wings. She just said regular. But Ultra Thin Regular?
"The Pink Tax," Hunter answered. "Women are charged extra for certain things. Like tampons and deodorant and stuff like that."
Daryl looked at his son with a frown. He didn't question him. Hunter may have only been seventeen, but Hunter was the smartest person Daryl knew.
"But, women need tampons," Daryl said, not really understanding. The Pink Tax? How the hell long had that been around?
Hunter smiled a little. "That's the whole controversy of it. Dad, I don't know if you this or not, but the world is a pretty evil place that only cares about making money."
Daryl still frowned as he looked pack to the options. "Don't know if I like you havin' a view of the world like that."
"Learned it from you," Hunter quipped back and Daryl couldn't help but smirk.
He believed that.
"A'righ'," he then sighed.
He knew he was probably making this a lot more difficult than it had to be, and he wanted to get home soon. He grabbed a package of Kotex Regular Ultra Pads – whatever the hell ultra meant – and Hunter pushed himself from the shelf, following Daryl from the aisle. The store was practically empty at the early Saturday morning hour and the checkout lines were open and empty.
Daryl tossed the package onto the conveyer belt and then turned towards the candy. He grabbed a few Hershey chocolate bars and put them on the belt as well. "Your mom is always wantin' chocolate when it's her time," he told Hunter though Hunter hadn't asked. He just took a Butterfinger for himself and added it to their other items.
"That's not really surprising," Hunter said. "A lot of women experience it because there's a hormone fluctuation during menses. Estrogen and progesterone."
Daryl pulled out his wallet as the cashier began scanning. He looked sideways to Hunter as Hunter picked up an issue of The National Enquirer and began flipping through it.
"How you know all that?" Daryl asked.
Hunter just shrugged and didn't lift his eyes from what he was reading. "Health class."
"They didn' teach us that in health class when I was in school," Daryl muttered.
"Yeah, but you're married. You should know this already," Hunter said.
"'s not somethin' your mom and me talk about," Daryl said, almost grimacing.
"Why not?" Hunter finally looked at him. "Mother of your children and you don't know what happens to her body every month?"
Daryl just kept frowning as he handed the cashier some bills and he ignored the amused smile that Hunter was giving him.
…
Abby was out of the warm bath and Beth had put the one spare pad she had on a fresh pair of underpants and passed them through the crack in the door. Abby was wearing her aids now – Beth had insisted.
"Do you see how I did it, Abs?" Beth asked her through the door.
"Yes," Abby answered quietly after a moment.
Beth heard the front door open and Daryl and Hunter entered the house. A moment later, Daryl was coming up the stairs, a plastic bag in his hand.
"These the right ones?" Daryl asked and held open the bag so Beth could peer in.
"Exactly the right ones," she said and Daryl's relief was obvious. She leaned up and gave him a peck on the lips. "Thank you for going. You're a wonderful dad."
Daryl gave her a little smile and then looked at the closed bathroom door. "She a'righ?"
"I feel awful. I should have had a much more in-depth talk with her much sooner," Beth confessed.
When Abby had been younger and playing in Beth's bathroom, she found the box of tampons under the sink and asking mommy what they were. Beth had given her a very brief, very bare explanation, and she had always meant to tell Abby more when she was older. And she felt awful that it had just kind of slipped her mind.
She remembered when she had gotten her first period. Between Annette and Maggie, Beth had been more than prepared and when it had happened, she wasn't scared or even surprised. Goodness, had she just failed her only daughter by not preparing her more?
Daryl didn't say anything to that. He just lifted his hand to the back of her neck and rubbed. Beth leaned into him and she took the package of pads from the bag, holding them to her chest.
They both straightened when the bathroom door creaked open and Abby poked her head out. Her hair was damp from the bath and drying in waves just like Beth's did and she was wearing a clean pair of boxers and tee-shirt.
"How are you feeling?" Beth asked.
Abby nodded and didn't say anything as she stepped from the bathroom into the hallway.
Daryl wasn't too sure what to say. What did dads say to their daughters when they got their first period?
Congratulations, don't get pregnant.
Or did they not say anything?
Daryl chose the latter.
"Your dad went and bought you some new pads and we'll change that one so you have a fresh one to sleep in tonight," Beth said.
Abby nodded, her cheeks looking a little pink as if she didn't want to talk about this in front of Daryl, and Daryl silently agreed, but he didn't just walk away. He couldn't. Not when it came to Abby.
"Thank you, dad," she said quietly.
"You let me know if you need anythin' else," he managed to say in a voice he hoped wasn't too gruff because he just felt so damn uncomfortable right now but still, he didn't turn and go back downstairs. "And I'll make you some pancakes with chocolate chips. That sound good?" He asked, watching her closely.
"I told Abby that she would get to spend the day in bed today," Beth told him.
Daryl nodded. "'course. Breakfast in bed then." He then held the bag out towards her. "Got you somethin' else, too."
Abby stepped forward and peeked into the bag, reaching in a moment later and pulling out the four Hershey chocolate bars. "Thank you," she said softly.
She then came to them and slipped herself between both of them and Daryl and Beth both wrapped their arms around her, kissing her head.
"Go pick your books and get comfortable and then I'll come in and we'll have a talk, okay? Just the two of us," Beth suggested. Abby nodded her head.
"And I'll bring you your chocolate chip pancakes. Lots of chocolate comin' your way today," Daryl added and he and Beth both seemed relieved when Abby gave a little smile at that.
…
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