The bath made Beth feel a lot better. The hot water took away all the cramps in her stomach and she felt very fresh and clean. Rosie gave her a bathrobe to wear until Alastor arrived with some clean clothes and while Beth was getting dressed, Rosie pulled him aside to talk to him about the change his sister was going through.

"So she's started her period?" He asked.

"Yes and the poor thing didn't even know about periods." Rosie said. "She was scared out of her mind, thought that she was bleeding to death. You should have told her about those the minute she turned eleven. Why didn't you?"

"It slipped my mind. I don't really think about female puberty."

"You should if you're taking care of a little girl. Have you told her about bras?"

"Yes. She knows about bras."

"Have you taken her to get a training bra?"

Alastor blushed.

"Isn't it a bit early? She's not even showing."

Rosie rolled her eyes.

"Typical male guardians, you're so squeamish about a girl's body changing. She's going to be in Middle School next year and that means she'll have to change clothes for gym, in locker rooms with other girls. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it'll be for her to be the only girl without a bra on? Or worse, she has her period in school and no pad on, so her pants get stained. Why your cluelessness will cause that poor child to be a subject of ridicule."

"She already is according to her teacher."

"Oh you haven't seen anything. True children will mock and tease, but it's usually just to make fun and it's done out of ignorance. There's rarely any malice. Teenage girls on the other hand? There is no creature more cruel or sadistic."

"I don't know. I had my fair share of teenage boys trying to put me in a hospital."

"That's my point. Teenage boys will just beat you up and someone like you can recover from that no problem. Girls on the other hand go for an emotional attack. One minute they'll act like your best friend and the next thing you know, they stab you in the back. You're left never knowing if you can ever trust anyone again."

"Sounds like you're speaking from personal experience."

"When I was in school the other girls had it in for me because my father was a mor...Mor...Mortician."

"A mortician?"

"Yes. So they all thought that meant I was a disturbed psycho or something. They tormented me without mercy and they'll torment Beth if she's not prepared."

"Cut me some slack Rosie, I'm a man. I don't know about these things and I never had time to learn about them. After Mother died, I had other things to worry about. For one thing getting custody of Beth so she wouldn't go into foster care or God forbid her father. Then there was paying the bills, keeping food on the table, making sure she did well in school, getting all her vaccines, making sure holidays and birthdays were good for her, and now giving her the only vacation she's ever had."

A gentle expression appeared on Rosie's face.

"Oh I'm sorry Ally, I keep forgetting that you were on your own when taking care of Beth and that you were just barely a kid yourself."

"I was seventeen. Only one year away from adulthood."

"But no one that young should have to take care of a child. Someone your age should have gone to college, made friends, had a relationship, established your dream career."

"And leave Beth all alone? Rosie if I had chosen to act my age then she would have grown up in foster care."

"She could have been adopted."

"I didn't trust anyone else to take care of her. My mother had just been killed by her own husband, someone who had promised to love and honor her. I was scared that any couple who promised to love and care for Beth would one day break that promise. Besides I was the only family she had left."

"Did you ever try to contact your grandfather?"

"As far as he was concerned, my parents were never married, my mother was a tramp, and I was a bastard. So what do you think he would have thought of Beth?"

"I was afraid it was like that with him. I'm sorry."

"I can't afford to be selfish or to have anything I want. I have to devote my life to Beth. It's not easy but that's the choice I made."

"But you're not her father and you're just as entitled to a happy life as she is."

"Well until someone who loves and cares for Beth just as much as I do comes along, my happiness is on hold."

"I understand. Beth is a very special girl and she should be cared for by someone who treasures her. You know when you were born I was a little envious of your mother."

"Why?"

Rosie nervously glanced down at her stomach before answering.

"Because I could never have children. I've been pregnant many times but they've all been miscarried. Then in walks your mother, a woman younger than me who gets pregnant so quickly and delivers a healthy baby the first time. Now your mother was my best friend and I adored her, but sometimes I didn't think it was fair that some women like her could have healthy babies and I just couldn't."

"Did you ever think about adopting?"

"I was going to do it once but then my husband left me and I can't be a single parent. I have a business to run. I would need help running the cabaret and taking care of a child. I can only do one of them on my own."

"Couldn't your family help you?"

"My parents, my grandmother, and my great aunt have all passed away. Everyone on my father's side of the family thinks I'm a freak except for cousin Ray but he has his own business to worry about. And my brother wouldn't lift a finger to help me. I'm completely on my own."

"I know how that feels."

Alastor smiled at her in an understanding manner, she returned the smile.

"You know right now, you remind me so much of your daddy." She complimented. "We'd have little chats like these all the time."

"My memory is bits and pieces of my father. I remember that he loved me, I remember that he loved my mother, I remember all the fun things I did with him, and I remember that he died. But I don't remember what he was actually like."

"Well for starters, he didn't know anything about women or girls. Whenever he and Daisy had a fight he'd walk in here, without a single clue about what had upset her and I had to spell it out for him. Seems like the apple doesn't fall too far from the clueless tree."

"Oh ha-ha."

"But he worshipped your mother. The lengths that man would go to for her were just amazing and sometimes down right crazy. I still remember that time we had gone out sailing and your mother was wearing an oriental comb that had been a family heirloom, the wind was blowing hard that day and it knocked the comb out of her hair and into the water. She broke down crying because your grandmother had given it to her and she had been hoping to give to her own daughter one day. I comforted her but your father."

Rosie stopped to laugh.

"Your father just jumped into the ocean and started searching for it. He spent hours swimming around, diving deep, only coming up for air."

"You're lying."

"I am not. Your mother and I both told him to stop. She said it wasn't that important but it was something that she cherished and to him, that made it important. It was almost dusk when he finally found it."

"Lord that is crazy."

"Yes but not surprising. A man in love will do crazy things and the way your father was in love with your mother, there was no limit to what he would do for her. And I have a feeling that if you ever fall in love, you're going to be just the same."

"I don't think so. I can't swim. I'm afraid of the water."

"When you're doing something for the one you love, fear tends to take a backseat. But I wouldn't expect you to understand that now. Right now it's important that you understand that Beth is becoming a young lady and she needs help. You're going to have to take her shopping for pads, tampons, and training bras."

"But those come in all different brands and sizes and stuff." He blushed. "How am I supposed to know which ones to buy? I can't exactly measure those parts of Beth's body."

"Tell you what, Niffty has been dying to go dress shopping for the upcoming 4th of July festival, so how about I invite Beth to go with us and while we're out, I'll take her to get training bras, pads, and tampons."

"You'd really do that?"

"Of course. It's no trouble."

"Thanks. Can you invite Charlie too? I don't like to leave her alone for too long. She tends to wander off when she gets bored."

"Sure and something tells me she might need some pads too. Now then, since you three have been so helpful with cleaning my cabaret, how about dinner on the house?"

"I'll take that offer."

"Great. Just go take a seat and I'll get cooking as soon as I finish fixing a few more details."

He did just as he was told. He sat down at a table with Charlie and waited for Beth to join them. He really glad that he met Rosie. While he was responsible and loving toward Beth, he could never be able to relate to her on matters of being a woman or know how to guide her through the process of becoming a woman. He would often forget that someday Beth would be a woman. But lucky for him, Rosie would be there to remind him of that fact and help him adjust to it.