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Their routine was pretty stable. It is sunday, Nick and Charlie wake up early, brush their teeth and go downstairs to make breakfast together. They let Lilly sleep longer, she’s 12 and starting to stay awake messing with her phone for way too long. She needs the extra sleep and her dads are trying to be less strict with her bedtime - ‘She’s becoming a teenager! She needs to make her own decisions and deal with the consequences!’ . Charlie was about to go back upstairs to get his phone, when he heard her calling:
“Uh... d-DAD? PAPÁ?” She shouted. Nick and Charlie exchange looks. That’s a new voice. It wasn't her “I’m hurt” voice but it still sounded urgent. Even Daisy, their dog, noticed it and got up from where she was laying down.
“Yes?” Nick and Charlie say in unison.
“Come to the bathroom please.”
They all rush upstairs and, as Nick is about to open the door, ‘maybe she slipped and got hurt ’, he thought, Lilly yells again “Absolutely do NOT come in, I…um. I just got my period. I think.”
Nick and Charlie turn to each other with bugged eyes.
“You think ?” Charlie questioned. He and his husband were practically squishing themselves on the bathroom door out of worry.
“Yeah. No. It definitely happened.”
They look at each other and have a full conversation with their eyes. It happened. It happened. Already? It’s too early, they thought they had more time to learn on how to help her, they were supposed to be the most prepared gay dads out of every little girls with gay dads. They had to- Oh god Charlie looks like he’s about to faint. Daisy sat by the door and barked, pulling them back to the moment.
“Um- that’s, that’s great honey!” Nick says and immediately feels stupid for it. “You have everything you need here in your bathroom, right?”.
“Yes but I’m not sure what to do”. Charlie runs a hand through his face and mouths to Nick ‘ We are the worst parents in the world’. Nick puts a hand on husband’s shoulder to calm him down as Lilly continues. “I can just search it on youtube I guess. I’m the first one of my friends to get my period so I haven’t seen any of the girls doing it”.
“Didn’t Amber get her period last year?” Charlie speaks. Nick is shaking his head.
“Ugh papá! Amber is not my friend anymore, remember?! She, like, totally stole Jackie’s role on that play! We are not talking to her anymore.” Lilly said, sounding annoyed but they know she’s not really. She knows her papá is not good with these stories. Nick was more of the “school gossip” dad, Charlie was great on many other things, though.
“Right! Right, I forgot about that. Um, how about I call aunt Tori to come here and talk to you? Would you like that?” As he heard her confirmation he relaxed a little. But then another worry came to Charlie’s mind. “Honey, does it… does it hurt ?” Nick look at Charlie with desperation, he could not bear if his little girl was in pain.
“No, not really. I don’t feel anything to be honest”. The dads let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. “I’ll wait for aunt Tori in here, you guys can go back to eating, I guess.” Lilly said, sounding so calm and mature Nick thinks about throwing himself off a window.
Daisy stayed by the door while they went downstairs in silence. Charlie texted Tori. She said she is coming. Okay. Everything is okay. The couple exchange looks and decide to just eat as normal while they wait. Yes. This is a completely normal thing. They knew this would happen. She knew this would happen. Then why the hell are they so freaking terrified?
There’s barely any time to think of anything to say before the sound of Tori’s car being parked is heard. Charlie tries to ignore the fact that she just made a 10 minute drive here in just 5 as he unlocks the door. “Hey Tori, she’s upst-” Tori doesn’t even look at Charlie and just storms in and goes to Lily. From the top of the stairs she says “Go out both of you. Go buy her a gift or something.” Tori instructs. “I’m serious! OUT. GIFTS. NOW.” And quickly as that, Nick and Charlie are out the door in their pyjamas and splitting up to get something for Lilly.
Charlie will buy her gifts and Nick is going to buy her more period products. This can’t be too hard, right?
***
This is too hard.
Nick thinks as he looks, and for the first time, really looks, at the pads ile of the store. There’s too many options, too many colours, too many types, too many everything! How the hell is he supposed to know what to get? Thin, maxi, large back (what) , and also wings? His daughter was not going to put anything flying there… right?
He decides on getting one of each. Yes. All of them. ‘Then Lilly can test everything so she’ll know her favorite!’ , so he gets a cart to put everything on it. There’s too much stuff. He absolutely does not care about the prices right now, but he definitely is going to look more into politicians who want to provide free menstrual care ‘How the hell people in need are going to pay for this essential stuff?’ . He also grabs some wipes, medication for cramps and a heat bag.
Nick goes to the cashier who looks at him like he is crazy. And maybe she is not wrong. He decides to overshare in order to not look weird “Erm, my daughter got her first period.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” The cashier giggles as she scans the pads. “So… single dad?”
“Gay couple.”
“Welp. Good luck.” She looks up in sympathy. “She is going to figure everything out, don’t worry.”
“Thank you.”
***
Charlie knows what he is going to get the second he left the house.
He decides to get her chocolate and flowers. That’s what his dad got Tori when she got her period. Of course Tori said thanks but she threw the flowers away the second their dad wasn’t looking, but still. He remembers she thought it was a nice gesture.
Now, the problem is: what chocolate and what flowers?
The obvious choice for the chocolate is to get a box of random ones, but what if she doesn’t like any of them? Oh that would be terrible. Why isn’t Lilly more vocal about her chocolate preferences? Is he going to ruin everything? Oh god he is going to ruin everything. But there’s no other choice to make. He gets the random ones in an oval box, after his common sense alerts him that a heart shaped box is definitely too tacky and too ‘valentines day-ish’.
As he walks to the flower shop, Charlie looks up flower meanings. There’s too many to choose from and they all meant really weird things that don’t fit this context whatsoever. He arrives and, when he explains his situation to the flower shop worker, they suggest a daisy bouquet, for new beginnings. Perfect!
As he was paying, Charlie thought about how they could even joke about the flower and their dog. And then it hit him. Lilly. Lilies. He could have also gotten her lilies. They’ve had Lilly since she was 5 but they’ve never gotten her lilies. What the hell is wrong with them? He asks the person from the shop to add a few lilies to the bouquet. Jesus, he is not thinking straight right now -not that he ever has.
***
When they arrive, Lilly, Tori and Daisy are sitting on the couch watching tv.
“Hey honey! We bought you some things!” Nick said while struggling to hold all the bags he was holding.
“Yoo what? What did yo- Jesus Christ are all of these pads?” Lilly says.
“Well… I didn’t know what to get, so…”
“Thank you dad! But just so you know, it is really simple!” Lilly says. “Normal ones with wings, ‘cause duh, and one for during the night, obviously”
“Yeah… obviously.” Nick says, his voice small. He can see Tori holding back a laugh.
Charlie interrupts. “We also got you this!” He gives her the box and the flowers. “Daisies for new beginnings and lillies for Lilly. A pretty flower for a pretty girl.”
Lilly gets up and hug both of them. “Thanks dad, thanks papá. I’m going to my room now. Also I don’t want to go to school tomorrow”.
“What? You can’t skip class all the time because of this!” Charlie says.
“Well, there is blood coming out of my vagina right NOW!”
Nick interrupts. “OH MY GOD. Okay, OKAY honey you can skip class every time you want, we won’t be mad.” He said while basically hiding behind Charlie.
“No way.” Charlie says. He’s the more ‘school strict’ parent. “You can skip tomorrow, but other days only in emergencies, okay?”
“Fine papá.” Lilly says and then high fives Tori. They had planned this, then. Wow.
Lilly says ‘goodbye and thanks tia Tori’ and goes back to her room with her chocolates, the flowers and two of the ten bags of pads. While she’s there, Tori gives Nick and Charlie some advice and tells them to set a gynecologist appointment for Lilly. She leaves while whispering something along the lines of ‘do your research, dumbasses’.
***
That night, when laying in bed, Nick and Charlie finally talk properly about what happened. Charlie has his head rested on Nick’s shoulder and runs his fingers on Nick’s arm. Nick does the same to Charlie’s back.
“So. Our little girl is growing up, uh?” Nick said. He can’t believe this. He swears it feels like she was still a kid just yesterday .
“I don’t think I’m ready for her to be a teenager.” Charlie whispers. “I’m a hundred percent sure she’s going to go emo and absolutely hate me.”
“Well, that's a bit dramatic.” Nick laughs. “If she does become emo we can just win her heart by taking her to Hot Topic.”
“And what if she realizes she’s queer? What are we going to do?” Charlie sounded worried.
“What? How do you think this is a problem?”
“No! I’m not worried like that. I just mean, are we going to throw a coming out party?” Charlie said.
“What? I’ve never heard of anything like that!”
“I don’t know! We have to be super supportive! What if one of her friends gets a party? We can’t lose to straight parents! ”
Nick laughs. “I don’t think it is a competition, Char.”
“We still have to win, though.” They both giggle. “What if she starts drinking? She can only drink when she’s at least 17”
“What? You’ve had alcohol way before that!” Nick says. “C’mon. She can have a little sip with her friends at, like, 16.”
“Fine. But she won’t get home by Uber, okay? We can go pick her up whenever she needs, even if she’s staying ‘till really late.”
“And then we can pretend we can’t smell the alcohol on her.”
“Yeah, she’ll need the ego boost.” They giggle again. “Nick, are we bad parents?”
“I don’t think we are.”
They aren’t.