Linda was pretty good at avoiding people. She didn't like to, but she was good at it. No eye contact, keep your head down. Today, she would've gotten an A-plus for avoidance... until the very end. She was headed home after an incredibly agonizing day.
She had started her period overnight, which meant she didn't sleep. She took Tylenol before she went to school, and that only lasted until second period. Then she got a headache, and because she already had pain killers in her system, couldn't take anything more. She cried in the bathroom a few times, which did not help her headache. By the end of the day, she felt as though she was made of lead. Her head was heavy, her eyes were heavy, her stomach was heavy, her feet were heavy.
She felt like falling over, and her choice of footwear wasn't helping her balance. Why in the world had she decided to wear wedges when she could barely stand? Because you needed your pants with the larger waist, and they just happen to be too long.
"Linda! Hey, wait up!"
She closed her eyes briefly. Danny. He'd want to talk to her and ask her why she hadn't talked to him that day. She tried walking faster, but he had a bigger stride and caught up with her. (Plus, his uterus wasn't raging a war because he hadn't reproduced this month).
He sort of slid in front of her, making her stop. He was about to ask a lot of questions— where have you been? Why are you ignoring me?— when he saw her face. A few tears had slid down her cheeks (eight, she had counted), and her face screamed she was uncomfortable.
"Have I done something wrong?"
Bless his heart. She shook her head, "no. You've been wonderful."
"Then what?"
"I'm..." she looked around, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Menstruating."
"Oh, ouch," his eyebrows drew together, and if Linda hadn't been in such agony, she would've smiled at him and said he was cute.
She nodded, "can you move? I'd really like to get home."
"Oh yeah, sorry." He stepped aside, and she stepped forward. But she mis-stepped, and fell into Danny. He helped her stand, "I don't think you should be driving."
"I can—" her face twisted in pain, and she grabbed Danny's sleeve. She forced slow breaths out her nose, waiting for the pain to subside.
"Yeah, you're definitely not driving. Come on, wait in the car while I round up the sibs. But first," he gestured to her backpack. "I'll carry that."
Ordinarily, she'd protest. Just because she had cramps that made her fall over didn't mean she couldn't still carry her backpack or drive a car. But at some point, she was just too damn tired to argue. So she simply nodded and slid her backpack off her shoulders.
Danny carried it on his arm so he could hold Linda upright. It was a mystery to him how she could walk in those wedges on a good day, but on a day like today? He shook his head at the thought.
They walked out together, and Danny put Linda's backpack in the trunk. He stuck his head in the door, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Sit tight."
"Danny," Linda's voice brought him back. "Do you... do you have a blanket or a pillow or something?"
He looked at her quizzically, "why...?"
"The, um," she swallowed more tears. "The seatbelt presses—"
"I've got a jacket, hold on." Danny walked back to the trunk and came back with a fleece-lined jean jacket. "Dad made each of us have an extra jacket during the winter in case we ever got stranded. I never took mine out," he needlessly explained and shrugged, handing her the jacket.
