Unforgiven - Complete

Chapter Twenty

It was coming up on 5.30 am. Her mother wouldn't be up for an hour or so, but she wasn't sure if this was an emergency or not. Her father would be up soon, but for obvious reasons, she wouldn't be confiding in him! Feeling more cramping, Rose decided to bite the bullet, walking to her parent's room. Knocking on the door and hearing her father's sleepy "Yes?" she stepped inside. Janine was waking up, staring at Rose in confusion.

"Sorry to wake you, Mom, but my period started, and it's really heavy. I've only got panty liners, so I was wondering if you had any pads?"

Abe lay back down in bed, developing the domestic deafness he experienced any time his wife and daughter talked about anything to do with feminine hygiene, breasts or women's underwear. It was astounding the way they could have a full conversation in front of him, yet he never seemed to hear a thing.

Janine sat up looking at her daughter in alarm. "Yes, I have some," she said quickly bustling into her bathroom and coming back out with a large pack of overnight sanitary pads. "Are your sheets dirty?"

"Yeah, sorry Mom. I'll soak them."

"Never mind, I'll give you a hand," Janine said looking at Rose meaningfully.

They walked back to Rose's room, where Janine took Rose into her arms. "How are you feeling? Is there a lot of pain?"

"Just a bit of cramping," Rose said truthfully. "It's not too bad."

"The chances are it's a miscarriage, wee one. A little bit of spotting can be normal in pregnancy, but this looks like a lot more than that," she said, indicating the bloodstained sheets. "Go put a pad on, and we'll soak these sheets. As soon as your father goes to work, I'll ring Dr. Olendzki's office and see what we need to do."

Rose nodded woodenly, taking the pack of pads to her bathroom. By the time she got back, her mother had the sheets stripped and into the washing hamper. The two of them padded downstairs. Janine put the kettle on while Rose dealt with things in the laundry.

"Should I call Dimitri?" Rose asked softly when she returned to the kitchen.

"Let's not worry him until we know what's going on," Janine counseled. "I'll take the day off, and we'll work it out," she said lovingly, cuddling her only child again.

By the time Abe came downstairs, Janine had made waffles for the three of them.

"Everything all right, Rozalia?" he asked, coming around the counter to give Janine a sweet kiss.

"Fine thanks, Tata. Just needed Mom's help with something," she said, knowing from experience her father would get embarrassed and flustered if she spoke directly to him about menstruation.

The three of them ate, Abe complimenting Janine on the breakfast.

"I'm not used to a cooked breakfast on a weekday. Just think – we'll be able to enjoy this sort of thing every day if we buy an RV and go on the road!" Abe encouraged. Janine looked like she wanted to beat him over the head with the waffle pan.

Once he'd left for work, Janine rang the doctor's surgery, getting their advice about the situation before making an appointment for Rose just after lunch.

"They said just take it easy for the morning. Don't use tampons, only pads, and we're to call them if you get severe cramping, fill a pad in under an hour or if your temperature goes up. I thought we could hang out and watch a movie together?" Janine suggested, a little reticent to let her daughter out of her sight.

"I'd better text Lissa to let her know I won't be at school today," Rose muttered heading upstairs to get her phone, quilt, and pillows. Once she was ensconced on one of the sofas, she texted Liss.