Page 21 of The Summer Plans

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did. You said a bad word for P-E-N-I-S.” Logan spells out the word as if his siblings don’t know how to spell. They do.

“Logan, it’s fine. The three of you were talking about butts and penises on the plane here, and no one was contributing to the swear jar then.” I’m not sure why he’s being so hard on RJ for swearing. I don’t swear a lot around the kids. But he’s the oldest and my rule follower, so I’ve always chalked it up to that.

The two of them stare at each other, almost having a silent conversation. Something flashes on RJ’s face. Guilt, maybe? Logan puts his hands on his hips, making it clear he’s not backing down.

“No, he’s right. I need to watch my language.” He grabs his phone and taps some buttons when mine buzzes in my pocket.

My hands are covered in batter, and I can’t look at it.

“Just Venmoed you,” RJ says.

I tilt my head in confusion. We had a whole conversation earlier about cockies and dicks. Why is he acting like it’s a swear now? “How do you have my Venmo?”

“Raven gave it to me. I owed Logan’s swear jar. For earlier.”

He’s texting Raven about me? I turn back to the nuggets, trying to ignore the way my heart is racing at his words. I won’t let this man in again. But he’s making it more difficult with each passing day.

CHAPTER 6

SUMMER

There’s a knock on the door, and I brace myself for RJ to walk in. Can’t I get five minutes alone to take a bath? I need something to ease the ache of this sunburn, and he said he’d distract the kids with a movie.

I’m about to ignore it when a timid voice speaks through the door. “Summer?”

Pulling my silk robe tight around my waist, I rush over to the door and find Sophie on the other side. She’s alone and I usher her in, closing the door behind her. “What’s going on?”

There’s an edge to her voice and a timidness in her posture that instantly activates the mama bear in me.

“Umm… so, I started my period and it’s heavier than normal and I went through all my pads already. And we’re stuck on this remote island, and the one store is already closed. And while giving my dad shit about dicks is my favorite pastime, I normally talk to my mom about the girl stuff. And she’s not here.”

Understanding washes over me. “I’m sure your dad would be more than willing to help.” I open the app on my phone, and she’s right. “But they are closed.” Her eyes are silently pleading, making it obvious that she’s not going to ask him. “I have some tampons in my toiletry bag.”

She fidgets with her hands. “I’ve never used one.”

“Oh. That’s okay. I can teach you.”

Her hands cover her face as she groans into them. “Oh my God, this is so embarrassing.”

I take a step toward her and place my hands on her shoulders. “Sophie, sweetie, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Periods are normal bodily functions. And screw the patriarchy or whoever made you feel like having one should be embarrassing.”

She laughs. “You sound like Auntie Raven.”

“Where do you think I first heard this speech?” She smiles in response, and relief hits me. “Can you go grab an orange?”

She furrows her brow but nods. When she leaves the room, I rush over to the bathroom and grab a few tampons. She returns, orange in hand, and I take it from her and smile, hoping to set her nerves at ease.

“We’re gonna have to make do until we can get supplies on Monday. And this will help us. My mom showed me this trick, and it’s what finally made it click for me.”

I hold up the orange and use my nail to tear through the rind as I wiggle my finger in the center. “Think of this like your opening. Sorry, I don’t know what words to use to not make this uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay.”

“You want to stick the tampon in the orange to here, and then you’ll push the plunger down to insert it into the orange. Then you pull the applicator out. And that’s all you’re going to do, except on yourself.” I hand her the orange and a new tampon and let her practice.

“Sorry, I messed this one up. Do you have more?”