- Fair warning, this story contains some manipulation and reluctance, as well as some ludicrous plot mechanics. And unless you're a glutton for punishment, I recommend you skip the "extra scene" after the ending. Thanks to my volunteer editor _penny_ for all the help. All comments are welcome. I hope you enjoy it. -
"Daddy, can I talk to you?"
I looked up from my desk, pushing my glasses up my nose. My daughter Sherry was standing in the doorframe, still wearing her Catholic schoolgirl outfit, a white blouse and a checkered mini-skirt. Her long legs ran all the way down to her bare feet. She was bending her toes against the hardwood floor, looking nervous. She brushed her auburn hair out of her hazel eyes, staring at me. I hadn't even heard her come home.
"Sherry, it's not a good time. I'm buried in paperwork. Can we talk over dinner? Will you have something delivered?"
I considered the matter closed and returned to my computer monitor. I had taken the day off for this very reason; to catch up. I don't know where the last eight hours had gone, but joining a new medical practice had me up to my ears in work.
"Daddy, it's kind of important," Sherry said. "Please, five minutes?"
I sighed, leaning back in my chair, taking off my glasses and rubbing my nose. I needed a break anyway. "All right," I said, looking up at her and putting my glasses back on. "What's on your mind, kiddo?"
Sherry came all the way into the room, looking very nervous. She sat down in the chair on the other side of my desk, crossing and uncrossing her legs, looking around at the bookcases as if she'd never seen them before.
"Sherry?"
"Um," she said, "okay, I kind of have a medical question."
"Are you feeling ill?"
"Well, no, not really, I think."
"Are you in pain?"
"No, not right now."
"Sherry, I love you, but I don't have time for twenty questions. What's wrong?"
"It's a personal thing, like... a... feminine question, you know?"
"A feminine... oh!" I said, sitting up in my chair and clearing my throat. "Oh, okay. Um, all right, that kind of question. Well, I know we've never talked about sex, but you're 18, I figured you already knew everything you needed to know. Doesn't TV teach you this sort of stuff? Oh, god, tell me you're not pregnant. How the hell do you get pregnant at an all girl's school? Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend? Do I know him? It wasn't a priest, was it? God, I wish your mother was here, but she's probably still in Reno... with my brother. That bitch."
"Daddy, stop."
"You're right, she's not a bitch. She's a whore."
"Daddy!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to speak ill of the undead. I'm just rambling because I'm nervous. How long have you been pregnant?"
"Jesus Christ, Daddy, I'm not pregnant! I'm the exact opposite of pregnant!"
"The opposite? Oh, my god, you had an abortion! Well, that's your choice. You know me, conservative at work, liberal at home."
"Geez, Daddy, I'm a virgin!"
I paused. "Oh."
Now, while my daughter did have a certain sex appeal, she was also what one might colloquially call... unkempt. I'd never seen her wear makeup---she claimed animal cruelty or something---and she refused to use any sort of hair product, so her hair was always a mess. She was the type who would rather read a book than go out with her friends, probably because she didn't have any friends. But she did have assets, which I don't even think she knew about, like curvy hips, a very firm behind, and plump breasts. She was a very late bloomer. Suffice it to say, I wasn't surprised she was a virgin, but I wouldn't have been surprised if she wasn't either.
"Okay then," I said. "I'm confused. What, uh, what did you want to talk to me about?"
She took a deep breath. "I sort of have this... problem. Like... down south... with my, you know, my... vagina."
"Oh! Now I see. I'm sorry. I was... okay. Same page now. Go on."
She nodded, gulping. "See, um, I was talking to my friends at school..." She had friends? "....and they were saying their periods only last a few days."
"Okay," I said. "Do you want me to get your mother on the phone?"
"No, Daddy. That would be even more awkward, and this is already awkward enough."
"Right, sorry. Go on."
"Anyway, my period lasts like, seven days, sometimes ten."
"Okay."
"Yeah," she said. "So, yeah, that's it."
"Is that what's bothering you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, is ten days your usual length? Or did this just start?"
"No, ever since I got my period when I was 15, it's been that long."
"Your period started at 15?"
"Yeah. Is that bad?"
"No. Many girls are late bloomers. It's fine. Ten days is longer than average, but it's not totally abnormal."
"But I also get really bad cramps and I get bloated and sick and stuff."
"Well, that's definitely common."
"I know, but my cramps are, like, severe and painful. Most days, I just come home and lie down because it hurts so much."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
Sherry stared at me. "Of course you didn't. You're always at work. You're never here when I need you."
That hurt. When your daughter tells you you're a bad father, it's like getting punched in the gut. "I'm sorry, kiddo, but you know this big house, you know that hybrid car you're driving, you know the food you eat, you know your bloodsucking mother's alimony? My job pays for all that."
"Well, maybe I'd rather be poorer and have a daddy who spends more time with me."
I sighed. "Look, I know when I was working at the hospital, I was never around. Jesus, it cost me my marriage, but things will be different now, just as soon as I'm situated at this new job. I promise, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay, but what about my problem?"
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, really. If you were my patient, I'd refer you to an OB-GYN."
"What's that?"
"A gynecologist, a vagina doctor."
"Ew, no way," she said. "I don't want some stranger looking at me while I'm naked, especially a boy doctor."
"There are female doctors, lots of them."
"That still makes me feel weird."
"Honey, I'm a doctor, not a psychic. I can't diagnose you if don't examine you."
"You mean you want to see me naked?" she asked, her eyes growing larger.
"Whoa, no! That's not what I meant. I meant I wouldn't be qualified to examine you. You need a gynecologist."
She frowned. "So you don't know anything about vaginas?"
I laughed nervously. "Not unless you count hands-on experience."
Sherry stared at me.
"I'm sorry," I said. "That was a very inappropriate thing to say. I'm just nervous."
"Me too," she said, "but actually, Daddy, I think I would be more comfortable if you examined me."
"Pardon?" I said. "Sherry, I'm your father. I don't think I'd be comfortable with that."
"But you take care of me when I'm sick."
"That's a little different than seeing you naked and looking at your private parts."
"Don't you examine girls where you work?"
"Of course, but it's different when it's a stranger."
"See, it's the opposite for me. I'd feel more comfortable if you saw me naked, because I know you would never have any, you know, sexual thoughts, since you're my daddy."
I gulped. "Well, of course not."