The Curse

The Thursday before that Easter Sunday was sunny and mild. We were at a special Sunday School class, very early in the morning, as we were to be baptized at Easter services. The boys were all in suits and ties and the girls were all in white dresses. I began to feel sick about halfway through and in the ladies room I discovered the blood - it had soaked through my underwear and my slip and the back of my dress. There was an unfamiliar pain in my lower belly. Panicked and horrified, I stuffed my panties with paper towels and fled, too embarassed to ask for help and too frightened to do anything but run.

I tied my jacket around my waist to hide the bloodstains and began the journey home. I didn't dare take the bus so I walked the entire way. By the time I reached the corner of our street, the pain had intensified and it didn't seem possible that I'd be able to walk the last seven or eight blocks. I could feel the blood, it seemed to be gushing out of me. In desperation, fearing I might bleed to death before I could get home, I called my mother from a pay phone in front of the Rexall Drugstore. She was not but seven or eight blocks away, she had a car, and it would've taken five minutes to come and get me. Instead, she told me to go into the drugstore and see the old pharmacist. She told me what to ask for and then told me to come home. When I began to cry, she hung up.

Morris had been the Rexall pharmacist for as long as I could remember. He was old, white haired with a thick mustache and wore his gold rimmed reading glasses on a chain around his neck. He was a kind man, always quick to smile and be helpful. He wore his name tag on his white pharmacist jacket and he was was always starched and immaculate. In and out of tears, I told him what my mother had said to ask for and he came out from behind the corner, put an arm around my shoulders and led me to the back of the drugstore, away from the curious customers. Do you know what to do? he asked me softly and when I shook my head and begin to cry even harder, he knelt in front of me and lowered his voice even more. Are you bleeding now? I couldn't look at his concerned, kind eyes but I nodded and getting to his feet he leaned over and whispered to me Don't be afraid, it's going to be fine.He gave me his handkerchief, a brown paper bag with REXALL DRUG printed in bold letters on it, and a hug. This is natural he told me and then quietly gave me my first lesson on what he called becoming a woman.

She was sitting in her chair watching game shows when I got home. Without glancing up from her knitting, she asked Did the old Jew fix you up? I said yes and slowly climbed the stairs to my room. It's called the curse, she called after me, It'll happen every month and you can't take a bath while you have it. Take an aspirin and get cleaned up.

I said a silent prayer of thanks to Morris and did as I was told.