Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings Read Online Free PDF Page A

“A couple of Google links said that it’s good for PMS symptoms since the magnesium sulfate draws toxins from the body, relaxes muscles, and sedates the nervous system.”
    I went to my happy place during that last bit of Dad’s explanation. Still, a bath sounded like a good idea. I imagined soaking in the big claw foot tub upstairs. It would be a relief to get out of those yucky clothes and yucky underwear, and put the yucky day behind me.
    “Okay,” I said. “That’s actually the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
    “Here.” Dad put the Epsom salt back and passed the stuffed Dooley’s bag to me. His face was kind and sweet. “Sorry I went a bit overboard at the drugstore, but I swear, it feels like I was taking the training wheels off your bike just last week. This is kind of uncharted territory for me.”
    “Me too,” I whispered. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and headed upstairs.
    I locked the bathroom door behind me, tossed the Dooley’s bag on the counter and turned on the water in the bath. The Epsom salt fizzed as the crystals met the stream of water. I found a spot for the leftover salt in the bathroom’s linen closet. A plastic bottle toppled over at the back of the shelf. I pulled it out.
    Peachtree Pro-vitamin. Mom’s old shampoo.
    The scent overwhelmed me when I clicked open the lid. I drank in the smell and closed my eyes. It was almost like Mom was there, holding me in a hug, her long hair in my face. Could she see me, wherever she was? Did she know how I was feeling, what I was thinking, just then? Did she know how much I missed her?
    The sound of the flowing water pulled me from my thoughts. I snapped the lid shut and placed the bottle back on the shelf.
    I stripped down to my underwear then wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror and took inventory.
    Boobs? If I squished my arms together, I could almost convince myself I had cleavage.
    Armpit check? Time to shave.
    Other than that though, the same copper curls, squinty green eyes, and chubby cheeks met my gaze in the mirror. Same old Jade. Shouldn’t I look different? Feel different? I was becoming a “woman” after all, wasn’t I?
    It took a while to fill the massive, old-fashioned tub, but I waited until it was a deep steaming pool before squeaking the tap closed. Then, it occurred to me. What would happen when I lowered myself into the water? Should I take a shower instead?
    Think. Think.
    I knew they’d covered this in Health Ed when they crammed all the girls into the school library and showed us those hideously embarrassing movies while the boys went outside to play flag football. But that was four years before and while 99% of those girls were sure to have gone through this already, I was left to wonder. It’s not like I could just call up Cori (I still hadn’t fessed up to the Lie) and I really didn’t want Dad to fire up the search engine on this one.
    I shrugged out of my underwear and eased myself intothe tub. The water wrapped its warmth around me, giving my whole body a feeling of weightlessness.
    I waited.
    Nothing.
    I rested my head against the back of the tub, relieved and left feeling just a teensy bit stupid. But how was I supposed to know what would happen? Who tells you these things?
    Then the harsh reality hit me.
    Moms tell you these things.
    In that moment, soaking in my Epsom salt bath, I missed Mom more than ever. A girl only gets her first period once in her life and I hated not knowing what to expect. I hated not knowing what to do.
    And most of all, even though a wave of shame ran through me for letting the thought even enter my mind, I hated Mom for not being there and for leaving me to figure it all out.
    I couldn’t remember the exact moment I dozed off, but after crying until my eyes stung, the warm bath lulled me into one long, sleepy head nod.
    I dreamt I was floating in the ocean, looking up at a cloudless sky, surrounded by long, white strands of silk. Purple and white jellyfish swayed in