Pinako paused. She put down her empty cup and picked up the other towel and began to dry his hair. She let him digest what she had told him so far and waited for him to ask questions. She knew Ed. Once he was over the embarrassment of this new situation he was going to want every piece of information he could get. Drying his hair eased him further. Pinako hid a smile. This new Ed was much more tactilely responsive than the old one.
"How do you… how do I cope with this every month?" Ed swallowed hard.
"You've been irritable and bitchy all day Ed. That's called pre-menstrual tension and it's a sure-fire sign your period is about to start. Not all months will have you as tense as you were today. Everyone is different and each month is different too. Some months you may bleed heavily and others will be light. Tell me, how do you feel now? Physically."
Ed thought for a moment, sorting through the impressions he was getting from his body.
"I'm tired, my shoulder hurts and I have a headache. My lower back aches a bit but not as much as earlier. My stomach feels empty and there's like a pressure gone from inside here although it still feels really tight." He placed his hands on either side of his hips and curled his fingers into his lower belly region. "I don't feel as irritable as I was earlier, but I still feel out of sorts with everything."
"You should keep track with a calendar at first Ed but soon you'll know the signs. We all do eventually." Pinako smiled at him. She could see the reluctant acceptance of this new facet to being female in those golden eyes but knew Ed would take as long as it took before he openly admitted it to himself. Some things would never change.
Pinako pulled Ed's hair back into its loose knot and went over to fetch the small bag she had brought in earlier. She sat down in front of Ed and handed him the bag. Ed took it as if receiving a spitting cobra and had to take a deep breath before opening it.
Baffled eyes looked up after his first glance at the contents but then comprehension flooded the pale face with a bright blush. Ed had never seen these things before but he wasn't stupid. He knew what he was looking at as his hand tentatively reached in and removed a small pad.
"Yes, these are the other things you'll need to cope with this time of the month." Pinako said bluntly in the matter of fact tone that she knew Ed would respond best to. "It would probably be easier for you to use a pad this first time until you feel more comfortable with the process. Let me show you." Pinako rummaged through the clothes for a pair of the boylegs Ed now favoured and then reached for the pad in Ed's hands. She demonstrated its use and then took another pad from the bag and made Ed do it. It was a bit awkward with the automail hand but Ed managed it and he actually smiled at his success. The blush came back in full force when he had to remove the towel and paper he had used and slip the now padded underwear on.
Once he had his sleep pants on, Ed felt better although he twisted around very aware of the padding and absolutely convinced that it could be seen through his pants.
"Stop that Ed. No-one will know it's there. Now when you get up tomorrow morning you'll need to change that one and dispose of it. We have plenty of them so don't be shy asking for more. This could last anywhere up to seven days." She chuckled at Ed's groan. "If you feel any cramping or pain let me know. There are ways to lessen the discomfort. Also I have some textbooks left from my son and daughter-in-law. They'll give you much more detailed information."
Ed surprised Pinako when he wrapped his arms around the older woman and buried his face into the strong shoulder.
"Thank you Granny" was all Ed could manage before his throat closed up on another bout of tears.
The books Pinako lent him did indeed give him all the information he desired. The physical and the hormonal changes had him mesmerised. He had never realised the intricacies in the systems that governed development of both males and females. Creating a body was something he understood. Creating life was something he had tried and failed. Natural conception and development enthralled him. With his obsession to break everything down to equivalent exchange, he at first saw the monthly cycle as the exchange for the ability to conceive new life. But then he realised that men had just as much input in conception as women did. Perhaps the cycle was the offset for the ability to carry new life he theorised.