Who's Really in Charge - Part 5
The next day was Saturday, so all three of them were home. Sam was up
first since he was an early riser, but Jessie took advantage of a no
school day by sleeping in and, of course, Becky kept her routine of
getting up late due to her work schedule. He went into the bathroom to
shower and shave.
He noticed there were two bottles of prescription pills sitting on the vanity.
He figured they must be Jessie's since only he and she used that
bathroom. He picked up the bottles and one said Spironolactone 50mg
and the other said Estradiol 2mg. Strange, he thought since the names
sounded like maybe some kind of birth control pills. Why would Jessie
be taking these? He just let it go and jumped in the shower,
relishing the feel of the refreshing water splashing on him.
He then dressed and went down to the kitchen to have his coffee and
breakfast and was surprised when Becky came down soon after. "Wow...you
sure are up early," he said. She let out a big yawn, "Yeah, there's some
things I need to get done today and I figured I might as well get up.
After all, I don't have to work tonight." She had been trying to adjust
to her new work schedule but it was hard after working only daytime hours
for many years. She poured herself some coffee and sat next to Sam as she
tried to clear her head.
He wasn't sure if he should, but decided to ask her about the pills he
had seen. "Uh, I hope I'm not intruding or getting too personal...but
when I was in the bathroom awhile ago I noticed there were some pills
sitting on the vanity. Just curious why they were there." Becky still
wasn't completely awake and thought for a moment and then replied,
"Oh...those are Jessica's. She must have forgotten to put them away."
Sam was still curious since he had assumed they were possibly some
kind of birth control pills. "Well, I know it's really none of my
business but I am curious because those pills look a lot like maybe
birth control pills." He was a little embarrassed as he said it.
Becky laughed and told him to relax. "Well, they are hormones but those
kind of pills are used for other things. So don't worry...Jessica is
not promiscuous or sexually active and is not using them for THAT purpose.
At least I hope not. haha"
"Well, I didn't mean to imply that she is," he said but still looked
confused so she went on. "It's OK, I know you didn't mean anything by it.
So here's the reason she's taking them. Maybe you've noticed that
although she has really grown up a lot...at least in size, she has
not...well...she's not filled-out as much as she should have for her age.
She's sort of...er...flat and not very rounded-out." Sam was getting a
little uneasy with this and thought maybe Becky really didn't want to
have to get into it. "I shouldn't have asked in the first place," he
said. "Let's just leave it at that and I sort of get the picture."
"No, it's OK," Becky quickly added. "You are living here and we are like
family so you should know what is going on around here. Anyway, I was
getting a little worried that she wasn't progressing, shall we say, as
much as other girls her age."
"Jessica wasn't all that concerned and when I talked to her about it she
was like, it's no big deal and I don't care that much. She didn't want
to talk about it. But I decided to take her to the doctor just to make
sure all was well. Her doctor is actually her friend Amy's dad. Well he
did some blood tests and found that she has a lower estrogen level than she should have and an elevated androgen level that is causing it.
So he prescribed those pills for her. They are strong anti-androgen
and estrogen hormones that should help her out. The doctor said it happens to
some girls and described it as a way to hopefully induce her into a more
normal puberty. Nothing to worry about, he told us. Jessica is very
healthy and normal otherwise. So, any questions?" she sort of laughed,
"Or was that too much information?" "No, it's OK," Sam said still a
little uneasy. "But Jessie probably wouldn't like me knowing this much
about her and, uh, her problem."
"Don't worry," Becky said. "I won't say anything to her about us talking.
I'm just surprised you found those pills laying out in the open. Jessica
had told me awhile back that she didn't like the way the pills made her
feel and that she didn't want to take them as often as she should. But
maybe she has changed her mind. I hope so anyway. But so far, they
haven't seemed to be working. Or else she isn't taking as many as she is
supposed to. But that's up to her...I'm not going to force her because
she seems happy and she is totally healthy regardless of this. And her
doctor reminded me that there are lots of slender females running around
perfectly happy."
All of a sudden Jessie bounded down the stairs and asked, "So, you guys
are talking about me, huh? I heard you explaining about my pills."
"Oh...uh, Jessie, I wasn't trying to pry in your private business, it's
just I saw those pills in the bathroom this morning and was surprised,"
Sam told her. "And I straightened him out on why you have them. So that's
all there was to it," Becky added. "By the way, have you been taking
them? I thought you didn't like them?" Jessie quickly responded, "Well, I
don't like them, but decided I might start using them again. So I
put them on the sink just in case. But I doubt they will help me like they're supposed to. So don't expect to see any big changes in me. No big deal, OK?"
"Speaking of pills, like what is that great big pill that you had
on the sink this morning?," Jessie asked Sam. "Oh, that's not really a
pill...it's a capsule, a vitamin capsule. I take one first thing every
morning and want to remember to take it so I put one out every night so I
won't forget." He explained to her. "Oh, OK. but it is so big. Is that
what a capsule means? I've never heard of those before." she said.
Sam laughed and said, "Well I guess it is like a pill and some pills are big
too. But a capsule comes apart in the middle so you can put whatever
ingredients in it you want to. I have these specially made for me with
the exact mix of vitamins that I want to take every day, so that's why
they're in a capsule. The company I order them from mixes it up and puts
it in each capsule."
Oh, I see," she responded. "So that great big pill,
I mean capsule gives you a lot of stuff you need to make you strong, huh?
But are you sure of what's in there, if it can be opened someone could put stuff in it that you don't know about." She giggled as she said that then quickly added, "Oh well, I'm sure any stuff that's put in it will be good for you. Probably works better for you than my little pills do for me," she said flashing a sly smile.