Where Did I Put It

Tamsin’s heart drummed frantically as she tore through her pack, her books, and the messy desk– where was it?!  Tamsin was all set for a weekend of love with her boyfriend who she hoped would someday become her fiancée, but in order for this to be absolutely perfect, she needed her contraceptive diaphragm.  Thomasina had her name shortened to Tamsin and that is what she preferred being called.  Her twin sister Teresina was already engaged and she has always been ahead of Tamsin in every endeavor.  Teresina got her period first and she had a boyfriend first and she lost her virginity first, but Tamsin knew that this was not a race where the first one wins, as it would be more about the happiest one winning.

Teresina went on the pill after she became sexually active, but the hormones contained in the pill had side effects, making her nauseous, her breasts became very tender and she experienced irregular bleeding.  Though not as effective as some other methods, the diaphragm decreases the risk of pregnancy significantly compared to using no form of contraception and this gave Teresina control over pregnancy prevention whenever she wanted it.  Teresina suggested that Tamsin should try this also, so she made a doctor’s appointment to get fitted for one.  The doctor showed her everything, how to insert it and how to care for it and the doctor said that he would be willing to help her practice putting it in properly, but Tamsin declined knowing that she could always get help from her twin.  Her doctor told her that she could always come back any time to make sure that she was inserting the diaphragm and using it correctly.

Teresina told Tamsin that it would work best if she got into a comfortable position, like when she was putting in a tampon.  She told Tamsin that she could stand with one foot propped up on a chair, sit on the edge of a chair, lie down, or squat, but she must find the position that works for her, one where her legs would be wide open and her knees were bent.  Teresina demonstrated how to spread spermicidal cream or jelly inside the dome of the diaphragm and around the rim before insertion.  Teresina knew how frustrating this could be, so she let her sister watch as she separated her labia with one hand and used her other hand to guide the diaphragm between the separated lips of her vulva, by pinching the rim of the diaphragm together folding it in half, making sure to keep the edges together and the cream or jelly inside.  She showed Tamsin how to push the diaphragm as far up and back into her vagina as it could go, by aiming it at her tailbone and making sure that the dome was pointing down.  Now the tricky part, because this could not be seen only felt, where she told Tamsin that she needed to use one finger to push the forward rim of the diaphragm toward her belly button tucking it up behind the bone that forms the front of her pelvis (pubic bone) and the back rim up behind her cervix, making sure that her cervix is covered, otherwise the dammed thing would not offer proper protection.

Tamsin practiced inserting and removing her diaphragm and she felt confident that she was able to place it in correctly and she was comfortable with it being inside of her.  Tamsin didn’t have a problem with touching her vagina and once the diaphragm was in, she would test that it was inserted properly by sliding her finger into her vagina again, to see if she could feel any part of her cervix.  Her boyfriend would be here in 10 minutes and she still had no clue where she might have left it, till it dawned on her that she left it inside of her.  She had just enough time to remove it, clean it off and go on her weekend of passion.

Written for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie First Line Friday hosted by Dylan.