The Princess and the Plague Part 47 By Anistasia Allread “What's the matter?” Erika's mother asked as they got into the car. “I don't want to go through puberty.” she said. “I was told that I could take blockers to keep from growing chest hair or my voice changing.” “Are you sure you don't want to try things out as a boy again?” her mother asked without any malice in her voice.

---

“That soon?” Erika was shocked.

“I think it would be best.” the Neurosurgeon Dr. Varbozo nodded.

“That's like, next week.” Erika was stunned. She never expected to have to have the surgery that soon.

“You can have an extra week off for Thanksgiving.” Dr. Varbozo smiled. “Dr. Lipdick said that felt that your case warrented expedition. I have to agree with him. Brain tumors can be sneaky little things.”

“How long will she need to recover?” Mrs. Martin asked.

“Even though this is brain surgery. It's not too invasive. As long as she stays in good health and doesn't develop infection. A week to ten days post-op.”

“How long will she need to be kept in the hospital?” Mrs. Martin asked Dr. Varbozo

“We'll keep her in ICU for observation for a couple of days. It's just a formality, but when ever we operate on a heart or brain, we like to keep a close watch on our patients. After a day or so, and she is showing good recovery signs, we'll move her to med/surg room where she will stay another day or so, then you can take her home.”

“How long until I can get back on the cheer squad?” Erika asked.

“That will have to depend upon your recovery. Three weeks maybe at the soonest?” Dr. Varbozo smiled.

When will we start to see the results of the tumor being removed?” Mrs. Martin asked.

“The body will be in a bit of shock from the surgery, but it won't be too long before the brain will start to work at a more normal level.”

“What about hormone blockers?” Erika asked. “Dr. Lipdick said that I could take hormone blockers to prevent me from going through male puberty.

“I'll let you work that out with Dr. Lipdick, Erika, but for the first month or so after surgery, I advise that your body heal its self. We need to run some tests and make sure that surgery was successful, so I recommend that you hold off on taking your hormone blockers until we can see a posative result of our work.”

“But I don't want to go through male puberty.” Erika whined. “I'm trying to transition, and the more testosterone I produce the harder it will be for me to reverse if at all, when I start my HRT.”

“I'm sorry.” Dr. Varbozo stated, “But we need to make sure that the surgery was successful. It will only be a month or two.” he looked from Erika to her mother then back. “You'll have to talk this over with Dr. Lipdick.”

Erika was suddenly scared. Maybe she should call the whole surgery thing off. Everything that she has been working for could be undone with this surgery.

“Will she need to be awake during the surgery?” Mrs. Martin inquired.

“No. she will be sedated. Because we are going through her sinus cavity, we will have a very direct route to the tumor. We won't be disrupting very much brain tissue at all.”

“I won't lose my memory or forget how to talk or walk will I?” Erika asked. Her mind was still very much on the hormone issue, but coming out of surgery a vegetable was always a fear.

“The likelyhood of anything like that happening is almost nil.” Dr. Varbozo assured. He wrote something down in a file and smiled up at the two of them. “I'll have you go see my receptionist and we will schedule you for the day after Thanksgiving. Okay?”

Erika was numb.

“Okay. Then I'll also have you see our Anesthisiologist to go through his questions.” Dr. Varbozo stood up and escorted them out to his receptionist and bid them farewell.

“What's the matter?” Erika's mother asked as they got into the car.

“I don't want to go through puberty.” she said. “I was told that I could take blockers to keep from growing chest hair or my voice changing.”

“Are you sure you don't want to try things out as a boy again?” her mother asked without any malice in her voice.

“Don't start that again mom.”

“I was just asking.” She stated, “I'm sure Dr. Varbozo will let you take the blockers in a short while.”

“I hope so. I really don't want to go through that kind of puberty.”

“After I talked to your grandmother about what you are doing, she said she wanted new family pictures, so I'll be making an appointment to have them done in the next few days.”

“What did she say when you told her?” Erika asked uncertain if she really wanted to know.

“She had a lot of questions.” her mother told her. “A lot of questions that I didn't have the answers to.”

“She didn't freak?”

“She is concerned.”

“Concerned?”

“Like me, she is concerned for your safety as well as your future.”

“What about my safety?” Erika asked.

“If the wrong people find out about your. . . . change. They could hurt you physically as well as mentaly.”

“I'm well aware of what they could do.” Erika grumbled. “I've lived with it for the past couple of years as 'The Plague'.”

“They could also do things to your father and to me.” her mother stated.

“What could they do to you?” Erika asked.

“There are lunatics who could slash our tires, humiliate us in public, not allow us to shop at their stores. . . . People out there have been run off the road for just being gay, imagine what could happen if they found out that you were a boy? . . . Your father could lose his job, They might even fire bomb our house.”

“Where are you getting these ideas?” Erika was horrified.

“They are all over the place, in the news, on the net. As sophisticated as we, as a nation, like to think of our selves, we are slobbering buffoons.”

“Well, as a boy, I have already experienced a lot of those things, Mom. I don't want to experience them again, but I can and have handled them in the past.”

Her mother was quiet for a long minute. “I don't know if I can, Erika.” I have friends here in this community. I have a life here. It's bad enough that I haven't told them what has been happening. They have been questioning, but I have been vague with what is going on. . . . This isn't easy for me.”

“Why would Dad, lose his job because of me changing genders?”

“People in high places of power can have strange ideas, or phobias. If they feel that your father is an immoral person because his biological son wants to change gender, then they could make up a reason to be rid of him.

“That's just stupid.” Erika scoffed.

“It doesn't matter if it is stupid or not. It is how our society is, and a possablity of can happen.” her mother stated. “Your father loves you very much. He will do anything for you, even if it would cost him his job, his livelyhood.”

“Does Dad's boss know?” Erika asked.

“Not that I know of. . . yet. But, like with me, people are starting to ask questions, and I'm not sure what to tell them.”

“Your son is a fairie cross dresser isn't much to brag about, huh.” Erika stated.

“I love you, Eric.” she used his real name, “I just don't know how to handle this .”

“One day at a time, like me.” Erika sighed.

“Anyway,” her mother went on, “Your grandmother says since you are choosing this path that she wants pictures of her granddaughter to replace the pictures of her lost grandson.”

“I didn't die.”

“In a way you have. I had a son for fifteen years. Your grandmother had a grandson for fifteen years, now we have to change everything to having a new daughter, a new grand daughter. It's not just how we think of you or treat you, it is also pictures of you, how we talk about you to friends and family who have already known you as a boy. It's not like we can just tell them, 'My son decided that he is a girl'. People just don't understand that.”

“Where are we going?” Erika asked.

“Well, since your school is about to let out for the day, I thought we would stop and get some groceries. The cupboards are bare.”

“I need to go to cheer practice.” Erika reminded.

“I'll drop you off on the way home.”

“But I can't miss practice, they are starting to get ready for competition.”

“You'll be missing quite a lot of practice in the next few weeks.”

“I know.” Erika's voice dropped in sadness.

“If you are going to be a girl, then you'll need to learn to shop.” her mom parked the car.

“Is this something I have to learn right now?”

“I need to get groceries and I don't want to be driving back and forth all day. This is on the way to your school and then I can go home.”

“Fine.” Erika got out of the car. She grabbed a cart as they entered the store and began following her mom around.

“Store's are set up to psychologically make you buy.” her mother told her. “Have you ever noticed that most stores put their produce up front where you enter?”

Erika nodded.

“The bright colors and freshness entice you to buy food items that you don't always eat.” She lectured. “Look how the bakery is situated near the check out.”

Erika followed her gaze.

“The smell fills the store making you hungry. But is stronger near the end of your shopping visit. You've been smelling the fresh baked bread or cinnamon rolls for so long that by the time you are ready to leave, you decide to add those to your cart.”

“And I need to know this, why?” Erika rolled her eyes.

“So you don't over pay at the grocery store.” her mom told her. “Oh, and never go shopping when you are hungry. That is one of the most important rules.”

“Because?”

“When you are hungry, all food sounds good so you end up buying more than you planned on.”

She followed her mom down to the end of one of the isles.

“See the big sign on this end display?” her mom asked.

“Yes.”

“This looks like a good sale, doesn't it.”

“I guess.”

“Well, it isn't. This is the normal price, but because of it's location and the big sign, people think it is on sale.”

“That's sneaky.”

Her mother froze in place. “Quick, lets go down this isle.”

“Why?”

“I just saw Cathy.”

“Who?”

“Cathy, from the neighborhood.”

“So.”

“So, she knows you as the little boy who played with her daughter, Stephanie.”
“The creepy cat lady?” Erika asked.

“She isn't creepy.”

“She's got like forty cats.” Erika stated. “That is creepy.”

“Is that you, Nancy Martin?” Cathy smiled as she came down the isle.

“Oh, Hi.” Erika's mom greeted.

“Hello. It has been a long time since we have seen one another. I'd almost think that you are avoiding me.”

“Don't be silly, Cathy.” Erika's mom said, “We've just been busy.”

“I haven't seen your son around since last spring. Stephanie says that he was seen at the mall last September. I guess someone pulled a prank and pushed him into a fountain? What has he been up too?” She asked.

Erika blanched at the reminder of the fountain day.

“He's staying with his grandmother right now.” Erika's mother lied. “Have you met my, um, my niece?”

Cathy looked past Erika's mother and looked her up and down. “Heavens, this is your niece?” she asked in disbelief. “I'd have thought she was your younger sister. My she looks a lot like Eric, but so beautiful. Hi, I'm the Nancy's neighbor, Cathy.”

“Pleased to meet you, Cathy.” Erika dipped a small curtsy like Tricia had taught her. “My name is Erika Summers.”

“Oh, another Eric like name. Does it get confusing keeping the two of you straight?” She asked.

“Sometimes.” Erika assured her with honesty.

“Are you staying with your Aunt Nancy?”

“Yes, for the school year. My parents are going through some stuff.” Erika couldn't believe she had just lied like that. What was her mother going to think?

“I should introduce you to my daughter Stephanie.” Cathy smiled. “You two could do some scrap booking together.”

Scrap booking? Really? Erika thought. Then she realized who Stephanie was. Erika choked back a groan, and forced a smile.

“It was nice seeing you Cathy.” Erika's mom smiled. “We have a lot to do and little time to do it in.”

“Of course, of course.” Cathy grinned. “I've got to get some Fri skies for my Charles. He is just so picky about what he eats. You know how cats are.”

Erika waved and turned away to keep from embarrassing herself and her mother. Stephanie was a girl that was too weird for anyone to pick on. She wore handmade dresses with ruffles that usually had cats or kittens somewhere included in it's design. She wore her long dark hair in two braids that she pinned up in a circle on the back of her head and usually had her nose in book. If it wasn't books by long dead authors such as Dickens it was cheesy romance. She was in a world of her own, very much like her mothers.

“Oh, she is just strange.” Erika's mother muttered after they had turned into a different isle.

“Creepy.” Erika stated.

“Okay, Creepy. I don't remember her being that creepy before.”

“Oh it has gotten a lot worse after her husband left them.”

Erika's mother shuddered.

“Don't you dare make me go scrap booking with Stephanie.” Erika warned. “I've worked hard to get out of 'the plague' stigma. I don't need to get thrown back into it by being seen with Stephanie.”

“I don't know, Scrap booking would be something you could do while you are recovering in the hospital.” Her mother grinned.

“I'm going to be too busy playing on my computer, watching unlimited cable, and sleeping.” Erika gave her mother a stern look.

“Oh, look here.” Erika's mother pointed to a display of food items. See what the sign says?”

“Three for five.” Erika stated.

“So how much are they apiece?”

“I don't know.”

“Precisely.” her mother smiled. “Most shoppers are too lazy to do the math in their head, so they think they are getting a sale, when In actuality they are paying more.” her mother stated. “Three for five means that each item is a dollar sixty-six each.” She peeled the sales sticker up revealing a price label underneath.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Erika hissed.

“Look.” her mother stepped back to allow Erika to look. “The original price is a dollar fifty, so this sale means that you are paying eleven cents more per item.”

“Its only eleven cents, mom.” Erika rolled her eyes.

“Those eleven cents add up to twenty to thirty dollars by the time you leave the store.”

Erika was surprised. “that much?”

“How do you think I can afford some of my clothes or getting my hair done?” She smiled. “I save here in the store and use that money for extras.”

“So how do you know if something is really a sale or not?”

“After shopping for a while you tend to remember what prices things are and you go from there.

“Can we hurry up? I'd like to get to practice.” Erika sighed.

“Okay, okay.” her mother nodded.

--o0o--

“There you are.” Tricia greeted her as she entered the gym.

“Why are you here?” Erika asked.

“I want to be with you.” Tricia's hand found the back of Erika's nape and pulled her lips to her for a kiss.

“I'm just trying to learn the new routines and painting signs for this weeks game.”

“I know.” Tricia smiled. “have you checked your email lately?”

“No, Why?”

“Matt, from camp is coming with his school's team to be at this game.”

“Yeah?”

Tricia nodded. “I think he wants to get together after the game. I think he still has a crush on you.”

“Great.” Erika rolled her eyes.

“How did the Doctor's appointment go?”

“The surgeon wants to do surgery the day after Thanksgiving.”

“That soon?”

Erika nodded.

“Hi Erika?” Taylor greeted, a bit winded from dancing.

“Hi.”

“I've got a bunch of paper and poster boards over in the corner there for you.” She took a deep breath. “I figured you can watch us as we learn this new dance.”

“Thanks. Is it okay if Tricia helps?”

“Sure.”

“I've got a date for surgery.” Erika blurted out.

“Oh?” Taylor raised an eyebrow.

“Thanksgiving weekend.”

“How long will you be out?”

“They say it'll be a couple of weeks to a month before I can dance. Is that okay?”

“We'll see how fast you can learn the routine.” She bit her bottom lip. “It doesn't leave a whole lot of time.”

“I'll understand if I can't do it.” Erika voice cracked a bit.

Taylor stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Erika. “I'm just glad you are going to be getting better.”

“Thanks.”

Erika and Tricia went to work on the posters. Erika roughed in a design and Tricia colored in the stuff that needed color.

“You sure you don't know 'the Plague', Eric Martin?” Taylor asked standing over the two of them.

Erika nearly jumped out of her skin.

To be continued. . .