Another Day, Another Doctor

Dylan shuffled her tired feet across the wooden floor of the living room to her bedroom and crumpled onto her mattress, burying her face into her pillows with a moan. She soon felt four small feet walking along her back and heard loud purring.

“Hello, Frank,” mumbled Dylan to her tuxedo cat. She was answered with a chirp and kneading through her scrubs. Without looking up, she used her feet to kick off her shoes and peel off her socks.

“Hey,” said a male voice from her doorway. She turned her head to see Isaac, her roommate, entering her room while eating from a box of cereal and wearing a gaming headset. “Before you lose your pants, I thought I’d let you know I’m having a couple friends over tonight.”

“Damn it,” she groaned. “I’m still losing my bra, though.” When his face crinkled into a smirk, squinting his almond-shaped dark eyes, she told him, “Don’t smile too big or you’ll go blind.” He threw a chip at her, which she promptly ate. “Thank you!”

“Yeah, you would be wanting a handout, Tonto.” He tugged on her long black braid.

“Okay, Bruce Lee.”

He tossed her hair over her face. “Bruce Lee wasn’t even Korean,” he corrected her.

“Well, Tonto wasn’t a Comanche,” she shot back.

“Fair enough,” he agreed. He looked at her a little harder and asked in a more serious tone, “Long day?”

“…something like that.” In truth, it felt as though someone was grabbing a hold of her uterus and wringing it out like a wet rag, and she was trying her best to not vomit.

Isaac took off his headset and sat on the edge of the bed, shoving a rather offended Frank away from the box of cereal. “What did the doctor say?”

“I’m getting referred to a specialist a few towns over because I refused hormones. Again.”

He laid down to look her in the eye. “When are we going?”

Unable to look him straight on, Dylan buried her face in her pillow. She didn’t know if the tears were coming from the physical pain or the frustration and mental exhaustion, and she didn’t care. She was so tired of feeling this way. She couldn’t stop the sob that erupted as she replied, “Three days.”

“Let it out, Tonto,” Isaac told her, patting her back. “I’ve actually got Thursday off, so we’re set.” He continued talking to her about going to the pet store and the book store while they were in town until his roommate fell asleep with her cat purring next to her head. He threw her Ninja Turtles blanket over her and went back to playing his games in his room.