Page 62 of Quake

On my way, need me to pick anything up?

“You guys need anything? Jade’s on her way over.”

“Nope, I think we have a sufficient spread,” Kira says, taking in my kitchen counter covered in trays of food.

“Yeah, just tell her to drive safe, please.”

I nod, doing just that.

Twenty minutes later, Jade’s at the door. “Hey, sorry I was late. I can’t ever seem to get out of that place on time.” She groans.

“It’s totally fine,” I tell her, grabbing her duffle bag and setting it in the guest room where she and Mads will be staying tonight.

“Hey, Jade!” Madison shouts, patting the seat beside her. “Come sit with me.”

Once we’re all seated on the couch, the venting begins.

“Alright, Jade, you start first since you got here last.”

She lets out a huff. “Well, you know how I keep saying that there’s a strange number of transphobic people working at my hospital? You know, considering we’re literally a hospital for queer healthcare? Like, Iliterallywork in gender-affirming surgery.”

We all nod, worried about where this is going. Over the years, we’ve heard a lot about the downright fucked-up things some of Jade’s coworkers say about patients.

“Well, today, the anesthesiologist on one of my cases said, ‘Why the fuck would you want to cut off your dick? I’d rather kill myself!’”

I suck in a breath. “Jesus Christ, Jade. Is he usually part of your care team there, or have you not worked with him before?”

“Well, the surgeries aren’t done at our facility. They’re done at the hospital. The surgeon basically just rents the OR for these surgeries, and the anesthesiologist comes with. But it doesn’t matter what the surgery is for. Respect the fact that these patients are putting their literal lives in your hands and trusting you to respect them while they’re out!”

“I’m so sorry, Jade. That’s horrendous. Really, truly fucking despicable,” Madison says, shaking her head.

“I can’t even imagine how difficult that must be for you, Jade, just in general because you care about your patients but also as someone who’s endured this transphobic behavior firsthand,” Kira tells her.

“It’s terrifying, honestly. Aside from the lengthy recovery time and the cost, it’s comments like those that make me so damn worried about my own bottom surgery.”

My heart clenches at the way her voice breaks. I worry about this all the time. I want her to be happy in her own body and recognize herself when she looks in the mirror. But the more I hear about how casually people seem to throw around transphobic commentary, even in a place that’s supposed to be accepting and safe, the more it terrifies me to think of her as one of those patients. “Your surgery is with Dr. Delgado, right?”

“Yes, she normally wouldn’t agree to perform surgery on a member of her own staff, but she understands my concerns. I’m just too scared to go in there without knowing anyone, so I’m incredibly thankful that she’s willing to do this for me.”

“Does that mean you guys have set an official surgery date?” Kira asks excitedly, trying to brighten the mood a tad.

“Yep, six more months! Dr. Delgado has a vacation lined up then, so we agreed to do it a couple of weeks before so that some of my downtime could overlap with her vacation.”

“That’s amazing, Jade! Let me know the official timeline, and I’ll take a week off to stay with you and nurse you back to health,” I tell her.

“I’ll take the week after her,” Madison jumps in.

“And I’ll take the week after that.” Kira chuckles. “By then, you hopefully won’t need as much actual ‘nursing’ help because, as we all know, I am essentially useless in that department.”

“Don’t we know it?” I roll my eyes, thinking of the time I tripped and scraped my knee. Kira ran over to help me up but passed out when she saw the blood. Not much has changed in the last decade.

“Alright, Madison next,” I say, laughing.

“I don’t have a whole lot to share or bitch about, honestly. The kids are all back in school, and it’s warmingup outside, so we don’t have as many people coming into the library to stay warm or keep their kids occupied. Overall, things are pretty quiet,” she explains.

“Quiet is good! It might sound boring, but it’s good, I think,” Kira tells her.

“Agreed. I wish I had more quiet time.” I groan.

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