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Show 99 listening to the cafe sounds of James Taylor mixing with the occasional clinking of a table being bused. One night, as the caffeine fidgeting started and I thought we were ready to leave a tip and walk back home, Chris swerved away from my contention that Star Wars would have been better if Vader hadn't taken off his helmet and had instead lived to rejoin the Jedi council, helmet and all, and asked me what I knew about gender dysphoria. The answer was nothing, but since the question wasn't about Star Wars or what I thought Chris should do about some girl he was trying to sleep with, I didn't even say that. I just looked at my speckled mug half-full of overstirred coffee that was starting to acquire the look and texture of grease in the 2 AM diner light. I stirred it some more, as if that was a response. "Well, basically it's the feeling that you were bom in the wrong body, if that makes sense," he said. "Does it?" "You know Vader-" "Gender-wise." "Right." "Anyway.. .this will probably be weird. And if you aren't cool with it, that's fine, I understand. But I feel like you should know. I feel like that. And I think I'm ready to change. I'm going to." "How?" "Well, lots of ways. Every way." More stirring. |