Mom politely asked Akiko to leave the room shortly after she arrived so that she and I could have some privacy. I had just finished telling her about my unconventional interview at Bridge Financial.
Mom was not pleased with how I was justifying my decision, and she made her feelings known. "I understand you're desperate for work, Holly, but this seems unnecessary. You're exposing yourself to a whole new set of issues that only women face, such as sexism, misogyny, and everything else women face on a daily basis." Sitting on the edge of Akiko’s desk, Mom continued, "That's not to mention the fact that if you're intimate with a man, you run the risk of getting pregnant.”
"I'm well aware of what I'm getting myself into, Mom; I have female friends, and I know what they have to deal with." I paused before continuing, "And you don't have to worry about me getting pregnant because, as I told Akiko, I'm not having sex with a guy."
"You may think that now, but who knows how you'll feel later?" Mom briefly closed her eyes before continuing, "I think I managed to make it about two months before I finally surrendered and had sex with a football player in the back of his car."
I was barely able to keep from retching. "God, Mom, the last thing I want to hear about right now is a story of the first time you had sex."
"On the contrary, Holly; that wasn't my first time having sex." Mom continued, leaning in closer with a shit-eating grin, "That was just my first time having sex as a girl."
It took me nearly ten seconds to figure out what Mom was saying. "Wait, what are you saying?"
Mom motioned for me to follow her down the hall as she stood up from Akiko's desk. She walked into what I assumed was her office, which was much bigger than Akiko's, closed the door, and walked over to a framed picture on the wall. "I had hoped I would never have to tell you this, but I used to be the boy in that photo," she said as she handed me the photo.
I examined the photograph carefully, which showed a young Latino boy who couldn't have been older than 16 years old. His clothes were filthy, and he appeared to be on an unnamed filthy street. It wasn't until I noticed the Christ the Redeemer statue in the background that I realized the boy was in Rio de Janeiro.
"There's no way that boy is you," I said, shifting my gaze from the boy in the photo to the woman in front of me.
"I swear to you, Holly, that boy is the person I used to be." Mom sat on her desk, took the photo from me, and said, "My name was Pablo back then, and I was a street child living on the streets of Rio. My parents were murdered when I was nine years old, leaving me orphaned and forced to live on the streets."
I sat in one of Mom's office chairs; if I hadn't been so engrossed in her story, I would have noticed I'd crossed my legs like a lady. "Does everyone who works here have such a tragic backstory?"
"No, I'm afraid it's just Akiko and me." Mom took a deep breath and said, "I spent the majority of my childhood with a small group of other street kids, doing what we could to survive. I was sure I wouldn't live past my 18th birthday until a group of nuns from a nearby convent approached me. It seems that some American scientists were searching for some kids to use in a medical experiment."
"I thought it was illegal to experiment on people?"
"Normally, it would be, but this particular situation was open to interpretation. The Radeon scientists wanted to inject me and the others with nanites to alter our appearance. I wasn't thrilled about becoming a 15-year-old girl until they told me I'd also get a new family."
"So wait," I said as I leaned in closer. "Aren't Nana and Grandpa your real parents?"
"They are and aren't; Nana didn't give birth to me, but I am still their biological daughter." Mom said, wiping away tears, "They were there for me every step of the way, from more tests than I could count to the final procedure. By the end of it all, I considered them to be my parents, and they considered me to be their daughter."
This was a lot of information for me to process. "So, if I understand correctly, you used to be a boy living in Buenos Aires, but now you're a flesh and blood woman?"
"That's right," Mom said with a smile. "I occasionally miss my old life, but after spending the last 35 years in this form, I can't deny that I'm an All-American girl."
"Does Dad know?"
"Please; I love your father more than anything, but he's not mature enough to handle the truth," Mom laughed, before turning to face me and saying, "He's going to have a hard time dealing with you, Holly."
I stood up and gave Mom a long look before responding, "Maybe now is the time to tell him, Mom. He is entitled to know the truth."
Mom looked at me in silence for a moment. "You're right, Holly; he deserves to know. I'll tell him tonight, after you finish explaining why his son has become a woman."
"About that," I said as I cleared my throat. "Shouldn't we just get this over with? As strange as this situation is, I'm kind of excited to become a woman."
"All right," Mom said as she rose from her desk. "I'll take you down to the procedure room.”
I followed Mom down another set of hallways to a small room that resembled a hospital operating room, with an examination table in the center and monitors on the walls. A young man sat in front of a computer. He appeared to be only a few years older than me.
Mom said, pointing to a nearby privacy curtain, "Why don't you take a shower? A hospital gown can be found on the counter."
I quietly followed Mom's instructions and stepped out a few minutes later wearing the gown. "So what happens now?" I asked, taking a seat on the examination table.
Mom motioned to the young man, who was holding a syringe in his right hand. "This young man is going to inject you with specially designed nanites as well as a sedative to knock you out so you can undergo the transformation."
The young man said nothing as he jabbed me with a syringe; I became drowsy immediately. "Your physical transformation should only take a few minutes," Mom said as the man stepped away.
"Really? That's not very long."
"Holly, those are just the physical changes. After that, we'll retrain your mind to think like a woman."
"How will I know when the changes begin?" I wondered, becoming increasingly drowsy.
"They already have," Mom said, looking down at my chest. "Your breasts have already begun to form."
I looked down and saw two tiny orbs pushing up against the gown. The last thing I said before falling asleep was, "This job better be worth it."
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