The procedure was scheduled and David started to feel a touch of relief for the first time since the operation. He still spent most of his time alone in Mariah's bedroom—his bedroom, now. He was still disgusted by his body but was starting to get used to it.
"Once the breasts are smaller I might be able to exercise more," he admitted to Mariah. "And then maybe I can lose some weight and start to feel like myself again. I mean, it'll always be weird to be a girl, but I think I'll start to feel okay again." He was tearing up a little bit. "I was almost getting scared that they weren't going to schedule it. They kept saying I should love having big breasts, that I owed it to my future boyfriends, all that crazy shit." David grinned. "What's wrong with them?"
Mariah, in David's old body, grinned and patted him on the back. "Yeah, those big boobs were such a pain. I'm glad I don't have to think about them or feel them anymore."
The day of the operation arrived. David, in a moment of horniness, took a photo of his breasts, glad to think he'd never see them again.
As he arrived at the hospital, everyone was oddly quiet.
"Mariah," said the doctor. "You're absolutely sure you want a breast reduction? You cannot go back, you know. We expect you'll regret it."
David teared up again. Why couldn't this body stop crying? He felt like a lunatic.
"I'm fucking sure! What's wrong with you? Just let me have this! You people ruined my life!" He was yelling at his parents too, now, and sounded like a hysterical teenage girl.
"Mariah..."
David heard the sinister tone in the doctor's voice. "What?!" he whispered, hoping this humiliation would finally stop.
"Mariah, we thought you would've backed out of this before now. We didn't want to tell you."
David's family was staring at the floor, uncomfortably.
"You can't get a breast reduction, Mariah. We looked into the mind-transplant surgery you previously experienced. We are very uncomfortable with the thought of any voluntary surgery."
David sputtered. "V-voluntary?"
"We've discussed this as a panel. What happened to you... You're simply not eligible. You should be avoiding any surgery at all. It's honestly a miracle that you're alive. You don't need cosmetic operations. Anyway, your future boyfriend will thank you." The doctor scurried off.
David's face fell as the horror of what he was hearing fell upon him. His new freedom would never happen. His huge, heavy breasts... He would have them on his chest for the rest of his life.