“Carl?” I asked with surprise. Carl was one our neighbors. He lived down the hall from us. I recovered from
my surprise and said, “Hi, what’s up?”
“Oh, good to see you, Joe,” he answered. “I’m actually looking for Rachel. Have you seen her?”
“I’m right here,” Rachel called from her spot on the couch.
“Oh, thank God,” Carl said. He walked into the room without me asking him in. That was OK, however. Carl
was a nice guy. He was the same age as Rachel. In fact, I think they graduated from the same high school in
the same year. Carl was best described as over-excitable, overweight, and overly gay. I don’t mean that in a
negative way at all. Carl was someone who made no attempts to hide the fact that he was gay, but if you
engaged him in small talk he would also go out of his way to remind you he was gay. I sometimes wondered if
he had to hide who he was in high school and this was his way of compensating. But enough amateur psychology
from me.
“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked him as she got off the couch to meet him.
“I wanted to make sure you were OK,” he said. “I heard the commotion yesterday and called the cops. Did that
bastard hurt you?”
“Huh?” asked Pam from the couch.
“Tell you later,” I said to her.
Carl kept his focus on Rachel and waited for an answer. “Well…yea, a little,” she answered him.
“At least you’re not marked up,” he said. “Or did he hit you somewhere else?”
“No, no, no,” Rachel assured. “He wasn’t able to do much before the cops showed up. I knew someone must have
heard what happened and called them. I’m happy to know it was you.” She gave him a big hug, which he
returned. Then she pulled back from him in shock. “Carl…are you OK?”
“Oh, God, you’ve noticed,” he said. “It’s this damn change that’s going to happen.”
Carl didn’t sound too happy about the change. I had to know why. “You don’t sound thrilled about it,” I
said.
“To be honest, Joe, I wasn’t,” he said. “Think about it. I’m gay, so why would I want to be a woman? Since
I heard the news, though, I’ve noticed some things changing.”
“You’re losing weight, aren’t you?” asked Rachel.
“I am!” he exclaimed. “Look at this, I’m wearing sweatpants. I don’t wear these outside my apartment ever.
None of my regular pants fit anymore, even with a belt!”
“So how much weight have you lost?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t know for sure because I haven’t weighed myself in a while,” he said. “Last time I did I was at 305.
Now I’m at 260!” His voice kept cracking slightly as he spoke. That was normal for him, but I thought his
voice sounded a bit higher than normal. “So how are you taking all this, Joe?”
I shrugged. “OK, I guess,” I said. “Rachel’s here, my sister’s here, my brother is coming over, we’re going
to try and just have fun while this happens.”
“That’s good to hear,” he said. “I’m just glad to know Rachel’s OK.”
“Again, I can’t thank you enough for calling the police,” Rachel said. “In fact, why don’t you join us
today?”
“Oh, I don’t want to impose,” he said.
“Not a problem,” Rachel said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to eat and drink, we’re going to do some stuff later,
it’ll be fun. I hate to think of you cooped up in your apartment while all of this stuff happens.”
She looked at me in such a way that I knew what she wanted me to do. “Yea, come on over,” I agreed. “You, me
and my brother can go through this thing together.”
Carl thought for a minute. Then he smiled. “Sure, why not,” he said. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be
back. I’ll bring some stuff, too.”
“The more the merrier!” said Rachel.
“OK, see you in a few,” Carl said. He walked back into the hallway but did not close the door behind him. I
sighed a little and did so myself.
“You’re not mad at me for that, are you?” asked Rachel.
“No,” I said. “It’s just…”
“That’s your neighbor?” Pam interrupted. “He’s got issues.”
“That,” I finished my sentence as I pointed at my sister. “A gay man and a man-hating lesbian. Sparks will
fly.”
“Huh,” scoffed Pam. “I do not hate men. I just dislike them.” We all gave her and odd look. “What does it
matter? There won’t be any men soon enough. He’s the one who has to change.”
“Yes, and it will be much more difficult for him,” said Joyce. “What if all women were going to become men?
You’d have the same adjustment to make that he does.”
“Just be nice,” I said to Pam before she could try to protest any further. “Be an adult, which you’re
constantly telling me you are.”
“Hmph,” was the only response Pam had to that.
Now there was another knock on the door. “That was quick for Carl,” I remarked to Rachel as I moved to open
the door. But it wasn’t Carl at the door, it was…