Abrupt Change (Gender Change Syndrome)

Troubles at the Restaurant

Original Story by Lajien

Edited by Julia Miller

“Mrs. Houston,” Nancy called to Heather while waiting for their food to arrive. Oliver wanted to ask something but was too shy to ask himself, so Nancy had to help him.

“Oliver wanted to ask if Ryan could stay over at our house tomorrow, we have already asked Conor’s mom, and she agreed,” Nancy said, looking at Ryan, who looked at his mom with his big blue eyes.

Looking into Ryan’s eyes, Heather was sure that if she was going to refuse (which was not the case here), she couldn’t say no now. How could she say no to these big cute, blue, begging puppy eyes?

“Of course, he can. I don’t see why not,” Heather said, much to Ryan’s joy. Heather was comfortable with Ryan staying at the Collins’ house. The Collins’ house is just a 5-minute walk from their house, and she knew the Collins very well. She knew that the Collins would take good care of her, Ryan.
 
They talked for a bit while waiting for the food. Nancy’s mom talked about the plan for tomorrow with Heather. Erwin and Jeff spoke about sports, while the kids mainly talked about cars.

Ryan was a speed demon, and the essential requirement in a car was how fast it would go. George wanted a motorcycle but knew his mom wouldn’t be on board with that idea. On the other hand, Nancy said she imagined herself riding as a passenger, with her arms wrapped around George. Her statement made Oliver laugh, and Nancy tried to swat him.
 
The waiter came with the food placing two plates in front of everyone. On one plate was something very long and thin. It seemed to Ryan that some kind of meat was on the plate. Beside this, was something that looked like small pieces of meat with some parsley sprinkled around the plate. The other plate had what looked like green leaves stuffed with something,  with a lemon wedge on the side of the platter. The waiter placed two big salad bowls in the middle of the table. In front of everyone, they set a small bowl with a strange-looking bright brown sauce. He then placed a few small baskets full of bread and left. Ryan just stared at the food, not knowing what was in front of him or how he should eat it.

Jeff began to explain to everyone how to eat dinner. He had ordered three dishes for everyone, Kofta, Kebab, and Stuffed Grape Leaves. There was also salad and bread, but that needed no explanation. All eyes were on Jeff since he was the only one who knew how to eat this food.

Jeff took his knife and fork, cutting a piece of what Ryan now knew as Kofta before dipping it in what Jeff called Tahini sauce. Seeing this, everyone started copying Jeff. Ryan moaned as the piece of Kofta entered his mouth. It tasted exquisite. Enjoying the taste, Ryan and the others started eating the food, amazed that they had never tasted anything like it. Jeff also told them to squeeze the lemon wedge over the stuffed grape leaves. Everyone enjoyed this new experience in food, and everything tasted delicious.
 
When they had finished eating, in Middle Eastern tradition, the waiter came and asked them if they wanted any drinks. The waiter was a boy who looked to be around 16 or 17.
 
George couldn’t help but see that the waiter was checking Nancy out and didn’t like that. George, however, tried not to glare at him. Ryan didn’t miss this. For a 10-year-old, he didn’t miss anything.
 
By the time the waiter left, Ryan had begun to feel cramps in his stomach. He hated it when this happened. It started around a year ago, but it’s almost routine when his sensitive stomach wakes him up at night. He told himself that as much as he loved the food, he won’t be able to eat here a lot. He knew that tonight would be a restless night.
 
“Mom, I am going to the restroom,” Ryan said.

The uneasy expression on her baby’s face was evident to her. She felt bad for Ryan, but she could do nothing as his stomach had been very sensitive for a while. It also didn’t help him to have such an extreme appetite for food. That’s why her children had more energy to use while playing sports.