Not Sure If You're A Boy or A Girl~ Reddie

Epilouge

Eddie's eyes sprung open to the disturbingly blunt beep of his alarm clock. The sun filtered in through his bedroom window painting the walls in colour. A smile graced his lips as he slowly remembered what today was.
Today's was the day.
The kitchen of he and Richie's small studio apartment was thick with the smell of pancakes and hazelnut coffee.
Richie sang along to Dexy and the Midnight Runner's Come on Eileen, back to his boyfriend. He flipped a golden brown disc littered with blue splotches, feeling a great sense of pride as it sizzled in the buttery pan.
"Morning."
Eddie spoke softly as he filled a nearby cup with coffee. It was his mug. The one that read, "World's Greatest Grandpa' with a picture of an old moustached man sitting in a recliner. He and Rich had found it at the thrift shop in Queens when they were first moved to the city. Richie insisted on buying it for Eddie, explaining that even at sixteen Eddie was very much an old crotchety man. It was all of twenty five cents. A small price to pay for the grin it brought to Richie's cheeks every time he caught Eddie grasping it in his hand.
"Morning spaghettishine, hope you're hungry."
A large stack of pancakes appeared on the table along with a kiss and the scratch of Rich's stubbly cheek.
Eddie guffawed at the hearty breakfast, "You know I can't eat before the surgery."
"Duh, dude. That's for me. This is yours."
Another plate was placed in front of him. The same diameter, but with pancake the size of a quarter in the middle. It had one lone blueberry roughly in the center.
"I won't tell if you don't." Richie winked, taking his seat on the other end of the table.
"And if I aspirate on the table? The
Anaesthesiologist was pretty clear I couldn't have anything to eat before the procedure. Are you trying to kill me, Rich?"
Eddie's words would've seemed harsh if his tone wasn't so loving.
Richie rolled his eyes, "I know you're studying to be Mr. Kaspbrak RN but at the moment you're a lab tech. Eat the minuscule pancake, dear."

Eddie wasn't sure what was more torturous, eating a tiny pancake and nothing else or watching his boyfriend eat two entire stacks of gluten in five minutes flat. Either way as he sat in the same day surgery waiting room, his knee was bouncing at a concerning speed. Richie's pale hand grabbed his thigh with a light squeeze.
Hospitals had always meant dread for Eddie as a child. His mother had made him a frequent flyer and they'd always seemed to come home with a new array of pills to cloud his head and weaken his body. But for the past three years Mount Saini Hospital had been where he spent fourty plus hours of his time. He spent his days collecting and spinning down blood samples. And when it became clear that he and Richie wouldn't be able to support themselves on a phlebotomist and bar tender's salaries he decided to go back to school for his RN. This decision was fully supported financially by Wentworth who was overjoyed despite the disappointment in his own Son's dreams of being a stand up comedian. Not that it hindered his attendance at Richie's shows at hole in the wall clubs, like the one he was currently employed.
"Bev called the last night after you fell out. She wanted to know if you'll recover in time to make it back home for her and Ben's engagement party. Told her we'd be there with bells on."
Eddie nodded, trying to pay attention to what Richie had said. It proved a difficult task.
He had wanted this moment for so long. He was finally here, getting the double mastectomy that would free him of his biological sex. No more compression bras. No more lights off in the shower or shirts on during sex. But with feet planted on the drab army green carpet and eyes glued to sterile white walls he could feel the anxiety biting at his fingers.
What if something went wrong? What if the anaesthetic didn't work? What if he woke up during the surgery? Or the surgery left him with hideous scars? Hospitals were teaming with bacteria. Antibiotic resistant super bugs. What if he got MRSA or C. Diff? He squirmed at the thought of the liquidy stool samples that came down to microbiology.
"It'll be fun I think. I can finally catch up with your Mom once we're back in town," Richie carries on in an effort to distract his boyfriend, "give her the old-"
"Kaspbrak?"
A middle aged man in baby blue scrubs led them back to bay 12. The empty hall alerted Eddie to the fact he was probably the first surgery of the day.
The work went quickly. He gowned up. Had an IV placed. Labs drawn. Daunting questions he'd already answered a million times were asked.
"So this is a preventative mastectomy due to a extensive family history of breast cancer and a positive BRCA gene result."
"Yes."
When the test came back positive Richie and Eddie had two very different reactions. They had met with Dr. King months ago. Word around the street had been that he was sympathetic to Trans issues and would try and get insurance companies to cover transition related surgeries. Richie had a buddy at work who had just gone through a mastectomy himself. If you had a family history or were susceptible to breast cancer the insurance companies had to pay for preventive measures. Eddie was ecstatic at the result. It seemed only fair if he wanted to get rid of his breasts that they had plans to kill him too. Richie was more concerned. Not realising just how much of a threat cancer was to his boyfriend before then. Eddie assured him it would be fine. That the BRCA Gene was a blessing in disguise.
"Nothing to eat or drink today?" The nurse inquired, pen ready to check another box of his clipboarded list.
Eddie could feel the black coffee bubble in his gut, "No, sir."
"The anaesthesiologist will be in shortly. I'll check on you in a few, Emily."
Eddie held in a sigh. The first thing he was doing after the surgery was changing his name.
"We're still going to the beach when you feel better, yeah?"
Richie asked, intertwining his fingers with Eddie's. He looked up hesitantly. Logically, he knew the surgery would go fine. Dr. King assured both of them it had a high success rate. For recovery and as a preventative measure in the fight against breast cancer. Still, he hated seeing Eddie mixed in with the blaring white sheets of the hospital bed. It washed out his features. It made him look smaller than he already was.
"Yeah, Rich."
"Can't wait to see my sexy man in some trunks, shirtless."
He made the extra effort to wiggle his brow. Eddie chuckled. Even after six years his laugh was the sweetest thing he'd ever heard. It lit up his world.
The anaesthesiologist came and went. The medication injected through Eddie's IV. A crew of nurses entered the room informing Richie it was time to take Eddie away.
"Emily, how are you feeling?" A younger nurse asked, sweetly.
"Numb."
That was true. The whole world had became fuzzy. Eyes so heavy they begged to close shut. His skin was warm and buzzing all around his body. A mask was placed onto his face. Someone asked him to count back from ten, but he ignored the request.
Richie was pushing back his hair, caressing his face. He was saying something. But all it sounded like was humming. Deep soothing hums.
He felt like he was beginning to float away, but a lazy glance at his surroundings revealed Richie growing further from him. He was being wheeled away. He thought he heard Richie tell him he loved him. But he knew that. He always knew that. Richie never let him forget it. He said it every morning. Every night. Every time he laughed or made Richie laugh. In the middle of every fight. He always said it.
And now was the most exciting part of it all. The moment he'd been waiting for. In a few hours, Edward Kaspbrak would wake up and look in the mirror and his reflection would be true. He would be a man.