Face the Change (Menopausal Superheroes Book 3)

by Samantha Bryant

  Luckily, Jessica took the hint. “Come on. Let’s give the happy couple time to talk. We can go get some terrible coffee in the cafeteria. I think Patricia’s down there.”

  “As long as it’s not tea,” Walter quipped, waving at Leonel as he followed Jessica out the door.

  David stepped in and closed the door behind him. He sat the daisies on the nightstand, his gaze flicking down to the side where bandages covered Leonel’s wound.

  “Qué hermosa.” Leonel beamed at him. “Daisies have always been my favorite.”

  “I remember.” David’s voice was not as warm as he had hoped, and Leonel knew David was still angry with him, or maybe angry with him again. He searched his husband’s face for a hint, but David was hard to read. That wasn’t a good sign either. Leonel sighed.

  “Sit down,” he said, patting the bed by his feet, hiding the pain the movement caused as best he could.

  David balanced gingerly on the bed, his feet barely reaching the floor. Leonel tried to scoot back to give him room to sit more fully on the mattress. This time he couldn’t mask the pain and gasped, his hand shooting to his side. David jumped up and ran to the hall before Leonel could stop him. He heard David calling for the nurse and explaining that his partner was in pain and needed to be checked on. Partner. Even in his worry, he remembered to protect the secret of the gender change. He really had been a partner in all of this.

  The nurse followed David back into the room. It was a different woman than the one who had checked his vitals earlier. This older woman tsked at Leonel when she saw him sitting up. “Mr. Alvarez, you are supposed to stay in a reclined position. You’re going to reopen your wound and cause yourself complications. Now, let me check your dressing.”

  She lifted the hospital gown, tucking it across Leonel’s chest. Sure enough, the bandage had red seeping along the edges. The nurse turned to David. “You make him be still. I’ll fetch the doctor to make sure he hasn’t done any serious damage.”

  After the nurse had left, David stood with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at his wife. It didn’t matter that in this man’s body, Leonel was the larger person. David’s glare still cut him to the core. Leonel closed his eyes, praying for strength. It had never been easy when David was angry with him, and it was even harder now when David’s anger seemed to ignite his own in turn.

  When he was a woman, that never happened. Sure, he felt angry, but it wasn’t the same, not like a fire raging beneath the skin. The doctors at the Department had told him it probably had to do with the levels of testosterone in his system. The same alchemy that had made his body change so drastically had also affected his makeup at the cellular level. He remembered his dismay at the anger his brothers and cousins had expressed when they were all teenagers—the number of injured knuckles he—as Linda—had bandaged when the young men in his life had struck out at objects to release the pressure. He hadn’t been able to understand then, but he got it now. The same thing boiled under his own flesh.

  And unlike most nearly fifty-year-old men, Leonel hadn’t had three or four decades to get used to the effects and learn to manage them. After all, he’d been a woman until a couple of years ago, until one fateful shower when he’d washed with Dr. Liu’s special soap. Walter said Leonel’s hormone levels were like those of a seventeen-year-old boy, which probably went a long way to explaining their volatility. Leonel kept his eyes closed, trying to calm his inner storm before he said anything to his husband. Letting loose with una lengua de víbora and complaining would drive a wider wedge between them.

  For a long minute, there was only the sound of his own breathing, a little ragged, and the distant sounds of machines and wheels down the hall, the workings of the hospital. When Leonel finally opened his eyes, he found that David was no longer glaring at him. He sat in the chair with his head in his hands. When he heard Leonel move, he looked up, running his hands through his mostly still-dark brown hair, making it stick up. His eyes were so dark they were almost mirrors, and the sunlight seemed to reflect back from them. Leonel’s anger faded in that light, overwhelmed by tenderness.

  David’s anger apparently had not calmed though. He stood and stalked over to the window, everything about his posture stiff and unyielding. He was angry and wounded to the core. And it was Leonel’s fault. He hadn’t told David how dangerous the mission was, and even without knowing the full risk, David hadn’t wanted him to go. But Leonel had gone anyway. “David.” He reached a hand toward his husband, but David didn’t come and take it. He didn’t turn around.

  “I don’t know if I can do this, mi amor.” There was a catch in his voice.

  Leonel was stung. That’s all their twenty-five-year marriage was now? Just a thing David couldn’t do? He tried to say something, but all that came out was a pained sob.

  David was at his side then, grasping him by the arms. “I couldn’t take it if I lost you.” He knelt beside the bed and took Leonel’s hand between his. David’s rough palms were comforting and familiar. Leonel turned his head on the pillow to meet David’s gaze. David looked at him imploringly, his dark eyes wet with unshed tears. “Dime, mi amor. Tell me that when you are healed, you are not going back to the Department. Tell me you are coming home and being my wife again.”

  Leonel wanted to pull his hand back. His heart felt like a hollow space in the center of his chest. Did David have any idea what he was asking? Leonel’s work in the Department meant everything to him. For the first time since his children were small, he felt like he was contributing, like what he did with his life mattered in a big and global sense, like he could and would make a difference for the better. And David wanted him to give it up because he might get hurt?

  Leonel felt his mouth open and close and open and close again. He had to say something. He knew he did. Quién calla, otorga. If he didn’t speak, he was agreeing, and he couldn’t agree. If he did speak, what could he say that wouldn’t cost him David? Leonel’s mind spun.

  The door bumped open, and Leonel breathed a sigh of relief to see a doctor coming through. David let go his hand and stood back to give the medical staff room to work. Leonel had never been so happy to be interrupted in his life.

  “Mr. Alvarez, the nurses tell me you’ve been trying to move. Let’s see what damage you’ve done here.” The doctor moved to the sink, pulled off the light blue gloves he wore, washed his hands, then pulled out a new set of gloves from the boxes on the shelf and pulled them on.

  David moved aside, standing near the window to give the man room to work. “She tried to move herself in the bed, to give me room to sit beside her.”

  Leonel shot David a warning look. They were usually careful to use masculine terms only when in public. In fact, Leonel found he had even begun to think of himself in the masculine, at least when speaking English. It was harder to give up a lifetime’s practice of feminine endings in Spanish. Leonel watched the doctor’s face, but the man did not seem to take note of David’s pronoun slip. Maybe he assumed David’s English was not polished. Or maybe this doctor had access to Leonel’s full file and knew his history. Or maybe he didn’t care about the gender of his patient as much as his health.

  The doctor had pulled the blanket aside and untied Leonel’s hospital gown for better access to the wound. A nurse appeared at his shoulder with a pair of scissors and a basin, and the doctor removed the bandage. “This may hurt a bit,” he said and pushed on the edges of the wound. Leonel passed out.

  Jessica’s Heart to Heart with Patricia

  As she walked down the hall to the hospital wing’s cafeteria, Jessica was giddy. It felt like things were right with the world. Leonel was going to be all right. They had rescued Patricia. She had taken the emeralds back from Dr. Liu. And Walter had welcomed her home with a kiss that lasted all the way until the next morning. All that remained was to capture Cindy Liu and that freak of a father of hers. Jessica felt sure it was only a matter of time, with all the resources of the Department behind them. Even the Director’s plan t
o take the Department public filled her with as much excitement as trepidation.

  She was so full of positive energy it was hard to stay on the ground. Stopping by the soda dispenser, she got a Dr. Pepper just in case. The bubbles helped her burp, and that was the easiest way to come back down to earth if gravity got away from her.

  Even Patricia seemed less dour than usual. She and Walter had run into Patricia here several times over the past few days, as they all kept coming by to check on the patient. Jessica suspected Patricia spent almost as much time waiting around the hospital as David. Given her paranoia about the Department’s motives, it was quite the concession to spend so much time in the presence of their medical staff. Luckily, she had gotten better at controlling her transformations.

  The Department doctors hadn’t yet gotten to study the mysterious Lizard Woman of Springfield in her human or armored forms. If Patricia didn’t sign on and join them, Jessica knew the doctors would beat themselves up when they realized the bossy red-haired woman was the alter ego of the character of urban legend and they’d missed their chance to observe her.

  Today was the first time Leonel had been alert and able to talk with them. He’d need time to recover, but Walter had gotten access to the medical files and reassured both women there was no reason to think Leonel wouldn’t be himself again in a matter of months. The relief had settled the lines in Patricia’s face back into their normal positions, though Jessica thought she still looked tired.

  As she settled into the seat opposite Patricia at one of the shiny metal tables in the hospital cafeteria, Jessica burped, a little more loudly than she meant to. “Excuse me.”

  Patricia smiled. “Feeling flighty?”

  “A bit. I guess I’m just happy to see Leonel doing so well.”

  “Me too. Stubborn old broad.” Patricia always loved to tease Leonel about his gender change, even when he wasn’t there, apparently.

  Jessica lifted her paper soda cup to click Patricia’s coffee mug. “To stubbornness.” She took a sip of the soda. The formula must have been off. “Yeech. This stuff is terrible. How’s the coffee?”

  “I’m not sure I’d call this coffee.” She took another sip and shuddered. “But it’ll keep me going.”

  “You know, David is here, and I know he’d call us if there was any news. You should go home and get some rest.”

  Patricia nodded, but Jessica could see her friend had no intention of leaving the hospital just yet. Jessica lowered her voice. “It wasn’t your fault, you know.”

  Patricia looked up sharply. “I know.”

  “I know you know. But do you really know it?” Jessica touched her chest. “Here? Where it counts?”

  Patricia didn’t answer. Instead, she took a sudden interest in watching the other people in the room. Jessica sighed and turned to look around with her. She knew Patricia blamed herself for a lot of things. She already thought it was her fault Jessica had been burned in the campus fire and that Cindy had escaped them. And now she was blaming herself for Leonel’s injury. Would it do any good to remind Patricia she hadn’t thrown the fireball? Or fired the bullet?

  Jessica was pretty sure it wouldn’t. Just like it hadn’t done any good when Leonel and Patricia had tried to tell her it wasn’t her fault she’d been taken in by Dr. Liu. It didn’t change that feeling of personal stupidity and incompetence, or her guilt over the danger she placed others in when they’d come to rescue her. The literal truth didn’t matter much compared with the heart’s truth.

  She changed the subject. “Have you met with the Director yet?”

  Patricia shook her head. “I’ve pretty much just been here.”

  Jessica bit her lip, thinking. “I know you think Leonel and I made a mistake, signing on with the Department. But they are good people, Patricia. Without them, we would never have found you.”

  “I know.”

  Walter approached the table, having finished his consultation with Leonel’s medical team. “I have to get back. We still have a ton of analysis to handle.” He held out a hand to Patricia. “It’s good to see you, Ms. O’Neill. Any friend of Jessica’s…”

  Patricia shook his hand. “I’m sure we’ll talk again.”

  Walter smiled. “I hope so.” He held out an arm to Jessica. “Are you coming, Flygirl?”

  Jessica stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. “Not right now. I’m not due in for an hour or two yet. See you later for my next round of speed tests.”

  Once Walter had left, Patricia said, “So, Walter, huh?”

  Jessica played with the straw in the still-full soda cup on the table in front of her. “Yeah.”

  “Hey.”

  Jessica looked up.

  “Don’t act like it’s something to hide. He seems like a good guy. I know you could use one of those in your life.”

  “I know.” When Patricia laughed, Jessica grinned. “No, really. I know. It seems weird, thinking about love when I should be thinking about Leonel’s recovery and the danger we’re all still in as long as Cindy is still out there.”

  “But that’s exactly why you should still think about love.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Without love, why does any of this matter?”

  When Jessica continued to stare at her, Patricia went on. “What? You think I’ve never been in love?”

  “What happened?”

  She shrugged. “My own stubborn fault. I pushed him away, and by the time I realized what a mistake that was, he had moved on. He’s married now. Lives in Chicago. It was long enough ago that his daughters are grown now.”

  Jessica reached out for Patricia’s arm but stopped short of taking it. Patricia usually read sympathy as pity and swore she never hugged anyone. That made it hard to know how to offer support sometimes. Jessica cleared her throat. “I’m sorry.”

  “Like I said, it was a long time ago. All I’m trying to say is, when love comes your way, you shouldn’t ignore it. It’s rarer than people think.”

  “Why, Patricia O’Neill. Are you a closet romantic?”

  Patricia stood, picking up her cup and tossing it into a nearby garbage can. “I’ve got a big closet. There’s more than one surprise in there.”

  Jessica pitched her cup into the can as well, hurrying to catch up with her long-legged friend. “Where are you going?

  “I thought I’d run the path in the city park. It clears my head.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Patricia looked doubtful but shrugged. “If you want. But, I’ll warn you, I move pretty fast.”

  Patricia wasn’t kidding. Once her sneakers hit the path, she was off like a shot and Jessica had to play catch up. In fact, she found herself cheating gravity a little, adding a longer bound to her stride than should have been possible so she could cover more ground quickly. She tried to be careful not to make it obvious to the casual observer that she and gravity had a special arrangement.

  She rounded a curve atop the first hill and found Patricia stretching against a tree. Grateful for the pause, she rested one of her legs against the trunk of the tree and stretched to rest her ear against her knee. “I guess I can skip the cardio warm-up this afternoon,” she said.

  “Happy to help,” Patricia said. “Did I hear you tell Walter you were doing speed tests?”

  Jessica nodded.

  “I thought Leonel said the air pack wasn’t about boosting your speed.”

  “It wasn’t. But, when we got you back, I got something else back, too.” Jessica rested a hand on her chest.

  “The emeralds?” Patricia’s eyes grew wide. “Cindy was wearing those.”

  “I got them back when we fought.”

  Patricia considered. “That seems only fair. But I don’t get it. How do they work?”

  “That’s a question for Walter, not me. I only know they do. When I have these emeralds, flight is a very different experience. You want to come to my next flight test? I’m sure I could get you a guest pass. Maybe we could even g
et you in to talk to the Director at the same time.”

  Patricia started back down the path at a slow jog without answering. Jessica dropped her stretch to follow her. They ran in silence for a couple of bends of the path. Jessica watched the sky and imagined how good it would feel to fly up there in the open air. It would be warmer by day, but, then again, there would be more people around to wonder what on earth was happening. Giddiness bubbled in her again, as she imagined how going public might change things. She’d be able to fly openly, in a sunlit blue sky.

  “We’ve been talking,” Patricia said when Jessica once more drew abreast of her.

  “Who?”

  “The Director and me. He says he can bring me in on a freelance basis if I’m not willing to sign the full contract. I’m thinking about it.”

  Jessica jogged ahead, then turned and moved backward down the path so she could look Patricia in the face. “I think that would be fantastic,” she said.

  Patricia smiled. “You and me, Leonel and Sally Ann? We’d be the Fantastic Four.” She took off running at full speed again.

  Jessica called after her. “Does that make you Thing?” She could hear her friend laugh as she moved around the bend that would take them back to the back entrance to the hospital wing. “Because I’m sure as heck going to be Sue Storm.”

  Sally Ann Takes the Call

  The call came in the middle of the night. Sally Ann had been asleep all of two hours, just long enough to have a hard time clawing her way out of bed to take the call. The report was zombies. That shook the sluggishness out of her. She spoke slowly into the phone, thinking she must have misunderstood. “Zombies? Like George Romero zombies?”

  “More like voodoo or something.”

  Sally Ann stared at the phone as if the dispatcher would be able to see her incredulous expression. “You’d better send the report. How long till my pickup?”