She had fallen asleep after making love to Ruvon, which meant that she'd been naked, and she couldn't remember the examination, let alone if she had been wearing anything at the time.
Mortification washed over her, and her hand twitched over the blanket.
She moved it and lifted the corner.
Beneath it, she was wearing a hospital gown. Pale blue, with little snaps along the shoulders. The fabric was soft against her bare skin, and she felt that she wasn't wearing anything beneath the gown.
There were also so many tubes and wires.
There was a tube in her left arm, the IV. There was a small clip on her right index finger that was attached to a wire. There were three sticky pads on her chest under the hospital gown, with wires that ran out from under her collar to the equipment to her left. There was something else, lower down, that she did not want to investigate too closely with her mother in the room.
Her face was hot.
"Maman."
"Yes?"
"Did Doctor Julian do all of this?" She gestured vaguely at her hooked-up self. "Did he attach all the wires?"
Her mother didn't need translation to understand what Arezoo was asking.
"Of course he didn't. The nurse, Hildegard, was here when you arrived. She's the one who got you settled in this room. She undressed you, and she put the gown on you, and she attached all of the equipment."
If the nurse had undressed her, that meant that she had arrived dressed.
That was a huge relief. Her exhale was so long that it left her a little dizzy at the end.
Her mother sat back down in the chair and pressed the back of her wrist to her cheek to dab at her eyes.
"Where is Ruvon?" Arezoo asked.
"He went to the café with the girls to get breakfast. They've spent the night in the waiting room, refusing to go home."
"Donya and Laleh slept in the waiting room? Why?"
"Because they are your sisters and they love you and worry for you. They slept on the chairs. Ruvon finally bribed them with pastries from the café this morning, and even then it took some persuading."
The tears were no longer waiting for Arezoo's permission to spill.
She let them come because she didn't have the energy to fight them, and her mother somehow managed to keep her own eyes dry while stroking the back of her hand.
"I love them so much," Arezoo said when she could speak again. "And I love you. So much."
"I know,joonam."
"Their backs are going to be killing them."
"They are young. Their backs will recover. Mine, on the other hand, might take some time." She stretched, her back making those scary popping sounds as if it were breaking.
"Does anyone else know that I'm transitioning?"
Soraya laughed. "Everyone knows. Your aunts and cousins were here all afternoon yesterday. Kyra called four times asking for updates, and so did Drova. Laleh called her to let her know that you were transitioning."
There was a soft knock on the door, and her mother had just enough time to straighten in her chair and wipe her face with both hands before Doctor Julian came in.
"There you are." He smiled.
"Hi, doctor."
