Page 4 of Precise Justice

“Hello, I’m Doctor Friedman,” he said, introducing himself.

He was a short man and quite vain was the first thing Priscilla noticed. Barely five-nine even with lifts in his shoes. He wore an expensive Italian wool, three-piece suit, gold rimmed glasses and had manicured fingernails. But Priscilla had to admit he was quite attractive. An expensive hair weave with just the right amount of gray on brown completed the look.

Priscilla and Robbie were sitting in patient chairs. Friedman sat at a small table. He looked at Robbie with an attitude filled with dollar signs.

“So, Robbie, I’ve received all of the session notes from your school psychologist and the school nurse. I’ve reviewed them thoroughly and, I must say, in my opinion, you’re a classic case of gender dysphoria.

“But I want to know how you feel about it. How do you feel about your discussions with Dr. Brie on this subject? Do you understand what we’re talking about.”

“Yes, he does,” Priscilla quickly said.

“Robbie?” Friedman asked.

“Well…, yeah, I think, I guess. She explained it to me and the more I think about it, well, maybe that’s what’s wrong with me. I, ah, I just don’t seem to fit in at all.”

“You feel isolated from other children your age?” Friedman asked.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Do you feel anxious in social settings?”

“Yes, very much so.”

“Loneliness?”

Robbie nodded his head several times while tears began to develop in his eyes.

“Depressed?”

The tears started to trickle down his cheeks, his nose started to run and Robbie was barely able to say, “Yes.”

Priscilla reached into her Hermes handbag for Kleenex. Instead, Friedman beat her to it. He handed Robbie a box of tissues while saying, “It’s okay, Robbie. Let it out.”

Robbie quickly got a hold of himself, took a deep breath and Friedman continued.

“Okay, let me explain the process. We would put him on a hormone therapy regimen. There are two drugs we would use. Estradiol to increase estrogen and spironolactone to decrease his ability to produce testosterone.

“That will take some time. Usually, he will be on those drugs for two-to-three years. Depending on how it goes. Some people take longer, others shorter. We won’t know until we do it.

“We will also need to start him on puberty blockers. There are several different ones.”

“Are these shots I would have to get?” Robbie asked.

“No, no, pills,” Friedman said.

“Okay,” Robbie said sounding relieved.

“During that period, we will begin the transition. Let his hair grow out. Start wearing female clothes. Have you ever thought about that?”

Robbie hesitated, looked nervously about, then admitted he had tried on his mother’s clothes a couple of times. Especially her underwear.

Priscilla listened to this with, initially, a horrified look on her face. It lasted several seconds until she realized that was a for sure symptom that Robbie was in the wrong body. Or, so she convinced herself.

“Any questions?” Freidman asked.

“Surgery?” Priscilla asked.

“That’s several of years down the road. Especially for someone Robbie’s age. We will monitor everything very closely and make a determination later.