FLASHBACK Chapter 5 Upper East Side New York City May 25 2001 “Justin are you sick again?” What’s wrong with that boy? Every morning for the last week he’s been throwing up. I know he’s not going out and drinking so what’s the problem? Jennifer Taylor thought to herself. “I’m fine Mom, I just felt queasy again.” What’s wrong with me? I’m not doing anything to cause these bouts of vomiting. “Justin I have to go soon, do you want to come with me to Grandpa’s? It’ll only be a few weeks until my Mother is back on her feet, after her operation.” Say no son, dad worries more about your sexuality than Craig does; which is just silly since none of us knows for sure that you’re gay. “No Mom I don’t want to go to Grandpa‘s place. I have things I have to get done before I go to early enrollment summer classes at NYU.” The last thing I need is to have my homophobic grandfather pick on me for two weeks. “Justin if you keep getting sick every morning you need to go to the doctor. If you were a girl I’d think you were pregnant.” Was that as silly as it sounded? I hope my little boy knows he can come to me and tell me whether he’s gay or not. Of course I also hope he knows better than to tell his father. “I’m fine Mom, just go catch your plane.” Does she suspect anything? Does she know I snuck out of the house a couple of months ago so I could go to ‘The Village’ and lose my virginity? It’s strange that I remember taking the train to get there, walking under a street light near a club, and seeing some guy start coming towards me but I don’t remember anything else until I woke up in my bed the next morning. I wonder if someone gave me some drug that caused me to forget what happened and is causing me to be sick every morning? Maybe I should go to the doctor and see if he can find out why I’m vomiting every morning. “If you’re sure honey, you know the phone number so call if you need anything.” Just don’t do anything stupid around your father. Why I ever fell for Craig I’ll never know. How I could’ve been so stupid as to not see his faults. It made my Dad so proud that I married into the New York Taylors but then Craig is the son that he never had, what with having five daughters. None of my sisters married into such a prestigious family as I did so Craig can do no wrong as far as Dad is concerned. No sense in crying over spilt milk and other than his attitude about Justin he‘s given me a good life. I simply don’t understand why he’s so worried about his son’s sexuality. I just wish that my second pregnancy hadn‘t ended in a miscarriage. Try as hard as we could I never got pregnant again. “Goodbye Justin, I’ll call when I get to Grandpa’s. I mean it about going to the doctor. Dr. Smith’s clinic is only three blocks away.” “Bye Mom, I’ll be fine.” Maybe I can find someone to fool around with at the summer classes. I really want to find out what gay sex really feels like. I want to know if prefer to fuck or get fucked, suck or get sucked. I’ll never know until I actually do those acts with another guy. Upper East Side New York City June 1 2001 Justin Taylor walked down the front stairs of his home when he felt a terrible pain in his abdomen. He then fell down the last two steps and lay writhing in pain on the floor. “Justin what’s the matter with you? You ‘re old enough to walk down the stairs like a gentleman not like a herd of elephants. What’re you doing on the floor, are you so uncoordinated that you can’t walk down the stairs without falling down. Do you know how embarrassed I’d be if some of my friends or clients were here?” This boy has been an embarrassment since he was born. Why didn’t we ever have another child? “I don’t know what’s the matter but my side hurts like someone’s stuck a knife in it. My appendix must have ruptured. I need to go to the Emergency Room.” His only son is laying on the floor in agonizing pain and all he can worry about is whether I would’ve embarrassed him in front of his friends or clients. He’s certainly Father of the Year material. “I’ll take you to Doctor Smith’s clinic. I’m not going to be seen in an Emergency Room. Do you know how embarrassing that would be?” Why hasn’t Justin ever figured out the position our family occupies and the façade we have to maintain? He wants to be an artist, there’s no way in hell a child of mine will do something so demeaning as a way of life. Jennifer thinks I don’t know our only child is a fag, only a fag would prefer painting pretty pictures to playing football. “I don’t care where you take me, just get me somewhere where they can fix what ever is causing this pain.” Or you could just shoot me and not have to deal with my problems ever again. Craig helped Justin to his feet and through the house to the door to the garage. He helped his son into the car but touched him no more than was absolutely necessary to keep the younger man from falling down again. “Justin you had better not be faking this pain. Remember you’re a Taylor and don’t show the pain to anybody that might be in the waiting room, if we’re lucky no one else will be there today.” Taking my worthless fag son to the Doctor is the last thing I wanted to be doing this morning. At the reception desk Craig told the receptionist what the problem was and that he wanted it dealt with immediately. Justin just stood there hiding his pain. Luckily the pain had lessened to a dull ache so it was easier to hide. In the exam room every possible machine was used to check out Justin’s abdomen in the search for what was causing Justin’s pain. Though he continually asked what they were finding out no one told the young man anything. Finally the Doctor told Justin he could get dressed and wait in the exam room for a period of time. He asked Craig to come with him to his office since he needed to talk to him. “Mr. Taylor I don’t know how to tell you this.” Absolutely nothing in medical school and my 20 years of practice have prepared me for this conversation. “Just tell me, what’s wrong with my son?” Doctors think they’re so much more important than any one else, my time is just as valuable as his is. “Technically there’s nothing wrong with Justin but his pain was real. I looked at his appendix and it’s fine. I then checked for a kidney stone and that wasn’t the problem. I looked at his kidneys and found the problem.” “Well what is it and can you fix it here?” Why can’t he just get to the point? “I don’t know how to tell you this and I still can’t believe even if it’s very obvious on the sonograph.” “Doctor quit stalling and tell me what’s wrong with my son.” Will this fool ever get to the point? “Mr. Taylor, somehow Justin’s right kidney is gone and in it’s place is a closed off uterus.” I still can’t believe what I saw. I just can’t think of any possible explanation for this situation. “What? How is this possible, is Justin some type of hermaphrodite?” That would explain a lot. “Justin isn’t a hermaphrodite, at least not in the classic situation. The only female structure he has is the uterus.” I don’t think this jerk is going to be happy about the rest of what I have to tell him. “Can this object be surgically removed?” I have to get to work I can’t waste all morning waiting for this pompous Doctor to come to a point. “Anything can be removed surgically Mr. Taylor but there’s something else I have to tell you.” He’s going to explode, I just know it. “What else do you have to tell me Doctor, I’m a busy man so quit wasting my time. Tell me what I have to know so I can get out of here.” He’s probably billing me by the minute just like those damn lawyers. “Mr. Taylor you could be a grandfather in approximately 6 months. Are you ready for that role?” Let him digest that nugget of information. “What the fuck are you talking about?” Fucking idiot, I told him to tell me what I have to know and he asks me more questions. “Mr. Taylor there’s a viable fetus in the uterus. I have no idea how it happened but Justin is pregnant.” This will make some paper for the medical journals. “What the fuck have you been smoking Doctor? My son can’t get pregnant.” Shit the little fag has been letting queers fuck his ass. Hell he’s probably been letting it happen for years. No wonder he didn’t want to play football. “Like I told you I don’t know how it happened but there is a growing fetus inside your son, by any definition that means he’s pregnant.” Justin’s life is going to be hell if he has to stay with this asshole. “Well if that’s true then he is a hermaphrodite and he’s let some faggot fuck his queer ass. Do you have anything more to tell me?” How am I going to look in that little fag’s face without slapping him silly. Does he have any idea how embarrassing it will be for me if anyone finds out about this nonsense? “Mr. Taylor I thinks it’s time we involve Justin in this conversation.” I pity that young man. Craig and the Doctor returned to the exam room. Doctor Smith was surprised to find Justin calmly sitting on the examination table. Craig immediately started in on the Doctor. “In case your fancy machines didn’t show you Doctor Smith my son is a boy and boys can’t get pregnant.” How could Justin embarrass the family this way. “I know that Mr. Taylor I graduated from John Hopkins and one of the first classes we took was how to tell a boy from a girl. But all kidding aside, somehow Justin has a uterus in the place of his right kidney and there‘s a fetus in the uterus. I don’t know how it happened and I don’t know how it will end up but your son is pregnant.” I don’t think the boy has figured out what I just said about him, but then what male would? “Justin how could you embarrass the family this way. How could you let some man fuck your faggot ass?” If he had to be a faggot at least he could have been the fucker, that I might be able to live down. “Mr. Taylor while I don’t know how Justin got pregnant it couldn’t have been the way you just stated.” The uterus isn’t connected to anything so there’s no way he could’ve gotten pregnant from a sex act yet he’s still pregnant. I still don’t believe this maybe I’ll wake up and it’ll all be a dream. I never want Craig Taylor in my dreams again. “Stay out of this Doctor, my son has embarrassed the family and I won’t have it. Doctor you and your staff will not even hint to anyone about this disgraceful situation. If I ever hear anything then I will destroy you.” He thinks I’m kidding but I have to make sure he knows otherwise before I leave this clinic. “Mr. Taylor I assure you we’ll keep everything confidential but the world needs to know about Justin’s condition. We need to find out how he got into this situation.” A little hyperbole never hurts; the world might not need to know but I want to know. I think though that dealing with this asshole may be more than the knowledge is worth. “Isn’t it obvious, he’s a hermaphrodite of some kind and he let some queer fuck his ass and now he’s pregnant. What else could’ve happened. I meant what I said Doctor if I ever hear anything about this; I will seek you out and destroy you. Justin can tell you that I’m serious.” What am I going to do with Justin, I can’t let anyone know about this horrible situation. “Don’t worry about that Mr. Taylor I can keep my mouth shut. But Mr. Taylor the scientific world needs to know about this, especially if it goes to term and Justin has a child.” I don’t think it’ll go to term but hell I don’t know how it happened so who the fuck knows what’s going to happen. “Doctor Smith I will not have my family made fun of and letting anyone know about this abomination will do just that. If there’s a birth will you be able to do it here or will I have to find someplace else that can?” Maybe I should just have him end the pregnancy right now. No that won’t work since if I know anything about my son he’ll want to have the baby and if I have it killed he’ll never keep the secret. Even I won’t think about having Justin disposed of. That would cause talk too and I don’t want any talk about the Taylor family at this point in time. “As long as there aren’t any complications I should be able to deliver the baby here. I’ve had several Caesarian deliveries over the years since I opened this clinic. Obviously Justin will have to have a Caesarian since there is no way he can deliver a baby any other way. I have to tell you both that I doubt that the pregnancy will go to term.” It would probably be in the best interests of everyone involved to just remove the uterus here and now but I don’t believe in abortion and I’m not going to start now. “Did you find out what caused Justin’s pain or was he just faking?” At this point I don’t really care one way or the other. “I’m sure it had to do with this pregnancy, I certainly couldn’t find anything else which is why I found the uterus. Justin do you have any questions?” He’s finally realizing what’s going on. It would be a shock for any teenage boy to find out he’s pregnant but to have to deal with an asshole father can’t make it any easier. “It doesn’t matter what he wants Doctor since he’s embarrassed me and my family by letting some fag into his ass.” I should’ve kept him locked into his room as soon as I guessed he was a faggot. “Mr. Taylor I told you that it couldn’t have happened that way.” I wonder how it happened but I doubt I’ll ever know since I know I’m not going to risk my life and practice by angering this asshole. I’m sure he means that he would destroy me. “You also told me that you have no idea how it happened and so it had to have happened the way I said.” Why doesn’t the jackass just admit that I have to be right. How else could’ve it happened? “Mr. Taylor that isn’t how medicine works.” Why am I wasting my breath this asshole doesn’t care about anything but his opinion? “I don’t care how medicine works. Let me know when you want to see Justin but make sure this mess is kept quiet. Doctor Smith I mean forever. You can see Justin when you really think it’s medically necessary but don’t think you can take advantage of my good nature.” I’ll have to watch everything very closely, he’ll probably think he can sneak something by me. “Yes Mr. Taylor I’m sure you don‘t care. Don’t worry Mr. Taylor I wouldn’t dream of taking advantage of your good nature.” As if the asshole has a good nature. God Justin’s going to be in for hell. Craig just pointed at the door and Justin got off of the table and followed his father out of the exam room and the clinic.