In the middle of what should have been a titanic blowup, their mom kept quiet. It was partly out of her habit of deferring to her husband, but mostly because she didn’t have much of a leg to stand on. She’d had the same surgery ten years earlier. Small boobs, and a desire to remedy that perceived flaw, ran in the family.
“Who’s doing it?” her mother asked instead.
“Dr. Nelson.” Jess delivered the reply smoothly like she’d been expecting the question. She had expected it and she’d sought out the same surgeon who’d operated on her mother. Even Winston had to admit that was pretty slick.
“Nobody will be around to help you with post-op care. You’re mother and I are going to be away for the whole summer,” their Dad reasoned. He was taking a sabbatical from the university and they were both headed to Africa on a series of safaris and archaeological tours. It was a legitimate point but it was also a sign that Jessica was winning the argument. The dispute had shifted towards a challenge to her timing.
Jessica smirked, there was a clearly an answer in waiting for this too. “Winston will take care of me.” She turned to smile at her brother sweetly. “Won’t you, bro?”
“Huh?” was all Winston could get out.
His mother did a better job of articulating the awkwardness of the situation. “He’s your brother, he shouldn’t be…”
Jess cut her off. “Pfffh, he’s gay. I’d be more worried if I was his brother and getting a penile implant. Plus, he’s at least partially qualified – he IS studying to be a nurse.”
“For the hundredth time, I am NOT gay,” Winston seethed.
Jess brushed off his frustration. “Whatever. Are you going to make sure I don’t die or end up permanently disfigured or not?
Winston briefly considered suggesting that their Aunt Barb could come and look after Jessica but the irony was she actually was gay. And frankly, she was a bit of a wackadoo. She talked about alien abduction. A lot. Nobody rushed to sit next to her at holiday dinners.
Winston weighed the available choices. He knew his sister well enough to understand that changing her mind was not an option. His parents couldn’t back out of their trip – a small fortune was tied up in their summer-long plans. His sister’s friends were sweet but, frankly, none of them were terribly bright – they were a collection of cute jockettes. They’d be no help either.
After circling the predicament, Winston finally let his own self interest tip his decision – he had been looking forward to the approaching summer completely unsupervised. He knew his sister was too. If he agreed, there’d be nobody around to spoil it.
“Fine,” he sighed, “I’ll do it.”
“Thanks, Tunny,” his sister said softly.
Winston looked up immediately for two reasons.
First, the genuine appreciation in Jessica’s voice was nearly unrecognizable. He realized it was a sad commentary on their relationship that jeers and sarcasm were the norm and kindness felt out of place. But right now Jessica’s gratitude was real. No sarcastic remark followed. She didn’t roll her eyes either.
Second, and more importantly, “Tunny” was a nickname that Jess hadn’t used for him in years. When she was little, Jessica couldn’t pronounce “Winston” so she’d latched onto its last syllable “ton” and that eventually became “Tunny.” He watched her nod then exhale slowly. Her shoulders relaxed too. He felt her smooth leg brush up against his under the dinner table. When their eyes met again, she mouthed the words “thank you” at him silently.
He only then understood that this had been the last potential weakness in her plan. If he’d balked she might have been screwed. She had been depending on him to come through for her. This was an interesting turn of events.
They cleaned up after dinner and everyone went their separate ways that night.
The next morning, Winston was heading back to college. Jessica helped him load his things into his car. As they were trading goodbyes, Winston said his peace.
“Jess, about your surgery…”
She smirked. “What about it? My mind’s made up, Tunny. No changing it. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile.”
“I know better than to try to change your mind, my little pigheaded sibling. It’s just… if you’re doing this has anything to do with the teasing I used to give you.”
“You mean how you called me ‘LT’ – ‘Little Tits’ that one summer? The whole summer?!”
“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that now.”
“Thanks, Tunny. That means a lot. But no, I’m doing this for me. I want a nice big set of boobies,” she made a funny face as she held her hands out in front of her slender chest.
“Fine, just don’t go freakishly big, okay? You’re pretty already, sis. Go too big and people will only be looking at your chest. They’ll miss out on the rest of you.”
Jess’s hazel eyes went large and soft at the unexpected compliment. “That was one of the sweetest things you’ve ever said to me. I’ll think about it. No promises. If it makes you feel better, it might help if you call me ‘BT’ for a little awhile after it’s done. It might soothe my pride.”
“That has got to be one of the weirdest requests you’ve ever made.”
“Meh, it’s a girl thing. How would you know, what with being gay and all,” she needled him.
“That’s it, I’m leaving before we get into a fight.”
“Suit yourself. Be good at school OK? Don’t suck too much dick.”
“Yeah, Yeah. I love you too.” And off Winston drove to school.