The Greatest Lie Part 15

It had seemed like a manageable project for three field workers: our Thai friend Nancee, Tran and me. Professor Finch had done his utmost, but the foundation that was funding it cut the budget for Tran out and had given me only five thousand dollars to complete the project. I had nothing for the subjects except vouchers they could use to buy hormones at Thai drugstores a last-minute donation by an American drug company.

To fund Tran's trip and our surgeries I had to write two porno movies, which Tran and I had acted in. Until now, Tran and I had tried everything from streetwalking to sociological research to selling everything of value that we owned to finance our survival and transition.

Now that we were on the verge of completing our odysseys, we had to reckon with the care of unexpected dependents. Our fathers had washed their hands of us as unworthy successors to their lineages. My mother was a selfish narcissist, and Tran's mother was an impoverished and emotionally defeated immigrant.

"Tran, I'll just have to work my way up the ladder to bigger grants. We have to hold out until your priestly sex abuse suit settles, but who knows when that will be? Until then, we are just going to have to work our little tails off."

"Just when I was getting ready to fuck my little tail off."

"Shhh," I warned her, noticing that the businessman across the aisle had perked up for that comment. Then I whispered, "That too, Tran. Just make sure you get paid well every time. And no volume discounts for Italian soccer teams!"

We both giggled at the recollection of a hilarious escapade from our last trip to Thailand. She playfully poked me and complained, "You're no fun any more, Alexandra."

Tran and I turned on our tape machines and resumed our last-minute study of conversational Thai. We transferred from Singapore Airlines to Silk Air and bumped down in Phuket with only hours to spare before our appointments with Dr. Sanguan.