Nevertheless, he still missed Tula, still thought about her every day, and still woke up some nights reaching for her side of the bed before remembering that he was sleeping next to another female.
He and Tula had made a kid together, and that was a connection that would last forever, no matter what else happened between them.
The elevator slowed, and Tony opened his eyes as the doors slid open, revealing the bright expanse of the glass pavilion. Sunlight streamed through the transparent walls, warming the large, open space.
Tony took a step forward, and the world tilted.
He stumbled, his legs suddenly unreliable, and would have fallen if Kaia hadn't grabbed his elbow and pulled him upright.
"Whoa." She steadied him with both hands, her forehead creased with concern. "What's wrong?"
"Dizzy." The word came out slurred, his tongue feeling thick and clumsy in his mouth. "I think I'm coming down with something."
Kaia released one of his arms but kept her grip on the other. Her free hand came up to press against his forehead.
"You're warm," she said. "You might be transitioning."
Transitioning?
The word cut through the fog in his brain. This was what he'd been waiting for, what he'd almost given up on.
"You think so?"
"Fever, nausea, and dizziness are all classic symptoms." Kaia's grip on his arm tightened. "Forget the coffee. We're going to the clinic. I want Julian to take a look at you."
Tony didn't have the energy to resist. The dizziness was getting worse, waves of vertigo washing over him with increasing frequency. He let Kaia guide him out of the pavilion and into the sunny path leading to the café and the clinic beyond it.
The waiting area was empty when they walked in. No patients, and no staff visible behind the reception desk. Tony dropped into the nearest chair, grateful to be off his feet. The vertigo was constant now, the room spinning around him even when he closed his eyes.
Heck, it was worse when he closed them.
"Hello?" Kaia called out. "Anyone here?"
A door opened somewhere in the back, and the nurse emerged. She took one look at Tony slumped in his chair and immediately shifted into professional mode. "What happened?"
"Nausea, dizziness, fever," Kaia reported. "Started just minutes ago. He had his induction ceremony on Saturday."
"I know. I wanted to attend, but Tim had tickets to a comedy club." She pulled a digital thermometer from her pocket and held it to Tony's forehead. "Let's check your temperature."
Tony sat still while she took the reading, trying to focus on something that would make the spinning stop, but nothing worked. The vertigo was relentless.
"Elevated, but not dramatically so," Hildegard announced. "A hundred and one point two." She tucked the thermometer away. "I'm going to call Julian. He'll want to examine you himself."
As she walked into the office that was adjacent to the waiting room and closed the door behind her, Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket and found Shira's contact. The screen swam in front of his eyes, and his fingers felt clumsy, uncoordinated, but he managed to hit the call button.
She answered on the fifth ring. "Tony? What's up?"
"I'm at the clinic." His voice sounded strange to his own ears. "Something's happening to me. Kaia thinks I might be transitioning."
"What?" The background noise on her end shifted, the quiet murmur of a library giving way to the sharper acoustics of a hallway. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I mean, we don't know for sure yet. Julian is not here, but the nurse took my temperature, and it's elevated."
"I'm coming back to the village." He could hear her rapid footsteps on the marble floors. "It will take me at least an hour to drive back, so don't you dare lose consciousness until I get there."
"It might be just a bug. Perhaps you should wait until Julian checks me. No point in you rushing back if it's nothing."
Shira was quiet for a moment. "Fine. But call me the second you know anything."
