“Apparently our Little girl is stronger than the average female,” Bamgin says, beaming.
Maybe we should have considered this possibility. After all, she was in the best physical condition of her life when we met her. In fact, she was in better shape than most humans are ever in. Maybe that has played a role in her ability to come out of stasis with more strength than the average female.
She’s going to be weak. Atrophy is unavoidable. But we probably worked her muscles more than some Papis do during the return voyage. For one thing, we wanted her injured leg to be in the best shape possible. For another thing, there are two of us, and we hadn’t liked missing out on every opportunity to be with her during the trip, so we probably went through her exercises far more than others.
I stand and gently pass Mags to Bamgin so he can have a turn holding her. I follow him to the back door and out to the garden. It’s beautiful out here. I’ve never appreciated howcolorful everything is or how clear and clean the air is, not until spending time on Earth.
Bamgin can tell far more stories about his time on Earth than me. He was there for six weeks. I spent less than a day in my apartment in Club Zoom, but it was long enough for me to stare out the window and wince. Earth is dingy compared to Eleadia.
Our girl gasps as we step into the sunshine. Her wide eyes sparkle. “So pretty,” she murmurs.
Bamgin is holding her in the crook of his arm. When he strokes her palm with his other hand, she wraps her fingers around his pointer just like she’d done with mine.
“The colors,” she whispers.
I nod. “Yes. We have so many more than on Earth. It’s impossible to describe. You have to see it to believe it.”
Her smile is huge. My heart is full.
We take turns telling her about all the flowers and birds in the garden until her eyes droop. Finally Bamgin carries her back inside and through to her nursery.
We both lean over her, touching her as if she might disappear as soon as she falls asleep. As soon as I pop her pacifier back in her mouth, she resumes suckling and slips into a deep sleep.
“Guess we better call Chadka and Thabo and get an appointment,” Bamgin says, grinning.
“It would seem so.” I follow him out of the nursery, taking a monitor with me. Bamgin has one in his hand, too. We’ve ordered two sets of things for our home.
“I nearly pissed myself when she spoke,” Bamgin says.
“Me, too. And she did it multiple times.”
“She squeezed my finger!”
We’re both laughing, elated. It’s so nice not to have to wait days to hear her voice.
I rub my chin as we pace around the family room. If anyone could see us, they would think we’ve lost our minds. We’realready the happiest men alive, and now we have this gift. “She’ll probably be walking by tomorrow,” I joke.
Bamgin’s face scrunches up. “I’m not looking forward to that. Do we have bubble wrap? We should get some. What if she falls? What if she hits her head or clips her chin on the corner of a table? Maybe we need bumpers.”
I laugh. He’s saying the same things I’m thinking. We’re nervous Papis. “I thought our friends were loony every time they fretted over their Little girls. Now I get it. Suddenly it seems like everything around us is a hazard.” I spin in circles, taking in the furniture.
We have a playpen for her. It has thick padding in the bottom. We don’t intend to let her toddle around in the house without supervision.
“Do you think she’ll stay on her bottom in there?” I ask, pointing to the inside of the playpen, which we’ve loaded with entertaining toys and games.
Bamgin smirks. “She will if she likes to be able to sit at all. If she stands in the playpen or her crib, we’ll spank her bottom hard enough to ensure it never happens again.”
“That might backfire on us if all it does is make her horny.”
Bamgin groans. “True. We can always add orgasm denial to her punishments, though.”
He has a point. “At least we have each other to bounce ideas off of. Our Little girl is going to be more overprotected than any other on Eleadia.” I grab my phone. “I’ll call the clinic.”
Chapter Fourteen
Margaret
“I don’t need a doctor,” I whine as my Papis settle me into a stroller. I know they’re stunned by my progress. I’ve been here one day, and already I can talk and squirm. They say that’s unheard of.
