Bamgin leaves the room and returns with a box. He sets it on the floor in front of me.
I drop to my knees to open it, tearing into the packaging as fast as possible. As soon as I pull the flap back, I gasp. I’m so shocked I can’t speak for long seconds. Finally I reach into the box and pull out the basketball.
I hug it high against my chest like a child would a doll, careful to avoid the piercings. “How did you get one?” They’ve told me over and over there are no basketballs on Eleadia.
Nanish smiles. “We came up with the idea after we’d already left Earth, so we asked Zingar—who was on the next transport vessel—to bring it back with him. Four balls actually. We didn’t think they would last forever.”
“But I don’t have a hoop to throw it through,” I say, trying not to sound ungrateful. Just holding the ball is almost enough. Smelling it. The scent is so familiar to me. Basketball was my life for so many years.
“Sure you do,” Bamgin says as he holds out a hand.
I tuck the ball under one arm and take his outstretched hand, letting him pull me to my feet. I’m giddy as I follow him through the house and out the back door.
For a minute, I’m confused. The garden is all grass, plants, and flowers. There’s no concrete. Nor is there a basketball court. It wouldn’t fit back here anyway.
Nanish wraps his arms around me from behind and points toward the corner of the garden.
My breath hitches. There is a hoop mounted to the side of the large tree. It looks like they even got the height correct.
Bamgin cups my cheek. His brows are furrowed. “We know it’s not perfect. We can’t give you concrete. It goes against everything in our souls to take that kind of risk. We never want to see you fall and get hurt. You won’t be able to bounce the ballout here in the grass like you’re used to, but you can shoot hoops. You can even teach your Papis to do so.”
I ponder this situation for a few seconds. It’s not perfect. I’ll miss being able to dribble. Maybe they’ll let me dribble sometimes in the kitchen. But they went to a lot of trouble to make this happen for me. It means the universe to me that they would do such a thing.
Dropping the ball, I launch myself at Bamgin, wrapping my arms around his neck as he lifts me off my feet and swings me around.
Nanish joins the group hug.
“Thank you so much. I love you both to infinity.” My breasts are pressing against Bamgin’s chest, making me aware of the gems. They don’t hurt at all, probably because the anesthetic hasn’t worn off yet. I would worry they could get caught on something and rip my nipples, but there’s nothing for them to get caught on. My Papis don’t wear shirts. Neither do I. Occasionally they tuck a blanket around me but not often. When I sleep, they lay me on my back in my crib with nothing covering me.
“So…” Nanish says, “are you going to give us a lesson?”
I giggle. This is the most excited I’ve been since I arrived. I have full mobility, and my Papis are going to let me shoot hoops. I can’t wait to teach them about my sport, even though it will really only be the part where we throw the ball into the circle. And my Papis are so tall they can practically reach up and set the ball through the hoop.
I wiggle in Bamgin’s embrace until he puts me down. After grabbing the ball, I skip over to the hoop. Yes, I have mobility. Yes, I can walk and stand without swaying, but I’m still weak from six months of stasis. Weak compared to my normal past self.
Lifting my arms, I twirl the ball in the air, bouncing it off my palms. The muscles in my arms are not up to par. I’m going to get tired easily. Weirder than that are my breasts. They’re huge compared to six months ago. It’s like I went to sleep and woke up a few hours later in a different body—one that had boobs. They aren’t large compared to other women, but they have fat on them for the first time in my life.
I kind of like them, but they feel strange hanging in front of me, bumping my biceps. And they’re ten times odder now that they have giant hoops dangling from them with red and yellow stones swaying back and forth. Every time I glance down, I gasp at the reminder.
I’ve known these men two weeks, and I’m in love with them. They’re my world. I know they manipulate me with their weird quills into feeling so strongly, but the end result is the same. I love them. I’m proud to wear their stones as a symbol of my commitment to them. I also like the fact that they chose two different stones to represent my two Papis.
The two colors will draw attention to my chest. I’ll be answering questions about them for the rest of my life. It will be awkward having other people staring at my boobs more than they would look at others, but I’ll proudly tell them I have two Papis. Maybe I’ll just blurt that out every time anyone’s eyes stray to my titties.
“Yeah, yeah. I have two stones because I have two Papis…”
“Are you going to shoot the ball?” Nanish asks, his voice teasing.
I catch it midair and glance at him. Oops. I was in my head. Thinking. Finally I turn toward the hoop and flip the ball off my fingertips. It sails through the air and swishes through the basket without touching the rim.
My heart soars.
My Papis both clap.
Bamgin jogs forward to grab the ball from where it landed in the grass. “Amazing. And it looks more complicated than I suspected. I bet Nanish and I are going to need lessons on the technique. You make it seem so easy.”
I giggle and hold out my hands. “Toss it to me.”
Bamgin hesitates before finally walking toward me and handing me the ball.
