Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“We missed you so much, Baby girl,” Bamgin says. “Longest six months of our lives.”
Mags purrs around the nipple, definitively making a sound.
While she feeds, Bamgin and I tell her little details about Eleadia, keeping up a running dialog. She seems to listen intently.
When she finishes the bottle, Bamgin pops the nipple free of her mouth, and I kiss her forehead. “How about if we take you outside for a few minutes?” I ask rhetorically.
A huge smile grows on her face, shocking me. Even facial expressions aren’t normal for several days. But I nearly faint when she suddenly whispers, “Yes, Papi.” Her voice is raspy and soft, but she definitely spoke.
Bamgin’s breath hitches at the same time as mine, and we glance at each other before looking back at our Little girl.
Trying not to make a big deal out of her super-human abilities, I lift her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. When I lower her small fingers back to her tummy, she wraps them around one of mine. Her grip is almost imperceptible, but it’s not in my imagination. I can see her fingers. I’m not making it up.
“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 how colorful 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’re already 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.