With a Wig

Gorzon Billingham, six foot seven inches of sturdy masculinity exited the bus. He wore a twelve thousand dollar custom made suit of black and crimson. It matched the Delaware Founders colors. His lankiness didn’t stick out amongst the rest of the team who had heights slightly shorter or his two centers who both stood at seven feet tall. The stop after being on the road landed him in the home city of Wilmington, Delaware to play the Baltimore Crabbers. The rest of the team left the vehicle with just as much vim and intent as Billingham.

He had earbuds in his ears so Billingham could only hear in a partial sense. Something, someone raced up beside him. Billingham kept walking into the venue. The person stood right in front of him. Galita Bovers blocked his path. He stopped. The professional basketball player removed the earbuds.

“Can I help you?” he asked while waving at his teammates. He motioned that he’d be in the facility in just a few moments.

“Yes, I’m glad I caught you,” Galita announced, almost out of breath. She wore a dress that fit her and looked low and barely revealing. The dress looked hunter green with gold frills. She looked miniature next to Billingham with her five-foot-four-inch frame. Baby hairs and lashes and long hair completed her picture.

“I need to tell you something.”

“Look, if you’re trying to hit me up for child support, I can say that….”

“It’s not that,” Galita interrupted.

“What is it?”

“Is there somewhere we can go after the game?”

“Just tell me now. I don’t want to see you for much longer.”

The ballplayer and the young woman walked over to the practice center adjacent to the court. Billingham said he’d be late for practice to his coach and the rest of the staff due to a “pressing matter.”

They sat on the bench like the sixth man.

“I have to confess….” Galita stuttered.

“What is it? Let me know.”

“I was born a male.”

Billingham just looked at Galita and put his hands to his head. He jumped up out of his seat. He paced back and forth. He brought his palms to his head.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you before we––”

The athlete gathered himself. Galita stayed sitting, batting her eyelashes. She then stood and whirled around with her wig.

“Alright, what can I do? How much do you want to keep this silent?”

“That’s just it. I’m not in it for the money anymore. I just want to go around telling people that I’m a straight woman when I’m totally trans.”

Billingham swore with profuse abandon. The echo around the gym from his profanity reverberated and shook Galita.

“I’m sorry. I truly am. Maybe I’m not.”

Billingham towered over her. He kept his fists balled up at his sides and a vein emerged from his forehead like a small snake under his skin.

“How can you do this to people? I’m a straight man! We just had one night and you had all the female equipment. How can you do this?! Here, take this pass and we can talk about this after the game.” He took the pass from his neck. It remained a formality but everyone recognized him so he could gain access regardless.

Galita sighed. “I’ve extorted actors, rappers, your fellow ballplayers. I want no publicity or money or anything. I’ve got plenty, trust me. The truth is, I just want to look in your eyes and see the hurt and pain I can inflict. I’m just glad I go after men and crush them. So, I’ll see you soon.”

“I’m getting the hell outta here.” Billingham could crush Galita with one ounce of strength in his non-dominate hand. He chose not to deliver any physical harm against her, though. He just stormed out of the facility and joined back up with his teammates. Galita journeyed outside and vaped. She had already purchased front row tickets. And just smiled and laughed to herself.

“Where the hell were you Gorz’? You said you’d be late but damn, the game’s about to start!” Coach Hyland Fairbanks asked.

“Pardon me for taking so long. I had to handle a personal matter. I’m good, now,” Billingham explained.

Minutes before game time, Galita stood outside and just scrolled through her timeline. She liked the photos and told no one about the secret she just divulged. Her laughter seemed toxic, caustic. It was like a dumpster fire. She took one last pull of the vaporizer and entered the arena.

Billingham shook hands, smiled, and remained convivial, oblivious to the facts just spouted to him moments earlier. The game started. Billingham not only started but performed as the second star of the team. With intensity, the ball player passed and played defense. He scored from beyond the arc and dunked his way into basketball glory. Scant stares into the crowd on the floor prompted Billingham to become even more enlivened. He stole the ball. He blocked the ball. He passed some more and completed even more razzle-dazzle dunks. The Founders blew out the Crabbers 105-71. Billingham scored forty-eight points, racked up twelve assists, rebounded fourteen times, and stole the ball seven times. This game actually figured into the larger picture. It allowed the Founders to clinch the playoffs spot. The press hounded Billingham as if their tongues hung from their mouths. During the press conference, Billingham looked hydrated and clean in another ensemble. This time, he donned an all black suit with silver and grapefruit lining.

Galita walked into the private section, distraught, disturbed, and disgruntled. How the hell did he have such a great game? she wondered. In previous instances, she had witnessed grown men cry and grovel and beg her to take their money. She had seen them perform so poorly they had never recovered.

Frustration colored every huff and puff. She almost broke her phone in the commotion out of the arena. She sat in her luxury coupe and just texted. Fury and messaging didn’t mix well. Galita, however, stabbed at her mobile device as if she were striking some untamed beast. Every character had been filled with vague vitriol. She couldn’t give out her secret, she thought so she focused on the game. The refs didn’t commit themselves to objective play-calling this game, she argued.

In the conference room, Billingham smiled and key-keyed. Galita switched from her social media posts to watch the man she sought to break down keep the room packed with uproarious laughter and jolliness. Vapor expelled from her lungs. She shook the phone and kept slamming her hand against the steering wheel. In her mind, she had devastated Billingham yet he now showed why he stood as one of the highest paid stars in the league. Nothing fazed him. Even when a reporter asked an oddball question, he had been ready with a question of the day that caused tears to roll down eyes in such a jovial fashion.

Galtia couldn’t take it anymore. She opened her car door and stormed towards the arena. Her face had been stony. She didn’t show any emotion which belied her actions in her car. She looked at the door and at her phone. She crossed into the private area. With a flash of the badge, Galita had been granted access into the inner sanctum of the Delaware basketball ministry.

She looked around the place, all of the jerseys and of course the one championship trophy from a few years prior. She had calmed down significantly. She vaporized in the secluded room. She heard footsteps.

“Sorry, ma’am. There’s no smoking or vaporizing on the premises,” general manager Jasper Hedder notified.

“Pardon me. I’m just waiting for Gorzo’.”

“Okay just respect the rules. He should be out at any moment.”

Galita crossed her legs and watched the tail end of the press conference.

“Thanks guys,” Billingham announced.

A few, rare bursts of applause floated up like mylar balloons. Billingham then took some time to sign autographs and mix with the crowd. The vibe felt light and airy after the big win over the Founders’ biggest foes. Finally, he came to the private station where Galita remained.

“Oh, you’re still here, huh?” Billingham addressed Galita.

“How in the hell did you do that?” Galita queried with rancor seeping into her speech.

“It’s very simple. We all harbor secrets.”

“Now, you’re just talking in code or something.”

Billingham just brought his head back and laughed.

“What is this? What is happening?” Galita asked, now concerned.

“You see that trophy?”

“What? What about it?”

That trophy took every ounce of talent and skill that this team has. Most of the same guys from that championship season are still with us.”

“What does any of that have to do with our current situation? You should have bombed out there. Instead you became a darling. Are you hiding anything?” Galita panted with anticipation.

“We won that year because we had been completely honest with each other. Maybe I wasn’t completely honest….” Billingham mentioned with a wry smile curling around his lips.

“What are you even talking about?”

“I just said…those little secrets are what bind the soul to the physical frame. We keep things hidden from each other to protect ourselves, gain positions and power, wealth, and status. Only, we don’t always have to keep our secrets….”

“Okay, I’m sorry I tricked you. I’ll never hurt anyone else. Except, you don’t appear to be harmed in any way,” Galita began to warm to the idea of what could be in store for her.

“Yes, that championship made me know that I can excel in this league. I knew I had the ability but it’s all about the will. It’s about the ability to not only win the game but crush your opponent’s will to continue in the game. That’s a key element I have learned in my years with this organization.”

Galita didn’t know what would happen to her. It was just Billingham and she who occupied the private room.

“So you want to know the recipe for success? It’s very simple. All you have to do is counter crazy with even more crazy.”

“Okay….” Galita began to get nervous, now. She had been breathing heavily and reached for her vaporizer.

“Ungh-uh, not on these premises. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“Just tell me what the hell you’re talking about dammit!” Galita’s ire rose in her voice.

“I was born a female.”

“You what?!”

“I’m actually a transgender, too. It’s probably the reason I didn’t pick you up and throw you across the floor.”

“But I’ve only dated men and then told most of them my hidden past…I’ve never been with a former female…this is wrong.”

“Oh, as wrong as presenting yourself to straight men you’re trying to extort for money or malice? Have you ever considered the married men who had to tell their wives they not only cheated on them but with a transgender? I have let women know of my past. Except for you. You’re a menace.”

Galita just looked forward with a blank stare. No sound emitted from her. She had been sitting. She slowly rose and looked up at Billingham.

“If you tell anyone about this….”

“And if I do….”

Galita gathered her phone and headed towards the exit.

“Wait,” Billingham called after her.

She froze. “What is it?” Her voice sounded bereft of all vigor.

“I know you should be leaving right now, but I want you to tell people what you just told me. The women’s league won’t allow me and you’ve already noticed my prowess on the court amongst men. So speak on it freely. Just remember the other lives involved in your web of deceit.”

Galita closed her eyes and continued out of the door. Before she left, she dropped the placard on the ground and slammed the door.

Billingham felt unequivocal joy. He had let his secret fly from his mouth and have this malignant person be brought down low. He straightened out his jacket and brushed off his shoulders. He looked at the trophy in the glass case and put two fingers to his temple and saluted the hardware and exited.