Sharks and Minnows

-Two Weeks Later-

I check to make sure the blindfold is still over Noemi’s eyes as I lead her into the house. I guide her carefully into the living room, and then she sighs irritably.

“Where are we? Why won’t you let me see anything?” she asks. I groan inwardly. Her hormones are acting up again. I just hope she’ll like the house. I untie the black fabric, and she looks around in confusion for a second.

“Do you like it?” I ask as she takes in the high ceiling of the living room. Her eyes fall upon the lights hanging from the ceiling. She smiles broadly, and grabs my hand as she drags me through the rest of the house. The kitchen draws a squeal of delight from her with its state of the art appliances, and (not that it was a problem for me) cabinets with low set shelves. There was a large pantry, and a beautiful bay window looking over the spacious back yard. The house had almost an entire acre of land behind it, which ran to meet up with the woods further beyond that. The neighborhood was new, the houses were gorgeous, the people were friendly, and there was a lot of open space. It was over a half hour away from Newark, but as Noemi ran through the house like a kid in a candy shop, I knew that the driving would be totally worth it.

“Vladimir, is this our house?” she finally manages to gasp, and I nod slowly.

“If you want it to be our house, then it will be,” I say quietly, and she squeals excitedly before flinging herself into my arms. We both laugh as her stomach collides with my waist, and I hug her tightly before placing a hand on either side of her big belly. She’s wearing a pretty blue tee-shirt that brings out her eyes, and a necklace with a bird on it. Her jeans hug her legs nicely, and her black low tops are absolutely adorable, but for some reason, I can’t concentrate on her. Our eyes lock, and then I feel it. Something hits my hand, and our jaws drop.

“Did one of them just…” I start. Noemi nods, and then a smile spreads across her face.

“They’re kicking Vladimir…oh my God, they’re kicking!” she squeals excitedly, and I laugh before kissing her.

“This is so cool,” I mutter, planting my hands once more against her stomach. The boys are definitely awake, and as I feel them kick against my palms, I begin to realize that there are three people inside of her waiting to see the world. Its nerve wracking, but amazing, and we stand there for a long time, her hands over mine, the boys kicking every once in a while.

-A Week Later-

Once again, I find myself sitting in the doctor’s office with Noemi. She’s beginning to become exhausted with even the most basic tasks, so we head in a little apprehensive. The doctor examines her carefully, does an ultrasound, and then writes a few things down on a clipboard.

“Miss Benko, I’m putting you on bed rest now. Usually mothers of multiples go on bed rest anywhere between eighteen to twenty three weeks. You can move around the house to do things like eat, use the bathroom, and move from room to room, but don’t do anything that requires physical exertion. That means no cooking, no cleaning, no going for walks, no working out, and no sex,” the doctor says, looking directly at me for the last part. Noemi groans audibly, and then looks at me.

“Vlad, what are we gonna do? I have to pack. We’re moving soon,” she whines, and I shake my head.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get all of the packing done,” I say, and the doctor nods in approval.

“Not in a week! Especially not by yourself!” she cries, and I smile at her.

“I have over twenty teammates. Do you think they will not help?” I ask, and she also smiles.

“You’re right…and the guys really are the sweetest people ever. Thank you doctor,” Noemi says, and we leave. When we get in the car I pull out my phone and put it on speaker before calling Patrik.

“Hello?” Patrik asks, picking up quickly.

“Patrik, I have a favor to ask. Noemi just got put on bed rest, and we are moving next week. Can you help us pack?” I ask.

“Sure thing. I’ll spread the word. Is tomorrow good? We have off,” he asks.

“Sounds great,” I smile, and Noemi also grins broadly.

The next day there are ten hockey players in our tiny little apartment, as well as a few wives. Ilya’s wife Nicole was absolutely fawning over Noemi, even though they met a few weeks ago. Patrik’s wife Petra was also delighted to see Noemi. I had a feeling that the three of them were talking all about babies, but I turned to the guys and we all sort of shrugged.

“Okay, let’s get this party started,” David Clarkson smiles, and we all begun to dismantle the apartment.

^^^^^^

“You must pick names!” Nicole says as we all sat in the kitchen. They hadn’t stopped cooing over my enormous baby bump since they got there, but I didn’t really mind. Petra was thrilled that the boys were kicking, and Nicole was giving me all sorts of advice.

“Yes, names are important!” Petra agrees, and I nod.

“I haven’t talked to Vladimir about it yet, but I want their names to be Russian or Hungarian,” I say, and Petra raises her eyebrows.

“Why Hungarian?” she asks.

“Oh, I’m Hungarian. I’m the first generation American in my family. My parents died a few years ago though,” I explain, almost sadly.

“I’m so sorry,” Nicole says, patting my hand.

“It’s alright. I’ve got so much to look forward to now, so I try not to dwell on the past,” I smile, placing a hand on my stomach as one of the boys gives a particularly strong kick. Nicole and Petra begin chattering away about baby showers, and I begin to doze off. By the time I’m ready to pay attention again, the men have almost completely emptied the apartment, and Petra and Nicole have essentially planned my baby shower already.

“You guys don’t have to have anything for me,” I say, and they immediately shake their heads.

“No, you are part of the family now. The team is a family, and we want to do this for you!” Nicole insists, and I smile.

^^^^^^

A few nights later Noemi and I are lying in bed when she turns to look at me. I raise my eyebrows and kiss her forehead.

“What is on your mind?” I ask.

“We need to name our babies,” she says, and I stare at her for a moment.

“You’re right!” I gasp, and both of us sit up quickly.

“Russian or Hungarian?” she asks.

“Both,” I answer almost immediately. She laughs, and shakes her head.

“Okay. So I’ve been looking, and I like Jani, Luka, Miklos, and Jurek,” she says. I nod, liking all of the names she’s picked.

“Well, I like Dimitri,” I contribute lamely. A few hours, several google searches, and a long discussion later, and we’ve come up with three names.

“So, I’ll name the first born, right?” I ask, and Noemi nods.

“And then the second born will get the name we both agree on,” she says.

“And then you name the last born,” I finish.

“Exactly. So, now we just have to decide on a name for the second born…” Noemi smiles.

“Alright. It should be something that is both Russian and Hungarian,” I say after thinking about it for a little while.

“I really love the name Mikhail,” she smiles, and I nod in agreement.

“Yeah. Good, strong name. Lorand is not bad Hungarian name,” I contribute.

“So Mikhail Lorand Zharkov?” she asks.

“Mikhail Lorand Zharkov,” I smile, kissing her forehead.