Fragments

Alyson wore a happy smile on her face when she plopped onto the second-hand couch beside her husband. They weren’t even a year through their marriage but they loved each other like they loved chocolate chip ice cream and their future baby girl. Yes, Alyson was pregnant – she was maybe a month or two from her due date and she already adored the growing child inside her.

Chris rubbed a circle on her stomach, sliding his hand under her shirt, and he laughed loudly as he read the title of the book Alyson held in her hands. “Dictionary of First Names? I thought we decided she was going to be called Lily.”

She rolled her eyes at him and replied, “You decided she was going to be called Lily. I don’t like that name. It’s too…Lily-ish. I used to know a girl at my school called Lily and she was a downright-”

Grinning, Chris covered her mouth. “No bad words around innocent minds, Aly. You ought to know better.”

She pushed his hand away. “Yeah, because the baby can really hear through my skin.”

Mock-offended, he drew away and said, “Who said I was talking about the baby? I think my mind is rather innocent.”

With a wicked grin, she moved closer and pressed her lips to his, pushing harder as he responded eagerly. But then, she moved away. “Do you really think you’re innocent? Might I remind you that you were the one that got me pregnant?”

“Okay, okay,” he agreed and slipped the book from her hands. He opened to a random page. “What about Theophila?”

“Are you serious?” She shook her head as if he’d disappointed her and took the book back, turning to a different page. “Ooh, what about Fionnuala? That’s a pretty name. Except it means ‘white shoulder’. Why would you create a name to mean ‘white shoulder’?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. Why would you name a kid Fionnuala?” She responded by whacking his shoulder with the book.

“Okay…” She flicked through the pages again. “What about Desdemona? That’s pretty too.”

He looked over her shoulder, reading the meaning before shaking his head and laughing. “You want to name her something that means ‘ill-fated’? I think that’s worse than ‘white shoulder’.”

She bit her lip. “Guess I should read the meanings, huh?” Again, she turned to a different page. “Cordelia? It means ‘warm-hearted’. Or…” She snorted with laughter. “Let’s call her Courtney! It means ‘short nose’.” She giggled again, amused by the name, the meaning, and why anyone would have a name that meant ‘short nose’.

A month or two later, after the pain, after the hours, after everything giving birth involved, Alyson held her newborn baby in her arms. She was pale-skinned, with a light layer of hair on her soft scalp, and her eyes were a clear, vivid dark blue. She was tiny and fragile and perfect. And as Alyson drank in every detail of her new child, she gave a weak smile. The baby’s nose was small, cute, and simply short. Alyson glanced up at her husband. “Let’s call her Courtney.”