“I’ve never met a single person named Apollo,” Zane said. “And somehow you’ve met two?”
Noah grinned at him. “What can I say? I’m cultured.”
Cricket snorted, then winced, hands gripping her belly. She inhaled slowly through her nose, jaw tight, then exhaled through pursed lips until the tension eased.
“Hard pass on Apollo and Achilles,” she said once it passed.
“But not Atlas?” August asked.
Cricket shrugged. “I mean, I don’t hate it.”
“What about Axel?” Noah offered.
Cricket stared at him. “I am not naming my child after a car part.”
“Or a rockstar with a drug addiction,” August added.
“And bad plastic surgery,” Lucas said dryly.
“It’s edgy!” Noah protested.
“It’s cursed,” she countered.
Felix leaned forward, clearly delighted by this exercise. “Okay, okay… what about Alabama or Arizona?”
“Why not just name the baby Arkansas or Alaska?” Noah added.
Cricket laughed, breath hitching just slightly. Thomasclocked the way Lucas’s hand slid instinctively to her knee again, grounding them both. “See? This is helping already.”
Zane grinned. “What about Ace?”
“That’s a dog name,” Asa said flatly.
“So is Chance, and somehow people keep naming children that,” Zane shot back.
“It’s too close to Asa,” Cricket said, glancing at him. “No offense, but one of you is enough.”
Asa grinned. “Agreed. I’m one of a kind.”
Avi snapped his fingers. “Archie.”
“Like Bunker?” Lucas asked, wincing. “You want to name our kid after a racist?”
Cricket frowned. “Wasn’t that the kid fromRiverdaletoo? The redhead?”
“Yeah andRiverdaleis based on the comics,” Noah said. “That’s kinda literary too?”
“Meh,” Cricket said, waving a hand.
“Alfie?” Felix tried.
“Sounds like a Victorian child dying of consumption,” Zane said.
“Ansel?” Asa offered.
“Too…nasal,” Lucas replied.
“Quick lightning round,” Noah said. “Everyone sound off. Atticus, you first.”
