My mother laughed. “Of course she’s real. You were real, too, when you were born.”
“It’s just so weird! My cousin went ahead and justmadea baby!”
“Do not call my baby weird,” I growled at him.
“Hey, I didn’t callherweird, I just meant - “
“Koto, I think that’s enough,” Lorenzo said, noticing that I was pretty close to clawing his nose off.
Koto ducked his head and mumbled, “Sorry…”
“What shall her name be? Have you discussed names?” my father asked. As he spoke he brushed her forehead gently with his finger, moving the stray hairs across to the side.
“Yes,” I said. “But I think I see some stragglers outside who would like to hear the news as well…”
In the tiny window in the door, Dante, Gabriel, Ruby and Ryu were waiting, all shuffled around to get a glimpse of the action.
“Can, uh, someone let them in?” I asked.
“I usually don’t allow so many people in the delivery room, but…” Dr. Lynden sighed and opened the door. Our friends came streaming in, their faces bursting with joy. Gabriel nearly squealed and started crying at the sight of the baby.
“Oh my gods!” he exclaimed. “She’s so small!”
“Wow, she’s really cute,” Dante said, a smile stretched across his face. “Way cuter than Lorenzo. Must be Raja’s genes.”
Lorenzo rolled his eyes, grinning. “Well, I won’t argue with that.”
“Congratulations, you two,” Ryu said. He gave Lorenzo a quick affectionate clap on the back. “You did good, man. That is one beautiful baby. Almost makes me wish I had one.”
“Thanks, Ryu.” Lorenzo smiled at his friend. “And I’m sure one day youwillhave one of your own.”
As they spoke, I suddenly remembered the massive favor Ryu had done for me earlier. “Oh, Ryu! Thank you so much for helping my parents. It really meant a lot to me”
A small blush crossed his cheeks. “Oh, it was no problem at all. A pleasure, really. I knew your parents wouldn’t want to miss this moment.”
“So that was your dragon form, right? The serpent dragon?” I asked.
“Yes.” He nodded. “An eastern dragon, to be precise.”
“Wow, that’s so cool. I didn’t know there were so many types of dragons, but I guess that makes sense, given how big the world is and all - ”
“Um, hello?” Koto interrupted. “Did you forget that you were gonna tell us the name of the baby? No offense, Ryu, but I care more about that than your whole life story.”
Ryu just chuckled good-naturedly. “None taken. I care more about that, as well.”
Leave it to Koto to rush things along. But I knew he was right, too. Everybody watched Lorenzo and I, all waiting on bated breath, excited to hear the name we had chosen. Even Noah went still and quiet in Gabriel’s arms.
“Well, Lorenzo and I had two names picked out,” I began. “One for a boy, and one for a girl. So, we’ve decided to name our daughter Charlotte Kali.”
My mother gasped. Emotion swept across her face. “Oh, Raja…”
“That’s a wonderful name,” my father added. He placed a comforting hand on my mother’s shoulder as she failed to hold back her tears.
“So, what was your name if it was a boy?” Koto asked curiously.
Lorenzo and I exchanged glances. He was the one to reply this time. “Anthony Eka.”
Both of our fathers perked up. Anton smiled, wiping a tear from his eye, and my father nodded solemnly with a smile of his own. Even though our baby had been a girl, I was glad they learned of our name for a boy anyway.
As if reading one step ahead, Koto said, “Who knows? Maybe if you have another kid you can use that name after all.”
“Hey, Ijustpushed a kid out of me,” I growled at him. “I’m nowhere near thinking about another one, thank you very much.”
Gabriel sighed and scoffed at Koto. “Betas…”
