“Yeah!” Theo exclaimed. “Look, the grumpy one is Adriel. This one’s you, Pierce. And I’m this cute one obviously.”
Adriel crossed his arms. “I amnotthat grumpy.”
“Except you totally are,” Theo said. Adriel took a swat at him like an irritated cat and Theo ducked. “He’s trying to murder me in the nursery! Help!”
I chuckled. “Did you two do all of this work yourselves? I mean, I can’t get over it. It’s incredible.”
Adriel pushed his shoulders back proudly. “Yes, we did much of the work, with some help from the bat servants.”
“We wanted it to be a surprise, so we didn’t let Pierce help,” Theo added.
“I did suspect you two were up tosomething, but I wasn’t quite sure what,” Pierce said. “This was a very kind gesture.”
If Adriel and Theo were physically able to blush, I’m sure they would have.
“This place is practically bigger than my apartment,” I said in awe, taking it all in. It looked like a staged photo from a fancy home magazine or something, except it was real. And it was formybaby. My hands instinctively went to my belly, which hadn’t grown quite yet. “This is all for you. Can you believe that?”
Pierce slipped his arm around my shoulder. “That reminds me. We should pick a name for our little one, don’t you think?”
Because of the horrible morning sickness I’d been suffering from lately, the fun part of being a parent totally slipped my mind. “Oh, you’re right. Do you have any in mind?”
“Wait!” Margaret’s voice cried from the door. We turned to her, watching as she hobbled inside. Adriel offered his aid, and this time she conceded and let him help her.
“Ah, Benji,” she said breathlessly. “Do you like the nursery? I asked my sons to set it up for you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adriel and Theo exchange confused glances. I got the feeling she had nothing to do with the inception of the nursery, but I decided not to question her about it. Maybe the stress of the illness was mixing up her memories.
“I do, I love it,” I said with a smile. “It’s just perfect.”
“Wonderful,” Margaret said. She reached out and took my hands. Her skin felt cold and her bones were frail. I felt a rush of sympathy - Caleb had gotten better after the surgery, thank god, but Margaret’s health was still declining.
“So, you were discussing names, were you?” she asked. Before anyone could respond, she said, “I have a few suggestions, if you’re willing to hear them, Benji?”
I smiled. Even if there was no guarantee I would like them, I couldn’t turn her down. “Sure.”
Her eyes lit up. “So, for a boy, you should name him Bernard. Or Claude, both great names.”
Kind of old style, aren’t they?I thought.I guess those are the types of names she’s used to.
“For a girl, you can name her Doris,” Margaret suggested with a smile. “Lovely names, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, they are nice, but I’m not sure if they’re right for my baby, you know?”
Margaret’s smile fell. “I see.”
“Besides,” I said hurriedly, “I want the name to be something I choose with Pierce, since he’s the father.”
For a moment I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of anger in Margaret’s eyes, but it must have been my imagination because it was gone the next second.
“Hm,” Margaret said, but otherwise didn’t reply. She looked now to Theo’s mural of the three bats and the baby, scrutinizing it. “Is this all, Theodore?”
“Huh?” Theo asked.
“I only see you three depicted,” Margaret said. “Why was I not included?”
Theo suddenly looked horrified. “Oh, um… I don’t know. I’m sorry. I thought three was a nice number.”
Margaret seemed displeased. I quickly interrupted, trying to catch her gaze with a smile. “Look, Margaret, I’m not on the mural either. And hell, I’m the one giving birth to this baby.”
