What's in a Name?
Now married, Arnold and Helga, both in their mid-30s, ponder what to name their second child.
"Ok Eleanor, give mommy a kiss goodnight."
Five year old Eleanor Kimberly Shortman walked over slowly to her visibly pregnant mother Helga. She leaned in close and planted a gentle kiss on Helga's cheek after which she proceeded to give her belly a gentle patting.
"Good night mommy." She said. "And good night too baby sister."
Helga winced slightly as those last two words left her daughter's lips. While she and Olga had for all intents and purposes begun to get along better, there was still that reflexive shudder at those two words strung together, and with it the thought of their second child being constantly infantilized as she was all those years ago.
But there was more to her vexation than that; it was becoming clear to that Helga that for some unexplainable reason, Arnold appeared to waffle every time the subject of naming their child came up since they found out their child was going to be a girl. She was lucky enough to get hemming and hawing from her foot-ball headed husband on those rare occasions that they did discuss it, otherwise he just made some excuse and dodged the issue.
"Come to think of it, Arnold was the same way even during Eleanor's pregnancy." Helga thought to herself.
Arnold, who by this point could read Helga like an open book, sensed Helga's internal discomfort and challenged his oldest daughter to a race up the steps and to her room. Eleanor "won", much to Arnold's "chagrin." Once she was tucked in, Arnold read her a bedtime story and said goodnight.
Once the door closed, Arnold tiptoed down the stairs and poured himself a glass of beer and ice water for Helga.
"Baby sister." Helga said suddenly.
Arnold looked up.
"You know Arnold." She continued. "It's the third trimester come next week. At some point, a girl has to have a name. And I did promise to leave this one up to you after naming Eleanor-"
"I know, I know." He said looking at the head foaming on the glass surface. "I just can't think of a good one right now."
Helga could just as easily read Arnold. He stared pensively at his beer, eyes glassing over in thought. The corner of his lips twitch upward into the faintest hint of a smile. She new her husband was full of it, for certain. But why be beat around the bush with her was the million dollar question.
"Arnold, we've been married for seven years now so I can tell when you're lying." She said a little testily. "I know you have a name. Spill it."
Arnold put the glass to his mouth and quickly funneled his drink. He was going to need all the alcohol in his system to get through this with his wife.
"You got me." Said Arnold slowly once the last dregs had been swallowed. "Before I met you, there was this girl from back when we were kids-"
"Look bucko." She said finally losing patience. "We've gone through every baby book this side of the planet three times over already. So, unless you're pitching 'Ruth' or 'Lila' to me, I honestly couldn't give a rat's rip what we name our kid. I'd just like to squeeze it out knowing you've-"
"IT'S CECILE!" Arnold Snapped.
The whole house went dead silent. Helga's pupil's dilated as she remembered "Cecile", Arnold's French pen pal from the fourth grade. It all flooded back to her: the dinner at Chez Paris, her ridiculous poodle hair-style, the scheming note she left him, his one-sided thirst for Ruth, all of it came back as clear as yesterday. Arnold didn't see it, as he was still too engrossed in guilt.
"Helga," He began slowly. "When I watched you walk down the aisle at our wedding, I was watching every step in our lives that bought us to this moment flashing through my head. I thought of all the memories we've shared from childhood and beyond; all the normal milestones like school plays, dances, and the like, as well as all the crazy adventures like fighting river pirates, curing jungle diseases and saving the neighborhood from vengeful developers. And I thought of what a blessing it was to share what days remained with the girl who stood by my side through all of them. The girl who spent her time threatening to beat me up, but always found a way to lift me up instead."
"But I can't lie when I say that from now until I die, my dinner with Cecile that one Valentine's Day will always occupy a very important place in my…psyche." Arnold said stammering. "What I mean is… it made me realize some things about myself, my future, and who I want to spend it with. Everyone knew I had this huge crush on Ruth McDougal back in the day and…well…nobody was going to convince me that I was not even a fly on the wall to her. Then when I did get to know her, I learned that my feelings were sorely misplaced. Ditto for Lila later on."
"Do you remember when we went to San Lorenzo?" Asked Arnold after a beat of silence. "After the sleeping sickness was cured and before we-"
"Yes." she said.
"When I saw you walking out to the temple, I thought of something Cecile said: 'the most beautiful gift can come in the plainest box.' Coming home that summer, I received two of the most beautiful gifts in the world, my parents coming back, and a loving relationship with girl whom I never expected. And it didn't come the lump of intricate gold the natives called El Corazon, but from you giving up your humble gold-plated locket, that locket you've had since who even knows when. I ultimately came to know and appreciate you Helga; and go on to share and experience a lifetime of surprising and wonderful memories that I wouldn't trade for an army of Ruths and Lilas. And it took one Cecile for me to take that first step in that direction."
Helga's heart stopped. Nothing she had have ever written as a kid could begin to match what Arnold had confessed to her. Suddenly his foot-dragging made sense. He wasn't being difficult about parenthood, he wanted to say thanks to the girl that bought them together.
"You must think I'm the world's biggest heel in all of this." He sighed walking back to her. "Me lacking the stones to name our daughters as it is. Then to hear it's all because of some long lost Parisian pen pal who most likely wouldn't remember me if her life depended on it. I know I should have forgotten her when you and I exchanged vows but, again, I wouldn't have exchanged vows with you if it weren't for her; but there's one thing I still don't understand, who was she?" Arnold said wistfully. "It was like she came down from the open sky and ascended shortly thereafter. She said we'd always have Chez Paris, but even that too got knocked over and turned into a car dealership. I just wanted to tell her thank you in some way for all of this and what's to come."
He tenderly and penitently kisses her hand.
"Oh Arnold, you poor tortured do-gooder." Helga thought as she felt the skin of her hand vibrate from his caress. "How little I deserve you if you knew the truth about 'Cecile'; my backhanded preadolescent ploy to win a piece of your attention that Valentine's Day of yore. All these years I've locked the truth away letting it turn your pure little heart into sausage meat. How I've let my deception burn a hole in our bonds of marital trust. Well old girl, there's only one thing you can do for him now."
"Hey Arnold, do you think you can freshen up my water?" Helga asked waving her glass.
Arnold wordlessly took her glass and went back to the kitchen. As he rounded the corner, Helga pulled the ribbon out of her ponytail and gently brushed her hair over her eye. She smiled confidently while looking into a nearby mirror. Taking into consideration how much time passed between being childhood and now, "Cecile" still looked as recognizable and as stunning as she did in that French restaurant two decades ago.
"How are we on that water?" Helga said giddily.
"Just putting in one last lime." Arnold called from the kitchen. A second and a half passed as he rounded his way back into the living room. Arnold slowed down and stopped as he saw Helga sitting up from the couch. A speechless shock pulsated through him as he saw her hair drooping over in that all too familiar way.
"Bon Sewer, Arnold."
Arnold's looked lovingly at his wife and kissed her. He always knew Helga was full of surprises, but this one clearly took the cake.