Disclaimer: I don't own the concept of mutant superpowers, all I do own about the story is the characters. It's a TCP with OC's. TCP is the genre, the stories belonging to which, concern ordinary, non superhero mutant characters living in the world of Marvel. The concept of TCP – Tales of Common People – belongs to Kelly "Kielle" Newcomb and Phil Foster. TCP stories deal with ordinary, non superhero mutants and their human friends, enemies and family members, living in the Marvel Universe. If you liked it, go to my profile and read the rest of my TCP's.
"The Choice of the Name"
„ So there's just that last thing left, now."
" Yes, the name."
" Any other parents would have already chosen one, many months earlier."
" Well, don't forget we already did prepare a list of the names, well before you went to hospital. We only need to make the final choice."
" Yes. We need a beautiful name that will fit our baby."
" Let's take a look at the list once more. What about Elise?"
" No way, Miles. We aren't going to call her Elise. I told you that, then, and I'm not changing my mind on this."
" Why not, Rose? So far, we already have Alan, Bethany, Caleb, Diane… an "e" is the next in the alphabet. The choice seems quite easy. Elise? Don't you want an Elise? So what about an Eve, then? Maybe Elaine? Children in the alphabetical order…"
" No. I don't like an Eve. Brings bad associations. In kindergarten there was that one girl of this name – horrible and freckled all over. She was always pinching me."
" Our little non-Eve and non-Elise will be a nice girl with beautiful skin – fair and delicate, no freckles at all. As white and delicate as the Snow White's one. Yes, our little Alison will be a cute and beautiful child. Like her mom."
" Well, thank you but Alison isn't a good name either. We already have four females named Alison in our family. Including my sister."
" My first cousin is an Alison, too."
" Your cousin is a very good woman. Hey, what do you think about the idea to give our little girl the name after some relative of ours we like? Are there – or were – any women in your family, whose names we could give to our girl to honor them? Any women you respect?
" Oh, yes. Great grandma Sophronia and her sister Henrietta, my great aunt Ermitrude… Wonderful women. My distant cousin Mehitabel was a wonderful woman, too."
" Ha, ha. I always appreciated the fact I married a man with a sense of humor but it's too much of a serious matter. Any normal name you can think of? Any owner of a normal name, who deserves its being given to our girl?"
" Well, cousin Rebecca was the most outstanding person in our family…"
" Yes, for the fact that her three husbands all died in mysterious circumstances. And, quite accidentally, all of them happened to be very wealthy. Stop joking, Miles. Any name that sounds nice, isn't inherited from a black widow or anyone like that and fits out daughter."
" Alana?"
" We already have an Alan. If they were twins, it would have made a sense."
" Well, Bethany and Caleb are twins, nevertheless their names don't match."
" It was your uncle Theodore who proposed a Bethany. After his dead daughter. And he's a wealthy widower without any other children. And your close relative. He likes you. And Caleb is after my beloved grandpa."
" Let's check the list one more. Holly, Vanessa, Zoe… Maybe some name that is fashionable now, what do you think? Like Haley? Or Ava? Mia, maybe?"
" Miles, I know why you insist on Ava. That's for Ava Gardner, don't pretend I don't know you like this actress so much. I'm sure if she was still alive – and young – you'd be able to divorce me to marry her, if given this opportunity."
" Someone is jealous here, Rosie. If not Ava, then why not Mia? It's a nice name. Like Mia Farrow."
" No actresses, please. And no singers. I see you just added "Britney" to the list."
" Maybe Bella, then?"
" And no book characters either. That's good you haven't proposed a "Hermione", yet."
" If Bethany was given the choice, she would certainly have come up with this name, I bet. She's crazy about "Harry Potter". Well, if she has any children on her own when adult, she will be able to give them any names she will want. But book characters sometimes do have nice names. What was the name of that other girl from "Twilight" Bethany read? Laurie? No, Leigh? What about Leigh?"
" Maybe Rachel? It's a Bible name too. She was Leigh's sister. Or any other Bible name? Sarah, maybe?"
" Way too common. Anyway… our last name is Connor so it wouldn't just sound well. Sarah Connor… it sounds like the name of the celebrity… or the character from Cameron's movies. So no."
" So maybe something a bit more uncommon?"
" Raelle? Chantelle? Nairobi?"
" You're joking again. I asked seriously. Nairobi?"
" I read about an English couple who named their daughter like that, because it was the place she was born in".
" Well, our child will have a normal name, that's for sure. Even assuming we were crazy enough to name her after the place she was born in… well, "Fuquay-Varina" doesn't even sounds like a human name at all. A normal name and don't forget about this."
" The question is: what name?"
" Maybe something cute. Like the name of a flower. Iris? Lily? I am a Rose, so maybe it would sound well if mother and daughter had similar names. I used to know a woman named Holly, who named her twins Molly and Polly."
" Iris? It's a beautiful name. Like Iris Murdoch."
" Flower names indeed do fit a girl. The name must fit its owner. Must fit our girl."
"Flowers and gems. Amethyst, Emerald or Turquoise sound cute. Oh, sorry, Rose. I'm serious now. Ruby, maybe, then?"
" Ruby is becoming fashionable again."
" It used to be a bit obsolete indeed. But it's a beautiful name. The same with Pearl. I never knew any Pearl, but for the one from "The Scarlet Letter" but you know, I do think this name would fit our daughter. If you agree, of course."
" Pearl… a pretty one, so feminine. Maybe not exactly a common one, but then again, so many people give their babies very generic and trite names. I don't know myself…"
" So maybe Iris? Well, I just want to say Alan has a crush on an Iris from his school. And Mrs. MacMillan, the one who gives the twins music lessons, has a daughter of this name. I also work with a woman whose name is Iris."
" Oh, well… Iris indeed became a bit too generic. Almost as much as Madison, Emily and Chloe. While Pearl…"
" Pearl is perfect. It fits our baby. Let's stay with this name, then. So since now on, we are the parents of Alan, Bethany, Caleb, Diane and Pearl. Pearl fits exquisitely well"
Miles and Rose Connor looked tenderly at their youngest child, now sleeping peacefully in her baby crib. Rose reached her arm and delicately pinched her newborn daughter on her arm, which changed instantly and the rest of her body followed. Although just a few days old and brought from hospital only the day before, little Pearl belonged to those mutants, whose powers show many years before their owners hit puberty. The body of the baby wasn't pink, soft and delicate as bodies of newborns tend to be, any more. Now it was covered by retractable armored plates of some sort, covering her in a protective body armor. The armor was milk white and as hard as the surface of a pearl. Yes, the name of the newborn fit her. Her parents were right about this. It fit her very well.