Chapter 9: The Name Game
Finally, the party had calmed down somewhat and Laura was able to make her way over to her son. He was taking the news rather well all things considered. Sitting down next to him, she ruffled his hair and whispered in his ear. "You know you'll always be my little man."
He smiled. "I know. Freddy has two sisters and his mommy and daddy love him still."
How young he was. His innocence made her feel relieved. She and Rob had discussed telling him about the birds and the bees before the baby was born, but somehow she thought that maybe waiting until afterword might be better. Regardless, she was going to leave the whole thing completely up to Rob. She looked over at her husband, in awe that he could captivate an entire room. He was telling the gathering the story of how when Richie came home from the hospital, he had thought they had the wrong baby. She settled back into the couch and let Rich lay his head on her shoulder. It seemed that it was just going to be a nice, quiet, relaxed evening until Laura's mother said: "So what are you going to name it?"
Oh no. She cast a quick warning glance at Rob and said: "Oh, well, Mother...we hadn't really thought about it yet; we have plenty of time to decide on a name," she cleared her throat.
"That's right," Rob exclaimed as he moved closer to his wife.
Then, the room was abuzz with sound as everyone suggested their favorite name. "Rob, do something before we have another Rosebud fiasco," Laura whispered as she covered Richie's ears.
"Honey, feign a headache," he whispered back.
"Oh, Rob!"
"Do you want to get us out of this situation?"
"You're right," Laura said as she put a hand to her temple.
"Laura, what's wrong?" Her Aunt Winnifred said moments later.
"I'm starting to get a headache."
"Oh, well, we should leave and let you rest then, come on everyone." Nearly the entire party dispersed in a matter of moments. Her Grandma Rita stayed behind.
"You know, you look awfully big for five months."
This wasn't exactly what Laura was expecting nor wanting to hear. "I uh..."
Her grandmother left before she could continue, but the comment haunted her.
Later on, when she and Rob were getting ready for bed, she stood in front of the mirror and gazed at her reflection scrutinously.
"Honey, what are you doing?" Rob asked.
"Darling, do I-do I seem bigger than I should to you?"
He looked at her and laughed. "Don't take what your grandmother said to heart. The woman is ninety years old," he wrapped his arms around her. "And I think you're just the right size, you're perfect." Their foreheads met.
"Thank you, dear, but," she looked at herself again. "I don't remember being like this with Rich."
"Maybe you're having a girl, so you're carrying differently? Honestly, sweetheart, I wouldn't worry about it."
"You're right, it's silly," she said, but she still felt strange about it, as though something might be wrong. Her woman's intuition was obnoxious and seldom accurate, so she tried to ignore it.
When Buddy drove the car up his driveway, Sally let out a sigh that she didn't know she had been holding in. She was finally going to get to be with her beloved permanently. This was a welcome shock to her, something that she had to look forward to. Buddy glanced at her. "You okay?"
She nodded as he turned the motor off.
"You stay in here while I take in everything."
"No, Buddy, I'll help, that's ridiculous..."
He kissed her. "You're in no condition to help."
She couldn't argue with him there.
What felt like an hour later, he finally let her get out of the car. They walked up the path together. Just before they entered the house, Buddy bent his knees.
"Buddy what are you? Oh!" Sally yelled as he picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love ya, Sal."
"I love you too, ya big nut!"
Mr. Sorrell carried his future Mrs. into their home.
