Disclaimer- I still don't own Castle, Andrew Marlowe does, and I don't want him to sue me for playing in his sandbox. Today's Castle disclaimer Haiku:
Kate Beckett I'm not
Richard Castle writes original fiction
I'm not the writer
Kate, Dad and I spent a summer weekend in the Hamptons, where I was planning on relaxing on the beach, but instead, I felt like a beached whale. I felt Lima Bean kick. She was waking up and moving, which was a good thing. I had read about the breech births and that movement was a good thing inside the womb. I only had seven weeks before Lima Bean was here and I still hadn't decided on a name for her. I sat under an umbrella by the pool, protecting my skin. I was too shy to wear a bathing suit of any kind while pregnant, while especially this far along. It wasn't the stretch marks, just my sheer size. Jenny insisted I'd get bigger than I already was. I was already so fat my ass was too enormous for anything other than yoga pants and I couldn't tie my shoes anymore (not that they fit), so I was mostly wearing flip-flops.
Dad was barbecuing ribs for dinner since I was craving them. It was going to be an all-afternoon event. Kate sat down beside me on the patio chair next to mine.
"How are you feeling? Sleepy?"
"I'm sleepy all the time," I admitted. "I look like a beached whale. And it's summertime, so hot!"
"I know," she said. "The pregnancy is almost over. I'm sorry you have to be pregnant through the whole summer."
"It's so hot and uncomfortable," I complained. "Do you think Lima Bean's hot and uncomfortable?"
"She's probably just fine," Kate said, sitting up to roll up my yoga pants so I wasn't all covered up and sweaty. She started rubbing my feet, too.
"Pi should be doing that."
Pi had signed off all parental responsibility a few weeks ago in a legal document sent him by Dad's lawyers. We didn't talk about it, he never contacted me. Just a notarized signature in the mail; Preston Ignatius Elliot, and it had been sent across seas in an thick envelope by courier, it required a signature upon receipt. And that was the end of Pi's responsibilities towards me and Lima Bean forever.
"You know, I think we need to stop using the word Pi altogether," Kate said. "Like maybe refer to pies as tarts like the British do. And the numerical term 3.14 as March the 14th."
"He's probably getting stoned in a hashish bar right now," I grumbled, pulling up Instagram.
"Put down the phone. You don't need any reminder of him in your life."
"I've already got a reminder," I said, rubbing my enormous bump.
"I don't really have any good advice about forgetting him," Kate admitted, sighing.
"Couldn't I have had Ryan Gosling's baby? He'd have stuck around."
"You and me both, kid," she joked, grinning. "Actually, I'm old enough that I was more into Johnny Depp and Jeff Buckley."
"Johnny Depp?" I repeated. "He's so old!"
"Shaddup," Kate teased. "He's still sexy. And hot. And talented. Don't tell your dad I said that, though!"
"Pinkie promise," I said, holding out my pinkie finger. She hooked hers in mine and we kissed our thumbs.
"His movies have kind of sucked the last few years," Kate admitted. "But I loved his stuff in the nineties."
"Me too," I admitted.
Over dinner, we had a long conversation about what I was going to name Lima Bean.
"I'm down to Tessa Eudora and Olive Eudora, but that's it," I admitted. "I'm not crazy about either one."
"I know you're trying to continue the tradition of writer middle names," Dad began. "But Eudora's not a popular middle name. Maybe make it the first?"
"Eudora Olive Castle," I muttered. I shook my head. "No. Eudora Tessa Castle. I don't like this."
"What about the names you nixed?" Kate asked.
"I had Lucy, Lillian, and Pearl."
"Every time I hear the name Pearl, I think of the Landlord," Dad chuckled. "Give me my moneeeey! You pay now!!"
"Oh, you're right," I admitted.
"Why did you nix Lucy?" Kate asked.
"Because every is naming their kid Lucy around New York," I admitted.
"And Lillian?"
"Too formal."
"Well, she could go by Lily. Or Lil."
"Lily?" I asked. "Lillian Eudora Castle. Lily Castle."
"It's got a ring to it," Dad said.
"I like that. A lot! I think I've just named my baby!"
We got home from the Hamptons and Grams had moved out into her own place; her room had been transformed over the weekend into a nursery.
"Dad!" I cried, awstruck. "What did you have done?"
"Do you like it?" he asked, coming upstairs.
"I love it! It's so perfect for a little girl!"
"I came up with it with my designer and I hired a professional to organize it, see?" he said, tugging out a drawer of baby clothes. "Man, they did a good job!"
"Where's Grams?"
"She got an apartment in the Upper West Side she moved into, she's fine."
"It's really hard keeping a secret from you," Kate added, coming upstairs.
All Lily's things were organized, the changing table was all set up, the cloth diapers were waiting and carefully arranged, and there was a set of foot-tall letters in pink spelling LILY out over the crib and there was a glider chair for me to sit in beside a lamp and a bookshelf filled with toys and a few books. I knew Dad was going to find a way to fill that bookshelf for her.
"How did they know my baby's name?" I asked. "I just decided on it."
"We texted her the moment you came up with it," Dad said. "Lily. My grandbaby's going to be a Lily Bean and she's almost here."
"I think that's much better than Lima Bean," Kate said.
"I think so, too," I admitted. I opened the door to the closet where all her clothes were hung and organized. I wanted to cry it was so perfect. "Can we go see Grams in her new apartment?"
"She's teaching right now, but maybe tomorrow," Dad said. "She's probably not unpacked, yet. This was so hard to organize and keep it a secret from you!"
Lily kicked. "She just kicked!" I cried. "She's happy about it, too!"
"I'm going to start a load of laundry," Kate said. "Why don't we all get unpacked and bring down our dirty clothes?"
"Sounds good," Dad said. "I'll start dinner."
I spent at least an hour exploring the new nursery and just being giddy over it. It was so perfect. I loved what Dad had done for it; it was better than anything I could have planned!
After dinner, Kate and I made some popcorn and we sat down to watch something on the TV while folding clothes.
"What do you want to watch?" Kate asked.
"I don't know. Anything good on the DVR?"
She scrolled through and named off a few movies and TV shows we both liked. We couldn't agree. "Well… I've got a TV series I really loved. Maybe you'd like it, too?"
"What is it?"
"Nebula Nine?" Kate said nervously. I think she was expecting me to make fun of it.
"No!" Dad shouted from the study. "Don't watch it, Alexis! It's a giant time suck!"
"I could use some time sucked away until Lily gets here!" I called.
"It was cancelled after fourteen episodes!"
"Shut your face!" Kate yelled. Lily rolled over. Or hiccuped, I couldn't tell.
"Lily wants to watch it!" I yelled.
"All Lily can see is black right now!" Dad shouted. "All she wants ice cream!"
"Can you turn up the AC?" I whispered to Kate. "I'm burning up."
Kate got up to turn down the AC and get the DVDs.
"Did somebody touch the thermostat?" Dad yelled.
"I'm hot!" I shouted. "Think of Lily! Kate, hurry up, I'm eating all the popcorn!"
A?N- I hope you guys love the baby name I chose for Alexis's baby!