Lily," Elliot mused. "Claire. Grace."
"Mia. Jade." Liv offered. "Anna. Kyra. Ava."
They knew they wanted the baby's middle name to be Bernadette after Elliot's mother, which they were keeping a surprise until after she was born, but they were struggling to come up with a first name. Because Bernadette was so long, they wanted a shorter first name, and they'd spent weeks listing all the names they could think of.
"What about Nora?" Liv asked suddenly.
"Nora Bernadette," Elliot considered. "It's beautiful. They smiled at each other, both confident they'd found their daughter's name.
"Should we tell anyone her first name?" Elliot asked. "It seems confusing to share her first name but keep her middle name a secret."
"Let's wait until after she's born," Liv agreed. "It will be fun to tell everyone when we share the news."
They were sitting on the floor of the nursery, folding clothes. Nick and Maria had brought them boxes of hand-me-down clothes that they'd washed and sorted. "They're so tiny," Olivia said, holding up an outfit. "It's hard to imagine how little she'll be." She gasped. "She kicked," she exclaimed. "I'm sure this time!" The last few nights, Liv had thought the baby had been moving but wasn't positive. Elliot put his hands gently over Liv's growing belly. He felt his daughter gently kick again. "Nora Bernadette," he mused. "I think you're telling us that we found your name. We can't wait to meet you, owlet."