Chap. 12: A week after the proposal, Zoot and Lips were married in a church in Hollywood. It had to be the greatest day in their lives, other than joining the Muppets. Now all that was left to do was wait for their child to be born.
A long while later, Lips was in his fifth month of pregnancy. Lips woke up one day, feeling... warm. He wasn't sick anymore, and Zoot was still asleep. Lips then realized Zoot was the one making him warm. Lips found that he liked it, and accepted that Zoot was in his life. He sat up, looking at Zoot as he slept. That is until Zoot turned and looked at him. Lips smiled, Zoot smiled back. Zoot sat up, and got closer to Lips, his stomach pressing against Lips' bulge as they kissed. Then they both felt something, which Lips felt more: The baby's first kick. Lips' eyes slightly widened as the two both looked down at his belly. Zoot sat down beside Lips, pressing his hand to Lips' stomach. Lips' mouth was slightly gaping as this happened.
"Zoot..." Lips said. "I don't believe it. It's alive."
"I know man, I know," Zoot said, excitedly.
The saxophonist couldn't believe that the baby his husband was carrying was now kicking, and he was really excited. He didn't want to take his hand away.
"Uh…Zoot? How long are you going to keep your hand there? We need to get to work," Lips said, snickering.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry," Zoot said, removing his hand from Lips' stomach, a little embarrassed about his excitement.
Later that day, Lips told his sister and Janice that the baby had just kicked and man, were they excited. Eventually, word got out that Lips and Zoot's baby was starting to kick and every Muppet in the theater wanted a turn to feel it. From Afghan Hound to Zondra. Lips was even more excited about the baby coming soon.
Lisa then told Lips she needed to speak to him about something. They met in the Electric Mayhem dressing room.
"So what's up, sis?" he asked.
"I'm not sure if you'll mind, but I've begun to see someone in the theater," Lisa said.
"Really? Who?" Lips asked interested in the guy Lisa was dating.
Whenever Lisa dates a guy, she tells Lips about him, so this was not new to him.
"Guess!" Lisa said, snickering. Lips thought over the possibilities.
"Clifford?" Lips guessed.
"No," Lisa said.
"…Dr. Teeth?"
"Nope, guess again."
"...You're not dating Animal are you?" Lips asked nervously.
"Unless I have a way to control him on dates without Floyd, no. Do you give up?" Lisa asked.
"To be honest, yeah."
"Okay, its Walter," Lisa stated.
"You're kidding!" Lips said, surprised. Not to be mean, but Walter was the last guy he expected his sister to date. Then again, they both have similar enthusiasm.
"When did you two click?" Lips asked.
"A few nights ago. Walter asked me out on a date and I got to say, it was fun and he's such a nice guy," Lisa said.
"Well, how about that," Lips said with a grin.
"I'm glad you're okay with it. I knew you'd approve," Lisa beamed.
Another month went by, which was the month Lips and Zoot would learn the gender of their unborn child. They went to the doctor's office and waited patiently for the results of what gender their baby would be. Meanwhile back at the Muppet Boarding House, Pepe was holding bets on what gender the baby is. Of course, a majority of females bet on girl and a majority of males bet on boy.
Finally, it was time for the ultrasound. The doctor rubbed some petroleum jelly on Lips' abdomen and then turned on the ultrasound machine and put the sensor on the bump. As the doctor got to work on seeing the baby on the monitor, Lips grasped Zoot's hand and smiled. Zoot smiled back.
"Ah, there we are," the doctor said. The screen of the monitor showed a baby fetus. "The baby is perfectly healthy," the doctor stated.
"What's it gender?" Lips asked.
"Let's see…" the doctor said, checking over the image. "Oh, you're going to have a baby girl! Congratulations!"
"A baby girl?" Zoot said, confused.
"A little girl, huh. Cool," Lips said with a grin. Now it'll be easier to name the baby.
When the couple got home, they broke the news to the other Muppets. There was a loud cheer and cries of sorrow at the same time! The Muppets that betted that the baby would be a girl now got some money and the Muppets that betted that the baby would be a boy were upset that they lost some money. After the excitement was over and everyone went back to doing their usual thing,
Zoot trudged up to his and Lips' room, a little disappointed by the results. Lips, noticing his husband's sorrow, went after him to figure out what was wrong.
"Hey Zoot, you alright? You seem a little down about something," Lips asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, it's just that I've sort of wanted us to have a boy," Zoot explained.
"Oh…" Lips said. "Maybe next time, dear."
"Yeah, maybe next time," Zoot said.
"Why did you want a boy?" Lips asked, curious.
"Well…for one thing…now I can't name the kid after a saxophonist. I was all set on naming him Charlie!" Zoot explained.
"I kind of figured that, but don't think because it's a girl we can't name her after a saxophonist. There are probably some female saxophonists," Lips stated positively.
"Prove it," Zoot challenged.
Lips whipped out his phone and searched online on Google for female saxophonists. He eventually came across a small list.
"Okay, I got same names; Mindi Abair," Lips stated.
"I like that name Mindi." Zoot said.
"Candy Dulfur."
"That's a cute name."
"Pamela Williams."
"I don't think we can name the kid that. It sounds too much like Spamela, like that other girl pig."
"Layla Angulo."
"Never heard a name like that before."
"Mihoko Abe."
"A foreign name. Nice."
"Jessy J."
"She plays saxophone? I have more respect for her now."
"Kaori Kobayashi."
"Another cool name."
"Saori Yuno."
"Saori sounds like Kaori. Maybe if we get another daughter, we can name her that."
"Chika Asamoto."
"Chika sounds like a name Janice would suggest."
"Well, now do you believe me that there are female saxophonists?" Lips asked.
Zoot smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I like the names Mindi, Jessy and Kaori best."
"I thought you'd like them," Lips said with a smile. "I'll go write them in the notebook."
He went to the desk and pulled out the notebook where he and Zoot wrote down some names for their baby a while ago. Lips wrote down the three new ones and looked at the other names.
"Which name should we give our daughter?"
"I don't know. What do we have for girl names so far?" Zoot asked.
"Bessie, Luanne, Ella, Billie, Dinah, Mari, Mindi, Jessy, and Kaori," Lips answered. "I still like the name Mari."
"Okay…how about Mari Kaori Simms?" Zoot suggested.
"That's perfect!" Lips exclaimed. "That's going to be our little girl's name, Mari Kaori Simms."
"Should we tell the other guys the name?" Zoot asked.
"Yeah, let's get their opinions," Lips agreed.
And with that, the couple walked out of the room to tell their friends the official name of their child.
Yeah, this chapter was sort of rushed, but Zoot and Lips have finally decided on a name for their child, Mari Kaori Simms!
I own Lisa and Mari Kaorit Simms
Jim Henson owns Muppets
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