Christening
It was time to find a name for Baby girl Rizzoli. Both Angela and Frank were sure that would be the easiest part, but oh god, they didn't have the faintest idea of how hard it would become.
Frank and Angela hadn't thought about names for their little daughter because Angela said that they'd know her name as soon as she'd be born. Frank had agreed but the more he watched his daughter, the less names he could think of.
"I know a great name for her." Frank said while reading the newspaper.
"Oh really? What is it" Angela asked, happily, as her husband seemed so interested in finding a name for their daughter.
"Kim." He said, smiling as he looked up from the newspaper.
"Kim? As in Kimberly or just Kim? Kim Rizzoli?"
"Yeah."
Angela walked closer to Frank and looked down to the section he was reading in the paper.
"Hmm… Might it have something to do with this headline about Kim Andrews, a Red Sox player?"
"What? He is a great player."
"He! Don't you forget, we have a girl, not a boy."
"Well if we had a boy, then it wouldn't be no problem. His name would be Frank junior."
"Oh would it now?" Angela was getting angry. Her hormones were giving her mood swings. "What about Angela junior then?"
"Be serious woman. That's just weird."
"Huh." She said and walked away. "Plus I've already decided her name. Her name is Esmeralda."
"What if I don't like that name?"
"Did you go through a 40 hour labor? Did you carry this child in your uterus for 9 months? I didn't think so. I get to choose her name." Angela played with their newborn. "Hello Esmeralda." A loud yell, followed by a cry suddenly came from the infant.
"See. She doesn't even like the name herself."
"Oh yeah? And why don't we just let her choose her own name then?" Angela started crying and threw herself into an old chair in the living room.
"Here. Let me take her." Frank said and put the paper down. "You haven't slept in hours. Let me hold her for a while." Frank reached out his arms to calm his little girl. Angela fell asleep in the chair only seconds after Frank had taken the baby from her arms.
"Don't worry little one. Your name won't be Esmeralda." Like magic, the little girl stopped crying and fell asleep in her father's arms. "I can see how tough you are, you need a strong name."
Frank started looking through old magazines and newspapers that they hadn't thrown out yet and wrote down all the girl names he could find. He marked the ones he liked and skipped all the horrible ones. When Angela woke up he had written down about 50 names.
"Where's the baby?" Angela yelled as she woke up in panic.
"Relax. She's sleeping, I put her down for you." Frank said and Angela relaxed. "I've written down lots of baby names for you. I'm sure we can come down to a decision together."
Angela stood up and started reading the list. Frank was trying to read her facial expressions but Angela was so tired she didn't show any.
"What about more feminine names. Like Esmeralda or Vanessa or Juliana or something."
"I don't know, I don't think that's her. She seems like someone who should have a strong name." Frank said. Worried that his daughter would have a horrible name growing up.
Frank was sure that the hormones were controlling his wife, she had never suggested names like these before.
"What about something short and strong and then a feminine middle name?"
"You better not be suggesting Kim again."
"I'm not. What about Jill, Kate or maybe Sian?
"Sian? What kind of a name is that? That's way worse than what I've suggested."
"Sian? Oh it's some kind of new form of the name Jane."
"Jane?" Angela seemed surprised.
"Yes. What? Do you like it?"
"Yes. Jane, I think that's a good name. I have a book on the meaning of baby's names and their meanings, I'll go get it."
"Jane Rizzoli. Kate Rizzoli. Jill Rizzoli?" Frank tried saying these names out loud. "Esmeralda Rizzoli? Vanessa Rizzoli?"
"The name Jane means a gift of god." Angela and Frank looked at each other and smiled. Their baby girl was certainly a gift of god. She was their little miracle. "Jane it is."
"Yes! Jane Rizzoli."
"Jane Clementine Rizzoli."
"Clementine?" Frank was shocked.
"Clementine means mild or merciful. Isn't that beautiful?"
"Be-aut-i-ful?" Frank was confused, that was one of the worst names he'd heard in his life. "Well, of course it is sweetheart. The merciful gift of god? Sounds perfect to me." Frank wasn't a good pretender, but thankfully Angela was so full of hormones, she thought he was being sincere.
"A new year, a new beginning and a new name." Angela seemed happy. Frank would just make sure that no one would ever call her Clementine, that name would be a secret for eternity.
"Do you plan to raise this child in the catholic faith?" Father Crowley asked the Rizzoli's.
"Yes we do." Frank said, holding his daughter.
"It's the role of the mother and the father to present the child to the church."
"Yes."
"Place the infant over the baptismal font. What name do you wish to give your child?"
"Jane Clementine." Frank said, a little defeated and worried about that name.
"In the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit, amen." Father Crowley bathed Jane in holy water. "Today is an amazing milestone. Today, we come together, to celebrate and commemorate Jane Clementine's Christening. As always, we give thanks and praise for the remarkable gift of Jane Clementine's life.