WATER RIGHTS, CHAPTER 26, CHOOSING A NAME

 

          True to his word, Luke and Stevie were back at the hospital before her doctor showed up to release her and the baby. When the doctor did arrive shortly after they had, he overlooked the fact Stevie was on the bed with Hannah, quite engaged with watching his little sister nurse. He did ask Luke to take Stevie into the hall while he did his examination.

“Well, Hannah, everything looks just fine this morning, so I’m going to send you home. The baby can go as well provided she’s been checked out too.  And, have you chosen a name for her yet?”

“Yep, they came in first thing and told me she’s perfect. As for a name, I think her first or middle name will be Grace. But I feel like I should talk to Stevie and Luke and see if they have any ideas about a name. We’ll do that once we get home and I’ll mail in the birth certificate once it’s filled out.”

They discussed Hannah’s check back and her doctor left, telling her he knew she’d call if she had any problems or questions.

When they left the hospital, Hannah, had, of course, to ride in a wheelchair. Stevie wanted to ride in her lap, so she passed the baby off to Luke who walked alongside as the nurse escorted them to the door. Luke had checked out the new baby car seat and very carefully put the little girl in place. Then, he buckled Stevie up next to her, saying, “Now Stevie, you’re the big brother, so you know it’s your job to look after her back here, right. You let your mom know if you think there’s any kind of a problem, okay?”

“You bet, dad, you bet. How can I tell though? She’s all wrapped up and I can barely see her nose.”

“Well, son, she may not be able to talk, just yet, but I know she’ll let you know if there’s a problem. She’ll cry big time. That’s what babies do.”

As Luke pulled out of the hospital parking lot, Hannah looked in the mirror at Stevie who was very attentively looking at his little sister. He wore his concentration frown. She leaned over to Luke and very quietly asked, “Since when did you become so knowledgeable about babies and such a great dad?”

Luke glanced at her and said, “It’s amazing what you can learn from a book or ten. Plus, I think every single woman I’ve come in contact with the last couple of months has offered a ton of advice. How could I not be prepared?”

Hannah smiled and responded, “Well, if my opinion matters at all, you are doing a bang-up job. Gold stars, gold medals, whatever you’d like in recognition, all you have to do is say the word.”

“Hannah, you know what I’d like. I’d like us to be a family. I love you.”

“We should talk about that at some point, but not right now. I think it’s a subject that deserves our undivided attention, just the two of us.”

“You’re right, but I don’t want to wait forever, okay?”

“Okay.”

At the ranch, it was just like when Stevie came home, except everyone gathered in the dining hall instead of the house. All the staff exclaimed and ooohed and aaaahed over the little pink bundle. A couple of them asked Hannah about the name and Hannah put them off saying she wanted to talk to Stevie about the choices. She didn’t mention Luke as part of that, but she had already decided to include him. She didn’t say anything because she didn’t want staff to think she was putting any pressure on Luke to be the baby’s daddy.

“Okay, everybody needs to get back to work and this baby and I need to head for our room. It will soon be time for the little miss to eat again and I could certainly use something softer than this chair on which to put my own bottom.”

Luke swung Stevie up in his arms as they escorted Hannah and the baby to the house. In Hannah’s bedroom, Stevie watched as the baby was changed and wanted to know why the baby didn’t have a penis like him. “Well, Stevie, that’s the difference between girls and boys. Boys have a penis and girls don’t.”

This led to a bit of a further discussion about how girls peed and pooped and from where. Hannah looked up once to see Luke doing his best not to laugh out loud.

Ensconced in her comfortable nursing chair, Hannah put the baby to her breast and asked Luke and Stevie to get comfortable because they needed to have a discussion. Once they were settled, Hannah continued, “This little girl needs a name. I’ve already decided that Grace, after my grandma, should be either the first or middle name. I thought the two of you might like to talk about the baby’s name. And, Luke, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s entirely your choice.”

Stevie jumped right in, “How about Minnie? Or Daisy? I love those names. If you don’t like those, maybe Tinkerbell. We could call her Tink, just like Peter Pan does. Wendy, Wendy’s good.”

“Well, Stevie, we know you love all the Disney movies, but maybe we could give your little sister a name that wouldn’t get her teased by other kids. What do you think?” Luke asked.

“Why would kids tease my sister about her name. I’d beat them up if they did.” Stevie said emphatically.

“Hang on there boyo,” Hannah said, “You won’t be beating anyone up because you’ll be too smart for that. And, you haven’t been to school yet, but some kids aren’t always nice. Anyway, let’s ask Luke if he has any ideas.”

Luke shook his had and said the first thing that popped into his head, “My favorite name is Hannah, but I don’t suppose you’d name the baby after yourself?”

Hannah laughed and responded, “Nope, not ever.”

“Okay, your name is a palindrome. What about a name like that. I happened to look up a few just in case you asked my opinion. Madam, I offer for your consideration the names Ada, Elle, Ava or Izzi. And, did you know the meaning of Hannah is Grace? Maybe you were named that for your grandma.”

“No, I didn’t know the meaning of my name. I never bothered to look it up. Do you know the meaning of the names you suggested, Luke?”

“Ada means Noble, Ava means Grace, Izzi stands for Mighty and there was no meaning for Elle.”

“What does my name mean, mommy? Does my name have a meaning?”

“Yes, Stevie, I looked up your name too and it means Garland or Crown.” Luke responded in lieu of Hannah.

“What about your name dad, what does it mean?”

Luke laughed. “Yes, I looked up my name too since I was browsing through a huge list. My name means, Bright, White, Light-giving.”       

“Okay, gentlemen, I think we’re getting a bit off topic. So, Stevie, what do you think about the names your dad suggested?”

“I don’t know mommy. This is hard. I still really like Tinkerbell.”

“Well, honey, we’re not naming your sister Tinkerbell, but if it has to be a Disney name, how about Calliope from the movie Tangled. You haven’t seen that one yet, but the name comes from there. We could call her Calli Grace for short.”

Hannah looked from Stevie’s face to Luke’s and added, “I really do like the sound of Ada Grace and Ava Grace, but Ava Grace would be like saying Grace Grace. Anyway, as I call off the names, raise your hand if that’s the one you want. This Little Mite needs a name of her very own.”

Hannah had used her free hand to write down the various ideas. Slowly, she called each one off with Grace as the middle name. When finished, each one of them had voted for a different name. Hannah heaved a big sigh and said, “I didn’t think this was going to be so hard. We simply cannot call her Minnie Ava Calliope Grace. That’s way too long of a name. Maybe I should just choose all by myself.”

“Why don’t you put those three names out to our staff?” Luke asked. “Give them a chance to vote for their favorite. I bet they’d love to be part of all this.”

Hannah looked at Luke with surprise and admiration. “What a good idea Luke. Why don’t you and Stevie make the list and put it in the dining hall. Once everyone has voted, we’ll name Little Mite. Meanwhile, both she and I need a bit of a laydown. I’ll see you both at lunchtime.”

With her Little Mite bundled into the cloth chest carrier, Hannah walked down to the dining hall. Sure enough, staff there for lunch were tossing the names around and talking about which one they liked best or which one had the best meaning. She had to look at the list Luke and Stevie prepared to find out what her choice, Calliope meant which was Beautiful Voice. She also saw Luke had looked up the meaning of Grace which was God’s Favor. She hadn’t known that either.

A number of staff expressed their appreciation for being included in the naming process. Luke did have a great idea, Hannah thought. It’s served to bring all the staff together and help smooth over the fact they have no idea who this baby’s father could be. She’d have to remember to thank him profusely for the idea.

The day passed with Hannah spending most of her time in the house with the baby, nursing and resting. At bedtime, Luke got Stevie bathed and into his jammies. Then, they both came to Hannah’s room and joined her on the bed. They brought the big jar with all the votes staff had cast. Stevie pulled them out one at a time and Luke read the name. He handed it to Hannah who put it in the correct pile. Minnie Grace did get a few votes, most likely to please Stevie, Hannah thought and wondered if Luke, like her had voted for that one. The popular choice was Calliope Grace, or Calli for short.

Stevie was disappointed, but went off to bed willingly after giving Hannah a huge kiss and hug and little Calli a very soft kiss on her head. Luke came back after he’d read to Stevie and the boy had fallen asleep. “So, Luke, did you vote for Minnie Grace?”

“Well, I couldn’t see Stevie’s favorite choice going vote-less. You must have been one of the other two, I’d say since you’re asking me about my vote.”

“Yep, I didn’t want his little heart totally broken. I’ll just bet Joe was the third vote.”

“Anything I can get you or do for you before I make my rounds and lock up?”

“Yes, Luke, if you could bring me another pitcher of ice and water. I’ve almost emptied this one. I don’t think I’ve ever drunk as much as I did when nursing Stevie and now, I’ll be drinking gallons more while nursing Calli.”

Luke brought the water and then stuck his head in the door again when he got ready to climb the stairs to his room. He really wished he was able to climb into bed with Hannah and Calli. Not for sex, but just to be with them. He hadn’t gotten his hands on Calli as much this day as he’d had yesterday and he missed the warmth of that little body. He’d have to make a bigger effort tomorrow to spend time holding her.

Hannah and Luke were grateful for the couple weeks before the high season began Memorial Day weekend. Staff did most of the work, but they both needed to do their share. Luke was amazed at how Hannah bundled Calli up in the material she wrapped around her body and went about her chores and business. When Calli got fussy, Hannah would maneuver her shirt and the material, allowing Calli to nurse on demand, no matter what her mother was doing. He asked Joe about that and was told Hannah had done the exact same thing with Stevie only it had been a bit harder because they didn’t have as much staff and she had to take care of more responsibilities than now.

After a couple of days, Luke asked Hannah if he couldn’t have some baby time with Calli after dinner. They’d all go up to the house and while Hannah spent time with Stevie, Luke would sit with the baby in a comfortable chair. First, he’d hold Calli next to his chest and look into her face. She always seemed to recognize him if she was awake. She still seemed to look directly inside his head and it left him with a feeling of awe and amazement and quite possibly love. If she was a bit fussy, Luke would put his feet up on the coffee table and place Calli on his thighs. He’d move his thighs back and forth, gently rocking her while he hummed some country song. Eventually, he’d bring her back to his chest and cuddle her tight while she either fell asleep or rooted around for something to eat.

This became an every-day habit for the four of them. Stevie spent time with Luke during the day and was usually put down for his nap by Luke. After dinner, it became Stevie’s time with his mommy. They’d play games, Hannah would give him his bath, get him ready for bed and once Stevie had said good night to his dad and sister Calli, Hannah would read to him until he fell asleep. After that, Hannah would scoop up Calli and head for bed herself.

The days seemed to fly by. Everyone was busy, busy, busy taking care of the guests, keeping up the ranch and all the various chores and schedules it took to keep everything running smoothly. Hannah and Calli slept in her room and Luke continued to bunk in the upstairs room. It was getting harder and harder though for both of them, especially once Hannah had recovered from Calli’s birth and her hormones sort of returned to normal. It was all she could do to keep from climbing the stairs to Luke’s room and she thought it might be all Luke could do to walk past her door and climb those stairs each night.

Luke and Hannah didn’t discuss their thoughts or feelings, but both felt and knew the time was coming when they were going to have to deal with each other in a more serious and quite possibly life-changing way. They both began to search for some time and space just for the two of them, because there was no way they could continue to live in the same house as they now were.