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Chapter 35 - Baby Names

CHAPTER 35

JOHN

I didn't say a single word the whole drive home. I could see the road in front me and I could feel the gas pedal underneath my foot, but my mind was racing miles ahead. Carly sat beside me, unmoving and equally as silent, her eyes glued to her phone, staring at our baby's most recent ultrasound.

I was in shock; it was the only way I could describe it. There was such a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins, but simultaneously I felt completely numb. Knowing what we were going to have made this whole thing realer than real. All of a sudden, there were these things we needed to do, things we needed to buy, books we'd have to read. I had a hell of a lot of learning to do.

We needed to think about the nursery.

"Wanna head to Dallas and do some baby shoppin'?" I broke the silence first.

"Really?" she looked up at me, excitement in her shining eyes. She looked unbelievably happy. You know how they say pregnant women have this sort of glow about them? Carly had it now and it looked damn good on her.

"Yeah, really," I grinned.

"Okay, let's do it," she smiled, slipping her phone back in her purse.

We probably looked like two kids entering a candy store when we walked through Babies 'R Us a few hours later, her hand wrapped around my arm as I pushed the cart forward down different aisles, making our way a little haphazardly to the crib bedding.

Carly's parents kept her old crib and changing table from when she was a baby, and she was set on using the furniture again for our little Cookie Monster. I'd probably have to give it all a good sanding and a couple coats of paint, but that was something I could do in an afternoon or two, easy.

The real problem right now was shopping for a girl and trying to look like I knew what the hell I was even talking about.

"Look at this one John, isn't it the cutest?" Carly gushed every other second, picking up one bedding after the next, all in shades of pinks, lilacs, mints and even a bright canary yellow. There were Disney princesses and other cartoons I'd have to get used to seeing on the TV in a couple months; lions, bears, butterflies, frogs... pretty much any and every animal imaginable.

I followed her around like a very lost and very confused puppy, not quite sure if my opinion would be worth anything. I didn't want my daughter to end up hating her bedroom a year or two down the line, so maybe it was best if I left the final decision to Carly.

I didn't exactly have any sense when it came to fashion and decorating.

"Look at this one with the bees!" Carly whispered excitedly, rounding on me. "We could paint the room yellow... or like... this... sort of... off-white," she grinned.

"Really, you wanna go with yellow?" I asked, unsure, my eyes wandering towards the price tag. Holy shit, two hundred bucks for freaking bedding set!?

They couldn't possibly be for real!

"You're right, maybe it's too much... and with all of the black and white, it doesn't really scream: cute and girly," she shrugged, putting the bedding back.

"What about...?" Carly began again.

"Darlin', I love you, but we're not bringin' that into the house. Our kid ain't gonna know a single thing about Frozen," I told her definitively.