Violet

iii

Veronica smiled shyly. Her friends and family looked at her, excited for her to pop the white balloon full of either pink or blue glitter. It was the doctor's idea instead of just breaking the news of its gender. The pink glitter would label the baby a girl and the blue, a boy. 

"1 2 3"

Veronica and her boyfriend, Jason, said loudly before popping the balloon. The pink glitter sprinkled to the floor.  All the girls at the party screamed, running toward Veronica, hugging and kissing her. 

"Congrats on the girl! I'm so happy!" her best friend, Monica, yelled. "I so knew it would be a girl."

"Thank you, Monica," Veronica said. She patted Jason on the back. "Tough luck, buddy." The two of them laughed.

"Good job, Jason Harmon," Cole, his colleague, said. "Thought of any names?"

"Oh man," Jason said. "I thought it would be a boy, honestly. Both of us did."

Monica stuck out her tongue playfully. "Well, it's a girl. Somebody pop the champaign!"  She went off to grab a few drinks.

Veronica rubbed her small belly over her white shirt. Jason rubbed Veronica's stomach. "We really didn't think of girl names?"

"Back with the drinks. Kool-Aid for the mommy, Bacardi for the daddy," Monica said. All of them laughed and toasted. 

While Veronica was drinking, she saw a bee at the end of her cup and dropped it. The purple drink spilled on her shirt. "Yikes," Veronica yelled. 

"I'll get some napkins," Jason said.

When he got back he handed Veronica the napkins. She held the napkins for a few seconds while looking at her shirt. "Jason, I have a name."

"What is it?" he asked.

She smiled at him then looked at her purple shirt and placed her hand on her stomach. "Violet. Violet Elizabeth Harmon. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Mr. Harmon smiled and kissed his girlfriend's forehead. "That's just perfect."

***

COMING OCT-NOV 2016