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The first four pictures showed different versions of a room with soft lighting and a Jacuzzi-type tub somewhere in the room.
“Don’t you want a hospital bed, your legs up in the air, a doctor right there to catch the baby? You are on your back and pushing. Everything goes quick and easy,” Xavier asked Sara in a hushed voice.
“I think you are overwhelmed,” Sara snapped, although she made sure to keep her voice a low whisper. “What you just described sounds kind of crazy. You want us to go back to the 1950s.”
“I’m not overwhelmed.”
“You sound flustered and flabbergasted,” she continued. “I am not judging here. I want usbothto be excited and comfortable.”
“The next section I would like to cover is birthing techniques,” the instructor bellowed. Xavier felt a little bad that their whispering during class may have agitated the instructor, as she had started talking a bit louder. He also thought he saw her throw a side glance or two in his direction. “Currently, there are six techniques in use right now that are popular,” the instructor added. “Vaginal birth, natural birth, scheduled cesarean, unplanned cesarean, vaginal birth after c-section, and scheduled induction.”
“That menu of techniques is as clear as mud,” Xavier whispered to Sara. “The instructor hasn’t mentioned it, but there is a technique where the baby comes out head first. No crazy stuff. That is the technique we will be doing.”
Sara didn’t answer. She just kept her eyes and attention aimed at the instructor. His wolf told him this was Sara’s polite way of asking him to shut the hell up and listen.
The PowerPoint portion of the class ended, and the class had a brief break, one in which Xavier did his best to stay tight-lipped.
Class restarted with various theories on baby names.
“Gender-obvious names versus neutral names, symbols versus emblems, and how to tell the difference,” the instructor told the class.
“I think we can both agree a reasonably simple-to-spell name is a good idea,” Xavier whispered, leaning over as he did so. “Growing up, everybody tried to spell my name with all manner of errors. It feels awful at birthdays when all your buddies spell your name like it’s some kind of alphabet salad.”
Sara, again, didn’t answer but instead nodded in agreement.
The class was asked to split into couple groups again. Each person would take five minutes to write their favorite names for the child on a sheet of paper this time. Then the partners in each couple would trade lists and read through them.
By the end of the name section of the class, Xavier and Sara both agreed on a short list of names that belonged to royalty, were easy to spell, and didn’t rhyme or look similar to the spelling of any type of body part or sex organ, which would save their new arrival from having to endure unnecessary bullying during the formative years.
On their way back to the car, Xavier shared his thoughts. “I want our new arrival to be radiating your brand of boldness.”
“Interesting. Boldness. I didn’t know I had my own brand.”
“Your boldness is quiet, not noisy,” he told her. “As the philosophers say, fortune favors the bold. I know exactly why too.”
“That is very interesting. Okay, I will take the bait. Why does fortune favor the bold?”
“William Wordsworth first said it,” Xavier answered. “Actually, Wordsworth wrote it. He wrote, ‘How does the meadow flower’s bloom unfold? Because the little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold.”
“That is beautiful,” she said. “I think I get it. You’re admitting that the big alpha male wolf was a baby in class, and I toed the strength line for the three of us.”
“You are funny, and you are correct,” he replied.
“And what about eyes?” Sara asked.
“Oh, babe, you know our new arrival will have my eyes.”
“I should hope so,” she said. “I take that back. Iknowour new arrival will have your eyes. Real love, the love we draw our being from, I see that in your eyes. That love knows no distance, no separation. Its eyes are for the stars. You have those eyes.”
“My eyes reflect the stars? You are sweet, but isn’t that a bit broad?”
“You know what I mean. Beauty is not something that is seen. It is something you are inside, and it reflects in your eyes. Your eyes reflect the infinite landscapes within you.”
ELEVEN
SARA
“Are these … these guards are going to be on our tails the entire day?”
