Locke and Key

11

"Tell me you still love me, even though I'm the size of a small whale," Shruti whined as she made her way into her and Arjun's kitchen.

"More today than yesterday," he confirmed with a smile. "And I especially love you the size you are now," he went on, leaving out the 'whale' comment for his safety, "because you're carrying our child. I can't wait to meet him."

"I can't wait for him to make his exit," she grumbled, settling down into a chair in the breakfast nook. "At least I'm this pregnant in December and not the middle of July. I'd probably have murdered by now if I were."

Arjun just chuckled at his wife's flair for the dramatic. "What time is the baby shower today?"

"Two," she answered. "Shanaya is picking me up at quarter til, but you'll have to come after 'cause we'll need to haul everything back here."

"Okay," he agreed. "What time would you like me there?"

"Five or so," she shrugged. "Why Arohi insisted on having this shower a week before Christmas is beyond me. Why couldn't she wait until January?"

"She and Neil are going on their trip to Italy then," Arjun reminded her. "They leave the second and won't return until the nineteenth."

"What if I go into labor early?" Shruti worried. "I need my best friend to be there."

"I'm not good enough?" he scoffed.

"Of course you are," she assured him, "but she's important, too. We do want her to be his godmother, do we not?"

"You do," Arjun smirked. "I said yes because you agreed to Neil being his godfather without complaint."

"I just like the idea of the godparents being married," she reasoned. "Should something happen to us—Bappa na kare—he'll still stay in one place and have his family."

Arjun made a face. "Don't talk like that."

"I'm just being cautious," she said. "We're going to be fine."

"In that case, we should probably talk names again," he sighed, knowing it would inevitably lead to an argument.

She frowned. "Do we have to? Can't we just wait until he's here and name him then?"

"You and I both know you'll go crazy that way," he pointed out. "Are you still keen on Kiaan?"

"I also like Tapan and that was one of your original choices back in May!" she cried. "You're a flip-flopper."

Arjun just rolled his eyes. "If we name him Tapan, I'll be accused of naming him something related to May's temperature. I quite like Veer now."

"No," she shook her head. "Not going to happen. I hate that."

"Well, do we at least still agree that his middle name will be Sarnaik, right?" he wanted to know. "His three names should roll off the tongue smoothly."

"We agree," she nodded. "So Something Sarnaik Punj."

"What about Rudra?" he tossed out. "I like that."

"Rudra," Shruti repeated. "Rudra Sarnaik Punj. Hmm. I don't hate it, but I don't know that I love it either. It kind of reminds me of Rudra Raichand."

Arjun furrowed his brow. "Do I know him?"

"He," Shruti emphasized, "was a character on a television show that was popular when I was in school. Isn't there a footballer named Rudra, too?"

"You'd have to ask Shivam," he replied. "I don't know anything about football."

Shruti groaned and gently beat her head against the table. "Let's just let him name himself when he's old enough. We'll call him 'Baby' until then."