when all is said and done | e.d.

epilogue pt. 8

harper

"okay, what are the bets?" ethan rubs his hands together, addressing his classroom riddled with tension.

after his homeroom found out i was pregnant, they demanded i come in for them to do their own gender guesses and naming.

i've never seen a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds so obsessed with two babies who don't even exist yet.

honestly i think they like me more than they like ethan— he admits it.

we already found out the genders in a very lame, private way. we asked our doctor and she told us.

we're pretending not to know for the sake of their fun.

blake shoots his hand up. "two boys."

ethan writes it on the white board next to blake's name. "alright, who else?"

a girl i vaguely recognize giving ethan flirty looks that make him uncomfortable raises her hand. "two girls."

he jots it down next to the name melanie.

someone else raises their hand. "a boy and a girl."

"two boys and two girls!" someone yells.

"they're twins!" i laugh out. "not quadtuplets. wait— it that the right terminology?"

they all give me a look of pity.

"she's a businesswoman, not a mathematician, my friends," ethan shakes his head teasingly and writes the boy and girl option on the board.

he turns around, capping his marker. "okay, those are the only three options. when i call out each of the categories, raise your hands to vote what you think the twins will be. the winning group gets As on their next papers. got it?"

they all nod eagerly.

"boy and boy votes?" ethan offers, and only a couple hands raise. he jots all their names down.

"girl and girl votes?" more hands than the first time.

"boy and girl votes? little bit of each."

then the rest, which is about the same amount as the previous vote.

the room is quiet as ethan takes a piece of paper from his back pocket, and purposely unfolds it as slow as possible.

right before it's open all the way, he drops it.

"just read it," blake calls out.

ethan laughs, stooping to pick up the paper.

"they are...." he stretches out his words.

everyone's tense and perched at the edge of their seats.

"both girls."

those who voted for that category let out celebratory whoops and high five each other, realizing they don't even have to try on their next grades essay.

i laugh, feeling a surge of excitement in my stomach once again as he reveals it.

personally i was hoping for a girl and a boy, but ethan was over the moon ecstatic with two girls.

he's a girl dad.

"wait— have you picked out names yet?" melanie asks me. "are they good or not?"

she's always so... passive aggressive when speaking to me. her tone is sweet, but her words cut deep sometimes.

"um, no. not yet. we're taking options," i nod my head, scanning the room. "so if you have any, let us know."

"tess and tickles," blake offers, leaning his head back on the chair. the class snickers.

i clamp my lips shut to stop my laughs, and turn over my shoulder. ethan's face is in his hands, and i can tell that he's silently trying to get himself together.

"i don't—" he starts to say, but a laugh slips out. he clears his throat at a lame attempt to cover it up. "was that very appropriate?"

"clearly you thought it was funny," blake smirks.

ethan opens his mouth to say something, but quickly has to shut it before laughing again. his face turns red as he holds his breath and turns back to the board.

"okay, any serious suggestions?" i ask, giggling.

"i may be bias, but i really like the name melanie for one of them," melanie says.

oh god.

i force a smile. "nice option. i don't think it's a good idea to name them after someone we know, though. i also work with a melanie and she might find it odd."

the girl huffs unhappily, and looks to ethan as if to ask 'are you going to allow this?'

ethan steps back and holds his hands up in a surrender. "sorry, melanie. she has seniority. i don't get to decide shit."

the students all nod in agreement.

seems like no one likes melanie.
she looks annoyed and sinks back down into her chair.

"do they have to rhyme? start with the same letter?" a girl named lily asks, pen poised over a pad of paper.

"no," ethan assures. "seriously, they don't even have to sound good in a sentence together. it doesn't matter."

names started getting shouted out, some pairs, some singles. ethan tries his best to write them all down, and after the last name is said, we all stand back and examine the board.

i've almost given up hope when i see none that catch my eye.

then right at the same time, both ethan and i look to the top right corner. two names stare back at us.

we turn to each other and nod.