AVELINA JUST DIDN'T get it. Natasha wouldn't leave her alone no matter how hard Avelina tried to get away from her. Even what it was time for another check-up to see how the baby was doing, Natasha was right there. The only thing stopping her from shoving her out of the room was the way Adrik seemed so content with his sister being there. It was the first time she ever witnessed him in such a happy mood other than the times he would play music on his piano.
"Everything looks good! You're estimated to have your baby in exactly three weeks from today. Have we thought about any names?" Dr. Fitzgerald asked.
Avelina cast a glance over at Adrik to see he was already looking at her as if the answer would go flying out her mouth. The truth was, she hadn't thought of a name. When she was younger and naïvely fantasized about the day she was pregnant, she always believed that a name would be the first thing she came up with, but it wasn't.
"Are you having a boy or a girl?" Natasha asked.
"I don't want to know yet," Avelina told her. "I want it to be a surprise."
Natasha slowly nodded in a way like she tried to understand but just couldn't bring herself to. It didn't matter, though, Avelina didn't need her to understand.
The truth was that she didn't want to know what the gender was at first because a small part of her always believed Adrik would come back, and they could learn it together. Now, that they were back together, she still didn't want to know only because Natasha was present and Avelina didn't trust her. She especially didn't want Natasha to learn something so important about her life—if Vincent couldn't be there to know the gender, then neither could Natasha. It was fair.
Dr. Fitzgerald smiled as he began to clean up the area.
"I have a question..." Avelina began.
He stopped what he was doing to look at her. Avelina let out a sigh as she could feel all of her stress and curiosity bubbling up to ask him the question that had been on her mind for a while.
"How will the whole giving birth thing go?" she asked.
"Well, As I told Mr. Zolotov... next week, you and I will be heading back to America where we will await your labor. I feel as though it is most secure and safe having your baby in a hospital rather than here. That is, if it is okay with you," he explained.
Avelina nodded her head, holding back a sigh that was threatening to come out at any moment. She didn't want to go back to America, but she also didn't want to be without the security of a hospital. In case anything went wrong, she wanted to be prepared.
"Great! Do you have anymore questions for me?" Dr. Fitzgerald asked.
Just as Avelina shook her head, Natasha walked over to the image of the baby.
"Can I please get a picture of this?" Natasha asked the doctor who only nodded his head in response. She hurriedly snapped a picture just before he unplugged everything.
Avelina harshly pulled her shirt down and swung her legs over to the edge of the bed. Adrik was quick to her side where he grabbed ahold of her arm and gently helped her up from the bed. She was getting bigger by the second—so big to the point she could no longer get up from the bed without assistance.
"I'll see you all next week just before we head off the island. Have a good rest of your day," Dr. Fitzgerald said. He stuck his hand out for Adrik to shake, and once again, Adrik was very hesitant to shake his hand.
"You, too!" Avelina exclaimed, waving goodbye. He exited the room and made his way out of the house with Adrik's guard protectively guiding him. The guard was mainly there to watch over the doctor seeing as no one could be trusted in the business Adrik was involved in.
"I can't wait to meet my little niece or nephew," Natasha said dreamily as Avelina and Adrik made their way out of the room.
Avelina couldn't hold back from rolling her eyes as she headed into the living room to sit down.
"Do you prefer a boy or a girl, Avelina?" Natasha wondered.
Adrik went off to enjoy the rest of his daily routine after making sure Avelina was comfortably situated and satisfied. Once she was seated, Natasha took a seat beside her. Avelina was grateful for the couple of inches she left between them. At least she was a little considerate.
"I'm happy with either," Avelina answered honestly.
Natasha smiled, seemingly pleased to have received a response. Most of the time, Avelina would just ignore her or pretend to be doing something else. After multiple attempts, Natasha would take the hint and walk away. So, it might've felt like progress had been made for Natasha, but she couldn't have been more wrong. Avelina was only bored and talking to someone—even if it was Natasha—was better than doing nothing.
"Have you thought of any names?" Natasha asked, scooting a little closer. Avelina narrowed her eyes at her threateningly.
"No, honestly, I haven't," Avelina told her.
"Want some help?" she wondered.
Avelina shrugged.
"Okay, so you're Brazilian and Adrik is Russian. What about a name that kind of mixes the two cultures? I think that'll be really cool," Natasha said.
Avelina hadn't ready thought about that before. It was a nice idea, but she'd never say that out loud.
"Like Francisco Alexander Zolotov, if you're having a boy," Natasha said.
Avelina couldn't stop the cringe that came across her face at the sound of the name. It wasn't the worst name ever, but it wasn't something she could ever see herself naming her kid.
"You're right... that wasn't really good, was it?" Natasha laughed.
"No, it wasn't," she chuckled.
"Okay, well, tell me what you're thinking," Natasha said.
"I don't know... I'd want to name my baby something inspiring or something," Avelina stated uncertainly.
Natasha's brows pulled together. "Like what?"
"Like... I don't know." She sighed.
It was going to be the name her baby would be stuck with for the rest of their life, and she only wanted it to be perfect. Avelina was beginning to hope that Adrik had names already picked out. Leaving it up to her was proving to be far too difficult.
The sound of Adrik playing on his piano began to make its way through the house. Adrik's music room was upstairs, directly above their heads, and the both of them looked up at the ceiling, imagining Adrik's closed eyes as he played the most soothing song.
"What about Ludwig Beethoven?" Natasha asked with a smile on her lips. Avelina gave her a deadpanned look.
"Are you joking?" she asked
"No," Natasha said followed by a chuckle.
"How are you so sure that I'm having a boy?" Avelina questioned, raising a brow. Thus far, Natasha had only mentioned boy names.
"I just really want you to have a boy. I mean, just think about holding a little tiny boy version of you in your hands. Having a nephew would be a dream come true," Natasha said.
Avelina did picture it. She imagined a baby that looked a lot like Vincent and the thought almost made her sad. Shaking the thought away, she sighed.
"What's so wrong with a girl?" Avelina asked.
"Nothing. A girl would be really nice too. It's just..." Natasha looked around the room as if she were looking for someone just before leaning in a little closer and whispering, "Statically speaking, girls are less likely to be diagnosed with autism. I don't know if it's because they're better at hiding it, or if people are just better at ignoring it when it's a girl rather than boy. Having a girl is just... scarier."
"Oh," Avelina muttered. "I didn't know that."
"Yeah, well, no matter what... he or she will have amazing parents that will take great care of them," Natasha reassured her.
Avelina smiled.
The music came to an end and Adrik could be heard exiting his music room and descending down the stairs. Avelina already knew what was next in his routine—he wouldcheck up on her and make sure she took all her vitamins just before going for a swim.
Just as she predicted, Adrik went straight to the bathroom where her vitamins were waiting for her. Once he grabbed the vitamins, and a very small cup of water, he walked into the living room and handed it to her.
"Thank you." she smiled. He stood watching her as she took the pills. Once she finished, she handed the empty cup back to him.
"Do you need me to assist you with anything?" Adrik asked.
"No, I'm okay," she insisted. "Are you going for a swim?"
"Yes, would you like to join me?" he questioned.
"I'm okay, thank you."
He gave a curt nod and made his way outside to the pool.
"I'm sure he'd want to name your baby Ludwig Beethoven no matter the gender," Natasha said, laughing.
Avelina chuckled, nodding her head. "Yes, he definitely would."
—
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