She was cute.
Tobias could not help but take a picture of her funny posture as she sat with her legs folded and tried to lean over the many guidebooks in front of her.
With another look at her focused expression and mismatched socks, he smiled and took another picture.
This time, the shutter sound got her attention.
"Babe, I've been waiting for you!" she said, pouting at him as he finally entered the house.
The pout morphed into a smile when he held up the bag of Chinese food he had stopped to get for her.
Clara was unavailable to run such errands due to preparations for the wedding and Alvaro nearly having a heart attack whenever she talked about work. Tobias was slowly beginning to understand how daunting being a personal assistant was.
It was even more difficult when your employer was seven months pregnant.
"You know me so well," Eniola said, accepting the food before his kiss.
He had also accepted that for the next few months, he would remain a second option —right after her weird cravings.
"What are we doing this time, fuego?" he asked fondly, sitting right across from her and stretching his legs on the cold floor.
How the hell was she so comfortable?
"Mommy powers." Was her answer for every unusual thing she did.
He looked at the abandoned spreadsheet on her plugged-in computer and at the books in front of him.
'The guide to the perfect name!' The first read and there was a picture of a chubby smiling baby that made him smile too. Cute.
"Names?" he asked, skimming through the pages. "Are you finally going to tell me the ones you already have in mind?"
She considered it for a moment as she ate but pointed a chopstick at him. "I asked you to get names too."
He had some names but was a bit anxious about telling her. He did not know whether she would like them.
"But I got some interesting ones when I went to see my mum," Eniola said, sparing him for a moment. "I wrote them down too."
She pointed at a small journal that seemed to have at least twenty names listed on it.
"I know it's a lot but I couldn't pick one!" she quickly explained, biting into the piece of fried fish. Now he too was getting hungry. "Want some?"
He nodded.
"But what was that about not eating out anymore?" She teased, making Tobias roll his eyes.
"You are cruel."
She laughed loudly but passed him a box, "I'll let you off this time."
He laughed and finally went through the names as he ate.
After looking at the first five names, he realized something.
"I never asked you what your name meant." He said, observing that Enioluwa was also on the list. It was very similar to her name.
"Oh, my mother says it means a Wealthy Person. Someone born with a silver spoon. You know, that shit," she explained. "Yeah, you could say my parents weren't really humble."
Her small laugh made him grin stupidly. She was so adorable.
"I was thinking about giving them Yoruba names that went with mine and middle names that went with your native one."
He raised a brow at her.
"You know I do not have a native name, right?"
It was her turn to raise a brow.
"You don't?"
Tobias shook his head. "My first name, Tobias, is Hebrew and my middle name is a Muslim one."
She stopped him with her palm, "Now hold up, I thought Izan was like a short form or something. Like your last name?"
"Not quite. It is Muslim. I was given the name to honor a friend of my father's. But I learned that most people liken it to Izador but I guess I have no problem with it."
"Whoa, so what does it mean?" She asked, her wide eyes filled with curiosity.
"Which of them?"
"All."
"Oh..." He leaned back, supporting himself with the couch behind him, "Tobias means God is good, Izan means Obedience in Muslim or Arabic, and Gift in Spanish —that is if you see it in the same way with Izador."
He never minded the names even when he was not religious.
"Fuck, that's complicated."
He nodded in agreement, going back to the list.
"I like this one Ola... yeek- I would let you pronounce it instead."
"Olayinka. Yeah, that is also one of my favorites." She said, pointing at the circled part.
From what he could see, it meant, Wealth surrounds me. It was similar to Eniola's name and with the way she pronounced it, it sounded very nice.
"I think, Olamuyiwa goes well with it too." She said, not bothering to look back.
It was unsurprising for her to know the names off-heartedly as she had been gatekeeping the journal for the past month.
"It means brought by wealth? I think I like the connection now. Not very humble now, are we?" He commended, looking at a third. "What about To-mee-wa?"
"Oh, that's a girl's name. I think it has something to do with visiting?" She asked and he nodded.
There were three variants —Adetomiwa, Olatomiwa, and Oluwatomiwa.
"What about the names you were thinking of?" Eniola asked, making his face feel warm.
He was going to have to tell her.
With his hand behind his head, he said, "I could come up with six."
"We're only having twins, Tobi." She teased back and he just shrugged.
Coming up with those things for their children was his secret hobby as well.
"I just wanted them to match." He confessed, "If it's two girls, we could have Rafaela and Casarela."
She looked at him for a full minute.
"I'm not naming my kids after a damn casserole."
"It's not a casserole—"
"No." Eniola cut him off. "Lemme hear the rest."
He held his hand up in surrender and brought out his phone, opening his notepad app, "Alvaro helped me out with this one."
"Now, I'm curious." She said almost dryly.
Was it the mood swings again?
"Casimiro... It means Peaceful and Alejandro, the defender. It was my grandfather's name," he said, a bit worried as her lips quivered. "What's wrong?"
Eniola shook her head. "Just imagine... Imagine we could have a quiet younger twin and a wild older one that fights for his brother. He would be like his defender." She shuffled, wiping an invisible tear, "That would be so cute!"
He liked the idea as well. But I'd prefer to have level-headed children.
A wilder one would mean Eniola respawning again. Fortunately, she would be there to set them straight. He was sure he would be lost if she wasn't there.
"What if we have a boy and a girl?" She asked.
"Santiago and Tatiana." He said, watching as she also considered the name. It made him laugh.
"Tatiana sounds like a stripper's name."
A part of him agreed.
"What do you think the genders would be?" She asked as he circled a fourth name on her list.
She was right.
The names were just too precious to not consider.
"I do not think it matters. I am overexcited to meet them." He said honestly and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Oh, come on! Come here." She said, frowning at the distance her books caused.
He made way and moved right next to her, sighing in comfort as she leaned into him. He placed a gentle hand on her stomach, eager to feel them again.
"I know you want a specific gender. Which is it?" She urged, knowing very well she had him wrapped around her finger. "Don't lie to me, babe."
He sighed and buried his nose in the depth of her neck.
She smelled like vanilla.
Like me.
"I'm not going to let you rope me into this, Fuego." He said softly, pecking her cheek. "Boy or girl or both, they are about to be the best things that have ever happened to me."
"I thought I was the best thing that ever happened to you." She protested, lightly smacking his arm.
"You do not deserve that title after repeatedly choosing food over me." He teased, pinching her chubby cheeks. "Maybe I would reconsider if you do not treat me like an afterthought."
"Baby..." Eniola said, turning to face him, she had a sincere look on her face, "You're not an afterthought."
He shrugged but held her closer, "I do not believe you,—"
His eyes widened in wonder when he felt it again.
It was light and even Eniola did not notice it.
She seldom did and with her being the most oblivious pregnant woman he had ever seen, it was understandable.
"They kicked." He said, smiling and caressing her stomach through the large t-shirt.
"They did?" She was in awe now, covering his large hands with her smaller ones. "I feel it!"
The little movements and developments always excited them as they immediately quelled their arguments.
"I cannot wait to meet you both, little ones." He whispered so lightly, he believed she did not hear.
They were going to be the perfect family he never imagined he would have.
He was so fucking lucky and now? Grateful.
Grateful for whatever display of mercy and kindness fate was showing him.
"I can't wait to meet them too."