Page 22 of The Secret

“For the baby?” asked Wolfie.

I was too tired have the mental ingenuity to come up with a sarcastic and witty retort to her stupid question.

“Yes, for the baby.”

She smiled. “Betty is cute, I like it.”

“Right, but when she has a serious job…”

“Like when she’s president,” Penn grinned.

I pointed at him. “Exactly, then she can choose Elizabeth if she wants.”

There wasn’t as much enthusiasm in the room as I’d have liked. “Well, anyway, that’s the type of name I’d like for her. Optional fun or serious, classic, and ages well.”

“And has great leadership skills,” added Rafe.

“Correct.”

“What about a middle name?”

I’d already decided this. “Valentine, because that’s when she was born. I want her to know how much I’d loved her even if I didn’t know her so well.”

Because I did. I couldn’t explain it, but this baby was a part of me, intrinsically owning a piece of my heart from the second she opened her eyes. Jasper hadn’t been wrong about a woman taking me down. She had. I knew without question she would have me wrapped around her finger.

“Betty Valentine sounds like a stripper,” smirked Rafe, eliciting a snort of amusement from Penn, Cooper, and Jasper. “In fact, I’m sure she used to work at that Hooters in Cambridge; the one we used to go to for wings every Monday.”

“Fuck off.”

“Language,” warned Wolfie, her eyebrow raised, although Floss and Sammy were too engrossed in the trains to be paying attention.

Penn’s grin widened. “Hey, you said she could be whatever she wanted to be.”

“She’s not going to be a stripper!” I grumbled.

Maybe I needed to rethink my plan. This is why people needed more than double digit hours to decide. Fuck! Single parenting was hard, and I’d only been doing it for five days.

“Graham just buzzed; Kit is on the way up,” my mother announced as she walked into the playroom, a sleepy looking Freddie behind her.

“Okay, great.” I pushed off the beanbag and stood up. “Should I wake the baby?”

The adults in the room shook their heads hard, eyes filled with horror.

“No, darling,” Mum smiled kindly. “Kit can meet her when she wakes up. We’ll get her settled in properly first.”

We walked to the front door just as the doorbell rang, and my mum opened it. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but based on Sylvia and Greta - who looked like she’d be more at home at a German beer festival than looking after kids - I thought Kit might be older. But she was definitely younger than me.

“Hello, I’m Murray.” I held my hand out and she shook it. “Thank you for coming. Good to meet you finally.”

Before she could answer I was pushed aside by my mother who enveloped her in a hug. “Welcome, welcome! It’s wonderful to meet you in person.”

Kit laughed. “And you, I’m glad I was available to help.”

“Oh, so are we, darling. So are we.” She looked at Kit’s empty hands. “Is Graham bringing your things up?”

Kit nodded.

“Good, come and meet the rest of the family. The baby is sleeping right now but we’ll get you settled, and then we can go through all your questions.”

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