Chapter 188

Jennie was six months pregnant.

Which meant two things.

First, Lisa had somehow become even more protective than usual.

Second, they still hadn’t agreed on a baby name.

It was nearly midnight when Jennie waddled into their living room carrying a bowl of strawberries.

Lisa immediately sat up from the couch.

“Baby, why are you carrying that?”

Jennie blinked.

“It’s strawberries.”

“I could’ve carried it.”

“It’s literally fruit.”

“It’s a heavy fruit.”

Jennie stared at her wife.

Lisa stared back.

Jennie sighed.

“My baby dumpling already has one overprotective parent.”

“Our baby deserves the best.”

Jennie rolled her eyes before settling beside her.

The television was playing quietly in the background while rain tapped against the windows.

For once, everything felt peaceful.

Until Lisa remembered.

“Oh.”

Jennie narrowed her eyes.

“What?”

“We still need a name.”

Jennie groaned dramatically.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Baby.”

“No.”

“Baby.”

“No.”

Lisa poked her cheek.

“Baby.”

Jennie pouted.

“Every name you suggest sounds like a CEO.”

Lisa gasped.

“Excuse me?”

“‘Victoria.'”

“It’s elegant.”

“‘Charlotte.'”

“It’s classic.”

“‘Elizabeth.'”

“It’s timeless.”

Jennie pointed accusingly.

“Our daughter is not founding a multinational corporation.”

Lisa laughed so hard she nearly fell off the couch.

Meanwhile, the tiny dumpling inside Jennie’s belly suddenly kicked.

Both of them froze.

Then another kick.

Lisa immediately placed both hands on Jennie’s stomach.

“There she is.”

The kick came again.

Jennie’s expression softened instantly.

Every time their baby moved, the world seemed to stop.

“Hi, baby dumpling.”

Another kick.

Lisa smiled.

“I think she’s disagreeing with Mommy.”

Jennie snorted.

“She’s definitely disagreeing with Mama’s terrible names.”

“Terrible?”

“Terrible.”

The baby kicked again.

Traitorously.

Lisa gasped.

“See? She likes my names.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“She does.”

“She doesn’t.”

“She-“

The baby kicked once more.

Hard.

Jennie winced.

“Oof.”

Lisa immediately forgot the argument.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Lisa.”

“Baby.”

“I’m okay.”

Only then did Lisa relax.

A little.

Several minutes passed.

The rain continued outside.

Jennie quietly ate her strawberries while Lisa scrolled through another list of baby names.

Suddenly Lisa spoke.

“What about Ruby?”

Jennie paused.

“Hm?”

Lisa looked down at her phone.

“Ruby.”

The name hung in the air.

Simple.

Warm.

Pretty.

Jennie repeated it softly.

“Ruby.”

For some reason it felt different from all the others.

Not too fancy.

Not too common.

Just right.

Lisa looked at her.

“What do you think?”

Jennie rubbed her stomach thoughtfully.

“Ruby…”

The baby kicked.

Both mothers immediately looked down.

Silence.

Then another kick.

Lisa’s eyes widened.

“No way.”

Jennie started laughing.

“No way.”

The baby kicked again.

This time even harder.

Lisa pointed dramatically at Jennie’s stomach.

“She likes it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“She absolutely likes it.”

Another kick.

Jennie burst into laughter.

“Okay, that’s actually suspicious.”

Lisa looked delighted.

“Ruby Kim-Manoban.”

The baby kicked.

“Oh my god.”

“RUBY KIM-MANOBAN.”

Kick.

Jennie was laughing so hard tears formed in her eyes.

“Baby dumpling, are you choosing your own name?”

Kick.

Lisa immediately sat straighter.

“That’s it.”

Jennie grinned.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Just like that?”

“She voted.”

Jennie shook her head.

“You can’t let a fetus vote.”

“Too late.”

“Lisa.”

“Democracy has spoken.”

Jennie laughed so hard her stomach hurt.

The baby kicked again as if agreeing.

For the next hour they tested other names.

“Aurora?”

Nothing.

“Olivia?”

Nothing.

“Sophia?”

Nothing.

“Ruby?”

Immediate kick.

Both mothers froze.

Then slowly looked at each other.

Lisa whispered.

“No way.”

Jennie whispered back.

“No way.”

Kick.

They dissolved into laughter again.

By one in the morning, Jennie was curled against Lisa’s side while Lisa gently rubbed her belly.

“Ruby.”

Kick.

Lisa smiled softly.

“Hi, Ruby.”

Kick.

Jennie’s eyes grew misty.

It suddenly felt real.

Not just a baby.

Not just a future.

A little girl.

Their little girl.

Ruby.

Jennie rested her hand over Lisa’s.

“I think that’s her name.”

Lisa looked down at their baby.

At the tiny kicks beneath Jennie’s shirt.

At the future they had built together.

And for a moment, neither of them spoke.

They simply sat there, feeling Ruby move.

Feeling her grow.

Feeling their hearts somehow make room for even more love.

Finally Lisa kissed Jennie’s forehead.

“She’s going to be perfect.”

Jennie smiled.

“She already is.”

Another tiny kick answered them.

As if Ruby herself agreed.

And from that night onward, whenever anyone asked how they chose their daughter’s name, Lisa would proudly tell them:

“Ruby picked it herself.”

While Jennie would roll her eyes and say:

“Our unborn baby did not vote.”

But secretly?

Every single time Ruby wrapped her tiny fingers around theirs, every time she laughed, every time she waddled around in her duck onesie looking like the cutest little dumpling in the world-

Jennie couldn’t help thinking that maybe…

Just maybe…

Ruby really had chosen her own name.