“Why not? You had your chance this morning, and you told me to pick the name because you wanted to sleep.” Tina feigned seriousness, and to her delight, Bette was half-buying it.

“What?! You get on my case for wanting to decorate without your input because you weren’t making any decisions, and you went ahead and chose a name without me?”

“Yep!” Tina smiled sweetly and passed her by, heading into the kitchen. She coolly poured herself a small portion of juice and regarded Bette over the rim of her glass. Seeing the sadness in Bette’s face, she relented the joke and set her straight. “I didn’t choose the name yet, babe. I was thinking about names this morning, and Parker was one of them. It just seemed to fit, and it slipped out just now, that’s all. It’s not like I decided on it or anything.”

“Forget it,” Bette said shortly. “He’s used to the name now — it’s too late to change it.”

Tina’s mouth gaped open for a second, thinking that Bette was actually upset. They locked eyes and Bette gave her a sneaky smile. “Gotcha.”

Tina went over to her and gave her a light shove. “Very funny.”

“About as funny as you think you are, yeah. I got jokes, too.” Bette said. She pulled Tina close. “Come with me, I have something I want to show you.”

“Oh?” Tina tried to breathe steadily, marveling at how the mere proximity of Bette’s body to her own could still make her heart trip out of rhythm after all this time. “What’s that?”

Bette moved one hand from Tina’s hip to her ass, giving it a squeeze while fixing Tina with her best bad girl look. She leaned in close, nearly pressing her lips to Tina’s but stopping just shy of a kiss.

“Some new fabric samples,” she murmured.

Tina pulled away with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. Bette took her hand and pulled her back.

“And we’re not naming him after a brand of pen or an overrated indie actress.”

“I like the name Parker,” Tina said defensively.

“He’ll tell us, T. When we finally see his face when he’s born, we’ll look at him and know what his name is.”

“Yeah,” Tina sighed. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Bette wrapped her arms around Tina and just held her for a moment. “I can’t wait,” she said.

Tina knew that she was referring to Parker’s birth day. “I know – me either,” she said, returning the hug. They stayed as they were for a long moment until Bette let go.

“Since we’re letting him ‘tell us’ his name,” Tina began slyly, “why don’t we let him choose the color scheme of his room as well?” She looked at Bette innocently.

“No way,” Bette shook her head. “He’s got to leave the really important decisions to us.”

Tina laughed. “Fair enough. Let’s go.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon, comparing colors, fabrics, and everything else until Bette was satisfied. Tina grew bored, but she got herself through it by occasionally tossing out another baby name for Bette to consider. Some were ridiculous, but others were worth serious contemplation. Bette weighed some of them gravely and dismissed some out of hand. Tina not so subtly worked “Parker” into the conversation a few times, trying to make it seem like the logical choice when compared to a name like “Jerry.” Bette had grown weary of the game after awhile, and reminded Tina of what she had said earlier in the kitchen about looking at the baby and “just knowing” what his name was. Tina gave up – for now.

Much later, sinking gratefully into bed after a long day, Tina kissed Bette contentedly as she settled in. “Goodnight, Bette.”

“Goodnight, T,” Bette replied, then leaning forward and speaking to her bump, “Goodnight Parker.”

Bette fluffed her pillow and stretched out. Tina curled into Bette, drifting to sleep with a smile on her face, rubbing her stomach and echoing Bette’s words in a whisper. “Goodnight, Parker.”