Anya's due date was quickly approaching, and as such, Mama De Luca had arranged for a baby shower right there in Rhy'Din and had invited all of their family and friends to join them, including everyone they knew from the Shanachie and elsewhere, at least, as far as the ladies were concerned. Baby showers, apparently, were ladies only events, and Tony wasn't allowed to show up until the thing was almost over to help lug everything back to the house.
Not least of which was his own wife, heavily rounded now to the point where she needed help whenever it came to bending down for any reason. Anya's slight frame had blossomed over the past months, and if at times she looked as though she'd overinflated a beach ball and shoved it down her top, at least she was bearing the inconveniences of late pregnancy in better spirits than Mataya had. Still, it was a blessed relief to be rescued from the clutches of Mama De Luca and her daughters - as much as Anya loved her husband's family, they could be quite a handful when put together in the same room. It was a deep relief to see their own little house once again; deep enough that she giggled quietly. "I love your sisters, but the sooner Elena gets pregnant and gets to be the center of their attention, the better, lyubimaya," she chuckled to Tony, turning a sweet smile onto him.
"They're taking their own sweet time about it, aren't they?" he asked, as he rubbed one of her feet, a little swollen from all the day's activity. Surrounded by boxes and packages of all sizes and shapes, Tony had insisted she sit and relax, a cup of hot cocoa and a plate of cookies on a table nearby, while he massaged her feet, one at a time. "Well, once you have the baby, she'll be the center of attention for a while," he admitted, knowing his mother and sisters were liable to make a huge fuss over their daughter once she was born.
Anya had long since stopped even trying to be independent, so wiped out just by carrying herself around that anyone who offered to help her was immediately given a list as long as their arm of things that needed doing. Tess, in particular, had been making an effort to help out the expectant parents, disproving the family opinion that she wouldn't lift a finger for any of them. With her feet in Tony's lap, however, Anya was entirely focused on him, even with their daughter rolling around happily in her womb. "I think your mama is very close to strangling me for not telling her that we're expecting a girl," she laughed warmly. "It is driving her simply crazy that we know and are not telling."
"It's probably a good thing. Mama might be a little biased toward a grandson, and I can't say anything or she'll know for sure it's a girl." He chuckled as another thought came to him. "I hope our baby girl doesn't mind wearing yellow," he remarked, since most of the clothing and bedding they'd received was in neutral shades of yellow or green - not a speck of pink. The nursery had been declared off limits to the family for a few weeks now, ever since they'd finished decorating in anticipation of their daughter's birth.
Her eyes turned toward the boxes that were piled around them, a tender smile on her face filled with affection for the friends and family who had gone out of their way to make sure that the young couple had everything they could possibly need for their imminent arrival. "Ah, she will grow out of most of it before she is old enough to even recognize a face that is not yours or mine," she said quietly, her toes wriggling in his grip. "And what did you do with yourself, while I was being made to eat chocolate in the shape of poo?"
"I baked cookies!" he replied triumphantly, indicating the plate of fresh-baked cookies on the table beside her, along with the cup of cocoa. Tony had never been a slouch in the kitchen, but he'd become much more helpful the last few months as Anya grew in girth. "So, did Mataya weasel it out of you yet' She's been pestering me for weeks!"
Anya laughed at his query. Of all his sisters, Mataya was the sneakiest and the hardest to keep from making an intuitive guess, but somehow they had managed it for the past five months or so. "She is very easily distracted with talk of her son," she smiled, having learned a fair amount of her her own sneaky from Mataya and Elena to begin with. "Every time she asks, I include Oscar in my answer, and she starts talking about him. I think, perhaps, Theresa has guessed, though she is being very discreet."
"Mataya is probably hoping for a boy, so he can be a playmate to Oscar." Hopefully, she wouldn't be too disappointed when they gave her a girl. "So, have we narrowed down the names yet?" he inquired. The last time they'd talked names, they'd had it narrowed down to a half dozen or so, but nothing was set in stone yet.
"I am still leaning toward an Italian name," his wife confessed with a rueful smile. "Lia, perhaps" Though I should very much like to give our daughter some middle name that connects her to her ancestors, if we can." Tradition was a serious thing in many European families, though neither one of them particularly wanted to peg their daughter with something overtly Russian.
"Lia De Luca has a nice ring to it. I don't suppose you'd like Lia Anastasia," he suggested with a smile, switching from rubbing her left to her right foot. He had a soft but firm touch, and knew just the right way to rub the ache out of her feet, from years of experience. She was a ballerina, after all, and her feet were imperative to her career, as were his.
She chuckled, shaking her head. "Anastasia is such a mouthful for little lips to get themselves around," she explained with a smile, groaning softly in obvious relief as he teased the knots from her aching feet. "I had thought perhaps Rosa, but it, too, might cause some difficulty."
"Hmm, maybe something original, then. There's no rule that says we have to name her after someone. What about Lia Antonia?" he asked, with a teasing smirk. As much as it might roll off the tongue, he wasn't serious. "I think she should have at least one Russian name, don't you?"
"You are sure?" she asked, not entirely sure she agreed with him on that one. As much as she loved her culture, she was not so very sold on the names that were embedded within it. "There are a few names that I do not find so objectionable ....Darya, or Gala, for example. Boys names are nicer in Russian, but our little girl should have a name as pretty as she will be."
"Hmm, what about Lia Alexandra" Or Lia Ekaterina?" he suggested, just off the top of his head. It seemed they were decided on a first name; it was the middle name that had them stumped.
Not least of which was his own wife, heavily rounded now to the point where she needed help whenever it came to bending down for any reason. Anya's slight frame had blossomed over the past months, and if at times she looked as though she'd overinflated a beach ball and shoved it down her top, at least she was bearing the inconveniences of late pregnancy in better spirits than Mataya had. Still, it was a blessed relief to be rescued from the clutches of Mama De Luca and her daughters - as much as Anya loved her husband's family, they could be quite a handful when put together in the same room. It was a deep relief to see their own little house once again; deep enough that she giggled quietly. "I love your sisters, but the sooner Elena gets pregnant and gets to be the center of their attention, the better, lyubimaya," she chuckled to Tony, turning a sweet smile onto him.
"They're taking their own sweet time about it, aren't they?" he asked, as he rubbed one of her feet, a little swollen from all the day's activity. Surrounded by boxes and packages of all sizes and shapes, Tony had insisted she sit and relax, a cup of hot cocoa and a plate of cookies on a table nearby, while he massaged her feet, one at a time. "Well, once you have the baby, she'll be the center of attention for a while," he admitted, knowing his mother and sisters were liable to make a huge fuss over their daughter once she was born.
Anya had long since stopped even trying to be independent, so wiped out just by carrying herself around that anyone who offered to help her was immediately given a list as long as their arm of things that needed doing. Tess, in particular, had been making an effort to help out the expectant parents, disproving the family opinion that she wouldn't lift a finger for any of them. With her feet in Tony's lap, however, Anya was entirely focused on him, even with their daughter rolling around happily in her womb. "I think your mama is very close to strangling me for not telling her that we're expecting a girl," she laughed warmly. "It is driving her simply crazy that we know and are not telling."
"It's probably a good thing. Mama might be a little biased toward a grandson, and I can't say anything or she'll know for sure it's a girl." He chuckled as another thought came to him. "I hope our baby girl doesn't mind wearing yellow," he remarked, since most of the clothing and bedding they'd received was in neutral shades of yellow or green - not a speck of pink. The nursery had been declared off limits to the family for a few weeks now, ever since they'd finished decorating in anticipation of their daughter's birth.
Her eyes turned toward the boxes that were piled around them, a tender smile on her face filled with affection for the friends and family who had gone out of their way to make sure that the young couple had everything they could possibly need for their imminent arrival. "Ah, she will grow out of most of it before she is old enough to even recognize a face that is not yours or mine," she said quietly, her toes wriggling in his grip. "And what did you do with yourself, while I was being made to eat chocolate in the shape of poo?"
"I baked cookies!" he replied triumphantly, indicating the plate of fresh-baked cookies on the table beside her, along with the cup of cocoa. Tony had never been a slouch in the kitchen, but he'd become much more helpful the last few months as Anya grew in girth. "So, did Mataya weasel it out of you yet' She's been pestering me for weeks!"
Anya laughed at his query. Of all his sisters, Mataya was the sneakiest and the hardest to keep from making an intuitive guess, but somehow they had managed it for the past five months or so. "She is very easily distracted with talk of her son," she smiled, having learned a fair amount of her her own sneaky from Mataya and Elena to begin with. "Every time she asks, I include Oscar in my answer, and she starts talking about him. I think, perhaps, Theresa has guessed, though she is being very discreet."
"Mataya is probably hoping for a boy, so he can be a playmate to Oscar." Hopefully, she wouldn't be too disappointed when they gave her a girl. "So, have we narrowed down the names yet?" he inquired. The last time they'd talked names, they'd had it narrowed down to a half dozen or so, but nothing was set in stone yet.
"I am still leaning toward an Italian name," his wife confessed with a rueful smile. "Lia, perhaps" Though I should very much like to give our daughter some middle name that connects her to her ancestors, if we can." Tradition was a serious thing in many European families, though neither one of them particularly wanted to peg their daughter with something overtly Russian.
"Lia De Luca has a nice ring to it. I don't suppose you'd like Lia Anastasia," he suggested with a smile, switching from rubbing her left to her right foot. He had a soft but firm touch, and knew just the right way to rub the ache out of her feet, from years of experience. She was a ballerina, after all, and her feet were imperative to her career, as were his.
She chuckled, shaking her head. "Anastasia is such a mouthful for little lips to get themselves around," she explained with a smile, groaning softly in obvious relief as he teased the knots from her aching feet. "I had thought perhaps Rosa, but it, too, might cause some difficulty."
"Hmm, maybe something original, then. There's no rule that says we have to name her after someone. What about Lia Antonia?" he asked, with a teasing smirk. As much as it might roll off the tongue, he wasn't serious. "I think she should have at least one Russian name, don't you?"
"You are sure?" she asked, not entirely sure she agreed with him on that one. As much as she loved her culture, she was not so very sold on the names that were embedded within it. "There are a few names that I do not find so objectionable ....Darya, or Gala, for example. Boys names are nicer in Russian, but our little girl should have a name as pretty as she will be."
"Hmm, what about Lia Alexandra" Or Lia Ekaterina?" he suggested, just off the top of his head. It seemed they were decided on a first name; it was the middle name that had them stumped.