PART 2
Nick looked around at the circle of people standing in front of the garden. "Everyone's seed planted?" They all nodded. "Okay, we'll mark which seed is which, and whoever's sprouts first will get to choose the name."
"I made markers for them," announced Bess, handing everyone a marker with their chosen name.
"Wouldn't it be easier just to draw names out of a hat?" Nan asked skeptically.
"Maybe," Nick replied, "but this'll be more fun. Besides, drawin' outta a hat is leavin' it up ta chance. This is leavin' it up ta nature."
Everyone stood back and looked at the row of markers: Josephine, Louisa, Una, Daffodil, Miranda, Isabel, Laura, Lily, and Alice.
"What if two come up at the same time?" asked Tommy.
"Well, I guess those two hafta replant and start over," Nick explained. He turned to Jo with a grin, "Should we plant one for Mrs. Reinmueller too?"
Jo was not amused. "Nick, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I thought we'd all make a decision together, not play some kind of game to see who gets to name her. Besides, this could take weeks!"
"C'mon. It'll be fun," he coerced, putting his arm around her. "An' it ain't like we were makin' a decision any faster."
She raised her eyebrows. "And what if Rob's comes up first?"
Nick laughed. "I dunno. I think Daffodil Riley's kinda cute!"
Asia believed that things seem to grow in the dark, so everyone made a ritual of going out to the garden immediately after breakfast to see what might have come up during the night.
Dan and Nat, supposed to be working on homework, were both pondering the outcome of the experiment as they sat in their room one afternoon.
"Some of the seeds ought to be coming up soon," Nat observed, looking out the window.
"Yep," Dan agreed.
"Well, whose do you think is going to sprout first?" Nat asked. "Nan's usually pretty good at growing things. Emil too. And do you think they'll really name her whatever the winner chooses?"
Dan shrugged. "They said they would, and-"
They both stopped at the sound of the baby crying. Mrs. Jo had gone into town with her sisters, so they both made a dash for the bedroom. But when they reached the doorway they found that Nick already had the situation under control, carrying his little girl around the room and singing to her softly. Dan and Nat grinned at each other, and continued to watch silently from the doorway.
"Nick sure loves her," Nat remarked. "I don't think he's ever been so happy."
Dan nodded in agreement. "Been a long time since Nick had a real family of his own."
"Do you think Nick and Mrs. Jo will have any more kids?" Nat wondered.
"I dunno. Why?"
"I was just thinking. I mean, this might be Nick's only chance to name a baby."
Dan pondered this silently. "Mrs. Jo named Rob. And we don't count 'cause we'll all get ta name our own kids." They both watched as Nick played gently with his daughter. "It's real important ta Nick ta name her Josey," Dan continued. "He don't say so, but I can tell."
The next morning, Dan and Nat hurried out to the garden before anyone else.
"Dan, look!" Nat exclaimed. "Your seed is up!"
Dan grinned and knelt down to take a closer look. "Yeah! Look at it!" A tiny bit of green peeked out from the dirt in front of Dan's marker.
After a moment of elation they both sobered, picturing the scene of the day before.
"Laura's a really nice name," Nat offered finally.
"Yeah," Dan agreed half-heartedly. "But so's Josey."
With a swift motion, Dan grabbed hold of the seedling, yanked it out of the ground, and tossed it into the yard.
"Dan!" Nat shouted, "what are you doing?"
"I think she should be named Josey," Dan said decidedly.
"But Dan! Why didn't you just change your pick! Now anyone else might win!"
"It ain't the same if I pick Josey," Dan explained. "Nick should get ta name his daughter himself."
"But what if someone else's seed comes up before his?" Nat asked desperately.
Dan gave Nat a sly grin. "Then we'll just hafta pull theirs up too!"
And so they did. Each morning they sneaked out before anyone else to be sure no one but Nick would win. Nat pulled his own seedling out the next morning, followed by Bess's and Nan's, then Emil's, and finally Tommy's and Rob's. Each morning Dan and Nat became more and more anxious as Nick's seed refused to grow, and the rest of Plumfield was equally worried about the entire experiment, as apparently nothing at all had sprouted.
The spring nights were still cool, and as Jo rolled over to nestle closer to her husband, she was suddenly aware that she was alone in their bed.
"Nick?" she called groggily. Sitting up she looked about the room, finally spotting him standing over the cradle where their daughter lay. "Nick, what are you doing? What's wrong?" She climbed out of bed and rushed to his side, relieved to see that the baby was sleeping soundly and apparently fine.
Nick put his arms around her and pulled her close, not sure of how to explain himself. "She's just so… amazin'" he whispered incredulously as they stood together and watched her tiny chest rise and fall as she slept. "Just like her mother," he said, kissing Jo on the temple.
"It's so strange," he continued after a moment. "I thought everythin' was so wonderful. Just you, me, an' Rob, then the kids, Asia, the school… thought we had it all. But now I don't know how we ever did without her. Like she makes everything more real, more complete…" he trailed off, unsure of how to vocalize his emotions.
Jo hugged Nick tightly, understanding what he was feeling but couldn't put into words. She too felt the miracle of their child. Tears welled up in Jo's eyes as she recognized this as one of the rare, beautiful moments in life when everything seems perfect; that you cling to always. Suddenly, all her worry and struggle about naming their daughter seemed very trivial to Jo. Ludmilla, Josey, Louisa, Daffodil… what did it really matter? She was beautiful, healthy, amazing, and they were finally a family.
PART 3
