PART 3
"Hurry up, Nat!" Dan growled, poking his head into the barn. They'd gotten a late start that morning, and hadn't yet had a chance to go by the garden. It was down to just Mrs. Jo and Nick, and Dan was worried all their scheming would have been in vain if Mrs. Jo's seed came up without them having a chance to dispose of it.
Nat and Dan raced towards the garden, but stopped short when they turned the corner of the house and found themselves face-to-face with Mrs. Jo.
"Where are you boys off to in such a hurry?" she asked.
Dan and Nat exchanged glances. The garden was behind her, so she'd probably seen whatever outcome had been revealed.
"Uh… breakfast," covered Nat quickly, trying to look casual as he looked over at the garden. "So, any winners yet?"
Jo looked back at the garden. "No, still nothing. I told Nick this would take forever."
Nat and Dan both breathed sighs of relief and lagged behind as they followed Mrs. Jo inside.
"That was close," Dan whispered. "We got ta get out earlier tomorrow. Do ya think Mrs. Jo is suspicious?"
"She didn't seem to be," replied Nat. "But Dan, it's been almost two weeks. What if Nick's doesn't come up at all?"
Dan looked uncertain. "Well, if no one wins I guess they'll just hafta figure out another way. And as long as we get Mrs. Jo's nobody can win but Nick."
Dan and Nat stumbled down the stairs the next morning, having overslept themselves. Breakfast was just starting, and they were both racking their brains for a way to excuse themselves to sneak out to the garden.
"Here are the two sleepyheads," announced Asia as Nat and Dan poked their heads into the dining room. "Now what happened to Tommy?"
As if on cue, they heard Tommy's voice coming from the front hall. "Everybody! Come quick! One of the seeds is up!"
Dan and Nat bolted out the door ahead of the rest of the crowd, who was just as eager to see who the winner was. Yet while many were still hopeful at their own chance to win, Dan and Nat had it narrowed down to two options, one of which meant a defeat of all their plans. They almost didn't dare look, but stopped stunned in front of the garden.
"Look, everyone!" Tommy called as they gathered around, "Nick's seed came up!"
Dan and Nat almost fell over thinking how close they came to ruining everything. They turned to Nick, who was beaming incredulously, and patted themselves on the back for the good deed they'd done. Hugs and congratulations were exchanged, and everyone, though secretly preferring their own choice, was happy that Nick finally got his way.
As the crowd finally cleared out for breakfast, Nick turned to his wife. "Ya don't seem too surprised," he remarked.
"I guess I'm resigned," she admitted. "I think I knew all along you'd get your way."
"So ya don't mind if we name her Josey?" he asked serious. "'Cause if ya really hate it-"
"Actually, I think it's sweet," she confessed. "I'm sorry I made such a fuss about it before."
"That's alright," Nick said with a grin, still giddy at his victory.
"Besides," she concluded, "anything is better than Ludmilla!"
"What happened to Nick?" Jo asked Dan and Nat as she followed Tommy and Emil out onto the porch a week later.
"He's bringin' the wagon around," Dan replied.
"Alright. Tommy and Emil, would you go see what's keeping the girls? Asia's on her way down."
Tommy and Emil hurried back into the house, leaving Dan, Nat, and Jo, who was carrying little Josey, outside. Everyone was in their Sunday finest for Josey's christening, and Josey herself wore a beautiful heirloom christening gown with eyelet embroidery that all the March girls and their children had worn. Everyone was glad that the little girl finally had a name, and they all felt that "Josey" just suited her. Though some still occaisionally referred to her as "the baby," Nick called her Josey as naturally as if he'd been doing it all along (and maybe he had!).
As they waited Jo glanced over and the garden and said off-handedly, "Funny, isn't it, that Nick's was the only seed that came up. You'd think at least some of the others would have sprouted eventually."
Nat and Dan both avoided her gaze, and Mrs. Jo raised her eyebrows. "You boys wouldn't know why that might be, would you?" she asked pointedly.
Seeing that she knew more than she was letting on, Nat confessed all. "They did, Mrs.Jo, but Dan and I pulled them all up. We though Nick should win, since you'd already named Rob and we don't count, so we pulled out everybody else's."
"But mine came up first," Dan declared, "and I'd have changed my pick to Josey anyway, so it doesn't matter."
Jo smiled at their devotion to Nick. Nat went on, "Mine was second, and I decided I liked Josey too. So it would have been Josey no matter what. Then after that we pulled up everyone else's. Except yours. Yours never came up at all."
Now it was Jo's turn to avoid their gaze. "Oh, mine came up," she said casually, watching as Nick rounded the corner in the wagon. "the day before Nick's." She smiled at them and said softly, "and I pulled it out myself!"
Nat and Dan both laughed, knowing they were forgiven and enjoying the joke they were all a part of.
"It's really a shame though," Mrs. Jo said finally. "It was a neat idea, and I really did want all of you to have a part in naming her."
They all looked over at the name markers still lined up in the garden. Then Nat looked closer. "Maybe there's still a way we all could…"
So that afternoon, in honor of everyone's contribution, the newest member of the Plumfield family was christened Josephine Ludmilla (Louisa Una Daffodil Miranda Isabel Laura Lily Alice) Riley.
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