Chapter 12

I didn't know what discussions Hadassah and Joshua had regarding the date of the wedding, but I assumed they were taking place. I was a bit uneasy about allowing them to discuss the matter outside our presence, but Gill told me to let them do it at school, where they could be by themselves yet within view of any number of people at all times, and so I kept my reservations inside.

Ideally they'd be married before Hadassah began to show, though no amount of hurry could, or would, disguise the fact that she was showing far earlier than she ought to have been had she refrained until she was married. She surely knew that, and Joshua did, and surely they were talking together, and with the elders, to establish a date.

Meanwhile, the subject of the baby's name came up again on the following Thursday, when Joshua came over to see Hadassah, which he did every two or three days. They insisted that they not be private, not even in the back yard or some other place where we could see them; they had been burned once, and were being very careful about the fire that had singed them – which did ease my concerns a bit. So they were in the chairs that had become "theirs," along the wall where they couldn't see the television and could talk quietly with each other, while Gill and I watched a DVD.

"Mr. Garvin?" I heard Joshua's voice only because he'd raised it above the soft level he'd been using with Hadassah.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind, Hadassah and I would like to talk to you and Mrs. Garvin about something."

"Certainly," I said, and Gill picked up the remote and paused the DVD.

"Well," Joshua said, "we've been talking about names. You probably know that Hadassah already has an idea for a girl."

"Yes," Gill said. "She told us she's considering Charis."

"Right. And we've come up with María as a middle name if it's a girl. But what if it's a boy?"

"I'm sure you've considered some boys' names," I said.

"Yes, Dad," said Hadassah, "but we haven't been able to agree on any. We've decided we want Biblical names, like Josh and I have Biblical names. But we don't want Abraham, and he doesn't want Moses even though I sort of like it. We've gone through a lot of names, but we can't decide on anything."

I looked at Gill, who took my hand. "This is your child, of course," she said, "and we can hardly dictate what names you should choose. But we would be glad to offer our opinions, if you want them."

Both young people nodded. "We do," Hadassah said.

And Joshua added, "We're not doing very well on our own. If nothing else you can at least give us a different perspective."

"Well," I said, "certainly we have a different perspective – when we named you, Hadassah, everyone thought we were insane."

"I can imagine!" she said with a laugh. "But I love my name, it's a pretty one, and it's got a significance to it too. But you know that, right?"

I laughed. "I do now. When we chose it we went on how beautiful it is, but then I did some research – which you know about. You'd think I'd have known at the time, since I know Hebrew, but..." I spread my hands and smiled.

"I do. 'So they proclaimed and circulated a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written."' I'm named after a tree that's important in the worship of the temple, just as Esther was." I'd learned, and taught Hadassah, that her name referred to the myrtle tree.

"And you have been to us," Gill said, "like a tree beside the water, pleasant and beautiful."

Hadassah grinned. "'She will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, /Which yields its fruit in its season/And its leaf does not wither;/And in whatever she does, she prospers.' I changed it to fit the fact that I'm a girl, but I love it. Mom, you're so sweet to think of me that way."

"You're so sweet to be that way," Gill told her. I was a bit jealous just then, for mothers and daughters have, it seems to me, a relationship which even a daddy's girl and her father can't quite reach, and Hadassah had never really been a daddy's girl.

"Meanwhile," I said, "as to names. I like the idea of Biblical names. As you know, your mother and I have ordinary English names, though I grant that the spelling of your mother's is a bit unusual. But we chose your name from the Bible, and I'm happy that you're continuing that." I tilted my head back and thought for a moment. "Have you considered categorizing possible names? For instance, you might think of names from the Pentateuch, from the prophets, from the historical books. You might follow the divisions of TANAKH. You might—"

"Excuse me, Mr. Garvin," Joshua said, "but what's that word you said?" He tried to pronounce it, and did an even poorer job that I do; my pronunciation is not that of a rabbi.

"I'm sorry – I didn't mean to confuse you. It's a Jewish acronym, from the Hebrew names of the three divisions of the Jewish scriptures. There are the Law, the prophets, and the writings – Torah, Nebi'im, and Kethubim. And that's where TANAKH comes from."

"Oh. You know, hard Hebrew words aside, you've got a good idea. What do you think, Hadassah?"

"It's not bad." She sat with her chin on her fist, thinking about it. "Josh, what about that? Let's consider names from those divisions and see what we come up with."

"All right, let's." And they put their heads together and their voices went low again. I realized – late, I suppose – that Hadassah had her Bible in her lap, and they were flipping through it as they talked.

I turned and smiled at Gill. "You know, I didn't realize until now just how much we deprived our parents of."