“April Fool!”

          “Oh Jamie, pack it in, you know I’m tired and can’t think straight.”

          “Let me hold my beautiful new born daughter then,” he said trying to make amends.

          Handing our little bundle of joy across to him, I wished I’d been quick enough to pick up on Jamie’s joke.  As if all newborn babies had to be registered before midday on the day of their birth to qualify for that date to be their official birthday!  How did I fall for that one?  Too tired and exhausted still, that was my problem.

          Stroking the side of her cheek with my little finger, as Jamie held our bundle of joy in his arms completely enthralled, I began pondering another little problem we had.  We needed a name for this gorgeous little creature, and we didn’t have one.

          “So Jamie, have you thought of a name yet for your daughter?”

          “Don’t worry about it love, we’ll think of something.”

          “We’ve had nine months to think about it though,” I reminded him.  I don’t want to give her any old name, just because we desperate to think of one.”

          “Yeah, nine months of thinking and all we’ve been able to agree on is Jack.”

          “I’m not calling any daughter of mine Jack,” I said defiantly.  “You know full well that this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t insisted that we went to the Fortune Teller.”

          “That’s it, blame me,” shouted Jamie, waking up our daughter in the process.  As she started to cry, Jamie gently rocked her from side to side, singing a soft lullaby, and she soon fell back to sleep.  He was a natural Father. 

          “That’s it, blame me,” he whispered this time, trying to continue the conversation where he’d left of.  “The Fortune Teller said we’d have a baby boy, and you’ve got to admit, this little one here has been kicking you better than Roy Keane hasn’t she?”

          I had to admit, she certainly had been good with her right foot.  At one time I’d wondered whether there was a whole football team in there.

          “It doesn’t matter,” Jamie continued, “I’ve rung the Fortune Teller and she says that if I take the baby round to prove that she’s a girl, she’ll give me my money back.”

          “She never did!”  I couldn’t believe it.  Since when have Fortune Tellers issued refunds?

          “April Fool!” cheered Jamie one more time, delighted at having caught me out again.

          Glancing at the clock on the wall, I could see that there were only ten minutes to go until twelve o’clock and this blasted April Fool malarkey would be over.

          “So come on then.  What are we going to call our first-born child?  I can’t believe we didn’t think of a girl’s name just in case.”

          “We didn’t because we both believed the Fortune Teller when she told us we would have a boy, that’s why,” Jamie reiterated. “Look, she must have convinced you too, otherwise you wouldn’t have dismissed the doctors when they offered to tell us the sex at that scan.”

          He was right.  When the doctors had asked if I wanted to know, I’d declined, saying that we already knew. I wasn’t going to tell them that we’d been to a Fortune Teller!  I’d have been so embarrassed.

          “Are there any names on your mother’s side of the family that we could use?” I asked.  I’ve always wanted to keep family names going.  That’s why we’d chosen Jack.  It was my Granddad’s name and it’s back in vogue again now.  It’s one of those names that doesn’t seem to age.  It sounds just as right for a two year old as it does for a twenty two year old, or even a seventy two year old.

          “Well my Gran was called Gertrude,” said Jamie.

          The look on my face must have said it all.  Gertrude wasn’t a 21^st Century name in my opinion.

          “April Fool!” Jamie cheered again, before bringing our daughter up to his face and kissing her on the forehead.  “I hope you’ve got my brains,” he said to her, “because the ones on your mother’s side don’t seem to be working at the moment.”

          “What was your Gran’s name truthfully?” I asked with trepidation.

          “Moira,” he replied,” but that’s not right for this little one.  I don’t think she looks like a Moira.  What about your Gran?”

          “My Mum’s mother was called Hilda, and my Dad’s mother was called Petula,” I recalled slowly.

          “Hmm, neither of them seem suitable do they,” said Jamie.

          At that moment, I saw the clock strike twelve and breathed a sigh of relief!  At least Jamie couldn’t pull any more of his April Fool jokes on me now.  He seemed to be getting a little uncomfortable, as he tried to move his hands whilst still holding our daughter as still as possible.

          “Are you all right there?” I asked.

          Wrinkling his nose, he said, "I think I’ve just experienced my first April shower.”

          Passing her back to me, he brought his fingers up to his still wrinkled nose and sniffed.  “I’m just going to wash my hands,” he said, getting off the bed and wandering over to the door.  “I’ll be back in a tick.”

          “Don’t go yet!” I called out, but it was too late.  “Well his brains can’t be that good can they,” I said, looking at our oblivious daughter.  “He’ll have to wash his hands again once he’s changed your nappy won’t he?”

          Suddenly the door to my room flew open and Jamie stood there excitedly.

          “April Fool!”

          “Sorry?”

          “April Fool!”

          “Jamie, it’s gone past twelve o’clock.  It’s bad luck to play a joke after twelve on the 1^st of April.  And anyway, it isn’t a joke.  Her nappy really does need changing.”

          “I’m not playing a joke,” he said.  “What do you think about it?”

          “About what?”

          “The name.”

          “What name?” I asked, getting more frustrated.

          “April, you fool.”

          “April?”

          “Why not?  It’s the 1^st of April, the day of our daughter’s birth and I think it sounds as beautiful as our little girl looks.”

          As the grin on my face grew bigger, so did his.  Yes, he was right.  It did make sense.  April, was lovely.

          “Have you washed your hands yet?” I asked.

          “No, I ran back as soon as the name crossed my mind,” Jamie replied.

          “Good.  As it’s the 1^st of April, you may as well be the first to change April’s first nappy then,” I beamed.

THE END