What's in a Name?

I am leaning back on the examination table reading the cartoons that the doctor has plastered on the ceiling. One cartoon shows an elderly couple. The man is fumbling around inside his wife’s blouse, searching. “They’re not up there anymore, Walter.” The wife says.

Ron is by my side, sitting in a chair. We’re waiting for a nurse to come in and take my blood. Ron reaches up and strokes my hair. With his other hand, he flips through a pregnancy magazine.

“The most popular names for girls are Emily, Emma, and Madison. For boys, Aiden, Jacob, and William.”

“I saw that list the other day,” I say.

He turns the page.

“And the most unusual names . . . Nevaeh.”

“Nevaeh?” I say.

“Heaven spelled backwards,” he says.

“Oh,” I say.

“Here’s another,” he says. “Zen. Hey, I like that. Zen Rough.”

“I like it too. If we were celebrities, we could totally get away with naming our kid Zen.”

“Do you think it’s a boy name or a girl name?” he asks.

“Boy,” I nod. “Definitely.”

“Really? It seems like a girl name. I’m not sure I’d want my son growing up with the name Zen,” he says.

“Oh c’mon! We’d make quite a pair – Jenny and Zenny!”

Hmm.

On second thought, maybe as a middle name?