Saved and SAINTified by Tiana Laveen

aint ignored her and continued on. “For instance, there is always a dominant male.  His job is to guard the pride, and to mate with all the females in the group.”
    “That’s his job , Saint?” Xenia smirked and gave him a side glance.
    “Yes, it really is!” He managed to keep a straight face as they continued to walk side by side, passing the polar bear arena. “The males in the pride will fight to the death many times to maintain their position as dominant male in a pride.  When it is all said and done, the strongest male wins. He is usually the biggest of the bunch. That way, the breeding male is more robust than those he defeated in the fight, thus ensuring the strongest genetic traits for their offspring.”
    Xenia began to clap. “Thank you for that spiel about male lion dominance. Now, where can we cop some cotton candy?” She looked around at the snack hubs.
    S aint grabbed her around her waist and lifted her up for a playful kiss along the right side of her neck. Her legs moved back and forth as she struggled in his grip, their laughter echoing throughout.
    “S aint! Stop!” she managed through giggles. “You’re going to make me wake the boys!” She continued to squirm until he finally placed her back down on her feet.
    “So, this discussion about offspring is supposed to actually go somewhere ,” he said after they took a few more steps.
    “Oh , is it? Do tell.” Xenia looked at him as she continued to push the stroller. They came toward an area with a steep uphill. Saint gently pushed her out of the way and began to drive the sleeping boys forward, switching sides with her.
    “I spoke to a colleague of mine about our situation and about gender selection.”
    “You did?”
    “Yes. And though I don’t want to interfere with nature, there are some natural things you and I can do to possibly —and I only say possibly , Xenia—encourage the conception of a girl.”
    “Really? Do you believe in that stuff? I mean, I’ve heard about it , but I have no idea if it actually works.”
    S aint shrugged. “Hey, he is an upheld and revered fertility specialist and some of what he shared with me really makes sense. He took a look at my family history and has determined that I’m boy dominant.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “My family has a predisposition for producing boys. It’s a controversial theory but if you look at my family tree, it makes sense. He believes that some of this is purely biological. Some men tend to produce more than female sperm, or vice versa. Rarely are girls conceived in my family, and I really never thought about it before now. Even on my mother’s side, girls were rare. I have six uncles on my maternal side. From her siblings, she was the only girl. My father—the exact same story. His family in Egypt, again, mainly boys.” He shrugged. “He has five brothers and no sisters. If we just sit back and do nothing, basically, we still have a much higher chance of having another boy, I believe.”
    S aint looked at Xenia and could see the disappointment on her face.
    “Well .” She clasped her hands together and sighed. “That isn’t exactly what I wanted to hear, but I’d still like to try and have another baby. Whatever it is, I just want one more, just like I told you before.” She reached over and traced his jaw with her fingertip. Tenderly, he took her hand in his solid grip and stared into her eyes.
    I fall in love with you impossibly more each day, baby . I want to give you another baby. I want you to be happy...
    “That’s good to know ,” he said as they resumed walking. “So, here is what we can do. It’s too late to try for this cycle, but the next one, we will be ready. Now, you told me the other day that you were prepared once again to put your career on hold. However, I know that you worked really hard to get your own show up and running, so help me brainstorm ways we can work as a team.”
    Xenia was quiet for a few moments then stopped