Elaine

Elaine is in hospital.

Elaine of Corbenic, fell in love with Lancelot and tricked him into believing that she was Guinevere, so that he would sleep with her.

Elaine Thompson is now the world's fastest woman.

Elaine the fair, Elaine the lovable, Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat, High in her chamber up a tower to the east Guarded the sacred shield of Lancelot;

My own mother named me after her best friend, as women did in those days. Elaine, which I once found too plaintive. I wanted something more definite, a monosyllable: Dot or Pat, like a foot set down. Nothing you could make a mistake about; nothing watery. But my name has solidified around me, with time. I think of it as tough but pliable now, like a well-worn glove.