A Graduation Gift

With a cold shiver, all of a sudden, a thought flashed through her mind.
Her brain desperately scrambled to remember the time of her last menstruation, as if it had been too long to recall in an instant.
'I think the last time I had my menstruation was...when I was with Rufus.
Gosh! I am such a careless dolt! I can't believe I'm only starting to realize this now!' Cassandra was shocked, shaking her head
in disbelief.
She quickly changed into a pair of loose faded jeans and a comfortable tank top before rushing straight to the hospital.
After she had her blood drawn, she went to the waiting room, pacing about anxiously and waiting for the results. Her face
conveyed an arresting spectrum of ambivalent emotions. She was torn in between overwhelming joy and soul-crushing
nervousness.
When the test results came out, she looked at the astonishing figures and then became extremely excited, as if her heart was
about to jump out of her chest.
'There is a baby in my womb. Oh my God! I'm going to be a mother!' It was the first time she had felt a sensation of this
magnitude.
Overwhelming relief and joy engulfed Cassandra. Her first reaction was to take out her cell phone and call Rufus as soon as
possible.
She was so familiar with his phone number that she dialled his number into her cell phone from her memory even if she had
deleted his phone number.
The telephone kept ringing with distracting regularity, but there was no answer.
She called him again, but the response was the same as just now.
'Is Rufus in a meeting?' she wondered.
Cassandra knew him well enough to learn that his phone would be muted during a meeting.
'Well, he must be busy. Anyway, he'll call back when he sees my number.' She decided to let the matter rest.

Clutching the test result to her chest, her heart beat wildly. She trembled with excitement and anxiety.
"Cassandra!"
Dylon, who coincidentally was passing by this floor, saw Cassandra standing by the window with her face full of excitement and
came to say hello to her.
"Dylon!"
she cried out, her voice trembling with excitement.
"You sound so happy. What's the good news?"
Driven by her cheerful smile, he wondered what all the excitement was about.
"Look at this!"
In her excitement, she couldn't help sharing her joy with her friend, Dylon, so she sprang up and handed the test result to him.
Taking it from her hand, the closer he brought it to his face to see, the wider his eyes got. There wasn't a laugh, a giggle, or even
a small mumble, just gawking with his mouth wide open.
"Are you pregnant?"
he asked in an incredulous tone, as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
"Yes, you are right. I'm pregnant. I'm going to be a mother!"
Cassandra was so excited that she could barely contain herself. She wanted to jump, but when the thought of the baby crossed
her mind, she looked down at her belly and caressed it.
"I can't believe it is true. It's strange that I haven't suffered from morning sickness yet. I've just been so busy with work lately that
I didn't even realize I was pregnant."
Cassandra kept laughing herself silly, thinking that this baby was a gift from God.
'Just yesterday I found out from Amanda that Rufus still loves me. That news alone was enough to have me jumping with joy.
However, this love even makes Amanda jealous and mad to that extent.

And today I came to know that I am pregnant with Rufus's baby. Could any of this be real? I just can't express how happy I am. It
feels like I am in a fairytale, ' she wondered.
"Congratulations! Congratulations on being a mother! I am so happy for you! Well, did you tell Rufus yet?"
Although he felt happy for her, Dylon was a bit concerned about how Rufus would react to her pregnancy. Since the media had
been reporting non-stop about Rufus and Amanda, as a good friend to Cassandra, it was natural that he cared more about her.
"I called him just now but he didn't answer. It's okay. He must be busy. I will give him a call again later."
Cassandra laughed heartily, and the sound of her deep chuckle was enough to show that the fact that Rufus hadn't answered
her phone didn't affect her mood at all.
"Well then. I also have something to take care of, so I will go on first. But if there is anything I can do for you, please let me
know!"
Unwilling to delay his work, she hurriedly waved her hands and said goodbye to him after hearing his words.
All the way from the hospital back to her office, Cassandra wore a radiant smile on her face that was bright enough to enliven
any one who passed her by.
'I can't believe that there's a baby growing in my womb! I can't believe that I am going to be a mother! What a strange and
wonderful thing!' Her heart sang with a whoop of undisguised glee.
The air was sweet and her world had been cast anew as she was savouring every moment. Then she sat in front of the
computer and clicked open the browser to search for all kinds of information about pregnancy and mothers-to-be. Cassandra
was so immersed in the role of becoming a mother that she lost track of everything else around her.
After returning from the hospital, however, there was still a mysterious niggling in the back of her mind. She tried to call Rufus
again, but the line was either engaged or rang all the time. All in all, Rufus didn't answer the phone. She started to feel a little
nervous.
After a few more failed attempts, she gave up trying to reach his phone and directly called his assistant, Victor.
"Hello Victor, this is Cassandra. I'd like to speak to your boss, but I can't seem to reach him on his phone. I have something
important to tell him."

Her sweet endearing voice passed through the line and went straight to Victor's brain. There was a sub-current of excitement in
her voice, and with every iteration the thrill seemed to deepen.