A Graduation Gift

Cassandra woke up to the pitter-patter of rain falling outside. It drummed softly on the leaves and blanketed the morning in a rhythmic white noise of nature.

Her eyes were still hazy with sleep, until she came to the sudden realization that she was in Lionel's room. Wide-eyed, and her mind sounding alarms, she sprang up to check her own body.

She was under the cover of the blanket, and her clothes were exactly as they were when she fell asleep. She ran her hands over her limbs, as if in search for a phantom touch that could possibly linger. Convinced that nothing was different, she heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that Lionel didn't touch her.

The thought of him made her turn her head and scan the room. He was nowhere to be found.

She stood up from the bed and opened the door, treading softly on the carpeted floor. It was still early, and she did not want to make noise and attract anyone's attention. She crossed the hall and went, as quickly as her quiet steps would allow her, to the guest room where she was living in. Then she locked the door, and took a shower. When she finished, she came out with her body wrapped in a bath towel. To her surprise, there was a man standing in the middle of the room, his eyes fixed on her.

Reflexively, she tightened the towel around herself to find any semblance of modesty it could give her, then she stormed to the intruder.

"Rufus! When did you come in!" she confronted him.

Rufus remained his standing position, unaffected by her anger. The dim light of the autumn morning silhouetted his face, hiding parts of it in shadows. Despite the absence of light, one could feel a heavy aura coming from him.

He replied to her in a low voice, "I have been here. You didn't come back last night. So I was here the entire night."

Cassandra felt herself warm with his words as a slew of thoughts crowded her head. 'Was he sleeping on the my bed? Did he use my blanket?

Was the bed clean enough? Was my hair on it? Was it comfortable enough for him?' The questions went on and on until she realized the insignificance of the things she was agonizing over.

'Wait a second…' she thought, shaking her head and collecting her wits.

There was a more important question that had to be answered.

"Why did you sleep in my room last night?" she questioned. Her voice was firm but the blush on her face betrayed her emotions at the moment.

A playful smile crept up Rufus' face.

"I wanted to be close to you. Your bed smells like you. It was really...nice," Rufus continued, his voice dropping at the last words.

Cassandra knew all too well that he was teasing her, and yet, she found herself curling up like a cat to his words. Was she…enjoying this?

'Cassandra, how can you stoop so low? How dare you entertain flirtation with your brother-in-law!' she castigated herself. 'You are the wife of Lionel. You are supposed to behave like a married woman. It is unacceptable to keep pursuing an ambiguous relationship with Rufus, ' she went on reminding herself.

Gripping the voice of reason, she spoke in the coldest tone she could muster, "Well, you can go out now. I need to change."

Undeterred, Rufus' eyes roamed all over her body as if he was devouring her with his eyes. His eyes glinted with mischief as he asked, "Why? Are you bothered with me looking at your naked body?"

She also knew he wouldn't go out so

went into the bathroom, locking the door after her. She dressed herself

a glance, she walked pass him and out of the guest room, and suddenly was surprised to find Cloris standing at the door holding a tray.

was here to bring

he went to

was about to knock on the door, but before she could do so, the door opened, revealing Cassandra.

sisters stood face to face, gaping at each

each other wordlessly

the silence between them when he casually took the tray from Cloris's hands.

was just getting hungry,"

but questions lingered at the back of her mind. She pushed her way inside the bedroom, inspecting every detail as anxiety clawed at her. Her eyes were pulled to a familiar alarm clock by the bed.

was Rufus who provided an explanation to her

a guest room. I only found out that this was your

puzzlement at the situation, and so Rufus took it upon himself to diffuse the tense atmosphere before anything else surfaced. It was the logical move. His words, however, made Cassandra uneasy. She could not put her finger at the

been very tired. You even entered the wrong

matter any further. She quietly left the room as Cloris continued to

was having his breakfast, giving Cassandra a smile as

came down for his breakfast. Before taking his leave, he asked his father not to wake Cassandra up so that she could

tired from spending time with her husband. Little did he know Lionel's request was to avoid the awkward atmosphere if they

Lionel was nowhere to be found, Cassandra felt much more relaxed.

the hospital? Don't forget to discuss it with Rufus. It would be better if he can give you ideas about the

This was the biggest project that she had been assigned to

that needed her attention - design, materials, function. A thousand details had to be discussed and taken into consideration. Her expertise alone would not be enough, as the project entailed

Cassandra felt enthusiasm well up

she finished her breakfast, Rufus and Cloris came walking

sister and pulled her hand, grabbing her

she asked in an enthusiastic

"I still have something to do at the

a hand to spend some time alone with Rufus. She winked at her sister, then turned to Rufus and clung to his arm. Then she announced, her tone as bright as the sound of tinkling

so much as a goodbye, he let himself be led away by Cloris to the car. Only after Rufus had left, was Cassandra able to breathe normally.

presence loomed over her like clouds and confused her.

leave for the day. There were the telltale sounds of lockers being closed and bags being zipped as employees prepared to clock out and go home.

was, sent Cassandra a message, reading, "There's going

then resumed work. Several sheets were spread