Chapter 8 – Lotharios and Goths

Humming quietly, Cassandra swirled the brush around in the toilet bowl a couple more times before flushing it. She stood up with a happy sigh, put the toilet brush away, and washed her hands. The bathroom was spotless now. She moved on to the kitchen, admiring the house as she went. Don's house had been a typical bachelor pad – somewhat messy and not very prettily decorated. But Cassandra had had plenty of time to take care of that, and in her opinion their home was now a beautiful place to be.

She and Don had been married almost a year now. In one month they would be celebrating their anniversary. Cassandra could hardly believe it. It had been a perfect, happy year. Nothing terribly eventful had happened. Cassandra had gotten a promotion and Don was doing well at his job. Everything was going well.

Cassandra took the trash out to the curb and checked the mail while she was there. Even the sight of the bills couldn't ruin her good mood. Cleaning the house, paying bills, being all wifey and domestic – these were the things she'd dreamed of doing all her life. There was only one thing missing…but that would be remedied in a few months and Cassandra couldn't wait to tell Don when he got home from work.

As soon as Don walked in the door that evening, Cassandra wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his jaw.

"How was work today, hon?" she asked, stepping back so he could close the door.

"Oh, the usual." Don shrugged and looked at her quizzically. "What's going on? What are you so excited about?"

"I've got some great news," Cassandra told him, not able hold back a little airy laugh. "But let's sit down. Dinner's ready."

She took his hand and led him to the dining room. They both sat down to eat, Cassandra beaming proudly when Don complimented the casserole she had made. Dinner had taken her a little time to get used to. Never having been required to cook before she was married, Cassandra was ill prepared for the challenge of cooking and serving meals. After almost a year of it, though, she had grown much better and was even trying new and more complicated recipes.

After a few minutes into the meal, Don set down his fork. "Okay, Cassandra, I think you should tell me what's going on." The corners of his mouth twitched into an amused smile, and Cassandra couldn't blame him for laughing at her – she'd barely been able to sit still and hadn't eaten a single bite. "You're obviously very excited about something, and I can't stand the suspense any longer."

"Well…" Cassandra paused. Now that the time had come to tell Don, she was at a loss for words. She wanted to say it just right, but hadn't really thought about how to phrase it until just now. She began slowly, watching his face closely, "I went to the doctor today."

"I'm assuming that there's nothing wrong, since you're not upset," Don said wryly.

"No, there's nothing wrong." Suddenly, Cassandra couldn't stand it any longer. She blurted, "Don, I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby!" Don stared at her blankly for a few seconds and Cassandra blinked nervously. "Don?"

"Wow…" He had a dazed look on his face, but didn't seem unhappy. "A baby…"

"Yes!" Cassandra squealed, clapping her hands together. "Sometime around March we'll have a little one come join us."

Finally Don smiled, and Cassandra breathed easy again. "A baby, huh? I'm going to be a dad?"

Cassandra laughed. She jumped up and hurried around the table to sit on Don's lap. "Yes, that's usually how it works," she teased. She rested her head on his shoulder and took his hand, lying it on her belly. "It's strange to think there's a little person in there," she said, awestruck. "A little bit of you and me put together to make something wonderful."

"Yeah…" Don wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "Wow…"

Again, Cassandra laughed. She kissed Don's neck and whispered, "I love you, Don."

But he seemed too much in awe to reply.

"Come on in!" Brandi held the door open wide and motioned for Don and Cassandra to enter the foyer. "How are you both this evening?" She smiled as she asked the question because the answer was obvious. Cassandra was holding tightly to Don's arm and beaming with happiness.

"Oh, we're fine," Cassandra answered as she and Don followed Brandi into the dining room. "Dinner smells wonderful."

"It's almost ready," Brandi said. She motioned the two of them to chairs at the table, which was already set for six. Dustin was out working. At least, that's what he had told Brandi he was doing. She pushed the depressing thoughts out of her mind. "Mortimer and Beau should be down soon. Alexander is helping me in the kitchen."

Brandi made sure Don and Cassandra had something to drink and then returned to the kitchen where Alexander was just pulling salad out of the refrigerator. He pointed to the rest of the food sitting on the counter.

"It's ready to be carried in," he told Brandi.

"Thank you for all your help." Brandi patted him on the shoulder and they both carried the food into the dining room just in time to see Mortimer and Beau walk in. Brandi smiled cheerfully at her husband when he took a plate from her hands. Within minutes, they were all settled around the table and digging into their food. The conversation flowed easily from one thing to another, everyone enjoying each other's company. When they had just about reached the end of dinner, Brandi exchanged a look with Mortimer and cleared her throat.

"Don, Cassie," Mortimer began, reaching for Brandi's hand. "We invited you over for dinner because we have something important to tell you."

Brandi noticed a look of concern cross Cassandra's face and was quick to speak up. "It's not bad, I promise." She smiled at her friend. "It's actually very good." She took a deep breath and announced, "Mortimer and I are going to have a baby." She waited with baited breath for their reaction – especially Cassandra's. She badly wanted Cassandra to be happy for her. She wasn't sure what Cassandra would think since it was her father, after all. And it was very soon after Skip's birth so it was a surprise – she and Mortimer had been surprised for sure. But Brandi wasn't disappointed in Cassandra's reaction.

Cassandra's jaw had dropped when Brandi told her the news. Then she clapped her hands to her mouth, but she was smiling brightly. "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so excited!" Then she glanced at Don. "We actually wanted to tell you tonight, too…" Cassandra's eyes flew to her father. "You're going to be a grandpa!"

Everyone around the table erupted into talking and cheers all at once. It only took seconds for everyone to jump to their feet and mill about the room, talking and laughing and hugging, celebrating life. Brandi felt tears come to her eyes as she stepped to the side, surveying her family. It was a beautiful sight and one she would treasure. She just wished Dustin were here, too.