We were all stunned. The gossip spread all throughout the lobbies like a contagious disease. But it wasn’t a made-up story. It was already confirmed that CJ, my close friend, was pregnant.
I was a neophyte in college taking up BS Nursing and CJ was one of those I befriended first. She was a typical conservative lady as I knew and was joining the Campus Ministry and the College Choir. We shared some likes and together with the gang, had loads of fun together.
Our school practices “first come, first served” as basis for sectioning so CJ and I were no longer classmates after a semester. Though we got new set of friends the following semester, the bond we once had was just so strong that we never forget to say “Hello” or just give a wave when we passed by each other in the corridors.
During the second semester this school year (I’m already a sophomore), the buzz about CJ began to spread. I couldn’t believe it. I thought of it every minute that day the news reached my eardrums. Of all the people, why CJ? Why her after being conservative and joining a religious org?
All those times I often saw CJ. When I did catch a glimpse of her in the aisle, she would have always the same aura as the last time I saw her: with a sweater around her and a huge binder embraced in her bosom. That truth was that, I never wished for our paths to cross. I felt some guilt being her friend.
December last year, we had our Capping and Candle-lighting Ceremony. White caps were placed in the heads of the ladies and nameplates were pinned to us boys – symbol of authority for our becoming nurses. Each of us will be lighting a candle from a huge one – symbol of guidance bestowed unto us from the Mother of Nursing herself, Florence Nightingale. In the event, I never saw a CJ being capped.
Last January, I felt for the first time the awesome feeling of a nurse-in-duty as I began my practicum in our school’s base hospital. All of us from Level 2 Nursing were divided into groups of 15 students each and were assigned to the different stations of the hospital. CJ was in our group.
Since CJ was in duty with us, it meant that she already delivered her child or no longer pregnant through some means. I was intimidated going along with her at first after a long time of not being with each other. But she was till the CJ I knew before, only then, having an obligation to her baby already. During the semester of hospital exposure, CJ and I revived our friendship as warm as before.
CJ was such a celebrity. All our clinical instructors and some staff nurses in the stations we were in seemed to know her. When our group was close enough to know each other’s lovelife and personal problems, as expected, CJ was forced to tell what had happened to her. Good for her doing so. I would be gaining back my respect on her since I longed for an explanation.
CJ and her boyfriend were high school sweethearts. They love each other a lot and they are inseparable as liana on a tree. The guy came from a broken family and is living with his mother. The father is an OFW in Germany.
When CJ’s boyfriend’s father filed a petition for him to go study abroad, they were both worried. She couldn’t imagine herself without him and so was his boyfriend without her. It was his boyfriend’s decision then that they must create a symbol of their union. That whether the guy would be going to Germany or not, he would have at least some reason to go back to CJ. How dramatic. Their would-be child then was conceived. CJ admits she was stupid enough not to think of her future and her parents’ reaction when she and her boyfriend did it. During that time, she was only thinking of the both of them being together. But what happened was past and the outcome had to be reported.
Here enters CJ’s mother. It’s indeed true that mothers know well their children. Before CJ could say a word about her pregnancy, her mother already doubted about it. She would often ask her questions like, “Why are your napkins in your room unused?” or, “Why do you look so pale?” When CJ confessed, her mother was speechless and finally in tears.
Her mother was understanding enough. Before setting up a plan, CJ and her mother first zipped their lips for anyone in the family not to know the “problem”. Both of them couldn’t imagine the head of the family unleashing his wrath. CJ’s father being Chinese is strict at marriage rites.
CJ’s mother brought her to an OB-Gyne who is a close friend. They queried for a solution to the problem. But the doctor, no matter how hard they persuaded her to do anything just to stop the pregnancy, only suggested pursuing it. Taking medications to deter the growth of the fetus may only put CJ’s life at risk or worse, cause abnormalities to the child if ever it would come out. Abortion was far from CJ and her mother’s mind. They had no choice.
CJ must be sent away from home to avoid her father noticing her bulging tummy. Her mother at first left her to stay in a boarding house but later, a concerned friend decided to take care of CJ until she gives birth. Her mother told her father and the rest of the family that she would be away for a long time since she would be having her practicum in different places. For six months then, CJ wasn’t able to see her Dad, younger brother, and Lola. Only by phone could she talk to them.
Our college Dean didn’t allow CJ to take the subject NCM (Nursing Care Management) where our nursing procedures are taught. Following the school’s protocol, no pregnant student is allowed to go on duty in the hospital. But CJ took the subject secretly. She went on lectures for almost a month when her growing stomach was not yet visible. The administration only discovered what CJ had done during the Capping and Candle-lighting rehearsals.
CJ wasn’t supposed to take the NCM subject or be capped in the ceremony. The team of clinical instructors called her for interrogation. The rendezvous’ decision was that, CJ must not attend the solemn ceremony and must drop NCM as soon as possible.
Our Capping and Candle-lighting Ceremony was on December. CJ would be in her full term by the next month but she gave birth to a premature baby girl on December 28. Last January, since she was no longer pregnant, she was allowed to go on duty with us. Only, she must not wear a cap since she had not attended the ceremony.
Whew. All of us in the group were breathless as CJ ended her story. That was no tale of suffering but rather an inspirational one. After hearing her experience, we no longer thought of CJ as an unfortunate student who got pregnant but one lucky woman.
CJ for me is one modern day Job. She was tested by God. When she was bearing her child in her tummy, she never forgot to pray and thank the Lord for His blessing despite of what’s happening to her. She would have been thinking of abortion as the only way to solve her problem but she never dared. Her conscience is ever clean.
CJ passed the test. She’s graced with a pretty baby girl named Kristia. Her boyfriend loved her more and now promises her to a church wedding after he graduates. Our college Dean allowed CJ to pursue taking NCM since she already spent more than a month with it. Though capless, she is enjoying a hospital exposure with us. After six months of homesickness, she can finally hug her Dad, younger brother, and dearest Lola.
In their family, the secret of CJ’s motherhood remains to her and her mother only.
I don’t think it’s too late. To CJ and her Mom, Happy Mother’s Day. A greeting to my beloved Mamay too.
Order No. 66. The army of the Republic was great, of so much help, but only AT FIRST. When Palpatine announced the execution of ORDER No. 66, I was surprised when all the clones turned to the other side. UNFAIR! Hey, of all the numbers, why 66? Is it analogous to 666? 
