Part 8
1343 Words
The night is getting late. The clock on the nightstand shows at twelve o'clock at midnight, but my eyes still won’t close. Meanwhile, I can hear a soft snore from Adi, who has been sleeping beside me.
I inhale deeply and then exhale slowly. Turns out, sleeping in the same bed with Adi only makes my mind wander. Scared that Adi will ask for his rights is what I fear the most right now. Finally, I decide to take wudu. Night prayers are better, I think.
“You’re still awake?” Adi’s voice startles me who has just finished praying.
“Not yet sleepy,” I reply as I take off my mukena then put on my hijab and turn to him who is now sitting, leaning on the headboard.
“Here.” Adi pats his right side, asking me to sit there.
Still sitting on the prayer mat, I look at Adi, who somehow looks more handsome with his pillow face.
Anyelir, what the heck are you thinking!
“Anyelir," Again, Adi’s voice sounds gentle when calling me.
I get up, put the mukena on the sofa, and sit beside Adi.
My heart beats uncontrollably. I can only keep my face down. It is awkward to sit next to him in the middle of this silent night.
Adi takes my hand, holding it gently. I stare at the jet-black eyes that are staring back at me. Adi smiles faintly. A smile that I rarely saw after our marriage before.
“I’m so sorry. Sorry for my attitude all this time that might hurt you,” he says, sounding so sincere, but somehow I doubt it.
“I don’t know why you suddenly change like this. I’m happy, although I’m also scared that you’re just pretending.” Adi’s face changes. There are streaks of irritation there. Well, it’s true then, he must have been pretending to be nice to me, right?
Adi exhales softly. Still looking at me intensely, he says, “I realize that all this time I’ve been treating you badly. Now I’m trying to be fair to you.”
I nod. “But ... it’s not that we will...,” it is difficult to continue my sentence. It is awkward actually to discuss this.
Adi smiles. “No, not until you are ready,” explains Adi who seems to catch what I mean. And after that, I feel his lips pecking the top of my head.
“Good night,” he says again with a smile.
*****
“So now you and Melati sleep in turns with Adi?” Marta confirms what I said while her hands are busy stirring the chicken noodles topped with ketchup and chili sauce.
We are having lunch at the canteen, sitting together at the very end of the table. I have chosen this spot earlier on purpose because I want to tell Marta a lot of things.
I nod. “Yes.”
“Well, I’m suspicious of both of them. And why did Adi suddenly change? Could it be....”
“Stop negative thinking, Ta,” I warn her. Although deep down, I’m thinking the same.
“The proof is that Adi is suddenly kind to you. Didn’t he say he would divorce you once his mother recovered?
I stay silent, trying to remember the conversation I had with Adi on our way to Bandung. Adi did not explicitly say he would divorce me after his mother recovered. But he seemed to let me file the divorce to the court. And... with his change in attitude now, is it appropriate for me to really divorce him?
“I don’t know. I’m as clueless as you.”
“Do you love Adi?” Marta shoots the words.
Love? I gasp, staring at Marta who is also looking at me with a questioning face.
“I-I don’t know,”
“It’s okay if you love Adi. He’s your husband, after all. I just don’t want you to get hurt again when you find out that your love is unrequited. In my opinion, Adi and Melati are like an eternal couple. They can bear their family’s hatred just to be together.”
Ah, Marta is right. Their marriage was indeed opposed by their parents. But in the end, even though they still objected, their parents agreed.
Their love is that deep. Maybe I should have refused the matchmaking.
*****
Adi: [I’m waiting at the front gate.]
I am stunned by reading the message from Adi. I was in the middle of cleaning my desk when suddenly I heard an incoming message.
“What’s wrong, Nye?” Marta, who is also cleaning her desk, asks curiously.
“Adi. He’s at the front gate.”
“Awww, my husband comes to pick me up.” Marta teases with her wicked smile.
“What the heck, Ta.”
“I bet soon I’ll hear someone finally gets her real first night.”
“Marta!” I snap, pretending to be angry and holding back a smile.
“Go get your man. Let me do the cleaning. He may change his mind if you make him wait too long.”
“No way,” I refuse, still sorting the files and then putting them together by date order.
“Just go.” Marta grabs the file in my hand. “Just assume that you are just married, forget about the old days. And just enjoy Adi’s attention,” she says with a smile.
*****
“Have you eaten?” Adi asks as soon as the car moves.
“Yeah.”
“Accompany me, would you?”
I turn my head, looking at Adi. Wondering.
“Haven’t you eaten yet?”
“I didn’t have time this afternoon.”
“How about Melati?”
“She’s coming home late. There’s an office event.”
I nod in understanding.
*****
“I’d like one portion of rib soup, rice, and sweet iced tea,” he says to the female waitress, whose eyes have been staring at Adi since earlier, leaving me somewhat amused. Is Adi really that good looking to other women?
“What would you like?” Adi asks me.
“I ... just want latte and toast, please.”
The waiter takes our order. After saying thank you and telling us to wait about fifteen minutes, she withdraws.
“Why don’t you order food?”
“I am still full. I’ve just had a meal this afternoon, remember?” I reply.
Then after that, we are both silent, enjoying our food. I observe Adi’s eating manner. This man in front of me eats quietly. His gaze focuses on the food in front of him. Although, to my notice, not far from where we are sitting, three school girls have been watching Adi. They occasionally laugh quite loudly while looking at my husband. Adi’s ignorant attitude towards them touches me somehow. Adi, the snowman, is not flirty. Thank God.
We head home after finishing the dishes. Adi turns on the radio so that it is not too quiet inside the car. The sweet voice of Andmesh Kamaleng singing the song Cinta Luar Biasa – Extraordinary Love – breaks the silence between us. Adi hums softly, so do I.
We exchange smiles as we both turn at each other, and our gazes meet. Visible red tinges on my cheeks clearly show, while my heart is beating rhythmically, seeing Adi’s smile.
For now, I’ll just let it flow, enjoying my time with Adi. Hopefully, all of this will be a wonderful start.
Continued.
- Writer
