4. Illness
1742 Words
Bara and Danira ate dinner in silence. Even though it felt like the food couldn't easily go down Danira's throat because she was upset.
Danira stopped eating when she sneezed repeatedly. Twenty minutes of soaking her body under cold water had apparently blocked her nose and made her head start to throb with pain.
After she was tired of crying because the door couldn't be opened, Danira finally went to the bathroom again and soaked her body. She came out twenty minutes later when Bara had opened her room door and was knocking on the bathroom door.
Bara just silently stared at Danira's face without saying anything. After dinner, they were busy with their own affairs. Bara was busy with his laptop, and Danira moved to the living room and turned on the television. Actually, she didn't intend to watch TV, but somehow she was reluctant to be near Bara.
Danira had even brought a blanket, planning to sleep there instead. Her body felt cold and her joints ached. Curling up like this on the sofa felt somewhat warm to her body. She closed her eyes until finally sleepiness overcame her and made her fall into a deep sleep.
Bara took off his reading glasses, then glanced at the clock in his room. It was already eleven at night. But Danira hadn't come into the room yet.
He then raked his fingers through his hair and walked out of the room, intending to tell Danira to come in and sleep. Tomorrow there was a morning meeting they had to attend to instruct other employees about the school construction plan.
Bara sighed heavily upon seeing Danira already curled up asleep on the sofa with the TV still on in front of her. He then tried to wake her by gently shaking her body.
"Wake up, Ra. Let's get you to bed."
When Danira didn't wake up, Bara pulled the blanket off her.
Danira's body suddenly shivering startled Bara.
"Danira! Are you sick?"
Bara immediately checked Danira's body temperature by placing his palm on her forehead.
"Why didn't you say you were sick?"
Without further questions, Bara immediately carried Danira to the bedroom.
"Wake up for a bit, Ra. You need to take some medicine."
Bara always kept basic medicines at home, like fever reducers and painkillers.
"Ra..."
"Eunghh..."
Reluctantly, Danira opened her eyes, sat up, and took the tablet and glass of water Bara handed her.
"Thank you."
"Do you want me to put a warm compress on you?" Bara asked hesitantly.
"No need."
Despite Danira saying she didn't need it, Bara still placed a compress on her forehead after she fell asleep.
Danira couldn't afford to be sick for long; Bara needed her energy and mind for work. Or maybe it was also for his meals; Bara even lost his appetite when Danira wasn't home yesterday. He didn't know why, he was also confused.
***
When Bara woke up in the morning, Danira was no longer beside him. He didn't hear any activity in the bathroom, either.
Bara left the room to check where Danira had gone.
His eyes were fixed on Danira, busy in the kitchen, as part of her morning routine since living with him. But was she already recovered from her illness?
Bara returned to the room after making sure Danira was okay. He wasn't a husband who married out of love and his own will. Don't expect any romantic scenes of him hugging Danira from behind while she makes breakfast, like in the movies.
Bara left the room once he was neatly dressed in his office clothes. Meanwhile, Danira went in to shower and get ready. There was no greeting between them. Bara was still upset about their argument yesterday, which was caused by that jerk Ivan.
"Are you still planning to go to the office, Ra?" Bara finally asked after seeing Danira dressed neatly and joining him for breakfast.
"Yes, it's my duty as a good office employee. It doesn't take many excuses to skip work."
"But I also don't like employees who come in but can't do their best," Bara replied.
"I promise to work optimally and be fine during the meeting later."
"Not because you want to meet Mr. Ivan again?" Bara asked irritably.
Danira didn't answer Bara's unimportant question. She wouldn't use her limited energy to argue about something pointless.
"Come with me!"
Danira put the car keys back in their place; there was no harm in going with Bara to the office. In fact, this way she could save her energy.
Danira wasn't lying; she was able to attend the meeting and present her ideas well. Honestly, as a boss, Bara admired Danira's work and her ability to think critically. She was still very young and didn't have much experience from other companies. His mother wasn't wrong in trusting Danira to help him lead the company because she was both his wife and secretary.
Danira's body collapsed after everyone left the room, including Mr. Ivan, who had been eyeing her throughout the meeting.
Her whole body ached. Bara, seeing her, could only sigh wearily.
"I'll take you home, but first, we'll visit the doctor. Can you walk?"
Danira nodded; if it was just walking to the parking lot, although heavy, she could still manage.
Fortunately, after the examination, Danira was only experiencing a common illness, namely flu symptoms and stomach issues due to frequently skipping meals.
In hindsight, it was partly Bara's fault for often delaying their dinner due to his activities.
"Take your medicine. I'm going back to the office."
Danira nodded. She wasn't a child who had trouble taking medicine when sick.
***
Danira slept soundly after taking her medicine. She only woke up after it was dark. Her ears caught the sound of people talking outside her room. Did Bara bring another woman to sleep with him? But he just did that last night. As far as she knew, Bara had never done that two nights in a row.
Curious, Danira got out of bed and walked to the door to leave the room, even though her head still felt sore and heavy.
Sure enough, there she saw Bara talking to a woman. Danira returned to her room; she didn't want to deal with Bara's women, although if she could ask, she would prefer Bara not to do that here. She wanted to rest without sinful sounds reaching her ears.
"Ra, come out and eat," Bara said as he entered the room and took clothes to change for a shower.
Danira furrowed her brow; it was unusual for Bara to shower before getting into action. She didn't immediately leave the room to eat. There was something she wanted to say to Bara.
While waiting for Bara to finish showering, Danira lay back on the bed. Her body was still very weak even though her body temperature had started to normalize.
"Why are you still here?" Bara asked when he saw Danira wrapped in the blanket again.
"There's something I want to talk about."
"What?"
"Please don't do that here; for now, find a hotel. At least until I recover."
"What are you talking about, Ra?"
"Don't show me your indecent acts right now; I want to rest peacefully."
Bara looked confused.
"I'm not in the mood for that, don't worry."
"Then who was that woman earlier?"
"Oh, that's Ratna. You peeked, didn't you? She's Bik Sumi's daughter, Mama's house assistant, the same age as Jani. I brought her here to keep you company so you won't be alone. I have to go to inspect a site in Central Java, you don't need to come."
"Oh, I thought."
"Did you think my standards have dropped that low, Ra? I won't sleep with a decent woman," Bara explained.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not sleeping with me; it means I seem like a decent woman in your eyes."
"I would only sleep with you if you came and offered yourself, Ra."
"Don't count on it."
Bara grabbed Danira's arm as she was about to leave the room.
"Then what's your purpose in marrying me if you don't want me to sleep with you?"
"Because you're the boss, you're rich, and you have a lot of money."
Bara snorted. "I'm not stupid, Ra. The financial reports on the account you manage can't prove your words are true. I don't believe it. Even if you calculate it, you've only used the money to buy food that I consume." Bara said with a sharp look.
"Whatever, whether you believe it or not is not my concern. Shouldn't you, as a husband, be proud to have a wife who isn't wasteful?" Danira retorted.
"Then why are you interested in Mr. Ivan's offer if you don't even use my money?"
"I'm not interested; just saying his offer is attractive and tempting doesn't mean I want it."
"You're really something. You're just wasting my energy," Bara said, then left the room before Danira.
"Ratna, join us for dinner," Danira said to a nineteen-year-old girl who was about to return to the kitchen after serving her food.
"No need, Miss, I'll just head back to the kitchen."
"Don't, Na. I asked you here to keep my wife company, not to be a maid. Sorry if the only available room is the one in the back."
"But, Sir..."
"I already consider you like Jani, so don't be shy. You are indeed Bik Sumi's daughter, but I don't want you to follow in her footsteps. There are many job openings in my office. The important thing is to focus on your studies first. Don't get tempted by boys and date all the time like Jani."
"I... yes, but Jani doesn't have a boyfriend, Sir."
"You don't have to keep defending her, Na."
"But it's true, Sir!" Ratna protested while starting to get food onto her plate.
"Then who usually picks her up from college?"
"A lecturer."
"Wow, doesn't the lecturer have anything better to do?" Bara asked in surprise. "Please keep an eye on her, Na. Don't let her be taken advantage of by that guy."
"Taken advantage of how, Sir? Jani is usually the one taking advantage of him."
"The point is, don't let Jani get involved in any inappropriate adult relationships with that guy, Na."
"Oh, like you, Sir?"
Bara turned to Danira, who had been quietly eating her meal.
Yes, it was Danira who said that, not Ratna.
- Writer
