Bald-headed
Ch. 26

That morning, three men—two lawyers and a judge, sat in the room while Ali finished speaking, just before the judge answered.

"It's an unusual request" he said, pondering the situation. "It looks like the trial could end today. What do you mean this urgent matter can't wait until later tonight or tomorrow?"

"No, Your Majesty, you can't" Ali replied too quickly. Stay relaxed, he told himself. Take a deep breath.

"And it has nothing to do with this case?"

"No, Your Grace. It's personal. I know this is out of the ordinary, but I really have to take care of it." Good, better.

The judge leaned back in his chair, evaluating him for a moment. "Sir Prabowo, what do you think of this?"

The man cleared his throat. " Yes, Mr. Ali called me this morning, and then I also talked to my client. They're willing to delay until Monday."

"I understand" said the judge. "And are you sure doing this is in the best interest of your clients?"

"I believe so," he said. " Mister Ali has agreed to reopen discussions on certain issues not covered in this trial."

The judge stared intently at the two of them and thought about it.

"I don't like it" he finally said, "not at all. But Mr. Ali has never made a similar request before, and I consider this matter very important to him."

He paused for a while, then looked at some papers on his desk. "I agreed to hold off until Monday. Nine o'clock exactly."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Ali.

Two minutes later, Ali left the courthouse. He walked up to his parked car right across the street, got in, and started the journey to Situ Gintung, his hands trembling.

*******

Sugi made breakfast for Birundasih as he slept in the living room. Bread, eggs and coffee, nothing spectacular. He put a tray next to her as she woke up, and once they finished eating, they made love again. It was relentless, a strong confirmation of what they had shared the day before.

Birundasih arched his back and groaned loudly in the last wave of sensation, then hugged him as they breathed together, exhausted.

They took a bath together, and after that Birundasih put on her dress that had been dry all night. He spent the morning with Sugi.

Together they fed Cemong and checked the windows to make sure no damage was done due to heavy rain and wind.

Two pine trees had fallen, though not one that caused much damage, but some shingles were seen breaking and falling from the top of the shed. In addition, the entire property escaped without additional damage.

Sugi held her hand for most of the morning and the two talked about light topics. But occasionally Sugi stopped talking and just stared at her. When Sugi did so, he felt as if he had to say something, but nothing meaningful had appeared in his head. Soluble in thought, he usually just kissed her.

By midday, Sugi and Birundasih entered to prepare lunch. The two went back to starving because the day before they had not eaten much. Using what he had, they fried chicken, some vegetables and cooked rice, then they both ate on the veranda, comforted by the sound of yorkshire walnuts.

As they were washing dishes inside, they heard a knock on the door. Sugi left Birundasih in the kitchen.

The sound of knocking again.

"I'm coming" said Sugi.

Tap, tap. Louder.

Sugi approached the door.

Tap, tap.

"I'm coming" he said again as he opened the door.

"Oh my God."

He stared for a moment at a beautiful woman in her early fifties, a woman he would recognize anywhere.

Sugi can't speak.

"Hello, Sugi," he finally greeted.

Sugi remained silent.

"Can I come in?" he asked, his voice steady, revealing nothing.

Sugi stuttered in reply as he walked past, stopping right in front of the stairs.

"Who's coming?" birundasih shouted from the kitchen, and the woman turned to hear his voice.

"Um.your mother," finally Sugi replied, and as soon as he said it, he heard the sound of things falling and breaking.

"I knew you would be here" Luna Maya told her daughter as the three of them sat around the coffee table in the living room.

"How can you be so sure?"

"You are my daughter. One day when you have children of your own, you'll know the answer." He smiled, but his attitude was stiff, and Sugi imagined how difficult this was for him.

"I also saw the article, and I saw your reaction. I've also seen how tense you have been over the last few weeks, and when you say you're going shopping in Jakarta I know exactly what you mean."

"What about Dad?"

Luna Maya shook her head. "No, I didn't tell your father or anyone else about it. I also didn't tell anyone where I was going today."

The table was silent for a moment as they wondered what would happen next, but Luna remained silent.

"Why did Mom come?" Birundasih finally asked.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "I thought I'd be the one to ask that question."

Birundasih.

Birundasih.

Luna Maya turned to Sugi. "The last few days must have been full of surprises."

"Yes," Sugi replied briefly, and he smiled at her.

"I know you don't think so, but I've always liked you, Sugi. I just don't think you're a good fit for my daughter. Can you understand that?"

Sugi shook his head as he replied, his tone serious. "No, not really. It's not fair to me, and it's not fair to Birundasih. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here."

Luna watched Sugi as she replied, but she did not say anything.

Birundasih, felt the quarrel and he cut.

"What does it mean when you say you should come? Doesn't Mom trust me?"

Luna went back to her daughter. "It has nothing to do with trust. It has to do with Ali. He called home last night to talk to me about Sugi, and he's on his way here right now. He seems very upset. I thought maybe you wanted to know that."

Birundasih took a sharp breath. "He's on his way?"

"Yes. He arranged for the trial to be adjourned until next week. He might not have entered Situ Gintung yet, but he was close."

"What did you tell him?"

"Not much. But he knows. He already knows everything. He remembered I told him about Sugi a long time ago."

Birundasih gulped. "Did Mom tell him I was here?"

"No. And I'm not gonna do it. It's between you and him. But knowing him, I'm sure he'll find you here if you stay. All it takes is a few phone calls to the right person. Anyway, I managed to find you."

Birundasih, though obviously worried, smiled at his mother. "Thank you" he said, and his mother took his hand.

"I know we have our differences, Blue, and that we haven't faced each other in every way. I'm not perfect, but I did my best to raise you. I'm your mother and I always will be. That means I'll always love you."

Birundasih was silent for a moment, then.. "What should I do?"

"Come, Blue. That's up to you. But I'll think about it. Think about what you really want."

Birundasih turned, his eyes reddened. A moment later tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I don't know..." He fell silent, and his mother squeezed his hand.

Luna looked at Sugi, who was sitting with his head bowed, listening carefully. As if given a cue, he returned his gaze, nodded, and left the room.

As she left, Luna whispered, "Do you love her?"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Birundasih gently, "very."

"You love Ali?"

"Yes, right. I love her too. Honey, but in a different way. He didn't make me feel what I felt like with Sugi."

"No one will do that" said his mother, and she let go of Birundasih's hand.

"I can't make this decision for you, Blue, it's all yours. I want you to know that I love you. And I will always do it. I know it doesn't help but that's all I can do. "

He reached into his pocket and took out a bundle of letters held together by a rope, the envelope was old and slightly yellowed.

"These are the letters Sugi wrote for you. I never threw it away, and it hasn't been opened. I know I shouldn't have hidden it from you, and I'm sorry for that. But I was just trying to protect you. I didn't realize..."

Birundasih took it and rubbed it, startled.

"I gotta go, Blue. You have to make some decisions, and you don't have much time. Do you want me to live around town?"

Birundasih shook his head. "No, it's up to me." Luna nodded and watched her daughter for a moment.

Finally he stood up, circled the table, bowed, and kissed his daughter's cheek. He could see the question in his daughter's eyes as Birundasih stood up from the table and hugged her.

"What are you gonna do?" ask her mother while pulling away.

There's a long pause.

"I don't know" Birundasih replied at last.

They stood together for another minute, just hugging.

"Thank you for coming" Birundasih said. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

On his way out the door, Birundasih thought that he heard his mother whisper, "Follow your heart," but he was not sure.

Sugi opened the door for Luna Maya as she exited.

"Goodbye, Sugi," he said softly.

Sugi nodded without speaking. There was nothing more to say, they both knew that.

Sugi turned around to take some distance from her and left to just close the door behind her.

Sugi watched her walk to her car, get in, and leave without looking back. She's a strong woman, Sugi thought to himself, and he knew where Birundasih got her from.