Marriage Proposal: Ben & Bima
23 - Terms of Consequences
(Ben)
The four of us ate and sat down at a small dining table in the kitchen. There is no dining table other than the one in the kitchen. The dining table that Yayai and I used. Yayai looked busy watching Eyang and Mee eat. When, Eyang wanted to pick up an additional side dish in the middle of the table, Yayai swiftly gave his plate in front of Eyang. The same thing he did for Mee.
“You should be married to Bima.” chirped Eyang, when Yayai poured water into his glass. The water is still half. Yayai stopped pouring water. Then sit in his place. He smiled bitterly.
Mee glanced at me and then smiled at Yayai.
“Yes, I will definitely marry Yayai kok.” I said flatly. Mee glanced at me again. Yayai. 90 Degrees to me. He smiled forcedly.
“Wah, so when?” ask Mee. I know Mee's acting.
“Soon. In the near future.” I say again. I put down the cutlery and gulped down some water. I shoved my empty glass at Yayai so that she would fill it.
“You're ready, Bim if in the near future?” Mee asked Yayai.
“Ngg. If there is a way yes as soon as possible.” replied Yayai rigidly. He gave me a glass filled with water.
After that, both Eyang and Mee did not discuss marriage. Because Mee and Eyang knew, Yayai looked extremely depressed.
“Ben! You are too hard on Bima!” mee said in the car.
“Ben! If the psychological Bima is disturbed. You have to be responsible.” added Eyang. They both sit in the back. Looking compact after maybe twenty years ago is not so consider that they are a family. Mee and Pho are separated.
“Take it easy. All are already in.” I calm them down. “Be careful on the road.” Then I closed the car door.
I watched his car disappear from inside the compound and I went inside the house. Yayai was busy cleaning the house. He looks silent. I took Chloe's food in the kitchen cupboard and gave it to her. I sat on the sofa facing the back garden. My mind's raging. Is this the best thing for me and Yayai? I closed my eyes. My work has been stressful lately. Plus I'm thinking of someone. Almost as if I were dividing my mind.
“Prof, sorry. There's something I want to talk about.” Yayai's voice was weak. Be afraid.
I opened my eyes.
“Sit.” my command.
I know Yayai is afraid to hear my voice. I can't stand acting like this in front of him.
Yayai turned the sofa around and sat next to me a bit away. I saw him clenching his hands.
“Why?” my many. I still leaned my body and my heavy head against the sofa.
“What Prof has heard the news?”
“Levi who told you.”
“I'm sorry, Prof.”
“You make a mess.”
Yayai.
“What is your goal really? You want to use me?”
Yayai looked at me quickly.
“Not..not Prof. I just want to be honest with my readers. If the guy is prof. Than I was attacked assortment.”
“Have you ever permission with me?”
Yayai.
“Writing your story using me in it?”
Quiet again.
“Maybe I was lied to. It seems like you also love me is a lie?”
“Prof. If that's true.”
“You used me. If I really love you, you'll write our story in your novel. For your own benefit.”
Yayai. Her face flushed. I don't know how she feels. What he's thinking right now.
“You also told me that you are editor.” I smiled cynically. “Realized author of the novel. Why can I trust you?”
Yayai was still silent and downcast.
“Prof, sorry. I didn't mean to make things like this. Sorry if I don't think about the consequences.”
“You hope I get the consequences you've caused?” I saw Yayai sharp. Yayai's eyes immediately turned to another place.
“Not so, Prof.” Yayai said refuting.
“I'm actually just getting better known. Levi's company is also crowded on the phone of many writers who will join his company.”
Yayai. Confused by my point.
“How, Prof?” Yayai asked to convince.
I ignored my statement just now. Not meant to repeat.
“There are consequences.” I said.
“I don't understand, Prof.” Yayai. He pulled his hair behind his ear. The way it seduced me. It seems like he misperceived or misheard. I better not clarify my statement.
I sat up straight. Turning my body to face straight towards Yayai.
“Sound well.”
“Ya Prof?”
“We have to get married as soon as possible.” I said rather loudly.
“HAA?” Yayai. Gawking.
“You heard or didn't?”
“Deng. Why should I marry Prof?”
“One, you already involved me with your furore today. It harmed me. Second, aren't we dating?”
Yayai stood up suddenly.
“Waiting Prof. I can accept the first reason but I don't accept the second reason.”
“You mean?”
“We never date.” said Yayai did not admit.
I stood up suddenly too.
“Wah, are you innocent or pretend innocent?” chirping. “I read all the chapters in your novel and there are no fictional or fabricated parts there. Everything is real.”
Yayai. His lips were stuck for talking. It seemed like his throat was something holding his voice out.
“You explained that in your story it is as fiction.” I'm starting to stick. “Fiction from where? All real. I can even count how many times we kiss.” obviously I don't want to lose.
“Prof read my novel?”
“Who else wrote the novel? Other guy? You asked someone else? Or are you a freelance writer's editor?” I allude to his work as a novelist not the editor of his confession. “Too many lies you made, Yayai.”
“Is there an option if not married?”
“No.” My firm. “I want you to continue our pretense as a couple in front of Mee and My Eyes. Otherwise I will charge you to the police for unpleasant deeds, defamation, etc.”
Yayai looks shocked. He sighed.
“Prof sorry. It doesn't mean like this. Can Prof change his sentence for me?”
“Punishment? I'm not giving you punishment. These are the consequences you made yourself.”
I pulled out the phone. Read something out loud.
“From the money already in your account, just paid three million. So from your viral novel maybe I can take the rest because you use my personality as the main character. I'm so yaaah.. pretty famous.”.
“Sama-sama.”
“Prof, can we talk again about this issue? I might need to think.”
“Nothing to think about. I don't think you love me? So an affair like marriage is an easy thing to do?” I tilted my head. “You can also continue your novel. Who knows I'm in love with you.”
I'm too cynical maybe to her. He was too gentle even he couldn't be angry because of his mistake. He looked at me for a long time. I could see his eyes glazed over.
“I need to think more, Prof. May it? Today I'm too tired.”
“Oke.”
“Still Prof.”
Yayai turned her back and walked towards her room. Locked himself. I sat down for a while to send a short message to Levi. There was no sign of Yayai going to the bathroom or to the kitchen. So, I decided to just sleep in the room.
Accomplished mission.
Wait for. Haven't.
The next morning, when I woke up, I thought Yayai was still asleep. It turned out when I checked into her unlocked, empty room. I went into his room. See the mood of his room. Something is strange. There are some things that don't exist. I don't know what it is. The room was said to be messy too. Too empty too yes.
I decided to find Riko's phone number through Levi. After I get it and call Riko to come home.
“Prof, when was the last time you saw Bima?” ask Riko she opened Yayai's closet.
“Why? Tenth hour passing maybe.”
“Kupik Bima kayaknya stop by.” guess Riko.
“Close?”
Make what?
“I think he has to solve his problem just like me. How dare he run away.”.
“I know where he escaped to, Prof. She's easy to find.”
I widened my eyes at Riko.
“I'll catch up with him. It's good that he ran away from his problem.”
“Bima has never had a problem before since I became friends with him.” explained Riko.
Just deserve.
“Trus where did he escape?”
“Becile.”
“Becile? Where's it?”
“Yogyakarta.”
(Five)
I saw the crowds of people who were at this station. Long standing. Confused because I decided to go home. Last night I didn't sleep thinking about what Prof Ben said. I could sleep on the train. I just want to give up. Hopefully Riko doesn't look for me today. But, when I turned on my phone right up to Yogyakarta station, there were a lot of short messages from Prof Ben and the phone came in from him.
Quickly I blocked Prof Ben's special short message app and also blocked his phone. I really don't want to be bothered by it. Heart's broken. I like him but why is he so mean to me? It also has to do with my novel. If only I hadn't written the story of my love journey with him. My life is still calm. I took a rickshaw to the terminal to find a transport car to my village. On the road to my village which was only no more than an hour away, I had no thought for Prof Ben. Maybe a month here is a good idea. I hope I can still write to continue my novel or write another story.
After that I went down in the middle of the road, to get into my house I had to get into a road that could be passed by two small cars. Right left of the rice field. So I used the rickshaw again. My suitcase is heavy because my clothes are estimated for a month. Not far from me, about fifteen minutes down, I arrived in front of a brick-fenced house that was as tall as I could. The fence is not so well maintained. I don't know if it might have been left like that. I've been two years maybe not home. When I entered and set up a large yard, I saw several cars parked there. Looks like Papa has a lot of guests staying over.
Lodging business in Tembi Village, Bantul, Yogyakarta Papa has done in the last 10 years. Since he retired early. Ever since I decided to live alone in the capital. I dragged my suitcase into the front lobby of a pendopo.
“Mbak Sari?” I greet a woman I have known for a long time. He looked busy looking at his computer screen.
This woman is flabbergasted. Then he screamed happily. He stood up and turned his desk and hugged me.
“BIMAAA!! How are you?? I miss eee..”.
“I tooaa, Ma'am Sari.”
“Holiday?” tanyakanya.
I'm shaking.
“Trus?”
“Search for inspiration at all you want to help here.”
I'm convincing.
“Duuh, why not tell me if you want to come? Can the Umar pick up at the station.”
“Nothing, Ma'am. I just want to ngetes I still remember not coming back here.” I laugh.
“Kanda aja continue ih.”
Sari hugged me again.
“Papa busy?”
“There Father. There are more guests from Jakarta.”
“Those guests who nginap?”
“Not. Don't know yet. His guest suddenly came.”
“Judah I went to the room first.”
“Eh wait, don't call Umar first. That's kuncine nang ndi tho? You see, suddenly I also told Umi to finish your room, Bim. But the key was held by Umar. Just where's Umar iki?”
I'm nodding. Looks like Papa has a feeling that his son wants to go home.
“Then let me wait in the kitchen.”
“Sik.”
Mbak Sari was busy calling and talking fast which I think she called Umar. Umar was in the kitchen. How fortuitous. I finally decided to move my own suitcase into the kitchen. Passing through the halls and inn yards. So beautiful. This inn is rather spacious and like a labyrinth if not poultice. Because it is made like that so that guests are confused and do not enter arbitrarily to my house. Because this inn in the middle and back there is a small house. It contains only two rooms, one small family room, and two bathrooms in each room. My room and Papa's.
When I walked casually looking over here and there, I was completely hallucinating. I heard a voice I knew very well. There's a voice I know other than Papa's. I turned to the source of the voice that was in the lobby of the dining room of the inn.
“Bim! You are not going home to say!”
Papa stood up and approached me. He hugged me hard. Holding my cheek afterwards with both hands. Anxious.
He appeared behind my father.
Prof Ben's.
“You're skinny?”
My dad still holds both of my cheeks. Then check my arm.
I was too shocked to accept the reality these two days.
God, if you're allowed, please erase my memory.
So I like it with normal events.
Prof Ben smiled with satisfaction.
***