Swipe You, Swipe Me
The Three and Ten of Swords

NAH!

The sound of a loud glass pounding the table, everyone on the table looked towards the origin of the sound. Rendi grasped the glass of mineral water until the books turned white. "What's wrong with you brat?"

"Nope, I'm OK," Rendi replied as she slowly removed the glass in her hand.

He saw Tara whispering softly towards the young man by his side, then he seemed to be giving directions. The girl excused herself to leave the table to the toilet, Rendi continued to watch the girl until it disappeared from her sight.

"You don't talk much, huh?" ask Aji Harada.

"We just arrived from Banyuwangi," replied Sofia. "there is a project mural for a BNB there. So maybe Rendi's just exhausted."

"Ah, I do hear now that many BNB are working with Imagine," Genta leaned in interested in hearing further.

Imagine is engaged in the multimedia and interior design industry. Some large companies have used services to make commercial advertising as well as interior design services. But most only accept for small inns such as BNB and Homestay. Because for a small inn there is no special provision to beautify the place. Designers or owners of free places to create.

Rendi knows, if dealing with the promotion of her company Sofia is beyond doubt. Then all eyes were on him explaining how much BNB had merged into Imagine's partner. Rendi's head was a little dizzy and he implored himself to go to the toilet.

After wiping her face and becoming fresher, she went out and looked for Tara in the gallery. But that figure does not exist. Randy decided to leave the gallery. Not far from the huge pillar, the white-clad girl stood up, enjoying her cigarette alone.

Rendi approached while minimizing the sound of his shoes, then he leaned on the other side of the pillar and lit his cigarette.

"I don't want to get any answers from you" said Rendi as she breathed a long smoke from her mouth "Then you got out of the way. Long time no smoke together."

Tara turned her head and looked at Rendi in front of her, not knowing the words she could put out at the moment. His brain is frozen. But he tried to control himself, "just need the intake of tobacco for my body."

"Isn't it rude to leave the table for things you can do after the event is over?" Rendi raised her eyebrows.

What Tara actually did was avoid the dining table in order to get out of the source of her anxiety, she was not comfortable seeing how perfect their table was. Or he felt uncomfortable seeing Rendi sitting across ya not next to him. Tara doesn't understand either. However, he instead ended up with the source of his anxiety here.

"Then why did you leave the table when you were having a good conversation with the artist?" Tara asked Rendi. Challenging those two eyes was as if it was the only way to protect himself out of nothing.

Rendi looked back at the two eyes that challenged her, she had to find something there. Finding the usual Tara, the former Taranya. Niente.

"Don't confuse me with your behavior, Tara," Rendi's face hardened.

***

The night still left a crackle outside the window. Rendi woke up from thirst. The room was dark, only the moonlight from outside pierced through the thin curtains of the room into a light source. He sipped the water he had prepared on the nightstand. Beside her, Sofia was sound asleep. At the pull of the blanket covered the woman's shoulders because in the blanket not a single strand of thread was left on her body.

Rendi took her phone, the prank she downloaded Instagram. For a long time he did not use the platform to interact with social cyberspace. The count is a few moments until the application is installed, he enters the ID and Password that he still remembers. The form of his face has changed considerably from the last time Rendi used. Then some incoming notifications invaded his phone from the application.

He then opened his DM who entered some of them old friends at the Art Institute, some are update tags from BNB who had worked with him but he could not see. Lastly, the DM from Tara reached nearly 60 messages.

The message asked for news, a photo of a clear sky, some funny meme shares and what bothered him was when the message wrote down how much he needed it. Rendi got up from her bed and read the message over and over again from beginning to end. The time description starts from a few days they broke up and ended exactly 14 weeks ago.

He had indeed met Tara after his return from Surakarta and found Tara's attitude to keep his distance from her. Could this message left behind be a new beginning of hope? Unconsciously, Rendi smiled at the screen of her phone.

***

"I don't confuse you," said Tara. "I didn't answer when you offered to go to this exhibit isn't that the obvious answer. I'm not going with you."

"Then," Rendi pulled out her phone and fiddled for a bit, "what's the point of all these DM messages of yours, Tara. I thought you still needed me!" Rendi showed a mobile phone screen containing dozens of messages from Tara.

He knew when they were together, Rendi never used the application even though he had an account there. Yes, Tara consciously sent him even half-conscious under the effects of the wine spout as well she sent out those messages. Tara never thought that one day Rendi would reuse and read her messages.

Tara looked at the screen of the phone that was shown then switched to look at Rendi. "Yes, I sent that message. I missed the time we spent together. When I get used to sending you messages. Yeah, I needed you back then, "tara honestly.

"Then this time?" Rendi.

The woman lowered her head, then suddenly raised her head, "HUACHIIIM!"

"You know you're allergic to cold, but look at your clothes," Rendi took the initiative to open her coat and attach it to the girl. But Tara refused by taking a few steps back. "Did you look like this because of that young man?"

"Thank you, I've come a long way without you" Tara sneezed back. "What if I try a little to accompany her tonight."

"You," Rendi looked at his face and lowered her gaze. "I don't want you to look sexy in front of other people like this."

"Didn't you have no right to arrange the way I dress?" tara asked him.

"Tara," call someone from behind Rendi's back. "All is well?"

"Yes, I'm fine, huachim!!" sahut Tara approached Genta behind Rendi. The young man took off his coat and put it on the girl's body and put it together. "Your clothes are too thin I guess."

"I just want to go home, I'll take my coat inside" Tara said.

"Wait here let me get it," Genta moved.

"Your gallery's done?" ask Tara.

"There are still many others who can back up..."

Bugs!

Rendi walked past them and purposely nudged Genta's shoulders. He passed without looking back.

***

"That guy seems to be very good in his understanding of art," Genta broke the silence in the car and wanted to extract a little information about the man named Rendi. "but I never heard his name."

"He's a Multimedia Designer, not an artist. But she does love art," Tara explained subconsciously.

"You seem to know him" Genta glanced at his passengers who were just looking out the street at the window. There's no answer.

"Many things you don't know about us, Genta," Tara turned to look at Genta and again noticed the lights were moving in the direction of the car that brought him home. He felt no need to tell Genta anything. Besides Rendi is the time, Genta is a potential date.

Genta glanced at him once-two on his side concentrating on the road. The woman was silent and busy with her thoughts. Slowly grasped the small hand but Tara quickly pulled it, shocked.

"I'm sorry, I thought. ah come on, I didn't mean it," Genta put both his hands on the wheel.

"I didn't mean to, I was just surprised by Genta" Tara said but did not show Genta any gesture welcome.

Sometimes Genta felt Tara gave a green light signal to this relationship, but a second later displayed was a yellow light. The girl hesitated. They were silent for the rest of the trip until he pulled his car over in front of Tara's house.

The girl didn't move to get out of the car or say anything. Genta finally waited, he felt Tara's mood change since they met with Rendi and Sofia at the dinner table earlier.

"She is my ex, Genta," said Tara Lirih. The girl turned to look at him, "The joint is my ex."

The clapper stared back at the two eyeballs, the two eyeballs that projected it were strong even though it was fragile. The fact that the girl was revealing was not this information that she wanted to hear, really.

Genta doesn't think Tara's just for fun. The girl's presence has really colored her life lately. Brave though afraid Genta finally said to Tara, "Your feelings are not finished with her?"

Lama Tara just looked at Genta, he had time to think if he turned into a statue.

"Ah, thank you for driving me," Tara blinked, one feather rolling from the end of her eye. "Be careful on the road."

"Tara," Genta held him back, he wanted to hear that answer. It's necessary. So that he knows to position himself in this girl's life.

"Genta," Tara just looked at his hand. "I'm tired."

Genta reluctantly let go of the girl's hand. He got out of the car and went into his house without looking back.

***

Tara closed her eyes.

***Rendi clasped the woman's hand on the table while smiling at her. Sofia laughed and then cut something off on her plate.

Rendi stroked the woman's shoulder. Sofia enthusiastically talks to Aji Harada and Genta, then pats Rendi laughing on her candlestick.

Rendi smiled towards the woman inside and Sofia wiped something from the man's lips**.*

Tara could not sleep, every time she closed her eyes, only a flash of dinner table drama appeared in her mind. He decided to go down to the kitchen and get a bottle of wine he had stored in the fridge drawer. Without taking the glass he uprooted it.

"Mother?" Bu Sekar grabbed his sleeping kimono and looked at Tara. "Are you Ok?"

Placed the wine bottle in his hand, he had tried to reach the kitchen by not making any sound. But his mother had ultrasonic hearing.

"No," concluded Tara after taking a deep breath. "i'm not okay,"

"Sleep with mama, yuk," asked Bu Sekar.

***

It has been three years after the legacy of his father, Mr. Jendri, because of age inedible illness. Bu Sekar and Pak Jendri have a far different age, 23 years. So, in the last five years, Bu Sekar spent time with her husband caring for her when she was sick to death. Tara only lives alone with her mother, that's all she has. She misses her sisters, but because Tara and her sister are different mothers, they are not as close as the sisters in general. After all, Tara's two older sisters have each had a family.

Her older sister, Mey, lives in Salatiga, taking care of her aging mother-in-law. Tara's older brother, Moran, moved to L. A. after his sister-in-law took the Advocat oath and worked full-time at one of LA's best-known firms since last year. All Tara has is her mother.

He curled up in his bed, the side of the mattress usually bedded by his papa. Then heard the fine snoring of his mother. He turned around and looked at the mid-50 woman but still looked beautiful. Will not a child always consider her mother beautiful until whenever she eats her skin?

"Well, you're asleep?"

"Hmm.." replied Ma Sekar.

"Mama kangen papa, right?"

"Come on," he replied, still closing his eyes.

"Tara too, if papa were still here," Tara clenched her bolster.

"There are you fighting constantly as papa every day," replied Bu Sekar and Tara chuckled. "The problem is the ball score is compensated."

"Finally, papa nyebelin," Tara smiled remembering those memories.

Actually they do not really fight, only Jendri prefers to choose something that is contrary to the choice of his daughter rather than in line. Until finally they had a different opinion and the girl went into the room. While Mr. Jendri laughed towards Bu Sekar who only shook his head in wonder.

"Your father likes to joke with you, because you're bullshitting. You defend what you believe you want to attack like anything," Bu Sekar finally opened his eyes. Anxious his son even asked as he almost fell asleep.

"Tara misses," he said. "Long people fight with papa."

"Sometimes we just judge a person's worth when we lose that person" he said.

"If you lose Tara, will you be sad?"

Ms. Sekar hit her daughter's arm, "It's been night, sleep you."

"Good night, mom," Tara kissed her mother's cheek and turned around.

"Good sleep, son,"Bu Sekar changed to kiss his son's head.

Suddenly, Tara's chest tightened. He clutched his pillow tightly and cried without a sound until he finally fell asleep.

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

Awaiting likes, comments, criticisms and suggestions dear readers 🥰