SEVENTEEN

"I see," he replied with a smile. He no longer had a breathing tube in his nose.

  Father said that he was feeling well. His breathing had started to become regular. And his fever had gone down. But he still felt a little weak. He said he just needed to rest at home.

  "Why isn't Mrs. Kartika here, sir?" I asked very curious.

  I hadn't seen her since noon until evening. Perhaps she was busy with her infant son?

  "Maybe she's busy with her child," said the father, looking the other way.

  I found something strange in his answer. Why did he seem indifferent. He hadn't even asked about his wife since he left the hospital.

  "The child that Mrs. Kartika is holding is not your child," said the father, making me look at his stern face.

  "Then whose child is it, sir?" I asked curiously.

  "I don't know either, I married her because her father told me to."

  "But why?"

  "Yes, because at that time Kartika's father was dying. And at that time she was two months pregnant. I don't know who impregnated her. Since then, Kartika has become a man-satisfier in a discotheque."

  "I don't believe it. Didn't you marry Kartika's mother out of love? And then you left her?" I asked with great curiosity. How can you explain as if you're in the right. I thought you were the bad guy.

  "Mom didn't want to be a second wife, so you married Kartika out of pity for her dying father."

  "No way," I stared wide-eyed and shook my head. So all this time, I don't think there was anything wrong between my father and mother. My mom just didn't want to be the second love. And dad, maybe it was his fault because he got drunk a lot.

  "I know I did wrong to your mother. But actually I still love your mother. Maybe in the past you were stupid to have spent time getting drunk and playing gambling," he said with a regretful face.

  Time has indeed passed. But bad can be replaced with good while the breath blows. I was relieved that my father had admitted his mistake.

  "But, why are you still with Mrs. Kartika. You could have divorced and reconciled with her at that time," I looked into his eyes to wait for an answer from his mouth.

  "It's not as easy as you say, Ri."

  Father replied in a weakened tone. I waited for the next sentence. But he didn't say anything else.

  I actually wanted to ask a lot of things. Everything that was explained earlier was still too unclear. There are still many question marks in my head right now. But I undid my intention to express what I wanted to say. Because I'm afraid of your condition.

  ***

  In the morning, I woke up at dawn and performed the morning prayer at the hospital mosque with my father. Now he was able to walk. He said his body was no longer weak.

  At eight o'clock in the morning, we arrived home after taking care of his data. While he was in hospital, the government paid. Because he had a health insurance card.

I look at this house with a frown. I'm not feeling ungrateful. But I think this house is still as good as my previous house that was affected by the disaster.

  "Come on, Ri, let's go in!" said my father, throwing a smile at me who had been looking at the outside of the house.

  "Sorry, Ri, this house is small. The renovation hasn't been completed yet. I still haven't collected any more money. The money from the government is only enough to build the walls and there is no more money to patch and paint the walls," explained the father at length, looking at the walls of the house and holding the rough walls.

  "Hehehe ... It's okay, sir! Riri is grateful to be able to stay here," I said with a smile to my father.

  "This is my house. Not your father's house," a voice from behind made me and my father turn our heads.

  Mrs. Kartika made an annoying face, with her eyeballs up and lips pursed.

  "Sorry, ma'am." I said immediately. Because the father was just silent looking at his wife. There wasn't even a greeting between them.

  The forty-year-old woman entered the door carrying her baby. Ibu Kartika even nudged me without apologizing.

  Honestly, I was very confused by her nature. I thought she was a polite and friendly mother, but why be this obnoxious. Could that be her true nature?

  I turned to my father as if to find out how he and his wife could be like that. Maybe it's because their marriage wasn't based on love. I don't know, I can only guess.

  I entered the living room with its tiled floor. I was greeted with a wooden table and three chairs.

  "You just sit down first. Let me put your things in the room." he said and left immediately with my backpack when I tried to stop him.

  I sat down and looked at the wall, which was still made of red bricks. But there was a picture frame on display. It was a picture of Kartika's mother and her father. Although the photo of Mrs. Kartika looked young, I could tell it was her.

  There was no vase of flowers on the table. There was only one shabby magazine. I picked it up and flipped through it. My hand stopped at a page that interested me. Tempeh chips business. That was the title of the article.

  Suddenly, Mrs. Kartika's hand appeared and pulled the magazine in my hand with lightning speed.

  I just looked at her gawking.

  "I want to read the magazine!" she said quickly. She left immediately without waiting for my response.

  "Why is Mrs. Kartika so cynical! Rese! It just makes my heart hurt." I muttered to myself.

  My father came in with a shard glass filled with water. He placed it on the table. Until the table rang.

  "Drink up, Ri. You must be thirsty, right? Walking from the hospital to here with all the luggage must have been tiring."

  "Yes, sir is quite thirsty too," I exclaimed then grabbed the glass and drank half the glass.

  "You shouldn't take your wife's character to heart. She's just like that," I said, sitting down on a chair.

  "Yes, sir, it's okay, oh yes! Sir, what have you been doing?" I asked curiously.

  "I work as a coolie, I deliver customers' groceries to their homes. That's the big store at the corner. Yes, it's not bad, there are many customers every day," he explained gently.

  "I see, Riri will look for a job tomorrow."

  "Don't you want to rest at home first. Just one day. Taking care of your father in the hospital is exhausting."

  "No sir, Riri doesn't want to be unemployed for long. She wants to find a job as soon as possible."