Imitation of Two Hearts

A fake that feels real

It was still dusk when he entered the house. There is no sound of Sarah who is usually busy preparing for their dinner or busy with trying new recipes in her kitchen. Andre called Sarah a few times. Sarah came out of the room and heard Andre calling her. There were red patches on his face and arms.

“Your face dear?” Andre frantically approached to see more clearly what was with Sarah's face

The darling?That word feels ambiguous.

“Allergies!” the answer is relaxed

“Kok can?” she asked Sarah why she was allergic when she knew she had to avoid the foods that cause her allergies

“So there is a cooking demo at the mall, I came along, just try not to realize there are ingredients from shrimp!” unambiguously

“Sick?” tanyanya worried still see Sarah's face and tried to touch one of the spots that look enlarged

“Gak.. Just itching!” he showed patches on his hands and arms

“ayo! We go to the doctor?” he's getting worried

“Not necessary! I have the cure!”

“But your face is severe kanya” protest Andre

“later if taking medicine will disappear by yourself” explained sarah

“so itchy huh?” Andre continued to pay attention to all those spots.

“banget! But I have to hold it, otherwise I can irritate”

“Udah take medicine?” flashes of worry that can no longer be covered by Andre again because he saw Sarah as if suffering with visible spots where.

“not yet!” he shook slowly

“why? cure exhausted? You don't have any medicine? Where's prescription? Let me buy you!” the question illustrates how worried Andre was then.

Sarah was able to read those worries and just made her smile.

“The medicine is there, I drink it tonight. Because the medicine makes it super sleepy! If I drink now I go straight to bed!”

“Yes not ‘papa you sleep now! Let's take the medicine!” the order seemed so strict

“I haven't cooked for our dinner!” the answer is uncomfortable

Andre was silent, he felt guilty hearing Sarah say a word as if she was a maid in their home

“Sar.. You are not a helper here who must cook for his master” Andre's feeling hurts to say that.

Andre thinks maybe Sarah thinks she's providing alimony because Sarah has to work as their housekeeper.

“not that! But you haven't eaten yet, have you?” he replied feeling disappointment in Andre's tone.The word was like the wind for Andre, amid his pain, Sarah was still thinking about it.

“i haven't eaten yet! but we can order, you do not have to cook” Andre's face looks sad. Sarah could only silently look at Andre's disappointed face.

Andre turned to Sarah's hand which was holding the ointment he wanted to apply. Andre pulled Sarah and took her to sit down.

“This is what I helped you with!” he said he took the ointment from Sarah

According to Sarah, Andre smeared the ointment on all the spots on Sarah's face with heart. Their faces were so close. For a moment Sarah looked at Andre's face seriously treating her. There was a strange heartbeat he felt. Sarah was nervous too. Her face flushed.

Andre glanced at Sarah's staring eyes. He paused for a moment when their eyes met. Rushing Sarah averted her gaze and felt awkward, Andre smiled looking at Sarah's blushing face. She was happy that Sarah was able to feel the warmth she was trying to give. Andre took Sarah's hand and re-applied it.

“don't think I'm eating or not, don't cook! We order it!” he said while applying the ointment

“you rest!” Andre closed the ointment again after it was finished and gave it back to Sarah

“Hemm...!” Sarah just complies. He did not want to be disappointed Andre.

Andre ordered food in one of the online apps. When the food arrived he even prepared at their dining table.

Time still shows at 6:40. The dining table is ready with plenty of food.

Andre enters Sarah's room, looking Sarah is still trying to hold the itch by gently hitting the rash with her finger.

“still itchy?” andre asked, not coming closer. The rash and bumps look more.

Unbearable feeling and pain flashed in Andre's chest saw Sarah who was so suffering holding back her icy.

“ayo we eat, so you can quickly take the medicine” pinta Andre

“eat what?” ask Sarah

“already..let's go out!” take him out of the room

“i can't go out with a body like this ndre!” answer Sarah

Andre chuckles little realizing sarah's misunderstanding

“I mean out of the room Darling” said Andre again called a word that sounded comfortable in the ear but felt fake when entering into the heart of sarah.

Sarah smiled at the words dear.

“iya my husband, I think that was out of home” he replied thinking that the word dear is a joke like they often do.

Andre just smiled wryly in response to Sarah's attitude that was fake and seemed to make fun of him, while the word was sincere he said

Their dinner hours were fast. Sarah kept agitatedly holding back her itch as she enjoyed their dinner.

After dinner, Andre immediately asked Sarah to take medicine so that she could be more comfortable.

“Let me aja!” he said he took Sarah's plate when Sarah wanted to clean their table.

“you rest!” continued

Sarah did feel a lot of change in Andre's attitude. More attentive and warmer. Not as they used to be, their closeness was mostly due to joking around for falsehood.

For a moment he stared at the back of Andre who tidied their table.

Thank you Ndre! Say it in the heart.

Even though that attitude was only pitying me, but I'm happy! His mind that was still standing looked at Andre, he turned to enter his room.

Andre washes the remaining dishes of their dinner and tidies up Sarah's kitchen. Yep! from the beginning they lived together, the kitchen area seemed to be claimed as the property of sarah, because Andre never entered it.

Andre who had been a young master who had always been served never once touched the kitchen work. But this time for Sarah's sake, he forgot himself as a young master, he was willing to do it because now his feelings and heart had been fixed for his wife.

Andre is back to work. He made instant coffee to accompany her as usual. But the coffee tasted different from the coffee made by Sarah so far.

“it looks like I'm getting used to kopi kamu” murmurnya stare at his coffee which tastes more bitter.

After a few hours of work, Andre again checked the email.  For a moment he just remembered Sarah's email that was still logged in on his laptop.

When checking spam emails, there was a message from Daren that said he would return to Indonesia next month. Andre was worried too. Andre was pensive, that man was the man Sarah told me so lovingly.

Do you still love him? The question arises with a sense of tightness and heaviness. He went to Sarah's room.

Sarah was sleeping very fast. Andre approached him, he sat down on the bed and looked at the face.

“what is your face like?” he said he saw sadness in Sarah's sleep.

Andre examined the rash on Sarah's hands that had begun to diminish. He patted Sarah's blanket and sat back down to look at her face

“it looks like that love is starting to grow” murmured Andre is still staring at the details of Sarah's face.

We're divorced! Andre recalled Sarah's words when he asked if her relationship with Susan was over.

“how do I say love to you? If it backfires for me!” he said again with a heavy breath.

The sound of Sarah's thin snoring breath was heard. Andre smiled at him himself. His wife slept very well.

“My wife's dream!”

He kissed his forehead and smiled. Sarah opened her eyes. Their eyes met, and made Andre's heart feel like it was jumping out right then and there.

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