Les Laches
The Things I Should Tell to My Mom about You
Tian looked at the reflection of himself in the mirror with a raised smile. The floral print dress she wore was the second dress she tried. The clothes he previously wore were black trim dress chain with sheer length of legs. However, a few minutes after putting on the dress, Tian immediately felt that he would look overdressed.
Tian such hassles were not without reason. Today is the third day since his return from Cuba and the day of his first meeting with Meda in Indonesia. In accordance with his promise, Meda contacted Tian and asked for permission to visit his home. The young man reasoned to "check" the Agatha Christie novel collection in Tian's library.
Tian himself had been getting ready since last night. He cleaned every corner of the library room that nobody but Tian rarely entered.
Tian had not spent much time in his personal library since 3 years ago. Since Tian was in the twelfth grade, he had directed his focus on several private tutoring courses to prepare himself for the national exam. Unfortunately, until Tian went to college and met new people, he increasingly did not have time to visit the library. Coupled with his activities in various campus organizations. The more forgotten the room full of books.
It was only when the collection of Agatha Christie novels she had been looking for since the eleventh grade was finally complete that Tian returned to visit the room. Even so longing for his old hobby, Tian carried a bag full of his novels flying to Cuba. Tian was grateful that he did. If he had not brought the novel with him, he would not have started any conversation with Meda. And without that conversation, until the end maybe Meda will judge it the same as any other spoiled rich girl she's ever met.
Tian stopped his daydream before sliding into the living room. Not to forget the achievement of one of Agatha Christie's other novels that he took to his room last night. Although Meda already knew that Tian was not a fan of Agatha Christie, Tian still wanted to find talks with Meda on the topic. Tian really liked the moment when Meda spoke a lot. Very rare things actually happen, considering Meda is indeed a very closed type of person. Therefore, Tian wanted to use this opportunity to throw more questions in order to recognize the young man further.
Diro, who saw his master's daughter already look beautiful in her dress and thin makeup at that early morning, guessed that the girl was waiting for the arrival of a foreign boy named Meda who had been delivered home. Tian had indeed told of the young man's intention to visit today. Diro actually wanted to interrogate further about the purpose of Meda's arrival and things were given that the first meeting with the young man did not give him much of a chance to assess his personality. However, fearing that his actions would put pressure on Tian, he decided to observe the young man himself from afar.
Right after Diro thought about it, the intercom sound in the living room connected to the front fence rang out. Tian hurried to answer and gave instructions to the front guard to allow Meda who was waiting in front of the fence to enter. Tian opened the front door of his house wide while observing a Yamaha motor sport that was traveling at moderate speed before stopping right in front of his homepage.
"Go right next to the parking lot," Tian said, pointing to the right of the house, where the automatic-door garage is located.
Meda turned the motor and waited until the sliding panel was open. Upon entering the garage room, Meda could not help but be amazed by the garage interior which was dominated by dark brown. The garage is as large as the balcony behind his house which is the roomiest room because it is used as a gathering place when his extended family visits or when his mother holds a closed banquet for his client. Seeing the way the designer arranged the room made Meda even willing to ignore the nominal rupiah that must be spent to obtain a similar interior.
"Hey!" greet Tian who came out of a door in front of the stairs in the garage. "Welcome to my papa's favorite room."
Tian who saw the way Meda looked at the interior of the room explained further that the room was built and designed by Adler himself so as to give the impression of comfort as if entering a warm and private part of the house.
"If I had a room like this at home, I'm sure it would also be the second place I visit most in my spare time." Meda was still unable to break free from the charm of the room when Tian guided her up the stairs to head to her living room.
The room provides a view that is no less amazing than the room previously seen by Meda. The room was also filled with a dominant brown composition on the boiserie walls and some woven furniture. There is also a white color that adorns the rest of the furniture and mosquito nets that cover the windows. Pendant lights glittering on the high ceiling of the room became the focal point for the glamorous-style room. Again, the nominal that must be spent to design the room is not the first thing that comes to the head of Meda when she sees it. Apparently, Tian's father was quite good at packing things not only in terms of price, but also aesthetics.
"Are you ready to slide to your main destination?" Tian grinned broadly at the sight of Meda who was again sculpting upon entering the room.
Meda blinked her eyes quickly before throwing a faint smile at the girl. Under the illumination of the chandelier in the room, she had only realized Tian's graceful appearance with her floral-patterned dress and thin makeup. Yes, no matter how hard Tian tried to cover it up, Meda could recognize the makeup that adorned her sweet face. The kind of makeup she saw every day on her mother's face.
Mada's mother can be said to be ageless because the beauty of her maiden period is not easy to eat even though her age has almost reached half a century. Therefore, her mother always appeared with makeshift makeup despite attending official events. In addition, her mother also does not want to use excessive makeup to reduce her wrinkles because it will make her look more unsuitable to be next to her husband who is aging according to his age.
Meda always admired her mother for that one reason. Her mother is thick with steel, but has a soft heart and is loyal to her family. Surprisingly, seeing Tian at this moment made him remember his mother. Meda hurriedly threw away her face when she realized the thought was passing through her head.
Diro who peeked at the interaction of the two from the direction of the kitchen adjacent to the room could only smile to himself. The young man named Meda was quite polite, according to him. If he was at the same age and position as the young man, he was sure that he would not be able to hold back when he saw a girl as beautiful as Tian had an interest in him. According to him, the way the young man turned his gaze to resist the temptation of the beauty of his employer's eldest daughter instead of trying to make physical contact alone had already shown that the young man was worthy of being considered a candidate for the prospective daughter-in-law of the Adler family. Although this was the authority of the head of this family, Diro was prepared to give his blessing if anyone asked his opinion.
Diro decides not to spy on the two further as the youngsters move towards the reading room on the second floor with Tian walking in front and Meda still keeping a safe distance while trailing the girl's step. Adler's family-owned reading room is quite unique. Even if it consists of two floors, the other floor taking place in a small part of the lower floor building, the room can only be accessed through the second floor. Because, the first floor is only intended as a place to release saturation without leaving the reading room. The walls of the room were a gradation of pitch black and gray, making the room emit a mysterious, solemn, calm aura.
"These are all Agatha's novels." Tian's hand moved up and down on several rows of shelves containing the famous mystery author's novel collection.
Meda grabs a book with a thick white cover. One of Agatha Christie's best novels, At Bertram's Hotel, opens in front of her. Meda has a similar printed book. However, because he bought it at a thrift store, the cover of the book he owned was brownish yellow so obsolete the age of the book. Tian walked to the other side of the shelf and picked up another book as Meda began to sink into her book.
Three hours passed and the two people were swept away in a comfortable residence. The first Tian moved from his stationary position and looked at the time indicated by his phone screen. At 11 p.m., and Meda still didn't shift a bit from her desk filled with piles of books. Tian walked outside the room with slow steps so as not to disturb the young man's concentration. He walked into the kitchen and checked the contents of the refrigerator. While trying to think of something he could make with the ingredients in the refrigerator, Diro entered the kitchen.
"You want to cook, Mommy?" he asked when he saw the girl checking the ingredients in the refrigerator.
Tian nodded quickly. "I'm just confused about what to cook, sir," Tian said.
"What about fried rice?" diro Proposal.
Tian shook his head slowly. "The rice ran out this morning and even though I'm cooking now, it will take some time for the rice to mature. Not to mention the cold."
Diro twisted his brain again, before flicking a finger. "Bikin pempek kayak first, Ma'am."
The man reminded Tian of the food his master's daughter had made a few weeks ago. That night, it rained heavily, and Tian appeared in front of the guard room with a raincoat and umbrella to cover the lunchbox and the thermos containing the warm tea he was carrying. The contents of the dining box itself were a few pieces of tuna pempek that Tian fadly made out of curiosity. Tian shared it with everyone who lived in the Adler family residence and waited until the connoisseur gave his comment.
Diro who was that night was accompanying Eko, the guard who at that time had a night guard turn, to enjoy the food. He praised Tian's cooking. The girl does have a much better cooking ability than Bella, her mother. However, what amazed Diro more was the warmth of the girl's heart that captured the teachings of her mother's father to consider all the people living in their residence as family.
"Tuna Patter?" Tian's question brought Diro back from his daydream. The man nodded quickly. Tian seemed to think for a moment before nodding to himself.
"Later in the afternoon you don't have to buy food outside, sir. I'd like to cook the side dishes, "Tian's message again was immediately greeted with an enthusiastic nod from the driver.
Tian's hand moved deftly preparing the flour dough before moving it into the pot and stirring it on a medium-sized stove fire. After lifting the mixture off the stove, Tian put in the additional ingredients and stirred it once more. As Tian prepared to form a pempek to boil, Meda walked into the living room in a daze.
"Medic." Tian waved a small wave to grab the young man's attention before refocusing on his cooking activities.
"What meda?" asked Meda who approached him and looked down into a large basin of dough in front of Tian.
"Tuna sticker," the girl replied briefly. Within minutes, his hand had produced several pieces of raw pempek which he dipped in a bowl full of oil before he placed them on the tray beside him.
Meda, who was gawking for a moment when she saw Tian's speed of motion, finally regained consciousness from her daydream and began to circulate her gaze, looking around for something she could do to help Tian. However, Meda has almost zero experience in the world of professional cooking. Finally, his gaze returned to the dough formed by Tian easily.
"Would you try making it?"
Tian who noticed the direction of Meda's gaze took off his plastic gloves and turned them on the young man. Meda nodded quickly and immediately positioned herself where Tian had stood. Enthusiastically, he tried to imitate every step Tian took. However, when he could not produce a form of pempek that approached the artificial Tian—even after three times trial—ia finally began to emit frustrated groans.
Tian chuckled slightly before returning to take over. Tian, who knew that the young man could not stand by without doing anything, asked Meda to prepare two pots of water. One to boil the pempek and another to make the sauce. The young man almost filled the two pots with water from the tap as Tian repeated his instructions clearly for the young man to use the water from the gallon to cook.
Tian silently smiled slightly looking at the young man's confusion. This was his first time seeing the young man as being asked to do something. During his time in Cuba, Tian was always in a position of helplessness and relied on the young man to accompany him around Cuba.
On the other hand, Meda also smiled to herself for different reasons. He was delighted to find a new side of Tian. A new side he thinks he can be proud of in front of his mother when Tian visits his home next week.
Author's Note:
Tian House
The Tian house garage
The Tian central room
