Les Laches

43.

Time still showed at four o'clock in the morning when Tian decided he was no longer able to pick up his sleepiness again. His eyes had been open since 03:00 when he had only slept for less than an hour.

Tian finally decided to get off his bed and walk to the bathroom to wash his face and take some water. After performing his prayer, Tian grabbed his phone from the dresser and put it in his pajama pocket. He then went down to the kitchen and opened his refrigerator to prepare a breakfast menu for his family.

He was grateful yesterday to take the time to buy food after driving Afgar shopping for his needs while in London so that he did not need to go to the market in the morning like this.

The young man himself had been on his flight since one in the morning. Tian was awake until late for that one reason. He wanted to make sure that Afgar was awake enough to drive his own car to the airport.

A male figure was walking in a hurry towards the room where Tian was when Tian accidentally closed his refrigerator door a little harder than he should because his hands were full of materials that he was trying to remove at once.

“Yes Allah! Maak Tian. I think there's maling dawn-body.” Eko appeared in the kitchen doorway while stroking the chest.

Tian could only smile wryly while showing a regretful expression. “Pak Eko discharged from mosque?”

“Iya, Ma'am,” replied Eko while yawning widely. Apparently, he was the one who got the guard duty last night.

“Pak Where is it?” tanya Tian while putting a pot of mineral water on the stove.

He intended to make coffee and sandwiches before starting the actual cooking session to see that one of his housekeepers needed to immediately receive food intake to freshen up after a night of wakefulness.

“Diro prayed at home earlier, Ma'am,” replied Eko who is now sitting in one of the chairs in front of the counter where Tian used to prepare a pot of hot coffee.

Unknowingly, it became a habit for himself and Diro. Both of them almost never go through the morning without being preceded by drinking coffee made by Tian or Bella.

“Lho. Why not go to the mosque?”

“Let's go to the mosque together, who look after Mbak Tian with whose sisters?” eko replied while chuckling.

“Halah, Ko. Ngoceh is you. Not helping Ms. Tian. Who is this employer?” reprimanding Diro ketus when he went into the kitchen and found the behavior of his partner.

“Oh, yes. Sorry, Ms. Tian. What can I help you with, yes?”

Tian simply threw a gentle smile at the man. To be honest, he was indeed uncomfortable when there were people watching him cook without any intention of helping. Especially if the guy is a man. However, it was not because he judged the action from the point of view of ‘who is the employer, who is employee’. Only, he felt that there was a role pinned on him when a man watched him cook. As if the task of cooking without help is already a duty as women and it is natural that men do not feel the need to help because domestic work is not the usual realm they handle.

Tian shook his head a little. His mind was starting to go wild. He felt a little too deep to dig into the meaning of Eko's actions. Of course, he knew not all men intentionally acted that way. It was only a form of custom because they—including Tian—bred in a world that was thick with a patriarchal culture that linked domestic work with women and industrial work with men. Well, no one can choose how he grew up.

However, there are no bad habits that cannot be changed, nor are there good habits that cannot be formed. This time, Tian was the one who was wrong for letting Eko's actions for “ look through” instead of asking him to help.

Therefore, Tian asked Eko for help to raise the water in a pot that started boiling and move it over the counter.

“Thank you, sir,” said Tian gently as he continued his activities to chop up fresh bread.

“I make coffee all right, Ma'am?” Eko grew even more eager to help after seeing the smile of her employer's daughter. Tian responded to his question with another nod and smile.

Diro passed from the kitchen while shaking a little look at Eko's behavior.

“I want to make a sandwich for coffee, sir. If for breakfast later, I want to make chicken rica-rica with peanut butter,” replied Tian.

Eko gulped. Suddenly the sound of his stomach ringing loudly blared all over the kitchen. Tian laughed out loud.

Eko smiled shyly. “I am laper.”

Tian put a few pieces of meat-filled bread into a serving dish, then arranged the plate with a pot of coffee made by Eko into a large tray. After Eko left the kitchen carrying the tray to the guard post, Tian was again busy with his activities.

Tian glanced at the clock that showed the time at half-five, as he heard a noise from the room beside the kitchen. The room was actually large enough to be a bedroom, but Bella made the room a place to store equipment for cleaning such as brooms, mop sticks, buckets, hose piles, and many others.

The noise itself is usually caused by Joan when she starts her morning activities to clean the house. Her younger sister might be a bit violent, but she woke up a little earlier than Lydia who had a more diligent image. Although it actually had something to do with Lydia's habit of sleeping the most nights than all her other sisters.

“Kak Tian no coffee?” Joan went into the kitchen and looked up at the counter.

“Since when did you copy?” Tian threw a question back.

“There, no?”

“Nothing. All this time who likes to coffee is just Eko sir, Diro sir, same mom. Ratah for Eko sir Diro ya already brought from earlier,” replied Tian while starting to put all the ingredients he had prepared into the frying pan.

Joan made a small complaint.

“This is a sandwich if you laper,” Tian said again while putting the plate he had refilled with a piece of sandwich onto the counter.

“Kak Tian thinks I got coffee because of laper?” joan asked, but still plucked two pieces of bread from the plate and stuffed them at once into the mouth.

“Ya, continues?”

“Lifestyle, Brother Tian, lifestyle.” Joan replied in a tone as if what she had just said was the most basic knowledge that even the child on the kindergarten bench knew.

“Lifestyle what kind? Who are you impersonating? Mama?” Tian frowned confusedly.

“Niru? No, yeah. Mama was coffee every once in a while because the malemnya difficult to sleep because Marcela fuss. If lifestyle is routine, brother. So, at least I HAVE TO drink coffee every morning,” explained Joan with her speech style that is pretentious.

“What is drinking coffee for every morning?”

“Aduh, lifestyle, Brother Tian!” joan is very nervous.

Tian was anxious. “Yes, ‘kan people embrace that particular lifestyle for one or many reasons, Jo. You what?”

“Aduh, it's hard to talk to Brother Tian.” Joan ran away immediately after saying those words. Leaving Tian gawking alone.