Look At Me Once

Misunderstand

Lathifa walked down the corridor towards the parking lot. Today Lathifa has an appointment to go with Chaca.

Lathifa looks elegant in a black toad suit combined with a knee-length maroon tunic and a light brown pashmina dangling to cover her chest, her husband's choice of trendy style.

After a bit of drama at the boutique this morning, Alwi finally relented and allowed Lathifa to keep her pants on. The origin of her top clothes should be below the waist.

Arriving at the parking lot, Lathifa approached Chaca who was standing alone beside a black sports motor “Hai Cha,” greeting Lathifa. “Wow! Whose motor?”

“My friend,” replied Chaca briefly.

“Kok is with you?”

“Length the story.”

Lathifa nodded her head, as soon as she examined Chaca's appearance. Long black pants suit, plain white shirt covered with black leather jacket, with hair in ponytail.

“We ride this?” ask Lathifa in doubt.

“Why? Lo not level up motor?” chaca asked with a probing look.

“Neg. Not that, it's just-”

“Udah come hunt. My friend is waiting at the mall.” Chaca urges Lathifa.

“But I don't carry a helmet.”

“Quietly, I've prepared for lo.”

Lathifa received a helmet proffered by Chaca. Lathifa felt something stuck in her heart, but she quickly dismissed the feeling, not wanting to sue.

“Lo who brought this motor yes! I'm bonceng in the back!” chaca did not want to be denied.

Lathifa also unsuspectingly followed Chaca's request.

Lathifa drove the motorbike at a moderate speed, although the road was not too crowded because it had not entered the office hours.

Lathifa stopped her motorbike because of the traffic light that was burning red in front of her.

Next to it, there is a car where there are a pair of eyes that look sharply at the two motorcyclists with a face that looks not like.

“Al, we go directly to the meeting place?”

Raiyan turned his gaze from the street towards his superior because he did not get an answer from Alwi.

“Al!” raiyan surprised Alwi.

“What?” alwi asked back without taking his eyes off the side of his car.

Raiyan was curious what made his superiors did not respond to him and followed the direction of Alwi's view,

“Wow! Cool, beautiful, steady deh!” ceplos Raiyan and get a punch reward on his head.

“Eye dragons! View front!”

“Ck, don't watch your eyes either! Wife two more? Remember that! Many are still single,” grumbled Raiyan made him get hit for the second time.

“Ck, got a cruel boss times.” Raiyan rubbed his head that was feeling pain. “Eh, but I seem to know the girl in front.”

“Road route. The lights are green!”

The motor driven by Lathifa turned to the left while the Alwi car walked straight ahead. They were chasing time to attend the meeting that was postponed by Alwi this morning.

Raiyan stuck the gas, and did not ask again about the motorized girl.

While Alwi still felt unsettled, he was sure that it was his wife.

Lathifa and Chaca arrive at the mall and meet her friend Chaca, a tall man with a thin sideburn on his handsome face.

They rushed to the cinema to watch a movie that was currently popular. Horror film based on a true story in 2019 in the eastern part of Java island titled ‘KKN in Penari’ Village.

After watching the show, they went around the mall just to look around without buying anything. Latifa and Chaca seemed to enjoy their togetherness. While the man named Bryan just tailed behind them.

“Guys, eat first yuk! my hungry,” bring Bryan.

“What's it eat, huh?” chaca asked who was walking by holding Lathifa's arm.

“I follow you guys,” said Lathifa.

“Eat there only yuk. Looks good,” Bryan took.

The three of them entered one of the restaurants on the floor. Chaca and Bryan find an empty table for them to sit on, while Lathifa bails to go to the toilet.

“How?” chaca asked after getting a table for them.

“Gue said what too? Lo will like deh.”

“Boleh, next time you invite him to play with me.”

“Siap.” Chaca seemed to be developing her smile.

“Hai, talking about what?” ask Lathifa who just came.

“Nothing. I'm just the same story Bryan, if today I am really happy to be able to walk the same lo.” Chaca pulled Lathifa's hand to sit next to her.

Bryan stared at Lathifa without blinking. Then he called the waiters to order food.

While waiting for the order to come, the three of them told each other various things.

“Guys, I went to the toilet bentar ya,” pamit Chaca was embraced by Lathifa.

Chaca glanced at Bryan and nodded her head. He soon leaves Lathifa alone with Bryan.

After Chaca's death, Lathifa was just quiet and busy with her phone, making Bryan a little annoyed at feeling ignored.

“What do you see in your phone? So ignore me who's in front of you?” bryan didn't like it.

“Eh, sorry. I didn't mean it.” Lathifa felt bad.

“Sorry accepted.” Bryan widened his smile.

“Thank you.”

“Manis.”

“What?”

“No. There's something on top of your head.” Bryan stuck his hand over Lathifa's head.

Lathifa felt misbehaved, not because she liked this. But Lathifa felt awkward being in this kind of position.

“Lathifa!”

Lathifa and Bryan raised their heads to hear someone calling out Lathifa's name.

Deg.

“M-Mas Al.” Lathifa's body sank, finding her husband standing by their table.

“Go home!” exclaiming Alwi made some visitors stare towards them.

“Mas-”

Alwi pulls Lathifa by the hand and leaves Bryan looking confused.

Alwi who just finished a meeting with a client stopped by the mall to buy something. However, he had to see his wife making out with a man.

“Lathifa where?” ask Chaca who just got back from the toilet.

Bryan shrugged his shoulders. “Go.”

Chaca knitted her brows. “Where?”

“Rome maybe,” replied Bryan indifferently. “So there's a man coming in with a temper.”

Chaca's face stiffened a little, she quickly readjusted her face. “Oh, maybe her brother.”

...*****...

Alwi drags Lathifa's hand into her house, Raiyan runs after them.

“Mas, what's up?” asked Anisa in the living room, she was surprised to see her husband come home with a dead red face by dragging Lathifa's silent hand with teary eyes.

Alwi ignores Anisa's existence. With wide strides, he pulled Lathifa towards their room.

“What is this, Mas Rai?” anisa asked the newly arrived Raiyan.

Raiyan just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, he did not know knowing because of Alwi's anger. Because while at the mall, he was just waiting for Alwi in the car. All the way home, no one made a sound. Alwi was only silent with a reddened face holding back the anger, Lathifa was sitting quietly in the back seat.

Anisa walked towards Lathifa's room, she stopped her steps in front of Lathifa's room door, hesitating to enter it. Since the room was Lathifa's privacy, she had no right to interfere into their matters.

Anisa only heard the voice of her husband who was scolding Lathifa, while Lathifa only heard sobs.

In the room, Lathifa sat on the floor looking at her husband who was taking all his clothes out of the closet.