Look At Me Once

A Message

The next day, Alwi sat at the dinner table with his two wives.

“How, Fa? Is there a result?” asked Anisa while spooning rice into her husband's plate.

“What result, Mbak?” ask Lathifa confused.

“Positive?”

“Positive?” repeat Lathifa while pouring water into their glass.

“Pregnant.”

“Eh, be-yet, Mbak.” Lathifa glanced at her husband who was sitting quietly without any intention to help her.

“You never forget to drink milk, right?”

Lathifa nodded her head. Confused to have to explain what to Anisa he already considers like his own sister.

“What side dish do you want, Mas?” anisha asked her husband.

“Anything is up to you, Darling.”

Anisa scoops some of her husband's favorite menus onto her plate.

“Nothing, Fa. Your marriage is only 9 months more, later if in one year you are not yet pregnant we go to the doctor ya!” anisa said without wanting to be denied.

“Iya, Mbak.” Lathifa did not have the heart to refuse Anisa's request, let alone the obvious face of Anisa who always beamed when talking about pregnancy.

The three of them started their breakfast quietly.

“Tomorrow I have an event out of town for 3 days, Mas.” Anisa's permission to her husband after finishing breakfast.

“Why sudden?” alwi asked while cleaning his mouth with a tissue.

“It should be early next month, Mas. But yesterday only been told the show was advanced,” said Anisa while piling dirty dishes on the table.

“Let me alone, Mbak.” Lathifa took over the plates.

“Ya already, be careful. Keep healthy!” alwi reminded.

“God willing, Mas.”

“Mas depart first, no need to take mas forward. Assalamu’alaikum.” Alwi stood up to grab his briefcase.

“Wa’alaikummussalam,” Anisa replied.

Anisa grabs Alwi's hand and kisses him then Alwi kisses Anisa's forehead and walks towards the kitchen.

“Astaghfirullah, ibuk!” lathifa said while holding her chest.

Lathifa almost hit her husband when she turned her body around after putting a dirty plate in the sink.

“I'm not mom.”

“Sorry.” Lathifa was about to leave but her hand was held by her husband.

“What?” tanya Lathifa looked at her husband's face.

“I'm leaving for work.”

“Ya already there to go!”

“You kicked me out?”

Lathifa turned the eyeballs off guard.

Alwi extended his hand to Lathifa to be kissed, Lathifa kissed the back of Alwi's hand and let go of their hands.

But Alwi pulled him, and held Lathifa's head with both hands and landed a kiss on his young wife's forehead, then hurried away without seeing Lathifa's face.

Lathifa's body stiffened, only this time her husband kissed her without Anisa around them. Usually her husband kissed her just for pretending in front of Anisa.

There was a sense that was hard to describe by the words, happy, sick, sore being one Lathifa felt in her chest.

“Kok is even dumb here, Fa!” reprimanding Anisa walked over with the remaining dishes of the side dish in her hand.

“Eh, no way, Ma'am.” Lathifa again helped Anisa clean up the dining table.

...*****...

That afternoon after college, Chaca asked Lathifa to accompany her to the mall.

Lathifa didn't tell Chaca about Bryan because it felt bad to tell him about his friend's ugliness. Lathifa was afraid that Chaca would only consider her bragging and would make their friendship stretch again.

Before going home, they both stopped by the cafe in the mall.

“Fa, you wait a minute. I'm going to the toilet for a minute.” Chaca left Lathifa to sit alone.

Soon after, Chaca was again followed by a waiters who delivered their order.

They chatted and jokingly discussed their past when High School, Lathifa face looks very happy.

“It looks like Bryan likes lo deh, Tif.” Chaca suddenly changed the subject.

“Hah, no way, Cha.” Lathifa's facial expression turned slightly irritated.

“But he's his good son, Thif.”

“I'm married, Cha!”

“Iya-iya, don't make it hard either! I'm just talking about what I saw doang.”

“Don't discuss him, Cha. Just talk about it!” lathifa said, grabbing the glass in front of her and drinking it.

Ting.

Chaca grabbed the phone in her bag that rang the sign of a message coming in.

Mr. B

Everything's sorted out. Lives part lo.

^^^Me^^

^^^In a minute, you're stanby up front! I'm calling.^^^

Mr. B

Okay

Chaca kept her phone in the bag again, then stared fixedly at Lathifa's busy face with her drink.

Elsewhere, in his study, Alwi was seen still busy with unfinished files he checked.

Raiyan walked into his room and sat in the front seat of Alwi's table.

“Still not finished, Sir?” ask Raiyan slowly.

“You saw what I was doing?” ask back Alwi without taking his eyes off the file in front of him.

“Play?” said Raiyan casually with a questioning tone made Alwi stop his activities and stared fixedly at the assistant in front of him.

“Indeed those files are your game, right?”

“Come out if just want to bother me!” yelled Alwi in annoyance with Raiyan's joke.

“Quiet, Sir! Don't emotion.”

“What do you need to do to my room?” alwi asked back to her boss and assistant mode.

“Tomorrow I have to check the project out of town, Sir.”

“Then?”

“Sanjaya company moved the final meeting schedule held tomorrow night.”

Alwi knitted his brows. “Tomorrow nights?”

Raiyan nodded his head, looked at the face of his superior and waited for a reaction from his superior.

“But you can, attend that meeting?” ask Alwi.

Raiyan shook his head doubtfully, knowing that his boss had avoided meeting Sanjaya Group in person because of the old problems, even though now the secretary of Mr. Sanjaya had returned to active work, Alwi still did not want to go down directly in a meeting with Sanjaya Group.

“This is our last meeting with them, before the project goes further,” explained Raiyan.

“Why do they submit a meeting from a predetermined schedule?”

“They said, the day after Mr. Sanjaya had to travel abroad.”

“Can't our guy be represented, Rai?” alwi asked and leaned his body on the back of his big chair.

“It's a pity not, sir. As per the initial agreement, they only want to communicate with you or me.”

Alwi let out a long sigh, then massaged the base of his nose and closed his eyes.

“What are you still worried about last time?”

Seeing no movement from his superiors, Raiyan reassured Alwi.

“I'll try to get home early, sir. And will catch up with you as soon as possible.”

“What time?” ask Alwi.

“Jam 19.30 at Swiss Hotel, at once they invite you to dinner together.”

“Alright, I will come to the meeting.”

“I will try to get home early from out of town, Sir.” Raiyan once again assured his superior.

“No need. You focus on your work there.”

Ting.

A ringtone of the incoming message sign made Alwi glance towards his phone that was lying on his desk. His right hand grabbed the object and he saw a message coming in from the private number, he felt curious and his fingers pressed the screen to open the message.

Several pictures filled the screen of his phone, one by one he opened the picture to see it more clearly.

Seen two humans of different gender glued each other's bodies and looks were kissing friendly, but only seen from the side, the man did not show his face at all. The woman's face ....

Deg.

Alwi zoomed in on the image, once again sharpening his eyesight ensuring the woman's face in the photo.

Alwi's face instantly turned red, his jaw hardened, his hands clenched.

‘Astaghfirullah ...’ repeatedly Alwi is privileged in the heart.

Raiyan who saw the face of his superior change, immediately also felt worried.

“What's up, Sir?” raiyan asked but got no answer from Alwi.

“Lathifa ...” said Alwi very softly, not even heard by Raiyan.