What a Beautiful Divorce

60. Prapto's Answer

In the slightly overcast daylight of the rainy season of October, the leaves and branches of the trees dance beautifully in the wind.

Nimo inspects the waterways of the garden and its plants and livestock. He noticed the condition of the two mother goats and their six children whom he had transferred with Prapto last night. They look healthy and not stressed.

Then Nimo opened the door where her female chicken incubated twelve eggs, which would hatch twelve cute chicks. Suddenly the brooding hen sounded loud. Nimo took a few steps back. "Good God, Parent Chicken! You're surprising me."

The young brown mother chicken stared at Nimo. Nimo came back to him. "I want to feed you, you yell at me. Here, eat a lot." Nimo put down a small box of chicken food. Then he turned around.

"Geez!" nimo exclaimed again, when she saw the three figures the boy had been standing in front of her. "When are you guys coming?"

The three boys laughed. "Not too long, Uncle. Since Uncle had a conversation with the hen earlier," said Lapen Oscario while pointing at the hen.

Nimo closed the chicken brood and stepped towards the table in front of the kitchen building. "Come on, we're sitting there!" bring him.

Lapen and his two best friends follow Nimo. "Uncle wants coffee?" ask Lennon, smiling.

"I should have offered you, Lennon. 'And my host. Yeah, four glasses, yeah. If any of you want tea, there's tea."

"Which Prapto uncle, Uncle?" taro asked after he looked around the garden.

"Bos Prapto to Jakarta with Pinaka, Taro."

Taro smile. "Uncle Prapto met Aunt Pinaka's parents because they were getting married, Uncle?"

Nimo laughs. "It's kind of like you understand the way things go before the wedding, Taro."

Nimo then sat down and lit her cigarette. "What are you doing coming in this slightly cloudy afternoon?"

"We're going to the river, Uncle, to fish with a new bait. I was asked to come here first to tell Uncle Nimo not to forget to teach Dad to bring a bike later" Lapen replied.

"Oh yes! I forgot, Lapen. I'll finish my coffee with your father" Nimo said. Then he seemed to think. "But, Lapen, why didn't Mas Stepen just call me?"

Lapen laughing. "Last night Dad fiddled with the phone settings menu, Uncle, then he accidentally pushed the factory reset menu. So, Uncle Nimo's number was erased."

The new Nimo, Lapen, Taro, and Lennon brought four cups of coffee on a wooden tray, laughing. They continued talking while drinking coffee.

***

On the porch of his house, the shoulder-haired Stepen wiped his new matic motor while whistling. He looked up when he heard footsteps and then laughed. "Your number is erased, Nimo. I'm wrong to push the factory reset menu.”

"Yes, Mas, Lapen said. Well, Mas Stepen bought a new bike."

Stepen smiles. "Yesterday afternoon came, Nimo. Sorry, yeah, it's a hassle to teach me how to ride a bike."

Nimo smile. "No hassle, really, Mom."

"Have a coffee, huh?"

"Just now I'm ready to make coffee with Lapen, Taro, and Lennon, Mas."

"Come, Mas!"

***

The weather in Jakarta, precisely in the residential complex area of Pinaka, the afternoon was sunny. Prapto, Pinaka, Pak Ramu, and Bu Esih have just finished eating the dish.

Mr. Ramu lit his cigarette and then looked at Prapto who was now igniting a cigarette. Mr. Ramu and Ms. Esih last night had chatted with their daughter over the phone. Pinaka says that today he and Prapto will come and Prapto will convey his desire to marry Pinaka.

Prapto raised his head while exhaling cigarette smoke. He was stunned to see Mr. Ramu watching him.

"Are you sure of your decision to marry our daughter, Prapto?" ask Mr. Ramu. There was a serious aura emerging from his words.

"Sure, sir," answered Prapto. A serious aura also emerged from Prapto's speech.

"You sure you won't be short on money after you get married?"

Prapto, who learned a lot from Mr. Oscar, said steadily, "I'm not sure, sir."

Mr. Ramu scrunched his face. "You're not sure you won't be short of money after marriage, then why do you want to marry my daughter?"

"Not having money doesn't mean we're going to starve, sir. I have rice fields, fruits, livestock, and many other crops that won't starve us and will instead eat delicious food every day, sir."

Bu Esih and Pinaka looked at Prapto in awe. They were amazed at Prapto who could answer smoothly without being intimidated. The answer was good and the tone of his speech was convincing. Mr. Ramu himself secretly felt amazed and proud, but Mr. Ramu did not want to show it because he was still not finished testing Prapto.

Mr. Ramu nodded. He smokes his cigarette while continuing to look at Prapto right in his eyes. "What if one day there will be a flood, or some other natural activity, that will cause your garden to fail to harvest and all your livestock to die? I hope it doesn't happen."

"I'll make a living the other way, sir while rebuilding the garden. I can find firewood in the forest to sell, I can trade, I can learn certain skills like concocting medicine or making children's toys and then sell, obviously, I can learn, I promised that our kitchen would remain smoky and our rice pot would never be empty."

Ms. Esih looked at Pinaka with a look that seemed to ask, 'How can you find a man this cool?' He looked at Prapto. His appearance is not conspicuous with jeans and a shirt. His tan skin is bright brown, a sign that he is a diligent farmer, who is not just sunbathing in the garden.

Last night Bu Esih had also discussed with her husband about the smart and innovative Prapto, which was the initiator of business cooperation between Kejora village and three companies. According to Mr. Ramu who also works as a businessman, the Kejora village business will be more successful in the future.

Pinaka also looked at his mother with a look that seemed to say, 'Great 'is the mother's child looking for a ghost?' He was proud of Prapto. As Bu Intan said to her, that great husband is the one who makes you proud as her woman.

Mr. Ramu who leaned against the wall of the pendopo, which was shaped like a wooden fence, nodded back. Prapto seemed to be waiting for the next question. He understood Mr. Ramu now not just asking, but his future father-in-law was testing it. While waiting for Mr. Ramu's next question, he took a sip of his cold coffee.

"That's how a husband should be, Prapto," said Mr. Ramu. "I'm not asking you rich and I'm going to marry Pinaka. I just need a daughter-in-law who is not lazy to make a living.

"Now, if one day Pinaka has a toothache or is jealous of another woman who suddenly sends a love statement message to your phone, then Pinaka gets upset and reduces her attention to you, what are you going to do? Scold him or persuade him?"

Mr. Ramu smiled. This is both the final question and the ultimate question. Twenty-six of his married friends he had asked, and all were wrong in answering this seemingly straightforward question.

Bu Esih and Pinaka looked at each other again, but this time they were both confused. The question seems easy, but they are well aware that Mr. Ramu is unlikely to ask an easy question to test a man who wants to marry his daughter. They wait for Prapto's answer.

Cold sweat descends on the Prapto temple. His intelligence makes him understand very well that Mr. Ramu's question is not easy even though it seems easy. He smokes cigarettes while thinking about Mr. Oscar's advice. Prapto found that Mr. Oscar never talked about this.