2008-08-06 - 3:20 p.m.
June 12, 2008
I hardly said a thing since morning. He was ready with the grey backpack. We said bye to our parents and then had breakfast at my next-door neighbour's front porch. He said his stomach felt really weird, so we avoided spicy food.
Waiting for Mbak Bina at Blok M, he suddenly asked me to buy him a can of Coke. Now that was unusual. He once said he didn't like soda.
"That's for my stomach."
Oh, okay. So I did (with his money, of course! He only asked me to translate what the vendor people might say in Bahasa.) Since the top of the can was slightly dirty, he asked for a straw. Thankfully, the vendor girl had a dozen more of them.
"Wait. There's a hair above your eyebrow," he suddenly said and touched my forehead. Then he showed it to me. "Here. It's been stuck to your forehead the whole time."
I giggled. "Too bad I couldn't see it."
"Of course not, silly." He giggled too. "You'll need a mirror for that, or your eyeballs would be like those in horror movies. Yuck!"
Haha.
--- // ---
Mbak Bina finally showed up at 9:45 am. Since we didn't want to miss the bus, we got on one quickly. Right on schedule, the DAMRI bus left at ten.
"You're gonna see the airport again twice this week," he suddenly reminded me with an amused grin. "First today and then on Sunday too."
The day you'll leave, I silently noted. Then I went quiet again until we reached the airport at sometime around eleven.
--- // ---
It took almost an hour for the three of us to finally find two available tickets for a flight to Jogjakarta that same day - with a reasonable price. We'd asked around all the ticket boxes for each local airline until we found the most suitable ones from AirAsia. Two tickets to Solo, actually, but they were much cheaper. Mbak Bina said that she and Nick could take a taxi to Jogjakarta from there. Hani had already recommended a place to stay overnight and local friends to contact for more details and help.
Okay. It seemed that everything was all set. Good.
We had lunch at one of the local restaurants at the airport. It was madly expensive! I shouldn't have ordered the spicy siomay anyway. The weather was already very hot and that meal just made it worse. I was badly sweating.
And the damn spicy sauce was torturing my stomach too. Ouch!
At one, they were about to board the flight, and I couldn't bear to stay there any longer. I just told them that it was time for me to leave.
"Okay, then we'll see you again tomorrow," he simply said. We hugged (while again, I silently wished for time to stop, right there and then.)
"Have fun," I whispered and smiled at him. I turned to Mbak Bina and hugged her too, saying: "Titip Nick ya, Mbak." (Take care of Nick for me, Mbak.)
"Okay," she said with a smile. Then I simply turned around and walked away, leaving them both behind me. I wasn't even tempted to look back - not even once. Why? I don't know. Maybe I just wanted to toughen myself up. You know, hiding my sadness and all.
It didn't work, though. Not at all. (Damn it!) By the time I got on a DAMRI bus back to Blok M, I was almost in tears. I had to grit my teeth to keep them from flowing.
I didn't tell him anything. I couldn't. I didn't have enough guts. I was such a coward...
My cellphone beeped. It was Hani's text:
"Don't worry, Ruby. He'll return soon. Btw, have you told him yet?"
I sighed. Then I replied:
"No, not yet. I didn't get the right time and privacy."
I knew that she'd react this way:
"What?? Ruby, you only have time until Saturday. IF you never tell him, then you're gonna regret that for the rest of your life."
Now I was really crying.
--- // ---
I decided to send my writing for a local online contest. Then I worked on the lesson plans for the next day again. Good distractions from my sadness.
Then Hani suddenly texted my cellphone again, insisting that I check on them in Jogjakarta - because Mbak Bina still didn't reply her last text. I did better than that.
I called her.
"Hey, we're having dinner here," said Mbak Bina cheerfully. "He's trying that sweet gudeg and lamb satay too. Wanna talk to him?"
"No, that's okay. Let him have fun there. Take care, guys."
I didn't want to be clingy. And I wasn't jealous either. I trusted my friend. She's actually dating someone else. (Besides, he and I aren't exactly an 'item' yet, no matter how I really feel about him. What rights do I have anyway?)
But still, I missed him terribly that night.
The Author
