The hardest thing for working moms is when they get an assignment out of town, leaving their baby at home. And that burden will multiply when she deals with a man named Bintang who has been her life partner for more than three years.
"Mas, I will have a meeting at Puncak. The day after tomorrow. May I?" Luna asked permission to attend the Sales & Service Department Brainstorming event.
"Sure," Bintang replied quickly.
She gasped. How fast answer.
Why doesn't he ask about the meeting, how long, and with whom? Is this a husband or a neighbor, she thought. Or maybe this is the moment he's been waiting for. A time when he can be free to do as he pleases, date someone else out there, and come home late.
Hush.
She tried to eliminate the negative thoughts that suddenly overtook her mind.
She was busy preparing all the equipment, but she heartfelt lonely and alone. Feeling down a little. Bintang's attitude undermined her confidence; whereas everyone wanted to be close to her and support her in the office.
Please, Luna. Don't be so whiny. Enjoy yourself! If you want to be free, this is the time. Your husband gives permission, was that good? Why make it so heavy? You're a fool; you know that? While many wives want to get away from family routines once in a while, you have been voluntarily released, but you are mushy, like boiled carrots.
Let's be fit and strong
Work as well as play
Don't be lazy dear
Wasting time…
The children's songs from CD Bright suddenly entered her heart and strengthened her feelings.
***
Two days and one night, Luna spent time at Puncak with her colleagues. However, her mind is split here and there. Sometimes she wants to be able to laugh out loud like Noni, smoke cigarettes, and drink wine like Nancy, dress in sensual and coquettish fashion, dabbing here and there like January. She couldn't act as free as she wished. They make her jealous, she wants to be expressive like them, but she can't. Indeed the situation she didn't like.
For a moment, Bright's image flashed in her head.
Ah, that kid must have missed me. She thought. Usually, Bright will scream with joy when she hears the sound of a car stopping in the yard. She must be disappointed because the long-awaited mother never appears. Ah, I miss that child so much.
"So that nothing is stupid! There is no Stupid thing in Brainstorming"
"Do you understand, Luna?"
"Mm… Yes….." Luna was a little confused by Marc's sudden question. It seems that Marc knows that she is no longer concerned.
"So what do you understand about?"
"Brainstorm."
"Okay, what is that?
"Brainstorming is saying what you think and responding to others saying."
"Good. So what do you think?"
"I think about my daughter, Bright....."
Instantly the room rumbled at Luna's innocent answer. The shame is beyond measure. Her longing for the baby broke her concentration.
PLEASE Luna, thinks! Be smarter! Don't be stupid like that. You embarrassing you know that? Change! Be Confident. Be yourself. Don't make the same mistakes over and over again. Starting today, you have to be calm and relaxed, and don't be reactive; what's wrong? You're not bad; you're smart, so, please... If you want to stand out, be brave. Luna cursed to herself.
I don't know; maybe I need a lot of brainstorming. Perhaps because of hard pressure in life.
She wanted to speak again, but the words didn't come out of her mouth, stay stuck in her mind. Luna is afraid of being wronged and laughed at again.
Luna began to vacillate between what she wanted and reality. Amid her confusion, she suddenly caught a pair of shady eyes, a couple of smiling eyes, eyes that did not blame nor judge. Luna tried to turn away, but as if there was a magnet, she returned to the shady lake again. She found peace there. Ah, why only now realized. Only now did she feel it. Buddy.
Now it was the man's turn to give a presentation.
This is the first time Luna has seen his performance before the grand meeting. Perfect. There was no nervousness, her admiration for the boy grew. The guy she'd known for a long time—the guy who often drove her home more often than her husband. The guy who had been paying attention to her but she was blinded. Luna pretended not to know there was such a feeling. And now once again Buddy woke her up.
Seeing Buddy standing in front with a white shirt and tie that matched his trouser suddenly made Luna's mind fantasize naughtily. The woman imagined the man in front of him plain without a single cloth covering his body. She craves to make love to that man. Various styles of play we're playing and dancing in her mind, but... Hushhhhhh She hastily chased away her wild fantasies; it can be dangerous to play with dirty thoughts in a serious situation like this.
Luna was caught red-handed again smiling to himself.
As if Buddy knew what she was thinking.
***
Luna went upstairs at Break and didn't know how it was going when suddenly Buddy was already in front of her room.
Her chest immediately beat faster than usual.
With a calm embrace, Buddy entered that girl's room. The two stood, facing each other, holding hands, and staring very closely behind the door. The sighs got louder and louder. Luna's lips were wet, Buddy's gaze glared, and his adrenaline rose.
Suddenly Buddy's hand grabbed Luna's face and brought her lips to him. For a moment, she was carried away by the atmosphere. But she quickly tried to control herself. With the remaining strength, she pushed the man back. "Please… Don't…" She hissed. Again and again, slowly but surely, Buddy tried to hug her.
"Please don't." She pushed the man out, and with all her might, she pushed Buddy out of the room.
And locked the room from the inside.
She stood up, her knees felt weakly unable to support her body, and eventually, she sat behind the door. Her hands were shaking. She tried to calm her heart, calming her ragged breath. It took time to recover all the joints that felt like they were about to fall off. It takes extra energy to fight the force of the same two desires.
She passed the test.
***
Soon they were sitting together at the dining table.
Luna looked at Buddy's eyes to examine whether he was irritated with what had happened. Afraid of being said to be pretentious, holy shit. Again.
But not the slightest hint of regret or disappointment was seen on Buddy's face. He was sitting in front of her. Just relax.
Nothing to lose.
"Why?" whispered Buddy after a moment of silence.
"I can't," answered Luna quietly.
"Why?" Chase Buddy, still in a relaxed tone.
"His face is like before my eyes. Don't have the heart. I feel sorry for him."
"Even though he always let you down?"
"I'd be more disappointed if I let him down."
"Even if it has to hurt yourself?"
Luna was silent.
"Hey, I don't see any signs that you remember the one at home?" Luna judges while sipping her blue mountain.
"Remember. In this world, there is only one God. The others can be two or more girlfriends, wives…" Buddy replied calmly.
Luna smiled. "You can still be funny too, huh?"
"Everything that happens in this world results from fabrications of the human mind. There are only two certain things in this world, it is Death and…" Then Buddy raised his hand and dropped the pen on their table, "Gravity."
Luna sneered without commenting.
That night she was working alone in front of her laptop when a text message bothered her again.
"The greatest regrets are the risk we didn't take. If you think something will make you happy, go for it. Remember that you only live once."
Her slender fingers pressed the cellphone keypad, writing while smiling and copying a quote.
"In style, swim with the current; stand like a rock in matters of principle."
Delivered.
Buddy
***
Ref/Link to:
HIRA1 Chapter 1 Such a Nice Company Culture