"Papah!" I said, running up to him and kissing his palm.
"Who are you here with? With Niko?"
"Nadia is here with her friend. Maxime, come here!" I shouted to him.
Maxime seemed very surprised when he saw my father coming. With slow steps, he approached me and my father who were at the front door of the house. When he and papah faced each other, for some reason I saw Maxime as if he was about to shed tears. Maybe he missed his father who was in Germany?
"Evening uncle, I'm Maxime, one of Nadia's college friends," he said quietly while introducing himself.
"Good evening, thank you for bringing your son here," Dad said quietly.
"Yes, you're welcome, Om."
"Come on, let's go in first," invited papah.
"It's late, I'd better go home."
"Come on Max, just a minute," I pleaded half-heartedly.
Maxime seemed to be considering. In the end, he agreed and went inside the house. While inside, for some reason I really wanted to introduce Maxime to my mom, dad and Kesya.
Fortunately, both my parents and Kesya accepted him with open doors. Seeing that my father was chatting with Maxime in the living room, I let them chat for a while while I went to the kitchen to make a drink.
"Have you lived in Indonesia for long?" asked papah.
"It's only been two weeks, but I used to live in Indonesia for a few years. Then, my mom and I moved to Germany to settle there," she said, not daring to look at papah's face.
"I guess we've met before? Om feels like he's known you for a long time," said papah with probing eyes.
"Oh, yes? Maybe my face is familiar, so you feel like you've met me before," she replied, averting her eyes.
"Ciee who is already familiar!" I said as I brought two glasses of milky coffee and some snacks.
"You, papah will leave first then."
After papah left, Maxime looked like he was bowing his head. He seemed to be wiping away his tears that I had seen dripping earlier.
"Just cry if you really want to cry."
Maxime smiled. He looked at me with both balls that seemed to be hiding his sadness.
"I'm not that weak, Nad."
"You must miss your father who is in Germany, right?"
"Yes," she replied, immediately averting her eyes.
"If you really miss your dad, try calling him. Surely, he'll be happy."
"I'll try. Oh, are you going home or staying here?"
"I'll just stay here. Besides, I miss the atmosphere of home. I haven't been home in a while," I said, forced to lie.
I really didn't want to go home first, because I still wasn't ready to meet Niko.
"Then I'll take my leave, okay? It's getting late."
I nodded slowly. After saying goodbye to my parents, Maxime finally came home too. It felt like I owed him a lot today. As it turned out, there was another side that I didn't know about him. Maxime kept many secrets and it seemed that Maxime was not a bad person. He was just lonely and needed a friend beside him.
"Maxime is a good boy. Isn't he, mah?" said papah suddenly after Maxime left.
"Yes, Maxime is a good boy. He's also polite to his parents," said mamah, agreeing with papah's words.
"He's also handsome," said Kesya who suddenly appeared.
"Hey, you little kid. What do you know about handsome people?" I said anxiously while pinching my sister's chubby cheeks.
"Ih, sis Nadia, don't keep pinching Kesya's cheeks. Kesya is already a big girl!"
Kesya, my sister, loves to look at handsome men the most. Her hobby is watching Korean dramas and loves Sehun Exo. Her room is filled with big posters of the youngest Exo member. For some reason, the world of K-pop gets into her brain faster than subjects. Asked by his father to take English lessons, he prefers Korean to English which he thinks is complicated.
"Where did you get so big, you just entered junior high school and you're already so big!"
"Kesya is already a big girl!" she said, sticking out her tongue and walking away.
Kesya is still 13 years old, but she never wants to be called a child. According to her, 13 years old is already a teenager. My sister, who is the most coquettish and nagging, is indeed the most able to liven up the atmosphere of the house so that it looks more cheerful and also warm.
This is the atmosphere that I've missed all year. Chatting with my sister, talking with my parents and gathering with my loved ones. I felt like going back in time, where I wasn't married and wasn't dating Niko.
"Did you come home? Are you fighting with Niko again?" my mom asked suddenly.
"Yes, Mah. It's normal for young people," I said quietly while bowing my head and swinging my legs.
"It's not good to be angry with your husband for a long time. Households are different from boyfriends and girlfriends. Isn't it, Pah?" said my mother as she straightened the glasses in the living room.
"Your mom is right, papah doesn't forbid you from staying here. But have you asked your husband for permission?"
"I'll call Nadia later to tell her," I said, scratching my head that wasn't itchy.
Papah, who happened to be reading a book on law that looked thick, immediately closed his book. Papah was indeed one of the lecturers at a well-known private university in Jakarta. He used to be a prosecutor, but since he was already in his fifth year, he decided to become a lecturer instead.
"Oh, yes, where do you know Maxime? Ko, it feels like I've met him before."
"I met Nadia on campus, Pah. But Maxime is a bit strange to me. He knows so much about Nadia and Niko. Even though we've just met, is Maxime a fortune teller?"
"You're wrong, where's the fortune teller from," laughed Papa, making Mamah chuckle at my babble.
"But, Maxime is a pity too, Pah. His mother died of a serious illness two years ago. In Germany, there are only his father, brother and sister. Nadia is the saddest when she hears stories about the death of her parents."
I was pensive for a while. I remembered something, and it seemed that Papah knew what was in my heart. Papah came over to me and embraced me from the side, holding my hand gently.
"You miss Nidya's mamah, don't you?" he asked, which made me suddenly burst into tears.
"I think so, Pah. It's impossible for Nadia to forget Nidya's mother. All this time, in the depths of her heart, she's been missing her mother."
"You're not angry with Papa, are you, Nad?" Papa asked, putting his arm around me and gently stroking my hair.
"Why would Nadia be angry with papah? It happened a long time ago."
"You forgive papah, don't you, son?"
I stared at papah's face for a while. His face no longer looked young. His hair had turned white, and the wrinkles on his face had started to appear. And, I smiled a little.
"The mistakes that parents make will be erased by their love for their children. And, Nadia is very grateful to have a father like papah," I said with teary eyes.
"Even though you have forgiven papah, papah feels guilty about you, son," he said softly, making mamah who was in the kitchen glance at both of us.
I grasped both of his hands tightly and looked at his face gently.
"As long as papah is by Nadia's side and never leaves her, that's more than enough. There is only one thing Nadia wants right now, the happiness of papah, mamah and Kesya. As long as you are all happy, Nadia will be happy too."
Papah smiled slightly and grasped both my hands so gently.
"You don't have to blame yourself anymore. Papah is not wrong, it's all in the past. The future of papah is now with mamah, Kesya and Nadia," said mamah who suddenly came over to us both and put her arm around papah's shoulder warmly and lovingly.
"Thank you, Mah. You've always been there for me all this time," he said quietly as he gently grasped my hand.
"You're welcome, Pah."
For now, I am very happy because I have such a wonderful family. Without them, I wouldn't have grown up to be such a strong woman and so resilient in the face of such trials.
Even though my heart hurts and is so lonely, I still have a family that I consider as my own body and soul. Because family is the most precious treasure for me.
"Love you my dear," said my father gently while kissing my forehead.