Bittersweet Arrangements : A Sugar Dady Affair

Upon arriving home, Devan immediately went to meet his two parents in their room. With a gaze full of longing, Devan approached his parents. The first thing Devan did, of course, was to reach for the wrinkled hands of the woman who had given birth to him and then give a warm hug to her frail body with deep emotion. Not stopping there, after the hug, Devan also gave affectionate kisses to the less taut cheeks of the woman. He did the same to the man beside her, who had been patiently waiting with a hopeful smile.

“Forgive me, Devan, it’s been a long time since I came home,” Devan whispered with regret, changing to hug Zaky. It had been more than a year since he and Erick last visited Jakarta. It wasn’t that Devan didn’t want to come home, but at that time, Erick was going to take the National Exam. Devan didn’t want to disturb Erick’s concentration on studying for the exam. However, after that, Erick was preoccupied with tests and administrative matters at his new school.

“It’s okay, Son. Besides, we often video call, right?” Zaky, Devan’s father, said while patting the sturdy shoulders of his eldest son. His body used to be muscular and strong like his two sons. However, age had eroded his former strength. Now, nothing remained except his zest for life, burning for his wife, two children, and Erick, his only grandchild.

“How are you doing, Son?” Fatimah asked with a look of sorrow. Devan then released his hug with Zaky and turned to Fatimah.

Fatimah observed every detail of her eldest son’s body as he hugged Zaky. She checked from head to toe to make sure he lacked nothing. Devan was still the same as before-handsome and gallant. Despite his perfect physical condition, it wasn’t difficult for Devan to make women fall in love. Devan’s decision to remain a widower after his wife’s death saddened Fatimah’s heart. Additionally, his youngest son Dion, until now, showed no interest in getting married. Fatimah hoped to see both her children happy before her time came. Moreover, her aging body was no longer as agile as when Erick was born. Fatimah hoped that before that time arrived, she could see Devan find happiness again, along with Dion.

“Devan is always good, dear Mama,” replied Devan then took Fatimah’s arm affectionately.

“Let’s just go outside! Devan wants to talk to Mama and Papa about something important,” said Devan again, succeeding in making his parents look at each other.

Then without another word, Fatimah obeyed as Devan led her out of the room. “Come on, Dad, you will definitely be happy with the news that Devan will give you.” Devan grabbed Zaky’s hand who was walking behind him.

On the living room sofa, Dion was already there, lying down reading his automotive magazine. Seeing his parents and brother coming, Dion got up quickly. Provide a place for his father to sit.

For a few seconds the atmosphere became silent. None of the four of them made a sound. Zaky and Fatimah looked at each other with unreadable eyes. Their arrival certainly has an important purpose. Dion, who realized that everyone was silent, finally closed the magazine he was reading and then took the initiative to open a conversation.

“Just tell me, just go straight to Bang Devan!” said Dion looking relaxed.

Devan immediately turned his gaze towards Fatimah who was sitting beside him.

“What’s wrong Mom?” Devan asked curiously. Because Fatimah didn’t immediately give an answer, Devan asked Zaky the same question. “Dad, what’s wrong?”

“Well, Dion can just talk if Papa and Mama don’t want to be honest,” said Dion because he couldn’t wait.

“Yes, you said it now, Dion. Don’t confuse me,” said Devan, who didn’t want to play puzzles.

“So, Dev, Mama and Papa want to stay here for a long time,” explained Dion without caring about the sharp gaze from his father. Zaky actually wants to talk directly to Devan but Zaky is also worried about causing trouble for Devan because he has to take care of the two of them.

“Why only for a while? Mama and Papa just live here with Devan. Erick must be very happy to hear this news,” answered Devan with a big smile. What he had just heard was his wish for a long time.

It has been a long time since Devan invited his parents to live with him. But they always refused on the grounds that they didn’t want to leave the city of Jakarta which was full of their beautiful memories.

“Mama will stay here until she can see you get married,” said Fatimah while looking at Devan sadly. Then Fatimah put her index finger on the corner of her lips when Devan was about to say a word. “We want to see you both happy before you die.”

“Mom, please don’t talk nonsense,” said Devan, displeased.

“Mama, it’s starting again. Why are you bringing Dion along? Besides, Mama and Papa will live a long time and will definitely see what Mama and Papa want. But…” Dion paused while taking a deep breath. For the umpteenth time he will disappoint them. “Not anytime soon.”

“Okay, Devan will obey Mama and Papa’s requests.” Finally Devan gave the answer they had been hoping for 10 years. Hearing Dion’s refusal of course made Devan’s heart sad. Is it appropriate for him to add to both of their feelings of disappointment?

“I’m grateful.” Everyone answered in unison without realizing it. More precisely, shock, disbelief. Doubting what they had just heard from Devan’s lips sounded absolutely impossible.

“Give Devan a moment. Later, after Devan gets the blessing of the two girls, then Devan will take him in front of Mama and Papa,” added Devan, feeling uncertain. Hopefully this time he will no longer disappoint his parents.

***

At exactly one o’clock in the afternoon, Elena returned home. Suddenly, her heart felt troubled, even though she had just hung out with Citra and Melodi to her heart’s content. She had lost count of how many times she checked her phone just to make sure there were no messages from Devan. Since this morning, not a single message had come from the widower with one child. Usually, Elena found messages or calls from Devan annoying. But today, she felt that something was different.

Upon arriving home, Elena immediately went to her room. The house was quiet too. Her two younger siblings were still at school, and usually, they only arrived home around half past two, while her parents never had a set time to return.

She tossed her phone onto the bed, followed by her backpack. Then, she sat on the edge of the bed. Elena started to feel a bit down, and she began to take off the socks she was wearing. Her fate was more tragic than her backpack earlier. Elena threw the blue flower-patterned socks in a random direction. Without enthusiasm, Elena got up. She walked towards the bathroom to freshen up.

After changing to a new pad and cleaning both her feet and hands, Elena came out of the bathroom. While walking, Elena started to unbutton her white uniform one by one. The long gray skirt she was wearing also came off. This time, Elena didn’t throw it away but instead put it in the laundry basket inside the bathroom. Wearing only her underwear, Elena walked to the walk-in closet to get a change of clothes.

A plain black knee-length dress was Elena’s choice. After putting on the dress, Elena immediately went back out and threw herself onto her soft bed, lying on her stomach.

“Why am I feeling so troubled just because of that man!” Elena muttered with her eyes closed, trying to push away thoughts about Devan that seemed to linger.

In reality, Devan had taken over her entire heart and mind now. Elena didn’t know what to do anymore. Accepting Devan’s love and facing the potential wrath of her parents, or choosing to step back and stick to her second plan: continuing her studies in another city. If necessary, Elena was willing to pursue education abroad, as she had mentioned to her parents before.

As if having telepathy, Elena’s phone suddenly rang. Still with her eyes closed, Elena fumbled around, searching for her phone that she had thrown carelessly. Unable to find it, Elena then opened her eyes. It turned out the phone was at the edge of the bed. With a sigh, Elena forced herself to get closer, dragging her body to reach for the flat, blinking object.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Without intending to check who the caller was, Elena answered the call.

“Hello… Who’s there?” Elena greeted lazily.

“Hi, baby.” Devan’s greeting successfully startled Elena. Quickly, Elena got up and sat.

“Oh, Uncle Devan. What’s up?” Elena replied, pretending to be uninterested. In reality, Elena was cheering in her heart because of the overwhelming joy.

“Just a day without hearing your voice, and Uncle already misses you,” Devan said with a heart full of flowers, like a teenager in love.

Elena held her breath while tightening her lips to prevent herself from screaming. Her free hand instinctively pressed against her chest, feeling the rapid heartbeat.

“El, you’re not fainting, are you?” Devan continued when Elena didn’t respond.

“No, no, Uncle. I’m just lying down in my room. Tired, just got back from school,” Elena explained, trying to change the subject.

“Can Uncle join?”

“Um, what do you mean, Uncle?” Elena replied hesitantly. The heat that was initially only on her face now started to spread throughout her joints.

“Kidding, Bee.” Devan’s laughter echoed there.

Hearing the new nickname from Devan made Elena cringe. Elena would not like to be compared to a bee, a honey-producing animal that likes to sting.

“Why Bee? I have nice names like Elena, which means bright, and you change it to Bee, like a bee. Not cool, Uncle!” Elena protested with a pout.

Instead of answering immediately, Devan laughed again. If Elena were in front of him, Devan would surely pinch her cheeks. If necessary, he would shower her with kisses on her face because she was so adorable.

“Bee means ‘my dear EL,’ not a bee,” Devan corrected amidst his laughter. “It’s understandable; you’ve never been in a relationship, so you don’t know,” Devan continued, laughing again.

“Sorry, Uncle. I don’t want to date; I prefer to get married right away. They say dating after marriage is more exciting,” Elena said, expressing what was in line with her hopes.

Elena wanted to follow the romantic story of Bunda Aisyah and Ayah Ardan, who were always romantic. Or the unique story between Mami Layla and Papi Arfan, always colored by cute arguments. Two love stories that she considered exemplary. Why didn’t Elena want to have a love story like Daddy and Mommy? Because Elena would never be ready for all the significant challenges that accompanied it.

“Of course. Uncle just needs to wait for your diploma and ask for Mommy and Daddy’s blessing, then we can get married.”

Devan’s answer made Elena’s breath stop for a moment. Even the thumping of her heart, which had been beating like a war drum, suddenly fell silent.

“Alright, Bee, I have to go now. Uncle will call you again later,” Devan said when he saw Dion entering his room. Devan quickly disconnected the call. For now, no one in his family should know about his relationship with Elena. All of this was for the sake of Elena’s parents. When he got Elena’s parents’ blessing, only then would Devan introduce Elena as his future wife.

***

After evening prayers, all members of the Seivaz family arrived at Ardan’s house to help prepare for Kia’s birthday. As usual, the anniversary event for Alfarizi family members will be held simply and will only be attended by family, relatives and friends.

At 7 pm the event starts immediately. Everyone gathered in the yard of the house which had been decorated beautifully and elegantly with a combination of white, silver and black according to Kia’s request. The second generation of the Cogan club has also gathered together.

“Why don’t you wear lipstick this color?” said Nafla, who had been surprised since she arrived when she saw Elena’s appearance, which looked more impressive. Usually Elena is against wearing bright red lipstick. The spoiled girl likes soft, nude colors. And that’s only when at certain events like now. On a daily basis, Elena often appears plain without make up.

“Oh, yes, yes. Why did I just realize this? No wonder I noticed something strange about Sis El’s appearance,” said Nindi while paying attention to the details of Elena’s face, which looked different tonight.

“You guys are really stupid. Is there a ban on wearing red lipstick?” Elena was annoyed because instead of getting praise from her sisters, Elena had received criticism since leaving her room earlier.

“Yeah, not really. It’s just different, El. You’ve always liked wearing Korean artist-style make-up,” added Nafla then put her arm around Elena’s shoulder and whispered, “It looks like Dirga wasn’t the one who made you change El.”

Instantly Elena was stunned. Trying to digest word for word what Nafla had just whispered. Does he look so striking that everyone looks at him questioningly?

“Let’s go there!” Invite Nafla without paying attention to Elena who is still stunned.

As if hypnotized, Elena just followed wherever Nafla took her, while Nindy and Kyla, who already knew about the special relationship between Elena and Devan, could only smile in amusement. They can’t wait to watch the age gap love drama which will soon take place.

The event began by reading a prayer together and then continued with a meal.

“Where’s Sis El’s boyfriend? Why hasn’t he come yet?” Nindy whispered right in Elena’s ear, who had not been enthusiastic for a long time.

Since then, Elena has been looking for Devan’s whereabouts but can’t see the bridge of his nose. Erick himself has been at Kia’s house since he arrived with his entire family. The plan to surprise Devan by looking more mature felt useless. Elena was in the walk-in closed for almost an hour just to choose the right clothes for tonight’s event. But the surprise failed. Devan was not present.

“Don’t talk carelessly!” Elena put her plate which was still full of food on the table and then left.

“Sis El, where are you going?” Kyla asked looking surprised at Elena. In fact, his older cousin had only been playing with this food for a long time.

“Go pee. Want to come?” Elena replied casually. Then without another word, Elena rushed into the house.

Because he was reluctant to go up to Kia’s room, he chose to use the bathroom in the kitchen. After finishing her wish, Elena remained silent in front of the mirror. He noticed that he was dressing up excessively. He pulled out the tissue available there. Then slowly Elena started to wipe off the red lipstick on her lips. He just bought the lipstick this afternoon with Citra and Melodi. It turns out the choice was wrong. Instead of being impressive, it actually makes him look strange.

She felt that her appearance looked much better. Elena had just come out of the bathroom. Elena returned to join her sisters. Of course, the three of them could see Elena’s make-up changes clearly. But because they didn’t want to further ruin Elena’s mood, they chose to remain silent and hide their smiles.

Elena grabbed the plate containing her food again and started to eat it slowly. Ignoring his really bad mood.

“How are you Dion? When is he coming?” Ardan’s loud voice from the side succeeded in attracting Elena’s attention.

Two handsome, well-dressed men had just arrived. Elena, who was feeding food into her mouth, suddenly became petrified with her lips parted. That’s where Devan is now. The adult man is now receiving a warm hug from Ardan. Just by wearing cream colored jeans combined with a black short-sleeved shirt, the man managed to hypnotize Elena.

“Sis El, watch out for flies getting into your mouth!” Nindy whispered as she nudged Elena’s arm while holding back an amused smile.

“Sis El, you’re aware, wow!” This time Nindy whispered louder because Elena didn’t wake up while Nafla had been gone for who knows when. All they know is that Rizky came and they just disappeared. Arletta, Rizky’s sister, has been accompanying Kia to greet all the invited guests who came.

Knowing the whereabouts of his idol, Devan then smiled at the girl. Devan stepped closer, leaving Dion with Ardan.

“It looks really delicious Bee!” said Devan who was standing next to Elena’s chair. Devan bent slightly and took Elena’s petrified hand. Put the food into the girl’s mouth with a smile.