Bittersweet Arrangements : A Sugar Dady Affair

“Papa, isn’t Aunt Dinda beautiful?” Erick said without taking his attention away from the cellphone screen he was holding.

Devan, sipping his coffee while reading the newspaper, was instantly taken aback. Feeling surprised. It was unusual for Erick to comment on women who tried to get close to him.

“Aunt Dinda is single, right?” Erick asked again, posing a question that made Devan even more puzzled by Erick’s strange behavior.

Devan squinted his eyes, then placed the coffee cup he was still holding on the table. Not immediately answering, Devan folded the newspaper he was reading before speaking.

“Don’t tell me you were eavesdropping on our conversation earlier?” Devan inquired, successfully breaking Erick’s concentration on his game.

Erick’s body froze instantly. Then, with a little fear, Erick raised his face, daring to look at his father. Erick swallowed saliva before offering a wide smile.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“No, Dad, Erick didn’t mean to hear it. Besides, your and Aunt Dinda’s voices were really loud when you were talking!” Erick evaded with an answer that he thought made the most sense.

Devan nailed Erick with his eyes as he tried to avoid him. Aware that the attempt to deceive his father would not succeed. Erick sighed in resignation. It was futile to search for excuses because, in the end, he would fail anyway.

“Okay, Erick, be honest. Erick intentionally eavesdropped on Papa and Aunt Dinda’s conversation earlier. Erick was just curious, Dad, no ulterior motive,” Erick said, raising his hands. Showing two fingers as evidence that he was telling the truth. “Come on, Dad… just admit that Aunt Dinda is beautiful. She’s also gentle and simple,” praised Erick, according to his assessment of Dinda.

“And then?” Devan responded with curiosity. His hands folded across his chest. Waiting for Erick’s next answer. Devan’s sharp eyes didn’t shift from the object in front of him.

“Oh, come on, Dad, don’t you understand what Erick meant!” Erick exclaimed, frustrated with his father’s seemingly indifferent response.

“Yes, Dad, I know Aunt Dinda is beautiful and as you mentioned earlier.” Devan reached for his newspaper again. Not taking his son’s words seriously.

Erick, feeling frustrated, then placed his phone on the sofa. Staring at his father with an unreadable expression. In Erick’s mind, he was thinking of ways to bring Devan and Dinda closer. For Erick, that woman would be a perfect match for his father. Moreover, Erick could sense signals that the woman named Dinda had feelings for his father.

“Could it be that Dad is not normal anymore?” The absurd question slipped freely from Erick’s lips. Erick’s eyes squinted, implying an accusation based on his assumption.

“Don’t provoke trouble, Erick!” Devan warned sternly.

Erick’s accusation truly wounded Devan’s ego. He was a normal man who certainly needed a woman to satisfy his biological needs. But ever since Gita passed away, the desire for that had disappeared just like that. Even being presented with a scantily clad and sexy woman in a nightclub didn’t affect Devan at all. In the early days after Gita left, Devan often visited nightclubs just to distract himself from his sadness. However, with time, Devan realized that visiting such sinful places was not the cure for all the wounds in his heart. If it weren’t for Jeremy or Ardan who often reminded him, Devan’s life might have been ruined by now.

Since falling in love with Gita, Devan has stopped all of his bad habits from his youth. However, when his life felt perfect with a small family and Gita’s brilliant career, she left him. Until this moment, Devan still often blames himself for Gita’s death. If only he hadn’t served as the head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). If his profession wasn’t to combat criminals, perhaps Gita would never have become a target of their revenge. If only he had listened to Jeremy’s advice to resign from that harsh world, maybe Gita would still be alive and happily raising their two children.

Then, how could Devan fall in love again if his heart had left with the woman he loved? Maybe falling in love wasn’t difficult for him in his youth. But after being with Gita, everything changed. Devan no longer wanted to fall in love. That’s why Devan always refused if his friends from the “handsome men” club forced him to remarry.

“Dad!” called Erick, locking eyes with Devan, which hinted at pain. But Erick was sure that his words didn’t cause his father’s hurt. “Erick knows that Dad loves Mom. But not like this. Will Mom be happy there if Dad keeps mourning like this?” Erick got up from his seat and sat next to Devan. “No, Dad, Mom will be sad if you’re like this. Erick is willing if Dad remarries. For Erick, Dad’s happiness is everything. So Erick hopes Dad will try to open his heart to another woman,” Erick continued, successfully silencing Devan’s lips. He didn’t expect Erick’s mindset to be so mature, considering everything he had done was solely for his son’s happiness.

Devan smiled and said, “If that’s what you want, Dad will try. But Dad asks you not to force him to do something that is not his desire in the near future. When the time comes, Dad will surely fulfill your wish, and Dad hopes you understand?” Devan explained, managing to put a smile on Erick’s lips.

“Of course, Erick will be patient as long as Dad is willing to try,” Erick replied, feeling relieved.

Devan patted Erick’s shoulder and got up. But before Devan left, Erick said again, “Tomorrow, can Erick hang out with friends, Dad?”

“Just go. Enjoy your vacation, Erick!” Devan replied and walked away towards his room.

In another place, Elena was currently studying diligently, accompanied by her Mommy in the family room, while Daddy was out with Arfan, Elena’s uncle.

While her left hand held a book, Elena’s right hand didn’t stop putting food into her mouth. Vanessa, who was lounging on the sofa while scrolling through her social media accounts, repeatedly shook her head. Vanessa looked back to the past when she was still young, a university student. As far as she could remember, she wasn’t like Elena, who could study while eating. Moreover, her profession as a model also required Vanessa to always watch her diet to maintain her ideal body according to standards. So, Vanessa used to pay close attention to whatever she consumed, unlike Elena now, who could eat whatever she wanted.

Not wanting to disrupt her daughter’s concentration, Vanessa chose to resume her activities, checking her business account.

At 9 p. m., Elena bid goodnight and went to her room as drowsiness began to take over. Elena had been studying since after the evening prayer. Tomorrow would be her first day facing the National Examination (Ujian Nasional, UN) with the subject being Bahasa Indonesia.

“Go to bed directly, no playing with your phone first!” Vanessa commanded as Elena was organizing her study materials.

“Yes, my dear Mom. Besides, El is very sleepy now,” replied Elena, showing her watery and red eyes due to yawning since earlier.

Elena briskly walked towards the stairs, treading on dozens of steps leading to her room. Elena’s steps halted upon hearing the door of her younger brother’s room open. Tomorrow, Ivand would have a school break while she would be taking the National Examination conducted by the government across Indonesia.

“Good luck, Big Sister!” Ivand exclaimed while raising his hand with closed fingers to cheer up his sister who would be taking the National Examination the next morning.

Elena thanked him with a smile in response to Ivand’s encouragement. Then, she quickly entered her room. After placing her study materials on the table, Elena dropped onto her soft bed. In a supine position, Elena stared at the ceiling of her room. Spontaneously, her right hand roamed the right side of her bed. Earlier, before studying, Elena left her phone on the bed because she genuinely wanted to study without any distractions. Elena’s head lifted towards the top of the bed when she still couldn’t find her phone there. To reach it, Elena shifted her body and changed the room’s light.

Seeing hundreds of incoming messages on her WhatsApp app irritated Elena. Her eyes were already feeling sore from reading dozens of text questions since earlier. So, no matter how interesting the topics discussed in the groups she joined were, Elena still refused to read them. Elena closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep quickly and enter the dream world. However, the drowsiness that had burdened her during studying suddenly disappeared when Devan’s smiling face appeared in her mind. Elena shook her head, trying to drive away all thoughts about Devan that now filled her mind.

Ten minutes passed, and Elena still remained awake, even though her eyes were closed. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she reached for her phone again. Ignoring her inner protest, Elena changed her position to lie face down. Elena began unlocking her phone’s screen and then proceeded to open the green-themed chat application. Her fingers skillfully searched for the contact number of someone who was currently on her mind. Without much thought, Elena typed a series of sentences with a smile.

Elena

“Uncle, tomorrow El has the National Exam, please pray that El can answer the questions smoothly, okay?”

Without hesitation, El sent the message. Elena’s heart throbbed when the gray checkmark turned blue. The throbbing intensified when the recipient of her message began typing something there.

Uncle Devan

“Of course, Uncle will pray for El to do her best. Have you studied?”

Reading Devan’s reply successfully brought a subtle flutter in her heart. Warmth started to spread from the tips of her toes and ended on her face. Instantly, Elena held her cheeks, convinced they had turned as red as tomatoes. Not wanting Devan to wait long for her reply, Elena hastily typed another series of sentences.

Elena

“Yes, Uncle, just finished studying.”

“Uncle!”

Two of Elena’s messages were sent simultaneously.

Uncle Devan

“hmmmm.”

Devan’s brief response in his chat.

Elena

“Anyway, if El gets good grades, El will ask for a gift!”

In his room, Devan laughed when he imagined Elena saying that with a playful tone.

Uncle Devan

“Ok, everything for you.”