8. Finally Became A Legally Married Couple

The next day, Mario wore the suit Ms. Inez had prepared for him at her home. They were heading to the civil registry office together in Ms. Inez’s black Honda Civic sedan.

Ms. Inez had been styled by a wedding makeup artist, wearing a simple white kebaya. A close friend of hers worked as a designer and had a brand-new white kebaya ready for her.

Seeing how beautiful Ms. Inez looked as his soon-to-be wife made Mario’s heart race. Too bad this was only a contract marriage, he thought with a touch of disappointment. Would his feelings have to be governed by a written agreement too?

"Dear, I’m ready. Let’s go now!" Inez said, standing before him with a sweet smile.

Somehow her smile made Mario’s heart flutter uncontrollably. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her again, just like the afternoon before.

"Let’s go, Ms. Inez," Mario replied with a smile.

They climbed into the black sedan. Mario helped Inez get in, careful not to catch the long train of her kebaya. He then hurried around to the other side and sat beside her.

"Mr. Toro, please pick up Clara at school first before heading to the civil registry office," Ms. Inez said politely to her driver.

"Right away, Ma’am!" Mr. Toro responded, he was from Solo in Central Java.

"Oh, so you’re from Java, Mr. Toro?" Mario asked with interest, happy to meet someone from his home region working for Ms. Inez.

"Yes, Sir. I’m from Solo," Mr. Toro said.

"Wow, so we’re from the same place. I’m originally from Solo too. Though I’ve lived in Jakarta so long that I’ve forgotten quite a bit of the formal Javanese speech," Mario said warmly.

Before long, the car pulled up in front of a public high school. A sweet young girl ran over to the sedan and climbed inside.

"Hi, Mom. You didn’t wait long, did you?" she said, slightly breathless from running.

"Hi, Sweetheart. Not at all. Let me introduce you to Uncle Mario, he’s going to be your new dad," Ms. Inez said as she sat in the back seat with Mario.

Clara reached out to shake Mario’s hand. "Nice to meet you, Uncle Mario. I’m Clara, Ms. Inez’s daughter."

Mario shook her hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you too, Clara."

They soon headed to the civil registry office. Thankfully, traffic wasn’t too heavy that afternoon, most people were either at work or already back from their lunch breaks.

Thirty minutes later, the black sedan pulled into the parking lot of the Central Jakarta Civil Registry Office.

Ms. Inez got out of the car with Clara’s help, then took Mario’s arm affectionately as they walked together.

"Mom and Uncle Mario make such a great couple," Clara said sincerely, her eyes glistening with tears. She had been hoping for so long that her beloved mother would find someone to share her life with again.

Ms. Inez gently patted her daughter’s back to soothe her. "There, there, my precious girl, don’t cry now."

"Sorry, Mom. I’m just so touched," Clara said, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "Uncle Mario, please make my mom happy, okay?"

Mario’s heart ached at her words. "I promise, Clara. Don’t you worry about a thing!" he said earnestly, even though he knew their marriage was only a contract. It seemed Clara didn’t know that, he thought to himself.

The three of them sat in a waiting room at the registry office, waiting for the officer and civil servant who would oversee their marriage registration.

A few minutes later, a man in a dark suit entered the room and introduced himself as Ms. Inez’s notary, Mr. Rudi Antareja.

He led Mario to a corner of the room and handed him a folder containing the contract marriage agreement, valid for five years with Ms. Inez.

Mario scanned the document quickly and found nothing unreasonable, so he signed the papers. In his heart, he steeled his resolve: no matter what lay ahead, he would see this through for the full five years.

The civil registry officer and marriage officiant then entered the room. They completed the ceremony quickly and signed the marriage certificate. Mr. Toro served as witness for Ms. Inez, while Mr. Rudi Antareja witnessed for Mario. Everything went smoothly. Ms. Inez was now legally Mario Chandra’s wife.

The officer handed the newlyweds their marriage books.

"May your marriage be filled with love, harmony, and blessings," the officer said, shaking hands with Ms. Inez and Mario.

"Amen!" they replied in unison, looking at each other with meaningful smiles.

Clara came over to hug her mother around the waist. "Congratulations, Mom! When you and Uncle Mario have your wedding night later, you can make all the noise you want. I’ll pretend I don’t hear anything," she teased with a burst of laughter.

"Clara! Oh my goodness, that’s such a grown-up thing to say! Who taught you that?!" Ms. Inez scolded playfully, blushing slightly.

Mario laughed at Clara’s joke. "Clara’s all grown up now, Ms. Inez. Of course she understands these things," he said, looking at Inez with a tender gaze.

It seemed Mario himself couldn’t wait for the evening to arrive, his first night with Ms. Inez.