Christmas Cafe

When I was seven, my father brought home a beautiful lady who gave me a mango. That day, my mother watched me happily eating the mango while she signed her name on the divorce papers. After that, she jumped off the roof of our building. From then on, mangoes became the nightmare of my life. So on my wedding day, I told my husband, Alan Holt, "If you ever want a divorce, just give me a mango." Alan pulled me into his arms, quiet. From then on, mangoes became off-limits for him, too. On Christmas Eve of our fifth year of marriage, Alan's childhood sweetheart, Larissa Fennimore, left a mango on his desk at the office. The very same day, Alan announced he was cutting ties with Larissa and fired her from the company. That day, I truly believed he was the man I was meant to be with. Half a year later, I flew back from overseas, having just closed a partnership deal worth about 200 million dollars. At the celebration dinner, Alan handed me a drink. After I had finished half the glass, his so-called childhood sweetheart, the woman who had been kicked out of the company, stood behind me with a big grin and asked, "Does the mango juice taste good?" I stared at Alan in disbelief, and he was trying hard not to laugh. "Don't be mad. Larissa insisted I played a little joke on you. I didn't actually give you a mango; I just gave you a bottle of mango juice. But I think she's right. The fact that you don't eat mangoes is a real problem. You were really enjoying that juice just now." My face went cold. I lifted my hand and threw the rest of the mango juice in his face, then turned around and walked away. Some things are never a joke. I wouldn't kid around with mangoes or divorce.

Istriku seorang pramugari cantik, dan aku hanya seorang pria kampung biasa. Banyak orang iri dengan hidupku, tapi tidak ada yang tahu seberapa banyak kepahitan dan penghinaan hidup yang kujalani. Aku dan istriku dikenalkan oleh teman dekatku, dia bekerja di sebuah agen perkawinan, waktu itu dia mencariku dan mengatakan ada seorang wanita yang mencari pasangan, kriteriaku sangat memenuhi syarat ini. Syarat pernikahan sangatlah aneh, menantu pria tinggal di rumah mertua, jujur, sifat lemah lembut, dan tuli. Orang tuaku meninggal lebih cepat, dan aku mempunyai adik perempuan berusia 15 tahun, dan adikku menderita sebuah penyakit, dari dulu beban hidupku sangat berat, dan juga sifatku sangat tertutup, bahkan bisa dikatakan sangat hina, kriteria ini sangat cocok dengan diriku. Meskipun aku tidak suka berbicara namun aku tidak tuli. Temanku bilang wanita ini sangat kaya, dan akan memberikan mahar yang sangat luar biasa, ucapannya ini membuat hatuku terguncang, terlebih biaya pengobatan adikku setiap tahun membutuhkan biaya sangat besar, aku sama sekali tidak bisa membiayainya, jadi aku benar benar sangat ingin menikah dengan wanita ini. Hingga akhirnya temanku mengajukan suatu ide untukku, pihak peremouan mencari menantu yang tuli, pasti takut laki laki ini akan banyak bicara, dan dia hanya ingin mempunyai garis keturunan saja, seharusnya tidak ada rahasia lain, dia menyuruhku pura pura bisu, atau menjadi si tuli yang mengenak huruf cuman itu saja. Dia juga mengatakan selama bisa membohonginya selama tiga sampai enam bulan, nanti setelah menikah ketahuan juga tidak masalah. Aku mendengarkan suaranya , pertama kali kami bertemu di cafe dekat bandara, ketika melihat wanita itu aku sangat tercengang, aku pikir dia wanita tua dan juga jelek, tidak disangka dia seorang pramugari cantik, waktu itu dia masih mengenakan seragam pramugari, tidak usah ditanya betapa cantik dirinya. Dia hanya beberapa kali menatapku, lalu menggunak

Jerome tentu tak banyak mengambil tindakan karena ia sangat paham bagaimana resikonya dan apa yang akan terjadi jika hal itu dialami oleh sang kakak, ketika sebuah keputusan secara sepihak diambil, Jaeran tak mau membuat kesalahan dengan menjadikan adiknya dokter jaga yang menangani sang isteri. Namun karena keadaan mendesaknya akhirnya ia melakukan hal gila itu, dirasa Rosa sudah lebih baik. Pemuda itu tak sungkan-sungkan menebar kemesraan dihadapan semua orang termaksud adiknya, ... lelaki itu bahkan mampu membuat yang lain merasa iri. Hari itu, hari peluncuran bukunya yang terbaru disaat keadaan terdesak seperti itu Jaeran pergi meninggalkan rumah dan tak kunjung kembali, semua masih terlihat sangat baik dimata Rosa. Maria datang kedalam kehidupan mereka bukan tanpa sengaja, rasa ketertarikan perempuan itu benar-benar diluar perkiraan dirinya. Berawal dari pertemuan tak sengaja mereka yang terjadi disebuah cafe dan itu cukup berkesan bagi perempuan itu, Jaeran yang tak pernah mau bermain dibelakang Rosa tidak sekali pun ada berniat mendua sang isteri. Itu yang membuat Maria merasa memiliki keinginan dalam sebuah hubungan. Namun semakin lama hubungan keduanya semakin dekat, ... dan lelaki itu tak ada maksud membuat sang isteri merasa sedih, Jerome yang jelas melihat kerengangan itu langsung manjadikan hal itu alasan untuk mendekati sang kakak ipar. Kabar kehamilan Rosa sudah menyebar keseluruh keluarga dan kerabatnya tak terkecuali, perempuan tersebut ingin mengatakannya secara jelas ketika hari jadi pernikahan mereka. Akan tetapi ada yang berniat merubah rencananya, ... tentu Maria tak akan tinggal diam saja saat mendengar kabar itu, wanita itu mencoba merubah semuanya dengan pikiran liciknya. Jerome yang mengetahui tak akan menyangka jika Jaeran bisa lebih memercayai orang lain daripada isterinya sendiri. Jaeran sangat mencintai Rosa terlihat dari sudut pandang teman-temannya yang melihat segimana bucinnya lelaki itu terhadap perempuan tersebut dan bagaimana cara lelaki itu bersikap ketika sedang bersama isterinya.

On Christmas Eve, my father got the man I had secretly loved for ten years drunk and sent him to my bed. When I woke up the next morning, Roy pulled away from my attempt at a good-morning kiss. His voice was cold and distant as he agreed to marry me. After the wedding, Roy wasted no time submitting a transfer request. He took an overseas post and left. He did not return for five years. I gave birth to our daughter, Eve, alone and waited for him to come back home. When I heard that Roy had finally applied to return to a domestic position, I was overjoyed. I spent days preparing, imagining our first reunion as husband and wife. But even when the clock struck midnight, he still hadn't come home. Our daughter, ever so thoughtful, placed her most treasured possession—a photograph of Roy—into my hands. "Don't cry, Mommy," she said softly. "Look, Daddy's right here." I tried to convince myself that his absence was due to a delayed flight. But later that night, while watching the news, I saw him. He was on a crowded city street, holding a young girl in his arms. Beside him stood a woman, her smile soft and warm. Facing the camera, Roy said, "Being with them is my greatest wish." At that moment, something inside me broke. I wrote up the divorce papers, packed our things, and planned to take Eve to change her identity. I didn't want him anymore. The day before we left, a man I had never met came to see me. He was Roy's father. "You could call me Dad," he said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But I'd rather you call me Ryan." I told him everything about the past five years—how I had waited, how I had hoped. When I finished, he laughed softly, an unusual warmth in his voice. "If it was just business," he said, "perhaps your father should have tied a bow around me and sent me to your bed instead. But I hold my liquor well—if I ever end up wrapped in a bow, you can be sure it's by choice."