Christmas Cafe

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

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."