The il Mare hostess warmly greeted Nikolas as he entered the restaurant, “Saya antar ke meja Ibu ya, Pak.”
Most of Mulia hotel staff would probably remember the two of them, as they had been dining together at il Mare for years already, and them Jani Ibu was one of his favorite words. It was a simple word, but no matter how many times he heard it, a smile always appeared on his face, as if it magically swept away all of the problems on that day.
He saw the woman he loves — who has been around his whole life — from the earliest days when he babbled his first words, “Mama” and “Papa,” till how they almost celebrated their fifth anniversary just a few months from today — not far from where he was.
From day one until now. She has always been by his side.
Nikolas smiled in response and thanked them when he reached the table. “Thank you,” Nikol said with a warm smile as he reached Jani’s table, leaving them alone.
“Maaf ya, sayang,” he murmured, his voice tender as he reached for Jani’s hands. Gently, he cupped her hands as he softly rubbed the area near her right thumb.
“Did you wait long?” He asked.
Jani nodded, “lumayan. Papa ngomong soal apa?”
“Business stuff. Makan dulu aja, nanti pulang aku cerita.”
Jani and Nikol always spent most of their time together when they could. No matter how busy one of them was, they would always make the time. They had the money to do that, and not being able to meet one another when they were “busy” wasn’t really their thing.
Hadi and Wiratmaja were family men — always had been. So, since they were kids, Jani and Nikol were used to looking at their families spending their time together whenever they could — it sort of shaped their views and influenced their priorities, too. For them, family always came first. They understood that the happiness and well-being of their loved ones were intrinsically linked to their success in life.
After a good hour of eating the dinner, the waitress took away the last empty plates from their table, leaving only their drinks. And not long after a few final sips of their drinks, they settled the bill.
“Yuk, pulang,” he suggested, noting Jani’s fatigue as they left the restaurant.
“Capek, nggak?” Asked Jani just before the valet guy pulled Nikol’s car into the hotel lobby.
“Mau aku yang nyetir?” She offered, but Nikol shook his head gently.
The drive back to Jani’s place was filled with them talking about their days rather than the business stuff. Small talk really matters in their relationship. We’ve spent eight hours-ish working already. Why would we want to talk about the same thing when the working hours were over, if it wasn’t necessary?
Nikol didn’t really talk much about the business stuff he had discussed with her father— it could still wait. And, of course, the topic they love the most — their holiday plans — was mentioned on their way home — it was like the stuff they were excited about.
His spontaneous nature never failed to elicit Jani’s amusement or mild frustration. Whenever she received one of Nikol’s out-of-the-blue text messages detailing his latest impromptu plan, she couldn’t help but chuckle at the sheer audacity of it all.
“Seriously?” she mutters with a shake of her head. Despite her playful complaints and the lack of advance notice, her response is always the same — a resounding yes.
They loved traveling the most — they’d be gone at least once a month and it never really mattered if it was the same place they had gone to. Sometimes, they’d throw any possible places at each other and then book the hotel as the flight wasn’t a problem for them as they mostly flew private.
What’s the point of having everything if they can’t use it properly?
