Tonight, Aria promised he would come to my house to bring the rest of the wedding money he had promised. I kept waiting for Aria, checking my phone every so often in case he contacted me or sent a message.
But even by seven-thirty that evening, there was still no sign of Aria coming to my house. I immediately sent him a message so he would know that he still hadn’t arrived. “Babe, it’s already this late. Where are you? Why haven’t you gotten here yet? Did something happen that made you late? I’m worried, and Mom and I have been waiting for you since earlier.” I sent the message to Aria, hoping he would reply or call me soon.
Even by eight o’clock, there was still no sign of Aria. Then I saw a message from him on my phone and quickly opened it. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I might get to your house late because I’m still waiting for Bima and my other relatives to bring the rest of the money. Please wait a little longer, okay? I’ll be there soon.” That was the reply Aria sent me. I was furious. My temper was already boiling over, yet he still hadn’t even left for my house and was waiting for his other relatives. Mom and I felt like beggars waiting for the small amount of money from Aria’s family, even though that money was also meant for our wedding. What was really going on? Aria’s family was always dragging things out, even though our wedding was so close. They acted as if they didn’t respect my family, especially my mother, who had raised me all by herself. What a strange family. They wanted to be respected but couldn’t respect anyone else. If only my savings were enough, I would rather pay for my own wedding than depend on Aria and his unbelievably irresponsible family. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough savings to cover the entire wedding. Besides, it was Aria’s responsibility as the man who had proposed to me. Dear God, I felt like calling off this wedding. With all the problems I was facing, my love for Aria felt as if it were crumbling. If I didn’t remember everything we had gone through to get this far, I wouldn’t want to continue with this wedding. On the other hand, I also thought about my mother and my family. If I called off the wedding, it would damage my family’s reputation.
My family had already gathered. My uncles and aunts—my mother’s siblings—were ready to welcome Aria’s family. But from their expressions, they seemed disappointed by Aria’s family’s behavior and the way they kept delaying things. I calmed Mom and the rest of my family, telling them to be patient and wait because Aria had already said he was coming to my house.
I waited in my bedroom while my family stayed in the living room. As the woman being proposed to, I didn’t meet Aria’s family because, according to our customs, only the bride’s family received the groom’s family after the proposal. I was visibly anxious. It was already nine o’clock, and there was still no sign of Aria’s arrival. Finally, my aunt grew irritated. I heard her say, “Na, if it’s already this late and Aria’s family still hasn’t come, we should just go home. We’ve been waiting for so long, and they still haven’t arrived. They promised they’d come after Maghrib, but it’s already this late. Are they still looking for the money, and that’s why they keep delaying things? They’re really getting on my nerves. You should’ve married into a decent family, not one like this that doesn’t respect the family waiting for them.” My aunt had been upset and worked up for quite some time. “They might already be on their way, Auntie. They’re waiting for his relatives to arrive and gather first before coming here,” I replied.
Finally, at nine fifteen, Aria’s family arrived, bringing the rest of our wedding money, tied up with a rubber band like a market vendor’s deposit, I thought bitterly. My family accepted it without any small talk and immediately gave them the hint that it was already late and they didn’t want to chat for long. Everyone was exhausted from waiting for Aria’s family.
“We’ll come back tomorrow, over the weekend, with the whole family to discuss the next steps for Aria’s wedding. We’ll take our leave now,” Bima told my family. My family simply nodded and smiled before escorting Aria’s family to the door so they could leave.
“Here’s the money, Raina.” My aunt handed me the money, which was tied together with a rubber band. They were deeply disappointed by Aria’s family and their apparent lack of respect for us as the bride’s family. Then my aunt and uncle said goodbye and went home because they were exhausted after waiting all evening for Aria’s family.
I put the fifteen million rupiah in the wardrobe. Later, Mom could manage the money so it would be enough for our wedding day. “Mom, here’s the money. You can take care of everything with it. I already gave the bridal stylist a down payment, so I’ll use the envelopes from the guests to pay the rest, Mom,” I told her. “Yes, honey. All right, go to sleep and get some rest. We’ll think about everything else later. Hopefully, there’ll be a way. The important thing is that you don’t wear yourself out before your happy day, which is only a week away. We also have to deliver invitations to the neighbors and everyone else. I put off handing them out because I was waiting for Aria’s family to bring the rest of the money,” Mom replied, looking just as tired as I felt.
I went to my room and closed my eyes. I didn’t feel like contacting Aria. Seeing his family act that way made me keep patting my chest in frustration. If I became Aria’s wife, what would my fate be? His family had already shown their true colors from the very beginning.
I had to stay strong and not let myself be weak when dealing with Aria’s family. I wouldn’t let them walk all over me. Just because I only had my mother and didn’t come from a complete family didn’t mean I would always obey them. I had principles and self-respect. Even if financial problems came up later, I didn’t need to worry because I worked and earned my own salary. I could stand firm if they crossed the line. Don’t think I’ll obediently go along with everything like Aria’s mother’s other daughters-in-law. I’m Raina, an independent woman, and I won’t depend on Aria to support me. So if you try to mess with me, just wait. I’ll make you tremble when you see my true nature.
The weekend arrived. Aria had already messaged me to say that his family would come that afternoon. I agreed and invited them to come to my house. What kind of drama would they bring this afternoon? I wondered. Just wait. I’d face them this afternoon and see what they had to say.
That afternoon, Aria’s family arrived. Everyone was there, the whole crew, and it seemed they weren’t going to be late like they had been the day before. My family had also gathered at the house to welcome them. My aunt invited them into the living room. One by one, Aria’s relatives came in, each bringing their husbands or wives. Luckily, my living room was spacious enough to hold them all. They were as noisy as a group heading off on a sightseeing trip. I laughed to myself as I looked at them. Maybe they didn’t want to miss even the smallest part of this meeting, and they were hoping I wouldn’t make too many demands of Aria. I had already guessed that everyone had come to find out what my family and Aria’s family would discuss.
Once everyone had entered and taken their seats, Aria’s family opened the discussion, like a soccer team ready to attack its opponents.
“Sir, ma’am, for the food at Aria and Raina’s wedding, perhaps my mother could cook with the rest of our family so we wouldn’t have to spend too much,” Eda, Aria’s oldest sister, said to my family.
My heart lurched. I was shocked to hear Eda say that. Hadn’t I asked them before if Aria’s mother could cook for my wedding? She happened to be a cook who worked at a restaurant with several branches in my city. But when we asked for permission before, Bima had refused. He said his mother couldn’t cook on my wedding day, for what I thought was a ridiculous reason. I hadn’t made an issue of it at the time. Instead, I found someone else to cook for my wedding—my neighbor, Aunt Elsa, who also cooked whenever she received orders or worked at celebrations. Her house was right next to mine, so it wouldn’t be too much trouble if she cooked. My neighbor would also be able to help at her house, since my wedding was being held at home. Now Eda had decided that only her mother should cook. Was Aria’s family planning something else? Why had they suddenly changed their minds? Were they afraid I would spend the money Aria had given me?
My family said Aunt Elsa, our next-door neighbor, would be handling the cooking, so they wouldn’t need to trouble their mother by asking her to cook. I was furious. Aria’s family acted as if they could casually order us to cancel with Aunt Elsa. How were we supposed to show our faces after canceling on someone whose services we had booked so far in advance?
I finally couldn’t hold back any longer. I wanted to answer all of Aria’s family’s unreasonable demands. They acted as if they wanted to control every part of our wedding, even though all the choices should have been left to the bride’s family because the wedding would be held at the bride’s house. They shouldn’t interfere and arrange everything according to their wishes. If they wanted to hold their own celebration, a post-wedding reception according to Aria’s family’s customs, that would be fine. But they clearly didn’t want to do that because they would have to spend more money hosting another event at their house. From the caterer and photographer to the venue and bridal stylist, Eda wanted to take over and choose everything according to her own preferences. I was the one marrying Aria, so why were they arranging everything as if they were the bride’s family? I thought bitterly.
“Eda, I’m really sorry, but from the beginning, when Aria and I decided to get married, we discussed the caterer, bridal stylist, photographer, and everything else with your family. At the time, wasn’t it your side of the family that handed all the decisions over to Aria and me? So we’ve already made all the arrangements according to Raina’s choices. Our family doesn’t cancel on people we’ve already hired to handle our wedding,” I said.
My words silenced Aria’s entire family. No one could come up with a response. So now you know. The Raina you thought would be an obedient future daughter-in-law had claws, like a lion ready to devour its prey. Never underestimate me just because I’m the daughter of a single mother.
It seemed Eda and the rest of Aria’s family could no longer interrupt me. It was already late, but they still hadn’t gone home. They were stubbornly arguing until this hour, all to cut down the wedding expenses, but they had failed because I had answered every one of their demands. Now they could do nothing but look at one another. I watched them and thought, Whatever. Who told them to think they could order me and my family around? They had dragged their feet over delivering fifteen million rupiah until we were fed up, and now they had the nerve to take control of our wedding. I wouldn’t let them ruin my happy day with their ridiculous demands.
Finally, at eight that evening, Aria and his family said goodbye to my family and went home, disappointed that their demands had not been granted. This time, I had won. I would wait and see what kind of drama they created next, and I’d play along with every game they tried to pull. Dear God, I hope I’ll be strong enough to deal with Aria’s family if this is what they’re going to be like.