Lina placed her phone on the table with trembling hands. The message was clearly from Bayu, her husband, who had remarried. Even after leaving her, the man still had the nerve to demand something from her. This time, he was asking for money for his wedding ring with his new wife. Lina let out a long sigh, trying to hold back the emotions churning in her chest.
"Lin, who is it?" Auntie Surti asked worriedly.
"Nothing, Auntie. Just a regular message," Lina replied curtly, trying to divert Auntie Surti's attention.
However, the sharp look in Auntie Surti's eyes showed that she did not simply believe her. "Don't just stay quiet if that man keeps making your life difficult. He left you, and he still has the nerve to beg you for money. Be careful, Lin. Don't let yourself be the one who suffers. Your child doesn't need someone like that," Auntie Surti advised.
Lina only gave a small smile. She knew Auntie Surti said that because she cared. But this was a burden she had to carry herself. She did not want to burden anyone else, especially Auntie Surti, who had already helped her so much.
Lina sat at the simple dining table, still deep in thought. The money from selling the ring was already gone, spent on Rafa's needs. As for the money she used for her business, she had processed it from a loan. She had not used a single thing from her marriage to Bayu to support herself, except for their wedding ring—and it had not been expensive either. Even the proceeds from selling it had not been enough to meet their child's needs, let alone cover operating expenses.
"Lina, don't be afraid that your child won't have a father. It's better than having a father and still feeling like he doesn't have one. He should be ashamed to ask you for money. Has he been doing his duty as a husband? No, he hasn't. Instead, he's dumped everything on you. Don't be afraid of what people will say. You're a divorcee because you were victimized by your husband." Auntie Surti continued advising Lina. She felt sorry for Lina. It was better to separate than to have a husband who treated his wife with such disrespect. She could not bear to see Lina continue suffering. Auntie Surti clasped Lina's hand as she continued advising and encouraging her.
That night, Lina sat in the corner of the room while Rafa slept soundly on the bed. Her thoughts kept drifting back to all of Auntie Surti's advice. Tomorrow would be a busy day, but Bayu's demands continued to weigh on her mind.
"Lina, a person's patience has limits." Lina tried to close her eyes, even though it was very difficult.
Around three in the morning, she opened her eyes. For a moment, she sat there dazed, gathering herself. "You have to live a better life, Lina." Lina tried to encourage herself.
Lina got up from the bed first and moved the bolster pillow beside her child, who was still sleeping soundly.
She walked to the bathroom and washed her face before continuing her work.
When she was finished, Lina went to the kitchen and began taking all the ingredients out of the refrigerator, along with the seasonings. Now all she had to do was mix everything in the frying pan, heat it, and add salt and the other seasonings. While she waited for the flavors to soak in, she began mashing the potatoes that she would later turn into potato fritters.
"What should I do with the water spinach, Lin?" Auntie Surti asked, having gotten up as well.
"You should rest, Auntie. I'll do it myself."
"I'm tired of resting." Auntie Surti had already sat down, holding the water spinach and a knife.
"I'll stir-fry some for breakfast, and make plecing for lunch," Lina replied as she mashed the potatoes.
"How many servings, Lin?"
"Ten servings, Auntie. But Mrs. Kades also ordered stir-fried water spinach for breakfast, and so did Mrs. Danang."
"That's quite a lot. Have you made the seasonings?"
"Yes, Auntie. The seasoning for the plecing water spinach just needs to be ground. The stir-fry seasoning is ready too."
Lina worked nimbly and finished everything in no time. Once the squid seasoning had soaked in, she lifted it out and immediately placed it in a medium-sized plastic container.
"It smells so good, Lin. No wonder your orders are pouring in."
"You're too kind, Auntie. I learned online," Lina said with a smile.
Lina continued with her other work, reheating the beef rendang and fried chicken and frying the potato fritters. After that, she made the batter for the fried bananas ordered by customers and small food stalls. Auntie Surti usually helped fry the bananas on the burner beside her after finishing slicing the water spinach.
"So Mrs. Midwife orders every day, along with Mrs. Kades?" Auntie Surti asked as she set down the sliced water spinach and picked up the fried-banana batter. Auntie Surti looked very enthusiastic about helping Lina.
"Yes, Auntie. Yesterday, the principal of the elementary school in Ujung wanted some too. She said she'd rather order than cook."
"I hope your blessings keep flowing. Once we have more orders, we'll clean up the place next door and use it for cooking," Auntie Surti said.
The house next door was also owned by Auntie Surti. It was on the same deed as this house, and there was already a building where they used to store the rice harvest. All they had to do was clean it and repaint it so the front would look neat. Lina could even use it as a food stall if she wanted.
Finally, everything was ready on the table. Lina smiled as she looked at it. She picked up her phone and took a picture to upload to social media.
"Oh my gosh, I got a DM." Lina opened it.
"Oh my gosh, someone ordered pineapple tarts."
Lina had previously posted those pineapple tarts when she was still living in her former home, back when her relationship with her husband still seemed good to her. Every Eid al-Fitr, she always received orders for cookies. She had also given that money to her husband. It turned out he had used it to propose to his current wife.
"Forget everything, Lina. Come on, get back up. Forget everything that's in the past." Lina tried hard to make peace with the problems she was facing.
Lina hurried to the bathroom to wash up before delivering the order.
After changing clothes, Lina looked at her child, who was still happily sleeping. She remembered how tears had filled her eyes when she looked at her son. He was never fussy and hardly ever cried, which made her work so much easier.
"Mommy's going now, sweetheart." Lina kissed her son's forehead.
"Are you ready, Lin?" Auntie Surti called.
"I am, Auntie." Lina rose from the bed and left the room to get her motorcycle ready.
Lina attached a basket to her motorcycle to carry her food.
"Auntie, let me do it." Lina stopped Auntie Surti from lifting things.
Lina began arranging the orders in the basket, organizing them according to the order in which she would deliver them. It was already six in the morning, so she would deliver to the food stall near her house first.
"Lina, be careful on the road," Auntie Surti reminded her, as she always did whenever Lina left the house.
"I will, Auntie."
Lina started her motorcycle. Her first destination was the food stall near her house, where she would deliver the fried bananas.
"Good morning, Mrs.,” Lina greeted the owner of the stall.
"Just put them over there, Lin. How many are there?" the owner asked.
"Seventy-five, Mrs."
The owner handed Lina fifty thousand rupiah. "Here's the money."
"Thank you, Mrs."
"Lin, can you bring more tomorrow? People have been asking about your spring rolls and risoles. Can you?"
"I'll try, Mrs. I still have to make my rounds."
"All right, how about this? Starting tomorrow, my husband can pick them up from your house every morning."
"Okay, Mrs."
"Mrs. Romla, aren't you afraid your husband will fall for Lina later?" a customer joked, glancing at Lina.
"Oh my gosh..."