“Mas, why am I still not pregnant?” Nayra asked Albian, her husband. She asked him that question all the time.
“Maybe we haven’t tried hard enough, sweetheart.”
“Seriously? How can you say we haven’t tried hard enough when we do it every night? What’s wrong?” Nayra asked again, hugging Albian as they lay in bed after having marital relations.
“Take it easy, sweetheart. Maybe the time hasn’t come yet. Or… maybe God still wants us to stay like this, just the two of us. What matters is that we can’t give up. We have to keep trying. If necessary, we can do it three times a day.” Albian laughed as he said it.
“What, are we taking medicine three times a day?” Nayra shot back, tightening her embrace.
“Oh, right. Tomorrow there’s a gathering at Mom’s house. I don’t know what it’s for, but she specifically asked us to come.” Albian relayed the message from his mother that he had received earlier. Nayra let out a long sigh.
“Why?” Albian asked.
“Lately, I feel like your mother’s attitude toward me has changed. She isn’t like she used to be. Why do you think that is, Mas?” Nayra lifted her head and gazed at her handsome husband’s face.
“Really? Maybe it’s just your imagination, honey. I’m sure Mom’s treating you the same as always,” Albian argued.
“It can’t be just my imagination, Mas. Mom hardly ever contacts me anymore.” Her disappointed expression made it obvious how she felt.
“Don’t think about things like that. Whatever you’re feeling is definitely just in your head. Mom loves you.” Albian stroked his wife’s bare back as she remained in his arms.
“I hope so, Mas. I started feeling this way after we all heard that Aninda was pregnant. Mom immediately devoted all her attention to Aninda. Is that why she’s changed?” Nayra asked again.
“Sweetheart, I already told you not to think that way. Mom loves all of us. There’s no way she’d suddenly treat you differently from Aninda. You’re both daughters-in-law in our family. If she is paying more attention to Aninda, then she must have a reason.”
Nayra only nodded. She didn’t want to discuss her mother-in-law any further in front of her husband. She should have known that whenever his family came up, Albian would defend them. All Nayra could do was pretend to accept it, even though she was furious inside.
Nayra Rahayu was a beautiful twenty-five-year-old woman with a kind, patient, and loving personality. Albian had taken Nayra as his wife two years ago. Yet throughout their marriage, they still hadn’t been blessed with a child. Albian Hartanto had never made an issue of it, although he, too, often wondered why his wife still wasn’t pregnant.
Albian was always seeing his college friends who already had children. Some of them were only twenty-nine and already had three kids, while he didn’t have even one. Unwilling to hurt his wife’s feelings, Albian did his best to act as though everything was fine. Laila, Albian’s mother, often suggested that the two of them get checked out. But Albian was so busy that he couldn’t fulfill his mother’s wish. In situations like that, Nayra, her daughter-in-law, became the target instead.
The next day, just as Albian had told Nayra, they went to the main house. It turned out that Albian’s older sister had just returned from abroad with her children. Albian hadn’t known she was coming, and now everyone had gathered, their faces glowing with happiness—especially Laila, who was laughing joyfully with Aninda, the wife of Albian’s younger brother.
“You two just get here?” Laila asked.
“Yes, Mom. Albi still had some work to finish, so we were a little late.”
Laila nodded. “Your sister just arrived this afternoon, so I asked everyone to get together. It’s been so long since we’ve all gathered like this. And now that we have Aninda and my new grandchild on the way, the family is finally complete.”
Nayra lowered her head and didn’t say a word. Understanding how she felt, Albian immediately took his wife’s hand.
“Yes, hopefully we’ll be joining them soon,” Albian replied with a smile, looking at his wife, who was still staring down at the floor.
“Yes, you two should have been the first to have a child. But Rafael and Aninda beat you to it,” Laila taunted, glancing at Nayra, who still had her head bowed.
“Mom, maybe it just isn’t their time yet. Don’t compare Aninda and Nayra. Of course they’re different. Who knows? Maybe Nayra will get pregnant someday and have two children at once—even triplets. Nobody knows what the future holds,” Kartika defended her sister-in-law, feeling sorry for her. Laila often talked about Nayra to Kartika, frequently comparing the two women.
“Yes, I know that. I’m just stating the facts. Nayra and Albi got married before Rafael and Aninda. But Rafael and Aninda were the first to have a child,” Laila said curtly.
Kartika shook her head in disbelief. Her mother was actually playing favorites now.
“Grandma, can Clarisa stay at your house for a long time?” the seven-year-old girl asked Laila.
“Of course. During school vacation, Clarisa and your sister Cleo can stay at Grandma’s house as long as they want,” Laila replied with a smile.
Throughout dinner, Nayra tried to act as though everything was normal. But Laila continued treating her badly. Already fed up, Nayra excused herself, claiming that she was sleepy. Albi immediately said goodbye as well and followed his wife to their room.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Albi asked.
“Do I look okay after being treated so badly by your mother, Mas?”
“I’m sure Mom didn’t mean it that way. Besides, maybe she just wants us to have a child,” Albian replied as he approached his wife.
“Then what am I supposed to do, Mas? If God hasn’t given me one yet, what am I supposed to do?” Nayra asked, emphasizing every word.
Albian fell silent. He couldn’t answer his wife’s question.
“At the very least, Mom doesn’t have to keep saying that we should have been the first to have a child. Maybe if she didn’t say things like that every time we met, I’d be fine and could get rid of these bad thoughts about your mother. Now you’ve seen and heard it yourself. What I told you wasn’t just in my head!” Nayra lashed out, roughly wiping away her tears.