All of Nayara’s work was finished, and her shift had ended some time ago. Nayara wanted to clear her head, so she first contacted Ratih to let her know she’d be late picking up Andra. After getting Ratih’s approval, Nayara went to her favorite coffee shop, perched at the highest point in the city. At night, the twinkling lights stretched as far as the eye could see, surrounding it on every side.
“Nay!”
“Big Brother!” Nayara was startled by the deeply familiar voice.
“It’s getting late. Go home. Staying out this late isn’t good for your health. You don’t need to pick up Andra—Mom will look after him tonight.”
“I still want to stay here, Hasan. My head is too full. I don’t want to go home for a while,” Nayara replied to Hasan’s instruction.
“Where do you want to go? You can come to Mom’s house. You can sleep there if you don’t want to go home,” Hasan suggested.
“I want to be alone. I just texted Mom and told her I wouldn’t pick up Andra tonight,” Nayara replied.
“Where are you going?” Hasan asked.
Ratih had ordered Hasan to pick up Nayara. That family knew exactly where Nayara went whenever she wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Even her own parents had never known about it, let alone Rudi.
Rudi was a family man, but when it came to the little habits Nayara had, he wasn’t observant enough to notice them. Rudi was willing to help take care of the house and take turns watching their child when Nayara was busy, but he didn’t know when Nayara needed time alone.
“I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll stay at the guesthouse across the street. It’s pretty quiet here, and there’s no traffic noise. This is the kind of atmosphere I need right now,” Nayara answered.
Hasan didn’t respond. He reached into the small bag around his waist, pulled something out, and handed it to Nayara.
“What key is this?” Nayara asked, confused.
“The key to my house. Rest there. Mom will feel better knowing you’re there instead of here, so far from her house,” Hasan replied.
“But that’s a house only your wife is supposed to enter. I have no right to stay there. Besides, no one has ever lived in that house. It wouldn’t be right for me to be the first person to stay there, even temporarily,” Nayara refused, handing the key back to Hasan.
“Mom and I already talked about it. We agree that you can stay there tonight, or for a few nights if you need to,” Hasan said.
“Your family would give me anything. But the person who has the right to sleep there first is your wife, Syilla. I’ll just go to Mom’s house,” Nayara said uneasily.
Hasan did have a house of his own, built by his late father, but no one had ever lived there. They only went in to clean it. After his father passed away, Hasan chose to stay with his mother because his younger siblings already had homes and families of their own. Hasan was the only one who wasn’t married.
Hasan’s family had agreed that the house would only be occupied by Hasan once he started a family. Though it was unoccupied, the house still looked lived-in because Hasan cleaned it once a week without missing a single spot.
Hasan didn’t answer. Instead, he reached for the car keys on the table where Nayara was sitting. Then he said, “I’m taking you home. Wherever you want to go, Nay.”
“What about your motorcycle?” Nayara protested, though she didn’t want to disappoint Hasan.
“I came here with Uncle Burhan. Mom figured you’d be stubborn, so she told me to bring him along in case I had to force you to come home,” Hasan replied.
Nayara could no longer argue with Hasan. To her, Ratih’s orders were absolute and had to be obeyed, even when they came through Hasan. It had always been that way, but Nayara had never minded because whatever Ratih wanted was always for Nayara’s own good. Ratih always knew what Nayara needed—something her biological parents had never done.
“Uncle Burhan, you can go home first. I’ll take Nayara home,” Hasan told Burhan, who worked for his parents.
“All right, Hasan,” Burhan replied.
Hasan immediately got into Nayara’s car and took the driver’s seat, followed by Nayara beside him. Basically, Nayara always felt awkward around Hasan. It wasn’t just tonight—ever since she became part of Ratih’s family, Hasan had been the person who made her feel most self-conscious.