Rumiyati bit her lower lip passionately. She remembered the expanse of hair on Bandot's body that she had glimpsed earlier in the dim light of Mbah Siman's house. Even though it hadn't been very bright, his eyes had still been visible. The allure of Bandot's masculinity couldn't be hidden by darkness.
The woman removed the clothes clinging to her body one by one. She kept moving erotically, as though Bandot were standing in front of her. Then she wrapped herself in a jarik cloth and draped a medium-sized towel over her right shoulder. She hoped that taking a late-night bath would help cool the desire beginning to blaze inside her and make her overheated body feel better.
As she bathed, Rumiyati kept thinking about her plans to marry her new lover. It hadn't even been forty days since Subandi's death. She was still trapped in the iddah period she had to complete if she wanted to marry again.
Even once the iddah period ended, she still couldn't marry Bandot right away. The villagers might start calling her a horny widow. The moment her iddah ended, she'd already have a wedding tent set up and be sitting on a wedding dais beside a new man—an even younger one, at that. Everyone would be even more eager to gossip about her. What would people say?
Rumiyati had to hold herself back. She couldn't rush into marriage. Besides, this was only a matter of legality. Bandot's presence would still fill her lonely days and make them more colorful before they held an official wedding celebration. She needed to protect her image for a little while.
She had no idea how long she'd have to suppress her desire to stand beside Bandot as his official partner. We'd just have to see how things go. That was what Rumiyati was thinking at the moment.
I hope Mas Bandot doesn't mind waiting, Rumiyati thought as she busied herself with her makeup.
She applied a light layer of makeup to her face. She didn't want to look overdone, but she did want to look beautiful for her new lover. This was their first date, after all. So it had to be special.
Remembering that Bandot loved fried bananas, Rumiyati had already asked her maid to prepare a full plate. While waiting for the object of her affection to arrive, she planned to kill time by playing a game on her phone.
Oh, wow. A WhatsApp message from Mas Bandot. Rumiyati immediately squealed with delight and opened it.
[Don't forget the fried bananas, sweetheart. I'll eat fried bananas, and you can enjoy a live banana. A veiny banana.]
Bandot's message made Rumiyati burst out laughing. She felt as if she'd just received a breath of fresh air. It seemed her partner was ready to wrestle with desire too. Without wasting any time, she replied to the naughty message.
[Hey. We're not legally married yet, and you're already talking about live bananas. Get married first, then ....]
Rumiyati had been lying on the bed, but now she sat upright, anxiously waiting for Bandot's reply.
[Let's have an unregistered religious marriage first. Once your iddah period is over, we'll celebrate it properly. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold out, sweetheart. Rather than losing control later, we'd better make it legal first, right? I'm actually strong enough, but ... this little nephew of mine, you know. He likes waking up on his own and is hard to lull back to sleep. Once he's awake, he always gets fussy.]
Bandot didn't want to waste the opportunity. He wanted to marry Rumiyati as soon as possible, before she changed her mind. For now, she still trusted Mbah Siman's advice completely and was being swept away by romance. A good opportunity didn't come twice. If he didn't seize it immediately, it might slip away. Muspro—in other words, all for nothing, as the Javanese said.