Sometimes coincidence is fate's way of guiding the future.
Four
Aaa! I let out a strangled squeal when I realized who Diva's father was. He was Fama! Even a country bumpkin like me, with my limited social life, had heard of his name and reputation.
Fama was the kind of piano prodigy people said only appeared once every hundred years because he was so rare. I remembered reading an article about Fama. Born in Italy, Fama had started learning piano at the age of three. His extraordinary talent had won him several awards and championships. I remembered that Fama had graduated from Juilliard at twenty, earned his master's degree at twenty-one, and even taught at a music school in Tokyo for a few years. During that time, he had often performed solo concerts, made recordings, played duets with other world-class musicians, and composed songs for an Oscar-nominated film (Did he win? I don't remember). I remembered reading somewhere that, after all those years, Fama had decided to move to Bali.
And here he was.
Okay, I was a little impressed by his achievements in music. But as a parent, I was honestly scornful of him.
“Fama. I should've guessed,” I muttered. “As a musician, Zio, you're amazing, but as a parent, you really suck.”
He grimaced. “My ego's a little hurt that you didn't recognize my name right away.”
“Whatever your name is, you're still an unreliable parent.”
On my lap, Diva happily babbled to herself and banged my coin purse against the table.
All our orders arrived. I glanced at the nasi goreng and sweet iced tea I'd ordered, then decided to take care of Diva first. Hopefully Diva was really hungry, because I intended to feed her this soup, which looked delicious.
Diva resisted at first. I tasted a little myself and nodded enthusiastically. “Wow, this is really good, Diva! Are you sure you don't want any more? If I eat it, I'll be the one who gets strong and healthy.”
“Mommy strong?”
I nodded. “I can carry Diva, right? That means I'm strong.”
“If I eat, can I carry Mommy?”
“That depends. You have to finish your food. You have to eat often, too.”
Diva looked doubtful, but finally began eating eagerly. “I want to grow big and carry Mommy,” she said.
“You have to eat healthy food with lots of vitamins,” I told her.
Diva finished her juice and soup. She sat on my lap while I ate. After everything was gone, I realized Zio still hadn't eaten. He watched Diva and me in turn.
“You seem to know a lot about kids, Stella.”
“Well… not really. But I read a lot.”
“Where do you go to school? You're still in school, right?”
I told him the name of the vocational high school I attended.
“Why didn't you go to a regular high school?”
What was this, an interview? But whatever. I had time, so I humored him.
“Because I want to start working as soon as possible. I also work part-time as a tour guide now,” I said proudly. Well, most of my income depended on commissions and tips. And since I'd been focused on my final exams lately, money had been tight, and I'd been anxiously waiting for the money my big brother sent me. It never arrived on a set schedule, since my brother worked on a cruise ship that traveled all over the world. Sometimes his internet connection was so terrible he couldn't transfer the money.
“Your parents are okay with you working part-time?”
This time, I was the one to look away. “My parents are both dead.”
“Who do you live with now?”
“I rent a room.”
“Don't you have any relatives or someone who can live with you?”
I gave him a faint smile. Should I tell him the short version or go into detail?
“My parents eloped. Mom was the daughter of a prominent family in Jakarta, but they didn't like it when she fell in love with Dad, who was an ordinary office worker and an orphan. Mom was cut out of the inheritance, and as far as I know, she never saw her parents again. Things got difficult for us, so we moved around a lot. Farther and farther east. From Jakarta to Bandung, then Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and finally Bali. They died in an accident when I was in ninth grade. By then, my big brother was already working. So, yeah, I lived with him for a while.
“Then my big brother got a better job. Even though that meant leaving me alone in Bali. It was okay; I was already grown-up enough. He came home once every six months. Time passed without me noticing, and suddenly I was about to graduate. Maybe I'd just start working right away. This was Bali. There would always be jobs in tourism.”
That was actually why I'd gone to this café. To gulp down my favorite iced cappuccino—my big brother had treated me to one here before—and celebrate the end of my school exams. I was optimistic about graduating and looking forward to a bright future.
I tried to forget my landlady's constant nagging about paying off the two months of back rent I owed, while wondering where I could possibly get the money to buy a new kebaya for the graduation ceremony—my old one was too tight—and learning how to do my own makeup. My other friends were excitedly discussing which makeup artist or salon they were going to visit. I didn't have extra money for luxuries like that…
“So, you're looking for a job?”
My daydream shattered, and I returned to the present. “Pretty much. Once I graduate, I can work full-time as a local tour guide. Or a tour leader, if I can get the jobs. I also need to learn how to drive. A lot of female tourists prefer having a female driver. That could be a great opportunity for me. Or maybe I'll apply to be a hotel receptionist. While I'm still young and strong, any honest job is fine by me.”
The man stared at me speculatively while I wiped Diva's face with a tissue I'd dampened with water. Diva yawned, her body beginning to go limp.
“Diva seems to like you.”
I narrowed my eyes at Diva's father. “So what?”
“Would you like to work for me? As Diva's nanny?”
“What?” I jumped. “I don't have much experience taking care of children,” I replied.
“You're honest. Diva's already attached to you. I like that. So? Are you interested in becoming Diva's nanny?”
This was too good to be true, wasn't it?