That afternoon, after coming home from meeting Chris, Lilia was standing in front of the living room's window. She looked towards the lake next to the house. The blue surface of the lake glistened in the evening sun. Lilia leaned against the window's sill, her expression was serious as if she was thinking about something.
After a while, Lilia nodded her head as if she had made a decision. She took out her cell phone and called someone. After waiting for a while, the person picked up Lilia's phone.
"Hello, Mr. Louis? This is Lilia Pangestu. I have something to talk about."
"Oh, Lilia! What's wrong? Why do you sound so serious? Did you get into trouble and be hospitalized again?" Louis replied jokingly.
Lilia explained to Louis that she could not go to Jakarta on Wednesday due to personal matters. She promised to catch up on Thursday morning. As she said all that, Lilia's hand played with her long hair. Her feet were tapping the floor as if to express her nervousness.
She didn't know what she would do if Louis insisted Lilia leave for Jakarta on Wednesday. On the one hand, Lilia did not want to lose the opportunity to try a career as an actress. But on the other hand, Lilia also didn't want to let Jean celebrate his birthday alone.
Luckily, Lilia's fear didn't come true. Louis just laughed crisply and said that he didn't mind. The man even promised to arrange for Lilia to be picked up by one of his staff once she arrived in Jakarta.
After finishing the conversation, Lilia hung up the phone with a much happier expression than before. She looked up at the twilight sky that appeared from the window and her mind automatically fell on Jean. She missed her husband's handsome face and his caring demeanor. Lilia wanted to know what that guy was doing right now. She wondered if Jean was missing her right now.
Then, Lilia's thoughts turned to preparations for Jean's birthday. A sweet smile crossed Lilia's lips as she imagined what expression her husband would show when he saw the results of her preparations in two days.
*****
Two days passed quickly. During those two days, Jean felt that Lilia was very busy. To make matters worse, he had no idea what activities had kept his wife so busy that Jean hardly spent time with her again.
Every night when Jean came home from work, Lilia was still not home. When he asked Sister Mei, the middle aged woman also didn't know where Lilia had disappeared from. Jean knew all of Lilia's work schedule and even knew that Harold had purposely not given Lilia any work lately because she was about to leave for Jakarta. But Lilia always came home late at night, long after Jean came home. This made Jean worry and anxious as her husband.
*****
Lilia opened the front door of the house and dragged her steps inside. Her body felt heavy and her headache made her head heavy as well, but she felt satisfied that she had finished everything on time. She glanced at the clock on the wall, which read half past two in the morning. Technically, the day had changed to Wednesday, or in other words, Jean's birthday.
Lilia headed to the living room while massaging her sore shoulders. She placed her handbag on the table and cast a quick glance around the living room. The room was pitch black and the only source of light was the moonlight seeping in from the window.
Lilia turned around and was about to head up the stairs when she smelled a distinctive aroma. Her steps suddenly stopped. She turned and squinted to get a better look at the dark living room.
This time, Lilia saw a tall, sturdy man leaning beside the window. Lilia didn't know how long Jean had been standing there. One hand of the man was holding a cigarette which was still emitting smoke. The figure of Jean who was smoking alone while staring out the window looked so lonely that it made Lilia's heart ache.
"Jean? Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Lilia called softly as she approached the man. With every step Lilia took, the smell of Jean's cigarette got even stronger.
Jean turned to his wife, his pair of blue eyes fixed on Lilia, sparkling like jewels. The man lowered his cigarette and put it in an ashtray filled with cigarette butts. Jean frowned as he studied Lilia's pale and exhausted face with the help of the moonlight.
Jean stretched out his arm and Lilia threw herself into the man's embrace voluntarily. The warmth of Jean's body made Lilia feel that she really was home. They hugged for a moment before Jean pulled away. The man was holding Lilia's cheek, his thumb stroking her soft skin.
"Why are you just coming home now?" Jean asked hoarsely. He was worried because lately Lilia always left without Clifford, who used to be Lilia's driver and bodyguard. What if something bad happened to her? Didn't Lilia just get hospitalized after that assault incident?
But Lilia just chuckled while shaking her head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I was going to karaoke with Vivi and Rachel. I think we were too busy there to lose track of time." She replied.
Her expression when conveying that excuse was innocent and convincing. Hearing that, Jean just nodded without questioning her further. The man then took Lilia up to their room.
When they went up into the hallway on the second floor, Lilia needed to squint her eyes. Once in the dark living room, the lights that lit the hallway were dazzling. Lilia turned to Jean and realized that the man was still wearing the same clothes he wore to the office.
"Jean, have you been waiting for me to come home earlier?" Lilia asked, feeling touched by the man's concern.
Jean usually changed into comfortable casual clothes as soon as he got home. Did this mean that the man had been waiting for Lilia to come home in the living room all this time?
"No, I just got home." Jean replied dryly.
'Liar.' Thought Lilia while stifling a laugh. Did Jean think she didn't see the cigarette butts that filled the ashtray beside the man earlier? Lilia was sure that Jean was waiting for her to come home smoking a cigarette.
But Lilia didn't say anything about Jean's obvious lie. Nor was she completely honest with the man herself. Lilia couldn't tell him the truth before the right time came.
That night, Lilia fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Jean waited for the sound of Lilia's breathing to become regular before opening his cellphone. He read the messages Clifford sent regarding Lilia's activities this day.
But Clifford did not report any other activities outside of Lilia's work schedule. Jean turned off his cellphone while taking a deep breath. The man looked at Lilia's face which looked exhausted and suppressed her frustration. What was it that made Lilia so busy? He had a guess as to the answer, but Jean decided to respect Lilia's wishes and wait for her to tell him. Jean hugged his wife gently, being careful that he wouldn't wake Lilia.. Then, he landed a light kiss on Lilia's forehead, hoping that she would tell him immediately.
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