BELL THE CAT (COMPLETED)

[39] FINISHING TOUCHES

"Lempar! Cepetan!"

"JANGAN KE GUE! LEMPAR DULUAN KE WANI!"

"WANI APA SASMAKA?"

"KELAMAAN! KE DIPTA SANA!"

It was like being shown my younger days and our youth. The same place, the same game—still rugby—but it wasn't us anymore. It wasn't us running around in the garden behind this house; it wasn't us running around there throwing rugby balls at each other.

"Lempar ke Darma! KENAPA BALIK KE GUE LAGI, SIH?"

"BHASKARA—BARA—LEMPAR KE SINI, BURUAN!"

I laughed, remembering how similar this situation was to what I used to do with them when we played rugby.

"Papa nggak bosen ngeliatin mereka main rugby di sini setiap hari minggu? Don't you want to kick them out or tell them to go play somewhere else? They have a lot of money, so they can easily rent rugby fields and whatnot. Why do they come here every Sunday and cause a scene at our house?"

Gayatri—salah satu anak berwajah Reni—I like to call it that—ikut duduk di samping sambil merebahkan kepalanya di bahuku, tatapannya mengarah lurus ke arah taman belakang tempat di mana Arga, Catra, Dipta, Sasmaka, Radhika, Wani, Kresna, Kaindra, Darma, Bhaskara, dan Rumi yang sedang bermain rugby di tengah terik sinar matahari siang hari ini.

"Rumah rame. Papa suka."

Gayatri menggerakkan kakinya, dia sempat berdecak pelan. "With six siblings, is this house not crowded enough?" tanyanya tidak terima.

"But you're rarely home. Usually, it's just me and Mami here. Dan mereka—" Aku kembali menatap ke arah depan meski fokus mataku tidak begitu jelas. "—They frequently take turns visiting here to keep me company."

"If they were with you, they would be here with you, not playing rugby like they are right now," komentarnya tajam.

"Jadi..." Masih sambil memperhatikan permain rugby anak-anak di taman belakang, aku bertanya, "Out of all of them, except your brothers, which one do you actually like?"

I told you Gayatri looked a lot like Reni, right? The furrowed brow when angry, the pursed lips—everything about Gayatri's face reminded me of the young Reni I knew. They believe the resemblance shows how much I love Reni.

And, yes, I do love her very much.

Aku tertawa, sementara Gayatri terlihat kesal bukan main. "Where have your sisters gone? Yang lain juga nggak kelihatan sama sekali," tanyaku sambil menoleh ke arah ruang tengah yang tadinya juga ramai.

"Gyandra ikut sama Mbak Kaia dan Mbak Naswa, nggak tahu pergi ke mana." Gayatri kembali merebahkan kepalanya di bahuku. "Kalau Sarita, dia ada di kamar atas sama Mbak Kenes, Mbak Bestari, Mbak Dahayu, dan Mbak Kinasih."

"So why are you here? Why don't you join the others?"

Lagi, Gayatri menatapku tajam. "Kenapa Papa juga di sini? Bukannya istirahat sama Mami?" tanyanya balik, kelihatan kesal.

"Going back in time—that's what I'm doing now." Senyumku mengembang. "While you're all here, especially while they're playing rugby, I feel like I've traveled back in time—"

"Where everything remains the same. You'll remember that you're the ones playing rugby there, as Mami prepares dinner with her friends and you play a few matches of stealth rugby." Gayatri melanjutkan ucapanku dengan detail dan benar.

So, how frequently do I tell them this until they can remember my lines?

"Mami would sit in this chair and watch you and your bestfriend play rugby. You always lost, no matter how fair or dirty the game was. Mami would just sit there, giggling, as their parents, Dad's best friends, fooled Papa." Gayatri menunjuk ke arah taman belakang sebelum merangkul tanganku.