Was it an alarm? Or the fire drill? No, that was years ago.
It took awhile before I realized the emptiness of the room without the lights on. My eyes watched the ceiling and wondered what I was doing, or was supposed to. A nudge from Ayu with her leg prompted me to finally reach for the ringing clock. Only a tuft of her brown scalp was visible, protruding from the duvet.
We took turns in the shower, her first while I prepared two toasts and glasses of milk. I piled the papers strewn across the table into a neat stack and pushed them aside, with breakfast just in time as she came down. The morning papers, of course, was front paged with news of the latest scandals to rip through the nation, but nothing in it overshadowed the highlight of our day, perhaps even the week. I nodded and smiled as she chewed her meal over rants of “when is it our turn?”, and allowed her to finish while I raced upstairs for my turn at washing up. By ten we were out the door and driving to the general hospital along Jalan Kemunia.
“The whole day’s free for me Tuesday, so then…?”
“These things happen by itself, my piggy Ayu.” I replied pleasantly, turning a corner where middle-aged housewives bought their groceries. She was so eager. “I just want it to be from a sudden wave of passion, I suppose. It means something that way.” My words kept her, satisfied and beaming out the passenger window by my forced romantics. She hummed.
Too many turns and too many red lights. I just wanted to get there. I played with the accelerator and revved the car at every stop.
“Stop that.”
“Pig.”
“Chubby chaser.”
“How does making fun of yourself get back at me?” I said dryly. The hospital was in sight.
Zhi Huan greeted us at the reception, a haughty nurse fussing as Ayu screamed congratulations and ran into his arms. As he gripped her with thanks, he had the smile of a newly made father. I went at him; patting the man on the back, saying “well done.”. He returned a sniff and a grin. “Come, but she’s resting. Still asleep.”
We followed him to room 2.18. I breathed in deeply as he swung the door open. Ayu stifled a squeal with her cupped hands, and Zhi Huan bathed in pride. There she was.
Jia Ning slept with a peaceful smile that seemed so beautiful; that of a lover who had done her deed by her man. The room itself was as if a stage, the curtains drawn, but not solid enough to prevent the sun from enveloping the two with a warm shade. By her side, cuddled into a pink blanket, was all the fuss of the morning.
“…parents will come by in the afternoon to meet the two of them.” Zhi Huan told Ayu at the table as I stood by the sleeping two, admiring his new family. The baby’s hands gripped her mother’s pinky as she dozed. Though people do say these things out of politeness and jest, little Zhi Ning had her mother’s button nose. Her cheeks, in babies comparison, was sharp like her father’s. Jia Ning looked so beautiful.
Ayu pushed me aside to rejuvenate her want of a child.
The two had not awaken, but we left an hour later promising to return the next day. It was her idea to make a stop by the departmental stores to get little Zhi Ning a present. Ayu hummed for awhile, and turned down the radio to speak.
“I know people say this, but the baby really looked like them both!” It was another red stop. “It’s like a child is the… combination. So beautiful! A proof of love between two people, the binding knot.” I revved the engine. “They’re really going to –stop that- be a happy family, I think. So lovely. Jia Ning was so beautiful.”
Green. I ignored the left turn to M&S, and did a quick right, past the middle-aged women and into our neighbourhood. She reminded me of the proper direction, but I drove straight home. Screeches of tire marks were made on the front pavement, and I bolted out, around the back of the car, and opened the front passenger door. Bent over, I reached inside and scooped Ayu by her back and the slit between her calf and thigh. She squealed in delight as I brought us inside, up the stairs, and into the bedroom. For her, this was the moment.
Resting her gently on the bed, I jumped aboard, breaking the pace with a fervour. The right hand went for the back of her neck, and I closed my eyes and kissed her lips, fingers running through her jet black hair. As she cooed under touch, my head went white with passion, of memories under the stars and really knowing her for the first time. The left unbuttoned her, and felt for her waist, feeling its slimness and adolescent attraction. Head lowered, I began to taste the flat of her tummy, and ravished the one I loved.
