Bittersweet Arrangements : A Sugar Dady Affair

Elena and Devan pray midday prayers together. If Devan can pray fervently, Elena is the opposite. In the teenager’s mind various dreams and beautiful dreams loom. Throughout the prayer, Elena was daydreaming, imagining if the adult man currently in front of her would really be her imam in the future. A hope that is actually impossible to dream of.

Of course, Elena followed Devan’s body movements in accordance with the prayer instructions well until they finished carrying out the obligatory prayer. After saying two greetings Devan did not end it, the man read the wirid and a short prayer first. Then he gave his hand for Elena to kiss. Without Devan realizing, Elena’s cheeks turned red. The girl’s face heated up when her lips touched the back of Devan’s hand.

“You eat first, Uncle wants to talk to Lucky for a moment,” said goodbye to Devan who had already gotten up from his prayer mat.

“Uncle, aren’t you eating?” Elena asked, hoping that Devan would accompany her to lunch again like before.

“Uncle, I ate earlier with Aunt Dinda,” Devan answered casually and then left Elena, who was frozen in place because of the effect of his words.

Elena, who was folding her mukena, suddenly fell silent. His lips murmured Dinda’s name. The flowers blooming in Elena’s heart suddenly withered when she realized that the woman she called Aunt Dinda was her biggest rival. The woman he only thought was Devan’s friend turned out to be his opponent. Fix, Elena will use all means and energy to defeat that woman. Elena won’t give the woman a chance to approach Devan in the slightest.

Elena quickly folded it and returned the mukena to its original place. So in the corner of Devan’s office there is a narrow room specifically for praying. To be precise, the room was hidden behind a large bookshelf. From the outside, it doesn’t seem like there is a special room at all because it has been designed so neatly. In the prayer area there is also a small cupboard for storing prayer mats such as prayer mats, mukenas, peci, sarongs, prayer beads and medium-sized translations of the Al-Quran. The front wall has calligraphy with the words Allah and Muhammad as a guide to the direction of the Qibla.

Along with the first spoonful taken by Elena, Devan watched with a smile on his face. They sat together, but were separated by the table. Devan tried to make the atmosphere more comfortable by talking.

“El, why did you seem a bit sulky earlier? Is there something wrong?” Devan asked with concern.

Elena remained silent for a moment, finding it difficult to answer that question. After a few moments, she finally lifted her face and looked at Devan. “There’s nothing wrong, Om. I just don’t feel well,” Elena replied with a somewhat awkward expression.

Devan furrowed his brow, feeling that there was something unsaid by Elena. However, he didn’t want to force her to open up if she didn’t want to talk further.

“Maybe El is tired, huh? You’ve been waiting here for a long time,” Devan said while still smiling, trying to ease the tension.

Elena nodded in agreement, taking the opportunity not to delve deeper into the topic. They continued their lunch with a somewhat awkward atmosphere. Devan tried to lighten the mood by sharing stories about work at the workshop and automotive-related topics. Elena smiled as she listened, trying to enjoy the meal even though her heart still felt heavy.

After finishing their meal, Devan cleared the leftovers on the table. “El, in that case, Om will go first. There’s something uncle needs to do at the workshop,” Devan said as he stood up.

Elena nodded and stood up as well. They both walked out of the waiting area and headed towards the exit together. At the exit, Devan gave a small smile to Elena. “If you need anything, just tell Lucky or the other employees, okay? uncle will help right away.”

Elena nodded in understanding and replied, “Thank you, uncle Devan. Sorry for being a bit strange earlier.”

Devan smiled gently, “It’s okay, El. Get well soon. See you.”

They parted ways at the workshop’s exit. Elena walked out, leaving the workshop towards her car. Elena’s heart still felt heavy, but she tried to calm her emotions. While opening the car door, Elena hoped for another chance to meet Devan and feel better at another time.

While Elena was eating, Devan took out his phone from his pants pocket and opened the WhatsApp application, which he had been ignoring. He opened the top chat, a message from Dinda thanking Devan for helping her replace the flat tire on her car. As he was engrossed in chatting with Dinda, Elena glanced at him, observing his movements in detail since earlier.

Seeing Devan smile several times sparked Elena’s curiosity. Her teenage spirit was curious. Who could be the person with whom her crush was exchanging messages?

“Do you like Aunt Dinda, uncle?” Elena asked while continuing her activity, consuming the food in front of her, even though she had no appetite. If Devan used to feed her because Elena left some food, this time she didn’t expect that to happen. Elena wanted to finish her meal quickly and leave Devan. Suddenly, Elena felt jealous when her heart told her that Devan was chatting with Dinda. Her rival.

“Why would El say that?” Devan squinted his eyes, suspicious of the somewhat sarcastic tone in the girl’s voice.

Elena dared not lift her face, keeping it down and focusing on the food in front of her. Elena’s heart started to race, feeling Devan’s laser-like gaze directed at her.

“Well… it’s okay, uncle,” Elena replied hesitantly. “Is Aunt Dinda single?” Elena asked another question, raising Devan’s suspicion. Why would the girl inquire about his personal matters? Elena had never interfered in adult affairs before, often appearing indifferent. So why the sudden change?

Devan closed his eyes briefly as Elena’s suspicion of her liking him resurfaced in his mind. He had buried that suspicion deep down, but now, in order to satisfy his curiosity, Devan was willing to answer any questions Elena had for him.

“Yes, Aunt Dinda is a single parent. She divorced her husband three years ago,” Devan replied, keeping his focus on the subject in front of him.

Hearing Devan’s answer, Elena stopped chewing her food abruptly. She maintained her position, not wanting Devan to look into her eyes because she was sure that once their eyes met, Devan would know her feelings or even read her mind. Devan and her Daddy were like interrogators and mind readers. The only way to pass was to never look into their eyes. Elena exerted all her strength to resist. Then, without uttering a word, Elena finished her meal and excused herself, calming her emotions.

Devan smiled, leaning back against the sofa. He enjoyed watching the girl in front of him who seemed awkward. Now, observing her was much more interesting than chatting with Dinda.

“Is Aunt Dinda suitable to be Erick’s mom?” Devan deliberately threw that question to provoke Elena’s emotions. What reaction would Elena give him?

Elena took a deep breath, then bravely lifted her face. While cleaning up her leftover food, she flashed a smile. Elena, who had managed to regain control, then gave her answer.

“In El’s opinion, Aunt Dinda is beautiful, sexy, and graceful.” Elena’s answer was clearly not in line with Devan’s question.

Devan smiled again, feeling amused by Elena’s behavior. Instead of stopping, Devan now wanted to tease the girl in front of him even more.

“Well, then it’s confirmed, Aunt Dinda is perfect to be Erick’s mom!”

“Oh no! That’s not what I meant! Aunt Dinda is not suitable!” Elena retorted without realizing it. Instantly, Devan burst into laughter.

Elena’s brain suddenly glitched. It couldn’t function normally because of her own words. Her brain and lips were inconsistent in providing answers.

“Then who is suitable?” Devan teased again. As much as possible, Devan held back his laughter to avoid bursting into laughter again.

“Ummm.” Elena could only mumble while scratching her head, which suddenly felt very itchy. As if thousands of lice were biting her scalp simultaneously, attacking her mercilessly.

But suddenly, a knocking sound on the door interrupted their conversation.

“Wait, let me open the door, uncle.” Devan got up from his seat, walked towards the door, while Elena let out a heavy sigh after holding it in her chest for a few minutes.

“Good afternoon!” greeted a beautiful hijab-wearing woman well known to Elena.

Elena’s heart stopped beating for a moment, then thumped loudly when her eyes met those of the hijab-wearing woman. Elena’s eyes widened. She was startled. But not the woman, who looked calm with a smile on her face.

“Afternoon. Vanessa?” Devan greeted, opening the door wide for his friend. “Where’s Jeremy?” Devan asked when he didn’t find Jeremy with the woman.

“I’m alone, Devan. Please check my car’s engine. It hasn’t been comfortable since yesterday,” explained Vanessa as she walked with Devan to where Elena was currently frozen.

“Okay, I’ll have Lucky check it later,” Devan replied, inviting Vanessa to sit.

“Why is Sister El here?” The question Elena had been waiting for finally arrived.

“Mmmm…. El stopped by after dropping Citra off at home, Mom,” Elena replied nervously.

Fortunately, Elena’s brain worked quickly to prepare an answer. And fortunately again, Vanessa sat beside her. So, Elena didn’t have to look into Vanessa’s eyes directly while speaking.

Vanessa smiled as she looked at the food package in front of Elena and continued to talk, “Oh, eating Padang rice without inviting Mommy.”

“Heheheh.. El didn’t know I would meet Mommy here,” replied Elena, starting to calm down.

“There’s still one package left. I already ate earlier with Jeremy in his office,” said Devan, then took two cold drinks for himself and Vanessa.

“No, thanks. I’ve eaten too, earlier with Jeremy in his office,” Vanessa replied, successfully making Elena nervous again. Immediately, Daddy’s expression flashed in her mind. Mommy would surely tell about their encounter here.

Devan and Vanessa began chatting, while Elena chose to remain silent, engrossed in her phone. At the moment, silence was golden. In her heart, Elena could only pray that the man in front of her wouldn’t mention that this wasn’t her first visit.

The conversation between the two friends shifted, with Devan starting to talk about his meeting with Dinda. Vanessa’s reaction was, of course, lively when she learned that Dinda’s current status was that of a single parent. Vanessa knew very well about Dinda’s feelings for Devan from the first semester. Since the first semester, Dinda had harbored feelings for her friend. But Devan’s feelings were never sensitive. Instead, he pursued the love of Vanessa’s manager, Gita.

Seeing Vanessa’s enthusiasm and support for Devan in pursuing Dinda made Elena’s heart burn. Elena didn’t expect Mommy to be so heartless as to break her heart even before Devan found out. But Elena couldn’t do anything except stay silent and listen to all the conversations between Mommy and the man she loved.

Thirty minutes passed, and Elena couldn’t bear to hold back her jealousy any longer. She got up from her seat.

“Mommy, El feels sleepy and tired, wants to take a nap. El’s going home, okay?” Elena replied, successfully interrupting the interesting conversation between the two friends.

“Oh, Mommy will accompany. Let Mommy’s car stay here,” Vanessa replied, holding Elena’s wrist, pulling her back to her seat.

“Just stay, tomorrow I’ll give you a ride home.” Devan interjected, looking at Elena with an unreadable gaze. Elena responded with a flash of anger in her eyes. Instantly, Devan was stunned, unable to comprehend the meaning of Elena’s gaze.

“Well, then, we’ll go home. Thanks for keeping my daughter company,” Vanessa said goodbye and stood up, followed by Devan.

Devan escorted the two women to the front of the workshop. Then he went back inside after making sure Vanessa’s car merged with other drivers on the road.

Not immediately returning to his office, Devan first went to see Lucky, who was inspecting Vanessa’s car engine. In a matter of minutes, Devan found the problem with Vanessa’s car engine. After explaining to Lucky what needed to be fixed, Devan went back into his office.

Devan then cleaned up his desk, collecting the rice package and the empty bottles from their drinks. Suddenly, Devan felt something uncomfortable beneath him. Tilting his body slightly, Devan managed to pick up the hard object.

“Typical Elena. This must be another one of her tricks!”