COLORS

“Are you sure?” a man named Brad asked his friend sitting next to him.
“I am. Let yourself having a longer rest tonight.” Nancy said. She could see the smile before her eyes, “I’ll get the next subway. Now just go away! Hush…” she laughed, then Brad followed, “Thank you.”
“Okay. See you…” he nodded and let the car moved on.
Standing on the sidewalk, Nancy took the last glance and went away.
The rush hour ended few hours ago. That is why she was late to come home, to let herself had a comfortable way back to her family. Nancy was the wife of Jack Dalton, a music producer who is quite famous in Santa Clara and San Francisco. Jack was British, but he moved to USA and stayed in a small apartment in SF with his younger brother. There he met Nancy, who worked as a journalist. They kept in touch after an interview until they both fell in love and got married. Right now, they had had a nine-year-old son named Tom.

She went downstairs at 34th street, then she stopped in front of a big brown board where many pamphlets and the schedule of the subway were attached. It told her that the subway would leave at 6.35 pm. There were still eight minutes. She was waiting by sitting on a bench.
That was summer, but she could not even take off her black coat. She tried to lessen the cold by wiping her exhausted face, when the operator said trough the speakers that the subway had arrived. Twelve, thirteen or more passengers walked out by that automatic door. So did it on other ones. After the rush had gone, she and some people went inside. She chose a seat next to the door. Not too crowded. As the subway shook a little, there were only six people she could see. Three lil’ kids sat calmly next to a sleepy man. Old man with his thick white beard hung a paper of the day by his right hand, while another one pushed his glasses closer to the eyes for few times. Other two people were girls who sat in silence and stared out of the window. Watching the people, station, walls and banners passed to somewhere on their back, with such thinking no one could ever guess.
She could feel the running air came from the edge of the door. This kind of solitude made her thinking about many things. One of them was the reality that she had to lose her beloved father, cause of cancer, a month earlier. Though she did not meet him regularly after her marriage, she was too shocked. That sudden news was so unbelievable for her. She did not know he suffered it. On a graveyard in Miami, Rick, her youngest bro, told that their father had kept the secret until he was seriously sick. To everyone. Until Rick found him fell to the ground, blood strained his fingers. That kind of remembrance always made her sick all the way. So she tried to let it gone away. She brought the memory of her past appeared in her mind. How beautiful the world is, when she bore a handsome baby in that autumn of 1995, completing her dear family, after three-year marriage.
But those all suddenly faded as she felt the exhaustion in her body. In the early morning, Jim called her and said his disappointment about her latest report. He used to say ‘what’s wrong with you, Nancy? Our readers won’t even take a glance on this kinda thing!’
That began the bad and tiring day for her.
She knew that being a journalist needed a hard work. Making research, upgrading her knowledge by reading many references, making observations or writing a report. These all made her so tired, physically and mentally.

After taking a walk up to the main street and another five minute one to the house, she saw a man hanging a cup by his hand, as she opened the door. Jack. She locked the door and cam over her husband.
“Hi, honey…” he kissed her on lips. He gave a long look at his wife, before she put her coat off and sat beside Jack in that living room.
“Wanna know something?” he asked. Nancy looked at him after trying to lay her head down to his shoulder, “These days, you look older every time you say ‘I’m home’…” he gave her a smile and a little caress.
“You could be right, Jack.” silence. She looked at the tv, but she could not give any attention, “I’m sick of this job… I just need to leave it a while, honey… It’ll soon get me crazy.” She wiped her face once more.
“Sure?” Jack asked. Nancy felt it was ridiculous that she had to answer the same question Brad asked half an hour earlier. So she only nodded. Jack continued asking, “Why?”
Nancy replied in low voice, “I wonder if you have ever met Jim before, talking to him with his ‘great’ manner…” silence, “Yes, he used to be the great, great as he orders and gets what he wants about the report without considering my effort. Even so to my friends’ reports.” She stopped a moment, “Now… I’m asking you, who’s sick?”
Jack did not answer. As he recognized this trouble of her, he held her hands.
“It’s getting worse everyday… You should know that, honey…”
“I have, dear… I have.”
Nancy stared at her husband. She saw a smile. Big one. What is wrong? It did not suit the situation, “What do ya mean?”
Jack’s eyes turned to the table and he moved his chin forward, “Do you see that?”
Nancy looked at it, but she did not understand it.
“Let me take it for you.” he took then gave it to her. Those were some small papers that Nancy had not ever seen before. But she knew what it is.
“Tickets?” she looked back at Jack. He nodded.
“I’ve planned it for you.”
“What?”
“I really consider you need holidays, dear… So I hope you won’t mind to accompany Tom to see the game…” Nancy looked at the two tickets. LA Galaxy, Tom’s favorite football club’s name appeared there.
Jack could guess the question in his wife’s mind.
“I know, I ‘ll also have to go there that day, but… I can’t join you. We’ll see after the match. Perhaps, we can do something more on the next day, can’t we?” slowly, Nancy gave her smile.
“Sure, but… how is about my work? And… has Tom known about it?”
“Shhh… don’t say anything to him until Friday, okay?”
Nancy showed astonishment, before nodding.
Jack continued, “And…do you need me to meet that Jim? I’ll go if you want me to…”
Sudden silence.
“You need to know, honey. We need more time with Tom… Sometimes, I felt so guilty to leave him. I wanna be a good parent.” Nancy replied.
“So do I…” silence once more, “So… what do you think?”
Nancy took a long breath,
“Jack?”
Jack turned his head from the TV.
“I don’t care of what Jim will say to me. We will go for it.” She smiled, “and… you don’t need to meet that annoying one. It’s my business…” they laughed.
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am…” “That’s gonna be great.”
“Has Tom slept?”
“I’m sure he has…”
Nancy then went upstairs. She washed her hands and face for a while. Looking at her own face reminded her of the face in the past. How it changed, what it expressed, and the memories behind it. She walked out to the door of Tom’s room. Unlocked. When she opened the door, she could see the boy had been asleep, while a vague little lamp was still echoing in deep solitude. Entering the room always gave a strange smell to Nancy’s nose. Smell of oil-paint which appeared from a half-finished painting and six other paintings hung on the wall. She wondered how Tom could live with that kind of smell inside his room. She took a long look at the son.
Her silent son. Her little Da Vinci.
If only she was not too much ambitious in her career, it would not be hurtful as she and Jack felt. Especially after the death of her mother-in-law, who often took care of Tom, he became more inactive boy. She was also sick of knowing these all.
But she would get a chance to make their relationship better.
After convincing herself that nothing is late to start, she stood. Tom was almost awake when she pulled the blanket up. Closing the window, she left the room in darkness, while the wind outside was starting to chill.
* * *
Few minutes earlier,
Tom heard a voice of familiar woman whom he had waited for the coming. His mother. He took few stairs down just to check whether his feeling was right. He found Jack and Nancy was sitting in front of the TV. One head laid on another’s shoulder. So, he considered to wait in his room.
He was about to go up when he heard his father saying his name. He turned back and listened for a moment. It seemed that the parents did not know he was there. Though it was not clear enough, he knew what his parents had planned. And it made him so excited and happy.
But when they talked about their guilt and how Tom’s personality is, smile slowly faded from his young face. Though he could hear laugh in that living room. Someone’s steps came upon him. When he heard this, he ran quietly back to his room. He pretended to be asleep, cause he did not want his parents to know that he heard them. Someone opened the door. And he could only hear what he or she did in his room. Window was closed and this person pulled his blanket in that windy night. There was a moment of silence before the sound of steps faded. He opened his eyes in the shadow of the lamp. His beloved mother was there. Familiar silhouette.
He did not move at all, but what he had heard rushed inside his mind. Sleep seemed too far away from him, though the body was tired of waiting. Ironically, he kept on it. An hour passed, and he was still sitting on the bed, cause all he wanted to do was to sketch. When silence became more glorious cause nobody else was awake in that house, Tom took a look on his corner of his room. He would do his work, while smile of oil was drawing closer.
* * *
“Be quick, honey... You don’t want to miss the plane, do you?” Nancy said, looking for her husband. A moment later, Jack appeared.
“Sorry.” He smiled, “Thank goodness I can find it!”
A CD was looked on the tip of his fingers, “Let’s go.”
When Nancy was going to lock the front door, Tom ran out of the car and said, “Wait! Wait, Mom! I forget to take my cap.”
“Oh, come on, honey... Is it...” she was about to tell him that it was unimportant fro him to bring, but she remembered her promise to herself, to make a beautiful day for both of them. So, she did not want to stain anything, especially in the beginning. She gave a caress to her son, “Let me take it for you... Where’d you put it, Tommy?”
“On my bed...” Nancy smiled.
“Okay, wait inside the car, okay?” after Tom nodded, she went inside to the room. She got what she looked for. But she felt something different in that room. The smell was thicker and the room seemed messier than what she saw few nights before. Near the table, a painting which she did not ever see before was hung on the wall. The last time she saw, it was a painting of two little kids on a park. But, the one that appeared in front of her at that time captured the back of a woman and a boy. They were painted in abstract form and gradation, but the painter could not hide the laugh on those round and smooth faces. The background was filled by more colors. People raising their hands, giant posters, stands, and street artists gave another atmosphere of joy.

Someone’s entering the room and he was Tom. They both looked at each other with no words, until Ton said,
“I... I wanna bring my sketch book, too...”
“Oh...” Nancy looked on the table and took a book, “This one?”
Tom nodded and came closer. Nancy opened the book.
“Well, these are great, Tom...” she was amazed by her son’s skill, “But... do you know, Tommy? I think this one’s fabulous... One of the best I ever saw...”
She pointed to the one near the table.
“Is that right, Mom?”
She nodded, “Yes, it’s probably cause I rarely see paintings except yours, son...”
They laughed, “Come on... Daddy’s waiting.”
The room once more stood in shadows. Waiting a hope to be true.

Hengky Kusuma, 28209
+++++

*Telah dipublikasikan