"I told you, just print out the name, why bother writing it down?" Arka interrupted.
Arka reprimanded Farrel sternly, even though he didn't have such a hard heart because he couldn't look at Farrel when he scolded. Farrel was surprised to hear his father yell at him.
He had intended to reprimand him, but because Arka had been speaking so softly and sweetly, the slightest hint of a high tone startled Farrel. Lisa could feel the disappointment in Farrel's heart, but Arka was indeed in a quandary of his own.
"I'll go to the room first! Make you some milk," Lisa pleaded, deliberately wanting to leave Arka alone with Farrel.
After Lisa left, there was no intimacy. Farrel cleaned up the scattered cards, while Arka picked up the stack of cards that had been written. Arka examined the cards and saw that there was a lot of Lisa's writing.
"How long did she sit and do this?" Arka muttered.
At the same time, Farrell smiled and picked up a white sheet of paper that he had written on with colored beads. He had been working on it in his room all afternoon. On a Sunday without Arka, he created something with his hands.
"Pa, this is ...."
Instead of accepting the paper that Farrel thrust at him, Arka pulled it out and threw it on the floor. Farrell was surprised by his father's temperament, which he had never seen.
"What's wrong with you? I just left for a while, and your mom is already tired. Can't you take care of your mom for a while? You're a big boy, not a kindergartner anymore, do you have to be told everything?" Arka said in an annoyed tone.
Farrell was surprised to hear his father yell. This was the first time he had been this angry.
"Pa ...."
"You're the only one who matters. I told you, you don't need to be written down, but you're stubborn and even bother your mother. You knew your mom was pregnant, why didn't you tell her to rest?"
Farrell tried to open his mouth, holding back his fear because he was sure his father was only reprimanding out of love, not hatred.
"The event is only a week away, on weekdays I have a lot of homework, so I do it during the holidays. So the intention is to finish it today, so tomorrow I just need to give it to my friends, Pa."
Feeling that Farrel was arguing, Arka became increasingly annoyed. For some reason, he began to distance himself and consider Farrel to be 'someone else'.
"Your party is all you think about. Selfish!"
After all this time his father had always defended him when his grandfather brought up that Farrel was an adopted child, but hearing it directly from him made Farrel so devastated.
After a few seconds, Arka realized that he had gone too far. His love tapped at the emotions that were rising from his chest. Just as he looked down at the floor, a beautiful, ornate inscription caught him by surprise.
I Love Papa.
Only three words, but written so sincerely by Farrel. Unconsciously, Arka's hand trembled and reached it.
"Why ...."
Holding the paper, Arka staggered towards Farrel's room. He only wanted to apologize. However, the teak door was firmly closed. Arka didn't have the courage to look at the son he had rebuked earlier.
"I'm sorry, Farrel. I'm just too worried that something will happen to your mom. Because after ten years... we finally have a child."
Arka delayed meeting his son. He returned to the kitchen and made milk for his wife in the room. He kept his eyes fixed on the door of Farrel's room and hoped that his son would come out from there.
Without realizing it, Frans noticed Arka's anger at Farrel, which he considered unnatural.
'Is Arka starting to put Farrel aside because he's going to have a child of his own? Has your heart changed that easily, Arka?' Frans wondered.
*
The living room of the Wijaya family was very happy. Arka had no morning shift so decided to spoil his wife today. After breakfast, he didn't give her any space. Lisa felt a little annoyed as she distanced herself from her husband.
"I'm so tired!" complained Lisa.
"I'm free today. Let's go for a check-up!" Arka invited.
"But ...."
"We'll go this afternoon to Eka Hospital. Okay?"
Lisa just smiled and sighed. Maybe before leaving, she would contact Suga so that her friend could compromise to hide the bad things to be conveyed.
Not long after, Frans and Wendi also joined them in the living room. The same cheerfulness was etched on their faces, except for Frans.
Ever since he saw Arka scold Farrel harshly last night, there was something wrong with him. He continued to observe Arka's cheerful expression while stroking Lisa's stomach. It was still flat, but Arka couldn't wait for her wife's belly to grow.
'Is he getting rough with Farrel because he's going to have a child of her own? It can't be just because Lisa is pregnant, he's starting to change towards Farrel. He really loves his adopted son,' Frans thought.
Not long after, the house phone rang. Sumi immediately greeted the call and spoke to the caller.
"Mister, this is from Farrel's principal," said Sumi.
Arka got up and answered the call. He didn't say much, only occasionally answering and then shutting up again. Frans was still observing his son's behavior.
"I'm sorry, but I can't attend. No problem, right?"
The call ended and Arka returned to the sofa. He ignored Frans' serious gaze and returned to his wife.
"Why, Ka?" asked Wendi.
"Tomorrow morning at eight there will be a meeting for students participating in the Taekwondo tournament between elementary schools throughout Jakarta. Farrel and two of his friends have been selected to represent Adyaksa School. I can't make the meeting tomorrow, Mom. I have a surgery scheduled for the afternoon," Arka replied casually.
Arka picked up his cell phone and checked the schedule of activities for tomorrow. Wendi and Lisa didn't find anything wrong with Arka's words, but Frans did.
"The meeting is at eight, while the surgery is in the afternoon, isn't there still a long gap? Adyaksa School and Raztan Hospital are close, about ten minutes. Besides, the meeting won't take that long," Frans said, breaking Arka's excuse.