Vicky stressed it enough that Anton could take his time to at least brush his teeth and collect his scattered souls after his 10 hours long hibernation, but for him, he only had five minutes — for it was a frigid winter outside, and he wasn’t sure if Vicky wore proper outfits to keep herself warm.
So when the guy arrived at the lobby and caught Vicky sitting on one of the vacant sofas, the first thing that slipped out of his lips was a long sigh. The girl turned around and a sweet smile instantly sprung on her small, pale face.
“Where’s your trapper hat, Vick?”
“Kept it somewhere else,” Vicky answered nonchalantly. “Miss me?”
“Are you a siberian or something?”
“Kamu gak kangen aku?”
The boy knew he’s losing the battle everytime his girl switches to Bahasa Indonesia — it is as if she’s asking him to surrender (which he always does). Screw the trapper hat anyway (though he hoped Vicky wouldn’t take lightly the winter gear that he always asked about) — in the end, Anton and his mind that was only 20% organized gave up; he decided to pull his girl closer by the waist, proceeded to answer with his soft speaking voice. “Kangen lah..”
Vicky threw her long arms around his neck tightly. “Tonyyyyy.”
“Toriiii,” Anton cooed before loosening his grip. “Did you drive?”
“I didn’t. Took a flight to BOS then hop onto the busway,” Vicky (of which Anton followed) checked her wristwatch. “Around six I guess?”
“Kenapa gak minta jemput?”
Her knocks on Anton’s forehead was the answer to his controversial question. “You haven’t even replied to my message last night terus sekarang kamu nanya kenapa aku enggak minta jemput?!?!”
“Which sane person with rational mind thinks 6AM flight is a good choice!” he exclaimed.
“I do! I’m that sane person with rational mind,” Vicky replied, placing her palms on his cheeks and gently squishing them. “Because I miss you so much, and I only have time until Tuesday morning.”
Anton, who was a few months older than Vicky — or precisely whose cheeks were currently being sandwiched by her cold palms — smiled again, this time followed by a small giggle caused by the butterflies in his stomach.
“Okay,” he said. “Kiss me.”
“Ew no,” she pushed Anton’s face a few inches away. “You came here after like five minutes so I doubt you brushed your teeth.”
“I did, mind you, eee,” Anton showed off his teeth. “Five minutes are enough time to brush my teeth.”
“Not for tidying up your scattered soul,” the girl pulled his arm before patting his shoulder twice. “Let’s get you a breakfast.”
Anton and his eyes closed again exhaled. Almost is never enough, indeed.
“I came well prepared!”
It wasn’t the first time Vicky came to Cambridge in her spare time — also not the first time she nudged Anton with his consciousness that hadn’t fully recovered in the morning to have breakfast. Brookline Lunch has this sense of familiarity where it puts you in a comfortable state through the strong smell of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of sizzling bacons — too comfortable that it almost put Anton back to his dreamland.
“Aku kira kamu ada boot camp?”
Anton lifted his glass of latte. “Not on weekends.”
“Am I messing around your hibernating plans?” she laughed.
“Anything for you Pumpkin,” he said. “Kamu sering kosong ya tiap Jumat sampe Selasa.. kenapa gak stay di studioku aja?”
Vicky nodded at the waiter who carefully placed the plates of foods they ordered (except for the coffee which came earlier) before turning back to her boyfriend. “I’ll be dead if aunty finds out, Dumbo.”
“Ooooh so that’s why you’re staying at The Kimpton,” he nodded. “But if you’re not here for your aunty, would you say yes?”
Vicky took a sip of her latte. “I’m always here for my aunt, though.”
Anton, on the other hand, almost banged the bottom of his cup against the ceramic-surfaced table. “Kecewa.”
“HAHA,” she let out a joyful laugh. “Okay no more rejection. Besok wishlist mana yang mau kita coret?”
Forget counting the unchecked boxes on their wishlist — for it’s a bottomless pit. All the things they want to do, from the simplest one to things that requires long-term planning, are all written in an A5-sized book that now has only half of the blank pages left (well there aren’t many sheets anyway.. but still?)
Vicky had her sights set on the top of their to-do list today. In Baltimore, classic museum dates like The Walters or Baltimore Museum of Art sufficed. In Cambridge, the basic date place to go is Charles River Esplanade — the now frozen river where they walk by with arms linking to keep each other warm.
“Are we allowed to walk on the river?”
“Short answer, no,” he muttered.
Vicky turned with a smile on her lips. “Long answer?”
Anton likes explaining things. His father fed him a lot of books to the point most of them sticks in his head, and his father seemed to be proud of it. The thing is, sometimes his answer gets a bit too scientific, and people don’t take it pleasantly. In this case, Vicky, willingly feeding his ego, is always an exception.
“So, unlike most ponds where you can just slap on some skates and go, the Charles is a bit trickier,” he started. “The water level of this river fluctuates constantly up to 2 feet daily due to inflows and dam releases.. this creates thin ices with massive air pockets underneath, and it significantly weakens its support.”
“One wrong step, and you’re taking an unplanned polar plunge,” he added.
To summarize, it a long explanation worth to forget that Vicky is going back to Baltimore tomorrow.
“Wow,” Vicky answered in one single breath.
“Definitely not something a pre-med student would want to hear,” he teased.
“Clearly,” Vicky cleared. “Not something I expect would come from someone majoring in computer science either.”
“Ey, aku kan hampir jadi mahasiswa environmental engineering.”
Vicky giggled. “Okay,” she paused. “Anyway. I’m going back home this summer.. Are you coming?”
There was an even longer pause after that. Vicky completely understood as for why her boyfriend remained silent for a few minutes — when she said she’s going back home and asked him if he’s going too, it is never to go back home.
But he smiled shortly afterwards. “Of course.”
“Aku gak maksa.. cuman — “
“Iya, tau.” he cut her off. “Kamu gak maksa, aku gak terpaksa.”
“Serius?”
“Iyaaa.” Anton pulled her into an embrace and led them back to walk the rest of the distance. “Seriously, Vick, I don’t have any reason to not come along. I’ll go wherever you go.”
Vicky hummed. “There’s no summer in Indonesia. You have one reason.”
His palm was rubbing along her arm neatly wrapped with the coat, and through his chuckle, he sent a wave down her lungs.
“Let’s put it aside for a while. You’re going back to Baltimore tomorrow,” his steps stoppped midways and he walked few steps to stand towering in front of her. “There’s no me in Baltimore.”
Vicky held her laughter. “And?”
He smiled cheekily. “I brushed my teeth.”
Another shockwave down her lungs. Oh.
