Church
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
"It took you so long, my wife," he said while putting food on his plate.
She was looking at what he was doing.
"I just retouched myself," she answered. Cindy's appearance is still fresh to her even the conversation they had.
"For what?" he asked again.
"I don't want to look ugly. Maybe you should look for someone else," she said.
"Even if you don't retouch, you're still beautiful. Stop thinking that I'll look for someone else. I won't do that. You are enough, so why should I look for someone else?"
"Ask yourself."
So that Ariella wouldn't have to think about anything else, he kissed her on the forehead. They ate in silence, and when the food stain happened to be on the lower part of Anton's lips, she wiped it away. This brought a sweet smile to her lips which caused Ariella to immediately look away and turned her attention back to the food.
A few moments later, while they were eating, Anton's phone suddenly rang. He took it for a moment and answered. He didn't stand up anymore.
"Tomorrow?" he asked the person he was talking to on the phone. Even though Ariella wasn't looking, she was listening. It was a mystery to her who he was talking to on the phone call.
"Okay," he said before ending the call.
"Who called?" Ariella asked while slicing the beef steak.
"Grandmother. She requested something," he replied.
"What is it?"
"She just wants me to visit her. She said she's going to cook me my favorite food."
She didn't ask any more questions about what his grandmother said. It also occurred to her that she might didn't tell him to visit her with her because he did not like her.
When they finished eating, they rested for a while in the car while they waited for their food to digest. They still have somewhere to go. Because Anton wanted to take Ariella for a walk.
Ariella was busy reading a story on her phone when Anton suddenly asked.
"My wife," he called again when Ariella didn't hear his first call. She was busy reading and her attention was really there so she didn't hear Anton even though they were sitting next to each other.
He peeked at what Ariella was busy with and because of that, she noticed him.
"What's the story?" he asked.
"It's nothing. Something about betrayal," she answered.
Anton suddenly remembered something but he quickly put it out of his mind because what he was doing was not a betrayal.
"Don't you want to read love stories?"
"Love stories are boring. I prefer something like betrayal. Like how he betrayed her, and how she restarted again."
He suddenly felt something wrong, so he remained silent. The word betrayal kept coming back to his mind.
He also noticed that Ariella was serious when she said those, so he thought more.
To distract Ariella from reading, he asked again.
"Where do you want to go?"
Ariella didn't look at hin and focused on what she was reading, but she answered, "Somewhere. Somewhere that will give me peace of mind."
He thought for a moment where he could take Ariella. Because they don't tour often. He is busy with the company while Ariella is at home.
Finally, an idea came to his mind, so he drove off. Ariella had no idea where they were going. She didn't even ask because she was busy. That's the only way she could think of so she wouldn't overthink.
He parked the car and then looked out the window. The sacred place that he thinks could give her a peace of mind.
"We're here," he said.
They both got out of the car.
"Seriously?" Ariella asked while looking at the church.
"I am serious," answered Anton.
"Why? Why here? Why not somewhere else?"
"You want peace of mind, right?"
She nodded.
"...this place will give you a peace of mind. Don't you want?"
She shook her head and took the lead in walking into the church. Anton followed and held her hand so they could walk together and enter the church.
When they were inside, they sat down. There were only a few people so they sat in the middle.
They were both looking ahead, at the saints on display.
Ariella knelt down and prayed fervently. Anton just watched her.
At that moment, many things entered his mind. It also occurred to him whether it was right or wrong to talk and meet with his ex-fiancé. But he insisted that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. He wasn't fooling Ariella either.
After a while, Ariella sat next to him again.
"What did you pray for?" Anton asked.
"God knows," Ariella immediately answered. "Don't you want to pray for a while? Do you know how to pray?" she asked.
She looked at him upon asking those. He was also looking at her.
He clearly saw the seriousness of his wife.
"I don't have to," he answered without taking his eyes off her.
"But why?"
"God knows," he also answered.
She didn't speak anymore but it was a puzzle to her what was going through his mind.
'Confess,' she said to herself.
She closed her eyes tightly, trying to get some fresh vibes to freshen her mind. Almost every day he thinks a lot because of Anton.
Then suddenly, she remembered something.
"If I am not mistaken, this is the second time we went to church. First, when we got married, second....today," she said.
He also realized what Ariella said. She is right. They went to church twice.
"I can take you here everyday, if you want," he answered seriously.
She laughed a little because of what he said until she couldn't speak anymore. All of a sudden, the memories came back to her mind.
In her prayers, she surrendered those things to God and asked to lead her ways. In addition, she asked for signs, for the best thing to do, for clarifications.
"Do you know what I prayed for?" Anton asked her. She had no idea what it was.
"Did you pray?" she asked jokingly.
"I prayed that you would agree to have a child," he explained.
She laughed almost silently because of what he said, while Anton was serious.
"What kind of prayer is that?" she asked in her serious tone of voice.
"It's a serious prayer," he answered seriously, obviously.
No words came out of her mouth but only a serious look. As if she's trying to read what's inside his mind right now. If he is serious or not, she still can't give that to him.
Not ready for now.
