Hari sudah lewat pukul enam sore, tetapi langit masih terang. Mobil Kakek Tang dan Tang Qingshan tiba satu demi satu. Xiao Man berlari menyambut mereka sambil menggandeng kedua adik kecilnya, diikuti Nenek dan ibunya. Tawa riang memenuhi halaman, diselingi seruan, “Kakek!” dan “Ayah!”
Kedua adiknya sudah punya kakak perempuan, jadi mereka tak mau digendong ayah. Begitu melihat Kakek merangkul kakak mereka, keduanya ikut merapat agar bisa dekat dengannya. Xiao Man dan Kakek masing-masing menggendong seorang. Mereka memanggil Nenek untuk ikut, lalu masuk sambil tertawa bersama; Hao Wenli dan Tang Qingshan ditinggalkan untuk menurunkan beberapa barang dari mobil.
Tang Qingshan mengeluh, “Lihat dua bocah kecil yang maunya menang sendiri itu. Mereka tak mau kugendong, sekarang mendekati putriku pun tak boleh.”
Hao Wenli tersenyum. “Makanya, lebih seringlah memikirkan kami di rumah, tua maupun muda. Sesekali menolak undangan dan pulang untuk makan bersama kami juga menyenangkan. Putra-putramu baru berusia satu setengah tahun. Nanti saat mereka berumur tiga atau lima tahun, mereka akan makin jarang mau digendong. Nikmati masa kecil mereka selagi masih balita.”
Tang Qingshan tertawa kecil, agak pasrah, lalu merangkul bahu istrinya. Nada suaranya terdengar meminta maaf. “Kalian semua, tua maupun muda, adalah segalanya bagiku. Tentu saja aku selalu memikirkan kalian. Istriku begitu berbudi dan cakap. Selama ada kau, aku tak perlu mengkhawatirkan apa pun. Tapi kau benar. Aku keliru karena hanya memikirkan urusan besar sampai mengabaikan keluarga kecil kita, seharian tak pulang. Baiklah, akan kuingat ucapanmu. Mulai sekarang, aku akan menolak acara yang tidak penting dan berusaha lebih sering meluangkan waktu bersama keluarga. Kita tak boleh melewatkan masa kecil putra-putra kita!”
“Suamiku memang bijaksana.”
“Tentu saja. Dengan istri sebaik dirimu, suamimu hampir tak mungkin salah. Aduh, tadi sore aku menghadiri jamuan. Isinya cuma bicara dan minum, hampir tak sempat makan. Aku lapar sekali. Karena putri kita pulang malam ini, ada hidangan tambahan, bukan?”
“Ada, ada! Setiap kali putri kita pulang, dia selalu memastikan kita makan lebih enak. Tadi, setelah tahu Nenek dari pihak ibu ada di sini, dia membuat beberapa hidangan tambahan. Semua bahan yang Ibu minta dapur beli pagi tadi sudah habis dipakai. Masih ada masakan yang dikukus dan direbus di dapur. Nenek sedang mengawasinya. Kami hanya menunggu kalian pulang untuk mulai makan. Cepat masuk.”
Hao Wenli merasa iba mendengar suaminya lapar. Sambil tertawa, dia mengajaknya masuk. “Dua bocah itu dimanja kakaknya, sampai besar kepala. Makanan khusus mereka sudah habis. Mereka makan dengan lahap, tak bersisa sedikit pun. Perut mereka sampai membuncit dan pusarnya menonjol!”
“Hahaha, begitu, ya? Pantas saja mereka tak mau kugendong. Tak apalah, mereka punya kakak. Kita cuma bisa iri!”
“Benar! Kalau aku mulai iri, aku suka menggoda mereka. Kubilang, sebentar lagi kakak mereka akan dibawa pergi seorang pria, seperti di film, diarak dengan tandu pengantin! Mereka langsung cemas dan seharian menjaga kakaknya, tak mau jauh-jauh sedetik pun. Tadi saat dia pergi ke halaman belakang memetik kuncup magnolia, seorang petugas keamanan menawarkan bantuan, tapi si kecil malah mengepalkan tangan ke arahnya! Sudahlah kau tak bisa mendekati putrimu, tunggu saja sampai Gu Shaojun pulang... Hmm, itu pasti lebih seru lagi! Hahaha!”
Tang Qingshan terdiam. ‘Apa pantas istriku selucu ini? Putra-putranya sendiri pun digoda.’
Namun ia tak kuasa menahan tawa. Sambil menggeleng dan menghela napas, ia berkata, “Untung saja aku tetap pada pendirianku dan tidak mengalah. Kalau tidak, Gu Qiming pasti sudah membawa putri kita pergi. Kita berat melepasnya, sementara dia begitu menyayangi putranya. Shaojun memang unggul dan nyaris tak bercela. Sayang, usianya sedikit lebih tua. Kalau tidak, putri kita bisa tinggal bersama kita beberapa tahun lagi. Manman kita baru dua puluh tahun, sedangkan Shaojun sebentar lagi tiga puluh. Tak ada alasan menunda pernikahan mereka. Aduh!”
“Anak perempuan memang akan menikah juga. Hari itu pasti tiba. Kita seharusnya bersyukur dia menikah dengan orang yang tepat! Kalau ada waktu, bicaralah dengan Gu Qiming. Shaojun sudah beberapa tahun bertugas di daerah. Coba cari tahu apakah dia bisa dipindahkan kembali. Jadi, setelah mereka menikah, kita tak perlu khawatir soal penugasan. Asalkan dia berada di Beijing, putri kita bisa pulang kapan saja.”
“Ayah dan yang lain juga sudah membicarakan ini. Unit kerja Shaojun cukup khusus. Untuk orang-orang seperti dia, penempatan bisa berubah sewaktu-waktu tanpa pengumuman terbuka... Gu Qiming belum sempat pulang ke beberapa acara keluarga terakhir. Dua hari lagi, aku akan sengaja menemuinya untuk berbicara.”
Begitu mereka masuk ke ruang keluarga, Hao Hueling menghampiri sambil tersenyum. “Qingshan, kau sudah pulang. Pasti lapar, ya? Makanan sudah tersaji dan sup sudah dituang. Cuci tangan dan muka dulu, setelah itu langsung makan.”
Tang Qingshan menyapanya, “Bu,” lalu melongok ke belakangnya dan bertanya mengapa Tuan Cheng tidak ikut pulang bersamanya.
Hao Hueling menjelaskan bahwa Tuan Cheng pergi memancing bersama teman-temannya. Ia tak ikut karena takut kulitnya terbakar matahari.
It was a little after six in the evening, and the sky was still bright. Grandpa Tang’s and Tang Qingshan’s cars pulled up, one after the other. Xiao Man ran out to greet them, holding the hands of the two little toddlers, with Grandma and her mother following behind. The courtyard filled with joyous laughter and the lively sounds of "Grandpa!" and "Dad!"
The little brothers, having their sister, didn’t want their dad to hold them. When they saw Grandpa with his arm around their sister, they squeezed in to stick close to her too. Xiao Man and Grandpa each picked one of them up. Calling for Grandma to join them, the four of them—grandparent and grandchildren—went inside laughing, leaving Hao Wenli and Tang Qingshan to unload some things from the car.
Tang Qingshan complained, "Look at these two bossy little rascals. They don’t want me to hold them, and now they won’t even let me get close to my daughter."
Hao Wenli said with a smile, "That’s why you should think about all of us at home more often—the old and the young. Even if it means turning down some social events, it’s fun to just come home and eat and drink with us. Your sons are only a year and a half old now. By the time they’re three or five, they’ll want to be held even less. You have to cherish this precious time while they’re still toddlers."
Tang Qingshan gave a slightly helpless laugh and put his arm around his wife’s shoulder, his tone apologetic. "All of you—the young and the old—are my everything. I love you all so much, of course I’m always thinking of you... My wife is so virtuous and capable. With you here, I have nothing to worry about. But you’re right, it’s wrong of me to focus only on the big picture and neglect our little family, staying away from home all day. Okay, I’ll remember what you said. From now on, I’ll turn down any unimportant social events and try to spend more time with my family. We absolutely can’t miss out on our sons’ childhoods!"
"My husband is wise."
"Of course. With such a virtuous wife, your husband can rarely go wrong. Sigh, I was at a reception this afternoon. It was all talking and drinking, I didn’t get much to eat. I’m starving. Since our daughter is home tonight, are there any extra dishes?"
"Yes, yes! Our daughter always makes sure we eat better whenever she comes home. When she saw her maternal grandma was here today, she made several extra dishes. All the ingredients Mom had the kitchen buy this morning have been used up. There are still things steaming and stewing in the kitchen. Grandma is keeping an eye on them. We were just waiting for you two to get back to start dinner. Hurry up and go inside."
Hao Wenli’s heart ached to hear her husband was hungry. She ushered him inside, saying with a laugh, "The two little rascals are being doted on by their sister and they’re so smug about it. They’ve already finished their specially prepared kids’ meal. They ate with such relish, not leaving a single bite. Their little tummies are all round, and their belly buttons are popping out!"
"Haha, is that so? No wonder they didn’t want me to hold them. Oh well, they have their big sister. We can only look on with envy!"
"Exactly! And whenever I get jealous, I can’t help but tease them. I tell them their big sister will be snatched away by a man soon, just like in the movies, carried off in a bridal sedan! It made the two little guys so nervous, they’ve been guarding their sister all day, not leaving her side for a second. When she went to the backyard to pick some magnolia buds, a security guard offered to help, and the little guy actually shook his fist at him! Forget about you not being able to get close to your daughter, just wait until Gu Shaojun comes back... hmm, that’s when it’ll get even more fun! Hahaha!"
Tang Qingshan was speechless. ’Is it really okay for my wife to be this playful? She won’t even spare her own sons.’
But then he couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head with a sigh. "It’s a good thing I held my ground and didn’t budge, or else Gu Qiming would have snatched our daughter away. We can’t bear to part with her, and he dotes on his son. Shaojun is outstanding, impeccable in every way. It’s just a pity he’s a bit older. Otherwise, our daughter could have stayed with us for a few more years. Our Manman is twenty, and Shaojun is already approaching thirty. There’s no reason to postpone the wedding. Sigh!"
"Daughters are bound to get married; that day always comes. We should just be thankful she’s marrying the right person! When you have a moment, you should talk with Gu Qiming. Shaojun has been at that grassroots post for several years now. See if it’s possible to have him transferred back. That way, we won’t have to worry about transfers after they’re married. As long as he’s here in Beijing, our daughter can come home whenever she wants."
"Dad and the others have talked about this too. Shaojun’s work unit is rather special. For personnel like him, job positions can change at a moment’s notice without any public announcement... Gu Qiming hasn’t been able to make it back for the last few family gatherings. In a couple of days, I’ll make a special trip to go have a chat with him."
Walking into the living room, Hao Hueling came up to them with a smile. "Qingshan, you’re back. You must be hungry, right? The food is on the table and the soup has been ladled out. Go wash your hands and face; you can come eat right after."
Tang Qingshan greeted her as "Mom" and looked behind her, asking why Mr. Cheng hadn’t come with her.
Hao Hueling explained that Mr. Cheng had gone fishing with friends. She was afraid of getting sunburnt, so she didn’t go along.
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