LOVE YOU, UNCLE

Darwin and Kennedy stared incredulously at Randy. For the past fifteen minutes, the two of them had been sitting in a coffee shop, only to find their cousin behaving like a lunatic. From the moment he arrived until now, his lips were unmistakably curved in a perpetual, unending smile.

In reality, Darwin and Kennedy shouldn’t have been surprised. It wasn’t the first time Randy had acted randomly or annoying. Occasionally, out of the blue, their youngest male cousin liked to invite them to meet as if there was something important to discuss. And when they gathered, instead of talking, Randy would spend time in silence, not uttering a single word.

“Ran… if there’s nothing important, Kennedy and I might as well head back. We don’t have time to wait for you to come up with something to say or a story,” Darwin stated.

Kennedy, seated next to Darwin, nodded. Even she, who was busy with her phone, intended to go home if Randy didn’t show any signs of wanting to talk.

“You have this habit of calling us to meet but end up laughing by yourself,” Kennedy finally complained.

Randy then turned. Pushing his chair forward, he finally explained why he called his two cousins to meet.

“You two are so talkative. Just so you know, I invited you because I want to treat you to a meal. I’m in a good mood.”

“Unusual,” Darwin said with a squinted eye. Growing more curious, he wondered what had made his cousin so happy. “Is it because you won a tender? Or what?”

“No,” Randy retorted. “It has nothing to do with work.”

“Then what? It can’t be that you’re happy for no reason, right?”

Randy smiled again. His face seemed shy as he wanted to share the reason.

“It’s about Ghea, Win.”

“Why? What happened to your wife?”

“It seems she’s starting to like me.”

Darwin and Kennedy exchanged glances. Instead of offering congratulations, the two men burst into laughter. It wasn’t a lack of appreciation, but more of finding it amusing that they finally knew what caused their cousin to act like a lunatic since he arrived.

“Oh, so you’ve been smiling mysteriously all this time because of this issue?”

Randy nodded.

“Well, you know, from the beginning, Ghea didn’t show any signs of liking me even a bit.”

“How do you know when Ghea started liking you? Did she say it directly?” Darwin inquired.

“Well, not directly, but you could tell from her behavior. If I were to guess, it all started with her obvious jealousy towards Stella.”

“Stella? The Finance Manager at Akasia?”

Randy nodded.

“Yeah, for the past few days, I’ve been focusing on working on a project with her. Ghea clearly didn’t like it. In fact, unexpectedly, this afternoon when Stella and I were discussing a tender, Ghea suddenly entered my office and asked to join us for lunch, even though Stella had invited me to lunch earlier to celebrate her tender win.”

“Then… what happened next?” Kennedy asked.

“Interrupted, Ken,” Randy sighed in annoyance.

“Ah, no fun. I asked for real. What’s the continuation of the story?”

“The funny thing is, when she entered the room, there was no storm, no rain, let alone a tsunami. Suddenly, she called me endearments like ‘dear’ and ‘my handsome husband.’ Previously, I had already forced her to use the term ‘Uncle,’ but she always refused. It’s really weird.”

“Well, it means Ghea wants to emphasize to Stella that you’re her husband, and no one should disturb that,” Darwin explained.

“Exactly!” Randy said, snapping his fingers in the air. Because of these two magical words, Randy’s heart was blooming. It was strange, considering it sounded so ordinary. But for some reason, when Ghea said it, it sounded so special. “Doesn’t that mean she’s starting to like me?”

“Not necessarily,” Kennedy denied. “Why not just agree to make Randy happy? It could be that she just doesn’t want what’s already hers to be disturbed by someone else. It’s too early to conclude that Ghea is starting to like you, Ran. In my opinion, your journey is still long and winding.”

Randy sighed deeply. He was happy before. Then, what else should he do to win his wife’s heart?

“Man, it’s really tough to conquer the heart of a teenage girl. Usually, just sprinkle a little charm, and women out there immediately swoon,” Kennedy teased. “Maybe you should take a seven-layer flower bath to open up your aura.”

Randy just laughed. Meanwhile, Darwin looked ready to give his response.

“Well, it’s your fault. Why did you choose a wife who was a teenager at that time? Besides the lack of experience, it’s also certain that you’ll have difficulty balancing her personality, behavior, and habits. Especially with a considerable age gap. Nearly a dozen years. It’s only natural for her to see you more as an uncle than a partner.”

“Damn it!” Randy cursed in frustration.

“Well, it’s true, right?” Darwin deliberately debated. “Everywhere, a relationship consists of two people who like or love each other. But if only one side likes or loves, that’s called DELUSION. It’s similar to your marriage.”

Randy wanted to curse again. Honestly, if the cafe where they gathered wasn’t quiet, Randy really wanted to hit Darwin, who enjoyed mocking and seeing him suffer.

“But, Ran…” this time Kennedy spoke again. “Whether she’s a real teenager or an old teenager, I still support you in slowly winning Ghea’s heart. If making Ghea jealous can slowly melt or open her heart, then go ahead and use that method. Who knows, it might really work after this. But you still have to be careful. Don’t let it go too far, where instead of opening Ghea’s heart, she ends up hating you.”

“Don’t worry, Ken. I’m the loyal type. Not like Darwin, who likes to cheat here and there.”

Darwin squinted in response. Why was he the one being used as a negative example? Was he really that bad in the past to the point of always being cited as a negative reference in every discussion about relationships? Despite having repented for a long time now.

“Why drag me into this?” he protested.

“Well, among the three of us, the one who truly realizes and deliberately cheats is you, Win.”

Darwin actually wanted to deny it. But he realized that he had indeed made such a fatal mistake in the past.

“Well, okay. I admit I did cheat. But it was only with one woman, not here and there.”

Randy nodded. He didn’t deny that fact.

“Whether it’s a lot or a little, it’s still called cheating, Win. Rexona is loyal all the time. And you? You intentionally play around. Aren’t you ashamed to your armpits?”

Kennedy laughed. Meanwhile, Darwin could only swallow his pride. His intention to bully, once again, ended up with him being cornered. Damn!

“That’s enough, I’m going home. Since there’s nothing important to discuss, let’s end this useless meeting,” Darwin said, still annoyed.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Randy just laughed. Finishing the remaining coffee in his cup, he responded to Darwin’s statement, “Oh, sulking, huh? Your hobby of sulking only grows with age. Besides, who asked you to try to mess with me? You fell for your own bait in the end.”

“Enough, Ran,” Kennedy intervened. “Darwin isn’t a vegetable. So, you don’t need to keep heating things up.”

Another burst of laughter erupted from Randy’s lips. He seemed satisfied with making Darwin more and more irritated.