Loving You Too Long

Miami.

Haisley took a deep breath, catching the penetrating scent of salt in the air. The hot weather immediately penetrated her skin, and then she smiled. Tomorrow or the day after, whenever she arrived in Bandung, her somewhat yellowish skin tone would undoubtedly turn into a shade of brown. But that was fine; change was occasionally necessary.

She had also seen her place of residence. The roommates shared by two people, equipped with an en-suite bathroom and a small kitchen containing a single-door refrigerator, a stove, and some essential kitchen utensils. Her roommate, a 25-year-old girl named Astrid, seemed like a mature and friendly person.

Haisley had also visited the hotel where she would be working. The hotel staff mentioned that for the next week, someone would provide her with training before she would eventually work independently. Considering Haisley was not a graduate of a tourism or hotel school, she had to truly learn about attitude and her job as a restaurant waitress in a hotel.

Yes, it was a higher level, as she perceived it, because the salary was considerably higher compared to working as a regular restaurant waitress.

And now, Haisley chose to stroll around and spend her time before she got busy with her job in the upcoming days.

By five in the morning, Haisley was ready. By half past six, she had finished her shower, and by six, she had finished breakfast and was ready to go to the hotel. Mba Astrid mentioned that her trainer was a man in his thirties who seemed cold and unfriendly. The thing he disliked the most was lateness. So Haisley was advised to arrive at the hotel before six-thirty. And now, here she was, in the employee changing room, ready to change into her internship uniform.

There were three people who apparently entered with her: a 23-year-old man named Cakhra, a 25-year-old man named Wahyu, and a girl around 21 named Saras. The four of them stood in a row, waiting for the trainer to arrive. And then, there he was, the tall, handsome, and masculine man in a suit, wearing a name tag with the hotel logo beside it.

“Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Aditya. I am tasked with providing you with training for the next week. I hope you can follow the hotel’s work procedures and collaborate well.” He spoke, greeted by nods from the four individuals. The man then called each new employee by name and subsequently guided Haisley and the other three to follow him.

Because they will all be employed in the hotel’s restaurant section, they were taken to explore the kitchen, bar, and places typically used by their customers for dining. Yes, the dishes they would deliver were not confined to an area of around fifty by fifty meters. It also included other areas like the pool and bungalows, not to mention the hotel rooms themselves. So, Aditya took them on a tour of almost the entire hotel to show them all the available spaces.

Haisley stretched her legs when break time arrived. Working with Aditya truly required high spirits and extra energy, as the man seemed never to run out of energy. And for some reason, since she mentioned his name, he looked at Haisley with a cold and suspicious gaze, as if she had done something wrong to him. However, Haisley had no idea what mistake she might have made with the man.

Haisley glanced at her phone that she had set to silent mode. The numerous incoming messages forced her to reluctantly roll her eyes. Her sister, Crystal. Her brother-in-law, Juan. Her mother, and even Gilbert, everyone seemed to be sending her messages just to ask the same thing. How was Haisley’s job, and was she comfortable in Miami or not?

Oh God, she had just started her day; how could she decide whether she was comfortable or not? Haisley chose to ignore these messages and then put her phone in her pocket. She needed to eat delicious food to fill up her energy until the evening. Haisley then walked to the kitchen, asked for her lunch from the staff on duty there, before facing Aditya and starting to work.

Haisley finished her first day at three in the afternoon. For the next week, she would continue working from morning until evening, until she was given another schedule if her one-week training was successful.

What she knew was that there were three schedules in their restaurant. The morning shift, from half-past seven to three o’clock. The afternoon shift from two to eleven at night. And the night shift, from half-past four in the afternoon until half-past one in the morning. And Haisley was actually enthusiastic to experience working in these shifts. She believed that her busy schedule would slowly make her forget the painful chapter of her love story.

A week passed without feeling it. Haisley’s internship uniform had now changed to the official hotel employee uniform. Haisley herself was given several types of uniforms, ranging from T-shirts and long pants to a white shirt with a black knee-length skirt, complete with the mandatory high-heeled shoes that they said she had to wear during her day and night shifts. There was also another uniform in the form of batik that she had to wear on specific days.

Haisley was assigned to work six days a week, with one day off, and in the following week, a shift change. For her day off, she was not allowed to take weekends off because, they said, weekends were the busiest days in the restaurant.

In the third week of her work in Miami, Haisley received something surprising. Whether it was a dream or not, Haisley seemed to see her friends there. Flavia and Abigail. But when Haisley tried to approach them, they seemed to disappear into a crowd of people.

Haisley then grabbed her phone, searching for Abigail’s contact and hoping her number hadn’t changed without her knowledge. Fortunately, on the third ring, Abigail answered her call.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Haisley?” Abigail asked in surprise.

“Yeah, it’s me. Where are you?” Haisley inquired. “You’re in Miami, right?” without waiting for Abigail’s response, Haisley continued questioning.

“How did you know?” Abigail asked back.

“I’m here too, in Miami. I just saw you with Via. Oh, that was really Via, right?” Haisley asked hesitantly.

Abigail chuckled clearly on the other end. “Yes, that’s Flavia. Where are you? What are you doing in Miami? Vacation?”

“I’m working here,” Haisley answered without embarrassment.

“Working? Aren’t you supposed to be studying in a foreign country? Why are you working? Where do you work?”

Haisley mentioned where she worked. Abigail replied that she knew the place and then asked when Haisley would return. Haisley mentioned her working hours and her day off.

“All right, let’s meet at Jimbaran, how about that?” Abigail suggested, and Haisley agreed.

And when the evening came, Haisley truly went to Jimbaran to meet her two friends whom she hadn’t seen for almost a year. “Rin! La!” she shouted as she ran towards the two figures.

Abigail, being called, stood up and then smiled. She opened her arms so that Haisley’s smaller figure could enter her embrace. They hugged each other, swinging their bodies, and somehow, the longing felt so real at that moment.

Haisley then released her embrace, looking at Flavia who was still sitting on the beach chair with her usual gentle smile. The girl stood up with apparent difficulty and then hugged Haisley just as tightly.

“Missed you guys,” she said with a longing that she no longer hid.

“Why are you stranded here? Ran out of money for tuition?” Abigail teased intentionally.

Haisley glared at the girl who was known for her straightforward attitude. However, without hesitation, she replied, “I had a broken heart. Instead of staying there and my once big heart turning into a peanut, I chose to return to US.”

“You? Broken heart? Did I hear it wrong?” Abigail asked incredulously.

“Believe it or not. But the fact is, it’s true. Turns out, Nathan already has a girlfriend there, a foreigner, beautiful, and rich,” she said with annoyance. “Unfortunately, that girl is nice, so instead of making a move on her, I’d just embarrass myself.”

Haisley continued with a pouty face, answered by Abigail and Flavia with laughter. “What about you guys? Vacation?”

Flavia and Abigail nodded. “She’s on vacation,” Abigail said to Flavia. “I’m just unemployed,” she continued.

“A lawyer, unemployed with a busy schedule,” Flavia replied. “She has a photo shoot schedule here, so we decided to have a vacation together.”

Haisley nodded. “How long are you guys here?” she asked again. Abigail shrugged, while Flavia remained silent. “If you’re here for a while, great. I don’t want to be alone here. With you guys around, at least I can spend time together. At least until your vacation is over,” she continued.

“My holiday still has a long way to go, so I’ll be here for quite some time. You can come to the villa, and if you want, you can stay with us. It won’t be a problem, right?”

Haisley shook her head. “I stay in the employee dorm, so I can’t just do whatever I want. But if I want to stay overnight occasionally, it’s possible.”

They continued chatting until Flavia heard the call to Maghrib prayer from her phone.

“Let’s find a place to chat,” she suggested to the two girls in front of her, who answered with nods. Abigail then helped Flavia to stand up, and the three of them went to the parking area where Abigail’s car was.

Abigail drove her car to an area she deemed comfortable for chatting. When Flavia excused herself to go to the bathroom, Haisley’s eyes kept watching her friend’s steps.

“What happened to her?” Haisley asked softly.

Abigail knew that the question would eventually come, but Haisley tried to restrain herself, not wanting to hurt her friend’s feelings.

“She had a broken heart, just like you,” Abigail answered honestly. Haisley looked at her friend with a furrowed brow.

“On the day you went to England, her crush also chose to go to Germany for further studies.” Mentioning Germany reminded Haisley of Dean; she had to contact him and let him know about her presence to prevent him from thinking she was still in England, although she doubted Dean was unaware.

“And then?” Haisley redirected the conversation to its original topic.

“Via had an accident when she was about to catch up with Uncle,” Abigail replied. “Her condition is really bad. She’s even suspected to be paralyzed for a long time. But she has a strong spirit to survive. Today is the first day she let go of her crutches,” Abigail pointed to the back of her car, where a pair of grey crutches leaned inconspicuously, almost unnoticed by Haisley before. “Previously, she sat in a wheelchair and learned to walk. Until now, she also uses knee straps under her skirt, which makes it a bit difficult for her to walk.

“Because it’s the holiday season, she decided to take a break from therapy and chose to have a vacation here. Although that’s just an excuse. In fact, she’s here to avoid meeting other family members and doesn’t want to receive pitiful glances.

“Moreover, she avoids meeting Uncle even though it was just an accident,” Abigail continued.

Haisley could only look at Abigail with an understanding gaze. She knew how it felt to have a broken heart, which is why she understood Flavia’s current feelings. If a comparison were made, what Haisley felt now was nothing compared to what Flavia experienced.

“Hopefully, we can get a better fate after this,” the girl said while making the sign of the cross with her hand. Abigail smiled and silently agreed with her friend’s prayer.