A New Rhythm

Danar’s car slowed to a stop in front of Aruna Studio. Only Aruna and Rianti got out, while Danar continued on his way to a cluster housing project in West Jakarta.

“Kak, I’ll head straight home, okay?” Rianti said as she walked toward her scooter parked in front of the studio.

“All right. Just tell Ibu I’ll be home a little late. There’s still some work to do at the studio.”

“Got it. Consider it done!”

Rianti started her scooter. Aruna waited until her younger sister’s figure disappeared at the end of the street before entering the studio.

Dayu greeted her with a broad smile the moment Aruna dropped into her office chair.

“You read my message earlier, right?” Dayu asked pointedly.

“I did. Sorry I couldn’t reply. Things were hectic at the boutique.”

“But everything’s settled now, right? Mbak Helena was really quick when she handled my cousin’s wedding dress.”

“Yeah. For now, it’s all settled.” Aruna sighed. “Who was it you said called looking for me? Bu Kinara? Kirana?”

“Bu Kirana. Turns out she’s a friend of Bu Amalia. She saw Bu Amalia’s story update about the interior design work we did on her house and got interested. She wants to turn the attic, which she’s been using as storage, into a workspace. She’s a children’s book illustrator.”

Aruna straightened in her chair, her attention immediately shifting.

“A children’s book illustrator?”

“Yep. She called this afternoon to consult with you. I told her you were out in a meeting, but we could schedule a consultation if she wanted.”

“What did she say?”

“She wants to come here tomorrow at ten. I checked your schedule. You’re free tomorrow morning, so I confirmed it.”

“Okay. Thanks for the update.” Aruna gave a faint smile. “Let’s look forward to meeting our new potential client tomorrow.”

As evening approached, the pace of work at Aruna Studio only grew more frantic.

The wall clock already showed seven, but none of them showed any sign of going home.

Aruna had kicked her heels beneath the desk and replaced them with a pair of rubber flip-flops that were far more humane. Her hair was haphazardly twisted up with a claw clip. On the communal table, samples of HPL panels, linen catalogs, and paint color cards were scattered around her laptop.

Across the table, the hum of Marco’s PC fan sounded louder than usual. He wore a large pair of headphones around his neck. His eyes were beginning to redden, but he remained focused on the two monitors in front of him.

On the left monitor, the rendering progress for the bar area of Kafe Alinea had only reached forty percent. On the right, he was chipping away at revisions to a child’s bedroom floor plan.

Dayu’s side of the table was no less chaotic. HPL catalogs in various wood patterns lay open. A calculator sat beside sheets of invoices and vendor receipts. Her fingers moved rapidly between the Excel sheet for the café’s cost estimate and WhatsApp messages from the site foremen.

Ding!

A notification from Dayu’s phone broke the silence.

“Guys ...” Dayu raised her phone. “The second installment payment for Kafe Alinea just came in.”

Marco lowered his headphones from his ears.

“Seriously?”

Dayu nodded as she checked the account activity.

“It’s in. So once the final render is done and we’ve checked it, we can send it to them first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Nice.” Marco turned back to his monitor. “Then we’re good.”

“Perfect timing.” Dayu stood up to get some water. “The kids’ bedroom client also WhatsApped. Pak Samuel wants the study desk moved closer to the window so it gets more natural light. Can you revise the floor plan too? That way Aruna can check it first thing tomorrow morning.”

“On it.”

Marco got back to work.

Dayu walked toward the small refrigerator in the pantry corner. Just as she was about to open it, she glanced at the wall clock.

“My stomach’s starting to stage a protest. What do you want to eat? I’ll order for everyone.”

“I’ll eat whatever, Yu. Just make sure it’s spicy and loaded with carbs so my brain doesn’t crash like an old PC,” Marco called from behind his headphones.

Aruna chuckled.

“I’ll have grilled chicken, Yu. Sweet iced tea for the drink. Put it on the studio’s petty cash.”

“Okay. Two grilled chickens and one fried duck for Marco.”

Dayu returned to her desk, busy choosing items on the food delivery app.

“Oh, hey, Yu.”

Marco suddenly lowered his headphones again.

“Did the photographer send the documentation photos of Kafe Alinea yet?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Don’t upload them straight to the website. The files are huge. Let me compress them first so our website doesn’t get sluggish.”

Dayu nodded lazily.

“I thought you were going to say something else.”

“You thought I was going to ask for more food?”

“No. I thought you were going to give us more work.”

Marco chuckled.

“My workload just keeps growing, Yu.”

Dayu tossed a small rubber eraser at him.

“Finish your rendering first!”

Aruna smiled at her colleagues’ antics.

The overtime work that night had, to some extent, managed to evaporate her irritation with Danar. At least while her hands were busy flipping through catalogs and her eyes moved from one image to another, she didn’t have much time to think about his family.

An hour later, their food was gone.

Plates and food wrappers piled up in one corner of the table as the wall clock showed a quarter past nine.

Suddenly, the hum of Marco’s PC fan slowed.

The progress bar on his left monitor stopped at one hundred percent.

“Done!”

Marco took off his headphones and stretched both arms into the air.

“Alinea’s finished!”

Dayu immediately turned toward him.

“Check it before you celebrate.”

Marco swiveled his chair slightly.

“Already did. Just the final check tomorrow morning.”

“Good. I’ll send the final files along with the final payment invoice tomorrow morning.”

Aruna, who had been sitting at her desk, immediately stood and walked over to Marco’s workstation.

She looked at the monitor.

The bar area of Kafe Alinea looked alive. The pendant lights cast a soft glow across the tables, their reflections appearing almost real.

Aruna smiled.

“Beautiful.”

Marco leaned back in his chair.

“Not bad, huh?”

“Not just not bad.” Aruna nodded approvingly. “It’s really good.”

Dayu came over and stood beside them.

“If the client doesn’t like it, I’ll ask them to give us our money back.”

Marco turned toward her at once.

“Don’t act rich.”

“There you go. One compliment and you’re already getting cocky.”

Aruna laughed softly.

For the first time since leaving the boutique that afternoon, her mind felt truly light.

There was a potential new client tomorrow.

Kafe Alinea was nearly finished.

And somehow, amid all the busyness, Aruna felt her life beginning to move in a new direction.

She didn’t yet know whether that direction would lead her to happiness.

Or to something she had never imagined at all.