Late Pay

When she got home, Lisa began to feel her body was very tired compared to when she was earlier in the office. Her mother was waiting for her in the dining room. The middle-aged woman then ran to Lisa and hugged her. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Lisa gently patted her mother's back with a sad look. The face of the old woman who stood in front of her radiated with deep sadness, as if there was no tomorrow for her.

Then, Lisa escorted her mother to a 3x3 meter room next to the living room. Inside, there was a queen size bed from the times when her mother was still with her father. The room felt very lonely and wrenching. A line of photos of Lisa and her family were still displayed on her mother's dressing table. And what really broke her heart was her parent's wedding picture.

Kumala sat on the old bed side by side with Lisa, who was still wearing her office clothes. The middle aged woman was still sobbing. She wiped Kumala's tears with her long fingers while saying, "Mom don't cry... Lisa is home already..."

"Forgive this mother who is getting old, kid! You don't know how to deal with this ordeal!" Kumala cried. Her hands covered her face.

"Sssh calm down mom, you don't need to worry! Lisa's here. Lisa is not drunk anymore. You don't need to be confused about your medical expenses and Bella's tuition fees."

Kumala closed her eyes and sighed. Her mind that was previously very cloudy was gradually becoming clearer. Lisa handed her a piece of tissue to wipe Kumala's tears. She then reached for the white sheet and said, "The house's tax, dear..."

Kumala paused for a moment and let out a choked sigh, "Our house's tax is subject to fines because we overdue the payment... If we don't pay it immediately, we will have to move to another place..."

Lisa instantly remembered that she'd forgotten to pay the house tax that she was supposed to pay a month ago. Business in the office as the president's personal secretary really made her have no time. Every night she came home and had to rest, the next morning she left again. Even on weekends, she did not have time to take care of household matters.

Lisa really regretted what she did this time. Because of her, the house's tax was subject to a large fine. Even Lisa's monthly salary wasn't enough to cover the bill!

"Lisa still has savings, right? Mother asks for help, you use the money to pay taxes and fines." Her mother said, "I'm sorry I bothered you. If I could still work, you don't have to bother making a living like this... "

"No, no… Mother...Don't feel guilty. I regret that I forgot to pay it last month because I'm getting busier at the office..."

Lisa looked at her mother who stroked her head. The middle-aged woman occasionally moaned in pain. Lisa's eyes began to notice a scar near her mother's forehead which was covered with long gray hair.

"Mother, what is that in your forehead!?" Lisa said suspiciously.

"Your father is mentally ill, dear. Even Mother's divorce papers were still held by him. But your father still used to visit here just to beat me up..."

"Bastard!" She jolted.

Lisa was getting angry with her father. Moreover, it was very difficult for her to report to the police because she had to deal with money again. To make matters worse, Kumala was an only child and Lisa's grandparents had long since died. Kumala had no siblings close to her to serve as a shelter from Lisa's violent father.

If only Lisa's father hadn't run away and married that bad woman. Lisa's life and her family might not have been this bad!

"You don't have to worry, tomorrow Lisa will pay this house tax along with the fine. Mom, just rest, don't think too much about the house, you'll get sick later."

In fact, Lisa didn't have the heart to tell her mother honestly that her ex-boyfriend took the savings she had collected for a long time. Let alone about her pregnancy outside of marriage. Lisa didn't want to burden her mother's feelings, which had long been crushed by her father.

At the moment, what was on his mind was where should she borrow that amount of money to pay taxes and fines? If only she didn't lose her savings, Lisa wouldn't need to add to her burden on this problem!

After talking for a long time, it didn't feel like the day was getting late. Kumala remembered that she hadn't offered Lisa for dinner. Her daughter hadn't had dinner with her mother for more than a month. Kumala then invited Lisa to sit on a chair at the dining table, handing her an empty plate and cutlery.

"Lisa, today mother made rawon for you. Will you eat it?"

It so happened that Lisa didn't have time to eat dinner after work. The woman hadn't tasted her mother's cooking for a long time, which always made her miss her. The woman took two scoops of rice, the aroma of rawon filled her olfactory cavity, really arousing.

She poured the rawon sauce, which smelled so good. The cuts of meat were very tempting. Lisa scooped out the rice and the rawon sauce and ate it very heartily. Her mother was very happy to see her eldest daughter so excited to eat this traditional dish.

"Lisa is hungry, huh?" Kumala asked, smiling.

"Lisa hasn't eaten mom!" She said, "Thank you very much for cooking this for me today!"

Lisa wasn't the type to finish off that much food in one act. Usually, she could only eat one plate of rawon rice. But today Lisa was very greedy, not as usual.

Kumala watched her take the third portion in amazement. This was the first time Kumala saw her eldest daughter eat so fast and heartily.

A little worried about her daughter, she asked, "Lisa, how many days have you not eaten?"

For a moment Lisa remembered that she was pregnant. Not all women lose their appetite when pregnant, like Lisa for example.

"You're not sick, are you Lisa?" Kumala asked, worried.

"Oh no mom! It's just that this week Lisa is often working overtime and forgets to eat dinner. You don't have to worry, Lisa is fine!"

"Oh yeah, that's good then. Eat it all, Lisa. I want to sleep first ..."

Kumala left into her room, leaving Lisa who was still eating rawon rice. Lisa almost told her mother that she was pregnant! She thought that it could be bad if her mother knew about it.

As she finished Kumala's rawon, Lisa thought back to where she would borrow the money from. Her debt and bills increasingly got bigger.

'Do Andien and Dimas have money?' Lisa asked herself.

'I want to borrow it from Dimas, but he is hard to contact ... I want to borrow it from Andien, but I think she doesn't have any money anymore.'

Lisa stopped her chewing and said to herself, "Can you just borrow Oscar? Isn't he really rich? Eh, no! He's my boss, I don't know shame if I borrow it from him!"