Chapter 52 - Semuanya Yang Terlambat

Part 1.

The wedding rehearsal went well without any hiccups. Hans said he is still keeping the wedding ring as a surprise until tomorrow night. I told him nothing fancy, just a simple gold band will do. He agreed.

That afternoon we had a small kenduri doa selamat in the Orchid Conservatory followed by afternoon tea. Just strictly among close friends and family members on both sides. We pray and asked that the wedding tomorrow night will be a success, Insya Allah.

Credit to The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur - Orchid Conservatory.

"Hi there. How are you. Senyum saja you hari ni.....that's a good sign.", Iddin came and sat next to me. Dia membetul-betulkan songkoknya.

You may be thinking why was Iddin at the reception this afternoon....Well what can I say, hmmm...his the best man!

"Aha...it's a good day, isn't it? So....no hang overs this morning, huh? You better cut down on your drinking. It's bad for your health......I care about you, you know.", aku tersenyum sinis.

"Someone caught me by surprised last night....", Iddin glanced at me. I'm guessing he was referring to me drinking his glass of whiskey.......

"Well, someone caught me by surprised, too....", and I was not impressed what almost happened last night. I looked at him and dia tersengih...."I'm sorry,.....did I misbehaved? My instinct says it could have happened another two seconds.", Iddin jawab dengan selamba and turn his head faced forward.

"Sudahlah, nak berlakon konon....", aku menjawab sambil menampar lengannya. "Don't ever let it slipped again, understand?". I warned him. "This time I may be able to resist the temptation. Next time who knows I might be tempted......", tiba-tiba terpacul dari mulut aku. He was taken a back by my response. I stood up and just as I was about to walk away, I turn back and look at Iddin who still has his confused face on.

"You're kidding right....?", Iddin inginkan kepastian. He lifted his eyebrows.

Then I said, "Gotchaaa.........!", I teased him and walked away. I walked over to Hans mother and sat next to her. I scanned around the room for Hans and there he was.....he looks good in his baju melayu. Then he looked straight right at me from across the room and gave me a smile. I smiled back at him.

Suddenly,.....

"Can I have everyone's attention please, I just have a short speech that I want to share with all of you...", Hans stepped forward and spoke up to get everyone's attention. A few guest took their seats while others were just standing around the main table.

"Terima kasih kepada semua yang hadir petang ni. As all of you know Atika telah sah menjadi isteri saya pada tujuh julai tahun lepas. Kami bernikah di kedutaan Malaysia di Budapest. Thank you to Mom, Dad and Mama, my mother in-law who gave us their blessings. It made both of us the happiest couple that day....thank you again from the bottom of my heart. We wanted to do the right thing. Resepsi esok adalah untuk menyempurnakan ikatan perkahwinan kami. Kami ingin dekatkan yang jauh dan yang dekat di perkukuhkan talian persaudaraan.", Hans started his speech. He walked over to me and held his hand out. I reached for his hand and stood up next to him.

Hans held both my hands and faced me directly. "Atika, I don’t know where to begin to thank you,……………you’re simply amazing". We both laughed and followed by the guests. "And now all I can think about is your smile and your laugh and the sound of your voice when you say my name. When I am not with you, you all I think about. When I am with you all I think about is how lucky I am to be with you. I want to spend the rest of my life proving my love to you. I do not want a day go by, me without you. I can’t change my past but finding you in my present makes me want you for my future. Atika, I love you and I want to present you with this ring........". I saw Hans opened a small box in his hand.

"Hans, it's beautiful......". It was a gold band alright.....a his and a her set of ring from Bvlgari! The ring can be put together and become one! I was touched when he slipped one ring on my finger then he gave the other to me and I can put it on his finger. He kissed me on the forehead and followed by a warm embrace. There were laughter, whistles, and claps going around. I smiled and held tight to Hans hand as we turn to face our guests. Our fingers clamped together.

"There are so many people we want to thank from wedding planner, our designers, friends, relatives and especially our parents. On behalf of my wife and I,thank you sincerely for sharing this special day with us. Seriously the length many of you have gone to in order to be here today really means a great deal to us both,  It really wouldn’t be the same without you all and we thank you.", Hans ended his speech. Everybody clapped.

"Oh by the way, one last surprised of the day......., is the band ready?", Hans asked the restaurant manager. The manager nodded. Hans showed a thumbs up sign. I wonder what is he up to now.....

Part 2.

"This special surprise was flown all the way from Indonesia, and it's a wedding gift for my lovely wife from my mentor, Bapak Yoka Sara!"

Everyone was puzzled by the introduction. A few were whispering among each other. What could it be....ermmmm something from Bali?

Then the music began.........followed by,

a familiar male voice.....

and I kept turning my head around....,

where is the voice coming from.........and then,

he walked in......

Credit to blindpig film and You Tube

Oh my God.....it was Marcell!!!! He came over, sang to me and stood in front of me. I froze, blushed and felt sweaty at the same time. Helloooo! Slap me please....!

Holding the tips of my fingers, Marcell led me to the middle of the room and serenade the entire song for me. I just can't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe I get to meet Marcell in person. He gently placed his arm around my waist as he sang.

I thought of Hans and kept looking around the room. I am still in shock and overwhelmed with multiple emotions that I wanted to cry out of joy. After scanning the room 180 degree I saw Hans stood smiling in one corner. I whispered "Thank you" to Marcell. He nodded and let go off his arms. I slowly walked towards Hans. He reached out his hands and hugged me from behind as we slowly rock to Marcell.

When the song ended, Marcell said a few words to us, "It has always been my pleasure to perform in front newly weds. Ya, brings back memories tika saya nikahi Rima Melati, istri saya....."our guest chuckled.

"Acara weekend ini ya bangat penting bagi Bapak Yoka Sara dan I just can't turn him down. Katanya Hans is just like a son to him...So here I am.", loud claps came from our guests. "Jadi saya ada 3 performance for this wedding, semuanya menyampaikan lagu-lagu kegemaran the bride,...yang mana difahamkan gemar mendengarkan musik saya sebelum tidur. Feeling, feelingkan.......", the guest all laughed and looked at me. I was embarrassed. Ini mesti kerja Hans.........

"Thank you to Hans and Atika for having me here. Congratulations. Semoga perkahwinan ini berkekalan.....Amin.....Baik, my next song berjudul, Firasat. Musik dan liriknya seksi ya. Just listen to the lyrics and you know what I mean....". Yes, aku agree with Marcell. This is one of my favorites.

"Jadi, let's have the bride and the groom tampil ke hadapan untuk first dance ya......". Thunderous applauds filled the room. 

Oh my...now I have to dance.... to a slow tune....I looked at Hans to let him know I was a bit hesitant but Hans insist, "Don't worry, I'll lead and then we let the music take charge...".  I smiled nervously and said, "Okay....", and we nodded at the same time. 

We dance and spin. Midway into the song others started to join us on the dance floor.

"Babe, what's the one thing I should know about you?", Hans tiba-tiba bertanya. A very unusual question to ask, in my opinion.

Aku memandangnya dengan pelik. I am not sure how to answer him. "Well for once, easy identification in case anything happened to me, my birth mark is on my right buttock.". And we laughed.

"That I know....you don't need to tell me......", and Hans winked at me.