Chapter 41: We Want A Simple Wedding
After dinner, Ludwina washed their dinner plates and cleared the dining table. Inwardly, she was very happy with the division of tasks. They felt like a modern couple living alone without a maid and sharing household duties.
After everything was neat again, she sat next to Andrea, who was relaxing on the sofa while reading and listening to music.
"If we're going back to Jakarta tomorrow, then will you be coming to my house with your mother to propose officially?" asked Ludwina, leaning her head on Andrea's shoulder. The young man rubbed his fiancee's head as he continued reading.
"Yes. Let's get it over with quickly."
"I want a simple wedding," said Ludwina in a coyish tone.
"Me too," agreed Andrea.
"But my mother will definitely ask us to get married on a large scale. I'm the youngest child and the only daughter." Ludwina let out a deep breath. She was well aware of her mother's opinion about weddings. The more lavish, the better. "Mom will definitely ask us to prepare a lavish wedding so intricate and grand that we won't be married even after a few years."
"Ah, really that much?" Andrea closed his book and turned to look at Ludwina.
"There's no way we'll be allowed to marry in a simple wedding ceremony, one month from now. I'm serious."
Andrea tapped his forehead. "Then what should we do? I don't want it to be complicated and lengthy. Moreover, I am very busy..." he complained.
"How about I tell mom that I'm pregnant...? So they'll be forced to quickly marry us off... bahahahahaha..." Ludwina laughed out loud. "Later when we get married, I'll tell her that the pregnancy test results were wrong or that I miscarried."
Andrea stared at Ludwina for a long moment, then shook his head.
"You can't do that, Wina. You can make your parents worry. I don't feel comfortable lying to the elders." He took a deep breath, "Unless you really want to get pregnant first. Then, I agree."
Ludwina froze at Andrea's words, and a moment later, she had landed a pinch on the man's waist. "Is that so?! You already agreed that we won't have children. Why are you making suggestions now? You really want me to get pregnant first and have a baby, huh? Actually, you do want to have children, right?"
Andrea laughed in pain trying to avoid the next pinch. "I'm kidding, Wina honey. I swear, I'm not serious. You were planning to pretend to get knocked up first so we can get married quickly. I just roll with it."
Andrea raised his right hand solemnly and made a promise in front of Ludwina. "I, Andrea Baskara, accept Ludwina as my wife who I will forever love, and will not demand Ludwina to give me children if she does not want children. However, if one day Ludwina changes her mind and wants to be a mother, I will be the best father to our children. I promise. "
Ludwina stared at Andrea with tears in her eyes and pouting lips that slowly turned into a smile. The girl's face was really cute, and Andrea couldn't help but kiss her.
***
That Saturday was very special because Andrea and his mother came to Ludwina's house to officially propose. Ludwina had seen a photo of his mother before, but this was the first time she met her in person, and she was surprised to see the similarities between herself and her future mother-in-law.
Mrs. Annie was petite with a beautiful face and bright eyes, and what was most unique was that her cheeks were freckled, just like Ludwina's, making them look younger than their actual age.
"You and Andrea must be soulmates," whispered Johann while poking Ludwina. "You really look like his mother."
Ludwina smiled broadly at that. She really liked Mrs. Annie and the fact that their faces looked alike made her even happier. Mrs. Inggrid and Mr. Kurniawan happily accepted Andrea's proposal.
They had seen how their youngest child looked very happy standing beside the young man. They also knew Andrea's good character, making them willing to entrust Ludwina to him.
The problem that had been discussed for a long time was that Mrs. Inggrid wanted them to have a grand and luxurious wedding... while both Ludwina and Andrea really don't like crowded events.
"But you're our only daughter... When will you be able to throw your dream wedding if you don't want to have a party?" complained Mrs. Inggrid sadly.
Ludwina and Andrea tried to convince their parents with various reasons why they chose to marry in a simple wedding. Ludwina even almost used her trick of pretending to be pregnant but was successfully prevented by Andrea.
"Mom... various studies showed that the greater the costs incurred for the wedding, the shorter the marriage would last," said Andrea finally. He showed the websites for the studies he meant on his phone, "You can read it yourself. We just want to live together and don't want to share the sacredness of the procession with people who don't matter to us. The most important people for Ludwina and I, are only you guys..."
"But if people hear that you got a simple wedding, they'll think that we don't love you. That's why we don't throw a grand wedding party for you.." Ludwina's mother insisted.
Andrea finally found a solution
"Mom... how about we make an agreement? We'll celebrate our marriage after five years. It's up to you how you want to celebrate it. We won't mind no matter how festive it will be. If we're still married after five years, we'll reaffirm our wedding vows with celebrations. In my opinion, this wedding should be a project celebrated after it has been proven successful. Have we ever had a party before the project even starts?"
Mrs. Inggrid still looked sad, but she knew that she wasn't going to win this argument. She also remembered that many of her acquaintances' children got married on a large scale and ended divorcing. She didn't want the same thing to happen to her daughter.
"All right... but in five years, you should let me organize your fifth wedding anniversary..." she said finally, relenting.
Andrea and Ludwina looked at each other with understanding. Ludwina hugged and kissed her mom, while Andrea kissed Mrs. Inggrid's hand gratefully.
He couldn't imagine a big wedding with thousands of strangers. Just thinking about it troubled him. He was very relieved that Mrs. Inggrid finally gave in.
"Johann will have a big wedding party when he gets married," said Ludwina to comfort his mother.
"Why... why me?" asked Johann. "I don't even have a girlfriend."
"Haven't you been dating Irma for 6 years?" asked Ludwina in surprise.
"We broke up," said Johann with a shrug. "I want to move to Sumba to build a clinic there. Irma said she couldn't live in a village."
Ludwina and her parents looked dumbfounded by Johann's words. They just found out that he broke up with his girlfriend of six years and even wanted to move to Sumba, a remote island in the eastern part of the country.
"Why do you want to move to Sumba?" asked Mrs. Inggrid in surprise. "What's up there?"
"There are countless poor people and toddlers who die because of illness due to poverty," Johann replied sadly. "I traveled there last month with my friends, and the situation there was very heartbreaking. Since the past week, I've been having nightmares and saw the little children there dying on my lap..."
They all fell silent.
"Johann..." Ludwina patted her brother's back. She understood Johann's feelings. The young doctor shrugged.
"So yeah... My friends and I want to create a foundation to channel the services of young doctors who are willing to be sent to the eastern part of the country. I also want to open a clinic at Lakey Beach... Hopefully, Dad will be willing to donate..."
They had never seen Johann as determined as he was now. Mr. Kurniawan secretly felt very proud because his children had very good characters. No worldly wealth could be compared to good character, and he happily supported Ludwina's simple marriage plans and Johann's determination to build his clinic.
***
Andrea took a week off to take care of his marriage. Because they had decided to do it simply, Bali became their first choice. Apart from being consecutively chosen as the best island in the world according to the latest polls of world travelers, Mr. Kurniawan owned a hotel on that Island of the Gods, so they didn't have to think about the venue at all.
That same week, Ludwina's favorite writer, Mary Ann Rowlins, became a guest speaker at the UWRF (Ubud Writers and Readers Festival), and the girl really hoped to come to see her.
So, the last week of October in Bali was the place and time that they considered the most appropriate for both of them to get married.
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