Chapter 10

By the time we reached my place, she was already fast a sleep. I watched her sleep for a while in the car and I can see the innocence showed on her face. So peaceful and her soft breathing making the world seems to stand still.

I got out of my car and opened her side of the door. Then I went over to the house and unlock the wooden door. I can't leave Q in the car so I carried her into the house and lay her on the sofa. Switched on the central air-conditioning. Covered her with blanket I always have on the sofa. I decided to call Mak Jah to come over immediately. She lives just down the road.

I sat opposite Q while she's a sleep. Her eyelids closed against the dim light of dawn and her breathing deep and relaxed, all the muscles in her face and body were totally at peace, like a baby. Not a twitch, barely any movement of her breasts rising and falling with each intake of air. Hers was a body totally at peace, at rest, at one with itself, rejuvenating the mind and muscles before the onset of yet another day of action. 

"Imran.....", I was startled. It was Mak Jah. She has been my house keeper since I came back from Perth. "Y a Allah, anak dara siapa Im bawak balik ni.....?", Mak Jah whispered and tap twice lightly on my shoulder.

"Ehhhh Mak Jah terkejut saya......Sssshhhhsssss.....,"and I placed my pointer finger on my lips. Then Mak Jah sat next to me staring at Q.

"Cantiknya dia Im....anak dara siapa ni....dah pandai bawak balik perempuan pulak sekarang ya....", Mak Jah menegur aku.

I smiled. "Ish, Mak Jah ni tak baik buruk sangka....ini anak Tan Sri Khaled.....", belum habis aku bercakap Mak Jah menyampuk....

"Ialah anak Tan Sri pun....kenapa Im bawak dia sini....tak eloklah.....tapi Im, memang cantik budaknya. Manis dan muka dia bersih. Tidur pun tersenyum. Hah,...tengok tu.....tersenyum dia.....agaknya dia mimpikan Im kot....", usik Mak Jah sambil dia melentokkan kepalanya ke kiri kemudian ke kanan.

"Atau, Im culik dia ye.....", seloroh Mak Jah. "Kenapa Im cari Mak Jah subuh-subuh ni. Nasib baik Mak Jah baru selesai solat...Im dah solat?"

"Belum lagi. Lalai sekejap tengok anak dara orang tu tidur.....", aku menusik Mak Jah sambil muncung aku di halakan ke arah Q. "Im panggil Mak Jah sebab Im tak mahu orang fikir Im buat benda tak baik dalam rumah ni.......Kalau Mak Jah ada Im rasa selesa sikit....".

"Ialah....Ialah....dah la tu, pergi solat Suboh dulu, nanti habis pulak waktu.........Mak Jah teman kan anak dara orang tu....Ada nama tak....?"Mak Jah bertanya

"Q...nama pendek bagi Quxandria", aku menjawab lalu bangun untuk menunaikan solat Suboh dan meniggalkan Mak Jah menemani Q.

"Amboi.......nama....., tergeliat nak menyebut...", dia berseloroh.

Selesai mandi and bersolat aku cepat keluar semula ke ruang tamu. Q masih nyenyak tidur. It was already 6:30 am and Mak Jah is in the kitchen preparing breakfast. The crackling sound coming from the kitchen must have awoken Q. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Finally her eyes focused on me.

"Good morning Q...sleep well...?", I asked. She smiled and sat up.

"Morning......what time is it? Where am I and how did I get on the sofa....is someone cooking in the kitchen? And how long have you been sitting there?", she asked.

I got up and sat next to her. "Wow....way early for 20 questions....it's 6:45 am. Did you sleep well?", I wanted to know.

"Yes I did, and thank you....", she replied. I slowly ran my fingers through her hair as though my hand was like a large hair brush and tried to get any tangles out. Her hair was silky smooth. Then I heard Mak Jah called....

"Ehem...ehem....Im sarapan dah siap. Ajak kawan tu makan sekali...", and instantly I placed my hand down at the back of my neck.

"Come, I'll show you to the washroom and you can freshen up. Then we'll have breakfast....", I told her. She nodded dan memperbetulkan rambutnya. 

"Sejuk nasi goreng kat dapur tu......cepat sikit..", Mak Jah meninggikan suaranya.

Aku memerhatikan Mak Jah dan nampak dari jauh dia sedang ketawa tanpa suara. Dia memandang aku dan tersenyum....aku hanya menggeleng-gelengkan memerhatikan gelagat Mak Jah.  Mak Jah membuat isyarat SSShhhhhssssss!

I waited for Q outside of the washroom when she came out. Always generous with her smile she said, "Thank you.....".

I showed her the way to the kitchen......, "For what?", I wanted to know.

"For everything....", she replied and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Im, jemput kawan makan...", Mak Jah instructed. But Q stood up and walked over to Mak Jah. She greeted Mak Jah with Assalamualaikum and kiss her hand to show her respect. Mak Jah menyambut salam Q.

"Dah....duduk, duduk....makan.....nanti sejuk pulak nasi goreng ni.", Mak Jah replied and scooped 3 laddle full of fried rice onto Q's plate. Q knows her way around the elderly. Nampak sejuk sikit hati Mak Jah.

"Terima Kasih...", Q answered.

"Apa nama ni.....tadi?", Mak Jah bertanya. Q looked up and replied, "Nama saya Quxandria, Mak Cik."

"Q untuk short form....", aku menyampuk. Mak Jah mengangguk-anggukkan kepalanya.

"Panggil saja Mak Jah. Im pun panggil Mak Jah. Q tinggal mana?", aku memerhatikan Mak Jah seperti seorang pegawai temuduga.

"Saya tinggal di Cyberjaya. Keluarga saya tinggal di Kuala Lumpur.", Q jawab lalu menyuap sesudu nasi ke dalam mulutnya.

"Hah.....Im, tak makan? Dah kenyang ya tengok muka anak dara orang.....", Mak Jah memerli aku. Adusss.....pedih tu.....tapi aku tersengih saja.

Q mengangkat mangkuk nasi goreng dan menghulurkan pada aku.....aku tersenyum. Dia mengukir sebuah senyuman manis. "Makan lah, nanti perut kosong....", Q memujuk. Lalu aku menyambut mangkuk tadi. "Thanks...", I replied.