One Glove Short

Eero sits behind a small desk at the stage door. He checks names. He hands out keys. He knows every actor by the sound of their shoes.

Eero duduk di balik meja kecil di pintu panggung. Ia memeriksa nama. Ia membagikan kunci. Ia mengenal setiap aktor dari bunyi sepatunya.

It is six forty on opening night. The curtain goes up at seven thirty. The hall is full of noise and the smell of paint.

Pukul enam empat puluh pada malam pembukaan. Tirai akan naik pukul tujuh tiga puluh. Aula penuh keributan dan bau cat.

The door bangs open. Zosia runs in. One hand holds a clipboard. The other holds a phone. She is the stage manager. She never runs, so Eero sits up.

Pintu terbanting terbuka. Zosia berlari masuk. Satu tangannya memegang papan jepit. Tangan yang lain memegang ponsel. Ia manajer panggung. Ia tidak pernah berlari, jadi Eero duduk tegak.

"Eero, did you see a glove?" she says.

"Eero, kamu lihat sarung tangan?" katanya.

"A glove?" Eero says. "What kind of glove?"

"Sarung tangan?" kata Eero. "Sarung tangan yang bagaimana?"

"A long white one. Soft. Right hand." Zosia puts both hands on the desk. "The duchess needs it in the first scene."

"Yang panjang, putih. Lembut. Tangan kanan." Zosia menaruh kedua tangannya di meja. "Sang duchess membutuhkannya di adegan pertama."

Eero looks at his desk. He sees a cup, a stapler and a sleepy plant. He sees no glove. "Sorry," he says. "Nothing here."

Eero memandang mejanya. Ia melihat sebuah cangkir, sebuah stapler, dan tanaman yang mengantuk. Ia tidak melihat sarung tangan. "Maaf," katanya. "Tidak ada di sini."

"Then we have a problem," Zosia says. "We have one white glove and a lot of worry."

"Kalau begitu kita punya masalah," kata Zosia. "Kita punya satu sarung tangan putih dan banyak kecemasan."

She tells him the story fast. The lead actress plays the duchess. She came in at six. She put on the costume. She had two gloves for the first scene. At six thirty, she opened her bag. She found only the left one. The right one was gone.

Ia menceritakan kisahnya dengan cepat. Aktris utama memerankan sang duchess. Ia datang pukul enam. Ia mengenakan kostumnya. Ia punya dua sarung tangan untuk adegan pertama. Pukul enam tiga puluh, ia membuka tasnya. Ia hanya menemukan yang kiri. Yang kanan hilang.

"She looked in the dressing room," Zosia says. "She looked in the bathroom. She looked in her car."

"Dia mencari di ruang rias," kata Zosia. "Dia mencari di kamar mandi. Dia mencari di mobilnya."

"What does she say?" Eero asks.

"Apa katanya?" tanya Eero.

"She says she cannot walk on the stage," Zosia says. "She says one glove is not enough. She says the duchess is nothing without both."

"Katanya dia tidak bisa naik ke panggung," kata Zosia. "Katanya satu sarung tangan tidak cukup. Katanya sang duchess bukan apa-apa tanpa keduanya."

Eero stands up. "I will look," he says. He checks the floor. He checks the bin. He looks under the plant. He looks inside the stapler. That makes no sense, but he looks anyway.

Eero berdiri. "Aku akan mencarinya," katanya. Ia memeriksa lantai. Ia memeriksa tempat sampah. Ia melihat di bawah tanaman. Ia melihat ke dalam stapler. Itu tidak masuk akal, tetapi ia tetap melihat.

Nothing.

Tidak ada.

Zosia's phone rings. She listens for ten seconds and says, "Yes, I know. I will fix it." Then she looks at Eero. "I have two ideas. Tell me which one is better."

Ponsel Zosia berdering. Ia mendengarkan sepuluh detik dan berkata, "Ya, aku tahu. Akan kuurus." Lalu ia menatap Eero. "Aku punya dua ide. Katakan mana yang lebih baik."

"Why me?" Eero asks.

"Kenapa aku?" tanya Eero.

"Because you are calm," Zosia says. "And because everyone else shouts."

"Karena kamu tenang," kata Zosia. "Dan karena yang lain semuanya berteriak."

Eero sits down again. "Go on."

Eero duduk lagi. "Lanjutkan."

"Idea one," Zosia says. "We take a glove from the costume room. There is a long black lace glove from an old play. It fits the right hand. But it does not match the white one."

"Ide pertama," kata Zosia. "Kita ambil sarung tangan dari ruang kostum. Ada sarung tangan renda hitam yang panjang dari sebuah lakon lama. Pas untuk tangan kanan. Tapi tidak serasi dengan yang putih."

"Idea two?" Eero asks.

"Ide kedua?" tanya Eero.

"Idea two. The duchess wears no gloves at all. She plays the whole show with bare hands. Everything matches, and nothing looks strange."

"Ide kedua. Sang duchess tidak memakai sarung tangan sama sekali. Dia memainkan seluruh pertunjukan dengan tangan kosong. Semuanya serasi, dan tidak ada yang tampak aneh."

Eero thinks about it. Both ideas sound fine to him. One is odd. One is plain. He cannot say which is right.

Eero memikirkannya. Kedua ide itu terdengar baik baginya. Yang satu ganjil. Yang satu biasa saja. Ia tidak bisa mengatakan mana yang benar.

"What is the play about?" he asks.

"Lakon ini tentang apa?" tanyanya.

"It is a comedy," Zosia says. "The duchess is very rich, very proud and a bit silly. She forgets things. She wears her hat the wrong way. In the first scene, she waves her gloves at everyone."

"Komedi," kata Zosia. "Sang duchess sangat kaya, sangat angkuh, dan agak konyol. Dia pelupa. Dia memakai topinya terbalik. Di adegan pertama, dia melambai-lambaikan sarung tangannya kepada semua orang."

"So she waves them a lot," Eero says.

"Jadi dia sering melambaikannya," kata Eero.

"Yes. She waves them in five scenes."

"Ya. Dia melambaikannya di lima adegan."

Eero smiles. "Then you know your answer," he says.

Eero tersenyum. "Berarti kamu sudah tahu jawabannya," katanya.

Zosia looks at the floor. She looks at her clipboard. She looks at the clock on the wall. It says six forty-eight.

Zosia memandang lantai. Ia memandang papan jepitnya. Ia memandang jam di dinding. Jam itu menunjukkan enam empat puluh delapan.

"Black lace," she says. "I choose the black one."

"Renda hitam," katanya. "Aku pilih yang hitam."

"Why?" Eero asks, because he wants to hear her say it.

"Kenapa?" tanya Eero, karena ia ingin mendengarnya mengatakannya.

"Because bare hands are safe, and safe is dull," Zosia says. "The duchess is not a safe woman. She puts on one white glove and one black one. She does not notice. The audience will notice. They will love it."

"Karena tangan kosong itu aman, dan aman itu membosankan," kata Zosia. "Sang duchess bukan perempuan yang aman. Dia memakai satu sarung tangan putih dan satu yang hitam. Dia tidak sadar. Penonton akan sadar. Mereka akan menyukainya."

"Good," Eero says.

"Bagus," kata Eero.

"But the actress will hate it," Zosia says.

"Tapi sang aktris akan membencinya," kata Zosia.

"Then tell her it is her idea," Eero says.

"Kalau begitu bilang saja itu idenya sendiri," kata Eero.

Zosia laughs for the first time that night. She runs to the costume room. She comes back with a long black glove. Then she runs to the dressing room. Eero hears her shoes on the stairs. Then he hears a distant voice, and a door.

Zosia tertawa untuk pertama kalinya malam itu. Ia berlari ke ruang kostum. Ia kembali dengan sarung tangan hitam yang panjang. Lalu ia berlari ke ruang rias. Eero mendengar sepatunya di tangga. Lalu ia mendengar suara dari kejauhan, dan sebuah pintu.

At seven thirty, the show starts. Eero cannot watch from the stage door. But a small speaker on the wall brings him the sound. First he hears music. Then he hears the duchess walk on.

Pukul tujuh tiga puluh, pertunjukan dimulai. Eero tidak bisa menonton dari pintu panggung. Tetapi sebuah pengeras suara kecil di dinding membawakan suaranya. Pertama ia mendengar musik. Lalu ia mendengar sang duchess melangkah masuk.

There is a short silence. Then he hears one laugh. Then ten. Then the whole hall.

Ada keheningan singkat. Lalu ia mendengar satu tawa. Lalu sepuluh. Lalu seluruh aula.

Eero grins at the speaker. Zosia is right. The audience loves the duchess and her odd gloves.

Eero nyengir kepada pengeras suara itu. Zosia benar. Penonton menyukai sang duchess dan sarung tangannya yang ganjil.

Every few minutes, the audience laughs again. In scene three, the laugh is so loud that the plant shakes. In scene five, the duchess says, "You have lovely gloves." The audience laughs until it cannot stop.

Setiap beberapa menit, penonton tertawa lagi. Di adegan tiga, tawanya begitu keras sampai tanaman itu bergetar. Di adegan lima, sang duchess berkata, "Sarung tanganmu indah sekali." Penonton tertawa sampai tak bisa berhenti.

At the break, Zosia comes back to the stage door. Her hair is a mess. Her clipboard has a coffee stain.

Saat jeda, Zosia kembali ke pintu panggung. Rambutnya berantakan. Papan jepitnya ada noda kopi.

"They love it," she says. "The actress loves it too. She says it was her idea."

"Mereka suka sekali," katanya. "Sang aktris juga suka. Katanya itu idenya."

"Good," Eero says. "Everyone is happy."

"Bagus," kata Eero. "Semua senang."

"Everyone except me," Zosia says. "I still want to know where the white glove is. Gloves do not walk away by themselves."

"Semua kecuali aku," kata Zosia. "Aku masih ingin tahu di mana sarung tangan putih itu. Sarung tangan tidak pergi sendiri."

"No," Eero says. "They do not."

"Tidak," kata Eero. "Memang tidak."

He thinks about the evening again. He thinks about six o'clock, when the actress arrived. She signed the book. She had her bag on one arm. She held a coffee in one hand. She held the white glove in the other.

Ia memikirkan malam itu lagi. Ia memikirkan pukul enam, saat sang aktris tiba. Ia menandatangani buku tamu. Tasnya tersampir di satu lengan. Ia memegang kopi di satu tangan. Di tangan yang lain ia memegang sarung tangan putih itu.

"Hold this, please," she said, and gave him the glove. She needed both hands to sign her name.

"Tolong pegang ini," katanya, lalu memberikan sarung tangan itu kepadanya. Ia butuh kedua tangannya untuk menandatangani namanya.

He put it in his coat pocket and forgot it.

Eero memasukkannya ke saku mantelnya dan melupakannya.

He stands up very slowly.

Ia berdiri sangat perlahan.

"Zosia," he says. "Is the glove long and soft?"

"Zosia," katanya. "Sarung tangannya panjang dan lembut?"

"Yes," she says. "Why?"

"Ya," katanya. "Kenapa?"

Eero puts his hand into the pocket of his coat. He feels his keys. He feels a sweet wrapper. Then he feels something long and soft and silky.

Eero memasukkan tangannya ke saku mantelnya. Ia merasakan kunci-kuncinya. Ia merasakan bungkus permen. Lalu ia merasakan sesuatu yang panjang, lembut, dan halus.

He pulls it out. It is a white glove.

Ia menariknya keluar. Itu sarung tangan putih.

They both look at it.

Mereka berdua memandangnya.

"Oh," Eero says.

"Oh," kata Eero.

Zosia says nothing. She looks at the glove. She looks at Eero. She looks up at the speaker on the wall. The audience still laughs.

Zosia tidak berkata apa-apa. Ia memandang sarung tangan itu. Ia memandang Eero. Ia menengadah ke pengeras suara di dinding. Penonton masih tertawa.

"Do not give it to her," she says. "Not tonight."

"Jangan berikan kepadanya," katanya. "Jangan malam ini."

"Not tonight," Eero says. He puts the glove on the desk, next to the sleepy plant.

"Jangan malam ini," kata Eero. Ia meletakkan sarung tangan itu di meja, di samping tanaman yang mengantuk.

"Oops," he says.

"Ups," katanya.