The Extra Plate on the Table

Every evening, Mateo sets the table for dinner. It is his job. He puts out four plates, four forks, and four glasses. There are four people in his family. That is easy math.

Setiap malam, Mateo menata meja makan. Itu tugasnya. Dia menaruh empat piring, empat garpu, dan empat gelas. Keluarganya ada empat orang. Hitungan yang mudah.

But on Monday, he finds a fifth plate. It sits at the end. It is blue, with a white fork next to it. Mateo did not put it there. He looks at it for a long time. "Quinn," he says to his sister. "Did you set a plate?"

Tetapi pada hari Senin, dia menemukan piring kelima. Piring itu ada di ujung meja. Warnanya biru, dengan garpu putih di sebelahnya. Mateo tidak menaruhnya di sana. Dia menatapnya lama sekali. "Quinn," katanya kepada kakaknya. "Kamu menaruh piring?"

"No," says Quinn. She sits on the couch with a book.

"Tidak," kata Quinn. Dia duduk di sofa sambil membaca buku.

"That is your job."

"Itu kan tugasmu."

"Then who did it?" She shrugs and does not look up from her book. So Mateo takes the plate back to the kitchen. He puts it in the cupboard and closes the door. He feels a little odd about it.

"Kalau begitu siapa yang menaruhnya?" Dia mengangkat bahu dan tidak mengalihkan mata dari bukunya. Jadi Mateo membawa piring itu kembali ke dapur. Dia menyimpannya di lemari dan menutup pintunya. Perasaannya agak aneh.

On Tuesday, the same thing happens. Four plates are on the table. A fifth sits at the end. It is blue again. The fork is on the left side. Mateo stares at it. This time, he decides to be a detective.

Pada hari Selasa, hal yang sama terjadi. Empat piring ada di meja. Piring kelima ada di ujung. Warnanya biru lagi. Garpunya di sisi kiri. Mateo menatapnya. Kali ini, dia memutuskan menjadi detektif.

He asks his mother. She cooks rice and hardly listens. "A plate?" she says.

Dia bertanya kepada ibunya. Ibunya sedang memasak nasi dan hampir tidak mendengarkan. "Piring?" katanya.

"Maybe you made a mistake." He asks his father, who works late and eats later. His father laughs.

"Mungkin kamu salah." Dia bertanya kepada ayahnya, yang bekerja sampai malam dan makan belakangan. Ayahnya tertawa.

"I never set the table, Mateo. You know that."

"Ayah tidak pernah menata meja, Mateo. Kamu tahu itu."

He asks his grandfather, who lives in the next room. His grandfather only says, "A plate is a plate."

Dia bertanya kepada kakeknya, yang tinggal di kamar sebelah. Kakeknya hanya berkata, "Piring ya piring."

Mateo does not give up. On Wednesday, he sets the table at four o'clock. Then he sits on the stairs and watches it. He holds a notebook and a pencil. In the notebook, he writes: 4:00. Table ready. 4 plates.

Mateo tidak menyerah. Pada hari Rabu, dia menata meja pada pukul empat. Lalu dia duduk di tangga dan mengawasinya. Dia memegang buku catatan dan pensil. Di buku catatan itu, dia menulis: 4:00. Meja siap. 4 piring.

Nothing happens for an hour. At five o'clock, his mother walks through the kitchen. She does not go near the table. At five-thirty, Quinn passes with a glass of water. Mateo writes it down. At six, he is hungry and bored.

Selama satu jam tidak terjadi apa-apa. Pukul lima, ibunya berjalan melewati dapur. Ibunya tidak mendekati meja. Pukul lima lewat tiga puluh, Quinn lewat membawa segelas air. Mateo menuliskannya. Pukul enam, dia lapar dan bosan.

At ten past six, he goes to wash his hands. He comes back. There are five plates now. "What?" he says. The blue plate sits at the end of the table. The white fork shines in the lamp light. Mateo spins around. The kitchen is empty. The hall is empty. Only the clock ticks on the wall.

Pukul enam lewat sepuluh, dia pergi mencuci tangan. Dia kembali. Sekarang ada lima piring. "Apa?" katanya. Piring biru itu ada di ujung meja. Garpu putihnya berkilau di bawah cahaya lampu. Mateo berputar. Dapur kosong. Lorong kosong. Hanya jam di dinding yang berdetak.

He looks at his notebook. He writes: 6:10. Fifth plate. Nobody here. Mateo is very serious now. He asks himself some questions. Who has a reason to add a plate? Who knows where the blue plates are? Who can move without noise?

Dia melihat buku catatannya. Dia menulis: 6:10. Piring kelima. Tidak ada orang. Mateo sekarang sangat serius. Dia mengajukan beberapa pertanyaan kepada dirinya sendiri. Siapa yang punya alasan menambah piring? Siapa yang tahu di mana piring-piring biru disimpan? Siapa yang bisa bergerak tanpa suara?

He thinks about the family. His mother is busy. His sister reads. His grandfather moves slowly. His father is still at work. And then Mateo stops. His father is at work. His father always eats late.

Dia memikirkan keluarganya. Ibunya sibuk. Kakaknya membaca. Kakeknya bergerak lambat. Ayahnya masih di tempat kerja. Lalu Mateo berhenti berpikir. Ayahnya masih di tempat kerja. Ayahnya selalu makan belakangan.

He opens the oven. Inside, there is a pot with a lid. It is warm. A paper sits on the pot. It has words in his mother's writing. For Dad. Warm.

Dia membuka oven. Di dalamnya ada panci dengan tutup. Panci itu hangat. Selembar kertas ada di atas panci. Isinya tulisan tangan ibunya. Untuk Ayah. Hangat.

Mateo takes out the pot. He holds it for a moment. Then he looks at the blue plate. It is for his father. He is tired and hungry after work. He hears the front door. His father comes in with his bag. He looks tired. He sees the table, and he sees the blue plate.

Mateo mengeluarkan panci itu. Dia memegangnya sebentar. Lalu dia menatap piring biru itu. Piring itu untuk ayahnya. Ayahnya lelah dan lapar sepulang kerja. Dia mendengar pintu depan. Ayahnya masuk membawa tasnya. Ayahnya kelihatan lelah. Dia melihat meja, dan dia melihat piring biru itu.

"Hello," says his father.

"Halo," kata ayahnya.

"Why is the table still ready?"

"Kenapa mejanya masih disiapkan?"

"I want to know who sets this plate," says Mateo. His father looks at the plate. Then he looks at the notebook. A small smile comes to his face.

"Aku ingin tahu siapa yang menaruh piring ini," kata Mateo. Ayahnya menatap piring itu. Lalu dia menatap buku catatan. Senyum kecil muncul di wajahnya.

"Your mother does it," he says.

"Ibumu yang melakukannya," katanya.

"Every night. She sets my place. Then I know someone waits for me."

"Setiap malam. Dia menyiapkan tempatku. Jadi Ayah tahu ada yang menunggu Ayah."

"But why does she hide it?" asks Mateo.

"Tapi kenapa Ibu menyembunyikannya?" tanya Mateo.

"She does not hide it," says his father.

"Ibu tidak menyembunyikannya," kata ayahnya.

"You took it away on Monday." Mateo's face goes red. He closes the notebook.

"Kamu yang menyingkirkannya hari Senin." Wajah Mateo memerah. Dia menutup buku catatannya.

"I am a bad detective," he says.

"Aku detektif yang payah," katanya.

"No," says his father.

"Tidak," kata ayahnya.

"You are a good son. Will you sit by me tonight?"

"Kamu anak yang baik. Mau duduk di sebelah Ayah malam ini?"

Mateo smiles. He moves his plate beside the blue one.

Mateo tersenyum. Dia memindahkan piringnya ke samping piring biru itu.