The Retirement Party

Aiden's Wednesday started like any other. He made coffee, answered a few emails, and joined the ten o'clock team meeting without expecting anything unusual.

Hari Rabu Aiden dimulai seperti biasa. Ia membuat kopi, membalas beberapa surel, dan mengikuti rapat tim pukul sepuluh tanpa mengharapkan sesuatu yang luar biasa.

Halfway through the meeting, Felipe, the office's oldest employee, raised his hand. "Before we continue," he said, "I have something to share." The room went quiet.

Di tengah rapat, Felipe, karyawan paling senior di kantor itu, mengangkat tangan. "Sebelum kita lanjut," katanya, "ada yang ingin saya sampaikan." Ruangan menjadi hening.

Felipe had worked at the company for over thirty years. He had trained half the people in the room, including Aiden, who had joined only two years ago.

Felipe sudah bekerja di perusahaan itu lebih dari tiga puluh tahun. Ia telah melatih separuh orang di ruangan itu, termasuk Aiden, yang baru bergabung dua tahun lalu.

"I've decided it's time," Felipe said, smiling. "I'm retiring at the end of this month."

"Saya memutuskan sudah waktunya," kata Felipe sambil tersenyum. "Saya pensiun pada akhir bulan ini."

For a moment, nobody spoke. Then someone started clapping, and soon the whole room joined in. Aiden felt a strange mix of happiness for Felipe and surprise that he hadn't seen it coming.

Sesaat tak seorang pun bicara. Lalu seseorang mulai bertepuk tangan, dan segera seisi ruangan ikut bertepuk tangan. Aiden merasakan campuran aneh antara bahagia untuk Felipe dan terkejut karena tak menyangkanya.

"I wasn't planning an announcement like this," Felipe admitted. "But it seemed better than an email nobody reads."

"Saya tidak berencana membuat pengumuman seperti ini," Felipe mengaku. "Tapi rasanya lebih baik daripada surel yang tidak dibaca siapa pun."

After the meeting, people gathered around Felipe's desk, asking questions and sharing memories. Someone mentioned they should throw a proper party before he left.

Seusai rapat, orang-orang berkumpul di sekitar meja Felipe, bertanya dan berbagi kenangan. Seseorang menyebut bahwa mereka sebaiknya mengadakan pesta yang pantas sebelum ia pergi.

Aiden, who had barely spoken to Felipe outside of work meetings, found himself volunteering to help organize it. "I can book the conference room for Friday afternoon," he offered.

Aiden, yang hampir tidak pernah bicara dengan Felipe di luar rapat kerja, mendapati dirinya menawarkan diri untuk ikut menyelenggarakannya. "Saya bisa memesan ruang konferensi untuk Jumat sore," tawarnya.

"That would be great," said another coworker. "If we plan it fast, we can still get the good caterer downtown."

"Itu bagus sekali," kata rekan lain. "Kalau kita merencanakannya dengan cepat, kita masih bisa memakai jasa katering yang bagus di pusat kota."

Over the next three days, a small group put together decorations and food. They also built a slideshow of old photos, dug up by Felipe's closest colleagues from years of events.

Selama tiga hari berikutnya, sekelompok kecil orang menyiapkan dekorasi dan makanan. Mereka juga membuat tayangan slide berisi foto-foto lama dari berbagai acara selama bertahun-tahun, yang digali oleh rekan-rekan terdekat Felipe.

On Friday, the conference room filled with nearly everyone from the office. Felipe stood near the front, looking genuinely surprised at the size of the crowd.

Pada hari Jumat, ruang konferensi dipenuhi hampir semua orang di kantor. Felipe berdiri dekat bagian depan, tampak benar-benar terkejut melihat banyaknya orang.

Aiden raised his cup for a toast. "Felipe taught half of us everything we know here," he said. "The least we could do was learn how to throw a decent party too."

Aiden mengangkat cangkirnya untuk bersulang. "Felipe mengajari separuh dari kami semua yang kami tahu di sini," katanya. "Setidaknya kami bisa belajar membuat pesta yang layak juga."

Felipe laughed loudly, raising his own cup in return. "You've all done better than decent," he said. "Now somebody cut the cake before I change my mind about retiring."

Felipe tertawa lepas, mengangkat cangkirnya sendiri sebagai balasan. "Kalian sudah melakukan lebih dari sekadar layak," katanya. "Sekarang tolong ada yang memotong kuenya sebelum saya berubah pikiran soal pensiun."