Chapter 4 - Skandar's Wants

The day after getting a call from a Skandar Hemingway, Charisa, who was driving her sister-in-law's car after school, felt a little uncomfortable. The young girl still remembered the time when Yuta and Anna were very excited in welcoming the call from that mature man. That's why now she was a little confused about how to convey the contents of the call to Amanda, who was driving now.

"Should I just tell her?" Charisa asked silently.

The girl with rabbit teeth saw her sister-in-law's face several times, but several times the girl canceled the line of words she tried to compose on her bare head. Charisa was afraid that her sister-in-law would think bad something to her, especially since he was still a stranger for herself.

"Do you want to say something to me?" Asked Amanda who was waiting for the red light on the highway.

"Um, nothing." Charisa chose being silent.

"Well, if you don't want to tell..." said Amanda to Charisa, the woman smiled beautifully, and drove back to the car again.

Charisa saw that the road she was passing was not an ordinary road to her house. The round-eyed girl wondered where her sister-in-law was going, because the road they were on which was the main street of Canberra city now. Lots of skyscrapers on either side of the street. Charisa would have asked Amanda directly where they were going, before she pulled their car to the curb.

"He's been waiting for it!" Amanda replied suddenly.                

"Who is waiting for?" Charisa asked quietly.

"Your future husband, Charisa. Why not tell me if you guys want to meet up today, you know I should make you up first." Said Amanda gently.

Charisa looked towards the curb, beside the bus stop. A grown up man in his work suit was standing firmly, the man was staring at their car with his usual sharp gaze, and only this time there was a polished smile there. Skandar Hemingway was aware of Charisa's arrival. The girl turned to Amanda again where her sister-in-law had removed her steering belt.

"How can you tell if he were here?" Charisa asked back.

The girl's hand still gripped her belt, she had still not decided yet if she should meet her future husband, or not? Although yesterday in his call, she had promised to meet him. In fact, practice was more difficult than theory.

"Skandar has called me when I am going to pick you up, Charisa." told Amanda's story. "He has asked for my permission, is it okay to invite you to talk for a moment? Didn't you also call him?"

"And do you allow it?" Charisa could not believe it when she saw Amanda nodding in her agreement.

"Of course, why not? He will be your husband, Charisa. Let’s we got out."

Finally, with encouragement from her sister-in-law, Charisa got out of her car. The young girl walked by following Amanda who walked in front of her. She did not look forward until she did not know what was in front of her now was the man's body. Charisa looked innocently at Skandar Hemingway, the grown up man was greeting Amanda who was standing beside him.

Her sister-in-law laughed when the future brother-in-law spoke very politely to her. Amanda had even said several times that it didn't matter if she became a sudden cupid between the two of them. Charisa who didn't understand the direction of the two adults' conversation just stood there frowning. The girl was guessing how many times both her brother-in-law and the cold man in front of her had met, because they now looked familiar now.

"So, can I borrow my future wife for a moment, Amanda?" Asked Skandar in formal language. Skandar who was now so different from Skandar when facing his very talkative mother.

"Yes, what time will I pick her up, Skandar?" Amanda asked back.

"Sista, you're kidding right?" Charisa whispered who immediately hid in her sister's arm.

"It's okay, Char..." Amanda said comforting the girl.

"I'll just take her home later. Don't worry, I'll take care of her." Said Skandar in his deep voice.

Amanda immediately laughed what the man said. He seemed to read her mind. The girl nodded then said if she had to go back, and left those two human who were silent watching her go.

Skandar Hemingway turned to the young girl who had slightly wavy blonde hair. The girl unexpectedly also looked up at him with her round innocent eyes. Charisa was still standing there in her school uniform, while he was still neat in his work suit, complete with his coat. Skandar let out a stifled breath for a moment, the difference between the two of them felt very big.

"Have you had lunch?" He asked the young girl in front of him.

"Not yet." Charisa answered honestly.

The girl looked down and didn't dare to see the man who in their last meeting scared her and made her almost falling into the fish pool in his house. Skandar watched the girl's expression and he was already laughing in his heart, how scary was he in front of the teenager?

"Let's get something to eat." Said Skandar and immediately pulled the young girl's arm.

Charisa was just dumb founded when the tall man grabbed her hand and led her into a fast food restaurant not far from the sidewalk where they were standing earlier. The girl was already sitting in the visitor's seat waiting for Skandar Hemingway to order and pay for Charisa's order.

Charisa Davis scanned the entire fast food restaurant. It was a branch franchise of fast food restaurants usually she bought with Yuta and Anna if Amanda lately to pick her up, only the location of fast food restaurant, they bought different because Charisa bought near her school. Realizing that now she was having lunch with a man whom she did not know a few days ago, Charisa thought, she was really strange.

"This is your order." Said Skandar after placing his order tray in front of his chair. The man then took a chair across from Charisa and sat on it.

Seeing cheese burger with cheese, coke float and not forgetting her favorite Mc Flurry Oreo, the girl smiled broadly. Charisa really couldn't hide how much she adored her favorite food. In front of her, Skandar could judge the change in the expression of the girl in front of him. The boy hissed softly and shook his head as the girl cheerfully said to have a nice lunch.

The girl looked like she was giving a questioning look to the boy in front of her who just sat and watched her who was eating from earlier, the cheeseburger that belonged to the boy was not even touched by him.

"Are you not eating?" Charisa asked after swallowing her first bite.

"No... I can't eat it." The man replied briefly, and leaned his back on the back of his chair, looking back at Charisa, who now couldn't eat freely.

"Because you are still full?" Charisa asked curiously.

“No, because I can't eat junk food! I'm not used to eat fast food."

"Hah!?" Charisa said, who almost swallowed the chicken.

Skandar then immediately handed her an orange drink. Charisa accepted it without drinking it, the girl had already put her food, and one hundred percent stared back at the man who had been looking at her all this time with a look as if she were a rare object in a city museum.

"If you do not like eating here, why does uncle invite me to eat fast food?" Charisa asked curiously.

"Because you like them." Said Skandar, he looked in her eyes whom he often thought as a teenager was. Hearing that, Charisa's cheeks turned red.

"Does uncle know my favorite restaurant?"

“Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to stalk you or kidnap you. Amanda told me earlier on the phone." Added Skandar Hemingway back. The man remembered how his mom's ridiculous attitude had even kidnapped the young girl the day before yesterday.

"Who accuses uncle to have kidnapped me!?" Fumed Charisa hard enough.

"So you don't mind sitting alone with a mature man like me, hmm?" Asked Skandar, the man sounded like he was teasing the young girl in front of him, even though in fact the man had said it unconsciously.

"Isn't uncle still young?" Said Charisa remembering what Anna said yesterday. The two friends had not told her yet why they immediately blessed her as the bride of the man in front of her.

"If I am young, you look like a toddler, Charisa." Skandar, the Hemingway family's eldest son, was now smiling cheerfully. He really didn't expect that he would be able to talk together like this with a high school girl before, and the high school girl would be his future wife. "Do you still call me uncle?"

"I'm not used to calling kind of strange call to another one, uncle."

Charisa’s answer actually made Skandar thinking so much about the young girl, fortunately yesterday he didn't suggest anything to the girl. Skandar originally wanted to suggest the girl calling him by something commonly called by a wife. Then when he remembered how young his wife was, and not to mention his mom's grin which must have widened when he heard her call, Skandar didn't suggest Charisa to call him honey or Sweetheart. Skandar threw his stupid thoughts out of his head.

"Can we discuss directly why we meet today? I want you to take out the notebook and pen first."

Charisa directly wrinkled her eyebrows, but she obey to pull out a blue notebook and pen. After all the equipment that the Hemingway man asked for had been fulfilled, Charisa looked back to Skandar as asking what she should do after this?

“I want you to write down all the things that I like and don't like, after that you can tell whatever you like and don't like. I want us to have the capital to get to know each other." Skandar said, the girl in front of him was still thinking hard. Skandar took a big breath for the first time.

"Okay, I'm starting. I don't like junk food, I have to eat home-cooked food. I- "Said Skandar starting his preference.

"So, can you only eat a home-cooked meal, uncle?" Charisa cut when the man wanted to continue his conversation.

"Yes, can you cook?" Asked Skandar back.

"Little." Said Charisa very embarrassed.

"Expand how to cook many food menus then. I won't force you to study, but I will force you to cook. ”

Skandar sounded sadistic now, but he really couldn’t eat fast food, and this girl in front of him would be his wife, he did not want to die of hunger later.

"I don't like anything that wastes my time, I hate waiting for, I don't like being argued, or being interrupted, I dislike to explain anything twice or even three times." The man stopped to make sure the girl in front of him wrote what he said.

“I like cleanliness, I don't like having a lot of dust in my house, I hate animal hair, I don't want my work suit to get wrinkled, I like sleeping with the lights off, and I’ll be jogging every morning, so breakfast has to be served right after I have done jogging. My favorite food is European food, I don't really like Japanese food, so don't serve raw food. "

Charisa wrote that with a bit of confusion, almost all the points that the man mentioned sounded like telling her to be a maid rather than a wife. She had stopped from writing on her notebook. Charisa raised her head, and their gazes met.

“I want a real marriage, there is nothing to cover up, and you may not have a relationship with any male out there. I want your loyalty as my wife."

Charisa swallowed her saliva, she was even seventeen years old, what kind of loyalty that mature man wanted to ask for, and might she not think about her difficult home work when night fell, did he mean it?

“And lastly, everything I say, my orders, my prohibitions are absolute, Charisa Zwetta Davis!! There are not negotiable!" Closed the men, and he threw intimidated glance on Charisa.

"It's a long list, isn’t it, uncle?" Charisa said with a wry smile. She wanted to insult the grown up man.

The girl wondered if she could do his requests in the future. Moreover, they would live together almost every day. Then Charisa gave her notebook to the man. But Skandar Hemingway just gave his surprised look to her.

"It is uncle’s turn to write now, and you listen to all the things I like and dislike?”

"I don't need a notebook, I have a good memory. I can remember it!” Skandar Hemingway’s annoying saying were back. Charisa almost hit the man’s head with her notebook.

“Uhmmm, I like pink, purple, and white. I like white roses, I love the bunny dolls. I really like rabb-"

"No, not with the request to have pets, Risa. Not!" cut Skandar quickly. He knew where the girl’s intent talked to.

"Yes, I got it!" The girl scowled. "I like to eat, I love sweet and delicious food, I like cute and adorable things, I don't like ghosts, I dislike scary things, I don't like reading books, I hate tiring things, I dislike cleaning the house like sweeping, mopping, wash-“

"You must clean anything, we'll live together later. Not in my house, but in my apartment." interrupted Skandar to the girl.

"The two of us in apartment? Why are we not at house?" Shrieked the girl suddenly.

“You don't mean to want to be haunted by my mom, do you? You met yesterday, I remind you, and my mom is scarier than the ghost you mentioned earlier. "

Skandar tried to explain to his future wife whom was still teenager. To know if there was only her and Skandar in his apartment later, it caused Charisa turned into pale and panicked.

“Uncle… Uncle… As long as we get married, I don't want us to have physical contact later. I wish we shall have each room to sleep alone." Said Charisa still in panic, she saw young master Hemingway’s face again. The man had his arms in front of his chest when he heard her request.

"Not!" The man said firmly.

"But-" whispered Charisa which her saying was immediately grabbed by Skandar.

“I cannot, I want a real marriage, and it takes physical contact, Charisa Davis! I will not live with you for just one day, two days, I will live be with you for decades. I can't guarantee you that I won't be attracted to you. I'm a normal man if you don't know."

Charisa, the girl who was still wearing her school uniform was speechless. His round eyes was unable to blink at all now. In her mind that was not often used to think, the young girl was trying to compile another rebuttal for the sharp-mouthed uncle in front of her.

"But I'm still in high school, uncle. I haven't graduated yet. You must know that I am still seventeen years old." Charisa almost had tears in her eyes when she said that.

"You have got menstruation, right? A girl who has had a menstrual cycle is a woman who is ready to have a baby." Said Skandar Hemingway calmly. He, Skandar Alexander Hemingway, never did not take profit in everything, and of course he did not want to lose, especially if it related on his rights.

"I also know your graduation will be next semester, I think a pregnancy at the age of four or five months is not obvious." Skandar gave his future wife a sly smile. He realized that he could say this casually, Skandar felt like he wanted to greet his mom right away. His mother this time was very useful in influencing him.

Charisa who heard the man spoke bluntly like it before, her ears immediately heated up, the sound of the wind was heard ringing in her ears. The girl already wanted to curse what kind of stupid man was saying such frontal things in public. Charisa immediately looked on either side, lucky they chose a place on the restaurant balcony where only their table was filled, otherwise, Charisa would have hit the man with the food tray.

"Must we have a baby, Uncle?" Charisa asked to make sure. The girl was already whining, so that the man would just cancel his intention.

"We must!" His answer was very short, the answer that her teacher usually hated when giving her essay questions.

"I don't even know how step to make a baby, my biology book doesn't help." Charisa pouted herself in annoyance. The girl already wanted to cry imagining all the scary things later in her married life.

"I'll teach you later!" Said Mr. Annoying Skandar Hemingway casually.

"Uncle, you are crazy!"

"Really? You must know, your mother-in-law is crazier when she finds out about this."

------To be continued------