The Hearing Aids

For about two years, Enrique's father had been nodding at the right moments. Enrique noticed it first at family dinners. There was the small, confident "Yes, yes" in reply to questions that had not quite been asked. There was the pause before he laughed, as if he were waiting to see whether everyone else was laughing too.

Selama sekitar dua tahun, ayah Enrique mengangguk pada saat-saat yang tepat. Enrique pertama kali menyadarinya saat makan malam keluarga. Ada "Iya, iya" yang kecil dan penuh percaya diri sebagai jawaban atas pertanyaan yang belum benar-benar diajukan. Ada jeda sebelum ia tertawa, seakan ia menunggu apakah semua orang lain juga tertawa.

Whenever anyone mentioned hearing aids, the old man shook his head. His ears were fine, he said. The rest of the world had simply started mumbling.

Setiap kali ada yang menyebut alat bantu dengar, lelaki tua itu menggelengkan kepala. Telinganya baik-baik saja, katanya. Dunia di sekitarnya saja yang mulai menggumam.

Enrique had tried reasoning with him, and he had tried joking. Neither worked. What finally changed his mind was something much smaller. On a Sunday in March, he asked his father whether he wanted more soup, and his father answered, "Thursday is best for me."

Enrique sudah mencoba membujuknya dengan nalar, dan sudah mencoba bercanda. Tidak ada yang berhasil. Yang akhirnya mengubah pikirannya adalah sesuatu yang jauh lebih kecil. Pada suatu hari Minggu di bulan Maret, ia bertanya kepada ayahnya apakah ia mau tambah sup, dan ayahnya menjawab, "Kamis paling cocok buat Ayah."

Enrique said nothing at the time. But that evening, he sat in his car outside the house and wondered how many conversations had been going on without his father. They must have sounded like a radio playing in another room.

Enrique tidak berkata apa-apa saat itu. Namun, malam itu ia duduk di mobilnya di depan rumah dan bertanya-tanya berapa banyak percakapan yang berlangsung tanpa ayahnya. Pasti bunyinya seperti radio yang menyala di ruangan lain.

The next Sunday, he propped his phone against the salt shaker, with the recorder switched on. Nobody noticed. The table was crowded, as usual, with cousins, a neighbor, and a niece who talked quickly with her mouth full. The recording picked up everything: the clatter of plates, the overlapping voices, and, in the middle of it all, his father's deep, cheerful "Yes, yes."

Hari Minggu berikutnya, ia menyandarkan ponselnya pada wadah garam, dengan perekam menyala. Tidak ada yang menyadarinya. Meja itu penuh, seperti biasa, dengan sepupu-sepupu, seorang tetangga, dan keponakan yang bicara cepat dengan mulut penuh. Rekaman itu menangkap segalanya: denting piring, suara-suara yang saling tumpang tindih, dan di tengah-tengahnya, "Iya, iya" ayahnya yang dalam dan riang.

On Monday, Enrique drove over with the phone in his pocket. He made tea, sat across the kitchen table, and said he wanted to play something. His father put on his reading glasses, as though that would help him listen.

Pada hari Senin, Enrique mengemudi ke sana dengan ponsel di sakunya. Ia membuat teh, duduk di seberang meja dapur, dan berkata ia ingin memutar sesuatu. Ayahnya memakai kacamata bacanya, seolah itu akan membantunya mendengarkan.

At first, the old man just frowned. He could not make out the voices. Enrique turned up the volume and then played it again, slowly, with the speaker next to his father's good ear.

Mula-mula, lelaki tua itu hanya mengerutkan dahi. Ia tidak bisa menangkap suara-suaranya. Enrique menaikkan volume dan memutarnya lagi, pelan-pelan, dengan pengeras suara di sebelah telinga ayahnya yang lebih baik.

"Is that Sunday?" his father asked.

"Itu hari Minggu?" tanya ayahnya.

"Yes. Listen to the part about the lost suitcase."

"Ya. Dengarkan bagian tentang koper yang hilang."

On the recording, someone told a long, funny story about a lost suitcase, and the whole table burst into laughter. Then his father's voice said, solemnly, "That's terrible." There was a short silence. Then someone, quite kindly, giggled.

Pada rekaman itu, seseorang menceritakan kisah panjang yang lucu tentang koper yang hilang, dan seluruh meja meledak dalam tawa. Lalu suara ayahnya berkata, dengan sungguh-sungguh, "Itu mengerikan." Ada keheningan singkat. Lalu seseorang, dengan sangat baik hati, terkikik.

His father listened to it twice. His face did not change, but his hand, which had been resting on the table, slowly closed.

Ayahnya mendengarkannya dua kali. Wajahnya tidak berubah, tetapi tangannya, yang tadi terletak di atas meja, perlahan mengepal.

"I thought it was a sad story," he said at last.

"Ayah kira itu cerita sedih," katanya akhirnya.

"It wasn't."

"Bukan."

"What else did I miss?" His voice was smaller than Enrique had ever heard it. "If I'd heard everything, I would have asked to go home earlier. Or I would have stayed later."

"Apa lagi yang Ayah lewatkan?" Suaranya lebih kecil daripada yang pernah Enrique dengar. "Kalau Ayah mendengar semuanya, Ayah pasti sudah minta pulang lebih awal. Atau Ayah akan tinggal lebih lama."

Enrique didn't answer right away. He had not expected to win the argument this way, and he found that he didn't want to.

Enrique tidak langsung menjawab. Ia tidak menyangka akan memenangkan perdebatan ini dengan cara begini, dan ia mendapati bahwa ia tidak menginginkannya.

After a long moment, his father took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Make the appointment," he said. "Thursday morning. And write down the time. I'm told I miss things."

Setelah jeda panjang, ayahnya melepas kacamatanya dan menggosok matanya. "Buatkan janjinya," katanya. "Kamis pagi. Dan tulis jamnya. Katanya Ayah suka ketinggalan."