The Old Profile Photo

Leopold arrived at the restaurant ten minutes early and chose a table near the window. He had been looking forward to this date all week. Esra's profile photo showed a woman with long dark hair, a red coat and a huge smile. According to her profile, she loved hiking and bad jokes. He had read it three times.

Leopold tiba di restoran sepuluh menit lebih awal dan memilih meja dekat jendela. Ia menantikan kencan ini sepanjang minggu. Foto profil Esra memperlihatkan seorang perempuan berambut hitam panjang, mantel merah, dan senyum lebar. Menurut profilnya, ia suka mendaki gunung dan lelucon payah. Leopold sudah membacanya tiga kali.

At exactly seven o'clock, a woman with short, grey-streaked hair and glasses stopped beside his table. "Leopold?" she asked. "Hi. I'm Esra."

Tepat pukul tujuh, seorang perempuan berambut pendek dengan uban dan berkacamata berhenti di samping mejanya. "Leopold?" tanyanya. "Hai. Aku Esra."

He stood up too quickly and knocked over his water. For a second he could only stare. The woman in the photo had looked about thirty, and this woman was clearly past forty. Leopold felt a hot, annoyed feeling rise in his chest. Why hadn't she told him? If she had been honest, he would have understood.

Ia berdiri terlalu cepat dan menyenggol gelas airnya hingga tumpah. Sesaat ia hanya bisa menatap. Perempuan di foto itu tampak berusia sekitar tiga puluh tahun, dan perempuan ini jelas sudah di atas empat puluh. Leopold merasakan perasaan panas dan jengkel naik di dadanya. Mengapa ia tidak bilang? Kalau ia jujur, Leopold pasti mengerti.

They sat down. The conversation was polite but stiff. He kept comparing her face with the picture in his head, and she noticed. After the soup arrived, she put down her spoon.

Mereka duduk. Percakapannya sopan tetapi kaku. Ia terus membandingkan wajah Esra dengan gambar di kepalanya, dan Esra menyadarinya. Setelah sup datang, ia meletakkan sendoknya.

"Let me guess," Esra said calmly. "The photo is a bit old."

"Biar kutebak," kata Esra dengan tenang. "Fotonya agak lama, ya."

"A bit?" Leopold began, and then he stopped. His own profile photo had been taken at his cousin's wedding, eleven years ago. In it, he had thick brown hair and no glasses. Tonight he was wearing a hat to hide his bald patch.

"Agak?" Leopold mulai berkata, lalu berhenti. Foto profilnya sendiri diambil di pernikahan sepupunya, sebelas tahun lalu. Di foto itu, rambutnya lebat dan cokelat, dan ia tidak berkacamata. Malam ini ia memakai topi untuk menyembunyikan kebotakannya.

"Ten years, I think," she said. "I never found a better one. I hate being photographed."

"Sepuluh tahun, kurasa," katanya. "Aku tak pernah menemukan yang lebih bagus. Aku benci difoto."

Leopold slowly took off his hat. "Mine is eleven years old," he said. "I should have told you first."

Leopold pelan-pelan melepas topinya. "Punyaku sebelas tahun," katanya. "Seharusnya aku yang bilang dulu."

Esra looked at his head, and then she started to laugh, and so did he. They laughed until the waiter came to ask whether everything was all right.

Esra memandang kepalanya, lalu mulai tertawa, dan Leopold juga. Mereka tertawa sampai pelayan datang menanyakan apakah semuanya baik-baik saja.

"Everything is great," Esra said. "We are just two very old pictures having dinner."

"Semuanya hebat," kata Esra. "Kami hanya dua foto yang sangat tua sedang makan malam."

After dessert, they asked the waiter to take a photo of them together. The hat sat on a chair beside the table. It was not a perfect picture, but it was true. "Send it to me," Leopold said, "and tell me more about the hiking."

Setelah hidangan penutup, mereka meminta pelayan memotret mereka berdua. Topi itu tergeletak di kursi di samping meja. Itu bukan foto yang sempurna, tetapi jujur. "Kirimkan ke aku," kata Leopold, "dan ceritakan lebih banyak tentang mendaki gunungnya."

Esra was already typing his number into her phone.

Esra sudah mengetik nomornya ke ponselnya.