The Sauce on the White Shirt

Belen sits at a small table in a café. Her job interview is at two o'clock. She is nervous, so she eats her pasta very fast. Then a red drop of tomato sauce jumps onto her white shirt.

Belen duduk di sebuah meja kecil di kafe. Wawancara kerjanya pukul dua. Ia gugup, jadi ia memakan pastanya dengan sangat cepat. Lalu setetes saus tomat merah melompat ke kemeja putihnya.

"Oh no!" she says. She rubs the spot with a napkin. It only gets bigger.

"Aduh!" katanya. Ia menggosok noda itu dengan serbet. Noda itu malah makin besar.

She looks at the clock. It is half past one. The office is ten minutes away, but her home is far. There is no time to change.

Ia melihat jam. Sudah pukul setengah dua. Kantornya sepuluh menit dari sini, tetapi rumahnya jauh. Tidak ada waktu untuk berganti pakaian.

Belen thinks for a moment. She puts on her grey jacket and buttons it to the top. The red spot is gone. It is warm in the café, but she says nothing.

Belen berpikir sejenak. Ia memakai jaket abu-abunya dan mengancingkannya sampai ke atas. Noda merah itu pun tak terlihat. Di kafe itu hangat, tetapi ia tidak berkata apa-apa.

At the office, she shakes the manager's hand. He is a tall man with a kind face. They sit down at a big table. Then Belen sees something on his blue tie. It is a brown stain, the size of a coin.

Di kantor, ia berjabat tangan dengan sang manajer. Ia seorang pria jangkung dengan wajah ramah. Mereka duduk di meja besar. Lalu Belen melihat sesuatu di dasi biru pria itu. Itu noda cokelat, sebesar koin.

"Is that coffee?" she asks before she can stop herself.

"Itu kopi?" tanyanya sebelum sempat menahan diri.

The manager looks down and laughs. "Yes. My cup fell this morning. Please, take off your jacket. It is hot in here."

Sang manajer menunduk dan tertawa. "Ya. Cangkir saya jatuh pagi tadi. Silakan, lepas saja jaket Anda. Di sini panas."

"No, thank you," Belen says. "I have my own problem under here."

"Tidak, terima kasih," kata Belen. "Saya punya masalah sendiri di balik ini."

She opens the jacket a little and shows him the red spot. They both laugh for a long time.

Ia membuka jaketnya sedikit dan menunjukkan noda merah itu kepadanya. Mereka berdua tertawa lama sekali.

After that, the talk is easy. She tells him about her old job and her best ideas. He asks good questions and writes some notes. At the end, he stands up. "Can you start on Monday?" he asks.

Setelah itu, percakapan berjalan mudah. Ia menceritakan pekerjaan lamanya dan ide-ide terbaiknya. Pria itu mengajukan pertanyaan-pertanyaan bagus dan menulis beberapa catatan. Di akhir, ia berdiri. "Bisakah Anda mulai hari Senin?" tanyanya.