How I Accept My Partner’s Flaws
By: The Couth Post
Tags: Cerpen, Indonesia, Relationships, Love, Sexuality

Pinus and I headed to the mall to buy the ramen noodles that I was craving for this past week. It was raining out there. He calmly drove and talked about his employee who just resigned when we saw a huge billboard with an actress posing. She is the ambassador of a cosmetic brand. She is posing in front of the mirror, with the red lipstick and tube dress showing her shoulder off. Last month, we saw her romantic-genre movie. Hence why we know her.

“Is that A?” he asked, mentioning the Actress’s name while turning the wiper on.

I peeked over the window and saw the billboard. That’s when I nodded and remembered her latest picture from Instagram.

“He just broke up with E,”

E was her ex. He is the popular musician who was just imprisoned because of the drug case. We adored their relationship when A was there to E, giving him company through the proceedings before and after the imprisonment. Pinus mentioned that they were lucky to have each other. But I wonder why he seems not too shocked after I told him the news.

“It’s understandable,” he answered. “Who wants to spend the rest of their life with a junkie?”

“What if he’s not a junkie? It’s just a trap,” as I questioned, I tried to give another option to him.

“Whose trap?”

“His friends, his circle, probably,”

“Your friend and circle build your character,” he affirms. “Imagine this. E never knew and tried the drugs. Ever. At some moment, he met his friends. They offer the drugs. But E rejected it. On the other hand, he tried it. And he not just liked it, he was addicted. A insisting E to stay away from drugs. So, E stops that behaviour. One day, E met his drug friend. Unexpectedly, the police came and took all of them. I conclude that, you could define someone from their friends and the circle,”

“But what if E want to change? So that he can make A still be with him,”

“Why would he?” the traffic light turned green, Pinus drove and gave his last stare at A’s billboard. “Why would E change himself just to make someone stay?”

“Because E love her,”

“Let me ask you. Would you still be with me, if I gave you so much issue that makes you feel pathetic?”

“I accept you as my partner and a problem to face forever,”

“Would you mind my bad behaviour then?”

I seek an answer. Of course the answer is no. But I really need to describe the reason. As I think about it, I bite his arms. That’s when the radio played Cardigan, sung by Taylor Swift. I caught a glimpse of an answer. Which, i know that Pinus already guessed.

“No,”

“Why did you take a long time to answer?”

“Seeking the reason,” I shortly answered and bite him again.

He wore black shirt and he smelled perfectly like a pine on a rainy day, which I longing for. I asked him to shut his mouth as I enjoyed the moment. Pine scent, his big hand that grasped mine, and Taylor Swift. The moment just went away when a question just popped out from my mind.

“What if A wants to change E? To be better?”

“What kind of better? From whose perspective? A or E?”

“They both,”

“Why do I need you to change me?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Pinus laughed as he explained.

“Why would I need A to change himself? We have no force and right of someone’s freedom. Even they are our partner,”

“Because, it’s us,” I answered. Confused. “Because we understand that we cannot change someone. But what if, A tried to change E to not using drugs, or getting drunk, or not smoking anymore. And E need A, buy doing his usual activity, which, torture A?”

“That’s what we call a relationship. It’s all about accepting someone flaws,”