haha, the pic was not about the story
Around two or three weeks ago (I have started to ignore details recently so I don’t really remember ) a friend I got to know from a mailing list we join together came to Semarang. Mbak Icha came to Semarang not merely to meet me of course, but because she got an assignment from her workplace to come to this hometown of mine. Since I was busy with my job, I could not really spend a long time with her.
She arrived on Wednesday April 18, 2007. I visited her around 13.00-14.00 (I could not stay long because I had to go to my workplace at 15.00). During one hour, we talked a lot. Well, more correctly, she talked a lot about her two soul mates; Bastian, her son, and Vanessa, her daughter. Her warm and friendly plus talkative trait easily made me feel comfortable so that I could talk a little about myself.
In the night, she had to do her job till more than 10pm, she said. That hampered me to visit her again. I told her, “Maklum, gadis pingitan nih, so ga keluar malam-malam.” LOL. I mean, aku memingit diri sendiri, untuk ga keluyuran malam-malam. LOL.
The following morning, Thursday, April 19, I had to wash a compile of clothes of Angie and mine so that I was ready to visit mbak Icha at 9am.
She told me that she wanted to visit Gedung Batu Sam Po Kong, so four of us (besides mbak Icha and me, there were Melissa, mbak Icha’s workmate from Jakarta that came to Semarang together with her, and Yani, Melissa’s friend from Semarang) went to SPK by taxi. Melissa, mbak Icha and I were sitting at the back, while Yani was sitting at the front, next to the taxi driver.
There was one funny story with the taxi driver. He said proudly (NOTE: PROUDLY, and not SHYLY) that his father had six wives, and thirty-five children. I saw Melissa’s dumbfounded facial expression when hearing that. “It means from one wife, at least he got five or six children.” she whispered, amazed. LOL. I could hear it because I was sitting between Melissa and mbak Icha.
“How about you, sir? How many wives do you get?” Mbak Icha and I asked him simultaneously. LOL.
“I only have one wife, mbak.” He answered.
“Loh, bukannya anak itu harus lebih dari orang tua?” I teased him. LOL. “Masak bapaknya aja istrinya enam, mengapa anaknya Cuma punya satu istri?” LOL. LOL.
Arriving at SPK, the four single girls, LOL, went around that amazing building. (I forgot to take pictures using my pas-pasan digital camera in my mobile phone, LOL, so I cannot post any picture of SPK here.) The taxi driver stayed in his taxi.
After finishing taking pictures, we went back to the taxi. We didn’t stay long there because mbak Icha and Melissa had to hurry back to the hotel and then to the aiport. Their flight was at 12 according to the schedule.
When we told the taxi driver that we wanted to eat something, the taxi driver took us to BAKSO PAK GEGER, quite famous in Semarang, and once it was promoted in one program on television, “Wisata Kuliner”. Why there? The two guests from Jakarta are bakso freaks!!!
During our way to food stall of BAKSO PAK GEGER, out of the blue, the taxi driver said, “I have one wife only, mbak, but I have three girlfriends.” NAH LO!!! LOL.
“Oh? Does your wife know? What did she comment?” innocently mbak Icha asked him. LOL.
“Of course it is secret. She doesn’t know anything about it. The third world war could happen in my house if she knew.” He said. LOL. (NOTE: he spoke in Bahasa Indonesia. I just translated it into English. I am still practicing myself to write in English. LOL.)
“Well, do you have those three girlfriends at the same time or at different time?” Mbak Icha went on investigating. LOL. I had that question in my mind too, but mbak Icha asked it first.
“Of course at the same time.” The taxi driver answered.
“So, you visit them one by one? Let’s say on Monday you visit A, on Tuesday you visit B, and on Wednesday you visit C?”
Can you imagine a taxi driver has one wife with three girlfriends?
He said, “A man is okay to do that under one condition. He has enough money to do that! If not? Don’t ever try to do it. To visit a girlfriend, to treat her out, a man needs money, right?”
During our meal at BAKSO PAK GEGER, mbak Icha kept investigating him, LOL, I kept listening and once in a while asked him questions too. Yani and Melissa just listened to us.
“Now like this, sir. If you have one wife and three girlfriends, is it okay for your wife to have a boyfriend?” Mbak Icha asked.
“No, it is not good for a woman to do that.” the taxi driver replied.
“Why not?” Mbak Icha asked him calmly. (Oh, if I were alone, interviewing him, I wouldn’t be able to stay calm. LOL.)
“Listen mbak. Having girlfriends for married man is just a matter of looking for sexual partners. A man can do it because he needs a “place’ or “media” to throw away something, and women provide that “place” or “media”. If the woman’s husband already pours out his “things” to her, she no longer has “place” or “media” left.” The taxi driver tried to explain his perspective.
“Look, sir. You are busy with your three girlfriends. How about if it is your turn to be with your wife, but you are tired, and she needs that, how can you satisfy her?” Mbak Icha shot him. LOL.
“Ya, be patient. She has to be patient.” Selfishly that driver said. LOL.
“Look, sir. You are selfish here. Why don’t you just let your wife have a boyfriend so that she will not bother you for that?” Mbak Icha shot him again. LOL.
“No mbak. It is not good for a woman to do that. Our culture does not let women do that. But for men, it is okay.”
I wish I could throw my thick-heeled shoes to him. LOL. LOL. (Un)fortunately, I was not all alone. LOL.
“Will you let your daughter become the nth wife of a man? Or well, become a girlfriend of a married man?”
He said no. “A man who proposes my daughter must marry her for good.” He said.
I thought gradually he realized that mbak Icha and I wanted to show him how selfish he was, how narrow-minded he was, so at last he said, “Mbak, it was the past. Now I am loyal to my wife.” LOL. LOL.
Unfortunately the time was not on our side. Mbak Icha and Melissa had to be in a hurry. It was 11 o’clock when we left the food stall. We went back to the hotel where mbak Icha and Melissa stayed to take their luggage, and they went to the airport.
On my way home, I remember around three years ago, a chatter told me, “You must be dreaming if you say that you are looking for friends online. If you want to look for friend, don’t go to the cyber world. Look for one in your real world, around you there.”
Mbak Icha is an example of a true friend I get from internet. Not to mention my darling Abang. He is the best of all. It is always possible to get true friends everywhere.
PT56 00.05 080507
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