The Family Gathering<\/p>\n
by Iwan "Bung" Sulistiawan<\/p>\n
"Yan, what can we give to Bapak and Ibu?"<\/p>\n
"Why? It's still two weeks from now, Mas," said Yanti to Edi,
\nher husband.<\/p>\n
"You know quite well that when it comes to the family
\ngathering I always feel inferior."<\/p>\n
It was natural for Edi to feel uneasy when his wife's big
\nfamily gathering drew near. Edi was the poorest son-in-law of Mr.
\nand Mrs. Subrata, Yanti's parents.<\/p>\n
All members of Subrata family came every time the gathering
\nwas held. Yanti was the youngest of the five brothers and sisters
\nof her family.<\/p>\n
Twice a year, the big family got together in the big house of
\nMr. Subrata, a retired army general.<\/p>\n
Wiwiek, the eldest, would come with her lawyer husband,
\nRidwan, and her three children in their Mercedez -- or sometimes
\nin the Toyota Landcruiser Ridwan drove for his off-road hobby.
\nThey would usually bring a complete lunch; rice or lontong with
\nopor ayam, sambel goreng ati, shrimp crackers and sambel terasi.<\/p>\n
Joko, Mr. Subrata's second child, was a doctor. His wife, Eva,
\nwas also a doctor. In their white Volvo, they came with their two
\nchildren in tow. Since Eva did not like cooking, they usually
\nbrought many jars containing a variety of cookies and coated
\npeanuts that they had bought at a nearby supermarket.<\/p>\n
Gatot, Joko's little brother, was the CEO of a famous American
\ncompany. With his wife, Sandra, and their two children, they
\nwould come in a red VW Caravelle driven by their loyal driver,
\nMang Husin. They brought with them fresh fruit and vegetables for
\nlalapan and a range of fresh and cold beverages.<\/p>\n
The fourth child, Wulan, and her husband, Pram, the executive
\neditor of a well-known magazine, did not have any children.
\nInstead, what they transported in their metallic silver BMW were
\nchildren's clothes in a wide range of sizes to be given as
\npresents to all of Wulan's nephews and nieces. The clothes were,
\nof course, all original brands: Osh Kosh, Hush Puppies or Guess.<\/p>\n
Edi sighed. He could imagine what would happen very well. He
\nwould go with Yanti along with their two kids, Dimas and Retno,
\nby bus and then by mikrolet. Yanti usually brought only her
\nhomemade putri salju cookies.<\/p>\n
What troubled Edi more was the fact that Yanti's brothers and
\nsisters always gave presents to Mr. and Mrs. Subrata, and
\nexpensive ones, at that.<\/p>\n
During the numerous conversations, Edi imagined, he would
\nagain feel distressed because Yanti's brothers and in-laws
\nusually talked about things he was not familiar with: business
\nprospects, trading shares, mergers.<\/p>\n
Edi was usually silent as others talked, only commenting once
\nin a while to show that he was participating in the ongoing
\ndiscussions -- those he was actually not interested in.<\/p>\n
He always felt like a fifth wheel, yet he could not escape
\nfrom the necessity of being there.<\/p>\n
"What if we don't go to the gathering?" Edi broke the silence.<\/p>\n
"What do you mean, we don't go? Do you want my Dad to get mad
\nat us?" replied Yanti.<\/p>\n
Edi did not answer. He remembered Dimas' and Retno's looks of
\namazement as they listened to their cousins' chatter about X-BOX,
\nthe newest game release for PlayStation 2, Counter Strike,
\nRagnarok, bowling or ice-skating.<\/p>\n
"Come on, honey, don't think too much about it. Now go. You'll
\nbe late for work," consoled his wife.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
But Edi could not help thinking about the family gathering.<\/p>\n
At the office where he worked as an administrative staffer, he
\ncould not concentrate on his work.<\/p>\n
He suddenly recalled when he had dared to ask the general's
\ndaughter out on a date, a love story that could have ended if
\nYanti had not insisted on maintaining their relationship.<\/p>\n
Mr. and Mrs. Subrata had disapproved of their plan to get
\nmarried, because Edi was only a graduate of a vocational school,
\nwhile Yanti had a Bachelor's degree from IKIP, the prestigious
\nTeachers Training Institute.<\/p>\n
And of course, Edi came from a poor family, while Yanti's
\nfamily was very well-off.<\/p>\n
Edi was ready to give up when he heard that Mr. and Mrs.
\nSubrata preferred to have Bambang, a doctor who had already asked
\nfor Yanti's hand, as their son-in-law.<\/p>\n
Bambang had been in love with Yanti ever since they were
\nstudents at the same high school. Yanti's brothers and sisters
\nhad also rather had Bambang as a brother-in-law.<\/p>\n
But Yanti was so tenacious, nobody could stop her once she
\nmade up her mind.<\/p>\n
They all knew Yanti was a hard-headed girl. She could have
\neloped with Edi if they had kept preventing her from seeing Edi.<\/p>\n
And so they got married and rented a small house near the
\njunior high school where Yanti worked as a math teacher. They had
\nbeen poor ever since, and their lives had only gotten more
\ndifficult after Dimas and then Retno were born.<\/p>\n
Mr. Subrata actually once offered to buy them a house -- and
\nthat they wouldn't have to repay him.<\/p>\n
Yanti refused, and even scolded her eldest sister, Wiwiek, who
\ntried to lend her old Starlet to Yanti and Edi when they couldn't
\nafford a car of their own.<\/p>\n
Yanti argued that they were quite happy with what they had.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
"Edi, Mr. Gito wants to see you now," Niken, the secretary,
\nroused him from the daydream.<\/p>\n
"Me? Now?"<\/p>\n
"Yes, where have you been, Edi?" Niken smiled.<\/p>\n
Taking a seat in his boss's room, Edi cleared his throat and
\nasked, "You wanted to see me, Sir?"<\/p>\n
"Yes, Edi. Congratulations! we have chosen you as our best
\nemployee of the year."<\/p>\n
"Best employee? Me?" He was stunned.<\/p>\n
"Yes, this is the first time we're selecting the best employee
\nof the year, and you're the lucky number one," Gito beamed.<\/p>\n
"I...I don't think I deserve this," Edi murmured.<\/p>\n
"Cut the crap, Edi. Too much formality like most Indonesians.
\nYou see, you'll get Rp 2 million as a prize."<\/p>\n
Edi couldn't believe his ears.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Three days had passed since the Edi won the best employee of
\nthe year award.<\/p>\n
One fine morning, Edi was walking happily after withdrawing
\nthe prize money from a bank near his office. He imagined buying
\nnew clothes for Dimas and Retno and some gifts for his
\nparents-in-law.<\/p>\n
He then caught sight of Pak Burhan, the janitor at his office
\nsitting in a corner near the stairs. Edi waved at him, but Burhan
\ndidn't respond.<\/p>\n
Edi approached him, and as he got nearer, saw that Burhan's
\neyes were wet.<\/p>\n
"Hey, what's up, Pak Burhan? Have you been crying?"<\/p>\n
"I got a big problem, Pak Edi," Burhan sniffed.<\/p>\n
"Problem? What is it? You can tell me, we're good friends,
\nremember?" prompted Edi in his usual way.<\/p>\n
He was, in fact, close and friendly with everyone.<\/p>\n
"My wife got to pay back a big sum of money to a money
\nlender," confessed Burhan.<\/p>\n
"How come?"<\/p>\n
"My wife is crazy about arisan -- all those frivolous social
\ngatherings. And although I told her many times to quit, she
\ninsisted on joining many."<\/p>\n
"Even now?" Edi was slightly shocked.<\/p>\n
"No, she's learned the lesson, now. She has apologized."<\/p>\n
"How much does she owe the money lender?"<\/p>\n
"Two million and a half, including the interest," was Burhan's
\nreply.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
"Why so quiet, Mas? You regret lending Pak Burhan the money?"
\nasked Yanti in the mikrolet as they were on their way to the
\ndreaded family gathering.<\/p>\n
Dimas and Retno were busy talking to each other in a corner.<\/p>\n
"No, I was just thinking how lucky it was that we had some
\nsavings we could add to the two million prize I got. So we could
\nhelp Pak Burhan out," said Edi, smiling. "Quite strange, isn't
\nit? There are so many money lenders nowadays. And the money
\nlender that caused so much trouble for Pak Burhan is his
\nneighbor, no less! So ironic."<\/p>\n
"Well, that's life, Mas."<\/p>\n
"You didn't forget to bring the putri salju cookies, did you?"
\nasked Edi, suddenly worried.<\/p>\n
"No, they're in the bag," Yanti smiled, and Edi relaxed. She
\nwas really proud of her husband.<\/p>\n
The mikrolet sped on, passing other families, each on their
\nway to their holiday gatherings.<\/p>\n
* bapak: father
\n* ibu: mother
\n* mas: sir or brother; used to address husbands among Javanese
\nwomen
\n* lontong: sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves
\n* opor ayam: a kind of stewed chicken
\n* sambel goreng ati: chicken liver fried in chilli sauce
\n* sambel terasi: chilli sauce flavored with fermented
\nanchovy\/shrimp paste
\n* lalapan: side-dish of raw vegetables, such as cucumbers,
\ncabbage, tomato wedges and leafy greens
\n* mikrolet: a public minibus
\n* putri salju: a popular buttery cookie coated in powdered sugar;
\nliterally, "Snow White"
\n* pak: short for bapak; a form of address for males in a higher
\nrank
\n* arisan: a social gathering in which members contribute to a
\nmoney pool and take turns winning<\/p>\n
The writer is an English lecturer at the Higher Institute of
\nForeign Languages (STBA) LIA, Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-family-gathering-1447893297",
"image": ""
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