The Family Gathering

The Family Gathering

by Iwan "Bung" Sulistiawan

"Yan, what can we give to Bapak and Ibu?"

"Why? It's still two weeks from now, Mas," said Yanti to Edi, her husband.

"You know quite well that when it comes to the family gathering I always feel inferior."

It was natural for Edi to feel uneasy when his wife's big family gathering drew near. Edi was the poorest son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Subrata, Yanti's parents.

All members of Subrata family came every time the gathering was held. Yanti was the youngest of the five brothers and sisters of her family.

Twice a year, the big family got together in the big house of Mr. Subrata, a retired army general.

Wiwiek, the eldest, would come with her lawyer husband, Ridwan, and her three children in their Mercedez -- or sometimes in the Toyota Landcruiser Ridwan drove for his off-road hobby. They would usually bring a complete lunch; rice or lontong with opor ayam, sambel goreng ati, shrimp crackers and sambel terasi.

Joko, Mr. Subrata's second child, was a doctor. His wife, Eva, was also a doctor. In their white Volvo, they came with their two children in tow. Since Eva did not like cooking, they usually brought many jars containing a variety of cookies and coated peanuts that they had bought at a nearby supermarket.

Gatot, Joko's little brother, was the CEO of a famous American company. With his wife, Sandra, and their two children, they would come in a red VW Caravelle driven by their loyal driver, Mang Husin. They brought with them fresh fruit and vegetables for lalapan and a range of fresh and cold beverages.

The fourth child, Wulan, and her husband, Pram, the executive editor of a well-known magazine, did not have any children. Instead, what they transported in their metallic silver BMW were children's clothes in a wide range of sizes to be given as presents to all of Wulan's nephews and nieces. The clothes were, of course, all original brands: Osh Kosh, Hush Puppies or Guess.

Edi sighed. He could imagine what would happen very well. He would go with Yanti along with their two kids, Dimas and Retno, by bus and then by mikrolet. Yanti usually brought only her homemade putri salju cookies.

What troubled Edi more was the fact that Yanti's brothers and sisters always gave presents to Mr. and Mrs. Subrata, and expensive ones, at that.

During the numerous conversations, Edi imagined, he would again feel distressed because Yanti's brothers and in-laws usually talked about things he was not familiar with: business prospects, trading shares, mergers.

Edi was usually silent as others talked, only commenting once in a while to show that he was participating in the ongoing discussions -- those he was actually not interested in.

He always felt like a fifth wheel, yet he could not escape from the necessity of being there.

"What if we don't go to the gathering?" Edi broke the silence.

"What do you mean, we don't go? Do you want my Dad to get mad at us?" replied Yanti.

Edi did not answer. He remembered Dimas' and Retno's looks of amazement as they listened to their cousins' chatter about X-BOX, the newest game release for PlayStation 2, Counter Strike, Ragnarok, bowling or ice-skating.

"Come on, honey, don't think too much about it. Now go. You'll be late for work," consoled his wife.

***

But Edi could not help thinking about the family gathering.

At the office where he worked as an administrative staffer, he could not concentrate on his work.

He suddenly recalled when he had dared to ask the general's daughter out on a date, a love story that could have ended if Yanti had not insisted on maintaining their relationship.

Mr. and Mrs. Subrata had disapproved of their plan to get married, because Edi was only a graduate of a vocational school, while Yanti had a Bachelor's degree from IKIP, the prestigious Teachers Training Institute.

And of course, Edi came from a poor family, while Yanti's family was very well-off.

Edi was ready to give up when he heard that Mr. and Mrs. Subrata preferred to have Bambang, a doctor who had already asked for Yanti's hand, as their son-in-law.

Bambang had been in love with Yanti ever since they were students at the same high school. Yanti's brothers and sisters had also rather had Bambang as a brother-in-law.

But Yanti was so tenacious, nobody could stop her once she made up her mind.

They all knew Yanti was a hard-headed girl. She could have eloped with Edi if they had kept preventing her from seeing Edi.

And so they got married and rented a small house near the junior high school where Yanti worked as a math teacher. They had been poor ever since, and their lives had only gotten more difficult after Dimas and then Retno were born.

Mr. Subrata actually once offered to buy them a house -- and that they wouldn't have to repay him.

Yanti refused, and even scolded her eldest sister, Wiwiek, who tried to lend her old Starlet to Yanti and Edi when they couldn't afford a car of their own.

Yanti argued that they were quite happy with what they had.

***

"Edi, Mr. Gito wants to see you now," Niken, the secretary, roused him from the daydream.

"Me? Now?"

"Yes, where have you been, Edi?" Niken smiled.

Taking a seat in his boss's room, Edi cleared his throat and asked, "You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"Yes, Edi. Congratulations! we have chosen you as our best employee of the year."

"Best employee? Me?" He was stunned.

"Yes, this is the first time we're selecting the best employee of the year, and you're the lucky number one," Gito beamed.

"I...I don't think I deserve this," Edi murmured.

"Cut the crap, Edi. Too much formality like most Indonesians. You see, you'll get Rp 2 million as a prize."

Edi couldn't believe his ears.

***

Three days had passed since the Edi won the best employee of the year award.

One fine morning, Edi was walking happily after withdrawing the prize money from a bank near his office. He imagined buying new clothes for Dimas and Retno and some gifts for his parents-in-law.

He then caught sight of Pak Burhan, the janitor at his office sitting in a corner near the stairs. Edi waved at him, but Burhan didn't respond.

Edi approached him, and as he got nearer, saw that Burhan's eyes were wet.

"Hey, what's up, Pak Burhan? Have you been crying?"

"I got a big problem, Pak Edi," Burhan sniffed.

"Problem? What is it? You can tell me, we're good friends, remember?" prompted Edi in his usual way.

He was, in fact, close and friendly with everyone.

"My wife got to pay back a big sum of money to a money lender," confessed Burhan.

"How come?"

"My wife is crazy about arisan -- all those frivolous social gatherings. And although I told her many times to quit, she insisted on joining many."

"Even now?" Edi was slightly shocked.

"No, she's learned the lesson, now. She has apologized."

"How much does she owe the money lender?"

"Two million and a half, including the interest," was Burhan's reply.

***

"Why so quiet, Mas? You regret lending Pak Burhan the money?" asked Yanti in the mikrolet as they were on their way to the dreaded family gathering.

Dimas and Retno were busy talking to each other in a corner.

"No, I was just thinking how lucky it was that we had some savings we could add to the two million prize I got. So we could help Pak Burhan out," said Edi, smiling. "Quite strange, isn't it? There are so many money lenders nowadays. And the money lender that caused so much trouble for Pak Burhan is his neighbor, no less! So ironic."

"Well, that's life, Mas."

"You didn't forget to bring the putri salju cookies, did you?" asked Edi, suddenly worried.

"No, they're in the bag," Yanti smiled, and Edi relaxed. She was really proud of her husband.

The mikrolet sped on, passing other families, each on their way to their holiday gatherings.

* bapak: father * ibu: mother * mas: sir or brother; used to address husbands among Javanese women * lontong: sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves * opor ayam: a kind of stewed chicken * sambel goreng ati: chicken liver fried in chilli sauce * sambel terasi: chilli sauce flavored with fermented anchovy/shrimp paste * lalapan: side-dish of raw vegetables, such as cucumbers, cabbage, tomato wedges and leafy greens * mikrolet: a public minibus * putri salju: a popular buttery cookie coated in powdered sugar; literally, "Snow White" * pak: short for bapak; a form of address for males in a higher rank * arisan: a social gathering in which members contribute to a money pool and take turns winning

The writer is an English lecturer at the Higher Institute of Foreign Languages (STBA) LIA, Jakarta.