Hazia’s Reflections

The Kebaya man and I agreed to break fast together yesterday. It was the first time this Ramadan that I wasn’t breaking fast at home. It might be a date, it might not be. I told myself to keep an open mind.

My mother asked where we were going because you might not get a table without a booking, I had no idea. However, I didn’t ask him. I’d rather be surprised instead. I wanted to see how he would handle it, was he well-organised or not. When he asked me to meet him at his boutique much earlier than I suggested, I knew he had a plan.

I rushed to the bookstore to get my proof and quickly walked to his boutique. I was glad to let him be the first to see the ‘dummy product’. His sister and he were as excited as I was to see it.

People gave me all sort of advise on how to ‘tackle’ him. The thing is that as soon as I saw him, I started to chat freely. I got too comfortable. It was like blabbing to my closest girlfriends, hehe… And I forgot’ my mission. I’m hopeless, aren’t I? LOL!

It turned out that he had a real plan. He decided to take his staff and his friends from a boutique nearby for a big buffet iftar at Tupai-tupai. They served a large spread of Malay cuisine at a very reasonable price, the food was authentic too. The ambiance had a ‘kampung & forest’ feel to it. I actually like the company.

One of his friends asked if I were his colleague. We had been introduced before; I think she forgot, she was minding her baby then. Had a bit of problem understanding the Indonesian dialect though. I was also glad that there was a surau, though the queue for Wuduk was long.

After that we went back to his boutique and continued talking for a while, just the two of us. I learned even more about him. Despite juggling business and a full time job, he said he did have a life. He visited his parents in Seremban almost every Sunday. He lived with his designer and staff while his sister rented another place nearby. He said his staff weren’t calculative, so he made sure he treats them from to time, he was planning a vacation to Singapore for the troop. His designer complained to me that he has a problem with punctuality, always late for appointments. Hmm…

I learned that his sister had just been ‘attacked’ again, supernaturally. They managed to track down who did it to both of them, it was a friend and business acquaintance. He always left her alone when he went for Terawih prayer at the mosque nearby. That was when the supernatural incidents often took place e.g. radio volume increased, etc. It happened so often to the extent that she wasn’t even scared anymore.

Oh, he said his company (day job) needed someone to do a company profile and he had given my name. But he insisted that I should charge for this and not do it for free.

Later, I checked my mobile and discovered 3 missed calls from my mother since 20 minutes earlier, she must be worried. She said I shouldn’t take a taxi but she would fetch me instead. It was already close to midnight.

Hmm… since my parents were coming, why not introduce them. He had quickly taken a shower and was dripping wet with Wuduk when they arrived. My parents couldn’t get out of the car since they were wearing home-clothes, hehe… So, just salam through the window. That was when I found out that my mother had all along thought that my friend, the boutique owner, was a woman. Imagine her surprise when they met… and more surprise during sahur when I told her he wasn’t married:p.