Since getting back in touch with Neil and inviting him into EPLC, my contact with Yossy had been somewhat limited, and I had no real idea of how she was or what she was up to these days. All those years ago back in Sidoarjo I had earmarked her as the dominant force in their marriage, and although I sensed a change in their dynamics had since taken place, I wasn’t aware of to exactly what extent. I did get the feeling, however, that things were going to come to a head sooner rather than later.
This inkling was to prove well founded in early 2008 when Neil came to me and announced he was getting married again!
Well, although I had been expecting something – some kind of announcement or life-shifting change – this was a bit beyond my expectations, to say the least. I mean, as far as I knew he was still living with Yossy and the kids.
We sat down and had a chat:
Well, this is a surprise’, I started: ‘When did all this happen?’
Neil explained he had met the young lady he intended marrying on a chat site, and seeing my raised eyebrows, he grinned slightly sheepishly before continuing: ‘Yes, I know. But she was different, Pak’ – All these years we had known each other and he still he insisted on dressing me as ‘Pak’ and not by my name.
‘Different how?’
‘I don’t know. She just seems to “get” me. I know it sounds a bit waffly, but she just makes me feel safe.’
I just nodded: ‘How about Yossy? I didn’t even know you’d split up.’
He looked sad momentarily and then went on: ‘Well, actually, she left about eighteen months ago, but funnily enough we get on better now than we have done for many years. I think she will probably get married again soon, too.’
Again I nodded. ‘You mean to the boy’s fath … ?’ I stopped myself just in time and now it was Neil’s turn to simply nod.
I told him again I was pleased for him, and when I met the young lady for the first time a week or two before the big day, I was taken aback by her presence and charisma. She seemed totally different to how I remembered Yossy as being – a total contrast in terms of character and personality. While Yossy was, I recalled, a bit of a livewire and a chatterbox and seemingly fully driven, Neil’s bride-to-be was altogether more relaxed, naturally friendly and innately confident, and I could see the calming influence already at work on Neil.
Later, looking at the two of them together on their wedding day, I felt confident that finally Neil had found what he had been searching ever since I’d first known him.
I sensed he’d found himself.
Epilogue
Jakarta, March 2008
The ceremony is a simple one with fewer than two-dozen guests. It’s performed in the Indonesian equivalent of a registry office at 11am on a weekday, and afterwards, as neither has asked for or been given a full day’s leave from their job, they go their separate ways.
Before they part there is time for one brief kiss.
She holds him close and whispers once again: ‘I will save you.’
And, again, he believes her.
About the Author
David Nesbit settled insurance claims in the City before seeing the light and embarking on a year-long trip around Asia that changed his life, mostly for the better. Now, having lived in Indonesia for more than twenty years, Nesbit divides his time between educating the nation’s youth as a teacher and writing Asia-based fiction and opinion pieces. Twilight in Kuta is his first novel.
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