I still wanted to talk to her, though, and to find out more about her and how and why she was doing this job, and in particular what had happened with her customer on the night I first saw her. My gentle probing in this direction wasn’t very fruitful initially, but as we lay there post-coital, she began to open up a bit. She told me she came from a village similar to mine and initially she had worked as a maid to a Chinese-Indonesian family in one of the nicer areas of the city, in a place called Pondok Indah, but she had had to work so hard for so little money that she after a few months she had left and started working in a bar in a position one of the local motorcycle taxi drivers, tukang ojek, had helped her get.
From there she had ended up working here in the market. I asked her why she had left the bar but she just shook her head indicating she wasn’t going to tell me and I didn’t push it.
I told her what I was doing at present and that while that was fine for now I would want to move onto something a bit better in time. Devi listened to me with what appeared to be genuine interest and I found myself definitely taking a bit of a shine to her. Not in a romantic way, you understand, but she did seem to be a genuinely pleasant and nice person who was easy to listen to. I told her I was sure I could be a success in my life if I just got the chance but I was finding it a bit difficult to make the breakthrough.
Devi was quiet for a while but then started to speak,
‘Well, I think someone like you should be able to make a go of things here.’
I was confused: ‘Someone like me?’
She grinned. A cute smile. ‘Yes, a smart nice lad. You could go far. I could, I suppose, help you.’
It was then that she made a suggestion that helped to turn things around for me.
‘Why don’t you come and work for Pak Neil?’ she asked. ‘He is always looking for smart young men.’
‘Who is he?’ I asked.
‘He is this bule guy who has a many bars and apartments around the Kedoya area, where I used to work, and he employs chaps such as you to help out.’
‘Doing what?’ I was intrigued now.
‘Doing whatever is needed,’ she replied, just a little tersely. ‘I can make a call if you like, let people know a bit about you and see if we can fix you up.’
I agreed, and she sat on the bed and made a called on her mobile. She turned away from me so I couldn’t hear too well what she was saying but finally she turned back to me and said that it was all fixed – Pak Neil would see me tonight at the Club Mexicanas in Kedoya.
I was still somewhat concerned about what sort of job I was looking at but nevertheless I could see that this maybe held half a promise for the future. I thanked Devi profusely and gathered up my clothes and got ready to leave. As I was about ready to go she walked with me to the door and put her arms around me.
‘Hati-hati, be careful, Jack. This is my mobile number so please let me know where you are and what happens, ya,’ she said.
I kissed her nose and thanked her again. I made a promise then that whatever else happened in my life I would never forget Devi and the kindness she had shown to me. It was only as I made my way back to Heri that I remembered I hadn’t even asked her about her experience with the john and his watch.
My erstwhile brother and his friends were still drinking and playing cards and barely looked up as I sat down at the table, but finally Heri ventured,
‘So, how was it?’
I told him what had happened and about the introduction Devi had made for me with Pak Neil. I asked him if he knew of this guy and what I should do.
Heri seemed to hesitate a bit before answering, but when he did he told me that Pak Neil was a rich expatriate (bule) well known in the city for running clubs and karaoke bars. Eko joined in and told me that if I could get a job working with him it would be a step up, the salary would be higher than at present and I would get a good ‘street rep’. People would respect me if they knew I was working for him.
I decided that I would go and meet Pak Neil and see what the deal was, but I was still a bit apprehensive. I didn’t want to get mixed up in anything illegal or immoral. I know that sounds slightly hypocritical seeing that I had just spent time with a lady of the night, but sleeping with such a girl and getting involved in, say, procuring them was totally different.
Anyway, I decided that there was no point in worrying too much about anything until I knew more information. With that in mind I bade farewell to my brother and his mates and headed off to Club Mexicanas by ojek.
Kedoya is in the south of the city, and is a fairly run down yet not desperately poor area. There is a strip of what might reasonably be called low-grade shopping malls and pubs or clubs. There are also a few karaoke places and one or two slightly
