I told you that sometimes Mummy was not happy in Sidoarjo, right? That used to make me sad too if Mummy was unhappy. Sometimes she cried and other times she just looked sad or angry, but I never really knew why. If she was sad then I always wanted to cuddle her and make her happy again and I used to say to her, ‘Don’t cry Mummy. We love you,’ and then she would cuddle me and say she loved me too. I am sad now if I remember those times.
My daddy was usually happy with me, though. I always saw him smiling and laughing when he came home or when he woke up in the morning. Mummy and me slept in the same bedroom and Daddy slept alone because he didn’t want to be disturbed, but when he woke up he always chased me around the house and tried to tickle me or sing a song into my ears and give me goose bumps. If we were awake at the same time in the morning, then Daddy and me always had breakfast together. Mummy didn’t sit with us for breakfast because she used to eat chicken and rice while we always ate cereals. Daddy and I ate Cornflakes or Rice Krispies usually.
Daddy still played football sometimes and I still watched him play in his games. One day he played a game in Surabaya and he took me with him. It was just me and him that went to this game and we had a good day with lunch and games in the mall before going to the football field. I was still a little girl then, so when Daddy was playing football he asked one of his friends to look after me on the side of the field. His friend was a very nice lady called Tanta Jolie. She was very pretty and not so old like Mummy. She told me she was Daddy’s friend and that I was very lucky having a daddy from England because when I grew up I would be able to speak English very well. I said, yes, but by the time I could speak English my daddy would already be very old. Tanta Jolie just laughed and gave me a cuddle.
When I was about five, or nearly five, Daddy and Mummy were not happy together anymore and that made me sad. They sometimes were angry and had arguments, and sometimes they were both quiet and didn’t talk to each other for a long time. I don’t know what the problem was or why they didn’t like each other anymore, but I knew they still liked me, because they told me that many, many times.
One day, Mummy and Daddy went into Daddy’s bedroom for a very long time and they talked and talked. I remember that while they were talking in there I had time to watch three whole Disney films on VCD. That shows they must have been talking together for hours and hours. When they came out of the room they said they wanted to talk to me.
I was sad and I started crying because I knew what they were going to say: they were going to tell me that they didn’t want to be married anymore. I just cuddled my daddy very, very tightly and told him I didn’t want him to go. I told him I loved him and I wanted him to stay. I didn’t want him to go.
My daddy cuddled me tight and told me he loved me too.
Then he told me that he was going to go to England for some time and that Mummy and me would stay in Indonesia for a while. He said he was going to try and save lots and lots of money there, and then when he had, Mummy and me would come and stay with him. He told me again that he loved me very much and then I asked him if he still loved Mummy. He cuddled me more, and he told me that of course he still loved Mummy. He said that he would always love me and Mummy forever and ever, lots and lots and lots.
When he said that, I felt a bit happier but I cried even more. I know that’s strange, isn’t it? Then my daddy cried too, and so did my mummy. Then we all cuddled each other and then we all stopped crying and then we all had our tea.
So, Daddy went to England and me and Mummy stayed in Indonesia. I remember the day Daddy left very well because he nearly missed his plane. There was a football match on TV and Daddy wanted to see the end of it before he went to the airport. I think England were playing in the World Cup but they lost to Brazil, so Daddy was not happy and we had to drive to the airport very fast or he would have missed his flight.
I was sad that Daddy left, but at least I knew we would be together soon and Daddy said he would call me often from Nana’s house. We kissed goodbye at the airport and this time nobody was crying and when me and Mummy went home in the car with our driver she cuddled me all the way home and told me funny stories like she used to when I was very little.
I missed Daddy a lot, of course, but I thought about him every day and I tried to be a very good girl so he would let me and Mummy come over to England quickly like he said. He called us every week and I always looked forward to his calls. I was now in the second year of kindergarten school and I told Daddy about my new friends and teachers, and all about my new games and toys and all
