I think I am done with my pre-Raya house visits this year. After the visit to Fuzi’s house on Wednesday, on Thursday I called up Zainab to ask if she’d be home on Friday afternoon. I can only go visit her at home when she works night shift. Her husband Zaki who works as a night security guard would be home during daytime but what would the neighbors say if I went to visit Zaki at home when Zainab was not around…
I had to call Zainab a few times that Thursday. Everytime I asked if she’d be home on Friday afternoon, the line gets cut before Zainab could answer. It happened a few times. So finally I just sent her a text message. And the reply came saying that yes, she’d be home. Apparently it’s their hand phone that’s giving problems – they can only talk for a short while before the phone turns off by itself. Ah well…
Anyway, upon confirming that Zainab would be home on Friday, I took the last hamper from my NGO center and left it in my car so that the next day when I went to work I wouldn’t have to go to the center again.
So on Friday afternoon after office (I work half day), I immediately headed to Zainab’s house which is quite near my office. When I got there, Adik, Zainab’s younger daughter was already at the door, holding a pack of chips in her hands. The moment she saw me carrying the hamper in, immediately she gave the pack of chips to her mother, saying, “Tak nak dah…” Ahah, she saw something else more interesting than just a packet of chips!
When I got in and saw Kakak, the older daughter, I was relieved to see her back to her normal self. The last time I saw her, her face was still bloated due to her kidney problems.
There was a skinny little kitten sleeping on their settee then; and Pi Bani being Pi Bani the kaki sakat, I pretended I was going to sit on that particular settee where the kitten was. Adik immediately rushed to the rescue, grabbing the little kitten into her arms! Zainab and Zaki laughed looking at their little girl being so kelam-kabut! Muahaha… she actually thought this naughty makcik was really going to sit there and crush the poor little kitten which Adik and Kakak just picked from the streets that day… (The kids love cats and cats seem to love them too.)
Unlike the other houses that I visited where the children would wait for me to leave before they opened up the hamper, at Zainab’s house, the temptation was just too great for Adik and Kakak. When I said, “Bukalah, tak apa…” they excitedly pulled off the cello tape and tore off the plastic wrapper to get to the food stuff. Adik held on to her favorite – the mango pudding. Ahh, now that I know she loves pudding, the next time I visit I know what to bring (until she gets bored with it lah…)
The family seems to be doing okay. Now that Zaki is working, at least they can share the household expenses instead of being totally dependent on Zainab’s salary.
I just hope this time Zaki will stick to his job…
I had to call Zainab a few times that Thursday. Everytime I asked if she’d be home on Friday afternoon, the line gets cut before Zainab could answer. It happened a few times. So finally I just sent her a text message. And the reply came saying that yes, she’d be home. Apparently it’s their hand phone that’s giving problems – they can only talk for a short while before the phone turns off by itself. Ah well…
Anyway, upon confirming that Zainab would be home on Friday, I took the last hamper from my NGO center and left it in my car so that the next day when I went to work I wouldn’t have to go to the center again.
So on Friday afternoon after office (I work half day), I immediately headed to Zainab’s house which is quite near my office. When I got there, Adik, Zainab’s younger daughter was already at the door, holding a pack of chips in her hands. The moment she saw me carrying the hamper in, immediately she gave the pack of chips to her mother, saying, “Tak nak dah…” Ahah, she saw something else more interesting than just a packet of chips!
When I got in and saw Kakak, the older daughter, I was relieved to see her back to her normal self. The last time I saw her, her face was still bloated due to her kidney problems.
There was a skinny little kitten sleeping on their settee then; and Pi Bani being Pi Bani the kaki sakat, I pretended I was going to sit on that particular settee where the kitten was. Adik immediately rushed to the rescue, grabbing the little kitten into her arms! Zainab and Zaki laughed looking at their little girl being so kelam-kabut! Muahaha… she actually thought this naughty makcik was really going to sit there and crush the poor little kitten which Adik and Kakak just picked from the streets that day… (The kids love cats and cats seem to love them too.)
Unlike the other houses that I visited where the children would wait for me to leave before they opened up the hamper, at Zainab’s house, the temptation was just too great for Adik and Kakak. When I said, “Bukalah, tak apa…” they excitedly pulled off the cello tape and tore off the plastic wrapper to get to the food stuff. Adik held on to her favorite – the mango pudding. Ahh, now that I know she loves pudding, the next time I visit I know what to bring (until she gets bored with it lah…)
The family seems to be doing okay. Now that Zaki is working, at least they can share the household expenses instead of being totally dependent on Zainab’s salary.
I just hope this time Zaki will stick to his job…
4 comments:
Pi,
What a shame to the male gender when a husband just wanna live off the sweat and labour of his wife. Zaki isn't the only one around I guess.
Pak Zawi:
The problem with men like Zaki (you're right, he's not the only one around that I know of) is that they'd find every little excuse not to work. For Zaki, HIV is his excuse - dulu kerja tolong masak kat restaurant, excuse dia takut nanti darah dia masuk dalam makanan jangkit kat orang (ish, kalau dia takde HIV pun kalau darah masuk dalam makanan patutnya dia tak hidang makanan tu kat orang!)... lepas tu kerja angkat-angkat barang, dia kata cepat letih, tak larat... padahalnya his wife pun ada HIV juga, kerja teruk juga... but since the family needs money she has never even considered quitting her job.
but zaki dah keje kan,as a security guard? at least something la, keje yang mulia.
eh kak pi, what items are there in the hamper apart from the mango pudding? muahaha...saje nak menyibuk.
Kerp:
Yes, Zaki dah kerja sekarang, but I yang rasa tak berapa nak confident sebab before this pun dia pernah jadi security guard, tak jugak tahan lama. Masa tu alasan was dia tak tahan dengan kawan tempat kerja dia...
Engko memang selalu sibuk nak tanya apa ada dalam hamper... macam bebudak!! :) Well, got biscuits, crackers, kacang, chocolates, drinks...
Post a Comment