Twilight in Kuta

by David Nesbit

  I called on him bright and early one morning and directly I cut to the chase. ‘Neil. How would you like to make some real money?’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Working for me.’

  Neil looked confused: ‘I am working for you.’

  He had me there. I grinned: ‘I mean, really working for me. For real money.’

  He looked interested so I outlined what I had in mind for him. When I had finished he looked at me some more.

  ‘How about EPLC? Would I still work here, too?’

  ‘Yes, at least in the beginning. It would be good for appearances if you were here in the school at least some of the time, but we both know that this place practically runs itself now you and Evie have got it up and going.’

  We chatted a bit more and discussed how things would work and also his personal terms. I offered him a three-fold increase on what he was currently earning as well as a profit-sharing scheme that had the potential to make him rather a wealthy man in a few years if he worked hard and kept his nose clean.

  ‘Keep my nose clean?’ he played innocent. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Nothing, Neil. Not at the moment, anyway.’

  I didn’t say anything more; I didn’t have to. He knew, and he knew I knew that he knew.

  So, I started Neil of as General Manager of a small and rather dingy bar our consortium had bought in Kedoya in the south of Jakarta called Club Mexicanas. I told him that he would be working with my associate Yusuf who would be his right-hand man. Yusuf was an extremely large gentleman with a propensity for mindless violence if pushed too far, and extreme amiability if not. He would get on perfect with Neil, I surmised. I told Neil that as he was now technically a partner in the business it would be perfectly acceptable, indeed preferable perhaps, if he were to let on to others that he was indeed the full owner of the place. Neil looked a little confused at this point, but didn’t question matters.

  Neil worked closely with Yusuf, even though the big man was a chap of few words, and soon showed an aptitude for running the bar. It was a bit dark and gloomy there when we bought it and certainly not the sort of place I would frequent – either as a patron or even as an owner if I could help it – and so I was very happy to take a back seat and move onto frying bigger fish. I let Neil and Yusuf have their head there and make the changes they wanted to within reason, and by all accounts they did a good job in making the place a bit more presentable and appealing to a slightly higher class of customer.

  The reports I was getting back on Neil from people at both EPLC and Club Mexicanas was that he was a considerate boss who was learning to be a bit stricter and a little less naïve. He was able to show a bit more steel over this time than he had before and this included moving people out in the two businesses if they were not performing up to scratch. I had worried a bit that he was too nice and that he wanted to be liked rather than respected, but over this period of a couple of years or so, he was happily proving me wrong.

  The school was doing well, the club was doing well, I was doing well, The Group was doing well, and Neil was doing well. We were all doing well.

  This period saw more investments undertaken and more loans procured and facilitated. We diversified into leasing and freeholds on apartment buildings, hotels, boutiques and further restaurants and clubs, and in doing so undertook more debts – on paper at least. It would have been easy and indeed a cliché to have Neil be responsible for signing the paperwork on such deals and therefore becoming responsible for loans and debts incurred, and indeed the thought did occur to me, but I resisted the temptation to do that. I didn’t exactly need Neil as such, as I could have got any number of people in to carry out the role he was doing, but I had known him for some time now and I did feel a degree of affection for him, I guess. I knew that he was struggling with his home life, and I knew he was devoted to his little daughter, Tess, and so I chose to help him as long as he was capable of helping me. Besides, I reasoned, there was no shortage of other people I could put up as fall guys if all the business deals did indeed go south.

  After a period of consolidation, I did very occasionally drop in at the club as I wanted to see the changes to the place and also see how Neil was doing. He seemed a little heavier in build when I clapped eyes on him for what must have been the first time in perhaps six months, but he also seemed a little bit more confident and relaxed. He was able to hold a conversation a bit better now, whereas previously, and notwithstanding his liking of the ladies, he had sometimes given me the impression he’d rather be stuck in a good book and not speak to anyone unless he totally had to. He showed me around the club and pointed out the bars and the karaoke parlours. He explained how they worked, that originally Yusuf had been the one to come up with the idea and that they were serious money-spinners. I was a little concerned when I saw these, to tell the truth, and took the time to take Yusuf aside and grill him a little.

  Yusuf explained security was tight around the club and the girls were all well looked after and under no pressure to do anything they didn’t want to do. I said that was all well and good, but I was more worried about Neil. I knew of his reputation for enjoying flirting with girls and told Yusuf I couldn’t be having that kind of carry on in the club. He assured me that Neil was pretty clean in that area, and he never dabbled with the staff or any customers in that way and the only liaisons he did enjoy were very discreet and never interfered with business at all. Back to the karaoke parlours, and Yusuf explained that Neil never really went near them but they were successful in as much as they were places where businessmen could bring their clients for a piece of almost innocent fun with no risks. I just nodded.

  As our/my portfolio grew, I gave Neil more to do and so he was even busier. He was now charged with looking after apartment rentals and leasing in various areas throughout the city as well as looking for other opportunities. He provisionally proposed getting involved in export of textiles but I felt that almost all export deals involve too much unpredictability and so opportunity for things to go wrong. I preferred to deal more within Indonesia as I am a creature of habit and I know Indonesians. I know the fears, interests, needs, desires and foibles, of us Indos, whether indigenous or otherwise, and so I decided to stick with what I knew and soldier on accordingly.

  Taking a stake in the palm oil business was another possibility put to me by Neil, and again while I was impressed with his proposal and the way he was thinking outside of the box, I turned this down too, Now, why did I, by now a hard-nosed businessman, reject what could have been a rather lucrative deal? Well, as daft as it sounds, I did so on moral grounds. The palm oil business is responsible for the destruction of rainforests in both Indonesia and Malaysia at alarming rates and, while I am certainly no dyed-in-the-wool environmentalist, I do believe we should take a degree of care of the world around us, and certainly not look to profit from its destruction. I know that such a view is far from universal in these days of get-rich-quick, and may even be seen as slightly hypocritical coming from me bearing in mind some of the strokes I’ve pulled in my time, but there you go.

  No, Neil was doing fine and I was quite happy with him until one unfortunate incident after he’d been in charge of the club for some time, and not totally unsurprisingly it had its origins in the karaoke parlours. Neil and Yusuf had explained to me that the girls there were little more than part of the scenery and were definitely not for sale. There were safeguards in place, supposedly, to ensure both their safety and that of customers, as well as the name and reputation of the club itself. On this particular night, however, these best-laid-plans all somehow went astray, and we were left with a potentially disastrous scenario.

  It seems it all started when a group of perhaps four of five guys turned up at the club a little worse for wear and demanded entry. Now, ordinarily anyone in an inebriated state would be refused entrance and turned away, but on the night in question the door was being manned by a couple of newer doormen, and they were perhaps a little intimidated by th
e government civil service uniforms these guys were wearing, and so let them in when more experienced staff would have been braver and known better.

  The gentlemen ordered drinks and then moved into the karaoke area of the club where they were confronted by Neil. According to Neil, he was perfectly polite and respectful in explaining that the rules of the club did not permit intoxicated customers onto the premises, and so he would have to insist the gentlemen undertook certain guarantees that they would act in an appropriate manner if they wished to stay. The civil servants evidently took Neil’s words in good humour and assured him they would behave accordingly.

  All went well for an hour or two, with the men ordering some food and drinks and enjoying the fairly innocuous company of the hostesses, when it seems things started to go wrong. One of the hostesses, a girl named Devi, left the room and complained to Neil that she was feeling uncomfortable in the presence of the men in the karaoke room. They were, she said, beginning to act offensively to her and the other girls by making lewd comments and suggestions as well as taking liberties in the form of groping and stroking them. Neil sent Yusuf and another guy, Endy, to talk to the men and to issue a final warning. Neil also told Devi that he would change her and any of the other girls in the room who didn’t feel comfortable remaining there, but by all accounts Devi simply thanked Neil and decided to return to the karaoke room.

  Well, what Neil should have done, of course, was to call time on this motley little crew and bounce them out of the club there and then, and his failure to do so led to matters escalating out of control.

  Yusuf later filled me in on the details: Devi returned to room and the girls and the men enjoyed a few more drinks. About thirty minutes later a scream and a lot of shouting was heard coming from the room; Yusuf and two other security ‘lads’ rushed in the room to be greeted by the sight of Devi straddling the prostate overweight figure of one of the government workers and screaming like a banshee as she scratched his face and neck with her two-inch finger nails; the rest of the room was also in uproar as the guy’s friends attempted to assist him while the other girls jumped on their backs and did everything they could in order to prevent them from doing so. It was a right mess.

  Yusuf and his men were able to break up the fighting quickly enough, but ironing out the repercussions took a lot longer. I was forced to make one of my irregular appearances, and considering the hour it is fair to say I was not best pleased. After a lot of negotiating and arguing, we came to an arrangement that the gentlemen would not be presented with a bill for the evening’s entertainment but nor would any of them be welcome in the club again for an extensive period of time. In addition, I ordered Yusuf to be more diligent in training and supervising his doormen and I informed Neil that Devi would have to go. Neil tried to defend her, but I made it clear that I held the two of them equally responsible for the night’s events and either Devi could go on her own, or Neil could join her. Either way, Devi had to go.

  I know Neil felt sorry for Devi, and I have the feeling that he personally made arrangements to help her out somehow, but I was not privy to the details and I didn’t push for them.

  By now we were well into 2007 and life was busy, eventful and, in the main, fun. I was still embroiled in negotiations with The Group, but I was becoming less dependent on them for backing my deals and ventures. I continued to learn, to study, to consider and to educate myself regarding matters financial and business and I continued to reap the benefits. On a personal level my own family was growing up, and although I had no intention of stepping back from work altogether, I did wonder if it was time to scale things down a little in terms of my personal involvement and so have the opportunity to enjoy more quality time with them.

  Around the fall of that year, I undertook a longish sabbatical to Europe with my wife and our three sons, and took the opportunity to really have a look at some of the places I had promised myself I would one day return to. While the trip was not exactly a trip down memory lane, this time around I was at least able to see the different sides of places such as Paris, London, Berlin and even Moscow. We saw and visited places on the tourist trails and although I could sometimes feel and sense the ghosts of the past lurking in the shadows, all-in-all the trip was a cleansing and cathartic exercise, and I came back feeling revitalised, rejuvenated and ready to go again.

  I did indeed take a slightly more relaxed outlook on life and on business in general following our sabbatical, and certainly started to get a little more enjoyment and sense of tranquillity from life than before. The investments and portfolios I was now entrusting other people to develop and nurture continued to pay dividends and I was able to devote more time to my family and leisure pursuits. Now, as I approached my late forties I found for the first time in life I was actually finding some kind of balance and fulfilment.

  Neil moved around within The Group and broadened his horizons, too. He was still nominally in charge of the schools and he had to spend a certain number of hours in each of the three premises we had in Jakarta, but he’d come on a long way in a short time. The problem with Devi was never repeated and Neil was normally able to deal with situations and occurrences as they arose without usually having to involve me or call on the backing of The Group.

  The one exception to this involved a rather naïve and gullible worker at the Mexicanas called Jack who let himself be taken advantage of by a woman who was old enough to know better. Neil did was what necessary to clear up the matter, however, and it all blew over in a matter of weeks thanks to contacts and backhanders in the appropriate places.

  Neil himself was going through changes in his life at this time. He’d been struggling for some time at home, I knew, and although he’d tried to keep a lid on things in the main, it was obvious he was having difficulties. By this time I’d long given up asking him anything about Yossy, and I would keep any and all enquiries regarding his family perfunctory in the extreme and limited to Tess and the boy, William. I knew the two children were the glue that kept Neil going at times, and as much as I felt for him, there was nothing I could, or was prepared to, do.

  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 youn
g 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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