A Comprehensible Affection: August 22nd Part 2

Half an hour after I received a call from Han Han, I drove down the highway while keeping my eyes locked on the roadside for signboards that could lead me to Felix’s house in Sri Hartamas. No trouble occurred when I searched for Felix’s house, putting aside that blocked junction that could have brought me straight to Felix’s house rather than having to travel around the whole housing area into the second entrance.

So there I was 15 minutes later at the front gate of Felix’s house to find myself being greeted by friendly family members and friends of Felix’s. Soon, I found myself joining the grilling, putting fat pieces of chicken onto the wire gauze, right above those burning charcoals to be barbequed. Aaroni on the other hand, who we jokingly suggested that he could have majored in Culinary Engineering because he seemed to be very interested in culinary, obviously, was happily seasoning his potatoes with onions and seafood with tom yam pastes, and wrapping them up with aluminum foils before barbequing them.

Han Han was so occupied with seeing others BBQ stuff that she’s always seen near the “pit.” Maybe she has a thing for guys who barbeque because I suppose she thinks they’re hot? Wake up please, it’s because they’re smothered by the heat emitted from those burning charcoals. *Jokes* Anyways, she later found herself a new obsession, which was to barbeque sausages without actually leaving any burnt marks on them.

Then there’s this guy whom Felix knew from Frisbee pick-ups, named Terrence was hyperidrosis-ing while he bit into his chicken with relish. Apparently, he found it amusing to bang every single sentence Han Han said and that peeved her alright. Although Han was always thought to be offensive in a way, especially when she’s talking, she appeared to be rather vulnerable that night, revealing much flaw in her speech that were subsequently being corrected by the one and only Terrence. I see a Yin and Yang balance there. Maybe they should get together so that Han would be tamed.

I was at this table for a short moment with this bunch of funny people before I decided to join Han who was barbequing her sausages. They were chatting and laughing away like there’s no tomorrow while I sat speechless at a corner as I did not see any humor in what they said. That’s what happened when you’re in a place of strangers and could not blend in well – Awkwardness it was.

And of course, we had Felix’s darling – Hershey joining us as she wandered around the porch, leaving nothing behind but sets of footprints. Poor Han who couldn’t rear dogs in her apartment found herself calling out for the dog and happily caressing and stroking its shaved fur whenever she got the chance. I’m certain that Han had a whale of time then.

Then gambling time came and all gamblers registered themselves at the dining table, putting in a minimum of RM15 or was it RM10 for some chips in order to get started with. It was poker they were playing. I couldn’t bear watching them play for more than 5 minutes because it was so darn boring, so I got out of the house to the porch where Han was kindly giving Felix’s parents a helping hand in wrapping up the mess we all made.

When the cleaning was done, Han, Terrence and I sat around the little round table and had a small chat with Felix’s parents. Riz, the jobless guy joined in after he got tired of watching the ongoing football match alone, bringing along the leftovers which he had been gnawing on since God knows when. Few minutes after the clock stroke 12, the gambling ended and they all swarmed out of the house, getting ready to head back home.