Chapter One - Richard Lewis

have the bitter past full of injustice. And we have a bright future full of happiness. To
which direction shall we look? To the unalterable past, which karma will judge more
fairly than man? Or to the future?"
Dharma lifted his gaze and surveyed the others at the tables and those gathered
away from the lights. He did not say more, for nothing more was to be said, and he sat
down with as much of the dramatic art with which he had risen.
The American woman had no reply, and on her freckled face Nol thought he
detected a faint rise of blood.
Nol's roiled emotions about his father had calmed. He felt like he did after
prayers at temple, his life restored to balance and harmony. How wise his uncle was! Yes,
yes, put the past behind and look forward to the future.
Nol's future required 50 million rupiah. That worry was still there, but it was a
worry Nol could deal with. In fact, after the day's emotional tumbling, it was a relief to
have something so superficial to trouble him. He decided firmly upon a plan. He would
ask Anak Agung Mantera for a loan. How could his mother's old childhood friend refuse,
especially after today's events?
When Nol got home, Suti and their daughter Dian were resting in the garden
pavilion, sipping tea in glasses as night-blooming jasmine cast its scent. Suti looked like
an exotic flower herself in her tight purple and green aerobic leotards. She attended a
class three times a week, and a faint sheen of sweat still glistened on her forehead. Over
the rim of her glass of tea she gave Nol a glance that warned caution, daughter.
Dian jumped to her feet. She was still in her school uniform, gangly limbs
akimbo, but other parts starting to assume their womanly shape. She was already a
beauty. Nol's heart lurched with pride and anxiety…all those boys out there. He knew.
He'd been one.
"You want some tea, Bapa?" she chirped.
Ah. That tone. She wanted something.
"And how was your day?"
"I got a ten on my math test."
Nol sat down on the pavilion's step. "A ten?"
"Don't sound so surprised. I can get tens. I was just telling Mother I need a laptop
computer. And Internet."
"You can use your mother's computer."
"You don't understand. I need my own. So I can be on Facebook with my
friends."
"Facebook? What is that?"
A long dramatic sigh. "Father, don't you know anything?"
"It's an online social club," Suti said, putting down her glass with more force than
was warranted.
"And how was your day?" Nol asked his wife.
"A lot of lookers, not many buyers. A man joined my aerobics class, a
Manadonese accountant. All the women were giggling." As she said that, the cell phone
by her side buzzed. She glanced at it and put it aside.
"Manadonese," Nol said. Manadonese were a handsome people.
"A Mac," Dian said.
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