The End of Two Semesters
Chapter 41 – Learn to Cook

While Santi, he was at home with his mother-in-law and accompanied by his mother as well. Halimah often goes to Arni's house to see her daughter and granddaughter. He does not care about the Hermawan who always inhabit him at home. Since Santi gave birth to her more often at home, never to the office, or to her rukonya, her efforts were entrusted to the person she told, sometimes Halimah who handled it, she said, because he also wants to see how the business develops.

Halimah knows, Hermawan is very hit with Santi who is increasingly rebellious because it often arranged his life. Halimah understood, from a small santi was too restrained by her father because of something, because his father did not want there to be events like before.

“Arni, are you not troubled there is my daughter here?” ask Halimah.

“How trouble, Halimah? Santi I think of as my own daughter. I love him very much,” replied Arni.

“Thank you, you already want to accept my daughter, even if you know how my daughter's past is,” said Halimah.

“Everyone has a past, Halimah. Not only does Santi have a dark past. I was the same, had a dark past in my life, and maybe even worse than Santi. Maybe if I don't meet Mas Rozak, I'm still speechless lamenting my past,”.

“Yes, all humans must have a past, Arni. I'm the same, but yes, if our lives are fine, better not reveal our past, Ar,” Halimah said.

“We must indeed rise, and must not dissolve in the dark past. Let the past go, we can remember it to be a lesson, not to be remembered, until we dissolve in it, and always lament the situation, he said, whereas if we do positive things in life, our lives will be better,” said Arni.

“True once, Ar. I did not expect Santi to be like this, and I knew it was all my fault from the beginning, because I did not dare to refute Mas Hermawan. He who set his seal about Santi, since the age of five, Santis has been arranged by his father, until now he wants Mas Hermawan so,” said Halimah.

“Yes, Santi often told me about his authoritarian father, but yes I don't completely blame Santi's father, probably because of his speciality in Santi so his papa was like that, overprotective, because Santi is a woman,” said Arni.

“Yes you are right, Ar,” said Halimah.

“But it's not like that the purpose of his papa Santi to curb Santi, it's all because his papa Santi does not want Santi like me, the inner” of Halimah.

Santi had just come from the kitchen, the baby was sleeping, and in the room there was a mother and mother-in-law, Santi learned to cook with an assistant at her mother-in-law's house. There's no way Santi acts like a queen, she eats already prepared, clothes already there are washing and ironing, she just sits sweet at home, just take care of the baby, just take care of the baby, because at home there are assistants themselves. The cooking part is alone, the holiness is alone, nyapu and mengpel are on their own, the gardener also exists alone. Yes Aryan house is classified as very luxurious and only inhabited by his mother and father Arya, also Arya, even in the house of most assistants, of the residents.

“Mbak Santi just sit down, already later if here scolded mom you know?” said the cook at Arya's house.

“Ah mbak this, I also want to cook, Ma'am. At least women should be able to cook, a little bit. Yes, even if you only cook rice. Honestly, I can't cook rice, I'm not fit. Time in pekalongan, the dose is also mostly water, so mushy cake of the rice porridge, and the second even less water, eh the rice is hard, so it is still like rice,” explained Santi dnegan chuckling. “Jari dong mbak so it can fit the dose,” pinta Santi.

“Ya already, this mumpung just want to cook rice, I teach mbak deh,” he said confirming Santi's request.

“OK, this how?”

“Mbak take rice two cups of rice inside the rice place, then put it here, keep washing.”

“If washing rice I can already mbak, this I wash, yes?”

“After completion, put it here, and love the clean water in the container, measure one more finger, because this rice rather like water, and, so the dose of water must be more than one finger, we also have to recognize the rice we want to cook first, Ma'am. There are rice that do not like the water mostly, so it is soft if most of the water, if this is a little more in the water, if not later the rice is a bit hard,” said the cook.

“Oh so must be acquainted with rice first yes, Ma'am?”

“Iya, must know how the rice,” answers.

“Yes already, let's know, I'm Santi, who are you? Love water gak?” santi said with a friendly look at the rice before pouring water into the rice.

“It's not so, Ma'am? This mom is funny and funny too, I think it's so fierce.”

“Ya Lord .. mbak ih su’udzon really the same me?” said Santi. “This is already his acquaintance? I pour ya, Ma'am?”

“Iya just pour, mbak water, measure one more index finger,” he said.

Santi follow the directions of the cook in his in-laws' house. Then he put it in the rice cooker, and closed it, and then turned it on according to the instructions.

“Mbak want to cook what?” ask Santi.

“Sayur tamarind, fried tempeh, equal pecak fish slices. This is Mas Arya's favorite menu and father, anyway if noon there should be this menu, Ma'am,” he replied.

“Bby dong I learned, let me can,” pinta Santi.

“Mbak, how will the baby wake up? Later you are angry you see mbak here?” abugn.

“It's okay, Ma'am. Anin just suckled, when will you wake up again? There is also the main eye, so it's okay,” said Santi.

“Yes already, here learn to cook.” Said Hani the cook, who gave up because Santi forced her.

Santi noticed what Hani taught, he was very enthusiastic about learning to cook, and it turned out that cooking was very fun. Santi sliced the vegetables, and prepared the seasoning. He remembered the spices used for cooking. Little by little she learns to be the best wife for Arya.

“Have tried to correct the taste, Ma'am,” said Hani. Santi took a spoon, then took a little vegetable gravy, and corrected the taste.”I think it's less salty, Ma'am. Asemnya already fit,” said Santi.

“Try me to taste too,” said Hani. Hani tasted it, and right, less salty a little. “Try to take salt as a spoon of a notch only,” Hani's decree.

Santi added salt according to Hani's instructions, then he corrected the taste of the vegetables again. “Hmmm .. this is fitting like it, try deh mbak Hani correction,” he said then asked Hani to taste again.

“OK, it feels right,” said Hani. “That mbak can cook? Said it couldn't?” hani.

“And this I also recited what mbak said? Recipe from mbak, I just follow the instructions mbak?” answer Santi.

“Samely, Ma'am, this is also a cooked mbak. Usually someone follows my way, he just obeyed what I said, the results are not appropriate, but this is delicious, Ma'am, fresh can, suitable as I usually cook,” said Hani.

“Then out of this let alone, Ma'am?” ask Santi.

“Mountry?”

“If this is simple only mbak, use the spice racik who buy it, do not make it, most plus salt a little bit the same as the condiment broth,” he replied.

“The root?” ask Santi.

“Actually according to taste, but if I want to fry two boards tempeh, yes the spice is one pack, add a teaspoon, the same broth powder half a teaspoon, then give water, add, the paste of the iris, kept being marinated for a while,” he explained.

“OK, here I can,” Santi said.

Santi prepared spices according to what Hani taught earlier, “begini right, Ma'am?” tanyakanya.

“Iya right,” answered. “The water is not too much, Ma'am,” said Hani,

Santi continued to bruise the tempeh, after the selesia, he continued frying the sliced fish, and made a sambal for the fish pecak. He learned to fry fish that sometimes burst their oil, but Santi tried to calm down and was afraid, at least sometimes he was a little away. He then gave the chili to pecak fish that he had fried earlier.

“Mbak correction link dong?” santi Pinta on Hani. Hani pokes chili with fried tempeh, and the result is very fitting.

“Enak, pas, mbak very fast nih directly passed the practice,” praise Hani.

“This is also a spice that ngajarin mbak? Do not know later if you cook yourself,” replied Santi.

“It's all set, right? Oh yes the rice is ripe, right?”

“Yes, it is all ready, the rice is also mature, the rice is good, not soft, and not hard,” replied Hani.

“I'm putting on the dinner table, huh? It was like lunch hour,” said Santi.

“Yes, here I help, Ma'am.”

Santi arranged a lunch assisted with Hani. Arni went out looking for Santi who had not entered the camp, fortunately Anin did not wake up, and did not fuss, so Arni forgot the old Santi to the back put a dirty glass from his room.

“This is your food, San? Mom waitin from earlier with your mama, not nongol-nongol even here nata food?” arni.

“Bu, there is a new chef you?” hani.

“You mean new chef how, Han?” ask Arni.

“Well this is Santi kokinya?” answer Hani.

“You cook, San? You're telling me, don't cook it's okay, Santi? You are the same focus Anin, if this is your body the smell of cooking, the smell of fish, the smell of terasi?” arni.

“Wh mom, what's wrong with cooking exercises, Mom? Yes although a little bit usual,” replied Santi.

“Mother won't taste my cooking?”

“Try mommy, you already said you sit back. I don't need a daughter-in-law who can cook, I need a daughter-in-law who loves a mother's child, and loves her children,” Arni said, then tasted Santi's cooking. “But, you are smart to cook too? Vegetables are fitting, sliced fish are also fitting once sambalnya, not too spicy,” praise Arni.

“If mother, thanks for the compliment, yes already Santi change clothes first, pity Anin if you want to suckle later the smell of asem, the smell of terasi, and the smell of fish, and the smell of fish,” said Santi then passed into his room.

Arni shook her head. Already many times he forbade Santi to cook, now he cheated, his son-in-law learned to cook too, and the cuisine is not bad, fits on his tongue.

“Mark cook is also my daughter-in-law,” praise Arni drift, then take a poton of fried tempeh, and eat it.

Santi went into his room, he saw his mother holding Anin, because she had just woken up. Halimah thought Anin wanted to suckle, apparently after being carried, even sleeping again.

“Where are you from, San? Long time mom and mom waiting?” ask Halimah.

“Santi-cooking, Ma. Lunch later, Ma? Wait for Mas Arya and I go home. Mama's coming home in the afternoon, right? Or stay?” ask Santi.

“Later in the afternoon just go home, if your papa stay ngamuk later, yes although often inhabit mama, your papa likes to rage if mama later out,” replied Halimah.

“Ya already Santi clean-up first, same change clothes, Ma,” said Santi, then to the bathroom.

After cleaning up and changing clothes, Santi took her phone, took pictures of the dishes at the dinner table and the portrait was sent to her husband's contacts.

“Lunch at home huh, Mas? I've cooked.” He wrote the message below the picture he sent to Arya.

Arya who was in the office, and after the meeting, happened to be going home because she was hungry, she saw a message from her wife.

“He sent us this picture? Maybe Anin's photo with her?” arya said then opened the photo that Santi sent.

“He cooks? Can it be?” he said with a proud smile.

“Wah .. so nice it looks like. I'm home now, so miss you with Anin, and want to quickly enjoy the cuisine of his beloved wife.” He replied to a message from Santi.

Arya also reposted her photo to her whatsapp story. With the caption, the wife's cooking always makes kangen. And, suddenly the number he knew commented on the photo that Arya posted.

“Temporary wife only, right? Surprised by you, Ar, she's a dirty woman but you're married! What am I lacking, Ar?” ~ Naira's.