Cheese, Pasta and Spices

Pernah makanan gratis? Aku baru saja mendapat makan gratis yang paling enak yang pernah aku coba. Tadi, aku hampir saja pulang dengan bete. Janjianku sama temen2 jadi batal gara-gara harus pulang malem. Keterlaluan banget sih bos ku itu? Kan aku juga punya kehidupan lain selain kerja? Huh, sebel…

Anyway, busway, lagi nunggu taksi mau pulang, tiba-tiba seseorang muncul di hadapanku. Eh ternyata si bule itu lagi, Sasha.

“Good evening miss Julie…” Duh, lengkap banget sih kalimatnya. Kan cukup bilang “hai”? Kayak orang jadul aja. Aku tersenyum juga disapa seperti itu.

“Hi Sasha. How are you? Going to work?” Sasha menganggukkan kepalanya,

“Yea, I’m kinda earlier. Where are you going? Home?”

“Yes, I’m going home, waiting for my taxi.

“Why don’t you come over to my place? I invite you to visit my counter now.” Dia tersenyum. Tatapan sangat membujuk. Aduh, senyumnya manis sekali kalau lagi merayu seperti itu… *-* Ngomong-ngomong, bagus juga tuh idenya, itung-itung pelepas bete. Aku pasang muka mikir,

“Now? What’s so special about your place that I have to come over there tonight?” Sasha tertawa lebar,

“Well, some say, the night is still young… many good things can be done in this lovely night…” Dia berhenti sebentar lalu melanjutkan,

“Do you know what? I will tell you some secrets. But not here. I’ll tell you when later you were there.” Hm, sok berrahasia deh. Rahasia apaan sih? Sok misterius gitu.

“Hm.. Sorry, I’m not interested in hearing any secrets. See you.” Aku berbalik hendak pergi. Sasha segera memanggilku,

“Frankly, you are the only one who will know my secrets.” Oh ya, pasti dia bilang gini ke setiap cewe yang diajak ke tempatnya. Seperti tahu isi otakku Sasha berkata,

“I’m not lying. I want to know local’s opinion on pogácsa and other stuffs.” Dia memandangku dengan intens. Kali ini tatapannya serius banget. Kayaknya dia memang lagi butuh input.

“Why me? There’s plenty of Indonesians and you ask me specifically.”

“Firstly, I don’t know many Indonesian since I just arrived here few weeks ago. Secondly, you are my target customer, working people, age 20-30 years old, urban. I’m not good at people actually. And the last reason is I only invite you tonight. You know, opportunity comes once in a life time.”

“So?” Sasha tampak tak sabar. Aku terdiam agak lama.

“Well, considering this as an invitation, I’d like to confirmed that the dinner is on you.”

“Off course my treat. Come on now.” Wah ditraktir nih. Asik juga…

Di tempatnya itu, aku pesan biskuit berbumbu ala Hongaria pogácsa sebagai makanan pembuka dan pasta keju túrós csusza untuk makanan utamanya. Kata Sasha itu adalah makanan khas negaranya. Sedang aku makan, Sasha datang menghampiri mejaku.

“Hi.” Dia nyengir lebar.

“Aren’t you suppose to work? Or watching the guest eating is included in your job desk?” Sasha tertawa mendengar komentarku,

“I guess so… Not many guests arrived, I can manage my works from here.” Dia melanjutkan perkataannya,

“Watching you is nicer than seeing onions and cabbage.” Matanya bersinar-sinar. Ngerayu nih, pikirku. Tapi, kok aku dibandinginnya sama sayur-sayuran ya?

“How is the meal? Do you like it? The bread is called focaccia in Italy. You might familiar with them.”

“I like them. Seems there are many spices in the bread.”

“Yea. I put black pepper, red onion, garlic… cumin, mm… poppy seed, and sesame seed in the dough.”

“So many spices! I see.. that’s why it tastes so rich. I like the richness of the spices.” Sasha tersenyum,

“What about the main course?”

“I like it very much. What cheese did you put in the dishes?”

“It’s cottage cheese. Nice isn’t it?” Ia terlihat puas dan memandangku agak lama lalu bertanya lagi,

“Julie, you don’t look well today. Is everything okay?”

“Not really. I have to work late tonight and because of that I had to cancel all my personal appoinments.”

“I’m sorry… Looks like my invitation was just came at the right time then?”

“Yea. That helps much. Thanks a lot.”

“Talking about secrets, I’ll tell you later my secrets. Okay?” Sial nih orang, aku ketipu rayuannya.

“What?? You lied huh? Well, I’m reminding you, I will keep your promise in mind. You still owe one, never forget that.” Sasha nyengir lebar,

“I’ll definitely tell you. Someday.” Huh tukang tipu >.<.

Hari yang nyaris kelabu. Thank God aku ketemu Sasha & bisa makan gratis yang terenak yang pernah aku rasakan, swear.

(song: Bersamamu – Sevensoul)