Chapter 26 Indonesian Stories (25)

I know that it was Tutti who made the miracle happen, and through her mighty prayers, did everything in her power to make that little blue tile of hers soften and expand around her -- like Jack's magic pea -- into a solid building. home, always taking care of herself, her mother and a pair of orphans. One last thing to say.I have to admit with shame that it was my friend Bob (not myself) who discovered the obvious: "Tutti" means "everyone" in Italian.How did I not notice this sooner?I also spent a few months in Rome!I don't see this connection.Had to wait until Bob in Utah pointed this out to me before it dawned on me."This is really the final lesson, right? When you go out into the world to help yourself, you end up helping .

I'm not going to tell my sister about it until all the money is raised.It's not easy keeping such a big secret, especially when she's worrying about her future all the time, but I don't want her to expect too much until it's finalized.So for a whole week I kept quiet about my plans and kept myself busy almost every night having dinner with Felipe, a Brazilian who didn't seem to mind that I owned only one dress. I think I have a little crush on him.After a few dinners, I was pretty sure I had a crush on him.The self-proclaimed "Fart King" who knows everyone in Ubud is always the life of the party, but he's more than he makes himself out to be.I asked Armenia about Felipe, they were friends for a long time.I asked, "That Felipe -- he has more depth than the others, right? There's more to him, right?" She said, "Oh, yes, he's a nice, sweet guy. Had a tough divorce. I think he came to Bali to heal himself."

Ah - I don't know anything about that. But he's fifty-two, which is funny.How could I be at this age and consider a fifty-two-year-old man for a date?Still, I like him.He has silvery-white hair, balding in a charmingly Picasso way.He has warm brown eyes.His face was soft, and he smelled good.He is a real grown man.This type of mature man is a new experience for me. He has lived in Bali for five years now, working with Balinese silversmiths and exporting jewelry made from Brazilian gemstones to the United States.I like the story that he faithfully maintained his marriage for twenty years, and then gradually deteriorated due to various complicated reasons.I love that he raised kids and raised them well enough to make kids like him.I love that he stayed home to take care of the kids when they were young while his Australian wife pursued her own career. (He says he's a good feminist husband: "I want to be on the right side of society's history.") I like his brazilian, hyperbolic displays of affection. (At fourteen his Australian son finally had to say, "Dad, I'm fourteen, maybe you shouldn't kiss me on the mouth when you drop me off at the school gate.") I like Felipe was fluent in four, perhaps more, languages. (He keeps saying he doesn't speak Bahasa Indonesia, but I hear him talking all the time.) I love that he has traveled to over fifty countries in his life, and that the world is a small place that is easy to deal with.I like the way he listens to me, leans in, and only cuts in when I interrupt myself to ask him if what I'm saying is boring him, and he always replies, "I have. All the time for you, my sweet little sweetheart." I like when he calls me "my sweet little sweetheart". (Although waitresses are also given this title.)

He said to me one night, "Lily, why don't you find a lover while you're in Bali?" To his own credit, he doesn't just say that he's qualified for the job, although I'm sure he'd probably be happy to take the job.He assured me that Ian - the good-looking Welsh guy - would be a good fit for me, but there were other candidates.There was a chef from New York, "a strong, tall, confident dude," who thought I might like it.He said that there are really all kinds of men from all over the world, floating in Ubud town, hiding in the world's ever-changing "homeless" communities, and many people are happy to see me, "My lovely You're having a wonderful summer here sweetheart."

"I don't feel like I'm ready," I told him. "I don't want to bother with a relationship anymore, you understand? I don't want to have to shave my legs every day or have to show my body to a new lover. I don't want to either Telling my life story all over again, or worrying about contraception. Anyway, I'm not even sure I'd be able to live like this again. I feel more confident about sex and relationships than I am now when I was sixteen. "