After the meeting ended, I went back to my desk and immediately opened WhatsApp.

“Bro, you free tonight? Pak gede?”

“After hour?”

“Yup.”

“Okay, see you at the station.”

I locked my phone and got back to work, finishing whatever was left for today.

We met up at the station. It was not too crowded. I had decided to leave the office earlier to avoid the rush hour.

We headed out and walked to the store next to the east exit. We ordered two nasi campur spesial and sat at a table in the second row, backs against the wall. The ceiling fan overhead moved the warm air around. The evening crowd was starting to fill the surrounding tables.

While waiting for the food, I told him about my day. It was a shitty day at work. About the project that kept changing scope. About the client who couldn’t make decisions. About how tired I was of all of it. He listened, nodding occasionally while observing the other patrons who are mostly workers like us, still in their office clothes.

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When the food arrived, I automatically stopped yapping and immediately dig the food. The rice, the meat, the sambal, everything was perfectly seasoned. It was exactly what I needed. For a while, we ate in silence.

When we finished our plates, I sat back and looked around the small shop. The plastic stools, the worn tables, the aunt shouting orders to the kitchen. Everything felt simple here.

“This is actually nice, you know.” I took a sip of my iced tea. “Now I understand why you come to this place whenever you’re stressed about something.”

He just smiled.

“I told you!” He gestured around with his fork. “It’s not fancy, but the food’s good. That kind of soul food you need when you had a shitty day.”

I nodded. Good food with a good friend. Sometimes that’s all you need to get through a rough day.