Awkward

Some short time ago, I received a Facebook friend request from a young woman named Nanik. I saw on her profile that she was friends with my friend Hendra, so I accepted the invitation. Nanik sent a short note thanking me for accepting her request, mentioning Hendra at the time, and we subsequently spoke of Hendra briefly--as in, 'Did you see Hendra today?', or 'Hendra will be working tomorrow, maybe we will see you'. 

I made the connection, therefore, that Nanik was Hendra's girlfriend, about whom he had spoken in the past. I assumed this, given her familiarity with his work shift and so on. 

This impression 'solidified' in my brain, as things tend to do, becoming just another matter of fact. 

So, yesterday, while I was sitting and conversing with Hendra and his girlfriend, I referred to her several times as Nanik--to which she made no objection. 

Later on, whilst the girlfriend had gone somewhere, Hendra picked up on my use of the name. 

"No, Pak Will! That's not Nanik. That's Rati."

"But Nanik is your girlfriend?" 

"No, Pak Will! Rati is my girlfriend." 

"Hah? But who is Nanik?"

"She's just a different girl ... I mean, a girl I know. Rati doesn't know about Nanik." 

"Umm ... she does now," I said.

"Hah? Pak Will, aduh, aduh!"

 

When Rati (whom I had otherwise known as Nanik) returned, I asked, "Why you don't tell me your name is not Nanik?"

Rati merely smiled in reply.