The Oven Gloves at the Taxi Rank

The taxi rank in Ostwick has room for four cars, one wooden hut and a single bench that nobody trusts. On a hot afternoon in July, three of the cars are empty. The fourth, Lorenzo's, is making a noise like a kettle with a grudge. White steam leaks from under the bonnet in thin, determined lines.

Pangkalan taksi di Ostwick punya tempat untuk empat mobil, satu pondok kayu, dan sebuah bangku yang tak dipercaya siapa pun. Pada sore yang panas di bulan Juli, tiga mobil kosong. Mobil keempat, milik Lorenzo, mengeluarkan bunyi seperti ketel yang menyimpan dendam. Uap putih bocor dari bawah kap mesin dalam garis-garis tipis yang keras kepala.

Gunnar comes out of the hut with a sandwich in his hand. He has worked at this rank for twenty years, and he can diagnose most problems by sound alone.

Gunnar keluar dari pondok dengan sepotong roti isi di tangan. Ia sudah bekerja di pangkalan ini selama dua puluh tahun, dan ia bisa mendiagnosis sebagian besar masalah hanya dari suaranya.

"That is not a good noise," he says.

"Itu bunyi yang tidak bagus," katanya.

"It is a very good noise," says Lorenzo. "It tells me the engine is still alive. I just don't know how long it will stay that way."

"Itu bunyi yang sangat bagus," kata Lorenzo. "Artinya mesinnya masih hidup. Hanya saja aku tidak tahu berapa lama lagi."

Lorenzo is new. He bought the cab in spring from a man who promised that it was "full of character". So far, the character has included a broken radio, a door that opens only from outside and now this.

Lorenzo orang baru. Ia membeli taksi itu di musim semi dari seorang pria yang berjanji bahwa taksi itu "penuh karakter". Sejauh ini, karakter itu berupa radio rusak, pintu yang hanya bisa dibuka dari luar, dan sekarang ini.

A customer is also waiting. She stands by the hut with a suitcase, looking at her watch. She needs to reach the junction station before the half-past-four train, and Lorenzo's cab is next in line. The next train after that, she mentions, is on Sunday.

Seorang pelanggan juga sedang menunggu. Ia berdiri di dekat pondok dengan sebuah koper, sambil melihat jam tangannya. Ia harus tiba di stasiun persimpangan sebelum kereta pukul empat lewat tiga puluh, dan taksi Lorenzo adalah yang berikutnya dalam antrean. Kereta berikutnya setelah itu, katanya, baru hari Minggu.

"Twenty minutes," she says. "I can wait twenty minutes. After that I have to find a horse."

"Dua puluh menit," katanya. "Saya bisa menunggu dua puluh menit. Setelah itu saya harus mencari kuda."

"There is no horse," says Gunnar. "Only me."

"Tidak ada kuda," kata Gunnar. "Hanya saya."

"Then take me," she says. "Please."

"Kalau begitu antar saya," katanya. "Tolong."

"I can't," he says, with real regret. "My cab is at the garage. Today I am only the man who answers the phone."

"Tidak bisa," katanya, dengan penyesalan yang tulus. "Taksi saya ada di bengkel. Hari ini saya cuma orang yang menjawab telepon."

Lorenzo switches off the engine and lifts the bonnet. A cloud of steam rolls out and fogs his glasses. Under it, the radiator cap sits on its little metal neck, far too hot to touch. The manual says never to open it while the engine is warm, and for once the manual is right.

Lorenzo mematikan mesin dan mengangkat kap. Segumpal uap bergulung keluar dan mengabuti kacamatanya. Di bawahnya, tutup radiator duduk di lehernya yang kecil dari logam, terlalu panas untuk disentuh. Buku petunjuk bilang jangan pernah membukanya saat mesin masih hangat, dan untuk sekali ini buku petunjuk itu benar.

"We need to cool it down," Lorenzo says. "Fast. Does anyone have a cold cloth?"

"Kita harus mendinginkannya," kata Lorenzo. "Cepat. Ada yang punya kain dingin?"

Gunnar thinks. Then he disappears into the hut and returns with a pair of oven gloves shaped like crocodiles. They are bright green, with white felt teeth and round yellow eyes.

Gunnar berpikir. Lalu ia menghilang ke dalam pondok dan kembali dengan sepasang sarung tangan oven berbentuk buaya. Warnanya hijau terang, dengan gigi dari kain flanel putih dan mata kuning bulat.

"My wife made them," he says, a little defensive. "She sells pasties from the hut in summer. They were meant to be a joke, but they are surprisingly thick."

"Istri saya yang membuatnya," katanya, agak membela diri. "Dia menjual pastei dari pondok ini di musim panas. Awalnya untuk lelucon, tapi ternyata tebal juga."

"They are very thick," Lorenzo agrees. "They are also staring at me."

"Memang sangat tebal," Lorenzo setuju. "Dan mereka juga menatapku."

Gunnar is a man of action, and he does not wait to be told. He puts both hands into the crocodiles and reaches for the cap with a look of great confidence. The cap lets out a sharp hiss, like a snake that has been woken up. Gunnar yelps, jumps back and drops one crocodile in the gutter.

Gunnar orang yang suka bertindak, dan ia tidak menunggu disuruh. Ia memasukkan kedua tangannya ke dalam buaya-buaya itu dan meraih tutupnya dengan raut sangat percaya diri. Tutup itu mendesis tajam, seperti ular yang dibangunkan. Gunnar menjerit, melompat mundur, dan menjatuhkan satu buaya ke selokan.

"Well," says Lorenzo, "that was brave."

"Nah," kata Lorenzo, "itu berani."

"That was stupid," says Gunnar, shaking out his fingers. "I was in too much of a hurry. I nearly opened it like a jar of jam."

"Itu bodoh," kata Gunnar sambil mengibaskan jari-jarinya. "Aku terlalu terburu-buru. Hampir saja kubuka seperti membuka toples selai."

The customer checks her watch again. "Seventeen minutes."

Si pelanggan melihat jam tangannya lagi. "Tujuh belas menit."

Lorenzo stares at the engine, and then at the crocodile in the gutter. It lies on its back with its yellow eyes fixed on the sky. Something about the way it is lying makes him think of the water barrel behind the hut. The drivers keep it there for washing their cars.

Lorenzo menatap mesin, lalu buaya di selokan itu. Buaya itu terbaring telentang dengan mata kuningnya terpaku ke langit. Sesuatu pada cara ia berbaring membuat Lorenzo teringat tong air di belakang pondok. Para pengemudi menyimpannya di sana untuk mencuci mobil.

"We don't touch the cap yet," he says slowly. "First we let the engine cool. Gunnar, soak both gloves in the barrel. Make them as wet as you can."

"Kita belum menyentuh tutupnya," katanya pelan. "Pertama kita biarkan mesin dingin. Gunnar, rendam kedua sarung tangan itu di tong. Basahi sebasah-basahnya."

"Wet gloves on a hot engine?" says Gunnar. "I thought the whole point of gloves was to keep hands dry."

"Sarung tangan basah di mesin panas?" kata Gunnar. "Kupikir gunanya sarung tangan itu justru untuk menjaga tangan tetap kering."

"The point is to keep my hands safe," Lorenzo answers. "Water takes the heat out of the metal. If we cool the hose and the cap, there is less pressure inside when we finally turn it."

"Gunanya untuk menjaga tanganku tetap aman," jawab Lorenzo. "Air menarik panas dari logam. Kalau kita dinginkan selang dan tutupnya, tekanan di dalam jadi lebih kecil saat akhirnya kita putar."

Gunnar looks at him for a moment, then nods and runs. He comes back with the crocodiles dripping, one of them still wearing a leaf of lettuce on its nose. Lorenzo drapes the first glove over the top hose and the second over the cap, without touching either with his bare skin. They hiss at once and give off a thin smell of hot cotton. They wait one minute, and then another, while the customer watches in silence. Twice they dip the gloves again.

Gunnar menatapnya sejenak, lalu mengangguk dan berlari. Ia kembali dengan buaya-buaya yang meneteskan air, salah satunya masih memakai selembar daun selada di hidungnya. Lorenzo menyampirkan sarung tangan pertama di selang atas dan yang kedua di tutupnya, tanpa menyentuh keduanya dengan kulit telanjang. Keduanya langsung mendesis dan mengeluarkan bau tipis katun panas. Mereka menunggu semenit, lalu semenit lagi, sementara si pelanggan menonton dalam diam. Dua kali mereka mencelupkan sarung tangan itu lagi.

"Nine minutes," she says at last.

"Sembilan menit," katanya akhirnya.

"I know," says Lorenzo. "Please don't say it again."

"Aku tahu," kata Lorenzo. "Tolong jangan ucapkan lagi."

The steam has faded into a faint tick. Lorenzo puts his hand near the hose, and it is warm now, not scalding. He tells Gunnar to stand well back. Then he takes the cap through a layer of wet felt, turns his face away and turns it only a quarter of a turn. A short breath of steam escapes. He waits until it stops. He turns it a little more, and the cap lifts away in his hand like a coin.

Uap telah memudar menjadi bunyi tik yang samar. Lorenzo mendekatkan tangannya ke selang, dan kini hangat, tidak lagi membakar. Ia menyuruh Gunnar berdiri jauh-jauh. Lalu ia memegang tutup itu lewat selapis kain basah, memalingkan wajah, dan memutarnya hanya seperempat putaran. Embusan uap pendek keluar. Ia menunggu sampai berhenti. Ia memutarnya sedikit lagi, dan tutup itu terlepas di tangannya seperti sekeping koin.

Inside, the radiator is almost empty. The water level has dropped far below the line.

Di dalam, radiator hampir kosong. Permukaan airnya turun jauh di bawah garis.

"That is the whole problem," says Gunnar. "It was dry. Nothing is wrong with the engine, it is simply thirsty."

"Itulah seluruh masalahnya," kata Gunnar. "Kering. Tidak ada yang salah dengan mesinnya, ia cuma haus."

"Then let's give it a drink," says Lorenzo. "Slowly. Is there anything in the hut?"

"Kalau begitu kita beri minum," kata Lorenzo. "Pelan-pelan. Ada apa-apa di pondok?"

The only liquid in the hut is a case of bottled spring water that Gunnar's wife delivered on Monday. Together they pour six bottles into the radiator, a little at a time. The customer holds the bonnet up with both hands, her suitcase balanced on one knee. The water gurgles down. The steam thins out, shrinks to a wisp and disappears.

Satu-satunya cairan di pondok adalah sekardus air mineral botolan yang diantar istri Gunnar hari Senin. Bersama-sama mereka menuang enam botol ke radiator, sedikit demi sedikit. Si pelanggan menahan kap mesin dengan kedua tangan, kopernya diseimbangkan di satu lutut. Air mengalir ke bawah dengan bunyi gelegak. Uap menipis, mengecil menjadi seutas kabut, dan lenyap.

Lorenzo screws the cap back on, closes the bonnet, climbs in and turns the key. The engine coughs once, sighs, and begins to purr.

Lorenzo memasang tutup itu kembali, menutup kap, naik, dan memutar kunci. Mesin terbatuk sekali, mendesah, lalu mulai mendengkur halus.

"Five minutes," announces the customer, already in the back seat. "Is it going to make it?"

"Lima menit," umum si pelanggan, yang sudah duduk di kursi belakang. "Apakah akan sampai?"

"It has to," says Lorenzo. "I have a reputation to build."

"Harus," kata Lorenzo. "Aku punya reputasi yang harus dibangun."

He drives away from the rank slowly at first, to be safe, and then faster, down the long hill toward the junction. In his mirror he sees Gunnar standing in the road with a dripping crocodile on each hand. He waves them above his head like a man who has just won a small, strange war.

Ia mengemudi meninggalkan pangkalan, pelan-pelan dulu supaya aman, lalu lebih cepat, menuruni bukit panjang menuju persimpangan. Di kaca spion ia melihat Gunnar berdiri di jalan dengan seekor buaya basah di setiap tangan. Ia melambaikannya di atas kepala seperti pria yang baru memenangkan perang kecil yang aneh.

They reach the station with a minute to spare. The customer pays, runs across the car park with her suitcase bouncing behind her, and boards the train just as its doors begin to close.

Mereka tiba di stasiun dengan sisa satu menit. Si pelanggan membayar, berlari melintasi tempat parkir dengan kopernya melompat-lompat di belakangnya, dan naik ke kereta tepat saat pintunya mulai menutup.

When Lorenzo comes back to the rank, Gunnar is sitting on the untrustworthy bench with the gloves spread out to dry beside him. One of them is missing half a tooth.

Ketika Lorenzo kembali ke pangkalan, Gunnar sedang duduk di bangku yang tak bisa dipercaya itu dengan sarung tangan terbentang di sampingnya untuk dikeringkan. Salah satunya kehilangan setengah gigi.

"Good news," says Lorenzo. "She caught the train."

"Kabar baik," kata Lorenzo. "Dia mengejar keretanya."

"Excellent," says Gunnar. He picks up the damaged crocodile and turns it over with a worried frown. "But tell me one thing. Who is going to explain to my wife that her best work has retired from the pasty business?"

"Bagus sekali," kata Gunnar. Ia mengambil buaya yang rusak itu dan membolak-baliknya dengan kening khawatir. "Tapi katakan satu hal. Siapa yang akan menjelaskan kepada istriku bahwa karya terbaiknya sudah pensiun dari bisnis pastei?"