Adultery Chess Game by urbanslut

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Things got worse in other ways too. Experiencing financial troubles for the first time, we started bickering about every little thing. Fights between us, once a rare twice-a-year phenomenon, now became an almost daily thing. We fought mainly about how to spend or not spend the little money we had. But also about other things. Working in the same company meant that even if we worked long days and nights, we were close to each other. But now, when Dhruv had to work late hours, and I had to sit at home waiting for him to return, it started annoying me. Dhruv started getting annoyed by how "housewifely" I was acting. It was the nadir of our previously rosy relationship.

That wednesday, it felt even worse. Dhruv and I had a long three-part argument before he left for work. First, he got upset at me for spending too much money on food, by buying imported chesses, expensive baked goods, and such. Then I got upset at him when he told me he would be working the whole weekend. And then we both got upset, blaming each other for the situation we were in, blaming each other for not wanting to save any money when times were good. Dhruv stormed off to work without touching his breakfast, and I sat there, ready to burst into tears.

Once I got over the fight, I realized that it was now almost 10 and the maid had still not come. She usually came to our house at 8, so she was two hours late. I prayed that she was not taking the day off. I really was not in the mood to wash clothes and do the dishes by myself. Another hour passed and still no sign of the maid. That got me worried. I decided to ask around. From what Ratna told me, she worked in only one other apartment in our building. Some old man in 43A on the fourth floor. So I trekked up to the fourth floor to check if Ratna was there.

The door on 43A looked different than all the others in our building. First, it was spotlessly clean, unlike other old dust-ridden doors in the building, including ours. Second, instead of a doorbell, it had an ornate brass knocker on it. And third, instead of the small cheap plastic nameplates on the other doors, this one had a big copper plate, and etched in it was the name "Lt. Col. H.D. Mehra, Retd."

I grabbed the knocker and hammered it a couple of times, and immediately a booming voice shouted, "COME IN!!" Surprised, I pushed the door slightly and it swung back a little. "COME IN I SAY!!" the voice boomed again, and I pushed the door open and walked in. Inside, I saw two old men sitting in armchairs, facing each other, looking downwards. As I took a few more steps, I saw that they were staring at a chess board laid out on the coffee table between them. The men paid no attention to me as I walked up to them.

"Excuse me, I stay in..." I said, but one of the men, bald with a thick handlebar moustache and a pipe in his mouth, held up his outstretched palm as if telling me to stop, so I stopped mid-sentence. He kept his hand up, so I stood there silently, shifting on my feet for a few seconds, and then finally started looking at the chess board too. It was clearly an expensive "designer" chess set, not a tawdry plastic one you see in stores. The board was made of wood, probably mahogany, and had hand crafted patterns along the edges. The big pieces looked like they were made of ivory. Next to the board was an ancient-looking chess timer. Under the timer were two crisp 100 rupee notes. I admired the ornate board and pieces for a few seconds and then started examining the game itself. The moustache-pipe guy, almost certainly Col. Mehra, was playing with black, and seemed to have gobbled up most of white pieces, played by his opponent, also an old man with a heavy white beard and neatly combed white hair.

"Just one more second." the colonel said, picked up a rook, took it to the last row, placed it there and hit the clock. He then looked at me and asked, "Yes, young lady, how may I help you?"

Instead of answering his question, I kept my gaze on the chess board and instinctively drew my breath inside audibly. The colonel and his friend heard me and started looking at the board with puzzlement. Meanwhile, my brain registered his question, and I replied,

"I stay in 32B, and my maid Ratna hasn't come to work yet. I was wondering if she came to work here today."

"Ratna...Ratna..." the colonel said absent-mindedly examining the board, "Yes, that stupid cow. Hasn't come yet. Goes AWOL like this regularly."

"Okay. Thank you." I said, turning to leave, but with my gaze still on the board. The colonel noticed this and said,

"Why did you react like that when I moved the rook?"

I looked at him and then at his opponent who also looked back at me, confused.

"Well?" the colonel asked.

"I don't know if I should say it. You are obviously playing for money and I don't want to butt in." I answered.

"No, please, go ahead." the colonel said.

"Okay, if you say so." I said and stepped towards the board. I picked up white knight that was languishing in a corner surrounded by pawns and killed a pawn with it. "You did not protect against this move. If white plays this, your queen is doomed."

"What?" the colonel said. "No, I can still move her to.....ohhhh....if I do that.... yes, I see your point."

"Thank you!" the other man said to me with a broad smile, hit the clock and said, "Your move, sir."

"Lucky break for you, Major!" the colonel said and moved his bishop to threaten the knight for damage control. But his queen was toast, and the Major gobbled it up straight away. The loss of the queen also opened up the colonel's king to attack, and the major did not need me to point that out. From then on, they made their moves rapidly, and I watched as, within a few minutes, the colonel had no choice but to knock over his own king in submission.

"I will take that, sir, thank you very much." the major took the money from under the timer, and then extending a 100 rupee note towards me said, "This is rightfully yours."

Surprised at this offering, I said, "No, no, it's okay. It was your game."

"Nonsense. you've earned it." the major said and pressed the hundred in my hand. I looked at the note in my hand, realizing that for the first time in months, I had actually earned some money.

"So you're good at chess, then? Ever played competitively? Been formally trained?" the colonel asked, as he started rearranging the pieces for a new game.