17-02-2019, 12:42 PM
My Struggles with Trupti Ch. 05
I am convinced I am losing my mind. My life is an absolute mess. And the worst part is, I still can't get much sleep or at least not good sleep. I always feel tired and sleep-deprived.
Malay calls the next morning just as I am about to leave for work. I let it go to voicemail. A text message pops up as I am in the subway.
- We really need to talk. I am worried about you.
I wonder if he even remembers that we slept together. Or if he still thinks it was Trupti. I reply
- I am very busy with work today, Malay. Can we talk later tonight?
He calls again as I am near the office. I don't answer. Another text.
- I love you. I really love you. Please talk to me.
Wait, what? Love? Is he crazy? Has he gotten his numbers mixed up? All I did was pick him up from the dentist's office. And yes, we had sex. But what is all this love talk? He has had much more raucous sex with Trupti as I have seen. Surely one random boink can't mean that much. Or can it? Do I love him too, I ask myself. And I laugh at myself. Please, it's Malay Fucking Singhal. The smarmy guy banging your friend. Maybe he just wants a threesome or something. I ignore the message. He calls again. I let it go to voicemail again. He sends no more texts that morning. A few days later, he would show me the texts Trupti sent him to make him stop messaging me.
Trupti weighs heavily on my mind anyway. She saw me in bed with Malay. I angrily kicked her out. I saw her hob-nobbing with people in my office. I am convinced she has some elaborate revenge planned to bring me down. I start regretting ever meeting her, and the call I made asking for her help.
And yet I want to meet her and talk to her. I send her texts. I call her. She doesn't respond. I ask her to come over to my place. She doesn't. I even stop by her hovel of an apartment in the rundown building, but it looks like she hasn't been there in days.
I only see Trupti in my dreams. Very strange dreams.
I am going through a rough phase physically. All day at work I feel tired. I have trouble concentrating. Every evening I go home and get in bed by 9 PM. I wake up at 6. But my body does not feel like it got 9 hours rest. I wake up remembering snippets of my dreams featuring Trupti. In one dream, she is in a west village bar hanging out with NYU jocks. In another, she is at a hockey game, hanging out with some white guys in Rangers jerseys. In another, she is in Harlem at a jazz club, hanging out with old black guys. She is often smoking weed or cigarettes. And in some snippets, having sex with the guys, sometimes in their apartments or hotel rooms, and sometimes in empty alleys. And a couple of times in cars.
Finally a week later, I get a message from her.
- Meet me at the Greek bakery near your apartment when you are done with work.
It is one of those rare days I can leave from work at a reasonable hour. I am waiting at a corner table at the bakery at 6 PM, my nose in a book, when Trupti walks in.
"We don't have much time." she says, taking her coat off.
"Trupti...about Malay..." I start speaking.
"Fuck Malay!" she loudly says. A few tables look at us. "Well, you already fucked Malay. I should say, forget Malay. Forget him for now. We have something more important to deal with."
"Listen Trupti, I appreciate your friendship." I still soldier on with my rehearsed bit. "You are weird and you are promiscuous and you bully me into weird situations, but I know that you really care about me. In a strange way, I have been missing you the last few days. I want you back in my life."
"Hold on to that thought!" she says and points to the door.
There is an older white man who looks vaguely familiar, walking through the door of the bakery. He sees Trupti, smiles and starts walking towards us. I remember him as the guy she had been talking to at the office party when I left.
"Trupti...who is that?" I whisper as he came closer.
"You mean you seriously don't know?" she chuckles.
Before I can answer, he is at our table. Trupti gets up, hugs him, and gives him a kiss.
"Hi Vernon, thanks for coming." she says.
And suddenly, alarm bells of recognition go off in my mind. Vernon! How do you forget a name like that? He is Jan's husband! I had met him briefly maybe once since I started working. But I did not remember him much at all. And clearly, the feeling was mutual, because he doesn't even acknowledge my presence. He has eyes only for Trupti.
"You are looking especially radiant tonight." he says, rubbing her hand as he sits down.
"Thank you, Vernon." Trupti blushes.
A waiter comes over. Vernon orders a decaf. Trupti orders a hot chocolate with whipped cream. I am still working on my coffee, so the waiter doesn't even look at me.
"I cannot wait to get to know you better." Vernon says, putting his arms around Trupti's shoulders. And it makes me cringe.
"I am really looking forward to it too, Vernon." Trupti says in a voice that was sickeningly falsetto, as if she were parodying Marilyn Monroe. She rubs his thigh.
"Trupti...I am going to the bathroom. Come with me please." I say in a stern voice. Vernon does not seem to hear me.
"Excuse me, Vernon. I will be right back after powdering my nose." she says and caresses his cheeks as she gets up.
The restrooms are downstairs, so I stew as the two of us walk down the stairs. Finally, in the seemingly empty ladies room, I explode at Trupti.
"What the fuck? What the fuck?????"
"Relax, braids!" she giggles and checks her hair in the mirror.
"Why are you here with my boss's husband?"
"Why do you think?" she calmly counters.
"I don't know what to think!"
I am way more agitated than she is. She is still calmly checking her hair and make-up.
"Trupti...what the fuck is going on?" I ask.
"Alright, you want answers? Here are some answers. At your stupid office party the other night, I hit it off with Vernon. Charming distinguished older gentleman. I then found out he was your boss's husband. Married and still so flirty. So I led him on. Thinking it would be hilarious if her highness Jan's own husband was stepping out on their marriage."
I am convinced I am losing my mind. My life is an absolute mess. And the worst part is, I still can't get much sleep or at least not good sleep. I always feel tired and sleep-deprived.
Malay calls the next morning just as I am about to leave for work. I let it go to voicemail. A text message pops up as I am in the subway.
- We really need to talk. I am worried about you.
I wonder if he even remembers that we slept together. Or if he still thinks it was Trupti. I reply
- I am very busy with work today, Malay. Can we talk later tonight?
He calls again as I am near the office. I don't answer. Another text.
- I love you. I really love you. Please talk to me.
Wait, what? Love? Is he crazy? Has he gotten his numbers mixed up? All I did was pick him up from the dentist's office. And yes, we had sex. But what is all this love talk? He has had much more raucous sex with Trupti as I have seen. Surely one random boink can't mean that much. Or can it? Do I love him too, I ask myself. And I laugh at myself. Please, it's Malay Fucking Singhal. The smarmy guy banging your friend. Maybe he just wants a threesome or something. I ignore the message. He calls again. I let it go to voicemail again. He sends no more texts that morning. A few days later, he would show me the texts Trupti sent him to make him stop messaging me.
Trupti weighs heavily on my mind anyway. She saw me in bed with Malay. I angrily kicked her out. I saw her hob-nobbing with people in my office. I am convinced she has some elaborate revenge planned to bring me down. I start regretting ever meeting her, and the call I made asking for her help.
And yet I want to meet her and talk to her. I send her texts. I call her. She doesn't respond. I ask her to come over to my place. She doesn't. I even stop by her hovel of an apartment in the rundown building, but it looks like she hasn't been there in days.
I only see Trupti in my dreams. Very strange dreams.
I am going through a rough phase physically. All day at work I feel tired. I have trouble concentrating. Every evening I go home and get in bed by 9 PM. I wake up at 6. But my body does not feel like it got 9 hours rest. I wake up remembering snippets of my dreams featuring Trupti. In one dream, she is in a west village bar hanging out with NYU jocks. In another, she is at a hockey game, hanging out with some white guys in Rangers jerseys. In another, she is in Harlem at a jazz club, hanging out with old black guys. She is often smoking weed or cigarettes. And in some snippets, having sex with the guys, sometimes in their apartments or hotel rooms, and sometimes in empty alleys. And a couple of times in cars.
Finally a week later, I get a message from her.
- Meet me at the Greek bakery near your apartment when you are done with work.
It is one of those rare days I can leave from work at a reasonable hour. I am waiting at a corner table at the bakery at 6 PM, my nose in a book, when Trupti walks in.
"We don't have much time." she says, taking her coat off.
"Trupti...about Malay..." I start speaking.
"Fuck Malay!" she loudly says. A few tables look at us. "Well, you already fucked Malay. I should say, forget Malay. Forget him for now. We have something more important to deal with."
"Listen Trupti, I appreciate your friendship." I still soldier on with my rehearsed bit. "You are weird and you are promiscuous and you bully me into weird situations, but I know that you really care about me. In a strange way, I have been missing you the last few days. I want you back in my life."
"Hold on to that thought!" she says and points to the door.
There is an older white man who looks vaguely familiar, walking through the door of the bakery. He sees Trupti, smiles and starts walking towards us. I remember him as the guy she had been talking to at the office party when I left.
"Trupti...who is that?" I whisper as he came closer.
"You mean you seriously don't know?" she chuckles.
Before I can answer, he is at our table. Trupti gets up, hugs him, and gives him a kiss.
"Hi Vernon, thanks for coming." she says.
And suddenly, alarm bells of recognition go off in my mind. Vernon! How do you forget a name like that? He is Jan's husband! I had met him briefly maybe once since I started working. But I did not remember him much at all. And clearly, the feeling was mutual, because he doesn't even acknowledge my presence. He has eyes only for Trupti.
"You are looking especially radiant tonight." he says, rubbing her hand as he sits down.
"Thank you, Vernon." Trupti blushes.
A waiter comes over. Vernon orders a decaf. Trupti orders a hot chocolate with whipped cream. I am still working on my coffee, so the waiter doesn't even look at me.
"I cannot wait to get to know you better." Vernon says, putting his arms around Trupti's shoulders. And it makes me cringe.
"I am really looking forward to it too, Vernon." Trupti says in a voice that was sickeningly falsetto, as if she were parodying Marilyn Monroe. She rubs his thigh.
"Trupti...I am going to the bathroom. Come with me please." I say in a stern voice. Vernon does not seem to hear me.
"Excuse me, Vernon. I will be right back after powdering my nose." she says and caresses his cheeks as she gets up.
The restrooms are downstairs, so I stew as the two of us walk down the stairs. Finally, in the seemingly empty ladies room, I explode at Trupti.
"What the fuck? What the fuck?????"
"Relax, braids!" she giggles and checks her hair in the mirror.
"Why are you here with my boss's husband?"
"Why do you think?" she calmly counters.
"I don't know what to think!"
I am way more agitated than she is. She is still calmly checking her hair and make-up.
"Trupti...what the fuck is going on?" I ask.
"Alright, you want answers? Here are some answers. At your stupid office party the other night, I hit it off with Vernon. Charming distinguished older gentleman. I then found out he was your boss's husband. Married and still so flirty. So I led him on. Thinking it would be hilarious if her highness Jan's own husband was stepping out on their marriage."
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