Adultery Indian Social Worker and the Bully by shiprat

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Face it, Shikha. You and Lallan have an abusive relationship. By not going to the security officer, and by not telling your husband or anyone else except me, you are tacitly agreeing to be his mistress. It might have started off as just a forcible encounter and blackmailing. But now that Anup is in Delhi, you and Lallan are still spending time together behind his back. That is infidelity. That is a relationship."

I knew on some level that she was right. But I was not yet ready to accept it.

"This time he did not drink because of his daughter's birthday party. He gets the most violent and cruel when he is drunk. So this time, although there was a lot of the usual...you know, spanking, biting, and so on, it wasn't like brutally bad."

"Do you hear yourself? Again, textbook battered woman in denial. You are seeking relief in small mercies."

I sighed and shook my head. Everything she was saying is what I would have said if I were in her position. And yet, I could not accept it.

"I was going to ask you about the party. I heard from Salma that you were there."

Salma was the new case worker hired in my place and assigned to the Parvati case. Since Parvati had recanted her complaints and got back with her husband, her job was to keep tabs on their family life, make sure things were indeed normal like Parvati claimed. So she had been invited to the birthday party in their slum. She and I exchanged a few pleasantries, but mostly, we stayed away from each other. I could sense there was curiosity and suspicion in her gaze.

"Did she...does she...I mean..."

"Does she suspect there is something going on between you and that family going beyond just being a friendly ex-case-worker?"

"Yeah."

"She didn't explicitly say it to me." Nita said. "But she was a little surprised that you were there at the party. How did you end up there, by the way?"

"Lallan insisted." I shrugged. "He said he wanted me to see first hand the results of my "help" in dealing with his darkness. And how it had improved his family life."

"Wasn't Parvati surprised to see you there?"

"She was. Also, she was happy to see me. That led to an...odd encounter too."

"Tell me about it". Nita sat back as I narrated

-----

The party was being held in an open area in the corner of the slums. There were a bunch of kids, some neighbors and family friends and also relatives of the couple. There was a table with simple snacks like potato chips, samosas, chocolates, tea, soft drinks. A few balloons, as much as the family could afford. And a few simple gifts the other kids had brought.

The men and women were sitting and socializing separately. I had a short awkward conversation with Salma, who was clearly feeling as out of place as I was. After that, she put her bluetooth on and moved to a side, talking with someone.

I had no idea who else to talk to. The other women were nice and respectful, like slum women would be to a memsaab, asking frequently if I wanted more food or drinks. Lallan was circulating among the men, some of whom kept stealing glances at me. A couple of them would snicker or wink when they looked at me. I assumed these were his close friends who knew who I was to Lallan. I suddenly realized they might even have the pictures and videos on their phones, and it made me blush.

"Thank you for coming, Shikha memsaab." Parvati appeared by my side.

"It's a pleasure to be here, Parvati. So...things are going well with Lallan?"

"Yes. Going...going well." she said half-heartedly. I instinctively raised my eyebrows and she looked away pursing her lips.

"That's good to hear." I said, not wanting to really pull at that thread. But Parvati wanted to, apparently.

"Memsaab...I never got to apologize to you. So let me say, I am very sorry. You went through all that trouble to help me out, get us put up in Jaipur, get that job, and so on. But when Lallan showed up..." she stopped. "After I called him of course. It just seemed...you know...family is family after all. These are his daughters. And he is really good with them like I said. And he is working full time. He raised extra money to throw this party that we could never have afforded until he started working. I am sorry if I disappointed you."