13-04-2019, 04:19 PM
FINAL SHOWDOWN (3RD PART)
"I asked her when we could get together again and she said she didn't think that was a good idea. I told her I was attracted to her and I thought that she found me attractive too. I could tell then from the look on her face that she didn't know what to do so I told her to think about it. She closed the car door and started the engine then she left."
I quickly excused myself and went into the men's room and splashed cold water in my face. When I went back into the bar, I told Rohit I needed to leave but I would see him the next night. My thinking at the time was that I should show up at the bar the following night and beat the crap out of Rohit.
When I got home from the bar I found Manisha in the kitchen. I pictured Rohit kissing her in the parking lot and was repulsed by the image. I didn't speak as I went straight to bed. Manisha didn't say anything but she looked a little hurt. We didn't speak at all that night.
When I was sure that Manisha had fallen asleep I got up and went and sat in the living room and tried to figure out what I should do, but I couldn't.
After that I had a difficult time even talking to Manisha. I felt that she had let me down and was getting ready for the major betrayal. It was hard for me to pretend nothing was wrong but I managed. I started coming home after work so I could see what Manisha was up to but she didn't give anything away so eventually I had to go back to the Coffee Room.
I hadn't scene Rohit in a week and when I asked him what was going on with his quest to get Manisha into bed, Rohit said, "Nothing's happening. I called her but she hasn't returned my call."
I asked him if he met her at work or called her at home and he said that she was avoiding him at work. He said, "I don't want to call her at home then have her husband answer the phone."
After that I stopped at the Coffee Room every couple of nights to see if Rohit had talked to Manisha. The answer was always the same. Manisha wouldn't return his call. I was starting to feel better and I was beginning to think that Manisha must have come to her senses. Then on Monday I stopped in the bar and asked Rohit what he was up to and he said, "I just got off the phone with Manisha."
I said, "You what?"
He said, "I just got off the phone with Manisha. I called her at home and she said her husband wasn't home so we talked for twenty minutes. I asked her if she was ready to go out with me and she said that she was. Now I don't know where to take her. I can't take her to my place. I am thinking of getting a room."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. For a moment I thought that Rohit must have figured out who I really was and he was just having fun with me, but I knew that wasn't true.
"And when are you meeting with her?" I asked.
"Wednesday, after work," came the reply.
She had even agreed on a day too. I never really believed that she would agree to go with him. And even though I was quite shocked by what Rohit had just told me I still believed that Manisha wouldn't actually go any further with him.
When I went home that night I was in a fog. This man had just made a date with my wife, and had made up her mind to have sex with her, and here I was facilitating the whole thing. I think I remained in that condition right up till Wednesday.
Wednesday morning I was sitting at breakfast feeling kind of numb when it occurred to me that unless I took some kind of action in the next few hours my wife was going to have sex with Rohit Sinha. As I watched Manisha get ready for work I thought about how beautiful she was and how much I wanted all this to go away so that things could be the way they used to be. Manisha hadn't said anything about the evening ahead so I thought I would test the waters. I said, "Why don't we go out for dinner tonight? We haven't eaten out in quite a while."
Manisha said, "I can't tonight, I have plans."
I said, "Oh! You have plans? What are you doing tonight?"
I thought I saw an uncomfortable look on her face as she thought about her answer. "I have something I have to take care of tonight."
It really hurt to have her lie to me. But it wasn't like she could tell me the true about her plans, so I pressed her on it. "What can you have to do that is more important than us spending time together?"
The coldness in her stare seemed to melt for a moment. I think she actually considered canceling her date to have dinner with me but then she said, "I have got to do this tonight."
When Manisha left for work I was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, wondering to myself, 'What do I do now.' In a few hours my relationship with my wife may be irreparably damaged and I didn't know how to stop it from happening. At the time I believed that it was already too late. If Manisha didn't love me anymore then it didn't matter if she had sex with Rohit or not and if she did love me she simply wouldn't have sex with him.
All day at work I thought about what was going to happen …
________________________________________
"Rajiv, what's wrong, you look like hell?" Ritesh exclaimed seeing my haggard appearance.
"Ritesh, please. Do me a big favor and don't ask any questions", I replied as I passed the contract agreement over the desk.
He looked at it and looked up at me. "What the fuck is going on? Don't tell me not to ask questions - I don't deserve a statement like that. We're supposed to be friends, or am I wrong about that?"
I quickly debated whether to tell him or not. "You're right, Ritesh. We are friends, but please, I just can't talk about it. I have to leave ….we’ll talk about it later," and I did just that.
"Wait, Rajiv. Okay, I won't ask you anything. Call me later in the evening, okay? You can do that, can't you?"
I hesitated and then nodded. "Thanks." I mumbled as I left the office.
It was four thirty and Manisha was going to leave office at five. There was only 30 minutes left to stop something I did not want to happen. Suddenly everything became clear. I needed to talk with her and save my marriage. I picked up the phone and called her office. I felt stupid and relieved at the same time. Why had I hesitated so long before doing just that. Luckily I still had time. Thirty minutes more to tell her I have been a fool but I loved her and did not want her to go with that Rohit Sinha.
“Excuse me, may I speak to Mrs Manisha Mittal please,” I said.
“I’m sorry, Sir, Mrs Mittal is not here at the office,“ came the answer.
“She ..she is not at the office …”I repeated, my voice trembling. A thousand things went through my mind at that very moment. “but I am her husband …can you tell me where she went?” I managed to say.
“No, Sir, she left early today … at three o’clock”.
My heart was racing very fast. I needed to get out of here. The only place I thought of was home. Maybe Manisha has left for home, maybe she was just feeling unwell. I hoped against hope that this was really the case… but I knew it would not be.
My last hope was gone within thirty minutes, the house was exactly as I left it earlier in the morning. Manisha did not come home after work. She went straight to wherever she had to go, with whoever she intended to be with and …was at this very moment probably doing whatever it was that she was up to …
I could not conceive that she would do that. I fought the images that flashed through my mind …and decided to go for a drive just to avoid staying here and torture myself. The only place that came to my mind was the Coffee Shop and I took the car and went straight there. Rohit would not be there but I needed to be somewhere else at this moment.
So I walked to my car, get inside and started my engine and was in front of the Coffee Shop before I knew it. I got out of my car like a robot, and went over and took a quick look inside before entering …and stopped dead.
I could not say which feeling came first when I saw Rohit sitting at the bar: a feeling of surprise, of relief or of joy. Anyway I almost ran into his arms and shot several questions at him at one stroke.
“Hey …what are you doing here? What happened? Shouldn’t you be somewhere else right now?”
He was surprised by such a show of enthusiasm and seemed taken aback and just stood there staring at me. But I did not want him to wait, I wanted him to tell me the words, to confirm to me that he was not, at this very moment, somewhere else doing …well, in the company of my wife.
“So, tell me what happened to your ...date?” Just then an awry thought came to my mind and I added “it was meant to be today only, right? Your date with the lovely Mrs Mittal?”
“Yeah it was to be today only,” he finally said. “But something terrible happened.” He said after what appeared to be a very very long pause.
“What?!!!” I almost shouted. What terrible thing could have happened?
“Well …actually I am suspended from work,” he said.
“Suspended from work?!!” I repeated. ”How come? And since when?” This was the last thing I expected to come from his mouth.
“Since yesterday morning …I mean the day after I talked to you. You see, since last month I was doing …hmm …some side business …if you see what I mean…”
I did not see what he meant, at least I did not care the least. Still I asked him ”ok … and what happened then.”
“Well, yesterday when I went to office, the boss called me in his office and told me they knew all about it and I was suspended till a board decision is taken.”
“Oh, that’s so sad,” I said, somehow feeling pity for him. Still I wanted to hear from his mouth that nothing happened between my wife and him. “So, I take it that your date with Mrs Mittal is …cancelled.”
“You are crazy man …everybody at the office is talking about me right now …do you think this woman or any woman for that matter, would want to be seen with me?”
“I guess not.”
“As a matter of fact, I met her in the corridor and she just ignored me. I seem to have lost interest in her eyes. I really regret not humping that bitch …I should really have got her to ride my cock, I guess it’s to late now.”
I knew better not to pay attention to his words. Now I could see how foolish I had been, to link my wife with such an insignificant guy, who could not even behave himself to save his job. Really I was too glad Manisha had not gone ahead. She obviously saw through him from the beginning and would not have been the least interested in him had I not come up with these stupid tests. Now, anyway she was giving her the cold shoulder and that was setting the records straight, once and for all.
Five minutes later, I was left the Coffee Shop in much better mood than when I came and reached home a little before seven. Manisha was sitting in the living room, waiting for me.
“Rajiv, we need to talk,” she said straight away.
“Where were you, I’d been looking for you since early afternoon …and don’t tell me you were at the office, because I phoned there and they said you left early.”
I realized I was shouting at her and it was not how I wanted it to be. But it was beyond me, I just could not control my emotions anymore.
I looked at Manisha and was surprised that she seemed so cool, so calm, so rational. Was she really going to let me in on what was eating at her?
"It's over, Manisha. I no longer wish to live like this. Either you tell me what's gnawing at you, or I'll leave without any further discussion. It's up to you."
I saw a grimace on her face. She stared at me and said:
"My mother had a surgical operation today. She is probably not going to live much longer …, " she said softly.
“What?!!!” I shouted for the second time in the same afternoon. “Since whe do you know that? And why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“I learned about it yesterday …and tried to tell you but you seemed lost in your thoughts," she continued, without one changing her tone of voice even once.
I sat there, my mouth agape, totally shocked. There were so many things going on in my mind, so many things to be told or not. I knew I needed to sort out things for myself first. After a long silence, I took her hand in mine and said, “I am here now …everything will be just fine.”
My mother-in-law died the following week. Progressively Manisha was able to overcome the lost and things started to get better between us
I knew that my wife Manisha and myself needed to get away by ourselves for a while. It had been some time since we had taken a vacation, and we really needed time alone to rekindle the flame in our marriage.
We chose to stay to spend the weekend at a vacation resort called Wild Orchids. The first day, everything went as planned. We spent the whole day swimming and site-seeing. In the evening we had dinner together in the restaurant that seemed to set the mood that I wanted.
When our food arrived, we sat there and ate slowly, making small talk between bites and sips.
"I asked her when we could get together again and she said she didn't think that was a good idea. I told her I was attracted to her and I thought that she found me attractive too. I could tell then from the look on her face that she didn't know what to do so I told her to think about it. She closed the car door and started the engine then she left."
I quickly excused myself and went into the men's room and splashed cold water in my face. When I went back into the bar, I told Rohit I needed to leave but I would see him the next night. My thinking at the time was that I should show up at the bar the following night and beat the crap out of Rohit.
When I got home from the bar I found Manisha in the kitchen. I pictured Rohit kissing her in the parking lot and was repulsed by the image. I didn't speak as I went straight to bed. Manisha didn't say anything but she looked a little hurt. We didn't speak at all that night.
When I was sure that Manisha had fallen asleep I got up and went and sat in the living room and tried to figure out what I should do, but I couldn't.
After that I had a difficult time even talking to Manisha. I felt that she had let me down and was getting ready for the major betrayal. It was hard for me to pretend nothing was wrong but I managed. I started coming home after work so I could see what Manisha was up to but she didn't give anything away so eventually I had to go back to the Coffee Room.
I hadn't scene Rohit in a week and when I asked him what was going on with his quest to get Manisha into bed, Rohit said, "Nothing's happening. I called her but she hasn't returned my call."
I asked him if he met her at work or called her at home and he said that she was avoiding him at work. He said, "I don't want to call her at home then have her husband answer the phone."
After that I stopped at the Coffee Room every couple of nights to see if Rohit had talked to Manisha. The answer was always the same. Manisha wouldn't return his call. I was starting to feel better and I was beginning to think that Manisha must have come to her senses. Then on Monday I stopped in the bar and asked Rohit what he was up to and he said, "I just got off the phone with Manisha."
I said, "You what?"
He said, "I just got off the phone with Manisha. I called her at home and she said her husband wasn't home so we talked for twenty minutes. I asked her if she was ready to go out with me and she said that she was. Now I don't know where to take her. I can't take her to my place. I am thinking of getting a room."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. For a moment I thought that Rohit must have figured out who I really was and he was just having fun with me, but I knew that wasn't true.
"And when are you meeting with her?" I asked.
"Wednesday, after work," came the reply.
She had even agreed on a day too. I never really believed that she would agree to go with him. And even though I was quite shocked by what Rohit had just told me I still believed that Manisha wouldn't actually go any further with him.
When I went home that night I was in a fog. This man had just made a date with my wife, and had made up her mind to have sex with her, and here I was facilitating the whole thing. I think I remained in that condition right up till Wednesday.
Wednesday morning I was sitting at breakfast feeling kind of numb when it occurred to me that unless I took some kind of action in the next few hours my wife was going to have sex with Rohit Sinha. As I watched Manisha get ready for work I thought about how beautiful she was and how much I wanted all this to go away so that things could be the way they used to be. Manisha hadn't said anything about the evening ahead so I thought I would test the waters. I said, "Why don't we go out for dinner tonight? We haven't eaten out in quite a while."
Manisha said, "I can't tonight, I have plans."
I said, "Oh! You have plans? What are you doing tonight?"
I thought I saw an uncomfortable look on her face as she thought about her answer. "I have something I have to take care of tonight."
It really hurt to have her lie to me. But it wasn't like she could tell me the true about her plans, so I pressed her on it. "What can you have to do that is more important than us spending time together?"
The coldness in her stare seemed to melt for a moment. I think she actually considered canceling her date to have dinner with me but then she said, "I have got to do this tonight."
When Manisha left for work I was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, wondering to myself, 'What do I do now.' In a few hours my relationship with my wife may be irreparably damaged and I didn't know how to stop it from happening. At the time I believed that it was already too late. If Manisha didn't love me anymore then it didn't matter if she had sex with Rohit or not and if she did love me she simply wouldn't have sex with him.
All day at work I thought about what was going to happen …
________________________________________
"Rajiv, what's wrong, you look like hell?" Ritesh exclaimed seeing my haggard appearance.
"Ritesh, please. Do me a big favor and don't ask any questions", I replied as I passed the contract agreement over the desk.
He looked at it and looked up at me. "What the fuck is going on? Don't tell me not to ask questions - I don't deserve a statement like that. We're supposed to be friends, or am I wrong about that?"
I quickly debated whether to tell him or not. "You're right, Ritesh. We are friends, but please, I just can't talk about it. I have to leave ….we’ll talk about it later," and I did just that.
"Wait, Rajiv. Okay, I won't ask you anything. Call me later in the evening, okay? You can do that, can't you?"
I hesitated and then nodded. "Thanks." I mumbled as I left the office.
It was four thirty and Manisha was going to leave office at five. There was only 30 minutes left to stop something I did not want to happen. Suddenly everything became clear. I needed to talk with her and save my marriage. I picked up the phone and called her office. I felt stupid and relieved at the same time. Why had I hesitated so long before doing just that. Luckily I still had time. Thirty minutes more to tell her I have been a fool but I loved her and did not want her to go with that Rohit Sinha.
“Excuse me, may I speak to Mrs Manisha Mittal please,” I said.
“I’m sorry, Sir, Mrs Mittal is not here at the office,“ came the answer.
“She ..she is not at the office …”I repeated, my voice trembling. A thousand things went through my mind at that very moment. “but I am her husband …can you tell me where she went?” I managed to say.
“No, Sir, she left early today … at three o’clock”.
My heart was racing very fast. I needed to get out of here. The only place I thought of was home. Maybe Manisha has left for home, maybe she was just feeling unwell. I hoped against hope that this was really the case… but I knew it would not be.
My last hope was gone within thirty minutes, the house was exactly as I left it earlier in the morning. Manisha did not come home after work. She went straight to wherever she had to go, with whoever she intended to be with and …was at this very moment probably doing whatever it was that she was up to …
I could not conceive that she would do that. I fought the images that flashed through my mind …and decided to go for a drive just to avoid staying here and torture myself. The only place that came to my mind was the Coffee Shop and I took the car and went straight there. Rohit would not be there but I needed to be somewhere else at this moment.
So I walked to my car, get inside and started my engine and was in front of the Coffee Shop before I knew it. I got out of my car like a robot, and went over and took a quick look inside before entering …and stopped dead.
I could not say which feeling came first when I saw Rohit sitting at the bar: a feeling of surprise, of relief or of joy. Anyway I almost ran into his arms and shot several questions at him at one stroke.
“Hey …what are you doing here? What happened? Shouldn’t you be somewhere else right now?”
He was surprised by such a show of enthusiasm and seemed taken aback and just stood there staring at me. But I did not want him to wait, I wanted him to tell me the words, to confirm to me that he was not, at this very moment, somewhere else doing …well, in the company of my wife.
“So, tell me what happened to your ...date?” Just then an awry thought came to my mind and I added “it was meant to be today only, right? Your date with the lovely Mrs Mittal?”
“Yeah it was to be today only,” he finally said. “But something terrible happened.” He said after what appeared to be a very very long pause.
“What?!!!” I almost shouted. What terrible thing could have happened?
“Well …actually I am suspended from work,” he said.
“Suspended from work?!!” I repeated. ”How come? And since when?” This was the last thing I expected to come from his mouth.
“Since yesterday morning …I mean the day after I talked to you. You see, since last month I was doing …hmm …some side business …if you see what I mean…”
I did not see what he meant, at least I did not care the least. Still I asked him ”ok … and what happened then.”
“Well, yesterday when I went to office, the boss called me in his office and told me they knew all about it and I was suspended till a board decision is taken.”
“Oh, that’s so sad,” I said, somehow feeling pity for him. Still I wanted to hear from his mouth that nothing happened between my wife and him. “So, I take it that your date with Mrs Mittal is …cancelled.”
“You are crazy man …everybody at the office is talking about me right now …do you think this woman or any woman for that matter, would want to be seen with me?”
“I guess not.”
“As a matter of fact, I met her in the corridor and she just ignored me. I seem to have lost interest in her eyes. I really regret not humping that bitch …I should really have got her to ride my cock, I guess it’s to late now.”
I knew better not to pay attention to his words. Now I could see how foolish I had been, to link my wife with such an insignificant guy, who could not even behave himself to save his job. Really I was too glad Manisha had not gone ahead. She obviously saw through him from the beginning and would not have been the least interested in him had I not come up with these stupid tests. Now, anyway she was giving her the cold shoulder and that was setting the records straight, once and for all.
Five minutes later, I was left the Coffee Shop in much better mood than when I came and reached home a little before seven. Manisha was sitting in the living room, waiting for me.
“Rajiv, we need to talk,” she said straight away.
“Where were you, I’d been looking for you since early afternoon …and don’t tell me you were at the office, because I phoned there and they said you left early.”
I realized I was shouting at her and it was not how I wanted it to be. But it was beyond me, I just could not control my emotions anymore.
I looked at Manisha and was surprised that she seemed so cool, so calm, so rational. Was she really going to let me in on what was eating at her?
"It's over, Manisha. I no longer wish to live like this. Either you tell me what's gnawing at you, or I'll leave without any further discussion. It's up to you."
I saw a grimace on her face. She stared at me and said:
"My mother had a surgical operation today. She is probably not going to live much longer …, " she said softly.
“What?!!!” I shouted for the second time in the same afternoon. “Since whe do you know that? And why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“I learned about it yesterday …and tried to tell you but you seemed lost in your thoughts," she continued, without one changing her tone of voice even once.
I sat there, my mouth agape, totally shocked. There were so many things going on in my mind, so many things to be told or not. I knew I needed to sort out things for myself first. After a long silence, I took her hand in mine and said, “I am here now …everything will be just fine.”
My mother-in-law died the following week. Progressively Manisha was able to overcome the lost and things started to get better between us
I knew that my wife Manisha and myself needed to get away by ourselves for a while. It had been some time since we had taken a vacation, and we really needed time alone to rekindle the flame in our marriage.
We chose to stay to spend the weekend at a vacation resort called Wild Orchids. The first day, everything went as planned. We spent the whole day swimming and site-seeing. In the evening we had dinner together in the restaurant that seemed to set the mood that I wanted.
When our food arrived, we sat there and ate slowly, making small talk between bites and sips.
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