15-12-2022, 04:44 PM
That morning, by the time I got ready and headed out to the reception area, Apara was busy setting up the simple breakfast. I had hoped to talk to Pepe but he had already left. Besides, even if he had been there, it's not like I could have asked him much, given our language barrier. I helped Apara set the breakfast up and then sat at the front desk for my shift. I got the feeling that Apara was avoiding eye contact with me even more than usual. Soon she left for the laundry and housekeeping work and I was left by myself at the desk.
It was a slow morning and we didn't have many reservations. So I had a lot of free time to think. I started wondering if I was just over-reacting. Maybe there was no reason to be paranoid. After all, if she wanted to be with some other men, why would she choose to marry me? It's not like I was rich or handsome or anything. So what about the events of that night? Well, I was sure there were possible explanations for them. As I thought some more, I came up with a convincing story.
I knew that I snored. Maybe that night, the snoring was really bad, so she went to the other room even before the AC malfunctioned. And when I joined her, she did not want to hurt my feelings by complaining about snoring. So that's why there were inconsistencies. And maybe Pepe really did think she was in the laundry room. So on and so forth. I calmed myself down with these rationalizations.
Some time passed. A few days and then weeks. That night's paranoia pretty much became history. But it was still lingering at the back of my mind in some ways. Now I was extra observant of her interactions with male employees or guests. She was still chatty, friendly, even flirty. But nothing excessive. Life went on.
And then the second incident happened, bringing all the paranoia back.
It was the evening shift and I was at the front desk. Apara had gone to the wholesale store to pick up supplies for the motel. The store was a couple of towns away, so these trips usually took her a couple of hours. I was sitting in my chair in front of the computer, working on the accounting while side by side listening to old Hindi songs. Across me was a small seating area with a couple of couches and a TV that we usually kept tuned to one of the local channels. So I was glancing at it once in a while as well.
One particular glance at the TV grabbed my attention. It was the local news broadcast. They were reporting about some local political election, and there was a reporter in a mall, live, walking around asking people's opinions about that election. That in itself was not remarkable. What grabbed my attention was one particular interview in which, in the background, I spotted Apara! She was wearing a bright orange kurta with jeans that day, and the unique color made it very eye-catching. What was she doing at the mall? She was supposed to be at the wholesale store. Not only was she at the mall, she was sitting at a coffee shop. And at the same table with her was a white man in his fifties that I did not recognize.
That interview clip lasted maybe 30 seconds. Apara was about 50 feet behind the reporter and did not seem to have noticed the TV camera or had chosen to ignore it. What I saw in those 30 seconds was unusual enough to make me feel suspicious again. For most of the time, she was laughing and nodding, with a very happy expression on her face. the kind of expression I rarely saw on her face in my presence. Her hands were wrapped around a coffee mug. And the man sitting with her was smiling, leaning in and whispering something in her ear. Definitely not the kind of behavior you would expect from just two strangers or even acquaintances in a coffee shop.
Furious, I called Apara's cellphone right away. It went to voicemail. I called again. Voicemail again.
I sat at the desk, my heart pounding and my mind in chaos again. What had I just seen? My wife was.....on a date? And with whom? Who was that man? Why was she laughing that way? Why was she there at all? So many questions. No answers.
It was a slow morning and we didn't have many reservations. So I had a lot of free time to think. I started wondering if I was just over-reacting. Maybe there was no reason to be paranoid. After all, if she wanted to be with some other men, why would she choose to marry me? It's not like I was rich or handsome or anything. So what about the events of that night? Well, I was sure there were possible explanations for them. As I thought some more, I came up with a convincing story.
I knew that I snored. Maybe that night, the snoring was really bad, so she went to the other room even before the AC malfunctioned. And when I joined her, she did not want to hurt my feelings by complaining about snoring. So that's why there were inconsistencies. And maybe Pepe really did think she was in the laundry room. So on and so forth. I calmed myself down with these rationalizations.
Some time passed. A few days and then weeks. That night's paranoia pretty much became history. But it was still lingering at the back of my mind in some ways. Now I was extra observant of her interactions with male employees or guests. She was still chatty, friendly, even flirty. But nothing excessive. Life went on.
And then the second incident happened, bringing all the paranoia back.
It was the evening shift and I was at the front desk. Apara had gone to the wholesale store to pick up supplies for the motel. The store was a couple of towns away, so these trips usually took her a couple of hours. I was sitting in my chair in front of the computer, working on the accounting while side by side listening to old Hindi songs. Across me was a small seating area with a couple of couches and a TV that we usually kept tuned to one of the local channels. So I was glancing at it once in a while as well.
One particular glance at the TV grabbed my attention. It was the local news broadcast. They were reporting about some local political election, and there was a reporter in a mall, live, walking around asking people's opinions about that election. That in itself was not remarkable. What grabbed my attention was one particular interview in which, in the background, I spotted Apara! She was wearing a bright orange kurta with jeans that day, and the unique color made it very eye-catching. What was she doing at the mall? She was supposed to be at the wholesale store. Not only was she at the mall, she was sitting at a coffee shop. And at the same table with her was a white man in his fifties that I did not recognize.
That interview clip lasted maybe 30 seconds. Apara was about 50 feet behind the reporter and did not seem to have noticed the TV camera or had chosen to ignore it. What I saw in those 30 seconds was unusual enough to make me feel suspicious again. For most of the time, she was laughing and nodding, with a very happy expression on her face. the kind of expression I rarely saw on her face in my presence. Her hands were wrapped around a coffee mug. And the man sitting with her was smiling, leaning in and whispering something in her ear. Definitely not the kind of behavior you would expect from just two strangers or even acquaintances in a coffee shop.
Furious, I called Apara's cellphone right away. It went to voicemail. I called again. Voicemail again.
I sat at the desk, my heart pounding and my mind in chaos again. What had I just seen? My wife was.....on a date? And with whom? Who was that man? Why was she laughing that way? Why was she there at all? So many questions. No answers.
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