Day 57
That morning, as she got Pinky ready for school for Amar ready for work, made breakfast, and packed lunch for the two of them, Mansi kept checking her phone every few minutes. She wasn't sure why she was doing that. Duttsahab never messaged her that early. But the two months had made her realize how much she missed his company. And how much she was looking forward to seeing him again.
As the events described above unfolded, she realized many more things about herself and her life.
Most importantly, she realized how much that short but intense experience with Duttsahab in his suite had added to her self-actualization in terms of sexuality. Until now, she had learned a lot from him, from matters of art to using chopsticks to general behavior in high society. That experience in that hotel suite had for the first time, expanded her horizons sexually. Although in its immediate aftermath, she felt conflicted and guilty, as time went by, she came to terms with it. She started exploring her own body and discovered the pleasures it could offer her. Now, she was not as encumbered by the thoughts of morality and propriety as she wondered what Duttsahab had planned next.
Secondly, she realized how important money was in her life now. And how much its absence could sting. In the first two months that she had known Duttsahab, the cash was always flowing in, and it helped her enhance her lifestyle and make her family happier. Especially her daughter. But the two months since, when the cash flow had dried up, she found herself returning to that same old famished state. When a bulk of Amar's modest professor's salary went towards their two biggest expenses - a Mumbai rent and Pinky's exorbitant school fees. Whatever was left was enough for an austere existence, but not enough to fully relish life, much less save for Pinky's future.
So unable to cut back on her newfound splurging lifestyle, she had ended up exhausting almost all the money she had managed to add to the college account. Amar was never going to change jobs. So it was up to her to keep earning and ensure her family's wellbeing and especially, her daughter's happiness, both present and future. So just from that perspective, no matter what her slowly disappearing reservations about morality, she had to continue her association with Dutt for the greater good of her family.
And thirdly, she was finding herself getting more and more dissatisfied with Amar. And not just in bed, although that was part of it. Before the chance encounter with Reena thrust her into this new world, Mansi had been mostly content with the hand fate had dealt her. She had always known that she would end up marrying the man her parents chose and the rest of her life would be dedicated to running his household. She knew she would never have a career and her own tastes or interests didn't really matter.
But through Dutt, she had experienced a different reality. Where she was exposed to a wider and more interesting world. Where her own tastes, her own desires, her own interests got some breathing room. And the more she realized that, the more she started resenting Amar. She saw that for him, she was just a glorified maid and babysitter that he also occasionally had sex with. She always did what he wanted, but the one time she said no, she doesn't feel like having sex, he made her do it anyway. That still rankled.
So it was a much more composed Mansi, having had all these epiphanies, who kept checking her phone that morning. She knew in her mind that Dutt would probably want to take things further. And she herself would not mind it. And it would mean cheating on her husband. But taking a sum total of all the epiphanies, she had, well, why not?
It was a little past 11. Mansi had taken a bath, masturbating a few times in the process. She came out of the bathroom and checked her phone. There was an SMS from Dutt.
- 11:30
That's all it said. She was a bit nonplussed. usually he added more detail. Maybe he was busy catching up with work after his Europe visit, she told herself. Drying her naked body, she went to the cupboard. What should she wear? She thought about wearing one of the western clothes he had bought her. But eventually decided on a sari.
"Going to work, Mansi?" Deshmukh aunty asked.
"Yes, aunty." she said, climbing down the stairs.
At 11:25, she was waiting for the car. It pulled up at 11:40. Purposely late, as per Dutt's instructions.
"How was your..." Mansi started saying as as opened the door and got in. And stopped. There was no one there.
She heard a whirring sound. The partition separating her from the driver's cabin lowered.
"Good morning, ma'am." the driver said politely. "I am to take you to the hotel."
"Oh...okay. Where is..." she started saying, but the partition had been closed again.
Mansi sat in the car as it sped towards Malad. She was a little surprised at being picked up like this alone. Usually, he was always in the car. Again she told herself, maybe he is busy catching up with work after his foreign trip.
The limo reached the hotel in Malad. The driver opened the door, and said,
"You know his usual suite, right?"
There was a slight hint of condescension in that question. But Mansi ignored it and nodded.
She walked into the lobby. This was the first time she had been there since that fateful day. Very little had changed, except for a new sculpture in the corner. There were still well-dressed people milling about. And a small line in front of the reception. She walked to the lift and went up to the same suite as last time. She knocked on the door.
"Yes?" a young man opened the door.
"Oh!" she shrank back seeing the unfamiliar face and got a sense of deja vu.
"Are you...Mansi?" he asked uncertainly.
"Yes."