"Imran, you should have been honest with me," Pooja Bawa said, looking somewhat reproachfully at her husband of twenty years. Imran Sheikh took a deep breath and looked at Pooja, the lovely woman who'd shared his life and his bed for more than two decades. He'd been in love with her ever since they met at Chandigarh University in the Mohali District of Punjab State, India. Since then, they'd gotten hitched, moved to Ottawa, started a family, bought a home, and embraced their new lives in a new country. If only things had remained that simple...
Imran Sheikh and his wife Pooja Bawa moved to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, from Punjab State of India and had to adjust to a new life and a new culture. Imran returned to school, eventually earning a Master's degree in Business at Carleton University. Imran resented the Canadian government for making him retake the same business training he'd already earned at Chandigarh University but there was no use crying over spilt milk. Imran accepted a position at the Canada Revenue Agency's downtown Ottawa branch. He had a family to provide for, after all.
Pooja Bawa followed her husband Imran's example and went back to school, earning a Nursing degree at the University of Ottawa before getting hired at the Civic Hospital on Carling Avenue near Nepean, Ontario. The couple bought a nice townhouse in the Marketplace area of Barrhaven and had two daughters, Anandamayi and Amodini, both of whom were currently attending Ryerson University in the City of Toronto, Ontario.
At the moment, although Imran missed Anandamayi and Amodini, he was thankful for his daughters absence because he wouldn't want them to see the quarrel he and Pooja were having. Imran faced the very possibility that the marriage and family he valued so much were about to come apart at the seams, and the Indian-Canadian businessman and family patriarch only had himself to blame. I hope we can turn this around, Imran pleaded to whatever Divine force made the Universe.
"Pooja, I love you, but I thought my feelings for men would go away, I didn't want to hurt you," Imran said plaintively, tears brimming in his eyes. At forty five, Imran Sheikh stood six foot one, with dark curly hair streaked with gray and brilliant brown eyes that usually looked out at the world without fear. Today, though, as Pooja, his wife of twenty years learned of his bisexuality, Imran felt as though his entire world were crumbling.
"Lots of women are married to men with sexual secrets, it's not the end of the world, though my trust in you is broken," Pooja said, shaking her head. Imran nodded at that and remained silent. For most of his adult life, Imran Sheikh was aware of the fact that he liked both women and men. In the Republic of India, just about the worst thing that a person could be is bisexual, gay or lesbian. Imran remembered watching men suspected of being 'sexually immortal' getting beat up on the streets of Chandigarh, and the police did nothing about it.
"I love you Pooja and I've never cheated on you with anyone, woman or man," Imran said, and Pooja cut her eyes at him. Throughout their marriage, which was happy for the most part, Pooja always suspected that there was something Imran wasn't telling her. He was tall, handsome and masculine, with a deep voice and a certain charisma about himself that many people admired. Pooja was happy that her hubby Imran never checked out other women in front of her, but he did seem oddly nervous around certain men...
"What about Oscar?" Pooja demanded haughtily, referring to Oscar Norton, the six-foot-tall, handsome young African American guy renting the apartment down the street from their home. Pooja noticed that the overly friendly Oscar, who was fluent in Hindi for some reason, and the way he always looked into Imran's eyes. Imran, the hard-working, faithful married guy and devoted father seemed to get as nervous as a schoolgirl at a Jonas Brothers Concert when in Oscar's presence...
"Oscar and I are just friends," Imran said, and Pooja narrowed her eyes. Pooja Bawa, all five-foot-eight and one hundred and eighty pounds of her seemed to tower before Imran, who shrank from her even though he was much taller and stronger than she would ever be. Pooja glowered at him mercilessly, and Imran bit his lip. Pooja looked like she wanted to hurt him, but seemed to barely restrain herself. Imran and Pooja had always respected one another throughout their decades of marriage, but things were definitely coming to a crash between them...
"Imran, your friend Oscar is openly bisexual according to his Facebook page, he's got big-booty pictures of Tennis player Serena Williams and shirtless pictures of Actor Shahid Kapoor, I guess he likes Indian men," Pooja said haughtily, hands on her hips. Suspicious women do better detective work than Batman and Sherlock Holmes, Imran thought, cursing his lousy luck. Imran knew he was totally busted, and from the merciless expression on Pooja's face, she was at her wits end...
"Oscar is cool, and a friend, and while I did tell him about my bisexual feelings, he wasn't interested in me, in fact, he was asking me for advice on how to deal with Farzana, the brown Muslim gal at Walmart, her parents didn't approve of her dating Oscar," Imran said, pausing for effect. In truth, Oscar and Imran talked about a great many things as their unorthodox friendship blossomed. Oscar did have a thing for Farzana, true, but his affections for her were eclipsed by his growing feelings for Imran...
"Alright, Imran, let's say I believe you, where do we go from here? Will I ever be enough for you?" Pooja asked, tears brimming in her lovely brown eyes. A bit on the tall side for an Indian gal, curvy, with dark brown skin, lively brown eyes and long dark hair streaked with gray, Pooja Bawa was as beautiful now as she was the day Imran met her at Chandigarh University, decades ago. I love this woman with all my heart, Imran thought, marveling at his dear Pooja.
"Pooja, I have always felt attracted to girls and guys, but I love only you," Imran said truthfully, and then he pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her. Pooja embraced Imran and kissed him back, and then, slowly, the doubts and fear that she felt erode like ice in the sun. After a passionate kiss reminiscing of their courtship back in the City of Chandigarh, India, Imran and Pooja shared a smile. Hand in hand, husband and wife returned to the bedroom.