Indian Wife And Construction Guys Ch 06

Preface: Six years ago almost to the day, I started writing a story, inspired by a writer named Quin on literotica. For a while now, I have had this idea, also inspired from one of Quin's stories. It is not exactly a "sequel", in that the story doesn't continue per se. But it is a different perspective. A bit Rashomon-ish, if I may be so bold. So here it is.

*****

It was an unbearably hot summer night. The kind where you feel fortunate about being able to afford accommodation with air-conditioning. And thankfully, this hotel had air-conditioning.

"Decent sized room." Ajay in front of me said as we walked in. "But just one double bed."

"I will get you some gaddis." the hotel bellboy said and handed me the keys.

"So...4 guys spending in a hotel room. Reminds me of bachelor days." Neel said and laughed. We all laughed politely.

The four of us didn't really know each other too well. I barely knew their names. When you are thrown together with practical strangers in such a situation, you tend to laugh a little extra at jokes. While we were laughing, Anuj stretched out on the bed, as if to say to us, I'm sleeping here. He lived in America, so similar to the habits of his adopted country, he just occupied whatever territory he liked. His expresion said, the three of you decide who sleeps next to me and who sleeps on the gaddis on the floor. Soon the bellboy made a couple more rounds to bring the thin 'gaddi' mattresses, pillows and bed sheets

I walked to the small balcony and decided to call home and inform them about this change in plans.

"Hello." it was my elder son's voice. Probably up playing video games.

"Apurv, it's me. Is your mother around?"

"She is sleeping." he answered in a bored voice. Why do all kids in their mid-teens sound perpetually bored when talking to their parents?

"If she wakes up, tell her I won't be back tonight. The highway is shut down because of some accident, so we just decided to spend the night in a hotel."

"Ok." he said.

"Is Sameer sleeping?"

"Yes."

The kid was clearly not in a chatty mood. And probably waiting to get back to his game.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."

He hung up.

I turned around and saw the bellboy walk in with a tray of alcohol bottles, soda, glasses, and snacks. Anuj the American smiled and said,

"Now that we are having a bachelors night anyway, why not drink a little? Plus I don't get to drink these Indian liquors in the US. And my flight is tomorrow."

"Great idea."

And in a few minutes, we were all sitting around, drinking whiskey-soda and munching on peanuts and bhujia. The four of us had met earlier that day at an industry conference when we were located at the same lunch table. And when we realized we were all headed to Delhi, we decided to book a car together. Until we reached the closed highway portion, we had pretty much focused on occasional small talk between staring at our respective smart phones. It's only when the driver found out from a highway cop about the situation that we started talking more, and decided to just spend the night in a hotel instead of waiting in the heat in a long traffic jam.

It turns out many other people had the same idea, because we had trouble finding a hotel room. The first four hotels we went to were booked solid. Finally we reached a hotel that had just one room available. We had no option but to share it.

Soon the four of us were chatting like old friends, focusing mainly on industry gossip, and exchanging stories about our bosses and subordinates. We also got to know each other a little bit. Ajay and Neel worked in Delhi like me, but in different companies. Anuj had grown up in Calcutta and had lived in the US for a couple of decades. They all seemed like nice guys. As time went by, I started enjoying the bachelors night more and more.

A while later, Anuj and Neel got up and went to the balcony to smoke. I didn't smoke and neither did Ajay, so we stayed inside. There was a lull in the conversation. Ajay started refilling our glasses. I picked up my phone and unlocked it to see if there were any messages.

"Are those your boys?" Ajay asked, pointing towards the phone wallpaper. In the picture, Apurv had his serious teenager look, and Sameer was smiling wide.

"Yeah." I said holding the screen up. "Fourteen and five."

"That's a big gap." he said, taking the phone and examining the picture carefully.

"Yes...yes it is." I nodded.

"I have two girls. Ten and eight." he held up his phone to show me a picture.

"Very cute." I said. "They look so alike."

"Both took after their mother thankfully. Not their ugly father. Hahahaha!!" he laughed.

"Hahaha." I politely responded.

"Your elder looks a lot like you. The younger looks very different. Much darker." he said.

Before I could say anything, Anuj popped his head in.

"Guys, it's so fucking hot outside, isn't it?"

"Crazy hot." my companion said returning my phone.

"I was thinking... our driver is there in front. Poor fellow looks very uncomfortable. Fanning himself with a newspaper. Obviously he can't have the car AC on all night. Why don't we invite him in?"

"The driver????" Ajay looked uncertain.

"Come on. He seems like a nice guy. In the US, we would have gotten him his own room. The least we can do in this oppressive heat is invite him in for a few hours. Neel is okay with it. What do you say?"

I shrugged and said,

"I don't mind."

"Fine." Ajay said, giving in.

"Superb!" Anuj looked delighted.

Five minutes later, the driver walked in, looking a little uncomfortable. He was a young wiry guy, probably in his late 20s. Fraternizing with the working class might be common in America, but I am sure he didn't experience this too much. As you know, the most we do in India for drivers is give them some money to eat on their own. And it is assumed that they will sleep in the car.

"Have a seat, Bhola." Anuj said, being the nice guy. I didn't even know that was the driver's name. He looked very uncomfortable as he sat on a plastic chair.

"Thank you, saab." he said to each of us turn by turn. We nodded.

With the entry of this new member, the easy dynamic that had been established in our newly formed group was disrupted. There was awkward silence for a while.

"Would you like some whiskey?" Neel asked.

"Should he be drinking and driving?" Ajay asked, still not comfortable with the idea of a lowly driver sharing a social space with us.

"It's not like he is driving tonight." Anuj made a good point.

Everyone looked at Bhola who seemed to feel even more awkward.

"No, it's okay saab. No need."

"Do you usually drink?" Anuj asked. The guy nodded. "Then have some."

Soon the driver had both his hands wrapped around a glass of whiskey-soda and was taking tiny sips, staring at the floor. The awkward silence returned.

"So...are you from Delhi originally, Bhola?" Anuj asked, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"No, saab. I am originally from Jharkhand. Shifted to Delhi only a few years ago."

"Oh, I am originally from Calcutta, so we are like neighbors."

Bhola nodded.

"Are you all from Calcutta?" he asked looking at the rest of us.

"I am from Delhi." Ajay said.

"Originally Chandigarh. Delhi since 10 years." Neel said.

"I'm originally from Jabalpur. Delhi since six years." I said.

"Oh okay. I lived in Jabalpur for a few years." Bhola said. I nodded and smiled.

There was a lull in the conversation again. Ajay decided that we had spent enough time talking with the driver. So he change the subject completely,

"Do you guys remember the presentation by that Japanese consultant? That was interesting. Do you think..."

And soon the conversation shifted to shop talk. Neel joined in, as did I. And soon Anuj as well, giving his perspective on why American business practices were better than Japanese ones. Bhola sat there quietly, sipping the booze, and enjoying the air conditioning. Occasionally Anuj or Neel would make some small talk with Bhola, refill his drink, ask him to have snacks. As time went by, he started feeling more relaxed. Didn't appear as awkward anymore.

After a while, Anuj and Neel went for another smoking break. Ajay started checking his phone. I looked at Bhola and smiled. He smiled back. I wasn't as good as Anuj at small talk so I asked,

"So...did you like Jabalpur?"

"It was nice. Best rabdi I have tasted." he said.

"I agree. Delhi doesn't have anything as good. Where did you live?"

"Naya Mohallah."

"Ok. I grew up in Civil Lines."

"Nice area."

"But before moving to Delhi, I used to live in Nair Colony."

"Oh you lived in Nair Colony? A few years ago, I worked there on a construction site. A big 6 floor building."

As soon as he said that, my ears perked up and my heart skipped a beat. But I didn't let it show on my face. Just nodded and looked at him casually while trying to decode his facial expressions. As far as I remembered, there had been only one such big construction project in our colony. And you all know what resulted from that construction project. Was he...part of it? I was dying with curiosity. But I couldn't just come out and ask him. So I tried an indirect route.

"You mean that big building near the small pond?"

"Yes, that one." he said. He was silent for a few seconds. Then added, "Did you live near it?"

"No, my house was two lanes away." I said, trying to stay calm. "More whiskey?"

"Thank you, saab." he said, slurring a little. I poured him another drink and he started sipping it.

I waited a few minutes to see if he would talk about what I had in mind. But instead he went down a tangent.

"Yes sir, I started off as a daily wage laborer. Weren't many jobs for uneducated people."

Just as he said that, Anuj and Neel returned.

"Bhola, you were a daily wage laborer?" Anuj said surprised.

"Yes saab." he said.

"And now you drive your own cab! Very good. Everyone says America is the land of opportunities, but India can also be for those who work hard." Anuj was sounding like a politician.

Bhola seemed almost touched by the praise. And the booze seemed to have loosened his tongue as well.

"Thank you, saab. Yes, I grew up very poor. No education. Had to leave school in 4th standard. And not many jobs except like daily wage. But then I worked hard and prayed to god. Got better jobs. Waiter, then delivery boy, some times a cook. Then learned driving. Became a driver. Saved some money. Bought a second hand rickshaw..."

I zoned out as the other guys were listening with rapt attention to how Bhola pulled himself up by the bootstraps. I didn't really care about that. My mind was a jumble of different questions and doubts. If he did work on that site, was he once of Sajid's guys? If so, was him being here just a coincidence or had he or his friends gone looking for us? All that was six years ago. We had largely moved on from that phase of our lives, moved to a new city. This connection seemed odd.

No, you're being paranoid, I told myself. Even if he had wanted to orchestrate this, there was no way he could have. My original plan was to book a tatkal train ticket. This cab had been booked at the last minute after meeting these guys. And it had been booked by Neel in his name. There was no way for Bhola to know who I was or to plan things such that I would end up in his cab. It had to be a coincidence.

Besides, I didn't even know if he was involved in those events. It was a big construction site. With work done for a few years.

"Very creditable, Bhola. Congratulations." I heard Ajay say. Even the guy most opposed to the driver's presence was praising him. I joined in with a few words of praise too.

Soon that topic ended. Conversation moved on to other things. Ajay starte reading out some jokes from whatsapp and we were all laughing. Bhola didn't seem to be looking at me or even avoiding looking at me. I detected nothing unusual in his body language. My curiosity was getting stronger and stronger. Finally I decided to probe a little further.

"Bhola, it's funny that you worked on that building. It means maybe our paths might have crossed many years ago." I said when there was another lull in the conversation.

"Yes, it's possible." he said, emptying the glass. I filled it up again.

"I even talked to one of the guys there once. A foreman or something. I wanted our compound rebuilt and I asked him if I could hire some men for it cheap. But he said they couldn't do that. Old Muslim fellow. Salim I think his name was." I said, deliberately saying the wrong name.

"Salim...maybe saab. Very common name. There were many of us working there. It was a big project." Bhola said. "But foreman...no...there was no foreman by that name."

"I think he was the foreman. Short old guy. Salim or maybe Shafiq or Saeed..."

"Sajid?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Maybe." I said shrugging. "It's been so long."

"Oh yes, I remember Sajid. He wasn't a foreman or anything. One of us workers, just old. But he was such a bully that he acted like a leader. And his chamchas followed along." he said.

"Really? Yes, he did act like he was in charge. Anyway, I asked him, he said they couldn't do the work."

"You're lucky." he said and giggled.

"What do you mean?"

"He probably would have spent less time on the compound and more time after your wife."

"WHAT???" I said loudly, acting shocked, because I had to play the part.

"What are you saying?" Ajay said. As Bhola and I had talked about this stuff, the other guys' attention had wandered. But this juicy comment seemed to bring it right back.

"Wait, what did he say?" Neel asked and even Anuj looked curious.

This seemed to unnerve Bhola a little.

"Sorry saab, really really sorry, no disrespect to you or your wife. I have just had too much to drink." he immediately said and looked bashful.

"No, it's okay. I am insulted." I smiled and said. "I just found your comment curious."

"Me too!" Ajay said and laughed.

"But what did he say???" Neel said, annoyed.

"Tarun was talking about some laborer who worked with Bhola back in Jabalpur. Bhola says that if Tarun had hired the guy to work at his place, the guy would have been after his wife."

"Haha, what???" Neel laughed.

"Saab really, I did not mean it as an insult to you. I promise. I don't even know you or your wife." Bhola sincerely said. And in that moment, I became even more convinced that he had no idea who I was. But I was interested to hear what he would say, now that the subject had been broached.

"Calm down, Bhola. I told you, I am not taking offense to what you said. Just please explain what you meant. Sounds like an interesting story." I even rubbed his shoulder to assure him. It seemed to work.

"OK saab. Well, this Sajid guy...he was quite a ladies man. An old fart but could never keep it in his pants. He had three wives. And yet he also lusted after and banged all kind of women."

"Interesting!!" Neel said. "Was he a handsome fellow?"

"No, that's the strange thing. Short, slightly fat, dark, ugly. Who know what magic he had. Maybe it was his bullying personality. He banged a couple of women who worked on the site. A lady who sold vegetables. A couple of maids...and hehe...well."

"Go on." Ajay said. "It sounds like you have something more to share."

"You won't believe me if I tell you, saab." Bhola giggled.

"Go on." Neel said, pouring more whiskey into the glass.

He looked at me and said,

"Saab, do you remember that yellow house next to the building site?" he lowered his voice as if discussing some top secret.

"Yellow house? No, I don't remember. I lived a couple of lanes away." I lied with a straight face again.

"It was this nice yellow house with a big yard. Right next to the site. Anyway...I swear to god...he had an item there as well." and he giggled.

"What do you mean an item?" Ajay asked, now very interested.

"What do you think I mean? An item. A woman. And mind you, not some old fat hag. A young gorgeous thing half his age." Now he was getting to the point.

"You're bullshitting." Anuj laughed and said.

"No boss, seriously. I can still close my eyes and see her. Short, smooth fair skin, big tits, curvy, long nose, light gray eyes." he said slowly.

"You're drunk. And you've seen too many Bhojpuri movies" Ajay was laughing.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me." he shrugged. "But it's true."

Ajay and Anuj were laughing hard, almost making fun of Bhola's story. Even Neel looked skeptical. Only I knew what the truth was. What I was interested in was, how much Bhola knew and how involved he was. So to get him going again, I said with a smile,

"So wait...you are telling me there was some young gorgeous maid who worked next door in that house and Sajid was sleeping with her too?"

"No saab, that's not it." he slurred sipping some more whiskey. "She was not a maid. It was her house. Posh rich memsaab with a nice husband and young son and everything. Wily old Sajid went over a couple of times making the excuse of using her phone for some work related thing. Then made a friendship with her. And then he seduced her."

This made Ajay and Anuj laugh even harder, saying how ridiculous all this was.

"It is difficult to believe." I said. "And even if true, it must be a different guy then. The one I spoke to was in his 50s and didn't look like he could...you know..."

"Same guy saab, same guy. I already told you he wasn't handsome. Ugly in fact. But he had that dominant personality. And that slutty bitch couldn't resist it."

"Haha, yeah right." Ajay laughed. "I can't believe you're buying this story, Tarun."

"I am not lying, saab!" Bhola said, sounding a little offended.

"I am not saying you are lying. I will tell you what the reality probably was. He would go over to use the phone. She must have been a nice lady. Let him use the phone. Maybe a call lasted longer than usual. And you say she was a gorgeous young lady. I know how these guys are and what their fantasies are like. Tongues must have started wagging. And that guy must have lied about it to inflate his reputation. And there you have it. A rumor that keeps getting repeated."

"It wasn't a rumor. It was true." Bhola insistently said.

"How do you know?"

"I saw it, okay?" he loudly said. And then bit his tongue.

"You saw it? Yeah, right" Neel picked up the questioning. "What did you see? Tell us."

Suddenly Bhola seemed very uncomfortable.

"No...I shouldn't. I gave my word never to speak of it."

"Come on, Bhola. You can't tease us like this." Anuj piped up.

"Yes, come on." I added my voice, not wanting to seem the odd one out.

Plus I did want to hear his side of the story. So far, everything I knew of what happened was what Purva told me. I wondered if someone else saw things differently. And maybe I would learn something new. It reminded me a little of Rashomon.

Everyone goaded him to speak. But he kept shaking his head.

"It doesn't feel right, saab. I gave my word. And she was a nice lady. I don't want to destroy her reputation."

"Destroy her reputation?" Ajay scoffed. "We don't even know the woman."

"He might." he gestured at me. "He lived in the same colony. Maybe he knows her. And he knows her husband. What if he tells him?"

"I promise I won't." I said. Then I thought of an idea. "Okay, how about this. Don't tell us her name. That way I won't know who she is."

"But you still know where she lived."

"Believe me, Bhola. I give you my word."

"I also gave someone my word."

It continued this was for a while, until we plied him with more booze and cajoled him. Finally he relented.

"Okay listen." he was sounding quite drunk by now. "Initially even I thought the rumors were just rumors. That he was making stuff up. I saw him going over for longer and longer with his nephew Rasul. I had seen the lady myself. Very simple, nice housewife and mother. Even I thought that maybe she was just not nasty enough to kick them out. And they are just telling tall tales out of that. But then he started taking some other guys over. And those guys also said the same thing."