(The story is set in the Indian city of Delhi. The term bhaiya means brother and bhabhi means sister-in-law)
It had been 6 months since I moved to Delhi to take up my new job offer. Except for short visits for meetings, I had never lived in Delhi and the city was very new to me. My first task was to find a place to live. I was expecting my family to join me as soon as possible, in line with the school admission for my daughter. Till then, my family would continue to be in Bangalore.
My first task was finding a decent place to live in, which was close to my workplace. Knowing very few people, I engaged a real estate agent who lined up a series of apartments to visit. After an entire Saturday morning, spent on visiting potential places, I found a house that was situated near a metro station and seemed to meet all my requirements. After a few detailed discussions with my wife, I paid an advance to reserve the place. The next few days went by in finishing the paperwork and I had the keys to the house in a few days. The following weekend I moved in with the little luggage that I had and bought some basic furniture including a cot and a mattress, a refrigerator and a few essential items to sustain what was going to be a regression to what effectively was a bachelor's life after six years of married life.
The floor in which my flat was located had two other families. In the flat, right opposite to the flat that I had rented, lived a family of four. I had seen the kids and the lady of the house on the day I moved in. A few days later, I met her husband in the lift when I returned from work.
"Hi, I am Dileep, your neighbour." He said, offering me his hand.
"I am Sandeep, nice to meet you." I said, shaking his hand.
Before we could get acquainted, better the elevator reached the floor where we got off.
"Are you living alone?" Dileep asked.
"Yes, my family is currently in Bangalore, they will join me once my daughter finishes her final semester." I replied.
"Ah, good then we will have company here, see you sometime." He said and waved before moving to his flat and ringing the bell
"Great, looks like friendly neighbours." I thought to myself, as I fumbled with the key and finally entered my house.
Most weekdays continued the same pattern. Work, back home, have a telephone conversation with my wife and eat takeaway food that I had bought on the way back. It was almost ten days after the initial meeting in the elevator that I ran into Dileep again. It was a Saturday evening, and I was standing just outside the apartment looking for an autorickshaw to go and get some food at the nearby restaurant. Dileep drove out and stopped on seeing me.
"Hey Sandeep, do you need a lift?"
"It's ok, I am just planning to go to the restaurant to get some food to eat." I said.
"Then hop in! I am heading there too." He insisted.
I got into his car, and we reached the restaurant. After placing our orders, we sat and waited and Dileep told me he worked for an MNC as a regional manager. He was from the state of U.P. in India and had shifted to Delhi on being promoted. His kids were studying in a nearby school and his wife was a homemaker. Dileep was chatting away as if we were old buddies, and I was slowly beginning to like this affable fellow. He seemed nice, helpful and in a city where I had few friends, this was a welcome relief. As we got into the car, Dileep took a new route. After a few minutes he stopped the car and got out.
"I need to get some stuff to take home. Hope you don't mind waiting for few minutes"
"Not at all. I can wait in the car till you return."
Sure. I'll be back soon.
When Dileep returned he had a brown paper bag in his hand and he smiled at me and said, "My weekly quota."
"Do you drink, Sandeep?"
"Yes, occasionally, when there is good company."
"Don't worry about company, I will give ensure you don't miss that"
I was slowly but surely warming up to this chap. We reached home and Dileep asked me if I wanted to join him for a drink.
"Not tonight, I will definitely join you soon." I said
"Sure man, but no formalities!" he replied.
I nodded and went home. It was not the right way to visit his house the first time. I wanted to make a good impression on his family as they were all our neighbours. I decided I would get some chocolates for his kids and drop by one evening just to introduce myself to his wife and kids. I had seen her frequently during the evenings when she would come to the balcony to remove the clothes that had dried. She used to wear a thin nightie, revealing her gorgeous curves. Sometimes our eyes would meet and she would turn away, blushing with a small smile. But other than that, we had not spoken to each other. I assumed that, like most Indian women, she also seemed to be a traditional person and probably did not entertain talking to men outside her household. The appropriate introduction would be in her home in the presence of her husband.
The introduction eventually happened four days later when I went to meet Dileep and his family. Seema, his wife was quiet and reserved and served us with tea and savouries. His kids were happy with the bag of chocolates I had got them. On more than one occasion he consumed alcohol in the car, and I drove him back. It was awkward getting him home as he would stumble and on a couple of occasions, I had to help him into his home. The first time, I apologised to Seema Bhabhi, and she just shrugged and said," It is not your mistake. He has been like this for a long time."
This pattern continued and Fridays of Dileep getting drunk and driving him back were becoming a regular affair. While I did not approve of it, who was I to judge him I did not mind being of help at least till my family joined me. In addition to the Friday trysts, I was invited regularly to his home for dinner or evening tea on the weekends. Slowly his kids warmed up to me and Bhabhi began to talk to me.
She was a simple woman who mostly wore a salwar or a nightie at home. Her skin was golden in colour, and she had a demure nature which imbued her with a charm. Occasionally my glances took in her structure which was petite. She was around 5.3' and proportional. Over time our conversations covered several topics from our families, our hometown, our likes, and dislikes.
Every two weeks I would visit my family and once when I returned, I got gifts for all of them. My wife insisted that I had to get them something as that was the right thing to do. Well listen to the wife it will come in handy was my mantra for the last four years. So every trip meant getting something, especially for the kids and occasionally for Dileep and Bhabhi. Dileep's work involved outstation travel that lasted 3-5 days at times. In his absence, I was occasionally helping with buying things for his home and other forms of assistance that any helpful neighbour would offer.
It was after a meeting at my office around 3 pm when I took my mobile and glanced at my messages that I saw a text message from an unknown number. Yet another stupid advert for making crores on investing or trying to sell me some stupid product I thought. As my finger hovered around the message, a preview came up and I read the message.
