The Devil's Bargain

THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN Chapter 6

I wanted to thank Aarti, especially since Connie's Mom wasn't going to. I got her a full spa treatment: manicure, pedicure, massage, exfoliation and so on.

- "You're going to spoil me." she said.

- "I really appreciate you bringing food. That was sweet."

- "She's only your mother-in-law, right?"

- "Yeah. But you wouldn't have liked my real mother any more. Probably less."

I had never told Holly or Monica about my background, or my life history. Somehow, though, it all came pouring out for Aarti.

- "Oh, baby." she said, enfolding me in her arms, with my head resting on her prodigious breasts.

Two months after Mom's fall, Aarti and I were trying to regain the closeness and intensity of our early days together.

She did two more tarot readings, and then resorted to numerology and the I Ching. She asked me to do several personality-type questionnaires. Aarti was trying to figure out why she was so crazy about me.

- "I'm a very spiritual person, Dan - you know this. I'm in touch with my inner self, but I can't quite put a finger on our connection. It's genuine - I know that. I just wish that I could understand it."

- "You're the most amazing person in the world, Aarti. That's all I know."

It wasn't just a cheesy line. It did get me laid that night, though - twice. Truth is, I was also baffled by the power of my attraction to her. On the physical level, she never failed to arouse me. It might be what she wore that day, her posture, her smile... I'd fallen hard, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to get up.

She was a bit kooky. The tarot, the other stuff... Aarti considered herself a creative person. The proof, as she saw it, was in her holistic taste. She had artistic sensibilities, and a remarkable affinity for colour and texture. She liked to talk about her plans for re-decorating her house, once she had enough money.

Okay. She read her horoscope daily (and mine). She liked clunky bracelets and bangles - not a major problem, right? The anklet she sometimes wore was

very

appealing. And I was reaping the benefits, because of her sexual openness.

I didn't mind the battery of personality tests, none of which answered her question. I wasn't about to complain, because every single one of them led to mind-blowing sex.

There was one area, though, where I wasn't meeting Aarti's expectations. She left her laptop on the coffee table, and 'accidentally' turned it towards me as she got up to make us both a cup of tea. I was obviously expected to at least glance at it, so I did: her photo folder was open, showing Aarti in a variety of foreign locations.

Obviously, I was meant to ask about it, so when she returned, I did.

- "Oh! Did I leave my photo album open?" she said.

- "Are there any that you would like to show me?" I asked.

- "Umm... maybe a few. If you're interested." I assured her that I was.

Pictures of Mayan pyramids. Aarti on a beach, in a bikini. Another beach photo, this time with a strapping young man who had his arm around her. She skipped over that one quickly. Aarti in Greece. The Parthenon. Another beach, and another bikini that made the first swimsuit look modest.

Aarti in India. Shopping in a colourful market. Aarti with a another (much taller) young woman.

- "My sister." she said. "I'm hoping that you can come over and meet her. A week from Saturday, in the afternoon?"

- "I'll look forward to it."

We returned to the photos. Aarti in Costa Rica. Another bikini, this one on Guanacasti beach. Pictures of macaws, tapirs and spider monkeys. Then a photo of her with another tall, buff guy. Older photos showed her at the Tower of London, the Eiffel Tower, in a vineyard...

"You've travelled so much." I said. I was jealous, of course, because I hadn't been anywhere in almost ten years. When Connie and I were first married, we went to Florida a couple of times, and spent a week in Cuba - that was it. Then she became obsessed with looking after her parents. When we got Freya, that pretty much killed travel completely.

- "I love seeing new places." she said.

- "I'd love to see you in those bikinis."

- "Pshh... you'd rather have me out of them."

***

George saw me raking leaves, and came over for a quick chat.

- "I'm about to start on my own." he said. "Not looking forward to it."

- "How are you doing?" I asked.

- "Good. Good. I was wondering how you were."

- "Me? Fine. Mom's cast comes off in a couple of weeks."

- "No, I meant... I haven't seen your lady friends around in a while."

- "Oh. Holly was transferred to Calgary. And Monica... we're not together anymore."

- "Sorry to hear it." said George. "You know I've been living vicariously through you."

- "Well, I have been seeing someone else."

- "There we go! My faith in you is restored." he laughed. "But you haven't had her over yet?"

- "No. She's allergic to dogs. We usually get together at her place."

- "Nice." said George, with more than a trace of envy.

***

Aarti hosted 'afternoon tea', which involved food (a light meal, really) as well. There I met her uncle, Drew (I learned later that it was actually 'Dru'). He was a pleasant fellow, the youngest and most charming of her father's siblings. I was ten years older than Aarti, and Dru was only five years older than me. He seemed to prefer the company of his younger nieces and nephews to that of his older brothers and sisters.

Then her sister arrived.

- "Dan, this is my sister Geetha."

I was surprised. Geetha was almost the opposite of her little sister - physically, that is. She was tall and thin, where Aarti was shorter and more curvaceous.

"You two get acquainted." said Aarti. "Dru - I need your help."

- "Anything for you, my lovely." he said, as he followed her into the kitchen.

- "Hmm." I said. "That wasn't particularly subtle."

Geetha laughed. "Subtle she is not. My sister is absolutely crazy about you, Dan. She wants you and me to instantly become close friends - by yesterday, at the latest."

- "Oh - so, no pressure then."

- "Exactly. But you can relax: she's told me a great deal about you, and I've heard quite a bit that I like." She ticked off points on her fingers. "Engineer. Looks after his wife's mother. Kind. Very gentle and patient with Aarti, and tolerant of some of her... odd little passions."

That was nice to hear, but I wanted to turn the subject of conversation around to Geetha. I asked a few questions, and discovered (to my surprise) that Aarti's sister was a successful lawyer, recently engaged to her long-time boyfriend. Not only were they physical opposites, but they were different in almost every way. Geetha was highly educated, career-oriented, and very down to earth.

"We're not

that

different." said Geetha. "We both like the finer things in life: clothes, food, travel. But I decided to go out and earn mine. Unfortunately, Aarti was always much prettier. She found that she could easily get them as gifts from her many admirers."

Geetha saw my face. "Ah. You didn't know that. Didn't she show you her travel photos?"

- "Yes, she did."

- "That was a hint, Dan. You did know that she's only worked intermittently?"

- "Pardon?"

Geetha sighed. "My sister is quite bright, but she never finished university. A rich young guy swept her off her feet, and took her to Europe. All expenses paid. Then they came home, and he dumped her. Aarti has the looks - and the body - to be a trophy wife. But she's too... quirky. The son of the CEO doesn't want his new wife to start talking to people about their horoscopes, or asking if they've had their palms read..."

- "I... she never mentioned any of this."

- "That's one reason I'm here." she said. "Aarti and Uncle Dru will be busy in the kitchen for as long as we keep talking. What I'm telling you now? These are all things that my sister

wants

you to know. She's just too embarrassed to tell you herself."

- "That's..."

- "Odd. I know. But as I said, she

really

likes you. One day you might ask her about her education, or her career. She's held two secretarial positions, and one as a personal assistant - that one led to the trip to Mexico. Then there were two sales jobs, both short-lived. She's really not cut out for sales. You would eventually begin to wonder how she could afford to travel

and

own her own place..."

- "I can't give her those things, Geetha. I'm not that wealthy, and I have commitments... I also haven't travelled in years."

- "She knows. It doesn't matter. You're not the usual type of guy she shows an interest in. And that makes

me

happy. She wasn't immediately measuring you, to see what you could give her. Or maybe she's realized that the things you

do

give her are more valuable. My sister claims to be very spiritual; she's actually just as materialistic as I am. Being with you has been a learning experience for her - a long overdue one, in my humble opinion."

- "Thank you."

- "You're very welcome. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

- "Are there any other major differences between you that I should know about?"

- "Well... I like music. She's indifferent, unless its -"

- "Bob Marley. Or disco."

Geetha smiled. "Yes. Oh, and I'm allergic to shellfish, peanuts... whereas Aarti has no allergies."

- "Except to dogs." I said.

- "Dogs? No. Aarti isn't allergic to dogs. She's just afraid of them."

- "Oh. My mistake."

We returned to safer ground. I had a wonderful talk with Geetha, even as I marvelled at Aarti's willingness to expose her past in this way, even if it was through an intermediary. But I was also mildly perturbed: where Geetha thought that her sister was turning over a new leaf, I wondered if this wasn't just Tansa's magic at work.

And why not simply admit that she was afraid of dogs?

- "Ready for tea?" asked Aarti, as she and Uncle Dru came out of the kitchen.

It was a pleasant afternoon. Dru was very personable, and Aarti was obviously delighted to see that Geetha and I were getting along so well. She would glance at me, from under her eyelashes, and then quickly look away. But she didn't hesitate to come up behind my chair, and put her hands on my shoulders.

I had liked Geetha immediately, and found that that feeling only increased as the afternoon turned into evening. Unfortunately, I had to excuse myself, to go home and feed Freya, and take her for a walk.

- "Do you have to?" asked Aarti.

- "Let me see." I called Lisa. Luck was with me. She was at home, and had no major plans for that evening.

- "I can take care of it." she said. "You just enjoy yourself."

- "You're a life-saver, Lisa."

- "It's not difficult, Dan. You know that I love Freya. And you've practically paid my way through university."

- "I'm serious. You don't know how much I've relied on you."

- "Just paying you back." she said. "Have a good night."

Everyone seemed pleased that I could stay. Dru opened a bottle of wine. Aarti didn't drink, but her sister and uncle had no such reservations.

- "I'm told that you prefer beer." he said. With a flourish, he presented me with a bottle of Stella Artois.

- "Wow. You have excellent taste." I said.

- "Finally!" he cheered. "Someone who appreciates me."

- "You know we love you, Uncle." said both sisters - so quickly that I suspected that they'd played this game with Dru before.

The conversation flowed freely. They were fun to be with. Given my 'sheltered upbringing', I wasn't very cosmopolitan. All three of them were well travelled, and well informed on what was going on in the world. I certainly listened more than I contributed.

That was a good decision, though, given how well these three knew each other. It was like a musical jam, where they all knew the same songs, and I put in a brief solo here and there. Aarti had moved her chair closer to mine, so that she could hold my hand. It was a lovely gesture.

I'd lost track of time, but Geetha hadn't. "It's getting dark? Already? Time we were on our way, Uncle."

- "We can at least help Aarti clean up."

- "I can help her." I said - just about at the exact moment Aarti said "Dan can help me."

- "Sounds like I'm outvoted, then." said Dru. "Thank you, Angel. That was lovely."

- "Thank

you

, Uncle."

Dru shook my hand, and Geetha gave me a surprisingly warm hug. "Nice to finally meet you." she said.

- "I hope we'll see each other again." I said.

- "We will." said Dru.

Then Aarti and I were alone. I started clearing the table, carrying the dishes into her kitchen, while she took care of the leftovers. I volunteered to wash, because I wouldn't have known where to put the dishes after I'd dried them.

Aarti was unusually quiet, and seemed to be avoiding direct eye contact.

- "Your uncle and your sister are both very nice." I said. "Sorry - 'nice' doesn't do them justice. They're remarkable people."

- "They're the most important people in my life." she said. "They've been there for me whenever I needed them."

I could only nod. I wished I'd had friends - or family - like that.

- "Is everything alright, Aarti?" I asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

- "No - of course not. I keep forgetting how empathetic you are. I should have remembered it, from that last reading we did. It's just me. I'm... embarrassed."

I knew her well enough, by this point, to let her keep going.

"I was too embarrassed to tell you some things about me. About my past. That's why I had Geetha tell you. But now... now I'm embarrassed that you know!"

I dried my hands, and took her in my arms. She rested her had on my chest, and wrapped her arms around me.

- "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We

all

make mistakes. I don't know anyone who could stand up and say 'I've done everything right'."

- "Geetha could."

- "Have you asked her? Because I highly doubt that."

- "Did you like her?"

- "Of course I did. She's your sister. And I like Dru, too. I could see how important they are to you."

- "And... you weren't repelled by... what Geetha told you?"

I leaned back, so that I could see her face. "No, sweetheart."

- "Really?"

- "You are exceptionally pretty, and your sex appeal is unbelievable. It was inevitable that you would attract a great deal of attention. That's not an unmixed blessing. It may have also been a curse."

- "You do understand."

- "I think so. If I had been offered a trip to Europe, would I have turned it down? Especially if I thought that I was in love? You would have had to be superhuman, Aarti."

- "But I quit school. Geetha didn't.

You

didn't."

- "Finishing school and getting a job was my only hope, Aarti. It was my Holy Grail. I

had

to get away from my family. But that didn't prevent me from making other mistakes. Plenty of other mistakes."

- "I still feel like a fool..."

- "You're very brave." I said. "You had to open up to Geetha, to ask her to speak for you. And then you opened up to me. I'm very impressed."

- "You are?"

- "Yes, I am."

She burrowed her head back into my chest, and squeezed me tighter.

- "Dan? I can finish cleaning up tomorrow. Right now I need you to take me to my room and make love to me."

***

We had a wonderful, passionate and tender night. And then several more evenings just like that. Aarti had exposed herself to me, and that was much more revealing than simply stripping off her clothes. She needed reassurance that I still liked her - that I still wanted her.

That led to long discussions, and to her asking

me

to do a tarot reading for her.

- "But... I don't know how."

- "Your energy will imbue the cards." she said. "You only have to check the book for the meanings, and then give me

your

interpretation."

I did it - for her. Aarti was absolutely delighted with the reading, and with my analysis.

She also needed physical reassurance. That led to fucking in her kitchen, long oral sessions on her couch, and a rather strenuous coupling on her carpet.

I was more addicted to her than ever, which she took as the supreme compliment.

- "The body doesn't lie." she would say.

The body would have to be dead not to respond to you, I thought. But Aarti seemed to be happy with me emotionally as well as physically (and psychically, or spiritually).

Then Freya - just being Freya - chased something into the neighbour's back yard. Whatever she was chasing (a rodent? a rabbit?) disappeared under a garden shed. Freya was delighted to have cornered her quarry.

It wasn't a rabbit.

It was a skunk.

Freya got sprayed. Part of it she took right in the face. She ran straight home. I couldn't let her in the house, in that condition. I took the backyard hose to her - which wasn't the best idea.

There are many, many suggestions for how to de-skunk your dog (never mind the tomato juice). Vinegar, baking soda, soap, and hydrogen peroxide work better, especially in combination. They all involve lots of time, shampooing and rinsing, shampooing and scrubbing.

It's not fun. That's the short version.

To make matters worse, I had a date with Aarti. We were supposed to go to an Indian restaurant which she claimed was 'super-authentic'. I had to make a quick call and cancel. I couldn't leave Freya in the house, smelling like this. Nor could

I

go anywhere, smelling as I did. I had several more dog-washing and rinsing procedures in my immediate future.

I hadn't wanted a dog in the first place. Now Freya was cock-blocking me - again. I was up to my armpits in soap and other de-skunkifying ingredients when the doorbell rang.

I closed the bathroom door on the dog, and went to answer. If it was the Jehovah's Witnesses, or the Progressive Conservatives, I was going to be severely pissed off.

It was Aarti.

- "What are you doing here?" I asked - a little loudly.

- "You cancelled our date."

- "My dog got sprayed by a skunk." I said. "Stay back - it's all over me, too."

- "I was worried..."

Aarti was afraid of dogs. She'd told me that she was allergic - a lie that I'd never addressed with her. Now she was here - to help?

- "Sweetheart." I said. "Go home, and Google 'my dog got skunked'. You'll find out exactly what I've been doing for the past few hours - and what I'll be doing for the

next

few hours. Trust me - you want no part of this."

She took my advice. It was only later that I had time to reflect: had she come over to help - or because I'd cancelled our date?

It was something that we had to address. We did, the very next time we got together, at her place.

- "I'm sorry." she said.

- "Okay." I said. "Why?"

- "I was... scared. I didn't understand why you would cancel on me at such short notice. So I came over to see what had happened. It's not very far."

- "Aarti, I told you why I had to cancel. But I'm not asking why you came over: I wanted to know why you're sorry." Yeah, I was being a little tough on her. But her reaction had spooked me.

- "I don't understand."

- "What did you do that you feel bad about? Why are you sorry?"

She hung her head, unable to meet my eye.

- "

I didn't believe you

."

You might have thought that Aarti was 18, and not 33. She'd acted immaturely, and had been caught at it. I wanted her to know how

I

felt. Never mind how silly it sounded to think - even for a moment - that I would cancel a date with her to go off with someone else.

- "You didn't trust me, Aarti. That's what hurts. I've never cancelled on you before, and - as far as I know - I've never let you down. But you came running to check up on me. It would be different if you had to come to help, but we both know that that wasn't the case."

She hung her head a little lower.

- "I'm not really allergic to dogs."