"How come you are back so soon, Priya?" Jeetu asked her when he entered the house.
She smiled at him. "Meeting was called off at the last moment. And did you locate what Sunny wanted?"
"A lucky break. Met a pal of mine at the station and he was looking for a client to take his place on lease. Just the place that Sunny described. It's fabulous!"
He accepted the cup of coffee that she poured for him and they sat in the living room talking about general things like their jobs and their working hours.
"It's almost lunch time, Jeetu," she finally said, glancing at her watch. "Lets have some grub and then maybe we can talk more."
"I got a better idea," he told her. "Those sisters have gone to the farmhouse with their brother and husband. What say we give them a surprise? Let's grab some beer and chicken and join them."
Sunny had taken the station wagon, so Priya found the keys to Nitin's new Opel. She packed cold chicken in a large steel box and they bought a crate of beer from the local shop on the way to the farmhouse.
While he drove, he explained to her about the place that he had managed to get for Sunny at what he thought was for a bargain price. She told him about how her meeting had to be cancelled.
"That bitch of my MD got a call from her husband. He had just flown in and is supposed to leave within a day or two. I guess she didn't want to waste any time around the table; reckon she thought it would be more interesting if she spent it with her hubby instead."
"That's what happens when I visit home during long tours," Jeetu replied. "I seldom have a day or two between them and when I'm home, I would rather spend my time with Preeti than at the office."
"I bet you two miss each other when you have to go away for long tours, Jeetu," she said.
"You bet we do! Even though we do talk on phone almost an hour a day when I am away, it isn't like actually being together. When the tour is for more than a week, she prefers to come down here to spend her time with you folks, and that sort of comforts me."
She glanced sharply at him. They both knew that Sunny and Preeti had been real close together and at least she believed that her husband was through with those flings.
"Mind if I ask you a question, Jeetu?"
"Go ahead, Priya."
"Do you think that your wife and Sunny are behaving?"
He flushed. He looked at her for a long time before turning his attention back to the road.
"Well?"
"What do you think, Priya?"
She hesitated. "I – I really don't know. But I thought that Sunny asking you to search for a place today was a bit disturbing. He normally does these things himself."
"Sunny's a complex guy. But I don't see what that has got to do with his relations with his sisters."
"Don't you feel upset that he used to have sex with your wife?"
He hesitated. "They are a complex family, Priya. I love them for their straight forwardness. At least, I knew about them before I got married," he lied. "Did Sunny tell you about their affairs before he proposed to you?"
"I had always suspected. So I asked him before our marriage about them. Sunny did not hesitate to tell me the truth. But he also told me that having me around him meant that he no longer cared to get his sisters to screw around with him."
"And you think that they are still into it?"
"I don't know. It's just that..."
"Just what? Look, Nitin is with them and I don't think they would take a chance fooling around."
"Nitin isn't exactly a saint. I can see that he's got a eye on your wife."
"No way!" he exclaimed.
"Think about it, Jeetu. He's always staring at her when he thinks no one is looking. Trust me. Women's intuition, I suppose."
He looked forlornly through the windshield. "I guess if that's true, I certainly deserve it. I wasn't exactly a saint either. Even when I was dating Preeti, I had quite a few flings with other women. Sunny knew about it and he still knows about some one night stands I have with a few of my girl friends."
"Even now, Jeetu?"
"Especially now," he sighed. "It's extremely frustrating not to go around without any huh, sex, for such long times."
She laughed. "I guess all you guys are the same. With Sunny hardly ever having to tour like you do, we have no such problem."
"Then why do you, er, I mean, why do you think that he would need to make it out with the sisters? I- I mean you are one hell of a sexy lady and I don't think he would need anybody else."
"Why, Jeetu, thanks for the compliment!" she laughed again. "But I wonder whether you know what Sunny's appetite is like."
"Come again?" he asked.
"Aw shucks, Jeetu! Your brother-in-law is constantly in a stage of arousal! He's simply insatiable!" She suddenly realized that maybe she had said a little too much and blushed, glancing quickly at him. "Uh, I- I am sorry if I..."
He laughed. "Aw shucks, Preeti," he imitated her, "we weren't exactly talking about fairy tales. You started asking me about whether I suspect if Sunny is still involved with his sisters. I don't know about Rita, but I can't tell about my wife either. At first, I thought they were real sick. But with time, I had to accept the inevitable. They have always been a very close family, you know. And talking about Sunny's appetite, well hell, who doesn't know about it? I mean, Preeti had told me about it before."
"She did?" exclaimed Priya.