The Tryst

She never thought of herself as the kind of girl who would get laid before marriage.

She always considered herself to be decent and she sincerely believed in the doctrine she preached to her roommate. When her roommate Kaajal used to come back to the hostel in the morning and describe the apocalyptically sex-filled night she spent with her lover, she used to hear her out patiently, but at the end of it all, she used to think in her mind, “What a bed trotting tramp!!!” Once she even said it out loud profanely so much, so that it led to an immense fallout between the two. Between all the squabbling and bickering, she told Kaajal, “Marriage is a holy sacrament and I believe that sex before marriage is blasphemy. I believe that this theory is true in every religion, let alone Christianity. For me sex before marriage is an absolute no-no.”
To this Kaajal retorted, “My dear Jolene, now don’t begin to moralise. There is nothing in the whole world so unbecoming to a woman as a nonconformist conscience. Now I realize lately, but sadly why all the other girls in the hostel call you Saint Jolene. Why can’t you stop being that religious, pious, decent girl and come down to sea-level along with all of us?”
“Oh puhleese! I would rather remain isolated and lonely rather than degrade myself by associating with such cheapskates. Kaajal, you know me well enough to even suggest such a thing.”
“Gimme a break, dammit! Don’t get me started on your superficial idiosyncracies once again. Your theories seem so confounded. Lemme tell you a thing Jo – You are so goddamningly pseudo. I am not here to listen to any of your pearls of wisdom. But what I am telling you now are gritty, unassuming nuggets that you will need to experience to realize the value of it.”
“What do you mean?” asked a surprised Jolene.
“I mean to say that your theories all sound very neat on paper. But they remain what they are – theories. And that’s why they cannot be put to use in practical life.”
“In what way do you think is your life more practical than mine, Kaajal?”
“You have never known what it is to feel like when you are in love. I love Vinod – truly, madly and deeply and that’s why I make as much love with him as I can. It is a grand and the most natural way to reassure each other of the love that we feel for each other.”
“So why don’t the two of you just get married to each other, if you proclaim so much love for each other? After all, you can then sleep legitimately with Vinod!”
“You don’t realize it, Jo. Marriage is a compromise – an adjustment between two people, between their families, between their finances, between their careers, between their attitudes. There is a great deal of tight rope-walking that needs to be done before you can settle down to marry the person whom you love.”
“Kaajal, who do you think you are fooling? If marriage with your loved one can wait, then why can’t the getting-to-bed part of it wait?” She was trying her last little safe bet to help save her face in this argument.
“Well, you don’t seem to know men well enough, do you? What do you think is the fundamental difference between men and women? A woman first falls in love with a man offering her love and then with the love offered by that man. But men are so different. A man first falls in love with the love offered by a woman and then with the woman offering that love.”
“You sure seem to know men well enough!”
“Of course, I do! I have been seeing a man for the past three years. And I have to say this, all men are so daringly similar, that you know one, you know all of them. A man will never love you enough, unless you are good in bed – that’s their basic trait. And this is the knowledge that I have garnered out of years of being with a man and knowing him inside out in every sense. But how will you know that Jo, you have never known a man in any sense. And knowing you and all the issues you generally have in life, I don’t think you will ever end up being with a man. You will remain confined throughout your life in that stupid, God forsaken pinnacle of yours with only solitude to give you company.”
“That was mean”, said a startled and shocked Jolene.
“Yes, that was supposed to be mean. That’s why it worked.”
“I do not know who has said this, but whoever said this seems to know you. ‘Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and then beat you with experience.’ I am not waiting here to be pilloried any more by you.” She had lost her face badly in this argument and she could not believe that she was neck-deep in this muck. She thought that saying something mean in return was the least she could do to hold her own against her opponent.
“You can leave if you wish. But you are a good friend Jo, and I have only one suggestion for you. Loosen up a bit. Or else you will never ever be in a serious relationship. I will pray for you Jo, so that one day you find the man of your dreams.”

“The man of my dreams”, thought Jolene, as she lay there on the bed, naked, with only the sheets all hopelessly wrung between her calves. “Is he the man of my dreams?” She looked at him coming out from the restroom, with a towel wrapped on his waist. He looked even better with his clothes off. Those tanned Greek God looks, that athletically framed body, the tall lean legs, and those wiry strands of hair falling on his forehead – all in all he was a package well delivered. “But”, she again thought to herself, “Is he the man of my dreams?” This was a question she had asked herself umpteen times during the past week. She could never ever conclusively answer in the affirmative.
“This is so sad”, she thought to herself “Why can’t I feel anything for him? He seems to be so good in every respect. He’s loving, caring, has good money, always seems to be ready to spend, and above all he is extremely good looking. However, I do not get that indescribable feeling that I need to feel to enter into a relationship……. And above all if I do not feel anything for him, then why do I go around with him?” She could not answer that question.
Well, she could, but she simply despised herself when she had to admit this to herself. “I am with Anirudh only because it feels good to be seen with him. And, moreover, I had to teach that stupid Kaajal and all the other bitches back at the hostel a lesson. They think I can’t ever hook a man! Well, now, they know that I can have my cake, eat it and not even leave behind the crumbs for anyone. Anirudh is mine for keeps – and what a sexy keep he is!” Her conscience hit back at her “What a hypocrite you are!” She reasoned out with her conscience, “But I had to do this to teach that Kaajal a lesson. I have never ever lost out to anyone in my life. No one likes to be beaten. But to be beaten by a person who has always stood as a particular example of mediocrity in your eyes, to start by the side of this mediocrity and to watch it shoot up, while you struggle and finally end up with nothing but a boot in your face, to see the mediocrity snatch from you, your thunder, to be beaten, beaten badly, beaten – not by a greater genius, not by a God, but by Mediocrity – there is no torture equivalent to this. I had to do this to keep her unsanitary trap shut. Now she knows that I can also have a successful relationship. Whether or not I feel anything for him - well, that she does not need to know.”

“Ani, darling! Can I ask you a thing? What did you find in me? I mean, you could have had all the best girls in town. I am just an ordinary girl”, she said trying to herself understand the situation. She never knew what Ani saw in her.
“Well, you are so intellectually stimulating. I can talk any damn crap with you, but at the end of it all it still makes sense. Seriously, all I sought from my girl was loads of intelligence.”
“I am glad I fit the bill.”
He moved to the window and looked outside. “Ah! The full moon looks beautiful”, he said. She moved from the bed and draped herself in the bedsheet and proceeded to the window.
“It’s a beautiful sight”, she said as she gazed out of the window. “You know what Christopher Fry once said – ‘The moon is nothing but a circumambulatory aphrodisiac divinely subsidized to provoke the world into a rising birthrate.’”
“You see, now do you know why I love you? You seem to know everything about any topic under the sun. Well, who is that guy? Some Fry. So what do you say Jo, should we put into practice what your Fry fellow said.”
“Not now Ani. I am damn tired. I can’t do it again.”
“Sure, I understand. Let’s go and catch some sleep. I need to catch the early morning flight tomorrow.”
“What’s the flight departure time?” asked Jolene.
“It leaves Bombay at 8:20 in the morning for Calcutta.”
“Do you really need to go now? We have hardly begun to see each other. Can’t you postpone the trip to, say, some two weeks later on?”
“I am so sorry honey. But I had planned this trip with mom and dad to my native place months before I even knew you. I just cannot back out now.”
“Are you taking Romeo with you?” Romeo was Ani’s pet poodle.
“No, I am not. I will leave him with Sid bhaiyya. I will leave the house keys also with him. So that he can come once in a while and get the house cleaned by the maidservant.”
“You have a brother??? How come you never told me about him?”
“If you do not seem to remember, I would like to remind you that you never ever asked me anything about my family. I do not answer unquestioned queries.”
“But this is so strange. You should have told me about him. When do you intend to tell me about your brother? ”
“Well…..now.”
“Go ahead, tell me. I am all ears.”
“My brother Siddharth is married. His wife is Meera. She will also be accompanying us to Bengal.”
“That’s it? You are not telling me any more???”
“Forget it honey. How does it matter in anyway to you?”
“It sure does matter Ani. You may not realize it probably. By the way, how long will you be gone?”
“Two weeks. I will be back the week after next.”
“I will miss you honey.”
“Me too. I will call you on your cell.” Saying so, Anirudh gave her a peck on her cheek. “Just pass me my trousers.”
“Sure”, said Jolene and she proceeded to the bedside where his chinos lay. As she handed over the chinos to Ani, his business card fell out of the pockets. She picked it up and read out aloud,
“ Anirudh Sengupta,
B/39, Victor House,
Opposite Apostolic Carmel High Scool,
Hill Road,
Bandra (W)”.
“So when will you take me to your home Ani and show me around?” she asked.
“One day I will. Probably after I come back. Some day when my folks are not around.”
“Why not when they are around?” asked Jolene, obviously in a mood to get into a verbal duel once again.
“I will introduce you to them when I think the time will be right. I want them to approve of this relationship.”
“And when do you think will be the right time?”
“When I think I will succeed in convincing them that this is the best thing to happen to them, after my birth. You see, I like to succeed in everything I do, even my arguments and proposals and that’s why I have reached wherever I am today.”
“Oh, puhleese! Men are uninteresting once they succeed!”
“How tantalizing you are!”
“There is one thing, I would always like you for. You give me credit whenever it’s due to me.”
“Only one thing! And I thought I have too many bad qualities!”
“Oh, don’t be too conceited about them! You may lose them as you grow old.”
“I can never ever win in an argument with you. You have the tremendous gift of gab.”
She knew she had won the argument and that Ani was irked slightly at being discredited with a win. To change his mood, she wrapped her hands around him and said quite sweetly, “I would love to see your place someday.”
“Sure honey”, he said and kissed her. “Now go to sleep. Good Night”.

She had been out for only one night and she loved the waves she created in the hostel already. One day as she was going to her mailbox to collect her letters, she overheard two pretty young things discussing her and her rendezvous with her lover on a lonely night in some shady hotel room somewhere far away from town. She loved the effect and the thought that she was being discussed. Just to put more fuel into the fire, she turned around and told one of them, “You know what…..it is perfectly monstrous the way people go about, nowadays, saying things against one, behind one’s back that are absolutely and entirely true.” She left that poor soul agape.

Anirudh had been out for three days now and Jolene was missing him already. Not because she missed him, but because she wanted to have some more nights out and set the hostel on a tongue-wagging frenzy. It did her ego a lot of good. “These two weeks will be a long wait”, she thought.

One evening she picked up her rucksack and went to the beach to spend some quality time with herself and her books, which she had not touched for a long time. She laid down her paper mat on the sands and took out a book to read and ponder. A loud noise in the background attracted her attention. As she turned her head in the direction from where the noise came, she could see a crowd of seven middle-aged Sardarni ladies playing kho-kho. Everybody on the beach, who passed that area, were enjoying the sight of these plump ladies playing the game. Even Jolene got interested in the game. She looked around absorbing the sights and sounds offered by the tranquility of the beach. A calm breeze was blowing on her face and was leaving her hair all disheveled. She loved that feeling, the feeling of falling, falling deep into a ravine, a ravine with no bottom, like a bottomless pit, when the strong winds tore at her clothes and her hair and her face and her bright polka dotted skirt. With one hand on her hair trying to put it back into place and one hand on her skirt trying to control it from blowing up in a Marilyn Monroesque sight, she stood up and soaked in all the ecstasy of the ambience around, with her eyes shut tight.
She could see Kaajal holding a trophy aloft with all the hostel girls around cheerleading for her. It was in a small room, dimly lit with the light of a single bulb and with walls all greasy and black. The room seemed kind of foggy. She could see herself sitting puckered in a corner, with her legs drawn close to her breasts, and her chin resting on her hands which were lying on her knees. She could see her dress, a nice white gown all soaked in sweat and tears. She could not stand the sight of that bitch having from her, what was supposed to be hers. This had to stop. She opened her eyes, when she landed a big blow to that bitch and took back her trophy, which was never meant for Kaajal in the first place. She opened her eyes to a group of wide eyed street kids having a peek, from a distance at her skirt blowing in the wind. She shooed them away and settled in a cozy corner with her book.
“OUT!!!” There was such a huge cry from the Sardarni ladies that she had to again put her book back and see their play. Now they were all jumping and frolicking in the water. It was a really ugly sight, aesthetically speaking. Those short, unhandsomely fat, particularly-huge-near-the-posteriors kind of figures jumping in the water……with their clothes all on!
She turned back to her book. But she just could not pay attention to the book, when life was painted in much more vibrant and vivid colours right in front of her eyes.
A father-daughter-mother trio passed hand-in-hand besides her and walked into the water. The daughter was wearing a little black dress with gaudy floral insets. In a daring gesture, the mother hoisted her saree all the way to her knees and walked into the water. The Sardarni ladies gave her a glance that reprimanded her for showing so much flesh. But little did they realize that their salwar – kameezes made of thin polyester material, which was all soaked in water now, were showing as much flesh as the lady and in a much more awkward manner.

Some nouveau – riche guy, emboldened by his smart western apparel, tight nylon shirt with huge collars, flared synthetic trousers and high heeled plastic shoes, came and sat besides Jolene and began to stare fixedly at her.
“Move. Go. Isse pahle kabhi kissi ladki ko dekha nahin hain kya?“, she screamed in a piercing voice. A few faces turned in her direction and some guys sitting at a distance obviously realized that something could be the trouble. The guy in question, sensing that trouble was seething, looked away for a minute or two, obviously to hide his embarrassment, and then casually sauntered off. Jolene put her face back into her book and grinned to herself.
Why is it, she wondered, that all men are confident of their attractiveness and so few women are? Why would any raggedy ghaati imagine that an affluent lady of apparent sophistication would welcome his attention? It’s not simply a matter of my being alone, thought Jolene, which is certainly unusual in the Indian society. It has something to do with the difference between the way mothers interact with their sons and the way fathers interact with their daughters. Mothers carefully, diligently, constantly build the confidence of their sons. Fathers only give fitful testimony to the lovability of their daughters.
A while passed since some disturbance. She was immersed deeply in her book, when she heard someone whisper into her ear, “Akeli ho. Dosti karogi?” The voice came from such a close distance, that when she turned her face in the direction of the source of the voice, she almost bumped into the face. Oh My God, she thought to herself, when she saw the same guy whom she had embarrassed earlier, this time not alone, but with a group of similar minded, similar faced, similar dressed guys. They all looked ready to pounce on her. But she was even more shocked when from nowhere, a hand landed on her waist and snatched her from the comfortable position that she was landed in and said, “Na, hum hain na inke saath.” She tried to look at the face that mouthed those words, but the glare from the sun above blocked her vision. She tried to take the hand off from her waist, but it was so tightly held that she could not move it off, without making it seem like an obvious effort. Her mind raced at the thought of who that guy could be, but since her mind offered no answers, she thought that she would play along with the game. After all, handling a single guy is always easier, than handling these four burly chaps, she thought to herself. Lemme play along.
She smiled and looked at the four chaps, who looked obviously confused at this strange turn of events. “Aur woh bhi hain inke saath”, said the guy pointing to a group of guys seated nearby, who were all looking in their direction. Now she was all the more confused, but being a good actress, she was able to mask her confusion to conceal it from the four burly chaps. The ruffians were no less surprised, probably even more and they knew that they had put themselves in a tight situation. They looked at each other and obviously wanting to avoid a scuffle, they withdrew. They began to walk off.

The hand withdrew from the waist. She felt the masculinity of the biceps as it brushed off from her back. She put her hands on her forehead to prevent the sun’s rays from piercing her eyes as she looked at her hero. It was an attempt at failure and so, realizing this, obviously to facilitate a clear viewing of his face, the guy moved away from under the direction of the sun and a radiant smile beamed from his face. He looks neat, thought Jolene.
“You are welcome”, said her hero. The muttering of these few words by the guy in question broke the concentration with which she was evaluating him.
“Pardon?”, she asked.
“Didn’t you get the humour in my statement?” he questioned.
“I didn’t hear you in the first place, so as to understand you in the second place.”
“I said you are welcome.”
“Well, if that was in return, for the hypothetical thank you that I was supposed to say for your seemingly kind favor, then I would like to be excused, since I don’t think you deserve a thank you for the uninvited and unwelcome help, unwittingly offered by you.”
“Wow!!!! That was a lot of crap!”
“Seriously, what made you think that I would be pleased with the move made by you?”
“Nothing, just that I thought you needed some help. The scene before I broke on, reminded me of a single kitten being harassed by four German Shepherds. Anyways, now that my work has been done, I would like to take your leave since I can’t stand an ungrateful company.”
“Sure. Just remember not to barge in on any scene where you are not asked in for help. It will take you nowhere in particular.”
“Is this a mud-slinging match? I don’t know what I did to induce so much of a wrath in you. I am not waiting here any more.”

He left, jogging by along the beach. Jolene looked at the horizon and smiled at herself. I am good, she thought. What did he think? He will get me by indulging in some cheap heroism, she thought and she began to sit down. As she was sitting down, something caught her eye. She again turned her head in that direction and saw clearly. The same group of four burly guys. They could have seen her being abandoned by her supposed partner. You will have to do something quick, she thought to herself, before they pounce on you again. The other guy was still ahead, jogging and moving at his own leisurely pace. She took her bag and began jogging, following him.

“Hello”, she said as she reached him.
“I knew you would come”, he said without even looking at her.
“What made you feel that so confidently?”
“Should I turn behind and call those guys?” he asked.
“Well, are they still there?” she asked and turned in that direction trying her hand at some more acting. “Oh yes, I see them”, she said. “But I came here to apologize for my behaviour. Now that I think about it, I find it very rude.”
”You are a very spontaneous liar”, he said.
“Oh puhleese!!! I am not lying. I did not even notice them.”
“What is wrong with you? Lady, you are so weird. I am not asking you to thank me. I am just telling you to acknowledge my efforts where it was due. I can understand stupid malice. I can understand ignorant malice. But I just can’t understand this deliberate rottenness. If you are done with your apologizing drama, then you may please leave. I would like some peace on my jog back to my car.” The guy just paced up his jog and stormed away from the scene, with Jolene totally dumb founded.

She was stumped. She was snubbed. She was down. Am I losing it? But I am impressed, she thought. Not only is he charmingly cute, but he is also intelligent. And look at him……she thought and thought for long. She knew that this was it. There was something about those eyes that lacerated the soul and that devil-may-care attitude that attracted her badly. She looked at him jogging down the beach and almost about to reach a car parked at a distance. Do something now, she heard her head shout at her. Catch him before he leaves. She began to run towards him.

“You again?” he shouted. “Why in heaven’s name are you following me?”
“I am terrible sorry, but those guys are still there and they have been watching the two of us for quite some time now. They should have realized until now that we were putting up an act. So can you just drop me on your way back? Please consider this as a request.”
“You may come if you wish, but just a warning. No more of your snide remarks once you are in.”
“My word”, she said.
“Hop in.”

They drove out of the beach parking area.
“Where should I drop you?”
“Where do you stay?” she asked.
“Bandra.”
“You proceed. I need to get down on the way itself. I will tell you where to stop.”
“Ok.”
They drove in silence for some more time.
“Won’t you speak anything?” he asked.
“Well, you warned me not to make any snide remarks once I am in. So I am quite.”
“Don’t you have any regular topic to speak?”
“Well, sarcasm is the only service I offer.”
“Arrgh. You are in serious need of some therapy, girl. I feel like tearing my hair out.”
“But why?”
“Well, I am all stressed out and no one to hit, and you are still here in my face. That’s why."
“I see that some of my aura is rubbing off on you as well.”
He gave her a sideways glance that made her reconsider her decision as to whether she should go forward with her plan. She began pondering.
The rest of the drive was silent.

“I am almost nearing my place. Where should I drop you?” he asked.
“Drop me at your place.”
“What????”
“Yeah.”
The car came to a screeching halt as he slammed on the brakes.
“You may get down here”, he said.
“No. I am not. I am coming to your place.”
“Why? Don’t you have a place on the face of this earth, where human beings will accept you?”
“Please don’t raise your decibel levels.”
“Now that’s it. I want you out of my car right now”, he said. He got out of the car, went to her side, opened the car door for her and gesturing for her to get out, he said, “Get out. I won’t be taking such an ungrateful wretch in my car anymore.”
“But I am not ungrateful. I will pay you for your services. In kind.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to sleep with you”, she said.

She never thought of herself as the kind of girl who would get laid twice before marriage, with two different men.

“It was amazing”, he said.
“Yeah.” She agreed.
“You know, this is quite strange. But we have been in the company of each other for a good two hours or more, but we don’t know each other’s names.”
“Does it matter?” she asked.
“Well, it doesn’t in the least, if this was a one night stand.”
“Do you want to meet me again?”
“Only if you want to.”
“Well, let’s see…..”
She could hear a bell ring in the distance. It sounded like a school bell.
“What’s that? Is there some kind of a school nearby?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s the school I went to as a kid - Apostolic Carmel High School.”
“Which school did you say?” Her ears got curious.
“Apostolic Carmel High School. Why? What happened?”
“Nothing. Just that the name rings a bell somewhere. But I don’t remember where”, she said.
“You must have heard it somewhere. It’s quite a famous school.”
“Yeah, probably.”

She could hear another ring in the distance. It was her cell phone.
“Can you please pass me my cell?” she asked.
“Where’s it?” he asked in reply.
“Right there in my bag on the table.”
He got out of the bed and walked to the table. As he picked up the cell from the bag, he glanced at the number being displayed as the caller’s number. He had a shocked look when he saw the number. He read it out aloud. “9-8-2-1-2-4-9-8-0-7” He stood there glancing at the number for some more time.
“Will you stop staring at the cell and pass me the phone before the call gets disconnected?” she asked with obvious irritation in her voice.
He looked at her, looked back at the cell. He opened his mouth to say something. He decided not to. He closed his lips again and passed her phone. Just as the phone slipped into her hands, it stopped ringing.
“See”, she said. “I lost that call. It could have been pretty important.” She was damn pissed off.
“Who was that, if I may ask?” he asked.
“It was an important call. That was my boyfriend, the guy whom I am seeing nowadays.”
“Oh, so you are seeing somebody.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“Well, if you are going around with somebody, then why did you sleep with me?” he asked.
“Do you have any problem with that? See, I have no qualms about cheating over him. So why do you? If anybody should be having any problem, it should be him and not you.”
“Not that it bothers me. Just that I am curious.”
“Please do not ask any questions, which do not concern you in the least.”
“Well, you will be surprised when you come to know that it does concern me.”
“Oh yeah!!! Can I know in what way does it concern you?”
“Sure.”

He said, “The guy on the phone was Anirudh Sengupta, wasn’t he?”
She was shell shocked on hearing the name. She just fumbled and muttered, “How do you know?”
“Hi! I am Siddharth Sengupta.”