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.” Anirudh 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. Anirudh 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 Anirudh, so we stayed inside. There was a lull in the conversation. Anirudh started refilling our glasses. I picked up my phone and unlocked it to see if there were any messages.

“Are those your boys?” Anirudh 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????” Anirudh 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.” Anirudh 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?” Anirudh 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.” Anirudh 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. Anirudh 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. Anirudh 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 Anirudh 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. Anirudh 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?” Anirudh 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!” Anirudh 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.” Anirudh 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?” Anirudh 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” Anirudh was laughing.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” he shrugged. “But it’s true.”

Anirudh 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 Anirudh 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.” Anirudh 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?” Anirudh 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.”

“What thing?”

“That the chaste simple memsaab we see saying goodbye to her husband and seeing off her son to the school bus is just a facade. That she is a totally kinky slut. And she is completely in Sajid’s palm. She would swear skimpy clothes and fool around with Sajid in front of them. And then Sajid would take her to the bedroom and close the door and spend a long time in there. And when they came out, she always looked extra happy and blushing.”

“That is still just hearsay.” Neel shrugged.

“Shhh…let him tell his story.” Anirudh said.

“Well, here’s some actual fact. And I saw this with my own eyes.” he said earnestly. “These guys started going there everyday. Spending a lot of time there. The rumors started. Then they stopped going. I heard that there had been some kind of fight or disagreement with her.”

“More likely she lost her patience and kicked them out.” Neel said.

“No, but that’s the thing. A few days later, I was working near the compound wall. And the memsaab comes out. Except she is not wearing a sari or salwar kameez like she usually does. She is dressed almost like a school girl. Skirt, showing her legs. And a western top. She never used to come outside too much. That day she walked out, spent some time standing around, looking at the site. I think she was looking for Sajid and Rasul. But they were working on the other side of the building. She then went in. Came out again with a chair. Put it right next to our compound wall. Then came out with a cup of tea. And just sat there.”

“Oh wow! A woman wearing a skirt and drinking tea in the compound! How scandalous!” Anuj said sarcastically.

“Wait, there’s more. All of us were looking at her, admiring her beauty. She was a gorgeous lady. Soon word must have gotten around to Sajid. He came over, preening like a king. And I was very close by when he went up to talk to her. And I swear, she asked him to come by for a cup of tea. He said he was busy but would come later. And she looked so happy. Now tell me, if they were just going there for making phone calls and she was just a polite lady who let them stay…..why did she come out and invite him over? What does a young housewife need from an old laborer?”

Some of the details and the timeline of what Bhola was saying seemed a little off. But the basic gist seemed about right. After all, it had been six years. It is natural to misremember some things. After all, he had presumably seen me as well, but did not recognize me. Part of it might have been because I had put on some weight, lost some hair, and grown a beard.*

“Maybe she just needed his help to…..I don’t know….fix a leaking pipe or something. You are still jumping to conclusions.”

“I saw this and heard this, okay?” Bhola said. “And this time when he went he was there for a long time. And the other guys too. They all came back full of stories.”

“Anyone can make up stories.” Anuj said. * **

Bhola seemed to think about what to say next. And then he started narrating something that seemed completely new. And even if true, different from the timeline Purva had told me. I couldn’t be sure if this was something he was making up or if his memory was playing tricks on him. Or there was a third option. Purva had left it out. It didn’t matter all these years later. But it was interesting to listen to it and wonder.

“Okay then hear this. The next afternoon I was stuck with some work on brick laying. I needed some instructions that only Sajid had from the contractor. I looked for him but was told he was next door. He was starting to spend more and more time there. I thought I should wait for him to come back, but I had to finish my work to get paid. So I went there and knocked. Rasul came and opened the door, and was very angry to see me. He gruffly asked why I had come over without being invited. I told him what I needed and he realized it was a genuine query. He asked me to come in but wait by the door. And then he vanished through a corridor. There were two other laborers in the living room watching TV.”

“Now this sounds promising.” Anuj said.

“A couple of minutes go by. And then through the corridor that Rasul disappeared into, comes Sajid. Except he looked very sweaty and was breathing hard. And his shirt was open, like he had just thrown it on. And from his pants, it was clear that he was erect. I was so taken aback and flustered at this, I half forgot what I wanted to ask him. He yelled at me to stop staring and spit out what it was I wanted. So I told him. And he gave me the instructions I needed. I was so terrified that maybe….maybe something illegal was happening.”

“Illegal?”

“Maybe he was forcing himself on her. I got the information I wanted and almost ran back to the site. An hour later, Sajid came and watched me work. Then he took me aside and softly said not to feel bad that he yelled at me. I had just interrupted him at the wrong time. And then he said I should keep my mouth shut about everything. And if so, I would be rewarded.”

“Rewarded how?”

“Never mind that. But now tell me. I saw this with my own eyes. Not rumors. No hearsay. The man is deep inside this rich people’s house. Comes out sweating, shirt open, bulging crotch. Unless you think I myself am lying, what else does that mean?” Bhola emphatically asked, downing another drink.

The rest of us didn’t have much to say. I was thinking about what he said, and the others had started buying into the story.

“This all just sounds so astonishing.” Anuj said.

“You think I’m lying?” Bhola said loudly.

“No, no, I am not saying that. How did this ugly old man manage this? If she was some fat old frustrated lady, I can still understand. But the way you describe her….”

“Oh she was gorgeous. I can still close my eyes and see her in vivid detail. She had such an angelic and innocent face. Beautiful but also girl next door. Big gray eyes. Straight long nose. Thick red lips. And always this shy cute expression. Although she was a slut, she did not look like a slut. Except when she really got going. I still remember the first time I actually saw her engaged in such things.”

“Tell us about that!” Anirudh almost jumped up. “It’s all fine to hear about how the old guy was shirtless and sweating, but I want to hear about the hot wife.”

“I was working with a friend named Raghu on the second floor of the building. It was the side facing her house. From some angles, you could see her working in the kitchen. She would keep the windows open. before the thing with Sajid started, some of us would secretly look at her working in the kitchen and admire her beauty. Even in a sari or salwar kameez she looked so gorgeous. But when the affair started, she started closing the curtains all the time. That itself got tongues wagging. If nothing is happening, why suddenly close the curtains?”

“Maybe she noticed you guys leering and got conscious.” Neel said.

“No, saab. Give us some credit. It’s not like we would just hang around staring at her. This was just during the course of the work. Anyway, she started closing the curtains. And it was then that I was on the second floor. Raghu suddenly said, look, we can see her. I walked over to the edge and saw that although the kitchen window curtains were closed, the top was open.”

“What top?”

“You know how some windows have that small top section that opens horizontally? It was open, maybe for ventilation. And the curtain started from below it. From the ground or first floor, it didn’t really make a difference. But from this angle on the second floor, we could see part of the kitchen. And we saw part of her body working there. Under the neck up to the knees. She was not wearing Indian clothes like she usually did. She was in shorts and a skimpy top. And even from that distance, from that angle, we could see her cleavage as she worked at the kitchen counter.”

“Mmm….now we’re talking.” Anirudh said.

“So we worked, stealing glances at her cleavage and her nice round ass in those shorts. The life of a laborer is hard, so these occasional glimpses of beauty are nice to keep you going. After a while, she stopped working and walked away. When she came back a few minutes later, we could see Sajid next to her. The two of them seemed to be talking for a little while as she kept working at the kitchen counter. And then Raghu inhaled loudly. I went over and saw that Sajid had pulled her into an embrace. I was shocked. Until then I had no idea this was actually happening.”

“Wait….is this before or after the earlier story when he came to the door?” Anuj jumped in with a question I had too. The timeline seemed off.

Bhola paused and took a deep sip and stared into nothingness as if trying to remember.

“I’m not sure, saab. It has been many years. Maybe it was before.”

“Who cares?” Anirudh impatiently said. “Continue with what you saw.”

“Where was I? Oh yes….. she was in his arms. First it seemed like she was struggling, trying to fight him off, because there was a lot of movement of limbs. But then as we watched some more, we realized it wasn’t like that at all. His hands were rubbing and fondling her all over. And she was reacting with pleasure, also hugging and rubbing him back. And although we could not see their heads, it seemed like they might have been kissing. Imagine the shock Raghu and I felt. This gorgeous young housewife we had been admiring from a distance all these days was suddenly in that old fart’s arms. And seemed to be enjoying it.”

“How do you know she was enjoying it?”

“Because after a while I saw her take her top off herself.”

“You got to see her boobs?”

“Not that day.” Bhola winked. “That day she was standing such that her back was towards us. But even looking at her naked smooth fair skinned back was such a turn on. Raghu and I just left our work midway, and hiding behind a column, watched. Just watched that young hot housewife standing there in just these tiny shorts as the old laborer played with her body. You could see from how she was moving that she was enjoying all this. It was the first time that I had actually gotten visual proof of what was happening. And I knew they weren’t rumors anymore. If they were doing all this in the kitchen, who knows what they did in the bedroom?”

“Mmmmm.” Anirudh closed his eyes and smiled.

There was a slight break in the action as Anuj filled everyone’s glasses while the others used the bathroom. I was sitting in the corner of the bed with a pillow in my lap. I was doing that to hide my erection. Listening to Bhola narrate all these things….some old some new….had brought back all those memories. I knew every detail of the layout, from how the kitchen window was to how our house had that big yard to of course, how my hot wife looked. As I visualized the details of everything he narrated, it was hard not to get hard.

Finally, with some will power, I was able to make it subside and then used the bathroom myself. When I came out, Neel was standing there. He smiled and asked me in English so Bhola wouldn’t understand,

“Are you buying all this crap he’s shoveling?”

“I don’t know. Sounds a little too much.”

“For sure. But it is an entertaining story. Let’s see how far it goes.”

I picked up my glass wondering, how far will the story go indeed?

Finally our little session re-assembled. Bhola, very thin and wiry, now seemed quite drunk. He was swaying his head and seemed to have trouble keeping balance. I thought maybe we should regulate his intake a little bit before he passes out.

“So….you mentioned that Sajid promised you a reward. What was that reward?”

“Right right….so the next day…or was it two days later? Not important. I was working with Raghu, that same guy who had seen it all through the kitchen window. He was a good friend of mine, but I still didn’t tell him what I saw when I went to the house. He kept asking me again and again but I didn’t say anything. After a while, we saw Sajid walking over to that house again. So after a while Raghu says, if you’re not going to tell me, I will find out for myself. I tried to stop him but he almost ran there. I was standing by the compound watching him go there. I was sure that Sajid would beat him up.”

“Damn! More people getting involved.” Anirudh said and clapped a couple of times in glee.

“So I see him walk up to the door. Suddenly he seems a little nervous. Stands there without ringing the bell for a few minutes. But then he pushed the door and it opened. It was not locked. He walked in. I cringed, thinking the next sight I would see would be Sajid kicking him and punching him out. But nothing happened for a while. Then suddenly Sajid came rushing out of the house alone. he walked out of their gate, into our compound and asked me where the supervisor was. I was confused, and told him the supervisor wasn’t here yet. This made Sajid very angry. He turned back to face the house and we saw Raghu walking out with a smile on his face.”

“Uh oh, busted!!”

“Yeah, it was a tense situation. Sajid stood there, breathing hard in anger, as Raghu walked back. And then he angrily accused me of breaking my word and telling Raghu about the other day. I promised him I hadn’t. And was scared that I was going to get caught up in a fight for no fault of my own. I have told you already that Sajid was a bully with a dominant personality. Wel, Raghu was hot-headed as well. Neither would take a step back. As soon as Raghu came near us, Sajid let out an angry string of me-bhen curses. Raghu responded. A few of the workers stopped working and staring. Rasul had also come to support his uncle. It seemed like things were about to blow up. So I decided to step in and calm things down.”

“Bhola the mediator!”

“Hehe, saab, someone has to keep the peace. I told the guys let’s not fight in front of everyone. Let’s discuss this quietly in private. So we decided to go up to the empty 5th floor and talk. Sajid and Rasul, accompanied by their 3 chamchas. And Raghu and myself. As we walked, Raghu excitedly whispers to me, I saw her tits I saw her tits. I told him to shut up. When we reached up there, Sajid and Raghu yelled at each other. Sajid accused him of lying and trying to muscle in on his action. Raghu replied saying, you disappear for hours to play with that slut while we have to do your work, and you won’t even share her with the rest us. Only with your nephew and friends. Sajid said she is not some whore to be shared, but a nice lady. And so on and so on. They kept yelling and trading bards.”

“Women….always causing fights between men.” Neel sarcastically said.

“Anyway, luckily things calmed down after a while. And thankfully, there was no violence. Then the two of them started discussing things maturely. Sajid agreed that yes, he had gotten so caught up in that gorgeous vixen that he was ignoring his work which wasn’t fair on the rest of us. But at the same time, he wanted everyone to understand that memsaab, while slightly bold and adventurous, was not some two bit whore. he said that as long as we stuck to some basic ground rules, we could have a little bit of fun. But we should stay within our limits. All these discussions and negotiations took a while, and peace was achieved.”

“So wait….what were the rules exactly?” Anirudh asked.

“Most importantly, to realize that when it came to sex or anything like that, she was solely Sajid’s property. In that regards, the rest of us were not to try anything untoward, or things would get really nasty.”

“Damn, possessive!”

“He then said she liked being exposed to a small audience. But she was still a nice decent lady. So no one was to talk to her directly. She might be okay with flashing her boobs and letting us have a quick grab and fondle, but that’s it. Don’t scare her by treating her like a brothel whore. Be respectful, he said. And most importantly, he said not to spread this around any more. Too many people knew already. We all agreed. Then Raghu said, he got only a quick glimpse of her boobs. He wanted to see them in detail. Sajid smiled and told Rasul to take him over. And then he set a schedule of when the rest of us could go for the same.”

“Wow!”

“So you see…..that ended up being my reward. This gorgeous high class housewife’s boobs.”

He smiled happily. I looked at him, thinking, this narrative did fit with what I knew. I just had not known the side story of how and why it happened.

“Wait….whaaat? You got to see them yourself?” Anuj exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place instead of all those other stories?”

Bhola just smiled and leaned back in his chair, holding his whiskey glass.

“You gents weren’t believing me when I told you all those other simple stories. You would have believed me if I told you that right away?”

As I looked at him, I wondered what his underlying reasons were. Maybe he was just opening up slowly, giving more and more details as he got drunk. Or maybe he was just enjoying being the center of all the attention and embellishing the truth by inserting himself into incidents that he only heard about. There was no way to know. I knew Neel still felt this was a tall tale. Anirudh seemed to be really into it and want to believe it. Anuj seemed neutral.

I was the only one there who knew that the basic story he was telling us was true, even if the details might be somewhat inaccurate. Or at least I thought the details were a little bit inaccurate. How could I know? I only knew what Purva had told me. It was very possible that she had not told me the whole story. I realized that I had been only listening, not saying much, so I spoke up.

“Tell us, then. What happened next? What was your reward?”

Bhola took a long sip and looked at us happily. He definitely was relishing having us all hanging on his every word.

“So…..Raghu went there with Rasul. And was gone for a long time, over half an hour. When he came back he looked so happy. We had to get back to work. So we did that and then I asked him to tell me what happened. First he teased me, saying I didn’t tell him my secret when I had it, so why should he tell me his secret? I cajoled and begged and he finally started talking. Here’s the story he told me, okay. I don’t know how true it was. But here’s how it went.”

“Why do you think it wasn’t all true?” Anirudh piped up.

“Just listen. So here’s what he said, after making me promise not to tell anyone else. He and Rasul went there and rang the bell. Memsaab opened the door completely naked. She blushed on seeing them, but let them in. Then they both played with her tits and ass happily for a while. Then Rasul told her to make tea for them. And the memsaab, still naked, made tea while the two of them took turns playing with her tits. Raghu said she hugged them both many times, and they both played with her wet cunt. Then the tea was made. She served them the tea naked. And then sat on their laps naked as they drank the tea and played with her.”

“Fuck man, that is hot!!!” Anirudh said with some emotion.

“But you think that wasn’t true?” Anuj asked.

I was going to ask that if he hadn’t. From what I knew, things unfolded a bit differently. The idea that at that time, Purva was just happily prancing around naked in front of all and sundry, letting them finger her cunt, sitting on their laps…..seemed a bit much. It just did not gel with her personality.

“Who knows? I think it was very much exaggerated.” Bhola said.

“Why?”

“Because when my turn came, things were a little different.”

“How so?”

“A couple of other guys visited her, came back soon looking very happy. An hour or so later, Sajid came up to me put his hand on my shoulder and said, if you want to go and enjoy yourself, you can, her door is unlocked. Just be nice. So I washed my hands and face and walked to the yellow house. I was feeling very nervous. I was a young man and still a virgin. The idea that the hot memsaab would welcome me into her home naked like Raghu said, was like a dream come true. When I went there, my heart was pounding against my chest. The door was ajar. I walked in. The house looked big and nice. I took a few steps and walked into the living room. And there was memsaab, lying down on the couch with her arm on her forehead and her legs spread.”

“Naked???” Anirudh was so excited.

“No, not naked. Wearing a tank top and shorts. Her eyes were half closed. Her face was sweaty because it really was a hot day. And honestly, she just looked…..tired. When I walked in, she opened her eyes and looked at me with a blank expression. Didn’t say a word. I didn’t know what to do. At that point of time, I had just heard what Raghu had said, so I expected her to be this willing and welcoming naked lady. Instead she was lying there almost motionless. I stared at her for a few seconds. Her top was drenched in sweat and I could see her nipples poking against it. I looked at her soft creamy legs extending out of her shorts and spread wide.”

“You fucked her!” Anuj said.

“No, saab.” Bhola said sharply. “I was just….confused. Finally she said in a tired voice, why are you here, did Rasul send you? I didn’t know what to say. She then said, if you are here for what everyone else has done, just get it done with, I am too tired from kitchen work right now. And then she quickly pulled up her top to expose her tits. Oh god, such beautiful tits I have never seen even in porn magazines or video clips. Big, perfectly shaped, with nice erect nipples. She was lying on her back, so they were sort of hanging off her sides a little bit. But they still looked perfect. Instantly I got on the floor next to her and grabbed them. She looked into my eyes with that tired expression and I held one boob in each hand and massaged them. Then she sighed when I licked her nipples. And her breathing seemed to get a little heavier as I kept playing with her boobs. Occasionally I ran my hands over her smooth flat stomach. That made her shiver. I tried to put my hands into her shorts but she sharply said ‘NO’ so I didn’t. Then she said, okay, enough, I have to get back to the kitchen. Obediently, I stood up. She rolled down her sweat soaked top and went to the kitchen. And I went back.”

Everyone heard that slightly anti-climactic narration.

“That actually sounds…..believable.” Neel finally said.

“Well, it should, because it is true.” Bhola said. “Her attitude was so tired and disinterested that I was sure Raghu had been lying.”

“Or maybe she found Raghu handsome and you ugly.” Anirudh said, and we all laughed, even the young driver.

“So tell me, Bhola. You said she was a housewife. Didn’t her husband find out?”

“No, he was too busy with work I think. We barely saw him. He used to leave for work early, and sometimes even go to work at night.” Bhola said.

“Ooooh….surely there are a lot of stories about what happened when he went to work at night.” Anirudh said, excited.

Bhola looked at him and smiled. Then he looked at all of us.

“Another drink?” he held up his empty glass.

“Maybe you should take a break.” I said, not wanting him to pass out.

But Anuj was already refilling his glass. Bhola took a sip and continued.

“There is one interesting story like that. After her husband went to work at night.”

As soon as he said that, I felt a pit form in my stomach. For six years, I had wondered what happened on those nights that I had to go to office to attend calls. Purva always assured me that nothing happened. Apu was home after all, she indignantly said. What could she do. But her refusals had always struck me as a bit disingenuous. Now maybe I would find out something new. So I waited intently for him to elaborate.