The Good Wife & Mistress

Tushar could recollect every moment of that evening. In fact, that's exactly what he had done during the last couple of months. He had fought against the desire but in the end it had been too much to bear and he had taken the flight to Delhi. He didn't know whether she would agree or whether it was right to do this. They were such a nice couple...decent and courteous. They were neighbours of his son and daughter-in-law. He guessed, they were of the same age too. A caring husband with a good career, a lovely kid and a nice home...she had everything a woman could ask for. Why will she be interested in him...a old man in his sixties. Whenever he was in Delhi they would come over and meet him. In fact, Rupa came over to his son's place almost everyday and would always make it a point to include him in their chat. At times her husband, Sunny, would also drop in. It had looked so hopeless so ridiculous, but...

...the animal in him was relentless in its pursuit. No matter how much he tried, it was useless. That evening was still vivid in his mind. The way she had walked into the apartment. She looked stunning in her black long skirt and white top. The more he looked at her the more fascinated he became. She was tall, slim and long legged. Obviously she took care to stay in perfect shape even after becoming a mother. That would often set him thinking. He always thought that women seldom cared about themselves after they had kids. But she was an exception? Or was it that she enjoyed showing herself off. Was she unsatisfied with her life? Was she trying to attract men? What's the use of having a nice figure and not making it available to others? There were too many unanswered questions. It definitely looked like an opportunity. But he had to be extremely careful. He would have a tough time explaining if things went wrong.

Suddenly he had remembered Prabhat. He was a practicing psychriatrist and might be able to help him. Tushar met him in his consultation chamber. He made a clean breast of everything to Parbhat.

Prabhat had laughed. "You should be ashamed Tushar, she is much too young for you."

"You don't understand Prabhat." Tushar had been defensive. "You know better. Since when has desire been limited by age barriers? What else can be the reason for old men of my age to marry twenty year olds? Even the legendary Pele is no exception."

"You don't have to defend yourself." Prabhat had again broken into a loud laugh.

Irritated, Tushar had stood up.

That brought Prabhat back to his senses.

"Okay, okay. But tell me do you think you are still capable of having sex."

"I don't know. Ever since my wife had died I had never done it. But this girl has broken all my resolves. If she helps me I can definitely have it with her."

Prabhat was suddenly more sombre. He could understand Tushar's frustration.

"Tell me everything once again..I mean how you met her, her apparent attitude towards you, whatever you know about her."

It had lasted a whole two hours. At the end Prabhat came up with a strategy.

"Remember." He warned. "Don't ever try to hurry up matters. I don't know whether it will be of any help but maybe the try is worth it. In every married woman's mind there always that tiny spark of infidelity. It's a sort of a taboo. You need to steadily ignite that spark and the resultant fire will help you. You will have to show her the way and at the same time convince her that you are a prospective and safe partner. A number of things need to be done for that. First, try to get more acquainted with her and know her better. Agree or at least pretend to agree with all her views. Compliment her whenever you find an opportunity. As the relationship develops start complimenting her on her figure and the way she carries herself. It will subtly let her know that you are an admirer. Try spending time with her alone. Find out an alibi to take her out. If she loves to go for shopping take time out of your schedule to take her wherever she wants. Buy her dresses. I don't know her preferences as far as dresses are concerned but they should be the ones that you would like your mistress to wear...you know, the revealing types like skin tight jeans, pencil skirts or dresses with side slits. If you go to any good boutique you will find lots of them. Then may be lingerie. But never make hasty advances. Your role is to slowly and steadily enable her to comprehend that you will be the most safe and reliable partner to commit adultery with."

"Prabhat, its driving me crazy just to imagine her as my mistress. Talking of dresses that I would like my mistress to wear, I'm sure it will be difficult for me to choose one since I hate the idea of clothes hiding a figure like that." Tushar chuckled. "But why will she be interested in somebody like me when she can have scores of younger men."

"Ah! You don't understand very simple things. A relationship with you will be far less suspicious than that with a younger man. She has a happy family life and I'm sure she will never want to jeopardise that. Even if people see the two of you together they will hardly suspect that she is your mistress. There's one more thing that you need to work on. Miss no opportunity to remind her how unfortunate you have been to lose your wife at a young age and you never considered marrying again because you never wanted to neglect the kids. This will surely appeal to her. This is all I can think of now."

During his next trip to Delhi, he had strictly gone by the advice Prabhat had given him...the compliments, agreement with her views and offering to take her out for shopping. Of course, he had to be very careful to make sure that nobody else got to know of his offers. She appeared hesitant and managed to come up with excuses to turn him down. There was a definite change in her behavior too. Suddenly she appeared somewhat ill at ease whenever he was around. The laughs and the jokes were replaced by unsure glances. Was this a wild goose chase? thought Tushar. But there was one silver lining. Apparently, she hadn't told anybody about his offers.

Alarmed, Tushar had called up Prabhat from Delhi.

"Don't worry." He had assured. "She got the message. Her initial hesitance is understandable. She is not the promiscuous sort and it will probably take her some time to decide whether to go along with you. Don't worry, I guess you are doing fine. All you can do now is to keep up the chase and hope for the best. But remember, don't be hasty."

Prabhat's reassurances worked wonders for Tushar. He realised that the key was to spend time with her and taking her out would be the best opportunity to do that.

Next time he had caught her by surprise. He had called her up from his client's office at noon and offered to take her out.

"Uncle, I just can't go off like that. I have a kid to care for. Maybe, we can fix something up later. Anyway at the moment I have no plans to go shopping for clothes." The perfect little alibi again.

Fed up with her excuses, Tushar firmly exerted himself. "That's enough. I'm fed up with those excuses. The maid can take care of your son for a few hours. I will wait for you in front of our local market at two in the afternoon and you will have to come." For a moment Tushar held his breath. Was he being too hasty? She was silent at the other end...or has she disconnected.

"Are you still there?" He asked.

"Yes." He could hardly hear her.

She was a good half an hour late. But the wait was worth it. She looked stunning in her white and blue salwar-kameez. Her shoulder length bounced magnificently with her steps. Her high heeled slippers made her look even taller and alluring. Even her clothed breasts appeared more prominent. In the car she sat in one corner looking out of the window. They hardly talked. Tushar was increasingly finding it difficult to find out topics on which they could talk. There's no denying the fact that their relationship had taken an entirely new dimension.

Calm down! Calm down, Tushar chided himself. He had thought about this moment so many times over the last couple of months and there's no way he could throw away this opportunity. It was his responsibility to make her feel at ease.

Much to his relief, things started to ease up once they were in the market. She had a knack for window shopping and started enjoying that. He followed her in and out of shops selling clothes and footwear. The ice was broken and they talked freely now. She loved salwar suits and would often hold one up in front of her and ask his opinion. But he wasn't too interested in salwar suits.

"All men are same. They hate shopping." She laughed. Later in one of the shops he found what he was looking for – a pencil skirt.

He chose a navy blue one.

"What size do you want sir?" asked the salesgirl. He looked around trying to locate her. The shop was crowded and she was nowhere to be seen. He had to walk around with the salesgirl in tow. She was rummaging through children's clothes at one end of the shop. Probably looking for something for her son.

"Can you see her over there?" He asked the salesgirl. "I want it for her."

The salesgirl went over to her.

"Have you told this girl that you wanted to buy a skirt for me?" She stood in front of him, her hands on her waist.

"Yes." He answered curtly.

"But why? What makes you think I'll accept it?" She was irritated.

It was time to be firm again.

"You will accept it because I want you to. I am tired of your silly games. Now be a nice girl and allow her to measure your waist." He nodded to the salesgirl who stood a couple of paces away with an amusing expression in her eyes.

"But I don't wear pencil skirts. You need to have developed calf muscles to look good in these. I am no longer that young." She pleaded.

"Did I ask for your opinion? Do as I told you."

"But its no use buying something that I won't wear. Why are you insisting on buying it?"

"She is right, sir. But you can look for one of the long wrapskirts that we have."

Tushar was taken by surprise. The girl has realised what he wanted.

As the salesgirl walked away Rupa looked at him.

"Don't you have any senses? Now even she has started wondering." She asked.

Again, Tushar felt irritated. "Do as I tell you and there will be no cause for an argument."

"Okay; okay" Rupa hissed as the salesgirl approached them.

Rupa chose a couple from the whole lot of wrapskirts and matching tops that the salesgirl had brought with her.

"Can I try them on?" She asked the salesgirl.

"The Trial Room's over there." The salesgirl replied pointing to the back of the shop.

He led her to the back of the shop and helped her locate the Trial Room.

"Just let me see how you look wearing the one you like most." He said as she went in.

"Sir; would you like to have anything else for her?" It was the salesgirl again.

"Let her try those." He said trying to dismiss her.

"I've something that might interest you."

"No. Thanks." He replied curtly. He never liked over aggressive sales people.

"There's no harm having a look, sir."

"Here it is."

On the counter before him was neatly laid out a very brief, chocolate coloured elastic hot pant and a matching sleeveless elastic top.

They appeared too small. "Will this fit her?" He asked.

"These are skin tights. I can assure you that she will look absolutely electrifying in them."

Tushar tried to imagine how Rupa would look wearing them. Even the thought of it was enough for him to decide.

The Trial Room door opened and Rupa stepped out. She stood before him for inspection. She was looking great but still there was something amiss.

"Turn around." He said. As she stood with her back towards him, he looked at the salesgirl.

"Good. But, I had expected it to be different. I can't explain what it is."

"I understand, sir. Let me get her another top."

She brought back a similar looking top and handed it over to Rupa.

"Ma'am can you please try this one?"

"What's the difference. Even the design's the same." As it is she was irritated with what was happening.

"Ma'am, you'll see its different."

"This is getting on my nerves." She snatched the top from the salesgirl and went back to the Trial Room.

When she came out again, Tushar understood the difference. The new top was a much shorter one and barely reached the waistband of the skirt. That produced the desired effect. Tushar could feel the stir in his loins.

"This is too short. I just can't wear..." Rupa started.

"Turn around." The authority in his voice halted her in mid sentence. Meekly she turned around.

She looked perfect with the skirt hugging her figure. He found it difficult to shift his eyes from her hips. Even otherwise he could make out that she was high hipped but the way they now appeared, encased in the skirt, was stunning.

"You look absolutely stunning." He smiled at her.

"But I am not too..."

Again he interrupted her. "Can we have them packed?" He asked the salesgirl.

"But you have to listen to me. Don't I have a choice?"

Tushar didn't even bother to answer Rupa.

"Look what more she has for you."

As he held up the hot pants and the top, he could see the color rising on her cheeks. For a moment she stood looking at the garments with wide eyes, her jaws agape.

When she looked back at him, her eyes betrayed her embarrassment.

"Dhoot." She turned around and briskly walked back to the Trial Room.

"Can I have both of them packed." He turned to the salesgirl.

"Sure, sir." There was an unmistakable hint of a smile on her lips.

On the way back, Rupa again sat in one corner lost in her own world. The car was moving fast and the wind blew her hair. There was no way he could shift his eyes from her. He sat there desperately fighting an urge to grab and kiss her. The presence of the driver was the only deterrent.

The first time he could hardly hear her.

"Did you say something?" He was relieved at this opportunity to speak to her.

"Why am I doing this?" She kept on looking out of the window.

"Doing what?"

"What else...going around with you. Tell me what sort of relationship with me do you have in mind?"

"What are the options I have?"

Rupa looked at him. "The first can be that of parental affection. The second can be that of a female company. Last, but not the least, that of an admirer. Which of these do you have in mind?"

The time had come He needed to come out with his feelings for her. It was now or never. They just sat their, their eyes locked.

"It's none of them." He replied. "I want you to be my mistress."

He felt amused watching the colour rise on her cheeks and continued.

"Believe me, ever since the death of Dipak's mother nobody had affected me the way you did. You know, even at this point of time I feel like kissing you. All these years of depravation has come back to me ever since I met you."

"What do you expect from your mistress?"

"Besides the obvious, I want her to accompany me to selected private parties where men like me, accompanied by their mistresses, meet. With your looks and figure, I am sure you will be a star attraction in such parties. I am dying to see their envious looks. You will see it's a whole different world and you can have lots of fun. I am not asking you to give up your family. I know, you are too deeply in love with your husband. But you can still become the mistress to an unfortunate old man who had lost his wife at a young age and never remarried to ensure that his sons are in no way neglected. Are you listening?"

"Yes." She whispered. "But tell me why should I become your mistress? I have everything a woman my age can ask for. I have a caring husband who is also reasonably successful and comes from a well-to-do family. I have a nice jolly kid. Yet I am not being able to refuse you. Just think of it. You bought me revealing clothes that I wouldn't have otherwise bought. I know, you would expect me to wear them. Some time soon you will like to go to bed with me. Why am I feeling powerless in front of you? That is what is perplexing me." She was looking at him with wide pleading eyes.

"That's because you feel for me. You can understand my frustration. Please Rupa! Only you can help me. I need you, I desperately need you." He pleaded knowing that she was in the final moments of decision-making.

"Can you still make it?" He knew what she meant but decided to play around.

"Make what?" He tried his best to sound innocent.

"You know what I mean." She was too embarrassed to even look at him.

That was quite unexpected. After a brief pause he replied.

"With your understanding and help I can, definitely, have it with you. Rupa, please come closer, please."

"Are you crazy? He can see us." She indicated the driver.

"At least we can sit side by side. Please Rupa."

Slowly she inched closer to him till they sat side by side, their thighs touching. He took her hand and started caressing her fingers.

"You know, Sunny had been telling me for quite some time that you are my admirer. I always thought he was exaggerating. Now I know he was correct. After all a man understands another man better."

The rest of the journey they sat silently, hand in hand. Tushar knew he had won. The chase had ended. Now it was only a matter of deciding on the time and place. As they sat lost in their own worlds again, he imagined the envious look in the eyes of his friends and acquaintances as he showed off his mistress. She was by far the best amongst the other mistresses who came along and then he would casually let the others know that she had great in bed too.

She broke the silence. "We are almost home. When are you flying back home?"

"Day after tomorrow. We have to meet again tomorrow."

She nodded in response. "But I have a couple of requests. Together we need to take certain precautions. If somehow my husband comes to know of this I will not be able to give an explanation. He will be shocked and then suspicion will creep into our marriage. Please don't make me suffer."

"What do I have to do?" He asked.

"Stop ogling me and showering compliments on me. I will always try to be with you whenever you want but if for some reason I can't make it on a day don't be too insistent. You can at least do that for me."

He agreed.

"Can I get down here?" She asked. "Near the local market somebody might see us." There was alarm in her voice.

"But how will you go from here?"

"Don't worry, I will catch a rickshaw."

He asked the driver to stop. As she was getting down from the taxi he suddenly realised that he should pay for the rickshaw fare. He slipped a ten rupee note into her hand.

"What is this for?" She was taken aback.

"The rickshaw fare." He knew the resistance was on its way.

"I can't take that." She was vehement.

"I know you can pay for it yourself. But the man is supposed to take care of his mistress's needs. Unless you accept this, our relationship is not on firm footing. In fact, I was thinking of giving you a thousand rupees every month. One more thing, I will call you up tomorrow after your husband leaves to tell you when and where we will meet. You will look great in that wrap around skirt I bought you but..." He hesitated for a moment and then lowering his voice continued "... your panties clearly showed. I would suggest if you can do without them." He winked at her, enjoying the rising colour in her cheeks.

"Uncle you are just incorrigible." She said while getting down from the cab.

Tushar felt elated. He called up Prabhat to give him the good news.

Prabhat congratulated him on his unexpected success. "I had doubts whether she will agree. You deserve a pat on your back old boy. But remember, take her to bed as soon as you can. Once that is done she cannot back out." He warned.