“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.”