Weekend Plans & A Possible Trip

I glanced at my watch. It was near mid-night. Time to leave. I gently extricated myself from Sarika and sat up in the bed.

“What’s wrong, Trishan?” she asked.

“Nothing.” The truth was, I wished that I hadn’t had sex with her. I should have made up some excuse but it was her birthday and I didn’t want to spoil it for her. Still, anything would have been better than going through with it and then, imagining that it was Rehema who was in the bed with me.

I felt like a heel, yes, a good for nothing low-down heel. How could I be in bed with one woman and fantasize about having sex with another? I had heard of other men doing that but never once did I imagine that I would be one of them. I was no better than Daivat, Sarika’s brother-in-law. In fact, I was worse.

I climbed out of the bed and got dressed with my back turned to her. I could feel her watching me. I felt like a man who had just cheated on his girlfriend even though it was she in the bed and not another woman.

“Are you leaving now?” Sarika asked.

“Yes. I’ve had a long day and I’m tired.” It was Friday and the end of a very busy work week. I was looking forward to crashing on the weekend. I wasn’t sure that I was going to visit Aunt Savitri tomorrow or go to church with her on Sunday. Maybe I would just stay home and do nothing except read or watch television or go for a drive in the countryside or spend tomorrow in the city.

“Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

“No.”

“What about your Aunt Savitri?”

“I’m not sure if I’m going to visit her tomorrow or go to church with her on Sunday.”

“If you decide to visit her tomorrow, do you think she would mind if I come along?”

“No, she won’t mind.” It would mean, though that I wouldn’t be able ask her anything about Rehema.

“And if you decide not to see her at all this weekend, could you and I spend it together?”

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, especially not tonight on her birthday, I nodded as I buttoned my jacket. “Sure.”

She sat up in the bed, holding the sheet against her. “Trishan, I was thinking that it would be nice for the two of us to go on a trip before summer ends.”

The last thing I wanted to do was to go on a trip and I knew that it was because of Rehema. I was anxiously looking forward to when she came back from Nairobi and I could see her. I looked at Sarika. What should I say to her? That a trip would be nice? That would be a lie. Should I tell her that I would think about it when I knew that I didn’t want to go? Finally, I said, “I haven’t thought about going on a trip.” That was true. The thought hadn’t crossed my mind.

“Think about it,” she said. “It would be nice for us to get away for a while and go somewhere we’ve never been before. Maybe to another part of Europe or Asia or South America.”

“I’ll think about it,” I replied.

She got off the bed and slipped on a robe. “Call me tomorrow and let me know what you’ve decided.”

“I will.”

We left the bedroom and went into the foyer. After I put on my shoes, I faced her. “I hope you enjoyed your birthday.”

“I enjoyed it very much. Thank you for making it so special.”

“You’re welcome.”

She reached up and pulled my head down so that she could kiss me on the lips. “Goodnight,” she said softly.

“Goodnight.” I opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. She stood there in the doorway, watching me. I waved before I walked towards the bank of elevators.