It was raining heavily as I drove my new Scorpio ( Indian s.u.v) on the deserted road. I was on my way from Mount Abu to Udaipur after a business meeting.
The sky was dark; the clouds had covered the sun and turned the day into the night. I was cruising at a steady speed enjoying the beautiful scenery and my Scorpio.
As I reached one of the villages en route I realized that I had no cigarettes left. I slowed down a bit and tried to locate a cigarette vendor. Soon I located a small shop near the road side. It was still raining heavily.
I got down and rushed to the shop and bought myself a pack of cigarettes. As I was about to leave the shop I saw a familiar figure at a distance. Yes, it wasn’t a mistake I recognized the figure. It was Mrs. Sapna Sharma.
She lived a few blocks from my house with her in laws and we knew each other through some common family friends. Her husband worked in the merchant navy and was away, mostly on the ship. She was a teacher in this village and commuted daily to and from Udaipur.
We met quite often during festivals and marriages. She was a few years elder to me. I was 25 and she was 32 and so I never had any wrong intentions about her and neither did I look at her that way.
Although I was a silent admirer of her beauty and never missed any chance to talk to her and be with her. In fact I enjoyed her company. She was a frank lady and she also liked my company. We had even shared some adult jokes via SMS but never face to face.
As I walked towards her she looked at me in a surprise and asked me what I was doing in that village. I told her my reason of being there and asked her the reason of her being there. She was standing there waiting for the bus. I asked her to join me if it was not a problem with her. She accepted it readily, as my Scorpio was a much better option than the bus.
We rushed towards my Scorpio which was not to far. Once inside we were relieved. I turned the key and felt the 2.4 liter turbo charged engine roar underneath. The sound and power of the engine has a hypnotic effect on me. I often feel a high whenever I am behind the steering wheel of my vehicle.
Once we crossed the village I felt the urge to smoke. I asked her hesitantly whether she would mind my smoking. She gave a naughty smile and said I was a grown up man now. As she said it she stroked her wet hair, sending sensations down my spine.
I lit the cigarette and took a deep puff. I exhaled the thick smoke and saw from the corner of my eyes that she was staring me. I was kind of embarrassed as this was the first time I was smoking in front of her.
I kept on smoking and we started to chat. She said she had no objection from my smoking as her hubby also smoked and that she often felt the taste of cigarette when her hubby kissed her after smoking.
WHAT? Did she say her hubby kissed her? I was not expecting her to say such a thing in such a casual manner as we never had such type of discussions earlier. I asked her to repeat what she had just said. She said she felt the taste when ever their tongues met.
Now this was too much for me to digest. Did she intend to start some hot conversation? I was not so sure so I just smiled in return and kept on smoking.
She now started to talk about my personal life. She enquired whether or not I had a girl friend and what were my plans for marriage and so on. I told her I had no gal friend and that I was not ready for marriage as yet. Although I was going steady for more than six months now and besides I had a few affairs here and there.
She gave me yet another stunner. She told me that a guy of my age without a girl friend and not ready for marriage was most probably a gay if not some of his vital organs are malfunctioning.
I couldn’t stop my smile and replied that neither I had any tendencies nor any of my vital organs was malfunctioning. She laughed in return.
I was busy driving and she was fiddling with my cell phone. Suddenly she started to read the jokes that were inbox. Now let me tell you, you can’t expect decent jokes in a guy’s cell phone.