‘But then, is this gambit worth the gain?’ he wondered at length. ‘Wouldn’t I have laid a couple of randies in their couches by now, that too with much less bother? Whatever, Sathyam is bound to have a time of his life, what with wine, women and all coming his way. If not for my obsession for his wife, he would have remained a frog in the marital well after all. It looks like it pays to have a smart wife, in more ways than one! That is because, I love Roopa as much as I could and crave for her more than I should.’
~~~~~
‘What a fool I was, being a one-woman man all these years,’ thought Sathyam, as he headed home in pouring rain that June night. ‘Does it augur well that the monsoon too has set in today? Won’t that portend women pouring in into my bed as it were? True, this Kantha cannot hold a candle to Roopa, but didn’t she set the whole bed on fire, many times over. How promising it is that the pimp told me to expect better fare in future. Didn’t he say his top drawer was empty by the time he had my requisition on hand. How nicely he had put it, in his own pimpish manner. Isn’t it time that I had my fill, having missed the fare all along? It would cost money for sure though it shouldn’t be a problem managing the moolah. Well, if only I sit a little tight on their files, won’t they cough up enough for me to maintain a harem? As Appa Rao has his guest-house all for me, can’t I look forward to having horny rides on silken curves? That is for sure.’
‘Having heard about the flesh trade all along, how I have failed to venture into it so far,’ imagining what he might have missed all through lamented Sathyam. ‘Well, in Kakinada, the Mirror House was just a stone’s throw away from my place. Besides, all swear that the bogamollu of Peddapuram are apart, with the required skills to please, acquired from the past masters. Isn’t a visit there overdue after all? Why don’t I go there in August when the climate too would be cozy? And for home consumption, can’t I give an official color to my absence?’
Thus whetted by the anticipated escapades, Sathyam made light of the accompanying impediments, ‘What if Roopa gets wind of my doings? After all, she might cry in the beginning, only to quieten down in the end, won’t she? Well, what else could she do, as it’s the way with all women? Besides, what’s her complaint about, she herself being half-hearted in bed? All said and done, don’t I owe something to myself as well?’