‘Would one ever come to suspect the secret show?’ he thought, after reaching home. ‘No way, isn’t it all so foolproof. But what if it were to leak out later? How can I ever face my father, leave alone Roopa, if it ever comes to that? Mother, though, might understand. Won’t the old man scowl that the fair family name was soiled. What an idiosyncrasy! Of what worth is a family name, when no one had heard of it? Well, the die is cast, isn’t it? Even if I won’t play ball, the play will go on, that is for sure. Why should I be the loser, after all? Besides, won’t I have to make her rich, at all costs that is? What a lovely wife to have, how will Roopa be feeling now on the train now?’
~~~~~~
Aboard that Rayalaseema Express, entwined with her man and her mate, Roopa in the seventh heaven raved, ‘Oh, how I’ve been dreaming for our threesome in a racing train.’
‘Its time to start the game,’ said Sandhya amorously to Roopa.
‘With both of us lending him our helping hands isn’t it strange that he needs to double his effort,’ said Roopa enlacing Sandhya.
In the uninhibited union that followed well into the night, while the lesbianism of the women charmed their man’s eroticism, his libido, exhilarated by their eagerness, occasioned their gratification. While, the lovers felt equally blessed, as if the bliss of their love triangle had been seeping into her cradle as well, Saroja didn’t stir from her sleep all the time.
By the time they reached Tirupati in the morning, it was well past ten and hiring a cab, they soon set on their journey to Tirumala, the abode of Sri Venkateswara, the Lord of the Seven Hills.
‘How is it that the Lord is also called Balaji?’ Sandhya asked Raja Rao.
‘I guess,’ he said, fondling Saroja in his lap, ‘it could be to make it easy for the North Indians who find our South Indian names tongue-twisters.’
Reaching Tirumala in time, they checked into a cottage reserved beforehand. Having rested after lunch, they visited Papanasam and other places of pilgrimage on the hills. In the end, spurred on by the spiritual stimuli, they spent the night in ecstatic union before going to the temple at dawn for the thomala seva of the Lord. While Roopa thanked Him for her fulfilled life, Sandhya prayed in gratitude for His saving her man’s life besides blessing her mate’s love. And Raja Rao wished that the Lord would nourish their love for one another, forever.