That night when I reached the gas station, I was relieved to see Jill at the counter. Oh thank god she was back. Now Troy could focus his attention on her and leave me alone. I greeted her with a little too much enthusiasm and it surprised her.

"Good to see you too, Sav." Jill said, squirming uncomfortably in my tight embrace. I had never hugged her before.

"I am so happy you're back." I said, letting her go.

"Couldn't stand this place without me, eh?" she said.

"You have no idea."

That night things seemed to go back to normal. Troy seemed to have taken my refusal from the previous night in his stride and he got back to focusing on Jill. They took lots of breaks, maybe to make up for the previous night, and disappeared for their tree-side romps three times that night. I was happy to ignore them and focus on my book. The night went by uneventfully and I was glad things were back to the way they were supposed to be. The next few nights also went by like that and I almost forgot my kisses with Troy as if they had been part of a bad dream.

"Patel wants to see you in his office." Jill said without taking her eyes off the tabloid as I walked in for the shift about a week later.

"He is here?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah. In his office." she said.

I was surprised. Pareshbhai had never been around at night since Troy started working. In fact he hadn't been in town too much, spending a lot of time in Savannah for some work related to his other gas station. And even when he was around, he had never really called me to his office for anything. I knocked on the door.

"Savitri, yes come in please." I noticed the absence of his usual 'dikra' while addressing me. I thought he had forgotten. "Please close the door and have a seat."

I walked in to see Pareshbhai looking at his computer monitor intently with the mouse in his hand. I closed the door as per his instructions, and sat down in the chair in that tiny office space.

"Just give me a second." he said. I sat in silence for a couple of minutes as he kept working on the computer. "Ok done. Yes."

"Yes Pareshbhai?" I said, smiling politely.

"So Savitri. How are you doing?" he asked smiling broadly. Again, no dikra, I noted, my sixth sense tingling a little.

"I am fine."

"You enjoying work here?"

"Yes, it is good."

"And how is Vinit?"

"He is fine too."

"Lot of work, is it? Very tired with work?"

"Yes, he does keep busy." Where was this going, I wondered.

"How are you two doing? I mean marriage wise?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Happy marriage? You happy with him?"

"Yes, I am very happy with him." I said, now thoroughly confused.

"He keeps you happy?"

"Yes, he keeps me happy."

"He keeps you........satisfied?" Pareshbhai asked taking a pause and then breaking out into a suggestive grin.

I stayed silent and frowned at him.

"Well, does he keep you satisfied?"

"Pareshbhai, I don't know what has gotten into you. What sort of question are you asking me?" I said, offense showing on my face.

"It's a simple question, Savitri. Does you husband keep you satisfied?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Because it seems like he does not."

"What???" I said loudly, getting off the chair.

"If he kept you satisfied, you would not have affairs with men."

"What nonsense is this, Pareshbhai? I am a happily married woman. I am leaving!" I said, pushing the chair back in anger. I turned around to open the door and storm out when he said,

"Does a happily married woman do this?"

I looked back and he was turning the monitor screen towards me. I watched the scene on it, my heart sinking. The picture was in black and white and was grainy, like surveillance camera pictures usually are. It had been captured by the camera placed inside the store, pointing towards the counter, and thus also capturing the spot outside the glass door.

Troy was standing there smoking a cigarette. Then I came into view. I got on my toes and raised my face towards his. A few moments later I pulled his face down and kissed him. As the tape rolled I realized how long the kiss had lasted.

"I can explain." I spluttered, taking my hand off the doorknob.

"I don't think there is any need to explain." he said. "You are having an affair with Troy."

"No I am not. This was just a mistake."

"A mistake? So you accidentally pulled his face down and kissed him for almost two minutes?" Pareshbhai said, sounding like a cross-examiner.

"No, it's a long story. You see, Jill and Troy."

"Jill? Don't bring that poor girl into this. She wasn't even at work that night."

"No, but it is Jill and Troy who are having an affair."

"What nonsense! You and Troy are. Now I know why when I told you Jill wasn't coming, you asked if Troy would be there."

"Please! I swear. This was a stupid mistake. A one time thing only."

"A one time thing only?" he said and reached out for the mouse. He opened on another file and it opened, showing me locking the door and walking away. It was from the first night Jill hadn't come. "You are not supposed to lock the store, even if it is for having sex somewhere with your boyfriend."

"I wasn't having sex with him."

"Really? So why is it that you come back..." he moved the cursor on the media player window "..a good fifteen minutes later. And he comes in right behind you. And it seems like you are having some sort of a lover's tiff."

"Lover's tiff? Please Pareshbhai...." I started and then stopped. I glared at his smiling face for a few seconds and said, "Anyway, it is not any of your business."

"None of my business? When you are leaving my store closed, costing me business, to go have sex with your lover, it is my business that suffers."

"I don't want to explain myself to you. I am leaving. Consider this my resignation." I said haughtily, getting up.

"Resign if you want. I don't care. I am going to call Vinit and show this to him though." Pareshbhai said, playing his trump.

"No." I said, the haughtiness leaving my voice. "Don't do that."

"Why not? The poor guy seems to be slogging his ass off at work, and here it seems like his wife is letting any Tom, Dick and Troy fuck her in the ass. Even an ex-convict."

"An ex-convict?" I asked, recoiling in horror.

"Yes, that's why he is so qualified to guard this place at night. He has been to jail a few times. He is reformed now. But still, letting an ex-convict fuck you in the ass..."

"He has not fucked me in the....he has not fucked me at all!"

"So when you took off after locking the store. Or later when you disappeared again for a long time, were you two playing cards?" Pareshbhai asked in a menacing voice.

"No, it was not that."

"Shut up! I have gone back and forth with you long enough. Sit down!" he said, raising his voice. I meekly sat down on the chair. "Now, do you want your husband to see all these clips? Do you?"

"No."

"Then you understand that I want something in return."

"I will work for you without any pay." I said, trying to appeal to his commercial side.

"Oh come on. You know I am going to want something more than that."

"What?"

"I am an old man but I have needs." he said, winking.

"Pareshbhai! Please!" I said, shocked.

"Oh don't act so shocked. Your name might be Savitri. But as we know, you're no Sati Savitri."

I couldn't say anything in response. Instead, I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Oh don't try the crying drama on me." Pareshbhai said. "Stop acting like your honor is at stake. All I am asking is that I get what Troy gets."

"But Troy doesn't..."

"I don't need to know what you and Troy do. All I want is you. To myself. One night."

"I can't. Please Pareshbhai, believe me, I have never slept with Troy. Just kissed him a few times."

"A few times? First you said it was a one time mistake." he said triumphantly.

"Please. Don't do this. I will do anything you want. Anything else." I said.

"Savitri, this discussion is going nowhere." he said grabbing his forehead with his right hand. "Let me make it plain and simple. You do what I want. And you know what that is. One night. Tomorrow night. After that, I delete the files. If you refuse, I will show all these clips to Vinit. The decision is up to you."

"Please..."

"Stop with the pleading. It won't work. Tomorrow night, same time, I will be here. I want you to come dressed in a sari, with a sleeveless blouse. No pants or tshirts or anything. A nice sexy sari. If I see you dressed in a sari, I will take it as a yes from you. If not, well, Vinit will be there to drop you off anyway. I will just take him to the office and show him the clips."

"But Paresbhai."

"You may go now." he said with a note on finality.

I got up and walked outside, feeling as if an atom bomb had been dropped on my life. The tension on my face must have been evident, because Jill saw me and asked,

"Are you okay, Savvy? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine." I said getting behind the counter.

"What did he say to you? Did he do something?" she said, getting worked up.

"No Jill, it's fine. Please, mind your own business." I said in a rude tone that I immediately regretted. Jill looked taken aback because I had never spoken to her like this. She also seemed hurt. It seemed like she was going to say something in response, but she stopped herself.

We both got to work, serving the customers, without talking to each other. But I kept trying to compute the calamitous trap i found myself in. What could I do? If I refused to go along with Pareshbhai, he would show all the clips to Vinit. And Vinit would also conclude that I had been sleeping with Troy. My absences on the tape for long time clearly suggested that. On the other hand, giving in to Pareshbhai. Yuck! It made me almost retch at the thought for a variety of reasons - being unfaithful to my husband, with a man much older than me, whom I had been thinking of so far as some benevolent uncle, and who was old, fat, bald and ugly.