A Small Indiscretion Ch. 02

The meeting with Luke was short but satisfying as the doctor preferred that his patient got as much rest as possible. Luke's face lit up on seeing Dave.

"Hi, Chief," he said with a small wave with his right hand.

"Luke, the guys have been telling me that you have been missing your missus a lot... and you suddenly decided to high tail back home by jumping off the first floor," said Dave in a jovial tone, but his eyes showed the concern he was feeling for his worker. The fact that Luke missed his wife whenever he was on duty away from home was an open secret.

Luke smiled. "I think it's working out fine. She has taken leave from her office and will be joining me here... I sure will be saving on my mobile bill."

"Next time you start missing her that much, just give me a call and I will make sure Scotty gives you a couple of days off," replied Dave with affection, giving Luke's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

They smiled at each other. Luke was an experienced hand.

"Chief, I will be back in a week's time or so, but that was no accident. I swear I heard the sound of running footsteps before that stack of construction material came crashing down."

"Now why would somebody want you out of the way?"

"I don't know, Chief, that's for you find out. As far as I'm concerned, I'll be back with a vengeance in a week's time."

"I will be doing just that, Luke, I promise you that," shot back Dave with an edge to his voice.

The nurse came in just then, and Dave took his farewell from his worker.

Dave sat silently in his car as Jim drove at a steady pace. In an hour's time he would be touching his in-laws' place. He went over the events of the day in a chronological sequence. Luke did seem to be convinced that it was no freak accident. He had himself inspected the entire construction site on the pretext of a review of the inventory storage and handling procedures, looking for something, anything that could raise a suspicion.

Dave decided that he would be spending more time at the site, especially during the night shifts. He had not yet spoken to Sherry. He was waiting for his medical report on social diseases to come in. Hopefully his wife would also simmer down... as of now her Irish blood was on the boil. He didn't blame her for that... he himself wouldn't have been exactly ecstatic on his wife coming home from a tour and confessing to a one night stand with a total stranger.

He picked up his mobile and called up Mother O'Brien to inform her that he would be reaching their home in an hour's time. Then he shut his eyes and let his body relax.

Neither he nor Jim noticed the beat up Ford pick up following their car at a safe distance behind them.

As Jim drove towards the O'Brien's house, another gathering was taking place at Dave's home. Cyndi had been with Ma Harding for almost an hour before Sherry joined them. Sherry was delayed because she was caught up in a story. Although she had already read the interviews with the victims of parental child abuse and the various medical therapies put forward by various professionals, she still wanted to review the CDs of the interviews, just to make sure the transcripts had not left out anything important.

But her mind was not on her job. She had told Cyndi that she would be joining them late but finally she decided to just take a copy of the CDs home with her. She would finish the work in the night after Cyndi had left and DJ had been put to bed.

Sherry reached home to find Ma and Cyndi in the living room with DJ glued to the TV set, watching a cartoon show. She made herself comfortable besides Cyndi as Ma Harding placed her drink on the side table.

"How was the day baby?" asked Ma Harding with a worried look on her face.

"Oh I guess I earned my salary for the day. The parental child abuse story is all set to hit the stands. I just want to go through the interviews once again to make sure we haven't missed out anything," replied Sherry in a tired voice as DJ came rushing into her arms.

Ma Harding nodded sympathetically. She watched her daughter-in-law's face closely. There were dark circles around her eyes and her face had gone all puffy. She wasn't getting much rest... and her son hadn't exactly been doing anything brilliant these past few days. Where had she gone wrong in her son's upbringing?

The three chit chatted about trivial matters until DJ decided to catch up on his cartoon show and plonked himself in front of the TV. Sherry looked on with a loving smile as he clapped his hands and made gurgling sounds of delight.

"He must be missing his father," said Cyndi, "What did you tell him?"

"Just that father had some work to do."

"Sherry, it was a mistake committed in drunken stupor," said Cyndi gently, bringing the main agenda of the meeting to the forefront.

"How could he do that?" whispered Sherry.

Sherry bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheek. If indeed this was his first indiscretion then Susan would now be the second woman with whom he had slept. All along it had only been just the two of them. The very thought made her feel like throwing up... her Dave!... Oh, how could he do this to her.

Her mind went back to her school days. She and some other girls had been watching a porno CD. The stud in the movie was fucking a couple of sexy bombshells. Priscilla had hitched up her skirt and had been openly playing with herself.

"Hey you would like to switch places with those girls wouldn't you?" Sherry had playfully teased her.

"Naw... not that stud with his medically stimulated dick, I was thinking of Dave," Priscilla had replied in a hoarse voice as she continued rubbing herself.

Sherry smiled. She had gone ballistic on hearing her friend's reply. She had grabbed Priscilla by her hair and given her a good piece of her mind. After that incident Priscilla had always avoided Sherry and Dave.

"Look Sherry, if Dave had been a womaniser then he couldn't have kept it hidden from us in the office all these years. In fact there are quite a few pretty faces in our office but I have never seen Dave cross the line. In course of time we all get to understand each other's nature, working style."

Sherry nodded. Cyndi had a point there. So was it indeed his first misdemeanour?

"Sherry, many a men immediately strip a woman naked and imagine how she would look naked the moment they set eyes on us. We women adapt to such situations. Mother Nature has prepared us well to deal with such situations should they arise, otherwise we would find it impossible to move out of our homes. And I, for one, can say with complete conviction that Dave's eyes have never strayed... and hey I am definitely not down the hill am I?" said Cyndi with a smile.

Sherry winced. Although Cyndi had made her pact with Sherry some years back, Sherry always felt a twinge of jealousy. Cyndi was not only attractive but also intelligent, complimented by a gracious nature... just the type of girl her Dave would be attracted to. Perhaps in Cyndi she always saw her own personality.

And that brought her to Susan. How did she look? Was she also in the same league as herself and Cyndi? Or was she one of those women on the prowl?

"Cyndi, even if I were to forgive his shortcoming, it... it is the breaking of the trust I have always had in him... oh, I just don't know... "

"Baby, supposing Dave had got waylaid and mugged or God forbid, he was diagnosed with something like cancer, then what would you have done? Shown him the door just like you have done because he broke his trust of always being with you?" said Ma Harding.

"Nothing like that is gonna happen to Dave," retorted Sherry quickly on hearing Ma Harding speak about terminal diseases.

Cyndi smiled. As long as Sherry continued to care for him, there was hope.

"But then, just for argument's sake, that would be different," continued Sherry with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Oh you mean since it does not involve his... huh little fella, it's kinda okay with you and you will stand by him," retorted Cyndi, standing up in defence of her boss.

Sherry's temper began to rise. She gave Cyndi a withering look. Cyndi returned her gaze without a flicker.

Ma Harding looked on worriedly at the two sparring women.

"Look girls, I have heard about drinks making men do funny things, and Dave has had his share of problems with the bottle. Do you remember, Sherry, he lost control of the car while driving and swerved off the road? Luckily nobody was seriously hurt!"

"I bet that hussy spiked his drinks," retorted Cyndi.

"Did you ever speak to Dave about his drinking habit?" continued Cyndi.

Sherry's silence more than answered her question.

Cyndi rolled up her eyes and shrugged.

"Anyway he was honest enough to accept that he had done something wrong. He could have kept quiet and denied the whole thing when Susan had rung up. In fact he could have lied and said that she had been coming on to him and he had turned her down and now she was being just spiteful," commented Cyndi thoughtfully.

"My boy would never lie, especially to Sherry. Lying doesn't run in our blood," retorted Ma Harding in a firm tone with just that little hint of pride.

Sherry silently acknowledged to herself that perhaps Dave had been telling the truth when he said that it had been the first time.

"Have you spoken to him after he moved out?" asked Cyndi.

"First of all, he hasn't moved out. I... I was feeling so hurt that I just couldn't bear to be in the same room as him," sobbed Sherry.

"I think you should not cut him off completely. Talk to him, in fact call him over to meet DJ... let him understand just what he now stands to lose because of what he has done," said Ma Harding.

"Ma is right, you two should have a serious talk on why it all happened," said Cyndi.

Sherry nodded her head.

"He is supposed to call me up once the medical reports come in," she replied.

"Good, then wait for his call. Till then let him stew in the soup he has made," said Ma Harding firmly.

The three women sat silently for some time, lost in their own thoughts. Then Cyndi got up and walked over to DJ and sat beside him on the rug.

Sherry watched Cyndi play with her son. Their kids were in the same age group and they had often called over each other's family for get together at their respective houses.

"How's Luke doing?"

"He should be back in a week or ten days. Dave visited him in the hospital. But somebody complained to the City Council about our safety standards. Their representatives will be visiting the Orbit site tomorrow."

Sherry tensed. She could just well imagine how worked up Dave must be.

As though on cue, her mobile rang. It was Dave.

"Hi," she said tentatively.

"Hi Sherry. Some work had come up at the Orbit Mall and since its getting late I thought I will drop in at Mother's place. It's been quite some time since we last visited them," said Dave.

He had deliberately rung up his wife to let her know his plans. There had been enough goof ups already and if she were to get to know through somebody that he was not spending the nights at the apartment, then it could create more distrust. And he had knowingly used the word "we", just his way of sending a subtle message across to his wife.

They talked for a few more minutes. Dave asked about DJ while Sherry told him to look after his health. Then there was a momentary silence, neither of them wanting to be the first to close the call. Finally Dave wished her good night as his in-laws' home loomed into view.

Mother O'Brien was at the door even before he rang the door bell. She embraced him tightly and then led him inside.

"I have prepared your favourite Mexican dish," said Mother O'Brien as she continued affectionately to hold his arm.

"How about some whisky, son," called out Sherry's dad in his booming voice as he came over and gave him a bear hug.

"No, Dad, I think I have had enough of hard drinks and their aftermath to last a lifetime. I think I will settle for a beer."

"Good decision, son. If you can't hold it then you may as well let go... it's difficult but one has to try," he replied.

The two settled down in the living room. Dave began telling all about the upcoming project and the problems they had been facing. His father listened to him attentively.

"Dave, I have a feeling these accidents are not so straight forward as they seem. I think somebody is trying to sabotage your work. It could very well be the work of one of your competitors. Just watch your back," he said sombrely.

Dave made a mental note of personally going through the work profile of all the hands hired by them in the recent past. They had all been recommended by the employment agency they contracted. A very respectable employment agency too, but then, there was no harm in checking them out personally.

The City Council inspectors were going to visit the site the coming Monday. Somebody had tipped them off about Luke's accident. Dave had already doubled the security guards to ensure no outsider walked in unnoticed. More supervisors had been brought in from the nearby project. That should satisfy the inspectors as far as the technical expertise for safe working was concerned. But it wasn't going to be an easy task to completely mollify them.

It was going to be a tough day tomorrow. Jim had booked a room at a nearby motel and he would bring about the car early in the morning. Dave would have to get up early, check the mails forwarded by Cyndi, and then dress up and rush to the site. It was a good thing he always kept a change of clothes with him at the office. That was a habit he picked up during his early days in the office when he would work in the day time and then rush to catch an afternoon flight.

"C'mon, boys, dinner is getting cold," called out Mother O'Brien.

The talk over the dinner was light hearted. They talked about everything under the sun except Sherry and him. Dave felt grateful for that.

Mother O'Brien looked on fondly as the two men continued to talk about office, politics and then sports. She watched Dave stressing a point with his father in law. Dave had been over for dinner so many times, right from the days when his head barely cleared the table top. Their families had always been close and it had not been without a little hope and anticipation that the two mothers had seen their children get drawn slowly towards each other. A family union and grandchildren with their blood flowing in their veins would be the Lord's ultimate gift to their two families.

Dinner over, the two men got up and made their way to the back porch with their coffee mugs. Mother O'Brien refrained from joining them. She and her husband had talked about this, and anyway she had to prepare something for Dave as he would be leaving early next day.

For some time the two of them stood silently, enjoying the cool, evening breeze. Then Dad cleared his throat before speaking up.

"Look, son, we don't live in Victorian times. Nowadays girls and boys get to know each other real well even before exchanging their marriage vows. Back in our days it was a family disgrace if an unmarried daughter gave birth to a child. The family would invariably send the erring daughter to a distant place only to return after the baby had been delivered and put up for adoption."

Dave nodded, wondering where it was going to end.

"But... but now single mothers are quite common and accepted by society. Now you two have a good thing going and both the families are proud of the union... so none of us want DJ to grow up with just... just a single parent... the other parent just dropping in on statutory visits," he said softly with a choke. He looked away, not wanting his son in law to see the tears.

"DJ may go on to have brothers and sisters... but they won't have both our families blood in their veins... so son... win back her love... her trust... for us," he finally finished.

Dave looked at the man standing beside him. There was a time when he used to hold his hand and skip along, trying to keep pace, his head coming barely up to the older man's waist. Now, years later, here they were; his father-in-law looked so lost... so forlorn.

"Dad I will be chasing her round and around all over the planet until she says 'I do' once again," replied Dave in a firm, steady voice.

"That's my boy," replied his father in law with relief evident in his voice.

That was the first night Dave slept properly in the last couple of days. He woke up by 4 a.m. and, for the next couple of hour, he worked furiously on his laptop. He carefully studied the reports Cyndi had prepared and after giving his value additions, he forwarded them to his seniors at the Head Office.

Next he evaluated the security agencies shortlisted by Cyndi. He had two days to beef up the security at the Orbit site before the inspectors trooped in. He read Scotty's mail with satisfaction. The additional crew members would be reaching the site by midday. He would personally oversee the allocation of their duties.

He quickly took his bath and stepped out of his bedroom. The smell of hot food hit his nostrils as he made his way down to the kitchen.

Mother O'Brien had his breakfast ready for him. A few minutes later he was out of the house after giving a quick thank you hug to his mother-in-law. It was barely seven in the morning.

On the way he quickly typed a short SMS on his Blackberry and sent it to Sherry. It was an update of his present work schedule and the fact that he would be staying at the site till the inspection was completed. He intended to keep communication lines open with her, even if they were practically one way as of now.

They again failed to notice the Ford pickup which had begun tagging them.

Sherry leaned back in her chair and re read the SMS she had received from Dave earlier in the day. They might have had their hot talk, but she was feeling worried for him. An uneasy feeling began gripping her.

She decided not to call him back for now. She wanted to see his medical report first. Sherry rearranged the papers on her desk. The parental child abuse story was now ready from her end. She had spoken to representatives from Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and incorporated their views and suggestions. The editing team would soon be joining her in her office to prepare the final dummy print. The story would hit the stands tomorrow.

There was a knock on her door and then the editorial team members trooped in. Sherry gave one last look at the SMS and then put the mobile on the table and immersed herself in the work in front of her. Tomorrow, she promised herself, she would take a break; but now she had a deadline to meet.

Some hours north of the city, her husband was equally immersed in his efforts to safeguard the security of his team members. The new set of supervisors had extensive experience behind them. The workers were redistributed amongst them, thereby ensuring that the worker-to-supervisor ratio was optimised.

The security had also been doubled, especially in the night. The construction work was going full time over three shifts. Tonight, he and Scotty planned to spend the night at the site. Dave looked at his watch. It was almost seven in the evening and he had to check his office mail. Cyndi had told him she would stay back late at the office so he could call her and have his queries cleared up. He was lucky to have her working under him. He wondered what was going on at his home. He missed DJ... he missed her.

Just then his mobile rang. It was Cyndi.

"Hi Dave, your medical report was delivered this afternoon. Should I have it delivered at the site?"

"No Cyndi, send it directly across to Sherry. I plan to be at the site all weekend as the inspection is on Monday. Once the inspection is through I will speak with Sherry."