Killing a Cat - Big Bang Theory

That night in bed, I asked my wife, "Darling, you have been repeatedly saying that if you could do anything, anything at all, for the Boss; that would a great pleasure. Are you still sure of that?"

Dipa looked at me with a bit of surprise in her eyes and asked, "Of course, I am sure. But why do you ask?"

I said, "There was a time, when we needed his help and he did not lose time in giving it instantaneously. Now he needs our help and we have to prove that we should not be wanting in helping him. You have a very important role to play in this."

Dipa looked at me with a surprise in her eyes. She asked, "Me? What in the God's name can I do for such a big man? Of course, nothing will give me greater pleasure than to help him, if I can."

I said, "That day we needed the Boss and today the Boss needs us and particularly your help."

After saying that I narrated the complete story about the Boss's wife leaving him plunging his life into turmoil, shattering him completely. I told her about the Boss's terrible condition, his internal turmoil and his severe anger against his wife. I also described how our entire office had been devastated by his absence and lack of interest. How our sales had nose-dived and my own incentives had evaporated. It was the question of our jobs unless the Boss bounced back with his old zeal and fervor.

Dipa looked at me with concern in her eyes. She asked, "Well, it really is sad to know all this. I had a premonition about that woman. She was never suitable for your Boss. But where do I come in this?"

I said, "When I mentioned your name and a little about you just casually in our talk today in the office, Boss's face brightened up and for a few moments, he appeared to be back in his original element. It looked as if he was keen to hear more about you. That gave me an idea that perhaps the key to Boss's bouncing back to his original self was in your hands. If you try to talk him into coming back to his original self; that would be a great boon for the entire office, including my own career. I am afraid that if the Boss continued like this, we are all doomed and the company, which has been making good profits, will be ruined and we shall lose our jobs. We shall also not be able to repay our loans including the loan we have taken from the Boss."

Dipa's face brightened up at the prospect of being able to do something for the Boss. However, soon after, her eyebrows contracted and she appeared deeply thoughtful. After some time, she said, "Well, I don't know how my meeting him, spending some time with him can change him. But I can certainly try, if you feel that it can. May be it will take more than talking to the Boss. I don't really know what I can do. I know he has feelings for me that exceed casual acquaintance."

Dipa was silent for some time. After that she turned to me and asked me, "Look, from what you have told me, it looks like your Boss had a severe shock of his wife leaving him like this. As I know your Boss's wife from the brief encounters I had with her, she is very arrogant and curt and your Boss's reaction on her leaving the house seems gross over reaction. I cannot understand that."

After she finished, she was quiet again. She closed her eyes for a while. I let her think over the matter. It took about 15 minutes of deathly silence while I was fidgeting in my bed, waiting for her to speak. She opened her eyes and again looked at the ceiling for a few minutes. Then she looked at me direct into my eyes and said, "There must be some reason for Boss's such behavior. The matter seems more complex than it appears on the surface. It is a delicate subject and I need to talk to him quietly in harmonious environment alone for some time. Can you call the Boss tomorrow for dinner? Tell him that it is my birthday tomorrow and I shall prepare some special dishes of his choice. It is my strong desire that the Boss must come and join us. Let us see what happens then."

The next day, I went to Boss's house. I found him leafing through some papers. He had not shaved for a few days and looked out of sorts. I went to the Boss and asked him, "Sir, Dipa is celebrating her birthday today evening and wants to make some dishes of your liking. She has asked me to invite you for dinner tonight. Could you spare some time and join us in the celebration?"

The Boss looked at me blankly for a while. Looking at his face I was almost certain that he would decline the invitation. I was however, pleasantly surprised to see the Boss's face brighten up slowly as he weighed my words. He said holding my hands with a little bit of stutter in his voice, "Is it her birthday today? Silly, I never asked her birth date before. Has Dipa invited me? Of course, I shall be delighted to join you to wish her happy birthday."

I was greatly relieved to see Boss's reaction and prayed that my strategy works. I then hesitatingly asked him, "Sir, would you come dressed up ..."

The Boss understood my concern and said, "Oh, you are pointing at my appearance. Don't worry. I shall come well dressed.

Right to his promise, the Boss was there at our home at the appointed time with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. My wife was well prepared. As soon as the Boss came to our doorstep, she came out. She made the boss bend so that she could garland him and apply vermillion on his forehead. She bent down to touch his feet to take his blessings. My Boss was taken aback with this ceremonial welcome. Offering the big bouquet to Dipa he said, "It is your birthday Dipa. Why are you garlanding me?"

Dipa replied smiling, "It is the first time you have come to our house. You are the chief guest today and to me you are no less than God, who saved my father." She then proceeded to offer ceremonial arati around the Boss's face and gave him a piece of sweet to eat. She had asked me to record the welcome ceremony on my mobile. I was dutifully following my wife's orders like a good husband.

The Boss appeared delighted at the reception he got in my house and looked relaxed and almost normal. He looked around and saw beautifully floral decorated entrance; neatly arranged furniture and house hold things. He looked happy and smiled genuinely at us. It looked to me as if he had unburdened some of his psychological baggage by the time he settled down on the sofas in the living room.

The Boss looked appreciatively at carefully arranged articles in our living room and at the entrance. He saw the meticulously manicured plants in the pots, pictures placed just the way they should be and dust free books arranged neatly. I smiled at him and said, "Sir Dipa spends a lot of her time in keeping things in order and hates if any one spoils or dirties the furniture or other things.

The Boss could not restrain himself and said enthusiastically, when Dipa was serving him welcome glass of fruit juice, "My God, Dipak, you are a real lucky bloke. Your wife has such versatility that is seen in very few persons, male or female. She is not just a good house wife; she is also a good organizer, manager and administrator." My boss seemed to be in his original elements.

When my wife Dipa heard this and other profuse compliments from my Boss, she blushed like a small girl with her cheeks turning red. She was unable to raise her eyes in humility accepting Boss's compliments. I saw with some satisfaction a ray hope at the end of a dark tunnel.

I had bought a birthday cake for my wife. All the things required for the celebration, were placed on the dining table neatly arranged. I had also invited two couples from our neighborhood for the cake cutting ceremony. In the presence of the guests, the cake was cut by Dipa and she placed the first piece of cake in my Boss's mouth and then gave it to me. The boss picked up the remaining piece and placed it in Dipa's mouth.

After all the visitors had gone, the Boss came out with a small box in his hands. The box contained a beautiful golden ring for Dipa. The Boss ceremonially presented to her. It looked fairly expensive. Dipa took the box in her hands, looked at the ring with a lot of amazement and gently retuned the box to the Boss with an apologetic look and said, "Sir, I thank you very much for this wonderful gift. But I cannot accept it, as it is too expensive and is beyond our reach. As a protocol, I must accept only such gifts which I may be able to offer to reciprocate in similar circumstances. I feel that we must exchange reciprocally feasible gifts to avoid any one of us from getting overly burdened."

The Boss looked at my wife with complete disbelief at the rejection of his gift. I saw the same look of despondency and helplessness appearing on his face, which I was so studiously trying to get rid of. Without saying a word in response, the Boss sat down unsteadily on the sofa, placed the box on the side table and looked down.

I looked sternly at my wife Dipa. She understood that the Boss had felt dejected at her words and rejection of his gift; which I did not like at all. She looked at me and saw my gross displeasure.

Dipa slowly set by the side of my Boss, took his hands into her and said, "Sir, I cannot accept your gift unless you accept my two conditions."

The Boss raised his face and looked at my wife. She said, "The first condition is that you will not expect any such expensive gift from me on any occasion and the second condition is that you will place the ring on my finger and if it does not fit, you will get it altered yourself."

The Boss's face brightened up hearing this from my wife. He held his ear lobes and declared, "I Som hereby commit that on my birthday I shall not expect any gift from my friend Dipa, except a flower bud."

He hurriedly opened the box, took out the ring, made Dipa give him her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. It fitted perfectly. I clapped happily and saw my Boss's face cheerful and mischievous as it had been long before. Dipa blushed again feeling quite out of sorts at my Boss's profuse expression of affection on her.

She quickly left us feigning some reasons to go the kitchen to attend some mundane task.

Boss looked at me with sharp eyes and said, "Dipak, Dipa has been very forthright and to the point and I greatly admire her for that. I realize that she did not want to accept the ring because she felt that she was unable to reciprocate the gesture. But she relented later because you did not want to make me feel hurt and neither did she. Having said that let me be somewhat frank with you too. I have placed the ring on your wife's finger. By no stretch of imagination, this ring compares with the ring you must have placed on her fingers at the time of your marriage. However, would you mind if I consider your wife as my very good and close friend. Do you mind?"

I held my Boss's hands and said, "Boss, what are you saying? By all means, you have all the rights over both of us. When I say all the rights, I mean all the rights. What Dipa and I want is for you to be happy and get back to your normal self."

The Boss looked at me; he smiled briefly, but did not say anything. I could detect a trace of loneliness in his voice. The Boss was not his effervescent self as I had seen him to be.

As we kept talking, Dipa served the Boss some snacks and a drink. She then asked the Boss, what he would like as desert. The Boss said he would prefer ice-cream.

We had not planned for ice-cream. An ice-cream vendor was close by. My wife looked at me pointedly. I understood that she wanted me to go and fetch ice-cream. As I got up to go she said, "If the ice-cream is not available from the nearby stores, please take a walk. You said you wanted to go for a long walk."

I knew my wife for long. I caught her hint that I need not come back in a hurry. She needed to talk to my Boss alone. I slipped out, walked some distance and returned home hurriedly. I did not enter the house but stood at half closed door of the drawing room and peeped inside. It was dark by then.

I saw Dipa in the kitchen doing something, with the Boss standing behind her watching her from behind. Obviously, the Boss was looking at my wife's shapely ass covered in her sari. As she moved, her buttocks moved tantalizingly giving a wonderful view to the feasting eyes of my Boss. They were talking something which I could not hear.

When Dipa turned around to get something, my wife almost collided with the Boss. He had moved so close to her that, it was almost impossible for her to turn without bumping on my Boss. Unable to control her balance Dipa stumbled and fell on the Boss, when in a quick reflexive action; my Boss stretched his arms to catch her from falling.

My puzzled wife fell in my Boss's outstretched arms, as the Boss lowered his head and widened his base by stretching his legs apart to maintain his own balance and not to let Dipa fall down. The scene resembled the famous pair of Raj Kapoor and Nargis in one of the films, which then became the emblem of R.K.Studios of Bollywood. They both remained in that position for almost a minute and a half, as the Boss did not shift his position and my wife did not stand up to come out of my Boss's arms. Boss's eyes and face expressions must have been full of lust. My wife was looking sharply into his eyes trying to read Boss's mind and face expressions.

Dipa and Boss remained in that position for quite a length of time. It raised the temperature of the environment in the room. Dipa's face had turned red as she blushed looking at the Boss's lustful expressions. After a few minutes, when the Boss lowered his head to bring his lips close to my wife's, Dipa tried to raise her body to be straight. As the Boss was trying to close the gap, Dipa laughed out loud and quickly disengaging herself from Boss's grasp, she said, "Sir, my! You are a fast one! You saved me from falling! God! I have a real Casanova now to protect me!"

The Boss felt embarrassed at the mildly admonishing tone of my wife. Looking sheepishly at her, the Boss said, "I am really sorry Dipa. I have lost balance of senses since the last few weeks. I could not control myself dear. I did not mean to offend you."

In spite of his trying to control his emotions, a tear fell down from Boss's eyes. He moved away from Dipa trying to go outside to the door in the porch to hide his tears; where I stood hiding and watching happenings inside.

Dipa gripped Boss's hand and stopped him. She pulled him toward her. The Boss looked surprisingly at my wife. Our living room and dining room are combined. Dipa lovingly, gently wiped Boss's tears with her fingers and made him sit on a chair beside the dining table. She stood in front of the Boss so close that her puffed up protruding breasts stood erect right in front of Boss's eyes. Boss's eyes were riveted on my wife's lovely hillocks mounted on her beautiful chest.

I could see her erect nipple making a distinct impression on her blouse which undoubtedly my Boss was staring at with mesmerized expressions on his face, not being able to see anything else as they were perched up right in front of his eyes.

She saw the Boss ogling at her cleavage and chest. She did not care to pull up her sari to cover them and said, "You are perfectly in order sir. You have done nothing wrong. There is no need to apologize. We are humans and your actions were like normal humans. I am not offended. I consider you as not just my friend but an intimate friend. Do you know what an intimate friend is?" asked Dipa of my Boss.

Boss looked at Dipa perplexed. Dipa raised her hand and caught Boss's one ear in her fingers and twisting the ear slightly she said, "Remember carefully and do not forget. An intimate friend is one with whom you can share each and everything. When I say everything I mean everything. It is more than even husband wife relationship. With an intimate friend you do not hide anything at all. Therefore I do not mind what you tell me or do to me. Will you remember this?" Dipa concluded by asking.

My Boss looked more puzzled than before, trying to digest what Dipa had just said. After s few moments he said, "Yes Dipa I will never forget this."

Dipa asked Boss, "Now please do tell me what is eating your mind. Don't you trust me enough and consider me as your own to let me in on your personal matters? I wish to tell you sir, that both Dipak and especially I, love you very much. I expect that you do not hide things from the person you love and I sincerely hope that you consider me as your intimate friend and that you love me too."

My Boss almost slipped down the chair the moment he heard this. Managing to maintain his poise, he said, "Not only I trust you and Dipak fully, I am also a great admirer of your multiple capabilities. I certainly consider you as my own. Why would I not confide in you? But I am unhappy that you keep calling me "Sir" when my name is Som. You call me Som, and then I shall feel that you really love me.

Dipa said, "Well, no and yes. No, because you are senior to me both in age, stature and wisdom. I have been brought up in Indian culture. How can I address you by your first name? But yes, I will not address you as 'Sir'. I will call you as 'Somji'. I hope that will settle it? Now do tell me what is causing so much pain to my loved one?"

Boss said, "Why add 'Ji' with my name and increase the gap between us? Just call me Som."

Dipa smiled mischievously and said, "No I will call you 'Somji' and that is final. And there is no gap between us now ok? Are you happy?" Saying that, Dipa moved so close to the Boss that one of her nipples centered on her breasts standing hard and erect in her blouse touched the tip of Boss's nose.

Boss without giving a second thought, wrapped his arms around my wife's slim waist and pulled Dipa in his arms. Placing his lips gently on her lips, the Boss said, "But first tell me that you have forgiven me for my misadventure."

My wife stood in the Boss's arms completely memorized by his sudden action and unable to speak as her lips were sealed by the Boss's. She began to respond as she was pulled into the whirlpool of sensuality caused by Boss's action. Boss's one arm was centered on my wife's butts and the second arm rested tight on my wife's waist, holding her tight in a close embrace.

Dipa for quite some time, stood perplexed at the Boss's quick reflexive maneuver. She was at a loss for words to speak. She sucked Boss's saliva and responded to Boss's sensual kissing. She understood his frustration at having been a failure in keeping his wife with him and she felt that perhaps that was his way of getting back from Dipa, what his wife did not give him.

After kissing for a few precious seconds, Dipa gently moved away from the embrace, with a nudge here and push there. She did not want to offend the Boss at the same time perhaps felt the Boss's move as inappropriate.

She stood apart from the Boss looking flustered with the passionate kiss from the Boss and chiding him in her inimitable naughty style, she said, "Sir, I mean Somji, aren't you going a bit overboard with your emotions? Besides, I like your style of first kissing and then saying sorry for the kiss and then kissing me again? You are asking pardon for the crime committed and yet you keep on committing the same crime again and again. You are fast. But you are also handsome. Well, you have inflamed my hidden passion, so I have forgiven you. My hubby may be here any minute. What if he sees us kissing? I do not want your stature to be slighted in the eyes of my hubby. We shall have more time for flings like this Somji."

Apart from admonishing the Boss, my smart wife signaled to the Boss that she was a game for such an adventure.

The Boss had mixed expressions on his face. He was not sure if Dipa accepted his advances. He smiled ruefully and said, "I am really sorry for having lost control once again. You wanted to hear my story. So here I am. It pains me to speak all these things, but then it will also be a load off my chest."