Who Watches the Watchmen Ch. 01

"So it's not true?"

"It is."

"Who????"

"Why is it so important for you to know?"

"Menaka!" I felt very annoyed. And also a little confused because as my brain was flooded with images of some unknown guy screwing my wife, I could feel my dick starting to stir.

"Okay, fine." Menaka said and after a long pause, added, "My first husband."

"Huh????"

"You can be so dense some time. You asked me if I had never wondered how it would feel like to be with another man apart from you. I said I had been with another man already. Before I even met you. My first husband, the one who died."

"Oh!" I felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. "So you mean..."

"Yeah, I was answering the question literally. But if you're wondering, no, I have never been with another man after we got married. But if I had, your reaction speaks volumes. It's easy to say such a thing in the abstract knowing that I would never do it. But if I actually did...you'll flip out."

She turned around again. I just lay there thinking about what she had said.

-----

After that conversation, neither of us brought up the topic again. We soon went and visited her parents. A month later, I was back on a ship. And back to my usual ways.

But something had changed. I suddenly found myself thinking more and more about Menaka being with another man. Even when banging comely young things on my shore leaves, I found myself imagining Menaka having sex with someone else like Dinesh. And it started turning me on. I didn't mention it to her of course. But it was something that started dwelling on my mind.

The next time I skyped home, after talking about this and that, Menaka said,

"By the way, I had a slightly awkward conversation with Dara."

"Haha, about walking in on him having sex?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"I was downstairs, keeping a watch on Ayan and his friends as they played in the parking lot. I was reading a book when I noticed Dara had walked up to me. I looked at him, and blushed a little. He also looked very uncomfortable. Finally he said, "Memsaab, I am so sorry about the other night. Please don't tell the society chairman. I can't lose this job." I said to him, "I have no idea what you are talking about." hoping that he would drop the subject and walk away."

"Did he?"

"No. The idiot couldn't read between the lines. I was pretending it never happened, so obviously, I wouldn't tell anyone. But he persisted, "That night, memsaab. On the roof." I got annoyed, and said to him, "I really have no idea what you are talking about. Please let me read my book." He was quiet for a while, then said, "I am sorry, memsaab. I...I couldn't help it. It's not like I have a proper home where I could take her. That shack I share with the other watchman Hira...it's not exactly built for privacy." I finally changed strategy and said, "Dara, please, just...fine. I won't tell anyone. Now leave me alone.""

"So did he finally leave you alone?"

"I wish! He then started talking about how his wife had died five years ago and how he was lonely and he couldn't help himself, and all that. Finally I just got up and walked away. Luckily, he didn't follow me."

"As long as he's sure you won't tell anyone, I think he should be fine."

"I hope so. I still can't that image and those sounds out of my head."

"The moaning sounds?"

"And the slapping sounds."

"He was slapping her????"

"No no...you know." she shyly blushed. "When someone is having sex really hard...the skins slap making that sound."

"Haha, he was fucking her hard enough to make those skin slapping sounds? That little old man?"

"Hehe. Yeah, it was very...intense. And so kinky. I mean out there on the roof under the open sky, this old man with that maid half his age. Going at her like that. And the sounds she was making..."

Menaka's voice had suddenly gone a little hoarse.

"Sounds like it turned you on!" I joked.

"Shut up!" she giggled and said.

"Sounds like someone wishes she was in the maid's place!" I said.

"WHAT???" A look of anger flashed across Menaka's face. "Why would you say that?"

"Easy, easy, I was just joking."

"What a horrible joke to make." she said, even angrier.

"I'm sorry, Menaka. Seriously. I didn't realize you'd get this upset."

Menaka just glowered at me for a few seconds. Then said,

"I am going to bed. Bye."

And she logged off.

-----

I sat there, stunned at what had just happened. This was the angriest I had ever seen Menaka. She was by nature a shy, quiet, and generally non-confrontational person. In the nine years of marriage, she had never once raised her voice to me. Whenever we had disagreements, she usually gave in right away. And if she was unhappy, she expressed it either by gentle sulking or occasional tears or then complete silence. But this was unprecedented.

I wondered why she had gotten so upset. I had made similar bawdy comments in the past, but she either shrugged them away or then made a face. I was tempted to call her on the phone and talk it out, but considering how angry she had been, I decided to give her some time to cool off.

Half an hour later, my Skype screen started ringing. I answered.

"I am sorry." Menaka said, sounding contrite and looking very tense. "I don't know what came over me."

"I am sorry too, honey. I had no idea you would get that upset."

"No, it's...it's actually my fault."

"No, I was out of line."

"You weren't. In fact...that's kind of why I lost my cool."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh god...I don't know how to even say this." she put her face in her hands.

"What's the matter, honey?"

She just kept her face buried in her hands for a minute before finally lifting it.

"I...I had a dream about Dara."

"Okay..."

"A couple of nights ago. And it was...like you said...in the dream, I was in the maid's place." her face was absolutely red.

"Okay, and?"

"And?"

"Well, did you do anything?"

"In the dream?"

"No, in reality."

"Of course not!" Menaka said. "It's just that...I had that dream. And since then, I keep replaying that dream in my mind. And it...it arouses me."

I sat back and smiled.

"So you are feeling guilty because you had a dream about some guy?"

"Yes!"

I started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" she was annoyed.

"Hahaha, come on Menaka. After nine years of being married, and being faithful, you had one sex dream and you're feeling guilty? Compare that to what I have been up to."

"I am not like you." she said icily.

"I know, I know." I raised my palms.

She looked mollified.

"It's not just this dream." she said. "In general...the last year or so...it's been different."

"How?"

"I just feel...so often...aroused. Thinking about...you know."

"Thinking about sex?"

"Yes."

This was not exactly surprising news. The last time I had spent three months home, I had noticed a marked increase in Menaka's sex drive. Our sex life was always satisfactory. Right from the time we got married, whenever I initiated sex, Menaka was ready for it. In the early years, she was a little tentative and shy. Especially during pregnancy and a year after Ayan's birth. But as the years had gone by, she had gotten more and more comfortable with sex. She wasn't a tigress in bed by any means. But over the years, she had gotten comfortable with oral sex, and some minor experimentation.

I never pushed her boundaries too much because my port booty calls tended to be very wild and raucous. So sex with Menaka was more like the carnal equivalent of home cooked food - simple and comforting. I sowed my wild oats outside the country and when I came home, I respected Menaka's prim and proper personality and what I considered a moderate to low sex drive.

But on my last trip, I found her a lot more vocal, a lot more susceptible to having orgasms, and in general, a lot more sexual. Although she hadn't gone so far as aggressively initiating sex herself, a few times, she had given subtle signals of being ready for it.

"So you are horny a lot?"

"That word is so cheap!" she made a face and said. "But yes, this time after I left, I found myself yearning for physical intimacy a lot. Something that never happened before."

"It's natural."

"Not for me!"

"Honey, don't you know that most women hit their sexual peak in their early to mid 30s?"

"Really?"

"Yes. Especially women who have kids. Your body is beginning to feel confident and you are now embracing your sexuality after years of tentative experiences."

"Hmmmm." she looked thoughtful.

"How often do you masturbate?" I glibly asked.

"Prakash!!" she blushed.

"Oh come on, if you can't tell that to your husband of nine years, who can you tell it to?"

"Please."

"Five times a day?"

"Noooooooo!"

"Then?"

"Once or twice. In the shower in the morning or before sleeping at night."

"And what do you think about?"

"You." she answered a little too rapidly. I felt like pushing her on this, but let it go. It had taken almost a decade to get such an honest conversation going with her.

We were both silent for a while. Finally, she spoke.

"Anyway, now I really have to sleep."

"Masturbate for me." I said.

"Shut up!"

"Come on! I am alone in my cabin."

"Still, it'll feel weird."

I tried to cajole her a little more but she kept refusing so I let it go.