On a Roller Coaster
Things started changing very fast in the lives of Justin and Shelly, and they started looking for opportunities to be together. They were always on the lookout for a place where they could steal a kiss or hold each other in their arms. In a house with six more occupants, it was never easy and with the ever-present roving eye of Poonam, it was most of the time a kiss-and-run situation.
With the enemy on the prowl close behind, Justin and Shelly always had to come up with ideas to spend some time together. Their favourite place was the dimly lit staircase where they would hold each other in tight embrace, kissing and stealing each other’s warmth. It was the same staircase where Shelly moved her hands under his clothes for the first time and held him intimately. It was the same staircase where one day after taking Justin to new heights of arousal Shelly still had drops of the colourless viscous fluid smeared on her hands, when they were nearly jumped upon by Poonam. It was a close call! One could see the frustrated look on Poonam’s face, of having missed an opportunity to catch them. Fuming and cursing under her breath like a tigress that could not pounce upon its prey, she walked away. With each passing day, Shelly and Justin were learning to live more dangerously.
It was no more the desire of the flesh alone that burnt in them, slowly a mature understanding of love started to develop. Except at the places of profession and career, every other place Justin and Shelly could be seen together. Shelly took upon herself to look after all his needs from taking care of his closet to serving food in his plate. On the other hand, Justin took upon himself all that a man needs to do for his ladylove. They were deeply in love.
Shelly was getting into good age, but in the absence of any good proposals and lack of finances, no one in the family talked seriously about her marriage. In fact, the parents avoided discussing the topic. Things were not easy for the family, as the income never matched the escalating expenses; saving of any type could never be contemplated. Love marriages were not prevalent in those days and Rajasthan never boasted of an ultra-modern society. Christians were mostly depicted in Bollywood movies as a more modern sect, wearing polka dot skirts and western dresses with a glass of wine in their hands, making confession to a priest attired in a white robe wearing a pectoral cross on his person. On a reality check, they were as much a part of the general society and as orthodox as one can be. The only difference being that they did not have any caste system and treated everyone as equals in the true Gandhian spirit. Dowry was not a custom among the Christians, but providing the girl with all the things needed to start a new family was a dream of all parents, and that was a tall order for Shelly’s parents.
By now, everyone had come to terms with the idea of Shelly travelling with Justin to her work place. Bicycle for them was not only the mode of transportation but also presented an opportunity where the love-starved duo would find togetherness away from the prying eyes. Justin rearranged his study schedule around Shelly’s work schedule, and every day in the evening when she was getting off from work he would be there to pick her up.
She would sit on the rear seat of the bicycle very close to him, to the extent that her breasts would crush against his back. For Justin, the young man in his early twenties, that closeness of Shelly, on an open road, would literally transform his whole back into an erogenous zone releasing the invisible pheromones, which in turn demanded further gratification. To pacify him, Shelly would sneak her right hand around his waist, going through under his jacket until she could reach for him. Every day after coming back from their small trip, Shelly would go and wash her handkerchief that had witnessed the climax of the evening. They had become such expert in this art, that on the busy city road no one could ever guess their little secret.
Good times—always fly-by very quickly, and the desire to hold them forever—futile. Justin was about to finish his three-year degree course and so it was decided that before he went back to Delhi, they all should visit Shelly’s maternal uncle who lived in Anand, a city in Gujarat. Anand, also called the milk capital of India, posed a peculiar problem to Justin; situated on the Western coast of India, strong winds constantly lashed the city. Being very particular about his hairstyle, Justin had to tie a large handkerchief around his head to keep his hair from being constantly ruffled by the wind. The problem did not mitigate even when once inside the second floor apartment; the abode of Shelly’s uncle. To save on electricity, the doors and windows were usually kept open letting the breeze pass right through the living area. Shelly’s uncle was a soft-spoken man, as all Gujaratis were. Even the taste of their food had a touch of sweetness.
During the day, they all used to go around the nearby market places and in the evening had fun time in the living area of the apartment. By night, they would roll out their beds on the floor of the big living room and talked the night out. On the last day, Shelly’s uncle called Shelly and Justin aside for a talk. The very mention that he wanted to have a word with them in private brought a feeling of tightness to Justin’s chest. Did he see them…? Did he eavesdrop on them…? Justin always got scared of such phrases, constantly fearing that someone might get wise to their secret.
‘You seem to like each other a lot,’ her uncle said in a meaningful way. Justin skipped a beat; there it goes he thought, in the process losing some colour on his face, while her uncle held their countenance with his steady but strangely enough, a very kind gaze.
‘What do you say about Shelly, Justin?’ asked her uncle intently looking at them.
Justin made a whining sound. Moving uncomfortably in his seat and trying hard to let not his fear betray his expressions he said, ‘Yes, she is a very nice person’.
‘Have you ever thought of marriage? Shelly will make a very good wife’.
Yes, yes, yes! Someone has ultimately become wise to their little secret. Justin just wanted to run away somewhere, hide himself, become invisible; surely, this was not happening.
‘What do you say?’ asked her uncle softly pressing his point of view.
People of age and experience, do have a way of cornering the younger generation and seem to have that uncanny way of looking right through them. Justin slowly answered, ‘I don’t know Uncle, never thought about it’.
‘There is no hurry Justin, I noticed your closeness with each other and wanted to make a suggestion’.
‘I understand’, was all Justin could say.
The day became uncomfortably long and Justin felt as if everyone was paying them extra attention. He felt utterly exposed by their unpresumptuous side-glances.
Back in Jaipur, Justin and Shelly needed to face their relationship in the light of the perspective given to it by Shelly’s uncle. They started talking on the subject but Justin had his own fears about marriage and thereafter. Until now because of the age difference he had always given respect to Shelly, he wondered how they would reverse the situation after marriage. Shelly tried to reassure him by saying that things will change and she will give him the respect a husband deserves, in fact would always address him respectfully.
Well, what about the age difference…? People often say that girls mature quickly after childbirth. Justin had always envisioned a wife who will remain fair and lovely forever. It was not just a physical relationship between Justin and Shelly; they really loved each other body, mind and soul. However, Justin had a strong feeling that after a few years of marriage Shelly would age faster, and though their love was not shallow, yet the age factor was bound to make a difference in his feelings towards her and he did not want to hurt her.
Dealing with the complexity that they now faced about their future but reaching no conclusion, it was time for Justin to go back to Delhi as his graduation had completed.