ROLE MODEL HUSBAND
Blog
Fiction
Short Story
By
VIKRAM KARVE
This story is a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
NB:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.
Copyright © Vikram Karve - all rights reserved
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
ROLE MODEL HUSBAND - flash fiction - a love story by Vikram Karve
Pooja
walked out of her marriage because her husband was boring.
She
packed her bags, took a taxi and went straight to her brother-in-law’s house.
Pooja
loved her brother-in-law.
Her
brother-in-law was Pooja’s role model husband.
Actually,
for Pooja, he was a double brother-in-law – he was her husband’s elder brother –
and he was also Pooja’s sister’s husband.
It
was a case of two sisters married to two brothers.
After
seeing her elder sister married so happily to such a wonderful husband, Pooja
had readily agreed to marry his younger brother when her sister had brought the
proposal.
And
what a big mistake she had made!
How
could two brothers be so different?
Pooja’s
husband turned out to be a most dull, dreary and uninspiring person – in short,
he was a big bore.
And
her brother-in-law was so much fun – he was the type of husband Pooja had
wanted – a role model husband.
Pooja’s
sister was pleasantly surprised when her younger sister suddenly landed up at
her place unannounced.
But
when Pooja told her that she had walked out on her husband forever because she
found him boring, her sister got worried, so she rang up Pooja’s husband and told
him that Pooja had come over.
Pooja’s
husband did not betray any emotion. He just said that he would come over and pick
up Pooja in the evening.
Pooja’s
sister was wondering what to do – maybe she could ask her husband to talk to Pooja’s
husband – after all, they were brothers and her husband was the elder brother.
Meanwhile,
knowing Pooja’s temperament, it would be best to remain silent for some time.
So they just sat and watched a movie on TV.
In
the evening, Pooja’s brother-in-law arrived home from work.
He
seemed delighted to see Pooja.
‘What
a surprise?” he said to Pooja.
Then
he turned to his wife and said, “I’ve got the cruise tickets.”
He
took out a colourful folder from his briefcase and gave it to Pooja’s sister, “Everything
is in there – the tickets, the programme, all details about the cruise ship.”
“Wow.
You two are going on a cruise ship?” Pooja said.
“Yes,
this time we though we’ll take a different type of vacation,” Pooja’s
brother-in-law said.
“How
lucky you are,” Pooja said wistfully to her sister, “I haven’t had a single
vacation since marriage – he doesn’t even take me to Mahableshwar or Goa. It’s
so boring sitting at home. He doesn’t want to go anywhere – not even to a
movie.”
“Hey,
Pooja – why don’t you come with us?” Pooja’s brother-in-law said.
“On
a cruise ship?” Pooja asked, in disbelief.
“We’ll
have to ask …” Pooja’s sister said.
“I’ll
tell him …” Pooja’s brother-in-law said to his wife.
“But
how can we take her? You said the cruise was fully booked,” Pooja’s sister said
to her husband.
“I’ll
try and manage something,” Pooja’s brother-in-law said.
Then
he turned to Pooja and said, “You pack your bags for a fantastic holiday.”
“Thank
you so much. I wish I had a husband like you,” Pooja said to her
brother-in-law.
“Oh,
come on Pooja, your husband is a very nice chap – my brother is a bit serious
type, but let me tell you that he is very good guy.”
And
so, Pooja went for a pleasure voyage on the magnificent cruise liner.
It
was the best time of her life – the fun, the food, the entertainment – this was
the kind of life she wanted to live.
Her
sister and brother-in-law had a deluxe ocean view stateroom on the upper deck.
Because
of the last minute booking, they could only manage a single bed cabin deep down
below on a lower deck for Pooja.
Her
cabin was not as luxurious as the stateroom, but Pooja was happy – she spent the
whole day enjoying herself on the upperdecks – swimming, sunbathing, playing
games, then wining and dining, savouring exotic wines and relishing delicious
food, dancing at the nightclub and then trying her luck in the casino – it was like
a dream come true.
On
the last evening of the cruise, there was a big entertainment event – it was truly
awesome – the spectacular cabaret, the groovy dancing, the bubbly champagne
flowing freely, the mindboggling array of fabulous delicacies – Pooja had never seen anything like it
before.
It
was almost midnight and Pooja was feeling high.
All
the drinking and dancing had put Pooja in high spirits.
She
felt a bit dizzy so she went and sat down on their table.
Her
sister and brother-in-law were not there – they must be enjoying themselves
somewhere – there were so many events going on the gigantic cruise ship.
Pooja
sipped more champagne, and as she drank more and more, she began to feel woozy.
Her
head felt giddy, her stomach felt queasy and she felt as if she was going to vomit.
Pooja
became anxious – she was terrified that she would make a fool of herself by
throwing up here in front of everyone.
So,
Pooja got up and started walking unsteadily towards the alleyway.
She
felt there were two persons within her as result of the baleful double
personality that comes into being through drunkenness. The first acted as if
without any brain at all, in a mechanical, vacant manner, and the second
observed the first quite lucidly, but seemed entirely powerless to do anything.
In
the alleyway, Pooja yanked open a door.
Though
it was dark, Pooja could hazily make out that it was some sort of crew cabin.
Hopefully, there would be a toilet where she could throw up and then freshen
up.
Pooja
searched for the light switch and found it near the door.
She
flicked the switch and the lights came on.
The
astounding scene that Pooja saw instantly shook her out of her drunkenness and shocked
her so much, that she stood dumbfounded and dazed, totally stunned into a state
of disbelief.
There
was a woman. She was lying naked on the bunk. Garments of her dress were
scattered all over the floor.
And
there was a man, half-clothed, his head buried in the naked woman’s hair, his
arms around her, and they were in the throes of passion.
The
man was her brother-in-law.
The
woman was the cabaret dancer she had seen performing on stage in the evening.
“Don’t
you have any manners?” the naked woman shouted at Pooja, “Don’t you know that
you must knock before opening a door? Now shut the light and get out. And don’t
forget to close the door.”
Pooja
felt sick, very sick – it was disgusting, nauseating – her head started to spin,
her stomach started to churn – she threw up, retching out her insides, and
collapsed in a heap, wallowing in her own filthy vomit, and then she passed out,
unconscious.
“Enjoyed
the cruise?” Pooja’s husband asked her when she returned home.
Pooja
hugged him tight and said, “I am sorry.”
“Sorry?
Sorry for what? In fact, I should be sorry for not looking after you well, for not
taking you out – in fact, I’ll make sure we go on vacations now,” her husband
said.
“No.
No. I like you as you are. You are my role model husband.”
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
NB:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.
Copyright © Vikram Karve - all rights reserved
Did you like this story?
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About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@hotmail.com and vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9
About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@hotmail.com and vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
Twitter: @vikramkarve
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
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