Free The Unexpected Son by Shobhan Bantwal Page A

disappeared to on certain evenings immediately after dinner, Som had hopped on his bicycle and followed his father’s car on various occasions. He’d seen and heard plenty of what went on.
    Back then, he’d been dismayed to discover his highly feared and respected appa was cheating on his wife, the woman he proudly escorted to social functions, the woman he shared a bed with every night.
    Well, the teens were a time to learn many of life’s lessons, and for Som, learning about extramarital sex was one of them. At least his father couldn’t punish him for something he was guilty of doing himself.
    â€œSo you’ll make love to your wife at night and your latest girlfriends during the day?” demanded Raju, interrupting Som’s thoughts again. Raju looked scandalized.
    Som put a finger over his lips. “Shh! Not so loud.” There were fellow students seated at nearby tables. “You have a twisted mind, Raju.”
    â€œNo, you’re the one with the twisted mind. Cheating on one’s wife is beyond twisted.” Raju gave him a blistering look of censure. “I plan to be faithful to my wife, no matter what she looks like.”
    The coffee arrived. Instead of taking umbrage at Raju’s reproachful words, Som lifted his mug in a mock salute. “To my good friend, who will always be faithful to his wife.” Even if she looks like a camel, he added silently. As he took his first scalding sip, he wondered if Raju was the luckier of the two of them. There was something to be said for living a bland, uncomplicated life. Fewer problems.
    And Som had his share of problems—too many, in fact. Vinita was in love with him and she was becoming too clingy and demanding. His own pinpricks of conscience were making him uneasy. It wasn’t like him to experience remorse. There was only one thing he could do. He had to stop seeing her.
    So how was he going to let her down gently?
    Raju continued to study him with the probing expression that Som disliked so much. It made him squirm. Despite the fact that Raju was a wealthy drifter like himself, Raju still lived by a different set of rules. He wasn’t joking when he said he’d be faithful to his future wife. Raju would also turn into a seriously committed businessman once he joined his father and two older brothers in their profitable timber business.
    At heart Raju was a good man. He had always been a loyal friend to Som—since they had been classmates and fellow Lingayats in a Catholic boys’ school, where there were only a handful of students of their faith at the time.
    Taking another thoughtful sip of the potent, bitter coffee, Som avoided Raju’s incisive gaze and turned his eyes to the scene outside the window instead.
    The sun was losing its luminescence, getting ready to set. The traffic was heavy—people going home from work. The nearby masjid, the mosque, called the faithful to their evening prayer.
    He had to work out a few things, he reflected, mostly concerning Vinita. Unfortunately, she was so damn serious and committed about everything, even something like having an affair. Why couldn’t she have some fun for a change?
    Once again Raju interrupted Som’s wandering mind when he put his empty mug down along with some money to pay for the coffee. “I have to go,” Raju said, thrusting his wallet into his pocket.
    Som absently lifted a hand to wave. “See you tomorrow.” He watched his friend walk out the door. Then he went back to brooding.
    He’d have to think of a way to tell Vinita that the thing they had together was over.

Chapter 7
    T he drizzle hadn’t let up in five days. It was well past the monsoon season, but a rare typhoon had traveled up the coast, bringing with it relentless rain, even as far inland as Palgaum.
    Vinita leaned a shoulder against the window frame of the small flat and watched it fall noiselessly, the moisture weighing down the blades of