The Adventures of a Dumb Detective and his Wily Mate.

Untitled Part 15

Chapter 15

Different Loves

Rudra reached home in the evening and immediately got called into his brother's office .

There was a street entry which his clients used and an inner entry which was used by his brother and his secretary . Rudra entered through this door and stood in silence smelling the comforting musty aroma of thousands of books.

Books lined this room from floor to ceiling. His brother, Rajat, was seated at his desk and Swaroop Sengupta aka Swarnalata Sen was seated across him. Rudra smiled.

Rajat noticed him. 'Come here Rudra. Mr. Sengupta, this is my younger brother, Advocate Rudra Sekhar Roy.

The man smiled at Rudra and nodded. 'Yes, I remember him. Hello Mr. Roy. I'm glad to make your acquaintance again. I've come to make a request and wanted to speak to both of you.'

He was still in mourning clothes, tonsured head glowing in the yellow lights. He looked at both brothers and started speaking in a quiet voice. His struggle to articulate his story was obvious and the brothers gave him time to assemble his thoughts.

He said, 'Babu and I've been together for 28 years. Since I joined his factory at the age of 21, in fact. He was 45 then and a wonderful boss. I realized that I saw him differently and confessed my feelings. At first, he denied me but he loved me too. In the beginning, Babu and I would just stay back after work a little and then go our separate ways. But after his wife died, he didn't want to live in his house. His son and daughters were married and settled. They didn't need him anymore. He said he wanted to live with me for the rest of our lives.' He sat fidgeting with his fingers and the brothers waited for him to continue.

He shrugged and said, 'he was terribly ashamed of our relationship, always afraid that someone will find out about us and tell his children. Making me dress up as a woman had started out as a joke, we did it in privacy but when he talked about living with me, it became something else. He said that if we are to live together, we'll have to pretend to be man and wife. I did not agree but he wouldn't live with me on any other terms. I was forced to accept this situation and lived a lie for the last 25 years. When Babu died, I realized that I had a chance to start again, live the way I wanted to, shed the weight of lies and just live. He was everything to me, my all. I do not want to have another relationship, we were married in my eyes and my Gods are witness to that. Now I just want to spend the remaining years of my life in peace. So, by accepting Babu's money, if I have to reveal myself and expose Babu's lie to his family then please stop. I cannot disrespect his last wish. I will never reveal the secret which he took so seriously and made me follow for over 2 decades. I simply cannot insult his memory this way.'

Silent tears rolled down his cheeks. He breathed in and wiped his face.

In a broken voice he said, 'But I refuse to enter into this charade ever again. I did it for Babu and now that he's gone, Swarnalata Sen is dead with him. I'll not go back to being someone I'm not, not even for the biggest treasures of the world. Babu has always been generous. I have enough savings. I do not need his money.'

He stood up and turned to them both. With folded hands he said, 'Please Mr. Roy, I'm begging you, do not expose my identity to his children. Let them believe that his father simply married another woman. They can keep the money with my blessings.'

Finally, Rajat spoke up. 'Mr. Sengupta, please sit down. Don't worry about anything. You misunderstood our purpose. Your Babu's children have shown no interest in getting in touch with you. They simply want to hand over your inheritance and move on with their lives. You'll not have to meet them. I have the cash with me, I'm authorized to hand it over to you without any further formality. Please accept this final token of love from your Babu and lead the quiet life you crave. No one will disturb you again.'