She breathed a sigh of relief after finishing her final appointment for the day. She got up from the chair and began adjusting the pleats and pallu of her saree. Just then her phone began to ring. Curiously, she took the phone from the table and answered the call. “Mind health clinic,” she said.
A man’s voice came through the phone speaker. “Hello! My name is Rishi. I want to book an appointment for marriage counselling.”
“Hi Rishi! I’m Malavika. I am a counsellor. What date and time work well for you to meet?”
“Would it be possible to schedule a joint appointment for my wife and me tomorrow at 4:00 PM?”
“Sure. Give me a moment. I’ll check my schedule for tomorrow,” Malavika said. She sat on the chair and checked her appointments for the next day. She saw an appointment that she could postpone and said, “I’m available at 4pm tomorrow. Please tell me your wife’s full name and your full name, please.”
The new client gave all the information Malavika requested, and she confirmed the appointment before ending the call. She closed her laptop, feeling happy the demand for her counselling services was increasing. She took her handbag and left her office. She locked the front door of the clinic and went to the carpark.
After a 40-minute drive, she reached the apartment. She parked the car and stepped out. She went to an apartment block, took the lift to her floor, and walked to her flat.
It was 5:30 PM. She was pleased she’d reached in time to get ready for her next appointment. She removed her clothes and went to the bathroom. She answered nature’s call, bathed, and came out of the bathroom within half an hour.
She stood in front of the dressing table and dried her hair. Then she went to the closet and took a green silk saree, a matching blouse and a petticoat. She laid the clothes on the bed and went to the shoe rack. She selected a pair of mid-heel sandals and slipped her feet into them.
Returning to the mirror, she began to dress, wearing the blouse and petticoat first. Then she took the saree, tucked one end of the saree in the waistband of the petticoat below her belly button, and started draping the saree. She adjusted the pleats and the pallu of her saree until she was satisfied.
Then, she touched up light makeup on her face and kept a Bindi on her forehead. Finally, she took a good look at her reflection in the mirror. She made adjustments to her hair and saree, wondering if she was overdressed. She quickly dismissed the thought, telling herself it didn’t matter because dressing well made her feel good anyway.
Hearing her phone ring, she walked over to the dressing table, picked it up, and greeted, “Hi, Deepthi!”
“Hey Malavika! How are you?” Deepthi’s cheerful voice came through the phone speaker.
“I’m fine, Deepthi,” Malavika replied and asked, “How are you?”
“I’m fine! Just calling to check if you’re ready for your appointment,” Deepthi said.
“I’m ready. I won’t be late,” Malavika said confidently as it was only 6:15 PM.
“That’s good. Please keep in mind the client hired you only to have a chat. Just listen to him for one hour. If he tries to get intimate, tell him to call me.”
Malavika chuckled and said, “Understood.”
“Good luck. I hope he doesn’t bore you to sleep,” Deepthi said and laughed.
“I’ll be fine. I love listening to people. That’s why I became a counsellor,” Malavika said with a smile.
“I know. That’s why I thought you are the right person for the job,” Deepthi said and giggled.
“Okay, I’ll call you after the appointment,” Malavika said.
“Okay. Have a good time. Bye…” Deepthi said.
“Bye,” Malavika said and hung up.
Malavika booked a cab using an app on her phone. Then she checked her handbag and made sure she had everything she needed. She took her handbag and left her bedroom. She went to the living room, put the TV off and headed to the front door. She stepped outside her flat, closed the door and went to the lift.
Her phone buzzed just when she entered the lift. She took it from her handbag and saw the message from the cab driver. She replied she’ll be there in a couple of minutes.
She reached the ground floor and spotted the cab. The cab came towards her and stopped. She opened the rear passenger door, sat on the seat and gave the OTP to the driver.
She leaned back into the seat with a sigh of relief as the cab began to move. She gazed out the window at the familiar streets and began to relax. Her mind slowly reflected on the situation. She wondered why some men sought escorts solely for conversation rather than intimacy. As an experienced counsellor and part-time escort, she knew most men who liked to talk with escorts mixed the interaction with companionship and intimacy. She hoped her client was not expecting to have physical intimacy with her because she was not in the mood for that.
After twenty minutes, she could see the hotel from a distance. It wasn’t a big hotel, but she was a little excited to go there after five months because it was one of her favourite locations, where she had met good clients.
The car pulled over on the side of the busy street. She got out of the car and walked to the hotel. She entered the lobby and went to the front desk.
The male receptionist recognised her and said, “Hi, ma’am.”
“Hi, how are you?” Malavika asked.
“I am fine, ma’am,” he replied.
“Room 21?” she asked.
He looked at his computer monitor and confirmed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Thanks,” she said and went to the lift. She pressed the button and waited.
The lift door opened. She stepped in and pressed the floor button to the second floor. She took her phone from her handbag and checked the time. It was 6:50 PM. She was happy she’d made it ten minutes early. She saw her reflection in the lift mirrors and adjusted her hair and her saree’s pallu.
When the lift door opened, she stepped out and walked down the corridor. She went to the familiar room and pressed the doorbell button. The door opened and a man stood there. Seeing him, Malavika blinked, momentarily taken aback. She had seen his headshot picture, but that had not given her an idea of how tall and handsome he was. “Do you have the confirmation number, sir?” she managed to ask.
“Oh yes,” the man said, then added as if recollecting, “5…8…6…9…5.”
“That’s correct.” Thanks,” Malavika said and gave him a friendly smile.
“Great! Come in,” he said and stepped aside.
She entered the room and looked around the familiar room. Then she heard him say, “Turn around, please.”
She turned around and saw him holding a phone in front of her. She quickly covered her face with one hand, stretched out her right arm and shook her hand. “No sir! Please don’t take pictures,” she said.
“Why? What’s wrong?” he asked, surprised by her reaction.
“I’ll tell you. Please move your phone away from me,” she said, her hand still covering her face.
“Ok!” he said, lowering his hand with the phone.
She slowly moved her hand away from her face. “Firstly, it’s agency policy. Secondly, I don’t want my pictures posted on social media without my consent.”
“Okay, sorry. You look so beautiful, I couldn’t resist,” he said, chuckling.
“That’s okay, sir. Thanks for understanding,” she said, relieved he didn’t argue like some clients who felt entitled to take pictures of her without her consent.
“Call me Arjun,” he said, walking into the room.
“Okay,” Malavika said with a smile and followed him slowly.
He stopped next to a single-seater sofa. “Have a seat,” he said, pointing at another single sofa in front of him.
“Thanks,” Malavika said and sat on the sofa.
He sat on the sofa opposite her and smiled. Then, he said, “Sorry. This is the first time I’m doing this. I don’t know how to start.”
“I understand. You can talk to me about anything, like art, philosophy, history, economics, politics…” She paused and gave him a teasing smile before adding, “…life problems and even sex.”
He nodded. “I have consulted psychologists. It didn’t help,” he said and paused before adding. “I wanted to talk with someone who can listen without judging. The lady in your agency recommended you.”
Malavika gave him an assuring smile and said, “Thanks for choosing me. Please feel free to talk about anything you want.”
“Okay.” He nodded thoughtfully. Then he asked, “Sorry, what’s your name? Ma…?”
“Malavika. Mala for short. Please call me Mala if you want,” she said.
“Malavika…beautiful name. It suites you,” he said, with a smile.
“Thanks, sir…sorry, Arjun!” she corrected, chuckling.
“Mala, are you married?” he asked.
“I’m divorced,” Malavika said.
Arjun nodded. “I was married, too. She passed away recently—about six months ago,” he said.
“Sorry about that,” she said, feeling sincerely sorry for him.
“That’s okay. We didn’t have a good relationship. She was having an affair with her ex-boyfriend. They died together in a car accident.”
“Oh no!” Malavika hadn’t expected to hear that.
“It was an arranged marriage. She and her family should’ve been honest with me. She could have married her boyfriend and lived happily,” he said and added. “I’m also worried about my daughter and my mother. My mother is too old to take care of my daughter.”
“How old is your daughter?” Malavika asked.
“She’s 10 months old,” Arjun said.
“Oh…she’s just a baby,” Malavika said. She pursed her lips, feeling sad for the child.
Arjun nodded. “Yes. But I’m not sure if I’m the dad.”
“Oh my god!” she covered her mouth in disbelief.
“My wife was sleeping with her ex-boyfriend even after getting married to me. I found pictures and videos on her phone after she passed away,” Arjun said.
“That’s terrible, Arjun. You must’ve gone through a lot,” Malavika said, her voice softening.
Arjun nodded. “What do you think I should do?”
Malavika laughed. “I don’t know. It’s so complicated,” she said and thoughtfully answered. “I think you should find an honest woman who can be a committed wife and a good mother for the child.”
“Women like that are hard to find these days,” Arjun said. “Can you be an honest, committed wife and a good mother to someone else’s child?”
Malavika laughed. “You are asking a wrong person,” she said. “I am an escort. If I marry a man, I can commit myself to having a romantic relationship only with him, but I can’t commit myself to having a sexual relationship only with him. But I can definitely love someone else’s child like my own child.”
Arjun laughed. “You are an interesting person and a beautiful woman.”
“Thank you,” Malavika said, blushing. “You are a handsome man. You shouldn’t have any problems finding a good woman who can marry you and be committed to you.”
“After what my wife did to me, I’ll think thrice before getting married to another woman,” he said.
“Once bitten, thrice shy, huh?” Malavika asked with a chuckle.
“That’s right,” Arjun said. “Can I take a picture of you?”
Malavika thought about it for a moment. “Arjun, you are a good man,” she said with a shrug. “But I can’t take chances. People have taken pictures of my face and made AI-generated porn videos.”
“Okay,” Arjun said. He paused for a moment before asking, “Can I at least take a picture of your back?”
“My back? Why?” Malavika smiled shyly.
“You have a very good figure,” Arjun smiled.
Malavika laughed, thinking it was harmless. “No problem. Do you want to take a picture now?” she asked.
“Yes, I’ll take a picture now. Please stand near the TV,” Arjun said.
Malavika went to the TV and stood next to it. Arjun went behind her and said, “Please move your saree to the front.”
Malavika pulled her saree’s pallu to the front and stood still, smiling.
“Beautiful,” Arjun said. He pulled up his phone and snapped two pictures of her back.