My Bad Wife

Nina and I had been married for 10 years. She had been beautiful and exotic, with brown hair and blonde streaks and an Asian shape that did things to many an English man. She would meet me in the lobby of the Marriot in her floaty Bali dresses, always cut so low, Malaysian guests would stare. I remember the way her lips would look as she ate pecan cake or when she laughed at my jokes.

We weren't one of those couples who had discovered true love. I was a successful Mat Salleh who required a beautiful woman to pander to my burgeoning ego. Nina had spoke of wanting an easy life that revolved around lightweight yoga classes and her entitled self. Together, we were an elite pair that fitted right into the glossy pages of Tatler magazine. Nina never minded not honing her skills and my ego was simply too high to encourage her to find her authentic self.

When we decided that she would no longer work after our marriage, I silently glowed with pride. I felt like a useful man. Her pottering around the house in white linen dresses immediately bestowed a label of success upon me. We were blissful for the first two years until the realities of the relationship emerged.

One night, as I was settling into a riveting paperback, she had sat purposely on bed and brought up her mother. 

“Mom is unhappy that I’m selling my car to our Ipoh neighbour,” Nina said, looking at me defiant. 

“Hmmmm,” I had replied, half listening.

“Mom is really making things difficult for me. What’s the big deal? Mom wants me to sell it to her remisier’s son," Nina had rambled on and on and I was mildly irritated.

I could never understand how Nina could get so engaged in something so petty. She had gone on about the issue for half an hour and I was becoming increasingly impatient. That night, she had on her white silky negligee but I saw nothing except a nag. I wish she would shut up. 

Two weeks later, she broached the topic of getting work.

I had come home from a long day of meetings and longed more than anything for my newspaper, Earl Grey and the quiet of the evening. For awhile, it seemed like I was getting just that. I could feel myself winding down as I read through The Star newspapers, it’s exaggerated articles lulling me into pleasure and calm.

“Dear, I was thinking of going back to work,” Nina said from behind. I heard the clink of plates and cutlery being laid on the table. Nina was preparing dinner and had informed me in the afternoon that she was making stew.

“What in the world for? Who’s putting these ideas in your head?” I had asked, not looking up from my paper.

“It’s boring in the house all day. Our girl’s grown up and I’d like to get back to earning my own income.”

“But you couldn’t wait to get out of it when we met.” I argued.

“I’m a different person now, I need to do something for me.”

Good lord, I thought to myself.  It was true, Nina was a smart woman when we met, but years of unemployment may have dulled her. She was never interested in anything important like earthquakes and wars. She showed great enthusiasm though for baby showers, dinner parties and posting carefully crafted loving photos of us on Facebook. I couldn’t imagine her holding a conversation with my friends. I imagined them asking about her the newly renovated porch and Kiran's performance in school. 

My phone beeped at that moment. It was Josephine, an ex-college mate from my days in Manchester. I didn’t realize it, but I had lighted up.  Josephine was asking some mutual friends for drinks tonight. I replied yes immediately, forgetting about stew.

“Okay we’ll think about it,” I replied absently to Nina.

“It’s my life,” she had said quietly as she turned and walked back to the kitchen.

I felt a shot of annoyance at her insolence.  I got up and followed her to the kitchen. Nina was standing by the island tending to a large bowl of what would be our stew. Her hair was in a messy bun and she had one bare shoulder exposed from her loose tee. That did a little to quiet my anger. Her head turned slightly to address me. 

“I’m a changed woman,” she replied brusquely. She then continued with throwing ingredients into her stew.

Nina hadn’t said much when I said I was going out. Infact she informed me that she was going out too.

I was slightly disconcerted. “Where you going? What about our girl?”

“Kiran will be fine. She’s 10. I’m going to the movies with Loretta.”

I said nothing. I was comfortable with being the outgoing one. I was not comfortable with my wife out there in the open. Let it be me meeting many people everyday and occasionally flirting and having meaningless sex. But God help me, if Nina did the same.

“Where are you going?” she asked back. Her tone implied no real curiosity.

“I’m meeting some ex-college mates. They’re down for a couple of days.”

“Have fun,” she said briskly.

It was a raucous night with Josephine and the Manchester gang. We were at the lounge area of Sheraton, exchanging tales and reminiscing our youth. Josephine had a witty tongue and I noticed her looking at me coyly more than once. She was the same almond shade as Nina, but with more menacing Punjabi eyes.

I was attracted to her and longed to take her to the suite upstairs. Fears of Nina in her tight jeans in the movies ebbed away and I found myself sitting closer to Josephine.

Josephine had let my hand rest on her thigh.

We ended up kissing in the carpark but that was it. Josephine just smiled at me and said “Go back to your beautiful wife,”

As I drove home, I entertained thoughts of seeing Josephine the next day. She had a hardness that Nina didn’t have, a sass that was easily sexier. I smiled when I saw Josephine’s message blinking on my phone. She had send me a picture of a beautiful female caricature puckering her lips. Was that how she saw herself? A strong female dominatrix? Josephine wasn’t so indifferent after all. She was thinking of me too.

I was in such a good mood when I got home, I didn’t realise that at 2am, Nina wasn’t back yet.

It was 4am when Nina returned. I had finally fallen asleep in a fit of worry and anger. Nina's phone had gone unanswered and I had cursed her several times. 

I woke when I heard the wardrobe door being opened. The smell of her orange soap was evident. I watched as she threw her black negligee over her body. She came to bed and slept on her side face away from me. I was upset.

"Where did you go?" I asked coldly.

"Loretta and I had drinks in Alexis, she replied mechanically as if she expected it. She remain motionless, not bothered to face me or comfort me.

"Bloody hell, couldn't you have called me? I was worried sick."

"I did. Two times at 1am. You didn't pick up so I assumed you were having a good time. Then my battery died."

I was quiet. Yes I saw her 2 missed calls while me and Josephine flirted. I had assumed it was her doing the wifely thing, asking me what time I would be back. It was too much bother to pick it up. I had intended to make an excuse about not hearing my phone.

"Well next time use Loretta's phone. I was worried."

"Okay. Goodnight."

I pulled her to me and she allowed it. But she made a show of going to sleep. That night, as I held her, I wondered if Nina was falling out of love with me. 

Josephine and me had sex 2 days later. Boy was this woman good. She had an aggression that came from trying to prove she was better than my beautiful wife. I didn't believe sex would be this way all the time, but we were both breathless in her hotel room and I had taken advantage of her need to prove. She was a willing participant and even let me take a picture. 

I returned to the office feeling pretty damn good until I saw a message by Nina.

"Going out tonight. Take care of your own dinner." That was it. No explanations, no elaborations. A cold foreign emotion coursed through my body. How could my wife have so little emotion for me?

I rang her but annoyingly, the operator informed me that she was out of range. I sent a message.

"Where are going?"

In 20 agonizing minutes, she replied. "Out with friends."

It was highly unsatisfactory and I called her again. This time it rang 

"Ya?" She asked in neutral tone.

"Baby, where are you going tonight?"

"A bunch of us girls are heading over for a stand-up comedy performance. One of the girl's boyfriends is performing. Then we're going for drinks after that."

"Oh, you want me to come?"

"No," she said and laughed out loud. I was a little more than miffed.

"Okay see you tonight. Don't be so late okay."

"Hmmm, see you tonight."

The phone clicked immediately. As if Nina had no interest at all in talking to me, her husband. What was she doing there? Doing her make up? Rummaging through things in the kitchen? 

I stared at my phone for awhile. Fear like a snake settled in the pit of my stomach. Nina's indifference to me was driving me nuts. I haphazardly texted Josephine, asking to see her in the evening. She had replied almost immediately. "Sure sexy."

Suddenly Josephine wasn't so desirable in my eyes. My cold indifferent wife was the desirable one, the one I wanted to possess. I pushed these women out of my mind and forced myself to focus on work. At the back of my mind, I pushed out all thoughts of Nina having an affair. 

Sex with Josephine in the evening was selfish. I was impatient and using her for all the anxiety I was having.

"What's the matter babe?" she had cooed sexily but to no effect on me.  Josephine had gone out of the way by ordering champagne and chocolates.

I felt better after rolling over her but found myself making excuses to leave soon after. I saw the hurt in Josephine's eyes as she put on her bathrobe. 

"Are we seeing each other tomorrow?" the confidence she had 3 days ago had disappeared from her voice. Her feelings for me and my detachment had reduced her to a scared woman, desperate at clutching at me.

"I'll call you."

"How about lunch?" 

"I can't, I need to pick Kiran up tomorrow. Nina has an appointment," I lied.

There was silence.

"In the evening?"

"Sure," I lied again. That would be the last time I saw Josephine. I would ignore her calls until she flew back to Singapore. She was a shell of a woman she was in the matter of a few days of being with me. And God help me. I wanted my wife more badly than ever.

THE END

Wrote this in a flash a few years ago, teehee :) It was a bit of fun.