Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Sheila (She for short) had been married for less than a year. The first few months had been blissful. Her husband was handsome, had all the right credentials, degrees from top universities and was fast climbing the corporate ladder. He was also a man of diverse interests, with progressive ideas. He was witty, with impeccable manners and a great dresser. In short, he had been the catch of the county. She felt lucky to have married him. He made her breathless with unexpected gifts, was very careful about not offending her. His extravagant apologies, if he ever did hurt her in any small way, had made her heart swell with love (as she knew it) for him.

But off late, she found herself wishing and wanting. For what, she did not know. She felt mildly irritated when she heard her 'hubby's' (as she referred to him) softly murmured endearments during private moments. It tired her that she had to spend all her evenings with him. Now that She was married, she was out of the social circle at her workplace. She felt unfulfilled in some odd way. Slowly, her colleagues began to notice the change in her way of dressing. It was a little enticing, a little teasing, a little too screaming-for-attention. She exercised fiercely and tried to look younger. Her husband loved her even more for he thought that the little changes were for his private appreciation. His naivette only increased her disgust. What a simpleton he was!

But hark! it was not as if she was frustrated with her married life. She loved her husband, she really really really did. It was just that she wanted the best of both the worlds. She wanted to be desperately accosted by men and then to refuse their advances as she was after all, the epitome of virtue. She craved the challenge of sacrifice, the impossibility of her situation that would break eligible men's hearts. She yearned for that sense of achievement. She was merely a harmless unfulfilled romantic.

What she did not know was that she was referred to as the OfficeSlut during the one time her name came up during a cafeteria conversation.