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The Perfect Man

Fiction

“I can get you arrested for attempting to bribe a government officer,” Alex said imperiously to the man sitting in front of him.

The man had come to get his contribution to the Labourers’ Welfare Fund assessed.  “One percent of the total cost of construction is the legal amount,” Alex had told him.  “I have assessed the cost of the construction of your house as ₹70 lakh.  So you have to contribute ₹70,000 to the Labourers’ Welfare Fund.”

The man pleaded with Alex to reduce the cost of construction to ₹40 lakh.  “₹10,000 will be yours,” the man said sotto voce. 

After threatening the man with imprisonment, Alex threw a glance at Leela who sat at the next table.  Leela was Alex’s colleague.  “Isn’t she impressed with my honesty?”  Leela pretended not to have heard anything and carried on with her work.

It didn’t matter, of course.  His honesty was not meant to impress anyone.  He was an honest officer unlike other government officers.  He had an exemplary sense of morality.  He was proud of that.

He was proud of himself.  He thought he was quite a perfect man.  A man of values and principles.  A man of convictions.  An ideal government officer.  And an ideal husband at home.

Catherine, his wife, had a high regard for him.  She cooked for him his favourite dishes, washed his clothes, pressed them, polished his shoes and kept the home spick and span as he wished it to be.

“Then why did she do this to me?”  Alex could not understand.  He had returned from office as usual.  He expected his hot cup of coffee as usual.  And some snacks prepared by Catherine herself.  Instead what awaited him was a letter.

Dear Alex,

I’m leaving.  What you need is a robot, a robot as perfect as you.  What I need is love.  Raju who works in our farms loves me.  I love the passion with which he makes love to me when you are perfecting your perfection at the office.

Good bye.


Catherine

Comments

  1. JaiNovember 27, 2017 at 7:03 PM

    Excellent story sir!!! It does not matter how perfect one may be unless he or she has generosity of soul and is capable of love..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 27, 2017 at 7:07 PM

      Self-righteous people fail to establish strong relationships because of that lack of generosity of soul. They become priests, I think. :)

      Delete
  2. Renu VyasNovember 28, 2017 at 11:38 AM

    Ouch...so much for righteousness and honesty ! In his quest for perfection he forgot the warmth of being a human :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pranju chakrapaniNovember 30, 2017 at 1:11 PM

    Now I didn't understand the sarcasm behind the post. What has honesty to do with love making capacity? Did I miss anything?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 30, 2017 at 5:59 PM

      Is it honesty or self-righteousness? When the protagonist turns to his colleague for approval or appreciation, it ceases to be honesty and turns into self-righteousness. A man who treats his wife as a cook, laundress and shoeshine cannot be a true lover. Such people have one face in the society and quite another in private life. No woman will ever find them an ideal husband, though some women may like such people because such women themselves share some of the qualities of their counterparts. They know how to make use of the given opportunity and find their own limelight in the society using the husband's light.

      Delete

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