Two-timing

John stood at the bus door; his heart beat was fluctuating. The time he passed with Tina felt him like a strange test. A lady with eyes full of mischief and curiosity was sitting beside him for hours long. She shook his hand before leaving and gave her visiting card to him with a playful smile. He became froze and totally upset for a moment and couldn’t even breathe.
He stepped off the bus and looked at the small card in his hand. It read simply:

“Tina — Call me.

He became surprised!
” No address, no detail, just an invitation.

All the way back to his hotel room, his mind twisted eagerly.
Why did she give me her card? Maybe she was just being friendly. Maybe she gives it to everyone… Or maybe, she saw something in me. But deep in his heart down, he knew that this was not casual. Tina’s smile was not like a stranger. It refers to a feeling of some mischief.
He sat on bed and started looking at his phone. Photo of his wife stood framed on the nightstand. He picked it up and again set it back down. His chest felt heavy. His fingers moved almost on their own, dialling the number on the card. He stopped halfway, breathing hard. Though he was obviously feeling guilt that was already eating him alive.

What am I doing? I love my wife. But… Tina’s eyes… her voice…
Then, against his better judgment, he pressed call.

“Hello?” Tina’s voice was soft but carried a spark, as if she had been waiting. That one word made John’s world tilt. He closed his eyes, torn between desire and conscience.

“John?” she asked, her voice teasing.
“Yes… it’s me,” he whispered.

There was silence, then Tina laughed lightly. “I knew you would call me.”
John tightened his fist. That laugh, that tone, his six sense was alarming him that it was a dangerous game. He felt an intoxicating rush, For a moment. He could go further. He could dive into this new thrill. But then, like a cold wave, his wife’s voice rebounded in his memory. The way she had asked on the bus if he had reached safely. The warmth in her words. The trust in her tone.

He swallowed hard and said firmly!
“Tina, you are so charming, but I can not do this. I have someone waiting for me who trusts me. I would never break that.”

There was silence on the other end. For a second, he feared she might mock him.
Instead, Tina’s voice softened. “I see! most men would not have stopped. Maybe your wife is very lucky.” Then she hung up.

John put down the phone, his hands were still vibrating but now he was totally relaxed. He realized the fact that, enticement had been sweet for a moment, but guilt would have poisoned him forever.

He looked at the sparkling lights of the city from the window of his room. He smiled in a relaxed mood without a fake excitement.

The next morning when he took out the card and stared at it for a long. Then he tore it into pieces. Throwing it into the bin. He felt a strange relief. Meanwhile he received a text from an unknown number:

“Good choice, John. You passed the test.”

He was looking at the screen in a confused state of mind, asking himself, Was Tina just a stranger? Or had life sent her as a test of his loyalty? John never found out. But he knew one thing that he had secured his dignity, his marriage, and his soul undamaged.