" I will, but not after I go to bed "

Since long I didn’t hear from a close friend of mine and so, I called him.
” Anna, hope things are fine at your end. No call since long. ”
” Your Manni doesn’t allow me to go near the phone, leave away, using it.”
“Oh, she is not at home now ?”
”She has gone to the temple. I wish she stays there, ever. My God, she is back; I am keeping the phone down”
“Hold on for a minute more please and hand over the phone to Manni”
“Manni,why this new punishment for my Anna?”
“You won’t ask this question, had you known what he did.”
“Tell me, please”
“He speaks to his girl friend, for an hour every night, after I go to bed”
” I am not surprised, having known him, from his young days. But how did you come to know that ?”
“I caught him red handed through the wireless parallel, I had hidden under my pillow”
Now her worthy husband came on the line.
“Anna, who is that lucky girl?”
“Our Pitcu patti. I was discussing with her Ramayanam and Gita ”
Now the phone changed hands.
“Lie. I have recorded their conversation”
” You had a recorder too under your pillow, manni?”
‘Modern techniques come handy to catch such shameless criminals” .
” Good. what was the response from the other side, Manni?”
“Surprisingly, no response”
“Not a surprise for me as, in fact, there was none at the other end”
‘What do you mean ?”
“There was none on the other end, I assure you. Anna was just playing a trick, to make you envy him and draw you closer to him. All the husbands do that when they grow old !”
” Oh, my God ! Which other husband will play such a nasty trick ?”
“I did.”
”You did ? How did the mild-mannered Ammalu handle that?”
”She is mild-mannered indeed; She threw me out along with my baggage.”
“You are on the street now? Come here, I will  talk to Ammalu.”
“I have reached Kasi. Send my Anna too, Let his crime be washed in the holy waters”
“Crime, what crime did he commit? Speaking to air is a crime? And how dare you to ask me to send him to Kasi ? I can’t live without him for a moment.”
“Then allow him to use the phone. ”
”I will, but not after I go to bed”
 
Hyderabad,
Jan 14, 2013