Illicit Affair Pt. 02

- Is this coffee for me? (Damir's first words to Zahra, simple words accompanied with a big smile)

During Covid epidemic inhabitants of our street became more connected not less. Everybody was hanging outside a lot and we meet each other during frequent walks in the afternoons. We talked to each other quite a lot, smalltalk really, always on the safe distance of at least five yards. I left my wife doing most of the talking. I payed enough attention to nod in approval at right moments. Most of the people living nearby belong to the class of corporate employers (banking, hospitals, IT, public service, universities, and so on and so on) who mostly discussed problems working through Zoom, royal family, local gossip, and so on and so on. The only questions intended for me, concerned the epidemic situation in Balkans and the ill informed questions if we were part of the Soviet Union.

The only time I was not bored with conversation taking place was when we met a couple of seemingly ill-matched persons, just like my wife and me. He was, so it turned out, employed in the same global corporation as my wife. Both worked in rather senior positions and they knew each other. They were both very talkative and discussed seemingly endless problems of corporate life. After some time his wife finally entered the conversation and told us her name is Zahra and that she works in local kindergarten. She was shy, but oh so beautiful. When my wife said my name is Damir, Zahra asked me, what kind of name is it. I explained that this is Bosnian name and added a further remark, that her name in Bosna is spelled Zehra. Zahra's husband asked when I came to UK, so I told him that I came to do a PhD, and that because of complications with my "not pure enough" background I prefer to stay here than to return to Bosna. I was looking him in the eyes as I speak, but my words were meant for Zahra. After I finished my explanation, I saw in her eyes that she was listening to my reply with interest. I wondered how those two, seemingly different, people ever ended up together.

About a year ago I went outside with my photo equipment. I was headed to the nearby park, where you can see people who want to be with one leg in the eastern hemisphere and one leg in the western hemisphere. I'm also one of them at least metaphorically. I also have one foot in Bosnia and the other in England. I saw Zahra was outside and alone. I decided against rushing to the park and walked slowly in the direction of their house. When I arrived t, I said

- Salaam Zahra khanum. Haletun chetore? (hello Mrs. Zahra, how are you?).

- Salaam Damir agha. Shoma Farsi baladid? (you understand Farsi?)

She was genuinely surprised.

- No, no, no. I just know few useful words. During my stay in England I met many Iranians, so I picked up some basic daily phrases. I guess your husband speaks Farsi fluently?

- No, he doesn't. We speak English when we are alone. Farsi is not easy language to learn. He is very busy, he works long hours, I don't blame him.

There was something missing in her voice, some presence of affection towards the man she was talking about. Because of this fact, I continued the conversation.

- You were born in London?

- No. I was born in a place called Isfahan. We lived there until I was 7.

- Isfahan, aha. I wonder if you fit stereotype we have about women from Iran.

- You know Isfahan?

- No, I was in Iran only once, briefly when I was student. I went from Bosna to India, partially with cheap local transport, partially as a hitchhiker. I stayed in Tabriz and Tehran.

- Did you reach your final destination?

- Yes. I came to New Delhi eventually. Before that I visited in Kashmir and Ladakh. I returned by plane via Moscow to Croatia.

- So what is it?

- What do you mean?

- (big smile) Your stereotype. You said you have stereotype about Iranian women.

- Oh yes. You are all carpet making masters. Do you make carpets?

- No. Sorry. I work in kindergarten, so I paint, play the flute, I knit, I crochet, I sew and I like to take photos of children when they play, we post some on our kindergarten web page. I have a small weaving machine, but I don't use it anymore. Are you a professional photographer? You carry a huge bag.

- Not really. When I was student in BiH, I worked as a amateur journalist for a local newspaper and its web page. I got a gift from a real professional; an analogue camera and a stock of black and white film. There was also a film development room in the basement of one of our campus residence buildings. I submitted my works few times to an annual student competition and even got a small price once. It is not much, but I like to be creative in my free time. Now I mostly use my digital camera.

- Could you perhaps teach me some useful tricks? I would like to be a better photographer.

- In principle yes. When we are both free and my wife and your husband will have one of those important corporate meeting, we will go to the park. What kind of photography you prefer? I mean as a hobby, not connected with kindergarten.

- Taking photos of nature make me feel good and relaxed.

- Do you have time right now?

- Sorry, I must prepare supper for my husband. But I would really like to go with you once.

- Okay. Deal. At the first suitable opportunity.

- Is it true what someone told me, that you were also a professional swimmer?

- No. I never earn any real money from swimming. I had the costs of participating in competitions and equipment costs paid. If you want to know, whether I can swim all four competitive styles and all seven turns, I can. You also like swim?

- I like to swim, but nowadays we rarely go swimming. My husband does not like indoor swimming. I can only swim with my head out, in a kind of sloppy version of breaststroke. My wish is to learn to swim properly. I checked and found that there are many swimming drills videos on the internet, but it is too complicated for me to learn how to swim well on my own. I thought about enrolling in an adult course, but I never did. Do you perhaps offer private lessons?

- No, I have never done that. When I was competing, I spent all my free time time for my own practice sessions. Now I'm too busy with my teaching at college. I go to the pool three times a week just to stretch my muscles. I see a lot of mistakes people do whilst swimming, but I never interfere with what they do. Sometimes I even see someone watching my turns. They have goggles on and look underwater, how I turn in freestyle or in backstroke. Perhaps you can join me? I am sure I can help you to significantly improve your swimming.

- You go to the pool by yourself?

- Yes. My wife is not that much into swimming. She prefers opera and tennis. I prefer world etno music and swimming, so if you want to join me, I will be quite happy to offer you some one on one coaching.

- I would like that Damir agha.

- Okay. We will work this out somehow. Zahra khanum, I will go now. It is time for Khoda hafiz (may God protect you). Inshallah we will once do both, photography and swimming. Take care.

- Khoda zafiz Damir agha, it was really nice to talk with you.

- Bye.

I started to think seriously about the way can I teach Zahra how to swim really effortlessly and elegantly. I made a tentative plan which drills and what equipment is needed. Five months passed by before I managed to speak with Zahra again, and uttered those historical words "is this coffee for me" which changed our lives so profoundly.

When the covid hysteria was more or less over, one of our neighbors got the idea to organize a big Saturday picnic on a sunny autumn weekend. Everyone should bring something to eat, and the hosts provided ground meat for the barbecue. In my home country we call this dish a patty, but in England it is called a burger. When my wife and I arrived, there were about 40 people on the back lawn, and a few more in the living room and kitchen. Zahra and her husband were already there. Given the nature of the event, I didn't expect to have the opportunity to speak with Zahra face-to-face, so I stood near the grill and started a conversation with our host about how to make a good patty. It turned out that many of our neighbors, including my wife, began to gather around the natural leader of the pack, who turned out to be Zahra's husband.

Just as I walked to the back entrance of the house looking for the toilet, Zahra, holding a cup of coffee in her hand, walked in the opposite direction so that we almost collided. She looked up (our difference is 187 minus 163 centimeters) and smiled when she recognized me. Luckily I didn't ruin her dress with a huge amount of coffee so I laughed

- Is this coffee for me?

- Oh, you want coffee. Please take it.

- I was joking Zahra khanum. You are not my servant.

- No, no, take it please. I'll go get another one for myself.

It was now or never. I decided to take the risk.

- Can we use this coffee to talk? I have two ideas I'd like to tell you about.

- Okay. I'm just going to find another coffee. I can also bring us the Persian pastry that I made for this party. Want to try?

- With pleasure.

I went for a pee, while she went to the kitchen and brought us one more cup of coffee and some Persian sweets made by her lovely hands. We sat down on the couch in the living room.

- I thought a lot about how to implement our swimming lesson. I have an idea. At the pool I sometimes go to, they are just starting a course on the basics of competitive swimming. The course is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 18:00 to 19:00. You can tell your husband that you signed up for swimming lessons. I'll be there, of course. They only use two lanes for trainees, so one of the lanes should be empty for us. We will swim together, you will learn by observing and repeating after me. We can discuss the details some other time. You either trust me to know what I'm doing or you don't. So what do you say? Just yes or no is enough.

- Yes.

- Good. Another thing is private communication. I suggest that we open two new postal accounts, without our real names. Your husband would find it strange if I kept calling you on the phone. There are many details to discuss concerning swimming. A separate fasting drawer solves all problems. So again, yes or no?

- Yes. I will be Shirin1177 and you will be Farhad1177. Will you remember?

- I do not believe. Open both accounts and send me the link and password to my work email.

- Okay, I'll fix it. Do you like my sweets?

- A lot. All right, let's go back to the garden. I will check my mail this evening and get back to you.

In the evening I got a mail from zahra which with details, so I decided to try it out

and wrote my first missive.

Farhad1177>

Dear Zahra.

1. (not very important, when you have time) Please tell me what is the story behind the choice of Shirin and Farhad aliases.
2. In order to learn swimming in all four strokes (they are called freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke,butterfly) you need some equipment. We should go to the swimming equipment store together. Store is in Reading.
3. Please browse through their web page and choose which training suit you like. The important thing is to be made from chlorine resistant material like polyester, otherwise you will have to throw it away after 20 swims.

Shirin1177>

1. watch movie called Shirin // read about the work of the poet Nizami Ganjavi and especially the poem whose title is Khosrow and Shirin.
2. I like the idea of going to Reading with you. Next Tuesday my husband will go to Leeds and stay there overnight. If you have time, we might go to Reading after 14:00.
3. I prefer simple colours, something like solid red, solid blue or solid black.

Farhad1177>

1. I watched first 10 minutes. The movie is really something completely different, as Monty Python would say it. I like it a lot.
2. We will go to Reading at around half past two..
3. I like you choice. We will buy all three of them, so you will always have dry spare.

p.s. How tall are you?

Shirin1177>

1. I will tell you more during our trip.
2. See you next Tuesday.
3. I like that you like my choice.

p.s. 163 cm

Farhad1177>

I prepared a list of all you need to became a good swimmer. Items are called, in case you want to do some web browsing:

swim cap, goggles, snorkel, nose clip, paddles, kick board, fins, pull buoy. See you on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it.

Next Tuesday finally arrived. I picked up Zahra far enough from her workplace, so we were not seen together by her coworkers. During the ride we listened favorite Bosnian music band Dubioza kolektiv. My wife doesn't like them. You really must understand their lyrics in order to like them. During our brief journey to Reading I translated lyrics to Zahra. She told me that her favorite band is called Kiosk and has similarly minded lyrics to Dubioza.

The visit to the swim shop was fun for both of us. The man working there was a former competitive swimmer himself, so we were exchanging anecdotes from good old times. I told him what my intentions are, and he helped me to choose the most appropriate items while Zahra went to the changing cabin to try the two possible sizes for the solid colour swimsuits she choose. After some time she called me:

- Damir agha, can you come here?

I walked to the cabin. She removed the curtain and I saw her in red Arena swimsuit, while she was holding the blue and the black one in her hands. All of her clothing, with blue panties on the top of it, were lying in a neat pile on a bench behind her.

- What do you think, which colour looks the best on me?

- No need to decide now, we will take all three of them. You look lovely in any of those colours. You may need dry spare, or you can just change the colours on different days for fun. About the size; which size feels better, 28 or 30?

- I will take size 30, the other one was almost impossible to put on. It's too small.

- Good. I will wait for you at the counter

I walked to the counter and pull out my credit card. Zahra joined me, and put three size 28 suits back on the counter. She didn't say a word about the fact that I was paying for the lot. We discussed this during our drive here. I'm more Bosnian that English in my way of thinking and behaving. For me it is unthinkable that woman should pay for something that involves both of us, be it a coffee, a lunch or swimming equipment. I decided to keep equipment, except swimsuits and swim caps at my home, so that Zahra would not have to confront her husband's curiosity.

I know a good Pakistani restaurant in Reading, so I invited Zahra for chicken biryani. During the dinner I explained her how exactly our teach-Zahra-how-to-swim-like-a-pro endeavor is going to look like. I told here what this new pieces of equipment are and why she needs them. We agreed that we will start practicing next Monday. When we arrived, I stopped the car about 200 meters away from our street and watch her disappear behind the corner. Since my wife and Zahra husband were both away from London, I open my laptop almost immediately after my arrival.

Farhad1177>

Thanks for a lovely day. By the way, I searched the phrase Kiosk on the internet and got quite a few results. You will translate their lyrics once we are together alone in a car.

Shirin1177>

I'm the one that should thank you. Already looking forward for Monday. You are truly a born teacher type and you were so enthusiastic when you talk about swimming. I'm sure it will be real fun to learn from you.

My wife called me from Leeds and we exchange greeting.

- Are you okay? -

- Yes. All is well at home. Are you okay?

- Yes. It was raining all the afternoon, so I didn't went out of the hotel.

- In London is cloudy, but almost no rain, except occasional drizzle. I hope your presentation tomorrow goes well.

- Thanks. So, see you tomorrow then.

- Take care. Goodnight.

After conversation with my wife I took out a new notebook and started to plan practice sessions for Zahra. I decided to follow the classical sequence: body position - leg work - arm work - breathing - turns. I also decided that we should swim in the same lane. I would mostly kick myself down the lane and observe her swimming under water. A total distance of 1000 meters is sufficient for the beginner. To make it more interesting, I decided to divide the session into four 250 meters partition, each dedicated to a single drill. In order to swim well, one must perform many repetitions of individual drills, up to the point when most movements become automatic, like when one learns to ride a car. After our joint session, I planned to slowly swim 10 time 100 meters medley in order to stretch my muscles.

My wife returned next evening. She was so tired, that she went straight to the shower, alone of course. We were not students anymore and "bitanga i princeza" wild sex story feels like a distant memory slowly fading away. My erotic daydreams now feature Zahra's in her new red swimsuit.

I wanted to be friendly with my wife for the weekend, so I joined her for a visit to her parents. I was feeling guilty because I spent a day with Zahra and it felt like I just committed my first adultery, despite the fact that nothing explicitly sexual happened. I did my best to stop thinking about Zahra and to participate in her conversation with her parents. The conversation was mainly about politics. Her parents were even more conservative leaning than m wife, while I'm left of Jeremy Corbyn, so for most of the time we politely agree that we disagree, especially in their admirations for the royal family and late Queen in particular. By the way, they never asked me anything about what was going on in Bosna and Hercegovina. They even think that Peterson is smarter that Slavoj Žižek.

They don't like me and I don't blame them. They lived in a bubble full of privileged people and I have no wish to join them. During our ride home I listened to Bosnian sevdah music my mind was full of images of a black haired, brown eyed, 163 cm tall Persian beauty, slowly taking off her clothes, one item at the time before putting on a red swimsuit.

On Monday morning I went to college, because I had to deliver a lecture. The first swimming session with Zahra was finally approaching. During the lunch break I wrote down the plan with huge letters on a piece of A4 paper and put in the plastic envelope I'm still keeping it. The text says:

Session 1

10x push off into a streamline and return to the wall

10 x 25m flutter kick with board and snorkel

10 x 25m flutter kick with snorkel in bullet position

10 x 25m flutter kick with snorkel and buoy

10 x 25m single hand freestyle with snorkel and board

When I arrived at the pool, Zahra was already waiting on a bench near a vending machine. We went to the changing cabins (separately). She emerged out of the cabin wearing the black swimsuit and black cap. I handed her a black cap. When we came out from the showers, we discovered that one line was still free. We slipped in the water on the shallow end of the pool. Most people do not know that woman and man, swimming side by side in the same lane for over an hour is very erotic. It's in fact a type of foreplay.