Buffering Love Read online

  They kept in touch through short calls and messages that only indicated that Kabir was developing feelings for Amy. ‘Can’t wait to get back to our balcony,’ he would often say.

  ‘Our’ balcony—the thought did not seem alien to Amy any more. She wanted to get back to him at the earliest and give him news of Lower Valley Capital’s interest in Play.

  That’s when destiny took an unexpected turn.

  One of Marc’s most high-profile start-up investments called Blink—a photo-sharing app—went bankrupt. Since he required help on all fronts to shore up last-minute liquidation efforts, he asked Amy to stay back longer.

  ‘It will take another four weeks, at best. Since everything that you are handling is still in the early stages, you can help me deal with this mess first. In the meantime, let the APAC office handle your India decisions for the time being.’

  On the one hand, Amy was upset that it would be another month before she could meet Kabir, but on the other, she was happy that the Asia-Pacific office could deal directly with Kabir and she wouldn’t have to bring up the issue of the conflict of interest of her knowing Kabir only too well. She wanted the deal to be as clean as possible.

  That evening, she finally broke the news to him that she had to stay back for another month. ‘I can’t wait to get back either, but it’s just . . . Marc really needs me here and I couldn’t say no.’

  Kabir was crestfallen. He was looking forward to seeing her. As his funds dried up, Amy was the only sliver of brightness in his life. And that’s when that sole sliver of light sprung up to brighten his day. ‘And listen, I spoke to Marc about Play. He is interested and has directed the APAC office to get in touch with you. You will have a pitch next week. Get your numbers ready and make them solid. If they like you, they could go all in with a 2-million USD round.’

  Kabir couldn’t believe the sound of it. ‘But I thought you said Marc’s company won’t do content start-ups?’

  ‘He wouldn’t have. If not for me. But you can thank me for it later. On our balcony.’

  After the call, Kabir sat down to come to terms with all that he suddenly had on his plate. He had a lot to accomplish for the meeting next week. After three rounds of video conferences, the APAC team flew Kabir down to Hong Kong in a month’s time for a final Investment Committee meeting. The verdict was unanimous: Play had a solid future and Lower Valley Capital was going to invest 2 million USD.

  That night Kabir and Amy talked for hours on a WhatsApp call. She couldn’t have enough of his voice and he couldn’t stop either.

  Meanwhile, Amy’s US visit was extended by another month and Kabir went full steam ahead with the plans of his app launch on both the Play Store and App Store.

  ‘I will be there in July,’ she declared to Kabir. ‘Let’s go someplace you and I can get some time together.’

  For the first time, Kabir hesitated to reciprocate. ‘I am not sure, Amy. It might be peak launch time for the app.’

  Amy understood and didn’t press further. Both of them were consumed with work over the next month. Finally, when she took off from San Francisco, she was delighted as she put her headphones on. Mumbai was beginning to seem like home now.

  When she landed, Kabir wasn’t there to pick her up as he had promised.

  ‘There’s been a major tech snag. I need to be here. But I will see you tomorrow, won’t I?’

  Amy didn’t have it in her to tell him to come right away. She said yes softly. Her jetlag was troubling. She spent the night watching a Wong Kar-wai film.

  The app launch was a big deal for Kabir. He had barely managed a wink of sleep. Towards the end of the day, he texted her. ‘Tomorrow, you and I, out on the town.’

  She replied, ‘When?’

  ‘I will meet you at 7 p.m. for a quick drink. We launch at 9 p.m. I will be in office to cut a cake and then leave to pick you up.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan. Finally. ☺’

  Kabir could almost hear her smile. The next day, Amy was too tired to go to office. She worked from home and beamed as the clock struck seven. Right on cue, the doorbell rang.

  It was the newspaper vendor, wanting to clear his bill of the past two months.

  ‘So sorry, got delayed. I will text you at 10 p.m. and we’ll fix a place,’ read a text from Kabir when she got back to her mobile phone.

  This was the first time an exchange with Kabir had sounded like a transaction.

  Play took off that night with one of the best launches in the history of apps in India. She spent the evening on their balcony, waiting for his text at 10 p.m. After waiting restlessly for over an hour, finally at 11.20 p.m., she messaged to ask if he wanted to come over.

  He never replied.

  Video Star

  If you met me for the first time, you would think I couldn’t talk very well. Every woof of mine would seem identical to you. But that’s because you are not Navya. If you spoke to her, she would tell you that my vocabulary is damn good.

  How I met Navya is a long story, but I will crunch it down. Let me put it this way, she was not the first of my conquests.

  That came out wrong, didn’t it? Let’s rewind. Woof!

  I was born in a pack of four or five. Or maybe six. I could never count right. I struggled with my siblings to get my share of mom’s milk and it always seemed more crowded than four then. Anyway, I digress. But as a chocolate-brown Labrador, you must know, digression is what I live for. Where was I? Ah . . .

  It was the summer of 2010 and I was barely three. My dog collar proclaimed my name—Julius. I even had a ten-digit mobile number attributed to me. Not that I ever needed it. A phone is the last thing I had any use for. Meanwhile, something bad was brewing in the West according to the papers. ‘Downturn’, ‘housing collapse’ and ‘mortgages’ were words I often heard my owners, Rashi and Akshay, bandy about in our house at the NCPA Apartments in Nariman Point.

  ‘What are the chances that the Lester Brothers would go bust?’ I heard Rashi ask Akshay one night as they lay side by side in bed.

  ‘I think we are going down a 100 per cent,’ Akshay said, before turning over to the other side.

  ‘How will we afford this apartment?’ she pressed.

  ‘We’ll see, I don’t know,’ Akshay’s reply barely registered.

  The next morning, I was back on the promenade with Akshay for my morning walk, bottom-sniffing every breed that came my way. This is why I loved Nariman Point; for the breeze and for Akshay by my side while I cavorted aimlessly.

  And then, three months later, God knows why, we moved houses. Our new house was an unlovable shack in a new place called Andheri. I had never been there before and I suppose I aged a decade in human years during that never-ending drive. Let me tell you, it is not a safe place to walk for us dogs. Vegetable vendors, locksmiths and cobblers splayed themselves across the footpath and terribly loud trains ran overhead without notice. If there was a civilization whose finest achievement was cacophony, Andheri was it.

  But it wasn’t just Andheri that gave me the creeps. I once saw Rashi sob on the cushions on the couch all alone. When I went to her, she hugged me tight. It made me queasy.

  One night after Akshay came back, they spoke to each other in high-pitched voices. It seared my eardrums and the next thing I knew, Akshay kissed me and walked out alone in the middle of the night. I stood at the door all night, waiting for him to come back, but he didn’t.

  My walks became shorter every day with Rashi. She would run out of breath in ten minutes. I didn’t like it any more. If you are a dog (and I most certainly hope you are), you know what I mean. We like long walks, long runs and long fetch missions. Don’t hang a ball in a bathroom over our head and ask us to fetch it from the bedroom—it’s insulting.

  I was unhappy and I could see Rashi was unhappy too. But what I liked about her was that she still made the effort. One fine morning, she took me in her car to a large water place. You might have seen swimming pools in your lifetime but you don’t know about thi
s one. It was like this massive swimming pool of waves that kept thudding into the sands ashore. This was nuts!

  The huge waves kept slamming me in my face and I loved it. Rashi took me off the leash. To be honest with you, there can’t be a bigger swimming pool than this one. We had one in our apartment complex back at Nariman Point, but that was like a drop in the ocean compared to this.

  What a happy day it was! I licked the hell out of Rashi’s ears that day, but I could still see her crying. It was the first time my slobbery kisses didn’t dry her tears. Later that evening, we sat down on the sand and I felt the breeze on my nostrils. It carried with it that salty waft of popcorn that put me to sleep.

  When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t find Rashi. I ran up and down the long stretches of sand. Was I dreaming? No, of course not. Someone had taken her away from me. I tried to follow the trail of her smell to the car. But our compact four-wheeler wasn’t around. It was mysterious. Someone had taken Rashi away from me and flicked the car. Jeez, Rashi. I hope she got home all right.

  Stupid me, how could I sleep off? And what about my supreme power of smell? Couldn’t I trace her back? I still had my collar on me. Oh gosh, what did I do!

  I roamed around wherever the sands of this large new swimming pool took me. I found some friends occasionally. Some were rather aggressive and my friendly bottom-sniffs towards these dogs were met with fierce growling. Once, a lumbering Rottweiler even leapt to try and bite me.

  This wasn’t pleasant any more. The popcorn now started smelling stale every day and if I ever ventured towards the road, I found it awfully difficult to get to the other side. Once, a car almost ran over me. I preferred the sands compared to the loud honks on the road and decided to make it my home. And then, one day, I saw this girl come running towards me.

  I have had human kids run towards me before and I always let them hug me, pat me or just stroke my forehead but this one did something very few kids do. She went for my belly. It was almost embarrassing with so many people looking at me. I mean, not that I didn’t like it. I lurrvved it. I am not one for much PDA but this girl, boy oh boy, she was totally risqué in wooing me. I closed my eyes and lifted my paws and that’s when I heard a name—Navya—her parents called out to her.

  She was taking a stroll on the beach with her mom, Sarika, and dad, Roshan.

  Well, then what, you ask? I went for the jugular. I sprang upon her parents. And they patted me and stroked my forehead and chin. Everything but the belly. I guess they were a little conservative that way.

  And then her dad went away for some time while Navya and her mom hung out with me. It was time for me to meet my other friends near the large swimming pool for snacks but I didn’t mind being with the family here. And then her father returned. With.a.leash.

  ‘Get outta here! That’s the same leash Rashi had! Will you take me to Rashi?’

  I had a ton of questions buzzing through my head. The leash smelt different though. Like new. Navya knelt down and lovingly put it around my neck. Wait a minute. Was Nayva going to take me for a walk? Like the good old days with Akshay? I had no clue, but I leapt ahead with the thought and she sprinted instinctively with me on the sand. The wind hit us in our faces. We looked at each other. I knew I was in love with her.

  The next thing I know I was in a new car and had landed in a new home with a nice corner underneath the stairs. Then came a new bedsheet, a new water bowl and a new food bowl along with a new name: Max!

  She must’ve been about ten or eleven, maybe. Or twelve. I don’t know. Counting wasn’t ever my forte. I had a little girl taking care of me now and it had never happened to me before. Both Akshay and Rashi were grown-ups, but Navya was different. She had so much time for me! We were now in Juhu, by the way. I liked this hip neighbourhood way better than Andheri.

  How I loved my Sundays. It was time spent in the sun and rolling on the sand on that beach Navya and her parents had found me on.

  A few months later, they sent me for training. It was so much fun. It was with this sweet blonde lady who took us to a park near the house. I even had some classmates for company—terriers, dachshunds, Great Danes—oh Lord, I can’t even recall the others. Now, that was my kind of party and don’t even get me started on the treats.

  Every day was a riot. First, we trained in the park and then at home. But, you see, I was a little ahead of the class. A canine prodigy in the heart of Juhu, you could say.

  The terrier and I would often compare notes at the end of each class about how many treats each pooch got. I was way ahead of the others. I guess the trainer told mom and dad about me, and soon this sweet trainer started coming home. I missed my friends from the park, but advanced education can get lonely at the top. You can’t have a world-class thesis without a solitary existence. But you also can’t have a world-class protégé without a master like Navya.

  As smart as the trainer was, I was only interested in wooing Navya. When her friends came home, she would strut me around and make me go through all the commands. ‘Sit’, ‘Leave’, ‘Stay’, ‘Newspaper’, ‘TV Remote’ and what not. I knew them all by heart. Every time I followed the rhythm of her voice she would come running to me to give me a chin rub. Apparently, during these sessions I was ‘Good boy Max’.

  ‘Good Boy’ is like knighthood for us dogs. We don’t know what it does, but we want it. I was Navya’s Good Boy. At night, she hugged me close when she slept. I often woke up in the middle of the night only to see if she was sleeping soundly. She never told me explicitly but I saw her doing the same for me too. I pretended I was asleep. I had to try hard to not wag my tail during those moments.

  While at class, I was taught a few more advanced tricks. Like standing on my hind legs up to a count of ten. And that trainer, oh God, what delightful hands she possessed. Her belly rubs were legendary! Like a bae gone rogue. The most difficult thing I learnt from her was when she taught me how to sit like humans and do the pee-pee. It was Mission Impossible but that insane belly rub got me going.

  I had difficulty perching myself in the initial days, but it was a piece of cake afterwards. OMG! The treats you would get if you just did that once. And then if you also stood up and pressed a button that would bring a gush of water, it was like getting laid and eating fried chicken at the same time.

  My going to the bathroom impressed Navya and mom and dad because at every party they would make me do it. All the humans would line up to watch. Once I pressed the button that brought the water, I could see everyone laugh and give me those coochy-coos and good-boy invocations all over again.

  Truth be told, I wasn’t too fond of that excess attention. But a little exhibitionism for Navya and mom and dad for the love they showered on me was nothing.

  It was great for a few years. And then, one day, I felt a pain in my leg, the left hind leg to be specific. Then magically, the pain spread to my other legs as well. I didn’t like those long walks any more. I preferred shorter ones. I could still do my tricks in the bathroom but not the toilet trick any more. Mom and dad understood that.

  Navya was growing up like a wild mushroom. She was much taller than me now. Imagine there used to be a time when we both stood at the same height. It was her fifteenth birthday when a lot of her friends came home. After everyone left, mom and dad entered our room (well, Navya’s room technically) and gifted her a rectangular device in a white box that had the image of a half-eaten apple on it. I had seen Akshay and Rashi use that device very often.

  You might know what I am talking about. These humans, they bring this thing to the ear and then talk to it. Honestly, I don’t know what the fuss is about. We dogs do just fine without it.

  But Navya was happy and fiddled with it all day. She started spending less time with me now.

  Earlier, she would come from school and we would raid the house for goodies, but she began to skip that routine. She would keep staring at this device. She traded those chin rubs for me with swipes and clicks on that thing. At times, I would lay by her fee
t and lick her to remind her that I was around, but boy was she addicted to this! She would also be so tired peering into this thing before sleeping that she stopped waking up to check on me like she used to. Not that it made any difference to me. I was still waking up to see if she was sleeping tight.

  But Navya also turned a little cuckoo. Without notice, she would come near me and bring that device right to my face. I would eagerly bring myself closer to her, and suddenly all I would hear was the sharp sound of a click. The click made me crazy. She would call my name and, bang, the thing would go click. It was like the sound of a shutter opening and closing in quick succession.

  Then she would show me how I looked on that device. I had seen myself in mirrors before but my tail was always wagging; I could see it. But on this device, my tail stood still. Phew, wasn’t that sick!

  Most of my moments were captured on that device, like time that had gone by but frozen and shoved in your face. How’s that for magic? Cool, right? Well, it was all Navya, she was a magical girl.

  There was also this thing they kept calling a video. Every conversation about her friends on that device was about this video, that video, Gangnam video, cat video. Such craze, I tell ya, with everyone peering into similar devices and looking at videos.

  One day, while Navya was busy with her homework, she called out my name repeatedly. She wanted me to sit on the toilet. I knew that sign. Did she really want me to sit on the toilet seat again? I wanted to tell her that it was getting painful but it was Navya, so I tried.

  I couldn’t get going the first couple of times, but there I was on my fourth attempt. I tucked my little butt against the back of the toilet and placed my legs on the seat and relieved myself. I was shivering with anxiety. A little push and my knees would’ve given way. But, hey, I came through.