Dobie and Me: Chapter 17

 Read Chapter 16 here 

What stopped me from contacting him? Pride, of course! Every time my fingers lingered over his number, I withdrew them quickly. I did not want to sound desperate, all the more because I was desperate.

And, then the glance they exchanged, the emotions they revealed! That moment, those two faces… I shook my head to dislodge the memory. But it wouldn’t go away. I couldn’t forget the way the two had looked at each other – her eyes… That expression! That eagerness!

I swallowed, my heart fluttering.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 16

Click here for the previous chapter

Gautam left at around 10. We were chatting on Whatsapp, reviewing the dinner, when he suddenly vanished for a long while. Just as I went to bed at 11.30, he messaged, “Mother unwell. Taking her to hospital.”

She passed away later that night. The funeral was to be the next day, by afternoon after his uncles reached from different cities.

The 'Un-Holi' Crime

The concrete jungle in the desert city of Abu Dhabi sprang to life as the lights came on. Sabina, nearly at the end of her shift, reached Room No. 724 in the hotel she worked, pushing her trolley ahead of her. She quickly and efficiently pulled out the cleaning liquid, new set of bedsheets and pillow covers and opened the door. The room was dark and stuffy. She smelled something, but could not say what it was. It made her uncomfortable. She inserted the key in the slot and entered the bathroom. She saw red spots on the floor and paused, feeling tensed.

She stepped back and noticed the floor. The stains led up to the bed. She saw the prone figure, swathed in blood. She let out a scream and ran out, not stopping till she was in the manager’s cabin. She was inconsolable, and the effort of keeping herself together seemed to have exerted her beyond her capacity at that moment. She fainted.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 15

Click here to begin at the beginning

Click here for previous chapter

Shiv was out before I woke up the next morning and returned late in the night. Before I could ask him if he had had dinner, he banged his room door shut. Amit followed soon after and was gentler. He even sat with me and told me about his day. Taking Gautam’s advice, I tried hard not to think of this difficult matter and maintain a calm front. Dobie seemed to sense the anger in the air and was sulking, not responding to Amit’s invitation to sit by him.

“What’s with him?” Amit asked edgily.

“Dobie,” I called out softly. He turned his face to the wall. “He is behaving like the two of you,” I couldn’t help commenting.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 14

For those who came in late, the short serial Dobie and Me begins here

Click here For Chapter 13

“How did it go?” Gautam asked me on the phone later in the evening.

I started crying. “Bad,” I whispered.

“Do you want me to come over?” he asked softly. But I knew his mother was not doing well and he had to be home. Also, I didn’t want my sons to see him right now. They were out, but I expected them back anytime.

“No,” I said hoarsely.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 13

Read Chapter 12 here, if you missed it 

Telling my sons was not easy. Shiva looked dazed and Amit… Oh my poor boy! He couldn’t speak. I felt miserable as I watched them struggle with the news. “How, what? What are you saying?” Amit asked.

“I know it is not easy for you, Amit, Shiv…”

“It is our age to have girlfriends, not yours to have a boyfriend!” Shiv burst out, leaving me baffled. “You have us! Aren’t we enough?” he asked and started crying.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 12

Read Chapter 11, if you haven't yet

Dobie was snoozing. He barely opened his eyes when we entered, and went back to his beauty nap.

I cleaned his dish and put some fresh food in it. Gautam joined me in the kitchen and I started making coffee without asking. He placed the cups on the counter and added sugar. I brewed coffee. The silence hung between us. I was immensely disappointed at this transformed man, and uncomfortable when I caught him staring at me.

Finally, I turned to face him, though uncertainly.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 11

(Click here for Chapter 10)

“Who is he, ma?” Amit asked when Shiv, he and I sat down for dinner that night.

I knew who he meant, of course, but I stalled. “Who?”

“Gautam, the man who was here this morning…”

“Who was here this morning?” Shiv asked, not taking his eyes off his phone.

Dobie and Me - Chapter 10

Read Chapter 9 here

The house seemed fuller, and emptier, when my sons visited me. There was much noise when they were around, much laughter, teasing and fights. Much love.

And then, when they went off to meet their friends, I felt the silence pressing against me.

Their timings were uncertain, as usual, putting me in a bind. I had to accept that they were adults and had to have a life of their own. I tried to resume mine, but a sort of lethargy set in and I stayed in the limbo – neither able to work nor meet friends, nor enjoy the holidays completely.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 9

Read Chapter 8

When I met him a month later, he laughed on hearing of my exploits. “Is that your idea of life?” he asked snidely. “Ok, for the first month it is okay… Let’s see how you fare the coming month…”

“What do you want from me!” I asked exasperated. “You mocked me for not going to a movie or shopping! And now that I tell you I did, you still mock me!”

“Me? It is not what I want from you! It is what you want from you, from your life!” He leaned forward. “Tell me, did you enjoy yourself?”

Dobie and Me: Chapter 8

Read Chapter 7 here

The carefree college days, where all that mattered was bunking classes, the hours spent in canteen, going to movies, shopping… Shankar and I drifted close. Soon we drifted away from others, I a shadow of him, he leading me to new worlds.

One world he led me into was that of college elections. He campaigned for Pratyush, our senior. We were sophomores and Pratyush was doing his first year post graduation. Pratyush and I rarely spoke to each other, except when he wanted to give me some instruction. But he never failed to greet me, even after he won the elections and became the president. Shankar, though, became Pratyush’s understudy and spent much time with the ‘men in power’. I complained, but it fell on deaf ears.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 7

Read Chapter 6 here

A heavy silence hung between us. He caressed Dobie, who rubbed himself against Gautam’s leg. Realising how affected he was despite the years that had lapsed, I got up on the pretext of making some more coffee, giving him time to recover his composure.

When I returned with two cups, he still seemed to be lost in his past.

“How is your mother now?”

“Well, she has her days. Is under treatment… but it will worsen…” he shrugged. After a brief pause, he looked up at me and said, “Never hurt your parents, Mahek. You can never live in peace after that. I wish I had been more sensitive and paid more attention. But I made the mistake of thinking it was the usual mother-in-law daughter-in-law problem. I was ashamed of my mother!” He lowered his and covered his eyes with his hand.

Dobie and Me - Chapter 6

Click here for Chapter 5

The service guys took a couple of days to get the car cleaned, and at a hefty cost. I offered to share a part of the payment at least, but Gautam wouldn’t hear of it, thankfully. With Dobie’s treatment and two sons in college, it wasn’t easy though I was not hard up.

Gautam dropped in once in a while to see Dobie, and normally stayed back for breakfast – if he came before leaving for work - or had dinner if he came after work. We mostly discussed books – I had a big shelf with books - and travel. But I also gathered that he was divorced, he was in his early forties, he liked to travel but couldn’t because his mother was unwell.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 5

Read Chapter 4 here 

The day saw me busy cancelling all my plans for the next few days. I didn’t think I could enjoy when Dobie looked so miserable. A few friends who also loved Dobie dropped in and cheered him immensely. And me, of course. It hurt, I could see that. And he moaned a bit. It was with great difficulty he had even liquids. His face between his paws, he was a picture of misery. Oh my poor baby!

Dobie and Me: Chapter 4

(Read Chapter 3 here)

I was ready and waiting by nine. I didn’t have Gautam’s number or else I would have told him to meet me at the clinic, or not bother to come at all.

I was glad I did not have his number for that very reason.  

Dobie and Me: Chapter 3

For previous chapter: Click here

Reluctantly I left the clinic cum home of the vet and followed the man, Gautam, to his car. I realised that the car needed cleaning. “I am sorry about the mess… And thank you for the timely help,” I said finally, showing some decency.

“It’s okay… I shall have it cleaned. I am glad it was nothing serious,” he said.

Dobie and Me: Chapter 2

(To read Chapter 1, click here)

To make up for it, I took him out for a walk. It was late, almost 11. I let him lose, since the traffic was less. The joy he felt as he bounded down the road was a treat to watch.

But it was short-lived. A car turned the corner, and before Dobie could move out of the way, it hit him. The yelp pierced the night and rendered my heart in two as I watched him roll helplessly. The car screeched to a halt and the driver got out hurriedly.

He and I reached Dobie at the same time. Dobie straightened up but was unable to stand. He was whimpering.

Dobie and Me: - A Short Serial

Chapter I

I

He nuzzled me persistently, licked my face, forcing me to open my eyes. “No! Not now! It’s too early!” I complained and looked at the clock. 5.30. Damn! It wasn’t all that early!

I sat up and stared at him with a pout. It had no effect on him as he ran out of the room and ran back, his tongue lolling. I shook my head and got up with a sigh. I opened the door and let him out then went back in to freshen up.

A Brush with Bushsh: Chapter 7 - Meeting the Monsters

Read Chapter 6

She picked up the fallen bat and saw that, as she had suspected, it was not a real bat but a mechanical one. She handed it to Param, who had followed her. He shook it and then dismantled it. It had electronic parts. They went out and approached the monsters. One of them bent and boomed. Though she knew it was Udit playing pranks, still it was scary. She went near slowly and touched the monster. She felt something wet and solid. She looked at her hand. Because of the floodlights, the visibility was better. She saw her hand was white and foamy. She smelt it, and was pleasantly surprised to smell detergent. She touched the monster again and realised that the smell of detergent was quite overpowering.

A Brush with Bushsh - Chapter 6: Gagged and Locked Up

Read Chapter 5

Now that she was away from the prying eyes of the monsters, she pulled out her phone and passed

Illustration: M Rithika

it to her son. “Find our location and message Uncle Sandeep. Tell him to get help.” Anyone entering the house would be able to see the children easily, but she could not see any other spot that was safer – the CCTV ensured that it would capture anyone moving about in the room.