“That can’t be right,” I said. “Dolly repeated their conversation many times, ever since I was a kid, so I’m sure they talked.”
“They talked, but just long enough for Mãi to make this entry.” Shilpa scanned Ma Anga’s writing, line by line. “We didn’t have a landline at home back then, so Mãi went to the post office to take Dolly’s call. She waited there for three hours because of a mix-up. When the call came, the connection was bad. She stayed on the line long enough to explain the situation. Then she went home.”
“That’s it?” I couldn’t keep the disappointment out of my voice. I was in Goa to visit Naani. It had been three years since she moved to India to be with PPP. Telling her that Alex and I were getting married had been the highlight of my trip, but I also wanted to learn about the event that shaped so many years of my life.
“Not exactly,” Shilpa said. “Mãi added it was a hot day. She drank three bottles of cola while waiting for Dolly’s call and walked home with a full bladder. The envelope…” She peered inside before handing it to me. “It’s the money your mother wired for the reading.”
There were a few bills and a handwritten note inside.
“What does it say?” I passed it on to Shilpa.
“It’s a reminder she owes Dolly a reading, minus the three Thums Up.”
“The three what?”
“Thums Up. It’s a cola drink. Mãi had three Thums Up at the post office while she waited for Dolly’s call.”
“Three Thums Up.” My ears perked. “Did Ma Anga say anything about the three Thums Up to Dolly?”
Shilpa glanced at the notes. “No, but Mãi was meticulous about her bookkeeping, so if she was going to charge Dolly for the Thums Up, she might have.”
“It doesn’t add up.” I sat back. “Even if Dolly misinterpreted part of their conversation.”
“Hey.” Alex joined us, reclaiming his chair. “What’s with that look? Is there more to the reading than you bargained for?”
“The opposite,” I said. “There’s nothing at all. Not even the part where Ma Anga told Dolly to name me Moti.”
“I assumed your mother named you Moti to honor Mãi’s loss,” Shilpa said.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Here.” Shilpa unzipped her wallet and fished out a photograph. “This is Mãi.”
Ma Anga was a big woman with a big presence that spilled through the two-dimensional border of the photo. Shilpa pointed to the little white ball of fluff in her mother’s armpit. “This is her dog, Moti.”
“Her dog?” I said. “I was named after Ma Anga’s dog?” My brows shot up and disappeared somewhere in my hairline.
“He was Mãi’s beloved companion through life. The pearl of her heart,” Shilpa said.
“He wasn’t even ashe?” My voice was close to shattering the tea glasses. Then again, I just found out I was named after a dead poodle. With a penis.
“I’m sorry you’re disappointed.” Shilpa sniffed and put the photograph away. “But let me tell you the story. Mãi found Moti by the water, seven days after her mother passed away. He was a stray who’d been adopted by a group of cormorants—fishing birds. He thought he was one of them. He kept diving off the rocks, into the water. He wasn’t a good swimmer, but no matter how many times he went under, he paddled back to the rocks and dove in again. Mãibrought him home to keep him safe. He got her through the loss of her mother. They remained inseparable until he died. Mãi was heartbroken when she lost him. She believed he was her soul mate.”
Maybe it wasn’t so bad being named after a fluff ball—a confused but venerated little fluff ball.
“Sounds like they were very close,” I said. “What happened to him?”
“He drowned,” Shilpa said. “We were on a ferry and he just… He jumped off. We think it was the birds diving into the water that set him off.”
“Unresolved childhood issues,” Alex said. “They’ll get you every time.” The laughter lurking around the corners of his mouth tipped into a full-blown grin.
“Let’s see if I have this right,” I said. “Ma Anga meets her canine soul mate, Moti, by the water, seven days after her mother passes away. Moti dies in the water years later. Ma Anga is grieving for him and cancels her long-distance reading with Dolly. She conveys this to Dolly over a bad telephone line. She might’ve also mentioned drinking the three Thums Up.”
“Exactly what Ma Anga said, we’ll never know, but Dolly came away with an entirely different message,” Alex said. “Like a game of Broken Telephone.”
“I wish I could give you more,” Shilpa said. “I hope this was helpful. It’s a long way for you to come and see me.” She put Ma Anga’s notebook away and glanced at her watch. “If there’s nothing else, I should get going.”
She stood and shook our hands.
