The Mountain Shadow

‘You don’t understand. She called me to a meeting. One of her people took me all the way up to the roof of her building, on Worli Seaface. She has offices there. I hadn’t seen her for a while. She’s . . . we’ve both been busy.’

He pressed his mouth shut on whatever it was that he’d been about to say. I waited, and then nudged him.

‘Uh-huh.’

‘She . . . she looked amazing. She cut her hair. It looks great. She was wearing red. There was wind, on the roof. I looked at her. For a second I let myself believe that she’d called me there to tell me that she . . . ’

His head dropped, and he stared at his hands.

‘But she called you there to offer you a job, instead.’

‘Yeah.’

‘For a lot of money?’

‘Yeah. Too much, really.’

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘She’s trying to protect you. She’s kinda stuck on you. The two of you went through some stuff together. She’s worried, now that the Lost Love Bureau is putting you back on the street.’

‘You really think so?’

‘I think it’s her way of saying that she cares about you. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing.’

‘Maybe you’re right. She almost kissed me that night, remember?’

‘She told you to shut up, and kiss her. Maybe you should do that.’

‘You know,’ he mused, ‘the new Diva, man, she’s taking some getting used to. I always knew what the old Diva was thinking, and what she’d say. Happy, smiling Diva is impossible to read. It’s like snow on the radar. It’s like I have to fall in love with the same woman all over again.’

‘You know, I read a book once, called Women for Idiots.’

‘What did you find out?’

‘I couldn’t make head or tail of it. But it confirmed a point from my own messed-up experience, which is that you can’t know what’s in a woman’s mind, until she tells you. And to do that, you have to ask her. One of these days, you’ve gotta ask that girl if it’s a serious thing.’

‘You think I should take the job?’

‘Of course not. You worked for her father. Now, you’re on your own. She’ll respect a no more than a yes. She’ll probably find another way to keep you close.’

He stood to leave, offering to wash his glass. I put it back on the table.

‘You’re a good man, Naveen,’ I said. ‘And she knows how good you are.’

He turned to leave, but spun around quickly, boxer-ballet.

‘Hey, don’t forget the race tonight.’

‘What race?’

‘You haven’t heard? Charu and Pari went to the slum, and I challenged Benicia to race me. It’s all set.’

‘Benicia agreed?’

‘She’s into it.’

‘Did you meet her?’

‘Kind of. See you later.’

‘Wait a minute. Kind of?’

He relaxed again, but avoided my eyes as he leaned against the door jamb.

‘I set up a meeting with her, to buy jewellery,’ he said. ‘It’s the only way to see her. She’s not an easy girl to reach. She sat me down on a carpet, in this very old apartment. She rents it for her business. And she did the whole transaction in a niqab.’

‘The full black cover, or just the black mask?’

‘Just the mask. And those eyes, man, I swear.’

‘Is she a Muslim?’

‘No. I asked her that, and she said no. She just digs the niqab. It’s not really a niqab. It’s actually just sunglasses that cover her face, and only leave the eyes unshaded. She must’ve had them specially made. Those eyes, man, I swear.’

‘A masked hero. Karla’s gonna love her.’

‘Those eyes, man,’ he said again. ‘I swear.’

‘Settle down, Naveen. How did it go, with Benicia?’

‘I did the deal, and bought a bunch of Rajasthani jewellery as a show of good faith, and then explained the situation to her. She agreed, but on one condition.’

‘Ah, terms and conditions always apply.’

‘I have to go on a date with her.’

‘If you win, or if you lose?’

‘Win, lose or draw.’

‘Are you kidding?’

‘No, I’m serious.’

‘Damn, Naveen. Diva’s not gonna see it in a rosy light that you’re on a date with an enigma, who happens to ride a vintage 350cc motorcycle faster than anyone in Bombay.’

‘Anyone but me,’ Naveen said. ‘I’ve been practising, Lin. I’m fast.’

‘You better be fast, when Diva hears about the date.’

‘It’s a done deal,’ he said.

‘Well, Diva will definitely kick your ass for this, but you’re racking up some legend points with Didier, kid. He’s gonna go nuts when he hears about it.’

‘He already knows. Everybody knows. Everyone . . . but Diva. I thought you knew.’

I didn’t know. No-one had told me. Somehow, I was disconnected from a world of friendship I’d helped to build.

‘Where’s the race?’

‘Air India building, Marine Drive, Pedder Road, and back again, three times.’

‘Where are you turning on Pedder Road?’

‘The last signal before Haji Ali.’

‘When?’

‘At midnight.’

‘The cops are gonna love it.’

‘The cops are helping us. They’re maintaining traffic security, and we’re so grateful for their cooperation, so to speak, that we paid them what they asked, which wasn’t cheap. We had to bring them in. We needed their police radios to call the race. There’s a lot of money on this.’

‘Some of it mine,’ I laughed.

‘You know,’ he said hesitantly, ‘on the spur of the moment, with the race in my mind and all, I totally didn’t think about what Diva would make of it, if I went out with Benicia on a date.’