December 12. 11.30pm. “Button, we’re home.”

“How was the trip? Didn’t you say you’d be back on Monday morning?”

“We did but changed our plans around a little bit.”

“What did you do in Pune apart from attending the party?”

“There are two things I did which needs a mention. The first is the stuff I saw on Animal Planet was mind-blowing. I can see that channel for days on end non-stop. It is so informative and well-shot and, since I love animals, I love all the new stuff I get to learn.”

“What did you learn today?”

“I wasn’t there to watch the programme till the end but the show on the Deadly 60 was worth watching.”

“What was it about?”

“About the 60 deadliest plants, insects, reptiles and animals that exist in this universe. I saw the first four. The first was a type of plant which has bristles covering the leaves. The deadly bit is that the bristles are glass bristles which can pierce right through your skin if you’re not wearing proper protective wear. The only way to pull them out is to wax them out. The second was a kind of viper, the third was a toad which has a kind of poison secretion coming out of his ear which it uses to attack his opponent and the fourth was a black widow spider.”

“But none of these attack if you don’t harm them.”

“That true. The other thing Dost and I did was visit Melissa’s dog farm. She has over 20 rescued dogs in all shapes and sizes and breeds and I had a whale of a time meeting them and playing with them. It’s amazing how she manages them all. They all live there, eat off the same plate, drink from the same bowl and hardly get into a fight.”

“Who did you like the most?”

“It’s difficult to answer that question but the buck-toothed Chihuahua, whose name I’ve forgotten, is adorable. Then there is Toophan who was injured by Candy when she went to live on this farm in Lonavla. Bobby’s two who we left with Melissa, Sydney and Candy seem well settled and very happy.”

“Basically you enjoyed yourself. I am amazed that you didn’t say anything about the party but spoke so much about Animal Planet and Melissa’s farm.”