Dilip waited patiently next to the café entrance where he was supposed to meet his date. He looked at the onslaught of vehicles going by and tried to peer into each one to see if she was in one of them. They all went by, full of people who were irritatingly not his date. He decided his time was better spent texting her to ask how long she'd take.
"the map says 4 minutes", she replied promptly.
"Alright", thought Dilip, "maybe I should get inside and find a nice table for us."
He turned around and walked into the café, stopping by the mirror to check himself out. A dark blue linen shirt, faded denims and a pair of tattered Converse shoes. He looked decent, according to himself. Smelled great, definitely: he was a big believer in the power of perfumes. He cursed himself for not having kept aside enough time to figure out a better outfit. Did he look too simple? Too basic? Was his hair tousled the right way?
Dilip found the entire concept of clothes a significant hassle. Not that he didn't like wearing nice clothes, or didn't appreciate other people with nice outfits. But it was just a hassle. Deciding on what to wear, going through options, and mixing and matching colors. It took too much time, and he didn't have the patience for it. He wished there were some sort of application or software program that could do the outfitting for him. Or, maybe as a radical change, if we could convert all clothes into standardized grey tracksuits. For maximum mobility and sensational comfort.
He approached the welcome desk and looked around expectantly for somebody to notice him and help him out. But it was futile; the café was a busy one, and he was left standing awkwardly in the middle of the establishment.
Dilip sighed. He walked up to the nearest person with a tray in their hand. A young lady who seemed in a great hurry to get somewhere.
"Excuse me. Hi! Could you please help me out, I'd like a table for two." he said in his best public setting voice.
The lady turned to him, and with the drawl of a person who'd spent more time than she'd like in her workplace, said "Sir they will be able to help you out, sir."; and gestured at no one in particular in the direction of the help desk.
"Ah, yes. Of course." replied Dilip, looking at the aforementioned lonesome piece of furniture.
He realized he would have to take things into his own hands now. He thanked the lady politely and walked up to the nearest table and planted himself there. Surely, he reasoned, the staff would have to find him a proper place now. He was correct. Very quickly, a stout man with a lot more enthusiasm than the lady before, appeared at his side breathing down his neck.
"Hisir, howmayIhelpyoutoday?"
"Huh?" blurted Dilip, startled by this seemingly new language he had just heard.
The man repeated his dialogue, evidently rehearsed painstakingly beforehand.
"Oh, yeah, okay yeah. I'd like a table for two, thanks. Preferably at a quieter spot."
"Sssuuresir, pleasedofollowme."
Dilip obliged.
He was led to a cute table nestled away in the corner of the café. The lighting was great. Bright enough to accentuate his good features and dim enough to hide the bad ones. He thanked the lord above. Or the manager of the place. Whoever had been responsible for getting him this prime piece of dating real estate.
He glanced at his phone quickly to check if she had texted him since the last they spoke. She had.
"Where are you? Should I go inside?"
Dilip quickly texted her back, telling her to come inside, and that he had found them a table for the evening. He smiled to himself as he found himself feeling a little giddy.
He looked up toward the door and there she was. Time appeared to stand still, but it was actually Dilip who was standing still.
She approached him, looking like an angel floating down from above. Her wavy brown hair flowing down her shoulders. She wore a flowery summer dress, and white shoes to go with it. Armed with bright eyes and possibly an even brighter smile, she was definitely an angel. But a criminal angel, for she was there to steal his heart.
Dilip began to immediately forget most of his vocabulary. After which he also proceeded to forget what to do with his hands. He awkwardly stuffed them into his pockets as fast as he could, to be brought back into the game later on.
"Hi Avantika!" he said, as Avantika walked up to him. She was even prettier up close.
"Hii! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." she said with arguably the cutest smile this side of the equator.
Dilip very intelligently replied, "Oh no, no. I hope your auto ride was nice", and immediately began cursing himself and the generations that came before him. What the hell kind of hope was that. Dilip wept within.
Avantika looked at him and giggled. "Eheh. Yeah, it was nice I suppose."
'Shitting arse biscuits!', thought Dilip, 'This won't do at all!' He froze, unsure of what he was supposed to do next, with a goofy grin plastered across his face.
Avantika cocked her head to one side, observing the big dumb idiot standing before her. And decided that he was cute. She smiled at him softly.
Dilip would have probably continued to stand there like an idiot with his hands in his pockets and his head in the clouds if given the chance, but thankfully Avantika knew how dates worked. Chuckling to herself, she proceeded to put her arm around Dilip's and lead him toward the table that stood behind him.
"Come, let's sit down." she said.
Dilip obliged, following her in a very puppylike manner, grin still stuck on his face.
"Yes, let's..." mumbled Dilip.
As he went with her toward the table, Dilip felt an uneasy tug in his stomach. He gingerly sat down on the chair opposite Avantika. There it was again! That weird niggling sensation in the pit of his stomach. He silently prayed they were butterflies, and not a massive shit.
Avantika was looking at him, hint of a smile on her lips. "Don't worry, Dilip. I won't bite.", she giggled.
"I know. It's just. Meeting you in person is way different from just talking on text and stuff."
"Different good I hope?"
"Different great actually heheh."
"I like that."
"I... like you."
A smile slowly crept across Avantika's lips and Dilip let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Maybe this date wasn't going to be so bad after all.
Comments