Link for Chapter 1 : Amore – Chapter 1 – The Blind Date

DISCLAIMER: ALL NAMES AND INCIDENTS ARE FICTITIOUS, blah blah and more blah is mere co-incidence.

 

Date With An Angel

 

A series of texts started. Ishan doing his obvious flirting and Garima just taking the escape. But they were having quite great time.

On Monday, during the lunch break, Ishan went to the peon.

 

Ishan: “Hey, Ramesh. Is there any girl named Garima here?”

Ramesh: “No sir. There’s no Garima in our department.”

Ishan: “Not in this department man. Okay tell me, where is the cabin of the marketing manager.”

Ramesh: “It’s on the third floor sir. But why? Do you have some work?”

Ishan: “No. I just wanted to meet the marketing manager.”

Ramesh: “Then tell boss. He’ll take you and introduce you to them. But the marketing team is in a meeting now. May be.”

Ishan: “When will the meeting end?”

Ramesh: “Their meetings have no fixed duration. They can take upto 8 hours.”

Ishan: “Oh! Okay. Thanks.”

Ramesh: “Okay sir.”

 

At 6 in the evening, when everyone was set to leave, Ishan was still working. An hour ago, he went to the third floor and found out that their meeting will be over by 7. So he took another project to work on, from his boss. The co-workers asked him to do that tomorrow but he insisted on staying and said, “It’s alright. I’m feeling like working now, so.. I’ll leave by 7.”

 

Everyone went, he was the only one staying there, waiting for the clock to indicate 7. He had already shut his laptop down when Ramesh went.

 

10 minutes to 7, he went to the third floor, to Garima’s cabin, knocked the door.

 

“May I come in ma’am?” He asked.

“Yeah. Come.” She said.

“Thank you madam.” Ishan said as he entered the cabin.

 

Garima got surprised on seeing him.

 

“You here? Are you serious?” She asked.

“Yeah. I mean. I thought to drop you back home because you must he tired with that 6 hour long meeting.” Ishan said.

“You are spying on me. Aren’t you?” Garima said.

“Well, you call it spying, I call it care.” Ishan said.

 

Garima smiled and said, “Come sit. We’ll leave after the dinner now.”

 

Ishan: “Interesting..”

Garima: “What?”

Ishan: “I guess I’d be the first man who’s on a date in an office cabin.”

Garima: “Was that funny?”

Ishan: “It wasn’t?”

Garima: “No.”

Ishan: “I have an even lame one. What do you call a fish without an i?”

Garima: “What?”

Ishan: “Fsh..”

Garima: “Are you serious?”

 

And they both started laughing.

 

Garima took up the phone and ordered food for both of them. And after they finished the dinner they headed to Ishan’s car.

 

Ishan: “You seem to be enjoying my company. Aren’t you?”

Garima: “Honestly. Quite a lot.”

Ishan: “You must be thanking god that you met me.”

Garima: “Obviously. No.”

Ishan: “Somewhat…. May be… No?”

Garima: “Yeah.. may be.. somewhat.”

Ishan: “See. It’ll be “Hell, a lot” in sometime.”

Garima: “Don’t you think that you’re going too fast?”

Ishan: “This is the slowest I’ve ever drove.”

Garima: “As if you didn’t understood.”

Ishan: “Reduced the speed to 40 miles per hour. I can’t drive slower.”

Garima: “You seriously are an idiot.”

Ishan: “It’s who you prefer to be. People’s company changes you.”

Garima: “Is it?”

Ishan: “Yeah. My co-workers say that I’m quite serious and I should talk more.”

Garima: “No. Don’t. Don’t talk more.”

 

Ishan laughed and said, “Exactly. I talk less with them, because I seriously don’t like them. Huh!”

 

Garima kept smiling and looking at him.

 

Ishan: “Stop it!”

Garima: “What?”

Ishan: “Staring at me. You’re making me blush.”

 

Garima started laughing.

 

Ishan: “No. I’m serious. If you continue to make me blush, we both would end up in hospital.”

Garima: “You are crazy.”

Ishan: “Hey, that’s a different thing.”

 

Garima kept on laughing and Ishan kept on making such silli jokes to make her laugh and was just taking glimpses of her with a constant smile on his face.

 

Next Saturday

 

Ishan went running into the restaurant where Garima was waiting for him.

 

Garima: “You might be the first guy who keeps the girl waiting for so long.”

 

“This Delhi traffic.” Both said together and Ishan smiled.

 

“Yeah I know.” Garima said, “Come sit now. I’m very hungry.”

 

Ishan: “Waiter.”

Waiter: “Yes sir.”

 

“2 plate Rajma Chawal.” Ishan said.

 

Waiter: “Sure sir!”

 

Ishan: “I’m really very sorry sweetheart.”

Garima: “It’s alright babe.”

Ishan: “Babe.. Oh God! I’ll die of happiness now.”

 

Ishan started blushing.

 

Garima kept smiling and looking at him.

 

After their food arrives, Garima said, “You know I read today, that if there’s a nuclear wipeout, the cockroaches would be the only survivers. ”

 

Ishan: “You read that today?”

Garima: “Yeah. I’m not from science no.”

Ishan: “Yeah. You know, in my school, once we had this topic in class. And the teacher told us this thing. I raised my hand and said ‘Sir, 1 question.’ He said yes, ask. I said, ‘Sir, in case everyone dies, with an air shock cockroaches turn upside down. What then? I mean the nuclear wipeout survivers will left lying. They can’t turn themselves straight. They’ll be lying there, crying for help. Someone please get me straight.’ And the whole class burst into laughter and I was out of the class for two periods.”

Garima: “Haha! Poor you.”

Ishan: “Hey, we met on this day, a week ago and in these 8 days, we’ve had dinner 7 times together.”

Garima: “Yeah.”

Ishan: “On the first day, you said that you’ve had some harsh “human” experiences. Now say.”

Garima: “You don’t know what to talk on a date. Do you?”

Ishan: “But I wanna know.”

Garima: “A date isn’t the time to discuss that perspective.”

Ishan: “I don’t care. You know that I’m here because I love to spend time with you. And spending time with you means that I wanna know about you. You can’t let things go like this and just leave the things for my assumptions. I’ve shared everything with you, then why don’t you? Don’t you like me? My company?”

Garima: “It’s not that Ishan. Try to understand.”

Ishan: “Understand what Garima? You haven’t shared anything of your past with me. And here, I’m planning my future with you.”

Garima: “Ishan but..”.

Ishan: “Okay fine.”

 

Ishan got up and went to pay the bill and got out of the restaurant. Garima kept on calling him and followed him.

 

Garima: “Ishan try to understand please.”

Ishan: “I have understood everything.”

Garima: “Ishan don’t go like this please.”

Ishan: “I don’t want to talk now.”

 

Ishan kept on walking fast and Garima kept running behind him, trying to stop him.

 

Garima: “Ishan please.”

Ishan: “Leave this. I don’t want to discuss that.”

Garima: “I was raped Ishan.”

 

Ishan stopped. Those words were like a thunderclap for him. He stood still for a couple of moments.