Lunch Date and ...

They say men are from Mars and women are from Venus. But I am pretty sure that after reading this, you would realize that women are from a galaxy much farther away from the Solar System.

This blog post is about my first lunch date which on that day, felt pretty awesome. However, was unprepared for the bummer that struck me later. Read on to know more.

It all started in Dec 2017, when I had gone for a trekking trip to Harishchandragad fort, located about 5 hours from Mumbai. There were 10 of us in the group.

As we started the steep ascent, the group got split into smaller sub-groups of 2-3 members each. Me, the girl and her younger brother started talking. Over the course of the trek, we got to know each other better. We discussed at length about career, interests, hobbies etc. She was also reciprocating and being friendly with me. Things were proceeding well. After the trek concluded and we returned to Mumbai, exchanged phone numbers and connected on Facebook.

I didn't think much of it then and assumed her to be another casual acquaintance, yet another record in the huge list of contacts that we carry on our smartphones. Then slowly I started checking her Facebook page every now and then. And in a matter of months, was smitten by her pretty face and considered trying my luck. So I mustered enough courage to ping her. After a few days, she replied. Her exams were going on, hence we decided to meet a few months later.

Fast forward to Jul 2018, we decided to meet for lunch at Pritam Da Dhaba, an upmarket restaurant in Dadar (central Mumbai). Her house was in Vasai, a 1 hour train ride away. The day dawned dark, damp, rainy and windy, as is the norm during the monsoon months in Mumbai. All of a sudden it started raining cats and dogs. This is when I contemplated calling off the meeting. However, she was quite enthusiastic about meeting me in spite of the pouring rain. So we proceeded ahead.

Our date was supercool. We reminisced about the trek and had a scrumptious lunch. She was suggesting that we should hang out more often. Impromptu plans were made for a movie, going to the beach, and the like. I was being friendly with her but didn’t overdo it. She seemed to take the cue. During the entire course of the discussion, she didn’t mention a boyfriend or her marriage plans. She casually enquired about my relationship status, to which I replied that I am happily single. After some more friendly banter, we parted ways. We walked together to the train station and after her local train left, boarded the Central local home.

Internally, I was quite satisfied with the date. The conversation seemed to flow naturally, without awkwardness or long pauses. I realized that there could be an opportunity to take this up further. After a few days, I pinged her again. This time, however didn’t receive any reply. Hence I assumed that she was busy.

Meanwhile, thanks to the girl, my creative bent had started conjuring up all kinds of crazy ideas. I modified the lyrics of a popular Hindi song, which I would like to share below:

One month passed by and still, there was no communication from her side. I decided to give her a last chance and called her. She didn’t respond. Neither did she send any SMS or Whatsapp message even after a week. I realized that something was seriously amiss and decided to drop the matter.

Cut to Dec 2018. On a long and boring Sunday afternoon, I open my Facebook account and the first thing on my newsfeed hit me like a rollercoaster. WHAM!!! She had gotten married to someone else. Then it hit me. I had been “acquaintance-zoned”. We have all heard of the term “Friendzoned”. But “acquaintance-zoned” takes it to a whole new level altogether. A marriage is a big event in a person’s life. Could she not have had the civility in sharing this happy news with me?

We have all heard of one-night stands and how they don’t work out. However, my experience was, to put it bluntly, a "one-lunch stand" 😊 😊.