The Date

Mona’s cell phone rang as she waited for the traffic lights to turn green. It was John on the other end.

“Hi, where are you?”

“Hi, sorry I am stuck in traffic. Will be there in like five minutes.”

“Oh sure… no problem at all.”

Mona and John met at the dating app Finder and were meeting personally for the first time. It wasn’t the first time for Mona since she had already had the experience of rendezvous with prospective dates through the app whom she found appealing.

As she continued to curse the traffic for making her late, the lights turned green, and she put her car in gear, when suddenly her car jerked and she heard a thud. Furious, Mona got out of the car to check the damage her car suffered before blasting at the inept driver of the car behind. The dent, although not too big, was visible. Before she could reach the car, the man had already come out.

“I am really sorry, ma’am. I accidentally put the car on second gear. I…”

“Well, your sorry won’t repair the damage, will it?”

“I am ready…”

“I am already running late and don’t know how far the nearest garage is. Also, did you know that more than 80% of the accidents happen because of people like you?”

“Ma’am, I request you to stop getting aggravated. I told you I apologize and am ready to pay for the damage.”

Mona didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to unnecessarily continue the fight. And mainly because she didn’t know what to say. He was, after all, being polite and moreover was ready to pay.

***

Mona reached the café to find John twiddling his thumbs on his smartphone as he was waiting for her. Dressed in blue and white checks shirt with his curls standing out to immediately grab one’s attention, he did give peppy vibes.

“Hey, I am really, really sorry for the delay. An idiot bumped his car into mine,” Mona hurriedly grabbed the seat opposite him.

“Oh, that’s fine. It happens. By the way, I ordered cappuccino for both of us since the waiter seemed too impatient. Hope that’s fine with you.”

As they both continued talking while their order came, John’s jaws suddenly almost dropped and he ducked his face, much to Mona’s astonishment, who barely could hide her surprise.

“Is everything alright?”

“The waitress behind you…she is my ex!” John whispered, and Mona had to strain her ears.

“What!” she just checked her tone in time to avoid any attention, especially the waitress. She suddenly felt like bursting into laughter but tried controlling it and was failing miserably.

“Just continue talking so that we don’t attract her attention,” John pleaded.

“Well, I don’t mind, but this really is awkward. It’s good that this place is all occupied.”

“I don’t know…feels like she’s been stalking me,” John said straightening up, after ensuring the waitress was out of sight. “I had shifted to this city a month ago but hadn’t told her about it. We had promised to be in touch after the breakup, but she soon realized I had no such intentions.”

“Maybe a common friend told her!” Mona said while continuing to sip her cappuccino, “It’s a small world, you know!”

“No, we don’t have common friends!” John said, now becoming visibly agitated. The presence of his ex was making him very uncomfortable, and Mona sensed it.

“Shall we go someplace else?”

“Well…yes, I would like that.”

***

 “Hope no one here is related to you,” Mona teased John as they both involuntarily chose a spot in the corner, in a restaurant two blocks away.

“Well, to be honest, I hope that, too,” he laughed.

They continued talking when suddenly Mona noticed the guy whose car had collided with hers in the morning was sitting a few tables ahead.

“Oh God!” she exclaimed, trying her best to be calm. It was now her turn to be flabbergasted.

“What is it?”

“The guy who bumped his car into mine is sitting right across me!”

“Oh… I get it…well, yes, it’s awkward. Shall we get out of here too?”

“Well, it’s alright. We can swap places. Anyway, I’m starving and too tired to go somewhere else.”

“Alright, let’s order quick!”

They were having lunch when John remarked, “Well, I’ll be honest with you. I have not had good experiences when it comes to relationships. So, I really don’t know how this would turn out…if we plan to be serious about this.”

“Well, that’s alright! I mean… I understand… I mean, this is just our first meeting…let’s not be serious about our future plans!”

Just as they both were in the middle of a conversation, Mona felt a tap on her shoulders. She turned to look and found her college friend, Nikita.

“Hey Nikita, how are you?!” Her happiness on seeing her friend lasted for seconds when she saw that the “car-bumper” man was with her.

“You know him?” Nikita asked, observing her expressions.

“Well… no, I don’t,” Mona quickly composed herself. “How have you been?”

They chatted for a while, after which Nikita smiled at John as she prepared to leave. “Pleased to meet you, too,” she said.

“He’s John, my friend,” Mona clarified.

After they had left, Mona said, “Well, that was weird. Why did he have to be her husband?”

“It’s alright.”

“He’s going to tell her how I blasted at him and how bad I am as a person. Before that, he’ll begin with what a big liar I am.”

“Oh well, you should have thought about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you could have just said you met him in the morning without going too much in detail,” John replied while gobbling his cheesy chicken pasta, “Or you could have just avoided the topic.”

“Well, I guess the human brain doesn’t know to be creative when it is shocked. By the way, you do know you are a horrible eater, don't you?”

“Touché. Anyway, care for a beer?”

“Well, I guess alcohol is the solution to all problems!”

They decided to go to a popular pub that was a bit far. By the time they were done talking and drinking, it was late evening.

“Well, this was one memorable date, wasn’t it?” John asked as they came back to the parking lot after a short walk.

“Hell, yes, it was!”

“Want to make it more exciting?”

“Well, what do you suggest we do?”

John came nearer to her and whispered in her ears, “How about fixing that dent on your car?”

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