19 Dates

Chapter 15

Next day by morning Dev had got no message from Kriti so he was not sure if she wanted to go out for lunch or meet him. He continued with the routine & called up Shalini to catch up over lunch. Unfortunately Shalini was busy as well, which left him alone, which was cool with him. He decided to go for lunch alone like he had in the past many times. Past week one of his friends had told him about the food at Pizza By The Bay, which kind of was fitting in perfect in the situation, as it would be a good long drive from his place and he could enjoy the beautiful view from the restaurant indulging in some Italian treat. 

He reached the place, ordered his food & had the best seat allotment overlooking a rainy day sea view from the huge glass window. Very few tables were occupied as rains guess were not encouraging people to get out. Lost in his thoughts, Dev was pondering on his father's words, 'every one has the right to choose to be with us or not, that should not be the reason for us to hate them.' He did not notice someone standing right next to him until a voice entered his ears deep enough to pull him back from his thoughts.

Stranger, "excuse me?"

Dev looks up towards the person & sees this very pretty foreigner girl standing besides, "yes miss, what is it?"

Stranger, "Hi! I am sorry to be disturbing you but I just wanted to know if someone was sitting on this seat besides you. The view from here is just spectacular so I would love to take a seat here."

Dev, "go on, no one is expected so please."

Stranger, "oh thank you so much & my apologise for pulling you out of the dream world (laughs), you may definitely return."

Dev, "I assure you miss that I was not dreaming (smiles)

Stranger, "call me Vanessa."

Dev, "Vanessa, well that is a sweet name."

Vanessa, "what is your name?"

Dev, "my name is Dev."

Vanessa, "oh sounds so short & cute, Dev, I like it."

Dev (smiling), "so what brings you to Bombay? work or leisure?"

Vanessa, "well I am not in a business suit on a weekday so definitely leisure (smiling)"

Dev, "yeah I thought so, but I wanted to be sure unless you were a freelancer like me or on leave from work."

Vanessa, "well I quit my job couple of months back & decide to see different places from around the world. Something that I have dreamed of right from my childhood."

Dev, "sounds awesome, & if I may ask why was India on your list?"

Vanessa, "for the variety of culture this country has. when I was 13, I have heard so many amazing things about India from my neighbour who happened to be Indians. It was definitely the first place on my list that I wanted to visit."

Dev, "interesting. I would love to hear what were those things you heard?"

Vanessa, "it is a long story Dev."

Dev, "guess what? I have all the time in the world Vanessa."

Vanessa, "oh I would love to have this conversation with you, in fact you sound to be a very interesting person yourself & I definitely have this big question which I want you to answer for me."

Dev, "what is it? Go on, ask me?"

Vanessa, "what is a charming & handsome guy like you doing all alone in this romantic weather? (laughing). I am sorry, don't answer, I know it is a personal question."

Dev (smiling), "finding love."

Vanessa, "my my, the way you said it. Sounds & appears to be totally Bollywood (laughing)."

Dev (laughing as well), "irony is, I am not a fan of Bollywood. Just being honest."

Vanessa, "looks like the rains have stopped & my coffee is almost done. I have to be somewhere Dev but can't tell you how much I would love to have a conversation with you. If you have no plans for the evening, meet me at my hotel tonight for dinner."

Dev, "sure, why not? I will be there with my set of questions (smiles), so be prepared."

Vanessa, "great then, 8:00 p.m. & don't be late." She passed a note which had her full name & the name of the hotel where she was staying.