19 Dates

Chapter 55

so I suggested Amelie that she could buy anything elegant that a girl would like & to add on just give her a pack of this famous Indian sweet called 'Gajar Ka Halwa' which would work out as a cherry on the cake. Helping her was actually fun, she dropped me back to the office & also did put in a good word for me to her dad. This was not the end of good things that happened with me that day, to my surprise Amelie called me that evening, she had taken my number from her dad, she asked me to join her for the birthday party. With a lot of refusing she finally managed to convince me, I was glad I did, for it was so much fun, her friend, Ritika Ghose & me, we striked an interesting chemistry that night. In that moment & that night I embraced 19 dates yet again, for it felt that everything nowadays is so perfect & in my favor, so if this saga is chasing me & it has to be ended then there can never be a much better time than now. I dated Ritika, followed by other spectacular 12 women which never included Amelie (my wife). Just the last date was to go & I had not felt love happening anywhere close, not that there was something wrong with the girls I was dating, each one of them left a very deep & everlasting impression on my heart but love was not there. I called Rajat to share with him that I had almost completed 19 dates. To be very honest I was not doing it to find love, it was more to convince myself that it was nothing but a stupid tale of a man who had never lived amidst life's challenges but was running away from them each day (referring to that hippie). I still remember so well that conversation with Rajat & what he told me:

Dev, "hey Rajat guess what?"

Rajat, "hey Dev my boy, you sound excited. Tell me what happened, another promotion?"

Dev, "well you will be hearing that soon but as of now I want you to know that I have been on 18 dates, just one more to go (laughing)"

Rajat, "what? This is amazing Dev."

Dev, "it is, it is but Rajat trust me nothing even close to love."

Rajat, "hmm but then do you want to fall in love?"

Dev, "I don't know that. I guess you had told me that 19 dates was suppose to bring me love."

Rajat, "Dev there is nothing like 19 dates that exists. Now before you get mad & angry let me explain."

When Rajat said that I immediately disconnected the call & tried to process that, even thought for a couple of times if I had heard the right thing. Took sometime & then called Rajat again:

Dev, "what was that what you said?"

Rajat, "Dev 19 dates was a story that I cooked up, in fact I have been doing this. After I get drunk I tend to make things up (in a low tone)."

Dev (in a disturbed tone), "Rajat what are you saying man."

Rajat, "see Dev when you told me about all this crap that I had told you I was ashamed & trust me son I had no courage in me to tell you that the story was cooked up."

Dev, "Rajat I can't tell you how disappointed I am right now. Everything that you ever told me was a lie I guess."

Rajat, "no no no Son, please believe me. Everything apart from this silly hoax that I told you in a drunken state was true. I love you like my own son, falling in love with your mom is the best thing that ever happened to me and I never needed any 19 dates to reach there, to find love in her."

As he finished saying all this I started laughing

Rajat, "Dev are you alright son? Dev, Dev (in a worried tone)." I tried not to laugh anymore

Dev, "freak Rajat, I am feeling so crazy right now (still laughing)."

Rajat, "so you don't want to talk to me anymore I guess. You think everything that I have ever told you all was just a lie."

Dev, "hey Rajat relax, I know you did not lie about anything else apart from this. Everything that you have told me to motivate me in life straight touched my heart and only truth can do that, change a person. That you did Rajat, you helped me change myself. I am only laughing on the fact that how did I get into this 19 dates talk & trust me that one thing that you kept on telling me I leave it on this theory to convince you. Well that actually worked, I did see or come across the number 19 many times to convince me that I was not believing in bullshit. How did this happen?"

Rajat, "I don't know Dev but I had to confess this to you that it was all a lie. I am so relieved that you have not lost your faith in me. Thank you son."

Dev, "I am not going anywhere Rajat, never leaving any of you guys who are my family."

Rajat, "thank you so much."

Dev, "Ok then I got to go right now. I will talk to you soon story maker & I really am wondering right now, next time when you are drunk what kind of story would you cook up."