I return back to my seat after talking to James. It's 1:30 pm and I still haven't got the call.

The only way to distract myself is to speak to the infant but he looks very busy reading one of his self-help books very seriously. So, I cannot disturb him too.

I open Facebook to check what's going on there to find so many relatable sad posts. As I share each of them and keep scrolling down for more, I come across yet another relationship status update of my school mate Shani. Ugh!

Now, to my knowledge, this is the fifth time she has found true love. This girl falls in and out of love too quickly and that too in a series of steps.

The first step is uploading pictures with the guy calling him "my forever" on a daily basis. Then after sometime the pictures with him will be taken down and for a week or two, sad quotes get shared instead. By the third or fourth week, the sad quotes get replaced with quotes about girl power or how awesome it is to be single or some nonsense like that. And by the time a month passes by, there appears pictures of a new guy on my timeline with the same "my forever" caption and the whole cycle repeats all over again.

God! Some people are super annoying or stupid — I don't even know at this point. Generally this is  funny content for me. But maybe the fact that Sameer hasn't called yet has made me very cranky that I'm getting angry looking at this right now.

I mean, how do you even manage to find this many guys to fall in love with? I found one for the first time and even that ends up being an uncertain one.

Even the infant reading is irritating me. I feel like he's just doing it for show-off. Maybe he's really enjoying the book but for me it feels like a stunt he's pulling to appear matured and smart in front of others.

Maybe I should get the infant into an argument about the book title. I mean, who names books "Think and Grow Rich"? As if people could become rich just by thinking of it!

Oh and the cover says it's a bestseller too. Literally, which book written by a Native English speaker isn't a bestseller? Such lies!

Oh man! I know I'm being super cranky but I can't even stop at this point. It's like one of those period mood swings.

I keep muttering under my breath, "Stupid book! Stupid Saad! Stupid Sameer! Stupid Shani! Stupid life!" when my phone finally rings and IT IS HIM!

I quickly walk out and answer the call saying, "Hi Sameer!" and his manly voice replies, "Hi babe! How's the first day of virtual dating me going?"

Wow so he wasn't pranking after all! It's real. Very much real! I mean, he just addressed me as 'babe' and called it a 'virtual date' too! What more do I need to confirm our relationship?

I am so happy right now that I feel like I can't breathe. For any emotion felt excessively I also experience shortness of breath. My whole body is dramatic I guess.

"Going good! How are things with you?" I ask. "I've been very busy at work the whole day but not a second passed by without thinking of you. I love you so much Ilhaam" replies Sameer.

I don't even know how to respond at this point. I mean, this is all so new to me. I have never been in a relationship before. I have never heard a man say such nice things to me before.

I try to control my rollercoaster of emotions and endless smiles and finally manage to say, "I love you too Sameer! I wish you were here right now." Woah saying I-love-you over the phone feels super hard. Texting is much easier.

"Me too babe. I so regret being stuck here at this special point of my life" says Sameer and there's a genuine tone of sadness in his voice. Aww my poor baby. He really loves me.

"That's alright. To compensate for all this, when you come back let's have a huge celebration!" I say, trying to sound cheerful as possible even though I feel sad too.

We speak for a few minutes about our general topics when Sameer asks me, "So when did you know you loved me?" with a chuckle. Oh crap!

What am I supposed to say? Do I tell him that I liked him even when he had a girlfriend? That's the truth but that would be ugly.

I think for sometime and then say, "First you tell me, then I will tell you." I can feel him smiling over the phone the moment I say that.

"I don't know exactly when but when things started to fall apart between me and Aisha, I was in a bad place and when she finally left me I thought my life was over. I became such a negative person. But then you came along. The more I spoke to you, the more I became hopeful of life and then I knew you were the one. I would've told you at the beginning itself but then I wasn't sure whether the feeling was mutual" says Sameer.

Awww that's just so beautiful. I mean, everything about those words were beautiful except for the word "Aisha"! God I detest that name. How can she be a bitch to such a sweet boy? But it's okay. It is because she left him that we found love in each other.

"I liked you from the beginning too but I just didn't think you will ever look at a girl like me" I say and Sameer replies, "Who wouldn't like a girl like you? Trust me, I've had so many female friends but none of them were ever as kind and supportive as you are. You are simply the best, Ilhaam and I'm lucky to have you. I love your humor. I love your personality. I love everything about you."

Wow! Of course, he says that he loves everything about me, but does he really love my skin tone and size? I so badly want to ask him that question but maybe I'll save that conversation for later.

I mean, what if I ask that and he suddenly starts thinking over it and breaks up with me? I don't want to take that risk. So I simply say, "Thank you. You flatter me."

As we continue to speak for more than 15 minutes, I realize that the weird looks and stares of the office gossipmongers towards me increasing. So, I decide to end the conversation because it's annoying when people watch you like you are committing a crime!

But before I could suggest hanging up, Sameer says, "There's just one more thing that I want to tell you, Ilhaam. I'm not in a position to get married right now. I'd need around 3 years time for that. However, I will be coming to Sri Lanka during holidays next year and then I will bring my parents to your place and discuss everything clearly. Just tell me though, are you ready to wait for me?"

Wait, what? Is he really discussing serious stuff about marriage on the first day itself? Isn't he just the sweetest in a world that's full of men afraid of commitment? This alone is enough for me to trust this man completely!

I know for a fact my family will create a scene about the waiting period but I can convince them. I'm not a weakling like Aisha after all!

So, I say, "Of course I will wait for you. I will wait for you for any number of years because I truly love you, Sameer." And then I hang up.

When I return to my seat after the call, the infant shakes his head and asks me, "Where were you all this time? You were gone for 20 minutes, you know." I smile and tell him about everything that happened from last night's texts to the conversation Sameer and I had over the phone.

"Are you serious? Did your Romeo confess his love for you via text?" asks the infant with a chuckle. "Of course he did silly! He's abroad, remember? He can't be doing that dramatic proposal thing by getting-down-on-a-knee-and-offering-flowers-and-a-ring when he's not even in the country, right? So, he did it via messages" I say.

He smiles as if to agree and says, "Makes sense. But are you sure you want to call it a serious relationship yet? I mean, it's been just one month, isn't it?"

Okay, here we go! Smarty-pants trying to knock sense into me by making a very valid point. But isn't that what love is all about? One month may be a short period but maybe it was long enough for us to understand each other and make a serious decision.

It's not like he is going to understand the depth of our love anyway because he is still a child.  So, I only say, "Actually we've known each other for some time now, though the daily chatting started only a month ago."

"Okay then. Congratulations! Now soon you will get married, go on leave and I will be forced to take care of your work load also, isn't it? So, I better to learn to do some of it from now on" says Saad with a chuckle. Wow. This one is still thinking of stealing my job. Dangerous infant!

Now, if it was normal times, I would have got mad at him for saying that because I'm very possessive when it comes to work. But today, I'm too happy. And because of that I'm not going to say anything rude. Also, the more he does my work, the more free time I will get to talk to Sameer, isn't it? So, I just smile and say, "Sure!"

By the way, I have always laughed at those brown brides who post WhatsApp or IG statuses the very next day after their wedding calling their husbands "the best", "my everything" and so on. But now I understand why they do that.

It's so hard to have such good news and not be able to speak about it openly. I think it's natural human tendency to want to flaunt about your special moments with people you know. Or maybe it's a girl thing. I don't know.

I'm just thankful that I spoke to Saad about it. It's not like he gives a damn about my relationship but at least it gave me some satisfaction. Maybe I must update Naomi too. Somehow, none of it will give me the contentment of sharing it on social media.

Posting a relationship update will be too obvious and embarrassing. I will be just another Shani in other's eyes. So maybe I should just find a passive way of doing it.

How about posting some love song lyrics? Now that won't be too direct, isn't it? People who know will know and the others will assume that I just like the song!

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I know most of you hate Sameer. But do you still think he's the wrong match for Ilhaam? 😋
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below ♥️

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