The Date

The answer is ‘no’.
Last time I was buoyant about the prospect of having a romantic dinner with Najua. But, no, that didn’t happen. But it wasn’t because a lack of trying though.

The Friday before (14th), I decided to give Najua a call right after office hours. I figured the timing would be just nice. The transition period between the end of the week and the start of the weekend. What better time to ask for a date? So after packing my stuff into Valerie, I sat on the passenger side of her, overlooking the playground and dialed Najua’s number. It was an adrenaline rush juts waiting for the call to connect (one of the best parts about the dating game if I might add) but guess what? I got her voice message. Disappointed, yes. Beaten? No. Apparently she was busy enough to actually turn off her handphone. Either that or she didn’t want to deal with the poisonous unwarranted calls from the boss so late in the evening. Oh well, since Maxis came up with this brilliant thing where you get an SMS telling you that someone was trying to get through while your handphone was off, I decided to redial. So that she will receive a notification of 2 missed calls from my number. 1 missed call would look like a mistake or unimportant. 3 would appear like an emergency or desperation. 2 would be just nice. Sure enough she returned my call while I was inching my way through Sprint.

“Sape ni?”, she asked.
Apparently, she didn’t have my number. Not really a big surprise. So I told her I am her knight in shining armor ready to whisk her away to paradise and beyond.
“ni Faizad,” I answered.
It turned out she too was stuck in a traffic jam. Ideally, this was a situation I’d like to avoid. Firstly, because she couldn’t give…, wait, no. Make that, firstly, because it’s unsafe and secondly because she couldn’t give her fullest attention to the conversation. I mean, normally people who receive phone calls while they’re driving prefer the conversations to be quick and straight to the point. Asking for a date has to be a smooth process of inquisition. Conflict of interests here. Rushing it increases the probability of receiving a negative answer. But I had no choice. I tried to prolong the conversation asking about how things are (the original plan) but she was ready to hang up at one point. So then and there I asked her. Her response?
“Dinner? Sape lagi?”
Suddenly it has taken a new direction which I had hoped earlier was the last thing to happen. But it did, so I replied,
“Kite dua je lah,”
“Menipu,”
“Eh, betul lah,”
“Menipu,”
“Betul lah kite dua je,”
“Menipu,”
3 times she called me a liar. So much for the power of persuasion. I must admit, things were suddenly beginning to look bleak.
“Kite ajak lah sesape lagi. Marina ke, Sasa ke,” she suggested.
It has become clear to me that she had no idea that I was really trying to ask her out for a date (well, I never did mention the word ‘date’ during the whole conversation, to be fair. That would be a bombshell)
“Macam ni lah. Nanti I tanye Sasa ke, sesape kalau diorang nak join tak. Kite go out next week ke… I’ll call you back later, ‘kay? It’s a date, then”
As I could only muster an unsure ‘okay’ myself, she hung up and I was left wondering,
“What the hell happened?”
Apparently her version of ‘date’ with me includes her band of entourage. I was supposed to ask her out for a one-to-one dinner date. Not a group excursion. Not that anything’s wrong with that but that wasn’t the plan! As I replayed the conversation in my head I had come to the conclusion that my fate was left in the hands of Sasa. If she agrees to the group hang then my efforts would be ruined. If she could recall and figure out that my only intention to ask Najau out for dinner is to get an intimate moment with her, then I’m saved. Coincidentally, I had dinner arrangements with Sasa later that night at Parkroyal.

Dinner with Sasa was just a spontaneous act made earlier that day. I virtually had nothing to do that day so I sent a few SMSs here and there with the words “Buat pe?” Just mysterious and childish enough. I even sent one to Nebu. It ended with a dirty joke, of course. But Sasa was the only one who asked me back ‘kenape ye?’ Almost instantaneously I decided asking her out for dinner. Well, since it was ages since I asked her out, she answered back quite harshly, “Ape mimpi kau ajak aku gi dinner ni?” She probably figured out it was just a nice gesture, I think, because she agreed in the end. But now it brings together a new perspective.

So there we were at Chatz Brasserie being probably the two most animated couple in the whole restaurant. We did our usual thang. We talked, we laughed and I had the best grilled Cod in my whole life. We were even the last people to leave the place. After that we had a little walk down Dubai Walk, I mean, Bintang Walk, as Sasa wanted to burn off a few calories after that luxurious dinner. I had to admit I’ve always been the one ruining her diet every time she goes out with me. Little did she knew I had a futsal game later that night. A little walk was probably a bit frivolous for me but I had a pretty good game that night. Maybe it was because of the oysters. Anyway, the point is never once did the name ‘Najua’ ever popped up. I don’t know why. Maybe I was scared of the repercussions. If Sasa said ‘yes’ then she would have the upper hand on the negotiating table. If she said ‘no’ then it would trigger a whole load of inquiries. The gossip ball would just roll. But maybe….maybe I prefer to leave it to chance. It is certainly more exciting that way.

But back to Najua. That phone call? That return call that she promised me? It never came. All the way ‘til Sunday when I decided finally to ring her rather than waiting for it to happen. As luck would put it, she was driving her grandmother to somewhere when she answered, which meant I caught her at a bad time and incidentally led her to promise me the second time, “I’ll call you later, ok?” I stood there motionless at Sunway College’s parking lot. That’s twice. At that point I could only hope she keeps her promise this time around. But it was not to be. Sunday passed just it had came.

Monday (17th) breathed a whole new week. A fresh start. It felt weird embracing a Monday but I did. The new plan was to get the date scheduled by the end of the week. I had 5 days to work it out. It won’t be easy though. God knows what tricks fate had already lined up for me. But somehow, in the pursuit of that goal, I managed to score a dinner with Jes. That, too, came out of a spontaneous act.

I had dinner with Jes at San Francisco Steakhouse at KLCC. This was also one of the places I had always wanted to come. I had a few escapades at Santini’s located downstairs but have yet to step onto the upper floor. The ambience was expectedly warm and nice while Jes was singing along to the musical hits from the 60s and 70s which were playing softly in the background. But the most surprising and exciting part was I have finally stumbled upon the place where they serve Wagyu beef. Or more popularly known as Kobe beef. The best meat money can buy. I never imagined I could have the opportunity to dine this legendary delicacy. The price is exorbitant, of course, but, wow, I mean, it’s here. I’ve always thought that to get hold of this one-of-a-kind would require a trip overseas and a reservation at a world famous restaurant 10 months in advance. But, now, it’s just a trip down to KLCC, man. It truly is everything under the Sun. But sorry to say, I didn’t order it. Simply because I wasn’t that hungry, I didn’t have enough cash and I thought the experience should be reserved for a better occasion. Instead I just a normal steak and chicken breast. The chicken was typical as always but the steak was excellent. I could only imagine if it had been Wagyu beef. Jes, meanwhile, ordered salad. Well, I couldn’t blame her as she has a tennis tournament coming up next (this) week. I guess it’s true then - women never eat on dates (Jack Nicholson, Something’s Gotta Give). If you haven’t heard about Wagyu or Kobe, try surfing the Net about it You’d find out how rare and special it is. Dubbed the ‘foie gras of beef’, it just goes to show the high regard it demands.

As Jes and I talked, I peered out to the view of the KLCC Park at night. It was serene and beautiful and it occurred to me - we lack parks here in KL. I mean, proper parks like KLCC’s that we can walk around, breathing in the cool night air under the trees without having to hear the noises of streets. That’s why I think the Central Park in New York is such a brilliant idea. If you watch every love stories that is played in New York, there’d always a scene involve a walk around the park and how lovely it is. Take Hitch, for example. Just like the scene after Will Smith had that food allergy episode and was high after having too much Benadryl. Then he and Eva had a nice walk around the fountains. It’s even better in England where they have all these little gardens. Just look at Notting Hill. The scene where Hugh Grant exclaimed ‘Whoopsy daisies’ and at the end where he and Julia Roberts were reading books on a bench enjoying the sunshine and Julia had her head on Hugh’s lap. (sigh) we definitely need more parks in KL. As for Jes and me, we didn’t take a walk (although it did cross my mind) because she was already looking sleepy even though the clock was only showing 9 pm. We did, however, went up to her room and had the most passionate night of our lives. She was continuing her work from the office on her laptop while I watched CSI:NY. Ba-dabing. It was still memorable though. You know, if Jes and I were married, that would probably be pretty much the typical scenario – the hardworker and the slob. Anyway, all that happened on Tuesday the 18th. Now, back to Najua.

I thought about asking Jes’ opinion about my current situation with Najua and any advice on what should I do next. But I thought, nah. I don’t wanna spoil the night discussing about another woman who wasn’t there. So, Wednesday.
Then Thursday.
Then Friday.
Friday came and I still haven’t had the guts to call her. What should I say? Do I make a point of her failing to keep her promise? Or do I merely forget it and act as if it was an honest mistake? Do I further pressurize her for the Ciao gig or do I tone down to a drink at Alexis? I had no definite answer. Or do I just call and leave it to the spur of the moment to decide? That was the most tempting but also risky. Problem is, I could only speculate her response until I actually call her. It’s a mentally tiring game.

At 11 pm that night I decided to dial her number. It’s kinda late but what the hell. It took 3 hours of my time to gain enough courage. Now or never.

The phone rang.
Ringing.
Still ringing.
Voice message.
No need to repeat the double-whammy. She already has my number. So I hung up, without leaving any messages, set my phone aside (praying for a return call) and started to open Goodnight Nobody. Just when I was trying to locate my bookmark my phone beeped, indicating an SMS has just been received.
“Please say yes. Please say yes,” I whispered to myself.
To what? I’m not sure myself. It was just a hopeless mantra.
Hi faizad sorry cudnt pick up im watching pirates otc with my aunties in ampang.is there something u wanna talk abt?
Yeah, our dinner date. (sigh) just my luck, eh? I know what you’re thinking. So many blow offs she could just might be avoiding me. That’s probably true. But do you know the definition of “perseverance”? Continuing in a course of action without regard to discouragement, opposition or previous failure (Will Smith, Hitch).
But, this time I was the one who made the promise to call her back the next day. It’s now Tuesday. I haven’t made that call. Why, you ask? It’s because I’m nervous like shit. I know the longer this drags on the more awkward it’ll be. I have to make that call ASAP but what will I say? ‘Hi Najua. Remember I asked you out to dinner two weeks ago and we never actually got to talking after that?’ Oh I even called Sasa on the evening before I got that Pirates message from Najua. I asked Sasa whether Najua had made any recent phone calls to her. She said ‘no’ and, well she was driving then but I could imagine her bopping up and down in her seat asking me rapid questions on the nature of my inquiry. I intentionally didn’t tell her just to drive her crazy but here it is in plain writing. Come to think of it, I don’t know why I actually write this thing in the first place. Damn, I must be pretty bored at the office.

Anyway, yesterday (Monday) served up as a sort of a confidence boost for me. I called Eiwa. Oh yes, the old flame. The old flame who is still single apparently. Yesterday was the first time I called her in one and a half years. I thought I gave up on her. Wait, I did gave up on her. But somehow, with her working at KLCC I think it’s inevitable one day I just had to hook up with her. Problem was, I didn’t know her new number. Even though Nebu is her work colleague, I always forget to ask him for her new number every time I met him. Until the time I chilled with him at A&W before my dinner with Jes last week. So, finally her new number is in my possession and yesterday evening I decided to give her a ring. Her phone went unanswered the first time. Again I refrained from pulling off the double whammy like I did on Najua because chances are, she still has my number despite upgrading to post-payment.

It wasn’t until I was looking for Michael Crichton’s State of Fear at MPH OU that my phone rang. Without looking at the screen I knew ‘honey bunny’ was displayed.
“Hi Faizad!”
Well, she did have my number.
“You called me just now?”
Damn right, honey.
So we got talking. Thankfully I was in a bookstore so everything was quite. No need to shout or go “ha?” every once in a while. It was a brief chat but she sounded so excited on the phone. She was almost squealing. My intention for the call, of course, was to put her on stand-by for a future date. I only suggested a drink. A dinner date would seem too ambitious after a year and a half layoff. She agreed and Faizad triumphs again. Now, why is it so difficult with Najua? Demmit.

So things were going good as I made my way to Tower Records when I bumped into Kai Yin and KarYeng (not related). The two hot (and only) Chinese girls from my BITS class. BITS ended last week so now they were free, taking the opportunity lounging around shopping complexes during office hours. It was the second time I bumped into them at a shopping complex. The first time was at Bangsar Shopping Centre at lunchtime when I was just a week into Deloitte. “Kite macam ade jodoh la,” as Kar Yeng pointed out the coincidence. That was probably the nicest thing any girl has ever said to me this month. We talked a bit about what’s goin’ on with each other and the last day at BITS (which I couldn’t manage to find time to ponteng from work to attend). It was a brief chat and then we went our separate ways.

I continued my walk to Tower and then I bumped into another girl. It was Shima (or was it Syida? I always get confused) from my UTP batch. She was with I could only guess as her mother. She too is working somewhere in Uptown so it wasn’t a surprise to find her there. I even met her once during lunchtime. We just gave each other a friendly wave. I gave the Jack Nicholson playful wave. The one where you flicker your fingers plus that naughty smile on your face.

By the time I reached Tower, I think to myself, I still have that charm with girls. Now, why (again) is it so difficult with Najua?

Later that night (yesterday) I once again made the intention to call her. Problem was I fell asleep during Sportscenter. I didn’t even reach the part where they say Damien Duff signed for Newcastle. I only woke up at 4.30 am. I could only groan.

Now, Tuesday, back to the future. While all my side activities had gone well and looks promising for the future, my main objective still hangs in the balance - Najua, my Wagyu beef, my foie gras. Since when did this become so difficult?

So, next course of action – call Najua. It’s as simple as that. But what if ultimately she says ‘no’? I don’t think I can take that kind of rejection (Michael J. Fox, Back to the Future Part 1). Whoa, hey, wait, that ain’t me talking. The truth is, no matter what, no matter when, no matter who… any man has a chance to sweep any woman off her feet. Just needs the right broom (Will Smith, Hitch).

The journey, ladies and gentlemen, continues…