Chapter 1

Vanilla Crème with Nutmeg Sprinkles was his Friday regular at Capocacia. Due to his regular weekly visits, he was familiarized not only to the venue but also too well versed with the serving staff. The dropping of the keys of his sleek blue Volkswagen Golf on the table indicated that he was there to stay. He would tuck away his black wool knee length coat at the coat check, while tipping the coat-taker generously. His table would have a reserved sign until and up to the landing of those car keys. After so, the table was open, open for Ali and, of course, the date he awaited.

During his wait for the friend who arrived at four, he took out his personal copy of the day’s Financial Post and Globe and Mail. He would line them up on the side whilst he pulled out his pocket crossword book and started where he left off last Friday. Ali was a geek for those road-side puzzle books. Even after having completed and mastered hundreds of them in the last thirteen years of his life, his fascination lived on and so did the business of the Gateway’s shopkeeper, who would get enough new and different puzzles that made Ali a regular.

Upon the arrival of his drink, Ali looked at the clock at the opposite end of the restaurant and read the time off it. It was fifteen to four. This gave him enough time to finish off his concurrent puzzle, a quick freshing-up visit to the loo, let his drink cool down to the temperature he liked and turn his blackberry bureau off. In the next fifteen minutes, he would be perfectly ready to face his date, who he hoped to lord would be late.

‘Timely-ness’ was Ali’s obsession. He would be on time wherever he would go and sometimes even went to his rendezvous before time, just so to reduce and eradicate any possibility for late-ness. But when it came to his Fridays, he liked his date to be late. It would buy him more time to get through his puzzle book and of course watching the centrepiece of Capocacia (Let alone Capocacia, the centre of young street), while filling away the black and white boxes.

His mighty luck didn’t support him though where as soon as the clock struck four, in walked his date, carefully running on her Suede Aldo loafers. Her beige overcoat followed as she turned on the walkway into the restaurant. Amongst the mist of the cold November rain, Nayab smiled as she walked up to the table where Ali sat fixated upon his teenage mania.