Pizza

Pizza is the best food to share with anyone! You can have it alone because you know you deserve it. You can share it with your family, and it becomes a family gathering. Share it with your lover, and it becomes a pizza date. Share it with your friends, and it becomes a late-night binge. It's great, you know. What's not to like about it? The bread is soft and filling. The sauce, tangy, and spicy just gives your mouth a burst of flavour. The toppings give it freshness. And the best. The literal best thing is the yummy stringy melty cheese. Do I even need to tell you why cheese is amazing? Somehow, it tastes better cold than warm. Do you feel me? Have you had a cold last night with leftover pizza after a nasty hangover? It tastes better than any gourmet meal. It is great when you're happy, it's great when you're sad. It's great when you're excited; it's great when you're disappointed. You don't have to say,"Bro, we can't have a pizza right now! Our friend is sad." It's always the right time to have a Pizza.
But I stopped eating pizza. I used to love eating pizza. I had it at least once a week. I know it's unconventional, but I loved the Margherita. I used to share it with Viraj. Who, Viraj? My ex-boyfriend. I'm not going to make this a sob story. Don't worry.

I still remember my 1st pizza. When I was young, I was brought up by "helicopter parents," and they controlled every single second of my life. I didn't know that it was not supposed to be like that until one day I went to a school picnic and one of my friends got pizza. My mother had strictly told me not to eat the "junk" from restaurants. And even when my friend insisted that I try it, I denied it. But I was a child. A thought bubble popped into my head. I thought, even if I eat it, my parents won't know, because I won't tell them. It was the first time I was going to do something which my mother strictly asked me not to, and you know what? There was an amazing adrenaline rush to it! I took a piece of pizza. It was a bit soggy yet felt right. The melted cheese and the onion slices. The first bite. And my life changed. Nah... too much exaggeration. But yes, it was great. I loved it. It wasn't some dominoes or pizza hut; it was homemade pizza. Yet, I fell in love with that doughy cheesy goodness.
I wanted to have more. I wanted to ask my parents for pizza. But I didn't dare. I always ate pizza If and when I went out with friends, and mind you, it was scarce. I hated being restricted by my parents regarding everything. But, not being able to eat pizza was the worst.

I remember eating my first pizza at a gourmet Italian restaurant. I had finally finished high school and got into college. I was doing M.Sc in Microbiology. And I made a few friends. Lucky for me,  my friends shared my love for pizza. If it was Exam time and late night study, pizza. If someone had a breakup, pizza. If we passed the semesters, pizza and if someone failed, Pizza with Whiskey. I remember eating pizza throughout my clg. College was rough, but pizza did make everything so much more bearable. Oh, wait I was telling you about my first Gourmet pizza. So once one of my gals had passed her exams and she did good. Unlike me, her parents bestowed her with gifts, money and luxury. So she took us all, mind you, all 10 freaking friends to a gourmet Italian restaurant. It was luxurious. It smelled like Italy, maybe, I've never been to Italy, but I hope it's what Italy smells like. I opened the menu and was astonished at the vast variety of pizzas I'd never eaten. I didn't even know something like Pizza capricciosa or Quattro stagioni existed. I didn't want to sound like the simpleton I was. So I pretend to know what they all meant. I was going through the menu which looked like ancient scripts. I need to just pick one. Anyone. And I randomly placed my finger on a dish and said,"I'd like a Quattro stagioni please". The waiter took my order and moved on to the others. I was scared. Like really scared. I had ordered something I had no clue about. What if it was something bizarre? What if I didn't like
It. And after a few minutes of anticipation, my dish came out. And trust me when I say that I haven't been so relieved ever in my life. Guys Quattro station is just a Four season pizza. It was delicious. The mozzarella cheese, the oregano, the basil, the dough. It was just a unique experience. But to be honest, if I was given a choice to eat the gourmet of a regular Domino pizza, I'd choose the good old regular Domino's any day.

I am just reminded of the first time I ate pizza from the floor. It was my second year of my college. The results had just been released. I had bombed my exams because I was too busy doing useless extracurricular bs. And I was pretty confident that I'm writing again after 6 months. But then God showed mercy and light flooded into my dark hopeless heart. Somehow, I managed to write enough, God only knows what,  to pass. I was happy beyond comprehension. That night I and my girlfriends went to a pub. We danced our socks off. Drank a heck ton of booze and don't tell my mom, I did weed as well. I was hammered is an understatement! We took an Uber back to our pg and ordered dominoes large pizza. Until the pizza came, one of my friends started throwing up.... and you know what follows next....  Monkey see, monkey Barf. One at the toilet, one at the sink, one at the kitchen sink, and one at the balcony. Midst the sound of vomit and the smell of liquor, I sat there l Staring at the door, waiting for my pizza to arrive. And then the sweet sweet sound of the doorbell. I swaddled o the door and was greeted by the delivery guy. I'm pretty sure he was hit immediately with the stench of vomit with liquor and weed. He quickly gave me the pizza and Scurried away.  I kept the pizza on the table and went off to check up on my pals. In an hour or so, all of us were kind of sober enough to sit down on ta the table and enjoy the pizza. As soon as I opened the box,  the beautiful carb-rich cheese-filled, glutinous marvel captivated my eyes. But I forgot one thing. Drunk girls are worse than boys. Trust me on this one. All 6 of us sat at the table, and before I could smell my food, it was inhaled by them. I kid you not. In the blink of an eye, the food was gone.  But now that I think about it, maybe I might have passed out. Baseline, ¾ of the pizza was gone as 2 pieces each as taken by 5. The remaining2 were mine. And I was about to grab it when an argument ensued regarding who took more oregano sachets. I Couldn't be least bothered. I just wanted to eat my pizza. I was drunk and my gut desperately wanted something. My lip barely touched the cheesy goodness when it was yanked out from my hand. Startled I look up, to see all five of them staring at me. Apparently, the so-called oregano problem was divided into two groups and they wanted me to weigh in. These idiots just threw away my pizza. I just calmly got up. Took the pizza slice still in the box and shoved it down my throat. They were now fighting like a couple who had filed for divorce but were still living together. I just blocked everything out. I could see only one thing. My pizza slice is on the floor, cheese side down. It was a "do or die" situation, actually no. It was a " You're hammered, just eat the damn pizza" type of situation. I slowly got up from my chair. The screeching sound of a dragging chair silenced the Tasmanian devils. I bent down and picked up the slice. It looked good enough. I Said audible loud, I guess the 5-minute rule applies. And took a bite. A gasp echoed in the house. "It's a 5-second rule bro!", Said one of my pals. Like I give a hoot. I ate the slice and marched to my room. Closed the door behind me, and that's all I remember. Those were the days.

By day, I'm reminded of the day I shared my pizza with Viraj. I had finished the end-semester exams of my final year and was exhausted. And you know what I needed? No.... not pizza. Vodka! I needed to get wasted on Vodka shots. And don't hate me for this, I know all this"be content with yourselves" and all that,  but I wanted to get laid. You get me right? So I did what any reasonable woman would do.... just went along to the club myself to get drunk. Yes, I was not a reasonable woman. And hammered I got. 2 hours of dirty dancing and 6 shots later, I was sitting with a bunch of guys eating chicken wings like a rabid dog. And I was about to devour my last wing when I heard a familiar voice. I turned to it and noticed an exquisite piece of handsomeness standing there holding out his hand for me. I recognized the voice.  So I grabbed it and went ahead to the dance floor. My stamina is commendable. Lol, that's what she said. But in all seriousness, I did dance straight for 1 hour without throwing up. But the thing to be noticed is that I still didn't recognize this mystery man but he knew me as he called me by my name. We left the club by 12 I guess. He supported my drunk ass to the cab and asked, "where do you live?" And without even batting an eye I replied, "who are you?" And mind you, I was loud. Everyone turned to him. You know how that looks. A drunk girl is alone with a guy she Doesn't know. He panicked. For obvious reasons. He quickly said," You didn't remember me? We were together on the 10th!! I'm Viraj! You don't remember?". I gasped. How could I forget my 10th-class crush? "Oh you!", I exclaimed. Immediately all the glaring eyes softened. He sighed with relief. I sat down in the cab and told the driver where I had to go. I don't know why but I looked at Viraj, and said,"why don't you join me for pizza?" He hesitated at first, but then he sat down beside me in the cab. We headed back to my place and talked on the way.  We chatted about our school days and our friend. I had no idea that the school sweetheart had become a mother of 2 and was teaching in a school. Nor did I know that the football team captain who had gotten a scholarship was now working an IT desk job. During these conversations, it was revealed to me that Viraj was working at a pharmaceutical company. I never thought of him as a science guy. But it turned out that he didn't expect me to see him in a club. Don't judge me, in school I was a teacher's pet, a tattle tale, a total dork. But things had changed. I was not the same girl, nor was he the same guy. Old Viraj would have never even acknowledged my presence. We reached my pg, I got off and told him that a pizza place was nearby. We walked there. I was ordering my regular pizza with all my toppings when he stopped me. "Have you tried Margherita?", he asked. I nodded in No fashion. "Want to try it?", he continued. I agreed. We sat there waiting for our pizza. Talking about life and stuff. Then it came. The beauty. The classic. The Margherita pizza. Before I go any further. I have to know, what's the best way to put ketchup on pizza? Like on the slices or the side. I don't know what you like, but I always like it on the side. But not Viraj. We didn't argue but rather we were in a disagreement. It was the first time I shared my pizza with my high school crush.

I have lots of memories related to pizza. Mostly good ones. And a few really bad ones. Do you know when is pizza enjoyed the best? With family.  I never really 'lived' in a joint family because my father had a transferable job. But I was always excited to go to my native place to spend time with family. It was my cousin sisters marriage. And the whole family had gathered.  We all were dancing and singing and rejoicing. It was like we had forgotten that we need to eat, sleep and do chores. It was the night before the wedding. My sister said, all of us cousins should play UNO. and it was around 15 members. We played through the night. And at around 1 am, one of my brothers said, "I'm hungry! Let's eat something". Only one place was delivering at 1 am, Domino. We ordered 6 large pizzas and 4 bottles of coke. Cold drinks, pizza, UNO, laughter and family. Nothing can top this. I'll never forget those nights with my cousins. Life seemed perfect. Sitting down on the bare ground in the chilling January months of Delhi, we lot didn't need anything more than the warmth of our hearts. Brothers fighting for the last slice of pizza, sister complaining about the number of mushrooms in her slice, elders shaking their heads looking at us, our grandparents shouting at us for staying up so late and our mothers protecting us from their wrath. That night we played till 4 in the morning. And we got up at 7 because we had so much wedding preparation to do. I don't know what about the magic of their company, but none of us was tired. Right now, Even after I get 8 hours of sleep, I still feel tired. I haven't met my family any time soon. It's been years since the whole cousin gang had been in one place. But I know I'll be meeting them soon. Because now it's time for my wedding. Most of my cousins are married as I'm the younger sister. But luckily, all my brothers and sister-in-law are amazing people. We are a bigger and happier family.  Can't wait to play UNO late at night, eat pizza and have the silliest and most fulfilling conversations. Can't wait to be the little sister again. Can't wait to be the child I was once again.
But do You know when is the worst time to eat pizza? When you've set up a date and your partner breaks up with you. Do you remember Viraj? Yes, my school crush. Well, we did meet again,  mostly because I needed his help with some computer work. I had to make an assignment on  Anaerobic Bacteria in the Food industry. And I still don't know why I couldn't transfer files from my phone to my laptop. I could have asked one of my college friends who were well-versed in computers. But I will not lie that I was looking for a reason to talk to him. He helped with my issue and explained to me how to do it again if I ever needed to do it again. But if I am honest, I still don't know how to do it.
 He then asked if I had lunch. I had had lunch. But I smiled and said No. I was so full. But somehow my heart convinced my gut that I needed to eat. We went to his car and he opened the door for me. Then he drove to the mall. An unconventional place to take a girl for a date. Or was it a date? I at least hoped it was. We went inside and as confused as I was, I didn't say anything. He walked with me and we chatted about random things, then we reached the 3 floor, and long behold in front of me was the 'fun zone' I looked at him and he said,"I remember that you used to love going to the fun zone when we were at school" I heart skipped a beat. He remembered! I was so elated. I smiled and replied with a yes. We went in and we had a blast. I hadn't had so much fun in a long time. It all started that day. He finally asked me out. And me being infatuated with him, said yes. Our relationship was good. I won't say that he was a bad boyfriend. But at the end of the day, I deserved better. I deserved someone who didn't belittle me in every aspect of my life. I deserved someone who made me feel special. Yet till the last day of our relationship, I didn't realise all these things. Our relationship had its demon. And all I ever did was ignore the evident evils. He cheated on me with one of his juniors. And you know what I did? Blamed me. Somehow convinced myself that I was at fault. Maybe I didn't love him enough. Maybe I wasn't enough. Worse, I asked him to meet me in a cafe so that I could convince him that I was better than the girl he had an affair. I order 'our' Margherita. And waited. But thank God, he didn't show up. At that moment, I felt so bad. That day, I felt miserable. I felt like I had lost something so special. But now that I look back, I realise how naive I was. That day I vowed never to eat pizza. How stupid I was. But I am happy that Viraj came into my life. He taught me what love isn't. He taught me how a girl should not be treated. Because of Viraj today I know what I'm not looking for in a man. 

Enough depressing sob story. You know, I've realised that it's important to fall down. Because when you hit rock bottom, the only place to go is Up. And man did I reach for the stars. My clg got over. But I didn't celebrate with Pizza. Only I know how I lived without eating Pizza. I never regret anything in life more than making the idiotic decision to stop eating pizza because of a guy. I got a Job as Quality Assurance Officer in  "The Amul". I was at the peak of my career. I had almost everything. Money, Status, friends, family. But I didn't have love. And worse, I didn't have Pizza. But who could have thought that I would get both love and pizza at the same time! I had given up on love. Frankly speaking I wasn't actively looking for love anyways. But there's a saying, ' Right things come to your life at the Right time'. I guess it was just the right time. It happened so that one fortunate day there was a Retirement party for one of my seniors. There was cake, drinks, pizza, appetisers and generic party games. I was filling up my plate with cake and appetisers. I had had a couple of drinks. I was eyeing the box of pizza sitting on the table as if inviting me in; to take a bite, to indulge in the goodness of cheese. I was getting more and more attracted to the square box holding the circle pizza cut into triangle peices. But a sound echoed in my mind," No!". I everted my eyes and they met with someone else's eyes. There was a young handsome man sitting across me and he had been looking at me. The moment our gaze met, I lowered my gaze with embarrassment. He chucked. I looked back at him. He started the conversation, " You know, you can have a piece. It won't spoil your diet!". I literally didn't have any comeback for this. All I did was smile back. I didn't want to engage in a conversation with him. So I got up and moved my place. Days passed and I barely saw that young man again. There was something about his smile. I didn't talk to him, I didn't know him, I didn't even meet him again. But something was there between us. I didn't know which department he worked in,  yet I kept searching for him. I didn't even know his name. But then finally one day I was working on a new batch of garlic butter. And it happened. No, he didn't come into my laboratory shirtless. I needed help with my computer. Immediately old wounds reopened. I called the IT department. They said that they would send a person up to my office.

There was a knock at the door. I asked the person to enter and entered, no not him. I was also disappointed. It was an IT personnel. He helped me with my work and left the room. I finished my report and forwarded the file to my senior. Usually I'd send it to a really nice lady who world often get homemade food for me. But she was the one who retired. It was my first file I was sending to my new senior. I was nervous. But job is job. An hour passed and I was waiting for the response from my senior via email. And soon I got one. I opened it, hoping that it would be a simple approval. But it was a long list of corrections I needed to make in it. I was certainly pissed. I got back to my computer and opened the file. I got back to making the corrections and finish it as soon as possible. It took me an hours to make the changes and another half an hour to make sure I didn't leave anything. I finally sent the file to my senior again. 

It was half past 6. And my office hours ended at 7. I was hoping that I didn't have to stay and do overtime. Just then a nortification popped up and it was the review on the report. I hastily opened it. And it was approved. I sighed with relief and started packing my bag. Just as I was about to leave, a knock at my cabin door startled me! It was an intern. She peeped into my cabin and barely even entering the room she said, " Ma'am Dev Sir is calling you." I was puzzled to say the least. Not only did I not know who this Dev Sir is, I wasn't aware of why I was being called. I followed the intern and ended up infront of my seniors office. Now it all made sense. I calmed my nerves and knocked on the door. A "come in" approved of my entry. I entered into the familiar cabin expecting a strange face. But to my surprise, he was here. Yes the young handsome guy from the party! His eyes sparkled as soon as he saw me. I smiled back to him. He had a meeting with a company manufacturing B12 fortified yoghurt and wanted me to accompany him to the meeting as apparently my former senior had said some kind words of praise for me. I agreed to it. He was being very professional, so it didn't feel right to casually bring up the last conversations from a few week back. After discussion regarding the meeting, I took his leave. I was happy to have met him again. And I was looking forward to go on this meeting with him. A week passed and then the day came. The meeting was held at a Ravishing hotel at the outskirts of the city. He opened the door for me and I sat beside him. Both of us were quiet for most of the route, but then he broke the ice. "I know you've prepared for the meeting and are ready for it. So I request you please help me if and when I get stuck.", he said in an earnest and sincere manner. I smiled and replied with a 'Yes Sir'. Then again silence presided. We were just about to reach the location when he turned to me and said," call me Dev when its just the two of us." My heart skipped a beat. I just nodded in a yes fashion. We met up with the executive and started our meeting. Then it was lunch time. Dev asked what they would like to eat. They ordered some fancy dish I can't even pronounce. Dev looked at me and whispered,"even we can order something fancy like crème brûlée. Or just have a nice Italian pizza." Before I could reply he continued, "obvious only if you're not a diet like last time." An unintentional smile spread across my face. "Lets have a Quattro stagioni Pizza", I said. He was impressed with my knowledge of Italian pizza, but truth being I only remembered this one name. Over all it was a success. We got a good deal and came back to office at quarter past 4. We discussed over the details of the meeting again and bid each other goodbyes. I had pizza again. After so many days. I had forgotten why I stopped eating something I loved so much, but the hate didn't let me eat until today.

After that for a few uneventful weeks with eat, sleep, office repeat, Dev texted me. "I know that I'm your co-worker. I also know that I'm your senior. And I don't really know if you noticed or not, but I like you. I've liked you ever since the first day I met you. I'm not asking you to like me back or anything. I am just asking for a few dates. A chance to prove myself worthy. It's just a request. You have the full right to deny this request. If you don't mind, can we go on a date tomorrow?" My heart was thumping like Cardi B's song beats. Obviously I wanted to go on a date with him. But I was scared to open my heart for anyone again. I was scared that again someone will enter my heart, wreck it and leave it aching. I didn't know if I should listin to my heart yearning for this connection or my brain warning about another heartbreak. I slept on it. And next morning with a fresh mind, I texted him back. I wrote that I would be happy to go on a date with him. And the rest is history! We went on a few days before I told him about Viraj. Unlike the jealous, egoistic and insecure Viraj, infront of me was a mature, loving and understanding man who didn't force me to get over my trauma,instead insisted that he help me get over it. I finally had someone on whome I could rely on. I started to fall in love with him. And eventually I got to know that he actually didn't like Pizza that much. He ate it, because I loved it! It made me feel so special yet so horrible at the same time. He was doing all these small yet amazing things for me, and I was still stuck in the past. So I decided to take the next step.

It was a winter morning and we were supposed to meet for a morning jog. It was already 8 months of us dating. And I had no intention of letting this amazing person feel under appreciated! He encapsulates me in his loving embrace. I looked into his eyes, held his beautiful face in my palm and said," Dev I was scared to go out with you. And I was scared to open my heart again. But you were like aladin to my gini! In more than one way. I just want to tell you that I  love everything about you, and I'm not a girl who says that lightly, I'm a girl who has faked love her entire life, I'm a girl who thought love was just something idiots felt, but you have a hold on my heart that I could not break if I wanted to. And there have been times when I wanted to. It has been overwhelming and humbling, and even painful at times, but I could not stop loving you any more than I could stop breathing. I'm hopelessly, irretrievably in love with you.  More than you know." His eyes filled up with emotions and he kissed me. He then looked at me and replied," I love you too. I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love you." We both spent a few minutes on the park bench after which he abruptly turns to me and says, "did you just quote Barny stinson?" I sheepishly said yes and we had a laugh. It's been amazing since. A year has passed since that day and a few months later I'm getting married to this amazing man! I still love pizza and eat it whenever i get chance. But now i enjoy eating Indian food as well. Dev cooks for me once in a while and those are my favorite now.  Pizza will always be my first love, but I've learnt that love is abundant.