Great Guy, Wrong Timeline

I talk about bad dates here pretty often. Let's face it, those are often more fun to read (and write!) about. But today, I want to talk about a good date. Unfortunately, a really good date.

You know those people you meet and think, "Ah, finally — someone who gets it"? The ones who make the app fatigue, the awkward small talk, and the endless parade of half-baked Hinge profiles seem worth it? That was him.

He was funny. Kind. Emotionally intelligent, without announcing it like it was an Olympic medal. Our conversations flowed, our values aligned, and there was none of that early-dating awkwardness where you're both just trying to seem cooler than you are. With him, I didn’t feel like I had to perform. I could just… be. Terrible puns and all. And he made it easy. The banter was elite, the texting on point, spending time together felt easy and unstressed.

We spoke about everything from his TV-show-worthy vacation antics to Bombay's waterlogging woes. He even got (and encouraged) my LOTR references, which should honestly be a dating app filter. We didn't agree on everything, of course (How boring that would be!). He loved the rains, I hate them with every fibre of my being. But even our differences felt like complementary contrast, not incompatibility.

So what happened?

Life. Timing. Chaos. The usual suspects.

He got Covid. Then got it again. And again. (Yes, three times. The virus clearly had a crush.) And each time, just as we were getting into a rhythm, he’d disappear into recovery mode — physically and emotionally.

Then there were the work deadlines, the family health scares, the sudden trips. Life just kept showing up like an uninvited guest who didn’t know when to leave. We’d reschedule, reconnect, try again. But eventually, the momentum faded.

Neither of us ghosted. There was no drama, no dramatic fallouts. Just a slow unravelling. A quiet acknowledgement that while the vibes were right, the circumstances weren’t. That sometimes, it’s not about effort or attraction or even compatibility. Sometimes, it’s just... timing.

And that’s the part they don’t warn you about. That sometimes you’ll meet a great person, but the timeline you’re on just won’t sync up with theirs.

I don’t have a messy ending or a savage punchline for this one. Just a soft sigh, and a wish that maybe, in another version of this life — the one where he didn’t get Covid three times — we might have had a shot.

Or at the very least, a third date that didn’t need to be postponed by a PCR test.

Here’s to the good ones who came at the wrong time. And here’s to keeping hope alive for the right one who shows up — on time, healthy, and ready.