Chapter 4
Sam
My cell phone rang on the nightstand. I wasn’t thrilled to discover the time; it was early. I typically slept in during the summer, as I didn’t have to work. That was one perk of being a college professor.
“Hello?”
“Hi. Yes, is this Sam?” an upbeat voice asked on the other end of the line.
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi, yes, this is Eva from Heartstrings Matchmaking. And I would love to schedule our first meeting. This meeting can be over the phone, as I just need some answers to a questionnaire. Just let me know when you have availability, and we could schedule our first consultation.”
Already? It was only a few days after meeting her and going all in with signing with a matchmaker. She had me on the phone now, so why not just get it over with?
“Does now work?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. My finger brushed against moisture. I had some massive eye boogie. So happy Eva couldn’t see me now.
“One second, let me grab my questions. Pulling them up now.” She took a moment to pause. “Okay, I want to get to know you: what you’re looking for, the reason you tried this service, and how can we help you find your genuine love match. That is our number-one goal. I am here to find you happiness and love.”
Was she being serious? Or was that a script? I held back my laughter.
“Honestly, it’s time for me to consider settling down, but as a newcomer, I haven’t met many people yet. That’s kind of the reason, and I had a friend who told me about this service. So, why not try it? And so here I am.”
“Here you are,” her voice mimicked.
“Is something the matter?” I asked, confused by how she’d responded.
“Oh, no. Sorry about that. Anyway, the first step is to go over the outward appearance, which means if needed, we could do a makeover and get some new clothes. Then we’ll walk through different tactics on how to make small talk during the date and then we will pair you up with a lovely lady who we think there might be a connection with. How does that sound?”
“It sounds pretty good, I think…” Was this the same girl who’d spilled soda on me? Because somehow she seemed fake, or robotic. But maybe this was her whole spiel, and she didn’t know who she was talking to.
Eva asked me a few more questions and was honest with me about how matches were made. They had a 100 percent guarantee to find a match, but they couldn’t provide a timeline. Some couples waited two years to find a match. It was a good chat. By the end of our call, I was feeling better about the whole situation. I thought this was the right thing to do, to get me out of my comfort zone and start seeing women.