The Pawn

“Hey Scarlett! You have GOT to talk to this guy I know!” Naomi texts me one day.

I’m skeptical. Naomi is a summatime friend. You know, someone who’s a friend just some of the time? I’ve been friends with her since we were teenagers, but we had a falling out about five or six years ago. About two years ago we began mending fences, but I was never able to have the same closeness we once enjoyed.

I tell her I need  more information. Where does he live? What does he want in a relationship? What does he do? Does he have any kids? Has he ever been arrested? Naomi doesn’t give out a whole lot of info. She says he’s from Gotham and works for the government. Since Naomi lives in the Capital, I assume he does as well, but I ask her to clarify if he works for the US government or the state. She isn’t sure. Most importantly, I ask how she knows him. Again, she isn’t quick to hand out information. I tell her it’s ok if she went out with him once or twice but there was no connection. Naomi “confesses.”

“Yeah, Eric and I went out a few times, but I just wasn’t feeling him. Don’t worry, we never kissed or had sex or anything! But he’s tall and handsome and is a really nice guy!” Naomi adds.

“Ok! Ok!” I finally surrender. “Give me his number and I’ll call him!”

Two days later, I call this “wonderful man.” Well, he does seem like a great person, but we just have very little in common. He’s very outdoorsy, while my idea of roughing it is staying at a three star hotel. He loves living in the city, while I prefer the suburbs. And then the deal breaker. He works closely with two other guys I dated in the past back in Gotham.

Then Eric asks me “Why do you think Naomi thought we’d be a good match?”

“I guess because I studied politics in college and she thought we’d have a common interest there.” I replied. Honestly, I didn’t truly know why she set us up. I think it’s because a few days earlier she invited me on a couples trip with her and her boyfriend. I had to remind her I’m a single, not a couple. So I thought she was trying to get me paired off as quickly as possible.

The next day, my phone rings. It’s Naomi. “Um… Scarlett… What did you tell Eric about me???”

“Um… Nothing! Our conversation was only about the two of us!” I mean, why on earth would Naomi think that our convo would center around her? No! “The only two things he asked about you were how do I know you and why did you think we’d be a good match.”

“Well, he’s been trying to contact me and asking about me, but I’ve told him I’m happily involved.”

I have no idea what Naomi is talking about. The next day, she emails me asking me to take a look at the “crazy” message Eric wrote her. I scroll down, reading the messages in reverse:

“I talked to Scarlett last night.” Read the first message, “She seems cool, but I’m wondering why you thought we’d make a good match? How are you doing by the way?”

“I have a friend I think you should talk to. I think you two would really hit it off!” wrote Naomi about three days earlier.

The day before, Eric sent this message to her: “Well, I’m happy for the both of you. But if it doesn’t work out, please give me a call.”

Naomi: “I’m seeing someone seriously now. We’re very happy together.”

That message was in response to the first email Eric sent to her, about two weeks before Naomi came up with the brilliant idea of playing matchmaker and connecting us. “Hey babe,” Eric wrote, “I still think about you every day. Is there a chance we can get back together?”

Naomi did not realize she sent me all the messages. She was sending them trying to say I said something to Eric to spark his interest in her again. I politely told Naomi “It looks like these messages began before you set us up.” No response.

Did she really think she could pull a fast one on me like this? My “friend” wasn’t actually trying to make a love connection, but trying to get some dude off her back. She should know by now that Miss Scarlett doesn’t like to play games. But chess is a game of smarts and this little pawn somehow made all the right moves and saw what the queen was attempting to do. Check and mate!

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