I’ve got my notepad resting on my thigh, pen poised and ready to make a list of what needs doing. ‘Do you mean practice matches?’
‘No.Actualmatches.’
My jaw drops. It’s only our second day, and she trusts us enough to start matching already? Isn’t that too soon? Isn’t there a whole team of people who can do this better than us?
‘From your expressions, I can see that this isn’t what you expected, but don’t worry. I’ll be with you every step of the way, and I’m a firm believer that you can only learn the trade by diving in head first. I ask all our new starters to do this, to ensure they understand the core of what we do.’ Sadia pushes two thick stacks of folders to the edge of the desk. ‘In these you’ll find clients who have recently joined us and need to be set up with matches and also dates. I want you to work together on this task and present some options to me.’
My eyes are strained from all the reading I’ve done this morning already, but even so I’m excited to get started. One day, Ma could be in one of these folders.
‘Inside, you’ll find their intake forms. Based on them, I want you to judge who would be their best match. Remember how you felt writing your own intake forms, and channel that energy asyou read theirs. They put their love lives in our hands, and we’ll do everything we can to deliver.’ Sadia leans back in her chair with a gentle smile. ‘I’ll, of course, have final approval of your matches, but I’m intrigued to see what your instincts will say.’ She rises from her chair and presses a button on a remote she picks up from her desk. ‘To help you get in the matchmaking mindset, I’ll show you a couple of current matches we have in our books and the logic I had in mind when I set them up. That should inform how you go about pairing up our clients.’
A projector unwinds from the ceiling while Sadia does something on her laptop. A moment later, a PowerPoint presentation appears in front of our eyes and she goes through the first couple of slides.
‘Maya came to us a year ago. She had just moved to London, from India, for a job in engineering, but found that she was lacking something. She wanted a family but she struggled with dating apps. She was ready to finally settle down after having spent most of her life seeing the sights of the world.’ Sadia presses the remote and another picture slides into the frame, landing right next to Maya’s.
‘Kamal joined the agency three months after Maya did. He was a marketing professional who was a born-and-bred London boy who struggled to meet somebody with the same cultural roots he had. He also didn’t get on with the apps because he was looking for commitment rather than something temporary. He wanted somebody who understood his world and who he could build a relationship with.’ Again, Sadia presses the remote and a list with bullet points and short phrases appears underneath their photos.
‘Following their intake forms and interviews, I noticed that they both valued emotional maturity, family and a shared cultural understanding. They each noted that they sought somebody who understood what it meant to mix tradition withindependence. They wanted the cultural joys of their roots with a modern outlook. Once I figured this out, I set them up on their date and six months later they were engaged.’
My jaw drops. The way Sadia talks about it, matchmaking sounds easy, but I know it’s going to be anything but. She’s a seasoned pro and this is only my second day. I swallow as I feel my leg bouncing up and down with agitation.
But as Sadia goes through a few more couples, breaking down their history the way she did with Maya and Kamal, I start seeing patterns in how the couples are matched. How they balance each other out where they’re different and complement one another where they’re similar.
The last couple Sadia shows us is Habib and Monika. ‘Habib is a more recent client who we’ve matched up. He came to us as a referral rather than applying directly as he’s been quite reluctant to form partnerships.’ Sadia looks at me briefly before clearing her throat. I wonder why until she says, ‘He lost his mum suddenly when he was young and that had a profound effect on him.’
I shift uncomfortably in my seat, trying and failing not to notice how Salman’s head has turned in my direction.
‘As an only child, he learned to be independent early. With only his father around, he matured faster, but it meant that he valued emotional connections over everything. Due to his loss, he treasured presence. Somebody who would be there for him and not make him worry that they might leave.’
Although Sadia isn’t looking at me any more, I can’t help feeling that her words are targeted at me. I’ve not told her about my family, but I’m sure she’s heard from an auntie or two about how Baba passed away.
‘Saying that, however, he is also vulnerable and kind and his work as an architect reflects just that. He’s intent on building lasting monuments and relationships. So although he came herereluctantly, that is exactly what he’s done.’
He reminds me of myself. I wonder what Habib’s previous dating history was like. Did he, like me, get a double whammy of people leaving him suddenly? Although Salman didn’t pass away like Baba, he still left just as suddenly. Sadia said Habib was reluctant to join the agency, so what finally changed for him? What made him take the leap?
But my thoughts about Habib disappear as Sadia pulls up the profile of Monika, his perfect match. Her photo shows a gorgeous South Asian woman wearing overalls splattered with various colours while she smiles into the camera.
‘Monika applied to the agency herself because she’s intentional about love. She’s ready to settle down, but doesn’t want it to be by chance. She’s an arts therapist: her work is less about paintbrushes and diagnosing people but more about connecting with her clients. This means she’s fluent in understanding people’s emotions without being overbearing or invasive. While Habib builds outer permanence through buildings, she is able to nurture the inner stability of not only her partner’s emotions but also their relationship,’ Sadia says. I write down the phrase in my notebook, then underline it. I would have never been able to make the link Sadia’s just made between Habib and Monika. ‘She can see what is underneath the surface and isn’t afraid to stay put and work through it. She emphasised in her application that she understands that certain places, objects or even routines are what make a person, and she’s not looking to change that about someone.’
Monika sounds incredible from her profile, and the thought that people like her exist warms my heart. I want to ask Sadia about their progress but she’s at the end of her presentation, the projector disappearing back into the ceiling.
‘I’d like your matches presented to me by the end of the week,’ she says, signalling for us to get on with it. I waste no timegetting back to my desk and opening the folder, to see the same questions I filled out yesterday looking back at me, filled out by someone else. I’m taking notes on what I think the responses indicate about the type of partner they need when I feel Salman’s gaze on me.
‘Need something?’ I ask, not wanting to engage but needing his eyes off me.
‘Nope,’ he responds, leaning back in his chair with a smirk. ‘Just watching.’
‘Well, don’t. I’m trying to work here.’
‘Shouldn’t we be working together?’
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Heisstupid. ‘Why would I do that?’
‘I’m happy to work by myself, but Sadia said –’
‘I think the less time we spend together, the better.’ I expect him to fight me on it, like he’s been doing since he arrived, but he just raises his hands in defeat and looks down at his desk.
I look back at the folder, ready to tackle the matches, when my mind spirals to what it would look like if wedidwork together. When we were a couple, we studied together all the time. Though calling it ‘studying’ would be generous. We always told our parents we were going to the library after college, but little did they know that the equations we were solving often translated to kisses for every correct answer.
