I feel like I should be reading more into what he’s saying, because the way he’s looking at me tells me that he’s not just talking about hypothetical matches any more, but I don’t have the capacity right now to try and decipher what lies underneath his words. I’m not even sure I want to, since this is probably another of his tactics to put me off and distract me.
‘That’s your opinion, and this is mine. I think Samira and Hasan are a perfect match.’ I press the clicker and forge on ahead before he can ask another infuriating question. ‘Mehedi and Rima. They were a tricky pair .?.?.’
I go through the rest of my matches, Salman frequently butting in with questions to throw me off, but I don’t let him faze me. I’m on my final pairing when Sadia asks me to skip the final couple.
‘Regretfully, Omar has withdrawn his application,’ Sadia says with a small sigh. ‘It’s a shame, because we had a number of candidates on file who would have been potential matches forhim, but sometimes it’s less about the person and more about the timing of it all.’
‘Did he say why?’ Salman asks.
Sadia shakes her head. ‘He didn’t elaborate, but it’s not uncommon for clients to pull out before the matching stage. Sometimes people think they’re ready but then when things get real, they realise they aren’t.’
‘That’s a bit of a pain,’ Salman notes. ‘For them and for us.’
‘It is, but ultimately it’s for the best. We wouldn’t want people to stay because they feel they must. Love isn’t as easy as the films make it out to be, and if they are meant to find their one true love through Eternally Yours, then they will – when the time is right. Hopefully, Omar will be back. Often, clients just need some time to re-evaluate their circumstances.’
I feel a pang of sadness for Omar, wondering what circumstances caused him to pull out, but then I remember I’ve finished presenting and can breathe a sigh of relief. I skip past my final slide and trade places with Salman.
None of our matches are the same, and it’s interesting to see his thought process. Where I matched people based on how they balanced each other out, anticipating what they might need given what their lives currently lacked, he focused on matching clients who were similar to one another.
‘It’s a partnership at the end of the day,’ he concludes, closing down his presentation, ‘and while opposites do attract, if they can’t adjust to each other’s needs, what’s the point of their relationship?’
‘I disagree,’ I butt in, giving him the same treatment he gave me during my presentation. ‘If you focus on being with someone who just goes with the flow, you’re missing out on so much. Matching people with different but complementary personalities is crucial for a relationship. It helps them grow. If you don’t, you end up pairing people who get along superficiallybut when push comes to shove, they’ll clash, and it’ll be too late by then.’
Salman perches on the desk behind him, his arms crossed. ‘It’s not superficial, Poppy, it’s practical. It means you won’t be surprised by the other person’s behaviour.’
‘What do you mean?’ Sadia queries, her interest clearly piqued. I feel bitter. Throughout my presentation, she was stone-faced, not displaying an ounce of emotion, meanwhile Salman gets her full attention just for making a statement. And a wrong one at that.
‘Well .?.?.’ Salman’s gaze drifts towards me, his eyes intent on finding mine. ‘I just mean that sometimes there’s nothing wrong with gravitating towards someone who is similar to you, because it’s comforting. If you know they’re like you, you know how they’ll react to things, and you can count on never having the rug pulled out from beneath your feet.’ He pauses, rocking on his heels in thought. ‘Sure, you can pair people who complement each other, but to avoid getting your heart broken sometimes you just need someone who won’t surprise you.’
I tense. I feel like he’s hinting at something, something beyond our approaches to matchmaking. But what? And, really, his argument doesn’t make much sense. Here he is harping on about predictability whenheis the one who ended things.
Salman’s cheeks puff up before he blows out a breath. He’s clearly holding back on saying something, but then he just shakes his head. ‘I don’t know. Maybe neither is the right answer. It’s just what I think.’
‘Thank you, Salman,’ Sadia says, getting up with her notebook.
He closes down his presentation and takes Sadia’s seat. I want to ask him what he meant up there but just as I muster up the courage to do so, the screen fills with Sadia’s presentation.
‘Out of the thirteen new clients I presented you with, andthe other twenty-five already in our roster, theoretically, there was a possibility of 703 matches overall. This means that each individual had thirty-seven potential matches.’
Wow – the sheer number of possibilities makes me feel light-headed. Thirty-seven matches. Thirty-seven realities that could either work out or be destined to fail. Thirty-seven chances to win the bet.
Sadia flicks to the next slide, which illustrates a diagram showing each and every possibility, the lines crossing over one another in a twisted web.
‘However, taking into consideration each candidate’s sexual orientation, desired qualities and age, their compatibility significantly reduced to three. That is a reduction of 91.89%.’ Sadia clicks to the next slide and an animation appears, the web slowly losing its network of threads so that each individual only has three strands attached to them.
It’s easier now to follow which matches are possible. I try to mentally calculate where I stand in comparison to Salman, but quickly lose track.
‘It’s been interesting hearing you make your cases and explain your rationale for each pairing, especially as you’ve used new frameworks and terminology that I’ve been unfamiliar with.’ Sadia holds back a laugh. ‘And perhaps I was wrong to ask you to complete this task together, because I think by doing this separately, you’ve given me an idea of how to better make use of your time here at Eternally Yours.’
Salman and I share a look. If we were still friends, I’m sure we would have fist-bumped one another.
‘Now, without further ado, let’s see how you’ve both done with your matches.’
Although the previous screen showed the three matches each individual could have, the next slide shows the best match out of those three. Sadia walks us through each match, pointing outdetails we missed or things we need to consider as we move forward. I take notes as she speaks, trying not to beat myself up at my mistakes, while also counting how many I’ve got right versus Salman.
We’re on the eleventh pairing, and the score is six to me and five to Salman. Since Omar has withdrawn his application, the twelfth pairing is the final one. I’m breathless with anticipation as we wait for Sadia to press the button on the clicker. Both of our matches are on the screen, along with a third – the three men connected to Samira, but we know there can only be one right answer. There’s a 33% chance it’s mine and I’ve won the bet and Salman’s gone for the rest of the summer.
‘And finally, Samira’s match .?.?.’ Sadia presses the clicker. It takes me a minute to register who got the final point.
