Hazia’s Reflections

My newly found best friend had wanted to matchmake me with her pet brother for a while already. Well, I’ve  only known her for a few months, we met through work and clicked. We know when to strategise and when to lighten up.

He is 46, divorced for 10 years and has a 13 year old daughter who lives with him and his elder sister. She said that though he is a member of the Northern royalty, he is a straightforward businessman, and not rich. I do know that several members of his family are old friends of my parents.

Yesterday was the day. She picked me up from her husband’s office building at around 5.45pm, I had a meeting with him. After that, I adjourned for Asar and then changed into a new green top at the washroom. Off we went to The Curve. She was dying to dine at this Warong Penyet. Luckily, the guy was late from Rawang, his meeting dragged on. So, we had time to order a wide spread and attack the food to our heart’s content. The Daging Penyet was fantastic, so were the Satay and Mee Bakso.

We then adjourned to Starbucks for coffee. We chose a quiet corner and arranged 3 sofas so he would sit facing me and she sits at the side. We didn’t realise that there were several Starbucks there and he was waiting at another. He was flustered when he finally arrived. We shook hands and he plopped down opposite of me. We looked at each other, he smiled slightly. That was the only time I felt a mild electric current between us. He seemed okay, sweet looking, a bit cranky though. Due to age? LOL!

Unfortunately, in our effort not to greedily stuff ourselves in his presence, one fact didn’t cross our mind - he hadn’t eaten! We had only taken a few sips of our coffee. So, my friend helped carry my venti ice latte which was already in a plastic container to another venue, we left her mug of COD behind.

On the way, at Asam Pedas - this Malay diner with a Spanish quartet performing at the entrance, we bumped into several corporate figures that he knew. It was a social outing, so I was surprised when he formally introduced my friend and me to them. We ended up at Vivo upstairs. We brought outside drink ie my latte, so it wasn’t polite to sit inside. He sat opposite my friend, I sat next to her. He complained that it was hot, I tried asking the waiter to re-arrange the tables so we’d sit under the fan but he said that’d be too much trouble for the poor guy.

He ordered a thin-crusted Pepperoni Pizza and my friend and I shared a Volcano Mud dessert. It felt like ages when the food arrived, I had a feeling that his crankiness wouldn’t go away until he eats something. He was gentleman enough, served us both a piece of the pizza. I don’t care much for Pepperoni, but that was delicious. Yeah, we ate again. LOL!

I have to say that this wasn’t like other blind dates or matchmaking attempts that I’ve been to. I was dead tired, so was he. My friend had to do a lot of talking and navigating. He spoke a bit, I spoke  a bit. My friend and I refrained from yakking to each other only. That’d be so much easier than trying to include him in our conversation.

Hmm… I wouldn’t say that he wasn’t accommodating, but I’ve to say that he wasn’t very attentive. Probably, he stuck very close to being himself. Come to think of it, neither was I. I didn’t ask him any question about himself, not even one. That was so unlike me.

On the way home, my friend confessed that she was glad that I didn’t. That would be childish to a man of his calibre. She said that she had tried to matchmake him several times. Though he spoke little last night, he spoke to me much more than he ever did to all her other girlfriends. She took that as a good sign.

She wanted to know my thoughts. Well, it was neutral. I was neither interested, nor not interested. If anything, he has to make the first move. I won’t attemp anything to get the ball rolling, I’m way pass all that. She sms me this morning that he said he won’t mind being friends with me. I asked her to give him my mobile no. We shall see:)