Matchmaker

So I'm at the bus stop this morning when I notice my neighbor also waiting. Not my noisy upstairs neighbors, don't worry. This one lives to the left of me, in the next basement. She's a very sweet older woman. Slightly crazy. Definitely thinks I'm "just a kid." But that's ok. She doesn't make any noises at 4 am, so she passes in my book.

I say good morning. We exchange pleasantries and wait together for the next 42 to roll by. When it rains in DC, as it did this morning, not only does everything slow down, but Metro seems to decrease the amount of working buses. Needless to say, the first one to stop was way too packed to board. So my neighbor and I waited together. In the ensuing conversation, both at the stop and aboard the next available bus, I learned that we have had much more in common than I thought.

Turns out, she knows my old boss. And she works next to the house where my old boss lives. And, to my embarrassment, she knew of that fateful incident in 2005 when I broke my boss's shower while "house sitting" when my boss was in New Orleans. I swear to you that all I did was turn the knob. Gently.

Anyway, as I came to realize who my neighbor was for the very first time in more than two years, I also realized that I had heard of her before. My boss had once given me a card with a name on it and the word, "matchmaker." I was single, and apparently in need of a match. Well, as the pieces slowly came together on our trek down Connecticut avenue, I realized that my neighbor was the matchmaker.

How cool is that? My neighbor is a matchmaker! All this time, and I had no idea that A) I knew who she was and B) that my potential perfect mate was perhaps a knock and an afternoon tea away!

Don't worry, I plan to work this shit. "Oh, what's that you have in your hand? Are those new matches? Can I, maybe, take a little peak? You need some yard work done? Allow me. Don't worry, it's just a favor! Oh, what's that, the phone number of the most eligible bachelor in DC? Oh, don't mind me as I enter it into my cell phone..."

Haha. It's like fate has been two feet away from me for two years.

I'm just joking about wanting to see her matches. But I will say that this morning's bus ride taught me something. You don't know what is under your nose until you look. Not only is my neighbor the only matchmaker in DC, but she has led a completely fascinating life. And I can't wait to learn more. Life is short. And people are interesting.