The Pinch-Penny

This story takes place before I was smart enough to demand that I will only agree to a shidduch suggestion if the shadchan knows me AND the guy well enough to make the suggestion.
I don't think I had even met the shadchan at this point.
The only thing I heard (besides the usual ben-torah, learner blah blah) was that he was a tad on the stingy side. I said, why would I want to go out with someone who the only thing to be said for him is that he's stingy? "Don't write him off right away" "Give him a chance" "You never know"...blah blah blah!


the person in this photo is completely unrelated to the story!

We spoke on the phone and he said we should meet at the King David Hotel lobby. I thought, hmm, that doesn't sound like a pinch penny to me.
I get there and look around. I see several potential candidates and one that I really hoped wasn't. But God decided to have fun with me that evening. The guy was physically unappealing to say the least (this blog, after all, is to fault their choices, decisions, and actions. Not things they can't change, so I'm not going to bad-mouth someone for their looks) and as he approached me I groaned inwardly. It was going to be a long, hot summer evening. Thank goodness we were in a fancy air-conditioned hotel lobby right?
Wrong!
"Want to go for a walk?" he asked. So much for the non-pinch penny. But by this point in my shidduch "career" I had developed a thick, calloused layer in which all sensitivity for the poor, shy, awkward, silent guys I dated was completely numbed. No more the accomodating eidel-meidel.
"No, not really. Let's stay here." He paused, not knowing what to say. He must have been counting on that walk. Finally he said something like "okay" and we sat down on the couches in the corner. After a few minutes he said "you sure you don't want to go for a walk?" I think I briefly contemplated accodmodating him but then thought better of it. I mean, we're both supposed to try and enjoy ourselves right? I don't enjoy walking. "nah" I replied. We stayed right where we were.
After about 20 minutes and waitress came over. I was hoping she was the answer to my prayers and would save me from what was fast turning into an insufferable evening. But she merely politely informed us that if we wanted to continue sitting on the couches we needed to order something. He looked at me and asked, again, "would you like to go for a walk?" Again I politely refused and ordered water for us.
I would have loved to know what went through his head then. Or, rather, after, when the waitress brought two big glass bottles of מי עדן.

I don't remember how I ended the evening (I'm sure I was the one who did us both the favor), I just remember leaving incredibly angry with myself for having caved to pressure to go on this date. I was so mad that I did some healthy retail therapy - I went and bought 3 books at the Book Fair down the street.