{"id":58864,"date":"2025-03-09T06:02:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T10:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/?p=58864"},"modified":"2026-06-24T10:29:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:29:00","slug":"a-matchmaker-named-natasha-chapter-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/la-marieuse-sappelait-natasha-chapitre-4\/","title":{"rendered":"A matchmaker named Natasha - Chapter 4"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The attentive matchmaker insisted that all her candidates were highly desirable. She had found me four men \u2014 a musician, a businessman, a globetrotter and a retired philosophy teacher \u2014 with solid values, compatible ages and were bilingual or even trilingual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 \u201cWow, Natasha! Do you really think I\u2019ll be up to par?\u201d
\u2013 \u201cDon't worry! You're still attractive. We've compiled these four candidates\u2019 answers, and each one could be a suitor for you. Really, you're going to be spoilt for choice.\u201d
- \u201cWhen can I meet them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People usually purchase insurance in case something bad happens to them. But love, the great, magnificent and forever one, is it truly ever guaranteed? And what about my businesswoman\u2019s small horns I\u2019ve used to doubt, argue, negotiate and monetize? What am I going to do with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 \u201cForget your horns and let your heart speak,\u201d replies the matchmaker. \u201cEvery woman has the right to find her Prince Charming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had found mine at 18. He was so handsome, he\u2019d even appear in my dreams! I could never shake his hand, though, because he was a movie actor on the big screen. When the movie \u201cDoctor Zhivago\u201d came out in 1965, the entire world discovered the beautiful and talented Omar Sharif, the famous actor who played the story\u2019s protagonist. I had watched that love story 20 times over before the horrible ogre butchered my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 \u201cDear Natasha, help me. I have so little experience with love. How can I choose the best man for me?\u201d And then I'm told that I needed to speak to each candidate over the phone first before deciding whether to go any further.
\u2013 \u201cDon't forget to use your fictitious name (Claudia) when speaking to each suitor! About 30 or 40 minutes will be enough for introductions.\u201d
\u2013 \u201cBut what do I tell them? That I'm an inexperienced old woman on a quest to find Prince Charming? Tell me, Natasha, are men more decisive, adventurous, capable, enterprising?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we know the depths of another\u2019s heart when we have such a hard time opening our own? Ten thousand paths blur the address to true happiness. Will this adventure be worth its weight in gold?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the matchmaker selling, in fact? Not even the slightest assurance of success! Four telephone conversations with four manly voices; four guaranteed in-person meetings if no one cancels. Each one of them having filled out the same very lengthy questionnaire with over 200 questions. Where do I stand in all this nonsense? Natasha the matchmaker guesses my state of mind and implores me to continue with the program. She can even put me in contact with the first potential Mr. Right this evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A retired philosophy teacher, the first gentleman caller, describes himself as an avid red-headed sportsman who likes to ski, play golf and tennis, bike and ride horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of breath, my heart falls off the horse just by thinking about it! But I like philosophy. I also like the nice redhead I saw in his profile photos. Can this first candidate help me understand Martin Heidegger, the most influential philosopher of the 20thth <\/sup>century in my opinion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natasha suggests I agree to a short meeting in person. Breakfast, a latte at a pastry shop or a walk in the park. \u201cBut beware!\u201d she warns me. \u201cIt\u2019s forbidden to spend an entire day in his company.\u201d Encounters that last too long can lead you to assume too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man with the red head suggests we have brunch at the Ritz. I say YES! Why not? I used to go to the Ritz every month for breakfast meetings with other businesswomen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the long lineup, a very full head of red hair catches my eye. Fear seizes me. I find him too handsome, too young and I\u2019m guessing more intelligent than me. This former philosopher knows by heart all the descendants of the Cro-Magnon man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I become nervous. I\u2019m hungry. I can\u2019t wait to drink my first coffee! And then the ma\u00eetre d\u2019 recognizes me and invites me to sit at one of the best tables reserved for valued guests. Claudio, the hotel\u2019s oldest waiter, greets me with a grin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hesitate, I glance, I look for the red head. I tell the ma\u00eetre d\u2019 that I\u2019m waiting for someone. The man with the red hair finally joins me at the table. Will he guess who I am? He sits, stares at me and seems to search his memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 \u201cDear Cora!\u201d exclaims Claudio. \u201cDon't you ever age? We haven't seen you in so long! May I suggest our famous crustless mushroom quiche with leek and goat cheese today. What do you say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TO BE CONTINUED.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cora
\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The attentive matchmaker insisted that all her candidates were highly desirable. She had found me four men — a musician, a businessman, a globetrotter and a retired philosophy teacher — with solid values, compatible ages and were bilingual or even trilingual. \u2013 \u201cWow, Natasha! Do you really think I\u2019ll be up to par?\u201d\u2013\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t worry! You\u2019re still attractive. We\u2019ve compiled these four candidates\u2019 answers, and each one could be a suitor for you. Really, you’re going to be spoilt for choice.\u201d- \u201cWhen can I meet them?\u201d People usually purchase insurance in case something bad happens to them. But love, the great, magnificent and forever one, is it truly ever guaranteed? And what about my businesswoman\u2019s small horns I\u2019ve used to doubt, argue, negotiate and monetize? What am I going to do with them? \u2013 \u201cForget your horns and let your heart speak,\u201d replies the matchmaker. \u201cEvery woman has the right to find her Prince Charming.\u201d I had found mine at 18. He was so handsome, he\u2019d even appear in my dreams! I could never shake his hand, though, because he was a movie actor on the big screen. When the movie \u201cDoctor Zhivago\u201d came out in 1965, the entire world discovered the beautiful and talented Omar Sharif, the famous actor who played the story\u2019s protagonist. I had watched that love story 20 times over before the horrible ogre butchered my heart. \u2013 \u201cDear Natasha, help me. I have so little experience with love. How can I choose the best man for me?\u201d And then I’m told that I needed to speak to each candidate over the phone first before deciding whether to go any further.\u2013 \u201cDon’t forget to use your fictitious name (Claudia) when speaking to each suitor! About 30 or 40 minutes will be enough for introductions.\u201d\u2013 \u201cBut what do\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":59330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Chapitre 4 : la marieuse pr\u00e9sente quatre candidats aux belles valeurs. Mme Cora raconte ces premi\u00e8res propositions.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"class_list":["post-58864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lettre-mme-cora"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/414"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58864"}],"curies":[{"name":"WP","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}