{"id":60163,"date":"2025-03-23T06:51:39","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T10:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/?p=60163"},"modified":"2026-06-24T10:29:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T14:29:01","slug":"a-matchmaker-named-natasha-chapter-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/la-marieuse-sappelait-natasha-chapitre-6\/","title":{"rendered":"A matchmaker named Natasha - Chapter 6"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear readers, I\u2019m improving my writing skills as you continue to read my letters. The whiteness of the blank page is like a sky filled with miracles for me. When I was young, all I wanted was to darken pages with my ink and, today, my golden years afford me the time I need. A smile, a quick peck on the cheek, a sympathetic eye; these days, I write to discover what true love is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do I have enough time to find a soulmate? How many men and women experience great love? Maybe once, twice or even three times in their lifetime if they\u2019re very, very lucky?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the first two candidates missed the mark, Natasha, the expert matchmaker I tasked with the mission of finding me the right man, informs me she\u2019s still looking. Does she know how fast time flies? My last few good years are slipping and crumbling away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HELP! WILL I REMAIN AN OLD SPINSTER UNTIL I\u2019M 100?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 \u201cClaudia, my dear, she tells me, don\u2019t forget to use your alias!\u201d A third candidate is eager to meet me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a 30-minute introductory call, I imagine myself on cloud 9. I don\u2019t suffer from any pain, but my date manages an orthopedic company on Montreal\u2019s South Shore that sells all sorts of products to drugstores across Canada \u2013 compression socks, lumbar belts, bandages, ankle braces, removable insoles, elastic bandages and corsets of all kinds. Should I break a leg to meet him faster?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 \u201cDear Natasha, when can I meet him?\u201d<br>\u2013 \u201cPatience! Your suitor is on a business trip to Chicago right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I understand. This man probably leads the same busy lifestyle I used to when I was opening restaurants across Canada. Even if I\u2019d met my handsome Omar Sharif in person, I would\u2019ve been too busy for even a hello!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Impatient and a bit annoyed, I feel like I only get to write the beginnings of stories before they disappear in my head as instantly as a bursting soap bubble. It\u2019s noon, I crack three small eggs into a hot frying pan. I sit to eat in front of my iPad, with a piece of bread, a cheese wedge and two slices of ham. Am I really hungry? I think about the businessman again. Will he like my homemade jams, my coloured outfits, my passion for words?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few days later, Natasha tells me that the travelling suitor is back in Montreal and he\u2019d like to have breakfast with me this Saturday. He\u2019d book a table at Lem\u00e9ac, a chic and popular French bistro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 \u201cWhat do you say, Claudia?\u201d she asks me.<br>\u2013 \u201cIt's perfect! I know the place and I'll be there at 10.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Very early that Saturday morning, I try on so many outfits that it makes my head spin. I try on a red dress that\u2019s perhaps a tad too bold, a pink one that may be too light for autumn and a blue one that\u2019s simply too short. Finally, I opt for light grey pants and a matching sweater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He arrives smartly dressed and as serious as a Pope. He\u2019s booked a table for four right in the middle of the restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 \u201cNice to meet you, dear Sir. Are you waiting for someone else?\u201d<br>\u2013 \u201cI like being comfortable in these busy and over-crowded restaurants. I prefer a large table with plenty of space.\u201d<br>\u2013 \u201cWould you have preferred going to the Ritz?\u201d<br>\u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s all the same. Too ordinary and expensive! At least here, the excellent smoked salmon brings in the guests.\u201d<br>\u2013 \u201cI agree! It's also my favourite dish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We should get along just fine! But disenchantment quickly sets in when he nearly berates a waiter in training for suggesting red wine instead of white to accompany the fish. He eats his fill in no time and doesn\u2019t bother to treat me to dessert. Neither one of us has even finished our glass of wine. Once again, I conclude, I\u2019ve wasted my time. As we exit the restaurant, he invites me to take a short stroll to help digest the meal. Surprised by his suggestion, I nevertheless agree. Fifteen minutes are enough to soothe the curmudgeon\u2019s mood. He throws a few compliments my way and invites me over to his place, a big house on the waterfront, near Montreal. For heaven\u2019s sake, how disappointing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 \u201cThe staff have the weekend off, and you can even stay the night if you like,\u201d he dares say.<br>\u2013 \u201cNo, no! No, thank you!\u201d I'm stunned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few more steps and he stops. A driver with a white cap opens the back door of a luxury car that I don\u2019t recognize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 \u201cDarling, let's go for a ride in my brand-new Bentley!\u201d he says to lure me into the backseat of his big, fancy car. I flatly refuse. \u201cNo, no!\u201d I remain on the sidewalk for a moment, looking for my Mini. I see it, one block away from the large Bentley. I'm off, almost at a run. I unlock the Mini, open the door, dive in and quickly lock the doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TO BE CONCLUDED.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cora<br>\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear readers, I\u2019m improving my writing skills as you continue to read my letters. The whiteness of the blank page is like a sky filled with miracles for me. When I was young, all I wanted was to darken pages with my ink and, today, my golden years afford me the time I need. A smile, a quick peck on the cheek, a sympathetic eye; these days, I write to discover what true love is. Do I have enough time to find a soulmate? How many men and women experience great love? Maybe once, twice or even three times in their lifetime if they\u2019re very, very lucky? Though the first two candidates missed the mark, Natasha, the expert matchmaker I tasked with the mission of finding me the right man, informs me she\u2019s still looking. Does she know how fast time flies? My last few good years are slipping and crumbling away. HELP! WILL I REMAIN AN OLD SPINSTER UNTIL I\u2019M 100? \u2013 \u201cClaudia, my dear, she tells me, don\u2019t forget to use your alias!\u201d A third candidate is eager to meet me. After a 30-minute introductory call, I imagine myself on cloud 9. I don\u2019t suffer from any pain, but my date manages an orthopedic company on Montreal\u2019s South Shore that sells all sorts of products to drugstores across Canada \u2013 compression socks, lumbar belts, bandages, ankle braces, removable insoles, elastic bandages and corsets of all kinds. Should I break a leg to meet him faster? \u2013 \u201cDear Natasha, when can I meet him?\u201d\u2013 \u201cPatience! Your suitor is on a business trip to Chicago right now.\u201d I understand. This man probably leads the same busy lifestyle I used to when I was opening restaurants across Canada. Even if I\u2019d met my handsome Omar Sharif in person, I would\u2019ve been\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":60166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Chapitre 6 : Mme Cora remercie ses lecteurs qui, en la lisant, lui apprennent \u00e0 \u00e9crire, et poursuit l'histoire de la marieuse.","_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-60163","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\/60163","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=60163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chezcora.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60163"}],"curies":[{"name":"WP","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}