The Interview - For Contest

This situation has no basis in reality; in fact, it is ludicrously unreal. However, the likes and dislikes shown of its author are completely true! Scene: A comfortable office where Andrea Dietrich is finishing up with one of many interviews looking for Mr. Right: Jotting down notes, Andrea looks up to ask another question of her “suitor.” Andrea: You have told me you enjoy your work and so far, I see several things we have in common. So tell me, Felix, how do you like to live? I mean, how do you manage your house with such a tight schedule? Felix: I love a tidy house. I’m so clean and organized, in fact, that I feel uncomfortable when I am not strictly adhering to my daily routines. Andrea (with her smile suddenly disappearing from her face.) Oh, how nice for you! Well, ok, it was a pleasure meeting you. I need to speak to my next interviewee. (Andrea’s secretary calls in the next possible candidate for Mr. Right. He is rather slender, slightly muscular, with dark hair tinged with gray, nice eyes, an engaging smile and a rather large nose, reminding Andrea of the actor, Adrian Brody. She hopes she does not seem to be ogling him, but her curiosity is very aroused, for this is her type: someone not too extremely handsome but with an interesting look that sets him apart from the crowd. Her once flagging excitement in the whole interviewing process has suddenly been revived!) Adam: Hello, Ms. Dietrich. My name is Adam. May I call you Andrea? (Andrea nods her head, pleased by this man’s seeming confidence and his ease in introducing himself to her) I’ve been looking forward to this interview since hearing that you were on the dating scene again. Andrea: Nice to meet you, Adam. I love that name! You seem to already know me. Have we met before? Adam: Not really. I am a poet at another website. My friend at Soup told me about your blog where you were asking to interview men for a love match! A most interesting idea. I just had to check it out because I saw your bio and your pictures and was instantly attracted. Andrea (feeling a bit embarrassed by the flattery and touching her hair nervously) I am a little older than my avatar shows me to be. I hope you are not disappointed. Adam: Of course not! You are a beautiful woman and coincidentally, we are about the same age. (Andrea smiles, thinking to herself how young Adam seems. Adam continues speaking) I was able to track down information about you on Google, view other pictures of you and read your poetry. I started with your first page when you joined PoetrySoup and have read all those poems. . . Andrea (interrupting him) Are you kidding me? There are so many on that first page.. Adam: I find that the best way to know a woman’s heart is to read what she writes. I intend to read many more of your poems! I thought it would be fun to start at the beginning of yours. Andrea: Gosh, that is hardly my beginning in 2010, but that year WAS very special for me, starting at PoetrySoup. May I ask which poems of mine you liked best on that page? (Adam proceeds to name five poems that are also her own favorites on that page! When she asks him what he liked about them, she can tell that he truly read them.) Andrea: I’m impressed that you took so much time to read my works. I would like to read yours as well. (Adam tells Andrea about his own poetry and she discovers that he too is interested in different poetry forms as well as dabbling in free verse. One more thing they have in common! ) Andrea: Well, I want to hear a lot more about you. Tell me. . . (Andrea now asks Adam many questions. She discovers that like herself, he is not afraid to do things by himself. He enjoys bargain hunting, traveling and learning about other cultures and seeing movies, but not always just the standard Hollywood fare. He even enjoys exercise at the gym and is a teacher like herself, but not just any teacher. He is a professor of linguistics at a prestigious university and his home is located near a beautiful beach. He has taste similar to hers in music, books, food, and even in the types of pets he enjoys having. Not to mention, he is looking for a partner to stroll on the beach with him holding hands, to cuddle by a fire with, and to talk with late into the night.) Andrea (feeling flushed with excitement) By the way, Adam, may I ask you how you keep your house? I mean, is spotlessness important to you? Or are you a bit of an “Oscar” like on the Odd Couple? Adam: I have to be honest. I am not fond of housework. Neither do I expect a potential partner of mine to do it all either. I believe in sharing responsibilities, but I must confess, and I hope this is not a deal breaker, I’m a bit of a clutter bug! Andrea (with her mouth turning up in a huge grin) Oh my. So am I! How would two little clutter bugs work out together, do you think? Adam: Not to worry, my dear. I have saved up a nice little nest egg in my years at the university. These days I can afford a housekeeper, and with retirement around the corner, I am searching for my soul mate, someone who wants to share a life of travel with me in my golden years, and also a life of fun at home. We can visit our grandkids, go out to dinner every week, go to shows and discuss our poetry together. I just really want someone to share my life with. (Andrea is wondering if she is in a dream as she pinches herself to be sure. Her jaw has dropped, and she senses she might be starting to drool, thinking of having possibly found her Mr. Right, not to mention, a home by the beach. OH MY!) Moral: The way to the heart of a poetess begins through her poetry. Alternate Moral: Dream on! Written June 18, 2015 by Andrea Dietrich for the Interview Contest of Judy Konos