Sometimes I forget that in a sea of available men, you only really need one to make you happy. It’s been a while since I’ve dated. I broke up with someone a while back and then jumped, 150%, into a work project that completed shortly before Thanksgiving. I didn’t see any of my friends during my work event let alone date. During that time, the only conversations I had outside of work were quick whatsapp messages to friends checking in. But it’s mid-December now and time to get back into the dating pool.

I rejoined OkCupid, Match. And I signed up for speed dating yesterday. I even joked with a friend on whatsapp that I’d either meet “the one” or at least come home with a funny story. Many of you who read my blog love to hear about the trials and tribulations of speed dating, so here goes! Speed dating was called for 5pm, but I knew that it wouldn’t officially start until 5:30pm. I arrived about 5:25pm and saw that almost all of the tables had a woman sitting at them, but no men. I spoke with the woman who was running the event and she said that there were 3 guys, but she was hopeful that the other 3 who had signed up would arrive soon. By 5:45pm, we knew that they were no shows. I couldn’t resist sending a quick whatsapp update to a girlfriend: “Only 3 guys here, this should be interesting.”

So, we had the option to leave and get a full refund, or stay and get a free speed dating. I decided to stay and meet the 3 men that had shown up. Why the hell not, right? The first guy was chatty, friendly, but he invited one of the other women to join us on our “date.” Basically, I took that to mean he wasn’t interested in talking to me, and maybe he had a 3-some in mind? But seriously, I told him I preferred to date one-on-one (sarcastically, of course), and we chatted for our 6-minute date. Later, I laughed about it over whatsapp with a friend who said, “At least he was creative.” Next. Next up was a guy from Italy who has been here in Boston for…wait for it….3 days. He told me he was staying with a friend and I figured he was at speed dating to either get his groove on or find a place to crash. We talked about Rome and gelato and…then…not much else. I thought to myself, “This would make a fun whatsapp story for my travel-loving friends.”

The third guy seemed cool. He was grounded, funny, and actually asked questions instead of just talking about himself. By the end of our 6 minutes, I had the sense he’d be someone who would text me later—and sure enough, I wondered if he might even suggest moving our chat to whatsapp soon. And that was that. I decided to check off “interested” for all 3 guys because, as I told the woman running the event, “Why not?” I put on my coat and wandered out into the streets of Boston. Headed home, ate dinner, went to sleep. This morning I awoke to an email that guy #3 and I matched! I immediately shared the news on whatsapp with two of my closest girlfriends, and they replied with a chorus of excited emojis. As a wise Facebook follower said to me, “It only takes one.” Amen! And who knows? Maybe the next chapter of this story will begin with a whatsapp message that makes me smile.