Wooing Isaac

Description

Rachel is at a speed dating event, but the first two dates are disasters. Then she sits by herself on a forced “date break” because the women outnumber the men. The organiser checks on her, promising she’ll soon meet the man of her dreams. He relays that one of the daters is running late. She can have first dibs on him. Rachel checks her watch, before scanning the daters still to come. They’re more like the men of her nightmares. One is old enough to be her father and attempts to hide his age with hair dye and fake tan. Another looks like he just broke out of prison and wears the clothes to prove it. Rachel texts Rebecca for advice. Rebecca makes Rachel promise not to give up, for both their sakes, but doesn’t elaborate. That guilt-filled reply does the trick. It keeps Rachel rooted in her seat. That’s when Isaac strolls in the room. Every female head in the room swivels. He’s been worth the wait. The organiser makes good on his promise. Isaac is sent to Rachel’s table first. Isaac is not only handsome, but sane and charming. However, Rachel’s confidence and state of normalcy disappear. She turns into a blithering, blathering idiot and proceeds to ask “off-the-wall” and prying questions. She botches the date and refers to notes. Isaac’s smile wanes. When he sees how serious and keen she’s acting, he backpedals and explains that he’s not a genuine dater. Yes, he’s single, but he’s only there as a back-up. Whenever the organiser is short of males, he pays Isaac to make up the numbers. Isaac is only there for the extra cash. Rachel throws out a curve ball. She asks if he’d consider dating if she paid him. Isaac insists he’s not at the event just for the money. He’s genuinely looking for someone. As the timer counts down the last seconds of their date, he explains that time is precious, so it has to pay off in one way or another. Rachel scratches her head. Did he say, ‘yes’, or didn’t he? Rachel pursues Isaac to the next table, asking what price anyone can put on love. She waves some big bills. He agrees. You can’t put a price on love. His new date disagrees. She grabs some bills, and lets Rachel have her date with Isaac. Another female dater does the same, grabbing bills and stating that Rachel can have her date also. The event falls apart but Isaac hears Rachel out. She rings Rebecca. Rebecca is busy, but Rachel repeats Isaac’s words that time is precious so you need to make it pay off. Rachel puts Isaac on the phone with Rebecca. They connect immediately. Isaac falls off his seat. He’s met his match! This was Rachel’s goal all along. She’s not a dater but a wannabe matchmaker. Rebecca is her first client and a potential investor in her business. It’s a happy ending for all three!

Biblical Connection

My Biblical source is Genesis 24 where Abraham’s servant finds a wife for Isaac. As a long-time dater seeking a long-term relationship (not for lack of trying), I’ve often wondered if someone else might have better luck finding a match for me. Abraham’s servant seamlessly found a good match for Isaac in Rebekah. I wanted to turn this on its head by having a male wooed, rather than a female. Also, I wanted to give it a modern twist that many of us in the dating pool can relate to by setting it at a speed dating event. And as many of us have busy lives, the idea of finding someone to vet dates first appealed to me. In Genesis, Abraham’s servant met Rebekah at a well. When Rebekah first sees Isaac, she falls off a camel. In this adaptation, Rachel and Isaac meet at a speed dating event with its own watering hole—a bar. And as Isaac learns something meaningful about Rebecca on the phone, he falls off his chair. He’s impressed! The audience won’t realise until the very end that Rachel was never wooing Isaac for herself, but rather for Rebecca—a busy and important client.