Passing the Test: How to Find Your Perfect Mate
by Alicia Haley

Abby Meyers looked at her name in print under the article and smiled. She had been working as a columnist at the independent magazine for almost two years, but the novelty of seeing her name in print still hadn't worn off. She loved her job and she loved her life. She ran in a local park in the morning and had lunch with her friends in the afternoon. She went to the theater and exhibit openings and bars. She was free and independent from anything and everything and loved it. Abby was approaching her late thirties and had dated irregularly throughout her life, but had never been drawn toward anyone in particular. She didn't actively seek out romance. One day while stopping off at a grocer, she flipped through a magazine while in line. One article in particular she had seen dozens of times caught her eye, "Passing the Test: How to Find Your Perfect Mate." Abby was a strong believer that articles such as this one were brainwashing main stream society into thinking there's someone for everyone and you can find your partner for life in ten easy steps. This was when Abby came up with her next article. She was going to disprove the "someone for everyone" theory once and for all. First, Abby compiled a list of qualities she was looking for in her ideal mate, if there was such a thing. Then Abby's search began. She answered classified adds, went to single's events, gay bars, straight bars, blind dates, but it was to no avail; all of these outlets were dead ends. All of the people she encountered were too concerned with themselves to be able to open up to anyone else. She knew this would be the outcome and wanted to write an article putting the issue to rest, in her mind anyway, there was no way to find your perfect mate.

On a beautiful, cloudless day, Abby walked to a park near her apartment to begin working on her article. As she watched the people jogging on the trail and the children playing in the park, she began to observe a particular pair of individuals, a man and a child, playing in the grass. After watching them interact for awhile, the toddler tripped and fell into the lush cushion just below her. She instantly began to tremble and then broke out into horrific shouts of child's pain. Compelled by the situation, Abby went over to aid the man and child. As she approached the pair, the child was instantly more intrigued by this new comer then by the mild injury she had sustained. She introduced herself to the man who became known as Michael. Abby and Michael began talking and soon the sun was setting. They each exchanged their stories, but to Abby, Michael's was particularly interesting. Michael was a divorcee trying to get back on his feet while raising a child on his own. Michael had married his high school sweetheart and worked endlessly to help put her through college and law school. While in law school his wife unexpectedly became pregnant and after endless discussion, terminated the pregnancy. However, after completing law school and finding a job, she became pregnant again and gave birth to their daughter. Soon after returning to work, Michael's wife decided she couldn't handle being a wife and mother and left them. Michael was left with nothing and applied for government aid. He moved back in with his parents and began attending night school. He eventually found employment and got back on his feet. Abby explained she was a columnist for an independent magazine who had never really thought about having a family or raising children, or even living in a house for that matter; her apartment and friends suited her just fine. She also embarrassingly confessed the article she was preparing and all the attempts she had made to find X. For some reason on that day, both Abby and Michael felt compelled to share with each other a piece of themselves, and at that point it all came together for Abby. Michael had past the test to prove his worth as a person and as a match for Abby simply by being real and not a storybook Prince Charming. Abby knew she had just been struck by the biggest cliché of her life, but she didn't care. She walked off that day with Michael and his daughter and knew she had found what she was looking for in this man and his child and whole heartily embraced it.