Jane Rizzoli was on the hunt. Her usual companion, a now lukewarm bottle of Olympia beer, occupied her hand which she would like to have held by a man. Her laptop, a white Sony Vaio, resting on her legs, also seemed to be substituting for the places she would like someone to inhabit. She needed to get comfortable with what she was about to do.
As for Jane's particular hunting ground, she had selected one on the basis of it being quite a reputable one. Jane was inexperienced in this field, and she only had the word of others to go on. Still, she felt a slight tinge of apprehension; she was opening herself up, vulnerable to just about anyone on here, and she wasn't too keen on that sense of availability. Still, she swallowed her fears, and a considerable fraction of her pride, and breached the unknown territory;
She navigated onto eHarmony and clicked on the 'sign up' button.
Initially, Jane found that her fears were unfounded, the website wasn't as intimidating as it seemed. She had updated her profile picture to one that Det. Frost, one of her colleagues at the Boston Police Department, had taken at a work event. He had tried to catch her off guard, but she'd thrown the camera a rare smile (undoubtedly, due to the eager refills of wine from the waiting staff) and he had caught her in a somewhat graceful freeze-frame. Satisfied with the way that her profile represented her, she was then bombarded with something much more terrifying; the match-maker test.
The test left Jane conflicted more than once; does she present a more desirable image of herself, or does she stay completely honest. Grudgingly, she decided on the latter option. She stumbled on certain questions, trying not to look as if she would not be a loveable prospect. For example;
"How romantic are you?"
a) I love lots of romance, it is a necessity for me to feel loved
b) I am romantic, but do not require it
c) I am occasionally romantic
d) I don't consider myself a romantic person
Jane had instantly ruled out option 'd'. Despite a personality that portrayed toughness and professionalism, she was a sucker for romance. What had struck her was a realisation of her total lack of romance towards her ex-boyfriend, Casey. If she was honest, nothing had motivated her to go out of her way to be especially romantic, but that didn't prevent her from feeling the remorse of thinking that she could have done more. Jane tweaked the truth a little bit, and settled for option 'c', resolving that her next relationship must witness a rebirth of her own sense of romance. Jane's attention leaped to another question on the website;
"How important is it to you that your partner be accepted by your family and friends?"
a) Very important, I couldn't date someone without their approval
b) Important, I trust my family & friends but sometimes they are wrong
c) Slightly important, if they had a strong objection I might consider it
d) Important at all, their opinions would not influence me
Jane's thoughts quickly jumped to her mother, Angela Rizzoli, who worked in the café of the Boston Police Department. She was a welcoming woman, yet fiercely protective of her daughter's welfare, and Jane wondered how these two characteristics were to balance out if she were to introduce a man to her mother. Her concerns lay primarily with her two brothers; Frankie and Tommy. They lay at opposite ends of the spectrum. Frankie would be overly suspicious of any man that Jane brought home and may intimidate him, whereas Tommy would be overly friendly, and almost too friendly. He was naïve, and sometimes his sincerity could be mis-interpreted as sarcasm. Jane realised, though they may sometimes act in a way different to how she would like, her family's opinion was important to her therefore she put a tick by 'b'.
Jane continued on with the questions, some much more difficult than the others in Jane's effort to provide an accurate depiction of herself, not easy when questions about how often she liked to dress up were raised. The last question on the test was no easier for her to answer objectively;
"How much ongoing stress do you have in your life?"
a) I have almost no stress in my life.
b) I have a small amount of ongoing stress.
c) I have a fairly high level of constant stress.
d) I have a very stressful life.
Jane couldn't lie here. Working as a homicide detective at Boston Police Department was a job that absorbed her; she felt a personal draw to some of her cases due to her want for justice. This absorption meant that she was very involved in the hunt for truth, making it a rather stressful toil when it wouldn't reveal itself quickly, and no one would have called Jane a patient woman. She didn't want to present herself too badly however, so she decided that it could be toned down to the still rather high levels of 'c'.
Once the test had finished and Jane had answered all the questions as honestly as she could, she shut her laptop and lay back, thinking about what kind of person that her combination of answers may attract. She thought that it was crazy that a long sequence of four letters could claim to find her a soul-mate, yet she pushed this scepticism to the back of her mind so she could draw enjoyment from her hopeful thoughts. Line-ups of men that Jane considered attractive flew through her mind, and this reverie was only interrupted by her dog, Joe Friday, a small Cairn Terrier, excitedly barking at her; obviously she wanted Jane to take her for a walk. Jane, however, was exhausted. She had been sleepy before the ordeal of the test and going outside was the last thing that she wished to do. Sometimes she wished she had a vastly less energetic pet, but one look in Joe Friday's cute black eyes, and this feeling evaporated.
Jane decided that she would go to sleep here. Throughout the night, she'd let the mystery algorithms of the dating website match her to whoever they thought would be suitable for her. As she went to retreat into her bedroom, she addressed Joe Friday's dismayed whimpers with promises that she'd take her out in the morning as if the dog would understand this bargain. After an evening of staring at the bright white of her laptop screen, Jane was more than happy to turn the lights of her bedroom off, and close her eyes, letting sleep carry her into the coming of the next day.
