"She shot me questions one after the other, like I was on some kind of game show or something”

Shani Leiman with Zivia Reischer

S ruly Geldwirth called me on the way home from his date. “That was not a date,” he told me. “That was an interview!”

I could hear a honk and the squeal of tires.

“And not just any interview,” he continued. “An über intense interview. She shot me questions one after the other, like I was on some kind of game show or something.” Now I could hear him honking. “Watch how you drive,” he muttered. Then, “I didn’t have a second to catch my breath. This was, like, the most unenjoyable date ever.”

“Sounds pretty bad,” I said.

“Yeah.” I could hear the ignition dinging, then a door slam. The background noise faded.

“No redeeming factors?” I asked.

He sounded a little calmer now that he was home. “I liked her parents,” he said. “How’s that for irony? I could tell they were special people, so normal and considerate. I enjoyed talking to them. In fact, I even felt like we ‘clicked.’ ” He laughed. “I would rather have dated them than their daughter!”

I was at a loss. I had set up Zeldy many times and never gotten the feedback Sruly was giving me now. What had happened?

“Maybe your expectation was for a relaxed date,” I suggested tentatively, “and Zeldy was more focused? So you felt, um, attacked?”

“Attacked. Exactly. Her questions were more like bullets than bullet points,” Sruly joked.

“Look,” I said, “I understand why you might have felt uncomfortable, but this intense reaction is just… strange for a first date.”