A Chance Encounter
Fun Story About Modern Love
Mark wandered around Central Park deep in thought. He had recently broken up with his girlfriend and was feeling lost and disheartened. The split was a long time in the making, as the two had been growing apart for a while, but that didn’t make it any easier. Several weeks had passed since they said their goodbyes, and loneliness was setting in.
Mark had no interest in getting back together with his ex, but he also wasn’t ready to check out the dating scene just yet. He wasn’t keen about using online apps for introductions. The idea of such encounters seemed too manufactured!
“Certainly, soulmates can still find each other, even in the big city, through chance encounters,” he mused. This hopeful notion was enough to delay his foray into the world of virtual dating.
When Mark sat down on a bench in the park, a stray dog bounded toward him, wagging his tail with unbridled joy. The dog’s friendly disposition caught his attention, and Mark couldn’t resist petting him. He picked up a stick and got the dog to play fetch, and then shared part of his sandwich. He felt a sense of comfort and companionship with this furry stranger that shook him out of his melancholy.
The dog continued to wag his tail as he and Mark walked along a path from a crowded area to a more secluded part of the park. Suddenly, an unsavory-looking man appeared from behind a large magnolia tree. But before he could come any closer, the dog growled and stood protectively in front of Mark — scaring the man away. Mark was in awe of the dog’s heroics, and he showed his gratitude by petting and hugging him.
“You’re such a good boy,” Mark told the dog while looking around the park for the owner. But nobody seemed to be looking for the stray. Mark did notice a tag on the dog’s collar though, revealing that the dog’s name was “Rascal.” The tag also had a phone number on it.
Mark decided to call the number, wanting to reunite Rascal with his owner — leaving a message in the voice mail box. A short while later, a woman rode up in an Uber, looking relieved to find that the missing pet was safe. She thanked Mark for taking care of the dog and told him she was impressed by his kindness and unselfishness.
Mark learned that the woman’s name was Jessica, and the two began chatting — first about their love of dogs, and then about themselves. They found they had much in common.
Both were software engineers, they discovered while talking about work, although Mark worked on legacy systems while Jessica did new application development.
And both loved John Cusack movies, they learned while talking about entertainment. Mark’s favorite was “Serendipity,” where love happened through a chance encounter, while Jessica’s favorite was “Must Love Dogs,” where love needed a little non-organic help.
As they chatted, Mark discovered that Jessica had recently gone through a break-up herself, although she was a little further along in the post-breakup recovery than Mark was. She had begun testing out different online dating apps, and was exploring some of the cutting edge features these apps had. Still, she had yet to meet anyone she shared promising chemistry with.
Mark and Jessica found comfort in each other’s company and ended up chatting at the park for a couple hours. Jessica noticed how late it was getting though, and remembered she needed to be somewhere else. She quickly ordered up an Uber and went on her way with Rascal, shouting goodbye to Mark through the back seat window.
Mark, meanwhile, walked back to his apartment, reliving the chance encounter. He appreciated how the stray dog had led him to meet a woman like Jessica, with whom he seemed to have so much in common. When he realized how smitten he was with Jessica, he kicked himself for not asking for her phone number so he could call her.
“Wow! I really am out of practice in the dating scene!” Mark scolded himself. But looking at his smartphone through the call history, he realized that he already had Jessica’s phone number!
“Nicely done, Rascal,” Mark said, as if he were talking to the dog, while pressing the “re-attempt recent number” button on his phone. “Apparently, chance encounters ARE still possible,” he told himself happily.
At her home, Jessica had a similar reaction. “Nicely done, Rascal,” she said to the dog after receiving Mark’s call and agreeing on a time for a lunch date. “Apparently, chance encounters ARE still possible,” she told herself.
But, it seems, Jessica had a slightly different definition of “chance encounter” than Mark did.
She opened the dating app she had been trying out and, with a sly grin, she gave the “use the lost dog trick” feature of the app a high rating. It had worked splendidly in setting up her chance encounter with Mark. Her positive rating on the feature would be useful to others considering using it.
A short while later, someone from the dating app company came by her apartment to pick up Rascal, changing the phone number on his name tag and bringing him back to the park. Jessica’s time slot with the dog was over, and there were other lonely hearts who were interested in trying out the “use the lost dog trick” feature too.
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