We decided to meet at a cozy Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village—neutral territory for two strangers who'd spent a week chatting on eHarmony. As I walked in, scanning the room for anyone who might look like his profile picture, I heard a clang, followed by a cascade of giggling. I looked over just in time to see a silver fork catapult through the air like a caffeinated seagull, landing squarely in my date's plate of spaghetti. His eyes went wide as he glanced down, then up at me, straining to maintain some semblance of composure. "How about a little fork-shadowing for the night?" he quipped, his cheeks matching the marinara sauce. As I sat down, he explained that he was attempting a magic trick to break the ice—one that involved pulling the fork out of the napkin like a sword from a stone. Unfortunately, he hadn't accounted for a particularly slippery grip. I laughed, half from the absurdity and half from relief; any tension dissolved like sugar in hot espresso. We spent the rest of dinner debating whether his magic trick was a culinary disaster or performance art. It turned out to be a little bit of both, setting the stage for a first date that was as unexpected and memorable as a Broadway show with surprise audience participation.