Takeshi called his plan to get a girlfriend, “Operation Fateful Encounter.”

He said it was an investment. It took time. It required effort and patience. Planning. Hard work. Timing.

And a certain amount of unavoidable luck.

“But matters of the heart,” Takeshi said, “they’re always something of a wild card.”

When I asked him how it was going recently, he said he was retired.

“Too many failures?”

He shook his head. Smiled like a wily veteran remembering a hunt gone awry.

“No,” he said. “It was the perfect success.”