‘Stop there,’ said Nora. ‘That’s the one.’
Dixie seemed surprised. ‘Why? How do you know?’
‘Because I applied the 37 per cent rule.’
‘The what?’ Dixie was doing the squinty-eye thing she did when something puzzled her.
‘The 37 per cent rule is a business tool to solve something mathematicians call an “optimal stopping problem”. That’s when we are presented with a number of options and don’t know which to go with. You’ll have the highest chance of choosing the best option if you look at and reject the first 37 per cent of the total options available to you. And 37 per cent of eleven is four, so the fifth idea on your list is the one you should go for.’ Nora knocked back her wine as a little reward for solving Dixie’s problem. It was a bit of a simplified version of the rule but Nora was happy this was the best way to apply it to Dixie’s dilemma.
‘But there might be something better on the list.’
‘And if social media influencer doesn’t work out you move on to the next on the list and so on until you find something that does.’
‘Oh good,’ said Dixie. ‘Because I’ve got housekeeper down for number eight. Like inDownton Abbey.’
‘Until someone perfects time travel you’re going to struggle with that one.’
Dixie gave her a look. ‘I meant a modern-day version of it. The Wilson-Browns have a lady who keeps their whole house running like clockwork and she gets to live in their annexe.’
Dixie had a distinctly different background to Nora. Dixie’s parents were a mix of old and new money and the two had combined to make a winning combination. They had businesses across three continents and were out of the country more than they were at home, but that was mainly for tax purposes. They gave their only child an allowance but had been keen for her to work and eventually run one of their businesses, but Dixie wanted to make it on her own. It was an admirable goal, but her disastrous CV was evidence that she hadn’t as yet found her professional calling.
‘But that’s the beauty of the rule. It stops you from procrastinating and encourages you to focus on one thing at a time,’ said Nora.
‘Hmm.’ Dixie pulled her feet up underneath herself and circled social media influencer on her list. ‘You really think this is what I should do?’
‘Yep.’
‘Even though I only have two hundred and thirty-three followers on Insta?’
‘Yep. Growing your brand and followers would all be part of the job,’ said Nora.
‘I like the idea of having a brand,’ said Dixie sitting up. ‘And this rule works on anything?’
‘I’ve seen it in action in business and it definitely works there, so why not with any big decision?’
‘OK, I’m going to do it.’
‘Excellent,’ said Nora, feeling helpful. But the cogs in her mind were whirring. ‘I’ve an idea,’ she added. ‘How about I apply the same rule to my love life?’
Dixie had a vexed expression. ‘I don’t think that would work because you can’t know how many people you’d date in a lifetime.’
After a quick Google, numbers were already buzzing around Nora’s head. ‘If the average relationship lasts two years nine months, or thirty-three months for ease of calculation, and—’
‘Which yours don’t,’ said Dixie.
‘True, but for maths’ sake let’s say they do. If you date between the ages of sixteen and fifty-five, that’s 468 months (or thirty-nine years) divided by the average relationship duration we calculated of thirty-three months, that’s 14.18 suitors, which sounds plausible for me, I think. And 37 per cent of that is 5.24.’
‘And what does that tell you?’ asked Dixie, looking excited.
‘That I probably should have stopped dating about four years ago.’ Nora felt like she’d been hit in the face with her mum’s biggest casserole dish. If she was to apply the 37 per cent rule to her love life in the same way she had done with Dixie’s career choices, thenshe needed to ditch the first five people she dated and then go with the next best option, which statistically should deliver the optimal partner. However, she’d gone through quite a few relationships and was now wondering if maybe she’d been a bit hasty when she’d instigated break-ups. ‘When I ditched Tyler a year ago, I think he was my ninth relationship, so I’m way past number six, which means I’ve most likely missed my opportunity.’ The possibility that she had had a potential match and let them go hit her harder than she thought it would.
‘That’s a shame,’ said Dixie. ‘It would have been cool if we could have solved both problems with the same thing. Never mind.’
‘Hang on. Slow down. I still think I might be on to something.’ Nora sat up straight. She wasn’t going to dismiss it that quickly. Numbers were her comfort blanket and here was a way to apply them to the one thing that was eluding her in life. ‘Maybe I should go back and double-check just in case one of the men after my 37 per cent cut-off is the one. What harm can it do, looking up a few old boyfriends?’
‘Because you must have broken up with them for a reason.’
‘True. Maybe it needs a bit more thought.’ She wasn’t one to rush into things.
