‘Nora has turned down my offer of a date.’ Trent pulled an overly sad face.
‘You asked her out?’ Jay’s head swivelled unnaturally between the two of them. ‘He asked… but you declined. You’re not going out then. Right. Good. Or shame. You know. Whatever.’
‘Actually, I think I’m going to retrospectively apply the 37 per cent rule to my love life.’
She wasn’t sure why that popped into her head at that precise moment but it felt like a plan.
5
‘What’s this?’ asked Jay, turning his head so fast she feared he might need a chiropractor. He readjusted the ice pack on his groin, gasped and returned it to where it was.
‘Are you familiar with the 37 per cent rule?’
‘I’ve never heard of it,’ said Jay, fine-tuning his stance but still looking uncomfortable.
‘It’s a recognized business rule but in theory it can be applied to anything that requires a decision, including relationships. To have the highest chance of picking the best partner, you should date and reject the first 37 per cent of your total group of lifetime suitors. The next best option after you’ve ditched the first 37 per cent is your most likely chance of success. And I thought I would give it a try.’ She’d been mulling it over since her evening with Dixie and as far as she could see there was little risk, with potentially everything to gain.
‘Love and life aren’t really like that, though. You can’t just apply a theory that was created for businesses to something like this. Can you?’
‘It’s been statistically proven that the rule works, although I don’t think it’s been applied to relationships before. If it works with other decisions then it has to be a viable option. Who am I to argue with numbers?’ The more she thought about it, the more Nora liked it. It was logical and it would prove things one way or the other. Either she had overlooked The One or it wasn’t meant to be and she needed to draw a line under her searching and simply enjoy life as she was. And it was a great life, so she was fine with that. In fact, it would be quite a relief to stop searching, so whatever the outcome she was on to a winner.
‘Sounds hellishly complicated to me,’ said Trent, jumping the last few feet to the ground. It gave Nora a bit of a start as she’d forgotten he was climbing only a few feet above them and must have been listening to every word.
‘It’s not,’ said Nora.
‘What would be simpler would be a date with me?’ There was that toothpaste smile again.
‘Um… thanks,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you are simpler but I’ll stick with the numbers for now, if that’s OK with you?’
He gave her a wink and tipped his head at the women who had been at reception and were now walking past. ‘Ladies,’ he said. Once they were out of sight he wriggled out of his harness. ‘I’ll be back. See you later.’ He jogged to catch up with the women.
‘See, Trent doesn’t use a business rule to find a partner,’ said Jay.
‘I don’t think Trent is looking for a partner,’ said Nora. ‘Sex alone does not a relationship make.’
‘So wise,’ said Jay with a wince.
Nora decided to belay for the person Trent had abandoned as Jay looked like he was out of action for a while. When she took a break, Jay was on his mobile, clearly looking up the validity of the rule.
‘This can’t be right,’ he said. ‘The internet says that the average man– i.e. me– has six serious relationships in his lifetime. And 37 per cent of six is two point something. That means my third serious relationship was the one I should be with. Right?’
‘Using averages might lessen the accuracy. Maybe think about how many partners you think you could have in a lifetime,’ said Nora. ‘Trent’s probably looking at one every six months so his total number will be well over a hundred.’
Jay blinked a few times. ‘OK, I think my number will be somewhat lower. So far I’ve been out with… And potentially there could be…’ He looked to the ceiling and mouthed out numbers as he tried to do the maths. ‘Actually I don’t think I’ve cleared 37 per cent yet,’ he said brightly.
‘According to the numbers,’ said Nora, ‘for me, it’s serious boyfriend number six I need to focus on but I’m going to check out everyone I’ve dated from boyfriend number four onwards to ensure I’ve covered all bases. Are you going to be OK to belay for me?’ She nodded at Jay’s ice pack.
‘Sure. No problem,’ he said, waddling from the bench to put the ice pack in the bin before kitting up.
When he was ready, Nora chose a starting hold and climbed on to the wall. ‘I need to do a bit more research on my ex-partners first. That’s code for stalking on social media. Mainly to check they’re still single, and then I’ll call them up.’
‘Out of the blue?’
‘Yeah. What’s wrong with that?’ she asked.
‘Let’s pretend I’m boyfriend number four.’ Nora gave him a look. ‘I know I’m way out of your league but pretend,’ he said with a grin and she stuck her tongue out at him.
‘Hiya, Salvador, it’s Nora—’
