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"To Claire finding the next Mr Right," Tori toasts, raising her glass of white wine to her lips.
Kara scowls. "Don't encourage her. The last seven guys she dated were losers with a capital L."
Heat sweeps up my neck and face. "They weren't that bad."
"Oh, they were," Kara says.
Danni and Tori murmur their agreement, and I stare at my friends. "You thought they were all losers?"
Tori nods but won't meet my gaze.
"The last guy kept a pocketbook of all his expenses...in his pocket," Danni reminds me. "He couldn't go to the supermarket to buy gum without having to write it down."
"I appreciated his conscientiousness."
"He wasn't normal, Claire," Tori says quietly.
"Forget it," Kara says to Tori. "She doesn't care what we think. As long as the guy ticks all the boxes on her list, she's going to date him."
"Zero successes in seven attempts reflects a problem with the list," Danni states bluntly.
It's true that I've struck out in the dating department this year. And last year. And the year before that. But I've spent a good amount of time fine-tuning the list of qualities I want in my perfect man. And because I know what I want, I find men I'm compatible with. So, the problem isn't the list, per se. It's what comes after every time I start dating a suitable candidate. It's fair to say I haven't really connected with any of my boyfriends. I certainly haven't fallen in love with any of them. And they haven't exactly fallen in love with me, either.
Considering I had zero chemistry with the last ’loser’, two months wasn't a bad run. The reason I hung in there for as long as I did was that Evan seemed as passionate about putting down roots and starting a family as I am.
"I need a drink," Kara says, standing up. "Who wants what?"
"Another Sunrise for me please," Danni says.
Tori nods at her half full glass of white wine. "I'm right."
"Claire?"
"Cider, please."
"Help me carry them over, will you?"
Getting drinks isn't a two-person job, and I'd be happy to get the next round, but from the way Kara is looking at me, I can tell she wants to have a say without Tori and Danni listening in.
"Look, I'm sorry," Kara starts as we walk towards the bar. "I probably shouldn't have said all that. It's just...I'm frustrated. I know you'd hoped to be married with children and a house by now, but you're only twenty-five."
Nearly twenty-six, and my birthday looms like a date with a guillotine. I've been working towards my dream life since I became an adult. Unfortunately, I didn't factor in how long it might take me to find a man to settle down with.
I accepted a long time ago that my desires in life aren't exactly in line with those of a ‘modern’ woman. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about being independent; I don't expect a manto support me. During my studies, I roomed first with Kara and then with Tori, and then I moved out on my own. I save every cent I can from my job as a consultant for a large banking chain. I'm not looking for a knight in shining armour to rescue me, I just want a man to put down roots with. What is so wrong with that?
"Kara, they estimate that it becomes less and less likely for the average Australian to be able to buy their own home with every year that passes."
"I never know who ‘they' are."
"Theyare the experts." Some of those experts happen to work at the bank with me. "Interest rates are on the rise and now that they're abolishing the first home buyers grant, it's going to be ten times more difficult to buy real estate. I've been saving for this since I was fifteen. All the money I have means nothing. I've put in three applications for a loan and every single one has been rejected by the banks. They won't lend to me because I'm single."
Which is why I've been working so hard to remedy that.
Kara sighs, and I know what she's thinking. For many people, the idea of owning a house is a dream, but for me it's an obsession.
"I know you think me wanting my own place is stupid."
"I don't. Not really. It's just the whole checklist for the perfect man thing that I have a problem with. You can't rush meeting the right guy."
