Chapter 2: Percy

Hi, I’m Percy. I’m almost thirty and I’m still single. As a matter of fact, I’ve been single since I left college. I have dated a few ladies, got laid with some of them, but nothing serious. Not even a friend with benefits relationship.

I know you must be asking yourself, ‘what’s wrong with him?’ Well, nothing is wrong with me that I know. I’m not Brad Pitt, but I’m not ugly. I guess, I focused on my career and didn’t try so hard on relationships.

I’m in the construction business. When I first started my career as an apprentice, I wouldn’t have guessed I’d end up as a contractor, but I am certainly glad I did. I first picked up a hammer back in grade school. From that point forward, my desire to learn and excel in my trade has only intensified.

As soon as I was done in high school, I wanted to pursue the dream of being a full-time contractor. I wanted to become the type of man that people called when they needed renovations or home improvement.

All these years, I’ve been fulfilled with my life as it was. After a long day’s work, I felt more like putting on pajamas and crawling into bed than going out into the uncertain and anxiety-provoking world of dating someone.

I was fine on my own. It never bothered me to be single ... till it did. One day, I realized I was going to be thirty and all my friends were married or engaged. When I visited them, they had their wives, their kids, a dog, while I came home to a lonely place.

“When are you going to get married, Percy?” Amanda asked me, she is Joe’s wife. Joe is my foreman and a great friend. They invite me to have dinner with them once a week.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get married,” I said, letting out a long sigh.

“Why not? You’re a great catch,” Amanda insisted.

“Because all the good ones are already taken and settled, or committed to someone.”

“There are millions of amazing single women out there, Percy. My friend Laura is one of them,” Amanda smiled at me.

I didn’t take the bait, “But there aren’t millions that are right for me. All the available girls are in the ‘no-go’ category: ugly, career-oriented, or divorced bitches.”

“Career-oriented?” Amanda frowned. “I never thought you would be the machist type that thinks that women must stay at home.”

“I’m not talking about her being employed. I’m talking about women who work more than 40 hours a week. Women who are so busy chasing a higher position in their companies, that they lose track of other things, like socializing, traveling, or enjoying a lazy day.”

“I get what you mean,” Amanda conceded.

“If many social studies are to be believed, professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat, less likely to have children, and, if they do have kids, they are more likely to be unhappy about it.”

Amanda was still processing my words, looking for a crack in my reasoning, when my friend Joe asked me, “What do you have against divorced women? Anyone can make a mistake.”

“I said ‘divorced bitches’. You know, the ones that come with a backpack of bad experiences. I remember I dated a divorced woman once. Every decision or idea that she came up with, was because she didn’t like how it was done the ‘first time’. She made me feel like our entire relationship was be based on how things went with her first marriage. It made me feel like I was a sloppy second. I was especially burnt by her.”

“I’m starting to see why you aren’t in a relationship, Percy,” Amanda shook her head. “You have high standards.”

“Is it bad to have high expectations in a relationship?” I answered.

Joe supported me, “I get Percy’s point of view.”

Amanda gave Joe the kind of look that could only mean “no sex for you tonight”.

“To be honest, I’m very close to giving up finding love, Amanda. In that way, I’ll get rid of the pressure of finding anyone,” I explained to my friends.

“My friend Laura is not like that,” Amanda insisted. “You should give her a chance.”

I knew Amanda would keep pushing till I agree to date her friend. So I gave up, making a mental note not to accept dinner invitations from them in the near future. Every time a married female friend invited me to dinner, I knew she had an agenda. And the agenda usually included some single or divorced woman she knew.

“Okay, I give up. Who is this hidden gem?” I said in a light tone.

Amanda was not amused.

“She is a great girl. She works as a concept artist, set painter, and illustrator. She does a lot of work for the advertising company I work for. She’s a vegetarian. Keep that in mind when you chose a place for your date.”

“A vegetarian artist, huh?”

She noticed the expression on my face and quickly added, “She can be a bit crazy but in a good way. She’s a great girl. You’ll see.”