“I do have that wedding this upcoming weekend,” I said, pulling out my supplies and lining them up on the table.
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “Who is getting married again?”
“Caroline Haynes,” I said. “She was a girl I hung out with when we were kids.”
“Oh, yeah, at the club that your dad was a member of,” she replied. “I still think it’s so weird that you came from a family of money.”
“Why?”
“You just seem so normal.” She laughed.
“I guess, if you consider a twenty-three-year-old virgin, college dropout normal,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“You do remember that you own a really successful business that you built from the ground up, right?”
“Yeah, and I am proud of that, but my dad is another story,” I said with a sigh. “He didn’t come around to the idea of this business until we bought the building.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you run your life, not your dad,” she said, patting me on the shoulder. “Besides, your mom loves this place. I’m pretty sure it’s past the time she usually comes and visits all the doggies.”
“It’s the end of summer events at the club,” I reminded her. “She has like, three days left to buddy up to the other women before the weather gets cold and all the rich people hide away in suburbia.”
“Are they coming to the wedding?”
“No, thank God,” I said with a nervous laugh. “They are going to be gone for the weekend visiting my brother in New York.”
“Well, there you go,” she said, turning toward me. “Then you can totally count the wedding as weekend plans. I thought you were going to be dragged around by your parents and shown off like a little doll, the way they like to do so much.”
“No.” I laughed. “And you know what? It does mean I have plans this weekend. I’m going to drink champagne, dance, and stare at the beautiful, happy couple, wondering how many weddings I will go to before I ever have my own.”
“So, you could totally take a date to this shindig, right?”
“If I knew anyone that could be a date, yes,” I said. “But you know just as well as I do that I haven’t met any men lately. Hell, I haven’t met anyone without fur and four legs in a really long time.”
“Wow, what kind of bars are you going to?”
“Very funny,” I replied, laughing.
“You should start coming out with me and meet some men,” she said, starting up on her normal nagging. “You never know who you could meet out there.”
“Ugh, yeah right,” I scoffed. “I’ve seen the guys at the bars our age. They’re just looking for a piece of ass to take home, not someone they are genuinely interested in.”
“Honey, all men are looking for a piece of ass,” she replied. “The interest comes with your sparkling personality, which I am seeing may need some work.”
“I really am happy on my own,” I said, walking over to the puppy area and lifting one into my arms. “I don’t have to answer to anyone, I don’t have to worry about someone cheating on me, the drama of relationships, and everything else that goes along with dating. Trust me, I have a Facebook page. I see the drama that all the girls I grew up with go through. It just doesn’t seem worth it to me.”
“I get that,” she said. “But what I don’t get is why you have to stay a virgin to stay the course. If you are going to choose to be alone, then you might as well get some in the meantime.”
“I’m not choosing to be alone,” I said. “I just can’t find the right guy.”
“And sitting at your apartment is going to help you with that?” She laughed.
“Well, it sure isn’t going to help going out to some stupid bar,” I grumbled. “Besides, I know exactly the kind of man that I am looking for, and I am sure he is out there.”
“Hot bod, gorgeous eyes, rich, and ready to spoil you rotten, right?”
“No.” I laughed. “I want someone that has dreams for the future. A man that is a little awkward and shy, just like me. A man that loves animals like I do so we can have like a farm or something, but instead of selling the animals, we play with them and give them love.”
“You know you sound like an eight-year-old,” she said, laughing. “Like I’m sure there are plenty of males out there like that, but they are either hiding in their mom’s basement, or they are attending primary school.”