Men were commonly held to reach their sexual peak at 18. Their optimal partners, thus, would be 16. An 18-year old boy was a bit young for a 16-year old girl, but an 18-year old boy and a 16-year old boy were better placed.
Women reputedly hit their peak in their late 30s. A 38-year old woman, then, should opt for a 26-year old? The Cow struggled to think of a single reason why.
The other way, though, would leave the 38-year old woman with a 62-year old man - which might work, depending on _who_ the 62-year old man was. Mick Jagger at 62 was not the same as Thabo Mbeki at 62 (though admittedly Thabo had a year's headstart on Mick...) but both held considerably more attraction than Jacob Zuma at 62. Or any other age, it must be added.
Still. She didn't much fancy either of the options the formula prescribed for her ideal age of partner. She thought back to a couple of days previously, waiting in the airport for the arrival of the butler, chatting to a friend of hers. As Ali wasn't short-sighted, he had a clearer picture of the disembarking passengers walking to the terminal than she had, and so took to picking them out before they swam into her focus, teasing her with elderly "professorial"-looking specimens tottering around with their Zimmer-frames, before settling on the butler.
"Perfect for you," he'd remarked about the age, and the Cow was inclined to agree. Formulae might be helpful in converting foreign exchange, but in matters of chemistry, some things were best left to fate.