Salt & Pepper

I have always loved the place: It has great music, cold beer, and plenty of space to sit and relax without being disturbed by others. The only issue I had was that there were a lot of youngsters coming on Saturday night - which was my favourite of all nights - as that was the day when live music was performed. It always made me feel like a Grandpa tasked to take care of his grandkids on a night out.

This time, an attractive young girl was sitting by herself at the bar, looking around like she was trying to find somebody in particular. After a few minutes, she locked eyes with me and smiled, with the loveliest smile I have ever seen. She then stood up and walked towards my seat.

After a brief introduction and asking if I was by myself, she said that she wanted me to teach her some "special skills", as she put it, if I was up to the task. I guessed that the salt & pepper on my hair may have given her the idea of being a man with lots of experience, and she agreed. She said that I looked like somebody who knew how to do the stuff she wanted to learn. She told me that there was a spot by the back of the area behind the stage where we could sit without being disturbed. I was curious, and she confessed this was not her first time trying to get tutored by a stranger, but that she always had bad luck. I didn't mind that at all as I always say that one lives one's life as one desires to live it.

As we were passing by, she grabbed a bunch of napkins from the bar, and the old bartender gave me one of those looks, nodding with a grin like a Cheshire cat. We went and sat down at the place she suggested, and I noticed how the dimmed lights above us, being behind the speakers and at the opposite side of the corridor to the bathrooms, made this the perfect spot. We spent a good couple of hours - or maybe more - sitting at that table, while I took her deep into the path she wanted to go. We were discreet and took good care, being cautious not to make a mess around us. At some point, I had to go back to the bar to grab a few more napkins when some of the lessons required good old repetition. But I was delighted with how much attention she was putting into every step, every detail, and guidance received. She was willing, quite invested, and not afraid to ask when she didn't know the right term or move.

Indeed, she became an expert on all those topics she wanted to learn from me.

By night's end, she knew all there was to know about taxes, 401K savings, investment strategies, credit scores, mortgage, life insurance, and many more.