The smell of coffee wakes me up. When I open my eyes, warm morning light welcomes me. I can't quite figure out where I am, so I lift my head from a pillow and look around. Some strange symbols pasted on the wall: Star of David, an Egyptian ankh, and one symbol I have never seen before. The curtain is made out of black lace, and the Chinese red commode is pretty feminine for my taste.
A girl dressed in a short, red nightgown appears, and she is holding a black mug and smiling at me. Now I know where I am and what happened last night. Risa comes over to me and tells me.
"Good morning, sweetie! Here is your coffee. I could see that you were exhausted last night. You were holding me all night long and didn't even move. How do you feel this morning? It is actually past noon."
As soon as I take the coffee mug from her hand, she slides into the bed right next to me. I sip a coffee and tell her.
"Thank you so much for letting me and Bianco stay at your apartment. It was so nice of you to do that."
Risa looks at me and says.
"I want you to know that I usually don't let any guy stay in my bed unless I really like him. I don't want you to think that I am easy."
"I don't know why, but you seemed so alone last night and made me feel like taking good care of you. Maybe you aroused my maternal instinct. By the way, how old are you? You seem younger than the guys I usually go out with."
I know she is older than me, but it doesn't matter to me. So I tell her the truth.
"I just turned nineteen."
Risa looks at me with her eyes wide open, and her jaw drops abruptly.
"Nineteen? Oh my God! I knew you were younger than me, but I didn't realize you are that young! Maybe it was good that we didn't have sex last night! You make me feel so ancient!"
She hides her face with both of her hands. I take one of her hands and comfort her.
"It doesn't matter how different we are. I feel very comfortable around you. Look at Cher. She always goes out with someone younger."
She laughs and says something hilarious.
"Thanks a lot! I am not that old! Don't compare me with Cher! If I had been a teenage mom, I could have a son almost your age. It is so depressing!"
Then she lays her head right next to mine. I see that I have a hard time making her feel better, so I decide to change the subject. I point at the symbol that I have never seen before.
"What is that symbol on the wall?"
She looks in the direction where my finger is pointing.
"You have never seen it before? That is the Tree of Life!"
I look at her funny because I have no clue what she is talking about.
She starts to explain something I know nothing about.
"It is kinda difficult to explain what it is to a person who has no idea what I am talking about. It is the symbol that represents the process by which the Universe came into being. Kabbalists always use it."
As I listen to her explanation, it becomes more confusing. So I ask her another question.
"What is a Kabbalist?"
She ponders for a while and tries to find the easiest way to explain.
"You don't know what Kabbalah is? Several years ago, it became big news that Madonna discovered Kabbalah. Do you remember that?"
She looks at me again.
I have no clue what she is talking about, so I keep staring at her and answer.
"Nope!"
She finally sighs.
"I guess the news never reached Texas, huh? Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism or esoteric Judaism. You don't need to be a Jew to practice Kabbalah, but it is deeply related to Judaism."
I finally start to understand a little. So I ask her.
"Are you Jewish?"
She smiles and continues.
"Didn't you know? You thought Jewish girls had horns on their heads, didn't you? Yes, you slept with a Jewish lady!"
"But Kabbalah is not a religion. It is a science. That is how my father used to explain it. It is the method to connect you with the upper force directly. You could call it Universe, God, or Jehovah. Whatever you like to call it."
"It started four thousand years ago with Abraham. When the temple of Solomon was burned to ashes, Kabbalists hid the teachings for two thousand years. In 1995, all the books of Kabbalah became open to the world again."
"Kabbalah appears to you when you need it, usually when you question why things happen in life, the meaning of life, and your role in it. Maybe you are questioning these things nowadays?"
She turns around and quickly grabs a stainless-steel shaker and a glass tumbler. And she says something easier for me to understand.
"I will teach you something more useful in Vegas if you want to stay here for a while. It is called the art of bartending. If you know it, you will never be out of a job here in Vegas."
"I just heard from my boss that one of our bartenders quit last night. So he will be looking for a replacement soon. It will take him a week or so before he starts to move his ass. So I will teach you."
"I don't need a pimp in my life even though you are cute. I expect you to pay half of our rent, and Bianco can stay free of charge because he pays his share by protecting the apartment. Burglars never like big dogs. I have to say he is handsome, but he is not a friendly dog. He hardly pays any attention to me. Is he always like that?"
I smile and tell her about Bianco's character.
"He is a great guard dog, but he never fetches a ball or a stick like other dogs. He is a breed of Italian sheepdog called Maremma. He is literary an old, stubborn dog!"
"Before the Romans, the Etruscans used them as sheepdogs to protect their domesticated animals from the wolves. So it is one of the oldest dog breeds in the world. He only wags his tail to my close family and me. Please don't get offended by his aloofness. That's how he is."
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Romance"Remember me." "When I come back to you, please remember me." While Leo is waiting for his bride at the altar, Beth has a car accident on the way to the church and dies whispering some mysterious words. They just graduated from high school in Weath...
