This story is set in a bar. A bar because bars are always just past causual, but by no means formal. A young man sat with his friends ranting and raving about his new found love. He told the crew of her sparkling eyes and her hair
"Her hair runs in streams of golden ecstasy, her laugh Carries me to places I've never been. Her smile..."
He went on.
Across the bar sat an old man. Gruff but peaceful, wise but reckless. He sat there meditating in his stool. Glass of whiskey in his hand. Eyes open but serene. Shit eating grin on his face. He smiled at the boy.
"Hey son, it's sound like you have a real gem on ya mind. Do you mind if I ask a question?"
The enamoured young man didn't object, he was eager to talk.
The old man asked with the intention of dropping a load o' cement onto this boy.
"This young lady, What do you hate about her?"
The young man was taken back by the question and immediately blurted
"I don't hate anything about her! I love her"
The old man smiled with mischievous wisdom "you don't love her. Not yet anyways."
The young man was confused, he was mildly irritated by the geezers interruption in his fantastic fit of ga ga speech.
"How would you know!?"
The senior smiled and looking down at the bar. he shook his head with nostalgic amusement. He was full of himself, but he knew that.
"How I would know is a long story kid. I want you to have fun with your friends tonight, but first I want to buy you a drink."
The young man was confused but didn't see the harm in a free drink. The old man had already noticed the young man was drinking light beer all night. The bar tender who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, grabbed a whiskey glass and a specific bottle. He knew this act. He poured from a simple glass bottle with no label. The liquid looked like maple syrup but flowed just like fire water. He set a double down in front of the young man.
The old man held onto that same shit eating grin.
"You like whiskey?"
The young man had done shots of it at parties and chased it down with beer. He had mixed it with cola. But he had never just sat down and slowly loved a glass of it, like the old man had.
"Not really"
The old man got up and sat down on the stool next to him. He looked at the young man's friends
"You fella's mind if I Barrow him for a moment?"
They didn't care, they were amusing themselves just fine without romeo monologing to them about juliet.
"Drink this glass with me and let's talk about it"
The old man lifted his glass to the boy. The young man was confused and loosing his amusement with this bar act. They both took a sip, the old man smiled, the young man shuddered as the fire in his chest roared.
"Whiskey shivers" reminisced the old man "like young love"
"What are you talking about!? This stuff is terrible!" objected the young man reaching for his beer. But the senior stopped him before he could take a drink.
"Stick with it." And he began lifting for a second sip with eyes that demanded the young man do the same. They both drank a second sip. The boy still cringed a bit on the swallow.
"How was that?" asked the senior.
The young man still had the stains of pain and disgust on his face.
"Still not great, but there is a certain fruity sweetness to it."
"It gets better" smiled the old man.
They sat there quietly for a few minutes.
The young man couldn't help but feel strangely fond of this old dude as time moved past. They took another drink together.
This one went down smooth, the young man could taste flavors of raisins, and oak and vanilla. He appreciated that.
"How was that?"
"This isn't half bad" said the young man somewhat surprised
The old man smiled brightly and fully.
"Now you're getting it!"
They finished their glasses together easily. The young man found himself smiling and admiring the amber liquid as it rippled in his cup.
Once the glasses were empty the old man asked the man.
"So how was it?"
The young man smiled warmly.
"I've never drank whiskey that way before, I didn't think I liked it. But that was great! I mean it's a very complex thing, with all sorts of little intricacies to admire and appreciate! Once you can get past the initial blast of alcohol and burn, there's alot to love about it!"
The old man looked proud.
"Do you know the difference between whiskey and people?"
The young man shook his head
" Whiskey shows its worst quality to first and foremost. You get to taste it right away. It is once you're willing to get past that, you learn to appreciate it's virtues and flavors. People are rarely so kind or brave to be as honest as whiskey."
The young man didn't know what to say
"What does this have to do with me not being in love with my girlfriend"
"I asked you what you hated about her, you said nothing. So how can you love her? You don't know her yet. You may love her someday, but right now she just tastes good to you. Once you know how terrible she is and you choose to keep pouring another glass. Once you're willing to look past her worst qualities to appreciate her flavors, because you still love how she makes you feel. Then you love her."
The barman asked if they wanted another.
The two men shared another drink.
