The bar was quite noisy with groups of people meeting after work to relay the day's events. There was a football game on the TV screens which was attracting loud groups of men, all with their opinion on how their team was performing.
Jan sat in a booth towards the back of the bar on her own. She was contemplating life – it had not been a good day. She had been late for work, had lost a big contract and had been given a hard time by her boss. To add to her bad luck her husband had called to tell her he was stuck in a meeting and not going to be back until the following day.
She was tired and pissed off. 'What am I doing with my life' she asked herself, whilst on her third drink. 'Why am I putting up with all this shit at my age?' she mulled over in her head. Jan was 58 years old, had four children and 2 grandchildren. Her children had left home a few years ago, and she was feeling unloved. Her husband spent far too much time at work.
Jan still tried to look after herself although age was defiantly catching up on her. She had shoulder length brown hair that was dyed to hide the grey. Her face was developing small wrinkles on a daily basis. Her body was starting to go south – her breasts used to be a nice firm shape, but were now starting to sag. Her stomach used to be flat, but now showed the signs of four children. When she bent over there was a series of bulges and ripples that appeared. She used to be a size 10 but had now developed into a size 14. However Jan gave herself a hard time – she was actually a lot better off than most 58 year olds. On the positive front she was still a good looking woman – her facial features did have wrinkles but a lot of people thought they suited her. Her eyes were still sparkling and she knew how to apply make up to make the most of her features. Her boobs were sagging and her stomach bulging, but it was no where near as bad as most women her age.
She grabbed the waitress's attention and ordered another drink. The bar was getting busier with groups of people milling about all over the place. There was loud laughter from a group of 5 young men who were stood a few feet from Jan's table. They were getting very animated about something.
The waitress came back with Jan's drink and she drifted back into thought.
Jan suddenly became aware of a voice. 'Excuse me' the voice said. 'Excuse me' the voice said again.
Jan looked up. One of the men from the group of five was standing by the table. He was holding Jan's coat. 'I think this is yours' the man said with a smile. 'It was on the floor.'
Jan took the coat, 'thank you' she said, smiling at the man.
'You looked deep in thought' the man said, 'sorry to disturb you.'
Jan smiled, 'I'm sorry, it's been a long day.'
The young man flashed a big grin 'don't take life too seriously' he replied and turned to join his friends.
Jan thought to herself 'he's right, enjoy life. Christ, I'm taking advice from someone younger than my kids!!' She chuckled to herself.
A few minutes later, the waitress came back to her table and handed her another drink. 'I didn't order that' she said.
'It's from that gentleman' the waitress pointed to the man Jan had spoken to a minute ago.
As Jan looked over, the man smiled and raised his glass. He walked over to her table. 'I hope you don't mind' he said, 'but you looked like you needed another one.'
Jan was already feeling the effects of the alcohol. 'Thank you' she smiled, 'you really shouldn't have bothered.'
The man flashed his big grin again. 'Actually there was an ulterior motive' he said. He pointed over to his friends. 'My friends and I were just goofing around making stupid bets.'
The man paused, and then continued, 'we've been celebrating my promotion for a few hours now and with every drink someone makes a stupid bet. If they lose they buy the next round – simple really.'
Jan was listening, 'Really' she replied, 'so, why are you telling me?' she asked.
'Ah' the man smiled, 'Good question. The guys saw me hand your coat back and gave me the usual ribbing about trying to chat you up. I told them I was just being polite, but they didn't believe me. Anyway, they bet me that I could not find out if you were married, and your age.' The man flashed the grin again.
Jan laughed. 'God, young guys are so immature' she said. 'If you had been a group of girls then you would be having deep conversations about who is having an affair with who, who hates who and that sort of stuff.' She laughed again.
The man held out his hand, 'I'm Dan' he said, 'nice to meet you.'
Jan shook Dan's hand, 'Nice to meet you Dan, I'm Jan', she replied. 'So how old do you think I am?' Jan asked.
Dan smiled again, 'Ah, now that's tricky – I don't want to upset you.'
'Be nice and I won't be upset' Jan teased. She was quite enjoying chatting to a good looking young guy.
Dan looked at her, 'Ok, here goes' he said. 'I think you are probably one of these women who are actually older than she looks. You look about 46 or 47, but I'm guessing you're a bit older than that.'
Jan pretended to look shocked, then laughed, 'That's pretty good. I'm actually 58. So I'll settle for looking younger.'
Dan feigned shock, 'Wow' he said, 'You look fantastic Jan. You look great. There is no way you look 58, wow.'
Jan soaked up the compliments. 'So how old are you Dan? I'm guessing not much more than 23 or 24?' she quizzed.
'I'm actually 22' Dan said smiling again.
Jan laughed, 'God' she said, 'I've got three children older than you. Your making me feel old. Perhaps I shouldn't even be in this bar?'
'Don't be stupid' Dan said, 'You better looking than most women in here' He flashed that big grin again.
