Chapter 8: Making a new life

I was getting a great deal of enjoyment out of the music store and the special Saturdays that we had created. The results of our efforts were beginning to show in our sales as well. Solomon’s was alive and people noticed. Gradually, the Saturday morning jam sessions took hold and various people with instruments showed up to participate. I didn’t want them to overpower the kids on the ukuleles, so we made sure the kids got priority from 9am to 10:30am and then it was open to all comers. As a result, the jam sessions often continued on into the afternoon.

We got noticed, too. The local paper did a story on the jam sessions and all the young people who were participating. Mike Scanlon was interviewed and that spawned a human interest piece on Sam and the power of music in young peoples’ lives. It turned out Mike was a well known criminal lawyer turned prosecutor in Napa. There were rumors he might run for a state legislature seat in the future.

My new business put an end to my baseball games. The business was my first priority and that’s where is spent my time. Solomon and I got along very well and he was most receptive to my ideas for how to liven up the store and encourage more business. Not all my ideas were winners, but over time, Sol could see the change in our volume and profits and was very supportive, even with the odd failure.

Without any personal hobbies, I wanted to find some thing that would give me some time away from the store and possibly some pleasure as well. I briefly though about night school, then decided against it. I couldn’t find an academic course that interested me. However, I did notice there were a number of social development classes that might be interesting. I filed them away for future reference.

Out here in the countryside, many of the larger bars and clubs had dancing and that was certainly social. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know how to dance. I knew how to shuffle my feet to some of the fast music, and I knew how to hold onto Marianna and move my feet to a slow song, but in neither case would you consider that dancing. After some thinking, I remembered that R2C2 had a public night course in ballroom dancing. I checked it out with the registrar and sure enough there was a class from eight to ten on Tuesday and Thursday. That would work perfectly for me.

The course was already under way for that spring, but I was assured I had missed only one session, so they allowed me to join. I paid the fee and immediately discovered that there was a dress code. Slacks, a collared shirt, and leather soled shoes. I noticed the ladies were all wearing proper dresses. I also noticed I was one of the youngest people there. Well, I wasn’t here to find a girlfriend, but to learn enough to dance properly and hopefully that might lead to finding someone.

It took me a couple of weeks to catch up with the rest of the class, but the husband and wife team of instructors were willing to help me ... and help me they did. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were very patient with the whole class, and I was no exception. It took me all of three lessons to get with the program and feel like I was making progress. Once I got the hang of what they were trying to teach us, I found it was easier to learn the various steps. Andrea Taylor suggested that my musical background had helped me catch on much more quickly than some of the other members of the class.

As a general observation, I thought the women in the class were ahead of the men. I suspected the men had all the same moves I did when they first came here, some of them looking like they’d been dragged in unwillingly by their wives. Not all of the guys were enthusiastic about the lessons, but I got the impression that their attendance wasn’t optional. And not everyone was equal when it came to talent. Some of the people couldn’t get the footwork right consistently. Some had trouble following the beat. A few got a little over-ambitious and ended up with them (and their partner) on their butts. Luckily, no one was hurt any more than their egos.

I didn’t finish at the top of the group by any means, but I gave a good account of myself, and by the end of the class, I felt I could ask a woman to dance and not embarrass myself ... which was the object of the exercise to begin with. I danced with all shapes and sizes of women and learned not to try and compensate. Some were very short, or very rotund, or very tall, but our instructors were good at teaching us how to forget that and just take your partner in the proper hold, and dance. I left the class with the feeling that I wouldn’t embarrass myself with any woman on the dance floor. The Taylors wanted me to sign up for their advanced class, but I stalled, suggesting that I wasn’t sure if I’d have the time. I don’t think I fooled either of them.

My first foray into dating came about on a Friday evening in Sonoma at the club that featured live music. The looked like many of the people there were in the mid-twenties to mid-forties in age and I thought the number of women was greater than the number of men. There were a couple of tables of young ladies with no escorts, so if I could work up my courage, that would be a good place to start in finding a dance partner.

I was about to make a move when I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a young woman who looked familiar.

“Hi, Nick. Do you remember me?” she asked with a smile.

It took me a couple of seconds to gather myself and stand. “Uh, Hi ... it’s Karla isn’t it?” I stumbled, hoping I was right.

Apparently I was because she gave me a big smile. “Yeah ... I was at R2C2 when you were there. You were seeing Marianna Alvarez then,” she said.

“Pardon my manners, have a seat. Can I get you a drink ... or something?” I asked.

“No, I’ve got one at the other table. Would you like to join us? I noticed you were here all alone. You’ll probably remember some of the girls too.” She was trying hard not to be awkward.

“Uh ... yeah ... well ... if you’re sure I’m won’t be a fifth wheel,” I managed.

“No, not at all. We usually come here after work on Friday to unwind. Come on over. We won’t bite,” she giggled, now having decided I was comfortable with her approaching me.

I picked up my mug of beer and followed her over to her table of six. Karla was right, I did recognize a couple of the four other girls.

“Girls, you remember Nick Minter don’t you? He was going with Marianna Alvarez when we were in college together,” she announced.

“Oh, sure,” a good looking redhead said. “Take a seat, Nick. We could use a little male testosterone here,” she giggled.

Karla took over at that point and introduced the four other young women. The redhead was Joy, Karla was dark blonde, another blonde was Marnie, and the two brunettes were Sherri and Ginny. All five of the girls were quite attractive and I noticed at least three of them wearing wedding rings. Joy and Karla were the exception. The next half hour was taken up with where we all were since R2C2.

“Are you still going with Marianna?” Joy asked.

“No, she went off to Europe to become a concert guitarist. She’s married now to her manager,” I said.

“Oh ... gee ... that’s too bad,” one of them said. I didn’t buy the sincerity she was trying to project. I shrugged in reply but said nothing.

“So ... what are you doing now, Nick. Are you still at the hardware store?” Karla asked.

“No, we sold the store a little over a year ago. I’m a partner in Solomon’s Music in Sonoma.”

“Really! Wow, you really moved up in the world, didn’t you,” Joy said. “I remember when you and Marianna and a bunch of other kids used to have music sessions at the college. Didn’t you have a brother who played the drums?”

“That’s right. John was one of the regulars until he went off to Geary Polytechnic. He and Mitzi Goodwin are engaged now and working down near Palo Alto.”

“Wow ... him and Mitzi? I don’t ever remember him even talking to a girl, much less dating one,” Joy said. “He was in the same year as me, but he was so smart. He just never said anything. He was so quiet, but boy was he smart. He was always first in his test scores.”