“Hey Juan, thanks for coming over,” Juan’s neighbor, Rob Lewis, opened the gate to his backyard. The two men sat in their regular chairs. “You want a beer?” Rob asked.
“Sure,” Juan answered, accepting the ice-cold can of Coors Light. “How come you’re asking me in English? Have you stopped practicing your Spanish? You’re never gonna get better if you don’t practice,” Juan gently scolded.
Rob’s grinned sheepishly, “Lo siento, señor. I will try harder to practice.”
Juan laughed and leaned back in his chair. “What’s going on? Why’d you call me over here today? Is something broken? You sounded kind of serious on the phone.”
“I am serious!” Rob hoisted a beer can. “Serious about having a party today!”
The unexpected announcement from his close friend pleased Juan, “What’s going on?”
Rob looked up at Juan with red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes, “I’m celebrating.” It looked like he’d been celebrating for a while.
“What’s going on?” Juan repeated. “Did you get some money?” Juan knew that Rob had received a disability paycheck for years from a work-related injury.
“Yeah,” Rob nodded. “Something like that.”
Juan waited.
“It’s just that…” Rob sucked on his teeth, considering what he would say next. “Well, it’s like this. I’ve never really had the money to follow my dreams.”
“You can’t always do what you want, Rob,” Juan nodded. “None of us can. But that’s OK. Life is pretty good. En Vida, right?”
Rob let out a contented sigh and looked directly into Juan's eyes. “Life hasn’t been good for me for a long time, OK?” He chuckled, “But I’m gonna change that.”
“What you gonna do now, Rob?” Juan asked, his brow furrowed. “You need some money?”
“Naw,” Rob popped the top on his next can. “You know I live on a fixed income. These low interest rates are great for borrowing, but they're killing my savings. I used to rely on the interest from my savings account, but now it's barely keeping up with inflation..”
Juan was dying of curiosity. “I didn't know that. What are you gonna do?”
"Those same low rates are also driving up the value of real estate," Rob explained. "I'm seriously thinking about investing in property."
Juan's eyes lit up with interest as he leaned forward, setting his beer down. "You know, I hadn't really thought about that. But with the housing market booming like it is, maybe it's time you did. Did you want my help?."
"That's why I called you over, bro." Rob slurred his words and flashed a mad grin. "I'm going to do some investing, but I can't tell a good building from a bad one. You're so good at this stuff. Would you consider helping me out?"
"Oh yeah, of course I would!" Juan exclaimed. "Is there some property you're looking at?"
"I've got a couple of them." Rob reached out and placed his hand on Juan's knee. "I've been wanting to do something like this all my life. Now, with your help, I'm going to finally try it."
Juan grinned, raising his bottle in a toast. "Here's to seizing opportunities, my friend. The economy might be throwing us curveballs, but with a little creativity, we can turn them into home runs."
They clinked their bottles together, the sound echoing in the quiet backyard as they both took another sip. The warmth of the setting sun reminded them that even in uncertain times, there was always hope that the economy would keep improving.