It was lunch time and Jack had just finished mowing five lawns before returning to the house to check on his pot of beans. It was his turn to cook dinner for that evening and he was serving pinto beans, barbecued brisket, and canned corn along with Texas Toast. The brisket was cooking at a nice low temperature in the oven. The beans were slow cooking on the stove.
He had spent twenty dollars on the brisket, a dollar on the barbecue sauce, three dollars on the pinto beans, two on the bread, and three dollars on the corn. He just came in under his budget of two dollars a person. It had been a long time since he had cooked something like that.
Jack headed out to the garage for lunch. It seemed to him that the little old ladies were always around the garage. Claire, Laura, and Bev were knitting sweaters to wear around the house when the weather turned colder. He had a feeling that everyone in the commune would end up with new sweaters this year.
Laura looked up from her knitting and said, "We opened a can of soup. It is in the crock pot staying warm. You can make a grilled cheese sandwich in the electric skillet. We've also got some lunchmeat if you prefer."
"That sounds good," Jack said. He went over to the table and started fixing a sandwich. They had some pressed turkey so he made a simple turkey sandwich. After pouring a bowl of soup, he carried his lunch to the other table.
"I see that you mowed my lawn," Bev said cheerfully. Her standard of living had risen significantly since they had started this commune idea. Her lawn looked a whole lot better than ever. Having Jack mow the lawn for free was saving her forty dollars a month. She was eating as well as when her husband had been alive. Dave had fixed her leaky faucet. She was interacting with people every day.
"Yes. That riding lawnmower makes it a whole lot faster," Jack said. It took him as long to drive it to the house that was the furthest away as it did to mow that lawn. He would get the rest of the lawns mowed after lunch and be back in time to finish preparing dinner for that evening.
"You work too much. Dave can mow the rest of the lawns," Laura said. Her knitting needles clicked with a steady rhythm.
"That's okay. I don't mind doing it," Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders. With the gas powered weed whacker, he would get all of the places spruced up in no time at all.
"Dave will be around in a while to help you," Laura said. It was her opinion that Jack was doing all of the physical labor while Dave was puttering around fixing little things. Rich tended to do more of the organizational stuff with Claire although he did help out with some of the lawn work and repairs.
"The more the merrier," Jack said before taking a bite out of his sandwich.
With knitting needles clicking away, Claire said, "I was thinking about how things have worked out over the past few weeks. Money is still tight, but at least we're eating better."
"I don't feel so alone," Bev said.
"Same here," Laura said. She had Dave to keep her company, but he had gotten quiet and moody since retiring. After years of being an active man, sitting around the house had been hard on him. The past two weeks had given him something to do.
Although things had improved, they hadn't improved that significantly. Claire said, "There has to be something else that we can do to save a bit more money. I'm still going to be broke by the end of the month."
"Same here," Bev said. The difference now was that she was going to run out of money at the end of the month rather than a week before the month ended.
"Should we be looking at getting part-time jobs?" Laura asked. She wondered if she could get a job as a greeter at one of the large stores in the area.
"I don't know," Claire said shaking her head. She didn't really want to hold down a job anywhere. She had never worked in a paying job and felt that it was a little late in life to be joining the workforce. It also seemed to her that there were young kids like Jack and Abby who needed jobs even if they weren't the best paying jobs out there.
"We can only save so much money," Bev said.
Looking over at Jack, Claire considered what he had done to help cover his bills. She said, "I was thinking about getting a boarder."
"Taking in Abby sure helped my finances," Jack said. He wasn't charging Abby all that much, but it was helping him pay his mortgage. She had paid the electricity bill and the return of electric service had lifted his spirits far more than he had ever considered.
"That's an idea," Bev said with a frown. She wasn't sure if she could take having a stranger living with her.
With two people in the house already, Laura said, "We don't really have room for a boarder."
"I've got a guest bedroom that is sitting empty," Claire said. The past few weeks had driven home just how bad her life had gotten. Now that she was eating better, her thoughts had returned to her health. She had stopped taking the calcium supplements for her bones and it was time to start taking them again.
Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "The librarian told me that she was interested in joining a commune. You might want to talk to her."
"Really?" Claire asked.
Jack answered, "She knew all about the subject when I went up there to research it."
"That's interesting," Bev said putting down her knitting.
"She'd probably want to join the commune rather than just be a boarder," Jack said.
Bev asked, "What kind of woman is she?"
"She's single. She's pretty helpful and pleasant," Jack answered. He didn't know that much else about her.
"What's her name?" Claire asked.
"Mary," Jack answered. He looked down at his plate and wondered when he had finished his sandwich. His soup bowl was empty as well.
Bev said, "We'll stop by and talk to her."
"You might want to sign up for the internet class they have," Jack said.
"Computers?" Claire asked doubtfully.
Recognizing her lack of enthusiasm, Jack said, "I know. I don't like them either, but I was able to get access to a lot of good information. Abby was telling me that you can find discount drugs on the internet."
"We'll have to check that out," Bev said.
"I think we're going to have to get rid of one of our cars," Laura said. It wasn't so much the cost of operating the second car that was killing their budget, it was the insurance.
"That's actually a good idea. My insurance dropped more than sixty dollars a month when I stopped coverage on my second car," Bev said.
"Sixty dollars a month is a good bit of change," Laura said.
Bev said, "The thing that is killing me is the property tax. If they raise the taxes one more time, I'm going to lose the house."
"With the drop in real estate values, you'd think that we could get the property taxes lowered," Jack said. Of course, the city was still spending the same amount of money and it couldn't lower the taxes without making additional service cuts.
"My house is still worth more than what the property is assessed. I'd probably end up having to pay more in taxes if I contested it," Bev said.
Claire said, "Same here. I've been living in that house for fifty years. They've got it assessed at the market values of the seventies."
Shaking her head, Laura said, "I'm not sure about that. You might want to check out what they have the house assessed at. If I remember correctly, that last tax hike we got hit with was a result of an adjustment on real estate values."
"You might be right," Clair said. She had been so upset with the amount of the tax increase that she didn't really look at the reason for it. If the years had taught her anything it was that you didn't fight city hall.
"They have mine assessed at the price I paid for it," Jack said. He didn't think he would stand a chance of having his taxes reduced.
Bev asked, "I don't want to go down to the tax assessor's office and raise a fuss. I'm afraid that they'll raise my taxes again."
"I know what you mean," Claire said. She had been afraid of that same thing.
Jack said, "Go to the library and ask Mary about it. She might know how to find out what you need to know."
"That's a good idea, Jack," Claire said. She returned to her knitting with a thoughtful expression on her face. She realized that having someone who knew how to find out important things to know would be a real asset to the commune.
"I'm going in the house for a minute and then head out to mow some more lawns," Jack said rising from the table.
Jack returned to his house to check on the beans and brisket. The odor of food cooking filled the air. He lifted the cover on the beans and stirred them with a large spoon. The beans were coming along quite nicely. He sighed and said, "That's heavenly."
Walking past the front window of his house, Jack noticed a black car pull up to the driveway. He didn't recognize it and figured that it meant trouble. He had wondered how long it would take someone to discover what they were doing and come shut them down for some reason or another. He clicked his tongue and said, "I knew it was too good to last."
A young man in his mid-twenties and wearing a suit got out of the car. With a frown, he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, glanced down at it, and then looked at the house number. He looked over at the garage and headed over towards the small gathering of elderly women.
Jack left his house and headed over to the garage hoping to catch the young man before he upset the old ladies. He reached the garage in time to see the young man hugging Gail. The elderly woman said, "I'm glad you could make it, Johnny."
"I just wanted to check up on my favorite grandma," Johnny said with a grin.
"I'm your only grandma," Gail said with a laugh.
"That doesn't keep you from being my favorite," Johnny said.
"You're all dressed up," Gail said holding him at arm's length while inspecting him.
"I just got off the plane," Johnny said.
"You travel too much on that job of yours," Gail said shaking her head. As much as he traveled, she doubted that he had a chance of ever finding a wife.
"Is this commune of yours keeping you out of trouble?" Johnny asked trying to change the subject. He knew that she'd start asking him about his girlfriends, or lack of one, any minute now.
"Yes," Gail said with a laugh.
Smiling at the young man, Bev said, "It is more like she's keeping us out of trouble."
Johnny looked around at the people watching him. His grandmother had told him all about the commune and what a difference it was making in her life. He said, "Thanks for taking care of my grandmother."
Claire said, "Thanks for dropping that money off the other night. It really helped."
"I didn't realize that things were so desperate. Grandma didn't tell me that she was having such a hard time making ends meet," Johnny said. He did what he could to help, but she was too proud to accept handouts.
Gail said, "You have too much to worry about without having to worry about me."
"I told you that if you ever needed something to give me a call and you'd get it," Johnny said looking over at his grandmother with a stern expression on his face. It bothered him that his mother and father didn't take better care of her.
"We've had that argument before," Gail said. She gestured to the food and said, "Get something to eat. You're still a growing boy."
"I stopped growing eight years ago," Johnny said.
"You're too skinny," Gail said. Everyone in the room laughed at that.
Jack watched the pair talk thinking that Johnny was the first relative to even show some concern for anyone in the commune. He thought it was kind of odd that no one had mentioned any relatives calling to see how they had managed to survive the cash crunch crisis that the banks had set off.
Johnny noticed that Jack was watching him. He came over and said, "You must be Jack."
"I am," Jack answered with a nod of his head.
"My grandmother was telling me that you've helped her around the house. Is there anything that I can do to help?" Johnny asked.
"Not really. We're doing the best that we can," Jack answered. He didn't know how to answer that question. Most of the repairs were waiting for them to get the money to pay for parts.
Johnny studied Jack for a minute and then asked, "Could you take a short walk with me?"
"Sure," Jack said shrugging his shoulders. He was kind of curious what the guy wanted to discuss. He followed Johnny down the driveway towards the black car.
When they were out of earshot, Johnny said, "Look, my dad thinks that grandma belongs in one of those adult communities. Personally, I think that they are a racket. They sell you a house that you only own as long as you're healthy. First sign of bad health, they ship you off to a nursing home and sell the house to another person. I don't want that for her. She likes living in her house and I'll do anything I can to keep her there until she's ready to move."
"That's nice of you," Jack said.
"I'm serious. If you need money to fix up her place, you tell me and you'll get it," Johnny said.
Frowning, Jack asked, "What makes you think you can trust me?"
Johnny said, "Grandma told me a lot about you. For the past year you've mowed her lawn every weekend for a whole lot less than a service would have charged her. You've helped her around the house with some minor repairs. Again, you charged her a whole lot less than a service call would have cost. I've checked your work and I know that you've fixed things the correct way. You've never taken advantage of her."
"Oh," Jack said.
"She says that you're one of the people who started this commune. My first reaction was to be concerned, but I know that she's eating better now than she has in years. She doesn't feel alone and isolated anymore," Johnny said. He talked to her nearly every night to make sure that she was doing okay. He knew that she was hiding a lot of her problems from him, but he had no idea how bad it had been. The good news was that she had sounded more excited the last few weeks than she had in years.
"She's not alone. In fact, she helps out a lot around here," Jack said.
Johnny smiled at that and said, "She feels needed again. You don't know how much that means to me."
"She's a nice lady," Jack said.
Johnny studied Jack for a minute and then said, "You wouldn't tell me if she needed money, would you?"
"Probably not," Jack said. He was afraid of getting into the finances of the members of the commune. It seemed to him that would lead to significant problems in the future. He was more concerned about the financial issues of the commune as a whole.
Johnny shook his head and asked, "Will you promise to give me a call if she has any problems?"
"Sure, I can do that," Jack said. He realized that it would probably be a good idea to have a contact number for everyone in the commune. He would mention that to Rich and let him compile an emergency directory.
Johnny said, "I guess I'll have to settle for that."
"You really care for her," Jack said seeing that the young man was really concerned about his grandmother.
"She put together a college fund for me when I was born. Every week she and grandpa put twenty dollars into it. By the time I entered college, they had stashed away thirty thousand dollars. They put me through college; not my parents. I owe her everything," Johnny said. His scholarships had covered what his grandmother hadn't been able to provide.
"Oh," Jack said thinking that he should probably spend a little more time with Gail. He hadn't known anything about her family other than the fact that her grandson had stopped by that one night and dropped off some money to help feed everyone.
Johnny looked over in the direction of the garage and said, "I slip her a hundred dollars every time I come over to visit. I hide it somewhere for her to find after I leave. She calls me up and yells at me, but I do it anyway. I'd give her more, but I think she'd really get angry at me."
"She probably would," Jack said.
Johnny said, "She's the most important person in my life. She's always been there for me. Watch over her and make sure that she's okay."
"I will," Jack said.
Johnny said, "I'm going back to talk to grandma for a little more and then go home. I just flew in and I haven't even stopped by the apartment to change out of my suit."
"Take care," Jack said deciding that he liked the young man. He headed out to mow a couple more lawns.
At work, Abby looked down at the woman in the bed feeling her heart break at the sight. The elderly woman was bruised around her vagina; the damage let her know that someone had raped her. The elderly woman was so drugged that she probably wasn't even aware of what had happened to her. Horrified, she covered the woman's body with a sheet and headed to the nurses' station to report what she had found.
On reaching the head nurse, she said, "Kate, I need you to see something."
"What?" Kate asked looking up from her paperwork.
Abby said, "I would rather have you look at it and come to your own decision."
Kate sighed and said, "Just tell me what it is."
"I think Mrs. Donnelly was raped," Abby said. Saying aloud made her want to throw up.
Kate's eyes flicked over the work schedule and then returned to look at Abby. One glance at the work schedule let her know who had done it. If word were to get out about this, the nursing home would have a hell of a lawsuit on its hands. She said, "Clean her up."
"Uh, shouldn't I leave her as she is until the police get here?" Abby asked confused by the suggestion that she clean Mrs. Donnelly rather than preserve the evidence.
Kate bit her lower lip fully aware of how Abby felt. She said, "These things occasionally happen. Just clean her up and we'll take care of it."
"I don't think you understand what I said. She was raped," Abby said shocked at the suggestion that the nursing home would cover up the crime.
"You told me that. Now, just clean her up and I'll take care of the matter," Kate said.
"Aren't you going to call the police?" Abby asked.
Shaking her head, Kate said, "Odds are that it was another patient. We'll find out who it was and increase their meds to a level where it won't happen again."
Familiar with the practice of controlling patient behavior through drugs, Abby was not satisfied; a crime had been committed and she wanted to see the guilty party punished. She asked, "How are you going to determine who did it?"
"Don't worry about it," Kate said. She leaned over and said, "Look, we can't afford a lawsuit. We'll take care of the matter and no one has to know."
"You're going to cover this up?" Abby asked incredulously. She might hate her job, but she did care about the patients.
"We'll take care of the matter. She doesn't even know that it happened to her. Now go take care of Mrs. Donnelly. Don't talk about this matter with anyone else," Kate said. Mrs. Donnelly had been a troublesome patient until they had increased her drugs to the point where she was basically a vegetable.
"This is wrong," Abby said staring at Kate. She didn't know the woman that well, but she couldn't believe that any woman would cover up the rape of a defenseless woman like this.
"This is the real world. Things like this happen. We deal with it the best that we can and go on with our life. A lawsuit would close this place up in a minute and we'd be out of our jobs. Who will look after our patients if we are closed? I'll tell you; another place just like this. Believe me, the same things will happen there," Kate said.
There was more than an element of truth to what Kate was saying, but that didn't matter to Abby. A defenseless woman had been raped and the guilty person had to pay for it. She said, "A crime has been committed. Covering it up is a crime."
"What's going to happen if the guilty person is one of these senile old men? Nothing. He'll be dead before the case ever hits the court. For that matter, odds are good that she'll be dead before it ever gets to court," Kate said. She knew that if it was a member of the staff that he'd be fired and his name would be circulated among the other facilities in the area. He'd never work in another nursing home.
Abby stared at Kate feeling sick to her stomach. She said, "You clean her up."
"Do your job," Kate said sternly.
"No," Abby said turning around to leave. All she wanted was a chance to think about what she should do. She couldn't afford to lose her job and she couldn't stand by and do nothing.
Kate was pretty sure that Abby would immediately call the police. She had to prevent Abby from doing that. She said, "Come back here. Let me explain some facts of life to you."
"What is there to explain?" Abby asked angrily.
"If you leave here and blab your mouth, then the odds are that the administration will pin the problem on you. They'll say that you were a part of it and let it happen. You think your life is miserable now; you don't want to know how bad it can be. I've seen it happen in other places," Kate said.
"They would blame me?" Abby asked wondering if she was actually living in America. Things like this weren't supposed to happen.
"You bet," Kate said knowing that most of the staff would get fired if word of this were to get out.
Feeling the room spinning around her, Abby said, "I can't believe this. You're a woman. How can you let something like this go on?"
"I've got two kids; one of whom is about to enter college. In case you haven't noticed, the economy is pretty bad. I can't afford to lose this job," Kate said. That was the whole truth of the matter; she couldn't afford to buck the system.
"I hate this job," Abby said. This whole situation was wrong on so many levels that she couldn't believe it.
"Then find another job and quit," Kate said looking over at the younger woman. She knew that the young woman had just learned a very hard lesson. She had quit her first job when a similar situation had occurred.
Abby said, "You clean her up. I've done my job and reported it to you. What you decide to do with my report is up to you. I'm going to go home and throw up."
"Keep this to yourself," Kate said.
"I will," Abby said bitterly.
A half an hour later, Abby was parked in the parking lot of a shopping center crying. Although Mrs. Donnelly had always been in a drugged stupor that prevented her from actually knowing anything about the woman, she still felt horrible about what had happened to her. She felt guilty about having been a part of a cover up of a crime.
She thought about all of the little old ladies in the commune. It could be anyone of them in that bed. She wondered how she could even face them. Was she condemning them to that kind of future by keeping silent? She didn't know. She had believed Kate when the nurse had told her that the administration would shift some of the blame on her.
The sad fact was that she knew the truth. It wasn't one of the patients who had raped Mrs. Donnelly; it was one of the men who worked at the nursing home. None of the old men were strong enough to cause that kind of bruising. There was no way that she could return to that job knowing that she would be working around a rapist who targeted the weakest of the weak.
Coming to a decision, Abby wiped the tears from her eyes. She was going to find another job. It didn't matter how much or how little it paid, but it wasn't going to be one where she had to see such misery every day. Starting her car, she drove over to the nearest fast food place to see if they needed help. The third place she tried was a taco joint and there was a sign announcing that they were accepting applications. She headed into the store.
An hour later, she left with a new part-time job that paid seven dollars an hour. It represented another major loss in income, but the alternative was even worse. She drove home convinced that she had made the right decision. She drove past Jack who was talking to Frau Shultz thinking that men had it a whole lot easier than women.