Jack walked towards the auditorium building with Ella and Frau Shultz in tow. Both women were dressed up in their nicest outfits. The two women were almost giddy at the idea of watching a German film. Frau Shultz hadn't seen a German film in almost fifteen years. For her, the entertainment options had been very limited.
Melissa spotted Jack and waved to him. She shouted, "Jack!"
Jack waved back to her. He couldn't help but notice that Melissa was wearing a very nice blue dress. She had a wrap over her shoulders that gave her a European look. It was rather stunning. Noticing the exchange, Ella asked, "Who is she?"
"That's Melissa. We're meeting her here to watch the film," Jack answered turning to answer her.
"Was?" Frau Shultz asked curious about what was happening.
"Spater," Ella said not sure how to explain the situation to her mother-in-law.
Melissa frowned on seeing Jack turn and talk to the two old women that were walking beside him. When they reached her, it was very obvious that the two women were with him. She said, "Hello, Jack."
"Hello, Melissa," Jack said. The outfit she was wearing was really stunning and he felt a little tongue tied looking at her.
Seeing that Jack had brought the two of them along on a date with a young woman, Ella turned to Frau Shultz and said, "Er ist nicht ganz richtig im Kopf. Er bringt zwei alte Frauen zu einem romantischen Abend mit einer jungen Frau."
Making reference to the fact that it had been two years since Jack had a date, Frau Shutlz said, "Kein Wunder, dass er seit zwei Jahren keinen Sex hatte."
Melissa burst out in laughter thinking that she was going to like these two old ladies. Jack understood enough of what the two women had said to turn red. There was nothing like hearing that he was an idiot for bringing two old women along with him for a date with a young woman.
Ella and Frau Shultz didn't know that Melissa had understood every word they said. They were a little puzzled by her laughter. Jack rubbed his forehead and said, "I want to die."
Melissa recovered enough to say, "Ich bin Melissa. Sie müssen Frau Shultz sein."
"Sie sprechen Deutsch!" Frau Shults exclaimed. She clapped her hands together excitedly and released a torrent of German that was well beyond Jack's ability to understand. Much to the elderly woman's great pleasure, Melissa answered with ease.
Grabbing Jack's arm, Ella shook it and said, "You've got to keep her, Jack. Don't let her get away."
Shaking a finger at him, Frau Shultz interrupted her discussion with Melissa and said, "Sie ist eine hübsche junge Frau!"
"I know she's a very pretty Fraulein," Jack said rolling his eyes. He looked over at Melissa seeing that she was enjoying this situation. Embarrassed beyond belief, Jack said "I better buy the tickets."
"It is free to students and employees. I think Seniors don't have to pay," Melissa said. She had come to a few of the films and had never seen anyone there taking money except when it was a really popular film.
"I didn't know that," Jack said thinking that he was going to take advantage of that job benefit. He had brought forty dollars along unsure if it was enough to pay for the tickets.
Smiling at Jack, Ella said, "There's no reason why you can't take Melissa here every week."
They walked into the auditorium finding that there were lots of empty seats. Jack figured there were maybe thirty people in the place. A number of them had notepads signaling that they were there as part of a course credit. The four of them sat down. Jack was on one end with Melissa seated next to him with Frau Shultz seated next to Melissa and Ella at the other end. Frau Shultz and Melissa were chatting nonstop until the film began.
The movie had Jack on the edge of his seat. The suspense was intense. It was kind of nice understanding a lot of what the actors were saying although a lot of it was beyond him. In the past, he had not enjoyed movies with subtitles, but this was different. He fell back on the subtitles to explain those bits that he was missing.
When it came to an end, he sat back in his chair and said, "That was a great movie."
"Danke," Frau Shultz said wiping the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. She didn't think she had enjoyed anything so much.
Ella said, "We really enjoyed that movie."
"I'm glad," Jack said feeling that the evening had gone well.
The four headed out of the theater. Somehow Jack found that Ella was walking beside him while Frau Shultz was walking with Melissa. Turning Jack away from the other pair, Ella said, "You need to take me home."
"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stop for coffee somewhere?" Jack asked thinking it was still a little early to call it a night.
"I'm sure," Ella said.
Breaking away from her conversation with Frau Shultz, Melissa said, "I think your friends are tired."
"Okay," Jack said disappointed that the evening was coming to an end. It had been a long time since he had done anything like this. He had a little extra money in his pocket and was thinking that it would be nice to go somewhere for coffee and pie.
Overly dramatic, Ella yawned and said, "Very tired."
"I'll take you home," Jack said. He turned to tell Melissa goodbye only to find that Frau Shultz was walking away with her. Puzzled, he asked, "Where is Frau Shultz going?"
"Melissa is giving her a ride home," Ella answered with a smile. He might speak a little German, but he didn't speak enough to keep them from plotting in front of him.
"Uh..."
"Don't worry. She'll be fine," Ella said smiling at the confused expression on his face.
"But I'll..."
"Give her a chance to talk with someone new," Ella said cutting off his objection.
"I don't know," Jack said thinking that they were imposing on Melissa. He was half tempted to chase her down to get Frau Shultz.
Steering Jack away by physically taking him by the arm, Ella said, "Besides, it will give us a chance to talk on the way home."
"We talk all of the time," Jack said looking at Ella.
Heading towards the parking lot where Jack's truck was parked, Ella said, "Sometimes young people amaze me. It is a wonder that we have a next generation."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked walking along with Ella. He had a feeling that this was going to more of a talk about the birds and the bees than life in the commune.
"She's interested in you."
"She's a whole lot smarter than me. I'm just a maintenance man and she's a scholar," Jack said pointing out what he considered to be a real barrier to a relationship.
"You're a man and she's a woman. That's enough," Ella said losing patience with Jack.
"Sometimes that isn't enough," Jack said shaking his head. If he was going to be honest, Abby was probably a better candidate for a successful relationship than Melissa.
Ella had to admit that he had a point. In Germany, a young woman with an education would never date a man without one. At least it had been like that when she was a young woman. She knew that things were a little different in this country. She asked, "Did you know that Laura has a college degree?"
"No," Jack said surprised to learn that. He had always assumed that Laura and Dave had been high school sweethearts. No wonder that Dave expressed surprise that Laura had chosen to be with him. An educated woman back in the sixties could probably have had her choice of a lot of educated men with better jobs than plumber.
"She does," Ella said. "She was a teacher when they met."
"I didn't know that."
Ella shook her head and said, "Now take me home. When we get there, invite Melissa over for some coffee."
"Yes, ma'am," Jack said knowing enough not to argue. Melissa would probably come in for a cup of coffee and then leave.
"I like Melissa," Ella said looking over at Jack.
"She's a nice young woman," Jack said in agreement. She was very pretty with blond hair and blue eyes.
"How could even think of bringing us on your first date with such a nice young woman?" Ella asked incredulous that he had done such a thing. He hadn't mentioned a word that he was meeting someone there.
"I wasn't aware that it was a date," Jack answered. He hadn't asked her out other than to suggest that they meet there.
In Melissa's car, Frau Shultz said, "You have to excuse Jack. He's a little out of practice when it comes to dating."
"I'll admit that I wasn't expecting to see you and your daughter with him," Melissa said with a twinkle in her eye.
"He's a good man. I'm sure that he felt that I would love to see a film that I could understand," Frau Shultz said. "He was right."
"He told me that he helps you out a little," Melissa said.
Frau Shultz said, "He is the glue that holds our community together. He's a hard worker and takes care of all of us."
"Your community?" Melissa asked thinking she was about to discover Jack's secret.
"Seventeen of us have formed a community. We share the expenses for food and help each other with work. It has allowed us to eat much better. My daughter-in-law and I were going hungry at times. Now we eat real well. Jack has fixed up our houses. He fixed our broken lamp, repaired our disposal, and chalked around the windows. He takes care of our lawn so that we don't get tickets from the city," Frau Shultz said.
"That's interesting," Melissa said thinking that it was nice of Jack to watch over the two women.
"Jack is a very nice guy. He learned enough German to talk to me," Frau Shultz said quietly. "You don't know how much that means to me."
"I can imagine," Melissa said. Her opinion of Jack was steadily rising.
Frau Shultz said, "Jack calls what we are doing a commune. It isn't really one though. Ella and I think of it as a community rather than a commune. If you stay around, you'll see what I mean."
"Are you suggesting that I spend the night?" Melissa asked amused at the idea of the elderly woman trying to fix her up with Jack.
"That would be a very good idea," Frau Shultz said with a grin. She really liked Melissa and thought she would be perfect for Jack.
"It is our first date," Melissa said.
"Tie him down before he gets away. You won't find a better man," Frau Shultz said.
Melissa laughed and said, "I'll have to think about it."
Frau Shultz leaned over and said, "I see enough of your breasts to know that you were planning on tripping him up."
Blushing, Melissa said, "Maybe."
"Just make sure that when he falls, you're under him," Frau Shultz said.
"With my legs spread?" Melissa asked shocked at what the old woman was suggesting.
Frau Shultz patted Melissa on the leg and said, "You are a smart woman. He doesn't stand a chance."
Driving his truck towards the house, Jack asked, "What about Abby?"
"She had her chance and never took it," Ella answered. She said, "You should be a gentleman and not pressure Melissa into doing anything she isn't ready to do. She's a real lady and you can't treat her poorly."
"I'd never treat a woman poorly," Jack said turning to look at Ella. He wondered how she could suggest a thing like that.
"If she is half as smart as I think she is, you'll know if she wants to spend the night," Ella said ignoring the look he was giving her.
"It is our first date," Jack said shaking his head.
"You're a good catch. She's smart enough to know that," Ella said.
Jack laughed and said, "You and Frau Shultz are not going to be happy until after I've been bedded."
"You're a good man, Jack. You deserve to have a nice woman in your life," Ella said putting it as plainly as possible. She said, "You haven't been happy in a long time. You carry the tension in your body. We all see it and we all know that it will take a woman to relieve it."
"I'm just trying to get by," Jack said.
Ella said, "You've got a good job now. You don't have to just get by anymore. Soon, you won't need us."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"You'll get ahead financially and then discover that we're keeping you back," Ella said knowing that he was young and had to start working to build a real life. She didn't think his life would include taking care of a bunch of old ladies.
"Johnny doesn't need us, but he wouldn't leave for any amount of money," Jack said.
"He's taking care of his grandmother," Ella said knowing that Jack was right.
Pulling in front of her house, Jack said, "He enjoys the sense of community."
"They are here," Ella said pointing to Melissa and Frau Shultz. Melissa was holding a pie and talking to the older woman.
"Let me walk you to the door," Jack said getting out of the truck to open the door for her.
A few minutes later, Jack and Melissa were entering his house. Melissa held up the pie and said, "Frau Shultz insisted we have this."
"Which is it, apple or peach?" Jack asked.
"Peach," Melissa answered with a smile. They had stopped by the community house to pick up the pie. It had been empty, but the signs that it was well used were there. She added, "She mentioned that you had tried the apple pie earlier."
"You've got to excuse them. They mean well, but sometimes they go a little overboard," Jack said.
Melissa woke up and looked over at Jack. He was sound asleep with a peaceful expression on his face. All of the little worry lines on his face were gone and he looked happy. She eased out of the bed trying not to wake him and looked around for something to wear. She spotted his shirt and put it on. She slipped out of the room to see if she could make some coffee thinking it would be nice to serve him some when he woke.
Hearing a noise behind her, Abby said, "I'm starting the coffee, Jack. It will be ready in a minute."
"Uh..."
Abby looked over her shoulder and saw Melissa. She noticed that the woman was wearing one of Jack's shirts. Unaware that Jack had a visitor, she asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Melissa. Who are you?" Melissa asked taking in the fact that the woman was wearing a man's shirt.
"I'm Abby. I live here."
"Maybe I should leave," Melissa said hoping that things weren't about to get messy. She wondered why Frau Shultz would put her in this situation.
"Not until after breakfast," Abby said turning back to fix the coffee.
"Why wait?" Melissa asked.
"You are about to make a dozen old ladies very happy," Abby said with a smirk.
"Okay," Melissa asked backing away a little.
Chuckling, Abby said, "Jack goes to the movies with two old ladies and comes home with you. Maybe I ought to take a couple of them to the movies with me. Who knows? I just might get lucky too."
"I take it you and Jack aren't an item," Melissa said.
"We are definitely not an item despite a lot of meddling by a bunch of little old ladies," Abby said realizing that Melissa had been just as surprised as she had been. She turned to look at Melissa and said, "To tell the truth, I'm overjoyed to see you. Now I won't have to listen to lectures about how I'm letting one of the good ones get away from me."
"Frau Shultz?" Melissa asked.
"You've met her," Abby said.
"Yes," Melissa said. Relaxing a little, she said, "She and Ella gave me a lot of advice on how to catch Jack."
"She must be in heaven this morning," Abby said. She went over to the cabinet and grabbed two coffee cups. She asked, "Did Ella warn you about me being a lesbian?"
"You're a lesbian?" Melissa asked. Her hand flew up to button another button of the shirt without conscious thought.
"No, but half of the old ladies are halfway convinced that I am. They don't understand why I haven't staked my claim on Jack. They just don't get it that Jack just doesn't do it for me," Abby answered.
"I guess I can see that. Frau Shultz was rather enthusiastic in her sales pitch," Melissa said with a laugh.
"Jack can do no wrong in her eyes," Abby said with a sigh.
"You don't agree with her?" Melissa asked accepting a cup of coffee from Abby.
"I agree with her. Jack is a good guy," Abby said realizing that she might have sounded a little too negative. She asked, "Do you take anything in your coffee?"
"Cream and sugar," Melissa answered.
"All we've got is milk," Abby said turning to the refrigerator.
Melissa laughed and said, "To tell the truth, I don't think I've ever actually had cream in my coffee. It is just how I've always heard people request to have a little milk in it."
"Sorry," Abby said grabbing the bottle of milk.
Seeing that the milk was in a juice bottle with a cap on it, Melissa said, "I didn't mean to sound pretentious."
Holding up the bottle, Abby said, "I don't know how much Jack told you about our situation. A bunch of us in the neighborhood share food and these old bottles make it easy to divvy up milk and juices."
"Frau Shultz explained it to me," Melissa said with a smile.
Shaking her head, it dawned on her what Melissa was saying. Wide-eyed, Abby said, "You talked with Frau Shultz? She doesn't speak English."
"I speak German," Melissa said.
Abby laughed and said, "She's probably out shopping for a wedding dress right now."
"I doubt it," Melissa said.
"I bet there's a preacher over in the community house waiting for you and Jack to arrive," Abby said laughing. She was definitely going to have to be there when they came over.
"You're kidding," Melissa said feeling like Abby was more than a little serious.
"Not at all," Abby said looking in the direction of Jack's bedroom. She could hear him rattling around in the room and knew he would be out in a few minutes. She said, "At least they'll stop referring to me as Jack's girlfriend."
"Why would they say that?" Melissa asked.
"I think they felt if they said it often enough that it would come true," Abby said shaking her head.
Jack shuffled out wearing his morning sweat pants. He smiled on seeing Melissa and said, "I was afraid that you had left."
"No. I'm just drinking a little coffee with your girlfriend," Melissa answered giving Abby a little wink.
"She's not my girlfriend," Jack said horrified.
"I know that," Melissa said to reassure him that she understood the nature of their relationship.
"Good. I guess I should have warned you, but I kind of got carried away with our conversation," Jack said looking at Melissa.
Thinking they both got carried away the previous evening and conversation had little to do with it, Melissa said, "That's okay. I think we both kind of enjoyed the surprise of running into each other this morning."
Pointing at Melissa, Abby said, "I'll go with what she said."
"I need some coffee," Jack said going over to the counter. He should have thought about warning Melissa last night.
Abby said, "We had better leave evidence that there were three of us here this morning. Frau Shultz will want proof that she spent the night."
Jack muttered, "She's probably picking out a wedding dress."
Melissa laughed at how similar Abby's and Jack's comments were. Winking at Abby, she said, "We had the fitting last night."
Enjoying how Jack was squirming, Abby said, "She's a keeper, Jack."
"Ummm," Jack said pouring a cup of coffee. He couldn't come up with a good retort to that.
"I'm going to get dressed and head over to the community house," Abby said rising from her chair.
"Why rush off?" Melissa asked.
"I want to be there when you two get there," Abby said thinking it was going to be an interesting morning. She winked at Melissa and said, "Keep him here for at least forty five minutes. We want everyone there when you get there."
"My goodness. Whatever should I do for forty-five minutes?" Melissa asked with a twinkle in her eye. She noticed Jack covering his head with his hands.
It was almost an hour before Jack and Melissa made it over to the community house. Every pair of eyes in the room turned to check out Melissa when she entered the room. Jack shifted nervously and said, "Hello everyone."
"Oh, she's cute," Bev said leaning forward to look at Melissa a little closer.
"Definitely cute," Liz said.
Dave said, "She reminds me of you, Laura."
"You say the nicest things," Laura said patting his hand.
Claire said, "Come on in, Melissa. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Uh," Melissa said feeling amazed at the attention she was receiving. It wasn't a hostile reception. In fact, every face was smiling.
Beaming, Frau Shultz stood up and said, "Setz dich. Ich mach dir Frühstück."
Laughing, Abby pointed over to a chair and said, "Check out the wedding dress."
Jack looked in the direction Abby was pointing and saw a wedding dress draped over a chair.