Chapter 24

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.

“Später,” 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 Shultz 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 Shultz 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 Fräulein,” Jack said rolling his eyes. He looked over at Melissa seeing that she was enjoying this situation. Embarrassed beyond belief, Jack said “I’d better buy the tickets.”

“It is free to students and employees. I think Seniors don’t have to pay, either,” 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 a 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 you 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 very well. Jack has fixed up our houses. He fixed our broken lamp, repaired our disposal, and caulked 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’s 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.”