Storiesonline.net
-------

                                 Commune
                            by Lazlo Zalezac

Copyright© 2009 by Lazlo Zalezac


-------
Description: The real estate market is dead, the job market has dried up, the stock market has crashed, and cost of living has shot up. Half the world is faced with becoming homeless. Young and old alike are being pounded by events outside their control. Jack and Abby find what might be a solution - a commune. The result is even more than that - it is a community. WARNING: Some might find this story depressing.

Codes: MF
-------



-------

Chapter 1


Jack Dunne walked into the dimly lit tavern feeling like everyone in the world had taken a turn beating him with a bat. His back was so tense that it actually hurt to move. He had a pounding headache that had lasted for the past week and it was only getting worse. Aspirin and Tylenol hadn't even put a dent in it.

Unable to see in the dark room he hit his knee on a chair while walking over to the bar. Now his knee was throbbing with each step. It was just one more thing in a long line of bad things that had happened over the past few months. Months? Bad things had been happening for years. At least the pain in his knee took his mind off the pain in his back as he now hobbled over to the bar.

The pain wasn't just physical. His spirit had taken a beating as well. So far, life hadn't worked out for him like he had imagined when he had left home as a younger man. The dreams of youth included a new car every year, a big house, a pretty wife, and a couple of kids that were stars in school. He had a house, but it wasn't a big house and he doubted it would be his for very much longer. Considering the way his life was going, he figured that he'd have to settle for a used car every five years, public housing, an ugly wife, and kids who dropped out of school their senior year.

At the moment, he felt that the last nail had been driven into his coffin. Five blocks from home, his ten year old truck had given out on him. It probably wasn't down for good, but it would cost a couple hundred dollars to fix. The problem was that it was a couple hundred dollars that he didn't have. He had no idea how he would make it to work tomorrow; that is if he had to work tomorrow. In these trying economic times, having a job to go to was not assured.

Jack limped over to the bartender and asked, "Can I use your phone?"

The bartender looked at him as if he was from another planet and asked, "What's the matter? Don't you have a cell phone?"

"My truck broke down, my cell service has been canceled, and I have three dollars," Jack answered. He had searched for a payphone but hadn't been able to find one. He had never noticed when they had disappeared from the American landscape.

The bartender shrugged his shoulders and pointed to a phone on the counter. He said, "Make sure it is a local call."

"Sure," Jack replied. Staring at the phone, he wondered who he could call. Unable to identify someone, he asked, "Could I have a glass of water?"

"I guess," the bartender answered looking at the young man's blue jeans, work boots, and tee- shirt with a slight degree of disdain. They usually had a slightly higher class of clientele. He pulled down a glass and filled it with some ice and water. He set it on the counter and asked, "Aren't you going to make the call?"

"I'm trying to think of someone who would help me push it the five blocks to my home," Jack answered picking up the glass of water. He took a sip wishing it was something stronger.

"Call a tow truck," the bartender said.

Jack sat down on one of the tall bar chairs next to the phone. It took the pressure off his throbbing knee. Irritated, he said, "I've only got three dollars."

"You can't do much with three bucks. Beers are three fifty," the bartender said returning to work straightening up the bar.

Jack rubbed his forehead wishing he could get rid of his monster headache. He was about to ask if the bartender had an aspirin, but one look at the man made him realize that it would be a wasted effort. He stared at his glass wondering what would go wrong next.

A woman interrupted his thoughts when she said, "You look like I feel."

Warily, Jack looked over at the woman wondering if she would be the source of his next disaster. She was sitting a couple of chairs down from him and nursing a glass of white wine. She was attractive in a tired sort of way, but her beauty was muted by the haggard weary look of someone who had been dealt too many bad hands in a row. He estimated she was in her early thirties. He said, "Life saw that I was down so it hauled off and kicked me ... repeatedly. I'm waiting for the next blow."

"You and me both," the woman said. She took a sip of her wine and stared off into space. After a minute a tear started to trickle down her cheek.

Although he really wanted to revel in his misery for a moment, Jack wasn't really the type to sulk and he could never resist helping someone in trouble. He asked, "What's the matter?"

"My life sucks. I had such dreams when I was young," the woman said in a weary voice.

"You and me both," Jack said. He installed carpet for a living, but with the downturn in new construction, the lousy real estate market, and high gasoline prices it seemed to him that no one was buying carpet. He made good money when working, but he'd had two small installation jobs the whole week.

The woman said, "I'm late on my rent. I'll probably get kicked out by the end of the month."

"The only bill I managed to pay this month was my mortgage," Jack said shaking his head. He had followed everyone's advice and bought the biggest house he could afford. Even though it was just a three bedroom wood house that needed lots of work, he couldn't afford it now. The property taxes had doubled, the cost of electricity had shot up, and his paycheck had decreased. His house was worth less than he owed on it.

"At least you have a roof over your head," she said.

Jack snorted and said, "A roof yes, but no electricity and no gas. I'm cooking my meals over the barbecue pit using scrap wood from the job sites where I work."

"Sounds like we're riding in the same boat," she said in a depressed tone of voice. She took a sip of her wine wishing that it had been a bigger glass.

Jack looked over at her for a minute and said, "Yeah, I guess so. It seems to me that it is a pretty damned big boat with lots of people in it."

"Tell me about it. I don't know anyone who is having an easy time of it," the woman said.

Jack took a drink of his water. He wondered what had gone wrong with the world. He sighed and said, "I've got to figure out what to do about my truck. It is sitting by the side of the road with steam coming out from under the hood. I know it is the water pump."

"Sell it and buy a cheaper one," she said. She knew it was bad advice even as it came out of her mouth. People told her to do the same thing each time her car broke and she couldn't afford to do it. There was no reason to think he could afford to do it either.

"I'd get a hundred dollars for it in its current shape. Of course, by the time I find a buyer for it I'm sure that the city will have towed it off," Jack said.

The woman drank down the rest of her wine and said, "I'll steer if you'll push."

"That's real nice of you, but you don't have to do that," Jack said. He looked at his glass and saw that there was only a sip left in it. He drank it down wishing once again that it was something stronger.

The woman looked at her empty wine glass. She didn't want to go home. She was positive that there was an eviction notice taped to the door of her apartment and she didn't want to face it. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "I don't have anything better to do."

"My name is Jack Dunne."

"Abby Dickerson."

"Nice to meet you, Abby Dickerson," Jack said rising from his chair. At least his knee had stopped hurting.

Abby tossed a dollar on the counter, rose from her chair, and said, "Let's get out of here."

Together they left the bar with Jack holding the door open for her. He led her to his truck. The steam had stopped pouring out from under the hood, but there was a huge puddle of anti- freeze under the truck. Shaking his head, he said, "This is the hunk of junk."

Abby pointed to a little beige car and said, "I hate to say this, but it looks nice compared to my '88 Nova."

Jack looked at the car taking in the rust, dents, dings, and torn up bumper. He would have suggested towing his truck behind hers, but he didn't think it would survive the effort. He would have suggested pushing it with her car, but he figured that would kill her car just as well. Not looking forward to pushing his truck five blocks to his house, he opened the door and said, "It'll be hard to steer."

"Where are we going?" Abby asked.

"Three blocks down, a block to the right, and then a block to the left," Jack answered.

Abby climbed in the truck and looked around. She was surprised to find that the cab was fairly neat despite the fact that the truck bed was filled with odds and ends. She pressed the brake. She went to turn the wheel and it locked on her. She said, "I'm going to need the keys."

"Oh, right," Jack said digging into his pocket for the keys. He pulled out his key chain with an old leather bob on it. At one time there had been a Celtic cross painted on it, but the paint had worn off years ago. He handed them over to her.

She slipped the key into the ignition and turned it to release the wheel. She rolled down the window after closing the door. Leaning her head out, she said, "I'm ready when you are."

Jack went around to the back of the truck and leaned into it. It started to roll forward when Abby released the brake. It took about twenty yards to reach an even speed that minimized the effort of pushing. The first block wasn't too bad, but by the end of the second block Jack was wondering if he was going to make it. Halfway through the third block, Jack's strength gave out. He staggered to a stop and the truck rolled a dozen feet before coming to a halt.

He dropped to the ground beside the road breathing heavy. Abby put the truck into park and turned off the key. She got out of the car and walked over to where he was lying on the grass that had turned brown over the course of a hot dry summer. Looking down at him, she said, "I didn't think you'd make it this far."

"Neither did I," Jack said. Shaking his head to clear it, he said, "We're halfway there. Give me a minute to get my strength back."

Abby looked up the road and said, "You don't have to get it all of the way home tonight. I imagine that once you get it off the main street that it will be safe to leave it there for a day or two."

"You're probably right," Jack said confident that he wouldn't be that lucky. He really wanted to get the truck to his house thinking that he might have something around there to take to a pawn shop to get enough money to fix the thing himself. He wondered if they'd take a broken blender. He looked over at the truck wondering how much it was going to cost to fix it. He wouldn't know until he had a chance to see just how bad things were with his engine.

Abby lowered the tailgate and took a seat. She was wearing a dress that came below her knees and wasn't prepared to sit down on the ground. Looking over at Jack who was stretched out on the grass, she asked, "Do you know how to fix it?"

"I think I can manage it. With these modern engines, it isn't always straightforward," Jack said fearing that there would be some electronic sensor that would have to be replaced. That would probably require a computer to reset the check engine light. His father had always complained about having to take his car to the shop to get the simple things done on it. He was always talking about the days before cars became controlled by computers. Jack was coming to agree with his father.

Abby said, "You're lucky. I have to take my car to a garage. It seems like it costs five hundred dollars every time I take it in. Each time I get that old thing fixed I can't help but hope that it will run for six months or so. It never does. Two months later, I'm back spending another five hundred on it. It would probably be cheaper to get a new car, but I can't afford to do that."

"It always comes down to money," Jack said sitting up with a groan. A muscle in his back went into a spasm bringing a grimace of pain to his face. He arched his back and felt the muscle slowly relax.

"Money that I never seem to have," Abby said with a sigh. She was tired of watching every penny. The wine she had drank that night had been more than she could afford and it sat sour in her stomach. She had justified the purchase thinking that she deserved a treat once in a while.

"Yeah," Jack said. "I used to make pretty good money as a carpet layer. I was working six days a week and making $15 an hour. Now I'm lucky if I can get three full days of work a week."

"I made real good money as a massage therapist. I usually had six clients a day at $20 per client and tips. The spa I was working at closed and suddenly I was out of work. Got a job at another spa for $15 a client and tips, but it went out of business a month later. Our customers were having a hard time paying for a massage when the price of gasoline went up," Abby said.

Jack looked over at her and asked, "You were a massage therapist?"

Abby answered, "Yeah. I wanted to help people feel better, but I couldn't afford to go to college to be a nurse so I went to massage school. I graduated a certified massage therapist. Fat lot of good it did me."

"You sound a little angry," Jack said.

"I was sold a real bill of goods. Do you know how many times I've been asked for a happy ending?" Abby asked with disgust evident in her voice.

"Probably a lot," Jack said. He was pretty sure if he spent money to get a massage that he'd ask for a happy ending.

She sighed and said, "Now I wipe the asses on old folks in a nursing home. I spend so much time cleaning the cocks of dirty old men that I'm thinking about going to place where they give happy endings. The tips run about $40 and I'd get $10 for the massage. You don't even have to let them fondle you. I'd make about $1250 a week doing that."

"You'd get arrested," Jack said.

"Knowing my luck, you're right," Abby said. She snorted and said, "The law thinks that wanking a cock is more demeaning than wiping the shit off an old man or woman. Hell, I've had them piss on me while I was cleaning them up. Assholes."

"The old folks can't help it," Jack said trying to excuse the actions of the elderly.

"I wasn't calling the elderly assholes. I was taking about the assholes that would arrest me for finishing a massage with a happy ending," Abby said. If she could get five customers a week in her apartment, she'd make an extra two thousand a month. That would pay a lot of her bills, particularly if Uncle Sam never learned of it.

Jack frowned and asked, "Are you really considering it?"

"Yes and no. I had a regular customer who told me outright that when money gets tight like it is that people demand a little more for their money. I guess I can understand his position. He used to go to one of those Asian massage parlors for a little action after going to the spa to feel good. Last time I saw him he told me that he does one or the other," Abby said. She shook her head and said, "He was a good tipper. He probably would have tipped me the hundred dollars that he would pay for the rub and tug at the Asian place if I had given him the happy ending."

"Sorry," Jack said not quite knowing what he felt sorry about. He'd never thought about prostitution or the women that went into that business.

She looked at him thinking he probably considered her nothing but a slut by now. She said, "At least I have options. What about you?"

"I don't know. I can probably fill in some time with a job that pays a little less," Jack said. He was thinking that he might be able to mow some lawns over the weekend for a little extra cash. He had done that almost the entire summer to buy food and gasoline.

"A life of crime for me and homelessness for you," Abby said wiping her eyes. Angry at herself for crying, she stood up and said, "Let's get this truck moving."

Jack rose with a groan. He hadn't recovered from the first push and wasn't looking forward to the second. He hoped to make it to the end of the street and around the corner before having to rest. He closed the tailgate and said, "I'm ready when you are."

"Give me a minute," Abby said making her way to the front of the truck. Jack waited until Abby called out, "Any time now."

He dug in and pushed on the back of the truck. It was hard getting it to start rolling, but he managed. The corner was slowly approaching and he shouted out, "We need to turn at the next street."

She shouted back, "Okay."

They managed to navigate the corner. The truck was hard to steer with the power steering gone and the low speed. Abby had to use lots of muscle to turn the steering wheel, but it was still a pretty wide turn. They were lucky that a car hadn't been there.

Two teenage boys were throwing a ball in the front yard of one of the houses. They noticed Jack pushing the car and came over to help. Without saying a word, they got behind the truck and started pushing. Jack, who was about to give up, continued to push the truck in the slim hope the boys would stick with it until the truck made it to the driveway of his home. He shouted, "We turn left at the next street."

"Okay," Abby said noticing that the speed of the truck had picked up considerably. Checking in the mirror, she noticed that there were now three heads behind the pickup truck. She smiled thinking that they had probably joined in to help the poor woman steering the truck rather than the guy pushing it. She worked the wheel around and made the left turn with a little greater ease than the previous turn.

Jack was really puffing by this time. About three quarters of the way up the street, he let go of the rear. Bent over at the waist with his hands on his knees, he struggled to catch his breath. He said, "That's enough for now, boys."

The two boys stopped pushing and stood beside him. Abby saw that the speed of the truck was decreasing. She maneuvered it to the curb and let it roll to a stop. Abby put the transmission into park and turned the key. She got out and said, "Thanks. I don't know what I would have done without your help."

"That's all right, ma'am," one of the boys said politely.

"Many hands make light work," the other boy said straightening up a little.

Abby smiled at them and said, "You were lifesavers."

Jack looked at the two boys and then at Abby. He realized why they had probably joined in to help. He said, "Thanks. I didn't think I was going to make it there for a minute."

"No problem, mister," the one boy said still looking over at Abby.

The other boy said, "Always glad to help a lady."

The boys walked off satisfied with their act of chivalry. Jack watched them go with a smile. When they turned the corner, he looked at Abby and said, "Some folks think that chivalry is dead."

"It might be mortally wounded, but it isn't dead yet," Abby said with a sad smile. She looked over at Jack thinking that in many ways women had it easier than men. If she had been stuck by the side of the road with steam coming out from under the hood of her car, she would have had a dozen men stopping to help her.

Pointing to his house, Jack said, "I can offer you a glass of warm soda."

"Warm soda?" she asked looking over at the house. It was an older home that needed a bit of work, but it looked like it was well maintained. The grass was mowed.

"My electricity is out," Jack said.

Abby looked over at him and said, "I forgot about that. Warm soda sounds fine to me."

He said, "We can sit on the front porch."

"Sounds good to me," she said following him up the drive to his house. She didn't exactly want to go into the house of a stranger.

Gesturing to one of the folding chairs on the front porch, he said, "Have a seat. I'll be back out in a minute."

"Take your time," Abby said.

While Jack was in the house, Abby looked around the neighborhood. It was an older neighborhood filled with an aging population. Only one house had a couple of kid's toys visible from where she sat. All in all, it was pretty quiet in stark contrast to the apartment complex where she lived.

Jack came out a minute later and handed her a glass with soda. He said, "Here you go. I wish I could offer you more."

"That's alright. I understand," Abby said taking the glass from him. If he was at her house she would only be able to offer him a glass of orange juice.

Jack took a seat with a sigh wondering how much longer he'd be able to keep the house. He looked around the neighborhood and said, "This is my castle. What do you think?"

"It looks nice and quiet," she said.

"Most of the neighbors are retired. About the only action around here is the occasional ambulance," Jack said shrugging his shoulders.

Abby laughed and said, "We don't get many ambulances where I live. Usually it is a police car that shows up over some domestic dispute. It seems that there are a lot more of those lately."

Jack took a sip of his soda thinking that there weren't many things worse than warm soda. An awkward silence descended upon the pair. He said, "I'll walk you back to your car when you're ready to go."

"Thanks," Abby said.

Jack said, "Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't offered to help."

"It was nothing. All I had to do was steer the truck. You had to push it," Abby said. She was silent for a moment while the beginning of an idea slowly formed in her mind. She said, "You know; that kid was right."

"About what?" Jack asked.

"Many hands make light work," Abby answered.

Jack still wasn't following her line of thought and asked, "What do you mean?"

Abby didn't answer right away. She was still trying to put all of the pieces of an idea together. After an uncomfortable silence, she said, "Everyone that I know is having money problems."

"Same here," Jack said.

"I just realized that we are all facing our problems alone. Things might go a little better if we were helping each other rather than going at it alone," Abby said.

"What are you suggesting?" Jack asked.

Looking over at Jack, Abby said, "I'm not suggesting anything. I was just thinking that it was kind of stupid for me and all of my friends to be struggling to get by when we could be helping each other. I think that we could all be living a little better."

"I considered renting out a room, but I was worried about the kind of person that might move in," Jack said. He realized now that he should have done that. If he had, maybe he wouldn't be faced with losing the house. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess it is a little late for that. Who would want to rent a room in a house without electricity?"

Abby shook her head and said, "I'm not talking about renting out a room. I'm talking about people pooling their resources to make life a little easier for everyone."

"I guess I've never thought about that, but I don't think I could do it. I'm kind of used to my independence," Jack said. He wasn't sure that he trusted anyone enough to share what he had with them.

Abby took a sip of her drink. She said, "I know what you mean."

Jack was silent for a minute thinking about what she had said. Finally, he said, "I guess you're thinking of that phrase ... oh what was it ... Divided we fall, united we stand."

"I think it was — United we stand, divided we fall," Abby said although she didn't feel very sure about that. Regardless of the proper wording, it captured the essence of the idea that was floating around in her head.

"That's right," Jack said.

Abby said, "Well, it is just an idea and only half-baked at that."

"It is not a bad idea. Most of my friends are married. I doubt they'd want a single guy hanging around their wife," Jack said.

"That's true," Abby said in agreement. She looked around and realized that it was starting to get dark. She said, "I'm going to have to go soon."

"It is getting late," Jack said agreeably. He rose from his chair and said, "I'll walk you to your car."

"Thanks," Abby said. She trudged up the street wondering if she was just another loser in the game of life. She was headed towards a life of prostitution or being homeless. She didn't see too many choices ahead of her. She looked over at Jack and thought that his only future involved being homeless.



-------

Chapter 2


Abby drove around trying to remember the directions to the house. The eviction notice had showed up on her door and she had until the end of the month to find a place to live. The manager wanted her out regardless of whether or not she managed to come up with the rent money. He claimed that he had a waiting list of people who would pay the rent on time. The few single friends that she had couldn't offer much help beyond a couch in their living room. She was desperate and didn't know what else to try.

She wasn't having much luck finding the house, but did spot him mowing a lawn. She pulled her little Nova over to the curb and honked the horn. When he looked over in her direction, she waved and got out of the car. He pushed the lawn mower to the edge of the lawn and then killed the engine. Once it was quiet enough to be heard, she said, "Hello."

"Hello," Jack replied trying to remember her name. To tell the truth, he was more than a little surprised to see her there.

Knowing that this wasn't his house, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm mowing a couple of lawns to get some cash. There are a lot of widows in this neighborhood and I can usually talk them into paying me twenty bucks to mow their lawn," Jack answered. He would get six or seven houses on a weekend. It would be enough money for gasoline, some food, and maybe to pay a bill or two. It wouldn't pay for the electricity bill which was up around three hundred dollars.

"Ah," Abby said thinking that men had it a lot easier than women sometimes. At least he wasn't lazy. It didn't dawn on her that she could probably do the same thing if she owned a lawnmower.

"I've got this one to finish and one more up the street to do before I'm done for the day," Jack said. He shifted his shoulders trying to ease some of the tension out of them.

"Do you mind if I wait around for you to finish?" Abby asked licking her lips nervously.

"That's fine with me, but it'll take an hour or more for me to finish. You might be more comfortable waiting for me at the house," Jack said.

Embarrassed, she said, "I don't remember where your house is."

"It is on the next street over. My truck is parked in the driveway," Jack said gesturing in the direction of his house. He wished that he could remember her name.

"Okay, I'll see you over there," Abby said.

Jack watched her return to her car and drive off. He stood there for a minute saying, "Annie? No, that's not it. Gabby? That's not it. I wish I could remember her name."

Abby found the house without much difficulty. Parking her car behind the truck, she got out and looked around the neighborhood. It was very quiet there compared to her apartment complex. She sat on the porch. Not for the first time she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She didn't even know Jack. For all she knew, he could be a serial killer or a rapist.

The elderly woman from next door walked over and said, "He's not home."

"I know. He's mowing a lawn on the next street over," Abby replied finding it a little amusing that the neighbors kept track of what he was doing.

"I saw you over here the other night. Are you his girlfriend?" the elderly woman asked climbing the few steps to reach the porch.

Abby was pretty sure that in twenty minutes this old woman would know everything there was to know about her. She said, "No. I understood that he might have a room to rent."

"Oh," the woman said with a frown. She didn't know what she thought about a woman renting a room from a single man. She said, "He's a nice enough young man. He has had it kind of tough since the economy took a downturn."

"Everyone has had it tough. It seems to me like the prices have gone up and the wages have gone down," Abby said.

The elderly woman nodded her head and said, "My investments have lost half of their value over the past year. I don't know if I'm going to be able to survive on what I have left. Social security doesn't cover the bills. My electricity bill ate up half of my social security check last month."

"Tell me about it," Abby said.

The elderly woman said, "They keep talking about electric cars. That just doesn't make sense to me. Electricity is more expensive than gasoline."

"The way that gasoline is going up, that might not be true for much longer," Abby said. She had put fifty dollars worth of gasoline in her little car that morning. Gasoline prices had dropped right after the election, but climbed right back up with the coming of summer.

The elderly woman took a seat in one of chairs on the porch and said, "I remember when gasoline was fifteen cents a gallon. For two dollars we could drive our car around all week. Of course, at that time a dollar was worth a lot more than it is today."

"Fifteen cents a gallon. I can't even imagine that," Abby said wondering what it had been like in those days.

"I'm Claire."

"I'm Abby."

Settling into her chair as if she was there to stay for awhile, Claire said, "Things were a lot different in those days. My grandmother used to live with my parents when I was growing up. She didn't have to worry about the stock market and greedy bastards stealing her retirement money. My mom and dad made sure that she had food to eat, a roof over her head, and they paid her medical bills."

"People looked out for each other in those days," Abby said.

Feeling alone and helpless before the onslaught of events that she was powerless to control, Claire said, "This garbage happening up on Wall Street is killing me. I'm afraid that one day I'll be homeless. I think I'd kill myself before I would let myself be homeless at my age. One cold night out on the streets and I'd be dead anyway."

"I heard about some jerk that headed a large company getting a fifty million dollar bonus even though the company went bankrupt. It just isn't right," Abby said.

"In my grandfather's day, they would have called a man like that a thief and hung him from the nearest tree," Claire said.

"We're too civilized for that now," Abby said shaking her head.

Claire said, "What is happening today isn't civilized; it is immoral. Taking that money is just plain criminal."

"You're right," Abby said.

Claire asked, "What do you do for a living?"

"I work in a nursing home," Abby answered thinking that mentioning her career as a massage therapist wouldn't go over too well with the elderly woman.

"Those are depressing places. I hope to God I don't end up in one of those," Claire said pleased to hear that the young woman was in a respectable profession.

"Same here," Abby said. After working there for a few weeks, she really never wanted to end up in nursing home. The smell of the place nearly killed her every morning when she showed up to work.

Claire asked, "Do you like your job?"

"Not really. Like you said, it is a depressing place. There's nothing glamorous about my job. About the only positive thing I can say about it is that I take care of people who can't take care of themselves," Abby said. The nursing home was a warehouse filled with people who were waiting to die. It would be even more depressing if they weren't drugged to the gills.

"I guess I can understand that," Claire said.

Abby said, "I'm curious about Jack. What can you tell me about him?"

Claire cocked her head and studied Abby for a few seconds. Finally, she said, "There was a time when a gentleman would mow the lawn of a widow for the simple reason that it was the polite thing for a neighbor to do. Of course, the widow woman would offer a dollar or two as a token of her appreciation."

"Okay," Abby said not quite following how that answered her question.

"It is not that way now. Nobody does anything for anybody without asking for money. Jack charges twenty dollars to mow a lawn and he only mows the lawns of the widows in the area. Now that seems a little high, but it is nothing compared to what a service would charge. Most of the services in this area charge five times that much," Claire said. She didn't want to mention that the town now wrote tickets out to homeowners who let their yards get out of control. It was just another way the town was raising money to cover expenses. Paying Jack twenty dollars to mow the lawn was a lot cheaper than the hundred dollar fine they would get.

"Oh," Abby said. She hadn't thought about how much Jack was charging. Now that Claire had brought it up, she realized that he was giving them quite a break.

"He's not an old fashioned gentleman, but he is about the closest to being one of any young man that I know about," Claire said. She wasn't really saying anything particularly bad about Jack; she was commenting on the nature of modern times.

Abby studied Claire for a minute and asked, "What else does he do?"

Claire smiled and said, "He does go around the neighborhood when the weather's bad to make sure that everyone is alright. There was one time when we had a pretty good snow and I was out of bread. He brought a quarter of a loaf of bread over before shoveling my drive."

"So you're telling me that he's a nice guy," Abby said.

"You never know with people. If you want to know if he'll show up in your room one night demanding that you have sex with him, I can't say. Folks are different in private then when they are in public. What I can say is that he is well mannered for these times and that he is polite in public," Claire said.

Abby felt that there was something that Claire wasn't telling her, but she didn't know if it was something nice or not. She said, "That's true. You never know about people."

Claire looked around the porch and said, "He was really fixing up this place when he had a steadier job. You could tell that he took a great deal of pride in the house. He still does, but money is tight for him at the moment. They turned off his electricity a month ago because he couldn't pay it."

"He told me about that. You sound like you don't approve," Abby said.

"A man is supposed to be able to pay his bills," Claire said a little more sharply than she had intended. The values of fifty years ago didn't seem to apply to the world of today. Back then a man who worked was assured of keeping his job. That wasn't true today.

"That's a whole lot easier said than done today," Abby said.

Claire looked a little embarrassed and said, "This year was the first time in my life that I ever had difficulty paying my bills. The property taxes on my house doubled, the electricity went through the roof, and then all of my investments went down the tubes. I tell you, I was absolutely mortified when I started getting past due notices in the mail on half of my bills. I might not exactly approve of a man having financial difficulties like that, but I understand a whole lot better now how that can happen."

Abby said, "My rent went up three hundred dollars a month, the electricity nearly doubled, and the cost of getting to and from work went up by thirty percent. I was just barely getting by before that happened, but now..."

"Life is hard for a woman living alone," Claire said realizing that Abby had just explained why she would consider moving in with Jack. Women had done worse things to survive bad times.

Abby said, "I think that life is hard period."

"Do your parents help you out?" Claire asked.

Shaking her head, Abby said, "They are divorced. Mom is living with some guy and my Dad is off in another part of the country raising a second family. I'm pretty much on my own."

"That's a shame," Claire said shaking her head. She studied the younger woman for a minute and then asked, "What will your boyfriend think of you moving in with some guy?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," Abby said thinking that Claire was doing a marvelous job of unearthing everything there was to know about her. Knowing what was going to get asked next, she smiled and added, "I've never been married."

"What was your last boyfriend like?"

Abby said, "He was a decent guy, but we just didn't click. I don't know why not, but there were times we'd look at each other wondering why we were together. When I couldn't afford to go to the same places he wanted to go to, things just kind of dropped off to nothing."

"That's a shame," Claire said. She thought about what Abby had said and then asked, "He expected you to pay your own way?"

"Sometimes. Some things are just too expensive for one person to pay for today. Tickets to a football game run a hundred dollars a person," Abby said shrugging her shoulders.

Claire shook her head and said, "Things sure are different from when I was a young girl. If a man ever expected me to pay my way, he was history. We just did less expensive things when we got together if he didn't have money."

"I guess times are different," Abby said. She wondered if she hadn't been a sap her whole life.

"I blame woman's lib. It didn't accomplish much except make it more difficult for men and women to get along. Before, there were rules that mattered. A man had certain duties and obligations to a woman. A man was expected to provide for a family so he needed to earn more than a single woman. A woman had certain behaviors that were expected of her. Once she got married, her duty was to the house and family," Claire said.

"What if you didn't want to live like that?" Abby said.

Claire said, "It wasn't a matter of wanting to live like that. There wasn't a choice. There wasn't a choice for the man or the woman. It was just how life was. Now there are no rules. A woman can't depend on a man and a man can't depend on a woman. Women's liberation only made life tougher for everyone."

"You can't mean that," Abby exclaimed.

"I was in my twenties during the 60's. I grew up with one set of values and watched them all change over a ten year period. Not everyone back then was a hippy trying to change the world. Some of us were trying to keep things how they were," Claire said.

"Why on earth would you have fought against women's liberation?"

Claire said, "Life before it was a whole lot more secure for a woman. I knew when I got married that I'd be quitting my job and creating a home. My husband would go to work every day and bring home a paycheck. I'd have kids and raise them. Being a wife and mother would be my job. It was a perfectly dignified thing to do. The fact of the matter is that I enjoyed my life living like an old fashioned woman."

"Oh," Abby said shaking her head. She couldn't imagine growing up looking forward to that kind of restricted life.

"Times are different today. People don't respect women who stay at home and raise their children. From what I can tell, women lost out on the deal," Claire said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I don't know what to say," Abby said flabbergasted. Growing up after the women's right movement, the mindset that Claire represented was always attributed to men and never women. She was finding it hard to believe that there women who thought that was the right way to live.

Claire looked down the street and said, "When I was young, a man was basically a failure if he couldn't support his family. A man would save up his money and buy a house that he could afford. He'd live within his means because there wasn't that much credit at the time. If you ran out of money at the end of the month then you just didn't eat. You saved money for a rainy day and there were always rainy days. A man would die of shame if his wife had to work. Only poor families had wives that worked.

"The wife's job was to help make the money go further. You shopped for good bargains. You made your own clothes rather than pay for off the shelf items. You canned your own foods and baked your own desserts. You never went out for dinner except for special occasions. It was a whole lot different in those days."

"You can say that again," Abby said. She didn't know how to sew clothes or can foods.

Claire said, "Today, I see families in which the husband and wife both have to work in order to make ends meet. My daughter is that way. Their kids were raised by strangers. She had them in day care, school, and after school programs. They were almost complete strangers. Of course, my daughter had no control over them. She was just the evening and weekend shift. No one has any money saved. More often than not it is because they want more than they need."

"Yeah," Abby said.

Claire said, "I can't blame the men or the women for the problems. Things are expensive today and nothing lasts. I had an iron that lasted for thirty-five years. When it finally broke, I bought a new one. It broke within four years."

"Nothing lasts today," Abby said.

Claire realized that maybe she hadn't been entirely accurate in her characterization of the past. She said, "Growing up, my parents were surrounded by a big family that all helped each other. There were grandparents, parents, cousins, brothers, and sisters all within yelling distance. That was a real support network. If something bad happened, you could get a hundred people together within a day to help out.

"For my husband and me, we were the nuclear family. All our brothers and sisters moved away and they just weren't there for us. There were just the two of us and the kids. I was a stay at home mom. When we needed something fixed, we had to hire someone to do it. My parents never paid for a babysitter. We did, but it was just for the very rare evening.

"My daughter had a different kind of family. I think they call it a latch key family. Mom and Dad worked while the kids were basically raised by strangers. I guess it was functional for the time. At least it wasn't too much less functional than every other family out there."

"I was a latch key kid until my parents divorced. I guess you could say that I'm a broken home kid," Abby said.

"That's too common today," Claire said. She was glad that she had grown up when she did. She didn't think she would like being a young woman in the modern world.

Abby said, "Most of my friends grew up in single parent families."

Claire was silent for a minute thinking about how each generation had become more and more isolated. She said, "It makes you wonder what is going to happen with the next batch of kids."

"People aren't having kids," Abby said. Not one of her friends had a child yet and most weren't planning on having one any time soon.

Claire said, "That's a shame."

Shrugging her shoulders, Abby said, "A different strategy is needed to get by in the modern world. I don't know what it is. To tell the truth, I don't think anyone has found a strategy that works. I think we need to try something different."

Interested, Claire asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Unsure how the elderly woman would react, Abby said, "You're going to think that I'm trying to recreate a sixties movement."

"What?" Claire asked.

Abby said, "Communes."

"I never thought much of communes. All of that free love hogwash and live off the land crud just didn't make sense to me," Claire said dismissively.

"I wasn't thinking of that kind of commune," Abby said, "I was thinking along more economic lines."

"Economic?" Claire asked with a raised eyebrow.

Well, not just economic," Abby said faltering. She frowned trying to put her idea into words, but wasn't very successful. She said, "I haven't worked it out yet, but it seems to me that any size group can live cheaper when together than when they apart."

"That's true to a degree, but there is more to it than money when you have to share things," Claire said. People tended to be greedy and lazy when there were others to do the work for them. She felt that was very much a constant of human nature regardless of the times.

"Desperation can be a powerful inducement to cooperate. Sometimes you have no choice except to trust someone," Abby said.

Claire said, "Isn't that the truth."

Jack strode up the driveway pushing the lawnmower in front of him. A gas can was hanging from the handle by a clothes hanger. The weak wire had been bent into loop with the hanger portion twisted around part of the loop to hold it together. He waved to the two women on the porch with one hand while taking the mower to the garage.

When he had disappeared from view, Claire said, "One thing that I can say about him is that he is a hard worker."

"That's good," Abby said. She could hear the sounds of him washing the lawnmower. She said, "He takes care of what he has."

"He tries," Claire said shaking her head.

"What's the matter?" Abby asked upon hearing the tepid response.

Claire said, "He's maintaining, but not building something. That's a losing battle."

"Oh," Abby said thinking that one little insight explained a lot of her life and the lives of her friends. They were all just trying to maintain what they had and they were all losing it.

Jack came around the corner and said, "Hello, ladies."

"Hi, Jack. I was just over here keeping Abby company," Claire said.

A wave of relief washed over Jack upon hearing his visitor's name. He smiled and said, "I'm sorry I took so long. Mrs. Johns asked me to fix her back porch for her."

"Why does she want to fix it?" Claire asked. She didn't think that Mrs. Johns had enough money to spend fixing up things unless it was in absolutely necessary.

Jack made an offhand gesture and said, "She can't afford the property taxes anymore. She's hoping that she can sell the house and move into a retirement home, but the porch is pretty run down. The screens have holes in them, the wood flooring is rotten in places, and the door doesn't close all of the way."

"That sounds like a lot of work. How much are you going to charge her?" Claire asked.

Jack frowned and looked down at the ground. He answered, "I told her I'd charge for materials and five dollars an hour. She wasn't too happy when she heard how much the materials would probably cost."

"That's a shame. You might consider charging a little more for your time," Claire said. She gave Abby a significant look.

Jack said, "I can't do that. She's a widow living on a fixed income. You don't do that to a widow."

"That's not a very business-like position to take. You've got bills to pay," Claire said.

They had talked about that matter in the past. He said, "I can't pay bills with money that leaves a little old lady having to choose between food and medicine."

"I'm sorry to hear that she's moving," Claire said. They had been in that neighborhood ever since their children had gone to school together. That was forty years of time spent knowing someone. They might not be the best of friends, but there had been memories built up over the years. She was going to miss her.

"She's kind of depressed about the decision to move and how much it is costing to fix up her house for sale. She could probably use some company," Jack said.

"I'll go over and talk to her," Claire said. She wondered if he would have come over to the house to tell her if she hadn't been visiting.

"She would appreciate it," Jack said knowing that he would be spending a lot of time fixing the patio that could have been used to earn more money.

"There's nothing like giving up a house to make you sad. She probably shouldn't be alone," Claire said.

"Well, I did happen to mention something to Flo. She headed over there a few minutes ago," Jack said. Flo's house was up for sale so he felt that she probably understood what Mrs. Johns was feeling better than Claire.

Claire climbed out of the chair and said, "It has been nice talking to you, Abby. Just don't move too fast on your idea. I think that you need to think about it some more."

"Yes, ma'am. You are probably right," Abby said with a tired frown. She didn't have the luxury of time to think about it more.

Once Claire had left the porch, Jack sat down on the recently vacated chair. He stretched and said, "Seven hours of pushing that lawnmower. I almost ran over a little bunny, but it ran out of the way. I didn't see it until it was almost too late. I'm glad it saw me. I made a hundred and twenty dollars."

"What will you do with all that money?" Abbey asked.

"I'll buy a water pump with what I made yesterday and today. I'll get the truck working and pick up the supplies with Mrs. Johns. I should have enough left for a couple of meals until I get done with the real work," Jack answered.

"You're losing money doing that job," Abbey said.

Shaking his head, Jack knew that he wasn't losing money. If there had been another job for him to do he would have done it. While fixing the porch he would be earning something rather than just sitting around not making money. He said, "I'm not going to ruin someone's life just because I can."

Abby nodded her head in agreement. She said, "I can understand that."

"So many people are just barely getting by. I'm young and I'll recover. Someone who is seventy or eighty just doesn't have time to recover," Jack said. He rubbed his shoulders trying to ease some of the tension out of them.

"Tense?" Abby asked noticing that he was rubbing his shoulders quite frequently.

"Yes, I am," Jack said.

Deciding that Jack was a pretty decent fellow, Abby decided to take a chance on telling him her idea. Hoping she wasn't making a mistake, she said, "I'll give you a massage if you'll listen to what I have to say."



-------

Chapter 3


With his clothes folded neatly on a chair, Jack sat on the floor of his living room with a sheet covering his body. There was a blanket under him softening the hardness of the floor. Uncomfortable at being nearly naked despite the fact that he was still wearing his underwear, he said, "Okay. I'm ready."

Abby came out of the kitchen and held up her hands. In one hand she had a bottle of vegetable oil and in the other she had a box of cornstarch. Thinking that this had to be the only house in America without a bottle of baby oil or baby powder in it, she said, "You can have cornstarch or vegetable oil."

"Which one is cheaper?" Jack asked thinking that this was just going to cost him more money.

"We'll use the cornstarch," Abby said. She didn't imagine that he used it that frequently and wouldn't miss it.

"Okay. What am I supposed to do?" Jack asked.

This wasn't the best way to give a massage, but Abby knew they would have to make do with what they had. She said, "Lie down on your back. I'll massage the rest of your body before attacking the back. That will give your back a chance to relax a little and I won't have to hurt you to break loose those knots of tension."

"Ah," Jack said. He leaned back and pulled the sheet up to his chin thinking that this was pretty much a waste of time. He really needed to get to the auto parts store and get a new water pump.

Abby rubbed her hands together to warm them and then placed her finger tips on his forehead. With light even strokes, she ran her fingers across his forehead. She paused to rub the temples. While she worked, she said, "I've been thinking about that United We Stand, Divided We Fall comment."

"Oh," Jack said wondering if that was why she was there.

"Just relax and listen. You don't have to comment," Abby said. She ran her fingers along his eyebrows. She said, "Our society has fragmented into single person families. Some reports put the numbers at close to fifty percent of all adults live alone. That's a hair under a hundred million."

Jack would have looked up at her in surprise on hearing that number, but she was massaging around his eyes. He grunted to let her know that he was following what she was saying.

"I have no clue how well they are doing financially, but I doubt it is all that great," Abby said. She went to work on the muscles of his cheeks. She said, "Claire is having a hard time paying her bills on time. From what you've said, the woman you're helping out with her porch is barely getting by. Life is tough for a single person."

Lying there practically naked and covered by a sheet, Jack was wondering if all of this talk about being single was some sort of a lead in to a marriage proposal. He was going to say something, but she was doing things to the back of his neck that felt really great.

"It is all about money. It is getting tougher to earn enough money to support yourself. There's no such thing as company loyalty to a good worker. They layoff a person making a good wage and hire one back for less money. It seems to me that they reduce your benefits every chance they get. There's no such thing as a pension anymore. You have to take the money that you earn and put it into a 401K account so that you'll be able to retire one day. They're not going to give you any health benefits when you do retire so the first time you get sick you'll spend every dime you've saved up," Abby said.

Jack had a long way to go before he was ready to retire and hadn't given it that much thought. She was really working over some of the muscles of his shoulders and it kind of hurt. He let out a grunt. She said, "Sorry. You're really tight in this area."

"Yeah," Jack said. She wasn't telling him something that he didn't already know.

"Things aren't made to last. I've bought stuff that didn't work after a week. It seems to me that there is a lot of junk on the market. You take it back and they give you a replacement that breaks just as quickly. If you do that too many times, they put your name on a list that won't let you return merchandise anymore.

"Somehow or another, we need the stuff to get by. You can't trust a brand name anymore. You spend a little extra to buy the name brand stuff and it falls apart just as fast as the junk brand. I spend weeks researching stuff before I buy anything now and I'm still not sure that I'm getting a good product," Abby said.

"Most of the time, I'm going after commercial quality stuff so I know that it will last. Of course, that costs a fortune and I can't afford to do that now. I can't afford to do anything now. I tell you, this sucks big time," Abby said feeling like she was doing a lousy job of explaining her idea.

"I was talking to Claire about families. Her parents grew up surrounded by family with lots of brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, and uncles that all chipped in when they had a problem. She and her husband were an atomic family without that kind of support, but she was a stay at home mom. Her daughter married a guy and they had to raise the kids with both of them working. My parents divorced so I didn't even have two parents growing up," Abby said with a sigh.

She started working on his right shoulder. She said, "We just keep getting more and more isolated as time goes by. I'm not talking about loneliness or anything like that. An isolated person is an easy victim. You can't watch every direction at once. You're watching your money and things break. You spend time fixing them and you aren't out earning any money. You end up doing everything and you have no time left. You don't know how to do everything and you don't have the time to do some things, so you hire someone. Then you're out money and time."

"After a while, you feel like you're a caribou surrounded by wolves. No matter which way you turn, someone is biting your back. You're busy working and trying to save money. Someone comes along and raises the taxes while you're not watching. There goes that money you're trying to save. It just gets worse and worse. You've got no control over how much things cost," Abby said.

Jack was starting to feel pretty depressed. Actually, he was feeling even more depressed than normal. Everything she was saying described his life and he had no idea what he could do to fix things. He said, "It is impossible to budget money when the prices of things change all of the time."

Abby said, "I know that two can't live as cheap as one, but I'm pretty convinced that two together can live cheaper than two apart. Think about you and Claire. You both live in houses that have more bedrooms than you have people. You're both paying property taxes. If you were living in the same house, you'd only be paying those taxes on one house. You're both trying to heat and cool your houses. If you were living in the same house, you'd only be paying the costs to heat one house. If you were to move in with Claire and shared the costs, you would both have more money."

"You could take turns cooking, washing the dishes, and running errands. You'd end up with having to do half of the stuff you currently do. Only one lawn would need to get mowed for you both to have a nice yard. You'd only have to buy half the stuff that you currently buy living by yourself," Abby said.

Jack said, "I don't want to rent a room from Claire."

"I don't want to rent a room from anyone either and I don't want a roommate. That's still two separate economic entities living together. Renting doesn't result in ownership for the renter and the owner gets all of the benefits. It is an unfair arrangement and politically unfair. The owner can always say that this is my house and you live by my rules. That may solve some of the problems, but it doesn't solve the real problem. You're alone and having to watch out for yourself," Abby said.

"What are you saying?" Jack asked after thinking about what she had said for a few minutes.

Abby answered, "I'm saying that you need a real economic and social partnership to get by in today's world. Everyone involved has to own a share of the pie. Everyone has to do their bit to make things work. Everyone has to support each other to keep the wolves at bay."

"Sounds like a utopia," Jack said with a derisive snort.

Abby had been afraid that Jack would discount her idea like that. Everyone she talked to had pointed out all of the problems and dismissed the idea without giving it much thought. Angry, she asked, "And is your life all that perfect right now?"

"No," Jack admitted.

"That's right. Your life sucks just as much as mine does. You're running around trying to pick up the pieces all by yourself. The worse times get, the more you'll lose. By the time that things get better, you're going to have nothing. You'll lose this house; you won't have a truck. You'll have to start all over again," Abby said.

Shaking his head, Jack said, "I'm not going to let it get that bad. I'm looking for a better job and I'll be making more money soon."

"Dream on, buddy," Abby said scornfully.

Jack was starting to get angry. He said, "Look I don't need you dumping on me. I've already got enough problems in my life."

Abby asked, "What are you doing about them? You had a good job. What happened? The job deserted you; you didn't desert the job. You were working six days a week and now you're working three. Do you think your next job is going to be any better? You'll sell cars at a dealership or refrigerators at the mall. Sales go down and you'll be out of a job again. It won't be your fault, but you'll be the one suffering."

"I'm doing the best that I can," Jack said defensively.

"And you're doing it alone," Abby said. She moved down to drape the sheet around his leg so that she could work on his leg. When he didn't reply, she said, "That's the real problem. You're doing everything alone. You don't have anyone helping you."

Jack was about to retort that he didn't want anyone to help him, but it wasn't true. He was lying on the floor of his darkened house because he couldn't pay the electricity bill. He was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because he couldn't keep his food cool. He was walking because his truck didn't work. He had a thousand things to do and not enough time to do half of them.

His truck was sitting in the driveway because the water pump was bad. After mowing lawns all morning, he just barely had the money now to buy the parts. He still had to walk to the parts store to get the part and then walk back. He'd spend the rest of the day fixing the truck and wouldn't get anything else done. Even a ride to and from the parts store would save him an hour.

Jack said, "Maybe you're right."

"I am right," Abby said.

"So what are you suggesting?" Jack asked. He jerked his leg in response to the sudden application of cornstarch on it. If felt surprisingly cool against his skin.

Abby answered, "I was thinking of something like a commune."

Jack laughed and said, "That's stupid."

"No it isn't," Abby replied angrily. She said, "You didn't even listen to my idea."

"A commune? I'm not some kind of hippy from the sixties," Jack said.

"Those fucking bleeding ponytails took a good idea and screwed it up. Did you know that the idea of a commune goes back eight hundred years? No. Everyone thinks it was invented in the sixties. Guess what? They've been successful in the past and they can be successful in the present. You just have to figure out how to make the idea work today," Abby said.

"You're kidding," Jack said looking over at Abby.

"Ever hear of an Amana oven? Amana started out as a commune more than a hundred years ago," Abby said. She couldn't remember the exact dates, but did remember that it was just after the civil war.

"They were swingers?" Jack asked surprised.

"No. They were a religious group," Abby answered shaking her head in disgust.

"I'm not starting a new religion," Jack said.

"I'm not talking about a religion," Abby said.

Frustrated, Jack asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about a group of people getting together to share their resources for the betterment of everyone. I'm talking about sharing the costs of food, shelter, transportation, entertainment, equipment, and everything," Abby said.

"Ouch," Jack said. She worked over a knot in his calf that nearly had him in tears.

"You've got a lot of tension in your body. It is amazing you could move," Abby said feeling the hardened mass of muscle in his leg.

Jack said, "Just take it easy."

"You'll feel a thousand times better when I'm done," Abby said. She wondered if his leg was going to get a cramp in it. Sometimes that happened when there was too much tension in the muscles. One muscle would relax taking the pressure off another muscle and it would suddenly cramp.

"We'll see," Jack said doubtfully.

Getting back to her real reason for being there, Abby said, "You said that you had to take a trip to the auto parts store. How are you going to get there?"

"I'll walk," Jack answered.

Abby said, "In the commune that I'm talking about, someone would give you a ride. Who is going to help you fix the car?"

"No one. It is a job that only requires one person," Jack said.

Abby said, "Who will be fixing dinner while you're fixing the car?"

"No one," Jack answered thinking that he was going to giving that answer a lot. He added, "I'll fix it when I'm done."

"In the commune that I'm talking about, someone would be fixing dinner so that it would be ready for you when you're done with the car," Abby said.

"That wouldn't be so bad," Jack said grudgingly. He jumped suddenly and shouted, "Charlie horse!"

Abby grabbed his calf and pressed on the muscle. She said, "You have a good body, but it is almost twisted out of shape from all of the tension in it."

"That hurts," Jack said sitting up. He had been having a lot of muscle cramps the past few weeks. It seemed like every night he woke up with a leg cramp or a back spasm.

"Relax," Abby said working over the muscle. She felt it loosen and said, "There. Isn't that better?"

Jack lay back down and said, "I'm going to be sore when you're done with me."

"You'll feel a whole lot better," Abby said. She couldn't believe that he had that much tension in his body. Her massage instructor would have yelled at her for causing so much pain; but his body was in very sad shape. She hadn't even been working near the muscle that had cramped up on him. When he had settled down, she asked, "Who is going to help you with that porch?"

"No one," Jack said. He could feel one of his toes cramping. She wasn't even working anywhere near his toes but he was ready to blame her for the pain.

Seeing his toes curl, Abby moved down and worked on another set of muscles before they cramped up on him. His toes started to uncurl. Shaking her head, she said, "You're really in sad shape."

"It is not that bad," Jack said defensively. He wasn't about to admit that he woke up every morning stiff and sore. It took him a long time to get moving first thing in the morning. He chalked it up to getting older and dreaded what life was going to be like forty years from now.

"You're carrying the weight of the whole world on your shoulders and there is no one around to help you," Abby said.

"You're not doing so great yourself," Jack said feeling like she was belittling him.

"I know that. My life is just as bad as yours," Abby said. She ran her hands up his leg and felt another muscle that was getting tight. She dug her thumbs in to bust up the tension that was developing.

"So stop telling me what I'm doing wrong," Jack said.

"I'm not telling you what you're doing wrong; I'm trying to tell you how to make your life easier," Abby said switching over to the other leg.

Jack asked, "What makes your advice worth listening to?"

"Absolutely nothing. If you haven't figured it out, I'm trying to fix up my life too. In two weeks I'm going to be living out of my car. Unlike you, I won't have a backyard grill to cook my dinner over," Abby said.

Jack didn't have much to say about that. With all of her comments about what he was doing wrong, he'd forgotten that her life was in pretty bad shape too. He just grunted.

Taking his grunt as a sign to continue, Abby thought about what she was trying to propose. The problem was that she hadn't worked out all of the details in her mind yet. She said, "I was hoping that we could help each other."

"You don't know me," Jack said meaning that he didn't know her.

"I know," Abby said with a sigh. She found a muscle that was hard as a rock and attacked it with her thumbs. She said, "I've talked with everyone I know and none of them were interested in the idea. I didn't know where else to turn."

"I can imagine," Jack said. He figured that everyone else thought she was a nutcase as well.

Abby grunted and said, "If your legs are this bad, I can't imagine what your back is going to be like."

"I didn't ask you to do this," Jack said. One of his leg muscles went into spasms. He wondered what the big deal was about massages if they felt like this.

"You were walking around like you were a hundred years old. It is not natural for someone your age to move like that," Abby said feeling like her efforts to help him were not being appreciated. She worked the muscle that had gone into spasms with her thumbs. She said, "I've only had one other customer who went into spasms like this."

"It hurts," Jack said.

Abby said, "I'll tell you one thing."

"What?"

Abby said, "That kind of tension will kill you years before your time. You've got to learn how to relax."

"I'll relax when I have the time," Jack said with a frown.

"When will you have time?" Abby asked feeling the muscle relax.

"Soon," Jack answered.

Abby had worked her way down to his feet. While she massaged the sole of his foot, she asked, "When? After you finish fixing your truck? After you fix the patio? After you mow another dozen lawns? After you get home from work, finish cooking dinner, washing dishes, and cleaning the house? When will you have the time to relax?"

"After I'm dead," Jack answered flatly.

Massaging someone on the floor was very hard on the back and legs. She wished that she had brought her massage table, but she hadn't. Finishing his leg, she draped the sheet over it and moved to work on his arm. She said, "You'll be dead soon at this rate."

"Well, I can't do everything myself," Jack said.

Abby worked over his shoulder and said, "That's my point."

"So what are you suggesting that I do?" Jack asked after a minute.

"I'm suggesting that you start a commune," Abby answered feeling like the conversation was going in circles.

"Back to that," Jack said rolling his eyes.

Abby didn't respond right away. She was busy trying to figure out a straight-forward way to put it so that he would get the idea. She massaged his arms finding that the tension had been reduced somewhat.

"The idea isn't all that complicated. You work and make money. I work and make money. We pool our money together and pay the bills for one household rather than two. When you need some help, I help you. When I need some help, you help me. Maybe we might even be able to save some money while we are at it," Abby said.

"Sounds like a marriage," Jack said.

"The legal basis of marriage is economic," Abby said.

Jack didn't reply right away. He wasn't sure that he liked all of the implications of what she was saying. Finally, he said, "It is like a marriage without any of the benefits."

"It is a partnership with all of the benefits of being partners," Abby said.

"So we'd be living together without any of the benefits," Jack said.

"What do you mean?" Abby asked.

"I'm assuming that there won't be any sex," Jack said bluntly.

"That's right," Abby said thinking she should have known that would come up in the conversation. She finished her reply about the same time she finished massaging his arm. She said, "Roll over onto your stomach."

Jack rolled over and stretched out thinking that she would now tackle his back. Much to his surprise, she immediately went to work on his arm again starting with the muscles of his shoulder. He said, "I don't think I can live with a woman under those conditions."

Abby asked, "Could you rent a room to a woman without requiring her to have sex with you?"

"Yes," Jack answered knowing that as soon as the words were out of his mouth that she was going to give him grief about that answer.

Abby was surprised by his answer. She asked, "What is the difference?"

"The difference is that if I'm sharing everything with someone else, it'll be a much more intimate relationship than if I'm just renting out some space to someone. If they piss me off, then I can just toss them out. If I'm sharing everything with someone, I've got no choice except to put up with them," Jack answered feeling pleased that he had been able to come up with that answer. He hoped that she would buy it.

"I guess I can understand that," Abby said. Now that he had said it, she realized what Claire had been saying when she had advised her to think about it some more. There was more to it than just money. She said, "I guess it was just a bad idea."

"Yes," Jack said.

She worked on the shoulder muscles for a bit more before moving down his arm. Even though she had already worked over that arm earlier, the tension had returned. She said, "Normally a client is a limp noodle by now, but you're still tense."

Jack relaxed thinking about what she had suggested. In two weeks he had his insurance due along with a mortgage payment. If things continued as they had, he knew that he wouldn't have enough money coming in his next paycheck to cover them both. He didn't know what he was going to do, but hoped something would happen in time to help.

Abby finished with his arm and moved down to his leg. She dumped a little cornstarch on the back of his leg and started massaging it. She said, "You said that you could rent a room to a woman without expecting sex."

"That's right," Jack said.

"How much would you charge for a room?" she asked.

Jack hadn't thought about it. His mortgage payment was nine hundred dollars. His electricity, when he had it, ran about a hundred and fifty dollars a month. He figured that getting one room of three rooms would be worth paying a third of the bills. He answered, "Three hundred and fifty dollars."

"That's not too bad," Abby said. She was paying close to nine hundred for a one bedroom apartment. Of course, she was two months behind on her rent.

"I guess," Jack said. He hadn't really thought about renting his room or how much he should charge. It seemed to him that three hundred and fifty dollars was a lot of money.

"Would you rent a room to me?" Abby asked.

"I don't have electricity," Jack said.

"I know," Abby said.

"I probably won't be getting electricity for another month even with you paying rent," Jack said. There were too many other bills that had to be paid first.

Abby made fifteen dollars an hour at the nursing home. After taxes that was about four hundred dollars a week. Her next paycheck would be just over eight hundred dollars. It sounded like a lot until one took into account her auto insurance, gasoline, car repairs, food, her credit card debt, her rent, the phone bill, and the hundreds of other little expenses that had crept into her life. The car had cost her five hundred dollars to repair two months ago and she had never recovered from it. She said, "Electricity is a luxury at this point."

"That's my thinking," Jack said.

"I'll take the room," Abby said. She covered the leg she was working on with the sheet and moved over to the other leg.

"I never said that I would rent it to you," Jack said.

Abby asked, "What choice do you have?"



-------

Chapter 4


Jack leaned into the engine compartment and wrestled the water pump out. He had to admit that he was moving a lot easier after the massage. It had been tough getting up off the floor when she finished working on his back muscles. He had been tempted to take a long nap, but he had too many things to do before it got too dark to do them. Abby had driven him to the auto parts store and dropped him off before leaving for her apartment.

Standing up, he examined the old water pump thinking that metal shouldn't ever wear out like that. He sighed and asked the million dollar question, "Should I rent a room to her?"

"I think she's got a screw loose with all of that talk about a commune," he said. He put the old water pump on the ground and picked up the new one. He looked over at the sun and knew that he was not going to finish fixing the truck before the sun went down. The massage had been nice, but it had eaten up the little time he had to fix the truck.

He leaned into the engine compartment while he said, "She's nice enough to look at."

He slipped the water pump into the engine with a grunt. It didn't want to cooperate. Of course, these kinds of things never went easy. He struggled getting the water pump fastened in place for five minutes. He had just finished when he realized that he had left off the gasket. He said, "I can't concentrate worth a damn tonight."

He pulled off the water pump and looked over the engine. Deciding that it would be easier to inspect the engine from underneath, he crawled under the car. He muttered, "I don't need a woman in my life that I'm not screwing taking over things."

The old gasket was still on the engine. He realized that he would need to clean up the area where the gasket was before putting on the new one. He crawled out from under the truck and went over to his toolbox looking for something to clean the old gasket off the engine. As he sorted through the tools, he said, "It is going to get dark soon and I'm going to be cooking my dinner in the dark."

Finding an old thin bladed putty knife, he crawled under the truck again. Maybe fixing the water pump was a one man job, but having a helper to fetch tools might have been nice. Having someone fix his dinner before it got too dark would have been nice, too. He scraped a knuckle and swore. While blood welled up around the scrape, he said, "That woman has put some bad ideas in my head."

The gasket peeled off nicely. He strained his neck trying to get a good view of the area to make sure that there weren't any bits and pieces left that would prevent a good seal from forming. He absently wiped the bloody knuckle against his pant leg leaving dark red stains on his pants. He said, "The damned thing about it all is that she's right. She's at home cooking a meal that I won't get to eat. She's probably cooking something better than canned stew, too."

He put the gasket sealant around the engine and slipped the new gasket on. He put some more sealant on the new water pump and put it in place. It wasn't any easier working on it from under the car than bent over the engine compartment. Working more by feel than by sight, he muttered, "This would be a whole lot easier with the right tools."

He tightened down the water pump and looked at the job that remained to be done. There was no way that he was going to get all of the rest of the parts on before it got dark. Shaking his head, he said, "I'll have to finish it in the morning."

Stretching a little, he couldn't remember his back feeling so free of tension in ages. Putting his hands on his hips, he looked down at the parts scattered on the driveway. He said, "I've got to admit that massage did make me feel better."

After a minute, he said, "Damn it, I don't need a woman running my life."

He started picking up the parts making sure not to disturb any of the bolts that he had fitted through them. He put the parts with care into the back of the truck where they wouldn't get kicked around. Once the parts were taken care of, he packed up his tool box and carried it to the garage. In the garage, he picked up a piece of two by four and poured a little gasoline on it. He carried that out to the cheap barbecue grill that he had and put it in. With the flick of his lighter, the piece of wood was lit.

He went into the house and returned a minute later with a can of stew. He pulled back the top and set it aside while the piece of wood burned down. He looked to the west and watched the sunset. It was getting dark. He watched the fire for a minute and then said, "I might as well walk to the library tonight. At least it will be a little cooler and well lit."

An hour and a half later, Jack walked into the library. It was only going to be open for another hour, but he figured that would be enough. The woman at the reference desk looked at him and shook her head. She noticed the blood stain on his pants mixed in with the smears of engine gunk. She asked, "Can I help you?"

Not wanting to tell her that he came there just to have a place with lights and air conditioning, he picked the first topic that came to mind. He asked, "Have you got any books on communes?"

Looking up at him with a surprised expression on her face, she asked, "French communes, sixties communes, modern communes, or Israeli kibbutz?"

"Uh, I guess something about modern communes?" Jack asked rather surprised by the list of topics.

"Ah, there was a good article in one of the news periodicals. Hold on a minute," she said typing on her computer. She smiled and said, "I thought I remembered correctly. There is a good article on the topic."

"Really?" Jack asked surprised by her interest in the topic. He wondered if it was a female thing.

She tapped a few keys on the keyboard and answered, "Yes. I've always thought it would be a good idea, but there's nothing like that in this area. If you know of one, let me know."

"Sure," Jack said with a frown. He took a minute to look at her as a woman. She appeared to be in her mid-forties. There wasn't a wedding ring on her finger. She wasn't exactly an attractive woman, but seemed pleasant enough. She could use to lose about twenty pounds.

"Life as a single woman is rough. My toilet doesn't flush like it should and it costs me a hundred dollars just to have a plumber come out to look at it. There are times when I would kill to have a man handy with tools around the house," the woman said.

"Oh," Jack said looking over at her.

The printer spewed a couple of sheets out and she rolled her chair over to the printer. Picking them up, she gave a little kick with her foot and rolled back to the desk. She handed the stack of papers to him and said, "Here's the article."

"Oh," Jack said looking down at the sheets of paper. He had expected her to send him into the area with books.

"That is a reasonable introduction into the topic. You can use one of the computers to search out some more background from what is in that article," the librarian said.

"Okay," Jack said eyeing the row of computers with suspicion. He didn't exactly get along with the machines.

Seeing the look Jack gave the machines, the librarian said, "We have classes on Thursday nights on how to use computers to look up information on the web."

"I don't really like computers," Jack said.

The librarian smiled at the comment that she heard only too frequently. She said, "You will."

Jack went over to one of the tables and sat down to read the article. Much to his surprise, it was an article about middle class communes. The California commune that was described in the article had people of all ages living in it. The place described wasn't what he had imagined. It sounded more like a condominium complex with a common kitchen than some sixties love nest. He frowned and re-read the article thinking that he must have been missing something in it. Shaking his head, he said, "Those Californians are all crazy."

There were some names in the article, so he decided to find out what he could about the people involved. Looking over at the computers, he sighed and said, "I'll never find what I need. I'm going to need some help with this."

It seemed to Jack that the phrase, 'I'm going to need some help, ' was getting old. He was saying it too many times a day. He rose from his chair and returned to the librarian. He said, "Ma'am, could you help me?"

"Sure," the librarian said standing up. She headed over to the row of computers knowing exactly what he needed.

Jack followed behind wondering if he was wasting his time. The librarian showed him how to use a search engine to look things up on the web. Using one finger, he typed in the name of one of the people mentioned in the article. There were a number of web pages returned and he clicked on one of the links. He discovered that the web was addicting and lost all track of time. After reading one article, he sat back and said, "This can't be real."

"It almost feels un-American," he said after reading another web page. To him it read like some sort of socialist society. He shook his head and sat back in thought.

A tap on his shoulder brought his mind back to the present. The librarian said, "It is closing time."

"Oh, sorry," Jack said.

"That's okay," she replied with a smile.

"Let me use the bathroom and then I'll head out," Jack said. The chance to use a well lit bathroom was too good to pass up. He was tired of pissing in the toilet by candlelight at night.

"No problem," the librarian said. It would take at least fifteen minutes to get everyone out of the library.

-------

Jack finished repairing his truck and had one carpet laying job early in the week. He worked on Mrs. Johns' porch in his free time getting it into pretty good shape over three days. She was appreciative of the work he had done and paid him ninety dollars for his time. He had spent every night at the library reading up on modern communes trying to figure out how it could work. He had learned that the librarian's name was Mary and she was a pretty nice lady who helped him get started every time he needed to use the computer.

Thursday night finally rolled around and Jack was at the library waiting for the class on how to use the computer to start. A young kid, maybe twenty years old, walked over to the row of computers and said, "Welcome to the Thursday night class on computers. I'm Daryl, the instructor for the class. Who is here for the class?"

Jack raised his hand and looked around. He was the only one with his hand up. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he said, "I am."

"At least I have one this week," Daryl said. He was getting paid for teaching the class whether or not anyone actually showed up. It was better when he had someone, but he didn't care one way or the other.

Going over to Jack, Daryl said, "Let's go through this a step at a time. It is really simple once you get the basics down."

"I hope so," Jack said. He appreciated having access to so much information, but he didn't like using the machine. The alphabet was arranged weirdly on the keyboard, the mouse tended to not move at times, and he never really understood the program he was using.

Daryl asked, "What topics are you interested in learning more about?"

"Communes," Jack answered.

"Interesting. I wouldn't have taken you to be a hippy," Daryl said looking over at Jack. The guy struck him as a construction worker rather than some free-love spouting hippy. Rather than long hair and a beard, Jack wore his hair short and was exhibiting the onset of male pattern baldness despite being in his mid-twenties.

"I'm not," Jack replied beginning to appreciate how Abby must have felt with that charge being leveled at her each time she mentioned a commune.

Daryl said, "Well, the first thing we do is open a browser. You have your choice of browsers."

"I have a choice?" Jack asked staring at the screen of the computer. He didn't see anything telling him that he had a choice. He asked, "What choices?"

Smiling at the confused expression on Jack's face, Daryl said, "Do you see these icons on the screen?"

"You mean those little pictures?" Jack asked. He had wondered what they were.

"Yes," Daryl answered. Pointing to them, he said, "Each of those represents a program that you can run by double clicking on it."

"That's a program?" Jack asked leaning to look closer at the screen. He wasn't sure what a program looked like, but it was kind of surprising to discover that it was a picture.

"Basically it is a link to a program. If you double click on the icon, it will start the program."

"Okay," Jack said. He had wondered why Mary had done that every time she came over to the computer.

He read the writing under the icons thinking that the names were rather confusing. He said, "So I have the choices of the following browsers: Computer, Network, Internet Explorer, Recycle Bin, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome."

"Well, not all of them are browsers," Daryl said with a frown. He was going to have to go real slow with this one.

"Computer allows you to browse the files on this particular computer. You won't find that to be very useful," Daryl said.

"Scratch computer as a useful browser," Jack said. He felt that there had to be something better to tell you how to use the computer than just a bunch of pictures that didn't mean anything.

"Network will show you what machines are on the network. Again, that won't be very useful for you," Daryl said.

"Scratch network as a useful browser," Jack said thinking that the choices were getting a little narrower.

"Internet explorer is the browser that comes installed on this computer," Daryl said.

"So that is what I want to use," Jack said thinking that if it came with the computer that it had to be the best.

"You can use that," Daryl said although he didn't really like that one.

Jack moved the mouse over the picture and clicked on the mouse. He stared at the screen and said, "Nothing is happening."

"You need to double click the mouse," Daryl said.

"Why should I have to click on it twice?" Jack asked.

"You just do," Daryl answered.

"Okay," Jack said. He clicked a second time and nothing happened.

"You need to click two times real close together," Daryl said.

Jack clicked two times fairly close together and noticed that something had happened. The little arrow had turned into an hourglass. He stared at the hourglass wondering if there was something significant about it. He was about to ask a question when a browser window opened. He looked at it and said, "This is a different thing than what Mary showed me."

"Don't worry; we'll get to that one in a few minutes. For now, let's go over this browser," Daryl said.

For the next two hours, Daryl led Jack through using the four different browsers. Each time, they put in a query about communes. Daryl showed him how to use the different search engines pointing out that they usually gave different results. Daryl read a few of the articles over Jack's shoulder finding that the topic was a little more interesting than he had imagined. Jack said, "I think I understand how to use this computer a little better now."

"That's good," Daryl said. To tell the truth, he didn't think Jack would have learned anything without the individual attention he had received.

"I'm trying to find an article on how to start a commune. Typing in commune isn't getting me anything like that," Jack said.

Daryl smiled and said, "Just type in your question and let the search engine do the work for you."

"I thought you could just enter a topic or a name," Jack said looking at the screen.

"No, you can type in phrases and whole questions," Daryl said.

"That sounds useful," Jack said. He typed in the question using his hunt and peek typing approach. Grumbling, he said, "Why do they have the letters arranged randomly around the keyboard?"

"That is so that you can't type too fast," Daryl answered with a grin. Just about everyone new to the computer asked that question at some point in time.

"I'm serious," Jack said thinking that Daryl was making fun of him. He figured that having the alphabet in order would make more sense.

"It is the truth. They arranged the letters that way so that it would slow down typists on old fashioned typewriters. If you typed too fast on them the keys would get stuck," Daryl said.

"That's crazy," Jack said thinking it was strange to intentionally do something like that to make people work slower.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders and said, "It made sense at one time. It doesn't anymore, but that became the standard layout for keyboards. Use of that keyboard become so entrenched that changing it is basically impossible now."

"Okay," Jack said. He hit the enter key and looked at the results. There were a couple of results that looked promising. After reading the first few articles, Jack was seriously depressed. It seemed to him that the few articles that were actually about starting a commune assumed that he wanted to live off the land. One of them talked about building mud houses as a way of saving money when starting a commune. Frowning, he said, "This sucks."

"What?" Daryl asked from the computer station next to Jack's.

"All of these articles assume that you want to be a hippy and live off the land," Jack answered pointing at the computer screen.

Knowing that the web contained just about everything known to man, Daryl said, "Let me search around a bit."

"Thanks," Jack said. He sat back and thought about Abby. She had put this stupid idea in his head and he hadn't heard anything from her since she had stopped by his house that one day. He rose from his chair and said, "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Daryl said. His fingers flew over the keyboard and screens popped up so fast that it hurt the eyes.

Jack went over to Mary's desk and asked, "Is there a payphone around here?"

"No. Use this one," Mary said pushing her phone over to him.

"Thanks," Jack said. He reached into his wallet and pulled out the scrap of paper with Abby's telephone number on it. He dialed the number and waited for an answer.

"Hello," Abby said into the phone.

"Hello, Abby?" Jack said not quite sure that he recognized her voice. It sounded a little raw -- like she had been crying or something.

"Yes," Abby said.

"This is Jack."

"Oh. Hello, Jack," Abby said hoping that he had some good news for her. It seemed to her that she would never hear from him again after their conversation the previous Sunday. Her idea had gone over like a lead balloon.

Jack asked, "Are you still interested in my spare room?"

"Yes," Abby answered feeling hope for the first time in a week.

"You can move in this weekend," Jack said hoping that he wasn't making a mistake.

"Can't I move in tomorrow?" she asked feeling like a ton of weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She wanted to get out of the apartment as quick as possible. The manager was harassing her about the rent and moving out.

"I've got a job tomorrow that will last most of the day. It'll be dark before I get home," Jack said.

"Okay. I'll be over early Saturday," Abby said realizing that she needed the time to pack up her belongings.

"Great. I'll see you then," Jack said. After an exchange of good-byes, he hung up the phone.

Mary had followed only a bit of the conversation. She looked up at him and asked, "Thinking about starting a commune?"

"I don't know. I'm taking in a boarder until I can get a little more stable financially," Jack said. He wasn't sure if he was doing Abby a favor or not. All he knew was that he was getting tired of living in the dark and having to search for payphones everywhere he went.

"That might be a start," Mary said.

"At what?" Jack asked.

"At starting a commune," Mary said with a smile.

"I doubt it. I still don't know what I think of the idea," Jack said with a sigh. It was a crazy idea and there were so many things that could go wrong. He had read one website that was making fun of the hippy communes of the past. Although it was a tongue in cheek satire, it pointed out a thousand little things that could go wrong. After reading that article he had basically come to the conclusion that the people attracted to the idea of a commune were basically potheads who were lazy jerks.

Mary said, "I understand. I've thought about it for years, but figured that I'd wait until I found one that was really functional before joining."

"What is stopping you from starting one?" Jack asked.

Mary shrugged her shoulders and said, "Fear. I'm not the courageous type."

"Oh," Jack said with a frown. In a way he could understand exactly what she was saying. It seemed to him that he stood to lose a whole lot more than he would gain.

Jack returned to the computer to see what else he could find. He reached it and found Daryl holding out a stack of papers with a smile. Daryl said, "Here you go. I couldn't find a do it yourself manual, but there's enough information here to give you some ideas."

Looking at the stack of papers, Jack frowned. He had discovered the hard way that it cost twenty five cents a page to print out pages from the internet. There was no way that he could afford the stack of papers Daryl had in his hand. He took the papers and said, "Thanks."

Seeing the frown, Daryl said, "What's the matter? Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I can't really afford this," Jack said holding up the stack of papers.

Daryl laughed and said, "I work here. It comes out of my budget for the course."

"Oh," Jack said looking at the stack of papers. There must have been sixty pages of material there.

"The library is closing soon. I figured that you wouldn't have a chance to read all of that before closing time. You can take them home and read them at your leisure," Daryl said. He had all of the web pages bookmarked so that he could read the articles in greater depth the next time he came to work. Reading about communes was a lot more interesting than looking up information about the gall bladder.

"That's great," Jack said thinking that it wouldn't be until the weekend when he'd have a chance to read them at home.

"I thought that was a pretty interesting topic. It was a whole lot better than helping some old person look up their latest disease online," Daryl said rolling his eyes.

Jack asked, "What do you think of it?"

"I'm still living at home with my mom and going to the community college otherwise I'd join one of those communes if it was set up right. It seems to me that the urban commune is a pretty good idea for folks just starting out," Daryl said. He wasn't all that worried about his future. With a degree in computer science, he was going to be making very good money. The problem was that he wouldn't have the time to mow the lawn, fix meals, and take care of the hundreds of other details of living on one's own.

"Oh," Jack said puzzled by Daryl's interest. He was wondering why so many people seemed to find the idea of a commune so attractive. There was interest, but there were even more excuses to not join.

Seeing the expression on Jack's face, Daryl said, "Look at it this way. If you have a problem, then it is likely that there are a million other people who have the same problem. If you have a solution, then there are a million people who will be interested in your solution. Sometimes your solution solves other problems too."

"I still haven't made up my mind if it is a solution," Jack said.

"I guess I can see that," Daryl said shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't about to join in anything since he still had more than two years of school to finish before he'd be moving out on his own. Even after graduating, he was thinking about staying with his mother.

Jack left the library after spending another fifteen minutes talking with Daryl. He drove home in his truck through darkened streets. It seemed to him that the town had stopped lighting the streets like they had in the past. He drove the short distance to his house and pulled into the dark driveway. The dark house loomed in the night lit only by the lights of his truck and the lights of the neighbor's houses.

Jack got out of his truck with a flashlight. He turned it on and walked up to the house. Shaking his head, he said, "Having a roommate won't get the lights on."

He dropped the papers on the table by the door and headed to bed. Tomorrow he had a job and would hopefully earn enough money to make a reasonable paycheck. With the two dozen hours of the previous week and the fourteen hours this week, he'd get a paycheck of about five hundred dollars. With the three hundred and fifty from Abby, he'd be able to pay his mortgage that month. He still had seventy dollars from fixing the porch. A weekend spent mowing lawns might give him enough to fill his gas tank and buy food for the next two weeks. He realized that he had forgotten about his car insurance that was due.

Standing in the middle of his dark bedroom, he said, "My life really sucks."



-------

Chapter 5


Abby showed up at Jack's door at nine in the morning. Her car was filled with her clothes and other essentials, but she still had an apartment full of goods back at her old place. She was going to have to make a dozen trips and her little Camry wouldn't hold the furniture. She looked at the pickup truck hoping that Jack would help her move.

After having spent the morning cleaning out the room for Abby, Jack opened the door and said, "You're here."

"That's right. I've brought my clothes," Abby said.

"Let me give you a hand getting your stuff in the house," Jack said stepping out of the house and leaving the front door open. He figured that with a half an hour of work, he'd get her moved into the house and then he would be able to mow a couple of lawns.

"Thanks," Abby said with a little relief.

It took three trips for the pair of them to carry her stuff into her room. Once her car had been unloaded, Jack said, "There you go. Now you're moved in."

"Uh, not exactly," Abby said biting her lower lip.

Frowning, Jack asked, "What else have you got?"

"Well, all of my furniture and kitchen stuff. I've packed up everything in boxes, but they won't fit in my Camry," Abby answered. She had furniture for her living room, dining area, and bedroom back at the apartment. In addition to an entertainment center, she had a bookcase and a couple boxes of books that weighed a ton.

"Furniture?" Jack asked realizing that he hadn't thought that much about what it would mean to have her move in with him. There wasn't even a bed in the bedroom. He hadn't even considered what she would sleep on.

"I've got my own bed. There's no way I can carry my mattress in my little car," she said looking at empty space where she planned to put her bed. The room wasn't very big and her furniture would fill it.

Jack frowned upon hearing her answer. He could see that his plans for mowing lawns that afternoon were out the window. Giving into the inevitable, he said, "Let's get on the road. You lead and I'll follow you."

"Thanks," Abby said feeling a little embarrassed. She knew that she should have rented a moving van, but she couldn't afford it.

They made three round trips to pick up her stuff from the apartment. Driving back from the last trip, Jack looked down at the gas gauge on his truck. At nearly four dollars a gallon, he was pretty sure that this had cost him twenty dollars. He swore and said, "I've burned up half a week's worth of gasoline today and lost out on earning some money. This day probably cost me a hundred and forty dollars."

He pulled into the driveway and looked at the furniture in the back of his truck. He had no idea what he was going to do with her couch. There wasn't a place in the house for it. He had to admit that her furniture was better than his, but he felt that his was more comfortable. He opened the tailgate and pulled the couch to the edge.

Abby pulled up behind him. Her car held the last of her household goods. All of it was from the kitchen. Getting out of her car, she said, "We should probably get my food in the refrigerator."

Jack looked over at her and said, "I don't have electricity."

"I keep forgetting that," Abby said with a sigh. She looked at the boxes of food in her car and said, "We're going to have to have a feast tonight."

"Sorry," Jack said despite the fact that the idea of a feast sounded pretty good to him. It had been a long time since he had sat down to a large meal.

Jack and Abby carried her couch into his living room. He looked around at the room and how crowded it had become. With the addition of an entertainment center, her furniture, and a television set, there were just too many pieces of furniture for a single room. He had a couch and his comfort chair. Now she had a couch and her comfort chair. There was still a table and four chairs in the back of the truck. Jack took a deep breath and said, "Something is going to have to go in the garage."

"You're not putting my stuff in the garage," Abby declared standing beside her chair protectively.

"I'm not moving my stuff," Jack said crossing his arms and thinking that he had made a really big mistake. He was beginning to get tired of this woman and she hadn't even been there a day.

"I'll put my couch out there, but not my chair," Abby said seeing that Jack wasn't going to give in on this issue. This was why she didn't want to just rent a room.

"Fine," Jack said.

Abby said, "Your chair has to go out there."

"My chair is staying right where it is," Jack said.

"Something has to go out to the garage. There's not enough room for two chairs and a couch," Abby said. She still had the bookcase to put up.

"The couch can go out there," Jack said unwilling to give up his recliner.

"Where will other people sit?" Abby asked.

"In the garage," Jack answered realizing for the first time that she would be having company over too. Rather than simplifying his life, having her rent a room from him was beginning to complicate his life.

"Okay," Abby said. She figured that with time they would come to a better agreement, but she could live with that for the moment.

The pair carried the two couches out to the garage. More furniture was carried out to the garage since they didn't need two dining room tables or two coffee tables. It seemed to Jack that every item that she brought with her on this last trip became the centerpiece of an argument. A lot of it was pretty stupid, but they were both tired.

About the time they got everything stashed away, Jack looked at his wrist watch. He said, "It is dinner time. We worked through lunch."

"No wonder I'm crabby," Abby said. She didn't function too well when she skipped a meal.

Jack was about to make a comment, but bit his lip. There was no sense in making things worse than they already were. He said, "Well, I'll start a fire in the barbecue."

"I'll cook if you wouldn't mind setting up my bed," Abby said looking into the disaster that was her bedroom. She wasn't going to be able to find anything until the boxes were unpacked.

Jack went outside to start the fire. Abby looked around the room trying to figure out how to arrange things so that they'd be comfortable. The living room did not fit in with what she thought was proper for a living room. It was overly crowded in the room and there was nowhere to entertain visitors.

While fussing around in the room, she noticed the stack of papers on the table by the front door. Thinking that leaving papers around like that was going to be another source of conflict, she looked at them. The title of the topmost page caught her eye. Reading it, she said, "Communes? He's got an article on communes?"

She picked up the papers and flipped through them. There were a dozen articles describing problems and issues associated with the communal life. She noticed that there were a few articles on Kibbutzim. Putting the articles back where she had found them, she said, "I didn't think he had taken me seriously."

Jack returned to the house and said, "It will take about twenty minutes for the wood to burn down to coals."

"Okay, I'll start to work on supper," Abby said. Her mind was still on the fact that he had collected some articles about communes.

"I'll get to work putting your bed together," Jack said thinking that he had wasted an entire day with this move. He didn't mind working all day, but he couldn't afford to go for long without earning any money.

Abby went into the kitchen where there was a stack of her boxes that held her goods. She dug through his cabinets examining his kitchenware. His stuff was a lot heavier than her stuff. He even had a set of cast iron skillets. The drawers were loaded with kitchen gadgets. Of course, his dinnerware was pretty plain compared to what she owned. She looked over at the boxes of stuff that she had knowing it was going to be tough getting everything put away.

She went to work trying to put something together for dinner that could be cooked over a barbecue grill. She hadn't tried to cook a meal over a fire since she was in girl scouts and realized that she didn't really know what to do. She exhaled loudly and said, "The first thing we are going to have to do is to get electricity."

The problem of paying for the electricity immediately raised its ugly head. She sighed at the thought that neither of them had the money for it and said, "Maybe we could have a garage sale."

She had never really considered the full implications of renting a room. She hadn't thought about how much stuff she had. She couldn't bear the idea of having it all stored away, but she didn't really like mixing her stuff with his. The idea of a commune was suddenly a whole lot less appealing than the rosy economic picture she had imagined. She understood that in marriage his stuff would become their stuff. Renting a room didn't make that the case.

In the bedroom, Jack was busy assembling the bed frame. He had to admit that she had very nice looking furniture. In carrying her stuff over to the house, he had noticed that she had spent a lot more money on the decorative items of the house than he had. His stuff was junk that he had collected over time. She even had a headboard for her bed while he just had a mattress on a rail frame. Between the two of them, they could put together a pretty nice place.

His television and stereo were much better than hers. Of course, his stuff was over at the pawnshop at the moment. The only things of value that he hadn't pawned were his tools. His tools could earn him a whole lot more money than they could fetch at a pawnshop. His father had always told him that if he could work with his hands that he'd never starve. It had been good advice. Of course, his father hadn't told him that he'd never be rich that way.

He finished assembling the frame and stood back appreciating the nice piece of furniture. It was a nice solid wood frame with a deep cherry wood finish. He wrestled the box springs and mattress into place. Standing at the door, he had to admit that she had a pretty nice looking bedroom. It was a little crowded since he was using the master bedroom.

He stood up and stretched. Looking out the window, he noticed that the shadows were getting longer. Thinking about how dark the house would be soon, he said, "Only a couple more hours of sun. She's not going to be happy when it gets dark."

He walked into the kitchen and looked around at the boxes stacked there. There just wasn't room for much more junk in the kitchen. He jumped when she said, "Would you like to fix the salad? I've got lettuce that should be used before it goes limp. The tomatoes will last a day or two, but I'd like to add them to the salad. We might as well use them before they go bad."

"Okay," Jack said. He looked at the small packages of yogurt that were on the counter. He didn't like yogurt, but knew they'd go bad without refrigeration. He asked, "What are you going to do with the yogurt?"

"I guess I'll eat them tonight," Abby answered. She had some milk, eggs, mayonnaise, and frozen vegetables. There was going to be a lot of food for dinner that night.

Jack started to work on the salad. It was a pretty easy thing to prepare. Eyeing the milk sitting on the counter, he said, "Maybe we can borrow some ice from Claire. We might be able to keep a little of the yogurt and milk for tomorrow morning. I'll admit the idea of actually eating cereal for breakfast has my mouth watering."

"Cereal?" Abby asked amazed that anyone would actually look forward to eating cereal. She looked at the refrigerator realizing that every meal from now one was going to be coming out of a can.

"Yes. I think it has been two months since I've had a bowl of cereal for breakfast," Jack said feeling a little depressed.

"Oh," Abby said. She looked at the wood cabinets in the kitchen. They looked relatively new and very expensive. She asked, "Did you put the cabinets in?"

"Yes. That was before the money ran out," Jack said. The kitchen had been the first room that he had tackled in bringing the house up to modern standards. All of the appliances were new. Now they sat there useless because he didn't have electricity.

"I've got to say that it is a nice kitchen," Abby said. The floor was a nice tan ceramic tile that was meant to last decades. The engineered stone countertop wasn't the top of the line granite countertop, but it was high quality. The dark green color provided a nice balance for the oak cabinets giving them a slightly lighter appearance.

"Thanks," Jack said.

Looking around the room she noticed some of the smaller details. The electric outlet covers were ceramic, the ceiling light was brass, there were lights run under the cabinets, and a stereo mount was under one of the main cabinets. She said, "You really put some money into this kitchen."

"Yes, I did," Jack said thinking that was money that would have served him better if it had stayed in his bank account. That was water under the bridge.

"Did you do all of the work?" Abby asked.

"Yes," Jack answered. He rubbed a hand over the smooth surface of the counter and added, "I thought it would be a good investment fixing up this old place. I got the kitchen done and had started on the main bathroom before the money ran out."

"I haven't checked out the bathroom," Abby said. Using the toilet by candlelight was going to be an interesting experience.

Grabbing the head of lettuce and his salad bowl, Jack said, "At least I got all of the essentials in place. I didn't get the wall tile I wanted so I just painted the walls white. The bath, toilet, and the original sink are in place. You can use it but it isn't pretty."

"Oh," Abby said wondering how bad it was.

Jack looked around at the work he had done with more than a little pride. Sad that he had to stop before he could finish it, he said, "I had such dreams for this house."

"It isn't too late," Abby said. The lack of electricity in the house made her words sound a little hollow. She said, "I get paid Friday."

"That's nice," Jack said. He had a payday coming that day as well. Of course, all of that money was already spent.

Abby said, "I'll see if I can't chip in a little extra for the electricity."

"I'll see what I can do," Jack said not wanting to talk about the subject. He looked out the kitchen window at the back lawn. It was a plain grass lawn without flowers or bushes. He had wanted to do so much and now he could do nothing.

"These bad times can't last forever," Abby said.

Jack wasn't sure that he believed that. Something good had to happen before he lost all of the money he had invested in the house. Looking down at the salad bowl, he realized that he had been shredding the lettuce without even thinking about it. The leaves had been torn into small pieces. He said, "I got a little carried away making the salad."

Abby looked at the salad bowl and shrugged her shoulders. She smiled and said, "You're just out of practice."

He grabbed a knife from the wood knife block that he had made in high school. Taking one of the tomatoes, he started cutting it into half, quarters, and then eights. He dumped the slices into the salad bowl. He cut up another tomato and dumped it into the bowl. He asked, "What else do you want in the salad?"

"That should be fine," Abby answered. She looked over the food that she had brought with her. There wasn't all that much. A few cans of vegetables, soup, and fruits were on the counter. There were two bottles of salad dressing. She figured they'd have to throw whatever they didn't use that night.

"I'll put your stuff in the pantry," Jack said thinking he should be doing something useful.

"Good. I'll check on the grill," Abby said.

Realizing that he hadn't known what she had brought over, Jack asked, "What are you cooking?"

"Hamburgers," Abby said.

"They've been out there all this time?" Jack asked thinking they had probably turned into charcoal by now.

"No. I've got some water on the grill to cook some corn," Abby said.

"Oh," Jack said. He picked up a big bowl and said, "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Abby asked.

"To get some ice," Jack said. He looked down at the floor feeling embarrassed about have to beg for ice. He didn't know if Claire even had a refrigerator with an ice maker.

"That's a great idea," Abby said cheerfully.

Jack walked the short distance to the house next door. Before knocking on the door, he said, "This is wrong. Men my age are supposed to be helping widows, not asking them for help."

The door opened before he had a chance to knock. Claire asked, "Can I help you, Jack?"

Holding up the bowl, Jack said, "Could I get some ice?"

"Oh," Claire said looking a little embarrassed. She said, "I'm afraid that my ice maker doesn't work."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe I could fix it," Jack said.

"The little plastic hose sprays water," Claire said. She had her son-in-law look at it once. He had turned the water off to the icemaker and left it at that.

Nodding his head, Jack said, "I can run by the hardware store and get a replacement part for you. It won't take more than an hour to get it installed."

"You could?" Claire asked.

"Sure. I'll do it tomorrow after the hardware store opens," Jack answered. He was going to lose some time fixing the ice maker that could have been spent mowing lawns, but if he was going to be borrowing ice it would be in both their interests to fix it.

Worried about how much it would cost, Claire said, "The repairman said it would cost sixty dollars just to come out and look at it."

"The part will be about four dollars," Jack said shrugging his shoulders.

"Is that all?" Claire said surprised. She frowned and said, "Those repairmen just take advantage of elderly folks."

"That's a standard charge just to show up," Jack said. It took time and money to drive across town to a house. A company wasn't going to donate that money just because the client was elderly.

"Oh," Claire said sadly. Even though she understood the reasons for it, it didn't seem right to pay sixty dollars to replace a four dollar part.

Jack said, "I'll need to look at it before I go to the hardware store to make sure that I get the right parts."

"I understand," Claire said backing away from the door. She gestured inside and said, "I'll show you where it is."

"Thanks," Jack said.

Jack followed Claire down to the kitchen and saw that the plastic line had split in a couple of places. It was a standard refrigerator waterline made of cheap plastic that dried and cracked if it ran near a heat source. He shook his head at the shoddy workmanship and the fact that it had been run over the hot air plenum. The run was about four feet long with the majority of the plastic line tied in a loop to take up the excess. She would have pulled it loose the first time that she had pulled the refrigerator away from the wall. He said, "It will be no problem to fix this."

"That's good," she said. She looked at him with a frown and then said, "Do you think you could wait until next weekend to fix it?"

"I can do it tomorrow without a problem unless you have someplace to go," Jack answered.

"I don't have anywhere to go," Claire answered biting her lower lip. She didn't want to admit that she didn't have the money to pay for the part or Jack's time.

"I'll be by around ten tomorrow," Jack said.

She led him back to the front of the house. As she walked, she asked, "Why do you need some ice?"

"Abby has some milk and yogurt to keep cold," Jack answered.

That Abby had moved in with him was not a surprise. She had watched them carry her stuff into the house most of the day. Claire said, "She can store it in my refrigerator."

"I'll let her know," Jack said thinking that he'd eat the cost of the part in return.

"She can come by anytime," Claire said.

"I'll tell her that," Jack said.

After exchanging farewells, Jack returned home to discover that dinner was ready. With a minimum of conversation, they each fixed a plate of food and ate in the lawn chairs outside. Since they didn't have hamburger buns, the burgers were served on regular bread. The corn on the cob tasted good with lots of margarine slathered over it despite the fact that the corn had been frozen. It had been a while since Jack had margarine around the house. Desert had been the last of her ice cream.

Appetites sated, Jack warmed up some water over the fire to wash the dishes while Abby took the stuff that had to be refrigerated over to Claire's house to store in her refrigerator. For Jack, both activities were reminders that he was living without electricity. He sat by the grill waiting for the water to warm. There weren't enough coals to boil the water, but it would get warm enough to cut the grease on the plates. He stared at the pot for a minute and then said, "I've got to get some work. There has got to be someone who needs something fixed and can pay for it."

Abby returned after a ten minute visit with Claire. Without talking, they went about the process of washing dishes. By the time the dishes were cleaned it was nearing sundown. Abby looked around the darkening house and asked, "So what do you do during the evening?"

"I go over to the library and read. Not too much else to do around here once it gets dark," Jack answered. He hoped that the electricity would be on before winter although the bill would probably kill him.

"Oh," Abby said.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "They have bathrooms there. It is kind of nice to be able to see what you're doing."

"I've got a bunch of candles in one of my boxes," Abby said.

"You'll probably want to find them before it gets too dark to see," Jack said.

"We probably ought to talk a bit," Abby said. She figured that it was time to get some ground rules laid out.

"Sure," Jack said heading out to the front porch. The chairs were more comfortable out there than the patio chairs in the back yard. He sat down thinking that the whole day had been wasted. It had ended up costing him money and he had nothing to show for it.

It was twenty minutes before Abby showed up on the front porch. She sat down on the chair and said, "What a day."

"Yeah," Jack said not wanting to voice his opinion on the quality of the day.

Abby could see that Jack was less than thrilled with her moving into the house. She said, "We'll work things out."

"I know," Jack said tersely. He figured he was about to get that 'how do you feel' grilling and wasn't looking forward to it.

Abby was silent for a moment and then said, "Claire told me that you were going to fix her refrigerator."

"It was the least I could do," Jack said.

"That's nice of you," Abby said looking over at him. She said, "I saw inside her refrigerator."

"Okay," Jack said a little confused by the change in subject.

"She had a package of bologna," Abby said. The refrigerator had been completely bare of food. She had a little margarine, some salad dressing, and a bottle of mustard.

"That's nice," Jack said wondering if she was going to give him an complete inventory of the food in Claire's refrigerator.

"That was about it," Abby said. The stuff she had taken over occupied more room than what was already in the refrigerator.

"I guess I could take her shopping tomorrow when I head up to the hardware store," Jack said. He hoped that it wouldn't require him to take two trips. He couldn't afford the gasoline by making a bunch of trips.

"She had a bunch of packages of dried noodle soup on the counter," Abby said.

Still not following her point, Jack said, "Okay."

Seeing that he didn't get it, she said, "Jack, she's eating noodle soup with bologna in it."

"That doesn't sound very appetizing," Jack said.

Abby said, "Jack. That's all she's eating. That little meal cost about forty cents."

"Are you telling me that she's sitting over there without food?" Jack asked sitting up straight.

"Her social security check doesn't come until Friday," Abby said. If it came late, she'd starve over the weekend. She bit her lower lip and said, "She can't afford to pay you for the part needed for the refrigerator."

"I figured that I'd pick up the cost of that. She's storing your stuff there and it is the least we could do," Jack said realizing that he hadn't really paid attention to Claire's lack of enthusiasm.

"She's got a bit of pride," Abby said.

"I've got a couple cans of chili. We'll have to invite her over for dinner tomorrow night," Jack said still thinking about Claire sitting next door going hungry.

"I've got some canned fruit that we can serve with the chili," Abby said.

Jack frowned while thinking about Claire going hungry. Bitter, he said, "It just isn't right for old folks to be reduced to eating noodles and bologna."

"Times are tough," Abby said.

"That's an excuse. It is not a defense," Jack said.



-------

Chapter 6


It was late when Jack returned home. He was about to pull into the driveway when he saw that Abby's car was already in it. He parked his truck at the curb since she usually left before him in the morning and parking behind her would leave her blocked in. They were going to have to do something about the parking situation. He didn't like leaving his truck parked by the road.

He walked around to the back of the house to start the fire so that they could cook dinner. Claire was seated in one of the patio chairs talking with Abby. The elderly woman was laughing about something, but he hadn't heard the comment that had brought a smile to the old woman's face.

His back tightened up when he noticed that they hadn't started the fire yet. He was about to complain about having to do everything himself when Abby called out, "Hello, Jack. We're eating over at Claire's tonight."

Jack frowned wondering why they would be eating there. According to Abby she didn't have any food. He pasted a smile on his face and said, "That would nice."

"We're having some fried spam, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I hope that's all right with you," Claire said. She had contributed the potatoes, but the spam and green beans had been provided by Abby.

"Sounds good to me," Jack said hoping the spam was the can that he had in the pantry.

"You look happy today," Abby said.

"I got a job putting up drywall at a new building they are putting up. The job will last two weeks," Jack said. It didn't pay that well, but the hours compensated for it. As far as he was concerned, eighty hours of work was eighty hours of work. His take home would run around twelve hundred and that would help his economic situation significantly.

"That's great," Abby said about to add some other good news, but after a glance at Claire she changed her mind.

"Hopefully we'll have electricity soon," Jack said. He thought about the job and realized that he could have managed to get by without taking Abby in as a housemate. If he was lucky, he might be able to get a job with the carpet laying crew that would come in on the project later.

Claire said, "We should head over to the house. The potatoes are boiling and I'd hate to overcook them. Dinner should be ready in ten minutes."

"Let me wash up and I'll be over," Jack said finding it nice to eat on arriving home for a change.

While the women went over to Claire's house to take care of dinner, he headed into his house to wash his hands and face. Once there, he decided to take a quick shower. There was no window in the bathroom and now that he had a housemate he realized that he had to close the door rather than depend upon the ambient light. After lighting a candle, he stripped and stepped under the cold water. The cold water was a shock to his system, but after working all day it felt good to feel clean. He didn't spend a minute longer under the water than was necessary to get rid of the day's dirt and grime.

Dressed in clean clothes, he stopped in the kitchen and opened the cupboard. As he had hoped, the can of spam was gone. He looked around the cupboard in the hope of finding something else to contribute to the meal, but there wasn't much in it. Talking to himself, he said, "Well, at least I contributed to the dinner. I wish it had been a little better than spam."

Jack went over to Claire's house and knocked on the front door. Much to his surprise, it was Abby who opened the door and invited him in, "Come in. We're putting the food on the table."

"Okay," Jack said following her into the dining room. He noticed that the glasses were filled with ice tea. There was a nice bowl of mashed potatoes on the table along with a smaller bowl filled with green beans. He could smell the spam.

The three of them sat down at the table. Jack made sure that he was the last to take a seat. It was a throwback to his upbringing by a father who believed that a man should be a gentleman. Claire looked at the food on the table and then at the two young guests. Embarrassed, she said, "I'd like to take a moment to pray."

"Sounds good to me," Jack said bowing his head. He looked over and saw that Abby had her head bowed.

"Lord, we thank you for the food and the company. Amen," Claire said.

"Amen," Jack said. His deeper voice drowned out the quiet Amen spoken by Abby.

"Let's eat," Claire said grabbing the plate with spam. She tossed two slices on her plate before passing it around to Abby. Abby took two pieces and passed the plate to Jack. Jack took a two pieces and put the plate back on the table with a single slice of spam on it. Lifting an eyebrow, Claire said, "Take that. You've got work to do tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said taking the last piece of spam. Claire started with the mash potatoes and piled a good amount on her plate. She handed it off to Abby who took a good helping of the potatoes. Jack took a reasonable serving and put the bowl with some mashed potatoes left in it on the table. Claire didn't comment, but picked up the green beans. She took about a third of them before passing them to Abby. Looking up at Jack, Abby took half of what remained before passing it to him. He emptied the bowl.

It took a moment for the plates with bread and margarine to make their way around the table. Jack looked at the number of slices of bread and took two. When the margarine reached him, he put a pat on each slice of bread and two pats on the mashed potato before putting back on the center of the table. Grabbing the salt and pepper shaker, he gave each a rather significant shake. Jack had not eaten mashed potatoes for a long time. Even the spam looked good to him for a change. He cut out a piece of the spam and then piled a little mashed potato on it using his fork. He took a bite and said, "Oh, that's good."

"I'm glad you enjoyed that," Claire said with a smile. There wasn't too much that you could do to make spam taste great. It was possible to keep it from tasting too bad.

"Very much," Jack said.

Abby ate her meal without making much of a comment. She was watching how Jack and Claire interacted. Jack was aware that this was probably the best meal that Claire had in a week. Claire understood that Jack had fixed her ice maker without charging her despite his need for money. She knew that he was appreciating the cooking. She smiled and said, "We should do this more often."

Jack looked up and said, "I wouldn't want you to go through all of that trouble for me."

"I'm an old woman. What else have I to do except cook?" Claire asked. One of the hardest things about growing old was accepting that you had outlived your usefulness as far as society was concerned.

Nodding his head, Jack said, "We'll provide the food if you're working away in the kitchen."

"I can live with that," Claire said feeling like it was a trade of service for food. She prided herself on her ability to prepare a good meal.

"Excellent," Jack said. He finished the meal on his plate. He really enjoyed the mashed potatoes. He sat back and patted his belly comfortably.

Claire examined his posture reading it as one of contentment. She said, "I saved a slice of spam for breakfast. I'll cook up some eggs, spam, and toast for breakfast. We'll even have some orange juice and coffee to go with them."

"That sounds heavenly," Jack said. It sure beat the cardboard pop tarts that he usually had in the morning.

Abby listened to the exchange wondering if either of them understood what was happening here. She leaned forward and took a sip of her iced tea. In her thinking about a commune the one thing that she hadn't really figured out was how one got started that wasn't based on some overwhelming ideal. There, just for a moment she had the feeling she was seeing the birth of something. She wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but she suspected that the seed for the commune had just started to germinate.

"I suggest that Abby and I clean up these dishes," Jack said rising from the table.

Claire shot up and said, "That's my job."

"I can wash dishes," Jack said.

"The only time I let a man in my kitchen is when he's fixing something that's broke," Claire said in a tone of voice that allowed no argument.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said accepting the old fashioned attitude about men in the kitchen without complaint.

Smiling at him, Claire said, "Why don't the two of you get over to your house and straighten things up around there before it gets dark?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said knowing that further argument would be useless.

"I'll see you at seven for breakfast," Claire said.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said. After an exchange of goodbyes, Jack headed over to his house feeling like he should have helped with the dishes.

Abby stayed behind to talk to Claire for a few minutes. She knew that while Claire wouldn't allow Jack in the kitchen, she wouldn't have a problem with her staying around for a few minutes. Once Jack was gone, Abby turned to Claire and asked, "Do you remember the afternoon when we first met?"

"I may be old, but I'm not senile," Claire said looking at Abby.

"We talked a little about my idea for a commune," Abby said.

"I remember that," Claire said.

Abby bit her lower lip thinking about it. Now that the moment had come, she suddenly felt unsure of what to say. She said, "I'd like you to be a member."

"I'm not exactly the commune type," Claire said with a little laugh. She thought about how her daughter would react to the news that she was joining a commune.

"Yes, you are," Abby said.

"What do you mean?" Claire said.

Abby took a deep breath and said, "I talked about it as an economic arrangement with everyone contributing in whatever way they can."

"I remember that," Claire said patiently. She picked up the plates to carry them to the kitchen.

Picking up the empty serving dishes, Abby said, "Did you ever think that the contribution didn't need to be money? I mean, you cooked supper for us and will make breakfast in the morning for us."

"You bought the eggs," Claire said heading into the kitchen. She felt that if they were providing her with food that the least she could do was cook it.

"That's what I'm talking about. We each contribute in the way we can," Abby said following Claire into the kitchen. She said, "I'll run errands and do the shopping. Jack fixes things. You can cook. We all chip in a little money for food. If we all do our part, we're all better off."

"It is just a neighborly kind of thing to do," Claire said wondering how Abby had twisted the situation into the precursor of a commune.

Abby shook her head and said, "Not any more. Most people don't even know their neighbors."

"It didn't use to be that way," Claire said.

Nodding her head in agreement, Abby said, "I know. There was a time when neighborhoods were communities, but today they are collections of individual households. I'm talking about more than just neighbors helping each other with the odd problem here and there. I'm talking about a unified effort to help each other live a better life."

"I'm just an old lady," Claire said looking over at Abby.

"And we need you," Abby said looking Claire in the eye.

Abby's comment struck a chord with Claire. She paused for a moment to think about what it would mean to be needed again. No one had said that to her since her husband had passed away. The idea was seductive, but she rejected it. She asked, "Why do you need me?"

Abby frowned while she thought about it. She said, "Look at how Jack and I are living. We don't have electricity. We are cooking our meals over a backyard grill. Jack doesn't have a telephone so that even if work is available they can't call him. We're running around trying to earn every dime we can. We make too much to get welfare and make too little to survive."

"It is always hard being young," Claire said remembering how hard it had been for her and her husband when they were starting out.

"It is hard to be old, too," Abby pointed out.

Looking over at the packages of noodle soup on the counter, Claire knew that she'd be happy if she never had to eat another one of those for the rest of her life. She gestured over to a chair while taking a seat. She sighed and said, "Six months ago I had three hundred thousand dollars in the retirement fund that my late husband set up for us. That money was supposed to last me the rest of my life. I got my statement earlier this week and it said that I only had eighty thousand dollars in it. Eighty thousand dollars is just enough for me to live here for the next five or six years."

"That hurts," Abby said with a grimace.

"My property taxes and home owner's insurance cost me over six thousand dollars a year. My electricity and heating bills come to three hundred a month. Just living here is costing me a thousand dollars a month by the time you throw in telephone and water. It is only going to get worse. I've got to pay for my car, gasoline, insurance, food and meds with my social security. It just isn't enough. I'm not that old and five years just isn't going to cut it," Claire said with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Abby said. She had realized that Claire had been skimping on her food bills, but hadn't realized that her situation had been so bad.

"I'll have to sell the house and live in a retirement home. They'll take everything I own and my social security. A real estate lady told me my house was now worth about ninety thousand dollars. I'm not sure what kind of place I'll be able to afford," Claire said. Her future that had once looked good now looked pretty bleak.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Abby said thinking that Claire would be lucky to get seventy five thousand for the house after the most recent round of foreclosures. Property values were dropping again now that unemployment was reaching fifteen percent.

"Six months ago, this house was worth almost twice that," Claire said finding it hard to believe that she had lost so much money without having done anything wrong. Her hand trembled and she said, "Every one that I know is in the same condition."

"We need each other," Abby said patting the elderly woman's hand.

"You might be right," Claire said. It didn't seem right to her that she should be turning to two young kids to help bail her out of this situation. She shook her head and said, "My own daughter can't afford to take me in."

"I'm sorry," Abby said knowing that the daughter would probably view her mother moving in as a hardship rather than as a benefit.

Claire said, "Let me think about it."

"Okay," Abby said. She looked over at the pile of dirty dishes and said, "Let's wash some dishes."

Pulling herself together, Claire said, "Good idea."

At the house, Jack walked around taking stock of the changes that had occurred since Abby had moved in with him. She had cleaned up the house and it looked pretty nice. Her boxes had disappeared. There were more things in the kitchen, but everything had been put away. She had arranged the living room so that it looked a little better than it had Saturday. All in all, he liked how the house looked.

With the approaching darkness, he grabbed the papers about communes and went out to sit on the porch to read them while the light held. There was nothing more depressing than sitting in a dark house. This had been the first evening in a long time when he was at loose ends with nothing to do. Usually he would have spent most of the evening cooking, cleaning, and washing. Claire had taken care of the cooking and Abby had taken care of the cleaning. He still had clean clothes so he didn't need to take a trip to the Laundromat yet.

He picked out an article that was a tongue-in-cheek commentary about communes. It pointed out all of the benefits for lazy people who hooked up with one hard working slob. The article was actually pretty good and made a very convincing argument against the whole commune concept. He was reading and drinking warm soda when Abby returned from Claire's house carrying a tall glass. Looking up from the article that he was reading, he greeted her, "I take it everything is cleaned up over at Claire's house."

"Yes," Abby said. She took out a couple of ice cubes from the tall glass and dropped them into his warm soda.

"Thanks," he said, "She's a little old fashioned about her kitchen."

"She's not as old fashioned as you might think," Abby said noticing that he was reading the articles about communes. She had taken a few minutes to glance over them while straightening up the house.

"Okay," Jack said not wanting to argue the point.

"You're reading some articles about communes?"

Nodding his head, Jack answered, "Yes. I'm still not sure what I think of the idea."

"I was kind of surprised when I found them. I didn't realize that you had taken my idea so seriously," Abby said.

"Well, I didn't have much else to do at the library so I figured why not. This one makes a pretty convincing argument against the whole idea," Jack said holding up the one he was reading.

Abby hadn't read the articles so she couldn't make a comment. She said, "I think this whole evening argues pretty well for one."

Surprised by her statement, Jack asked, "What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, you fixed Claire's refrigerator for her. Today, Claire cooked dinner for us with food that we provided. She got to eat a real meal and we didn't have to go through the hassle of cooking over a grill," Abby said.

"That's just what neighbors do for each other," Jack said.

Abby looked over at Jack and asked, "When was the last time that Claire invited you over for dinner?"

The question surprised Jack. Claire had never invited him over for a meal before. Frowning, he said, "This was the first time."

"You're eating breakfast over there tomorrow morning," Abby said.

"Well, I'm sure that after her social security check comes that things will go back to normal," Jack said.

Shaking her head, Abby said, "Jack, things aren't going back to the way they used to be for a long time. We are headed for a depression. Money is tight and the situation isn't going to improve."

"You might be right," Jack said exhaling loudly. Unemployment was edging upwards, the stock market was down, and the cost of living was skyrocketing. Government programs to bail out banks weren't kicking in fast enough. The deficit was at astronomical levels.

"I am right," Abby said. She looked around and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if Claire doesn't have a boarder before too long."

"She's that tight with money?" Jack asked knowing that he should have known better. After all, he knew that she was eating noodle soup with bologna.

"She's lost nearly everything in the stock market crash and her social security won't even cover the property taxes," Abby said.

Shaking his head, Jack said, "That's not right."

"Winter is coming," Abby said looking over at the setting sun. It was getting darker earlier every day. Before long, the temperature would drop.

"I've got to get the electricity on before it starts getting colder," Jack said.

"The heating bills are going to be high this year," Abby said.

"You're right," Jack said. He hoped that he would be able to afford to heat the house over the whole winter. He could feel the tension rising in his back.

Abby said, "I had a massage job this afternoon. The guy gave me a pretty good tip."

"That's nice," Jack said.

"I spent about thirty dollars on groceries," Abby said. "If we're careful, it should last the three of us the rest of the week."

"What could you have bought for thirty dollars that would last us a week?" Jack asked.

"I bought a jar of spaghetti sauce, noodles, eggs, bread, milk, cereal, peanut butter, and jelly," Abby answered. It had filled one plastic bag.

"It must have been a pretty big jar of spaghetti sauce," Jack joked. It would have to last the three of them three meals.

Nodding her head, Abby said, "It was."

"Oh," Jack said realizing his joke had fallen flat.

Abby said, "Jack, I get paid Friday and I'm going to cash my check on the way home. I want you to get the electricity turned on. Saturday morning I'm going to go to the warehouse store to load up on food. Claire is going to be cooking our meals for us from now on."

"You've already paid your rent," Jack said knowing that by Friday he would have just enough money to pay the mortgage.

"You don't understand. I'm not renting a room from you just to save a little money. I want to live better than this. If by kicking in a little extra we can have a better life, then I'm going to do it. We'll save a lot of money by buying in bulk. Claire is going to be able to eat three good meals a day and she's willing to do all of the cooking for us. I'm willing to do the shopping and run errands to save us more money. You can take care of these two houses," Abby said.

Jack rubbed his jaw thinking that she was really pushing this idea hard all of a sudden. He said, "I don't know."

"Tomorrow, I'm going to do laundry over at Claire's house. She's got a washer and a dryer," Abby said.

"I was going to go to the Laundromat," Jack said. The machines there ate money like it was popcorn.

"If you put out your dirty clothes in the morning, I'll wash them with mine," Abby said.

"I don't know," Jack said feeling like it was kind of personal doing someone else's laundry. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He looked down at the article in his hand and realized that it had gotten too dark to read. He took a sip of his soda appreciating the fact that it had ice in it. He sighed and said, "I guess we'll see how things work out."

"Let's head over to the library," Abby said.

"That's a good idea," Jack said.

Abby said, "We'll take my car since it uses less gas than yours."

"Let's walk," Jack said not really comfortable in her tiny little car.

"That's even better," Abby said thinking that the fewer miles she put on her car the better.

The two of them walked over to the library without talking. Jack was thinking about how taking in a boarder had turned into a little more than he had bargained for. It seemed to him that she was suddenly telling him how to spend his money. The problem was that she made sense.

At the library, Jack decided that it was about time to catch up on world events. Rather than going over to the computers he went over to the newspapers. He picked up the paper and looked at the headline. He read it aloud, "Unemployment Hits 14%." The article left him feeling sick to his stomach. The news was worse than the headline had suggested. A lot of companies had further reduced the labor force by forcing older employees to retire. Not only was unemployment higher, but more people had been added to the social security rolls.

He read down to another little news column that announced that the tax cut was going to expire soon. He discovered that his taxes were going to increase. His mortgage had taken him out of having to pay too much in taxes since he was able to deduct the interest. There was a chart on page 6 that detailed what the changes would mean based on income. He turned to page 6 and studied the chart. He would have to pay an extra three hundred dollars on the first $6,000 that he earned. The President's new tax plan would give him back a hundred dollars so that he'd be out only two hundred dollars a year. That was just about twenty dollars a month. He muttered, "The bastard said I'd be paying less in taxes."

Jack turned to the financial pages. Frowning, he read that the stock market had dropped another five percent. Although he didn't own a single share of stock in any company, he knew that when the stock market went south so did his income. He said, "The news just gets better and better."

There were several other articles that described new regulations applied to businesses. He read the articles, but couldn't figure out how they applied to him. Supposedly, he was going to get new health benefits from his employers. Of course, that didn't mean much since he basically worked whatever job was available now. His old employer had lost so much business that he couldn't afford to keep a regular crew.

Jack turned to the sports section of the paper hoping to find something to cheer him. Shaking his head he saw that his favorite team had lost again. They were out of the playoffs for the World Series. It had been years since he had been to a ball game. His father had taken him to a couple of games when he was younger, but then the prices had gone up. Now a baseball game cost a hundred dollars just to get in. That didn't include the cost of a beer and a hot dog which would run another twenty dollars. It just didn't seem right to him that America's game was now too expensive for him to attend.

Jack turned to the pages with the college games. The local university had a pretty good team. He wondered if he could afford to go to one of their games. Thinking that he was worried about every dollar, he sighed and said, "Not this year."

Abby interrupted his thoughts when she said, "It is almost closing time. Let's walk home."

Folding the paper, he tossed it back on the rack. Getting up he said, "I never should have read the paper. Now I'm depressed."

Abby laughed at the comment. She said, "Don't worry. What you don't know can't depress you."

"It will just kill you," Jack said not knowing that he had missed the article concerning the new banking regulations that were about to take effect. The increase in checks being returned for insufficient funds was causing havoc in the banking industry. People were depositing checks in good faith and writing checks against them only to discover that their deposits were canceled due to insufficient funds. Their checks then bounced and the effect propagated to affect others who were depositing checks in good faith. Draconian measures were being implemented to stop the problem from further weakening the economy.



-------

Chapter 7


Jack stood in line waiting to deposit his paycheck and the check that Abby had given him when she had moved in with him. He wasn't paying too much attention to what was happening at the front of the line since there was a rather buxom young woman over by the loan officer. The line moved forward at an unusually slow pace giving him lots of time to watch her pose for the loan officer. Each time she leaned forward, he swore that he could see more and more of her breasts. He figured that she was trying to get a loan and was using every tool in her arsenal to get it. He didn't blame her.

It finally was his turn and he walked over to the free teller. Dropping his check and deposit slip on the counter, he said, "Here we go. I'd like a hundred in twenties."

The woman typed in his account number and studied the screen for a minute. She said, "I'm sorry. We can't give you any cash."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked confused by the statement.

Licking her lips nervously, the woman said, "You don't have enough money in your account to cover the cash advance."

"That's ridiculous. I always get a little cash when I deposit my paycheck," Jack said frowning. He looked around and noticed that there were more than a few angry looking customers. He wondered what was going on.

The woman took a deep breath and said, "You're overdrawn by thirty-five dollars."

"What are you talking about? I should have twenty dollars in that account," Jack said. He always kept a little money in the account. He wondered if the bank had some kind of computer failure or something.

"We have to charge a twenty-five dollar fee for accounts with an average balance under a thousand dollars. We charged your account that fee. You then had a check that came in that overdrew your account and we had to charge you a thirty dollar fee for the overdraft," the woman said. She marked up the deposit slip and ran it through the system.

"Wait a minute," Jack said getting angry. He said, "You're telling me that you pulled money out of my account without telling me and then bounced a check."

"It is a new policy. It is all explained on your next statement," the woman said. She'd had to tell a dozen people that already that day. All she wanted to do was to get out of the bank and at home before someone took out their anger in her direction.

"That's not right," Jack shouted.

The teller took a step back from the counter and said, "Calm down sir. If you keep making a scene then we'll have to escort you out of the bank."

Taking a deep breath to get control over his emotions, Jack asked, "Can I have my check back?"

"I just deposited it, sir," the teller answered handing the deposit receipt back to him.

Jack rubbed his forehead and asked, "If I come in tomorrow can I get some money?"

"No, sir," the teller answered. She looked down at the counter as if ashamed and said, "You'll have to wait five to ten days for the check to clear."

"What do you mean; I have to wait five to ten days for the check to clear?" Jack asked feeling sick to his stomach.

"Under the new banking regulations, we can't pay out money when there are not sufficient funds to cover it. Until your check clears, you can't touch the money," the teller said.

"I have to pay my mortgage," Jack said.

The teller said, "I wouldn't write a check until you've confirmed that this check has cleared."

"Explain that to me," Jack said.

"If you write a check and it takes less than ten days for your check to reach here and your deposit hasn't cleared, then the bank will be forced to return your check unpaid. You'll be charged a thirty dollar fee by us and probably a fee by the company that accepted your check," the teller said. She didn't think the policy was fair, but she wasn't the one setting policy. It was her job to enforce it.

"When did this start?" Jack asked feeling like he was going to be sick. He had visions of losing his house even though he had the money to pay the mortgage.

"Today. It is the first of the month and the new banking regulations just went into effect," the teller answered. She looked at the long line knowing that it was only going to get worse. If she hadn't needed the job so bad she would have quit ten minutes after the bank opened that morning. This had to be the worst day of her life.

Jack asked, "What has the new banking regulations got to do with anything?"

"Since you do not have a savings account with us that has sufficient funds in it to cover the check, any payout against that deposit is considered an unsecured loan until it clears. Under the new banking regulations we are not allowed to do that without first establishing a line of credit," the teller answered.

"This is insane," Jack said staring at the teller. He wondered how many other people were going through this nightmare.

The teller said, "It wouldn't be an issue if you had direct deposit. That is a bank to bank transfer of money. The deposit is immediately verified."

"Lady, I work for a living. We don't do direct deposit," Jack said. He suspected that his paycheck was likely to bounce if his boss had deposited a check that morning thinking he could make payroll against the deposit. It could take a month for this mess to clear up.

The teller leaned over and said, "Next time go to one of those check cashing places. They'll charge you 3%, but you'll get your money right on the spot."

Jack had no intention of paying twenty-four dollars to get an eight hundred dollar check cashed. He asked, "How does that get my mortgage paid?"

"Get a money order," the teller said.

"That's going to cost me even more money," Jack said. He stared at the deposit slip and said, "That was my paycheck. How am I supposed to live if I can't spend my paycheck?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what to tell you," the teller said.

Jack said, "I want my money."

The teller said, "Sir, you're holding up the line."

Jack stumbled away from the counter. He couldn't believe it. He turned and asked, "Can I speak to the manager?"

The woman pointed to a man over at the far end of the counter. There was a line of people there and two security guards. She said, "He's over there."

Jack walked over to where the manager was talking to someone else. He arrived in time to hear the manager say, "If you knowingly write a check for which there are insufficient funds then you will be charged with a crime. We've had too many people writing bad checks for us to accept the risk."

Jack looked at the security guards wondering why there were two of them. He looked over at the bank manager and noticed that the man had a black eye. He muttered, "Someone lost it."

The man shouted back, "That's my paycheck. That's a fucking multi-million dollar company. It is a good check!"

"According to the new banking regulations it isn't a good check until it has cleared," the bank manager explained.

"It is written on this bank," the man said.

"Then it will only take three days to officially clear," the manager replied. He looked over at the security guard to make sure that he was paying attention.

"You can clear it now," the man said.

"You should have taken electronic deposit," the bank manager said.

Knowing that it was useless to argue, Jack stumbled out to his truck and got into it. He sat there staring at the deposit receipt. Printed across the front of it was the statement, "Deposit not available until checks have cleared." He stared at it thinking that this was wrong. He said, "I'm so fucked."

He stared at the deposit receipt for a full minute. Finally, he asked, "How in the hell am I supposed to know when the check cleared? Am I supposed to wait ten fucking days?"

Jack was having difficulties breathing. He sat there staring into space until there was the sound of a large crash behind him. He looked around and noticed that a car pulling out of the bank had been hit by a car driving down the street. He got out of his truck and locked it before going over to see if he could help. A police car had arrived by the time he reached the street.

Looking at the accident, he said, "Poor bastard. Talk about a bad day. I bet his paycheck is being held ransom by the bank for five to ten fucking days. Now he's going to the hospital. I hope he has insurance."

Looking back at his truck, Jack decided that he should probably walk home. As he walked, he thought about what the teller had told him. It didn't add up. He was pretty sure that most transactions were nearly instantaneous as a result of computers. There was no way that it took five to ten days to see if a check cleared. He figured that it was some sort of game that banks were playing to protest the most recent wave of regulations that had been placed on them. He said, "They stole fifty-five dollars from me and there's not a damned thing I can do about it."

It took Jack a half an hour to walk the two miles to his house. He arrived in time to see Abby slamming the door on her car. She looked madder than a wet hen. He figured that he knew what she was angry about. Abby saw him and said, "That bank is holding my money for two weeks."

"The same thing happened to me," Jack said.

She looked around wanting to hit something, but there was nothing within reach. She stomped a foot and said, "Bastards. They're all bastards."

He looked over at Claire's house and said, "I wonder if that happened to Claire."

"I don't know," Abby said bitterly.

Jack asked, "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Abby said. She had been so upset after her experience in the bank that she had to pull off the road on the way home to throw up.

"We're fucked," Jack said. He very seldom used that kind of language in public, but this situation deserved that kind of word.

Abby said, "I stopped at the grocery store on the way home thinking I'd write a check for some groceries. They had a huge sign out front saying that checks were not being accepted."

"I heard the manager tell someone that if he wrote a check knowing that there were insufficient funds in the account that he'd get charged with a crime," Jack said.

"It is just as well that the store wasn't taking checks," Abby said. Near tears, she said, "We're just trying to get by and they keep fucking us ... over and over again."

"The bank took some money out of my account and then bounced a check. They stole fifty-five dollars from me. I don't have a spare fifty-five dollars," Jack said.

"I know for a fact that it actually only takes seconds for a local check to clear. This garbage about it taking five to ten days is a bunch of bullshit," Abby said.

Jack was about to make a comment when there was the sound of a gunshot. Looking around, he asked, "Was that a gunshot?"

"It sounded like one to me," Abby said.

"I think it came from next door," Jack said afraid of what he suspected. He didn't know the woman that lived in the house very well. She tended to be reclusive and never came out when he was around. He only remembered that her name was Penny something.

While Jack walked over to the house to investigate, Abby stared at it for a second and then fumbled for her cell phone. She called the emergency number and waited for the dispatcher to answer. When the operator answered, she said, "We just heard the sound of a gunshot from the house next door."

Jack went from window to window trying to look inside to see if he could spot anything. The blinds were all closed and he could see nothing. He walked back over to Abby and said, "I couldn't see anything."

"The police are on their way," Abby said.

"Should I break in?" Jack asked looking over at the house.

Abby shook her head and said, "I don't think so."

"This has got to be the worst day of my life," Jack said. He couldn't imagine it getting any worse. He had a whole six dollars and thirty eight cents in his pocket.

It was almost eight minutes before a police car arrived. The officer walked over to them and asked, "Did you call in a gunshot?"

"Yes. It came from that house over there," Abby answered pointing at the house.

"Okay. Stay over here while I check it out," the officer said.

"Sure thing," Jack said. He watched the officer go over to the house and knock on the front door. He stood there for half a minute and knocked a second time. After a little more time passed, he went around trying to look through the windows. After a few minutes more, he went back to the front door and tried the doorknob. It was locked.

Abby said, "He's taking his time."

"I know," Jack said.

The officer pulled out his radio and talked for a few minutes. Finally, he put up the radio and kicked in the door. Jack and Abby watched him enter the house. After two minutes, the officer stepped out and headed in their direction. Abby said, "That didn't take long."

"I know," Jack said worried about what that meant.

The officer arrived and said, "I'll need your names for the report."

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"We'll know more after the coroner gets here," the officer answered.

Abby stared at the policeman and asked, "Someone committed suicide?"

"Ma'am, let me take down the information," the policeman said. Looking at Abby, he asked, "What is your name?"

"Abigail Dickerson."

"Where do you reside?"

"Right here," Abby answered.

"Do you have identification?" the policeman asked.

Abby searched through her purse for her wallet. Opening her wallet, she went through the cards until she found her driver's license. She handed it to the policeman and said, "Here you go."

He glanced at the license and then said, "There's a different address on it."

"I just moved here," Abby answered.

"You'll need to get the address updated," the policeman said writing down her driver's license number in his pad.

Abby stared at the policeman and said, "Someone just died and you're worried about the address on my license?"

"Ma'am, it is the law," the policeman said handing back her license. Turning to Jack, he asked, "What is your name?"

Jack pulled out his driver's license and handed it to the policeman. He said, "It is on my license."

"Thanks," the policeman said. He took down the information in his little pad of paper. While he was doing that, an ambulance pulled up at the curb. Handing Jack his license back, he said, "That's all I need for now."

Jack said, "You act like this is something that happens every day."

Frowning, the policeman said, "This is my third call like this today. I threw up after seeing the first one. I had dry heaves on the second. I'm sick to my stomach right now."

"Oh," Jack said.

The policeman said, "Banks are holding up social security checks for two weeks. A lot of old folks who are living from check to check are having problems dealing with it. I don't blame them. It is a goddamned government check. The banks should accept them. Thank god that I have direct deposit."

"Damn," Jack said. He hadn't thought about what it would be like if he was eighty years old and in his current situation.

The policeman said, "We had two bank shootings, a couple of convenience store robberies, and a half a dozen suicide attempts today. I'm sorry, but your next door neighbor succeeded. It has been a bad day for everyone."

"Damn," Abby said shaking her head. She hadn't realized that his abrupt questions might be hiding his real feelings.

"If you see anyone trying to break into the house, give us a call," the policeman said before walking over to the ambulance crew. They were busy getting a gurney out of the back of the ambulance.

Jack turned away not wanting to watch them bring his neighbor out on that. Noticing that Claire hadn't come out to see what had happened, Jack said, "Let's check on Claire."

"You're right. We better do that," Abby said afraid of what she would find.

Jack and Abby headed over to Claire's house. Much to their relief, Claire stepped out on the porch before they reached the house. She asked, "What happened?"

"It looks like my next door neighbor killed herself," Jack answered. He didn't know of a good way to say it.

"Ooh ... Penny! Why did you do it?" Claire asked shaking her head.

"The banks are keeping social security checks for two weeks before people can withdraw any money against them," Jack said.

Still shaking her head, Claire said, "I know. I had to transfer some money from my retirement account over to the bank. I took out a thousand dollars in cash."

"Oh," Jack said thinking that at least she would get through the next two weeks in reasonable shape.

Claire looked at Jack and Abby for a second. It was obvious that they were not very happy. She said, "Let me guess. The bank is holding your paychecks."

Jack wasn't going to lie and nodded his head. Angry, Abby said, "Yes. They're holding our money."

"I can loan you some money," Claire said thinking about how much they had helped her over the past week.

Jack looked around the neighborhood and said, "We're young and can probably get by. I'm worried about all of the other widows in the neighborhood."

Abby asked, "What can we do?"

"I'm going to go around and make sure that everyone is all right. I don't know what I'll tell them, but I'll do my best to cheer everyone up. What is happening is wrong and we all know it is wrong. Something has got to happen to fix this situation," Jack said.

"What about the food bank?" Abby asked. She said, "Maybe we can give people rides over to it."

"I'd like to do something a little more than that," Jack said. He had a feeling that there was going to be a mass rush of desperate people at the food bank.

Claire looked down at the ground thinking about it. She said, "Abby, why don't you drive me over to the warehouse store? We're going to buy some food and feed people."

"Are you sure?" Abby asked.

"I've known my neighbors for fifty years. Penny wasn't the weakest of them. If I don't do something, I'm going to be attending a lot of funerals," Claire said angry.

"Okay," Abby said.

"Jack, you tell everyone to come by around 7:30 for dinner. We'll cook hotdogs and beans tonight until we know how many people need our help. We might be eating two meals a day for the next two weeks, but people aren't going to go hungry. I don't think the creditors will be banging down our doors in the next two weeks and if they show up, tough luck to them," Claire said sounding like a feisty old woman who wasn't to be messed with.

"Alright," Jack said with a smile. He headed down the street to the next house.

Jack went from house to house knocking on the door delivering Claire's message. The number of elderly women who came to the door in tears tore at his heart. He had known things were bad, but this was awful. It seemed to him that nearly everyone he talked with was on the verge of financial collapse.

He knocked on one door and a young woman answered. He said, "Pardon me. I'm going around letting some of the elderly who have had their checks held up by the bank know that they should come by our house for some food and moral support."

"The bank took my husband's check. We've got two kids that are going to go hungry," the woman said.

Jack couldn't see children going hungry any more than he could see the elderly going without food. He said, "You might as well bring them over."

"Where?" the woman asked.

After Jack gave her his address, he said, "I'll see you over there."

"I'll send my husband around to tell other people," the woman said.

"If he can take the other side of the street, that would be nice," Jack said. He went on to the next house and gave his message. Leaving that house, he noticed a man walking from door to door on the other side of the street.

It was after 7:30 when Jack returned to his house. He was followed by a crowd of a dozen elderly women. There were close to a hundred people already there milling around eating hotdogs, beans, and chips on paper plates. From the expressions on their faces, Jack figured that it was the best meal most of them had eaten in a week. Abby met him and said, "This is incredible."

"What's happening?" Jack asked.

"We bought a ton of hotdogs and huge cans of beans. I went back and bought some more after seeing how many people were coming over. We're just about out of food again," Abby said.

"This is going to destroy Claire's finances," Jack said feeling bad that he couldn't contribute something.

"Some guy stopped by and dropped off two hundred dollars," Abby said.

"Why did he do that?" Jack asked looking surprised by that announcement.

"It appears that you invited his grandmother over here. She told him and he really appreciated that someone was looking out for her. He said that he'd be back with some more money if he could get it out of the bank," Abby said.

Jack said, "It is good to know that someone out there cares."

"These little old ladies are getting organized. They are setting up an inventory of food and are planning how to make it through the next two weeks. I tell you, it is kind of overwhelming to watch them go at it," Abby said.

Jack looked around at the people gathered there. They didn't look as depressed as when he had knocked on their doors. In fact, they looked angry now. He asked, "What are they planning?"

"They are all calling their congressmen," Abby said.

Jack heard some brakes squealing and turned to see what cause it. He was shocked to see a news truck pulling up in front of their house. He said, "I think this just gotten a little bit bigger."

"What are they doing here?" Abby asked watching the news crew boiling out of the back of the van.

"I don't know," Jack said. He looked over at Abby and said, "Unless you want to be on television, I think we should head into the house and hide for a bit."

"No. Let's see them interview Claire. This is her show," Abby said.

"I guess you're right," Jack said. He made his way over to where Claire was handing out plates with hotdogs, beans, and chips to the most recent arrivals.

"Jack, I'm glad to see that you made it back. Grab a plate and have something to eat," Claire said smiling over at him.

"Thanks, but the press is here. You might want to talk to them. I'll hand out food until you get back," Jack said.

"So they came," Claire said looking up at the reporter and cameraman talking by the side of the news van.

"You called them?" Jack asked surprised that she had been expecting them.

"You bet I did," Claire said.

"Oh," Jack said. He picked up a plate and filled it with food before handing it to an elderly woman.

Another woman showed up right away for a plate. He was kept busy for the next ten minutes. He looked up in time to hear Claire announce, "Do you really want to know what we're doing here?"

The reporter said, "Yes."

Claire gestured to all of the elderly people around her and said, "The government has just passed some laws that are killing the elderly. A woman down the street died because she couldn't cash her social security check. That is wrong. We're banding together because the alternative is to die alone."

"What does that mean?" the reporter asked.

"We're starting a commune."



-------

Chapter 8


Jack woke up Saturday morning with a pounding headache. Although he didn't bother trying to establish a cause for his headache, the stress of the previous day had worn him down. He sat on the edge of his bed rubbing his eyes to wipe the sleep from them. When he stretched, a muscle spasm in his back nearly brought tears to his eyes.

He dressed in a pair of short pants. It was just enough to be presentable. He stumbled to the kitchen for some aspirin and water. He opened a cabinet and looked through the packaged medicines within it. It didn't take long to find the bottle. He popped the lid off and dumped three of them into the palm of his hand. Going over to the sink, he filled a glass with water. After tossing the pills into his mouth, he drank enough water to get them down his throat.

"Good morning," Abby said watching him from the kitchen table.

"Oh. Good morning," Jack said blinking his eyes and snorting a bit to clear out his sinuses. He rubbed the area where his shoulders and neck met trying to get rid of some of the tension in the muscles there.

"How did you sleep?" Abby asked. She took a sip of coffee.

"Not very good," Jack answered. He had tossed and turned the whole night thinking about his paycheck being held by the bank for ten days.

"I slept like a log," Abby said.

"You're lucky. I kept having nightmares of bankers cooking steaks using everyone's paychecks instead of wood for the fire," Jack said.

"We won't starve," Abby said.

He looked at her for a second and then asked, "Where did you get the coffee?"

"Coffee and oatmeal are being served in the garage," Abby said looking over at him with a smile.

"Our garage?" Jack asked.

"Yes. People are sitting around on the couches that we put out there," Abby said. She laughed and said, "You did say that our company could stay in the garage."

"I guess I did," Jack said not really remembering saying anything to that effect. He turned away to put the glass down.

"Go put on a shirt and get some coffee," Abby said watching him stretch. She had to admit that he was well developed in the shoulders.

"Why do I need to put on a shirt?" Jack asked. He could feel the aspirin starting to work. It hadn't helped his headache, but his sore muscles were feeling a little better.

"We don't want all of those little old ladies having heart attacks," Abby said.

Jack laughed and said, "Like that is going to happen."

"There is some major league plotting going on out there," Abby said. She'd come inside because she wasn't sure that she was all that welcome. It seemed to her like the neighbors had decided that a commune of old ladies didn't need to include a young couple.

"I guess I better put a shirt on," Jack said.

"Yeah," Abby said. She took another sip of coffee; watching him over the lip of the cup as he left the kitchen. When he was gone, she said, "Poor guy carries all of his stress in the muscles of his back."

After a minor trip to the bathroom to relieve a full bladder, Jack put on a shirt and went out to the garage. It was a small detached garage that stood in the corner of the backyard. There were five elderly women sitting around on the couches drinking coffee and talking. They stopped talking when he entered the garage. He went over to the coffee pot and poured a cup of coffee. The coffee was steaming hot. He took a sip and said, "Ah ... that tastes good."

Realizing that he was drinking hot coffee out of a pot that was in his garage, he looked at coffee pot for a minute. The warming light was on. Wondering where the electricity was coming from, he put down his cup. Squatting, he looked under the table and saw that the pot was plugged into one of his extension cords. He followed the extension cord out the door and saw that it went over to the house next door. Turning to the women in the garage, he asked, "Who did that?"

"I did," one of the women answered.

Angry, he said, "I might be poor, but I've got my pride. I'm not stealing from the dead!"

"What?" the woman asked shocked at his accusation.

Jack marched out of the garage and went over to Penny's backyard. He pulled the plug from the outdoor electric outlet. Returning to the house, he coiled the extension cord as he moved. He dumped the cord on the floor of his garage. He picked up his coffee and went out the garage door. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the coffee onto the grass.

Returning to the house, he put the coffee cup on the kitchen counter to wash later. He looked over at Abby and said, "You won't believe what they had done."

"What?" Abby asked. She hadn't felt exactly welcomed by the women and wondered if they had made a rude comment about him being out there.

"They ran an extension cord to Penny's house. We were stealing electricity from her," Jack said gesturing in the direction of the house next door with his thumb.

"Oh," Abby said looking at him. She had seen it and not thought anything about it.

"She's not even dead a day and they're stealing from her," Jack said angrily.

Abby said, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to fix that front door of hers so that no one can steal anything out of the house," Jack said. He hadn't really known Penny, but that didn't matter to him.

"Okay," Abby said surprised by his anger.

Jack marched out the door and went to the garage. He went over to the pile of scrap wood and looked through it for something that would be appropriate for repairing the front door. It took him a few minutes to find an appropriate board that wasn't too beat up. He picked up his toolbox and headed out the door. The old women watched him without saying a word.

Jack went over to Penny's house and inspected the door. The police had closed it and put tape over the opening, but a small push on the door left it wide open. He got out the appropriate tools and went to work replacing the wood that had been damaged when the door had been kicked open. It took him about an hour to fix it properly. He wished that he had some paint to make it look halfway decent, but it was the best he could do with the materials on hand.

He tested the door without it being locked a couple of times to make sure that it worked correctly. Pushing against the door didn't cause it to open. He locked the knob and closed the door for a final time. He said, "That'll have to do it."

Jack packed up his tools and closed his tool box. There was a little scrap of wood and he picked that up. He stood there feeling like hell. He said, "I'm sorry that I never got to know you, Penny."

Grabbing his tool box, he headed home. The garage was empty when he reached it. He put down his toolbox and noticed that the light on the coffeepot was on again. He looked out and saw that the cord went over to Claire's house. He said, "I hope they got her permission to do that."

"They did," Abby said having walked up behind him. She looked at his face and noticed that there were tear streaks on it.

Jack poured a cup of coffee and looked in the crock pot. There was still a little oatmeal left. There was a pile of bowls and some spoons. Using a ladle, he shoveled out a spoonful into a bowl. After grabbing a spoon, he went over to the couch. Sitting down, he said, "I'm sorry. That just made me mad."

"I can understand that," Abby said. She poured a bit of coffee and sat down on the couch opposite him.

Jack ate a bite of the oatmeal and grimaced. He asked, "Is there any milk?"

"Not anymore," Abby answered. There had been some milk out earlier, but it had disappeared about the same time that most of the oatmeal had been consumed.

He got up and went over to the table. He poured a bit of sugar over the oatmeal trying to do something to improve the flavor. He returned to the couch and took another spoonful of hot cereal. It wasn't much better with sugar on it, but there was no way that he was going to let food go to waste when he was hungry and broke.

Abby watched him eat. She could imagine how bad the oatmeal tasted. It had sat there for more than an hour. She asked, "It is Saturday. What are you going to do?"

"I'll mow my lawn, Claire's lawn, and the lawn next door," Jack said. There wasn't that much else that could be done that weekend.

Abby said, "I had such plans on taking a hot bath this weekend."

"Sorry. The banks really did a number on us," Jack said. He wasn't going to admit it, but he had been dreaming about taking a long hot shower sometime in the near future. He said, "I might go over to the YMCA and take a shower there."

"I didn't think of that," Abby said.

Jack sat back and said, "I've learned a lot about being poor the past year. Ever since the housing market crashed, my income dropped through the floor. I'm a good hard worker and I do quality work. There is just no work out there."

"I know," Abby said.

"I thought the election would change things. There was a lot promised about change," Jack said shaking his head.

Abby snorted and said, "The only changes that I've seen are all bad."

Jack remembered that he had left his truck at the bank. He said, "Do you think that you can take me by the bank to pick up my truck?"

"Why did you leave it there?" Abby asked.

Jack said, "There was a car that was in a bad accident. The driver had just come out of the bank and I don't think he was paying attention. I was in a state of shock and wasn't in shape to drive home after the business at the bank."

"Were they hurt bad?" Abby asked.

"I didn't go over to the car. A police car arrived before I was even out of my truck. It looked pretty bad to me," Jack answered. He wondered how much time had actually passed between hearing the crash and getting out of his truck. In hindsight, he realized it could have been thirty seconds or ten minutes. He shoveled another mouthful of oatmeal in his mouth trying to take his mind off the subject.

"I'll be glad to drive you over there," Abby said looking over at her car. She was almost out of gasoline, but wasn't going to bring it up.

"Thanks," Jack said.

Claire came in and said, "Hello, Jack."

"Good morning, Claire," Jack said rising from the couch.

Looking at the bowl of oatmeal, she said, "Wouldn't you like some milk in that?"

"There wasn't any left," Jack answered.

Claire snorted and said, "I've got gallons of it in the refrigerator."

"I didn't know," Jack said.

"You can sit down, Jack. You don't have to stand on account of me," Claire said when she realized why he was standing.

"That's okay," Jack said.

"Sit."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said returning to his seat. Abby grinned at the exchange.

Claire said, "You kind of shook up, Bev."

"Who?" Jack asked.

"The woman who ran the cord over to Penny's house," Claire said.

"Sorry," Jack said.

Claire studied Jack for a minute while preparing a cup of coffee. She said, "Don't be sorry. It was a very thoughtless thing she did. Sometimes she doesn't use her brain when she thinks."

Jack nodded his head and took another spoonful of oatmeal. It tasted worse the colder it got. There wasn't much to say about the matter with the electric cord. He grunted rather than reply.

Claire said, "That was nice of you to fix the door."

"It was the least I could do," Jack said.

"It was a nice thing to do," Claire said. His outrage had upset the women who had been in the garage, but it had really impressed Claire. She had reminded the other women that he had gone out last night to bring them over for dinner out of concern for their well being. Despite having very little, he had opened his yard and garage to them. She reminded them that Abby had made runs to the warehouse store to buy the food and had helped cook all of those hotdogs.

"Well, I'm going mow our lawns after I'm done with the oatmeal. I figure that I'll head off to the YMCA after picking up my truck," Jack said.

She had noticed that he had suggested that he was mowing her lawn as well as his. Old prejudices about how a man was supposed to be the breadwinner and that a poor man was a failure were hard to die. Jack was doing a pretty good job of killing those old prejudices. Claire said, "We're doing a spaghetti dinner tonight."

"Just let me know what you need me to do," Jack said. There was one more spoonful of oatmeal in his bowl. Steeling himself, he dished it into his mouth.

"I'll do that," Claire said watching him. She had a feeling that he'd clean his plate regardless of how bad the food tasted. It reminded her of when she was growing up. Her mother used to tell her that if the food went on her plate then it went into her stomach. She could sit at the table all night until she ate everything on her plate.

While Jack was mowing the lawns, Abby and Claire sat in the garage. Claire said, "He's a good man."

"Yes, I think so too," Abby said. She knew that she'd be living in her car at the moment if he hadn't taken her in when he had.

"I straightened out a couple of the neighbors about the commune idea," Claire said.

Abby asked, "What do you mean?"

"They didn't think it included you and Jack. I set them straight on that right away. I let them know that it was your idea," Claire said.

"I bet that went over like a lead balloon," Abby said. The comments earlier that morning had been less than friendly.

"Some of them thought that it was a retiree kind of thing. I more or less told them that you two were in or I was out," Claire said.

"Oh," Abby said frowning. She said, "That was probably a mistake. You'd get a lot more help from them than from us."

"Who is mowing my lawn at the moment?" Claire asked.

"Jack."

"Who fixed my refrigerator without charging me for the part or the labor?" Claire asked.

"Jack."

"Who ran out yesterday and told everyone that I wanted them to come over here for dinner?"

"Jack."

"Who dropped everything and took me to the store yesterday?" Claire asked.

"I did."

"Who made a second trip to the store when we started to get low on food?"

"I did."

"Who helped set up the serving area here?" Claire asked looking around the garage.

"I did."

"That's right. It wasn't one of them," Claire said pointing a finger at Abby to drive home her point.

"Some of them helped," Abby said. She didn't know the names of most of the people who had showed up the previous evening. There were six or seven who had immediately gotten to work in the kitchen.

Claire smiled and said, "I noticed who did what and when. I'll give everyone a chance to help out. The ones who pitch in will be a part of the commune. Those who don't lift a finger can suck eggs as far as I'm concerned."

"That makes sense," Abby said thinking that Claire was rather feisty at times.

"Don't worry. Some of the people who were here don't know us yet. We'll give them some time to show their true colors," Claire said.

"Okay," Abby said thinking that Claire's approach to finding members for the commune was rather direct and didn't allow much room for nonsensical arguments. You either showed up ready to work or you weren't let in.

"I liked that young couple that was over here with the kids. That woman had those two young boys running and fetching stuff for everyone else. That nine year old was cute walking around with the pitcher of ice tea making sure that everyone had enough to drink. She's raising them to be gentlemen," Claire said with a smile.

"I noticed," Abby said. "The husband left early."

"He was embarrassed to be here. He believes that a man is supposed to support his family. I imagine that he was really depressed about the whole thing," Claire said.

"I was talking to her. She told me that they had gotten a balloon mortgage when they bought the house. The rate on it went up again and it ruined them," Abby said.

Claire said, "The whole idea of a balloon mortgage is criminal. It starts out as an admission that the borrower can't afford the house."

"I never thought about it that way," Abby said. She had actually thought about using one of those special deals to buy a house at one time.

"It is a con. The bank sucks the buyer in with promises of low payments. They let the buyer pay on the house until the interest rate increases to the point where they can't pay anymore. The bank then steals the house from them and sells it for more money than the original loan since the value of the house has increased," Claire said in disgust.

"It does sound criminal when you put it that way," Abby said.

"It sure backfired on them when price of real estate dropped," Claire said with an angry little laugh.

"They were stuck with bad loans and worthless houses," Abby said.

"Used car salesmen," Claire said with a snort.

Abby said, "I wonder what kind of mortgage Jack has."

"He got a regular mortgage when he bought the house and refinanced it when the interest rates dropped," Claire said. She remembered him telling her about it one afternoon when she had spotted him in a sports coat and tie.

Abby said, "That's good."

"Is this commune idea that you have going to allow us to keep our houses?" Claire asked. She had announced the formation of the commune without actually understanding what it involved.

"Sure," Abby said confused by the question.

"You weren't expecting me to move in with you?" Claire asked.

Abby shook her head. She said, "Your house is yours. The commune is about pooling our resources so that we can make it through the tough times. It is about being able to buy food in bulk so that it is cheaper for everyone. It is about being able to get by with fewer cars. It is about each person being able to chip in with some skill or service that none of the others possess."

"Speaking of food, we have a problem," Claire said.

"What?" Abby asked.

Claire said, "We had almost a hundred people show up last night. After getting an inventory of what everyone has, we've only got enough food for three days. I have nine hundred dollars left of the original thousand. That includes the two hundred that young man dropped off. I don't know how we're going to manage to feed everyone for ten days."

Abby said, "We'll have to serve spaghetti, noodle soup, oatmeal, bologna, spam, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We might be able to get some good deals on bushels of fresh vegetables from the farmer's market. A couple loaves of bread go far."

"Let me rephrase it. We have to spend a dollar a day per person for food," Claire said. She had no idea how they could do that.

"I don't even know if that is possible," Abby said feeling depressed. She knew that things were a lot more expensive buying them packaged in individual packages. The giant sized items had only cost four times as much as the individual serving, but served six times as many people. Still, that wasn't enough to cut the cost down to a dollar a day per person.

Nodding her head in agreement, Claire said, "I'll do the best that I can, but I fear that the last three days will be pretty bad."

"We'll do the best that we can," Abby corrected.

"You're right. We'll do the best that we can," Claire said with a smile. She wondered how her parents and grandparents had managed to survive the great depression. She figured that she'd be learning that soon enough for herself.

"I hope something will turn up," Abby said biting her lower lip. There was always the possibility that she would end up working a night or two in the massage parlor giving happy endings for the extra tip.

After Jack finished mowing the lawns, Abby gave him a ride to where his truck had been parked overnight. Someone had tried to break into the carry chest in the back of his truck. Jack looked at the damage without saying a word. There wasn't too much he could say. He got in his truck and drove off to the YMCA.

Abby sat in the parking lot looking at the ice cream parlor across the street thinking it would be years before she would be able to afford going in for a scoop of ice cream. She noticed that the parking lot of the shopping center looked nearly deserted which was strange for a Saturday morning. Normally it was difficult getting a parking space. She muttered, "I bet half the stores will be closed six months from now."

Starting her car, she drove back to the house thinking that it had become impossible to make any kind of financial plan. Wanting to get her mind off of the depressing subject, she turned on the radio. There was a news announcement stating that the banking regulation that had caused so much trouble the previous day was canceled. She looked at the radio and said, "I'll believe that when I get my money out of the account."

Abby returned home and cold washed the cups and glasses that had accumulated on the counter next to the sink. Once that little task was done, she wandered around the house looking for something else to do. She had washed the laundry earlier that week. Jack was a rather tidy person and there wasn't a mess to clean up. Without electricity there was no television to watch or music to play in the background. She couldn't vacuum the carpet for the same reason.

There was nothing to distract her from her depression. Giving into it, she went into her bedroom and curled up on the bed. Crying, she said, "I used to have such dreams."



-------

Chapter 9


Jack returned home from work Monday night with a little cash in his pocket. The new regulation had been rescinded and he had been able to get access to the money in his checking account. He wondered what that meant with regard to dinner and the commune. He figured that now that the crisis was over, so was the impetus for everyone to work together.

Pulling into the driveway, he was surprised to find a dozen people gathered in the garage. Someone, he assumed it was Abby, had brought out a lamp so that there would be light out there. He walked up to the garage and was immediately greeted by Claire, "There you are."

"Hello, Claire," Jack said. "Where is everyone?"

Claire said, "Now that the crisis is over, the crowd has thinned down a bit."

"I was wondering if anyone was going to be here tonight," Jack said looking around at all of the activity. He still wondered how it was that his garage had become the meeting place for everyone.

The young couple with the two kids was there. The wife was busy watching over the kids and making sure that they didn't get into mischief. The husband was standing off by himself trying not to be noticed. Beverly Smith, the woman who had run the extension cord to the house next door, was seated on the couch. Wanda Johnson, the woman who lived across the street from him, was at the crock pot stirring the contents. Liz Andrews, the woman who lived across the street from Claire, was giving the two kids glasses of milk. Two other women who lived on the street were there, but he didn't know their names. There were three women and an elderly man who he had never met sitting on the couch.

"I had expected about forty people to show up, but this is it. Wanda made three crock pots of stew, but it looks like we'll only eat one of them tonight," Claire said leading Jack over to the table. She handed him a bowl and said, "Eat up."

"It smells good. The others don't know what they are missing out on," Jack said looking at the stew. There were chunks of meat, potatoes, carrots, and peas swimming in a thick rich looking broth.

"I think we'll lose one or two more once things have calmed down a bit, but this is the core group of our commune," Claire said looking around at the people gathered there.

"We went from a hundred people down to fifteen of us?" Jack said doing a quick head count. He figured that by the end of the week there would be only the three of them left. He looked around for some bread, but spotted some hot rolls in a basket next to the crock pot. He grabbed one and lifted it to his nose to smell. He couldn't remember the last time that he had a hot roll.

"We'll probably end up with around ten people in the commune," Claire said smiling at the sight of him smelling the roll. She said, "Go ahead and eat."

"Thanks," Jack said walking over to the coffee table. He put the bowl down on the table in front of an empty seat and returned to the main table to grab some silverware. Returning to his chair, he dug into the stew.

Abby entered the garage carrying a pad of paper and a pen. She said, "I guess this is everyone."

"Yes," Claire answered.

"I suppose that we ought to get down to business," Abby said. She looked over the pad of paper and said, "I guess the first thing we have to establish are the goals of this commune."

"What do you mean?" Liz Andrews asked.

"I mean, we have to decide what it is we want to get out of joining forces. Do we just want to share food expenses? Do we want to start carpooling together?" Abby answered.

"Oh," Liz said frowning.

Jack raised his hand and waited to be recognized. Not surprised that he didn't interrupt, Abby asked, "Do you have something you want to say, Jack?"

"Could we introduce ourselves? I don't know everyone," Jack said looking kind of embarrassed. He had a feeling that everyone there knew everyone else.

"That's a good idea," Abby said. She said, "I'm Abigail Dickerson, but everyone just calls me Abby."

Claire said, "I'm Claire Bridger. I live next door."

"I'm Liz Andrews and I live across the street from Claire."

"I'm Wanda Johnson and I live right across the street."

"I'm Emily Anderson. I live three houses down the street from here."

"I'm Beverly Smith and I live on the other side of Claire," Bev answered. She looked over at Jack and said, "I kind of owe Jack an apology for the other day."

"That's okay," Jack said.

"Thank you," Bev said.

"I'm Cheryl Benjamin. That's my husband, Rich over there. The boys are Chuck and Mike."

Jack noticed that Rich frowned when his wife introduced them. He wasn't sure, but he suspected that she was the one and only reason they were over there. It wouldn't surprise him if they quit within a day or two.

"I'm Ella Shultz," one of the women Jack didn't know said. She had a thick German accent that made it a little difficult to understand her. She gestured to a much older woman beside her and said, "This is my mother-in-law, Frau Shultz."

The elderly woman nodded her head on hearing her name. She looked around with bright eyes, but it was obvious that she didn't understand much of what was being said. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she said, "Guten Abend."

"She said good evening," Ella said with a weak smile. She added, "She doesn't speak English."

"Guten Abend, Frau Shultz," Jack said nodding his head at the little old woman. She smiled at him.

"I'm Sally Bagley. I live next to the Benjamins."

"I'm Dave Putnam and this lovely little lady is my wife Laura. We live right down the street."

"I'm Abigail Whitney, but everyone calls me Gail. I live next to Dave and Laura."

Jack realized that he hadn't introduced himself. He said, "I'm Jack Dunne and I live here."

Abby said, "Now that we all know each other a little better, I guess it is time to decide what our goals are for this commune."

Bev asked, "Are we all going to move in together and do that free love stuff?"

"No," Jack answered with a shudder. He was surprised to see that Bev looked disappointed at that answer.

Claire laughed and tapped him on the shoulder. She said, "You don't have to make that face, Jack."

"Sorry," Jack said. The idea of having sex with a woman who was fifty years older than him was a little unsettling.

Abby smiled at Jack. Turning back to face Bev, she said, "You don't have to give up your houses. If any of you decide to move in with each other that would be your choice. I don't think any of us would be interested in going as far as having common property."

"You're right. The house is the only thing I have to leave my son and daughter," Gail said.

Abby said, "I was thinking more along the lines of sharing the food expenses, some of the work around the house, and helping each other out more than anything else."

"So how would that work?" Dave asked.

"Well, some of us aren't capable of mowing our lawns and end up having to pay someone to do it. If you get your lawn mowed, that's a little money you save every month. The person who mows the lawn might need some laundry done. One of you can slip their laundry in with yours. That saves some money at the Laundromat," Abby said.

Claire said, "We all chip in some money for food and then take turns cooking meals for everyone else. Some of us work or have to watch kids, so going shopping isn't very easy for them. Those of us with more time can do the shopping. We can clip coupons, search out good deals, and take advantage of specials."

"I don't drive," Ella said.

"One of us could take you to your appointments. You can come with others when you need to do your shopping," Abby said.

Ella said, "Sehr gut. My mother-in-law and I are good housekeepers."

"Jack is pretty good at fixing things," Abby said.

"My Ernie used to work on wood out in the garage all of the time. Maybe you would like to see if you can use some of his tools," Bev said.

"Thanks," Jack said wondering if he was going to become the lawn-mower and fixit man. He tried to remember how many houses were represented by the people there. He came up with a count of nine. That wasn't too bad since he typically mowed that many houses on Saturdays anyway.

"I used to be a plumber," Dave said looking over at Jack.

"That's great," Jack said relieved that he wouldn't be the only one fixing things around the neighborhood. He thought that it would be kind of nice to work with someone else on some of the repairs he knew would be coming his way.

"Rich can mow lawns," Cheryl said. Jack noticed that Rich didn't look all that excited about being volunteered to do work. She added, "I like to garden."

"I do a bit of gardening myself," Liz said.

Cheryl said, "Maybe next spring we could plant a vegetable garden."

Nodding her head appreciatively, Claire said, "We all have something to contribute that will make life easier for the others."

"You're right," Liz said looking around at the others hoping to get nods of agreement. There were a few, but not as many as she had hoped. She settled back in the couch trying not to be noticed.

"I did a little research over the weekend. If we pool our money, we can buy the giant economy size products. We'll get as much as fifty percent more for our money over buying the individual sized items," Abby said.

"Does that mean that I won't be eating noodle soup for half of the month?" Gail asked skeptically.

"Yes," Claire answered.

Laughing, Gail said, "Count me in. I'll die a happy woman if I never have to have another bowl of that garbage."

"Me too," Sally said.

"No more spaghetti," Rich said looking over at his wife. She served spaghetti three times a week.

"There's spaghetti and there's spaghetti," Bev said.

"No more spaghetti," Rich said flatly.

"I'll cook you a steak if you don't like my spaghetti," Bev said with a smile. She took a lot of pride in her spaghetti sauce.

"I might take you up on that," Rich said.

"We can buy bulk items for breakfast and lunch. By splitting them up, we still realize the cost savings without having to share every meal," Claire said.

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked.

"How many of you buy a loaf of bread and find that you're throwing half of it away because it has gone moldy on you?" Abby asked.

A couple of the women raised their hands. One of the women said, "I get the smaller loaf. It costs nearly the same amount as the large loaf."

"I freeze mine, but it doesn't taste the same after it thaws," Wanda said.

Claire said, "If we split a loaf of bread four ways, you'll be getting fresh bread every three or four days. If we split up the packaged lunchmeat four ways, you can have a different kind of lunch meat every two or three days."

"That makes sense," Wanda said. When she bought a package of lunch meat, she usually ended up eating it for lunch and supper for three days.

Abby said, "We'll set up a central repository of food items. You come in and take what you need for a day or two. We wash some small jars and you can put condiments in it so that you're getting just as much as you need. We get the huge boxes of cereal and you take enough for the next day or two. Everything stays fresh because you've got fifteen people consuming them."

"A quart of milk is almost half the price of a gallon, but there are four quarts in a gallon. The only ones here who can go through a gallon of milk before it spoils are the Benjamins. You're paying twice as much for milk by buying it in sizes small enough to use," Claire said.

Jack said, "I don't like skim milk and I know that Abby likes it."

"We have enough people here that we can buy a variety of milks, cheeses, lunch meats, and other items," Claire said.

"Okay," Jack said. He looked down at his empty bowl of stew and wondered if he'd be rude getting another helping.

As if reading his mind, Claire said, "Go ahead and get some more. There's plenty."

"Don't mind if I do," Jack said. He smiled over at Wanda and said, "That stew is delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it," Wanda said smiling proudly. It had been a long time since she had cooked for anyone beside herself.

It was time for Claire to bring up the one subject that was going to cause the most discussion. She asked, "How much does everyone budget for food for a month?"

The answers ranged from a hundred and twenty five to two hundred per person. Abby looked around the room thinking that people had really been skimping on food. She had gone through the grocery store Sunday making note of the prices for various common items. Even a can of soup was more than a dollar. A box of oatmeal was five dollars. A lot of things ran three dollars or more. Her average weekly trip to the store cost her fifty dollars and that wasn't because she was buying gourmet foods.

"How can you live on that little food?" Abby asked.

"It is not easy," Ella answered tiredly. She sighed and said, "It has been a long time since I've made schnitzel."

"Weiner Schnitzel?" Frau Shultz asked looking around excited.

"Spater," Ella said. Frau Shultz sat back in the chair looking sad.

"With a little planning and effort on our part, I figure that we can get twice as much food for the same amount of money. I went on a little price comparison expedition at the grocery store Sunday. Like I said before, a gallon of milk is about twice the price of a quart of milk, but you get four times as much. A five pound bag of apples is the same as two pounds of unpackaged apples and you get two and a half times as much. The family size soup is twice the price of the regular size soup and you get three times as much. Even meats in quantity cost ten percent less than single servings," Abby said.

Claire said, "We couldn't buy the larger quantities because they would spoil. Together we can."

"So long as I don't have to eat noodle soup for half of the month, I'm in," Gail said. She had come to hate the stuff, but it was about all she could afford to eat towards the end of the month.

Tearing out a sheet of paper from her notebook, Abby said, "I worked out an average menu for a week that we could afford if everyone put in a hundred and fifty dollars a month. Take a look at it and tell me what you think."

She handed it to Claire. Claire looked over the list and then passed it on to Jack. He just passed it on to the woman next to him. Gail looked up at Abby and said, "You're sure about that?"

"Yes," Abby said nodding her head.

"Pies?" Gail said looking over the menu. It had been ages since she had a nice homemade pie.

"Ice cream, too," Abby said with a smile. "The five quart package of ice cream is twice the price of the one quart."

"You're kidding?" Jack said thinking he should have looked over the menu.

Dave looked over the menu when it reached him and said, "Eggs and bacon for breakfast twice a week?"

"That's right. If you buy the sixty count package of eggs rather than five packages of a dozen eggs it is like getting a dozen eggs for free," Abby said.

"I can't believe it," Dave said passing the list to his wife.

Abby said, "I did assume that the pancakes were all served at one place Sunday morning. I felt that would be a good time to have our weekly meeting."

"What about church service?" Bev asked.

"I figure that if we meet about 10:30, then we'll be done with church by the time we meet for breakfast," Abby answered.

Sally said, "I like the idea of having a community meeting after church."

"It has been a decade since I ate that well," Bev said looking down at the menu. Her standard of living had gone down significantly when her husband had died.

When the menu reached Rich, he glanced down at it and snorted. He said, "I see that spaghetti is on the menu."

"Rich!" Cheryl said sharply. He sat back and tossed the paper to her. He crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling.

Jack looked over at the man and shook his head. He could tell that all of this talk of a commune hurt his pride. It appeared to him that Rich was likely to put his foot down soon and that would be the end of that family's involvement in the commune.

He decided to get one or two items that were bothering him out of the way before Rich exploded. He said, "I kind of have a question about labor. Some folks might end up working a whole lot more than others. How do we make it fair?"

Claire had thought about that question a lot since her unplanned announcement when the press showed up Friday night. She said, "I think that everyone ought to put in eight hours of effort a week helping to make the commune succeed. Your work has to be recognized by someone else to be credited to you. If you fall short, you owe the commune twenty dollars an hour that you're short."

"What kind of work?" Ella asked.

"You do laundry for others for an hour, that's an hour's worth of effort. You clip coupons for an hour, that's an hour's worth of effort. You mow someone's lawn for an hour and that is an hour worth of effort. You go shopping for the commune for three hours, then that is three hours worth of effort. You cook a meal for everyone and the time spent on the meal is your contributed effort."

Rich said, "Now wait a minute. I work for a living and I can't spend eight hours doing stuff for other people when I've got my own stuff to do."

Cheryl put a hand over her eyes and shook her head. She had been afraid that was going to happen. She looked up in shock when Abby asked, "You mean that you couldn't take notes at the weekly meeting for an hour? You couldn't help out with making pancakes before the meeting? You couldn't spend an hour or two typing up the notes and distributing them? You couldn't work with Claire for an hour to come up with an agenda? You couldn't help Jack and Dave mow a lawn or two a week?"

"Well, I suppose I could," Rich said. The things that he was getting asked to do weren't that bad.

Cheryl asked, "What about the boys?"

"Well, they could do a couple of chores. They could set out the syrup and stuff before the pancake breakfast. I'm sure that they could help clean up afterwards. It might not be eight hours, but they're young," Claire said.

Bev smiled and said, "I wouldn't mind earning four hours by babysitting a couple of boys on a Friday or Saturday night. It would give a young couple a chance to be a couple again."

"That would be nice," Cheryl said. She even entertained the idea of picking up a part-time job if she could find someone to babysit the boys after school. That would really help their financial situation tremendously.

"I suppose," Rich said doubtfully, but without his previous anger.

Abby said, "It isn't about losing anything. It is about gaining things that would have cost you a lot more money than you have."

"I'm satisfied," Jack said deciding that eight hours a week wasn't a high price to pay. He decided that he wouldn't have to cook, clean the house, or run too many errands after work.

Claire said, "I would like everyone to think about it. We'll meet here for dinner the rest of the week and discuss the matter. We'll officially start the commune on Sunday morning."

Jack thought about it for a second. He frowned and asked, "Who's paying for the food?"

"Well, a couple of the people who came by over the weekend gave me twenty dollars for their share of the meals. They weren't interested in joining the commune. I've gotten most of my money back and I figure that we'll use the two hundred dollars that Gail's grandson brought over," Claire said.

Beaming with pride, Gail said, "He's a good boy."

Figuring out how much he would normally spend in a week, Jack said, "I'm chipping in forty dollars."

"You don't have to do that," Claire said.

"Yes, I do," Jack said. "That's how much I would have spent on food this week anyway."

"Same here," Abby said.

Ella reached down for the purse at her feet and opened it. She pulled out her wallet. She counted out sixty dollars in crumpled ones, fives, and tens. Holding them out with a trembling hand, she said, "Here's all I have for my mother-in-law and me."

Claire went over to Ella and took the money while Ella and Frau Shultz had a minor conversation in German. Several others got out some money to chip in to help defray the cost of food for the rest of the week.

Clearing her throat, Abby said, "There's one thing that we need and that is a good sized freezer."

"I've got one in the garage. I unplugged it a couple years ago because it was just using electricity and there was nothing in it. I'll plug it in tonight when I get home," Sally said.

Deciding that he wanted a chance to talk to Rich alone, Jack said, "Maybe Rich and I could go with you and make sure that it works."

"I know Rich will be glad to help," Cheryl said. She elbowed Rich in the side when he snorted in displeasure.

Angry to hear that he was being volunteered, but not wanting to make a scene, Rich said, "Uh, okay."

"Good," Jack said smiling at the man.

A half an hour later, Jack and Rich walked Sally to her home. Once there, the two men went into the garage and located the freezer while Sally directed their efforts from outside the garage. Squatting down, Jack fumbled around the back of freezer until he found the cord. It only took him a minute to plug it in. He turned to Sally and said, "It will need a few minutes to start cooling down. We'll check it in five minutes or so. We should be able to see if it is working by then. Why don't you go on inside the house? I'll let you know if everything is okay."

"Thank you," Sally said. She really didn't know the two men and was a little nervous about being out there with them.

Once Sally was in the house, Jack said, "You've got a nice family, Rich."

"The boys are great," Rich said.

"Don't fuck it up," Jack said turning to look Jack in the eye and stepping closer to the man.

Rich stepped back and asked, "What do you mean?"

"That wife of yours is doing everything she knows to do in order to keep your family together. Having you standing around with your thumb stuck up your butt and acting like an asshole isn't helping you, her, or your kids. I don't know about you, but if I can help myself, a family, and a bunch of little old ladies all at the same time then I think a little effort on my part is well rewarded. So I'll tell you one more time, don't fuck it up," Jack said.

"How dare you?" Rich said angrily.

"I'm just being a good neighbor," Jack answered. He opened the freezer door and felt the back wall. He said, "It is already a little cooler to the touch. I think the freezer works just fine. I'll tell Sally and then head home. Close the garage door when you leave."

"Who are you to judge me?" Rich asked staring at Jack's back.

Jack turned around and, while pointing a finger at Rich, said, "I'm just a guy who made half as much money this year as I made a year ago. I don't even have electricity in my house because I can't pay my bills. I'm nobody special and I know it. You got three people who think you're special and you don't have a clue. Grow up and don't ruin a good thing."



-------

Chapter 10


Jack dropped the envelope with his mortgage payment in the mailbox with a sigh of relief. Driving away from the post office, he stopped by the self-service gas station that advertised the lowest price that he'd seen in three days. Getting out of the truck, he reached into his pocket to take stock of his cash. He pulled out a wrinkled twenty dollar bill. Staring at the price of gasoline, he hoped that it would buy enough gasoline to last the week because that was the last of his cash.

He headed inside the store to pay for his gasoline up front. There was a long line of people buying lottery tickets. Jack shook his head thinking that the harder times got, the more foolish people acted. The chances of hitting the lottery were worse than getting struck by lightning. The man directly in front of him rattled off a constant stream of numbers and ultimately spent fifty dollars buying lottery tickets.

Jack thought about how the bank had basically stolen fifty-five dollars from him. That man's money was just as gone as Jack's but at least he had some paper to show for it. He didn't even have that. Even worse, he had to leave fifty-five dollars in the account so when they stole another twenty-five from him he wouldn't bounce his mortgage check and have to pay another thirty dollar fee. He wondered what the next catastrophe would bring.

The clerk finally finished with man and looked at Jack. Having spent most of the day doing nothing except selling lottery tickets, he asked, "What numbers?"

"I'm buying gas," Jack said holding up his twenty dollar bill. He added, "Twenty on pump five."

"Sure thing boss," the clerk said taking the twenty and punching the controls to activate the gas pump. He said, "The lottery is up to three hundred million."

"It could be ten dollars or a billion as far as I'm concerned," Jack said in disgust. He didn't have a dollar to throw away.

Jack returned to the gas pump. Sticking the nozzle in the gas tank, he pulled the handle. He watched the digital readout of his purchase flash past. Like the previous year, the price of gasoline had climbed up to four dollars a gallon over the summer. It was only now dropping down. Twenty dollars only bought five and a half gallons of gasoline. He said, "There's still a gallon of gas at home for the lawn mower. I'll use that if I run out before the end of the week."

He shook the handle a few times after the pump cut off at twenty dollars just in the hope that it would shake out a few more drops. He hung up the nozzle and closed the cap. Looking over at the mini-market where he had paid for his gas, he wished that he could just grab a cold soda, but that cost money. Getting into the cab of the truck, he said, "Maybe they'll have some ice cream tonight. That would be a real treat."

He took off for home. He hadn't driven more than two miles when he spotted Abby's car stopped on the right lane blocking traffic with her emergency lights blinking. Wondering why she was parked there, he pulled up in front of her and parked his truck. Walking back to her car, he could see that she was crying behind the wheel. He knocked on the window to get her attention. She jumped and looked up at him. A momentary expression of fear on her face changed to relief. She opened the door and said, "My car isn't working."

"What's the matter?" Jack asked with a frown.

"The engine runs, but the car doesn't move forward," Abby said.

"Let me try it," Jack said.

Abby got out and stood in front of the car. Jack got in and started the car. He put it into drive and released the brake. The car moved forward a little bit, but the engine was racing way too much for the forward progress achieved. He put the transmission into reverse and the car backed up with a bit more responsiveness. Shaking his head, he knew that the transmission was shot. He put it into second gear. The car moved a little better, but it was still sluggish. It was just good enough to make the five miles to the house.

He turned off the engine and got out of the car. Walking over to where Abby waited for him, he said, "Here are my car keys. Why don't you drive the truck to the house and I'll drive your car? It is going to take some nursing to get it there."

"How bad is it?" Abby asked. It wasn't that she loved her little beat up old car, but it was all that she had anymore.

"It is bad," Jack said not wanting to sugar coat it.

"Can it be fixed?" Abby asked.

"It will cost somewhere between nine hundred and eleven hundred dollars," Jack said. It was too much money to put in that little car.

"You can't fix it?" Abby asked feeling sick to her stomach. She desperately hoped that he could fix the car for her.

Shaking his head, Jack said, "The transmission is the most complicated part of a car. I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Damn," Abby said. Just when it seemed like she was starting to make some progress forward something had to come along and knock her back. Jack occasionally joked that the world waited for you to get up just enough to expose your soft underbelly so that the next kick would hurt even more. She was beginning to believe that he was right about it.

"Let's just get it to the house and then we can talk about it," Jack said handing over to her the keys to his truck.

"I'll follow you," Abby said.

"Good," Jack said.

It was a long slow drive to the house. He couldn't get the car over ten miles per hour so it took thirty minutes to get it home. At least there hadn't been any hills on the way there. He parked the car in front of the house and got out. His back was tight. He rolled his shoulders trying to get the tension out of them, but it was a wasted effort. Abby had just parked the truck and ran into the house.

There was the regular crowd in his garage. He looked at the house and then at the garage trying to figure out what he should do. He knew that Abby was pretty upset, but he wasn't sure that he was the best person for her to talk with. He walked over to the garage.

"I saw that you were driving Abby's car. Is something that matter with it?" Claire asked when he arrived at the garage.

"Her transmission went out," Jack said. By the expressions on everyone's faces, he knew that they understood just how bad it was.

"Just how bad is it?" Gail asked.

"Her car is history," Jack answered bluntly.

"She must be crushed," Cheryl said.

Jack noticed that Rich wasn't there. He didn't say anything about it. He nodded his head and said, "She's pretty upset. I figure she's in the house crying her eyes out."

"Why aren't you in there comforting her?" Cheryl asked rather pointedly.

"We don't have that kind of relationship," Jack answered uncomfortably. He looked around and said, "I think she needs someone better than me talking to her at the moment."

Patting him on the arm, Claire said, "Let me go talk to her."

"Thanks," Jack said noticing that a few of the women were looking at him with frowns.

With her arms crossed over her chest, Cheryl asked, "What do you mean you don't have that kind of relationship?"

"She rents a room from me. To tell the truth, I barely know her. She's lived here two weeks and those have been crazy weeks," Jack answered.

"Oh. I thought she was a live-in girlfriend," Cheryl said.

"No. We've had six conversations or so since she's moved in," Jack said shifting from one foot to the other. He looked around the garage and added, "We're just trying to help each other through these tough economic times. She was losing her apartment and I was about to lose the house. With her rent, I kept the house and she has a place to live. We don't even have electricity yet."

"Yes, you do," Bev said.

"I do?" Jack asked surprised.

Bev said, "She gave me the electricity bill and the money to pay it last night. I went to the electric company and paid it this morning. It should be on now."

"Oh. I didn't know," Jack said wondering how he had missed that little detail. Abby must have talked to her while he was over at Sally's house to check out the freezer.

Liz asked, "How long have you been without electricity?"

"Two months," Jack answered embarrassed by the admission. To him, nothing pointed out his failure as much as living in the dark in the modern world. Electricity symbolized a bare minimum standard of living. Without it, you were nothing.

"That's rough," Cheryl said. She didn't know how Rich would react to that, but she was sure that he would have been a bear to live with. It was already unpleasant enough now and they were just barely making it.

Jack said, "It was her idea to start a commune. Even in the two weeks she's been here, I can tell that the idea works. I'm not saying that things have been all that great, but they could have been a whole lot worse."

"I thought it was Claire's idea," Bev said. She had been one of the original people who felt that the two young couples should have been excluded from the commune.

"No. It was Abby. She started talking about how we could live better by banding together than living apart. I've got to tell you that it took a bunch of convincing to get me to go along with it," Jack said.

"Why?" Laura asked.

"I don't know. I guess it just always seemed to me that a man should be able to support himself and his family. I've changed my mind on that matter. Sometimes the world is just a little stronger than any single individual," Jack said.

"That's one of the lessons that life teaches us all," Ella said.

Bev said, "Why don't you get something to eat? We have lasagna, salad, and garlic bread tonight."

"Lasagna?" Jack asked wide-eyed. He looked over at the dish feeling his mouth water. He went over and fixed a plate of food. The cheese on the lasagna had melted and formed long strings when he dished it onto his plate. The tomato sauce wasn't too wet or dry, but just the right texture for the lasagna noodles to stay together. There was even a little meat in it.

Bev laughed at the expression on his face and said, "I was pretty sure that you'd like that."

"Oh, this looks delicious," Jack said. He piled some salad on his plate. It was covered with a vinegar and oil dressing with some spices in it.

"There's enough there for seconds," Wanda said.

Looking around, Jack asked, "What about Dave and Rich? Have they eaten yet?"

"They've eaten. They are over at my place getting the freezer ready to move over here," Sally said.

"They're moving the freezer here?" Jack asked.

"It was Claire's suggestion. Your garage is basically the least filled with junk. It makes a good central spot to store the food," Bev said. She wasn't going to mention that he'd be the least likely to be afraid of people coming in his backyard.

"I guess," Jack said. He looked down at the food on his plate and said, "Maybe I should take this in the house for Abby."

"That would be a good idea," Cheryl said with obvious approval in her voice.

Jack picked up plate and headed towards the house. When he had left, Ella said, "I like him. Frau Shultz likes him, too."

Hearing her name, Frau Shults looked up. She asked, "Was?"

"Spater," Ella said. She spent half of her life translating for the elderly woman.

"I don't know what he said to Rich last night, but my husband came home a different man," Cheryl said watching him enter the house.

"I noticed," Ella said.

"The past year has been tough on him. Most of his pay is in the form of commissions and sales are way down," Cheryl said. The mortgage was getting larger and his pay was shrinking despite the fact that he was one of the top salesmen at his company. It didn't seem to matter how hard he worked, times just got harder and harder.

"Our incomes are fixed. I don't know what I'd do if they cut back social security," Bev said.

"Don't even suggest that. Some bastard in Washington is liable to overhear you," Liz said in disgust.

"The President promised change," Bev said.

"He didn't promise that it would be a change for the better," Wanda said.

Ella looked over at the house next door and said, "I'm sorry for Penny. She was a nice lady, but she was afraid of the world."

"She wasn't always afraid of the world. She was raped six years ago coming out of the mall and never got over it," Liz said.

"Someone raped her at her age?" Ella asked wide-eyed. She was afraid of getting mugged, but the idea that anyone would want to rape someone her age was hard to believe.

"It happens," Liz said.

Jack returned from the house and fixed a plate of food for himself. He sat down next to Frau Shultz. He winked at her and said, "Guten Abend, Frau Shultz."

"Guten Abend, Herr Jack," the elderly woman replied sitting up a little straighter at actually being noticed by someone. The young man was the only one of the group who tried to talk to her in German. The others all used her daughter-in-law as a translator.

Pointing to his food, he said, "Good."

"Sehr gut," Frau Shultz answered holding up her empty plate.

"Sehr gut," Jack repeated and smiled at her.

She looked over at the table and, pointing at the pitcher of iced tea, asked, "Wunschen Sie Tee?"

It took Jack a second to understand what she was asking him. The only word that he actually understood was tea so he decided that she was asking him if he wanted tea. He nodded his head trying to remember the word for thank you. He said, "Donkey."

Smiling at his mispronunciation, Ella corrected him, "Danke."

"Danke," Jack said to Frau Shultz. The old woman got up and went over to the pitcher of iced tea. She poured a glass and brought it back to Jack. When she handed it to him, he said, "Danke."

"Sie sind willkommen," Frau Shultz said returning to her seat.

Jack took a sip of the tea and said, "Sehr gut."

"Ja," Frau Shultz said happy to be included in a conversation for a change.

Jack attacked the lasagna with a vengeance. It had to be the best tasting food he had eaten in a long time. After eating a couple of bites, he looked up and said, "This is good."

"I'm glad you like it, Jack," Bev said with a little pride. It felt good to be cooking for an appreciative audience again. Cooking for one meant simple meals or a week's worth of leftovers. She had calculated the cost of the ingredients for the entire meal and had been surprised to discover that it was less than two dollars a person. Considering that their target was five dollars a day per person, she had felt particularly good about that meal.

Jack had a feeling that he was going to be eating very well for the next few weeks. He smiled and said, "I like it a lot."

"We might have enough left over for you to take to work with you for lunch," Bev said.

"That would be great," Jack said thinking that it definitely beat the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that he had taken to work with him that day. He took a bite out of the piece of garlic bread. There was a lot of garlic on it.

Wanda asked, "So how is Abby?"

"Claire is talking to her," Jack answered. He just gone inside and put the food on the kitchen table. The women were in Abby's bedroom so he had just knocked and called out that he had put a plate of food on the table for Abby.

He looked up and noticed that Dave and Rich were walking up his driveway lugging the freezer between them on a dolly. He dug into his food wolfing it down so that he would be able to help set up the freezer. His actions brought smiles to the faces of a number of the women in the garage. By the time he finished his food, Dave and Rich had pulled the freezer into the garage. Dave asked, "Where do you want it?"

Jack looked around at the garage. It currently held a dining room table complete with four chairs, two couches, and a coffee table. Near the door he had his lawnmower and garden tools. The back of the garage had a small workbench and his tools. He said, "I guess we can move the lawnmower and stuff to the back and put the freezer there at the front where it will be easy to access."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Rich said. With the help of Dave, he lowered the freezer to the floor of the garage.

Wanda said, "You could put the lawnmower and stuff in my garage. There's a little room in it. I think there's an edger, hedge trimmers, and other yard tools in there that you could use."

"Oh," Jack said. He hadn't thought about moving things out of his garage.

Bev said, "You should come by my garage to see the tools and stuff that Ernie had in there."

"My George had a bunch of tools. I don't even know what has happened with them," Gail said.

Rich said, "We might want to make an inventory of what we've got to work with around here. I bet we have nine lawn mowers and a half a dozen weed whackers. The one I have isn't worth a darn. I don't see how you manage to mow so many lawns with that dinky little lawn mower you have."

"I push it and it cuts," Jack said pushing the lawnmower out of the garage to get it out of the way.

"There's a riding lawn mower in my garage. My late husband got it after he had problems with his knees. He just couldn't walk that much," Wanda said.

Jack looked at Wanda thinking that he had mowed her lawn twenty times over the past two summers without knowing she had a riding lawnmower in her garage. He said, "That sure would make it easier to mow everyone's lawn."

"You can say that again," Rich said. With some of the right tools, a lot of jobs would be a whole lot easier. He grabbed the rake, a shovel, and a pair of hedge clippers to carry out of the garage.

Liz said, "My husband had a roto tiller to help with my garden."

Checking to make sure that there was enough room for the freezer, Rich said, "We are definitely going to have to take an inventory."

"Right," Dave said. He thought about it for a second and then added, "We probably ought to come up with a list of repairs that people need around the house. Things like dripping faucets, squeaky doors, and stuck windows."

"That's a good idea," Jack said. He said, "At least we would be able to prioritize so that we can fix stuff when we can afford them."

"A little preventive maintenance goes a long way," Dave said.

Jack said, "If we move some of this other stuff out of the way, we'd have enough room for a refrigerator."

"That's a good idea," Rich said.

"I've got one in the garage," Ella said raising a hand.

"I bet that we've got enough stuff squirreled around in our houses to furnish another house," Bev said with a laugh.

Rich and Jack wrestled the freezer into place. Jack said, "We can run an extension cord to the freezer now, but we'll probably want to run a permanent line to it."

"I can do that tomorrow," Dave said looking around the garage. He spotted where the electricity ran into the garage and traced the wiring around the structure. There was an overhead fluorescent light, plugs along the work bench, and one plug along the wall. He flipped the light switch and the overhead light flickered on. He said, "No problem."

"Oh," Jack said surprised. He had been thinking that he would have to do the work.

Dave came over with the end of the electric cord and said, "Plug it in and see if it works."

"Great," Jack said. He plugged in the freezer and it started running.

Dave said, "I'll run the wiring tomorrow. We can bring the refrigerator over when I'm done. That way we aren't wrestling it around twice."

"Good idea," Jack said. He looked around and realized that the three of them were just standing around the freezer looking at it. Joking, he said, "Too bad that we don't have a spare stove."

"I've got a hot plate," Wanda said trying to be helpful.

"So do I," Bev said.

Jack realized that although they hadn't formally decided on starting the commune everyone was acting like it was a done deal. He looked around surprised at the cohesiveness that the group was exhibiting. Even Rich had started supporting the idea and was making good suggestions. Dave unplugged the freezer saying, "No need to waste electricity. You'll have to turn the power off to the garage in the morning so that I can work on it."

"Right," Jack said. He hadn't thought about that. Looking around, he noticed the pad of paper that Abby had used the previous night. He wrote a quick note on a sheet and put it in his pocket to remind himself to shut off the fuse in the morning.

Abby and Claire made their way to the garage. Jack noticed that Abby's eyes were still a little red, but she wasn't crying. Before he had a chance to say anything, she said, "Thanks for driving my car home."

"That's the least I could have done," Jack said shrugging his shoulders.

"I can at least get my stuff out of it now," Abby said. The tears started to return.

Bev said, "I have two cars. You can use one of them."

Abby asked, "You have two cars?"

"My late husband passed away two years ago. We each had a car. I was going to sell his car, but the market was pretty bad so I kept it. I drive one car one week and the other car the next week. I basically drive them to church and the market," Bev said shrugging her shoulders.

"At least it hasn't been sitting there for two years," Jack said. Nothing was harder on a car than just sitting around.

His comment was completely ignored since Abby had thrown herself at Bev taking her in a cry filled hug. Sobbing, she said, "Thank you."

Shuffling his feet, Jack looked out the garage door. Frau Shultz looked at him and laughed. She said, "Jack ist solch ein man. Er lauft, wenn eine junge Frauline schreit."

Ella laughed the comment and replied, "Ja, Er ist."

"What did she say?" Liz asked.

"She said that Jack such a man. He runs when a young woman cries," Ella said provoking a quick round of laughter.

Red faced, Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "What can I say?"



-------

Chapter 11


Jack arrived home late Friday night. He had stopped by the bank and deposited his paycheck. He had a feeling that it was going to be the last one he would get in a long while. The drywall job was done and they were putting off finishing the interior until the financial situation got better. He couldn't find a single place doing any construction. He had enough money in his account to pay his next mortgage, pay his food bill, and put some gas in his truck. He stopped at a convenience store and bought a big bottle of soda.

Arriving home, only four people were gathered in his garage eating dinner. There was always a lot of coming and going from the garage during the evening while people ate dinner, took care of a few errands, chatted, and shopped from the inventory of food kept there for breakfasts and lunches. He wondered what they would do when the weather got colder. It was a very different looking garage now. His lawn tools had been moved across the street. His workshop had been moved over to Bev's garage. Another dining table had been added so that ten people could eat at once.

There was a whiteboard with everyone's name on it tracking the number of hours that people worked for the benefit of the community. Everyone had already put in more hours than was required. After three weeks, he was up at 42 hours although that number kind of confused him. He couldn't recall working that much. Rich was just behind him with 41 hours of effort credited to him. Claire was at 39 hours of effort, but he was pretty sure that she wasn't getting credit for all of the time she was putting into the commune. Abby had just as many hours as Claire.

Rich, Dave, and he had spent one weekend doing lawns and assessing how much needed to be repaired in the houses owned by the elderly women. Short of money and lacking the skills to do the repairs themselves, there were a lot of little things that required fixing. Light fixtures, dripping faucets, toilets that ran all of the time, and leaky roofs were the most common problems. Every house could use a coat of paint on both the exterior and interior. He figured that he and Dave were going to be busy that whole weekend fixing the things that required parts that only cost a few dollars. It would be a while before they could go after the bigger cost items.

Rich was over at the table setting up something, but Jack couldn't see what he was doing. It took him a minute to realize that Rich was making sure that the heating pot under the chafing dish was functioning correctly. Jack said, "What's up, Rich?"

"Cheryl cooked dinner tonight. I just refilled the chafing dish and saw that the little pot here was low on alcohol," Rich answered.

"What's for dinner?" Jack asked looking over at the chafing dishes.

Opening up the cover to show the contents, Rich answered, "My wife's chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. She's got some real cream gravy that is out of this world."

"That sounds good," Jack said. Although he hadn't believed Abby when she had discussed food, the fact was that they were eating better now than ever before. Even when times were good, he wasn't getting home cooked meals like this. Of course, back then the quality of the meals depended upon his ability to cook.

Not quite looking at Jack, Rich said, "I never did thank you for that little conversation that night over at Sally's garage. You reminded me of some things that I had forgotten."

"No thanks are necessary," Jack said uncomfortable at the subject.

Shaking his head, Rich said, "I never would have thought it possible, but my life is a whole lot better now than ever. I come home from work and the house is clean, the laundry is done, and dinner is ready. The kids have done their homework. The little old ladies have been watching them after school giving my wife a chance to relax and get things straightened up."

"That's real nice," Jack said. "I know what you mean. I haven't washed clothes, cleaned the house, or cooked once since they started this commune. I do a bit more yard work and repairs, but I don't mind doing that."

"Your turn to cook will come," Rich said with a smile.

Frau Shultz entered the garage. Seeing Jack, she said, "Guten Abend."

"Guten Abend, Frau Shultz. Wie geht es Ihnen?" Jack asked.

"Ich bin feing. Wie geht es Ihnen?" Frau Shultz replied with a big grin. Jack didn't know much German, but he was learning.

"Ich bin feing," Jack answered.

"You understand that?" Rich asked. It seemed to him that Frau Shultz had adopted Jack. She followed him around like a puppy.

"I understand enough to be polite," Jack answered.

Frau Shultz looked at dinner and said, "Ah! American Schnitzel, gestampfte Kartoffeln, and gruen Bohnen."

"Ja," Jack said with a grin. It had taken some time, but he now recognized the German words for mashed potatoes.

She went over and fixed a plate with food. She handed the plate to Jack and said, "Essen Sie. Sie sind ein wachsender Junge."

"Danke," Jack said accepting the plate.

"What did she say?" Rich asked.

"I think she said I'm a wandering boy," Jack answered.

Ella entered the garage just in time to catch the last bit of the exchange. She laughed and said, "She said you were a growing boy."

"Oh. That makes a bit more sense," Jack said with a laugh.

Ella translated what Jack had understood to Frau Shultz. The old woman laughed while putting together a plate. She took it over to the table to eat with Jack. He rose when she approached the table. She smiled at him and took a seat while gesturing for him to sit down. Jack sat down and continued eating. She said, "Ich bevorzuge Weiner Schnitzel."

Ella sat down next to Jack and said, "She's not going to be happy until she gets a chance to cook Weiner Schnitzel."

"Schedule it with Claire," Jack said. They were having meat dishes like this one three nights a week. A pasta dish and a casserole filled in the two other week nights. One night was often vegetables with tuna salad or something along that line. Saturday night dinner was either hamburgers or hotdogs cooked over the grill. Sunday night was usually a smorgasbord of leftovers.

"Veal is expensive," Ella said with a sigh.

He had no idea how much veal cost, but he figured that it couldn't be that much more than beef. They were trying to keep the cost of dinners to less than three dollars a person. He figured that at most it would cost an extra ten or twenty dollars. Jack said, "I'll kick in a little extra."

"You don't need to do that," Ella said patting him on the shoulder. She appreciated his offer.

"She'd enjoy it so much," Jack said shrugging his shoulders.

Frau Shultz asked Ella about the conversation. Her eyes got moist when she heard what he had said. After the exchange, Ella said, "I'll talk to Claire."

"Talk to me about what?" Claire asked having just entered the garage.

Jack said, "Frau Shultz wants to cook some Weiner Schnitzel sometime."

"How about Tuesday?" Claire asked. She was feeling tired from all of the work with scheduling meals, keeping up with what everyone else was doing, and managing the money.

Ella translated to Frau Schultz. The little old lady got very excited. She nodded her head and repeated 'Danke' a dozen times. Jack smiled and said, "You made her day."

"Yeah," Claire said.

Jack looked over at Claire and asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm just tired," Claire said.

Jack said, "Why don't you take the evening off?"

"I have too much to do," Claire said.

Jack picked up a salt shaker and rapped the table with it. He shouted, "Listen up everyone. For the next twenty-four hours, no one bothers Claire."

When everyone shouted their agreement, Jack smiled and said, "See. That wasn't hard. You've got a day off. Now eat, go home, and get some rest."

"Thanks, Jack," Claire said laughing. She went over to fix a plate of food. The servings were a little large so she cut one of the cutlets in half. She noticed that Jack had no problem clearing his plate. She looked at the meal finding it hard to believe that they were providing such high quality meals while maintaining the budget.

Glad to see that Claire was going to take some care of herself, Ella asked about the other member who put in more hours that appeared on that chart, "Where's Abby?"

"I don't know," Jack answered. He had assumed that she was in the house.

"She's in the house," Claire said having talked to her less than five minutes before coming out here.

"Okay," Ella said.

After relaxing a few minutes from his meal, Jack went into the house finding that Abby was at the kitchen table with a pad of paper. She looked up when he came into the room. She asked, "Did you have enough to eat?"

"Yes," Jack answered rubbing his belly.

"That's good," Abby said turning her attention back to the paper.

"I gave Claire the next twenty-four hours off," Jack said lightly.

Looking up from her notes, Abby said, "I need her to help me with this."

"What is it?" Jack asked thinking that too many people were making demands on Claire's time.

"I'm going over the repairs that need to be made. We're going to have to put together a fund of some kind to cover the costs of making them," Abby said.

"So propose that at the meeting," Jack said thinking that too many people were making demands upon Claire's time. Claire may have announced the commune to the world, but it was Abby's idea. He felt that it was time for her to start moving into a leadership role.

Frowning at the idea of being the one to make the proposal, Abby said, "I'd rather have Claire make the proposal."

"She's exhausted," Jack said.

"You're right." Abby looked down at her pad. She wasn't sure how much to insist that people contribute to the repair fund. Asking people to chip in ten dollars a month would bring in a total of a hundred and fifty dollars for the fund. She said, "I don't know how much to ask people to contribute."

"It will need to be thirty dollars a month at the least," Jack answered. With thirteen people contributing, since he wasn't counting the two kids, they would have $390 a month they could spend on repairs.

"Why so much?" Abby asked surprised.

Jack said, "There are no cost benefits to buying hardware in bulk. The only thing we're saving is the cost of labor. I could get a discount if I register with a store as a contractor and purchase enough from the store, but it would need to be a lot more than we will require."

"Oh," Abby said looking down at her list. She decided that she was going to have to visit the web to see what kind of deals she could get on hardware.

Jack looked over the list and said, "We're going to have at least six thousand in basic repairs and that won't cover what breaks between now and when we finish fixing whatever is already broken."

"Six thousand dollars?" Abby asked. She had thought the total cost would be about half of that.

"There are five houses that haven't had any repairs for the past five years. It is going to take a bit of money to fix them. The garbage disposal alone will take over a hundred dollars worth of parts," Jack said. He knew that he could probably pick up a cheap disposal unit, but there were other parts that would be required to complete the job.

"I didn't realize," Abby said.

Jack said, "You can't just go out and buy cheap stuff either. We're talking about fixing up a house. There is an esthetic element to the stuff you put in a house."

"Oh my," Abby said scratching her idea of going to the web to find some cheap stuff.

"I see that we've got about six light fixtures to repair. Those will probably cost about a hundred dollars each by the time we get ones that look good and are well made," Jack said looking down the list.

"I didn't think about esthetics," Abby said.

"I didn't think so," Jack said. He looked down the list. A number of the repairs would be fairly inexpensive. He noticed one item and said, "It will cost a fortune to fix the roof."

"How much?" Abby asked. She had never dealt with the expenses of fixing a house.

"Ten thousand or so," Jack said.

Abby felt like she couldn't breathe. She swallowed and said, "That's a lot of money."

"It is going to have to get fixed before it causes more damage to the house. I imagine that we'll have to replace part of the ceiling where there's been some water damage," Jack said. He hadn't been the one to identify the problem. Dave and Rich had surveyed Emily's house.

"What are we going to tell Emily?" Abby asked with a worried expression on her face. She had already told Emily that they would try to get to it before it started raining a lot.

"I guess we'll have to climb up on the roof and check it out. We might be able to patch it for a lot less money," Jack said going over to the cabinet and retrieving a glass.

"Okay," Abby said.

Jack went over to the refrigerator and got out a big bottle of soda. He filled the glass with some ice from the ice maker. Taking the bottle with him, he went over to the kitchen table and sat down. Noticing Abby's frown, he said, "I'm sorry. I like soda."

"You could get the store brand. We've got six bottles in the garage," Abby said. They had been on sale and she picked up a bunch knowing that the young boys would appreciate it as treats.

"I like this brand," Jack said. It cost fifty cents more and he had splurged to get the bottle.

"Okay," Abby said.

He filled his glass watching the foam rise to the top of the glass. He looked over at Abby and asked, "Is this commune idea working out the way you thought it would?"

"We're eating a lot better than I expected," Abby answered.

"And?"

"It is a lot more work than I thought," Abby said with a sigh. She figured that she was putting in almost sixteen hours a week. A lot of that was driving people around on their errands.

"I kind of noticed that you, Claire, and Rich are putting in a lot of time," Jack said recalling the whiteboard in the garage.

"You've put in the most hours," Abby said.

"You and Claire haven't gotten credit for all of the time you've put in. I figure that you and she are closer to sixty hours than forty," Jack said.

"You're probably right," Abby said with a sigh. She did understand that she was gaining almost all of that time back by having others doing things for her. She didn't even have to clean up the house; Frau Shultz did that for them when they were at work. It was kind of nice coming home to a neat house every evening.

Jack took a sip of his soda and sighed in pleasure. He said, "I just realized that you and I don't talk very often."

"I know. We live in the same house, but most of the time that we see each other is out in the garage surrounded by a crowd," Abby said.

"Are you comfortable here?"

Nodding her head, Abby said, "More comfortable than I thought. It has been much nicer now that we have electricity, hot water, and music."

"I don't know how much longer that is going to last. My drywall job ended and I can't find anyone hiring," Jack said.

Something that Abby had heard at the nursing home tickled the back of her head. She couldn't recall the details, but she recalled something about some jobs up at the local college. She said, "Why don't you see if the college needs a maintenance man?"

"I'll check it out," Jack said. It would be nice to have a regular job while the economy was so bad.

"They've reinstalled the banking regulations," Abby said.

Shaking his head, Jack said, "That sucks."

"They have to use the time when the check electronically clears. That can be simultaneous with when you deposit the check rather than the five to ten days that was required," Abby said.

"That's a little better. Why are they screwing around with the banking system?" Jack asked.

"They just want to regulate every industry more than in the past. Congress blames the laize faire policies of the previous president for the economic crisis. I think the banking industry tried to rebel a little to let Congress know that they were going too far with all of the regulations. I also think that this was an attempt by the banks to force people to use electronic banking rather than old paper checks," Abby said.

"Well, we are the ones who are getting screwed," Jack said.

Abby said, "That reminds me. I was going to suggest that we take all of the little old ladies to the library to learn how to use the computer."

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Their medicines can be purchased at a cheaper price on the internet," Abby answered.

"So?" Jack asked.

Abby said, "A lot of them are spending nearly six hundred a month on medicines. Liz has dropped her blood pressure medicine because she can't afford it."

"That's criminal," Jack said shaking his head. It seemed to him that the elderly were hit the hardest with the changing economic times.

"I agree," Abby said. "From what Claire was telling me, it used to be worse."

Jack studied Abby for a moment. It dawned on him that normally she would have been out in the garage talking with everyone rather than sitting alone in the house. Although he didn't know her that well, it was pretty obvious to him that something was bothering her. He said, "You seem a little down."

"I guess you could say that," Abby said.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked.

Abby said, "I've got to get another job."

Thinking that she had lost her current job, he said, "I didn't realize they were cutting back at the nursing home."

"They aren't cutting back. I just can't take it anymore," Abby said. Part of it wasn't just the job, but the fact that she was surrounded by elderly people all day long. She had expected a younger crowd to be members of the commune. She hadn't expected that two thirds of the members would be retired.

"Is being surrounded by old folks all day that depressing?" Jack asked. She often mentioned that it was a depressing place to work.

Abby gave a bitter little laugh. She said, "I could handle the fact that most of them are just waiting to die. I just can't face changing another diaper."

"Oh," Jack said. He didn't even know how to reply to that comment. He knew there was a lot of difference between changing a baby's diaper and an adult's diaper.

Abby said, "I almost stopped at the massage parlor on the way home from work to see if they needed anyone."

"Oh," Jack said. He had a feeling that she wasn't talking about a regular spa or anything like that.

"There are times when I think that I'd rather give out handjobs than wipe shitty asses," Abby said. She rested her head between her hands with her elbows on the table.

"Oh," Jack said thinking she had talked about that before. He wondered if she was really considering doing it. There was no way that he was going to make any suggestions concerning that subject.

Abby sighed and stared at the kitchen table with dull eyes. She said, "I got into the massage therapy business because I wanted to make people feel better. Now I'm just keeping people clean while they are waiting to die. Half of them aren't even aware that I'm even there."

"That sucks," Jack said deciding that it would probably be better for him to shut up and listen than try to give any advice at the moment.

"I've thought that I would take the courses to become a physical therapist. I just can't afford it at the moment," Abby said.

"What does that involve?" Jack asked thinking this was a much safer topic to discuss.

"I'm not sure," Abby said. She had looked into the matter a little before taking the job at the nursing home, but hadn't really gone into it too much once she discovered the cost of the program.

"Why don't you go there and find out?" Jack asked.

Abby snorted. Jack was such a male. She wanted to bitch about her life and he was there trying to solve her problems. She said, "I don't really have time to do that."

"Send the little old ladies there," Jack suggested. He could imagine them on the campus searching for everything she needed to know. Odds were good that there wouldn't be a stone left unturned.

"Like they would want to do that," Abby said feeling a little irritated at the advice. All she really wanted to do was talk about her situation. She wasn't looking for solutions.

"Ask them," Jack suggested. There was a knock on the back door.

"Would you get that?" Abby said.

"Sure," Jack said rising from the table. He went to the backdoor and opened it. He found Ella standing there. He said, "Hello, Ella."

"Hello, Jack," Ella said. She looked over her shoulder at the garage for a second.

"What can I do for you?" Jack asked.

"Frau Shultz was wondering if you were okay," Ella said. Her mother-in-law had been pestering her to find out if Jack was upset about something.

"I was just talking to Abby," Jack replied with a smile. He could see the elderly lady in the garage watching them at the door. He waved to her.

"Oh," Ella said looking past Jack at the young woman seated at the kitchen table. She could see that Abby looked a little down. She put a hand on Jack's arm and said, "Let me talk to Abby for a minute or two."

"Uh, sure," Jack said. He turned to Abby and said, "Frau Shultz wants to talk to me a bit."

"Okay," Abby said.

Once Jack left, Ella sat down across from Abby. She said, "This commune is a very good idea. Frau Shultz and I were very afraid of the future until you and Claire recommended it."

"I'm glad," Abby said.

"You don't seem very happy," Ella said.

Abby said, "Let's just say that I am thinking that there must be an easier way to make a living."

"You aren't planning on doing anything stupid, are you?" Ella said looking across the table at Abby.

"Why would you ask me that?" Abby asked. The last thing she wanted for the little old ladies to decide that she was a tramp.

"Lots of young women do things for men to earn money," Ella said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"What do you know about that?" Abby asked irritated at the suggestion that she was considering doing exactly what she was considering doing.

Ella said, "Frau Shultz did not have an easy life."

"So," Abby said. It was half question and half exclamation.

Ella said, "Tough times are hardest on young women. Sometimes they make choices that they have to live with for the rest of their lives. Frau Shultz learned a lot growing up in Germany."

"Like what?" Abby asked.

"Frau Shultz was sixteen when the American soldiers took over Berlin. Her father had been killed in the war and her mother was sick. There were jobs, but nothing for a young woman her age. She entertained the soldiers to earn enough money to feed herself and her mother," Ella said. The result of those times had been her husband.

"Oh," Abby said.

"Desperation can cause young women to do things that they wouldn't want to do. Just remember that things aren't all that desperate," Ella said.

"I know," Abby said with a sigh.

"Frau Shultz likes Jack. He's the only one who attempts to talk to her in German," Ella said.

"I know," Abby said with a smile.

"He's a good man. Maybe you don't have to look further than your own house to find what you really need," Ella said.



-------

Chapter 12


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.



-------

Chapter 13


After pouring a cup of coffee, Jack held up the coffee pot and asked, "Would you like a refill?"

"No," Abby snapped back at him.

Putting the coffee pot back in the machine, Jack said, "Sorry. I was just trying to be considerate."

"Don't bother," Abby said staring morosely at her nearly empty cup.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked. Ever since she had returned home from work the previous day she had been as pleasant to be around as a badger. She hadn't gone out to the garage and eaten dinner last night.

"I quit my job yesterday," Abby said angrily.

"Okay," Jack said.

"I'm now a proud employee of Taco Emporium making a whopping seven dollars an hour. It isn't even a full-time job," Abby said. The fact that it was a part-time job meant that she didn't receive health insurance or retirement benefits. Even a minor illness or accident would destroy her financially.

"Oh," Jack said. It seemed to him that their situation was getting worse and worse. His most recent job had come to an end and now she was making less than before.

"Yeah, oh," Abby said sarcastically. She figured that he could have come up with something better than 'oh.'

"Why did you quit?" Jack asked. He knew that she wasn't happy with her job, but to quit like that meant that something bad had happened.

"I don't want to talk about it," Abby said.

"Okay," Jack said. The pancake breakfast would be starting in an hour and he was half tempted to go out there to help get it ready, but he wasn't going to abandon Abby. He looked across the table waiting for her to say something.

"I'm going to my room," Abby said getting up from the table.

"Alright," Jack said watching her head off to her bedroom. She was wearing a man's shirt for a nightgown. The thought that she looked sexy wearing it flashed through his mind, but he stopped that line of thought immediately. They didn't have that kind of relationship.

Jack knew enough to know when he wasn't wanted and didn't try to press her into talking about her problem. He figured that she would turn to one of the little old ladies and get her issues off her chest. One of the things that he liked about the commune was the increasing sense of community. People were helping people and it wasn't always in the form of labor. Sometimes it was just a kind word that brought a little cheer when someone was overwhelmed with burdens.

He took his cup to the living room. He turned on the stereo before sitting down in his comfort chair. Abby liked that 'new age' music and he was slowly beginning to appreciate it. He sipped his coffee wondering what the future held for him.

The previous evening, he had gone to the library and had submitted an application for a maintenance job at the local college. The college was a state school and that meant the job benefits were pretty good. It had been pretty strange applying for a job on the internet. Most of the jobs he had were run out of a home office or the back of a pickup truck. He figured a hundred other guys had applied for the job and the chances of him getting it were slim to none.

He sighed at the thought that he would spend most of the day going through his bills despite the fact that there weren't many bills. He had his mortgage, his food, his gasoline, the utilities, and car insurance. He still didn't have a phone, health insurance, or cable. Considering Abby's little bombshell about quitting her job, he had a feeling that they wouldn't have electricity for much longer. He looked down at his clothes thinking that they were starting to look worn.

Jack took a sip of his coffee thinking about the past few weeks. Abby had been a pretty reasonable roommate despite the fact that she was kind of moody. They weren't together much despite not having an active social life outside of the commune. The houses occupied by the members of the commune were spread out over a three block area and it was pretty easy to avoid seeing one another. She spent a lot of time with Claire while he was usually working at other houses.

The commune was working, but it wasn't working as well as anyone had hoped. Everyone was still strapped for cash and even a minor problem would be a disaster. The situation with Abby quitting her job was a good example of that. He predicted that she would soon have problems making the rent and paying her share of the food.

They were eating better and they had fixed up a lot of things that had fallen into disrepair, but no one felt comfortable with their finances. He didn't expect that to change. They were still nine separate households despite the fact that they pooled their money for food and their time to ease the burdens of maintaining a home.

He wondered what they would do when it got colder. They couldn't continue to meet out in his garage. Besides being uncomfortable, it wasn't exactly healthy for the elderly to spend much time out in the cold. The problem was that none of the houses were large enough to entertain fifteen people at a time.

Finishing his coffee, he wandered out to the backyard to see what was happening out there. Almost everyone had gathered to put together breakfast. Even the two kids, Chuck and Mike, were hard at work setting out plates and silverware. Rather than the expected pancakes, there were three waffle irons on the table.

Claire looked up at him and asked, "Where's Abby?"

"She's in her bedroom," Jack answered.

"Why don't you get her and we can start breakfast?" Claire said.

Jack bit his lower lip and then answered, "She's not in a very good mood. I don't think that she wants to be around anyone at the moment."

Irritated at Jack's inability to deal with Abby, Claire said, "Let me talk to her."

"She's in a pretty foul mood," Jack said scratching the back of his neck. He was afraid to say much more than that.

"Then she needs a friendly shoulder to cry on," Claire said thinking that it should be his shoulder that was offered.

"She's just as likely to bite that shoulder as to cry on it," Jack said. If he got snapped at for doing nothing more than offering some coffee to Abby, then he had no idea what would happen if he walked into her bedroom.

Claire looked at him thinking that he must have said something to Abby to upset her if he wasn't willing to help her. She asked, "What did you do?"

"Me? I didn't do anything."

"The only time a woman acts like that is when there's a man involved," Claire said.

Wondering if the whole world was crazy, Jack said, "Go on in and talk to her."

"I will," Claire said heading over to the house.

Jack waited around watching the activity. The lack of seats around the tables meant that only half of the people could eat at one time. The boys and the oldest members of the commune ate first. Claire returned from the house without saying a word to Jack although she did gesture to him that she was clueless about what was bothering the younger woman. Claire looked a little upset and it made him wonder again what was wrong with Abby. It had to be pretty bad if she had upset Claire.

Thinking that Abby had to be hungry, Jack prepared a nice waffle for Abby. He didn't put any syrup on it since it was likely to turn into a soggy mess before Abby got around to eating it. He poured a little syrup into a coffee cup and carried it into the house. He put the plate on the kitchen table. He knocked on Abby's door and said, "I brought in a waffle for you."

"I'm not hungry," Abby said through the closed door.

"I put it on the kitchen table," Jack said. He waited a few seconds and then headed outdoors. He wondered what the matter with her was, but knew that she didn't want to talk about it. He wasn't about to force her. He hoped that the waffle might help a little.

Jack took a few minutes to fix a waffle for himself. After cooking it, he carried his plate and a cup of coffee over to the table. He sat down in time to hear Claire announce, "Let's get the Sunday morning meeting started."

While everyone else was settling down, Jack poured syrup on his waffle. It wasn't real maple syrup. He didn't think they would ever be able to afford that kind of luxury. He took a bite and listened as the meeting began.

Claire said, "The food budget is good. We are about eighty dollars ahead and we have some food to carry over to the next month. We owe Abby a round of applause. Since she isn't feeling well, let her know later."

"What's the matter with her?" Ella asked leaning over to Jack.

"I don't know," Jack answered after swallowing a bite of his waffle.

"We still have a problem with our individual finances. Does anyone have any ideas concerning what we can do?" Claire asked.

Cheryl said, "Let's have a garage sale. I've got a house full of wedding presents that we've never used."

"That's not a bad idea. I've collected a ton of junk over the years," Laura said.

"Same here," Wanda said.

Liz said, "Same here. I think having a garage sale is a good idea."

Jack listened to the discussion without much interest. The problem was that he didn't have anything he could sell at a garage sale. He had taken everything of any value to the pawn shop to pay the bills months ago. The only thing that would help his finances would be a job.

Not wanting all of the work that would be associated with holding a garage sale, Claire said, "I will require some help to find out what we need to do to hold a garage sale."

"I've done that before. Let me take care of it," Bev said. There were a lot of little details to take care of but none of them were all that complicated.

"Okay," Claire said relieved at having someone undertake what would likely be a major effort. She looked around at the gathered group and asked, "Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Sally said, "It isn't really an idea that helps anyone else, but Emily is moving in with me. We realized that it would allow us to save on our utilities."

Emily nodded her head and said, "We'd like to rent out my house, but I need to fix some things."

Thinking that he had nothing else to do over the next few days, Jack said, "I could do that."

"That would be great," Emily said with a smile. "We are planning on splitting the rent money. I don't know how much we'll get, but even a couple hundred each a month would be a great help."

"I'll be able to afford my medicines," Sally said. The medicine for her blood pressure, cholesterol, arthritis, and osteoporosis cost a fortune. The cold weather aggravated her arthritis. The previous winter had been pure torture for her. The doctor told her that it was all in her head, but she was the one who felt bad.

Gail said, "I talked to my grandson last night. He's wants to move in with me, but I'm not sure that it would be a good idea."

"I think it is a very good idea," Claire said thinking that it would mean another member to the commune in addition to helping Gail out with money.

"I don't know. A young man like him doesn't need to live with his grandmother," Gail said. There was no way he would want to bring young women home for the night while his grandmother sat knitting in the living room.

Thinking about what Johnny had told him the day before, Jack said, "It isn't that he needs to live with you; it is that he wants to live with you."

"What?" Gail asked surprised by Jack's comment.

"He wants to make sure that you're okay," Jack said.

"I'll think about it," Gail said looking down at the empty plate in front of her. She didn't feel that it was right for a person to become a burden on his or her grandchildren.

Claire said, "I think it would be nice to have him in the commune. He's already contributed to us."

"That's true. He dropped off two hundred dollars that first night," Bev said.

The suggestion that Johnny would join the commune surprised Gail. She hadn't considered that he might be interested in it. He was making a good living and didn't need the financial support that the commune provided. She said, "I'll talk with him about it. He travels a lot and wouldn't be able to do much work for the commune."

"I'm sure that we can find something for him to do," Claire said.

Jack looked up from his waffle thinking about it. He wondered if Abby would be interested in Johnny. That could be rather inconvenient, but he would like to have another young man in the group. He took a sip of his coffee and said, "He could pay his way out of work."

"That's true," Rich said.

"I'll talk to him this afternoon," Gail said.

The discussion about Johnny was basically over. Claire said, "Taking Jack's advice, I talked to Mary at the library last night. She's interested in joining our commune."

"Talk about a coincidence; she could rent Emily's house," Jack said trying to be helpful.

"We discussed having her move in with me," Claire said. The latest statement for her retirement account had been even worse than she had expected. She was very concerned for the future.

"I didn't realize you were looking to have a roommate," Jack said. He had finished his waffle and was still a little hungry. Getting up, he went over to the waffle maker and poured a little more batter into it.

"I lost a lot of money in the stock market," Claire said.

Bev said, "We all did. I was thinking of renting out a room, too."

All of the discussion about having people join the commune bothered Rich. It wasn't that he was against others joining into the commune, but that he was concerned that it would lose some of its stability. He was worried that some fanatic would join and try to change it into some kind of political or religious organization. He said, "That reminds me of something. We haven't written any bylaws governing the commune. I think we might want to establish how people can enter the commune."

Surprising everyone, Jack said, "I suggest that you, Johnny, and Claire work out the details. That is, if Johnny decides to join."

"Why include Johnny?" Rich asked wondering why Jack would include someone who wasn't yet a member of the commune in establishing the rules.

"You and he are the only ones with college degrees. Both of you have real jobs with offices. I'm an unemployed carpet layer. Abby is working in a fast food restaurant. Everyone else is retired," Jack said accepting that he was blue collar and they weren't. He felt that he had to trust people who were a little more educated than himself to take care of details.

"I'm not sure that makes us the best qualified," Rich said.

Checking out the waffle maker, Jack smiled and said, "That's why I included Claire. I trust her judgment."

Frau Shultz and Ella were having a whispered conversation. With Frau Shultz gesturing for her to talk, Ella said, "Frau Shultz wants Jack to be involved."

"Me?" Jack asked pointing a finger at his chest in surprise. There was no way that he wanted to be involved with something like that.

Nodding her head, Ella said, "She thinks you're a good man and will watch out for us."

"It should be Abby," Jack said. He opened the waffle maker and removed his waffle. All of this talk about him being involved in making decisions was causing him to lose his appetite.

Frau Shultz pointed a finger at Jack and said, "Ich wunsche Jack."

"Danke, aber Abby wurde besser sein," Jack said exhausting his knowledge of German telling Frau Shultz that Abby would be a better choice.

Shrugging her shoulders, Frau Shultz said, "Ich wunsche Sie."

"She wants you, Jack," Ella translated for everyone else.

"Why?" Jack asked not noticing how many of the little old ladies exchanged looks.

Smiling at the young man, Ella said, "You're the only one here that has bothered to learn enough German to talk with Frau Shultz. I think you're the best choice."

"The commune was Abby's idea," Jack said taking the waffle back to his seat.

Supporting Jack's suggestion that it should be Abby, Bev said, "Abby has really done a good job with the food. You've got to admit that we are eating well."

Gail said, "That's true."

Envisioning a committee of five people who bickered and fought over every little word, Rich said, "We can't make much progress with too many people on the committee."

"I agree," Jack said. He started eating his waffle hoping that the discussion would turn away from him.

Claire decided that the debate could go on all day without coming to a conclusion. She said, "Let's have three people come up with a proposed set of bylaws and then we'll all vote on it."

Thinking that this was an activity that could tear the commune apart, Wanda asked, "How will we pick the three people?"

Wanting to avoid the kind of politics that would come from individuals trying to turn it into a power play, Claire answered, "I suppose that each of us could submit the name of three people we'd like to see on the committee. We'll pick the three most nominated people."

"I can live with that," Jack said hoping that he wouldn't be on the committee.

Wanda said, "That sounds fair."

"Is there anyone opposed to that?" Claire asked. She waited for anyone to say something. After a minute, she said, "I guess that is what we'll do."

"Okay," Rich said writing down the decision in the official notes. He wondered if they should start having real votes on issues like this. That was something to discuss when creating the bylaws for the commune.

Claire turned to Rich and asked, "What next on the agenda?"

"That was it," Rich said.

Claire asked, "Does anyone have anything to say?"

The meeting came to a disorganized end when everyone started talking to everyone else. Jack and Frau Shultz chatted a little while he finished his waffle. After his discussion with her came to an end, he carried their dirty dishes over to the tub that was there for that purpose. Abby usually washed the dishes and he carried them out to the garage once they were clean. It was one of the little problems of hosting the group in his garage.

He wandered over to Claire and asked, "What's up with Abby?"

"She didn't want to talk to me," Claire said. She had seen Abby in a lot of moods, but never so depressed. Considering her situation, the depth of her depression was rather scary. She said, "She's very depressed."

"She seemed angry to me," Jack said with a frown.

"Something really upset her," Claire said.

-------

Feeling hungry, Abby ventured into the kitchen in search of the waffle that Jack had left for her. She found it on the table where he had said he left it for her. She picked up the waffle and found that it was cold. She broke it into four sections and popped two sections in the toaster. Watching the heating elements inside the toaster turn red, she said, "That was nice of you Jack. Even when I'm nasty to you, you are still considerate."

She looked out the back window and could tell that the Sunday morning meeting had already come to an end. Jack was eating a waffle and talking with Frau Shultz. That was something that puzzled Abby more than anything. Jack didn't strike her as the type of person who picked up languages easily, but he had learned a lot more of the language than simple politeness required. Although she was sure that it wasn't his intention, he had Frau Shultz wrapped around his little finger.

The toaster ejected the two waffle quarters interrupting her musings. She removed them and put in the other two quarters. She went over to the refrigerator and found that there wasn't any syrup. She found a jar of strawberry jam and slathered some on the waffles. She picked up a quarter and ate it like a piece of toast.

Her mind returned to Jack. The fact was that Jack had a lot more friends in the commune than her. All of the little old ladies liked him. Rich respected him. Even the Benjamin boys tended to come to Jack when they had need of male advice and weren't willing to go to their father. The only one who didn't have much to do with Jack was Rich's wife and she suspected that Jack kept his distance from her to prevent problems.

The toaster ejected the two waffle quarters. She spread some strawberry jam on them. It didn't take her long to finish eating the waffle. It was only after she had finished eating that she spotted the cup of syrup that Jack had left for her. She knew that she should have known that he would have thought of it. She said, "Damn that man. He's too considerate."

Thinking about how he would have reacted to discovering the rape, she made her way to the living room. Once there, she noticed the music playing in the background and said, "I'm surprised he didn't have rock music playing."

She sat down in her comfort chair. Her mind returned to the events of the previous day. Allowing the nursing home to cover up the rape made her a party to the crime despite the fact that she didn't see what she could do about the matter. She couldn't afford to fight them. She didn't have money for a lawyer. The fact that she was doing nothing made her feel weak and dirty.

The real problem was that she believed Jack would have charged out to correct the wrong regardless of the personal cost to him. He would have sat in jail feeling good about having brought down a rapist that preyed upon the weakest members of society. She remembered how upset he had been upon finding out that someone had run an extension cord to the house next door. He had viewed it as stealing from the dead. That was part of the reason she was angry at him; it was hard to accept that he was a better person than she was.

A knock on the backdoor broke her out of her thoughts. Thinking that it was someone who needed to use the bathroom, she got up and went to answer the door. Much to her surprise, Cheryl was at the door. Cheryl stepped through the door and said, "You need to talk to someone."

"I don't want to talk about it," Abby said. She glanced out the backyard and spotted Jack and Rich tossing a baseball with the two boys.

"What you want has little to do with it. You need to talk about it," Cheryl said closing the door. She grabbed Abby by the arm and steered her to the kitchen table.

"You don't understand," Abby said protesting.

"Then explain it to me."

Abby asked, "Who sent you here?"

"Jack," Cheryl answered. She had been surprised when Jack had approached her with Rich in tow to request that she talk to Abby. He felt that talking to a woman her own age would allow Abby to vent.

"I should have known," Abby said shaking her head.

Cheryl said, "I don't know Jack well, but I owe him a debt of gratitude."

"Why?" Abby asked.

Cheryl said, "He had a little talk with Rich the night we became serious about the commune. Rich was very opposed to the idea, but Jack convinced him that it was in his best interest to join in and pull his weight. I've got to tell you that I was a very happy woman after their conversation."

"I didn't know anything about that," Abby said feeling like a knife had been twisted in her stomach. It seemed to her that every time she turned around everyone was singing songs of praise about Jack. She swore, "That son of a bitch is just too damned good."

Puzzled by the outburst, Cheryl asked, "Did he do something?"

"He's too perfect," Abby said getting angry.

"What's the matter?" Cheryl asked.

Abby said, "I saw a horrible crime yesterday and I didn't report it because I'm afraid."

"Why are you mad at Jack?" Cheryl asked wondering if Jack had broken the law.

"Because Jack would have done something about it," Abby said breaking down in tears.

"I thinking I'm beginning to understand," Cheryl said realizing that Abby felt guilty. She had no idea what Abby had seen, but it must have been pretty bad.



-------

Chapter 14


Two o'clock in the afternoon was the quiet time of the day when no one was usually in the garage. Jack was seated on the couch waiting for Claire, Emily, and Sally to arrive for a quick meeting. He sighed while thinking about the bad news he was going to have to deliver. He took a sip of the generic store brand soda wishing that he was drinking his usual brand. The generic soda was better than nothing.

Claire arrived and took a seat on the couch next to him. Smiling at him, she asked, "What did you want to ask me?"

Rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to get rid of some of the tension in them, Jack answered, "I'd like to wait to discuss it when Sally and Emily arrive."

"That sounds ominous," Claire said pretending to shiver in fear.

Jack laughed and said, "It is and it isn't."

"How are things with Abby?" Claire asked. For the past three days, Abby hadn't been over to her house. She knew that Abby had only worked a small fraction of that time and that wouldn't explain her absence.

"She's still upset about something. She won't tell me what is bothering her so there isn't too much that I can do to help," Jack answered. He had no idea what he had done, but she was demonstrating significant hostility towards him.

Claire studied Jack for a minute. The young man was always helping people. Everyone in the commune had come to depend upon him. He always answered the call despite the fact that he was trying to find a job. He had spent the past three days fixing things around the neighborhood. She said, "She just needs to work it out on her own."

"I'll take your word for it," Jack said. The fact was that he didn't understand women. He didn't know what they wanted from a man anymore. A man was supposed to act like a man and not act like a man.

Sally arrived and took a seat on the other couch facing the pair. She asked, "What did you want, Jack?"

"I'd rather wait until Emily arrives," Jack answered.

"Oh, I didn't realize that you had asked her to come also," Sally said.

Jack said, "I had an idea and thought we should all discuss it."

Sally asked, "How's Abby?"

"Still upset," Jack answered thinking everyone was asking him and he knew less about her problem than anyone.

"That's a shame. I don't think that working at Taco Emporium is all that bad," Sally said. She felt that Abby was probably over reacting to something.

"I don't think that bothers her so much," Jack said. She had been talking about leaving the nursing home for a while and didn't think actually leaving it would depress her. He wondered if one of her favorite patients might have died.

"She's lucky to have you around," Sally said.

Jack was puzzled. He asked, "Why?"

"I'm sure that you are helping her deal with this. A snuggle or two at night in bed does wonders for getting over depression," Sally said causing Claire to chuckle.

"She's just a roommate," Jack said wondering why everyone assumed there was more between the two than there was.

Sally snorted and said, "Then she's a foolish young woman."

"What?" Jack asked.

Sally said, "She should be strutting around the house nearly naked to get your attention. If that doesn't work, she should try sneaking into your room at night."

"Mrs. Bagley," Jack said shocked at the suggestion.

Claire laughed at Jack's reaction. She said, "Sally was always a little more liberal than everyone else in the neighborhood except Bev. She embraced the sexual revolution. The parties she used to have at her house were the talk of the town."

"And you were a prude," Sally said looking across the table at Claire.

"That's true," Claire said without embarrassment. She added, "And I don't regret it."

"Neither do I," Sally said.

Jack shuddered and said, "Another topic please."

Sally laughed at the expression on Jack's face and said, "We've embarrassed him."

"He's a lot more conservative than you," Claire said.

Turning to Claire, Sally said, "I still say she's a fool. Jack is too good to let someone else get to him first."

"Come on, Emily. Get here," Jack muttered. He really didn't understand why everyone was trying to push him and Abby together.

Seeing that Jack was actually very uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, Claire said, "So how are things going with the garage sale?"

"Pretty good. We need another young man or two in the commune to help with the heavy lifting. Poor Jack has been working hard," Sally answered. He had been carrying stuff from the houses for sale at the garage sale without stopping for a break.

"I figure he's put in thirty hours of service to the commune this week," Claire said.

"At least," Sally said.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "I've got nothing better to do."

"You could be out looking for a job," Claire said.

"I spend two hours every morning making calls to the contractors that I know and I know a lot of contractors. As soon as one of them gets a job, I'll be working again," Jack said. He was afraid that he would be joining Abby at the Taco Emporium by the end of the week if he didn't get a line on a job soon.

"Maybe you should consider a career change," Claire said.

Jack shook his head and said, "To what? I don't have a college degree. I can probably get a low paying part-time job at a fast food place, but it wouldn't pay well and would mess up any chance of getting a construction job. They'd have me working while the kids are in high school so that I wouldn't be able to get a higher paying job."

"It would still be a steady income," Sally said.

"I can work two days on construction and make as much money as working thirty-two hours at a fast-food place. If I get a job that lasts a week, then I'm way ahead," Jack replied.

"You might be right," Sally said shaking her head. She would have settled for less knowing that it was consistent from week to week rather than face continuous uncertainty like he did.

Emily arrived and took a seat beside Sally. She asked, "What did you want to talk about, Jack?"

"I've got some bad news and what I hope is a good idea," Jack answered.

"What's the bad news?" Emily asked feeling a tightening in her abdomen.

"Well, I found some problems in your house that I don't think we can afford to fix immediately," Jack answered knowing that he was going to upset Emily.

"What?" Emily asked feeling like Jack had just slapped her.

"You were concerned about the roof," Jack said. She had said that the roof leaked when it rained, but that the damage wasn't too bad. The cursory survey that Rich and Dave had performed had not identified the full extent of the damage.

"Yes," Emily said.

Jack took a deep breath and said, "Well, I looked into the problem a lot closer and discovered the water damage is pretty extensive. Rather than dripping into the interior rooms of the house, the water ran down through the walls. There's some major damage to the interior structure. I'm going to have to rip out some walls and replace some of the wood before the whole house collapses."

"What can I do?" Emily asked. She understood that she wouldn't be able to rent out the house until the damage was repaired.

Jack said, "Well, I was thinking about that and came up with a little idea. I wanted to see what the three of you thought about it."

"What?" Claire asked wondering how this involved her.

"Well, winter is coming and the weather is going to get bad," Jack said.

"That's true," Sally said. The coming of colder weather had been a frequent topic around the dinner table.

"Right now, we are meeting here in the garage. We aren't going to be able to do that in the future when it gets cold," Jack said looking at all three women.

"I've been wondering what we should do about that," Claire said. Discussions had mainly focused on shifting the meeting spot from house to house over time. No one really liked that solution.

Jack said, "I'm suggesting that we all contribute a bit to cover the bills for Emily's house and use it as our meeting place. That would get us out of the weather. We could all chip in seventy dollars to cover the taxes and utilities, but it would give us a common kitchen, dining area, office, and storage space. We could use a common room for meetings and things like that. Her garage could serve as a common repository for our tools. Emily would collect the rent and still move in with Sally."

"That's not a bad idea," Emily said.

"I could fix the house when the weather is bad since it is interior work. It might be a little inconvenient at times, but I'm sure that we could all live with that," Jack said. A renter would not appreciate having a work crew fixing up the house for a couple of months.

Looking at Jack in surprise, Claire said, "That solves a lot of problems."

Jack said, "To tell the truth, it solves one of my problems too. I got the electric bill this month. It was a whole lot more than usual because of the cost of having people use my garage. I'm paying for an extra refrigerator, a freezer, and hot plates in addition to washing three loads of dishes a day."

Claire looked embarrassed and said, "I didn't even think of that."

"It was only fifty dollars, but that's fifty dollars Abby and I don't have," Jack said a little defensively. He felt like he should have been able to cover those increased costs and was a little embarrassed at having to bring up the subject.

"It is not fair that you have to pay for us," Sally said with a frown. She hadn't even considered the possibility that it was costing Jack money to host everyone.

"I don't really mind doing that when I can afford it," Jack said.

Claire said, "With two more people coming in, that would reduce our costs significantly. We already have enough leftovers to feed an extra person or two so that wouldn't directly impact our food budget. I'll work up the numbers and see what it would ultimately cost us."

"The only problem that I see is that money is still tight for everyone," Jack said. He hoped that this wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back.

"We'll have the garage sale and see what that does for our budget," Claire said.

Although he didn't have much hopes for the garage sale earning much money, Jack said, "That's great."

Claire said, "Oh, by the way there is one other little thing I need to mention to you."

"What?" Jack asked.

"You've been selected to serve on the committee to come up with the bylaws," Claire said with a smile.

"How did that happen?" Jack asked dismayed by the idea.

"Well, only one person didn't nominate you," Claire said with a smile.

"I didn't nominate me," Jack said.

"I know," Claire said with a laugh.

Frowning, Jack asked, "Who else is on the committee?"

"Rich and me," Claire answered.

"What about Abby?" Jack asked thinking that all of her hard work shouldn't go unappreciated.

"She's on the budget committee," Sally answered.

"The budget committee?" Jack asked. This was the first that he had heard of a budget committee.

Looking embarrassed, Emily said, "We talked about it after you went inside the house Sunday. All of us felt that you would watch out for everyone. We felt that Abby was doing such a good job managing the food budget, that we should make it official."

"We're going to discuss it at the next Sunday breakfast," Claire said.

"Does Abby know?" Jack asked looking from one woman to the next.

"I was going to talk to her about it when she came home from work," Claire said. She hoped that it would help rouse Abby from her depression.

"Maybe I should make myself scarce," Jack said.

Emily and Sally exchanged looks. Sally said, "I'd like to talk to her."

Thinking that it would be best to stay out of it, Jack said, "Let me find Dave. We'll go over to your house and try to come up with a plan on how to repair it."

"Thank you," Emily said smiling at him.

After Jack left, Sally looked over at Claire and asked, "Has he had a date lately?"

"No," Claire answered.

Shaking her head, Sally said, "He's such a nice young man. If I was forty years younger..."

"You'd still be too old for him," Claire said with a grin.

"Very funny," Sally said, "Abby isn't too old for him."

"She's not interested in him that way," Claire said shrugging her shoulders. The ways of love were mysterious.

"She's a fool," Emily said.

Claire laughed and said, "We're not the only ones who think they belong together. Ella has them bed and wed."

"I'm surprised Frau Shultz isn't pushing Abby out of the way," Sally said with a smirk.

"That's a strange relationship," Claire said shaking her head. She hadn't known Frau Shultz before starting the commune, but she liked the old woman. The night she had served the Weiner Schnitzel she had been so proud to contribute her favorite dish. She had hovered over Jack making sure that he got two servings.

Emily said, "She appreciates the fact that he's taken the time to learn her language."

"Let's face it. The rest of us are too old to learn a new language," Sally said.

Emily said, "None of us have even bothered to learn how to say hello."

"If anyone on this planet deserves a break, it is Jack. He's helping all of us. Look at how many hours he's putting into the commune," Claire said gesturing over at the work board.

"When he told me how bad the house was I had visions of losing everything. I can't believe the solution he presented. I think he just saved my life," Emily said.

Over at Emily's house, Jack and Dave were busy examining the walls. Dave pressed the wall and felt the give in it. It was worse near the bottom of the wall where the water had collected before leaking under the house. Like a lot of houses in the neighborhood, this house had a pier and beam foundation. Shaking his head, he said, "You're right. The sheet rock is rotting from the inside out."

"This is a load bearing wall," Jack said running a hand over the surface of the wall.

"We'll have to tear off the sheetrock to see just how bad the wood is," Dave said thinking that was going to be a lot of work to correct.

"At the least, we'll have to brace the roof and reinforce the beam," Jack said.

"Okay," Dave said. He was pretty good with a pipe wrench, but his experience with other kinds of home repair was limited to problems around his house. Bowing to Jack's greater knowledge, he was going to let Jack decide what needed to be done. In fact, he felt that he was learning a lot by working with Jack.

"We're going to have to replace the roof before we do anything else," Jack said. He hoped that the damage wasn't too extensive.

"It won't do to fix the effect without correcting the cause," Dave said nodding his head in agreement. He stepped back from the wall and considered the materials that would be involved. As dollar signs piled up in his head, he said, "That's going to be expensive. We're going to need two by fours, plywood, sheetrock, tar paper, shingles, and God knows what else."

"Would you mind finding out how much the basic materials will cost?" Jack asked.

"I'll spend tomorrow morning over at Homies," Dave said making reference to the large hardware store.

Jack said, "I'll get Emily moved out of here tomorrow. Once she's out, we'll tear off the sheetrock and get a good look at the damage."

"Good idea," Dave said.

Jack stretched and worked his back. All of the lifting he was doing was aggravating the muscles in his back. He said, "I'm not looking forward to this job."

"Is your back okay?" Dave asked.

"Just a little tension," Jack answered. He wished that Abby wasn't so angry. He'd ask her for another back massage, but felt like that would set off another tirade. She hadn't given him one since that day when she had broached the idea of a commune.

Dave said, "I'll help you carry some of Emily's stuff over to Sally's house."

"I wish they lived closer to each other. I'm going to spend too much money on gasoline on this move," Jack said. It seemed to him that everything boiled down to money. He didn't mind working, but it was a different matter when it cost him money.

"Talk to Claire. She'll give you some gas money out of the fix-it fund," Dave said although the money should probably have come from Sally and Emily.

"I don't feel comfortable doing that," Jack said.

Emily returned to the house and joined the two men. She said, "I was thinking about your suggestion, Jack. If this is going to be a common area, we might as well leave a lot of my stuff here. What we can't use should go into the garage sale. That will help cover some of the cost of fixing this place up."

"Just tell me what you want moved and I'll move it," Jack said. He had already carried everything in the guest room over to the garage sale.

Dave nudged Jack and said, "We'll move it."

"We'll just move my clothes and the bedroom furniture," Emily said looking around her house. She talked a good story about how easy it would be to move out, but it still hurt to be leaving her house behind.

Jack nodded his head and said, "Okay. I might as well begin now."

"Okay," Emily said leading the way to her bedroom.

Jack and Dave followed her into the room and looked around. There was the usual collection of bedroom furniture. Jack groaned when she opened the closet and showed all of the clothes in it. He said, "We're going to have to figure out how to move all of your clothes without getting them dirty."

"I've got another closet full of clothes," Emily said looking a little embarrassed.

Thinking that he wouldn't want a couple of people going through his stuff without having a chance to pack a few of the more private items, Dave asked, "Do you have any personal items that you'd like to remove without us around?"

"Um, maybe," Emily said blushing a little. She hadn't thought about some of the more private things she had stashed away until Dave had mentioned it.

Giving her a curt node of his head, Dave said, "I'll tell you what. Jack and I will go down to the You-Haul'em place and pick up a couple of those wardrobe boxes. We'll be back in about thirty minutes."

"Thank you," Emily said thinking that she had a bit of packing to do before they returned.

With Dave driving to the moving store, Jack rode in the passenger seat thinking about how flustered Emily had reacted to the suggestion that she might want to pack a few items while they were gone. He said, "That sure was nice of you to give her a chance to pack up her lingerie."

"She's probably packing up some things that are a whole lot more embarrassing than lingerie," Dave said with a laugh.

"Like what?" Jack asked.

Dave looked over at Jack and snorted at the clueless expression on his face. He said, "Son, the Polaroid camera was the greatest marital sex aid of the 1960's and 1970's. Couples all around the county took pictures that were too explicit for the men's magazines of the time. I suspect that she's packing up some risqué photographs about now."

"You're kidding? Emily?" Jack asked floored by the suggestion.

"She was an attractive woman when she was younger," Dave said. She had filled out her swimsuit real well years ago.

"She doesn't seem the type," Jack said.

"What about my wife? Does she seem the type?" Dave asked amused by Jack's reaction.

Shocked by the question, Jack answered, "Not at all."

"I've got a couple dozen pictures of Laura that I won't show anyone," Dave said. He occasionally brought them out and looked at them. Forty years had not been kind to his wife, but that didn't keep him from loving her as much now as he had back then.

"I don't want to know that," Jack said.

Amused by Jack's reaction, Dave said, "Laura was a gorgeous young woman when I married her. When she walked into a room every man turned to look at her. She had long brown hair that was soft as silk; not the short gray hair she has now. She had a real figure back then. Kids and age changed her body into what you see today."

"That's interesting," Jack said. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't picture any of the old ladies as young women.

Dave said, "I was so proud that she chose to marry me. I was just a plumber earning a living fixing toilets. She could have married anyone she wanted, but she chose me."

"She must have seen something in you," Jack said.

"Sometimes, I look at her and see the woman that I married. Those are the times when I curse God for making us age," Dave said shaking his head.

"I can understand that," Jack said.

Dave knew that Jack wouldn't truly understand that until another thirty years had passed. He said, "I thought I was doing real good getting prepared for retirement. I saved as much money as I could. I invested in stocks and bonds so that my money would grow faster than in a simple savings account. I never expected to be in such a tight financial bind this soon after retiring."

"The economy is bad for everyone," Jack said shrugging his shoulders. Everyone said the same thing whenever it came to the economy. They thought they were doing okay and now they weren't.

"I lost half my savings in the past year and my property taxes doubled. Energy costs have gone through the roof. Inflation is killing us," Dave said.

"I don't have any savings," Jack said. He didn't have a retirement fund despite having set up a 401K plan. He had taken the tax hit to make the down payment on his house.

"Credit cards?" Dave asked wondering if Jack was one of those young people who had run up a huge amount of credit card debt. He was carrying a bit more than made him comfortable, but he heard stories of young men and women with thirty or forty thousand dollars in credit card debt.

Shaking his head, Jack said, "I paid them off and then cut them up. The interest rates were killing me."

"Smart move. Our credit card debt is a little high. The payments aren't too bad, but I'd love to have that money," Dave said.

"Take the money out of your savings account and pay them off. The sooner you get rid of that debt, the better off you'll be. Most of your payment is going to the interest. You're just throwing your money away," Jack said.

"I probably should do that," Dave said.

Jack said, "I know that if I hadn't cut up those cards that I'd have lost my house by now. I would have used it to carry me over to the next month. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to pay it off the next month and before long I would have had thousands of dollars in debt."

"You must watch every penny," Dave said looking over at Jack.

Jack said, "I've cut my expenses down to the bare minimum. I treat myself to a big bottle of soda once a month. I wear my clothes until they fall off. I don't spend a dime if I can avoid it. Despite that, I'm still not making it."

"That's rough," Dave said. Shaking his head, he asked, "How about dates?"

"I haven't had a date in eighteen months," Jack answered. The fact was that he hadn't met a woman in two years that he was interested in dating. Even if he had, he couldn't afford the gasoline to pick up a date.

"What about Abby?" Dave asked.

"Jeeze, is everyone trying to fix me up with Abby?" Jack asked in frustration.



-------

Chapter 15


"What's up, Rich?" Jack asked turning to look at the man who had just tapped him on the shoulder.

"I need to talk to you for a minute," Rich answered feeling very uncomfortable with the errand his wife had assigned him. He had waited until after Jack had finished eating since the news he had to give him would have made him lose his appetite.

"Sure," Jack said gesturing to the chair across from him.

"Why don't you come down to my house for a little bit? I've got some scotch there and we can have a little drink while we're talking," Rich said.

Surprised by the invitation, Jack said, "Sure. A little scotch in moderation won't kill me."

Rich waved to his wife and headed out of the garage followed by Jack. Rich asked, "How is the job search going?"

"One of the contractors I know mentioned that he bid on a job yesterday. We'll know in a day or two if he got it," Jack answered. It appeared that a young couple decided that it would be easier to fix up their old house than try to sell it and buy a larger one. They weren't doing that much, but the work could last as long as a week.

"That's good," Rich said wondering how Jack managed to keep his cool living his life from job to job. Of course, Jack wasn't trying to support a family and that made a world of difference.

"Well, it will be a week of work," Jack said. It would be six hundred dollars before taxes and that would really help his finances. He still had enough to cover the mortgage even after paying his electricity bill. That money would go to the next month's rent.

"That is good," Rich said.

Nodding his head, Jack said, "That will give me about three weeks worth of work out of the month. I used to make close to twenty dollars an hour and worked six days a week, but those days are over. Now I'm doing good to get two weeks of work a month and ten dollars an hour."

"I don't know how you can manage on that," Rich said shaking his head.

"I get by; barely, but I get by," Jack said. He was doing better than Abby since she was now working thirty-two hours a week at seven dollars an hour.

Reaching the house, Rich led Jack inside and left him in the living room. Jack looked around the house while Rich went into the kitchen to prepare the drinks. The living room was very tidy and filled with high quality furniture. The entertainment center was filled with electronics that rivaled his stuff that were collecting dust at the pawn shop. Jack figured they were probably still making payments on the stuff in the living room.

Returning to the living room, Rich handed him a drink while saying, "I'm not really a Scotch drinker, but this was a gift and I wouldn't throw it away."

"Neither am I," Jack said. He had scotch maybe twice in his life and wouldn't know a good one if it bit him on the ass. He wasn't sure what the difference between scotch and the other kinds of whiskeys was. In fact, he wasn't even sure if there was a difference.

"I'm glad I kept it. Some news should be buffered a little with a drink," Rich said while taking a seat across from Jack.

Wondering what Rich could possibly have to say to him that required buffering with a drink, Jack asked, "What news?"

"Cheryl told me what was bothering Abby," Rich said. Just thinking about it made him angry. He took a sip of his drink and made a face. He said, "That's horrible. I prefer beer."

"Same here," Jack said. He wasn't going to laugh at the expression Rich made until after he tried his drink. He took a little sip and grimaced. He said, "I'm definitely not a scotch man."

Raising his glass, Rich said, "Misery loves company."

Jack raised his glass and then took another sip of his drink. It tasted just as bad as the first sip. He asked, "So what is the matter with Abby?"

"Before I tell you, you have to promise not to let Abby know that you know," Rich said.

"Okay," Jack said deciding that it would be better to know and not be able to talk about it than to not know and not be able to talk about it.

"You also have to promise that you won't do anything about it," Rich said. On learning what was bothering Abby, he had wanted to go down to that nursing home and throttle someone. If Jack's reaction was at all like his had been, then Jack would explode.

"What?" Jack asked wondering if he had understood Rich correctly.

"You can't do anything about it," Rich said. He didn't think it would help anyone if he had to bail Jack out of jail.

"If something is bothering Abby that much, then you better believe that I'll do something about it," Jack said offended by the suggestion that he just stand by and do nothing.

"I'm also going to ask you to lie to Abby," Rich said. Cheryl had been quite insistent on this point, but he wasn't sure he understood why.

Jack sat forward and said, "Tell me what is going on right now. I'm serious."

Shaking his head, Rich said, "You'll understand when I've told you the whole story. For now, promise me that you won't do anything about it and that you'll lie to Abby."

"I can't do that," Jack said. This sounded pretty serious and he wasn't going to promise not to react.

Rich recognized that he wasn't going to be successful in extracting the promise from Jack. He decided that telling the story starting with the rape wasn't going to work. He said, "Abby is angry at you because you're too perfect."

Jack burst out in laughter. If there was anyone who was perfect, Jack was pretty sure that it wasn't him. Slapping his thigh, he said, "You've got to be kidding."

"I'm dead serious," Rich said watching Jack.

Jack stared at Rich upon realizing that Rich was not joking. He said, "You're serious."

"That's right. The fact of the matter is that you seem to hold yourself to a standard of behavior that most of us fail to meet. You're always considerate, kind, and attentive to everyone around you. You have an innate sense of right and wrong that all of us have come to trust. Abby feels like she can't measure up to you," Rich said.

"That's crazy," Jack said. He took a sip of his drink thinking about it. He wondered if Abby had spent some time at that massage parlor she was always talking about.

Rich said, "She became aware of a crime at the old folks home and she feels like she didn't do the right thing."

"What kind of crime?" Jack asked concerned. He didn't think of old folks homes as nests of criminal behavior, but he could imagine the nursing home taking money from the elderly.

"A rape," Rich answered.

"One of the nurses was raped?" Jack asked dismayed at the idea that a young woman wasn't safe in a nursing home. He couldn't imagine one of the frail elderly men standing much of a chance of raping an active young woman.

"One of the patients, an old women," Rich answered knowing that Jack was going to explode.

Angry, Jack stood up and said, "You've got to be shitting me. Someone raped an old woman?"

"That's right," Rich answered trying to maintain an air of calmness. His reaction had been almost identical to Jack's reaction. It had taken him a day to calm down enough to break the news to Jack.

"Does Abby know who did it?" Jack asked.

Already knowing the answer, Rich asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"I'll give that bastard a one way ticket to hell," Jack answered furious at the idea that someone would do something like that to an old woman.

Wanting to give Jack a chance to calm down, Rich took a drink of his scotch. By this time, he barely tasted it. He said, "You can't do that."

"Sure I can. I bet there's a construction site around here pouring cement. The body would disappear and not be found for a hundred years. No one would say a word if they knew what that bastard did," Jack replied.

"Jack!"

"Jimmy Hoffa disappeared and a lot of people were looking for him. No one would look for a piece of shit that would rape an old woman," Jack said.

"Jack!"

"Well, they wouldn't," Jack said frowning.

Rich said, "Calm down and I'll tell you the whole story."

"I'm calm," Jack said wanting to tear someone's head off. He took a swig out of his glass of scotch and grimaced at the taste.

"No you are not," Rich said.

"Yes I am," Jack said.

Rich said, "Abby doesn't know who raped the old woman, so stop it."

Jack sat down and said, "What kind of fucked up world are we living in? Has everyone lost their minds?"

"I don't know anymore," Rich answered shaking his head.

"Raping old women," Jack said feeling sick to his stomach. He asked, "What in the hell ever happened to respecting our elders?"

"I don't know."

Hoping that she had done the right thing, Jack asked, "What did Abby do about it?"

"She reported it to the head nurse," Rich answered.

"That's good," Jack said thinking she had done the right thing. He said, "They'll catch the bastard and hang him."

"The nursing home is covering it up," Rich answered.

Jack exhaled loudly and then said, "We've got old folks unable to afford their medicine. They can't afford to eat. Crooks are destroying large companies and the whole world applauds while they do it. Banks are stealing our money. The government is taxing old folks to death because they own a house. Now sick bastards are preying on old women."

"I know," Rich said.

"I can't believe that we live in America anymore," Jack said. He slumped down into the chair feeling totally disgusted by the situation.

"I know," Rich said.

Jack asked, "What did Abby do when she learned they were covering it up?"

"She was angry and demanded that they call the police, but they threatened to say that she was a participant in it," Rich answered.

"She believed them?" Jack asked raising an eyebrow.

"You better believe it. They would have done it too. They went into cover your ass mode and they would have fed her to the wolves to hide the truth," Rich said.

"This world is fucked," Jack said in disgust. He ran a hand through his hair thinking about the situation. There wasn't a good way out of it. More than her job had been at stake. Even if she had managed to clear herself, her life would have been ruined. He sighed and said, "That explains why she quit."

"Yeah," Rich said.

"That's why she hasn't been talking to the old ladies lately," Jack said thinking that he wasn't going to be able to look any of them in the eye knowing that there was a rapist out there and he wasn't doing anything to stop him.

"I couldn't look any of them in the eye after Cheryl told me about it," Rich said.

"Something has to be done," Jack said although he couldn't think of anything that he could do short of calling the police.

Rich said, "You can't do anything about it. We can't even push the issue because they'll screw up her life."

"I guess going to the police is out of the question," Jack said. By now all of the evidence that a rape had occurred had been destroyed.

"I came to that conclusion myself," Rich said. The problem was that people weren't doing a lot of this out of meanness, but out of fear. They were afraid for their jobs. They would cover up something like this to prevent a lawsuit that would have cost them their jobs. He said, "Everyone is afraid to do the right thing anymore."

"It just isn't right," Jack said. He wondered how some people were able to live with themselves.

"I've got a feeling that it is going to get worse before it gets better," Rich said.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Jack said. He wondered what he could do to help Abby. He asked, "Why did you say that I need to lie to Abby?"

"You need to tell her that she did the right thing," Rich said.

"She should have escalated it and called the police in," Jack said. He would have done that even if it had cost him his job.

"She would be sitting in jail right now as an accomplice to the crime. She'd get a public defender and her name would be all over the news. I can see the headlines now- woman helps man rape old ladies. It would be a media circus and she'd come off looking like a real creep. She'd end up in prison with a cellmate named Bertha," Rich said.

"She would telling them the truth," Jack said.

"No one is interested in the truth. The nursing home would want to punish her for talking to the police. The prosecutor wants a headline case. The reporters want a story that sells newspapers. The family of the victim would want revenge. The rapist would make a deal to get a lighter sentence," Rich said. He kept thinking about the college team that had been accused of raping a striper. They had gone through two years of hell and he figured that half of the world still believed they were guilty. They had wealthy parents who had fought to clear their names.

"Shit," Jack said knowing that Rich was probably right.

Rich said, "Before you know it, the reporters would be here interviewing everyone. Can you imagine what they would do with the fact that most of the people in our commune are elderly women?"

"This sucks," Jack said. He could imagine that they'd get blamed for Penny's suicide.

In full agreement with Jack, Rich said, "You need to tell Abby that she did the right thing."

Jack shook his head thinking about the matter. In this sick world, she had done the smart thing. He said, "I guess I can do that."

"Cheryl says that Abby has to come to grips with it. Until she does, she isn't going to be very sociable," Rich said. He felt that Jack was going to be going through hell for the next couple of weeks.

"What am I supposed to do?" Jack asked. He didn't think he was going to be able to solve this problem on his own. He felt by the very nature of the problem that he couldn't turn to the elderly women of the commune.

"You're supposed to do nothing. Just don't get angry at her even when she's acting like a total bitch," Rich said.

"My life wasn't supposed to be like this," Jack said wondering how his life had become so complicated.

"What do you mean?" Rich asked not quite following what Jack was saying.

Jack answered, "I was supposed to be a middle class man holding a stable blue collar job and living in a nice house, with a pretty wife, and kids. Instead, I'm living from paycheck to paycheck while selling off everything I own."

"Tell me about it. I'm the top salesman where I work and I can't pay my bills. The CEO of the parent company got a fifty five million dollar bonus last year for laying off forty thousand people. He got paid more than a thousand dollars for each person he let go. There's something seriously wrong with this world," Rich said. Some folks would say that he went into unnecessary debt, but he had been earning more than enough to pay his bills until the economy headed south. It wasn't his fault that every major head of every large corporation in the country had screwed up. He wasn't in charge.

Jack didn't reply. He was still thinking about some old woman lying in her bed terrified at the idea of being raped again. No one was taking her side and stepping in to protect her. The idea made him nauseous. He looked down at the glass of scotch thinking that this would be a good occasion to get drunk. Knowing alcohol was not a solution, he said, "I guess we just have to watch out for ourselves. No one is going to do it for us."

"What do you mean?" Rich asked.

"I mean that it is our commune against the rest of the world," Jack said bitterly.

Noticing the angry look in Jack's eye, Rich wondered what he was thinking. He had never heard Jack talking in an 'us versus them' sort of way. He asked, "Explain that."

"We're on our own in this modern world of ours. No one is going to help us when we have problems except us. The government is taxing us to death and regulating our lives in ways that keep us from succeeding. Businesses don't put the customer first, but put their greed first by making shoddy goods that require you to replace things frequently. Banks are charging us for every transaction. Credit card companies have predatory accounts in which they are explicitly trying to get people into debt. Your job isn't safe. Everyone wants a piece of us and they are very successful at getting it," Jack said. He added, "There are assholes out there that will break in and steal what they want."

"You sound a little paranoid," Rich said uneasily. His comments sounded a lot like the kind of radical thinking that got groups labeled as cults. He didn't want that kind of mindset taking hold in the commune.

"Where am I wrong?" Jack asked in a challenging tone of voice.

Rich sank down in his chair and thought about it. The fact was that he had those same thoughts more than once. It did seem to him that the world was out to get him. He said, "You're right."

"You know that they are going to try to close us down at some point," Jack said. He figured that if they were successful in somehow making their money go further that someone would object.

"What are you saying?" Rich asked. He couldn't think of a single reason that they should be targeted for closure.

"You know that they are going to come out with some law saying that we have to pay taxes for sharing goods and working together. They've already got laws requiring you to pay taxes on bartering. That's what we are doing when we are helping each other," Jack said.

Rich said, "That's stupid."

Shaking his head, Jack replied, "I was reading about some of the early communes in Europe. The peasants were getting harassed by the nobles, so they banded together in communes to protect themselves. They were secret communes so that no one knew who belonged to one. If someone did something against a member, the whole commune went after that person. It was basically eye for an eye kind of justice. The government and the church outlawed them because they became too successful. You can't have poor people protecting themselves against lawless rich men."

"You're kidding," Rich said.

"No. It seems to me that this society is trying its best to isolate each one of us so that we are basically defenseless. I'm not saying that the harassment is physical, but it is financial. If you talk to Claire or any of the other old ladies, you know that our quality of life has been falling for the past twenty years," Jack said.

"That's true," Rich said. He was never going to be able to afford the same kind of life that his parents had.

Jack nodded his head and said, "One out of ten houses in this neighborhood have for sale signs in their front yard. Any of those old folks who sell their home will be moving into a situation in which everything they own will be taken away from them by the time they die. They'll be warehoused in 'Senior Communities' and then in 'Retirement Homes' until their money is gone. They'll be drugged unconscious and taken advantage of until they are dead."

Rich stared at his nearly empty glass of scotch thinking about what Jack had said. He asked, "What are you suggesting we do about it?"

"We are on the committee to decide what is necessary to join the commune. I'd say that we need to expand the goals of the commune to include taking care of the health and retirement of all of our members. We go as far as hiring nurses to take care of one of us when our health fails," Jack said.

Rich said, "There are government programs to help the elderly."

"Where are the elderly that are getting helped? Do you see them? Do you hear any of them talking about how the government is helping them?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Not really," Rich said.

Jack said, "That money is probably going to those places that are warehousing the elderly. Just like the loan bailout money went to banks and not the people who were losing their homes."

Nodding his head in agreement, Rich said, "You might be right."

"I am right," Jack said.

Rich finished his drink and then said, "Now I'm depressed."

Jack was quiet for a minute and then said, "We're going to have to set up security for everyone in the commune because we can't trust anyone to take care of us. That means every household is going to have to have at least two people in it so that they can watch out for each other."

"That makes sense," Rich said. "We've got nine houses. One house is going to become a community house for our meals and social life. Five of the houses already have two or more people living in them. That leaves three houses that need one more person. I suggest that we cap membership in the commune to twenty people."

"Only six of us are of working age," Jack said including Mary and Johnny in that number.

"The rest of the members will have to be of working age. We have to have people able to work supporting those who can't," Rich said. He knew that even the people who were working weren't able to support themselves.

"That's a good idea," Jack said thinking it over. The only way to get extra money into the commune was for people to work for it.

"That librarian seems interested in moving in with Claire," Rich said.

"Johnny will move in with Gail," Jack said.

Rich stared at Jack for a minute before he asked, "Why are you so gung ho about Johnny joining the commune? I mean, you hardly know the guy."

"He brought over money for food that night the banks screwed us over. He asked me to watch over Gail and let him know if she needs anything. I think that suggests a very good character," Jack said. It was actually that simple. He felt that Johnny had stepped up to the plate to help people when everyone else had ignored the plight of the old folks. Johnny did what was necessary to help his grandmother without being asked.

"He travels too much."

"He's got a job," Jack said pointedly.

"That's true," Rich admitted. That was a big point in Johnny's favor.

Jack finished his drink and looked around the room. The home entertainment equipment was very impressive. Curious, he asked, "Have you got cable?"

"No. We cut that off last year. It became a luxury that we couldn't afford anymore," Rich answered.

Jack said, "I understand. That was the first expense that I cut when jobs started getting scarce. I have to admit that I kind of miss being able to watch a football game in Hi-Def. Maybe we should pay to have it at Emily's old house."

"That would be nice," Rich said. The cost of moving over to the HD-TV had been another one of those added cost burdens. The previous February all of the local stations had stopped broadcasting the older signal. It had meant a lot for television sales, but it had also left a lot of families without local television.

"Well, I guess I better head home," Jack said. He had no idea what he was going to say to Abby about the rape, but he knew that he would have to tread lightly.

"Take it easy," Rich said.

Jack walked back to his house thinking about the discussion with Rich. The more that he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of Mary and Johnny joining the commune. A real sense of community was starting to develop and he thought it would be best if they joined before it became difficult to blend in with the existing members. Of course, there wasn't really a membership in it other than contributing a little money for food and being willing to work a little.

It didn't take long to reach his house. Stepping inside, he found Abby sitting in the living room reading. She looked up at him and snickered. Not exactly expecting that reaction, Jack asked, "What?"

"Frau Shultz left you a little present in your bedroom," Abby answered rolling her eyes.

"What kind of present?" Jack asked confused by her reaction.

"You'll see," Abby said. She looked back down at her book and pretended to ignore him. Her snicker gave her away.

Curious, Jack went into his bedroom and looked around. On his bed was a small stack of magazines. He picked one up and looked at the cover. Unable to believe his eyes, he opened the magazine and checked out the pictures. He said, "I can't believe that she left me forty year old German porno magazines."



-------

Chapter 16


Jack sat down in his comfort chair and announced, "I know about the rape."

"Damn that Cheryl," Abby said angrily. She had not wanted anyone to know, but keeping it to herself had been eating at her.

"You did the right thing," Jack said looking over at her.

"You don't believe that," Abby accused. She was pretty sure that he would have reported the matter to the police.

"My first reaction was that you should have gone to the police, but it would have been extremely stupid to do that. We'd have lost the commune and you would have ended up in jail. It is wrong, but you did the right thing," Jack said.

"You say that I did the right thing at the same time that you say it is wrong," Abby said bitterly.

"It is wrong that going to the police is the worst thing you could have done. You did what had to be done to protect everyone else," Jack said thinking that he was walking on thin ice.

"You don't believe that," Abby said finding that her anger was deflating a bit.

"We live in a screwed up world where doing the right thing turns you into a victim," Jack said shaking his head. The more thought he had given to the situation; the more convinced he was that Abby had done the smart thing. It might not have been the right thing, but it wasn't up to him to judge that.

"Why are you telling me this?" Abby asked.

Jack answered, "We're ready to give the proposal on adding new members to the commune. I'm planning on mentioning the rape when we present our proposal."

"Don't you dare," Abby said. She couldn't look any of the little old ladies in the eye despite the amount of time that had passed.

"I have to," Jack replied. He didn't want to make up something to convey the main point of her experience.

"Why?"

"Rich and I have become convinced that it is us against the rest of the world. Your experience at the nursing home is part of the story. What do you think of one of those little old ladies ending up in a facility like where you used to work?" Jack asked.

"The whole idea makes me sick to my stomach. They would be absolutely defenseless," Abby answered. The first time one of them showed any resistance to control they would get drugged into submission.

"I agree. We have to position ourselves to take care of them in the future. Part of that is convincing them that they'll be better off with us than with some nameless crew in a warehouse operation like where you worked," Jack said.

"I didn't think of it that way," Abby said.

Jack said, "You need to tell your story."

"I can't," Abby said. She was ashamed that she hadn't done more to help Mrs. Donnelly. The idea of airing her shame in front of everyone made her sick to her stomach.

"You must," Jack said looking at her. He could tell that she was very uncomfortable with the idea of admitting what had happened. It didn't matter that it had been enough to convince her to quit the nursing home.

With tears threatening to flow, Abby said, "I feel so guilty."

"I know," Jack said. He knew that he couldn't address her guilt directly. It was going to require a community to heal that wound. He had a feeling that the older members of the commune would deal with it much better than she expected.

Abby said, "You tell them what happened."

Knowing that was as much as he was going to get from her, he said, "You'll have to tell me what happened."

An hour and a half later, Jack was standing in front of everyone repeating the story while Abby sat there in tears. Much as he expected, the little old ladies had swarmed over her trying to convince her that she had no choice in what she had done. She had reported the rape to the head nurse and quit when nothing was done about the matter. He finished presenting the proposal for adding new members and asked, "Are there any questions?"

"How is this going to help us economically?" Liz asked. She could see where getting someone to move in with her would help with the taxes and insurance on the house, but it wasn't all that much of a help.

"To tell the truth, I don't think it will help us all that much financially unless you get a roommate. I do think it will help us in terms of quality of life and security. Doing a simple background check on applicants will help assure that you don't end up with a criminal living in your house," Jack said.

"That's true," Liz said. The story about the rape at the nursing home had disturbed her more than she was willing to admit. One of her greatest fears was to end up helpless in a nursing home surrounded by uncaring strangers.

Ella said, "I don't have any questions. Doing a background check on potential members makes sense to me. Requiring them to believe in God isn't a bad idea either."

"Why did you include that as a condition for joining?" Sally asked.

Knowing that it was an unpopular stance in a lot of places, Jack said, "I felt that someone who believed in God would be more likely to be honest."

"I agree," Ella said. Frau Shultz had been very pleased to learn that it was a condition of joining the commune.

"Are you requiring them to be a Christian?" Wanda asked.

"No," Jack answered.

Wanda said, "My late husband was a Mason. They require people to believe in a higher power, but they don't care what particular religion you believe in. For such a large organization, you don't hear any stories about corruption and I think that is part of the reason why."

"I didn't think about that," Jack said. He didn't know much about the Masons. He wasn't a member and he didn't know anyone who was a member. It seemed to him that people his age didn't join organizations like that anymore.

Dave said, "It is true."

Bev said, "I move that we accept the proposal as is."

Claire looked around the garage and saw others nodding their heads. She asked, "Don't you want to think about it a bit?"

"What's there to think about? You require that they pass a background check, believe in God, and demonstrate that they are willing and able to contribute in some substantial manner to the commune as a whole before joining. Even the contribution isn't that bad. They can contribute money, a service, or a skill that is necessary," Bev said.

"It seems fair enough to me," Gail said.

The proposal passed unanimously and without further discussion. Claire asked, "How are we doing with the garage sale?"

"Great," Bev said. She pulled out a stack of papers and said, "I've got all of the permits to hold a garage sale. We've got everything together in three garages and each item is priced. I've set up an inventory of what we have for sale and who it belongs to. I'm ready to place an advertisement in the newspaper. Dave made some signs. Everyone has agreed to work a shift or two during the three days of the sale."

"That's great," Claire said surprised at how dedicated Bev had been about organizing the garage sale.

Bev said, "I expect that we'll bring in over a thousand dollars. We can donate the rest of the stuff to a charity and get a tax write-off."

"You're kidding?" Jack asked not sure if he believed the amount of money she expected to make or the fact that donating junk that no one would buy would be a tax write-off.

Understanding Jack's disbelief, Bev said, "We've got a lot of clothes that have gone out of fashion. We can each donate a closet full of clothes and get five hundred dollars as a tax write- off. It might not get us much money, but we're counting pennies right now."

"That's true," Claire said looking around at the people gathered there.

Jack looked around the garage for a second and then said, "We need to move to where a lot of our expenses are paid in cash. We need to demand on accepting cash from others. We can get some things done a whole lot cheaper by using cash."

"Isn't that illegal?" Liz asked with a frown. She thought of herself as a law abiding citizen.

Shrugging his shoulders, Jack asked, "Do you want to pay taxes on the money that you get for renting a room in your house?"

"No," Liz answered surprised by the suggestion that she would have to pay taxes if she had to rent out a room. She hadn't thought about it as income, but as just a way to be able to pay the bills.

The subject of taxes was an irritant for everyone there. Changes in federal tax and spend policies had affected state tax and spend policies which trickled on down to the local level. Tax cuts at one level led to raises in others. Giving voice to a sentiment shared by everyone there, Claire said, "I'm tired of paying property taxes."

"Do you like paying fees to the bank for paying your bills by using a check?" Jack asked. The newest banking regulation was charging him a dime for each check he wrote because of the cost of processing paper checks. The bank was pushing the use of debit cards, electronic bill pay, and direct deposit.

"No," Liz answered. For elderly people, the electronic banking movement was threatening. Having grown up with horror stories of computer billing errors, they didn't trust computers.

Jack paid about twenty percent of his earnings in taxes including income and payroll taxes. His income taxes had gone up that year. That tax burden didn't include the thousands he paid in property taxes and sales taxes. Each time he filled his car, he thought about how much in gasoline taxes he was paying. He said, "I'm tired of paying fees for everything I do and taxes on every dollar I make. I write three checks a month and it costs me twenty five dollars to do that. It is ridiculous that I pay money because I'm too poor to have an account large enough to get the fees waived."

"That's true," Bev said.

"I cut up my ATM card because of all of the fees," Abby said.

Jack said, "We have to start thinking in terms of us versus them. Businesses, banks, and the government are out to get every dime they can out of us. We have to protect ourselves as much as possible. If they try to raise our property taxes, we have to find some means to prevent it. We have to double check every bill we get for accuracy."

"Don't remind me of that," Laura said. She had gotten double charged for a couple of items on her last trip to the grocery store. She had discovered it before leaving the store and getting it straightened out had taken almost an hour.

"Sorry about bringing up that sore subject," Jack said with a smile.

"At least you caught it," Abby said. She was using the self-service checkouts now so that she could make sure that each item was charged once.

"I'm sure it wasn't intentional," Claire said.

Having heard the story, Jack said, "It doesn't matter. They shouldn't have argued with her once the mistake was discovered."

"That's true," Laura said. She was still infuriated by the incident at the store. The manager had treated her like a senile old woman who didn't understand what he was telling her.

"We have to watch out for each other," Jack said wanting to stress the point.

Worried by Jack's attitude, Ella asked, "Are you becoming paranoid?"

"No. I've just taken a very simple look at what is happening around me. I don't like what I'm seeing," Jack answered. He sighed and said, "Maybe I'm just a fool, but I grew up believing that I could be anything that I wanted to be if I was willing to work for it. I don't believe that anymore. It seems to me that the more I work, the less I get. My wages have gone down and my costs have gone up. I see that the more successful I become the more I have to pay for that success. I'm convinced that you have to be a crook to get ahead. I'm never going to be rich and because of that I'm a victim of a very hostile system."

"It isn't the country I grew up in," Laura said. Times might be bad now, but Dave had been able to provide a very good life for her and the kids as a plumber. There was no way that Jack would be able to do the same.

Rich said, "Jack is right. We have to look out for each other."

Jack looked over at Penny's house. It had been standing there empty for more than two months and there had been three attempts to break into it. By some weird set of coincidences, Jack had not been around for any of those attempts. He said, "We're going to install security systems in everyone's homes."

"We used to be able to leave our houses unlocked," Bev said. She had been the one to spot the van in front of Penny's house in the middle of the day. A call to the police had led to the arrest of two men who had broken into it.

Jack sighed and said, "That reminds me that I have to repair the back door of Penny's house."

"You've been taking better care of that house than her family," Bev said making reference to the fact that Jack was mowing the lawn every week and making sure that mail was sent back marked that the occupant was deceased. So far he had repaired the front door and the back door.

"Where is her son?" Claire asked.

"I don't know," Bev said shaking her head. She hadn't seen him since the funeral. He had explained that he was busy at work and couldn't come back to take care of the house until he was able to get some vacation time off from work.

"He should clean up that house. It is a crime to let it sit there like that," Claire said.

Bev said, "I'll try to contact him."

"I'd appreciate it," Jack said. He was tired of taking care of the house next door. He was afraid that a pipe would burst when the weather turned colder.

Claire said, "I hate to say this, but we've drifted from the subject of the meeting. Can we end the meeting and begin the gossip?"

Cheryl laughed and said, "That's a good idea."

"Fine with me," Jack said. He looked over at Abby and saw that she was looking a lot more relaxed.

Claire declared, "The meeting is over."

Closing his notebook, Rich said, "Great. I'll type up the minutes and distribute them to everyone."

"Boys, pick up the plates and put them in the plastic bin," Cheryl shouted to the two boys. It was their weekly errand to clean up after the Sunday breakfast and meeting. They went right to work without complaint.

Jack went back to the sofa to take a seat. Ella asked, "Frau Shultz wanted to know if you enjoyed the magazines she left you."

Abby snickered while Jack blushed. He said, "Thank her for me."

"Men like those kinds of things," Ella said as if she was discussing a magazine about hunting or fishing rather than one with explicit sexual pictures.

"We normally don't get them from old ladies," Jack said shifting nervously in his seat. He glanced over at Abby and saw that she was giggling. He pointed a finger at her as if threatening her that he'd get her back.

Ella waved a hand at him and said, "They were just sitting around the house collecting dust."

"Okay," Jack said watching Abby leave the garage. He figured that she was going to start laughing any minute now.

Sally said, "My late husband had a stack of those kinds of magazines around somewhere. Maybe you would like to have them."

"That is not necessary," Jack said wondering how he had gotten into this situation. He looked over at Rich wondering why they weren't loading him down with magazines.

"It is no problem," Sally said brightly.

Liz said, "Some of those magazines are quite valuable. You might want to see how much they are worth."

"That's not a bad idea," Sally said.

"I've got some of my husband's old magazines around the house," Liz said.

Grinning, Dave asked, "What's the matter, Jack?"

"I'm not exactly comfortable with this subject," Jack answered wishing he had a good excuse to get out there.

Bev laughed and said, "Every generation thinks it discovered sex. Let me tell you something, your generation didn't discover it."

Jack gestured to the two boys and said, "There are children present."

"That should tell you something," Bev said with a grin.

"Oh please," Jack said.

Dave said, "Don't let Jack worry you. He's a prude."

Waving a dismissive hand, Ella said, "He's an American. Americans are much more embarrassed by this subject than Germans."

Frau Shultz asked, "Was?"

Ella explained the conversation to the older woman. Frau Shultz burst out laughing and hit her thigh. After another exchange, Ella said, "She would have liked to have seen your face when you saw the magazines."

"Oh great," Jack said sinking further into the couch.

Seeing that Jack was mortified by the discussion, Dave said, "Enough levity. Jack, are you ready to get to work on Emily's house?"

"Yes, I am," Jack said thankful to escape without further comments.

The two men went over to the house after stopping to get some tools from the garage. They walked through the rooms checking out what was left. Most of the furniture and kitchen utensils remained in place. The washing machine and dryer were still there. Dave said, "What do you want to do first?"

"I'd like to get the sheetrock down. We won't know how much damage there's been until we can look at it," Jack answered. Dave lifted his hammer and was about to take out a wall when Jack added, "We should probably move all of the furniture out of the way first and cover it with a cloth."

Jack and Dave moved the furniture to the far end of each room in which a wall was going to be taken down. It didn't take long to get the area clear of furniture. To protect it from any dust, Jack covered the furniture with some sheets from the closet.

"Can I start busting down the wall now?" Dave asked holding up a hammer. He actually felt like a kid about to tear down a building.

"Put your glasses on first," Jack answered stepping back.

Dave put on a pair of protective eyewear and hit the wall with the hammer. It made a nice round hole in the sheetrock. He hit it couple of times more and then yanked a chuck of the wall down. A cloud of black dust boiled out. He stepped back horrified by what he'd seen and said, "That's horrible."

"What?" Jack asked. He hadn't been paying attention to what Dave was doing.

"Look at all of that mold," Dave said pointing inside the wall. The entire inside of the wall was covered with black mold.

Jack peered into the hole and then stepped back. Worried, he said, "We better get some face masks and a disinfectant spray."

"That might not be good enough," Dave said. He didn't know if this particular mold was toxic, but that much mold couldn't be good for a person. He knew that some black molds were very dangerous.

Jack frowned and asked, "Do you think it is that bad?"

"There is a variety of black mold that is very dangerous," Dave said worried that he might have exposed himself to something pretty bad.

"Damn," Jack said. He decided that Emily was lucky that the mold had been inside the walls rather than outside of them.

"We better take precautions," Dave said with a worried frown. He was going to insist that they treat it like it was toxic.

"What kind of precautions do you think will be necessary?" Jack asked.

"We might have to get those space suits," Dave answered. In the past he would just tell the homeowner to call an expert to deal with a mold problem. He hoped that they wouldn't have to call in an expert. That would cost a fortune. For all he knew, the EPA or some other government organization might step in and condemn the house.

"I don't know if we can afford that. I don't think we should work on it until we investigate the matter at the library," Jack said.

"It is closed today," Dave said.

Nodding his head, Jack said, "I know. Let's cover this hole with some plastic. We'll put the sheetrock you pulled off in a plastic bag and take it outside."

"That's a good idea," Dave said.

"We better let everyone know that the house is off limits until we get it cleaned up," Jack said worried about getting all of the old ladies exposed to potentially dangerous mold.

Dave said, "You better make sure that Ella understands that Frau Shultz isn't supposed to come over to clean. She'll kill herself."

"I didn't think about that," Jack said. Frau Shultz would learn about it and insist on cleaning it up.

It took the two of them an hour to seal up the hole and get the sheetrock into a plastic bag. They didn't have face masks so they wore hand towels over their nose and mouth. Once they were done, the two men stood outside the house looking at the front door as if they expected a monster to come charging out of it. Dave said, "This is a disaster."

"You can say that again," Jack said thinking the job was getting larger and larger the more they got into it. He wondered what the next surprise would be.

Dave said, "Let's move everything out of the house before it gets contaminated with mold spores."

"Where will we put it?" Jack asked. The garage for this house was already full and his garage was packed with stuff for the garage sale.

"Rich parks his car in his garage. Maybe we can store the stuff in his garage if he parks his car in the driveway for a few days," Dave answered.

"I'll go talk to Rich," Jack said heading down the street to his house.

Dave sat down on the front step and said, "I hope I didn't poison myself."

Jack explained the mold problem with everyone at the house and got Rich's agreement to store Emily's furniture in his garage. Emily was embarrassed by the problem feeling like it was a reflection of bad housekeeping on her part. He tried to explain that it was a result of the roof leak, but that didn't seem to help any. He finally got her to accept that she couldn't clean inside the wall.

Rich joined Jack and Dave in getting the furniture out of the house. It took a dozen trips to carry everything over to his garage. Dave stayed at the house to move the furniture out and load it on the truck. Jack drove the truck between the house and the garage while helping to load and unload it. Rich stayed at the garage to unload the truck.

It was late in the afternoon before Jack returned home. He was tired and disheartened. The discovery of the mold seemed to be another blow to his hopes for a better future. Fixing up the house would be a lot more work than he had anticipated. He sat down in his chair with a sigh.

Seeing Jack slump in his chair, Abby said, "You look discouraged."

"I am," Jack said. He didn't have the energy to look over at Abby.

"How bad is the mold?" Abby asked.

"It is pretty bad," Jack answered with a sigh. He had a headache and asked, "Do we have any aspirin?"

"Let me get it for you," Abby said. She headed off to the kitchen to get a couple of pills for him. She returned with two pills and a glass of soda. She handed them to him saying, "Here you go."

"Thanks," Jack said. He popped the pills into his mouth and chased them down with a sip of the soda.

Abby sat down and said, "I talked with Claire and Ella about the rape after you left this afternoon. I feel a lot better."

"That's good," Jack said.

"I wanted to thank you for all you did," Abby said.

Shrugging his shoulders, Jack said, "Well, you were put in a no win situation. You did the best you could with it."



-------

Chapter 17


Jack, wearing a mask, gloves, goggles, and coverall, tore another bit of the wall down and stuffed the piece into a plastic bag. The interior of the damaged wall had been completely covered with the black mold. They were going through trash bags at an incredible rate. After he filled one, he handed it out the window to Dave who was wearing a similar outfit. Dave would throw the bag into the back of the pickup truck.

Although the worst area had been the central wall, Jack had ripped every piece of sheetrock out of the house where there had been any chance of water damage. There were a couple of smaller patches of mold in other areas. With the removal of the last bit of sheetrock, he stepped back and examined the interior of the house. It had taken half a week, but they had reduced most of the house to a shell.

Jack closed up the bag and handed it out the window to Dave. According to the articles that they had gotten out of the library, they now had to wash the interior of the house with a dilute solution of bleach. He looked up at the roof that was now visible through the ceiling and shook his head. There was a lot of water damage up there. It probably would have been cheaper to tear the house down and rebuild it.

Jack stepped outside and removed his mask. Dave walked over and removed his mask. After removing his goggles, Jack said, "That's the last of the sheetrock."

"Good," Dave said looking at the back of the truck. He looked over at the house and asked, "How bad is the damage inside?"

"Pretty bad," Jack answered.

"I can mix up a bucket of bleach," Dave said coughing. The sooner they killed off the mold, the sooner they would be able to work without wearing all of the gear.

"Give me a minute to catch my breath. It is hot miserable work while wearing all of this gear," Jack said.

"Do you want me to do it?" Dave asked. He covered his mouth and coughed. He was getting better, but that initial blast of mold spores had triggered an allergic reaction.

Shaking his head, Jack answered, "I'll do it."

"You'll be scrubbing in there for hours," Dave said feeling bad that Jack had to do all of the work inside the house.

Jack said, "We have to pull the carpet. All of that bleach will destroy it."

"We probably ought to do that anyway. Who knows how many spores are in it now," Dave said. This little job was getting bigger every time they turned around.

Jack was thoughtful for a second and then asked, "What if we were to use a sprayer like you use for spraying trees? Do you think we could fill that up with bleach and spray the interior?"

"You'd end up with a lot of water in the house," Dave said pointing out the obvious flaw in Jack's plan.

"How about if we used a wet-dry vacuum to suck up the water? That would also help get rid of any loose spores floating around," Jack said.

Dave shrugged his shoulders and said, "We could try it. A toilet brush could be used to scrub the surfaces."

"Let's do it that way," Jack said. He couldn't imagine trying to wash every surface inside the house with a little bucket of bleach water and a scrub brush.

"Will we need to bag the carpet?" Dave asked thinking that would be a major job.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Jack answered confident that the carpet was safe.

Relieved to hear that, Dave said, "The truck bed is half full of plastic bags. We probably ought to make another run to the landfill to dump it off."

"Let me get out of this coverall," Jack said. It didn't take long for the two men to get out of their work clothes. Jack said, "Put them over there on the porch. I'll take them to the Laundromat to wash tonight."

"You can wash them in our washer," Dave said. He covered his mouth and coughed again.

"I don't want to spread the pores through your house. Your cough is bad enough," Jack replied.

"I'm getting better," Dave said starting to cough again.

"Let's get out of here," Jack said after waiting for Dave to stop coughing.

The two men got into the truck and headed off to the landfill. Dave asked, "How are we doing on budget?"

"We've spent about three hundred dollars so far," Jack answered. Most of it was for the clothes they were wearing and the plastic bags. He said, "Of course, the house is going to require a lot more work than we expected."

"I'm afraid that we won't be able to fix it in time for the cold weather," Dave said with a sigh.

Jack said, "Once we get the mold out of there we can start using the house even without fixing the roof. I figure that we can really cut some corners in terms of fixing up the interior. We'll replace the carpet with linoleum. Considering what we'll be using it for, that would probably be best anyway."

"Are you talking about those little tiles with the adhesive backs?" Dave asked. He hated linoleum tiles since they normally curled up along the edges and looked horrible after a couple of years.

"No. We'll get the large rolls and just lay it over the whole floor," Jack answered. He had a little experience with laying linoleum and knew where they could pick up some stuff that had gone out of style for a cheap price. He said, "I've done it before. I might be able to borrow some tools."

"Is it hard to install?" Dave asked.

"On a scale of one to five, it is a five," Jack answered.

"I was hoping for a one," Dave said. "You must really know just about every construction job there is."

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "My dad used to say that if you knew how to work with your hands that you'd never starve. I've made sure that I can do just about any job on a construction site that is necessary."

"Smart," Dave said. He looked out the window and said, "Once I got my plumbing license, I never really had to worry about work. There's always a toilet somewhere that needs repair. People won't live with a serious plumbing problem."

"That's true," Jack said.

Dave said, "I made a pretty good living. With the economic problems I thought about returning to work. I could probably work a few hours a week without killing my retirement benefits."

"Why didn't you?" Jack asked looking over at Dave.

"I came pretty close, but the commune came up and I decided that this was a better option than going back to work," Dave answered.

"In what way?" Jack asked.

Dave said, "I've come to appreciate the community that we've built. I knew that something was missing in my life and I didn't know what it was. When we were younger, all of us used to meet and talk at school events. Sometimes we would get together for New Years Eve or a backyard barbecue. When the kids grew up and the school activities stopped, we all kind of drifted apart.

"Sometimes I would run into one of the neighbors at a store or something. We'd talk a bit, but that was about it. Nothing would come of it and we'd go our separate ways. I never stopped to think about what we had lost."

"I guess that is part of growing old," Jack said.

Dave shook his head and said, "No. It was the change in times. Television became more important than people. Jobs seemed to take more time out of the day. We were all rushing to save money for retirement without thinking what it would mean to retire without friends."

"I didn't think of it like that," Jack said.

"When Gail's husband died, I remember thinking that it was a tragedy that a woman was a widow so young. After the funeral, I went home and never gave it another thought. She was left over at that house all alone and trying to deal with her grief. None of us even thought of going over to visit," Dave said shaking his head.

"That's a shame," Jack said thinking it was so easy to get isolated.

Dave said, "The other women lost their husbands one at a time. I went to all of the funerals, but that was about it. I feel pretty bad about that."

"I can imagine," Jack said. He realized that he hadn't really thought that much about what the women had gone through in becoming widowed. He said, "It must have been rough for them."

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost Laura," Dave said. Just the idea of it made him sick to his stomach.

"I'm sure it would be rough," Jack said pulling up to the entry of the landfill. He pulled out the ten dollar bill that would let them drop off their load and rolled down his window.

The guy at the entrance of the landfill looked in the back and said, "You paid ten dollars for the last load. With a little effort you could have included this one with that one. Go ahead and drop this one off."

"Thanks," Jack said pleased to have saved ten dollars.

"Next one will be ten dollars," the man said with a smile.

"We'll be dropping off carpet tomorrow," Jack said.

"You must be gutting a whole house," the man said shaking his head.

"That's about right," Jack replied.

The man said, "I guess it is cheaper to remodel a house than to sell one and buy a new one."

"You can say that again," Jack said with a laugh.

"Take it easy," the man said moving to press the button that opened the gate.

Jack drove over to the edge of the landfill and parked the truck. Winking at him, Dave asked, "Why don't you lower the tailgate, drive backwards for a bit and then slam on the brakes?"

Jack laughed. Every time they came here, Dave had asked the same question. He said, "We'll do that one of these times."

Jack climbed into the back of the truck and tossed out the bags. He hadn't realized how many of them there were until after he had tossed ten of them out. Pausing to wipe the sweat from his eyes, he said, "It would have been a whole lot easier to get a waste bin, but a lot more expensive."

Dave sat in the front seat watching Jack work. He felt guilty that Jack was doing all of the hard work while he was mostly watching. He coughed and thought about that blast of black mold he had gotten when he had pulled open the wall. He muttered, "At least my cough is getting better."

Jack emptied the truck bed of contaminated sheetrock and climbed out. He paused to think about what the man had said at the gate. He went inside the cab and said, "You know, we could remodel the interior of the house. Not all of the walls are load bearing."

"What are you saying?" Dave asked.

"Well, no one is going to be living in it. We could open up the kitchen so that it is adjacent to the living room. We could open the wall between two of the bedrooms to make a very large living room. That would leave us with one bedroom to use as an office," Jack said.

Although the idea sounded good, there was a problem with it. Dave said, "She'd never be able to sell the house if we did that."

"That's true," Jack said. He realized that while doing the work on repairing the house he had started to think of it as a community center rather than as a home. It was a pretty easy trap to fall into and he was going to have to watch himself in the future.

"Of course, we could ask her," Dave said. It never hurt to ask.

"I'll do that," Jack said starting the truck. He glanced down at the gas gauge and said, "I'm going to have to fill it up."

"Claire said to charge the project for your gas," Dave said knowing Jack wouldn't do it unless he insisted.

"I know," Jack replied. He put the truck into gear and drove out of the landfill.

Dave watched the scenery go by for five minutes while thinking about what Jack had suggested. He said, "That's not a bad idea."

"What?"

"That we remodel the interior of the house to be of better use as a community center than a home," Dave said.

"Why?"

Dave said, "She's not going to sell the house."

Jack felt that was a debatable supposition and said, "Her kids will inherit it when she dies. They'll want to sell it."

"Well, I don't think that will concern her too much. They haven't called her once this year," Dave said.

"Oh. Is there something going on?" Jack asked.

Dave shook his head and said, "No. They are just too busy living their lives to worry much about her."

"I guess that is pretty common," Jack said wondering how families had fallen apart over the recent past. He wished that he had a phone to call his parents more frequently, but that was one of the bills that he had eliminated. He borrowed Abby's cell phone about once a week to call them. It wasn't enough.

"Our kids call about once a month. I think my daughter-in-law has it marked on the calendar. She calls on the third of month, every month," Dave said with a short laugh. His daughter-in-law was a piece of work. She was some sort of project manager and her occupation tended to bleed over into her private life. She approached everything like a project.

"At least she calls," Jack said with a grin.

"She's a good one. She's probably too good for my son," Dave said.

"You don't mean that," Jack said glancing over at Dave.

Dave said, "He wasn't going anywhere until she came into his life. She got him sorted out and directed in no time at all. I figure that he'd still be in college if it was up to him."

"Your son went to college?" Jack asked.

Nodding his head, Dave said, "Both kids went. My daughter majored in education and now works as a corporate trainer after spending three years in the public school system. My son majored in about ten different things until he got out with a degree in communications. Now he does marketing research or something like that."

"I thought about going to college, but I didn't want to work in an office building. The fact is, I like construction. I like building things and there used to be good money in it. A man who puts in regular hours can do well," Jack said.

"Did you think of getting a general contractor's license?" Dave asked.

"I was working on it, but got caught up in fixing the house," Jack said. It wouldn't have been difficult except for the part of the exam dealing with law. He knew building codes inside and out. He knew half of the inspectors in the city and could have gotten a letter of recommendation from any of his past employers.

"It is a shame that you didn't get one," Dave said knowing that the contractor made the most money on any job.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "I can take any residential project up to ten thousand dollars without one. Of course, that's more or less doing minor repairs. Anything substantive, like an addition, will cost more than that."

"That's true," Dave said. Remodeling a bathroom could cost that much depending on the fixtures purchased.

Jack said, "Of course, the work I'm doing now would require me to have a general contractor's license."

"You aren't charging labor, just materials. That drops the cost significantly," Dave said.

"Some asshole pencil pusher with an eraser for a dick would probably think otherwise," Jack said.

You're probably right," Dave said with a chuckle.

"The IRS would probably take my house for not declaring my labor as some sort of barter in exchange for housecleaning," Jack said.

Looking over at Jack, Dave said, "We're a little negative about the regulatory agencies of our government, are we?"

"I guess," Jack said shaking his head. "I just keep feeling like one day someone is going step in and say that what we are doing is illegal."

"Who would complain?" Dave asked skeptically.

Jack snorted and said, "The first asshole we turn down for membership because he doesn't believe in God."

"There is that," Dave said. He could see it happening too.

"The first kid who decides that their mother was being taken advantage of by a cult," Jack said.

"You might be right," Dave said knowing that was a real possibility.

Jack said, "To tell the truth, I'm even nervous about having any kind of paperwork detailing commune business. I'm afraid that the time we contribute to the commune will be viewed as an exchange of services. Can you imagine how much we'd have to pay in taxes if someone decided that it was worth fifteen dollars an hour?"

"I don't even want to think about it," Dave said feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Neither do I," Jack said, but that didn't stop him from thinking about it all of the time.

"Why are you so worried?" Dave asked.

Jack said, "I was reading the newspaper the other day and it mentioned that tax revenues are down. Two years ago, approximately forty-one percent of Americans didn't pay income tax. That has risen to an estimated fifty-eight percent as a result of the economic woes and massive retirements. The government runs on money and it needs more money. It is going to come after those of us who are still paying taxes to get it."

"So they are going to raise taxes?" Dave asked.

Jack nodded his head and said, "That and start auditing more people. They are specifically targeting businesses that deal in cash. At least, that is what the newspaper said."

"That's a real killer," Dave said.

"Tell me about it," Jack said frowning. He said, "I brought in about five hundred a month mowing lawns the first half of this summer. I'll have to pay taxes and penalties on that if the IRS learns about it."

"You'll lose your house," Dave said. Filing bankruptcy would save your house, but not from the IRS.

"That's right," Jack said. He sighed and said, "Forgive me if I seem a little pessimistic, but the past two years have been real rough for me. It seems to me that every time I get my head above water something happens and I'm back to drowning."

"This commune has been a pretty good deal. We're all eating better now," Dave said understanding why Jack felt the way he did.

Jack said, "Everything is getting regulated more and more. When Penny died, the cop was more concerned that Abby's driver's license didn't show the right address than the fact that an old woman had committed suicide."

"You're kidding," Dave said hoping that Jack was wrong.

"I'm exaggerating a little. He did comment on the address though. Abby had to get a new driver's license," Jack said shaking his head.

"Nero fiddled while Rome burned," Dave said shaking his head in disgust.

"You can say that again."

Jack pulled up in front of Dave's house and said, "I'll let you out here and then head home. We'll get to work on pulling the carpet tomorrow if I don't get a call about a job being available."

"Great," Dave said getting out of the truck. He thought about what Jack had said about the possibility that the government would step in and end the commune. That would be a disaster for everyone involved.

Jack drove off towards home thinking about everything that needed to be done yet. He pulled into the drive way and noticed that the usual crowd was present in the garage. Looking over at Emily's house, he wondered how much longer it would be until they had a community house. Of course, when they got it to a point where they could start using it was up to him.

Jack had just gotten out of his truck when Claire walked over and said, "The college called."

"What college?" Jack asked.

"The local college. They want you to come over tomorrow for an interview at one," Claire said delivering the message. She handed him a sheet of paper and said, "The details are on this paper."

"I put in an application more than a month ago," Jack said looking at the note. He had given up on ever getting a job there.

"I guess the college works a little different than most construction firms," Claire said shrugging her shoulders.

"What should I wear?" Jack asked. He had never really had a formal interview for a job before. Usually he knew someone who ran a crew and they hired him based on his reputation.

"I guess you should go there wearing something nice," Claire answered understanding why he might feel a little insecure about this interview.

"I have a sport coat, but it may be a little small," Jack said. He hadn't worn that since he had refinanced his mortgage.

Claire said, "It is better to wear nice clothes that fit than even nicer clothes that don't fit. You won't look like a hick."

"Good advice," Jack said. He had a nice pair of pants and a dress shirt. His black leather shoes looked okay, but probably could use a polish.

"How is it going at the house?" Claire asked.

"Slow. We'll take out the carpet tomorrow and then wash down the inside. After letting it dry for a few days, we'll see how much mold is left. We might have to wash it again," Jack said.

"You're putting in a lot of work for the commune, Jack. Maybe you might want to take a day or two off," Claire said. He was working seven days a week except when he had a paying job. He wouldn't take any money except what was necessary to fill his gas tank.

"No. I want to finish it so that we have a better place to meet. When it rained the other day everyone was miserable in the garage," Jack said. Getting dinner over to the garage often took two or three trips from the house where it had been prepared.

"Don't take it so personally," Claire said knowing that Jack felt bad about the delay in fixing up the house.

"I can't help it," Jack said with a laugh.

Claire said, "By the way, Mary is going to move in with me."

"That's great," Jack said. He knew that Claire had been getting a little desperate to get some additional money in the house. Her retirement account had been shrinking at an incredible rate over the past six months. Abby had mentioned that Claire spent hours looking over her statements trying to figure out how long it would last her.

"I'll let you head in the house. I'm sure that you are pretty tired after working all day," Claire said.

"I need a shower before dinner. I probably smell like a fish that has been out in the sun all day," Jack said.

Claire exaggerated taking a sniff and said, "I'd say it is closer to two days."

Jack laughed and said, "Thanks a lot."



-------

Chapter 18


Having arrived an hour early, Jack walked around the campus trying to locate the maintenance building. He wasn't quite sure what to expect. Most job sites of significant size had a modular building that they used as the main business building, but he didn't see anything like that around the campus. There was a vast array of buildings all constructed in different styles. Some buildings looked to be seventy years old while others looked brand new.

The grounds were very nicely kept. The grass was mowed and there were flowers planted everywhere. He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to work in that environment. He noticed a couple of students walking past. They looked so young and alive.

With the time quickly approaching his appointment time, he began to get worried that he'd never find the building. One of the men wearing a shirt with the name of the college on it stopped and asked, "Are you lost?"

Jack answered, "A little. You wouldn't happen to know where the maintenance building is, would you?"

The man pointed to a road and said, "Down there. It is a little squatty building with a loading dock on the one end. There's a garage next to it."

"Thanks," Jack said.

"Are you going for a key to your office?" the man asked.

"No. I'm here to interview for a job," Jack answered.

"So they are finally getting around to hiring a flooring guy. We've needed one ever since Al died," the man said.

"That's good to know," Jack said.

"You'll like working here. Good luck," the man said.

"Thanks," Jack said. He watched the man walk off to one of the buildings.

It took Jack ten minutes to find the building. He went through the main door. A woman was seated at a desk and looked up at him. She asked, "Are you here for a key?"

"I'm supposed to interview for a job," Jack said.

"Oh. Sorry. It is just that everyone who comes in here usually is after a key," the woman said with a smile. She said, "You must be Jack Dunne."

"I am," Jack said surprised that she knew his name.

"I'm Sue. If you'll have a seat, I'll look for Roy. He's around here somewhere."

"Thank you," Jack said thinking that was a pretty friendly reception.

A few minutes later, Sue came back. A large man with a full gray beard and a pot belly followed behind her. Sticking his hand out to shake, the man said, "Hello Jack, I'm Roy Marshal. Why don't you come to my office and we'll talk."

"Thanks," Jack said taking the man's hand. He had a firm handshake.

While walking to the office, Roy said, "We do the basic maintenance around the campus. Most of our work is the small stuff. We might replace the carpet in an office or fix a light fixture. The big jobs are contracted out, but there is enough work to keep us busy year round. Summer is pretty busy while we are repairing the dorms. We've got one plumber, two carpenters, and three electricians. We had a flooring guy, but he passed away about two months ago. We've got more men on the grounds crew who mow the lawn and keep the campus grounds looking good."

"Impressive," Jack said.

Entering the office, Roy gestured to a chair and said, "Have a seat."

"Thanks," Jack said taking a seat.

"I noticed in your resume that you know how to install carpet, linoleum, and tile. I called your former employers and they told me that you did good work. They all made the point that you were a reliable employee and that they would hire you whenever they had work."

"I do my best," Jack said thinking he should try selling himself a little.

"Your resume said that you also do a little light carpentry and sheetrock work," Roy said. He was desperate to get a man in to fill the opening. He had a backlog of jobs that needed to be done and the college was dragging its feet on getting the paperwork through.

"That's right," Jack replied nodding his head.

"Good. We like our people to be flexible," Roy said. Not used to interviewing people, he scratched his beard trying to decide what he was supposed to be doing. Finally, he said, "Our people usually wear work boots, jeans and university shirts. We provide ten shirts a year, but you can buy more at the university store. You'll have to provide the jeans. You'll also be responsible for washing your shirts."

"Sounds reasonable," Jack said surprised that the man had mentioned work clothes. He had never had to wear a job uniform before and was used to buying his own work clothes.

"The work hours are 8:00 to 4:30 with a half hour lunch break at noon. You have to punch the time clock when you arrive and when you leave. You'll earn time and half on the weekends. You get two weeks of vacation a year," Roy said.

"That's good," Jack said thinking he'd never had an employer talk about vacation before.

Having run out of things to talk about, Roy asked, "Are you interested in the job?"

"Yes," Jack answered.

"Good." Roy glanced at his calendar and said, "It will take two weeks to get your paperwork routed through all of the administrative offices. They'll send you a letter providing you with the details for the job offer."

"So I got the job?" Jack asked.

"Unless there's a problem administratively," Roy said with a grin. They had received only a handful resumes for the job and Jack's was the only one that met all of the criteria in the advertisement. That was going to be a problem and would slow things down a bit, but since he was the only qualified applicant the school would hire him.

Jack asked, "What about tools?"

"We provide all of the tools," Roy said.

"That's good," Jack said.

Roy looked across the desk pleased that the interview had gone so well. He had been in the position for five years and this was his first time interviewing someone to work for him. He said, "Not quite what you were expecting."

"You can say that again," Jack said.

Folding his hands over his pot belly, Roy said, "We're a laid back bunch around here. We do our jobs without interfering with the day to day business of running a college. You'll find the professors are pretty nice. The students are a great bunch of kids. I think you'll like working here."

"I'm sure that I will," Jack said. He wondered how much the job paid.

"Do you have any questions?" Roy asked.

Jack said, "I guess the only question I have is how much the job pays."

"I thought that was in the ad," Roy said. He leafed through some papers on his desk and found the one for which he was searching. He said, "$18.50 an hour."

"That's good," Jack said thinking it was the most he'd ever made.

Roy said, "Odds are good that you'll retire from here. This is one of most secure jobs left. When times are bad, enrollment goes up with people looking to retrain for new careers. When times are good, things stay the same. We've never laid anyone off."

"That's good to know," Jack said. He had thought that job security was a thing of the past.

Roy said, "I'll let you go. You should be getting a letter in a couple of weeks with the job offer. It will have some of the details about health benefits, retirement benefits, tuition reimbursement, and union membership. I know that it seems like this process is slow, but that's how it is around here. They follow the same process regardless of whether they are hiring a professor or a maintenance guy."

"Great," Jack said rising from his chair. He wasn't going to complain about how long the process took. He figured that he'd last long enough to be able to wait for the job without starving.

Jack returned to his house and went inside carrying a large bottle of name brand soda. It was a special little treat to celebrate getting a job. He wasn't sure what it would be like having year round employment like that, but he was anxious to find out. He poured a glass and took a seat. Getting out a calculator, he calculated how much he would make a year. He stared at the number surprised at how much money it was.

There was a knock on the front door interrupting his thoughts. He went over and answered it to find Claire there. She asked, "Did you get the job?"

"Yes, I did," Jack answered with a great big grin.

"That's wonderful. We'll have to celebrate tonight," Claire said with a grin. She figured they would bake a cake or something along those lines.

"The guy who interviewed me said that it would be a couple of weeks before the offer letter came in the mail," Jack said.

"I kind of expected them to hire you on the spot," Claire said with a frown. She had expected him to start working the next day.

"He says that it is lifetime employment. I'm not going to worry about it taking some time to officially send me an offer," Jack said shrugging his shoulders.

"That is still great news, Jack."

"Yes, it is. I'm going to be making really good money," Jack said. Rubbing his hands together, he said, "I hope that I'll get enough work done on the community house for us to use it before I have to start working fulltime."

"I'm sure that you'll get it done on time," Claire said with a smile. She knew that she could trust Jack to do what was necessary to help the commune. She didn't think that he'd turn his back on them now that he was getting better financially.

"I'll try," Jack said. The interview had been at one and it was now three in the afternoon. There wasn't enough time to pull all of the carpet out. He sighed and said, "I suppose I could mow a couple of lawns before dinner."

"Take the rest of the day off," Claire said patting him on the arm. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

"I guess," Jack said thinking it had been a long time since anyone had said that to him.

The rest of the month seemed to fly by with all of the activity in the commune. Emily had moved in with Sally and that had helped each one of them financially. Mary and Johnny moved into the commune by the end of the month. The infusion of a little extra money had really helped Clair and Gail directly. They had held a monster garage sale that had brought in over a thousand five hundred dollars.

Dave and Jack were at Mary's old townhouse fixing up some of the things that had fallen into disrepair so that she could sell it. While the market on all properties had fallen, townhouses and condominiums had kept their value a little better than houses. The property taxes tended to be a little lower, the initial outlay was less, and they were often a good choice for down-sizing from larger homes.

Dave stepped back from the wall looking at the paint job and said, "Well, the painting is done."

"Tomorrow we start with laying carpet and that will finish the repairs," Jack said looking around the empty room.

"At least we didn't need to use a hose to clean it up," Dave said making reference to their attempt to take care of the mold in Emily's house.

"Don't remind me of that little fiasco," Jack said with a pained expression on his face. They had ended up with water everywhere and very little bleach. The mold had bloomed overnight and they ended up having to scrub every surface with a concentrated bleach solution. It hadn't been pretty.

"It sounded like a good idea," Dave said chuckling.

"At least the wiring didn't catch fire," Jack said. He would never forget the sparks that had flown when the spray of water had hit an electric outlet. He couldn't believe they had been so stupid to try that little idea.

Dave laughed and said, "That was impressive."

"That was stupid," Jack said. Wanting to change the subject, Jack said, "At least this has been an easy job. It will look real nice with the carpet she picked out."

"She should get a pretty good price for it," Dave said hoping that was the case.

Jack said, "You've been keeping track of the expenses?"

"You bet I have. I've also kept track of how much time we've spent on fixing it up," Dave said.

"Why?"

Realizing that Jack hadn't been around when Mary had discussed paying them for their work, Dave said, "That's part of the cost of getting it sold. She set aside three thousand dollars for our labor. Mary agreed that half of the money would go to the commune coffers and we could split the rest."

"I wasn't aware of that," Jack said with a frown. He felt that they should be helping each other.

"It would have cost her a lot more than that to get someone else to fix the place for sale," Dave said.

Jack nodded his head and said, "That's true."

"We'll both get seven hundred and fifty dollars out of it," Dave said.

"At least I'll make my mortgage payment," Jack said. Jobs had become very hard to find lately and he hadn't heard back from the college about when he was supposed to start working there.

Hearing the relief in Jack's voice, Dave said, "That adds about fifteen hundred dollars to the repair fund. We should be able to get the roof repaired on the community house if we are careful with the money."

Jack knew a large number of people who were desperate for work. A few of them were trying to support families. They would appreciate any work that he could throw in their direction. He said, "I know a couple of roofers. I'll hire them directly to do the work for cash. We won't have to pay extra to get the work done."

"Good idea," Dave said.

"We had better get the brushes cleaned up," Jack said looking around at the mess on the floor. There was almost a gallon of wall paint and a half of a quart of trim paint left over from the job.

"You're right," Dave said bending down to pick up the paint tray he had been using.

Jack put the covers back on the paint cans and said, "We can use this in one of the bedrooms at the community house."

"Good idea," Dave said. The repairs on the community house had gone pretty quickly. With Jack not having many jobs, he was able to spend a lot of time fixing the community house. The sheetrock had been torn down, the frame reinforced, and the damaged wood had been removed. They hadn't replaced the sheetrock yet, but that would be done soon. A little scavenging through the houses had found all of the tools necessary to do the work.

"Waste not, want not," Jack said.

"Tried, but true," Dave said with a laugh. He carried the paint trays and brushes into the kitchen to wash them in the sink. He figured there were laws against that sort of thing, but what no one knew wouldn't kill them.

The two men went about the serious business of cleaning the painting supplies. Mary came into the town house while they were working. She looked around and said, "Wow, it looks great."

"Thanks," Dave said looking over at her.

"There has already been some interest in the place," Mary said. She had gotten a call from a real estate agent earlier that day.

Not quite sure that he believed it, Jack asked, "So quickly?"

Mary said, "I'm not making any money on it. I'm selling it for ten thousand more than I paid for it ten years ago. I'm getting back my down payment and some of the interest. I feel lucky that I'm getting out of it without losing money."

"How about if you had sold it three years ago?" Jack asked.

"I would have gotten double what I had paid for it," Mary said shaking her head. She had seen over thirty houses for sale between the library and her town house. Three years ago there hadn't been a single for sale sign anywhere.

"That's a shame," Dave said.

"None of us can see the future," Mary said shrugging her shoulders. She sighed and said, "I can't believe that I let this house get in such bad shape over the past ten years."

"Part of the problem was the low quality construction. I went up and examined the roof. They really used cheap materials. They are going to have to replace it in five years," Jack said disgusted at the quality of work he had observed.

"I couldn't have afforded that," Mary said. The fees for taking care of the town houses had been going up every year. Last year they had to repair the pool and that had cost a small fortune. She had never heard of a pool cracking. She said, "It was getting too expensive already and the Home Owners Association was increasing the fees annually."

"I can imagine," Jack said thinking about how a few financially well off owners could drive up the fees beyond the ability of others to pay them. The low quality construction would have resulted in a lot of repairs being necessary.

"Hopefully it will be someone else's problem soon," Mary said knowing that she would be happy when she had finally gotten this particular financial burden off her back.

Dave didn't have a problem with being nosy. He asked, "How's the money situation for you? I mean, it can't be good with paying the mortgage on this place and paying Claire rent."

"Claire is being very understanding," Mary said. The elderly woman had given her a break on the rent until the town house was sold. The hundred and fifty dollars a month that was going to the commune was actually saving her money. Her food bill had dropped significantly.

"That's good," Jack said knowing that Claire was the kind of person that would help out Mary.

"I'm really enthused about the commune," Mary said. The most significant change had been the change in her lifestyle. She wasn't sitting at home lonely every night. Instead, she was over at the communal house helping with the cooking and sharing gossip with a dozen people every night.

Mary had joined in the activities within the commune with a passion. It had quickly reached the point where she was contributing more than anyone else with the exception of Claire. Jack said, "We enjoy having you as a member."

"You wouldn't believe how lonely I used to be living here," Mary said. She had thought that living in a townhouse would have some social aspect to it, but the weekly parties had disappeared within four months of her moving in and the neighbors rarely talked with each other.

While scrubbing one of the brushes clean, Dave said, "It is amazing how busy I've become since we started the commune. I used to sit around the house doing nothing. Now I feel useful again."

"Claire was saying the same thing last night," Mary said. All of the little old ladies were busy all of the time. Frau Shultz, the oldest member of the commune, was busy keeping the communal house clean. Despite the construction that was going on there, it was clean enough to eat off of the floors -- at least metaphorically speaking.

"There's nothing worse than sitting around the house with nothing to do and no money," Jack said.

"We're going to have some more for you to do," Mary said with a smile. She was so excited with the idea of what she was doing that she could barely restrain herself from shouting it out to everyone in the commune.

"What?"

"Johnny and I are working out the details for applying for a solar energy rebate. He spent the past week working out the numbers. We'll get the majority of the cost of putting up solar panels on the community house paid for by a grant and the rebate. We'll also be able to sell our excess energy to the power company. With the rising energy prices, Johnny feels like it will pay for itself in five years," Mary said. The brochures said there was a ten year pay-off, but that assumed that electricity didn't double every other year.

"Really?" Jack asked intrigued at the idea of beating one of the large utility companies for a change. His time without electricity had been miserable.

Nodding her head, Mary said, "We're going to present the plan at the next commune meeting."

"I don't know what to say about that," Jack said. Money was still tight and he wasn't sure how people would react to investing that much money into a project like that.

"I like Johnny. We're a good team. I'm pretty good at finding opportunities and he's great at coming up with ways to exploit those opportunities," Mary said with a smile. Johnny spent a lot of nights alone in hotel rooms and was using that time to help the commune.

Jack said, "The more we can do for ourselves, the better off we are."

"You can say that again," Dave said. The time spent fixing up the town house had allowed him and Jack to discuss a lot of topics. One of the things that he had come to appreciate was Jack's belief that they had to look out for each other. He agreed that no one else had their interests at heart.

Mary wasn't sure that she agreed that strongly with Jack's pessimistic outlook, but she had to admit that life was getting better at a much greater rate than she had believed possible. It was more than an increase in standard of living, but an increase in quality of life. She was active, social, and engaged in living for the first time in years. The standard of living measured physical goods and not the intangibles. She said, "Well, we are still working out the details, but it looks good. We might be able to rollout the concept to every house in the commune."

"I hope it won't be a tough sell," Dave said. He wondered if it would increase the real estate taxes that they would be paying. He was going to have to bring that up to Johnny and find out what the young man knew about it.

"I'm worried about how we'll pay for it," Jack said. He was still awful tight with money and would be until after a couple of paychecks from the college.

"Johnny and I are going to donate some money towards the project," Mary answered. She viewed it as an investment in the future. Johnny saw it as a way to help his grandmother.

"That's nice of you and him," Jack said thinking he had been right about Johnny joining the commune. Although things were better, no one was in a good economic position. Most of them were still living on the verge of losing everything. The social support helped deal with the constant money pressure and relieved the depression which had become an integral part of their lives.

"Real nice," Dave said tossing the last paint brush into a plastic bucket they had used to hold the painting equipment. He looked around and said, "Well, tomorrow we lay carpet."

"That's great," Mary said.

Jack returned home and found a letter from the college in the mail box. Excited he opened the letter and read it. The letter informed him that he had to call and make an appointment to fill out some paperwork. Once that was done, they would establish a start date for him. Smiling, he said, "I've got a job!"

He sat down and read the rest of the letter. He was shocked when he read the attached section that covered the job benefits. His dependants would get free tuition. Although he didn't have any dependants, he realized that wouldn't always be the case. Considering the cost of a college education, that was a great benefit. The retirement program was part of the state retirement program and that was pretty good. In addition to that, he would be able to put money into a retirement account. Upon retiring, he would have his savings, the state pension, and social security.

He had full health benefits although he would have to pay for a portion of them. He didn't mind that. He would be fully covered for health and dental. There was a vision plan that paid for eye exams and glasses every other year. On top of that was a disability insurance that would pay if he were injured and unable to work. He had a feeling that he could get used to having benefits like that real easily.

He looked over at the clock and realized that it was a little too late to call the college. He put the letter down and went to his bedroom to change out of his clothes. He noticed the stack of magazines and picked one up to look at. Staring at a picture of a naked woman performing oral sex on a rather substantial cock, he said, "She's pretty."

The past two years had been spent worrying about money. All of those worries had suddenly disappeared with the arrival of the letter. He stared at the picture thinking that he couldn't remember ever being so horny in his whole life. He said, "I need to get laid."

He dropped the magazine back down on the stack and finished dressing. He went out to the kitchen table thinking that it was time for him to straighten up his finances. He wasn't sure when he would start working or when he would get his first paycheck, but the end of his money nightmare was in sight.

Abby pulled into the driveway and got out of her car. She was wearing her Taco Emporium uniform. Nothing made her feel worse than wearing that outfit. She felt like it announced to the whole world that she was a failure. She had never met anyone who wanted to work in a fast food restaurant as their career goal. While others were experiencing improvements in their quality of life, Abby's financial situation was still in a downward spiral.

She looked over at the garage and noticed that Ella and Frau Shultz were waving to her. Tired, she didn't really want to talk to anyone, but she headed over to them anyway. She hadn't even reached the garage when Ella said, "Jack got a job."

"That's good," Abby said thinking that at least Jack was getting somewhere.

Frau Shultz pulled on Ella's sleeve and said some words in German. Ella rolled her eyes and then looked over at Abby. She said, "Frau Shultz said that now is your chance."

"My chance for what?" Abby asked.

"To get Jack," Ella said as if the answer was obvious.

"Why do I want to get Jack? What am I getting him for?" Abby asked.

Ella shook her head and said, "Jack got a letter from the college today. He's probably in a very amorous mood about now. You can get him."

"We don't have that kind of relationship," Abby said. These old ladies were pushing them together every chance that they got.

"You can have that kind of relationship," Ella explained patiently.

"Why would I want that?"

Ella said, "He's got a good job. He's a good man. You can't do better than that."

"I don't love him," Abby said shaking her head.



-------

Chapter 19


Bev looked across the table at Ella and Frau Shultz. The elderly woman looked upset about something. Bev asked, "What's the matter with Frau Shultz?"

"She's upset because Abby won't take care of Jack," Ella answered.

Frau Shultz said, "Sie sollte ihn zum Bett nehmen."

"What does that mean?" Bev asked.

"She says that she should take him to bed with her," Ella answered.

"Why?" Bev asked wondering what had caused this sudden concern for Jack.

"He got a job at the college," Ella answered thinking that explained everything.

Bev said, "If I was forty years younger, I would definitely give him a little wild time in bed. Jack and Abby don't have that kind of relationship. She's kind of old fashioned and won't settle for a little romp without it meaning something. Jack isn't all that interested in her. I don't know why he isn't interested in her."

"She could interest him in her if she figured out how to advertise," Ella said.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Bev said smiling over at Frau Shultz.

After changing out of her work uniform, Abby sat down at the kitchen table with Jack. When he looked up from his papers, she said, "I heard that you got a job."

"Where did you hear that?" Jack asked surprised that Abby knew about the letter that had arrived. He hadn't showed anyone the letter.

"Ella and Frau Shultz told me," Abby said.

"Frau Shultz must have seen the letter when she came over here to clean up," Jack said. With her cleaning the house, there weren't many secrets.

"They wanted me to come in here and have sex with you," Abby said with a smile.

"Those two," Jack said shaking his head.

Abby laughed and said, "She's probably out canvassing all of the old ladies trying to find one that will take care of you."

"She's driving me crazy," Jack said getting tired of all of the attempts to get them together.

"She doesn't think it is healthy for a young man to go without sex for so long," Abby said. "She doesn't think it is healthy that I'm not chasing you around the house. She's sure that I'm not pursuing my future with sufficient energy."

"She just wants the best for us," Jack said with a weak smile.

"I know," Abby said. It was kind of nice knowing that someone was worried about her. She just wished that they found a different means to see to her future.

Jack gestured to the pile of papers and said, "It looks like we'll be doing better financially. I'll be able to cover all of the bills once I start working."

"That's good," Abby said. She was just barely making enough to cover her portion of the rent and the commune fees. Her take-home pay was about eight hundred a month. She was getting three massage jobs at the YWCA a week and that added another two hundred a month. It wasn't much. Over time, her income had dropped from nearly twenty-seven thousand a year to fourteen thousand. Stopping to get a Starbuck's coffee on the way to work was a dim memory of days gone by.

"We can reduce your rent a little until you get back on your feet," Jack said thinking that she had come through for him when his back was up against the wall. After all, she had paid to have the electricity turned back on. He had noticed that her clothes were starting to look a little thread-bare.

"I'd appreciate that," Abby said feeling guilty. There was no way that she was going to accept his charity, but she was not in a position to argue. She decided that she needed to start earning more money.

Jack said, "I've been going through my bills trying to figure out how much longer I can hold out before I absolutely have to start working. I figure I can go about a week or two more. Hopefully I'll start my job on Monday."

"That's cutting it pretty close," Abby said. She was already in debt to Jack for a hundred dollars.

"Yeah," Jack said rubbing his face. His initial happiness had faded a little when he had gone over his bills. He said, "If worse comes to worse, I'll be late on my mortgage payment. I doubt they'll repossess my house if I'm a month late. There's no sense in repossessing a house that isn't worth as much as the money owed on it when there's a chance that I'll continue to pay the mortgage."

"You're probably right," Abby said. She picked up the mail addressed to her and flipped through it. Her mouth went dry when she saw the bill from her insurance company. She paid it twice a year and had forgotten that it was due. She opened the envelope and pulled out the bill tucked inside it. Looking at the amount, she felt sick.

She stared at the bill for a good ten minutes wondering how she was going to pay it, the rent, and the commune fees. No matter how she looked at it, she was four hundred dollars short. That was half a month's pay and she'd never catch up once she fell that far behind.

Seeing that she had turned pale, Jack asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Abby answered licking her lips. She decided that desperate times required desperate measures. She looked around the kitchen for a minute and then said, "I need to go out for a while."

"Okay," Jack said. He smiled up at her and said, "Have fun."

Thirty minutes later Abby walked into the massage parlor on the outskirts of town. The Asian woman that ran the place was a tiny little thing and looked a little older than Abby had expected. The woman asked, "What you want?"

"A job," Abby said.

"Only hire girls from Korea," the woman said while trying to push Abby out the door.

"Your customers might appreciate a little different experience," Abby said finding it impossible to believe that she was trying to talk the woman into hiring her.

Making a gesture like she was giving a handjob, the woman asked, "You give happy ending?"

"Yes, I'll give happy ending," Abby said feeling sick to her stomach.

"No suck or fuck. You suck or fuck, we get closed," the woman said shaking a finger at Abby.

"No suck or fuck," Abby said thanking God for small favors.

"Man feel breast okay," the woman said. She reached out and squeezed Abby's breast. She said, "Men like big titties. Your titties small for American woman."

"They're fine," Abby growled tempted to slap the woman's hand away.

"Man in room five. You give happy ending now. He like, you stay," the woman said pulling Abby to a door. For such a small woman her grip was very strong. The woman stuck her head in the door and jabbered at the other woman in the room. After a second, a much younger Asian woman stepped out. The older woman pushed Abby in the room and said, "You work five minutes."

Minutes later Abby stumbled out of the room feeling sick to her stomach. She raced to the restroom to get sick. She spent five minutes scrubbing her hands clean and she still felt dirty. The old woman was standing there waiting for her to get out of the bathroom with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Shaking a finger at Abby, she said, "Man say you boring. Stare at wall while giving happy ending. You no good. You go now."

Abby left the massage parlor feeling like dirt. She got to the car and sat behind the steering wheel numb. She said, "I fucking couldn't even keep a job at a rub and tug shop. Fuck this."

Driving home, Abby wondered what she could do to make four hundred dollars in the next two weeks. She didn't see any chance of improving her financial situation in any substantive way. She was forced to accept that a massage therapist was basically unskilled labor for any other kind of job. There just weren't jobs out there for unskilled labor except in the fast food industry and that didn't pay enough to cover all of the bills. She couldn't even leave the commune and live in her car since she didn't even own the car that she was driving.

Abby arrived at home and took a long hot shower attempting to wash the experience away. When she ran out of hot water, she climbed out of the shower and dried her body with a towel. Disgusted at what she had done, she sat on the toilet seat and covered her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had so glibly considered that she could make a living doing that. The reality was that she hated the thought of it and hated herself for having tried it.

She had been wrong in thinking that giving a hand job was not as degrading as wiping an ass of an incontinent person. No one was judging her. No was treating her like a piece of meat. No one at the massage parlor had actually treated her like that except for her. She had always disdained women who did that feeling like they were ruining a profession that helped people. She put on her bathrobe and left the bathroom.

Seated at the table of the community house, Jack threw down his cards and said, "I'll never beat you in gin."

"How many points are in your hand?" Bev asked. It had been ages since she had played Gin, but it didn't take her more than one hand to remember how to play the game.

"Eighty," Jack answered. He had seven face cards, a two, a three, and a five. None of them matched her meld.

"With the twenty five point bonus for gin, that hand alone takes me over a hundred points," Bev said with a grin.

"How many points do I have for this match?" Jack asked wondering how he lost that bad.

"Fifty eight," Bev answered.

"How many game points do you have?" Jack asked.

"Four hundred and twelve after two match wins," Bev said. She looked at the score and said, "You have a hundred and twenty eight game points."

"This is ridiculous," Jack said.

"How about another match?" Bev said with a smile.

"Deal the cards," Jack said thinking that at least he wasn't playing for money.

Two draws later, Bev declared Gin. Jack said, "This is insane. How can you have gin after drawing two cards?"

"I'm just lucky," Bev said with a smile. She asked, "How many points are in your hand?"

Jack was able to drop two cards by adding to her meld. He counted the deadwood in his hand and answered, "Sixty eight."

"Sixty eight plus twenty five for the gin gives me ninety three points," Bev said.

Disgusted, Jack picked up the cards and shuffled them. He said, "Let me call wild cards after I look in my hand."

"There aren't any wild cards in gin," Bev said laughing at the suggestion.

"There should be. I need them," Jack said. He dealt out ten cards to each of them and flipped over an ace. He looked at his hand and shook his head. His cards were all over the place. There weren't any pairs or even a pair of adjacent cards of a common suit. He growled, "Junk."

Bev picked up the ace and discarded a ten. Jack drew a card from the stock and looked at it. He tossed the ten down on the discard pile. Bev picked up the ten of hearts and threw down an eight. Jack picked up a card from the stock. It was a Jack of hearts. He didn't have a Jack in his hand and the nearest card of that suit was a six. He threw the Jack on the discard pile. Bev picked it up and put her discard face down. She knocked and then said, "Gin."

"You're killing me," Jack said.

Bev said, "You should have kept that Jack of hearts. You saw that I picked up the ten of hearts."

Jack was able to give up two cards by adding to her meld. He stared at the rest of the cards in his hand and said, "I can't count that high."

"Do you want me to count them for you?" Bev asked.

"It is more than two," Jack said.

"Match and game for Bev!" Bev called out raising her hands in the air.

With her knitting needles clicking, Claire said, "I warned you not to play gin rummy with her."

"I suggested poker, but she wanted it to be strip poker," Jack said giving Bev a dirty look.

"You should have taken her up on that. Bev is a lousy poker player," Liz said.

"That's only because I like losing strip poker," Bev said smiling at Liz.

Claire laughed and said, "That's our Bev."

"Right," Jack said. He tossed the cards into the center of the table and said, "That's it for me tonight."

"Did you play for money?" Liz asked looking up from her knitting. Her knitting needles never even slowed down.

"I might be crazy for playing with her, but I'm not stupid," Jack answered.

"Good," Liz said.

"Where are Dave and Laura?" Jack asked. He had noticed that they hadn't come over to eat dinner that evening.

"They are having a date night. Dave took her to the early bird special at the diner," Claire answered.

"Date night? At their age?" Jack asked. He figured they were using a little of the money from fixing the townhouse to enjoy an evening together.

Bev looked over at Jack and said, "Dave is a good looking man. I'd offer him a tumble if Laura wasn't so jealous."

"Same here," Sally said.

"You're kidding?" Jack said. The idea of geriatric swingers was a little beyond him.

"Nope. How about you, Ella?" Bev asked.

"I think he would be fun," Ella answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

Uncomfortable with the subject, Jack said, "I'm going in the house."

Claire laughed and said, "We didn't mean to chase you off."

"Don't worry about it. I need to talk a little with Abby," Jack said.

Bev said, "That's a woman you should consider taking to bed."

"I'm out of here," Jack said beating a strategic retreat to the front door. He could hear the women laughing as the door closed behind him. He walked over to his house and entered through the front door. Abby was seated in the living room listening to music and reading a book.

"Hello, Jack."

"Hello, Abby."

Abby closed her book after having decided to address her problems straight on. She looked over at Jack and said, "I got my car insurance bill today. I can't pay the rent."

"Oh," Jack said. He wasn't entirely surprised. He had noticed the insurance bill after she had left earlier that evening.

"I thought I could make the money by giving happy endings at the massage parlor, but I discovered that I can't do it," Abby said.

"I don't know whether to say I'm glad or sorry," Jack said wondering how one discovered that particular fact about oneself. He assumed that was where she had been that evening.

"It doesn't matter. I can't pay my bills," Abby said.

"Well, we'll work something out," Jack said shrugging his shoulders. He could be late with the mortgage. His next few paychecks would help clear out a lot of problems.

Afraid of what she felt would be the answer, Abby asked, "Do you want me to move out?"

"No," Jack said. He was kind of used to having her around the house.

"I'm sorry Jack," Abby said looking down at the floor of the living room. Her whole body felt a little numb.

"Nothing to be sorry about. Life has hauled off and kicked you. It has happened to me more than once. I figure that life has quite a few more kicks in it for both of us," Jack said.

"I'll pay you some time in the future," Abby said. She figured that she would be a burden to him for a long time to come.

"Whatever you want to do is fine with me. We'll work something out," Jack said. He could see that she was depressed. There was no sense making her feel worse.

Abby asked, "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"In the morning, Dave and I are pulling the carpet out of Mary's town house. I'll install new carpet that afternoon," Jack answered. He also had to call the college to find out when he had to fill out papers and when he would start his job.

"It sounds like you'll be busy," Abby said.

"Maybe you might want to come by and help with the final cleaning," Jack said. The last thing to do after installing the carpet was to vacuum it and dust every surface of the room. It helped give the house a new house look and feel.

"I'll do that," Abby said.

"We'll add your hours to the bill," Jack said.

Sounding bitter, Abby said, "I'll be there in my Taco Emporium uniform."

"I guess you had a rough day," Jack said.

"You might say that," Abby said. She had discovered some things about herself that she didn't like. She stared at the cover on the book she had been reading.

"Did you eat?"

"I had a couple slices of toast."

"That's not much."

"It is all I felt like eating," Abby answered. She didn't think she'd ever have a good appetite again. Either that or she would binge on some ice cream later that night. They had two five quart packages of ice cream in the freezer. That would make quite a binge.

"I think there is some tuna casserole over at the community house," Jack said knowing that wasn't much of an enticement to eat.

"I'm not hungry," Abby said. The idea of eating tuna casserole at the moment turned her stomach.

Smiling at the look of disgust on Abby's face, Jack said, "I guess I can understand that. Tuna casserole isn't exactly a big draw meal."

"I shouldn't have bought so much canned tuna," Abby said with a sigh. It had been on sale at the discount warehouse and she had bought two boxes of it. Everyone had joked about eating tuna casserole for the next three weeks when she had showed up with it at the house.

"I think Cheryl really wanted it. She said it was one of her comfort foods," Jack said. Cheryl had cooked supper that night and it was her choice to make it.

"Odd choice," Abby said. Her comfort food was canned ravioli. Having run out of small talk, she asked, "Why are you home so early tonight?"

"The old women were talking about having sex with Dave. I figured that wasn't a conversation for male ears," Jack answered.

"I imagine that you ran out of there with your hands over your ears," Abby said. She had never seen a man who was as easily embarrassed as Jack.

"I didn't run. I walked out in a dignified manner," Jack said indignantly.

"You turned and ran like a dog," Abby said challenging him to deny it.

"Yeah."

The conversation fell flat. Jack had considered asking Abby to trade living quarters with Johnny thinking that would settle some of the talk about them hooking up. In light of her inability to pay her rent, he decided that was a suggestion that would have to wait for another time. He asked, "What are you reading?"

"Another murder mystery," Abby said picking up the book and showing him the cover.

"You like those kinds of stories," Jack said.

"That and spy stories," Abby said. She had a couple of authors whose works she read every chance she got. She was a frequent visitor to the library since she couldn't afford to buy books any more.

"I noticed," Jack said feeling a little foolish just standing around in the living room. He wandered over to his chair and took a seat.

"You don't seem to read much," Abby said. She had never seen him sit down and read a book. He did read the newspaper at the library and he would spend time looking up things on the computer.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't enjoy reading fiction all that much. I guess I like history, but I kind of prefer practical stuff."

"You should read more," Abby said.

Thinking about how much time she had been spending in the house lately, Jack said, "You should socialize more."

"I'm usually a pretty sociable person, but I just can't face too many people at the moment. This has not been one of my stellar days," Abby said. She wondered what the little old ladies would think of her going into a massage parlor and giving a guy a hand-job. She was convinced that they would probably kick her out of the commune.

"Do you want me to leave you alone with your book?" Jack asked thinking that he might be bothering her.

"No," Abby said.

"Okay," Jack said watching her.

"Would you like some coffee?"

Jack nodded his head and answered, "Sure that would be good. Cheryl made some chocolate cake. How about I run over and get us a couple of slices?"

"That would be good," Abby answered. Thinking about her earlier idea of binging on ice cream, she added, "Maybe you could add a little scoop of ice cream next to mine."

"Alright. I'll be right back," Jack said getting out of his chair. In hind sight, he thought it was kind of stupid to have taken a seat just to leave after five minutes.

Jack returned to the house five minutes later with two plates; each with a slice of chocolate cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. His choice had set off a flurry of activity over at the community house. He handed a plate to Abby and then took a seat in his chair. His coffee and a fork were on the little table by his chair. Abby took a bite and said, "Homemade cake. The stuff you buy at the store does not taste the same."

"You can say that again," Jack said. He took a sip of coffee.

Abby took a sip of her coffee and gave a sigh of contentment. She said, "This is nice."

"It is nice," Jack said. He took a little bit of ice cream feeling the sudden cold that attacked the warmth left by the sip of coffee.

Abby asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

"I don't know. This full time job at the university is a major change for me. I've been living from crisis to crisis for so long that I've stopped planning much of anything except where my next dollar is coming from," Jack answered. He decided that the first thing he would do when he had a little extra money was to buy a cell phone. It was one of those symbols of modern living.

"I can imagine," Abby said. She couldn't say that she knew what if felt like to have secure long- term employment. That seemed to be something that didn't exist anymore.

"I'll even have health insurance," Jack said.

Thinking about the lack of benefits at the Taco Emporium, Abby said, "The President promised that we would all have health insurance."

"I know," Jack said. He had a feeling that despite all of the promises that Abby wouldn't be able to afford it. If she could afford it, he doubted that it would be of much use in the event of a serious medical problem. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "He's been in office for less than a year. I doubt we'll see any progress on that in the near future."

"I can't even afford birth control pills," Abby said shaking her head.



-------

Chapter 20


Jack returned home from his first day at the college. He had spent the morning in the personnel office filling out papers and learning more about the job benefits. He had spent the afternoon in the office of the college president replacing carpet. He had finished installing the carpet twenty minutes before quitting time and had spent the rest of his time there learning his way around campus. All in all, it had been a pretty good day.

He parked his car and looked over at the community house. Someone had installed the solar panels on the roof that day. So far that house had been a lot of work and it wasn't done yet. The roof had been repaired and the interior framing had been replaced. Enough of it was done that they were using the house, but he still needed to put up the sheetrock on the interior walls. Money was very tight on the project, but the need for the house had become obvious to everyone.

Looking at the house reminded him that he had promised Dave that they would get the sheetrock up for the small office in the back of the house that evening after dinner. He was going to have to ease off and only work on the weekends with his new job. He hoped that wouldn't be a problem for the other members of the commune.

Abby was at home when he came in the front door and asked, "How was it?"

"It was okay," Jack answered. He was afraid of sounding too enthusiastic. There was a nagging fear that it couldn't be that good and the bad news was lurking around the corner to catch him unaware.

"That's good," Abby said understanding that he didn't want to tempt fate by being too enthusiastic.

Jack said, "I'll get my first paycheck next week. They said that it would be for my first week only, but I didn't expect to get paid for three weeks so I'm pleased about that."

"That's great," Abby said looking over at him. He really looked relaxed and moved around easily.

"I've even got a dental plan," Jack said shaking his head. He was going to have to go to the dentist as soon as he could afford it.

"Wow," Abby said envious of his benefits. She got to eat a couple of tacos and a soda for lunch as her only job benefit.

Jack said, "Well, let me change out of these clothes and into something I can get dirty. Dave and I are going to get up some more sheetrock in the community house after dinner."

"I'm shopping tonight," Abby said holding up her list. It would take her about two hours to get most of what was on the list. She and the other old ladies spent a lot of time searching for bargains at the various stores in the area.

"I take it you'll be home late," Jack said knowing that the shopping expeditions could end up lasting hours.

"We've got coupons, calculator, shopping list, our price comparison sheets, and money. We'll be there all night," Abby said. Monday nights seemed to be the slowest night at the discount warehouse store. Weekends were murder with the crowds of people there.

Jack knew that Abby attacked the problem of shopping like a science. She had set up sheets with the prices of everything from five different stores. He had to admit that it was effective. They were eating a lot better than he thought possible for the small amount of money that they were spending individually for food. He said, "It looks like it will be a busy night."

"Everyone is busy tonight," Abby said.

"I noticed that they put up the solar panels," Jack said amazed at how fast things had moved on that front.

"Johnny is in town. He and Dave watched them install the panels," Abby said. Johnny was in town only one week out of four. He was an auditor and had to go to where the job was.

"That's good," Jack said.

Looking over at Jack, Abby said, "Johnny has some papers for you to sign."

Worried, Jack asked, "What kind of papers?"

"He's filled some papers declaring the commune to be a non-profit organization so that we can handle taxes a little better. Our contributions to the repair fund become tax deductable. The organization is paying the electricity bill and taxes on the house so that it doesn't show up on Emily's taxes as income," Abby said. She didn't understand the complexity of tax law and was more than happy to have someone else worry about those issues.

"I didn't know he was doing that," Jack said. He wondered if he had missed something in the last breakfast meeting.

"It came up because a number of the members of the commune have to file taxes quarterly because they've been pulling money out of their retirement funds," Abby said. To her, April was tax time and the idea that some people had to deal with it four times a year boggled her mind.

"I had been afraid that we would get slammed with tax problems," Jack said.

Nodding her head, Abby said, "All of the work that we do in support of the commune are now considered community service hours rather than barter. It doesn't really matter to me since I don't make enough to pay taxes, but it will be important to you, Johnny, Rich, and the others who are taking money out of their retirement funds."

"I was worried about that," Jack said. He figured that he would probably get audited anyway in the future. That was a kick to the stomach that he knew was coming. He was confident that life wasn't through with torturing him yet.

"Johnny is an accountant and knows that kind of stuff," Abby said.

"So what does he need me to sign?" Jack asked curious why he had to sign something.

Smiling at him, Abby said, "You are on the board."

"I am?" Jack asked wondering what that meant.

"Yes. You are one of the community leaders," Abby said. Although Abby contributed a lot of time to the commune she didn't seem to have the same level of influence as Jack. It had bothered her a little since the idea of the commune was hers, but he did put in more work than everyone else.

"Since when?" Jack asked confused by that charge.

Abby laughed at his reaction and answered, "Since the beginning."

"I don't know how to run a commune," Jack said scratching his head.

Abby said, "According to Johnny, the correct term for what we are doing is 'Intentional Community.'"

"It is a commune," Jack said thinking that people were crazy in relabeling a thing just because a past label had a negative context. It reminded him of Orwell's 1984 where they were changing the names of things because they wanted them to avoid any undesired connotations that a word may have acquired. As Shakespeare said, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.

"Apparently not. A commune implies much greater economic interdependency than we have. We are a group of individuals working towards a collective goal that defines our intention. That makes us an intentional community rather than a commune," Abby said shrugging her shoulders. Johnny had made the distinction sound important and she wasn't going to argue with him.

"I'll call it a duck if I want to," Jack said.

Abby laughed at the petulant attitude in his voice and said, "You and everyone else."

Frau Shutlz came out of Jack's bedroom and said, "Guten Abend."

"Guten Abend, Frau Shultz. Wie geht es Ihnen?" Jack asked going through his normal greeting in German.

"Ich bin fein. Wie geht es Ihnen?" Frau Shultz replied with a big grin.

"Ich bin fein," Jack answered.

"Das ist gut," Frau Shultz said thinking that he wasn't doing so good. An active young man like him should have a girlfriend. She looked over at Abby thinking that the young woman wasn't doing right by Jack.

"Was ist fur Abendessen?" Jack asked. He had finally managed to learn how to ask about dinner and to talk a little about food. It wasn't much, but it made the old woman very happy to have someone with whom she could talk.

"Ich weiss nicht. Laura kocht heute Abend," Frau Shultz said telling him that Laura was cooking that night. She looked over at Abby and said, "Ich muss mit Abby sprechen."

Jack looked over at Abby and said, "She says that she needs to talk to you."

"Not again," Abby said rolling her eyes.

Frau Shultz took Abby by the arm and led her into her bedroom. Once there, she picked up a bottle of baby oil and box of tissues. Holding them out to Abby, she said, "Sie mussen dich um ihm kmmern."

"What?" Abby asked staring at the bottle of baby oil. She had a pretty good idea what Frau Shultz was telling her to do.

"Es ist nicht gesund, damit ein Mann so lang ohne eine Frau geht," Frau Shultz said wishing that she knew English.

"I have no idea what you just said."

"Notwendigkeit der jungen Manner, mit Frauen zu sein," Frau Shultz said. One of the lessons that she had learned as a young girl during the reconstruction of Berlin was that young men became much more manageable after a little attention from a woman. She had fed her ailing mother by doing that. It hadn't been easy, but necessity was a harsh mistress. As far as she was concerned, Abby could do that for Jack.

"I still don't understand what you are saying," Abby said despite the fact that she knew exactly what she was trying to say.

Frau Shultz put the baby oil and tissues in Abby's hands and said, "Kummern Sie sich um ihm."

"You've got to be kidding me," Abby said staring at the elderly woman.

Frau Shultz could see that she was not getting through to Abby. She snorted and stomped out of the room. Abby put the baby oil and tissues back on her dresser. She left the bedroom shaking her head.

Having seen the elderly woman stomp out of the house, Jack asked, "What's the matter with Frau Shultz?"

"I think she basically ordered me to give you a hand job," Abby said.

"Sorry about that," Jack said a little embarrassed.

Abby shook her head and said, "It is not your fault. I think she's senile."

Jack shook his head and said, "Ella explained it to me the other day. Frau Shultz believes that young men need release on a frequent basis or else they get unmanageable. Apparently she put up with a lot of drunken American soldiers after the war and discovered that young men are lot nicer after they've had sex."

"I know about that," Abby said admitting that it was the one motive of Frau Shultz that she understood. She didn't understand why it had to be her to take care of Jack.

"I don't know how representative her attitude about prostitution is in Germany, but she doesn't see anything wrong about it. I'm pretty sure that she'd send a prostitute over here for me if she thought any of us could afford it," Jack said.

"She wants me to prostitute myself," Abby said.

"I don't think she sees it that way. I think she sees it as you helping me," Jack said. He wasn't going to add that Frau Shultz felt that Abby owed it to him for all of the help he gave Abby.

"How does she know that I'm not taking care of you?"

"She cleans the house every morning. I guess she expects to see signs that something is happening over here," Jack answered.

"Well, next time you jack off leave something for her to find," Abby said crossly.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry. I just get so tired of everyone thinking that we should be doing the wild thing over here regardless of our feelings about the matter," Abby said.

"It is not my fault," Jack said defensively.

"I know," Abby said with a sigh. She looked at Jack and knew that the spark just wasn't there.

"Sorry," Jack said. Although by most opinions Abby was an attractive woman, she just didn't do it for him. He liked her, but didn't desire her. In a way, she was a comrade-in-arms rather than a sex object.

Abby sighed and said, "The fact of the matter is that I'm horny too. It has been two years since I've had a date. It has been even longer than that since I've had sex."

"Oh."

"Maybe they are right," Abby said not believing it for a minute.

"No," Jack said. There was nothing as unappealing as a mutual mercy fuck.

"Let's go eat dinner. I'm sure that I'll hear all about it from Ella tonight," Abby said. She knew why Frau Shultz had suddenly become much more insistent about her taking care of Jack. She had made the mistake of letting Ella know that Jack was giving her a break on the rent because she had to pay the automobile insurance.

After dinner, Laura came up to Abby and said, "Let's go shopping."

"You and me are doing the shopping tonight?" Abby said. She had understood that it was going to be a few more people going along on the trip.

"I thought it would give us a little time for us to talk a little," Laura said looking over at the younger woman. She looked around the room and shook her head. She had a pretty good idea what Abby was going through at the moment.

"Let me grab my stuff and we'll head out," Abby said. She was kind of relieved that Ella wasn't going with her.

Ten minutes later, Abby pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the discount warehouse store. Laura said, "I know that you think we are just a bunch of sexless old ladies, but we still have needs."

"I guess so."

"Some of the women have been after me to share Dave with them. Bev has been the worst about it," Laura said. It was really starting to bother her and Dave wasn't helping the matter. He was enjoying all of the attention a little too much.

"You're kidding?"

Laura shook her head and said, "Just because you are too old to breed doesn't mean that the desire goes away. It diminishes and stops being so spontaneous, but it doesn't entirely die."

"I guess I never thought about it," Abby said.

"I know that you've been getting a bit of grief about Jack," Laura said.

A little grief was an understatement, Abby said, "Frau Shultz handed me some baby oil and tissues earlier."

"I didn't realize it was that bad," Laura said shaking her head. She was going to have a few words with the ladies in the commune.

"Yes," Abby said. She had a feeling that it was going to get worse in time.

Laura said, "He is a nice young man."

"I just don't like him that way," Abby said.

Laura looked over at her for a second and then asked, "Do you do anything to show that you appreciate what he does for you?"

"Not really," Abby said. She hadn't even given him a massage since she had moved in with him.

Laura said, "You know, you two surprise me. I always figured that if a young man and a young woman shared a house that they would be at it like bunnies in no time. I guess I come from a different generation when we more or less believed that people were weak. I'm pretty sure that if I was your age and in your situation that I would have given into temptation a long time ago."

"It is just a lack of interest," Abby said wondering what was so difficult to believe about that.

Laura said, "I'm sure that if you were to walk around topless one morning that Jack would be plenty interested."

"On my part," Abby said wanting to make sure that there wasn't any room for misunderstanding. Jack was actually six years younger than her.

"I guess that is what we don't understand. I'll tell you the truth; I don't understand why you aren't interested in him. In my day, we judged a man by how well he kept his responsibilities a little more than on how much he made or what he looked like. Jack reminds me of Dave back when we were dating. He was so serious about his job and taking care of his responsibilities. He would get so tense sometimes that I'd give him a backrub. I swear that man could purr," Laura said with a smile. It had been a while since she had done that for him.

"You really love him," Abby said.

Nodding her head, Laura said, "I do."

Back at the community house, Jack and Dave were putting up the sheetrock in the small office room. Jack said, "I don't think we'll have time tonight to tape it off."

"We can do that this weekend," Dave said. He was going to miss having Jack around all of the time.

"Yeah," Jack said thankful that Dave understood that he was not going to be able to put so many hours into working for the commune.

Dave asked, "How is the new job?"

"It is pretty nice actually. The people seem friendly and the work load isn't that bad. I'm sure that it will get busy at times. They were telling me that in the summer they repair a quarter of the dorms and that is usually a lot of work. The rest of the year is basically repair work," Jack said.

"That's not too bad," Dave said.

Jack said, "One of the electricians was helping me out this afternoon. It appears that everyone just helps each other when an extra hand is needed. I kind of like that."

"Aren't you union?" Dave asked.

"Yes, but they aren't rabid about it. We're all maintenance workers despite having different skills," Jack answered. He had been on some jobs where a person wouldn't step in to help unless it was in the job description. There was nothing worse than wrestling with something while two guys watched unwilling to lend a hand.

"Sounds like a pretty good job," Dave said.

"They do watch the clock, though," Jack said. He had been surprised when everyone gathered around the time clock five minutes before they were to clock out. He said, "They said that they get in trouble if they fail to clock out on time. They have to clock out within five minutes of when they get off."

"Interesting," Dave said.

"Yeah," Jack said. He was rather used to working until the job got done, particularly when he was doing the work for himself.

Having basically run out of small talk, Dave said, "You missed the big fight."

"What fight?" Jack asked looking over at Dave. He wondered when the social pressures would raise to a level where there would be bickering among the members of the commune.

"Frau Shultz, Ella, Claire, Bev, and Laura got into a bit of an argument after lunch," Dave said.

"What happened?" Jack asked concerned by the news.

Dave answered, "Laura came in here while I was doing a little work and found Bev flirting with me. Laura's a little jealous. Actually, she's a lot jealous. Let me just put it this way, fur flew."

"How bad was it?" Jack asked.

"Well, Bev said that there are a lot of single folks that have needs that aren't getting taken care of. Claire said that we weren't that kind of commune. My wife said that the only people touching my dick were her and me. It was hers for sex and mine when I was taking a leak. Ella and Frau Shultz started in on Abby and how she should be taking care of you. Bev volunteered Cheryl for that duty. Cheryl turned red and left the room."

"Oh boy," Jack said imagining that tempers reached pretty high levels. He asked, "What did you do?"

"I got the hell out of Dodge," Dave said with a short laugh. He wasn't a brave man and understood the value of a strategic retreat.

"Smart man," Jack said with a laugh.

"I caught hell from Laura afterwards, but it was a lot better than what would have happened had I stayed," Dave said.

Jack shook his head and said, "I've been wondering how long it would be until emotions started getting out of control. I'm surprised that we lasted this long."

"You and me both," Dave said with a chuckle.

Rich came in the room and looked around. He said, "All of the women are having a hen party at the house. I figured I would bring the boys down here to escape."

"Laura and Abby went shopping," Dave said.

"I guess there was a little excitement around here this afternoon," Rich said looking over at Dave. He found it a little hard to believe what he had heard over at the house.

"Dave was just telling me about it."

Johnny walked in the room and said, "Hello gentlemen."

"Hello, Johnny. I see they put up the solar panels," Rich said gesturing towards the ceiling.

"They'll wire it in tomorrow," Johnny said pleased with the progress being made. One of the benefits of a bad economy was that when you did spend money people jumped at the chance to earn it.

"Great," Jack said. He was kind of curious how it would all work out.

"We're paying in cash so we got a couple of extra panels. That's going to earn us a little extra money," Johnny said.

"That's good," Jack said knowing the value of cash in the current economy.

Rich looked over at Jack and said, "Would you care for a little advice?"

"Sure, why not?" Jack said. It seemed to him that everyone was giving him advice whether he wanted it or not.

"Get laid. Your lack of a sex life is causing a problem," Johnny said knowing exactly what Rich was going to say.

"Thanks a lot," Jack said shaking his head.

Frowning at Jack, Rich said, "Cheryl told me that Bev volunteered her to take care of that problem. I'll give you a little hint. That is not going to happen."

"I didn't expect it to happen," Jack said.

After getting blasted by Laura that afternoon, Dave had made a call. He said, "I'm bringing an old friend of mine over tomorrow. He'll take care of the old hens."

Chuck, one of Rich's boys, had wandered into the room. He asked, "What hens?"

"That's just a figure of speech, son," Rich said not wanting it to get back to the old ladies that he was calling them hens.

"Okay," Chuck said. "Can we watch television?"

"We haven't got cable yet," Rich said.

Johnny pulled out a pad and wrote a note. He said, "I meant to call the cable company earlier. I forgot all about it."

"Don't worry about it," Jack said. He had a feeling that with one call they would have cable that same day.

Whining, Chuck said, "I'm bored. Can we go home and play games on the television?"

"In a minute," Rich said not exactly wanting to go to the house until the women had left.

Jack bent down and asked, "Would you and Mike like to help us measure the walls?"

"Sure," Chuck said.

Handing Chuck the tape measure and pointing to one of the sections of sheetrock, Jack said, "I need to know if that panel is forty-eight inches wide. Go get your brother to hold one end of the tape measure."

"Great," Chuck said rushing out of the room to fetch his brother.

Noticing how easily Jack had found something for the boys to do, Johnny understood why the old ladies were so hot about him settling down with a young woman. Jack was a natural born father. He said, "I have some papers for both of you to sign before you go home."

"Cheryl told me about that. To tell the truth, I was getting worried about the legality of what we're doing," Rich said. A couple of conversations with Jack had gotten him worried. He could just imagine coming home to a tax audit and losing everything.

"Well, the community center is a non-profit member's only organization for neighborhood improvement and spiritual development. It is kind of like a church. The food sharing program is a co-op and isn't taxable. There are no laws that say that every family has to do its own cooking and can't share food with neighbors. The work you do is community service and the work done for you is neighborhood improvements donated by volunteers. It is a little shaky, but better than nothing," Johnny said shrugging his shoulders. He had a feeling that the law would eventually change.

Dave chuckled and asked, "Who is the Reverend of our little church?"

"Jack."

"No!"



-------

Chapter 21


"Good morning, Johnny."

"Good morning, Jack."

"I guess it is cereal for breakfast," Jack said looking at the bowls on the table.

"Yes. There's coffee over in the pot," Johnny said. He appreciated having breakfast laid out like this in the morning.

Jack grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. He grabbed a bowl and filled it with cereal. He said, "It is kind of nice to have company for breakfast."

"I know what you mean. I'm used to eating buffet breakfasts when I'm on the road. Lukewarm scrambled eggs, rubbery pancakes, and stale Danishes," Johnny said.

"This is just cereal," Jack said.

Raising an eyebrow, Johnny said, "You try to eat cereal knowing that it is costing twelve bucks."

"That's horrible," Jack said thinking he'd get sick if he had to pay twelve dollars for a bowl of cereal.

Johnny looked over at Jack with a smile on his face and said, "My grandmother packed us lunch."

"That's nice of her," Jack said absently.

Pointing to the counter, Johnny said, "Yours is over there on the counter."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Jack said looking at the lunch box. It was an old lunch box like he used to carry to elementary school. There was a comic book figure decorating the outside.

"I thought you'd like that," Johnny said with a laugh.

"That's probably worth a fortune," Jack said staring at the lunch box. He figured that it had to be forty years old.

"Her feelings will be hurt if you don't take it to work," Johnny said.

"What about you?" Jack asked wondering if he had been singled out for some particular reason.

"Mine is the pink one with Cinderella on it," Johnny said pointing at the other lunchbox.

"Are you actually taking that into work?" Jack asked unable to believe that anyone would expect a man to show up at work carrying a lunch box like that.

"I'm eating in my car," Johnny answered with a smile.

Thinking that he would end up doing the same thing, Jack said, "Smart man."

Looking fresh and alert, Mary came in and grabbed a cup of coffee. She smiled at the pair of men seated at the table and said, "Breakfast time for the working crowd."

"Yes," Johnny said just before shoveling a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

She sat down at the table and grabbed a bowl. She said, "Ella came over last night. She asked me if I'd take care of you two."

"In what way?" Johnny asked confused by the subject.

"Don't tell me," Jack said getting irritated.

"Well, get your mind in the gutter and think about it," Mary said with a laugh. She had never been so surprised by a proposition in her life. It wasn't only the content of the proposition, but the source as well.

"This is really beginning to make me mad," Jack said dropping his spoon in the cereal. It seemed to him that the little old ladies were bound and determined to get him fixed up with one of the single women.

"Don't get mad. Claire warned me that it was coming," Mary said lightly. She wished that she had that kind of support when she had been going through her divorce. It seemed to her that no one cared about the quality of life she was living. Her married friends had avoided her like divorce was a contagious disease. Single men hovered around hoping to get laid. Single friends had viewed her as competition. She said, "I think it is kind of funny. You've got eight old ladies all plotting to get you laid."

"Wait until they decide that it is your turn," Jack said halfway convinced that day would come.

Not sure that it would be all that bad, Mary said, "They figured that I was a whole lot closer to your age then any of them."

"So what did you tell her?" Johnny asked.

"I said okay," Mary answered. She burst out laughing at the expressions on their faces.

Abby came in and poured a cup of coffee. She asked, "What's so funny?"

"I was just telling them that Ella came to me to ask me if I would start taking care of our two young bachelors here," Mary answered.

"What did you tell her?" Abby asked shaking her head.

"No," Mary said. She noticed the looks of relief on faces of the two men.

Disgusted at the efforts to get Jack laid, Abby said, "We're going to have to tell them that we're lesbians."

"Frau Shultz came to that conclusion about you already," Mary said.

"That bitch!"

"Hey, don't get so angry. She means well," Mary said. She wondered if it was because Frau Shultz was in her eighties that she had so little patience for the mating dance of the young.

Jack finished his cereal and took the bowl over to the sink. He said, "I better head off to work before I say something that gets me in trouble."

"Don't forget your lunch," Johnny said with a smirk.

Abby saw Jack pick up his lunch box and burst out laughing. She said, "You've got to be kidding."

"Hey, Gail means well," Jack said shrugging his shoulders.

Johnny pointed to the other lunch box and said, "The Cinderella one is mine."

"You poor man," Mary said. She would look up the prices on the internet. She figured that she could probably get whoever owned them to sell them for a good price.

"Grandmother means well," Johnny said with a grin.

"I'll see what they are selling for on the internet," Mary said.

"I've got a stack of porno magazines. Maybe you can see what they are selling for," Jack said.

When Mary looked at him, Abby said, "Frau Shultz and the other little old ladies brought them by for him. They thought he would enjoy reading them."

"Figures," Mary said. She watched the two men leave. Once they were gone, she said, "You know something. I was half tempted when Ella mentioned taking care of them."

"No?"

"It has been a long time," Mary said with a sigh.

Understanding what Mary meant, Abby said, "It has been a long time for me too."

Jack returned home after another day at work. He carried the lunchbox into the community house. Holding it up for Gail to see, he said, "Thanks for packing me a lunch. It was great."

The reminder of the lunchbox, prompted Mary to say, "I looked that up on the internet. That lunchbox is worth two hundred and fifty dollars. The one that Johnny had is worth four hundred."

Surprised that those two old pieces of junk were worth so much, Gail said, "Really?"

"That's right. I suggest that you consider selling them," Mary said. She had a feeling that the elderly woman would have a hard time passing up six hundred and fifty dollars.

Gail said, "What will they carry their lunches in?"

"I'm sure with that money you could afford to buy them new lunch boxes," Mary said trying hard not to laugh. She said, "Why don't you and Abby go get two lunch boxes for them tonight? You know how young men are. They are rough on things. I'd hate to see them break those valuable lunch boxes before you can sell them."

"That's a good idea," Gail said looking over to see where Abby was hiding. She realized that she should probably get one for Mary as well.

Appreciating what Mary had done, Jack nodded at her. She winked and turned to talk to someone else. He looked around the house. The house was basically bursting at the seams with people. Everyone was there except for Bev. He asked, "Where's Bev?"

"She's entertaining Dave's friend," Sally answered grumpily.

"Oh," Jack said. He looked over at Dave and got a wink in reply. He figured that tensions just might be easing around the community.

"She didn't waste any time. He wasn't here five minutes and she was leading him off to show off her house," Sally said. She was half tempted to go over there and get a little attention from their guest.

"I guess not," Jack said hoping that it would get some attention off of him.

"Our turn is coming," Liz said tapping a finger on the table.

"You're worse than a bunch of teenagers," Jack said shaking his head.

"You go a decade without it and tell me how much you enjoy it," Sally said looking over at Jack.

"You get used to having something all of the time and you miss it when it is gone," Liz said. What she really wanted more than the sex was to feel a man's arms around her. It had been years since anyone hugged her.

Jack asked, "Who is cooking dinner?"

"Frau Shultz," Liz answered.

"Sausages, cabbage, and potatoes," Jack said. He had to speak a little loudly because Abby and Claire were laughing about something, Cheryl was directing the boys to stay out of trouble, and Laura was telling a story that involved Dave's friend. It was a friendly warm background noise of people enjoying themselves.

"That's right," Sally said. She grinned at Jack and said, "Prepare for two helpings. You're a growing boy and need to eat."

Mike chirped in, "I'm a growing boy too."

"Me too," Chuck said tugging on his brother's arm.

"That's right. We're all just growing boys," Jack said rubbing Mike on the head affectionately.

Rich laughed at how Mike ducked out from under Jack's hand and said, "Dave and I are just two old married men."

"Who are you to complain?" Cheryl asked looking across the table.

Dave grinned at seeing Rich in trouble and said, "He's not complaining. He's just stating a fact."

Jack sat back and listened to the easy banter flowing around the room. Topics were touched upon and abandoned with ease. There were little teasing remarks thrown in amongst serious topics. He realized that this was the first time in his life that he had ever experienced so many people interacting on such a friendly level. It was something that had been missing from his life. It was a fact that everyone there worried about money, their health, and the future, but they were giving and accepting support from each other. It was a real sense of community and he discovered that he liked it.

Noticing that Jack had a thoughtful expression on his face, Johnny nudged him and said, "A penny for your thoughts."

"I was just thinking that this is nice," Jack said gesturing to the room around him.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone here has problems, but we're all helping each other get through them as a community," Jack answered giving the elevator speech version of his thoughts.

Although he had not given it much thought, Johnny understood what Jack was saying about the atmosphere there in the community house. He smiled and said, "You're right. You should spend a night or two in a hotel on a business trip. You'd give your left nut to have a minute of this."

Hearing the comment about giving a left nut, Sally asked, "Is someone talking sex?"

"No," Jack said shaking his head.

"I think I'm going to take Bev and Dave's friend a little supper," Sally said thinking Bev might be willing to share.

"See what I mean about helping each other," Jack said winking at Johnny.

Johnny laughed, but didn't make a comment. He watched his grandmother puttering around in the kitchen area. He knew that after his grandfather had passed away that she had been very depressed. It made him happy to watch her smile and interact with people for a change. He said, "My grandmother is happy."

"Yes, she is," Jack said looking over at Gail. Having Johnny pay her a little rent had eased her financial concerns significantly without injuring her pride. He had noticed that she was much more relaxed ever since Johnny had moved in with her. It was like she felt more secure or something. It didn't matter that he traveled so much.

Seeing people laughing and enjoying themselves, Johnny said, "This commune idea really seems to be working."

"Yes, it does," Jack said. Claire, Gail, Sally, and Emily were doing much better financially now. Some of the other members of the commune were still struggling. He looked over at Rich and Ella Shultz thinking that their situation wouldn't improve much without some minor miracle. He looked over at Johnny and asked, "Would you have joined something like this if your grandmother hadn't been involved?"

"No," Johnny said. "I know everyone joined because of money worries. I wasn't really worried about money. I make a good living."

"I understand," Jack said. The only one there that didn't need to be a member of the commune was Johnny. It was nice that Johnny never lorded it over everyone that he had plenty of money.

"I'm lucky in a way," Johnny said looking over at Jack.

"In what way?" Jack asked wondering if Johnny was going to talk about his money.

"Because she was involved, I was motivated to join. I never realized what was missing in my life," Johnny said. "Humans are social animals, but our society seems to be working against our instincts. I used to spend nearly a hundred percent of my time alone or surrounded by strangers. I lived alone, I traveled with strangers, I ate alone, and I worked with strangers. The time I get to spend here is like chicken soup for my soul."

"I didn't realize," Jack said. It was easy to think that traveling was an exciting life.

Johnny said, "I'm sure that everyone occasionally gets on the nerves of everyone else, but you ought to try being truly alone. It is horrible."

"I don't think any of us are strangers to being alone," Jack said thinking of what his life had been like before the commune was started. Two years of worrying about money and knowing that he would get no help from anyone had worn him down.

Realizing that Jack was probably right, Johnny said, "I'll carry a Cinderella lunch box to work knowing that it was packed by someone who cares."

"Same here," Jack said with a laugh.

Mary sat down at the table with the two young men and asked, "What's so serious?"

"Nothing," Jack said.

"I want to go over the magazines with you," Mary said watching Jack's uncomfortable reaction.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"They might be worth something," Mary answered. She had spent some time looking up the values of old magazines. She figured that these old folks probably had a fortune in junk stuck away here and there in their old houses.

"I know that the first couple of playboys are worth a bit of money, but I'm pretty sure that we don't have any of them," Jack said.

"They add up. Ten magazines that sell for twenty dollars each gets you two hundred dollars," Mary said. The garage sale had netted the commune fifteen hundred dollars and that had barely scratched the surface of what was stored in those houses.

Not exactly thrilled at the idea of going through pornographic magazines with Mary, Jack said, "Why don't you go through them with Abby?"

"I'd rather go through them with you," Mary said winking at him.

"Why me?" Jack asked noticing that Johnny was laughing at him.

"You blush," Mary said. When she saw the look on his face, she burst out in laughter.

Frau Shultz deposited a plate filled with sausages, cabbage, and mashed potatoes in front on Jack. She said, "Essen Sie oben. Es bigt mehr."

Jack knew that she was telling him to eat up and that there was more food where that had come from. He said, "Danke. Er schaut kostlich."

"Jemand muss um Ihnen sich kummern," Frau Shultz said giving Abby a dirty look.

Not understanding all of the words, he knew by the look she gave Abby that she was saying that Abby should be taking better care of him. He had asked Ella for the word that meant roommates and hoped that he had it correct. Jack said, "Wir sind Zimmergenossen."

"Bah!" Frau Shultz said provoking a laugh from Johnny. She turned to look at Johnny and said, "Sie mussen mehr essen. Sie sind zu dunn."

Jack laughed and said, "You're in trouble now, Johnny."

"What did she say?" Johnny asked afraid that Frau Shultz was going to start worrying about his sex life.

"She wants to fatten you up. She says that you are too skinny," Jack said.

Grinning, Johnny said, "Tell her I need to stay skinny. How else will I get all of the pretty women to offer me food?"

"Er wunscht gross Unhullungen," Jack said.

"Gut," Frau Shultz said scuttling back to the kitchen.

"What did you tell her?" Johnny asked worried by the happy expression on Frau Shultz's face.

"I told her you want two helpings," Jack answered with a grin.

Johnny said, "Well, I don't get this kind of food on the road. I might as well enjoy it while I can."

Jack sliced off a piece of the sausage and said, "She does a great job in the kitchen."

When Frau Shultz put a loaded platter in front of Johnny, he said, "Danke."

"Sie sind willkommen," Frau Shultz said with a smile.

Johnny tasted a bit of the sausage and smiled. He looked up at Frau Shultz and said, "Very good."

"Gut," Frau Shultz said pleased to be feeding another young man.

Jack watched Frau Shultz walk away and said, "She's been lonely for a long time."

"I guess not speaking English isolates her even in the commune," Johnny said looking over at the elderly woman. He noticed that she talked in German to everyone and they talked back to her in English. It wasn't that they actually understood the words, but the context gave a certain amount of meaning to what they said.

"You can say that again," Jack said shoveling some mashed potatoes onto his fork. He wished that there was a little gravy on them.

"You seem to manage the German pretty well," Johnny said.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just pick up a word here and there. I use it enough to remember the little bit I pick up."

"I'm impressed," Johnny said wondering if Jack understood how rare it was for anyone to make that much effort for another. He asked, "Do you speak any other languages?"

"Just a little Spanish," Jack answered. Knowing a little Spanish was almost a job requirement in the construction industry.

"I took a little French in college and can't speak a word of it today," Johnny said.

"You should have taken German," Jack said with a wink.

"You're probably right," Johnny said thinking that he would pick up a copy of that computer program for learning languages. There wasn't much to do in his hotel room at night and learning a little German wouldn't be a bad idea.

Mary said, "It is nice that you two think about how it makes Frau Shultz feel to have someone else to talk with."

"She's a member of the commune," Jack said dismissively. He didn't think he was doing anything special by learning enough to chat with the elderly woman.

"Maybe Frau Shultz is right," Mary said with a smile.

"About what?"

"Maybe I should take an evening to take care of you," Mary answered. She burst out laughing at the look on Jack's face. "Abby was right. You do blush easily."

"My dinner is getting cold," Jack said hoping to end the current subject of conversation.

Changing the subject to something a little more neutral, Mary said, "Thanksgiving is approaching."

"I guess it is," Jack said. It was still three weeks away.

"Claire mentioned to me earlier that her daughter was hoping to come here and celebrate Thanksgiving with her," Mary said.

"That would be nice. I bet Claire is looking forward to it," Jack said.

Nodding his head in agreement, Johnny said, "I bet."

"Not really," Mary said realizing that the two young men were unaware of a potential problem looming on the horizon.

"Why?" Jack asked. In his conversations with Claire there weren't any hints of problems between Claire and her daughter.

"Claire is concerned that her daughter is going to feel like we are taking advantage of her," Mary said. She had a feeling that Claire's daughter wasn't going to be the only one who felt like their mother was a victim of unscrupulous people.

"Why would she feel that way?" Johnny asked.

"Because they are becoming economically involved with other people," Jack said knowing that this was another of life's kicks headed towards them. He wondered whose child would start the legal proceedings to protect their parent.

"Some people will only see that the money is going out and not see the support coming in," Mary said in full agreement with Jack.

"We have books showing how the money is being spent," Johnny said puzzled by that assertion.

"You're talking logically. People aren't logical. They are suspicious of everyone and everything," Jack said. "I can't blame them."

"With everyone else out to take advantage of the elderly, why should we been seen as an exception?" Mary asked.

"I guess that makes sense," Johnny said with a frown. He was well aware that Jack tended to view things from a rather negative perspective, but he wasn't aware that Mary shared his views.

"Who do you trust?" Jack asked Johnny.

Considering the kinds of things he had seen auditing books of a number of companies, Johnny answered, "I guess I don't trust many people."

"Did you trust us when Emily mentioned the commune?" Jack asked knowing that Johnny had been watching them carefully. He had actually been pleased to learn that Johnny had shown such concern for his grandmother without expecting anything in return.

"Not really," Johnny answered realizing that he shouldn't have been surprised that others wouldn't trust them. He had talked to her throughout the early days of the commune. He had seen how it started and had seen for himself that it was benign. He sat back in his chair and said, "You're right. This could be a problem."

Mary said, "It will be a problem."

"It is a problem," Jack said earning a nod of agreement from Mary.



-------

Chapter 22


Claire was seated at the table in the community house looking irritated. She said, "My daughter and her husband want to spend Thanksgiving with me."

"My children want to do the same thing," Liz said. She was kind of ambivalent about the idea of spending the day with them.

"Mine, too," Bev said rolling her eyes. She doesn't hear from them except for phone calls on holidays and all of sudden they went to come for a visit.

"I can't afford to put out a Thanksgiving dinner for them," Claire said. It would be even harder if the grandchildren came as well.

"Same here," Liz said. A turkey alone was ten dollars and that didn't include all of the other fixings.

Feeling that she was being used by her children, Bev said, "They are going to ask that I sell my house and move in with them. Of course, they'll expect me to turn over some of my money to them."

"I didn't even think of that," Liz said wondering if her children were planning on making a similar proposition to her.

Having heard hints of financial trouble from her daughter, Claire said, "I expect my daughter to ask for a loan."

"Where were they when we were eating noodle soup for half a month?" Liz said getting a little angry.

"They were probably dealing with their own financial problems," Bev said knowing that the current economy was hard on everyone. There were a few people who were doing well, but she didn't know them.

"Still, they are adults now," Liz said. Despite all that she had gone through over the past two years, she felt that there was a time when people had to stand up on their own two feet. Her children were too old to run to her for money. She was on a fixed income and any money she had needed to last her for the rest of her life.

"They have mortgage payments and we have equity. You know that they are thinking that if we sell our houses and give them the money to pay off their mortgages that they'll be in a position to take care of us," Claire said putting her thoughts on the matter in plain words.

"They'll hate every penny they have to spend on us," Bev said shaking her head. They'd be real appreciative at first, but with time her kids would view her as a drain on their income. People didn't have much of a memory when it came to remembering past help.

The sad thing was that the offer would have been attractive at one time. Liz said, "Before we started the commune, I would have probably jumped at the chance."

"I know what you mean," Bev said thinking that it was a little hypocritical of her to feel so angry now that her quality of life had improved a bit.

"So what should we do?" Claire asked happy that she wasn't facing this situation alone.

"I can't afford a big Thanksgiving dinner," Liz said.

"Neither can I," Bev said.

Knowing Jack would probably die if he were to hear what she was about to say, Claire said, "I wish Jack wasn't at work. He'd have an idea."

"He's pretty good at coming up with good ideas," Bev said.

Considering the kinds of things that Jack suggested, Liz said, "He'd probably say to invite them to have dinner here. We cook one extra turkey for all of the guests without killing our budget and without ending up with a bunch of leftovers."

"You're right. That's exactly what he would recommend," Claire said shaking her head.

"He'd probably be right. Besides, it might help lay to rest any concerns they have about us," Bev said.

"It is not a bad idea," Liz said thinking about it.

"We'll have to thank him for the idea," Bev said and then realized he had not suggested the idea. She grinned and said, "He's not even here."

Realizing how ridiculous the conversation had become, Claire laughed and said, "Right. I guess our thanks would confuse him."

"He'd probably think we're going senile," Bev said laughing.

"I don't know where I'm going to put the kids," Liz said thinking about the other problems of having visitors.

"I doubt Mary would appreciate being kicked out of the house," Claire said realizing that she no longer had a guest room.

Bev said, "I was going to insist they stay at a hotel."

"Why? You have room," Claire said.

"It is the principle of the thing. They ignore me all year and then invite themselves over for the holidays without even asking me what I thought of the idea. To tell the truth, I'm a little angry at them. Three months ago I could have used a little help and where were they?" Bev answered. Her son had basically said that he was coming for the holiday. He didn't even entertain the idea that she had a choice in the matter.

"What do you want to bet that a dozen more houses go up for sale over the next three months?" Liz said thinking that all of the people in the neighborhood were going to get visits from their children over the holidays.

"I wouldn't take that bet," Claire said knowing that it was probably what was going to happen. She shook her head and said, "They'll be saying that they are concerned about their parents. They'll probably even mean it."

After a moment of silence, Liz said, "You know that what they are trying to do is a family version of our commune. It is a way of bringing the family back together and getting everyone to contribute for the good of the family. It isn't that bad of an idea."

"Well, my family was too late," Bev said with a bit of finality to her voice.

With a twinkle in her eye, Claire said, "I just might suggest to my daughter that she have her kids move in with her. I bet that would go over like a lead balloon."

At the image that provoked, Bev laughed and said, "That's a great idea."

"Do you think Jack would invite his parents to move in with him?" Claire asked.

"I don't know. He doesn't talk about them much," Liz said wondering about the relationship between Jack and his parents.

"He calls them on occasion. At least that is what Abby tells me," Claire said. Jack usually borrowed Abby's cell phone to make calls.

"That's good," Liz said.

"I think his parents are doing okay financially," Claire said.

At work, Abby's telephone rang. She was going to answer it until she saw the expression on her boss's face. Rather than get into an argument, she let it go over to voice mail wondering who was calling her at work. When her first break came around, she listened to the voicemail. She called back, "Hello, Mrs. Dunne."

"Hello, Abby. How are you doing?" Jack's mother answered. She wondered why Jack didn't talk about his girlfriend that often, but she was open minded and would give her the benefit of a doubt.

Pleased to hear his mother ask about her, Abby answered, "I'm doing all right."

"That's nice. Is Jack around?"

"He's at work," Abby answered. Jack's mother still forgot that Jack now had a regular job with real work hours.

"That's right. He's working at the college now, isn't he?" Mrs. Dunne said. She hoped that he got a cell phone soon. It was such a pain relaying messages through Abby.

"Right. I'll let him know that you called," Abby said. She looked down at her tray of tacos thinking that she'd have to cut the call short.

"I just wanted to invite you and Jack over for Thanksgiving," Mrs. Dunne said.

"Thank you," Abby said surprised by the invitation. She didn't know if she was going to have to work that day. Thinking about it, she realized that it was highly likely she would have to work. The high school kids would all want the holiday off and as the 'peon' she would be stuck there for most of the day.

"Talk it over with Jack and let me know what you decide," Mrs. Dunne said. She was hoping to meet Abby and the upcoming holidays seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Pretty sure that Jack would accept the invitation, Abby said, "I'll be sure to tell him. He'll call you tonight."

"Great," Mrs. Dunne said.

Abby returned to work after her break thinking about Jack and his family. She knew that he thought very highly of his father. His mother tended to worry about him and Jack was careful not to give her more to worry about. She was sure that they would have helped him out with a little money, but Jack was a little too proud to accept it. She wondered if he was afraid of losing his father's respect.

Sometimes Jack puzzled her. He was an odd mix of modern man and old fashioned gentleman. He rose when a woman came to the table. At the same time, he could back off and let a modern woman be self-sufficient. She said, "He's eating his way into my mind."

Her boss asked, "What?

"I was just talking to myself," Abby said realizing that she had said that last bit aloud.

"Well, clean up the dining area before the next rush," her manager said.

"Yes, sir," Abby said looking across the dining area. There were times when she felt that people were real pigs. Taco wrappers were scattered on the floor. The tables were filthy and half of them had trays left on them. She hated this job, but it was better than working at the nursing home.

Jack entered the office and looked at the carpet. There was a large tear just inside the door. The movers had torn it while moving a filing cabinet into the room. The woman at her desk looked up at him and asked, "What do you need?"

"I'm here to check out the carpet," Jack answered squatting down. He could patch it, but it wouldn't last.

"Good. I trip over it every time I enter my office," the woman said.

Looking up at her, Jack said, "Well, I can patch it or I can replace it. If I patch it, it won't last long. If I replace it, you'll have to move everything out of the office."

"Patch it," the woman said thinking that she didn't want to go through the hassles of moving everything out of the office. She added, "Fix it during the summer."

"I'll talk to my boss about it," Jack said understanding her decision.

"Do I need to leave while you make the repair?" she asked.

"I'll do my best not to disturb you," Jack said.

"Thank you," she said turning back to her work.

A little carpet tape would patch the problem for the time being. It was a simple tear and didn't require him to replace any of the carpet. He bent down and started to work on it. He looked up when he heard the woman say, "Guten Tag, Herr Frederick."

Smiling he went back to work while she exchanged small talk with the person on the other end of the telephone. After a few minutes, the conversation changed to a more serious topic that outstripped his understanding of German. He caught a few words now and then, but had no idea what she was discussing. He finished the job a few minutes after she had hung up the phone.

Rising from the carpet, he said, "Es ist orlich festgelegt."

"Sie sprechen Deutsches?" she asked surprised.

"Ein wenig," Jack answered with a smile. Knowing that his German wasn't up to explaining how he had come to speak the language, he switched to English and said, "There is an elderly German woman who doesn't speak English in my neighborhood. I talk to her on occasion. The only reason that I know how to say that it is fixed is because I occasionally repair things around her house."

"You learned German to talk to one old lady?" the woman asked very surprised by his comment.

"I guess you could say that," Jack said picking up his tools. "She doesn't have anyone else to talk with except her daughter-in-law."

"That's nice of you," the woman said thinking he was a jewel in the rough. With a little education he could turn out quite nicely.

Deciding that he had imposed too long, Jack said, "Well, I'll let you get back to work."

"What is your name?" the woman asked before he had a chance to leave.

"Jack Dunne."

"I'm Melissa Franks."

"It is nice to meet you Frau Doktor Franks," Jack said remembering a little about how to address people based on their title.

"It is just Fraulein Franks," Melissa said letting him know that she was single. She was just a graduate student working on her Master's degree.

"I stand corrected," Jack said backing out of the office. He gave her a wave and went on to the next job. She was an attractive woman, but he was sure that she was out of his league.

Watching him leave, Melissa commented, "He's kind of cute. I wonder if he's married."

Jack went onto the next job thinking about the fact that this was payday. He could hardly wait to get his check in hand and see how much he was taking home. If it was good, he was going to pick up a cell phone on the way home. He finished the next job in good time to make it by the office to pick up his paycheck. He opened it and stared at the amount. After taxes and everything was taken out, it was still over five hundred dollars. That wasn't bad considering that it was for one week's work. Even better was the fact that it was direct deposit. He didn't have to stop by the bank to deposit it.

Leaving the college when his shift was over, he stopped by the phone store. Thirty minutes later he walked out with a two year contract, a brand new phone, and a Bluetooth headset. Stepping outside the store, he dialed a number. His mother answered on the third ring. He said, "Hello, Mom."

"Hello Jack. I guess Abby gave you my message," his mother said surprised that he had called so early.

"What message?" Jack asked wondering if Abby had failed to tell him that his mother had called.

"I called this morning and talked to Abby. I wonder why she didn't tell you," his mother said bothered a bit by the fact that the young woman hadn't given him the message.

"I haven't gotten home, yet," Jack said.

"I wanted to know if you are interested in coming up here for Thanksgiving and bringing her with you," his mother said.

Jack said, "I had better talk to her before I accept. She might have to work that day."

"She might have to work?" his mother asked.

"She works at the Taco Emporium and they are open on Thanksgiving," Jack answered.

"I didn't realize that," his mother said. Her frown could be heard over the telephone.

Jack said, "Let me talk to her and see what is going on there."

"Okay," his mother said. It dawned on her that he must not be using Abby's phone. She asked, "Whose phone are you using?"

"Mine. I just got it and thought the first call I should make would be to my mother," Jack said knowing that she would appreciate it.

"You're a good son," his mother said. "What is your girlfriend going to think about you calling your mother first?"

"What girlfriend?" Jack asked confused by her question.

"Abby, you idiot," his mother said exasperated. She didn't believe for a minute his assertion that there was nothing going on between the two. Two young people didn't live together without a little hanky-panky taking place.

"She's not my girlfriend," Jack said thinking that he was going to have to suggest that Abby and Johnny swap houses sometime soon.

"You're living with her," his mother said not believing his story at all. Young people didn't live together without something happening.

"She rents a room from me," Jack said rolling his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," his mother said sharply.

"I'm on the telephone and you can't see me. Why do you think I was rolling my eyes?" Jack asked.

"I'm your mother."

"Yes, mother," Jack said barely keeping from rolling his eyes. It never ceased to amaze him how his mother knew those kinds of things.

"That's better," she said.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, Jack said, "I'll talk to Abby and see what she says."

"She better say yes. It isn't a good idea for a girlfriend to start off a relationship with the boy's mother by rejecting an offer to meet," his mother said.

"She's not my girlfriend," Jack said. In the face of such a united front to hook him up with Abby, he was not surprised that he was going bald.

"Where there's smoke there's fire," his mother said.

Jack rolled his eyes and said, "There is no smoke and there is no fire."

"What? Are you not good enough for her?"

Thinking that Abby was really going to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with his mother, Jack said, "I'm going to have to introduce you to Frau Shultz. The two of you would get along like twin sisters."

"Frau Shultz? Who is she?" his mother asked suspiciously.

"She is one of my neighbors," Jack answered not wanting to explain the commune.

"You aren't living with more than one woman, are you?" his mother asked sensing that there was something he wasn't telling her.

"No, mother," Jack answered half tempted to tell her that he was involved with a dozen women and most of them were older than her. He bit his tongue knowing that one slip and he'd have a visit from his father.

"Will you call back tonight?" his mother asked thinking that she'd like a chance to think about this conversation for a bit. She wondered if she should call Abby.

Jack said, "Sure."

The conversation lasted another minute while goodbyes were exchanged. Once he had hung up, Jack muttered, "I need one date and a whole bunch of women will shut up."

Upon reaching the house, Abby met Jack at the door and said, "Your mother called."

"I know," Jack said holding up his cell phone.

"She wanted me to know if there was a problem between us," Abby said ignoring the cell phone.

Puzzled, Jack said, "She told me that she called to invite us over for Thanksgiving dinner."

"That was earlier today. I just got off the phone with her," Abby said pointedly.

Irritated, Jack said, "Let's invite them here and let her sit next to Frau Shultz. I'll give her an English-to-German dictionary and Frau Shultz a German-to-English dictionary. They can jabber at each other the whole day."

Laughing, Abby said, "That would serve them both right."

"Knowing our luck, they'll come to an agreement on our fate and we'll be married with kids before you know it," Jack said.

"You're probably right," Abby said.

Jack was silent for a moment and then said, "You know, it might not be a bad idea to invite them over here."

"I'll have to work that day so I wouldn't be able to go there," Abby said. She had talked to her boss and he had told her that she was low person on the totem pole.

"I'll invite them to come over," Jack said.

Wondering how the others would feel about having visitors, Abby asked, "What about the commune?"

"I didn't think about that," Jack said realizing that everyone would want to celebrate it together. He frowned while thinking about how people would react to him bringing strangers into the celebration. After all, they had a lot to be thankful for. He said, "I bet everyone wants to celebrate Thanksgiving as a group."

"You're right," Abby said feeling guilty that she hadn't even thought about it.

"Let's talk to Claire," Jack said thinking that she would have something wise to suggest.

The pair walked over to the community house hoping that the answer to Jack's problem would be found there. They arrived just in time to hear Gail say, "My son announced that he is coming for Thanksgiving."

"Does Johnny know?" Claire asked.

"He does now. I called him and told him," Gail said. She shook her head and said, "He wasn't too happy about it."

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Johnny thinks my son is trying to railroad me into moving to an adult community. They've had a couple of fights over the matter," Gail said. She viewed it as the first step on the pathway to a nursing home.

"Oh boy," Jack said. He wondered if Thanksgiving wasn't going to turn into family feud Thursday.

"Johnny felt that by belonging to the commune that we could say that it was an adult community of sorts. After he moved in, he felt that his presence in the house would put an end to the discussion," Gail said with a worried frown.

"My daughter is coming here. She invited herself. She wasn't going to give me any choice in the matter," Claire said.

"My kids are coming," Liz said.

"Mine too," Bev said.

Jack said, "My folks want us to go to their house, but I would rather spend Thanksgiving with everyone here. We've got a lot to be thankful for. I came over here to ask you what you thought of the idea of letting me invite them. I guess with so many people coming, I should probably go to my parents."

"No Jack. Invite them to come here," Claire said knowing that a couple more people wouldn't matter. "In the worst case, we'll have Thanksgiving Dinner in shifts."

"How many people are we talking about?" Jack asked. They were up to seventeen people in the commune. If they all had a couple of guests, they were talking about fifty people.

"Probably fifty to seventy-five people depending on who is coming," Claire said with a worried expression on her face. She said, "Wanda, Sally, the Shultzs, and the Putnams haven't heard from any of their children yet. I don't know about the Benjamins' parents. That doesn't mean they won't be getting calls anytime soon."

"How many people can we fit in here at a time?" Jack asked looking around the community house.

When no one answered, Gail said, "Well, if we do it buffet style then we can fit a lot of people in here. It won't be a sit down dinner, but I bet that we could fit fifty people in here. If the weather is nice, we could even put some tables outside."

"That's not a bad idea," Claire said. "We could take out one of the tables and put chairs in here around the edges of the room. We've got the living room, the entertainment room, and the office. There's a lot of empty space yet."

"If the weather is bad, we could move some of the stuff out the garage and put in a heater. We could put the kids in it and take turns watching over them," Jack said thinking that the kids might find that exciting.

"Let's ask Cheryl what she thinks of that idea. She understands the mind of modern parents a little better than any of us," Liz said.

Abby asked, "How many turkeys are we going to have to cook to feed seventy five people?"

"Ten?" Bev guessed.

"Fifty pounds of potatoes, ten pumpkin pies, at least twelve giant cans of corn, six heads of lettuce, and I can't even guess how much bread for stuffing," Abby said finding the idea of preparing that much food was making her head spin.

"How much is this going to cost us?" Claire asked concerned about the money.

Shaking her head, Abby said, "First we have to find out how many people are coming. Then we'll have to come up with a menu, use that to come up with a shopping list, and then I'll be able to price it out."

"What's your best guess?" Bev asked.

Considering how much time she spent at hunting down bargains, Abby said, "I would guess that it will cost us four dollars a meal. That's about three hundred dollars or so for that many people. We'd all have to chip in about twenty dollars each to cover the cost."

"I can't afford that," Bev said.

Although he could afford it, Jack wasn't so sure about Ella and Frau Shultz. He also didn't think it was fair that they have to pay for other people's guests. He said, "Let's set a donation jar by the door. We all make a point of dropping in a five dollar bill when we come in the house."

"Are you suggesting that we charge them to eat here?" Claire asked staring at Jack.

"Why not?" Jack asked with a smile.

"That's the smartest thing anyone has suggested all day," Claire said laughing. She could just imagine the expression on her daughter's face when she realized that it was expected that she pay for her meal.

Rubbing her forehead, Abby said, "Your mother is going to hate me."



-------

Chapter 23


The weather in November can't decide if it is fall or winter. There would be a few days where it would be pretty cold and then a few days where it would be warm. This particular day, the weather chose to be nice and Jack decided to take advantage of it by taking his lunch on a picnic table that was off to itself on the college grounds. Very few people ever made it out that way so he would be able to enjoy his lunch in peace.

Jack opened his huge metal lunchbox and looked through it. There was a thermos of soup, a monster sandwich, a small container of chips, an apple, and a cookie. He smiled and said, "Wanda must have packed my lunch today. She always includes an apple and a cookie."

He had just taken his sandwich out of the plastic wrapper when a woman's voice said, "Guten Tag, Herr Jack."

Jack looked up and saw Melissa standing in front of him. He said, "Guten Tag, Fraulein Melissa."

"Das ist ein grosses Mittagessen, das Sie dort haben," Melissa said looking over the food spread in front of him. She couldn't help comment on how much food he had packed away in his lunch box.

"Die alten Damen mogen uberprufen, ob ich esse," Jack said letting her know that one of the old ladies had packed it for him.

"Alte Damen?" Melissa asked thinking Jack had used the wrong word. She wasn't sure that he meant 'old ladies.'

"Ja," Jack said with a smile.

Believing he didn't know what he was saying; Melissa decided it was time to switch to English. She asked, "Old ladies?"

"I have a bunch of elderly neighbors. We help each other out. One of them packed my lunch for me this morning," Jack answered knowing that his situation sounded crazy.

"What do you do for them?" Melissa asked thinking that it was rather unusual for neighbor ladies to be packing someone a lunch.

"I mow their lawns, repair things around the house, and lend my muscles when they need something moved," Jack said.

"Lucky them," Melissa said with a smile that hid her curiosity. She wondered just how old these ladies were.

Not wanting to get into the whole commune thing, Jack pointed to the other side of the table and said, "Have a seat."

"I think I will," Melissa said putting her lunch bag on the table.

"Do you teach here?" Jack asked.

Melissa laughed at the suggestion she was a professor and said, "No. I'm a student working on my Master's Degree."

"What subject?" Jack asked knowing that almost every student was willing to talk about their major and career plans.

"European History with a specialization in the High Middle Ages in Germany," Melissa asked.

"Oh, the eleventh through thirteenth century," Jack said remembering it from an article that he had read about medieval communes.

"You know about the High Middle Ages?" Melissa asked raising an eyebrow.

Shrugging his shoulders, Jack said, "I read a little about it."

"In what context?" Melissa asked surprised that a repairman knew about the High Middle Ages.

"Medieval Communes," Jack answered. He was going to have to give Daryl a big thank you for printing up those articles for him. Afraid that she was going to misunderstand, he said, "They were really allegiances of mutual defense and not live off the land free love hippy movements. They kind of predated that by nine hundred years or so."

"I'm shocked that you know about that," Melissa said.

"The librarian who lives next door to me was rather helpful in getting me signed up for an internet class where I could look up stuff like that," Jack said.

"The librarian next door?" Melissa asked.

"Yes," Jack said realizing that it didn't sound that good.

"Are all of your neighbors that helpful?" Melissa asked sensing there was something odd about his story.

"Not really," Jack answered.

Checking his finger for a wedding ring, she was pleased to see that it was bare. She asked, "So are you dating any of your neighbors?"

"No," Jack said shaking his head. He added, "Most of my neighbors are retired. Rich and his wife are a little older than me. They've got two young boys. Johnny and Abby are closer to my age. The librarian is in her forties, but everyone else is retired."

"So you were serious about them being old ladies," Melissa said looking across the table at him somewhat amused by his insistence of being surrounded by old ladies in his neighborhood.

"Yes," Jack said.

Melissa said, "They are showing Das Boot Friday night at the auditorium. It is in German with English subtitles."

"Really?" Jack asked thinking that Frau Shultz and Ella would enjoy watching a movie in German.

"I was thinking of going to see it," Melissa said hoping that he would get the hint.

"That really sounds like fun. Would you mind if I showed up there?" Jack asked. He poured out some soup into the cup of the thermos. It was tomato soup.

"That would be lovely," Melissa said.

Jack glanced at his watch and was shocked by the time. He said, "I better eat. I have to get back to work in fifteen minutes."

"I'm sorry about taking up your lunch time," Melissa said.

"Don't be sorry. I'm enjoying the conversation," Jack said. He took a bite out of his ham sandwich.

Melissa unwrapped her sandwich thinking it was about half as thick as his sandwich. She said, "Those little old ladies really feed you well."

"Yes," Jack said. "I would worry about getting fat, but I do a lot of physical work. It helps me stay in shape."

"Keep doing whatever you're doing," Melissa said thinking that he looked pretty well put together.

Taking a swallow of his soup, Jack said, "I'll try."

Melissa took a bite out of her sandwich and watched him eat. He noticed her watching him and asked, "How's your lunch?"

"It is okay. I packed a turkey sandwich," she said holding up her sandwich.

"Care for some chips?" Jack asked sliding the container across the table. He took another bite out of his sandwich.

"Don't mind if I do," Melissa said wondering why he had chips in a plastic cup rather than a small prepackaged bag.

Looking at his thermos, Jack said, "I'd offer you some soup, but I've only got one cup. You wouldn't happen to have a cup packed away in your paper bag?"

"No," Melissa said.

Jack looked at the package containing potato chips. It was a little round plastic cup with a lid. He moved the plastic that had covered his sandwich over to the middle of the table and dumped the chips out on it. Holding up the plastic cup, he said, "Problem solved."

"That's real clever," Melissa said watching him pour out some soup for her. She accepted it and took a sip. It was warm, but not hot.

"I've got to ask a question," Jack said looking across the table.

"What?" Melissa asked.

Jack asked, "What kind of a movie is about a boot?"

"Huh?" Melissa asked.

"The movie, Das Boot, is about a boot, right?" Jack asked. He ate a potato chip while waiting for her answer.

Melissa had a hard time keeping from laughing at him. He had told her that his German was limited, but he had been pretty good with it so far. She said, "Das Boot means The Boat."

"That makes a bit more sense," Jack said. He took a bite out of his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully.

"It is about a World War II German Submarine and how they evaded an American Fleet that was hunting it," Melissa said thinking that he would have watched a movie about a boot just to be with her.

"Sounds interesting," Jack said. He hoped that Frau Shultz would like it. He was afraid that the World War II theme might upset her, but it was a German film so he figured it wouldn't be that bad. He ate the last of his sandwich and washed it down with the last of his soup. The chips were finished.

"I think you'll like it," Melissa said. She ate the last of her sandwich and pulled an apple out of her lunch bag.

The couple ate their apples without much discussion. Upon finishing his apple, Jack asked, "What time does the film start?"

"It starts at 8:00," Melissa answered.

"How about I meet you at the Auditorium at a quarter til?" Jack asked thinking it would be nice to see someone he recognized when he got there. He figured that fifteen minutes would be long enough to buy tickets and get some popcorn.

"That would be great," Melissa said smiling at him.

Jack packed up his lunch box and rose from the table. Smiling at her, he said, "I've got to get back to work. It was real nice talking to you."

"It was nice talking to you," Melissa said. She watched him walk off thinking that things had gone much easier than she had thought it would. He had jumped at the chance to go to the movie with her. She frowned wondering about his talk about old ladies and neighbors. There was something odd about it.

Jack walked away thinking that it would be nice if a woman like that was interested in him, but he felt that was wishful thinking. He was confident that woman with the kind of education she had wouldn't want anything to do with him. He said, "She's really pretty."

Jack returned home to find a crowd gathered in front of Rich's entertainment system in the community house. Cheryl called out, "We've got cable."

"Excellent," Jack said. With Thanksgiving coming up, he would get to watch the football games after dinner. He took one look at the large screen television and fell in love with it.

Claire noticed the expression on his face and said, "Well, we just lost Jack to the television."

Laughing, Jack said, "Not quite. I was planning on doing a little work on the house this evening. We've got to get it fixed up a little before all of our guests come."

All of the wallboard had been put up, but not all of it had been painted. They were walking on bare wood rather than real flooring. Most of the outlets didn't have covers on them. It wasn't very aesthetic, but it was functional. Dave said, "Are you thinking of painting?"

"I was thinking about it," Jack answered thinking that it would be him, Dave, Rich, and Abby doing the painting. With four people painting the walls, they could get a good percentage of it done in one evening.

"You'll wait until after dinner?" Liz asked. She didn't like the idea of eating in a house filled with paint fumes.

"Of course," Jack answered. He figured that he would wait until after Abby got home from work so that she could help.

Volunteering to help, Cheryl said, "I love to paint trim."

Bev said, "I can paint too."

Liz said, "I'm willing to give it a try."

"Who will watch the boys?" Jack asked.

"Rich. He hates painting with a passion," Cheryl said shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay," Jack said. With seven people painting, they could probably get the job done that evening.

Dave said, "We might be able to get everything done in time for Thanksgiving. We'll have the whole weekend to install the flooring."

"That's true," Jack said. He could install the faceplates over the electric outlets one evening.

"I'll do the faceplates once the paint dries," Dave said looking around the house. Even with a paint job and flooring, the house wouldn't be finished. The lighting fixtures were forty years old and looked rather bare.

"Excellent," Jack said feeling like they had made a lot of progress over the past two months.

Bev said, "I've got some interesting news."

"What?" Claire asked.

"Penny's son asked me if I could take care of cleaning up her house and getting it ready for sale," Bev answered.

"It is about time someone took care of the house," Jack said. The house had been sitting untouched for a long time. It was only a matter of time before someone was successful in their attempt to rob it.

Bev said, "He said that we should pack up anything that was personal and ship it to him. We could put everything else up in an estate sale. We would get ten percent of the sales as payment for our efforts."

"That would really help the repair fund," Liz said.

Wanda said, "You can say that again."

Dave asked, "What about the repairs?"

"He said that we could hire people to do the repairs so long as we let him know the cost up front. I figured that we could do some of the work and add even more money to the communal coffer," Bev said looking around to see what people thought of her idea.

"Even better," Jack said. There were still a lot of repairs that had to be done on the houses in the neighborhood. This was the first house to get painted, but almost all of the houses could use a coat of paint. He looked over at Wanda and said, "We might get to paint your house soon."

"That would be wonderful," Wanda said breaking out in a smile.

"All of this talk about working is making me hungry. What's for dinner?" Jack asked provoking laughter in the room.

"Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots, and gravy," Laura answered. It was her turn to cook and she knew that it was one of Dave's favorites.

"That sounds good," Jack said. His stomach growled in response.

"It will be about twenty minutes before it is ready," Laura said. Rich hadn't returned home from work yet.

Jack said, "How about I toss the ball with the boys while dinner is getting prepared?"

"They would love that," Cheryl said relieved to have a little peace.

"Where are they?" Jack asked.

"They are out back," Cheryl answered.

Jack went out in the backyard and found the boys chasing each other around the yard. He shouted, "How about a game of catch?"

Chuck shouted, "Great!"

"Yahoo," Mike shouted running over to the garage to fetch the ball and gloves. His brother was right on his heels.

Within two minutes, the trio was tossing a baseball around. Mike, the younger of the two brothers, was still at that phase where catching and throwing were awkward. More often than not, the ball landed at Jack's feet. Occasionally though, the ball was high enough to catch. On the other hand, Chuck was developing into quite a good thrower.

Jack was giving Mike little pointers about how to catch the ball with the overlarge baseball glove when Rich arrived. He watched the three of them throwing catch and grinned. Jack noticed Rich and said, "Your father is home."

The two boys dropped everything to greet their father. Jack went over and picked up the ball and gloves off the ground. He figured that the game of catch was over. Chuck was busily explaining how they now had television in the house. Mike was telling how he had carried all of the cords from their home to the community house. Rich patiently listened to the boys tell their stories and praised them for the contributions to the commune.

Jack watched Rich interact with the boys. All in all, he thought that Rich was a pretty good father. He actually listened to the boys and gave them little pearls of wisdom in a gentle non- threatening manner. Rich was good at giving advice on how to deal with social situations and Jack recognized a slight difference in a blue collar childhood and a white collar childhood. His father's lessons had been about fixing things while Rich's lessons were about dealing with situations.

Gail stuck her head out the backdoor and shouted, "Dinner is ready."

Rich looked down at the boys and said, "Run on into the house and wash your hands."

"Okay," the boys shouted before running into the house. There was a little pushing and shoving at the door, but it was the normal rough and tumble interaction between brothers.

Jack laughed at watching the pair. Rich came over and said, "Thanks for playing ball with them. I don't get a chance to do that kind of stuff with them."

"It is my pleasure. I enjoy getting out occasionally to throw a baseball around," Jack said.

"I was thinking about getting a basketball hoop for the boys for Christmas. What do you think of the idea?" Rich asked.

"Where would you put it?" Jack asked.

"I was thinking we could hang it on the side of the community house," Rich said gesturing to the side of the house by the driveway.

Jack looked over at the house and said, "That might not be a good idea. We've got the solar cells atop the house and I'm not sure how well they'll stand up to getting hit by a basketball."

"They couldn't throw it that high," Rich said although he hadn't really thought about that.

"You and I can," Jack said with a grin. He wouldn't mind taking Rich on in a game of one on one. He looked at the detached garage and said, "We could put it on the garage."

"Sounds good to me," Rich said. He hadn't thought about him and Jack playing a little basketball. The fact of the matter was that hanging around with Jack and Dave had led to being a lot more physically active than in the past. He had lost a little weight and it actually felt good.

"I think they'll enjoy playing a little basketball," Jack said.

"Let's get in and eat," Rich said.

The pair of men went into the house which was filled with the activity of setting the tables with plates loaded with food. The little old ladies had serving food down to an art form. Waiting for a chance to wash his hands, Rich said, "This community house is really a great idea."

"My garage wasn't the best meeting place," Jack said. It had served its purpose, but it would have become a problem before much longer. The community house had come along at a good time.

"It was missing a lot of the essentials for a community life," Rich said. He imagined that Jack had been tired of people going into his house to use the bathroom. Over time, he had come to appreciate all of the sacrifices that Jack had made for the commune. For a time there, he had lost a lot of privacy and had born the increased cost of hosting the commune.

"Including heat," Jack said knowing that was going to be a significant issue soon.

"Yeah. It is starting to get a little chilly at night," Rich said. The energy costs of heating the house was another economic hit lurking on the horizon.

"We're going to paint the house tonight," Jack said wanting to change the topic of conversation.

"I hate painting," Rich said with a grimace on his face. No matter how hard he tried, he could never manage to keep from getting paint over everything. There had to be a trick to it, but no one had ever showed it to him.

"Cheryl already told us that," Jack said with a grin.

"I'll help if you really need it," Rich said knowing that he had to make the offer.

"We've got seven volunteers. That's more than enough," Jack said with a laugh.

"Thank God," Rich said. He stepped into the bathroom and washed his hands. Looking over his shoulder, he asked, "How's it going on your job?"

"I like it," Jack said finding that it was nice having regular hours. Every day was filled with activity, but there was enough variety that he was never bored. That afternoon he had help run some cables through the ceiling of one of the buildings where they were installing WIFI.

Rich dried his hands and stepped out of the bathroom. Jack went in and washed his hands. He said, "I like the campus a lot. The kids there are really friendly. There are a lot of really smart kids coming up through school. It kind of gives me hope for the future."

"I worry about being able to afford putting my kids through college. It is pretty expensive," Rich said. He had started a college fund for them when they were born, but he hadn't put any money into it for the past three years.

"One of my job benefits is free tuition for my dependents," Jack said looking over at Rich.

Understanding just how much money that one benefit was worth, Rich said, "You better not let the little old ladies hear you say that. Your stock as husband material just went up another ten points. They'll have you married and with kids in a minute."

"I don't have the resources to take a woman out on a date much less get married," Jack said shaking his head. He still had to rebuild his financial situation before he could ever think of getting married. He dried his hands.

"I've been married for more than ten years, but I do remember how expensive it was to take a woman out on a date. Dinner and a movie was a quick hundred dollars back then. I shudder to think how much it costs now," Rich said.

The two men went out to the main room and took seats at the table. Turning to Jack, Bev said, "Fred has volunteered to help paint."

Rich looked down the table and noticed a man he had never met. He knew that Fred had to be Dave's friend who was taking care of some of the women in the commune. He waved and said, "Hi Fred. I'm Jack."

"I've heard a lot about you, Jack. You've made quite an impression on the ladies here," Fred said with a smile. He knew who the real power in the commune was and it wasn't any of the women. They all talked about Jack and his steady leadership. Even his friend, Dave, spoke highly of Jack.

"I've heard a lot about you, too. Unfortunately, I can't repeat the impression you've made with the ladies here at the table. I will hint that it is favorable," Jack said with a wink. His comment provoked a round of laughter from the women around the table. He wasn't sure who was sleeping with Fred, but he did know that Bev, Liz, Sally, and Wanda had all invited him over for an evening or two.

After a quick glance at Laura, Dave said, "We do appreciate your contribution to the commune, Fred."

"Yes, we do," Bev said giving Fred a wink.

Emily sighed and said, "It is nice to feel like a woman again."

On hearing that, Jack had an epiphany. In becoming widows, these women had lost more than a husband; they had lost that little extra something in life that made them feel like women. All of the sexual tension and interest in his sex life wasn't about sex at all. It was about feeling like women again. It was about regaining a small part of their identity that had been theirs for most of their lives until they had lost it along with their husbands.

A silence settled over the table as a result of that comment. Wanting to fill the silence, Bev asked, "Where is Mary?"

"She's working tonight," Claire answered realizing that she had the house to herself. She looked over at Fred thoughtfully.



-------

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.

"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.



-------

Chapter 25


Monday afternoon found Abby standing behind the cash register at the Taco Emporium. It was the quiet time of the day when there were few customers and the store had been cleaned. There wasn't much to do except drink a soda and stare out the large glass windows that fronted the store. She was bored, but had to admit that the job was still better than the one at the nursing home.

The peace was broken when her manager came into the store looking upset. He walked behind the counter and said, "This country is so fucked up."

"What happened?" Abby asked shocked at his language.

He answered, "I was listening to the radio on the way here. Congress just passed a national fat tax."

"What is that?" Abby asked.

He said, "All prepared foods that have more than ten calories per ounce will be subject to a ten percent tax. They can't tax fat people so they are going to tax the stuff that makes people fat."

"What?" Abby asked thinking that had to include just about every kind of food in existence. It would cost more to buy candies, pies, soft drinks, fast foods, and every snack in existence.

Her manager frowned and said, "It is all part of the president's health care initiative. The health freaks think that Americans are too fat and they want to tax us into being thin."

"Americans are overweight," Abby said. There were lots of stories about how being overweight added to the problems of chronic health problems like diabetes. She had to agree with the President on the problem, but that didn't mean she had to like the solution.

"Our economy is tanking and they are passing laws that will kill the fast food industry," her manager said. He was afraid that the increased prices would kill this store and he'd be out looking for a job. Without the fast food industry to fall back upon, jobs were going to get very scarce.

"Fuck," Abby said feeling sick to her stomach. She hadn't even thought about how the law would affect her personally beyond the fact that it would cost more to shop.

"You can say that again," her manager said. He said, "Business is already down by five percent. I don't think we can survive the shock of another downturn in business."

All of the fast food places had to raise their prices over the past six months because of the bio- fuel initiatives legislated since the president took office. The price of corn had risen dramatically and farmers across the country had turned to corn as the main cash crop. Rather than sending the corn into the food supply line, the majority of the corn was being sent to make ethanol. Since corn was used to feed meat animals, the price of meat was going through the roof. With a reduction in the production of wheat, the price of bread had risen. The price of a taco had gone up by twenty-five cents in just a year's time. She said, "I think a lot of people are going to be looking for work soon."

He looked around the store and asked, "Are we ready for the after school crowd?"

"Yeah," Abby answered. She was stuck in a part-time job at a fast food place because she couldn't find another job. Now they were passing laws that would likely to make her unemployed. As much as she complained about the low pay and lack of benefits, at least it was a job.

"I'm going into my office," her manager said feeling depressed. He figured that he had another six months in business before the chain would start closing stores unless they were able to come up with a strategy to avoid the fat tax. The idea of selling Tofu tacos just didn't seem like the kind of thing that would attract customers.

Abby stood at the cash register feeling depressed. Even though she hadn't lost her job, she knew the writing was on the wall. She sighed and said, "Life just hauled off and kicked me again."

She didn't have long to think about it. The after-school crowd started and she was busy until the high school kid came in to replace her at the register. She stepped out of the Taco Emporium and looked over at the stores in the strip mall. Another store had put up a sign announcing that it was going out of business. She shook her head. The little store hadn't had many people working for it, but that didn't matter. Three more people were about to become unemployed and she would soon have to compete with them for a job.

Getting in her car, she headed home. She drove slowly and looked at the stores that lined the street. There were too many empty storefronts. The little boutiques that had once been so popular were disappearing one by one. People were heading to the large discount chains to buy clothing. Fashion was losing out to economics. She didn't even know what the current fashion trend was dictating. Her clothes were all more than a year old and getting older. She knew that it was going to be time for her to start shopping for clothes at the Salvation Army.

Abby turned on the radio and listened to a news channel. Congress and the president were busy passing all kinds of little laws to correct the problems of society. It seemed to her that each law passed took away more of her freedoms. They didn't come out and say it that way, but that was the effect. She wasn't prevented by law from having a cigarette or a drink; she just couldn't afford to do that because of the laws. She knew that in the future that would extend to soft drinks, candies, and fast foods. The things she ate as a child would become prohibitively expensive and a distant memory. She knew that meals in the future would be limited to vegetables and chicken. Grains, cheeses, and ice cream would become luxury foods.

The sad thing was that all of these new laws were constitutional. She couldn't complain that her freedoms were being stripped away because if she was wealthy she would have been able to afford them. She muttered, "The pursuit of happiness is going to be all pursuit and no happiness."

Abby drove past a lingerie store and noticed a number of scantily dressed women standing around outside it. She looked in the mirror at the group of women wondering what they were doing there. It hit her like a ton of bricks when she realized what they were doing. The idea that she was seeing her future nearly caused her to wreck the car. Arriving at home, Abby went to her bedroom and curled up on her bed. She was depressed and didn't want to talk to anyone. She started crying uncontrollably.

Jack got off of work having had a good day. The anti-slip flooring on one of the stairs had been torn as a result of normal wear and tear and he had spent the day repairing it. The work hadn't been too demanding, but had filled the time. Before leaving, he had been informed that there was going to be a special event Saturday that would require him to come in and help set up chairs out on the lawn. He would get paid time and a half to be there.

Deciding that he would celebrate by buying a soft drink, he stopped at a convenience store on the way home. He grabbed a bottle and went to the counter with it. The clerk at the cash register said, "You might want to stock up on that. The prices on sodas will be going up ten percent as a result of the new fat tax."

"What fat tax?" Jack asked looking at the bottle of soda.

"The one that Congress passed today," the clerk answered. He shook his head and said, "It passed without much debate. You would think someone would have fought it considering the kinds of lobbyists that there are in Washington."

"What is a fat tax?" Jack asked still confused by the concept.

"Any prepared food that has more than ten calories per ounce is subject to a ten percent national sales tax," the clerk answered.

"You're kidding?" Jack said. He looked at all of the items in the store thinking that there wasn't a single item that was less than ten calories per ounce.

"If the President signs the bill, then the tax goes into effect on the first of the month," the clerk answered.

"What is this world coming to?" Jack asked feeling sick to his stomach. He knew that people would pay the tax. Movie theaters charged a fortune for popcorn and sodas without affecting their sales.

"I don't know," the clerk answered. He examined Jack and asked, "What do you think of prostitution?"

"I don't know. I never really thought about it. People will do whatever they have to do to get by, I guess," Jack answered.

The clerk leaned over and whispered, "There's a blond woman out front handing out a flyer. A couple of local women are opening a brothel. If you're interested, ask her for one."

"What?" Jack asked finding it incredible that someone was handing out brochures for a brothel at a convenience store.

The clerk said, "I wouldn't normally do this, but I know the woman. She's been a regular customer here for years. She's a nice lady. She's got two kids and has been out of work for three months. She's desperate."

Jack held up the bottle of soda and said, "I'll think about it. Let me pay for this."

"Sure thing," the clerk said ringing up the sale.

Jack left the store and looked around. There was a fairly attractive blond woman standing by the ice machine with a large purse in her hands. He took a moment to study her. She looked like a person who had been beaten down by life. Her eyes were dull and her posture was bad. He figured that she had to be really desperate to be standing there. He wasn't sure if the clerk was doing her a favor or not by telling people about her.

He got into his truck and headed for home thinking about the woman back at the store. He noticed that a couple of women wearing revealing outfits were standing around in front of rundown lingerie store. He stared at them realizing that they were soliciting. He drove past them thinking that the world had gone to hell. Driving past the hardware store, he noticed a dozen men standing around. It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand that they were looking for work. He said, "It is nearly five o'clock. What are they doing there still?"

The radio announced that the military was no longer accepting recruits. The annual quota for enlistments had already been exceeded. The situation was made even worse by plans to reduce the size of the military. Jack said, "It is really bad when you can't get into the Army."

It seemed to Jack that the whole world was spiraling out of control - women advertising brothels at convenience stores, women standing out on the street soliciting, men lined up in front of a hardware store looking for even a few hours of work, and the military was refusing new recruits. Jack wasn't sure what he made of the situation. He wondered if the commune would be enough to get them through the coming times.

Jack parked his truck in front of the house. He debated about going into the house or heading down to the community house. He decided that he could use a little company and headed over to the community house. The house was empty except for Wanda who was busy cooking dinner at the stove. Seeing him come in, she said, "Hello, Jack. How was work?"

"It was a good day. I'm going to get some overtime this weekend," Jack said.

"That's great," Wanda said turning back to the stove.

"How are things around here?" Jack asked. He noticed that Dave had put down the edging around the room.

"It was busy earlier, but it is quiet now," Wanda said.

Jack smelled the air and asked, "What are you making?"

"Lemon chicken and green bean casserole," Wanda answered. She said, "I guess I'll serve a side salad with it."

"Sounds great," Jack said.

"It will be ready in about an hour," Wanda said. She smiled at him and suggested, "Why don't you watch a little television?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Jack said.

Turning on the television, Jack caught a news commentator saying, "This new tax will save billions a year in healthcare costs."

Another commentator said, "It will cost millions of jobs."

The first commentator said, "Nonsense. Businesses will come out with healthier menus without affecting sales at all."

Jack turned off the television in disgust. He said, "I can't watch that anymore."

Dave came into the room and said, "Hello Jack."

"Hi, Dave. I notice that you did some work on the house today," Jack said.

"I had some spare time," Dave said shrugging his shoulders. He gestured to the television and asked, "Why aren't you watching television?"

"I couldn't take the news anymore," Jack said.

"I avoid the news whenever possible. It is just too damned depressing," Dave said.

Jack said, "The world is going to hell and the reporters are cheering it on. You'd think that everyone in Washington is on drugs or something."

"You can say that again," Dave said. He said, "Unemployment hit sixteen percent last month."

"I don't want to hear that," Jack said. He hoped that his job at the university was secure because he definitely didn't want to join the crowd of men in front of the hardware store.

Dave looked over at Jack understanding how the young man felt. Times were tough and getting tougher. He said, "Why don't you change your clothes? After dinner we'll put on a movie or something."

"Sounds like a plan," Jack said getting up from the chair.

Entering the house, the first thing Jack heard was the sound of Abby crying. Concerned, he went to her bedroom. Her door was open. Looking in, he saw that she was curled in a ball and crying uncontrollably. He asked, "Abby? Are you okay?"

When she didn't respond, he stepped into her room and shook her shoulder. He said, "Abby, what's the matter?"

He didn't know what to do when she still didn't respond. He looked down at her feeling a slight sense of panic starting to overwhelm him. There was nothing worse than dealing with a crying woman; particularly when he didn't know why she was crying. He said, "Abby, talk to me."

Backing out of the room, he headed over to Claire's thinking that the elderly woman would know what to do for her. He knocked on the front door and waited impatiently for her to answer. Claire came to the door. She took one look at him and asked, "What's the matter, Jack?"

"Abby is crying in her bedroom. I don't know what to do," Jack said gesturing towards his house with his thumb.

"Just talk to her," Claire said thinking that a young man like Jack should know how to deal with a crying woman.

"Claire, she's in real bad shape. I think you should go over there," Jack said.

Exhaling loudly, Claire said, "Okay."

Jack led her over to the house and then to Abby's room. One look at Abby and Claire knew that this was a serious situation. She said, "Leave me alone with her."

"Okay," Jack said going out into living room. He was too nervous to sit down and paced around the room like a caged tiger.

After five minutes, Claire came out of the room and said, "Jack. Go around and see if anyone has any tranquilizers. I would call the ambulance, but I know that she can't afford it."

"Ambulance?" Jack asked wide-eyed.

"Find some tranquilizers, Jack," Claire said not wanting to discuss the matter. She was worried about leaving Abby alone for too long.

It took Jack almost an hour to find someone who had tranquilizers. Standing outside Abby's room, he handed them to Claire and said, "These are kind of old."

"They'll have to do," Claire said. "I need a glass of water."

"Sure," Jack said. He went to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. He returned to Abby's room and handed the glass to Claire. The elderly woman's hand shook when she accepted the glass from him.

"You might as well go get something to eat," Claire said knowing that Jack wouldn't be of much help in dealing with Abby. It was a shame that the young woman didn't have a young man to whom she could turn. Of course, that was the way of the modern world.

"I'll bring something over for you and Abby," Jack said trying to be helpful. He didn't think that Abby would be ready to eat anything soon.

"Would you send Mary over here when she gets home?" Claire asked thinking that she was going to need a little help with Abby.

"Sure," Jack answered. He looked in the room at Abby and asked, "Is she going to be alright?"

"I don't know," Claire said.

Walking slowly, Jack went down to the community house. He didn't know what to make of Abby. He wondered if she had lost her job. Rich noticed him enter the house. Cheryl had informed him that Abby was upset about something. Concerned, he asked, "How is Abby?"

"She is still crying," Jack answered.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know," Jack said. He looked around and said, "She's never fully gotten over the rape of that old woman."

"Do you think she heard something about the old woman?" Rich asked thinking that would be a logical explanation.

"I don't know," Jack said. He didn't really like to speculate about what was bothering Abby. He sighed and said, "I don't know."

Two hours later, Jack, Dave, Rich, and Johnny were seated in Rich's living room. Jack said, "Things are really getting bad. I was at the store today. There was a woman there handing out flyers about a brothel she was opening with some other women."

"You're kidding?" Dave said.

Johnny shook his head and said, "I was at a Comfort Inn last week. Mind you, that isn't a high end hotel. There were three women sitting around the lobby all day. When I asked the desk clerk about it he told me that they were hookers hoping for a little business."

"They were just sitting there in the lobby of a Comfort Inn?" Rich asked. He knew that women sometimes hung out in the bars of high-end hotels hoping to get a rich guest, but a Comfort Inn? It was incredible to him.

"Yeah," Johnny said.

"Jesus," Dave said.

Jack shook his head and asked, "I noticed some women hanging out on Main Street."

"I saw them on my way home from work," Rich said.

"When times are tough, women turn to the oldest profession to get by. Men join the military and women become prostitutes," Johnny said. It wasn't a nice thing to say, but it was the truth.

"The army isn't taking new recruits," Jack said.

"Things are really bad when you can't join the Army," Dave said.

Rich said, "Next week is Thanksgiving. I've got a feeling that there aren't going to be too many people who feel like celebrating."

"Christmas is going to be a disaster," Jack said.

It was going to be worse than a disaster. Johnny said, "The state is laying off two thousand people."

"You're kidding," Jack said feeling sick to his stomach. He had just gotten a job with the state and was hoping that it would be around for a while.

"No. They are eliminating a bunch of jobs. The department of transportation is going to be the hardest hit. It will mean longer lines when you go to renew your license or get your car inspected. The State Police is losing two hundred officers. The parks department is losing a couple hundred people," Johnny said. The reason that he was at home this week was that his company was going to be doing an audit of a number of companies that did business with the state. There were charges of corruption being mentioned and he wasn't looking forward to the next few months.

"I hope that my job is safe," Jack said.

"It should be," Johnny said.

Rich said, "So far I've been lucky. I was the top salesman this quarter. They fired the guy with the lowest sales for the last quarter this morning. They didn't lay him off. They fired him so that they wouldn't have to pay unemployment benefits."

"That's cold," Jack said.

Rich said, "I should be safe for another three months. I lucked out and got a pretty good sale last week."

Dave said, "I'm glad I'm retired. I don't think I could live with that kind of stress."

"I figure that the new fat tax is going to drive unemployment to over twenty-five percent. The fast food chains are going to start closing stores left and right. It is going to be a disaster," Johnny said.

"Will the country survive that kind of unemployment?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. I've been closing out the books for companies for the past month and a half. I figure that when the burger places start closing down that the end has come," Johnny said.

Rich said, "I'm glad that we don't live in New York City. Can you imagine what it would be like to live there with twenty-five percent unemployment?"

"New York City will go bankrupt," Johnny said. He could see that city spiraling out of control. They would cut back the basic services and then life would really get tough.

"It is already dangerous," Jack said. The crime rate in all of the large cities was going through the roof. Those who didn't have anything felt they were forced to turn to crime.

"It is going to get dangerous around here," Rich said.

Dave said, "It is dangerous around here. Don't forget that a woman was killed less than ten blocks from here by a burglar."

Jack wondered how he had missed hearing about that. He said, "We really do need to put in alarms."

"I agree," Dave said.

"Let's stop work on the community house for now and concentrate on installing some security systems," Jack said. When everyone nodded their heads, he said, "Okay. Dave, do you want to see what kind of alarm systems we can afford?"

Dave nodded his head and said, "I'll do that tomorrow."

Jack looked around at the men in the room and asked, "Does anyone own a gun?"

"Wanda's husband used to hunt. She might have a few around the house," Dave answered.

Although he was generally against guns, Rich had a feeling that the time was coming when he would definitely need one. Resigned to the possibility, he said, "I guess we should find out."

Back at Jack's house, Mary and Claire finally got Abby to stop crying. The young woman had fallen asleep. Stepping out the bedroom, Mary said, "We're going to have to watch her."

"Why?" Claire asked believing she knew the answer to her question.

"She may turn suicidal," Mary answered.

"I wish I knew what happened," Claire said.



-------

Chapter 26


Jack escorted Melissa towards the community house for Thanksgiving Dinner. There were twenty cars parked up and down the street in front of the house. There were a lot of strange cars in the neighborhood that day. Almost every occupied house had a strange car parked in front of it and Jack was pretty sure that he knew the reason why. He sighed and said, "This is not going to be a good day for a lot of people."

The reminder of people facing bad days reminded Melissa of Jack's roommate. She asked, "How is Abby?"

"She's in pretty bad shape. She just sits there and stares off into the distance. She doesn't talk to anyone," Jack answered worried about Abby. The concern he felt was evident in his voice.

"Is she working?" Melissa asked knowing that this was not the time to miss work. Companies were letting people go over the flimsiest excuse. People were getting rid of employees who had worked for years in order to hire family members. Stories were circulating about people getting fired for missing work because they attended a funeral. The world was becoming a pretty cutthroat place to live.

"Yes. In fact she's at work now," Jack answered.

Melissa said, "Spending Thanksgiving at the Taco Emporium has to be pretty depressing. I imagine she is feeling pretty miserable about now."

"I know," Jack said. "She's also been helping to clean up the house next to mine for a little extra money."

"That should help her finances a little," Melissa said.

Jack opened the door of the community house for Melissa. The small house was packed with people. Jack paused at the door and dropped some money into the collection jar that was by the door noticing that it was nearly full of money. Melissa said, "Wow. There's a bunch of people here."

"And you were afraid that you'd be intruding," Jack said winking at her.

"Not anymore," Melissa said. Once she had learned that Melissa didn't have any family in the area, Frau Shultz had insisted that she come over for Thanksgiving.

Jack said, "My parents should be here soon."

"Let's see. We already have the wedding dress and now I'm going to meet your parents. I'm sure that Frau Shultz is pleased with how things are progressing," Melissa said with a smile. Poor Jack had not really recovered from having discovered the wedding dress that first morning when she had come over there. He had dropped like a rock on seeing it there. She was going to have to be careful in reeling him in.

"Let's not even joke about that," Jack said flinching. He noticed that Frau Shultz was making a beeline straight towards them. He said, "Here comes Frau Shultz."

"I'll talk to her," Melissa said patting Jack on the arm. She smiled at the elderly woman and said, "Guter Tag."

With the German language flying hot and heavy, Jack left the two women to chat and looked around the room. The smell of food hung heavy in the air. It would be at least an hour before they were ready to eat. He always felt that the smell of Thanksgiving dinner cooking was essential to making the holiday special. While this was supposed to be a festive occasion, the atmosphere in the small house was less than happy. He was passing by Bev when he heard her son announce, "You're moving in with us."

Bev glared at the middle aged man and replied, "Like hell I will."

"Mother, you are getting old," her son said as if he was talking to a young child.

Bev stood up straight at hearing the condescending tone of voice. She was ready to light into him and give him a piece of her mind. Feeling sure that Bev could use a little support, Jack went over to her and asked, "Bev, is everything all right here?"

"For the moment," Bev answered giving her son a dark look.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Jack."

"Don't butt in where you aren't wanted," the man said getting tired of the interruptions. He had wanted to talk to his mother alone and the huge crowd here made that impossible. Every time he brought up the subject of having her move in with his family someone showed up and interrupted.

Wanting to slap her son silly, Bev said, "Jack, let me introduce you to my rude and obnoxious son, Harry."

"Nice to meet you Harry," Jack said. He was about to mention that Bev had nice things to say about him, but considering the introduction he thought that would not be wise.

Giving Jack a dark look, Harry said, "I was talking to my mother. Now if you don't mind, run along."

When Bev grabbed his arm so that he wouldn't leave, Jack asked, "How's the turkey coming?"

"It should be done in a little while. I was going to check on it, but Liz said she would do that for me," Bev answered. Liz had recognized that Harry would have followed her over the house and really cranked up the pressure on her. Cutting her son out of the conversation, she asked, "Have your parents arrived yet?"

"Not yet. I expect them any time now," Jack answered glancing back at the front door.

Harry interrupted, "We haven't finished our discussion."

"Yes we have," Bev replied. Looking him in the eye, she said, "I'm not moving out of my house. I'm not going to live with you."

"Mother! You don't understand," Harry said. There was an edge of desperation in his voice.

"I do understand. You're looking to me to help you out financially now that your wife has lost her job. I can't do that," Bev said. She wasn't going to give away all of her money and become a plant that sat in a room all day long.

"Don't be that way. Look, the girls have agreed to share a room so that you'll have a room all to yourself. It will be great, you'll be surrounded by your family and we'll take care of you," Harry said. He wasn't going to say that the girls were all that happy about sharing a room.

"No."

Fred came over and said, "Hello, Bev. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Fred. I'm glad that you could make it," Bev said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Harry glared at Fred on seeing that little demonstration of intimacy.

Fred leaned over to Jack and said, "You can go help Claire."

"Thanks," Jack said heading over to where Claire was facing a middle-aged woman who appeared to be a little angry.

"Jack," Claire said as soon as he was within calling distance.

"Hello, Claire. How are you doing?" Jack asked sauntering over as if he didn't have a care in the world. He checked out the woman with Claire and could see the family resemblance. It struck him that Claire might have been an attractive woman was she was younger.

"I'm doing fine," Claire said relieved to have a little support.

"Mother, we were talking about something important. Can you just pay attention to me for a minute?"

"Jack. This is my daughter, Denise. Denise, this is Jack," Claire said.

"Hello, Denise. Are you enjoying Thanksgiving?" Jack asked acting as if this was just another little discussion at a party.

"I was talking to my mother," Denise said looking around to see where her husband had gone. He hadn't wanted to be involved in this discussion and had disappeared into the crowd at the first opportunity.

"Thanksgivings are great family holidays. We get to take a moment to thank God for the good things that have happened to us and to appreciate our family," Jack said smiling at her.

"Speaking of family, I would like to talk to my mother," Denise said pointedly. She had been trying for two hours to get her mother alone where they could talk without half a dozen people getting in the way.

"Jack, I can't believe how many people showed up," Claire said gesturing to the crowd in the room. There were loud angry voices originating from different areas of the house.

"I know. It is amazing," Jack said. He didn't think they could squeeze another two people into the house.

"Why don't you talk to Denise for a minute? I'll be right back," Claire said. She moved away before her daughter had a chance to react.

Left face to face with basically a total stranger, Jack asked, "So, how are things?"

"Shitty," Denise said and stormed away.

"That went well," Jack said. Hearing some shouting from the area near the television, he headed off to help diffuse the tensions. Johnny and his father were standing toe to toe. It looked to Jack like it was about to get violent. Gail was standing beside Johnny looking upset. Jack went over to the trio and said, "Hello, Johnny. How's it going?"

"My dad is being an asshole," Johnny answered without looking at Jack. He glanced at Gail and said, "Sorry Grandma for the language."

"You're right. He's being an asshole," Gail said.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked seeing that Johnny's father looked like he was about to hit Johnny.

"He wants me to move to a retirement home," Gail answered.

"That doesn't sound good," Jack said.

"I'd have to give up the support of a whole community of people, Johnny would have to move out, and I'd lose a fortune trying to sell my house in this market," Gail said.

"You do have a point," Jack said.

"I know, but my son doesn't seem to understand that," Gail answered.

"I can have you declared incompetent," her son said.

"Over my dead body," Johnny growled stepping up to his father and poking him in the chest with a finger.

Trying to keep his anger in check, Johnny's father said, "Son, you don't understand how bad things are. We just want to get Mom situated while she can afford it."

"Fuck you," Gail said giving him the finger and marching off.

"I don't think I've ever heard her use those words," Jack said staring at Gail's retreating back.

"Way to go, Dad," Johnny said sarcastically. He turned and followed Gail through the crowded room.

Jack looked at the man and asked, "Are you having a good Thanksgiving?"

"Fuck you," the man said before storming off.

Having overheard part of the exchange, Melissa came over to Jack and said, "Fun party you invited me to."

"Sorry about that," Jack said shrugging his shoulders.

"At least you warned me," Melissa said. She had broken up one argument already. She had seen Jack break up two intense discussions and figured there would be more before the day was over.

Looking at the tight angry faces in the room, he said, "Everyone was afraid that it was going to be ugly today. I'm sorry to see that they were right."

"People are scared," Melissa said. The atmosphere in the house was very uncomfortable. Even the people who weren't fighting were tense.

"I know," Jack said. There were a lot of scared people in the country. He wondered what would happen when things got even worse.

Melissa said, "Tomorrow is Black Friday."

"That sounds ominous," Jack said.

"It isn't," Melissa said wondering if Jack knew what it was.

"I know. It just sounds like some kind of disaster about to happen," Jack said.

"Do you know why they call it Black Friday?" Melissa asked.

"No. All I know is that a lot of stores have sales that day," Jack answered.

Melissa said, "That is the day that most retailers go from running at a loss for the year to running a profit. I've got a feeling that isn't going to happen this year."

"You've got that right," Jack said. He was trying to figure out what to do for Christmas presents for everyone.

"Jack! Your parents are here!"

Jack turned around wondering who had called out. He saw his mother and father standing by the door. Taking Melissa by the arm, Jack said, "Are you ready to meet my parents?"

"Yes," Melissa said taking a deep breath.

Jack went over to where his parents were. When he reached them, he said, "Mom and Dad, I'm glad that you could make it here."

His mother immediately turned to Melissa and said, "You must be his girlfriend, Abby."

Glancing over at Jack, Melissa answered, "I'm Jack's girlfriend, Melissa."

"I... ," Jack's mother said stuttering. She was thinking that Jack should have warned her. Finally, she managed to say, "I was expecting to meet Abby."

"Frau Shultz told me that Abby is at work and won't be back for another three hours. I'm sure that you'll have a chance to meet her," Melissa said.

Leaning over to Jack, his mother asked, "Do you have two girlfriends?"

"No. I have one girlfriend, Melissa, and one roommate, Abby," Jack answered. He resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.

Jack's father was busy checking out Melissa thinking that his son had pretty good taste in women. Seeing that the conversation had come to a very uneasy halt, Jack's father said, "Melissa, I'm Jake and you've met my wife, Lisa."

"Nice to meet you, Jake," Melissa said.

Jake said, "The pleasure is ours. Jack, where did you and Melissa meet?"

"At the university, Dad," Jack said. "She's a European History major."

"That's real interesting," Jake said thinking that Jack had done real well for himself. He said, "I watch the History Channel all of the time. That and the Military Channel. You might say that I'm a World War II buff."

"I study medieval history," Melissa said.

Feeling a little uneasy discussing a topic that she didn't know much about, Lisa said, "That's interesting. What does a history major do?"

"I study history," Melissa answered.

"So how did you meet?" Lisa said feeling like an idiot.

"Jack was in my office fixing the carpet and we started chatting in German..."

"You know German?" Jack's mother asked turning to face Jack. She was shocked at that little bombshell.

Jack answered, "I speak a little."

"He does a little better than speak a little German," Melissa said taking his arm in hers.

"When did you learn German?" Jake asked.

"Frau Shultz has been teaching me to speak it," Jack answered.

As if hearing her name, Frau Shultz appeared at his side. She said, "Stellen Sie mich zu Ihren Eltern vor."

"Ja. Dieses ist mein Vater, Jake Dunne. Dieses is meine Mutter, Lisa Dunne," Jack said earning stares of amazement from his parents. Turning to his parents, he said, "This is Frau Shultz."

"You did that well," Melissa said. She turned to Frau Shultz and said, "Er tat den gut."

"Ja," Frau Shultz said. She turned to his parents and said, "Sie mussen auf Jack stolz sein."

"She said that you must be proud of Jack," Melissa said.

"We are," his mother said. She was kind of impressed that Melissa was a college student and knew how to speak two languages. She had always figured that Jack would get hooked up with a woman who was a clerk in a store or something like that.

Jake said, "You really rattled that German off like a native."

"Not really," Jack said. He heard a shout and looked over to see Johnny and his father facing each other. He said, "Excuse me for a moment."

While Jack went off to take care of the problem, Melissa remained with his parents and Frau Shultz. Lisa said, "I didn't mean to suggest that Jack had another girlfriend."

"I know all about Abby," Melissa said.

Hearing Abby's name mentioned, Frau Shultz said, "Dumme Frau."

"What did she say?" Lisa asked thinking she had just been called a dumb woman.

Melissa answered, "She was calling Abby a dumb woman. Frau Shultz thinks that Abby was not very smart by letting Jack get away."

"That's interesting," Lisa said feeling very uncomfortable.

Melissa and Frau Shultz exchanged a few words. Melissa said, "Frau Shultz says that it all worked out for the best. He got me."

Looking around at the crowd, Jake asked, "What is going on here? Why are there so many people around?"

"This is Jack's commune," Melissa answered.

Lisa looked horrified and said, "Oh, God. My boy turned into a hippy."

Melissa laughed at the reaction of Jack's mother and said, "It is not that kind of commune. They share food and work together for the community. Frau Shultz is a member and so is her daughter. Most of the members of the commune are retired."

"What do they do in this commune?" Jake asked.

"Mostly it is about making their money go further. They all contribute a little money each month for food. They share dinner in this house. This is a community house and they come here for entertainment and to share ideas on how to save money," Melissa answered.

Lisa asked, "Are you a member?"

"No. I live over at the university. Coming here is kind of a breath of fresh air after being around a lot of people who feel isolated and alone. The people here have taken control of their lives. They've created a community," Melissa said finding it hard to put into words the sense of community that existed here.

Frau Shultz tugged on Melissa's arm and rattled off some German. Melissa smiled and nodded her head. Turning to Lisa, Melissa said, "Frau Shultz wants a chance to talk to you. She's wanted to meet the woman who raised such a nice gentleman like Jack for a long time."

"I don't speak German," Lisa said looking at the elderly lady.

"That's okay. I'll translate," Melissa said. She looked around and noticed that there were three chairs in the corner. She said, "If we sit over there, we'll be able to talk."

"Okay," Lisa said. She watched Melissa explain the plan to the little old lady. Turning to her husband, she said, "Why don't you mingle a bit and meet some of Jack's friends?"

"Sure," Jake said. He ambled off to find Jack in the crowd of people. There were almost too many people in the house for it to be safe. He wondered how many of them belonged to the commune. He wandered around the room listening to middle-aged folks trying to talk the elderly into moving in with them. The elderly, without exception, were refusing the invitations and claiming that they had things under control.

Jack appeared at his side and said, "Hey, Dad. Let's go outside for a bit. I'd like to check on the kids and the quiet will give us a chance to talk."

"Sounds good," Jake said. There were too many people around to have a meaningful conversation. He had a feeling that they had done that intentionally.

Outside, Jack asked, "So how are things at the shop?"

"Business is great. People have to have heat when it gets cold outside. They might turn the thermostat down, but they won't turn it off," Jake said. Not every business was suffering because of the hard economic times.

"People will repair the essential items," Jack said with a nod of his head. "They won't buy or build something new."

Well aware that things had been tough for Jack, Jake said, "You could have come to me for a job."

"Things turned out okay. I've got a regular job at the university," Jack said. He wasn't going to run to his father because times got rough.

"What's all this stuff about you belonging to a commune?" Jake asked.

Jack said, "This area has been hit hard with increased property taxes. The retired folks in this area weren't able to afford to eat. We started chipping in a little money to make the food bill lower. Things kind of escalated and we've become a commune. Money is real tight."

"Tell me about it. I've been sending money every month to your grandparents so that they can stay at home," Jake said shaking his head.

"How are they doing?" Jack asked. He wasn't worried about them because he knew his father would take care of things. He did feel a little guilty about not calling them more often.

"Money is a little tight, but I do my best to help out. I just hope their health holds out," Jake said. He worried about his parents and in-laws.

"Money is tight everywhere," Jack said.

Jake said, "I noticed that things were a little tense in the house. What's going on with that?"

"It is a bad situation," Jack said shaking his head. "We had a lot of people who invited themselves over for the holidays."

"Holidays are for family," Jake said.

"A lot of the little old ladies have children who want them to sell off their houses and move in with them. They feel that their kids are really after their money. The kids were nowhere to be seen when they were having money problems. Now that the kids have money problems they suddenly appear out of the woodwork. It doesn't look good," Jack explained.

"When you look at it that way, moving in with their children doesn't sound like an attractive proposition," Jake said. He had thought about making that offer to his parents and in-laws. He was going to have to rethink that idea.

"We've gotten a bunch of our economic problems to a point where they are manageable and these little old ladies aren't willing to give that up," Jack said. No one had explicitly mentioned it, but Jack wondered how many of the kids were waiting for their parents to die so that they could inherit some assets.

"Times are tough and things can change really quickly," Jake said pointing out the obvious flaw in the situation.

"That's true. It seems to me that a day doesn't go by without some minor crisis," Jack said. He gestured around the street and said, "There are so many houses for sale that you can't get any money for them. I'd be surprised if you could sell one of these houses for twenty-thousand dollars. That isn't going to help any of those families get out of their economic problems. I doubt that they have even started taking major steps towards getting their economic situations under control. I bet half of them haven't even given up cable."

Jake had to agree with his son's assessment of the situation. He looked at the community house and said, "I noticed that you got solar energy for this house."

"Yes. We might actually make some money off of it during the summer," Jack said. The meter wasn't exactly turning backwards, but it was saving them a fortune. With all of the cooking taking place in the community house, the energy bills for the other houses had gone down. Everyone was using the washer and dryer in the community house to do their laundry. They were keeping the community house a little warmer and saving money on heating their own houses.

"That's good," Jake said. He said, "I guess it is all about money."

"Not anymore," Jack said, "We've built a community here. I appreciate that a whole lot more than the money I'm saving."



-------

Chapter 27


December 2, 2009 arrived with the worst snowstorm that Jack had ever experienced that early in the winter. The sky had dumped four inches of snow over the night and it was only getting worse. The weatherman was predicting that accumulations could reach a foot by evening. Watching the forecast, Jack decided that he had better dress in lots of layers before heading off to work.

The university was closed, but essential personnel were still required to come into work. In this context, Jack was considered essential personnel. All of the maintenance and grounds crews would be there today. There were students living in dorms on campus and essential services had to be provided. He knew that he'd spend the day shoveling snow from the pathways so that the students could get from the dorms to the cafeteria. Someone else would be using a snowplow to clear out the parking lots.

Jack left the house driving ten miles an hour on roads that were slick with snow. Recent cuts in local government spending affected road clearing operations so the roads were in very poor condition. By the time he reached the university, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be returning home that night. He wasn't looking forward to a night curled up on the floor of the maintenance building.

Jack arrived after driving for almost two hours. Despite having left for work an hour early, he was still almost an hour late. He climbed out of his truck stiff from the tense drive. He walked up to the maintenance building and entered expecting to get yelled at for being late. Roy was at the front desk and looked up when Jack came in. He said, "You're the second one to make it in. I guess that lets you run one of the snow blowers."

"Great," Jack said pleased not to be in trouble. He had expected to be shoveling snow by hand.

Going over to the map of the university, Roy pointed to an area and said, "You'll need to clear out the walkway from these dorms over to here. I've got Dennis clearing out the path in front of the cafeteria. You just need to tie into his path so that the students can get to the cafeteria without wading through the snow."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jack said.

"Don't kill yourself out there. If you get too cold, step inside a building and warm up a little," Roy said. Smiling he said, "The students are young enough to get their feet a little cold."

"Right," Jack said with a laugh. He went over to the garage and picked out a snow blower. It took him a few minutes to get it started. Once it was going, he let it drag itself out the door. He blew a path from the maintenance building over to the dorm figuring that someone else would have to make the trip.

After clearing snow for an hour, Jack was surprised when someone tapped him on the back. He stopped the snow blower and turned to see who was trying to get his attention. Much to his surprise it was a student. Holding out a foam cup, the student said, "I brought you some hot chocolate."

Accepting the cup, Jack was shocked by the thoughtfulness of the student. He said, "Thank you. That's very nice of you."

"I'm with Phi Beta Kappa. We're doing that for all of you guys out here in the cold," the student said.

"It is very nice of you," Jack said. He took a sip of the hot drink. It was obviously out of a packet, but it did warm him. He said, "That tastes good."

"I'm glad you like it," the student said. He waved and headed back into one of the dorm buildings.

Stamping his feet to get some of the snow off his boots, Jack said, "These students are really nice kids."

At the community house, everyone in the commune with the exception of Jack and Johnny were gathered in front of the television watching the weather. The weatherman was saying that the storm could last three days. Dave shook his head and said, "This is a pretty nasty storm."

"I bet Jack is freezing his butt off," Rich said thinking about him out there clearing snow.

"It is nice of him to go in to school on a day like this," Liz said.

"He has to work. There are a bunch of students stuck on campus," Bev said. She wondered how many of them were frightened by the prospect of being stuck on campus during a major storm like that. In her mind they were still kids.

Liz said, "It is a long way to the university. Surely someone else could do it. How is he supposed to drive home tonight?"

"I don't think he'll be home anytime soon," Dave said.

"Did anyone pack a lunch for him?" Claire asked afraid that he wouldn't have a chance to eat.

When no one answered, Laura said, "He left really early this morning."

The television showed a major pileup on the highway. Twenty cars were involved in the accident. It looked like a real mess and Rich could imagine himself trapped in the traffic. He said, "Thank god I'm not out there this morning."

"You can say that again," Cheryl said thinking that she would have been watching the video hoping not to see his car in the midst of the accident. She looked over at her boys and saw that they were still playing a board game with Mary. She was amazed that kids raised on video games would enjoy playing an old fashioned game like that.

Gail said, "It is beastly cold out there."

"At least we're nice and warm here," Sally said. She was wearing a light sweater to keep the chill away.

"It was a little cold in the house this morning," Emily said.

Looking over at Emily, Sally said, "It was your idea to turn the thermostat down to 64."

"I'm not complaining," Emily said. "We're going to save on the heating bill this way."

"You turned the thermostat down to 64? We only turned ours down to 66," Mary said.

Rich looked over at the boys and said, "We're keeping ours at 68."

Ella said, "We've got ours turned down to 64, but we're using a portable heater in the bedroom."

"You're only heating one bedroom?" Claire asked wondering which one of the women slept in a cold room.

"We decided to share the bed last night to keep warm," Ella said. It had been very cold the previous night. The wind had been blowing and it seemed like the walls didn't stand a chance in holding it back.

Gail said, "I used an electric blanket last night."

Dave looked over at Rich and asked, "Are you ready to blow some snow?"

"No, but I'll do it," Rich said getting out of his chair. Looking over at Abby, he asked, "Are you going to help, Abby?"

Abby slowly turned her head to look at Rich. In a tired voice, she asked, "Why do it? It is just going to snow some more."

"We do it now so that the job won't be worse later," Rich answered.

"Does it really matter?" Abby asked thinking that nothing mattered. She had seen her future standing out on the street in front of the lingerie store. It was only a question of when she had to face that future.

"Yes, it does matter," Dave said. He looked at her thinking that it was the first time she had even hinted at what was bothering her. In a quiet voice, he said, "It is all about delaying the inevitable long enough that it stops being inevitable."

"That doesn't work," Abby said shaking her head.

Claire noticed that Abby was getting a little more animated. She said, "I'm older than dirt. I've been around a block or two. Trust me when I say that Dave is right."

"You don't understand," Abby said looking down at the floor. How could they understand the sense of helplessness that she had? She was a thirty-something woman waiting for her job at a fast food place to end and her job as a prostitute to begin.

"You aren't alone unless you choose to be," Dave said looking at her.

"You'll chase me out of here when I have to start turning tricks to make rent," Abby said.

Ella snorted and said, "Do you think so? We haven't chased Frau Schultz out of here."

"Honey, I've slept with as many men as most hookers. You don't see them chasing me out of here," Sally said.

"So you admit that I'm facing a future as a prostitute," Abby said angrily. She didn't know why it made her so angry.

"We didn't say that. We just said that we wouldn't chase you out of here if you did that," Ella said.

Dave asked, "What makes you think you are destined to prostitution?"

"What else can I do when they start shutting down the fast food places? Do you see any factories around here? No, they all went overseas. Do you see any jobs for maids? No. Do you see any jobs of any kind out there? No you don't. No one is hiring," Abby said.

Dave said, "I see a lot of empty houses. Someone needs to take care of them and I haven't seen anyone do that yet. Probably a dozen of them will have water leaks by the time this storm is over. Who is going to know? As far as I can tell, no one will know and the house will get damaged."

"Huh?" Abby asked. It actually sounded like a good idea. She had gone over to Penny's house the night before to turn on the heater so that the plumbing wouldn't freeze.

Claire said, "A dozen people are moving out of the neighborhood to join their families. They probably need someone to help them pack. You're a whole lot better than having a strange man in the house."

"Help them move," Abby repeated thinking that was another good idea.

"How about writing up a guide on how to start a commune? Lots of people are in the same situation we were and I'm sure that what works for us could work for them. Hell, you could end up selling a million copies," Liz said.

Rich said, "Create your own job."

Abby looked around the room unable to believe that in less than five minutes, she had been given three different ideas for a job. Even if one didn't work out, she had two more possibilities. She said, "I need to think about it."

"While you're thinking about it, why don't you help us remove the snow?" Dave asked.

The three of them had just stepped outside when Rich's cell phone went off. Puzzled, he dug it out from his coat pocket and answered it. After a few minutes discussion, he turned to Dave and said, "I've got to head over to the house. It should take me about half an hour to take care of this call."

"Take your time," Dave said. He looked over at Abby and, winking at her, said, "He'll do anything to get out of working."

"You're telling me," Abby said. She picked up the snow shovel and went to work on the steps. The snow blower in the garage could clear a lot of snow, but it couldn't do a thing on the steps.

Abby's mind was in a whirl while thinking about the ideas that Dave, Claire, and Liz had tossed out so easily. After the horrible experience in the massage parlor, Abby knew that a life of prostitution would kill her. There wasn't a future in the fast food business no matter how she looked at it. Even if government didn't kill it off, the income wasn't enough to cover her financial needs. It had seemed to her that there wasn't going to be any choice in her future; she was going to end up standing out on a street corner soliciting men. Their ideas had changed all of that.

Like many people, she didn't feel as if she was employed unless she was working for a company. The idea of starting a business in something that wasn't massage was intriguing. She didn't have any idea where to even begin. Of course, she wasn't alone. Mary knew how to find information and Johnny understood accounting. The old women had life experiences that often provided insight into problems. Even Jack understood how to tenaciously pursue employment opportunities that lasted from job to job.

Finishing clearing off one set of steps, she went to the next house and went to work on the steps up to the front door. Her body worked on autopilot while her mind struggled to put together a plan. For the first time since the fat tax had announced, she was beginning to see a future that wasn't dark. She attacked the snow with a vengeance.

Roy drove up to where Jack was taking care of the snow in one of the little electronic carts used to ferry small items around the campus. In the back of it were a can of gasoline, bag of salt, and a snow shovel. He got out of the cart and said, "I figured that you were about to run out of gasoline."

"I was about to head back to the maintenance shop to pick up a can," Jack answered. He had finished the first can of gasoline that Roy had delivered earlier. The snow was still coming down heavily. It looked like it wasn't about to stop any time soon.

"Fill it up and then clear the path down to the cafeteria. When you get there, stop and get a bite to eat," Roy said looking around at the paths that had been cleared. The early paths already had an inch of snow filling them. The wind was blowing and moving snow into some areas so that there were drifts that were two feet deep.

Jack said, "I'll have to stop by the cash machine."

"Your meals are covered," Roy said. Considering that they might be there for three days, the university picked up their meals and provided a place to sleep.

"That's nice," Jack said surprised by that little piece of news.

"You're on emergency duty. We've got cots set up in the gym. They aren't great, but it beats sleeping on the floor," Roy said. Emergencies like this didn't happen often, but they had procedures in place for dealing with them. It was going to kill the department budget, but that was his battle to fight.

"I didn't think I'd make it home," Jack said. He worried about all of the old folks back at the commune.

Roy said, "With the kids out of classes all day, the residential hall folks are showing some movies over in the auditorium. You'll have a break later. You might want to stop by and watch a film."

"That sounds like fun," Jack said. He wasn't used to that kind of treatment by an employer.

Nodding his head, Roy said, "I'll let you get back to work. We're short-handed since Big Mike and Little Mike didn't make it in."

"What happened?" Jack asked. They had two Mikes working in maintenance. Everyone called them Big Mike and Little Mike to keep them straight.

"Big Mike was in a major pile-up on the way in. He's in the hospital and probably won't be back at work for months. Little Mike's car is stuck in a ditch at the bottom of a hill," Roy answered. Although he was at irked that Little Mike didn't make it in, he understood the reason. Little Mike was always talking about the road down the hill on which his house was located. It went straight down the hill and made a sharp turn at the end. A lot of cars ended up in the ditch at the turn when it rained.

"I hope Big Mike is okay," Jack said. He could imagine the hospital bills that would pile up as a result of the accident.

"They were still working on him when his wife called. She said that he wasn't in serious condition. Of course, who knows what that means," Roy said. He was going to be running shorthanded for the next few months.

"I wish him a speedy recovery," Jack said.

Roy said, "I better move along. One of the cops got his car stuck in a snowdrift."

"Do you need some help?" Jack asked. He figured it would be a lot of work digging a car out of a snowdrift.

"No. I'll make him dig it out. Clear this walk out and head over to eat," Roy said with a chuckle while walking back to the golf cart.

After working for two hours out in the blowing wind, Abby returned to the community house feeling cold and tired. The warm air in the house seemed hot in comparison to outdoors. She removed her coat and sweater. The air was filled with the smell of chili cooking on the stove. She sniffed and said, "That smells good."

"Chili for a chilly day," Laura said with a smile. It was good to see Abby taking an interest in what was going on around her again.

Abby grabbed a bowl and filled it with chili. Taking it over to the table, she sat down and started eating without making conversation. Frau Shultz was over by the door wiping up the melting snow that had come in on Abby's boots. When she had finished half of the bowl of chili, she said, "I can't believe how hungry I was."

"You haven't been eating too well, lately," Claire said.

"I know," Abby said. She stared down at the bowl and added, "I guess I had given up."

"What happened?" Claire asked.

Abby answered, "That day they announced the fat tax I realized that my job at the Taco Emporium was going to come to an end. I might hate the job, but it is a steady paycheck and is a lot better than the nursing home. I was trying to figure out what I could do for a living. I'm not exactly skilled labor. I don't have a college education. I can't even type. Every other store on the drive home was closed so there wasn't even a future in being a store clerk. What is left?"

"Not much," Claire admitted.

"I drove past the lingerie shop in town and saw a bunch of women standing around. They were dressed in slutty clothes. I knew exactly what they were doing out there," Abby said.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out," Liz said.

"I recognized one of the women. She was the last person in the world that I expected to see out there. She used to work with me at one time. She is a real religious type who is always talking about God and Jesus. I think she prayed ten times a day," Abby said. The idea that a woman like that would turn to the oldest profession only highlighted how bad the situation was getting.

"Does she have any children?" Bev asked.

"She has a son that she dotes on like he is the only person in the world," Abby answered.

"The things a mother will do," Bev said shaking her head sadly. She said, "You can't blame her."

"I knew when I saw her that I was looking at my future," Abby said.

Dave said, "Jack was telling me that he was at a convenience store the other day and a woman was handing out flyers advertising a brothel she was starting. I never thought I would live to see that."

Ella said, "You do what you have to do to survive. It is all well and good to say that prostitution is wrong, but stand there for three days watching your baby go to bed without food and see what you say then. Any mother worth her salt will spread her legs for a stranger in order get enough money to feed that baby. Anyone who tells you any different is an idiot."

"That's true enough," Gail said.

Claire said, "I don't understand how we let the world get to this point."

"It isn't what they are doing that bothers me so much; it is the fact that they don't have a choice," Cheryl said knowing that a lot of single women slept around without thinking too much about it. Of course, they were doing it for their pleasure rather than for money. They had a choice with whom they slept.

Abby said, "I know."

Jack finished clearing the path to the cafeteria building. He shut off the snow blower and went inside the building. The floor was soaking wet by the door. There was a coat rack filled with coats. He dropped his coat off there and headed to the cafeteria line. He loaded his tray with high calorie food that would provide energy for the work outside. The woman at the register just waved him through. Stepping out, he looked around for a table. Melissa was waving at him and he headed over to her.

"I was wondering when you were going to take a break," Melissa said when he reached her table.

"I didn't realize the campus was so big until I started clearing off the walkways," Jack said taking a seat.

"I know," Melissa said looking at his tray. She asked, "Have you got enough food there?"

"I don't know. I'm burning up a lot of calories out there," Jack said shrugging his shoulders. Using a snow blower wasn't as much work as shoveling snow, but after a couple of hours he still felt it.

"Are you going to take me home with you tonight?" Melissa asked. Sitting around the dorm room was killing her. She would rather spend the time over at the commune talking with the little old ladies.

"I am stuck here for the whole storm," Jack answered.

"I didn't realize that," Melissa said. She wondered where he was going to sleep that night. She would invite him to her room, but she had a roommate who wouldn't appreciate that. She asked, "Where will you sleep?"

"They have some cots over in the gym. It won't be too bad. We'll have showers and place to wash our clothes," Jack said.

"I'd invite you to my room, but my roommate is here," Melissa said.

"I understand," Jack said. He grinned and said, "I'd invite you to the gym, but all of the guys will be there."

Melissa laughed and said, "Maybe I ought to send my roommate over there and have you spend the night with me."

"I'm not too sure how she'll feel about that plan," Jack said laughing.

"You never know," Melissa said. Her roommate was a young woman from India who was studying computer programming. It had taken a little time, but the economic situation here was affecting the economic situation in India. Her roommate was afraid that she wasn't going to be able to finish school and would have to return to India.

"They are showing movies over in the auditorium. How about I stop by and pick you up when I take my break?" Jack asked.

"That sounds good to me," Melissa said.

It was nearing dinner time and Abby was outside with the two boys building a snowman when Rich finally returned from his trip over to his house. She waved at him, but he walked past them as if he didn't see them. His lack of reaction dampened the spirits of the two boys for almost a full five seconds before they turned back to working on the snowman.

They finished the snowman by putting in the required carrot nose and charcoal briquette eyes, mouth, and buttons. Pleased with the results of their efforts, the trio returned to the house. Once there, Abby could see that Rich looked excited. Surprised, she asked, "What's up, Rich?"

"I can't believe this day," Rich said shaking his head.

"What happened?" Abby asked. She looked over at Cheryl and saw a huge smile on her face.

"He made a dozen sales today," Dave answered.

"I made a dozen of the largest sales of my life today," Rich said. His total had been well over a million dollars. He didn't even believe that there was that much money loose in the marketplace.

"I thought your company was closed because of the storm," Abby said.

Rich said, "I guess I was the only salesman who thought to forward his phone. I was getting calls all day long. There was some kind of flood down south because of the storm. A couple of hospitals were flooded and their equipment was damaged. I was writing orders left and right. I didn't even have a chance to break for lunch."

"That's good," Abby said.

"I made almost half a year's commission today," Rich said stunned by the turn of events. He had never had a day like that. Between calls, he had been on the phone with the factory making sure that they could deliver the orders. He had confirmed that the electronic payments had been made.

"That's real good," Abby said.

Claire said, "You know. You might look tomorrow for other hospitals in the affected area and call them to see if they need any equipment."

"That's a good idea," Rich said.

Dave said, "Let's watch the weather channel and see if we can figure out where the damage is the worst. You might as well do your research now."

"First I want to get something to eat," Rich said heading over to the kitchen.

Seeing his mother and father happy, Chuck asked, "Did something good happen?"

"Something very good happened," Cheryl answered. She was envisioning paying off a couple of bills with the extra money.

Mike asked, "Are you going to come out and see our snowman?"

"You bet," Rich said feeling like a ton of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He patted Mike on the head and added, "We'll even make a snowwoman and two snowchildren to go with him."



-------

Chapter 28


Bev and Liz ended up at the Benjamin house with Rich for the next two days looking up hospitals and medical facilities through the region that had been affected by the storm while Rich was busy on the phone making calls. It turned out that only three of the four hospitals that had contacted Rich had equipment that had been damaged. The fourth hospital was merely a matter of coincidence. However, that did not stop Rich from making additional sales with hospitals that had never done business with his company.

Rich sat back in his chair after the last call and said, "That was good. I've added six more hospitals as customers. The sales might not have been major league, but they were sales our company wouldn't have had. It has been a long time since I've done any cold calling like that."

"It looks to me like you do a pretty good job," Liz said. She had been impressed with how he had managed to start up conversations with complete strangers on the telephone.

"I managed to make a quarter of a million dollars in sales over the past two days. I usually don't even do that much in a month," Rich said. When he added in the million dollars in sales of the first day of the storm, he had done a tremendous job over the past three days.

Bev said, "You work on commission, right?"

"Yes. Five percent," Rich answered. He had made over sixty thousand dollars when everyone else was stuck at home.

"That's pretty good," Bev said.

Abby and Cheryl were at the local school with the boys. The boys were pulling their sleds up to the top of a small hill and riding down while the two women stood off to the side watching them. Cheryl said, "Rich made a lot of money over the past two days."

"That's good," Abby said. She looked at the young mother and asked, "What are you going to do with it?"

"We're going to get rid of a bunch of our bills. We've got a bunch of loans for furniture, electronics, and our car. I'm paying them off," Cheryl said. She didn't have the words to express how that prospect made her feel. It didn't matter that taxes and social security were going to get about forty percent of his commission. It was still a lot of debt that could be eliminated. She added, "I'm going to try to put away five thousand for savings."

The idea of having that much money set aside in a saving account made her head spin. She couldn't imagine it. Abby said, "That's good."

"I figure paying off a couple of the loans will give us more than a thousand dollars a month," Cheryl said. They still had the student loan to payoff. She felt that was going to hang over their head for the rest of their life.

"I guess that you'll be leaving the commune," Abby said.

Cheryl looked horrified at the idea and said, "No way. That's been the best thing that has ever happened to us."

"I didn't think Rich was all that wild about joining it," Abby said. She remembered how he had acted the first meeting. She figured that he would jump at the first chance to leave.

"He'd never admit it, but he enjoys working on stuff with Jack and Dave. I guess his father never did that kind of stuff with him when he was growing up. He tells me all the time about the things he's learned from the two of them," Cheryl said. He had even suggested kicking in a little of the money to help pay for some of the repairs.

Abby asked, "How do you feel about it?"

"Me? I love the commune. I love the boys, but it sure is nice to have a dozen babysitters on call at all hours of the day and night," Cheryl said. There were some evenings when she and Rich went home alone and did nothing except cuddle and talk for a couple of hours.

"They are a handful," Abby said in agreement.

Cheryl asked, "What are your plans?"

"I'm hoping that I can borrow your computer to make up some flyers advertising packing services," Abby said.

"Of course you can borrow it. Rich will help you make the flyers," Cheryl said.

Smiling at the other woman appreciatively, Abby said, "I figure I'll charge about ten dollars an hour. It will be three dollars an hour more than what I make at the Taco Emporium."

"What's going on at the Taco Emporium?" Cheryl asked.

Shaking her head in disgust, Abby said, "Things aren't so good there. December first the fat tax kicked in. Our prices also went up because of the increase in corn prices. That damned bio-fuel is eating up the entire corn crop. The average order went up by fifteen percent overnight. A year ago a taco was ninety-nine cents and now it is a dollar thirty. Every customer complained about the increase in price. We had people leave when they heard how much their order cost."

"I can understand why," Cheryl said. She had heard on the news that the inflation rate was about two percent, but that was because of the drop in housing prices. When house prices dropped thirty percent in a year, that meant the rest of the market kicked up by thirty-two percent.

"My boss hasn't said it to us, but I overheard him talking to someone on the phone that he thinks the store won't be in business six months from now," Abby said. She would be surprised if it lasted four months.

It was definitely a bad sign when management started bailing out of a company. Cheryl said, "That's bad. Are you going to keep the job while you are starting your packing business?"

"I was thinking about it, but I've decided that I'm going to send out the flyers and quit when I get the first job," Abby answered. The idea of doing that terrified her.

"Why?"

She had made almost as much packing up the stuff at Penny's house part-time as she did at her job working the whole week. In fact, that was the only reason she was able to pay rent and food that month. Abby answered, "I can't pack up houses during the day if I have to work at the Taco Emporium. I'll be making three dollars an hour more packing boxes and I might be able to work six or seven full days a week. When you take into account that I might be able to earn more every hour and work more hours a week, I really can't afford to stay at Taco Emporium."

"I remember Jack making that same argument," Cheryl said.

Abby said, "To tell the truth, it scares the hell out of me."

"I don't know if I could do it," Cheryl said. She was so lucky that Rich had managed to keep his job and she didn't have to work. She noticed that Chuck had a real good ride down the hill and shouted out, "Way to go Chuck!"

"Watch me!" Mike shouted wanting to get a little attention from his mother.

"I figure it this way. A lot of elderly are going to move in with their kids over the next month or two. I'll have two months to get ready to do that house watching business. That's where I think I'll have the best chance of success," Abby said watching Mike ride down the hill on his sled. She gave him a thumbs up.

"Good job, Mike," Cheryl shouted. She glanced over at Abby and asked, "Why do you think it is your best chance of success?"

"I was thinking of it this way. The banks are holding mortgages on a lot of these properties. They aren't going to be able to sell them for a while considering the way the market is acting. They won't want the houses to lose value because they are falling apart. They want to get as much money out of them as possible. I figure that if I charge twenty-five dollars per house per month, that it will cost them only three hundred dollars a year to maintain the value. One bad accident to the house and they could lose ten times that much," Abby said.

"That does make sense," Cheryl said. She wondered if it made too much sense for a bank. Considering the stupidity that the financial markets were demonstrating, a little common sense might be asking too much of them.

"So if I can get a contract for forty houses, that's a thousand dollars a month. That's what I was making at Taco Emporium working thirty-two hours a week," Abby said. She had spent a couple of hours working over the numbers over the past two days.

"You shouldn't have much difficulty getting forty houses," Cheryl said. There were more houses than that within a twelve block radius. She said, "There are six houses for sale on our street alone."

"That's what I was thinking. I also figured that the people moving in with their relatives wouldn't want their houses to lose value either. I don't know what the numbers are, but I figure that I might be able to get a lot more than forty houses total," Abby said. She was hoping that she could get fifty houses.

Cheryl said, "That would be a lot of work."

Abby shrugged her shoulders and said, "I figure that I could do a walkthrough of a house in less than ten minutes. All I would be doing is checking the windows, make sure that the heat is still working, and see if there were any obvious signs of damage. I could do about five houses an hour if they are close together. Forty houses would be an eight hour day. I could go through the houses once every three days or so."

"What about when a storm comes?" Cheryl asked. She figured that people would want their houses checked as quickly as possible after a storm.

"I don't know," Abby answered. She didn't have all of the answers yet.

"You'll figure something out," Cheryl said watching the boys slide down the hill. She shouted, "You're doing real good, boys."

"They are having fun, aren't they?" Abby said.

"Yeah. They are so lucky to be young and unaware of how bad things are. I worry about what kind of world they'll be inheriting. Will they have opportunities when they get older?" Cheryl asked.

"I don't know," Abby said.

Cheryl said, "They don't think there is anything special about life around the commune. I'll admit that they are happy to have a dozen grannies all of a sudden. They enjoy playing sports with Jack. To them, this is just how life is."

"It sure is different than how I grew up," Abby said thinking that maybe the boys were having a better start to life than she had. She was basically a latchkey kid and that was a pretty lonely childhood. It got worse when her parents divorced.

"Same here," Cheryl said. "I had a lot more toys than they do."

"I guess I did too," Abby said. She hadn't appreciated it at the time. Of course, a new doll wasn't a replacement for a hug. She said, "They get a lot more attention, though."

"You know that they'll run up to the house and tell all of the little old ladies about their adventures on the huge hill at the big kid's school. Claire will clap her hands and praise them for being so brave for facing such a dangerous challenge. Liz and Bev will hug them. The boys will eat up the attention," Cheryl said.

Abby sighed and said, "I would have killed for that kind of attention when I was their age."

"They'll be talking about this afternoon until they get to bed," Cheryl said.

"I know. I could see Jack out there with them," Abby said. He would have been out there helping the boys drag the sleds up to the top of the hill. He probably would have taken a couple of rides down the hill as well.

Cheryl said, "It has been kind of strange not having Jack around."

"He'll probably make it home tonight," Abby said.

"I felt kind of sorry for Dave. He's a little too old to be out shoveling snow like that. Jack would have made sure that he didn't over do it," Cheryl said.

"My aching back wishes Jack had been here. I never really thought about how much physical work shoveling snow was," Abby said.

Jack picked up the log and carried it over to the stack. One of the older trees on campus had fallen during the storm and they were cutting it up. He straightened up and twisted from side to side to loosen his back. One of the students came over with three cups of hot chocolate. Jack turned to the two men cutting the tree and shouted, "Hey. Stop the chainsaw."

In the sudden silence, the two men turned to Jack to see what he wanted. They smiled on seeing the cups of hot chocolate. Accepting a cup from the student, Jack said, "You are a sight for sore eyes."

"I figured that you guys could use a little break," the student answered. He looked over at the stack of wood and said, "My dad and I always cut two cords of firewood from the woods behind the house every year. That's hard work."

"It isn't that bad," Kevin said. He was a groundskeeper for the school and typically trimmed the branches of the trees during the fall.

"It sure doesn't help when the snow is halfway to your waist," the student said. Jack had trampled a pretty good path from the tree to where he was stacking the wood.

"You can say that again," Kevin said taking a cup of hot chocolate. He took a sip and said, "That is great."

"It sure is nice of you to bring this out to us," Jack said.

"Don't mention it," the student said. He looked over at the chainsaw and asked, "Do you need some help?"

"No. We're doing fine," Kevin said. The university administration would go ballistic if they were to let a student loose with a chainsaw.

"I kind of miss working on the farm. I never thought I would say that," the student said.

Jack said, "You sound a little homesick. Christmas break is coming soon and you'll be able to go back for a visit."

The young man looked over at Jack and said, "I guess I am a little homesick. We have five hundred acres. On a day like today, the whole field would be covered in snow. You'd see the deer coming out hoping to get at the wheat that was under the snow. Every year we planted wheat."

"You grew wheat?" Jack asked. He didn't know anything about farming. His whole image of farming was from a sixties comedy show about a New York lawyer riding a tractor surround by a bunch of hicks.

The student answered, "Dad planted corn this past year. He said it was time to start growing gasoline rather than food. To tell the truth, that's what made it possible for me to come here. You can't grow enough corn."

Kevin said, "It sure did drive up the cost of food."

"I guess that's true. Of course, the farmers don't get much of that money," the young man said shaking his head. It had been real touch and go about him being able to come to college.

The other man, Don, who had been cutting up the tree said, "I'd raise wheat. With everyone going over to corn, the price of wheat is going to be astronomical next year. Your dad will make a killing."

The young man smiled and said, "I better head indoors. I'm not exactly dressed for this cold weather."

"Hope you do well in your studies," Don said raising his cup of hot chocolate.

Jack watched the kid walk off towards one of the dorms. He said, "Nice kid. We should probably write a letter thanking Phi Beta Kappa for sending out the hot drinks."

"Roy already wrote a letter. He sent a copy to the school paper so that they'll print it," Kevin said.

Don said, "The Greek societies sometimes get in a little trouble, but by and large they're good kids. The big problem is alcohol at parties. We've got a lot of binge drinkers."

"I guess," Jack said. He hadn't been around the school long enough to know things like that. He was impressed by how thoughtful and considerate a lot of the students were.

"Finals start in about two weeks. These kids are going to be stressed to their limits," Don said. He took a sip of his drink and gestured to the main buildings.

Shaking his head, Kevin said, "I hope that we don't lose one to suicide this year."

"It is going to be a bad one this year. We could end up losing two or three of them to suicide. A lot of these kids know that their parents can't afford to send them here. Most of them believe that if they fail one course that it will be the end of their college career. That kind of thinking just doubles the pressure on them," Don said.

"At least my kid doesn't have to worry about that," Kevin said. Free tuition was a great job benefit.

"My daughter will be coming here in two years," Don said.

Jack said, "I don't have kids. I'm not married so it will be a long time before I have to worry about that."

"We see you eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day with that lovely little lady," Kevin said nudging him with an elbow.

"If you keep that up, you'll be married before you know it," Don said with a grin.

Abby and Cheryl were walking back to the community house behind the boys. The two women were pulling the sleds since the boys had worn themselves out playing on the hill. Abby looked down the street and saw that the snowplow was headed their way. It was moving fast and throwing a huge wall of snow. The street hadn't been plowed since the start of the snow storm and there was a lot of snow on the street. She froze and said, "Oh my God!"

"Is he crazy?" Cheryl asked thinking that if they got hit with that wall of snow, it would kill them.

"He's not slowing down," Abby said frozen to the spot. She watched a little sign with the address of the house disappear under the snow. It felt like her heart was beating a thousand times a minute.

"Get Mike," Cheryl shouted rushing forward to grab Chuck.

Cheryl's move seemed to break the paralysis that had gripped Abby. She rushed forward and grabbed Mike. Holding him in her arms, she raced away from the street. Mike was surprised by being grabbed from behind and started to struggle. Holding onto him the best she could, Abby moved as fast as she could. Cheryl was right beside her.

The two women managed to get far enough away from the street to avoid the wall of snow. Cheryl put Chuck down on the ground. She turned to the road and shouted, "Asshole!"

"He could have killed us," Abby said finding it hard to catch her breath. She put Mike down on the ground.

Cheryl turned to the boys and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Chuck answered looking around as if he had lost something.

"Sure," Mike said unaware that he had even been in danger.

Realizing what was missing, Chuck asked, "Where's my sled?"

Looking back at where they had been, Cheryl answered, "It is under the snow."

"Let's see if we can find your sleds," Abby said thinking that it would give her a chance to come to grips with the experience. She wondered if she was going to be able to walk.

The boys ran over to where they thought the sleds might have been buried. Cheryl turned to Abby and said, "Thank God you were here. I don't think I could have saved both of them if I had been alone."

Abby looked at Cheryl's pale face. She said, "You would have managed."

"I don't think so. A person alone doesn't stand much of a chance in today's world," Cheryl said thinking that she had nearly lost one or both of them. She turned to watch the boys merrily digging through the snow. This was just another grand adventure for them.

"I've got to agree with you on that," Abby said. She managed to get her legs moving and headed over to where the boys were hunting. She figured they were looking about six feet away from where the sleds were.

It took them a half an hour to locate the sleds and get them dug out. The snow plow had dumped a massive amount of snow where they had been standing. While they had been working, the snowplow had come back down the road clearing the other side. It wasn't moving any slower this time. Cheryl gave the driver a piece of her mind when he drove past, but the man didn't even look in their direction.

As they trudged back to the house feeling chilled to the bone and tired, Cheryl said, "They used to keep the roads free of snow. Now they only remove it when the storm ends."

"I guess they can't afford it," Abby said. She knew that she would be out there in an hour or two shoveling snow. The snow plow had buried a good percentage of the walkways she had cleared out earlier that morning.

They reached the house and the boys immediately started telling about their adventures sledding. Cheryl and Abby got out of their coats and chased the boys down to remove their coats. Abby smiled when Claire clapped her hands and said, "Aren't you two the bravest boys around? Imagine sledding down that huge hill. I would have been too scared."

As soon as the coats were off, Bev and Liz gave the two boys hugs. Abby said, "You were right, Cheryl."

Cheryl winked back at her and said, "Some things in life are predictable."

Abby went over to the television where Dave was watching the news. She asked, "What's new in the news?"

Dave shook his head slowly and said, "Over a hundred people died in this storm."

"What?" Abby asked thinking she hadn't heard him correctly.

Dave said, "Four or five people had heart attacks clearing out the snow. It happens every time it snows. This time, they died since the ambulances couldn't get to them in time because of quality of the roads."

"That's horrible," Abby said.

"It gets worse," Dave said.

"How?" Abby asked.

"After losing their homes, a lot of people are living in their cars. So far, police have found over a hundred of them frozen to death. A whole family, a husband, a wife, and two kids, were found frozen to death in their car that was parked in the middle of the parking lot of a grocery store," Dave said unable to believe what he had heard on the television.

"That's horrible," Abby said looking over at the television. It was showing police gathered around a large SUV that was parked in a parking lot of a shopping mall.

"They estimate that there are over a thousand families living in their cars in this county," Dave said.

"I never noticed that," Abby said.

Dave said, "You wouldn't notice them. Who notices a car parked in a parking lot? Nobody does."

"That's just too many people living that way," Abby said.

They had been covering the story for over an hour now and Dave had listened to every minute of it. He said, "They think that the death toll could go up when they finally get the roads clear and get a better assessment of the situation."

"Nobody checked on them?" Abby asked.

"Even the police cars couldn't get out on the roads," Dave said. They had all listened to the announcement that they were to shelter in place rather than go out into the storm. He hadn't thought much about the announcement at the time. He hadn't realized just what that meant. He said, "They made the decision in the middle of the first day of the storm to let the snow build up on the roads knowing that police, fire, and ambulance services would be impacted. It was a money saving measure."

Dropping down into one of the chairs, Abby said, "I don't even know what to say."

Dave said, "We just have to be thankful that we are all together here looking out for each other."

"The death count nearly rose by another four earlier this afternoon," Abby said.

Dave asked, "What happened?"

Abby said, "We nearly got buried by a snow plow. The bastard was driving forty miles an hour and didn't even slow down when he approached us. If we hadn't moved out of the way, we'd have been killed."

Dave said, "The speed limit here is thirty."

"He wasn't doing thirty miles an hour," Abby said.

Dave said, "I believe you. You've got to move pretty fast to clear out the kind of snow drifts that are out there. You were lucky to get out of the way."

"I don't even know what to think about it," Abby said.

Dave frowned and said, "I do. We've become a third world country. Welcome to the New America."



-------

Chapter 29


Jack stared at his bank statement. For the first time in two years, he had a balance of five hundred dollars in his checking account. It still wasn't enough to prevent him from having to pay fees, but it felt good none the less. He folded the page and stuffed it back in the envelope. Christmas was coming and he'd have to find some kind of gift for folks.

He stepped outside to visit the community house. He walked over to the community house taking in his surroundings. After the snow storm, the temperature had climbed and now all of the snow was melting. Rather than being a pristine white, the snow was dirty and gray. It was ugly, but that didn't affect his good mood. Making the walk dangerous was the fact that the snow would melt during the day and freeze at night creating little patches of ice that were slow to melt.

The house was filled with people eating and talking. Everyone greeted him when he walked into the house. It was kind of nice to have people notice his existence like that. He smiled and waved while going over to get some coffee. He noticed that Abby was putting on her coat. He asked, "Where are you going?"

"I've got a job packing up a house," Abby said with a smile.

"That's your third one, isn't it?" Jack asked. He saw so little of Abby that it was hard keeping track of what she was doing.

"That's right," Abby said cheerfully. There were two more packing jobs lined up for the next week. She figured that at this rate, she'd pass whatever she would have made for the month at Taco Emporium in another two weeks. She also had a contract to watch over one of the houses until it sold.

"Strange time of year to be moving," Jack commented. He figured that people would want to move when the weather was better. A few weeks before Christmas had to be the worst time to pack up and ship your belongings across country.

"Not really. One of them was explaining to me that if they moved in by the end of the year the kids would be able to get a tax break by declaring an additional dependent," Abby said. She wasn't sure if that was true or not, but it sounded reasonable. Of course, a lot of people were acting on half-facts and pure speculation.

"I guess that makes sense," Jack said. He watched her leave after cheerfully waving goodbye to everyone. The difference from before the storm and now was like night and day. Turning to Claire, he said, "She sure seems happier."

"She's taking charge of her life rather than accepting whatever life is throwing at her," Claire said knowing that even the illusion of control helped give one a positive attitude.

"I didn't think about it that way," Jack said. He knew that her life had been spiraling out of control ever since moving in with him.

Relaxing in a chair, Wanda said, "I'm looking forward to having her move in with me."

"What? When?" Jack asked surprised to hear that little bombshell. This was the first that he had heard of Abby moving.

"Not right away," Wanda said realizing that she had inadvertently beat Abby to telling Jack the news. She had thought that since they lived together that they talked fairly frequently.

"Why would she move?" Jack asked thinking that he had been more than fair with her. He had just achieved a reasonable bank balance and now it was going to disappear.

Wanda said, "Abby feels that you need a bit more privacy now that you are dating Melissa. If she moves out, Melissa could move in with you."

"She doesn't have to do that," Jack said thinking that was pretty lame reasoning. He had no plans to have Melissa move in with him. It wouldn't be hard to get everyone to agree to let Melissa join the commune. Frau Shultz would kill anyone who spoke against Melissa.

"I'm sure that Melissa would love to move in with you," Ella said.

"I don't know," Jack said. Melissa was a lot more educated than he was. He thought that she probably viewed him as a nice diversion from her studies and that one day she would go on with her life leaving him behind. He knew that would break his heart.

Claire looked over at Jack and said, "Jack, it makes sense for Abby to move in with Wanda. You're doing a lot better financially now and can afford to live alone. Wanda is still living from month to month. So is Abby. If they combine their efforts, Wanda will be better off."

"I know," Jack said. That didn't keep him from feeling like Abby was abandoning him. He had been worried about Wanda not getting a roommate. She, Liz, and Bev had not found anyone to move in with them although Fred was talking about moving in with Bev.

Wanda said, "I didn't mean to surprise you like that."

"That's okay," Jack said feeling hurt. He took a sip of his coffee and went over to the table. Taking a seat, he said, "It just kind of surprised me."

Thinking that a change in topic was called for, Dave said, "Are you going to help me install the alarms over at the Shultz's?"

"That was the plan," Jack said with a sigh. They had gotten wireless alarm systems that were simple to install, cheap, and fairly effective. Rather than dialing for help, the alarms just made a very irritating loud noise that was sure to attract attention. He figured that the average crook breaking into houses in this neighborhood wouldn't be too experienced.

Rich said, "Count me in."

The three men headed out with Ella to install the security system at her house with Jack carrying the system in a plastic bag. Although it wasn't freezing cold, the air was cold enough that it was easy to see their breaths. They had to take care in walking since there were still patches of ice left from the overnight freeze. Ella wrapped her coat around her tighter and said, "It is getting harder every year for me to handle the cold weather. I wish I could afford to retire to Florida."

Dreaming of hot beaches under a warm sun, Dave said, "You and me both."

Jack looked over at one of the houses down the street. A man was coming out of the house carrying a television. There was a car parked in front of the house with the motor running. Jack slowed down and asked, "What's going on over there?"

"Who is that?" Dave said, "I don't recognize him."

Jack shouted, "Hey you!"

On hearing the shout, the man looked over at them. Seeing four people looking at him, he dropped the television and headed towards the car at a fast run. Without taking a moment to think about what he was doing, Jack took off after the man at a hard run. He reached the curb and went flying when his feet slid out from under him on a patch of ice. The next thing Jack knew was that he was landing face first on the street with his arms stretched out in front of him in a futile attempt to break his fall.

Stunned by the impact, Jack was slow to get up. Although his gloves had protected his hands, his face was scraped raw and his nose was bleeding. He looked down the street and didn't see the man he had started to pursue. The car was heading down the street. He put a gloved hand under his nose and said, "Oh that hurts."

"Are you alright, Jack?" Dave asked coming up behind him. There were patches of ice everywhere. Having seen Jack go flying, he wasn't about to tempt fate by rushing around on uncertain footing.

Jack turned to look at Dave and answered, "He got away."

"You're bleeding," Rich said kneeling down next to Jack. The blood was coming from Jack's nose at a pretty good rate.

Ella watched from the sidewalk worried about him. She asked, "Is he alright?"

Dave knelt down and pulled Jack's hand away from his nose. He looked over it for a second and said, "You might have broken it, but I doubt it. Lean forward."

Jack leaned forward. Dave pinched the nose and said, "I've got to hold this for five minutes to stop the bleeding."

"Is he going to be alright?" Ella asked worried that Jack may have broken a bone in the fall.

Although the front of his coat was red with blood, Jack appeared to be okay. Rich said, "He'll be fine. Nothing seems to be broken except for possibly his nose."

Looking across the street, Ella said, "The front door is open. Do you think Gladys is inside?"

Rich looked across the street and, afraid of what he would find inside, said, "Stay here. I'll check it out."

Jack fumbled around in his coat pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Holding it up, he said, "Call the police."

Dave took the phone from Jack with his free hand and passed the phone over to Ella. While she dialed the police, Dave said, "The bleeding has stopped as a result of the pressure which is a good sign. I'll continue to put pressure on the bridge of your nose until it has clotted."

"Thanks," Jack said looking down at the blood that covered the front of his coat. He had a feeling that he looked pretty bad. He could feel the scrape on his chin and wondered how much skin he had lost.

"That was impressive, Jack. I haven't seen anyone do a nose dive into the dirt like that in years," Dave said with a smile.

"I'm glad you're impressed," Jack said wryly. He figured his chase had made it maybe ten feet.

"I used to coach baseball when I was younger. A lot of kids got bloody noses and very few of them were actually broken," Dave said. In those days, parents didn't rush off to a hospital at the first sight of blood. They got it to stop bleeding and then took a wait and see approach to the problem. Only if the kid was having problems breathing or if the nose was too crooked would they take them to the doctor.

"It sure hurts," Jack said although it was his pride that hurt more than his nose.

"You lost a bit of skin when you hit the pavement," Dave said examining the rest of Jack's face.

"I can feel it burning," Jack said. He wondered if anyone had something to take the sting out of scrapes like that and then realized Cheryl would probably have something with her. Mothers of young boys always had stuff like that.

Dave said, "I was impressed when you took off running after that guy."

"That was a pursuit worth a column in the newspaper," Jack said thinking of how badly that had turned out.

Grinning, Ella said, "I hope you are a little more effective than that when you come to rescue me."

Jack chuckled and said, "I'll pencil that into my busy social calendar."

Dave looked around and asked, "When are the police going to get here?"

Ella said, "The police said they would be here in five or ten minutes."

"Five or ten minutes?" Dave asked shocked at the delay. Houses were getting broken into and the police were taking their time getting there? It didn't make sense to him. He asked, "There was a crime here. What is this bit about five or ten minutes?"

"That's what they said," Ella answered shrugging her shoulders.

Dave released Jack's nose and watched to see if it started bleeding again. It appeared that the bleeding had stopped. He leaned back and said, "Don't blow your nose for a while. That will start the bleeding again."

"Thanks," Jack said. He got up from the ground and took stock of himself. His pants were wet where he had been seated. The cold pavement had sucked all of the warmth from his body. Looking around, he asked, "Where's Rich?"

"He went to check on Gladys," Ella answered.

Jack started shivering as the chill in his bones finally exceeded the adrenal boost that had been coursing through his body. Jack said, "I know that. Shouldn't he be back by now?"

"You're right. We better get over there," Dave said heading across the street.

Despite the fact that Jack was having trouble standing from the cold, he waited for Ella to help her across the slippery sections of ice. He was young and a fall wouldn't kill him, but it could really do a number on the older woman. Taking her arm, the pair carefully made their way to the house. On reaching it, Jack observed that the damaged front door and knew that it had been kicked open. He hoped that meant that no one had been inside.

Dave came out of the house and said, "She's in pretty sad shape. The guy hit and kicked her when he burst through the door. Rich is taking care of her now."

"How bad is it?" Jack asked. He noticed that Dave had some of his blood over his coat sleeves.

Dave looked at Jack and noticed the guy was shivering almost uncontrollably. Gladys' house wasn't warm enough to help him since the front door had been open for almost ten minutes now and the thermostat had been set at a very low temperature. He said, "Ella, take Jack back to the Community House to get warm. He's going to get sick if he doesn't get out of the cold."

"What about the police?" Jack asked knowing they would want to talk to him as a witness.

"We'll send them down there," Dave answered.

Not wanting any kind of official attention to the commune, Jack said, "Ella, you stay here. I'll go to my house. You can send the police there to talk to me."

Dave understood Jack's thinking and said, "You're probably right."

Jack headed back to his house. His morning had started so good, but it was quickly turning into a horrible day. First there had been the news about Abby moving out, then his nose dive onto the street, and now there was an old lady hurt in her house. He muttered, "Odds are the police are going to take one look at me and think I'm a suspect."

By the time Jack reached his house, his hands were trembling so bad that he could barely manage to get the door open. He stumbled into the house trying to keep from falling over. He stripped out of his wet pants at the front door. He dropped the pants by the door. Removing his coat, he threw it on top of the pants. One look at his coat and he knew it was ruined.

Despite the fact that the house had the thermostat low, it felt warm after his exposure outside. He went into the bathroom thinking that a warm shower would heat him up in the fastest possible manner. He took one look in the mirror and nearly fainted. His face had swollen, there was blood everywhere, and he had scrapes on his chin and one cheek.

He turned on the shower and stuck his hand in the stream of water. It was hard to judge the temperature. He removed the rest of his clothes being doubly careful in removing his sweater. He didn't want to start his nose bleed again. Stepping under the stream of water was pure torture. It felt like a thousand pins and needles were sticking him in his legs. Afraid that he would fall, he sat down in the bathtub and let the water run over him.

When his shaking finally stopped, he turned off the water and climbed out of the bathtub. The chill started to return while he dried off. The house was cold and being wet didn't help. His reflection in the mirror was a dramatic improvement, but he still looked beat up. The swelling of his face had continued. He put on sweatpants and a tee-shirt, grabbed a blanket, and headed to the living room. He wrapped himself in the blanket and took a seat to wait.

Jack had no idea how long it was before Ella and Dave came over with the police. He did know that it had been more than an hour since he had left the community house to go to Ella's house to install the security alarm. The policeman entered the house and looked at Jack. Shaking his head, he said, "Tell me what happened."

Jack told how he had spotted the man coming out of the house carrying a television. He went through all of the details about taking a nose dive into the street when he attempted to give pursuit. He felt stupid telling about how ineffective his attempt to help had been. When he finished his story, he said, "That's it."

"You should have called us when you suspected a crime rather than pursue the man," the policeman said reading over his notes. He added, "We don't want any vigilante justice around here."

"They would have been long gone by the time you showed up," Jack said. He noticed Dave bring two kitchen chairs into the living room for them to use.

The policeman looked at Jack and said, "If you had caught him, odds are good that I'd have to charge you with assault. The Good Samaritan laws have changed. We don't want people taking the law into their own hands."

"Do you mean that I'm supposed to do nothing except stand around and watch when a crime takes place?" Jack asked incredulously.

"You're supposed to call us," the policeman said giving Jack a look letting him know that argument was useless.

"That's not right," Jack said staring at the policeman.

Looking down at his notebook, the policeman said, "That's the law. Next time, no heroics. Did you happen to get the make and license of the car that was waiting?"

"No. All I know was that it was a dirty white sedan," Jack answered. His attention had been on the man carrying the television.

"Can you recall any more details about the suspect?" the policeman asked.

"I think he was a little taller than me. He had a ski mask over his face and was wearing gloves. I can't even tell you what race he was," Jack answered. With so few details there was no way that the police would ever catch the man.

The policeman wrote down the description and said, "Well, your story agrees with what everyone else told me. That's all I need to know."

"Okay," Jack said. He looked over at Dave and noticed the elderly man was fuming.

After the policeman left, Dave swore and said, "We got a goddamned ticket."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Rich, Dave, and I got a ticket for disturbing a crime scene," Ella said totally disgusted. She said, "Damned Nazis."

"What do you mean, disturbing a crime scene?" Jack asked.

Dave said, "We were supposed to stand around outside the house with our thumbs stuck up our asses until a policeman showed up to deal with the situation."

"You were helping an old woman who had been attacked," Jack said in protest.

"It doesn't matter," Dave said totally disgusted.

Shaking his head, Jack asked, "How long did it take them to show up?"

"Twenty minutes," Ella answered. Gladys would have died from a serious injury by the time the police had arrived. Fortunately, the woman's injuries hadn't been serious. She swore, "Damned Nazis."

Feeling sick to his stomach, Dave said, "They can't catch the criminals, so they go after law abiding citizens. The cop said that the ticket would probably be about two hundred dollars and court costs."

"That's ridiculous," Jack said. He was convinced more than ever that they had to look out for each other. It was obvious to him that law enforcement had become a bureaucratic nightmare that was generating money for the city rather than protecting its citizens. He asked, "How is Gladys?"

"They took her off in an ambulance," Dave answered.

Jack said, "What's going to happen to her?"

"She told me that she was going to move in with her son," Ella said. Gladys had been holding out against her son's arguments to move in with his family, but this had convinced the elderly woman that she was better off at her son's home.

"That's going to be another empty house on the street," Jack said. There were too many empty houses in the neighborhood. Soon they would be isolated and easy pickings for crooks like the ones that had broken into the house that afternoon.

There was a knock on the door. Seeing that Jack was still wrapped up in the blanket, Dave went over and opened it. He said, "Come in, Rich."

Rich came in and with a sigh said, "I'll cover all of the fines."

"We've got to fight them," Dave said angry about the whole situation. There was something horribly wrong when helping a fellow human being was against the law.

Jack said, "You'd lose and the fines would be doubled. For all I know, you could end up in jail."

"That sucks," Dave said knowing that Jack was right.

Jack said, "The crime rate has skyrocketed and we can't do anything about it except watch. This is a real kick in the face."

"We've become a nanny state," Dave said.

Jack stood up and said, "Let me get dressed. We'll install the security system. The sooner we get it in the better I'll feel."

The three men worked around the house installing the security system. It wasn't that difficult of a job, but it did take a bit of time. While they worked, Jack thought about the events of that afternoon. He wasn't even sure how they could protect themselves without becoming criminals. He started recalling news stories about people getting charged with murder for killing a burglar inside their homes. Ever since some idiot drunk kid was killed trying to get into the wrong house, the laws about defending your home had changed.

After testing the alarm system, everyone returned to the community house. Claire took one look at Jack and exclaimed, "What happened to you?"

"I took a nose dive into the street," Jack said.

"We saw the police up the street. What happened?" Liz asked.

"Gladys was attacked in her house. Jack was chasing the burglar when he fell," Dave answered.

"Is she okay?" Bev asked sounding concerned.

"They took her to the hospital," Rich answered. He wasn't going to bring up the tickets they had gotten for trying to help Gladys.

Mary asked, "Did you help her?"

"Yes," Rich answered.

Hoping the answer to her question would be no, Mary asked, "Did they give you a ticket?"

"Yes," Dave answered frowning.

"I had heard they changed the Good Samaritan laws, but I didn't think they were actually enforcing them like that," Mary said feeling disgusted.

Jack asked, "How are we supposed to protect ourselves?"

"Do you want the truth?" Mary asked looking across the room at Jack.

"Yes."

"You kill them and dump their bodies somewhere," Mary said giving the only answer that she knew. She sighed and said, "Hopefully someone won't report that you did it."

"You're kidding?" Jack asked in dismay. He couldn't believe Mary was talking like that.

"Not really. As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as self defense anymore. If you defend yourself without killing them, then you'll get charged with assault and possibly sued by the criminal. If you don't defend yourself, then you'll get killed. If you kill them and report it, then you'll get charged with murder for use of excessive force. If you help someone and it gets reported, you'll get charged with assault," Mary said.

"This is wrong on so many levels, I don't even know what to say," Jack said.

Mary said, "I've been reading the papers every day. Sometimes I just sit at my desk with my blood boiling. I keep thinking that people won't put up with this nonsense, but they do."

"I served in the Army fighting communists in Korea. Even though the main war was over, there were still shots fired in each direction. I didn't risk my life to become a sheep to be herded around," Fred said in disgust.

Jack hadn't noticed that Fred was there. He said, "Hello, Fred. I didn't notice you."

Coming to a decision, Bev said, "Fred is moving in with me."

Smiling, Fred asked, "Don't I have a say in this?"

Bev said, "I'm scared. I'm not staying alone at home one more night."

The grin disappeared from Fred's face. He said, "I'll move my stuff in today."

"Thanks, Fred," Bev said.

"I'll move in with you and Fred," Liz said.

Wanda said, "I'm sorry Jack, but I want Abby to move in with me as soon as possible."

"I understand," Jack said. He looked around the room at the worried faces of the elderly women. They were all vulnerable and they each knew it. Society had just taken a turn for the worse. He got out of his chair.

"I'm really sorry, Jack," Wanda said.

"I know. I've got to go buy a coat before the stores close. My old coat is ruined," Jack said.



-------

Chapter 30


After hanging his new coat over the back of the chair, Jack sat down at the table in the student center across from Melissa. Although she had a tray of food in front of her, she wasn't eating. In fact, it didn't look like she had noticed him arrive. He said, "Hello, Melissa."

She looked up at him and sat back in surprise. She asked, "What happened to your face?"

"I took a nose dive into the street Saturday afternoon," Jack answered. He didn't want to go into all of the details about the break-in and his short lived pursuit of the criminal.

"It looks like the street won," Melissa said with a half-hearted smile.

Jack knew her well enough to know that she wasn't in a very good mood. She had spent the weekend studying for her final exams, but he didn't think that her lack of appetite and flat voice was related to that. He asked, "What's wrong?"

"I found out this morning that the school pulled my scholarship," Melissa answered. It was near finals week and she didn't need that kind of stress in her life at the moment. She had considered just skipping them altogether.

"You're kidding?" Jack asked with a frown. It seemed to him that every time he turned around that life was busy kicking someone.

"No, I'm not. They are running out of money," Melissa answered feeling sick to her stomach. She looked at the tray of food and felt like throwing it across the cafeteria.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"The funds for my scholarship are from an endowment. It appears that it lost half of its value as a result of the market crash," Melissa answered. She had a feeling that a lot of students would not be returning to the school for the Spring Semester.

"What are you going to do?" Jack asked.

"I guess I'll have to move back home after the semester is over," Melissa said. She hated the idea of moving away. She had just met Jack and felt that there was a real future between them. Moving back home would be a disaster. She wouldn't have a job and jobs were scarce everywhere.

Jack took a sip of his coffee considering his options. He didn't want to see Melissa leave his life at this moment. Life might be done trying to kick him down, but it was up to him to grab what happiness he could. He looked at Melissa and saw a lot of future happiness. In a very soft voice, he said, "Marry me."

"What?" Melissa asked shocked.

"Will you marry me?" Jack asked feeling his heart beating in his chest. The blood was pounding in his ears so hard that it was difficult to hear.

Unable to believe what she was hearing, Melissa asked, "Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure," Jack said. His hand trembled and he had to put the coffee down on the table before he spilled it. He took a deep breath and said, "I love you and I want you to be my wife."

Although the possibility of the two of them getting married had been a subject matter of a lot of jokes, Melissa had never taken it seriously. She stared at Jack trying to sort through her feelings. She loved him, but she felt like she barely knew him. Nodding her head, she said, "Yes."

"Yes?" Jack asked hoping that he had heard correctly.

"I'll marry you," Melissa said. Even as she said it, she realized that she wasn't only marrying Jack but that she was joining a community of people who helped and watched out for each other. It wasn't a bad prospect.

"Great," Jack said breathing a sigh of relief. He knew that it hadn't been the most romantic proposal in history, but she had accepted. He leaned over the table and kissed her. The act seemed to shake her out of her shock and she grabbed onto him in a spine crushing hug with a hard kiss that hurt his sensitive nose. His coffee went over the whole table, but they both ignored it.

With tears running down her cheeks, she broke the hug and said, "Yes. I'll marry you."

"We'll have to get married early in January," Jack said thinking that for her to continue in school that they would have to get married before the start of the semester.

"Why so quickly?" Melissa asked.

"So that you can continue to go to school," Jack said.

"My scholarship is gone," Melissa said pointing out an obvious flaw in his plan. There was no way that they could afford to get married and pay her tuition.

Smiling, Jack said, "Your tuition will be paid for because you'll be my dependent. It is one of the benefits I have working here."

"You're kidding?" Melissa asked staring at Jack. It seemed to her that the day that had started so badly had suddenly turned into one of the best of her life.

"Nope," Jack said with a smile. It seemed to him that things were working out his way for a change. He didn't know how long it would last, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Thinking of one of the problems they would have to address, Melissa asked, "What about Abby?"

"She moved in with Wanda Saturday night," Jack said thinking that the timing of the move had been very fortuitous.

"Why?" Melissa asked wondering if there had been some kind of fight.

Jack said, "Wanda needed the economic help and they all figured that you would want to move in with me sometime in the future."

Melissa looked down at the table. Jack's coffee had run over the whole table and was dripping onto the floor. Grabbing some paper napkins, she said, "We kind of made a mess."

Helping her wipe up the spilled coffee, Jack said, "I can't believe I'm getting married."

Melissa looked up at him and grinned. She said, "Frau Shultz will be happy."

"There's no way she could be as happy as I am," Jack said.

Looking down at her watch, Melissa said, "I have class in fifteen minutes."

Returning to the maintenance building, Jack hung his coat up. Roy looked over at him and said, "That's a nice stain on your shirt. What happened?"

"I got engaged," Jack answered with a smile.

Roy smiled and said, "So that pretty young lady took one look at your miserable features and took pity on you."

"Yes," Jack said.

Roy looked over at Sue and asked, "Jack got engaged today. Who won the pool?"

"What pool?" Jack asked looking from one to the other.

Sue smiled and said, "Kevin said that he'd propose by the end of the semester. I'm sure that he'll appreciate the hundred dollars. He's just in time for Christmas."

"I was sure he'd wait until January to propose to her," Roy said.

"There was no way that they were going to wait that long. You saw the way they looked at each other," Sue said winking at Jack. "I was sure that he was going to do it over the holidays."

"You had a pool on when I would propose to Melissa?" Jack asked looking around. He hadn't realized that his relationship with Melissa had been so obvious.

Sue grinned and answered, "You bet."

Roy said, "I hope that you invite us to the wedding."

Surprised that they would want to be invited to the wedding, Jack said, "Sure."

Seeing the expression on his face, Sue said, "Everyone needs to see a little happiness in these tough times."

"You can say that again," Jack said.

Roy slapped Jack on the back and said, "Well, congratulations. I'm sure you'll be happy."

"Thanks," Jack said. "I better clock out before I get into trouble."

"Tomorrow, you're going to have to replace the carpet at the front door of the Homer Dorm. It got soaked during the snowstorm and someone tore it this afternoon. We've got some carpet that matches the rest of the floor," Roy said walking to the back where the time clock was located.

"I'll get to it first thing in the morning," Jack said. Even though the carpets in high traffic areas were industrial strength, they still failed at times. He wasn't sure why they would even put carpet down in an area like that. He asked, "Are you sure you want to replace the carpet with carpet?"

"What would you suggest that we do?" Roy asked.

"I'd replace it with tile and put a mat there," Jack said.

Roy said, "That's not a bad idea. Of course, you'd probably want to do that when everyone is gone. Winter break is coming up. Any students that stay here over the winter break could use one of the side doors while you are fixing it up."

"That might be better," Jack said typing in his code into the time clock.

"Replace the carpet for now. It is a hazard and needs to be fixed," Roy said. He would have to check the budget to see if they could afford a more permanent fix.

Melissa came into the maintenance building and stopped in front of Sue. She asked, "Is Jack ready to leave yet?"

"He's got to clock out. He should be out any minute now," Sue said. "By the way, I heard that you got engaged. Congratulations."

"I take it he told you," Melissa said grinning.

"Let's see the ring," Sue said.

"He didn't have one," Melissa said holding up her hand to show that there wasn't a ring on it.

"Better get him to buy you one," Sue said.

Smiling, Melissa said, "To tell the truth, I'd settle for one out of a Cracker Jack box."

Sue laughed and said, "I understand that."

Melissa leaned over the counter and said, "I think he was a little surprised when the words came out of his mouth. I'm sure he didn't plan on asking me in the middle of the student union over a cup of coffee."

"That doesn't sound very romantic," Sue said.

"It was romantic enough," Melissa said with a smile. She was sure that sometime in the future they'd laugh about his proposal.

Jack and Roy came from the back. Roy looked at Melissa and winked. He put a hand on Jack's shoulder and said, "You put a ring on her finger and you get one through the nose. She'll be leading you around for the rest of your life."

Melissa laughed and said, "You better believe it."

Jack and Melissa got into in his truck. She had a small overnight bag with her and stashed it on the seat beside her. It left her sitting right beside Jack. When Jack started the truck, Melissa said, "Trupti was happy to hear the news. I guess weddings are really big things in India. She hopes that she can attend our wedding."

Although Jack had only met Melissa's roommate, Trupti, on two occasions, he had liked the small young Indian woman. He asked, "She hopes? Didn't you invite her?"

"I did," Melissa answered, "but she might not be able to come."

"Why not?" Jack asked concentrating primarily on backing out of the parking spot. If it was a matter of getting to where the wedding was being held, he was pretty sure that they could find someone to bring her there.

"She's worried about staying in school. Her family can afford the tuition, but the housing and food costs are too high," Melissa said. The tuition and additional fees for a foreign student ran about thirty-three thousand a year. In addition to that, the cost for room and board ran eleven thousand.

Jack said, "Liz needs a roommate. It would probably be cheaper for Trupti to live with her than to live at the school."

"That's an idea," Melissa said. "How do you think the little old ladies would react to a Hindu joining the commune?"

"It would be interesting," Jack said with a smile. He could imagine the conversations that would take place around the dinner table.

"She's a nice girl with very old fashioned values," Melissa said thinking that it would be a good tactic to use when selling the idea of her roommate joining them.

"Don't tell Bev and Sally that. They'll be regaling her with stories of swinging in the sixties," Jack said laughing at the image of the two elderly women telling poor Trupti about the parties they used to have when they were younger women.

"I don't believe you," Melissa said.

Jack looked at her and said, "You forget they were part of that generation responsible for the sexual revolution."

"I didn't think about that," Melissa said.

Jack was about to pull out of the campus, but stopped before leaving. He asked, "Do you want to take her by the commune tonight?"

"We'd have to take her back home," Melissa said. She was hoping to have a chance to be alone with Jack that night. If Trupti was around then that didn't seem very likely.

"Maybe or maybe not," Jack said. "If she gets along with Liz, she might spend the night."

"I guess we could swing by the dorm and pick her up," Melissa said without much enthusiasm in her voice.

Jack looked over at her and could tell that she wasn't all that thrilled with the suggestion. He said, "Maybe tomorrow night would be better."

"Good idea," Melissa said with a smile.

Tapping his temple with a finger, Jack said, "Occasionally I have a good idea."

"I heard about you and Dave spraying the inside of the house with a hose," Melissa said with a grin. She had never laughed so hard in her life as when the story had been related to her. She could just imagine the two men looking at each other and saying, "Uh oh."

"I'll admit that sometimes my good ideas aren't so good," Jack said with a laugh. He didn't think that he or Dave would live that one down. He didn't mind being teased about it.

"Sometimes you have really good ones, though. I liked the one that led you to propose to me," Melissa said patting him on the thigh.

Jack looked over at her and said, "I am looking forward to living my whole life with you."

"That's sweet," Melissa said.

The reaction to the news at the commune was one of genuine excitement. Much as he expected, Frau Shultz danced around the room. The discussion immediately turned to planning the wedding. Despite not having set a date, just about every other detail had been hashed out between getting there and dinner time. It was basically assumed that they would marry in a local church and have the reception at the community house. Jack was convinced that they would have the oldest bunch of maids of honors in the history of weddings.

Claire listened to the conversation and watched Melissa's reaction to a lot of the suggestions. Although it seemed to her that Melissa was enthusiastic about the suggestions, she wondered if Melissa would be satisfied with that kind of wedding. Over dinner, she asked, "Were you dreaming of a big wedding with the white dress in a large cathedral?"

"There was a time when I dreamed of things like that. Of course, that was when I was a lot younger. You know what I mean, little girl dreams of fairy tale romances," Melissa said looking a little embarrassed to make that admission.

"You're my princess," Jack said.

Melissa leaned over and kissed his cheek. She said, "You're sweet."

Claire rolled her eyes and asked, "Now?"

"Current economic conditions and studying history kind of changed my view of that whole fairy tale thing. Right now, I don't know of anyone who can afford a wedding with all of the works. My parents struggled to get me through college and now they are hurting economically. In studying history, I've come to appreciate that a wedding has always been more about celebrating with friends and family than it is about ceremony," Melissa said.

"You'll have that here," Jack said getting a lot of agreement from the others who were gathered around. He wasn't sure who had cooked dinner that night, but the Chicken Paprika was outstanding.

"Still, it must bother you a little to not have the fairy tale wedding," Claire said.

"Not really. At one time, a couple got married by pledging themselves to each other in front of a church. That was all it took to be accepted by God. All that was required for it to be official for the law and the church were two witnesses. The church brought the ceremony inside after a while, but it wasn't really that much of ceremony. The priest had to record the wedding in the church register. The real essence of getting married was the celebration of the community. That's when people pointed at the two and declared them married," Melissa said.

Bev said, "You have a point."

Claire said, "I wonder if all of the pomp and circumstance of weddings over the past few decades isn't more a symptom of our growing isolation. You have to throw a really big ceremony and party to pull your relatives from around the country. When you don't live in a community of people, you have to create a temporary one to get that same sense of recognition."

"I hadn't thought about that," Melissa said.

Jack listened to the discussion while loading up his plate with some more mashed potatoes. He ascribed to the idea that the man's role in a wedding was to show up and do what he was told. Until the ceremony, his best strategy was to say nothing and the easiest way to do that was to keep eating. He ladled a little of the juice over his potatoes. He said, "This is great."

"Thanks," Laura said, "When we got married I wore a simple white dress in the local church. We had a big party down in the church basement after the ceremony. All of my relatives, friends, and neighbors were there. That might sound like a lot of people, but it was a small town. My mother and my aunts cooked the dinner. We had roast beef with mashed potatoes and lots of gravy."

"We drank beer and wine rather than Champagne," Dave said. A lot of people had gotten drunk, but that was to be expected. Parties usually ended with people staggering out and driving home.

"We didn't have our reception catered. My mom cooked the food. We had fried chicken," Liz said. They hadn't thought it was anything unusual. At the time, most families cooked their own food for events like that.

"We didn't have the reception in the church. It was in my parent's backyard. I think every neighbor and family member brought over a dish of something to eat. It was such a beautiful day," Bev said. Thinking about it made her remember her late husband.

Cheryl said, "My wedding cost my parents close to thirty-thousand dollars. I had an expensive wedding dress, a rented church, and a reception in the country club. My plate of pasta cost thirty dollars. In hindsight, I think we would have preferred a hundred dollar wedding and the money for a down payment."

"It was a pretty reception," Rich said.

"That's true, but it was expensive," Cheryl said. In a way, she felt that she probably owed her parents an apology. They could use the money now.

Nodding her head, Claire said, "My daughter went for the expensive wedding. It was something that a lot of couples did in those days. It wasn't quite thirty thousand dollars, but that was a long time ago."

"It kind of got competitive among the kids to see who could have the biggest wedding," Liz said. She remembered going to a flurry of weddings with each one getting larger and more expensive than the one before.

Bev said, "It seemed for a while there that we were going to three or four weddings a year."

"All of our kids are about the same age," Emily said. Most of their kids had gone to school together.

"Weddings in the fifties and sixties were a lot simpler and less expensive," Claire said.

Melissa said, "Things are going back to simpler and cheaper. I'm sure that a lot of women will be upset about that, but times are tough."

Wanda asked, "What kind of wedding did you dream about, Jack?"

"Uh," Jack said freezing with a forkful of chicken halfway to his mouth. The expression on his face was much like on a cat that found itself surrounded by dogs. He didn't know if it would be okay to say that he had never had any wedding day fantasies.

Fred chuckled and said, "Good answer, Jack."

Melissa took one look at Jack and knew exactly what he was thinking. She laughed and pointed at him. Leaning over to Claire, she said, "His wedding dreams involve the night of the wedding and not the ceremony."

All of the women in the room laughed. Jack raised his arms and said, "Hey. What can I say?"

"The less you say, the better," Dave said giving him a wink.

Although it was tempting to watch Jack squirm a little longer, Laura asked, "So what did your mother say when you told her you were getting married, Melissa?"

"I haven't told her yet," Melissa said blushing from embarrassment. She had totally forgotten to call her parents.

"You might want to do that," Laura said a little amused by her reaction.

Gesturing to her plate, Melissa said, "I'll do that after we finish eating."

Confident that Jack had talked to his parents, Ella asked, "What did your mother say, Jack?"

"I haven't called my parents yet. I was waiting for Dad to get home from work and for Melissa to be here. I'm sure they'll want to talk her out of it," Jack said with a grin.

Melissa gave him a love hit on the shoulder and said, "You're so bad. I know your mother and she likes me."

"She's totally convinced that you're too good for me," Jack said.

Laughing at the exchange, Fred said, "He's got a point there. You are too good for him."

Later at Jack's house, he called his parents. After a quick exchange in which he announced that he had proposed to Melissa and she had accepted, he handed his phone over to her. He could hear his father's voice say, "Are you crazy? You can do better than him."

"I don't think so," Melissa answered laughing. Jack had told her that his father would say that.

Jack's mother grabbed the phone and said, "Did I hear right? You're getting married to Jack?"

"Yes, ma'am," Melissa said.

"You can call me Mom."

"Thanks," Melissa said.

The conversation lasted a few minutes longer. After hanging up, Melissa said, "Now my parents."

"Good," Jack said.

Worried about how her parents would react to the sudden news that she was engaged, Melissa punched in the number for her parent's house. After a few rings, her mother answered the phone. Melissa said, "Hi, Mom. It's me."

"Melissa! How are you doing?" her mother asked.

"I'm doing fine. I have some news," Melissa said. She wasn't sure how to break the news to her mother. She hadn't mentioned that she was dating a guy in the past few calls.

"What news?" her mother asked.

"I'm getting married," Melissa answered.

There was a long moment of silence at the other end of the line. Finally, her mother asked, "What about your education?"

"I'm going to continue going to school," Melissa answered. She gave Jack a weak smile knowing that listening to her side of the conversation probably didn't sound very positive.

"What about your scholarship? Will that be affected?" her mother asked worried.

"The scholarship ran out of money. They canceled it," Melissa said.

"Oh my God!"

"Jack will put me through school," Melissa said.

"Who is Jack? Is he one of your professors?" her mother asked suspiciously. She hadn't heard anything about Melissa dating anyone and the sudden engagement sounded like she was trying to hide something.

"Jack is a guy I met at school. He works on campus as a maintenance man," Melissa answered. She was fully prepared for the screech that followed. She knew that it would get worse when she started talking about the commune.

"You're marrying a maintenance man?" her mother asked.

Melissa answered, "Yes, Mom."



-------

Chapter 31


The day had not gone well for Trupti. She had a major final that afternoon and it had been a bear. She detested essay tests since they played to all of her weaknesses. Her education in India had not prepared her for constructing a reasoned argument that reflected her views on a subject. She was used to knowing what the instructor wanted and writing to his or her views. American instructors asked broad questions that she found nearly impossible to answer.

The upshot of the change in education styles had been a major downturn in her grades. In India, they used a scale of one to ten and her grades had been predominately nines and tens. She had graduated well at the top of her class. In the states, they used an alphabet scale with grade points. She was suddenly a B student which, to the best of her ability to understand, corresponded to grades of seven and eight.

The low grades were not the only things driving her towards depression. Her family was having trouble coming up with the money to continue her education. During the previous decade, a growing middle class had emerged in India. Her parents had gotten considerably richer as a result of business with the United States. The failure of the American economy had directly affected her family. Her father had told her that unless she could find some way to cut back expenses that he wouldn't be able to fund her continued education.

Her immediate reaction had been to head over to financial aid. She was told to add her resume to the stack of resumes already on the desk and that if there was a position on campus that she would be informed. She had stared at the stack of resumes trying to estimate how many of them there were. When she had asked, she was told that they already had eight hundred resumes for fifty unfilled jobs. Even worse, she had been told that most of those jobs would go to Federal Work Study students. As a foreign national, she didn't qualify for the program. Disheartened, she added her resume onto the stack and left the office.

Her day had only gotten worse when a student had made some nasty comments to the effect that she should go home to India and never come back. Tensions on campus had been rising over the past few months. She didn't like that ugly looks that were sent her way when walking around the campus. She knew that a lot of the students were on edge because of finals, but she didn't think things would improve.

Trupti followed Melissa into the strange little house in an older neighborhood. She felt like there was a spotlight on her when every face turned to look at her. Standing just two inches over five feet tall; she felt very small. Americans were so big and intimidating. She looked around and smiled weakly.

In a loud voice that carried across the room, Jack said, "Everyone, this is Trupti. She is Melissa's roommate at the university."

A chorus of voices rang out greeting Trupti. She found it a confusing cacophony of noise. In a soft voice that was buried under the general loud noise of the room, she replied, "Hello."

Melissa said, "She's shy."

Hoping to put the petite woman at ease, Bev said, "She's a cute little thing."

"Like a doll," Wanda said nodding her head in agreement.

"Where's the red dot? I thought all Indian women had a red dot on their forehead," Gail said openly staring at Trupti's forehead.

Trupti felt a little uncomfortable about being discussed as if she wasn't there. Jack leaned over and whispered in her ear, "They are just interested in knowing you a little better. It just hasn't dawned on them that they can ask you directly."

"Okay," Trupti said feeling like a strange insect under a magnifying glass. She wondered how the old women at home would have reacted to an American woman showing up there. She realized the discussion would probably be much the same. They would be asking why the American woman wasn't thin as a rail like the women in the fashion magazines. They would comment on how tall the woman was. In a way, those thoughts reassured her.

Wondering if this had been such a good idea, Melissa said, "They don't all have red dots."

Looking surprised at that little piece of information, Gail said, "I didn't know that."

Rising from her chair, Claire said, "Come in, Trupti. Have a seat and make yourself comfortable. We don't bite."

Trupti went over to the nearest chair and sat down like a good guest. She looked around nervously and then said, "Thank you."

"You're a polite little thing," Gail said smiling at the young woman.

Trupti didn't know how to respond. The woman next to her said, "I'm Liz. I don't know if Jack told you, but he suggested that it might be mutually beneficial for us if you rent a room from me."

"He mentioned something about that," Trupti said although she didn't understand everything that Jack had said. She didn't know what a commune was or how joining into it would save her money.

"We'll be eating soon. Do you eat meat?" Liz asked.

"I eat chicken and fish," Trupti answered.

"We're having spaghetti tonight," Liz said. Turning to Bev, she asked, "What kind of sauce are we having?"

"Vodka sauce," Bev answered. She had chosen that because it didn't have any meat in it. She added, "That doesn't have any meat in it."

"That would be fine," Trupti said familiar with the dish. She had been forced to get used to American food at the university since she was on the meal plan there.

Liz said, "If you decide to move in, you'll have to cook on occasion. I hope that isn't a problem."

"I don't know how to cook American food," Trupti said apologetically. She was a good cook, but she only knew how to cook the dishes that her mother had taught her to prepare.

"Do you know how to cook?" Bev asked looking at the petite woman.

"Yes, but only my kind of food," Trupti said.

"I like Indian food. Do you know how to make that spinach dish with the chunks of white stuff in it?" Bev asked.

"Yes, I know how to make Saag Paneer," Trupti answered.

"I like that and the flat bread. How about the red chicken?" Liz asked.

While the women discussed Indian cuisine, Jack and Melissa were over at the other side of the room having a subdued conversation while keeping an eye on the discussion between Liz and Trupti. As a host, Jack felt that it was his duty to make sure that his guest felt comfortable. Leaning over to Melissa, Jack said, "I'm afraid that I have some bad news."

"What?" Melissa asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Jack said, "I found out that my job won't cover your tuition until I've worked at the university for a year."

"What does that mean?" Melissa asked pretty sure that she knew the answer to her question. She was positive that this was the death knell for her dreams of getting an advanced degree.

"It means that we'll have to pay your way through school for a year," Jack answered. It would be another bill, but he felt that they would be able to cover the cost.

"I guess I could put my education on hold for a year," she said disappointed. She knew that she would have to find some way to help out with the bills. She wasn't employed and it didn't look like there were any jobs available, but she would look for work.

"That's not an option," Jack said. He had found a little happiness and he wasn't going to let a small setback like this jeopardize it.

"I can take a year off," Melissa replied feeling a little depressed. She had a feeling that if she left the university that she would never return to it.

"I was thinking that you could still go. You could go part time until my benefits kicked in," Jack said. Although he didn't think she was marrying him just to stay in school, he was confident that she wouldn't be happy leaving school and that would be a disaster. He wasn't afraid that this would make her reconsider her decision to marry him.

"That's not a bad idea," Melissa said feeling slightly relieved. She wasn't concerned about having to go part-time. It was better than having to leave college completely. She could spend time working on her thesis without having to pay for it. She would have to talk to her advisor about the new timeline for her thesis, but she doubted that he could object too much.

"I really didn't realize that it wasn't an immediate job benefit," Jack said apologetically. He was still unsure of the thought processes that had brought the marriage proposal to his mouth, but he didn't regret it.

"That's okay. I'll be continuing my studies. Who cares if it takes an extra year? There for a while I was thinking it was completely over," Melissa said. She hugged him and added, "Besides, it will give us more time for our honeymoon activities."

"God, you are beautiful," Jack said.

Looking at his torn up face, Melissa smiled and said, "You'll be good looking when your face heals."

Knowing that he looked like a prize fighter who had gone twenty rounds with the champion and lost; Jack laughed and said, "I guess we can say that you didn't marry me for my looks."

"You can say that again," Melissa said with a grin. His face was still a little swollen, the raccoon eyes had turned to an ugly yellow color, and his face was still scabbed over where he had scraped the skin. It didn't matter to her; she loved the man and not his looks. She had watched him help the ladies of the commune deal with their families over Thanksgiving. She knew that he was as tenacious as a bulldog in continually fighting back against whatever life threw at him.

"I was thinking that when you moved in with me that you could use Abby's old room for an office. I'll build some bookcases for all of your books. I think that we can pick up a desk somewhere for you," Jack said. He had also discovered that when she stopped being a full-time graduate student that she would lose her office at the school.

"That would be lovely," Melissa said.

"We might not even have to look too hard for a good desk. With so many people moving out of their houses and trying to sell off the things they can't take with them there are a lot of good deals out there," Jack said.

Abby came in the house and took off her coat. She hung it on the coat rack while looking around the room. Spotting Melissa, she headed over to the young couple. While approaching, she said, "Hello, Melissa."

"Hello, Abby," Melissa said thinking that Abby looked pretty cheerful for a change. She added, "You look happy."

"I just finished packing up another house and got a contract to watch over it until it sells. She also asked me to handle the garage sale," Abby replied happy to have two hundred dollars in her pocket. The fact was that she was getting more work than she could handle alone. She now had two houses to manage, four more packing jobs, and a garage sale to arrange. Since she was getting a commission on the garage sale, she was going to go through the remaining items and put the better ones online for sale. She figured that she would get more money for them that way.

"That's good," Melissa said.

"I'm making way more money now than when I was at the Taco Emporium," Abby said with a satisfied smile. She had also discovered that she enjoyed living with Wanda a lot more than with Jack. The two of them would sit around and have tea every night before heading to bed. Living with Jack had been nice, but he wasn't good company. It seemed to her that there was always a little distance between them because of the gender differences.

"That's good," Jack said. He was happy that things were finally working out for Abby.

Turning to Melissa, Abby asked, "When are your classes over?"

"I'm basically done. I have to turn in a paper tomorrow. I finished it over the weekend," Melissa said. She planned on giving it a quick edit in the morning before handing it in. She wasn't worried about it.

"I've got more packing jobs than I can handle. I have work for you if you would like to earn a little extra money," Abby said. She knew that it wouldn't be difficult to hire someone to work but she preferred to have someone she could trust.

"That would be great," Melissa said. She was going to be busy over the next week if she helped Abby. She had to pack her dorm room to move her clothes over to the house. That was nothing compared to emptying her office. She had a ton of books, papers, and a computer.

"Can you start the day after tomorrow?" Abby asked. Even while she asked the question, she realized it felt funny acting like a boss.

"Yes," Melissa answered. She looked over at Trupti and wondered if she would be moving out of the dorm. The petite India woman was engaged in an animated discussion with Wanda and Gail. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it looked like a friendly discussion.

Abby noticed the direction in which Melissa was looking and said, "They're a pretty nice bunch of people. I wouldn't worry about her fitting in."

"She is usually pretty shy," Melissa said.

"That won't last long around this bunch," Abby said with a grin. She sighed and said, "You know. I wanted to start a commune when I move in with Jack. I'm not really sure what I had in mind, but I can tell you that it worked out better than I thought it would."

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked.

"I envisioned people sharing money to cover their bills and a little increase in social interaction. We're much more independent financially than I expected, but we're much more dependent emotionally. I didn't imagine the sense of community that actually emerged. I'm surrounded by people who care about me. I can't tell you how much that means," Abby said. She had been facing a dark future, but one conversation had turned that around. It was an amazing result.

"I guess I can understand that," Melissa said.

"Not yet, but you'll see what I mean after living here for a while. Your lows won't be as low and your triumphs will be celebrated by everyone. You'll become someone who matters to a large group of people. That's a feeling that very few people get in today's world," Abby said looking around the room. She had gone from being isolated and alone to be being surrounded by caring people.

"I guess I will," Melissa said with a smile. She had already experienced it to a degree. Coming here was like a breath of fresh air. She liked stepping through the door of this communal house and being greeted by a half dozen people.

Trupti was explaining Ganesh to Liz and Bev. She was finding it difficult to convey how she felt a personal relationship with the Elephant God. The two old women were smiling at her, but she could tell that they didn't understand. Finally, she said, "He's cute."

Liz burst out laughing at the idea of describing a God as cute. She said, "I'm sure he is."

"One of the conditions of joining in the commune is that you believe in a higher power. We don't care if it is a Christian god or an Elephant," Bev said seeing the hurt expression on Trupti's face that had appeared on Liz's laughter.

Recognizing that she might have hurt the young woman's feelings, Liz said, "I'm not laughing at you or Ganesh. I find your description of him humorous, that's all. I kind of like the idea of a cute God. It is good that you believe in Ganesh."

Feeling a little better, Trupti said, "Okay."

"Would you like to see my house?" Liz asked shifting the conversation back to the original purpose of having Trupti visit the commune. She had decided that she liked the young woman despite the cultural difference. She couldn't wait to get another person in the house. The recent rash of break-ins had her terrified of being at home alone.

"That would be nice," Trupti answered politely. She still wasn't sure that she understood this whole commune concept. She didn't see anything exceptional going on there despite the activity around her. People were coming and going from the house. People were seated in various seats while others were gathered in the kitchen area. It reminded her of her home in India where she was surrounded by family and neighbors. Getting privacy in India was difficult.

While Trupti visited with Liz, Jack and Melissa took the opportunity to go over to his house to have a chance to talk privately. Once there, Melissa said, "My mother isn't too pleased about my choice in a husband."

"I could tell," Jack said with a sigh. He could understand her mother's dismay at discovering that her intelligent and educated daughter was hooking up with a common laborer. His parents had been joking when they told her that she was too good for him. Her mother was not joking when she said the same thing.

"They'll get to like you once they know you," Melissa said with a sigh. Her mother wasn't a snob, but she was concerned about her daughter's future. She looked around Jack's house hoping that her mother would be impressed that someone his age still owned a house while so many others had lost theirs.

"I'm not worried," Jack said. Her parents would accept him or they wouldn't and he would just have to deal with it. There were times when he wondered if his personal motto had become, 'Deal with it.'

"She just needs to meet you," Melissa explained. She hoped that would help change her mother's mind on the matter.

"She is just worried for you," Jack said with a smile. He could understand why her mother would be concerned. In these harsh economic times, parents had a right to worry about the future faced by their children.

"You're too understanding," Melissa said. She would have been crushed if Jack's parents had reacted to the news like her parents had.

They walked into Abby's old room. Pointing to the space, he asked, "Will this be enough room for an office?"

"It would be wonderful," Melissa answered trying to imagine the room filled with Ikea furniture.

Jack said, "I figure that with so many elderly people moving out of their houses that there will be some very nice sets of office furniture getting sold off. We'll spend the money to get you the best that we can afford. I figure that it will last us the rest of our lives."

"There will be enough room in here for you to have a desk, too," Melissa said revising her vision for the room upwards. She knew that adding a second desk would make the room a little cramped.

"I don't need a desk," Jack said. He smiled and said, "I realized that you could go after a doctorate in history once my job benefits fully kick in. I rather like the idea of being married to Dr. Dunne."

"That would be nice," Melissa said liking the idea of pursuing a doctorate. She had always thought that she would end up teaching history in a high school somewhere. Of course, one of the ways that a lot of communities were controlling expenses was by cutting back on the money for education. It meant larger classes and lower pay.

"Then it is settled. You'll become Dr. Dunne," Jack said.

Despite his support for her educational goals, the uncertainty of the future was almost overwhelming. She said, "I don't know what I would do for a living after graduating though."

"We were watching the history channel the other night and Claire mentioned that someone had to do all of the research for each program. We wondered what kinds of jobs there were in that area," Jack said.

"I don't know," Melissa said. Although it was shows on television that had sparked her interest in history, she had never really given a thought to working in the entertainment industry.

"We can ask Mary to investigate it," Jack said.

"It will be a while before I have the credentials to do something like that," Melissa said. It dawned on her that she could end up being very busy over the next few years.

"It doesn't hurt to know what is involved in getting that kind of position," Jack said. He went over to the window and asked, "Do you think Trupti will move in with Liz?"

"I don't know. She's suggested that her father's business is in financial trouble. The economic disaster is world-wide," Melissa answered. It was actually a pretty unique time in history. The world had become a much smaller place in the past fifty years. Problems in one part of the world affected everywhere else.

Frowning, Jack asked, "What is going to happen?"

"If history teaches us anything it is that people will survive. Governments and nations may fall, but people will survive. It will be hard on individuals, but people will adapt and survive," Melissa answered. She had a feeling that a lot of governments were not going to survive the economic crisis intact.

"I guess," Jack said.

Melissa looked over at him and said, "I think this won't be the only commune in existence by the time the economy recovers. Ella was telling me that Abby was thinking about writing a book on how to start a modern commune. I wouldn't mind helping her with it."

"That would be an interesting project," Jack said. He wondered about the long term consequences of a wide spread adoption of communes as a new economic model. He could envision a future in which the country was going to become a collection of communes in which members turned to each other for their safety rather than city, state, or federal governments. He didn't think that all of the communes would have positive values and that would lead to civil conflicts with time.

Thinking about how many books they would sell, Melissa smiled. She said, "It would also be a profitable one. Remember, we are talking about a possible world market for the idea."

"I didn't think about that," Jack said thinking that the entire would become filled with communes.

"I'll talk to Abby about the idea. I'm going to have some free time to work on it," Melissa said. With the semester coming to an end, she had nothing demanding her attention for nearly a month. Once school started, she was going to have a lot more free time than usual now that she wasn't a full-time student.

"You might want to talk to Mary. She's a librarian and can search for related information for you," Jack suggested.

"That's a good idea," Melissa said getting more excited by the idea. They could come up with a pretty good book with Mary doing the background research, Abby providing practical advice, and her writing skills.

Jack led Melissa back to the living room. Since Abby had moved out, he had moved his furniture that had been stored in the garage back into the house. It was strange, but he had actually missed his old battered furniture. The young couple took a seat on his sofa since it was one of the few chairs where they could sit side by side like that. Holding her close to him with an arm around her shoulders, he said, "It is nice to sit with you like this."

"It is nice," Melissa said leaning into him. She settled into his side enjoying the warmth of his body against hers.

Jack said, "As much as I enjoy being around the people in the commune, it is nice to spend a little private time with you."

"Yes, it is," Melissa said glancing in the direction of the bedroom thinking that a little time spent there might be better than time on the sofa. Jack might not have much, but he had demonstrated that he was willing to use what little he had to make her happy.

Jack kissed her and said, "I'm looking forward to spending a lifetime with you."

"Same here," Melissa said. Her first reaction was to look around to see if Abby was there. With Abby gone, it was now possible to express her physical desires in rooms other than the bedroom. Moving her hand to the bulge in his pants, she said, "I have to admit that it is a lot nicer visiting now that Abby has moved out."

"I agree," Jack said when Melissa moved her hand to stroke him through his pants.

"I wish I could stay here tonight," Melissa said.

"You can," Jack said.

Shaking her head, Melissa said, "I should probably spend the night at the dorm with Trupti. She's going to want to talk about her evening here."

"You're right," Jack said.

"I think that having Trupti move in with Liz will be good for both of them," Melissa said wondering how things were going with the pair.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "I agree. I just hope that the whole experience with meeting everyone isn't too much for Trupti."

"She'll be fine," Melissa said.

Jack hoped that it would work out with Trupti moving in. The economic situation for everyone in the commune was slowly improving. He said, "I'll trust your judgment on this. I know that Liz can use the extra money that having Trupti living with her will provide. If Trupti moves in, everyone in the commune will have someone living with them."



-------

Chapter 32


After returning from taking Trupti and Melissa back to the dormitory, Jack headed over to the community house. He entered the house and took a seat at one of the tables. They still had to decide if they would offer Trupti the chance to enter the commune. Thinking nothing about it, Jack asked, "So what did you think of Trupti?"

"She's a nice girl," Liz said getting nods of agreement from Claire and Bev. She was ready to have the young woman move in with her. Of course, half of the reason was that she didn't want to live alone any longer.

"I think so, too," Jack said. Looking around the room he noticed that his words weren't received with much enthusiasm. He frowned.

"She's small," Wanda said as if seeking something positive to say.

Surprised by Wanda's lukewarm reaction, Bev said, "I kind of liked her."

"She seems harmless enough," Laura said with a frown and wrinkled brow.

Knowing what bothered Laura, Dave decided it was up to him to give voice to her concern. He said, "I only see one problem with her joining the commune."

"What is that?" Jack asked surprised to hear anyone object to Trupti joining the commune.

"She's a foreigner," Dave said looking around the room to see how his comment was received. He knew that it wasn't a politically correct thing to say, but the past few years had been filled with stories about American companies outsourcing to India. He didn't like the idea that American companies were helping foreigners when Americans were out of work.

Listening to the conversation, Mary frowned while considering if she should say anything. Knowing that if her words ever got back to the library that she'd probably lose her job, she said, "I kind of wondered about that. Wouldn't we rather help out an American rather than a foreigner?"

"I hadn't thought about that," Jack said. The whole topic of discussion had taken him by surprise. He wondered how Melissa would react to the conversation.

"I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings," Dave said.

Laura shook her head and said, "You're right, dear. We've got to look out for Americans first."

"I don't think you are hurting anyone's feelings," Jack said. Dave was bringing up an issue that would have to be dealt with at some point in time. He looked around the room to see that nearly everyone was nodding their heads.

After glancing over at her husband, Cheryl said, "Rich is always complaining that his company seems to prefer hiring foreigners over Americans."

"They have a lot more control over the foreigners. They can't complain about having to work overtime since they have to go back to India if they lose their job," Rich said. When he walked through the engineering section it seemed to him that everyone was either Indian or Chinese. Looking a little ill at ease, he added, "It isn't that I'm prejudiced or anything, but they can always go back to where they came from. Americans can't do that."

Jack realized that Trupti was not going to be invited to join the commune. He wondered how he was going to break the news to Melissa. Dave said, "It would be different if she had been born here or was already an American citizen."

"I need a roommate," Liz said.

Jack said, "I'm sure that we'll be able to find one for you at the college."

"There's always Daryl," Mary said after thinking about it for a moment. She was pretty sure that he would jump at the chance to join the commune.

"Who?" Jack asked with a frown.

"The kid who does the computer training at the library," Mary answered.

"I thought he lives with his mother," Jack said frowning.

"They are losing their house. The family is looking to move in with his aunt," Mary said.

"I like Daryl," Dave said.

Jack's cell phone rang. The whole room turned to watch him when he answered it, "Hello."

"Jack, Trupti just got off the telephone with her father. She's going back to India," Melissa said. She assumed that her father couldn't afford to pay so much money every year.

"Okay," Jack said thinking that things were working out nicely. He hadn't been looking forward to telling Melissa that the members of the commune weren't likely to accept Trupti.

"She's crushed," Melissa said despite the fact that Trupti wasn't all that upset.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jack said. He didn't like to hear about anyone losing an opportunity to improve their circumstance.

"I have to get back to her," Melissa said.

"Alright. I love you," Jack said. He looked around embarrassed at saying something like that in front of everyone in the room. She gave him her love and then hung up. Aware that everyone was looking at him, Jack said, "Trupti is returning to India."

"Now we don't have to vote on it," Claire said. She looked around the room and said, "Let's not mention this to Melissa."

"No problem," Dave said with a relieved expression on his face.

"So about Daryl — what are the odds that he would move in with me?" Liz asked still trying to find a solution to her problem. She hadn't thought about having a young man move in with her, but she was feeling a little desperate.

"I could call him. Maybe he could come over tomorrow," Mary said.

Liz said, "Call him now."

"I'll call him, but I have to go over to the house and get his number," Mary said.

Jack studied Liz for a moment and then said, "I know that you're afraid of staying alone at home, but don't rush into something out of fear."

"Liz is right to be concerned," Mary said. She had been reading some very horrible stories in the newspaper. The evening news was filled with horror stories of elderly people getting killed in their homes. She added, "One of the police officers stopped by the library today. He told me that some squatters moved into one of the empty houses a couple of blocks from here a couple of days ago. One of the officers was shot trying to remove them."

"Society is breaking down," Claire said with a frown.

Liz said, "I heard about people putting up fences around entire neighborhoods to create gated communities on the news this evening. Maybe we ought to think about doing that."

"We'd have to pay for a fence and hire a guard. I don't think this neighborhood has enough money to do that," Laura said.

"I would be willing to pay for that," Liz said flatly.

Jack went over to the kitchen and poured a glass of soda. It was one of the store brands that pretended to taste like a name brand. He returned to his chair and took a sip of his drink while thinking about the nature of the discussion that was taking place. It seemed to him that the country was falling apart. There had been a time when he could leave the house without locking the door. Now, he locked the door and set the security alarm even if he was visiting next door. Violence had increased nationwide and crime was rampant. Burglaries, rapes, assault, and murder had become commonplace. People who were viewed as rich were being kidnapped.

Homelessness was widespread. It wasn't the poor who had lost their homes since they hadn't had homes to lose. Before the economic collapse, those who had been the poor had rented homes or lived in public housing. Their circumstances hadn't changed. The big losers were individuals and families who had always viewed themselves as being middle class. There wasn't enough public housing for those who lost their homes.

One consequence of so many people losing their homes was that they lost respect for the laws protecting right of ownership. They felt that their property rights had been violated so there was nothing to prevent them from violating the property rights of others. Men who had fought eviction had discovered themselves in jail while their families were left to live on the streets without protection.

Jack could understand why the members of the commune had resisted having a foreigner join the commune. It was prejudice and that was ugly, but he couldn't condemn anyone for feeling that way when friends and relatives were losing jobs and homes. It was human nature to put those who you liked above complete strangers. Part of the problem was the general sense of fear that now pervaded life. He knew that it wasn't fair, but they were afraid they would be targeted because they harbored someone who might have displaced an American worker.

It seemed to Jack that half of the news consisted of reports about riots taking place in the large cities. There had been riots over the issue of American versus Foreign workers. One of the larger businesses that had just laid off a number of American workers had announced a need to bring in thousands of foreign workers. The riot had left buildings occupied by that company burning. Jack sided with the rioters on that particular issue.

There was a riot that resulted from a federal raid that rounded up over fifty illegal immigrants that were working in a local manufacturing company. In a very stupid move, a representative of the company complained on the news that they couldn't find Americans to take the jobs. Upon hearing that there were jobs available, nearly three hundred people showed up to apply for work. The crowd was met by a group of illegal immigrants who had come to get jobs. It had gotten very ugly very quickly.

Protests over high taxes had become a daily event. Each tax increase had brought about another round of riots. Each riot was larger and more violent than those before it. Detroit had burned for almost a week. Unemployed people facing a twelve percent sales tax were furious. Images of police in riot gear facing down crowds of middleclass Americans filled the news. Pictures of young men and women throwing Molotov Cocktails filled the space under headlines.

The only exception to riots resulting from announcements of new taxes was the tax associated with the proposed legalization of marihuana. That had provoked riots about legalizing drugs. There were complaints that the tax was too low or was too high depending on whether the person complaining was against or for marihuana use, but that wasn't the crux of the arguments that produced riots. Jack didn't know what he thought of that idea. He wondered if the violence would start to abate if everyone was stoned out of their minds.

He was brought back into the conversation when Cheryl said, "I noticed that the Taco Emporium closed."

"The job didn't pay well, but at least it was a job," Abby said. It hadn't even lasted three weeks after the Fat Tax had been imposed.

Shaking his head, Jack realized that the world had become very dangerous indeed. He interrupted the discussion, "Mary, can you check out what would be required to turn this neighborhood into a gated community? Dave, could you price out fencing? We'll need a heavy duty fence and concertina wire."

"Sure," Mary said wondering why he had returned to that topic.

"I can do that," Dave said frowning. The idea that they would put up a fence to hide behind bothered him.

Jack said, "We won't be able to do that immediately, but we should probably be prepared if it should become necessary."

"I agree," Rich said thinking that it was already necessary.

Claire snorted and said, "This whole evening has depressed me. What is going on in Washington? Why aren't they doing something about this?"

"I don't know what they are doing. For that matter, they don't know what they are doing," Jack answered. Trillions of dollars had been spent, but he couldn't see what it had done to improve things.

Mary rose from her chair and said, "I'm going back to the house to call Daryl. Are you ready to call it a night, Claire?"

"Yes," the elderly woman answered. She rose from her chair slowly and looked over at Jack. She asked, "Would you walk us home?"

"Sure," Jack answered. It was becoming a more frequent occurrence for him to escort the women back to their homes. He drained his glass and carried it over to the kitchen.

Frau Shultz took the glass from him and said, "Kommen Sie zuruck und gehen Sie wir nach Hause."

"Ja," Jack said tiredly. He knew that he was going to be making a couple of trips to and from the community house.

"Danke," Frau Shultz said feeling more secure knowing that Jack would walk her home.

Jack stepped outside of the community house and looked up at the dark sky. The sky was clear of clouds and the stars shined brightly. The air was cold and the wind biting. Frowning he looked around the neighborhood. The city had cut back on services and one cost saving measure had been to turn off the streetlights. The absence of lights in front of houses gave the neighborhood a dark sinister feel. His eyes sought out any signs of threats. There weren't any strange cars parked along the street. None of the doors of the empty houses were open. He looked over his shoulder waiting for Mary and Claire to emerge from the house.

Claire stepped out and took his arm. She smiled at him and said, "Thanks for walking us over."

"No problem," Jack said. The ground was basically clear of snow although there were little patches left in areas that didn't get much sun. He asked, "Do you think that we'll be getting snow again?"

"Yes, but it won't be as bad as that last storm," Claire said walking along beside Jack.

"Winter has just begun," Mary said although it hadn't officially begun. That would be in a few days. The astronomers might consider winter starting on the winter solstice, but she always felt that winter started around Thanksgiving.

"Winter started with that last snow storm," Jack said with a laugh. They reached Claire's house and he waited for Claire to open the door. He stepped into the house and looked around to make sure that everything was okay. Stepping back, he said, "It looks okay to me."

"Thanks, Jack," Claire said entering the house.

"Thanks, Jack," Mary said following Claire. She looked back at Jack and said, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sure," Jack said turning to head back to the community house. He heard the sound of the door closing behind him before he had taken two steps. The sound of the deadbolt being engaged followed quickly afterwards. He took a deep breath and released it as if he was smoking a cigarette.

Fred, Bev, and Liz stepped out of the community house to head home. Fred called over to Jack, "Have a nice night."

"You too," Jack said while giving a friendly wave. He reached the community house in time to meet Ella and Frau Shultz stepping outside.

Giving him a worried smile, Ella said, "We were waiting for you."

Holding out an arm for Frau Shultz, Jack said, "I'll take the two of you home now."

As they walked, Ella said, "I'm sorry about Melissa's little friend."

"I know," Jack said patting Frau Shultz's hand and getting a smile in return. He could tell that she was worried about something.

"Times are tough. Frau Shultz and I discussed it. We would have voted to have her join, but we knew that it was a lost cause," Ella said sounding apologetic.

"I understand," Jack said. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Maybe it is my fault in a way. I've been talking about it being a matter of us and them for a long time. She just happened to be different enough to be viewed as one of them rather than one of us."

"Will the others turn on Frau Shultz and me?" Ella asked.

Shaking his head, Jack said, "No. You're one of us."

"Thanks, Jack," Ella said. She knew that things could change when things got even worse with the economy, but she hoped that Jack was right.

They were silent for a few steps. Jack said, "As much as I don't like the idea of turning this neighborhood into a gated community, I feel that it will soon be necessary."

"It would be nice to walk home without feeling afraid," Ella said. Two old women walking around at night were easy targets for anyone who wanted to rob them.

Jack wanted to shake his fist at the sky and curse the government. Keeping a little control over his anger, he said, "I know. I imagine that we'll end up doing that somehow. We can't rely upon the police to protect us."

"I'm pretty sure that it would increase the property values," Ella said looking over at Jack.

"Maybe," Jack said. He believed that folks given a choice between a gated community with private security and an open community would choose the former. It was just a shame that it had become a necessity.

Ella looked around and said, "The great depression in Germany let Hitler come into power. I hope the same kind of thing doesn't happen here."

"I hope not," Jack said. The idea that a dictator could rise to power in the United States seemed farfetched. Of course, it had been unimaginable a year earlier that they would be having riots in the streets, widespread crime, and high unemployment.

"The election was a year ago. It seems like a lot longer ago than that," Ella said stopping to stare at an empty house. The great hope of saving homes died when the value of commercial properties fell through the floor. Even though the President kept his promises about reducing Federal taxes on the majority of people, the states had never made that promise. Taxes shot up and people started losing homes. That applied to people who didn't even have mortgages.

Jack said, "I remember how hopeful everyone was around the time of the election. The country has changed a lot since then."

Melissa sat on the bed in her dorm room watching Trupti pace around the room. After a circuit, Trupti said, "I don't think I would have moved into the commune."

"Why?" Melissa asked.

"Did you see the way that people looked at me on the drive over there?" Trupti asked.

"No."

Trupti was silent for a moment and then said, "We stopped at a traffic light and there was this guy in the car next to ours. I looked down at him and he scared me. He was glaring at me with unadulterated hate."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Trupti answered. "I remember when I first got here four months ago that it was different. The people here were a lot friendlier. Folks actually greeted me and talked to me when I went to classes that first week. As time went by though, I noticed that things were getting less friendly. People stopped talking to me. After a while people started giving me dirty looks. Over the past few days, people have been saying nasty things to me."

"I didn't notice anything like that happening," Melissa said with a frown. She had been involved in preparing for her final exams.

"You're a liberal arts major and don't have many foreign students in your classes. I doubt you would see anything like that happening around you," Trupti said. It was worse in the technical areas.

"I know the economy is bad, but they can't blame you for that," Melissa said.

Someone had spread a rumor on the internet that Indians working in American companies were paying kickbacks to their bosses to remain employed. She didn't know if the rumor was true or not. She did know that it wasn't an uncommon practice in India. She said, "There is a rumor that some of the people from my country are paying their bosses not to lay them off."

"Is it true?" Melissa asked stunned by that little revelation.

"I don't know," Trupti answered.

Thinking about the quote by Hitler, Melissa said, "The big lie. People believe the big lie because it is so hard to believe that anyone would tell such a big lie that it has to be true."

"It could be true," Trupti said. She didn't know what people were doing to keep their jobs.

"I guess that would make your classmates a little angry if they actually believed it," Melissa said. In the current atmosphere, a rumor like that could get people killed.

"Yes."

Melissa said, "They must look at you and think you are going to be taking a job away from them."

"My father gave me a list of people who promised him that they could find me a position in the companies that employ them," Trupti said looking down at the floor. It was hard to accept that the dream of having a high paying job in the United States was dying like that.

"Why would they promise that?" Melissa asked. She wondered how anyone could actually make that kind of promise.

"My father works in the government back in India. He can help people in exchange for a little help from them," Trupti answered. She didn't see anything wrong with that practice. That was just how things were done there. A person couldn't get the simplest thing done without having the appropriate connections.

Melissa frowned thinking that it didn't sound like a moral thing to do. She knew that government officials often helped friends and family get jobs, but she didn't like it. She said, "You're kidding."

"No."

"That's wrong," Melissa said. She knew that one day she would be looking for work and wouldn't have personal contacts that were in a position to get a job for her. She looked at Trupti thinking it was not right that someone from India had contacts in this country that could promise to find her a job.

"That's just the way things are done there," Trupti said sitting down on her bed so that she was facing Melissa. She could see that her roommate was upset and didn't understand why.

"So your dad wants you to go home," Melissa said wanting to change the subject.

"Yes. The papers in India have stories about people from my country getting killed here. He's afraid that I'll get hurt if I stay here," Trupti said.

"It isn't that bad," Melissa said leaving off the 'yet.'

Trupti shook her head. In a soft voice that barely carried across the room, she said, "I'm kind of glad he told me to come home. I don't feel safe here. I think I would really feel unsafe living with your friends."

"My friends wouldn't hurt you," Melissa said feeling offended.

Trupti replied, "It isn't your friends that I worry about. It is the trip from there to school."

"I guess things have worked out for the best," Melissa said.

Jack stood outside waiting to walk Abby and Wanda home from the community house. He had already walked Sally and Emily home. Abby and Wanda were the last ones in the house. It was getting late and he wanted to get home for the night. He had to get up early and go to work. Abby stepped out of the house and said, "You don't have to walk us home."

"That's okay," Jack said. He would feel horrible if anything happened to the two women if he didn't walk them to their house.

Wanda stepped out of the house and went through the process of setting the burglar alarm. Hearing the beep that let her know that the alarm was set, she said, "I'm ready to go."

"Good," Abby said shivering from the cold.

"Yeah," Jack said. The cold was starting to penetrate to his bones. It seemed to him that the wind had picked up a little.

"I'm sorry about the little Indian girl," Abby said.

"I'm not," Wanda said flatly. The more she had thought about bringing in a member to the commune who wasn't an American citizen the angrier she got. Folks who were born and raised here were living on the street because they couldn't afford a reasonable place to live.

"I don't know what I think about it," Jack said. A gust of wind cut through his clothes chilling him to the bone.

They walked a little bit without speaking. Abby said, "You know, I would feel a lot safer if you carried a gun when you are walking us home."

"You can't be serious," Jack said. He was afraid that he would accidently shoot whoever he was escorting if they were attacked.

"I'm very serious," Abby said. She patted her purse and said, "I carry a gun with me when I go check out the houses."

"You've got a gun?" Jack asked. This was the first that he had heard that Abby was carrying a gun.

"Yes."

"It was my late husband's pistol. He said that it had a lot of stopping power," Wanda said. Her husband had kept it in the nightstand just in case someone broke into the house in the middle of the night.

"Do you even know how to use it?" Jack asked. He wondered why Wanda hadn't bothered to mention it when they had done an inventory of the weapons owned by members of the commune. Much to his surprise, the inventory had shown that they had enough weapons for every member to keep one in his or her bedroom.

Abby snorted and said, "You point it at the bad guy and pull the trigger until he is dead."

"Or you shoot your foot off," Jack said rolling his eyes.

"I'm a woman. In a physical fight with a man, I would lose. The gun gives me a chance," Abby said. She knew that there were people breaking into empty houses and taking them over as if they owned them. Although she was starting to make some money checking out the houses, she feared that it could get her killed. She didn't want to take any chances on that.

Accepting that this was just another sign of the times, Jack said, "I'll call my dad and see if he knows anyone that can teach us to shoot."

"That is a very good idea," Wanda said.



-------

Chapter 33

In anticipation of the wedding ceremony, a small crowd gathered in the church located a couple of blocks from the commune. It was an odd collection of people whose relationships to the young couple were obvious by the clothes they wore. All of the members of the commune were present and dressed in their finest clothes. That their clothes were a decade or more out of style didn't matter. Melissa's classmates were seated in the church dressed in clothes reflecting their student status. A few were wearing blue jeans and tee-shirts. Jack's coworkers were wearing what could be considered business casual clothes — sport suits for the men and dresses for the women.

Jack looked around at the crowd unable to believe that so many people had come to see him get married. Six months earlier he would have been hard pressed to find three people to invite to a wedding. Now that number had grown to fifty including the members of the commune, two dozen people from work, a couple of neighbors who weren't members of the commune, his family, and a handful of his previous employers. He said, "I can't believe so many people came."

Jake looked around the small church noting that it was nearly filled with people. He said, "You've managed to gather quite a crowd, son."

"A lot of them are closer than friends," Jack said with a smile. He watched Frau Shultz sitting in the front row of the church looking around excitedly. It seemed to him that she was more excited about the wedding than he was.

Jake noticed where Jack was looking and commented, "That little old German lady is a real character."

"Yes, she is," Jack said grinning.

Jake said, "You found a very good woman for a wife."

"Thanks, Dad," Jack said in total agreement with his father. He had found a very good woman. It still surprised him that she was willing to be his wife.

"I guess it is time for me to give you the marriage advice my father gave me," Jake said.

"Don't go to bed angry," Jack said.

Jake shook his head and said, "Always remember why you chose to marry her."

"Huh?" Jack said.

Jake said, "My father once told me that you marry a woman because you love her. It is important not to forget that. Lots of things can happen in a marriage, but you have to remember that it began with love."

"That's a nice thought," Jack said thoughtfully.

"I know these tough times make it hard to remember little things like love, but don't make that mistake. Melissa is going to be your wife, your confidant, your best friend, your companion, and your lover. Don't let a hard day at work, a pile of bills, or bad news stories on television get between you and her," his father said.

"I won't," Jack promised.

Jake smiled and looked at his wife seated on the front row. He said, "I've been married to your mother almost thirty years. We've had our good times and our bad times, but throughout the marriage there has been love. I still love your mother as much today as the day I married her."

"I know," Jack said. His parents were not afraid to show their love to each other regardless of the people around them. His dad was known to give his wife a nice hug and kiss at the drop of a hat. His grandparents were the same way.

"Don't ever forget that you love her," Jake said. He had given the best advice he knew.

"Yes, Dad," Jack said with a smile.

Not having anything else to add, Jake shifted uneasily from one foot to the next. He asked, "When does this show get on the road?"

"I think we are waiting for the bride to be ready," Jack answered. He had always heard stories about nervous grooms. He wasn't nervous.

"Her mother is probably giving her marriage advice. We could be here all day," Jake said.

"I don't think it would take her mother that long to give Melissa marriage advice. I think it could be summarized in one word," Jack said.

"What word is that?"

"Run," Jack answered with a chuckle.

"I take it she doesn't exactly approve of the marriage," Jake said. He hadn't really had a chance to meet Melissa's parents. His wife had talked to them a little the night before and had not been all that pleased with them. He had talked to the father for about ten minutes.

"How would you react if you learned that I was marrying a girl who was raised in a trailer park?" Jack asked.

Frowning, Jake answered, "Not very well, I think. She'd have to be a very special girl to rise above that kind of upbringing."

"Melissa is an educated woman. One day she's going to be giving lectures in front of large audiences about history. She's going to be an important woman. I think her mother views me as a major step down in social standing. She's afraid that I'll hold Melissa back in her career," Jack said.

Jake would have argued, but he knew that a lot of white collar people looked down at blue collar people. In many ways, a strange kind of class structure existed in this country. Every child was assumed to have the ability to change their class, but at some point in time people became locked into a class as a result of choices made in education, career, and character. Once that happened, people judged them based on that. Jake said, "I guess I can understand that, but I don't have to like it."

"I do," Jack said. He was going to have to deal with it for the rest of his marriage. It would take time to prove to her parents that he was supporting Melissa in a manner of which they could approve.

"I never had to deal with in-laws that didn't like me," Jake said. He had gotten along with his wife's parents. In fact, he had a very good relationship with them that continued to the present time. He was supporting them economically and was doing so willingly.

Jack looked out into the church. The pastor was heading toward the little room in which they were waiting for the ceremony to start. The pastor entered the room and said, "The bride is ready. If you will get in position, we'll start."

"Great," Jack said.

"You don't look nervous," the pastor commented. He had grooms who had fainted before the ceremony.

Jack smiled and said, "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Why should I be nervous about that?"

"That's a good attitude to have going into a marriage," the pastor said. He gestured towards the door for the two men to move to the front of the church.

Jack stood at the front of the church for a minute waiting for the ceremony to start. His mother- in-law was seated in the first row with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. It didn't take a mind reader to know what she was thinking.

He turned to look at the double doors from which Melissa would make her entrance. The door opened and he gazed upon Melissa as if seeing her for the first time. Although the original plan had been for her to wear a simple white dress, the women of the commune had altered a thirty year old wedding dress to fit her. In a voice that carried to every corner of the room, Jack said, "Would you look at her? She's got to be the most beautiful woman in the world."

"God only knows what she sees in you," Jake said with a grin. A number of people who overheard the remark laughed.

"You can say that again," Melissa's mother muttered darkly.

Jack didn't bother to answer his father or his mother-in-law. His attention was on the bride where it belonged. His attention stayed on her throughout the ceremony. Frau Shultz cried from the moment it began until it ended. She wasn't the only woman in tears during the ceremony. Jack's mother cried as well.

After the ceremony ended, Jack and Melissa found themselves alone in the small room in which she had dressed. For a few seconds, there was an awkward silence between them. No one had ever told him about what a couple talked about when they were alone together for the first time as man and wife. Jack took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. He said, "I know that we have just pledged ourselves to each other in front of God and our friends and family. I want to make a private promise to you. I promise that I will do all that is in my power to give you a good life."

Jack's emotion filled promise took Melissa by surprise. Her eyes filled with tears knowing that he would fulfill that promise or die trying. In a way, his declaration struck her more than the vows exchanged in the church. In an emotional voice, she said, "I make the same promise to you."

Jack kissed her and said, "I love you."

"I love you," Melissa said returning his kiss passionately.

"I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you," Jack said. He thought about Dave and Laura. Despite nearly fifty years of marriage, the elderly couple still went on dates. He hoped that he and Melissa would have dates fifty years from now.

Jack and Melissa went down the stairs to the basement where the reception was being held. Melissa smiled and said, "It is hard to believe that I'm Mrs. Dunne now."

"Don't get used to it. Pretty soon, we'll be calling you Dr. Dunne," Jack said with a grin.

"You're serious about that, aren't you?"

"Very serious. I've got the job I have because it is the kind of job that I've always wanted. The idea of being cooped up in an office all day makes me ill. I like working with my hands and, to tell the truth, the pay isn't that bad. You wouldn't be happy working in a store or being a stay- at-home mom. You should get your doctorate and see what happens then. I wouldn't want to live my life doing something that makes me unhappy so why should you?" Jack answered.

The sound of a throat being cleared behind them caused them to turn. Melissa's mother said, "You would let her get her doctorate?"

"I love Melissa. I want her to be happy," Jack answered. To him, it was a no brainer. She wanted to study history and his job would let her do that for as long as she wanted.

"Aren't you worried about her getting too smart for you?"

"No, ma'am," Jack answered.

Melissa's mother didn't believe that for a minute. She asked, "What about kids?"

"We'll have kids," Jack answered. They had discussed having kids at some point in time. They both wanted to wait for the economy to get a little better.

"Who will raise them?"

Jack laughed at the question and answered, "We will. Our kids are going to be raised in a loving environment. We've got a dozen grandmothers and two granddads standing in line to watch over any kids we have."

Melissa's mother shook her head. She had learned about the commune upon her arrival. Needless to say, she wasn't very happy about that little bombshell. Despite having been introduced to everyone in the commune, she still felt that the whole concept harkened back to the drug orgies of the sixties. She couldn't wait to talk to some of the old ladies to find out what kind of sick world her daughter had entered.

"You should talk to Mike and Chuck," Melissa said. They were happy kids at a time when other kids were miserable.

"Who are they?"

"They are Cheryl and Rich's boys. I've never seen two boys that are so well adjusted," Melissa answered.

Jack smiled at the idea of having the boys take care of Melissa's mother. They were good boys and knew their manners. Cheryl insisted that they be polite and rode herd on them at all times. He said, "They're going to be helping serve food inside. Chuck was telling me that he was in charge of the paper plates while his brother has the job of making sure that we don't run out of cheese for the spaghetti."

"That's not much," Melissa's mother said.

"They are seven and nine years old. We're not going to ask them to carry heavy loads or deal with fragile stuff," Jack said.

"I guess that's different," Melissa's mother said.

Melissa said, "I think we should go inside now. Everyone is waiting for us and the food will get cold."

"Good idea," Jack said. He opened the door and with a sweep of his hand gestured Melissa's mother inside. The woman gave him a sharp look and headed into the room. Jack winked at Melissa. Once her mother had entered the room, he whispered, "I think she's warming up to me."

"Right," Melissa said well aware that hell hadn't frozen over yet.

As parents of the bride, Melissa's parents should have been pleased at the low cost of the wedding. The total cost had been under three hundred dollars despite more than a hundred guests. The church rental had been twenty-five dollars and the pastor had been tipped another twenty-five. The wedding dress had cost nothing. The food had been prepared by the members of the commune. The dishes included spaghetti, lasagna, chicken parmesan, and sausages. The side dishes were bread, a simple lettuce salad, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It wasn't fancy food, but it was inexpensive and filling.

Melissa was pleased to see so many people working hard to contribute to the success of her wedding. It touched her that eighteen people had taken such an interest in what was one of the most important events in a woman's life. It was particularly impressive since she had known them for only two months. They had accepted her into their community. She looked over at her mother and wondered if she would figure it out anytime soon.

Melissa's mother and father ended up seated next to Claire and Mary. Well aware that the couple probably didn't remember their names, Claire said, "I'm Claire and this is Mary."

"I'm Frank and this is my wife, Terry."

"It sure was a nice ceremony," Mary said thinking that the ceremony would be an easy starter for a conversation with a stranger.

Frank said, "It was rather unexpected."

"Not really. We knew the first time those two met that they were going to get married. Frau Shultz actively campaigned for that to happen," Claire said with a twinkle in her eye.

Mary laughed at remembering the beginning of the relationship and said, "Imagine taking two old women along with you on your first date. Poor Jack was totally clueless."

"I am worried that she's making a mistake. She hardly knows him," Terry said looking over at her daughter. She was seated at a table at the head of the room alone with Jack.

Claire said, "Jack is a good man. He'll take very good care of your daughter regardless of how bad the economy gets. He's a good hard worker."

A year earlier, Terry would have looked down upon the neighborhood in which her daughter was going to be living because of all of the empty houses. The problem was that the neighborhood where they lived was in even worse shape. The entire area was deserted and it was rather terrifying. She feared that her daughter would discover that she was living alone there without a family to support her.

"Jack will make sure that she is safe," Mary said. Now that their economic situation was improving, safety had become the number one issue among the members of the commune.

"He can't watch over her all of the time," Terry said dismissively. She wished that Melissa was at home with them so that they could protect her.

"No, but we can," Claire said. "We've got twenty pairs of eyes watching everything that happens in the neighborhood."

"Oh, yes — the commune," Terry said icily.

Claire examined the woman for a moment and then said, "Yes, the members of the commune look out for each other. That's what it is all about. We share the cost of food so that all of us eat well. We take responsibility to keep each other safe. We work to share the burdens of life so that none of us are alone."

"No one goes out alone. We make sure that a man is with us when we go somewhere. Fred, Rich, Dave, Johnny, or Jack comes by the library to pick me up from work. One of the men goes with us when we go shopping. I'm safer now than I ever was when I lived alone," Mary said.

"I don't like the idea of my daughter belonging to a commune. We raised her to avoid drugs and to be a good girl," Terry said. She wasn't even going to mention the free love stuff.

Mary laughed and said, "The only drugs in our commune are for arthritis, blood pressure, cholesterol, and osteoporosis."

"We are basically teetotalers," Claire said.

Chuck came over to the table and said, "Mom told me to tell everyone that they are serving the food now."

Claire smiled at Chuck and said, "Thank you for telling us Chuck. What do you recommend that we eat?"

"The spaghetti was made by Gramma Liz and the lasagna was made by Gramma Bev. They make better spaghetti and lasagna than mom," Chuck said. He looked around guiltily for a second and said, "Don't tell my mother I said that."

Claire laughed at the worried expression on his face and said, "Your secret is safe with me. I won't say a word."

"Thanks," Chuck said. He moved to the next table to pass the word about the food being served.

Claire turned to Terry and said, "That is Chuck. His mother really rides herd on him and his brother."

"They sure are cute," Mary said watching the young boy talking to Jack's parents.

Watching Frau Shultz carry a plate of sausages with mashed potatoes and green beans over to Jack, Claire said, "Frank, if you want to make Frau Shultz happy, you'll try some of her sausage."

"I think I will," Frank said glancing in the direction of the buffet line. While his wife had been talking to the two women, he had been watching people. He liked what he saw. It was obvious to him who was a member of the commune and who wasn't. There was a sense of cohesion among the commune members that was lacking with any of the other groups there.

"You don't have to eat anything you don't want," Terry said.

Frank gestured in the direction of Frau Shultz. He said, "If I remember correctly, that little old lady over there is Frau Shultz."

"That's right," Claire said.

"She's been hovering over Melissa and Jack like they are her grandchildren," Frank said.

"She thinks the sun rises and sets on Jack's command," Mary said with a grin.

"We definitely didn't need an interpreter to know what she thought of the idea of those two getting married. She was busy arranging the wedding one minute after meeting Melissa," Claire said with a grin.

"If I remember correctly, she doesn't speak English," Frank said.

Mary nodded her head and said, "Jack learned German so that he could talk to her. The fact that Melissa speaks German just sealed the deal."

Claire turned to look at Terry and said, "Don't let Jack's lack of higher education mislead you. He's one of the leaders of our commune. The guy has common-sense and a good character."

It seemed to Terry that everyone was trying to sell her on Jack. It was like every conversation centered on him. She couldn't help but be suspicious. Frank rose from his chair and said, "I'm going to try some of that sausage. I'll be right back."

Abby sat down at the vacated chair and said, "This is great. I can't believe that Jack has gotten married. Melissa is perfect for him."

"It could have been you," Mary said in a teasing manner. One look at Terry and she knew that she had blown it.

"There was never anything between us," Abby said shrugging her shoulders negligently.

"What do you mean?" Terry asked looking at the young woman sharply.

Abby said, "I used to rent a room from Jack back when we started the commune. Everyone thought we would make a good couple, but neither of us had any interest in the other. I was really pleased when Jack found Melissa."

"You used to rent a room from him," Terry said looking over at Melissa. She wondered if her daughter knew that the old girlfriend was hanging around in the wings. That would definitely spell trouble in the marriage.

"That's right," Abby said. She looked over at the buffet table and said, "I better get some food."

Mary said, "I'll go over there with you."

Watching the pair of women walk away, Claire shook her head. All of the work trying to get Terry to accept the marriage had been undermined with just a few words from Abby. She turned to face Terry and, in a stern voice, said, "It is obvious to me that you don't approve of this marriage. Let me warn you, don't interfere. Give them a chance."

"He's a common laborer," Terry said.

"And you're the Queen of England," Claire said fixing Terry in place with a glare.

"No," Terry said.

"He's a good man. She's a good woman. They make a nice couple. Don't spoil it," Claire said. She rose from her chair and said, "I'm going to wish the Bride and Groom best wishes for their marriage."

Terry watched the elderly woman walk over to her daughter's table. Frank returned with a plate loaded with sausages. Taking a seat, he said, "They sure are a nice bunch of folks. That little kid down there is real cute. I got to the end of the line and realized that I hadn't picked up a knife and fork. The little tyke ran off and fetched them for me."

"That's nice," Terry said.

Frank said, "Honey, I know you aren't all that pleased about her getting married. I've got to say that I rather like that young man. He seems like he has a good head on his shoulders."

"He's a common laborer," Terry said.

"He's got a job. Close to twenty percent of the population can't make that claim," Frank said. He sighed and said, "One of these days, I just might be one of that twenty percent."

"You're invaluable at your company," Terry said looking at him sharply.

"Not really. I'm just a middle manager watching over a department that has shrunk by thirty percent," Frank said. He had a feeling that there would be a major reorganization in his division and one or two managers would disappear from the company payroll. He sighed and added, "I've got a feeling that Jack would invite us into his house if anything happened to us."

"You're so gloomy," Terry said.

"I'm a realist. This country is falling apart. These folks are taking steps to protect themselves against a total failure of society. To tell the truth, I think they have the right idea," Frank said.

"He's a common laborer," Terry said. She hadn't put so much energy into raising a smart and motivated young woman to watch her throw her life away by marrying a common blue collar laborer.

"Would you stop saying that? Jesus woman. He owns a house. He's got a job. He's taking care of Melissa. I think they just might have a good future. You might not like that he swings a hammer, but it isn't any worse than pushing a pen in a damned office building," Frank said. He snorted and said, "Half of the folks working in an office are just slavishly following procedures that management has placed on them. There aren't many stellar folks in the business world. I know — I manage them. We're little worker drones and that's what the companies want."

"It is about money," Terry said.

"Not any more. We're going to be cutting back salaries within a year. He's liable to end up making more than most of the folks that work for me," Frank said. They were talking about going to a four day work week with a seventy-five percent cut in pay. He wondered how many of the people working for him would survive that kind of cut in pay.

"He's a common laborer," Terry said. Looking at her husband, she knew that he didn't understand. She said, "I just want what is best for her."

"She's got it," Frank said. He looked at his wife and said, "Drop it."

"I can't," she said.

Frank said, "I was talking to his father while I was getting the food. Jake owns a little heating and air conditioner company. He's supporting his parents and his in-laws. We can't do that on my income."

"Our investments tanked with the stock market," Terry said defensively.

"I'm sure that Jake's investments didn't hold up either, but he's managing to keep three families afloat. You've got to respect that," Frank said.

"What's your point?" Terry said.

Frank said, "Give Jack a chance."



-------

Chapter 34


It was late August when Jack pulled the truck over to the side of the road. He noticed that Abby's car was parked across the street. He glanced over at Melissa and said, "Abby's here already."

"Why did she want to meet us here?" Melissa asked. There were a dozen empty stores along the main street. It looked like a ghost town. The only businesses that remained were two bars, a check cashing place, and a pawn shop. Even the second hand store had closed down.

"I don't know," Jack answered. He glanced over at the pawn shop thinking that he still had stuff sitting on the shelves there. Of all of his electronics, the only thing that was worth getting back was his stereo.

"What did she say when she called?" Melissa asked.

"She just told me to bring you by this bar on the way home from work," Jack answered. His eyes searched the area to make sure that there weren't any problems. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm not even sure if I'm invited."

"I suppose we ought to go in and find out what she wants," Melissa said. She was looking forward to getting home. There was just enough time for her and Jack to spend a little time alone together in the bedroom before going over to the community house for dinner.

"I don't think we'll be here all that long," Jack said.

Jack and Melissa Dunne entered the dark bar. Jack held an arm around Melissa in a protective manner. After being out in the bright light, the sudden immersion in darkness robbed them of their sight. Holding her back a little, Jack said, "Last time I was here, I hit my knee on a chair because I couldn't see where I was going."

"It will just take a minute for our eyes to adjust," Melissa said trying to look around the room.

"I wonder why bars are always so dark," Jack said.

"There's Abby and Mary over there," Melissa said seeing the pair of women waving at them.

"I see them," Jack said looking around the bar. It had been almost a year since the water pump on his truck had failed and he had wandered into this place in search of a telephone. The bar looked like it hadn't weathered the time well.

When the young couple reached the table, Abby said, "We ordered a bottle of wine."

"That's good," Jack said noticing the bottle of wine on the table now that his attention had been called to it. He would have preferred a beer, but he would settle for a glass of wine. He picked up the bottle and filled the glasses around the table. He poured a half of a glass for himself thinking that he should probably keep alert.

Curious why Abby had insisted that they meet at the bar, Melissa asked, "So what's the occasion?"

"We got the contract from the publisher. They are going to publish our book," Abby said with a large grin. The three women had spent the past six months working on a book about starting a modern commune. Melissa had written the historical background going back to the medieval communes as a means of self-preservation for the poor in dealing with the rich and powerful. Abby had written the sections outlining the process they had followed in setting up the commune and specific cost saving measures that could be taken in the current economic situation. Mary had performed most of the basic research and identified references while getting copyright permissions for quotes and illustrations used in the book.

Melissa leaned back in her chair and laughed in relief. Months of hard work had paid off. Despite the fact that she had no idea how many copies of the book they would sell, she believed that there was a lot of interest in the subject. Their book would be the first of its kind on the market. That had to count for something. Pleased by the good news, she said, "I can't believe it."

"That's great," Jack said thinking that as an academician that this had to be a major accomplishment that would serve her well in her career. She was in her early twenties and already had a book to her credit. Leaning over to kiss Melissa, he said, "I'm proud of you."

Mary said, "It will be a while before we see any money out of it, but we'll have something coming in for a long time to come."

"What kind of sales do you think you'll get out of it?" Jack asked. He just beat Melissa to the question.

"I think they are going to be great. A lot of libraries have started buying self-help and do-it- yourself books. I figure this will be a must have book for most of the libraries. That will mean a couple thousand sales right from the beginning," Mary said. There were over sixteen thousand libraries around the country.

"That's outstanding," Jack said feeling proud of the three women. They had worked hard to put together the manuscript.

"I want to hear the details," Melissa said. Mary had done all of the research on the publication options. She had chosen to go with a publisher that provided electronic and hardcopy versions of the book. The return on each sale wasn't as high as a hardcopy publisher paid, but the sales of electronic versions countered that limitation.

"The publisher will pay to have an editor go through the manuscript and to have the illustrations professionally done. They said that would take about two months. The electronic versions would go on sale in three months. The hardcopy versions would take another two months," Mary said.

"When will we see the money?" Melissa asked.

"The online sales of the electronic versions will be deposited directly in our account. The hardcopy sales will be accrued over a six month period and paid in one lump sum," Mary answered.

"That's great," Melissa said.

"How much money will you see?" Jack asked.

"We'll get a twenty percent royalty on the electronic versions and the expected sales price will be ten dollars. The book royalties are ten percent, but the sale price will be closer to thirty dollars. We would have to split it three ways," Abby answered.

"I think we'll stand a pretty good chance of selling ten to twenty thousand copies," Mary said.

Abby was convinced that the commune movement would spread across the country. It made sense in these economic times. She said, "Our chapter on introducing a commune in a high-rise apartment will sell that many copies."

"You might be right," Mary said knowing how Abby felt about the commune concept.

Melissa looked over at Abby knowing that she needed the money the most of the three of them. She said, "You must be happy."

"You can say that again," Abby said. She was currently taking care of eighty properties and was looking to add some more in the near future. She now had one rather large man working for her. He was more of a bodyguard than anything else. Out of the thirty dollars she was charging for each house, she was paying ten to the man working with her. Her expenses included her cell phone, car, automobile insurance, and her health insurance. After expenses and taxes, she was bringing in around a thousand a month. It wasn't making her a lot of money, but it was paying the bills.

"So what will be the next project?" Jack asked.

"Turning the neighborhood into a gated community," Abby answered. She had been working the numbers and had come up with plan to make it possible.

"Thank god," Melissa said with relief. There had been another break-in and murder in their neighborhood. It had happened only three houses away from Rich's house. Laura had seen the men break into the house and had called the police immediately. It was almost forty minutes before the police had showed up at the house. By then it was too late for the occupants. She had stayed in the house holding a shotgun terrified that the burglars would strike her house next.

Having run some of the numbers for Abby, Mary felt like the plan was a good one. She said, "There are over three hundred people in our neighborhood. If each of us chips in twenty dollars a month we can hire two men to watch the area."

"We can hire four men," Abby said with a grin.

"Four?" Jack asked. He couldn't imagine hiring four men for that little money. His question was echoed by Mary who had no idea what Abby was talking about.

Abby said, "I was talking to my banker this morning. He'll let us rent four houses for two hundred a month each. We'll throw that into the bargain along with establishing a second commune in the neighborhood."

"That's not a bad idea," Jack said rubbing his chin.

"It gets four families off the streets and into houses," Abby said. She figured that a family with young children would end up being very loyal to them over time.

"That's great," Mary said.

Melissa said, "If you need any help, I'm still available. I won't be returning to school full time until January."

"I've got a feeling that all of us are going to be very busy for the next year or two," Abby said with a smile. She had visions of giving talks about starting communes and doing some kind of book tour. They were about to become very visible leaders of a national movement.

Mary said, "When aren't you busy?"

"When I'm asleep," Abby answered. She still did a lot of work for the commune. She checked the houses every day, worked on the manuscript, and continually sought out new business opportunities. There was no way that she was going to end up selling her body. She had learned that if she didn't make her own opportunities then there were be no opportunities.

"I believe that," Melissa said.

Abby reached into her briefcase and said, "Let's sign the contract so that we can get it to the post office."

Curious, Melissa asked, "Why are we signing it here rather than at the community house?"

Abby was quiet for a moment and then answered, "Believe it or not, this is where the commune began. Jack and I met here a year ago. I feel like this is a fitting place for us to sign the contract."

"I agree," Jack said. He watched while the three women took turns signing the contract. His thoughts turned back to that day a year ago. He had nearly lost everything about that time. Abby's entrance into his life had been a significant event although it hadn't seemed that way at the time. A lot had changed since then.

A year ago he had felt helpless in the face of forces beyond his comprehension. He still didn't understand why things were going the way there were headed, but he was able to deflect the majority of the negative consequences. He now had a good paying job and was ahead of his bills. He didn't have much in savings, but he did have savings.

He had been isolated and alone. He was now surrounded by a community of people who watched out for him and helped him. His marriage to Melissa, a smart and attractive woman, was a source of continuous surprise and happiness. He couldn't imagine waking up in the morning without her beside him in bed. For the first time in years he dreamed of having children and being able to provide for them. It was a far cry from the man who had been eating canned food cooked over a backyard barbecue.

He was nudged out of his thoughts by an elbow from Melissa. She smiled at him and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"It has been one hell of a year," Jack said.

"You can say that again," Abby said raising her glass of wine. She took a sip of wine thinking that it had been a year since she had drank any wine.

Melissa nodded her head in agreement. Her life had changed a lot. A year ago she had just been a graduate student studying history. She had been married for eight months. Jack had kept his promise to her and had created an office for her in the house. The desk and bookcases had cost a fortune at one time, but he had gotten them at garage sale prices. After joining the commune, Daryl had set up a wireless network that covered the entire neighborhood. She had a computer at home that was loaded with the latest and greatest software. Her education had slowed, but she was working with Abby and the others to bring in a little extra money. The book had been an interesting project.

Life in the commune was far more emotionally rewarding than she had imagined possible. It was virtually impossible to remain depressed for any length of time. The elderly members of the commune brought a refreshing breath of experience to every situation that arose. The emotional support offset the depressing effects of the news. She wondered at times how others managed to survive without that kind of support in their lives.

All of those little changes had taken a backseat to her joy in being married to Jack. It seemed to her that each day was better than the day before. Making good money in his job, he had returned to fixing up the house. The main bathroom had been finished and looked like a million dollars. He had also bought furniture from garage and estate sales that gave the entire house a classy look. There had been a time when the décor would have been outside their reach.

After taking a sip of her wine, Melissa said, "It has been a hell of a year."

Mary's life had changed the least of the four people gathered around the table. She had joined the commune out of a desire to end a life of loneliness. She loved the social environment of the community house and spent the vast majority of her time there. Her hours at the library had been cut back as a cost cutting measure. She couldn't complain though; she had been lucky to keep her job.

A lot of her time was spent watching over Claire. The elderly woman's memory was going and she was becoming forgetful. The doctors said that she had suffered two minor strokes. They hadn't affected her speech, but her memory had some holes in it. Like everyone else in the commune, Mary had agreed that Claire was not going to go to a nursing home. As Claire's roommate, a lot of the burden of taking care of the elderly woman had fallen on her. She didn't mind since eighteen other people stepped in to take the burden off her shoulders.

Mary said, "It has been a hell of a year."

"The economy may get worse, but I think we're looking at a better year for us," Abby said with feeling. The unemployment figures and stock market indices had not changed at all over the past six months. Wages had gone down and homelessness was still on the rise. There were no signs that the economy was going to improve.

The members of the commune were not getting rich by any definition. They did have two months worth of food stockpiled, there was an emergency fund, and the members were not facing the future alone. Their hard work showed signs of having some return on their investment. No one was in actual debt beyond their mortgages. Compared to ninety percent of the people in the country, they were doing very well.

Looking around the table, Jack raised his glass and said, "Here's to hard work and the support of a community."

The three women raised their glasses and said, "Amen to that."

The bartender watched the group seated around the table from his position behind the bar. He didn't know what they were celebrating. Very few people came into the bar to celebrate. Most of the customers were there to drown their sorrows in drink. Life was tough and getting tougher. He was the last employee of the owner and only worked part-time. The tips were poor and getting worse over time. He wasn't covering his bills and it was only a matter of time before he joined the ranks of homeless.

He watched Jack with envy thinking that he must have had it pretty easy while everyone else was losing everything they had. The young man seemed so relaxed and happy. It had been ages since he had felt that happy. He figured that the guy must have inherited some money or won a lottery and was out celebrating. The women didn't look like hookers, but that didn't mean much anymore. Single women with children were easy pickings for a guy with a little money.

He grabbed a towel and wiped down the bar. All of his problems revolved around money. He wondered what he could do to improve his economic circumstances. Under his breath, he muttered, "What can I do? I'm just one guy."

-------



Commune (noun)
1. a) a group of people living together while sharing possessions and responsibilities b) the people living in such a community.

Alone (adjective)
1. a) being apart from others; solitary b) being without anyone or anything else; isolated.




-------
The End
-------
Posted:  2009-01-01
Last Modified: 2009-03-07 / 03:10:32 pm
-------
http://storiesonline.net/
-------