"A Lesson Learned"

Two young children enjoy a night with their grandfather as he teaches them about times long past.

The night was beautifully quiet. With just the sounds of the snowy wind blowing outside, the fire crackling softly in the fireplace, and the gentle creaking of the rocking chair against the hardwood floors, the night was comfortably being enjoyed in silence.

Sitting on the floor close by the fire were two young children. A boy and a girl of about 16 years of age. The two were obviously twins based on their almost completely similar appearances. They sat on the floor roasting marshmallows, enjoying the warmth of the fire and just enjoying each other's company in this relaxing atmosphere.

The girl pulled her darkened marshmallow from the flames and blew on it before eating the entire snack in one bite. Ignoring the hotness burning her tongue, she turned away from the fire and looked at the man sitting in the rocking chair going back and forth.

She smiled softly at the expression on her grandfather’s face. His eyes were closed and his lips fluttered a little as he breathed in and out silently. To almost anyone else, the old man would appear to be sound asleep but she knew better and watched him for a few minutes.

As if feeling her gaze and realizing she wasn't going to look away anytime soon, one of his eyes popped open, looking directly at her and stuck his tongue out at her. She giggled a little bit at this silly antics before her attention was drawn to the sound of something buzzing across the room. The girl rose from her seat on the floor and crossed the living room to reach the object in question.

She picked up her phone and read the new notification on her screen. It was a text message and not one that she was in any way happy to receive. With the lighting of her phone casting shadows across her face in the darkness, it made the shift of her smile into a frown even more evident.

With an annoyed growl she angrily dropped her phone back down onto the counter and strode back over to the fire. She plopped down onto the floor obviously upset by whatever she had read, something both her brother and grandfather noticed. Her brother turned to look at their grandfather and raised an eyebrow, expecting him to investigate.

The rocking stopped as their grandfather leaned forward to get a better look at the girls upset expression. “Junger Fuchs, what has put that frown on your pretty face?” He asked softly, using his nickname for her to try and cheer her up. Yet, even this did nothing to ease his ‘Young Fox’ as he had dubbed her.

She shook her head at him, not wanting to actually talk about what was bothering her. However, she made the mistake of looking up at him. He had this way of looking at them, that just made them want to confess whatever they tried to hide from him. It usually led them to telling on themselves after they'd done something bad.

The young girl sighed softly before answering, “it's my stupid boyfriend, Opa. He canceled another of our dates, because he's busy with his stupid friends.” As she spoke it was evident that she was annoyed and it was only made worse when her brother scoffed loudly.

Turning her attention to him, she saw him roll his eyes. “I don't know why you date that guy anyway. He's a total idiot, isn't even that good in baseball and yet is supposedly the best guy on the team and then on top of that...he is always bailing on you for his friends Lily” said her brother as he intentionally began burning the marshmallow he was holding over the fire.

His sister was quick to defend her boyfriend from her brother. “No he doesn't. It's just that sometimes stuff comes up and he has to take care of it. You don't know him Liam!” Liam was obviously unconvinced as he turned away from her to resume his previous activity.

Lily looked up at her grandfather who was shaking his head. “If this boy is your Freund, then he should not do that to my Fuchs. When I was your age, young men would not dare do such things as that” he said quietly before leaning back and resuming his rocking.

His granddaughter sat there nodding in understanding but the look in her eyes showed she was seemingly thinking it over. Lily ended her internal debate, deciding instead to ask her grandfather another question. “What was dating like when you were younger, Opa?”

The elderly man slowly brought his rocking to a halt once more, as he considered the question. After a few moments of contemplation, he answered. “It was very different in my youth, Junger Fuchs. Boys were endowed with a quality that is so rare to find now. Respect for girls.” He resumed his rocking again as he watched Liam turn around, interested in hearing more.

“Opa, what do you mean?” asked his grandson. The man closed his eyes and smiled a little, remembering days long past. “Today, people would call it chivalry. But it is not something special like they think it is. Back then, it was simply showing that you respected these young women. We would go to their house to pick them up for a date, walked up to their doors and knocked to let them know we were there. Boys would hold open doors for them and offer our jackets if they were cold” he explained, rambling a little bit.

He took a moment to pause before he continued however, “when we took girls on dates, it was not to get fast food or just sit watching the television. We went to drive-in movies, dancing, picnics under the stars or even to actual diners and restaurants. Afterwards, we drove them home and escorted them to their doorstep to make sure they got safely inside.”

His grandchildren watched him with slight smiles as they listened to how things were in their grandfather’s youth. Lily was amazed at all of that. “Opa, that sounds so romantic. But why is chivalry so dead now?”

“It is partly because of thinking like that Junger Fuchs. It was not chivalrous to treat a girl with respect and care. That was just the way we were taught like our parents before us. So that's what we did. If we did not, no girl would go with us a second time” he responded, shaking his head a little. Lily smiled brightly at his words, wishing her boyfriend was more like that.

Liam, however, was a little confused. “I do things like that Opa but it still seems like other guys have better luck with girls than me. Girls might say that's what they want, but obviously it's just not true” he stated with affirmation. Lily gasped at hearing that and looked at her twin brother with an incredulous expression.

“Of course we want that. It's practically every girls dream to find a guy who will treat them like that” she said, raising her voice a little. Liam snorted and laughed before replying. “Nooo. Girls say that but then they just jump onto guys who treat them like crap.” Lily got up from her seat on the floor and glared down at her brother.

“No we don't! Why the hell would we choose to date guys that treat us badly, dumbass?” She demanded. Without thinking about his words, Liam answered, “you're doing it right now with your boyfriend. So looks like you're the dumbass.”

Her reaction was immediate to his words. She gasped, hurt that he would say something like that to her. Lily turned and ran from the room, holding back the tears in her eyes from falling. Liam quickly realized his mistake and opened his mouth to apologize but she was already gone.

The young boy stood up to follow her and apologize but his grandfather just shook his head and gestured for him to sit back down. Liam sighed loudly in disappointment as he returned to sitting on the floor. Facing his grandfather, he prepared for a lecture. “I'm sorry Opa, I didn't mean it” he said apologizing.

The aged man raised an eyebrow as he paused his rocking. “You did mean it Junger Wolf. You did not mean to say it” he stated softly. Liam felt even more guilty at hearing his grandfather call him by his nickname. “That is one of the many differences between being a boy and being a man. A boy says whatever he wants but a man knows when not to.”

Liam dropped his gaze down to the floor, thinking about his grandfather's words and how they did nothing to ease how he felt. Nonetheless, the he nodded in understanding. “It's just frustrating Opa. I mean how can someone claim to want something so badly but when presented to them, their actions are so contradictory?”

After a few seconds, he quickly added, “I don't mean Lily!” The man looked down sadly at his grandson before he resumed his rocking back and forth, thinking of how best to answer. He smiled softly as an idea came to his mind.

“Remember when you were little, how you always wanted a dog? You would run up to your parents and beg and plead with them. But your Mutter and Vater would tell you ‘no’. Then you'd sniffle, hang your head as you trudged up to your room and cried for an hour. For so long this was how things were. Until one day they told you ‘yes’ and what did you do Junger Wolf?” The man asked as he rocked, remembering the antics of his grandson when he was much younger.

Liam sat there for a few moments as he attempted to recall the memory but when it came to him he shook his head confused. “I went back to my room and cried. I didn't understand that they had actually said ‘yes’” he replied.

His grandfather nodded in affirmation before resuming, “you were so used to being told no that it just became normal for you. Never stopped you from asking the next day of course. I believe it is the same with your girl problem Junger Wolf.” The look of Liam's face, however, made it clear that he did. It understand what his grandfather meant.

Seeing that look, his grandfather knew he had to elaborate more. “Boys have lost touch with what it means to be a man and how to treat girls like they are supposed to. It has become expected now as the normal and so girls settle for it when they should not have to. It is truly a shame of these modern times.” The elderly man shook his head, disheartened at the fact that his grandchildren had to grow up in these dark times of romance.

Liam nodded in understanding before asking, “so what do I do Opa?” His grandfather stopped rocking and slowly leaned forward to place a hand on his grandson’s shoulder. “Show them that you are not all the same Junger Wolf. If somebody believes that all the stars in the sky are the same, it only takes one to shine brighter than the others and with time, they will see the truth of the heavens.”

Liam smiled at hearing his grandfather's wisdom. He was feeling better and looked over to where his sister had been sitting, only to remember she had left. Liam rose from his seat and looked down at his grandfather, silently asking a question.

The man leaned back in his chair again, before nodding to his grandson. Liam leaned down and kissed his grandfather on the forehead before leaving to go and apologize to his sister. With both of his grandchildren gone, he closed his eyes and went back to rocking in his chair and listening to the quiet sounds of the night.

The snowy wind blowing outside, the fire crackling softly in the hearth and the quiet creaking of the rocking chair against the hard wood floor.