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I was nineteen years old that summer,

living on my own for the first time.

I had one year of college behind me

and was about ready to plow into summer classes.

Through no fault of my own,

I'd been let go from the last job I had.

Business was bad

and the restaurant was about to go under.

I had a job interview that day

and it couldn't have come sooner.

I'd spent my last five dollars on gas four days before,

and I’d been eating saltine crackers

and strawberry jam for the last week.

The interview was at some po-dunk little restaurant

I'd never heard of before, close to Lake Michigan.

Naturally, I was late.

Can I help you?

Are you Virgil?

Yes.

I’m Megan, here for the interview.

I’m really, really sorry I’m late.

Hello, Megan.

Let's sit over here.

It's a hot one isn't it?

Yes, it is.

You need a glass of water?

No, I’m fine.

Okay...

Well, do you have some prior experience waitressing?

Oh, yeah.

Did you enjoy it?

Oh, yes.

Do you get along well with others?

More or less.

I like people.

Hmmm.

And you're going to school in the evenings.

Yeah.

Well, Megan, I think we can use you here.

Really?

I mean, I’m really glad.

When can you start?

As soon as you need me.

Tomorrow morning, 7 a.m. then.

I'll see you then.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Umm, would you happen to have a gallon of gas

and a spare wire hanger to spare?

Oh, boy, they're here again.

I forgot it's Wednesday.

Huh?

Those old geezers.

I call them the Wednesday morning breakfast club

because they're here every single Wednesday morning.

They haven't missed it once since I’ve worked here.

You don't like them?

Well, it's not that...

I just don't love them.

They're always complaining.

Either the food's too hot or it's too cold.

If it's not that, it's the aches...

The aches in their backs and their knees

and their feet and their... pinky fingers.

You're not in a very good mood today, are you?

I am too!

I'll take them.

You will?

You are an angel.

Good morning, gentleman! How are you...

Hey, can I get a cushion for this chair?

This chair is hard.

Well, I suppose so.

Just let me check...

Uhh, lady I want three pancakes,

some sausage, with a bowl of cream.

Make it whipped.

What did you say, young lady?

I'll try to find a cushion.

What?

I'll FIND ONE!!

I don't think that's on the menu, Mr...

Heinrich Roth.

They always had it;

three pancakes, some sausage, with a bow of cream, whipped.

Yeah, you got to keep your eyes open today or you'll get jipped.

I see.

Well, I’ll check in the back about that.

Three pancakes, some sausage, with a bowl of cream, whipped.

Whipped.

I'll have the special.

Right.

Light?

NO, RIGHT!

And don't forget the cushion.

My tailbone smarts.

Alright, gentlemen, I'll be back in a jiffy.

Thank you.

She thinks I look spiffy.

Oh, miss.

May I order something?

Oh, I’m so sorry. What can I get for you?

I have the special, also.

Okay.

You got beautiful teeth.

Um, thanks.

Well, gentlemen, it'll be a few minutes.

Can I get you some coffee while you wait?

Coffee, caffeine, it's no good for me.

It gives me always diarrhea.

Well, we have decaf.

That's not coffee.

Well, coffee for anyone else?

You have a Colle?

That's nice.

I have some coffee.

Okay.

I'll be right back.

And a bowl of cream, whipped.

Yup. The same thing every week.

An achey tailbone, though?

That's new to me.

Virgil, do we have any cushions around?

Cushion? For what?

For my customer.

His tailbone hurts.

I'll look around.

Hey, Megan. Mr. Lombardo wants you.

Hey! This coffee's too cold.

Okay.

I’ll, uh, warm it up for you.

A swarm of pups?

I'll warm it up for you!

Okay.

Here you go.

Now careful! It's really hot!

Right after the war.

It was very hard.

What happened to it?

Nothing!

It wasn't that good.

You had the half a pound of butter for the whole month.

I remember that.

So that didn't go very far.

Wasn't a lot, I'll give that to you.

I ate out of the garbage can.

Well, we made it through.

Yeah.

I’ll clear your dishes away.

Goodbye!

Goodbye.

Bye! Come again.

Fifteen cents tip.

Sorry.

It's okay.

The Wednesday morning breakfast club, huh?

Actually, I kind of liked them.

They were quirky, crotchety,

and sometimes they irritated me to no end, but I liked them.

It was my challenge to anticipate what they wanted

before they asked for it.

You know those three old guys

that come in every Wednesday morning?

Sure.

Well, they always come at the same time

and order the same thing, right?

So what if we just had their orders ready for them

when they come in.

That way they wouldn't have to wait.

They'd be happier.

I doubt it.

They wouldn't get to do what they enjoy best.

What's that?

Fuss and complain.

But it's a good idea.

Makes a customer feel important

when you do things like that for them.

You're good at this, kiddo.

They like you.

I can tell.

I worked hard that summer... long hours at work...

She put your cushion down already.

Good morning!

Good morning.

How are you today?

I am good. How are you?

Oh, boy, that's nice.

Well, good.

I'll be right back gentlemen.

Alright.

What are we going to do today?

What do you think?

As little as possible.

Oh no!

All right, where's the coffee?

Here she comes.

Thank you.

It's too hot!

Hey, I tried.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

That is nice.

That is nice.

Hey, his bacon strips are bigger than mine.

Oh, well... I can try to get some different slices.

Beg pardon?

I can get different bacon!!!

What do I need an apron for?

No! Different bacon!

Oh, you don't have to do that.

Yes, this sausage is good,

but it is not like it was in the old country before the war.

Are you German, Mr. Roth?

Shermon?

No, I’m not German.

Who's Hermon?

Ricky, she is talking to me!

I’m sorry.

I didn't mean to offend.

It was just your accent...

I assumed...

I was born in Austria.

That's completely different.

I don't doubt it.

Me, now, I’ve never been anywhere interesting.

I like hearing you talk about the old country.

Oh, that's all gone.

There's no use to dwell on it.

But it's history.

I think... well, I think it's good for young people my age

to hear about how life used to be,

so we don't forget, so we can appreciate it.

Ya, but de sausage was good.

Well, I’m glad ours makes you remember

how good it was, anyway.

Are you all finished, Mr. Goldwin?

Yes. What beautiful teeth you have and such a pretty smile!

Thank you.

Can I get you anything else?

No, no, thanks.

You have such beautiful long fingers.

Did you play the piano?

No, nothing but the radio.

Do you?

Yes. A long time ago.

He use to be a piano teacher.

Really?

I’d love to hear you play sometime.

I can't anymore.

I got arthritis in my hands.

Well, I’m sure you played beautifully.

Arthritis is a terrible thing.

In my shoulder, it pains and pains when it's going to rain.

I got to get some liniment for that.

Jiminy Crickets, I have to use the toilet...

What?

Are my teeth beautiful?

Nothing out of the ordinary way.

They're kind of crooked.

That's what I thought.

My summer semester ended.

I had just under a month to catch my breath

before the fall semester began.

So... I worked more hours for fun and profit.

The Wednesday morning breakfast club proceeded without fail.

About two weeks before school began, though,

there was a decline in membership.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Here you are, Mr. Lombardo.

Where's Mr. Goldwin?

He must be moving mighty slow this morning.

Real slow.

He's in the hospital.

Capital.

That's what you have to have to get ahead today.

Nathan, Ricky!

He is in the hospital.

Yeah. That's really a shame.

I’m so sorry.

That seems so sudden.

Is he in really bad shape?

Yah, no good.

Well, I’ll just be bringing your food.

I’d like to show you something.

Yeah, that's his wife.

She died about a year ago now.

I see.

She meant everything to him.

He went down after that.

Crooked front teeth.

Yeah, just like you.

Nathan never came back.

I visited him a couple of times in the hospital,

but I don't know if he recognized me or not.

When he was awake I made sure to smile a lot.

Can you squeeze my hands?

Can you squeeze my hands, Mr. Goldman?

He passed away a month after his hospital stay.

I cut out the obituary during a lull at work.

Virgil tacked it to the bulletin board.

And we carried on.

School started, life got crazy again,

and the two living club members

made their appearance every Wednesday morning.

Hi, fellas.

Good morning.

Hi.

Where's that young lady that always takes care of us?

Don't worry.

She'll be right out.

She's just taking care of some dishes.

Fishes? Did you start an aquarium?

Dishes!

Yeah.

What's her name?

Megan.

Pagan?

She's not a pagan, she's a nice girl.

No, Megan!

Aach!

Megan!

Here I am, Mr. Lombardo!

Here's your coffee, and this is my name.

Megan! Oh, boy.

Mr. Lombardo, I’ve always been curious

about what happened to your hand.

Say what?

Your hand.

Boy, that was a long time ago.

I didn't move my hand in time.

What happened?

I used to work in a factory

where they made paper plates and napkins.

I operated a press and it got jammed.

And I put my hand in to clean it out.

As soon as I did, I said to myself, "You dummy!"

And I tried to pull my hand back,

but it wasn't quite in time and it really smashed my fingers.

Whoa, I bet that hurt.

Yeah, it did.

I went home and my mom washed it all in whiskey

and bound it all up and it healed up pretty well.

But she wouldn't let me lick my fingers.

Well, I’m sorry, Mr. Roth.

I'll stop asking questions.

The leaves were turning

and it was scarf and sweater season.

I was getting busier and busier.

Between school and work, I drank a lot of coffee.

I was wearing myself to a frazzle and life... was amazing!

The club was faithful as always,

even as temperatures dropped.

They came wearing hats and cardigans

that reminded me of older days.

I had never seen those days but they lived in my imagination.

Some days as they sat eating breakfast,

I'd look at them and wonder what they were like as young boys,

then young men.

I imagined them in knickerbockers,

sitting at the table, laughing loudly like boys do

to stamp the fact of their existence on anyone

within a five mile radius.

Was Ricky's nose quite so large then?

When did Heinrich become so stern?

During the war?

What stories could they tell?

What stories they did tell,

as they sat together and remembered!

Sometimes, they made me laugh.

There was an old warehouse near where I lived as a boy.

Nobody used it, hadn't for years.

It was all locked up,

but in the back near it, there was a tree.

It went up about three, four stories.

I don't know.

So, my friends and I got our roller skates.

We hung 'em around our necks and we climbed the tree

and went in a broken window on the third floor,

I think it was, something like that.

Had a beautiful wooden floor, great for skating.

"Ready, set, go!" and we took off.

I was in the front.

I looked ahead and I noticed a shadow on the floor.

Then I realized that was a hole.

So, I tried to stop and I slipped over and fell.

I’m sliding along, trying to grab anything I can

to slow me down.

When I got to the edge,

I looked down and I’m looking down all three floors.

The fire had burned all the way up.

Then what happened?!

Then the floor squeaked.

You should've heard those boys squealing like a bunch of girls.

We wanted to get out of there,

so we went back to the window

out, and down the tree, with our skates on.

I’m surprised we didn't break our necks.

When I got home my dad was so mad he really wallowed me.

I couldn't sit for a week.

I still need a cushion.

Yeah, I sometimes wonder that there are even any boys left

who did the foolish things we did!

Sometimes we keep doing foolish things.

That's the worst part.

That's what it is.

Sometimes, they almost made me cry...

I lived on a farm.

I had five brothers and three sisters.

I was the youngest.

When the war came,

they took my father with my four brothers.

They were strong like oxen.

The first year, they sent my father home.

He lost both legs.

But that was not all.

He lost also the ability to lead.

That's why he sat down and peeled potatoes

if we had potatoes to be peeled.

And my mother,

she had to take over with my brother and my three sisters

to do the hard work on the farm.

The second year, one of my brothers died.

A grenade pulled him to pieces.

The third year,

the two oldest brothers died in the fighting.

The fourth year,

they sent the third brother home.

He lost his mind.

When he came on the farm,

he clapped and laughed and danced around like a child,

but he didn't know me.

That same year,

the brother a little older than me turned seventeen.

They took him.

My mother cried.

My father, he peeled potatoes.

The other brother,

he sat by the fire and laughed.

He saw faces in it.

He didn't know anything what was going on.

While the officers,

they looked at my beautiful sisters.

They were perfect... blond, blue eyes,

but too young to give a child to Hitler.

That night, I heard my mother crying

when praying to the Saviour:

"My Jesus, they have taken all my sons away but one.

"I don't know which side I'm on or what's right.

"I don't care.

"All I know there's so much evil in all this world.

"Keep my Heinrich.

"Make him worthless to them.

"Let him be a child.

"Keep my daughters from these eyes.

Let them marry good men, be joyful mothers."

I heard her cry this way all night long.

Boy, that must've been awful.

Yes. I think the Lord heard her pray.

Yes, I was too young,

but at the end these guys became desperate.

They took anybody:

young boys under aged and old men.

It was not long after that they took my last brother

that I became ill.

I think from bad nutrition.

They left us alone.

Your last brother, did he come back?

Yes, he came back.

He was the only one to come back whole in mind and body.

My sisters, they married.

God kept them.

There's a fine line between marrying and breeding.

During the war among the Nazis,

these two often met and shook hands with each other.

These things always happen when God's creatures do things

He did not want them to do.

And things He intended for them to do for the good of man

becomes cold and calculated.

The love God meant for a man and a woman to have for each other

becomes less important.

Marriage becomes a joke, unnecessary.

As long as the result

is a flawless human child by society's standards,

then love has nothing to do with it.

The week before Thanksgiving was rough.

Not only was the restaurant

bursting at the seams with business,

but it was also my week of finals.

Martha was tired and grumpy.

I was tired and grumpy.

In fact most everyone at work was grumpy and stressed out

except Virgil.

He sailed through with a calmness

and presence of mind that was remarkable to behold.

Yes, I know what it says on your order, but it's just...

I’m so tired.

I don't even want to think about

what it's going to be like on Black Friday.

Young lady, I’ve been in this business for fifteen years,

and for fifteen years, I’ve ordered

strawberry doughnut filling from you, not raspberry.

What was today, anyway?

They've never even had raspberry filled doughnuts on the menu.

It's Wednesday.

Now... now don't get upset.

It's an honest mistake.

Hey, did the guys come in?

Who?

You know, the breakfast club guys.

I don't think I saw them.

Oh, man. I hope they're alright.

Oh, they're probably visiting relatives and stuff

for Thanksgiving.

I see. Well, if you could try, I’d really appreciate it.

Yes, thank you very much.

Well, we're just going to have to debut

raspberry-filled doughnuts over the weekend, that's all.

That's about the size of it.

I hope that order gets here in time,

but I don't think it's going to.

I only have enough to last one more day.

We have frozen strawberries.

Do you think we could make our own?

That's not a bad idea,

but I suppose it'll be easier just to use a raspberry.

Maybe that would shake things up around here a bit.

We 'll have some raspberry-filled donuts.

Nah... I’m not a shake it up kind of guy.

I sure hope that strawberry gets here.

And so, in the blur of the busy season,

I forgot about the little breakfast club.

I went back home to visit my family for Thanksgiving

and collapsed with relief.

Oh, here they come again.

Girls, has Heinrich come in yet?

Yeah, he just came in.

I think you should look at this first.

"Lombardo Ricky passed away"... No!

He's dead!

"He died surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

"Ricky was born

on October 2, 1912 in New York City."

I’m really sorry about Mr. Lombardo.

I’m... I’m sure you miss him today.

Thank you.

Ya, he was a good fella.

They both were good fellas.

Well, if you need anything, you let me know.

Ya.

Just go over and sit with him a minute, Megan.

We 'll cover for you.

Okay.

You should try some sausage, Mr. Roth.

It's good.

I know, I tried some.

I don't know.

I have no heart for it today.

I think I go home now.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Please come again.

You will won't you?

I think so.

I will.

But what if he doesn't come back?

I don't know.

Poor guy.

He didn't have much of a Thanksgiving.

Maybe we could visit him or something, take some pies.

We could sing to him or something.

I like that idea.

We all like singing.

I’ve got pies.

We should bring him some sausage.

I learned "A Love That Will Not Let Me Go" in German

back in fifth grade.

I could brush up on it.

How about we all meet here Saturday after closing?

Then we can go over and sing to him.

Does anybody know where he lives?

I’ll find out.

How?

The phone book, duh.

I thank you very much.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

And we all want you to know that we will miss you

if you don't come back, so please come, won't you?

I will. Thank you very much.

Come in please.

Sing me another song.

We have a very special one for you.

Hi, Mr.Virgil.

Heinrich, thanks for inviting us in.

It's nice that you came here.

Well, thanks.

We wanted to do it.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Oh, it's good.

It's so beautiful.

Where are you going in such a hurry.

Hot date tonight?

Nope.

But I do have a very important appointment to keep.

With who?

For what?

With the Saturday evening dinner club.

I have to go home and make sausages and potatoes

to bring along.

I see.

With Mr. Roth, right?

Yup.

Sounds nice.

Have fun.

Oh, I will.

You want to come?

Oh, I... no...

You should come, Martha!

That would be fun!

Okay.

I often remember that Wednesday morning

when three cranky old guys walked into the restaurant.

How could I have known how much their existence

would make such deep and lasting prints on my life?

I thank God for them.

With the death of each club member,

I realized again how fragile life is,

how short and how precious.

Heinrich passed on a year after Ricky and the club is no more,

but I can never forget them.

Even now when I brush my crooked teeth,

Nathan's kind face flashes in front of me.

I can't look at old people the same as I did

before my acquaintance

with Nathan Goldwin, Ricky Lombardo, and Heinrich Roth

because now I see

all the funny, fascinating, heart-breaking stories

written in the lines carved on their faces.

Sometimes I still see them larger than life

in their old spot.

I miss them.