The next morning Lisa helped Margreet with the daily work at the boarding house and then quickly went to the cottage where Jacqueline was going to live. Last night she had printed out a kind of rental agreement. She charged, in consultation with Sjaak, a fixed amount for water and energy and the use of the stock, and in addition a rent amount that was actually a pittance. Sjaak and Lisa did not want to earn money from the shelter, only to receive back, at least in part, the building costs incurred over the years.

Lisa went through everything in the large living room as well as in the little house to check one more time if everything was okay. She had the impression that she had everything in stock now, but she would also ask Jacqueline later to look very carefully with her and see if she was missing anything.

She heard a car arrive and a moment later saw Ellen's car pull up to the parking lot. Together with a young, petite woman she got out. Lisa opened the front door and walked up to them.

"Hello, nice to have you here!" Lisa held out her hand to the young woman. "I heard from Ellen that your name is Jacqueline. I'm Lisa. Welcome here, come on in!"

As Ellen lifted two suitcases from the trunk of her car and handed one to Jacqueline, Lisa preceded them into the house.

Lisa offered to make coffee and did the deed. As the coffee machine began to simmer gently, the women walked quietly through the house together. Ellen gave Lisa a wink and, invisible to Jacqueline, raised her thumb. It took Lisa a moment to hear Jacqueline's voice for the first time, "How beautiful it is here, and much bigger than I thought. Is everything new? Am I really the first one here?"

Lisa nodded, "Yes, we just finished the work yesterday, and then Ellen called and asked if she could bring you. I'm glad you like it. I'd love it if you'd look in the closets, to see if you need anything else I might have forgotten to buy. If so, I can get it later."

Jacqueline nodded, opening the closet in her bedroom. She saw the piles of towels and washcloths and ran her hand over them caressingly. Next to them was a pile of bedding.

"Where can I do the laundry?" she asked shyly.

"Next door, in your bathroom," Lisa pointed.

"A private washing machine? Or do the other women come and use it here too?"

"No way, this one belongs here, and each house has its own washing machine."

Lisa explained how the housing complex was structured, that each woman had her own house, and that they could all go through a hallway to a central living room. "But no one can come into your house uninvited. I myself do have a runner from the houses, but another resident can't intrude on you or anything. Come with me and I'll show you."

Lisa opened the door to the hallway and pointed to the door next to it. "This door here is the outside door that we just came in through. And that door at the end of the hallway opens into the common living room. Because this hallway belongs to your house, because this is where you can hang your coat, put your shoes, whatever you want, we decided to give that access door to the common living room the same lock as your front door. I recommend that you lock both of them consistently. I understood that a security team will also be arriving soon. I will give them a runner from the houses, so they can reach you in case of an emergency. By the way, above your nightstand, in the bathroom and in the living room, there is a button, which you can use to alert the security guards if something is wrong. We have chosen not to make these buttons red, that would be too conspicuous. They are of the same color as the curtains."

Jacqueline nodded and noticed something completely different, "You even provided an umbrella..."

"Yes, you never know when it will rain. As long as you have security, you can't go out, but I hope for your sake that won't be too long."

Jacqueline and Ellen walked behind Lisa into the large living room. They stared their eyes out, especially at the beautiful mural. Slowly Jacqueline walked over to it, pointing to the waves, "Waves, my waves are still meters high now," she whispered, "but now that I am here, I believe that the storm will subside, that the water will ripples like here on the wall. Then I will be able to really see the sun again. That's what this painting feels like. Would it ever really come to that?"

As she turned to Lisa, tears streamed down her cheeks. Lisa spread her arms invitingly, and said, "Just look at me..." Jacqueline looked, and threw herself sobbing into Lisa's arms.

A moment later, she detached herself again. "Sorry, I just let myself go, it came naturally, I'm sorry, really, I'm sorry!"

Lisa gently wiped a few tears from her cheeks. "You don't have to be sorry about that at all, it was good. You're safe here, and I'd like to be there for you. Ellen has probably already told you that I've been pretty much in the same boat as you. I went down that road, too, and got so much money out of it that I was able to have this built and furnished for you and other women. And I can tell you it was a job, but we also had a lot of fun doing it. Let's agree on one thing together: whatever there is, whatever you want to ask or need, let me know! In your kitchenette and also here, there is a card on which, among other things, my phone number is written. Oh look, there comes Sjaak just now. He is my husband, and the gardener of this estate."

Lisa let Sjaak in so he could get acquainted with Jacqueline. Sjaak felt her pain, recognized what he had also felt with Lisa at the time. He also noticed that she looked at him timidly.

"If I understood correctly, you haven't had any good experiences with men. I recognize it in how you look, I feel your pain. I have seen and felt that same pain with Lisa. I will be there for you for hand-holding, and if it is necessary for you to bring Lisa or another woman from here. And if at all possible, Lisa and I will go with you to court if you need to go there. By the way, is that true, that there will be a court case?"

Ellen confirmed that. "Johan is already preparing it. And there will be security too. I'm expecting Marieke in a moment with both her teams."

"Shall we continue for a while?" suggested Lisa. She opened the large pantry. "Everything you need can be found here. At least, if I haven't forgotten anything! And if you miss anything, please let me know! I'll be stopping by this room every day especially in the beginning. Now if you miss anything, just write it here on this little block."

Huib had mounted a knob on the side of the closet, to which Lisa had hung a notepad and a pen. "New pens and notepads are also in that low wall cabinet. Whatever you need, just get it here from the cupboard or from that low cupboard. You can also find some things here in the kitchen cabinets.

"Just look..." Lisa pulled open all the doors to show it. Jacqueline shot a laugh at her quick action. "You can cook for yourself in your own little kitchen, if you like, but here you can also heat up a can of soup, for example, or warm up a snack in the little oven. Also nice for the security guards who are here at night."

Then she opened the refrigerator.

"More freezer space than refrigerator space, because most of you almost certainly won't be able to go grocery shopping yourself. If you want to cook fresh, you can put it on the grocery list. Now, shall we go back to your house?"

As they walked down the hallway, Jacqueline asked, "Is there a toothbrush and toothpaste, too? I don't have those with me."

"That's a good one, I forgot those!" Lisa grabbed her mobile phone and made a note. "I'll go after it later and we'll put a supply of that in that low cupboard too, with the other personal care things. I'll also bring floss thread and sticks, for those who need them."

In her mind, she decided to buy a basket to go with it, where she could keep all the dental care stuff.

Jacqueline looked around her living room. Her eyes lingered on the tapestry. She walked over to it and looked at it closely. "How beautiful this is, patches, threads, pearl beads. It looks so simple, but it feels so very special." Again her tears began to flow.

To chapter 240. Security

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