On Saturday nights, there were parties to go to, or if not, something had to be organized. Places to hang out, drink a lot of alcohol, and make out. Walter was still a virgin. One Saturday, Werner and Walter went to Frankfurt on the bus to go to a middle-class dance school, which organized a dance party with a live rock-and-roll band. Down in the basement, where the dance party was held, they bought beers and checked out the crowd.
As the two stood on the side of the dance floor and enjoyed the music for a while, Walter noticed the petite girl in black dress and chestnut-colored hair with a French-style haircut. The hair rim had been cut higher up in the back. The girl looked back at him through very blue eyes while dancing with somebody else at the same time. Walter returned her gaze for long time, and when she was available, he asked her to dance with him.
Initially, the band played a couple of fast tunes. Later they segued into a slow dance. The dancers’ bodies came closer and closer. Soon the two were squeezing each other from face to lower torso, and any curve or mold was filled with each other’s body parts. There was some initial caressing here and there and then the first gentle touch of lips—and for Walter looking into endless, deep-blue eyes. He had arrived prepared for a situation like this, having done research with more experienced acquaintances. To arouse a woman while dancing with her, he was told, the man needed to breathe deeply and while doing that rub his chest against her breasts. It worked. The girl pressed back, and they started to press and rub against each other more passionately. By then they were also kissing deep in the throat with entwined tongues. The slow dance turned into an extremely exciting and lustful affair.
Walter felt safe and comfortable with her from the start. He fell in love that night. The next day, he talked to Werner about it and confessed that he loved the girl named Madeleine.
This time, when Walter fell in love, he had no doubt that it was real love. On one level, he felt firmness and excitement within; on the other were fears about whether what occurred was real. The long distance they lived apart presented an obstacle. Madeleine’s father owned an apartment building in an upscale neighborhood of a suburb near a small town south of Frankfurt. It was thirty miles and about two hours by bus from Bad Homburg. The family lived in the penthouse of that ten-story building and enjoyed a 360-degree view over forests. When Walter visited Madeleine for the first time, he was very impressed and somewhat cautious about meeting the family. He met them all, including Madeleine’s twin sister, and they had dinner together. Everybody appeared to be friendly and interested in the new boyfriend. Questions were asked, and Walter left assured that everything went well. He said good-bye for the long journey home to the old town of Bad Homburg.
It became tough for Walter to see Madeleine. Since he spent the days working in Frankfurt, he was the one who made his way to see her. They met either at her home or for a movie or even the theater or opera in Frankfurt, where Madeleine’s parents held season tickets and let the daughters use them. Walter always had to make sure to catch the last bus for home. Only on weekends could he sleep satisfactorily. Love provided him with the endurance to maintain this relationship as time went by.
Every so often, Madeleine took on a baby-sitting job. One Saturday night was the night. She had given the signal—“do not forget the condoms”—and of course, these condoms occupied Walter’s mind for months. With his new driver’s license and using his father’s car, a red Opel station wagon, freshly bathed and the condoms in his pocket, he drove the thirty miles to the apartment where Madeleine was baby-sitting.
When Walter arrived, the baby was asleep. The couple did not waste any time; it was the first time for both of them. Walter fumbled to roll the condom onto his very virile member. The atmosphere in the apartment surged with hormonal visualizations and exceptionally uninhabited sensations. By applying arduous patience during heightened anticipation, he managed to get the condom on all the way. When Walter finally meant to enter Madeleine, he climaxed and came before he could. That eruption caused most of his semen to squirt onto the black cotton couch’s upholstering, because the condom had slithered off his wiener during the short performance. Exhausted but eager, the lovers tried it repeatedly that first night. After a few weeks and months, the young couple’s experiments with their love’s physical aspect became very effective, and all worked out all right.
A modest circle of friends kept them busy. Sometimes Madeleine visited Walter in Bad Homburg when his parents traveled on a weekend; other times Walter stayed overnight with Madeleine when her parents went on a trip. They managed their relationship according to reality and practicality, and Walter suffered, being so far away from his sweetheart. Considering the distances they traveled, Walter acquired his first car only in his third and last year as an apprentice. Then affairs turned for the better. The lovers met much faster and at various places, such as the drive-in movie theater, which they enjoyed a lot, regardless of what movie was playing. In the backseat of a Volkswagen Beetle with split rear window, or later in a small Fiat 500, they reveled in serious petting with wet fingers, moaning and groaning, and an occasional sperm flow into underwear or onto a skirt. Now and then, friends joined them in a second car parked next to them, and they got busy as well. Everybody shared food and drinks and enjoyed a splendid time.
Once on a Sunday, Walter and Madeleine drove with Walter’s father in his station wagon to visit farming relatives in the country. Walter’s mother stayed in Frankfurt with Frau Mueller. The ride to the small village took about two hours each way. They spent the day at the ranch of Walter’s cousin Fritz, who raised many animals: pigs, cows, chickens, ducks, and horses. In a separate building, he also operated a large machine that distilled schnapps out of potatoes or turnips.
On the way back home, Madeleine and Walter sat together on the backseat, his father driving as it turned dark. It happened slowly that Walter moved toward the left, to Madeleine, who sat behind his father’s back. They started kissing and pressing, rubbing and fingering. Walter could feel her dryness turning into wetness very quickly. In addition, while the hugging and pressing intensified, Madeleine rubbed Walter with maximum effort but ample sensitivity, not hurt him. He moved fingers up and down and into her. Her eyes sparkled when a car passed by, she moaned with restraint in his ear. His father lighted another cigarette in the driver’s seat.