DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.



John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 2: Mantle Of Aries
Chapter 10

Ed returned from school. He was taking three classes this semester, 
working full-time, and trying to protect John. He was tired and 
wanted to eat before going to bed. He found the note on the table 
by the door. He picked it up and read it aloud, "Ed, we have gone 
to Maria's for dinner. Come there when you get home. Love 
Kelly."

Ed didn't want to go there, but he knew if he was going to get 
anything to eat that he must show up there. He dropped his books 
on the desk that Shirley had bought him as a back to school 
present. He had been overwhelmed by her generosity and valued 
the desk more than anything else in the house. It wasn't a new 
desk, she had found it in a garage sale. It was an original teacher's 
desk from the 1930's and was made of solid oak. He ran his fingers 
over the wood appreciating the warm feel that it inspired.

He went in the bathroom and looked at all of the feminine bath 
products cluttering every inch of the available shelf space. He 
sighed and washed his face hoping that it would help wake him. It 
helped, but not much. He went to the door and stepped out of the 
house. Closing the door behind him, he set off down the street to 
Maria's restaurant. 

Entering the restaurant, Ed stopped and looked around for his 
group. His eye lit upon Jim and Sherry sitting at a corner table. His 
stomach clenched at the memories of what he had done to her in 
the past. He swore to himself, knowing that he would not be able 
to enjoy his meal now. He chose to address his guilt directly and 
walked to their table. He stated, "Jim, I know that you have 
threatened to kill me if I should ever speak to your wife again. I 
hope that you will make an exception for me this one time."

He stepped back from the table and spoke loud enough for 
everyone in the restaurant to hear him. "Sherry, I have treated you 
horribly in the past and I am sorry. I was jealous of you and the 
relationship that you have with Jim. I will admit that I only saw 
you as a fat woman with no special qualities. I wondered how 
someone that looked like you could find a husband as handsome 
and successful as Jim while I was living an empty life. I see now 
that you are a woman of great quality, a woman that knows what it 
means to love. Jim is the one that should be envied for having 
found you."

Ed swallowed and his voice quavered, "I had thought that I was 
handsome and dashing. I see now that I was shallow and mean 
spirited. I look in the mirror and see the ugliness that was within 
me."

He raised his voice again, "You are, and remain, a better person 
than I. I do not ask for your forgiveness, as what I have done is 
unforgivable. No one deserves to be treated the way that I have 
behaved towards you over the years. I am truly sorry."

Jim watched as Ed turned to face him. Jim could see there were 
tears running down the Ed's cheeks. He hardly heard Ed say, "I 
thank you for the opportunity to speak my peace."

Sherry broke out in tears. Never in a million years had she 
expected that Ed would make such a statement to her. It was 
unbelievable that he would make that statement in public. She 
wept as Ed turned and went to the table where John, Beth, and 
Kelly were seated. The other patrons in the restaurant were talking 
quietly among themselves. One might have thought the world was 
ending by the shock that his statement had on everyone there. 

John shook Ed's hand when he sat down. "Ed, that was an 
amazingly courageous thing you have done."

Ed started shaking. He mumbled, "Would you mind getting me an 
order to go? I would like to return home now."

Beth looked to John who shook his head. She made her suggestion 
anyway, "Ed, I'll come with you."

Ed shook his head, "No, I need to be alone for a while."

He stood up and left the restaurant. Rover followed him out. 
Rather than heading home, Ed went to John's house and sat in the 
backyard looking at the desert. Rover lay down beside him. Ed 
petted Rover for a minute and then started to cry. He wondered in 
hindsight how he could have been so mean. In time he quieted 
down and relaxed under the stars.

John stepped around the corner with a covered plate full of taco's. 
It was the best food to eat cold that they served the restaurant. He 
had known that Ed was coming here and had told the two women 
to go to Ed's. He handed the plate to Ed and pulled up a chair. "Do 
you feel better now?"

"I guess."

John smiled, "Good. Now eat."

Ed removed the foil off the plate and spotted the taco's. He smiled, 
"Some tea would go great with this."

John looked surprised, "Oh, I thought you had some tea here. Let 
me get some for you."

John went in the house and got two glasses of iced tea. He brought 
the pitcher out to the patio with him. He set the pitcher down and 
then handed one of the glasses to Ed. John smiled, "I wanted to 
thank you. Nobody in town is talking about John Carter's fusion 
battery anymore. Everyone is talking about Ed Bigger's public 
apology to Sherry."

Ed laughed, "It wasn't my intention to take the spotlight off you. I 
can promise you that."

John nodded, "It was a very nice thing you did. It meant so much 
to her. The fact that it was public made it mean even more."

Ed shrugged, "All of my mean comments to her were in public, the 
least I could do was apologize in public. She must really hate me 
for the things I have done."

John shrugged, "I don't know. I do know that you made the first 
peace offer. You would be surprised at the effect that your words 
may have on her."

Ed slowly ate a taco. He was lost in his thoughts. He wondered 
how he could ever make it up to Sherry for his past treatment of 
her. His apology, heartfelt as it was, still seemed to be too little for 
the harm that he had done. John was a going to be a rich man, his 
future wasn't that bright. He couldn't set up a charity for her like 
John. All he could do from now on was treat her with respect and 
defend her when others did not. 

There was only one taco left on the plate. His appetite had been 
satisfied. He looked up at John, "I will stop by Jim's office in 
Phoenix tomorrow before class to ask him about drawing up a 
contract for our group marriage."

John thought about telling Ed about the discussions in Austin. He 
decided that Ed may have a better reason to go there than just 
asking for his legal advice. He decided to broach the subject that 
had motivated them to eat out. "I became a millionaire today. Jim 
handled six leases on the patents for us. For twenty-five million 
dollars each, six corporations can use our patent with non-
exclusive rights. He has close to forty other requests to handle."

Ed smiled, "Congratulations."

John laughed, "Well, you better tell Jim to get a move on setting up 
the legal structure for our group marriage. I want us to be able to 
share that money since I don't have anything to do with it."

Ed shrugged his shoulders, "I don't need any money. I'm happy the 
way I am."

"How about money so that you can attend school fulltime?"

Ed laughed, "I have enough money to go full time. I inherited the 
house, the truck, and insurance money from my parents when they 
passed away. My only expenses have been food, drink, utilities, 
and clothes. I've got enough money set aside to last a couple of 
years."

John shook his head, "So why aren't going to school fulltime?"

"I think that a person should work."

John laughed, "So why aren't you working at the school?"

Ed looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"

John stated, "You can get a student assistant job at the school. It 
will pay your tuition plus a little. If you feel that you have to work, 
why not work there. Shouldn't impact your savings too much."

Ed looked shocked, "I can do that?"

"Sure. You have a 4.0 GPA. You shouldn't have a problem getting 
a position."

Ed looked thoughtful. He asked, "What kind of work could I get 
there?"

John answered, "maybe a job classifying rocks. You'll never know 
until you ask."

Ed laughed, "By the Gods and Goddesses, I'll do it! That would 
beat pushing cattle around on the back of a horse."

John laughed, "You're starting to talk like me."

Ed got serious, "I'll take tomorrow off and stop by Jim's office. 
Then I'll go into the school and find out what I need to do."

John didn't want to bring it up, but he did it anyway. "So what are 
you going to tell Jim?"

"I will ask him to do this for you rather than for me. The fact of the 
matter is that I've really screwed up there. She's never going to 
forgive me."

A male voice came out of the dark around the corner. "You might 
be surprised, Ed."

The only who wasn't surprised was Rover who had been watching 
the man for the past minute. Ed turned so quickly that he almost 
twisted his back, "Who is it?"

"Jim."

Ed stood up to face Jim. "Go ahead and do what you want. I won't 
fight you."

Jim laughed, "I just wanted to thank you for what you said to 
Sherry. Never in a million years did either of us think that you 
would do what you did tonight. She was genuinely touched."

Ed answered, "It was nothing compared to the damage that I've 
done a thousand times in the past."

Jim shook his head, "I wouldn't say that. You said several 
important things tonight. Things that she needed to hear from 
someone besides me."

Ed stated, "If you ever need something, let me know and I will take 
care of it. I owe you both too much."

Jim looked uncomfortable, "Well, I had better get back. I wanted 
to say thank you for what you did. We will be over tomorrow night 
to talk about the contracts for the group marriage. Jack is flying in 
tomorrow afternoon."

Ed looked puzzled, "Did John already ask you about the group 
marriage?"

Jim nodded, "Yes, he did."

"Oh, I was going to stop by your office to ask you about that."

Jim replied, "Don't worry, We'll see you tomorrow night. I need to 
get back to Sherry now."

Jim stepped away even as he had spoken. Ed didn't have a chance 
to respond with even a good bye. He turned to look at John, "What 
just happened?"

"What do you think?"

Ed, still standing, looked off into the distance. He shrugged, "I 
don't know. I think I'm going to go home now."

John watched Ed walk off. Ed was headed for some very tough 
times, particularly when news of the group marriage got around. 
He wondered how Ed was going to handle it when people started 
asking him if he was a faggot. As he thought about it, he wondered 
how he was going to handle it. 

The next night came too soon. Ed had left at sunrise and returned 
at dusk. He walked in the house exhausted carrying a box. He took 
the box in his room and lay down to take a nap. He was woken two 
hours later by Kelly gently shaking him, "Wake up. Jack's here."

Ed snapped awake. He quickly changed his shirt and grabbed the 
box. Stepping out of the bedroom, he saw that Jack had arrived. 
There was no sign of Jim or Sherry. He breathed a sigh of relief 
and headed into the kitchen. Everyone wondered as the sound of a 
blender emerged from the kitchen. He spent about five minutes in 
the kitchen before coming out carrying a pitcher of frozen 
margaritas and a martini shaker. John asked, "What's with all of 
that?"

Ed answered, "I, uh … Well, I, … I stopped by the bar and found 
out what Jim and Sherry like to drink. I figure if they're coming 
over, we should be good hosts."

Kelly stated, "I didn't know you knew how to make those drinks."

"I didn't. I had Shirley teach me how this afternoon." Ed replied. "I 
also went out and got some snacks in case anyone gets hungry."

Kelly stated, "Did you eat anything for dinner?"

"Nah, I figured I'd eat some of the snacks. I got chips and salsa 
from Maria. She's going to bring down some guacamole later. She 
said, she'd also bring some mini-tacos."

Jack stated, "That was very thoughtful of you."

"I'd do that for any guest. Don't read any more into it than that," 
replied Ed. He went back into the kitchen to get the snacks. He set 
them out by his favorite chair. Beth and Kelly watched him 
carefully. They wondered if he was cracking up. John understood 
that Ed was attempting to undo much of the damage that he had 
done in the past.

There was a knock on the door and John waited to see if Ed went 
to get it. Ed waited by the snacks. John went to the door and 
opened it. Jim was standing there with Sherry hiding slightly 
behind him. John invited them both in. Jim entered and looked 
around the room. He spotted the margarita pitcher and glanced 
back at Sherry. She followed him into the house. 

Ed stated, "Come in. Please come in. I have margaritas for Sherry 
and Martini's for Jim. I'm afraid I didn't know what Jack liked to 
drink."

Jim stated, "Not before we are done working."

Jack seconded the motion, "I'll wait until we are done here."

Sherry slowly entered the room and stood next to Jim. She was 
looking at Ed as if he was a Martian. Ed gestured to the chair, 
suggesting that she sit down. He poured a drink in a glass with a 
salted rim and handed it to her. She took a sip of the drink and sat 
down. "Very good. Just like I like it."

"Great," replied Ed, "I guess we should get to work now."

Ed sat at the table they had set up for this discussion. Everyone 
else slowly made their way to the table. It took a few minutes 
before they actually got down to business. The solution that Jim 
and Jack had come up with was novel. They would own shares in 
the family. The value of a share would be computed as the net 
assets of the family divided by the number of shares outstanding. A 
person could enter the marriage by buying shares. A person could 
leave the marriage by cashing out the shares. If it were not possible 
to cash out a share, then assets would be sold until it could be paid. 

Jack went into how the taxes would be handled. He had spent three 
days at the IRS getting rulings on the various approaches that they 
could take. He had selected the one that was consistent with Jim's 
proposal. As he explained it, the concept made total sense. 

A quiet hush fell across the table as everyone looked at everyone 
else. Finally, Jack asked, "What do you think?"

Kelly answered, "You know what, I like the idea. I didn't think I 
would, but I really do."

Beth added, "I guess the shares would be used to settle disputes?"

Jim nodded, "Yes. Not only that, it gives each person a chance to 
save their own money outside of the marriage. The shares make a 
clear demarcation as to how much is in the family. Everything else 
is the property of the individual person."

Beth stated, "I like it."

Although he was actually worried about one little detail, Ed 
nodded, "It's fair."

John stated, "I don't think it is fair at all."

Everyone turned to look at him. Ed stated, "Why?"

John answered, "With my money I can control everything. I don't 
think that is fair at all."

Jim smiled, "I'm going to suggest something to you, because we 
did consider that. I'm going to suggest that everyone contribute an 
initial amount of money that they feel comfortable with for an even 
number of shares. No person is allowed at any time to buy more 
than twice the number of shares of anyone else over a given period 
of time."

John nodded, "That does sound fair."

Jack added, "Since you are requesting me to set up the books for 
this family, you may consider allowing me to establish the price of 
a share. We also considered that a person may contribute a gift to 
the family that adds value to the stock, but does not produce any 
more shares."

Jim stated, "I don't think you should decide tonight. I think you 
should wait a couple of days. I'll be available to answer any private 
questions that you may have. There are a lot of subtle points about 
this, that you will want to think about."

John stated, "Sounds good to me."

His comment was soundly endorsed by Ed, Beth, and Kelly. Jim 
smiled, "I think that ends the business portion of this evening. I'll 
take that drink now."

Jack stated, "I'll take a Margarita."

Ed nodded, "Okay. Let me make a new batch of Martinis. Give me 
just a second."

Ed went into the kitchen while everyone else arranged chairs in the 
living room. Sherry was seated, still working on her first 
Margarita.  She stated, "While you guys were talking, Maria came 
and delivered some mini-taco's and guacamole dip."

Kelly smiled, "Oh, that's great. Ed ordered them earlier."

Ed came in with a tray of drinks. He had brought the drinks for Jim 
and Jack. He had tea for John and himself. He handed them out 
and refreshed Sherry's drink. He then asked, "Kelly and Beth, what 
would you like to drink?"

The women looked at each other and then stated, "I think we 
would like Margaritas for a change."

Ed smiled. He picked up the pitcher and headed to the kitchen. He 
made another batch and brought it out. He poured them their drinks 
and handed them out. He settled into a chair and took a sip of his 
tea. 

Sherry watched Ed scurry about the house acting like the host. She 
was rather confused. She wondered if this change in Ed was 
temporary or permanent. She decided to test the waters. "Ed, are 
you having sex with John?"

The room got very quiet and every eye turned to Ed. Ed nodded, 
"Yes, I am."

Sherry asked, "Does this mean you are now a faggot?"

A collective gasp went up around the room. All eyes turned to Ed 
expecting him to explode. Ed answered, "Well, I will soon have a 
husband and two wives. So I guess that makes me one third faggot 
and two thirds a Romeo."

Sherry frowned and asked, "Are you okay with that?"

Ed laughed, "To tell the truth, I prefer to consider myself one 
hundred percent lucky to have found three people that love me!"

She smiled, "I like that. You are lucky."

Kelly turned to Sherry and asked, "Why did you ask that question 
in such a nasty way?"

Sherry considered her answer very carefully. She stated, "I have 
lived most of my life terrified of Ed. Last night he exposed more 
vulnerability to me than I have ever exposed to him. I had to know 
if he had really changed or if he would lash out at me the first time 
I touched upon that vulnerability."

Beth frowned, "Did he pass your test?"

Sherry answered, "Yes, he did. I asked that question fully 
expecting to get hit. Instead, he was honest about something that 
most cowards would have denied or gotten angry. I'm convinced 
that we could become friends now."

Ed smiled, "I would be proud to have you as a friend. I want you to 
know that you can call upon me at anytime and I'll be there for 
you."

Sherry didn't answer. She was amazed at the changes that Ed had 
undergone in the past year. The changes started after he had met 
John. She examined John. He had an aura around him that 
suggested supreme confidence and the satisfaction of a man that is 
at peace with himself. She could see that same aura starting to 
bloom around Ed. John had said that Ed had been at the arrest of 
the serial killer. Maybe facing a real danger had helped his 
conversion. Then she remembered that he had served in the 
military and that he had received a couple of medals for bravery or 
something like that.

Ed suddenly stated, "You know, they say that if you get asked the 
same question three times then you should come up with a 
prepared answer. Well, I asked that question to myself. Now, 
you've asked the question. The third time will be coming soon. I 
guess I'm going to have to work out a good answer to it."

John suggested, "you already have a good answer. You are the 
luckiest person alive to have found three people that love you. You 
could mention that others consider themselves lucky if they can 
find a spouse that barely tolerates them after a couple years of 
marriage."

Jack stated, "That's kind of a harsh answer."

Jim replied, "Maybe, but the good thing is that it is a true answer."

Ed snacked on the min-tacos as he listened to the conversation. He 
drank his tea and munched on chips dipped in the guacamole. He 
knew that he was a very lucky man. He stated, "You know, I'm 
much more confident of myself now than I was a year ago. Yeah, 
I've sucked cock, but somehow I feel that I'm more of a man today 
than I did then. Strange isn't it?"

Sherry replied, "Not at all. Going outside your boundaries can 
make you much stronger and more confident of yourself. You find 
out that you are capable of much more than you ever thought 
possible. That gives you a certain confidence when it comes to 
dealing with the more mundane aspects of life."

Kelly's eyes lit up. She winked at Sherry, "Let's push some 
boundaries right now. We have enough people here to qualify as an 
orgy."

Jim smiled, "As tempting as it sounds, I'm afraid that we are not 
ready to push that boundary yet. Perhaps after we've gotten to 
know each other better."

A similar scene occurred several days later when everyone 
purchased their shares of the group marriage family. Everyone 
contributed twenty thousand each, including John. In the 
discussions after the initial meeting, Beth had stated that was how 
much she was going to contribute. Independent of each other, Ed 
and Kelly had decided that they would make the same 
contribution. John listened to the discussions and decided that he 
would make the same.

Of them all, Kelly had the most difficult time coming up with that 
kind of money. She didn't tell anyone, but she had to take a loan to 
come up with the cash. She had determined that she would get rid 
of her apartment and move in with Ed until they bought a house 
together. She could make the loan payment while still contributing 
to the family. Ed had wiped out almost all of his savings, but he 
still had the house and a job. It was going to be tight because his 
new job at the university paid much less than he was making as a 
cowboy. 

John was well aware of what a financial burden was being placed 
on the others. He knew that Kelly wouldn't be able to save any 
money for quite some time if she contributed to the general fund 
every month. Although Kelly had gone into debt, she made enough 
to repay the debt and contribute. Ed was going to have it tough as 
well. Ed had wiped out his savings and he now made minimum 
wage with college expenses thrown in on top of that. 

John decided the fairest thing he could do was to contribute two 
million dollars as a gift to the family. There was a logic behind his 
decision; one that the others could understand. In terms of 
sacrifice, the twenty thousand dollars was nothing compared to his 
newfound wealth. The gift made his sacrifice a little more 
equitable and yet did not give him excessive power within the 
family. It would also give everyone a chance to replenish their 
savings, as they wouldn't have to contribute any money for several 
years.

Once the money's had been deposited, they authorized Jack to 
write checks to himself and Jim for their consultation fees. It was 
then time for them to finalize decisions about living arrangements, 
food, automobiles, and the purchase of a new house. It was decided 
that for the moment, they would share Ed and John's houses. Kelly 
and Beth smiled at John when that decision was made. Finally, 
they had the chance to fill his house with furniture. 










