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.

JC: Ed Biggers
Part 2: Equilibrant
Chapter 7
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

The middle of May in Arizona can be quite nice weather wise. It is 
also when the University bestows the degrees upon the graduating 
students. Inside the auditorium, Ed sat in the crowd of students 
wearing a maroon gown and cap. It was hot under the gown and he 
fidgeted restlessly. He was here because Kelly had wanted to see 
him attend the ceremony. John was seated somewhere with the 
faculty. Kelly and Beth were up in the stands. He had no idea 
where the cats were and wondered how John had managed to keep 
them from acting as bodyguards.

While the bigwigs at the front of the room made their speeches, he 
kept contradicting them in his mind. At least he didn’t think out 
loud or else he probably would have angered everyone around him. 
It was just that the majority of the speech dealt with going forth to 
meet with the world for the first time. He knew his attitude was 
unfair as most of the graduating students had come here from 
home, spent their days at school, and were only now facing the 
arduous task of supporting themselves. However, he had been 
supporting himself since he was sixteen. In a way, he wished he 
could get up there and say that they needed to work hard, live 
simply, and learn to play cheap.

Out of boredom, he kept taking off the cap and examining it. It was 
an odd kind of thing that reminded him of a beanie with flat piece 
of cardboard glued on top. He checked the program again in the 
hope of finding an explanation for the weird shaped hat, but there 
wasn't one. There was a long description of the meaning of the 
various colors that appeared on the hoods, but he had already read 
that three times. 

The guy sitting next to him nudged him and whispered, "Stand 
up."

Looking around, Ed saw that all of the other honor students were 
standing. He rose to join them, deciding that he should probably 
pay attention from now on. He sat down when the other honor 
students sat. He listened a little more carefully. They asked for all 
of the people with 4.0 GPAs to stand. Not thinking much about it, 
Ed stood and realized that he was one of three students standing. 
There was a large round of applause and then he was able to sit 
down again.

The guy sitting next to him whispered, "Hey, nice going. I was 
happy with a 2.8."

"Thanks," replied Ed. He looked at the guy wondering how 
someone could actually spend four years in college and graduate 
happy with a 2.8 GPA.

He sat back and listened to what the Provost of the University was 
saying. As he listened to the Provost describe the Outstanding 
Student Of The Graduating Class, he was not impressed. 
Everything they were saying about this guy, he had done and didn't 
think anything special about it. When the Provost started talking 
about graduating in three years and with a perfect GPA, it began to 
dawn on him that they were maybe talking about him.

He heard the guy next to him swear, "Shit, that guy must be 
superman."

When Ed heard his name called he stood up in time to hear the 
Provost ask him to approach the podium. Ed made his way there, 
happy that they had placed him on an isle seat. That's when he 
realized that it wasn't an accident that he had been held up in the 
procession and given this chair. When he reached the podium, the 
Provost shock his hand and slipped an envelope in it stating that it 
was a full scholarship for graduate school. 

Standing next to the Provost, Ed felt ill at ease being in front of so 
many people. He had no problem finding Kelly and Beth in the 
audience as the two women were jumping up and down screaming 
out his name. They were actually part of a large group of people 
waving at him. He gave them a quick wave to let them know that 
he had seen them.

The flashes from several photographers nearly blinded him. He 
looked out and could see himself on the screen that was part of the 
basket ball scoreboard that hung down over center court. Looking 
up at it, he was happy to see that he didn't look as uncomfortable as 
he felt. It was with relief when the Provost told him he could return 
to his seat. Although he did his best to walk in a dignified pace, he 
kept feeling like he was running. He knew his face must have been 
blushing a bright red, it felt hot enough.

He sat down in his seat and breathed a great sigh of relief. The guy 
sitting next to him asked, "You really did all that stuff?"

"Yeah, I didn't think much about it at the time," replied Ed. The 
fact of the matter was that he had been having so much fun that he 
hadn't seen it as work. He looked around and saw that a large 
number of students were looking in his direction.

He decided that rather than look back, it would be better to listen to 
what was being said on the podium. Several more students were 
brought up to the front podium to receive honors of various types. 
Ed clapped as hard as anyone for the achievements of the other 
students.

The Chief of the Campus Police took the podium and said, "Earlier 
this year, a monster was preying upon our students. One of our 
students was being attacked by this monster and another student 
apprehended the monster. This particular student took on the knife 
wielding suspect placing his own life at risk. He subdued the 
suspect and rendered aid to the victim."

Pausing for a moment, the Chief continued, "There was a five 
thousand dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of the 
suspect. The delivery of the reward was held up because the 
student has credentials that identified him as a criminal 
investigator for a government agency. However, we discovered 
that he is an unpaid volunteer and is therefore eligible for the 
reward."

When Ed groaned, the guy sitting next to him stared at him. He 
whispered, "Don't tell me that you're the guy."

"I'm afraid so," replied Ed. 

The Chief announced, "Would Ed Biggers please come to the 
podium?"

Ed made the long trip to the podium for the second time. As he 
walked up there, he was trying to decide what to do with the 
money. When he reached the podium, the Chief of Police said, "It 
gives me great pleasure to give this reward to you."

After shaking hands with Ed, the Chief of Police handed him an 
oversize check. Again, Ed was nearly blinded by the flashes of 
cameras. Ed looked at the check and handed it back to the Chief of 
Police saying, "I'd like to donate this money to the student crisis 
center for use in counseling the victims of violent crimes."

With a look of great surprise, the Chief of Police returned to the 
microphone and said, "Mr. Biggers has something to say."

Ed stepped up to the microphone and said, "I appreciate the reward 
money and recognition, but I don't really feel like I deserve it. The 
people that deserve our respect are the victims that survived 
horrible treatment at the hands of the suspect. I wish there was 
more that I could do to help them. For now, I'd like to donate this 
money to the student crisis center for use in counseling the victims 
of violent crimes." 

The applause was tremendous and Ed returned to his seat. On the 
way, he spotted John and saw the wink given him. Shaking his 
head, he collapsed in his chair and whispered to the guy next to 
him, "One more trip up there and I'm leaving."

Chuckling at the statement, the guy said, "Are you telling me that 
there's more?"

"I hope not," replied Ed.

It seemed like it had lasted forever, but the event finally ended. Ed 
slipped out and headed to the spot where he had agreed to meet the 
rest of his family. The trip to their meeting point took a lot longer 
than Ed had anticipated. Several times, he was stopped by people 
congratulating him on his achievements. It was embarrassing being 
the center of attention just because he had been himself. 

He reached the meeting spot to be greeted by two extremely 
cheerful women, an amused John, and three sulky cats. After 
accepting hugs from Kelly and Beth and a handshake from John, 
Ed bent down and said to the cats, "I sure missed you guys."

That appeared to improve the mood of the cats significantly. 
Smiling, John said, "Let's drop off the gowns and get over to the 
restaurant. I'm hungry."

The group headed over to the area where they were collecting the 
gowns. There was already a pretty long line. The guy that had been 
sitting next to Ed called over, "Hey, come over here."

Ed called back, "I don't believe in cutting in line. Thanks for the 
offer."

Waving happily, the guy turned back and waited his turn. Ed, 
accompanied by Shadow, joined the end of the line and removed 
the robe. Once the initial surprise and comments about the cat had 
passed, a number of the students in line commented on how 
amazed they were that he had given the reward money away. 
Doing his best to change the topic, Ed asked people what their 
plans for the future were. As the new topic raged around him, the 
line moved forward quickly. He dropped his robe off in the box 
and had his name checked off the list. 

The group met up and headed to the restaurant. They were stopped 
by a young woman and her family. It took Ed a moment to 
recognize her as the woman he had saved. She introduced herself, 
"Hello, I'm Kim Green. These are my parents."

The man extended a hand to Ed and said, "I'm John and this my 
wife Grace."

Shaking his hand, Ed said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. This is my 
husband, John, and my wives, Kelly and Beth. The cougar is 
Rover, the panther is Shadow, the feisty cat over there is Tiger."

John Green looked at the Carter Clan with surprise. Under the 
gown, Ed had worn his normal jeans and work shirt. It was clear 
that he was a cowboy. John stood there with his walking stick and 
cloak. His long white beard and white patches in his long hair gave 
him the appearance of a wizard. Kelly was wearing off the rack 
clothes that were fairly conservative. Beth was wearing a designer 
dress that was conservative as well. The idea of a group marriage 
disturbed him significantly, but he managed to hide what he 
thought about the group marriage pretty well. 

After a quick glance at Beth and Kelly, John said, "Would you and 
your family like to join us for a celebratory dinner over at the 
seafood place?"

Kelly said, "Please join us. We have a whole room rented and there 
are still some empty places. You'll have a good time."

The father felt a little uneasy, but agreed to go with them to the 
restaurant. The group headed out with John talking to the father. 
Beth and Kelly flanked Kim and talked to her about her 
experience. The caring that drove them to the medical field 
emerged as they talked with the young woman. Ed was left talking 
to the mother who expressed significant interest in the cats. 

John Green asked, "So what government law enforcement agency 
does Ed do volunteer work for?"

Glancing back at Ed, John answered, "He works for the IRS in the 
criminal investigation branch."

"Really? I'm a CPA," replied John Green. He thought that he had 
known all of the IRS agents in the area. He added, "I thought I 
knew everyone in the Phoenix office."

John replied, "He's working on a joint case with the FBI at the 
moment so he isn't really ever in the Phoenix office. We've been 
working out of my office."

"You work for the FBI?" asked John Green surprised that the FBI 
would accept an agent in a group marriage.

"Like Ed, I volunteer my time. I work part time here in the physics 
department."

"Oh," replied John Green. He decided that even though John was a 
FBI agent, he was also a nut. He asked, "So how do you support 
your family?"

"Royalties from my inventions," replied John. He watched as Tiger 
ran off after a squirrel. The squirrel easily made it up the tree 
before the cat ever reached it. It looked like the cat was more 
interested in discharging a little energy than eating.

Grace was totally captivated by Ed as he told stories about being a 
cowboy.  He was describing what it was like to be out on the range 
watching the sunset from the back of the horse. Kelly came up to 
him and hugged his arm. She said, "Are you trying to seduce 
another woman?"

Laughing, Ed replied, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Kelly turned to Grace and said, "Your daughter is positively 
lovely. She seems to have gotten through her ordeal very well. Of 
course, when Ed rescues someone he makes sure that they are 
treated very well and that their needs are the first to be meet."

Grace asked, "He's done that before?"

Sighing, Kelly replied, "John and Ed always seem to be in the 
thick of things. It seems to me that if they don't rescue someone 
twice a year, they aren't happy. They kid each other about it. It 
seems that John is always rescuing men and Ed gets the damsels in 
distress."

"You don't sound all that pleased about that."

Kelly shrugged, "They get injured sometimes. John has died twice. 
It's a little difficult dealing with the fact that your husbands are out 
in harms way."

Embarrassed at being the subject of conversation, Ed dropped back 
to talk to Kim. He asked her how things were going and what her 
plans for the future were. She said, "Well, when you rescued me, 
you told me something that has stayed with me. It changed my life 
significantly."

"What did I say?"

"You said that you enjoy being a white knight rescuing damsels in 
distress. Now I must admit that was a schoolgirl fantasy of mine, 
but the entire situation made me realize that I didn't really like 
being a damsel in distress," replied Kim. The fairy tales didn't talk 
about the misery, fear, and anguish that went with being in distress. 
She said, "When I was dating, I always was waiting for the guy to 
rescue me somehow. I realized that I don't want to be in a position 
where I need to be rescued."

Ed said, "That's wise."

Smiling, Kim said, "Well, it has made me look at the men around 
me a little differently. I discovered that I like smart guys a bit more 
than the big tough looking types that I always felt could rescue 
me."

"I'm sure that a lot of smart guys are glad to hear that," replied Ed. 

Blushing, Kim said, "Well, I wanted to thank you for saving me."

"I was just happy to be there. Of course, Shadow was the one that 
let me know that something was wrong."

They reached the restaurant and entered. The place was crowded, 
but their party was taken to a private dining room. Ed hadn't 
known who was invited to the lunch and was quite surprised by the 
number of people present. Shirley came over and hugged him. She 
said, "I'm so proud of you. You really did it."

"Thanks, Shirley," replied Ed. He added, "Every time that I sit 
down at my beautiful desk to do my homework I think about you."

Looking at Ed, she remembered how shocked she had been when 
he announced that he was going to start college. Of course, she 
couldn't imagine that Ed would have changed so much since then. 
She kissed him on the cheek and said, "We'll be looking for great 
things from you in the future."

Kim and her family sat at a table with Rosa, Maria, and Carlos. 
Kim was shocked when Rosa said, "The last time I was in this part 
of town, I was attacked. Ed rescued me that day."

Maria patted her hand and said, "Don't worry, my dear Rosa. No 
one will bother you with us around."

Rosa smiled and said, "I'm not worried. Ed made it a point of 
honor so that my attacker will never bother me again."

Kim looked at Rosa and said, "He rescued me."

Carlos smiled and said, "Welcome to the club. Ed has helped just 
about everyone in here. Manuel and Joe over there were barely 
able to eat. He turned their business around almost overnight. 
Manuel is now active in the community, Joe is getting married, and 
their business employs twenty people. Ed brought the three of us 
together."

Joking and pointing at Carlos, Maria said, "And he's still trying to 
decide if that was a good thing or not."

Laughing, Carlos replied, "Ah, I love you both."

At the front of the room, Ed was talking with Manuel. The elderly 
Hispanic man had struggled to identify an appropriate graduation 
gift to give Ed. It was a tough job identifying something that would 
be meaningful to Ed, particularly since he was so self sufficient. 
He had settled on a new saddle and was now presenting it to Ed by 
showing him a picture of the saddle. Ed was extremely pleased by 
the gift, a fact that made Manuel very happy.

John was talking to Nevada who was rather surprised by how well 
Ed had done in school. Nevada said, "When he said that he wanted 
to study rocks, I thought he was crazy. Who thought you could 
make a living out of rocks."

John replied, "Ed just turned down a six figure salary from an oil 
company."

Nevada turned to stare at Ed and asked, "He turned it down?"

"Yes," replied John. He understood how Nevada would take that 
news.

Nevada said, "I better go talk to that boy."

John laughed as Nevada headed directly to Ed. In a way, he felt 
sorry for Ed because Nevada was going to try his best to convince 
Ed to take the job. 

A very happy Shirley made her way over to the table where Rosa 
was seated. She leaned on the table and said, "Rosa, it's so nice to 
see you out with your family."

Rosa smiled and pointed over to the other table as she said, "I see 
that you managed to gather your family together for a change."

Maria said, "It must be a rare occasion since you all keep such 
strange hours."

Shirley smiled and said, "Well, running the bar keeps me out most 
of the time. Mary and Edward are busy going to school. Mary is 
pre-med now. Edward is getting a degree in business. Sidney is 
busy at the FBI."

John Green asked, "Are Mary and Edward your children?"

"No, they are my wife and husband. So is Sidney," replied Shirley. 
She winked at Rosa and then pointed back to her table. She said, 
"Sidney is the one with the Seeing Eye dog. Mary is the lovely 
young lady with the burns on her face. Edward is the handsome 
man talking to Sidney."

Grace said, "It sounds like there are a lot of group marriages where 
you guys live."

Recognizing that the Greens were uncomfortable with the topic, 
Carlos said, "No, there are just a lot of people who have learned 
how to love without embarrassment or shame. So many people 
hide their feelings, their dreams, and their problems. Once those 
things come out in the open, miracles can happen."

Maria said, "Love is wanting to help people become the best 
person that they can be. If you look around this room, you will see 
lots of very happy people that are striving to achieve excellence in 
their lives. John and Ed taught all of us that."

Ed came over to the table and greeted everyone, "Hello. Due to the 
number of people here, they are setting up a buffet for us. It should 
be ready in about fifteen minutes. I hope that you aren't starving."

Rosa laughed and said, "You guys are the kind that make the books 
of a business like this look good. Of course, you also drive the help 
crazy."

Ed leaned over and kissed Rosa. Standing he asked, "Are you 
saying that from personal experience?"

"Of course. You know you are just a rascal at heart, sowing chaos 
where ever you go."

Ed turned to Carlos and asked, "However do you put up with her?"

Laughing, Carlos answered, "I spend as much time at work as 
possible."

Ed realized that he hadn't talked to Carlos in quite a while. He 
asked, "So how is the landscaping business going?"

Smiling, Carlos said, "It is going very well. We have contracts now 
all over the state. Your idea of teaming up with a pool man was 
absolutely brilliant. I'm so much happier now that I can do what I 
really love."

"Great. I'm so glad to hear that," replied Ed. He added, "According 
to my old boss, I may have to come looking for a job one of these 
days."

Shirley smiled and said, "I take it that Nevada found out that you 
turned down the job with the oil company to go to graduate 
school."

"Oh yes. He didn't believe that I could make a living looking at 
rocks, then he doesn't believe that I can do better than an oil 
company. The poor guy is over there wondering what this world 
has come to." 

Maria asked, "Grace, what do you do?"

Smugly, Grace said, "I do volunteer work at the Fusion Foundation 
Offices In Phoenix."

"Oh, I didn't realize that you knew the Carter Clan from there," 
replied Maria. 

Looking blank, Grace answered, "I've never met John Carter. They 
don't make it to the Phoenix offices until after everyone else has 
gone. I understand that he's pretty reclusive. They don't even have 
a picture of him at the Fusion Foundation Offices."

Smiling at Ed, Shirley shook her head at the idea that Grace had 
just been talking to John without knowing who he was. She said, "I 
think you'll get a chance to meet him one of these days. I do know 
that they tend to be even busier than our group."

Grace asked, "How do you know them?"

Smiling, Ed answered, "We both met him the first time he came 
into her bar for a coke."

"I've got to go back to my family now." Laughing, Shirley said, 
"Ed, you are a very bad boy!"

Laughing at her parting comment, Ed watched Shirley walk back 
to her table. John Green sat back in his chair and started thinking 
about what he had learned Ed and his family. There were enough 
odd comments that he was left wondering if the John moving 
around the room was the John Carter. John Green asked, "What 
was she saying about you being a bad boy?"

Winking at Ed, Maria replied, "Oh, she was saying that he was a 
bad boy because he hasn't told you that you've already met the 
entire Carter Clan."

Ed noticed that Terry and Dale had just entered the restaurant. He 
said, "Excuse me, but there are a couple of classmates of mine."

As Maria explained how they had met John Carter and the rest of 
his family, Ed went over to Terry and Dale. With a warm greeting, 
he said, "So, the big day is in a month. Getting nervous?"

Terry shook her head while Dale nodded his. Ed laughed at the 
difference in reaction between the couple. Terry said, "Well, he is 
a little nervous."

Ed put an arm on Dale's shoulder and guided the couple over to 
one of the tables. As they went there, Ed said, "Don't be nervous. 
This is the best decision you've ever made. There is nothing better 
than the love of a real woman in your life."

Smiling, Dale replied, "I know that. I've never been so happy."

"That's good," replied Ed. He winked at Terry and said, "Wait until 
you get married. Then you can start swinging."

The young couple burst out laughing at the joke. They both knew 
there was more than a little truth in it. Terry replied, "We'll be 
knocking on your door."

Kissing her on the cheek, Ed said, "Bring it on."

They reached the table and the couple sat down. This appeared to 
be the geology table as they were seated with Professor Simms and 
his wife. The discussion immediately turned to what jobs the 
young couple were taking. Terry had taken a government job while 
Dale had taken a job with an oil company. They were looking 
forward to a good income for the next few years.

When they announced that the buffet was ready, Ed joined his 
family at the other table. They chatted while people lined up to get 
food, preferring to wait at the table rather than in the line. There 
was more than enough food for the number of people present. Beth 
asked, "So how do you feel?"

Smiling, Ed replied, "Well, the ceremony was a little embarrassing 
in a couple of places. However, I do feel good about having 
finished something that I started."

Knowing that Ed had really debated about attending, Kelly asked, 
"So are you glad you came?"

Nodding, Ed answered, "Yes, I am. I didn't expect the scholarship 
and accepting it was rather more exposure than I'm used to, but I 
enjoyed it."

John replied, "That's good. I did it for all three of my degrees. I 
feel like it helps bring closure to all of your efforts."

Nodding her agreement, Beth said, "It is important to celebrate the 
successes that you've worked hard to achieve."

Thinking about it, Ed realized that this was the first thing that he 
had ever worked to achieve. As a cowboy, he had just gone along 
doing what he was told without an eye to the future. Starting 
school was his first step in taking control of his future and the fact 
that he had finished it was a major achievement. It was at about 
that point, that Ed realized that most of the students that had just 
graduated had approached school just like he had approached 
being a cowboy. It was a job rather than a passionate pursuit that 
was worth doing for its own right. 

Kelly jiggled his elbow and said, "Earth to Ed."

Realizing that he had been lost in his head for a while, Ed said, 
"Sorry, I was just thinking there for a minute."

Beth asked, "What were you thinking about?"

Bursting out laughing, John said, "They will never learn how to 
talk to a man."

Kelly retorted, "You call that talking? You guys sit there for an 
hour and say three sentences."

"Conversing. You know. I say something and then you say 
something back. We do that over and over until everything is said." 
She added, "Those two will never learn how to talk to us. You ask 
them something and they stare off into space for an hour. What 
kind of conversation is that?"

Kelly said, "At least I have you, Beth."

Sitting there watching the two women chatter, Ed shook his head. 
One comment and they had lost all track of the original question. 
He burst out laughing and was soon joined by John. Frustrated, 
Kelly asked, "What's so funny?"

"John just got you guys talking with just a single sentence giving 
me a chance to finish my thoughts." He looked from Kelly to Beth 
and then added, "You just think that we don't know how to talk to 
you."

Flustered, the women got up and went to get food. The two men 
looked at each other and burst out laughing even though they both 
knew they were going to pay for it later. Now that the line had 
disappeared, they went to get some food. Ann, the head of the FBI 
office was in line in front of Beth and Kelly. She turned to them 
and said, "You look like me after talking to them for five minutes. 
I have no idea how you live with them."

Ed was there just in time to hear the comment and said, "They put 
up with us because we love and adore them."

Kelly melted and said, "That's true."
