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 1: Epiphany
Chapter 8
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

A noisy banging on the door slowly made its way into his 
consciousness. An elbow in the side from Kelly prompted him to 
get up and see what was making the noise. About the time that he 
reached the door, he realized that it was a person outside. Fearing 
the worst, he stopped by the little table in the hallway and removed 
a pistol from it. He treated it with respect since it was loaded, it 
was always loaded.

Ed relaxed when John called out, "Ed, it's me. John!"

Ed opened the door and mumbled, "Come in."

John stepped in and stopped just inside the door. Ed stepped back 
and John realized that he was naked. Then he noticed the pistol in 
Ed's hand. When Ed noticed that John was staring at the pistol in 
his head,  he set the pistol in a drawer of a small table by the door. 
In an explanation of sorts, he mumbled, "Sorry, didn't know it was 
you."

"I'm so sorry to be here this early. I've got to leave town right 
now."

It took a moment for the statement to filter through Ed's sleepy 
mind, but when he had finished processing it he snapped awake. It 
sounded like John was in trouble. He asked, "What's the matter?"

John was about to answer when Kelly came out of the bedroom 
naked as well. As she was wiping the sleep from her eyes, she 
asked, "What's going on here?"

"I've got to leave right now to catch a plane to Dallas and then to 
Austin."

Impatient, Ed asked again, "What's the matter?"

"Betsy was killed in the Middle East," replied John with a heavy 
sadness that struck Ed like a baseball bat. 

Kelly cried out, "Oh my God!"

Ed looked at John with concern. Anyone that knew them both 
would understand how much pain John had to be feeling at the loss 
of Betsy. Ed asked, "What can I do?"

"Take care of the house and see if you can get the rent extended for 
another month. I'll be back to buy it." Handing Ed the keys to the 
house, he looked around numbly and saw Kelly crying. He said, 
"take care of Kelly. She needs some comforting. I better go or I'll 
miss my plane."

Kelly came up to John and hugged him tightly with her naked body 
pressing against him. He did not notice the nakedness, only the 
caring that motivated the hug. She cried, "Take care of yourself. If 
there's anything we can do, let us know."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

For the first time in his life, Ed felt like hugging another man. He 
couldn't imagine the pain that John was feeling. Ed said, "really, if 
there's anything we can do let us know. We'll take care of it. Call 
collect if you want."

John turned to the door and opened it. He turned back to Ed, "a 
man can't have a better friend than you, Ed."

Ed stood there, naked, watching John walk out of the house. After 
setting the keys on the table, he went to Kelly and held her tightly. 
It wasn't clear to him who was comforting whom. All that he knew 
was that he wanted Kelly in his arms more than anything else in 
the world. They moved to the couch and sat down holding each 
other. 

Two hours early, Ed came home from work that night. He had 
requested a week off so that he could attend the memorial service 
in Austin for Betsy and to take care of John's place. His boss had 
told him to go ahead although he couldn't understand why Ed felt 
so strongly about going to the funeral of the girlfriend of another 
guy. Ed wasn't sure if John would be coming back, but he hoped 
that he would. Life here would be empty without John around.

Ed went down to the bar to let everyone know what had happened 
last night. There were a lot of people that liked John and Ed felt it 
was only fair that they be informed. The best way to do that would 
be to tell Shirley and Maria. They could spread the word faster 
than anyone else in town. He owed it to John to get the town 
behind him and to support him in this time of need.

Walking down the street, he passed houses and talked to the people 
there. It was strange, but he couldn't quite place the time when 
people quit running into their houses when he walked down the 
street. He passed the news on to others and slowly made his way to 
the center of town. 

Entering the bar, he walked over to the counter and sat down on a 
stool. Shirley came over to him with a coke and said, "Hey, what's 
the matter? You really look down."

Ed, licked his lips nervously, and then said, "I have some bad news 
that I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I don't know of a good way to say this. It's pretty bad."

Shirley looked irritated and snapped, "So tell me already."

"John's girlfriend died last night," replied Ed. He watched as the 
color faded from her face. Afraid that she was going to faint, he 
raced around the counter and held her. Throwing her arms around 
him, she broke down and cried. Still not used to women crying on 
his shoulder, Ed stood stiffly supporting her the best that he could.

After a few minutes, Shirley pulled back from Ed and apologized, 
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry like that. That poor man, he must 
be heartbroken."

Ed nodded and said, "He was pretty much in shock last night when 
he came over. I'll let you know when the memorial service will be 
held. Maybe the town can collect some money to send flowers. 
Kelly and I are going to the service in Austin."

Shirley slumped down on a stool behind the bar and said, "I'll put 
up a jar."

Ed went back around to the customer side of the counter and sat 
down on a stool. This had been far tougher than he had thought. He 
took a sip of the coke and said, "Thanks. You'll spread the word?"

Shirley nodded and then suggested, "You might want to tell Maria. 
She'll want to know."

Nodding his agreement, Ed said, "I'm going there next."

As Shirley worked through her personal feelings about the news, 
she realized that Ed must be feeling pretty bad. He had arranged 
for the party to introduce her to the town, he had spent a day with 
her, and John was his best friend. She put a hand on his and said, 
"You must be feeling pretty bad yourself."

Looking down at the table to hide his face from her, Ed replied, 
"Well, I feel pretty selfish to tell the truth. I keep thinking that he's 
not going to come back. There's nothing keeping him here."

Shirley said, "Don't feel bad. He's your best friend and the thought 
of possibly losing him will hurt."

Ed looked up, eyes misty, as he said, "Thanks. I better go talk to 
Maria. Kelly will be coming home soon and we've got to make 
reservations yet."

Shirley nodded as she said, "Go. Don't worry about the coke."

Looking at Shirley for a minute, Ed said, "You know. I have to 
apologize to you for all of the grief I've given you over the years. 
You’re a standup woman and deserve to have better people in your 
life than me. I'm really sorry for everything I've ever done to you."

Numbly, Shirley watched Ed leave the bar. Once he was gone, she 
broke down in tears and wouldn't have been able to explain why to 
anyone that might have asked. His parting words had touched her 
more than she thought possible.

Ed stopped by Maria's Cantina knowing that it wasn't open yet. He 
knocked on the door and waited for an answer. It was several 
minutes before Maria opened the door. Looking at Ed, she asked, 
"What's up?"

"Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" 

She said, "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

After a long sigh, Ed said, "I think that you might want to be 
sitting down for this."

She had never seen Ed in this frame of mind. She had seen him 
drunk, happy, worried, and a half dozen other emotions, but never 
sad. Stepping back, she let him in the restaurant. As they walked 
over to a table, Rosa joined her sister protectively. When everyone 
was seated, Ed said, "I have some bad news to tell you."

Looking at each other, the two sisters turned to look at Ed. Finally, 
Maria asked, "What is it?"

Nervous at the chances of having two crying women, Ed said, 
"John's girlfriend died last night."

As one, the two women made the sign of the cross. Maria cried 
out, "Oh, the poor girl. She was so pretty and young."

Rosa said, "Poor John, he must be crushed."

"I know that you two like John a lot and I thought I should let you 
know," said Ed. It was common knowledge that Maria worshipped 
the ground that John walked on. 

Tears formed in Maria's eyes as she looked at her sister. Rosa held 
her tightly, giving her strength. Uncomfortable, Ed sat there not 
knowing what to do. At least if Maria had been crying on his 
shoulder, he would have been occupied. Rosa said, "Ed, would you 
mind leaving?"

Recognizing that he wasn't wanted, Ed stood. Before leaving, he 
said, "I asked Shirley to take up a collection to send some flowers 
on behalf of the town. May I ask you to do the same?"

Rosa nodded and turned to take care of her sister. Ed left the 
restaurant, feeling like a jerk. Rosa and Maria did not trust him and 
never would. That hurt, piled on top of the other hurts he was 
feeling, almost drove him back to the bar for a real drink. He 
stopped and looked around realizing that he was in front of the 
Sheriff's office. As an afterthought, he entered the office. 

The Sheriff sitting behind his desk looked up when the door 
opened. Spinning to look at Ed, he said, "Now this is a sight I 
never thought I would see. Ed Biggers walking in here without 
handcuffs."

The mute shaking of Ed's head, immediately silenced the laughter 
of the Sheriff. Ed said, "I wanted to let you know that John is out 
of town. His girlfriend died last night and he's returned to Austin."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." The Sheriff wondered why Ed thought 
it was necessary to tell him that. 

Ed bobbed his head and said, "Well, I'm going down to Austin for 
the service tomorrow and probably won't be back for three days. 
I'd appreciate it if you would watch his house. He asked me to do 
that, but I'm going there to see if I can help."

The Sheriff asked, "What about your house?"

Chuckling, Ed asked, "Knowing what the town thinks of me, who 
do you think would try to break into my house?"

Unable to imagine anyone in town foolish enough to break into 
Ed's place, the Sheriff laughed at that. Ed was honest if nothing 
else. He finally said, "I'll watch them both. Don't worry."

Ed said, "Thanks. I've asked Maria and Shirley to collect money to 
send some flowers to the service on behalf of the town."

"That's nice of you to think of that," replied the Sheriff. He sat 
back and looked at Ed for a minute. It was very obvious that Ed 
was very upset about this. In his opinion, it represented a landmark 
moment for Ed. It meant that Ed had come to care about the people 
around him and gained an empathy that had long been missing in 
his character. He realized that he would probably never have 
another occasion to arrest Ed.

Ed shrugged and said, "Hey, John is a friend of this town."

"True."

Turning to leave, Ed paused and said, "You know. This is the first 
time I've ever left here without having spent the night."

The Sheriff burst out laughing as Ed left the office. He wandered 
up the street towards his house. The whole trip through town had 
taken an hour, but he felt like he had worked an entire day in that 
time. He couldn't believe how exhausting it was to deal with 
emotions, his and others.

He poured himself a glass of tea and sat down to enjoy it. It would 
be an hour before Kelly would arrive. The plan was for her to 
swing by her place and pack her luggage before coming to his 
place. Pulling his boots off, he prepared to settle down for an hour 
of peace and quiet. Before he had a chance to do much, the 
telephone rang. Thinking it was John, he raced over to it. 

When he answered, Kelly said, "Ed, we have a problem."

Unable to imagine what the problem could be, Ed asked, "What?"

There was a long pause on the other end. Kelly finally said, "Ed, 
can I bring Dr. Hayes over to your house too?"

"Sure," replied Ed. He asked, "So what's the problem?"

She answered, "I can't really tell you here. I'll be there in thirty 
minutes."

"Okay." Standing in the living room, Ed was totally clueless as to 
what was going on. He could tell from Kelly's voice that she was 
very upset. It was a surprise when she said a quick goodbye and 
hung up without giving him a chance to say goodbye back.

He went over to the guest room and started fixing it up. It had been 
his room when he was a kid, but now it was empty. As he worked, 
he realized that it had never been used for a guest. He looked at the 
bed and wondered when was the last time he had changed the 
sheets on it. When he went to change the bed, he realized that it 
had been a long time and the sheets were in horrible shape, as was 
the mattress under it. He was at a loss what to do about it.

He was still in the guest room when the front door opened. 
Entering the living room, he expected to see Dr. Hayes in her 
normal statuesque stance. Instead, he found a woman that was 
crying uncontrollably. Kelly was struggling to guide her to a chair, 
but Dr. Hayes could hardly stand. Ed raced over to help. Looking 
over Kelly's head, he made an expression asking what was going 
on. 

Shrugging her shoulders, Kelly said, "We need to get her into the 
bedroom."

Taking a deep breath, Ed bent down and picked up Dr. Hayes. He 
carried her into the bedroom and placed her on the bed. As soon as 
he released her, she curled into a ball. Confused, he looked to 
Kelly. She signaled for him to leave the room.

Stepping out of the bedroom, he asked, "What's going on?"

Kelly whispered, "Do you remember the night she spent with John 
and Betsy?"

Aloud, he answered, "Sure. You and I were riding bareback that 
night."

"Shh!" Holding a finger in front of her mouth in a gesture for 
silence, she whispered, "She fell in love with Betsy that night."

Amazed at the idea of meeting someone for one night and falling 
hopelessly in love, Ed shook his head. Whispering, he asked, "So 
what happened?"

Pulling him into the kitchen, Kelly explained, "I told her this 
morning that Betsy had died. She got this real funny look on her 
face and then left. She told the Chief of Staff that she needed a 
week off, starting immediately. He told her okay. I saw her go out 
to her car at about ten this morning. When I came out to go home, 
she was still in her car. She was just sitting there staring off into 
space."

This was the most incredible thing that Ed had ever heard. 
Intrigued, he asked, "What happened next?"

"I went out over to it and talked to her. She told me that she loved 
Betsy and then started crying. She hasn't stopped since then. I 
called you and then carried her over to my car. Now we are here."

Ed asked, "Should we call a doctor or something?"

Looking at Ed like he had said something very stupid, she 
answered, "We can't. She could lose her position in the hospital."

"So what do we do?"

Looking towards the bedroom, Kelly considered the options. She 
said, "Can you sleep on the couch tonight? I'll go in there and take 
care of her."

"Sure, but what about traveling to Austin tomorrow?"

Kelly bit her lower lip and thought about it. She said, "Make 
reservations for all three of us. We'll take her with us if it is at all 
possible. She can't be left alone. Maybe seeing John will help."

"Okay, I'll do that," replied Ed as he wondered how John was 
coping. It didn't seem fair to burden him with a woman having a 
nervous breakdown. 

After giving Ed a quick kiss, she left the room to return to Dr. 
Hayes. Ed realized that he didn't even know her first name. 
Tiptoeing into the room, he saw that Kelly had curled around Dr. 
Hayes and was holding her tightly. He leaned over and in a 
whisper asked, "What is her first name?"

Kelly didn't answer directly, she just held the doctor a little tighter, 
and said, "Beth, talk to me. Let me help you."

It was enough for him to know the answer to his question. He 
stepped out of the room and started making the reservations. The 
price for the airline tickets was outrageous. The three tickets ran 
his single credit card to its maximum line of credit. The next call 
was to the credit card company to get the credit limit raised so that 
he could make reservations at a hotel in Austin. 

After making all of the arrangements, he moved around the house 
wondering what he should be doing. Standing outside the 
bedroom, he could hear Kelly talking to Beth, but the doctor wasn't 
answering. Confused, he went outside and sat on his front porch 
thinking about what he should be doing. 

Maria from across the street came over and joined him on the front 
porch. They sat quietly for several minutes before she asked, "Is 
the blond lady okay?"

Ed shrugged his shoulder and answered, "I don't think so."

"She loved the two of them," said Maria with a secret smile. She 
looked at Ed out of the corner of her eye and added, "She loves 
him like you love Kelly, but she loved the girlfriend even more."

"How do you know that?" It was curious that she should know 
that. John talked about such things with him and he didn't know it. 
Did that mean that John didn't know it either? 

With a twinkle in her eye, Maria replied, "I see things. I hear 
things. I heard much the night I saw you and your girl ride a horse 
under the moonlight."

Ed blushed a bright red. One had to wonder how many people 
were up and looking out their window at midnight. Glancing at 
Maria, he said, "I don't know what to do with her. She is in real 
pain."

"Let the women handle it," replied Maria. "There are times when a 
man should remain apart and this is one of those times. Stay close 
so that when they are ready, you are there."

The hope that he could fix things slowly evaporated, leaving 
behind a very frustrated and tired man. A sense of loss descended 
upon Ed. As a person used to forcing things, the realization that 
being a man meant letting things develop in directions that he may 
not desire was difficult. He said, "I shall take your advice, although 
it will be the hardest thing that I'll ever do."

Maria stood, hands moving nervously, and said, "I will bring over 
a tuna casserole. I know it is not much, but I don't think anyone 
feels like cooking. Make sure they eat, they will need their 
strength."

Touched beyond his ability to express it, Ed asked, "Why are you 
being so nice to me? Don't you hate me?"

The secret smile returned, Maria answered, "I never hated you, 
although I did fear you. Now that you are growing up, I no longer 
fear you."

A very confused Ed slumped in his seat and replied, "I don't 
understand."

With a smile, Maria returned to her house. As she worked in the 
kitchen, she thought about how lucky the women were today who 
could admit their desires and pursue them with diligence. Ed did 
not understand just how strong was the woman with whom he was 
in love. Perhaps one day, Maria would admit her desire aloud and 
begin to pursue it with the same diligence these women showed

Across the street, Ed returned to the house and removed the guest 
bed. Time and lack of use had ruined it. Wrestling with the 
mattress, he carried it to the backyard. The bedding followed. 
Lighting a match, he lit the pile of trash watching the black smoke 
rise to the sky as flames slowly spread across the mattress. The act 
felt good, at least he was doing something by destroying the ruined 
mattress.

When the mattress had been totally consumed by the fire, he 
returned to the house. Inside, he paced searching for something to 
do. It was with relief that the phone rang. The caller was John and 
he gave the details about the memorial service. On hearing that 
Betsy had been killed by terrorists, Ed felt an impotent rage against 
those involved. He did learn from John a way that might help them 
in controlling Beth, but the idea was so weird that he almost 
discounted it.

There was a knock upon the door as soon as the call had 
completed. Taking the casserole, Ed greeted Maria and invited her 
in. She entered and looked around the room. A sadness descended 
upon her as she took in the furnishings. Ed had not changed 
anything since his parents had died leaving him the house. 

Ed asked, "Would you like to talk to Kelly?"

Unwilling to trust herself, Maria declined. She said, "She is busy 
with the doctor. I'll talk to her some other time when things are 
better. I shall come back after you return from your trip. For now, I 
think it is best that I leave while you eat."

After Maria left, Ed went into the bedroom where Beth was still 
curled up in a ball. Kelly looked up at him, confused at his 
presence. Rather than explain himself, he said, "Beth, assume 
standing position one."

She responded to the command, by standing and putting her arms 
behind her back. In an authoritative tone of voice, Ed said, "Go to 
the table and eat, slave."

Bewildered, Kelly looked at Ed wondering what he had done. 
When Beth had left the room, he leaned over and said, "John 
suggested that we would be able to break through her shell that 
way. We have to release her so that she can grieve, but we can use 
it to get her to take care of herself."

The couple went to the dining table and ate the tuna casserole. As a 
bachelor, Ed had never encountered tuna casserole. Eating it, he 
thanked his lucky stars that it wasn't a staple in his life. When Beth 
had finished the casserole, she sat there staring straight ahead. Ed 
said, "Slave, get prepared for bed and then get some sleep."

Stripping as she went to the bedroom, she lay down and went to 
sleep. Blushing, Ed turned to Kelly and said, "I didn't expect her to 
do that."

Kelly had watched Beth move as though she were a robot, amazed 
at the kind of control that Ed was able to exert over the doctor. She 
asked, "What did John say?"

"It wasn't what John said, it is what Maria said. She said that Beth 
loved John, but loved Betsy more. She is in mourning."

Kelly thought about it and asked, "How did Maria know?"

Since he didn't understand it himself, he felt free to answer, "I have 
no clue."

The pair of them moved to the couch. As Kelly curled up next to 
Ed, she cried, "I'm so afraid for her."

It seemed that he was getting used to comforting women as he put 
his arm around Kelly and said, "Now, now. Don't worry. She'll get 
through this okay."

Sniffling, Kelly said, "Did you see her body? She's so beautiful, 
but we can't touch her until she's herself. She'd never forgive us."

Rubbing her back, Ed sat there thinking about what he had seen. It 
was true that Beth was a beautiful woman. When he had looked at 
her he not seen her body, but the broken spirit within it.  He 
answered, "Neither of us would want to hurt her. Don't worry 
about me doing something stupid."

Feeling guilty, she answered, "it is not you that I'm worry about."

He laughed and replied, "It should be."

Early the next morning, Ed fell off the couch and spent the next 
hour slowly waking up. Staggering into the bathroom, he took his 
morning piss and savored the feeling as the pressure in his bladder 
was slowly released. He took the opportunity to shave and brush 
his teeth. The bathroom was going to be very busy this morning 
with three people in the house. 

He glanced at the clock when he exited, noticing that they had 
three hours before they had to leave. Knocking on the bedroom 
door, he called out, "Rise and shine. Time to get up sleepy heads."

He stumbled into the kitchen and prepared some coffee. As he 
considered the kind of day they would have, he decided they would 
leave for the airport early and pick up breakfast along the way.  
Returning to the bedroom door, he knocked again  and called out, 
"Come on. Time to get up."

Kelly came out of the room and said, "She's awake, but she's not 
moving."

"Oh, shit," replied Ed as he considered the implications of what 
she said. Thinking furiously, he said, "I guess we are going to have 
to give her commands all day. Tell her to assume standing position 
one. Then tell her what to do, referring to her as slave the entire 
time."

Dubious that it would work, Kelly returned to the bedroom. She 
said, "Assume standing position one."

Beth stood up with her hands locked behind her back. The sight of 
the beautiful woman standing there so available and yet so distant 
took Kelly's breath away. She didn't know what to command. 
Thinking about the events of the past day, she realized that the 
woman hadn't been to the bathroom once. She said, "Slave, go into 
the bathroom and take care of your personal needs."

Beth waked past Ed to the bathroom. He blushed, not knowing 
where to look, but knowing where he wanted to look. Looking 
over at Kelly, he could see the dismay on her face as the full 
implications of the situation washed over her. It was going to be 
necessary to order Beth to do things one step at a time. 

Ed said, "I made some coffee. I thought we would leave for the 
airport early and eat breakfast on the way there."

"Good thinking. It is going to take some time for us to get out of 
here. We have to stop by my apartment and then her place to get 
clothes." As she started to treat Beth more like a patient than a 
doctor or a friend, it began to become easier to deal with the 
situation. She turned Ed and said, "You'll have to take care of 
packing yourself and closing up the house. I'll get her ready to 
travel."

Reaching out a hand, he caressed her face with a gentle touch. This 
was not an easy situation for her and he wished that he could help 
more. Stepping into the now empty bedroom, he dressed in his 
normal attire. It was at that time that he realized he didn't have any 
clothes suitable for a funeral. He swore and shouted, "Kelly, I don't 
have anything to wear to a funeral."

She called back, "You can get something in Austin. It's a big city."

Ed realized that she was right. Grabbing his suitcase, he threw a 
couple of pants, shirts, socks, and underwear into it.  Remembering 
his toiletries, he headed to the bathroom. The door was wide open 
and Beth was just standing there staring off into space. He asked, 
"Slave, did you piss?"

"No, master." The response was in a monotone, devoid of all 
emotion. 

Swearing under his breath, he said, "Slave, piss in the toilet. If you 
need to shit, then do that as well. When you are done, take a 
shower."

"Yes, master."

Ed watched as she sat down and started to relieve herself. 
Embarrassed, he left the bathroom and sought out Kelly. He 
relayed the events in the bathroom to her. Her face fell, realizing 
that she was going to have to watch over Beth every second. She 
went to the bathroom to make sure that Beth did everything that 
was necessary.

Looking around the kitchen, Ed saw the dish that had held the tuna 
casserole last night. He picked it up and left the house to return it. 
Knocking on Maria's front door, he was surprised to see her all 
dressed up. He said, "I wanted to bring this back. We are leaving 
today."

Smiling, Maria said, "Thank you, Ed. I will be leaving today also."

Surprised, Ed asked, "Where are you going?"

"I am going to Austin."

For almost a minute, he looked at her in shock before recovering. 
He asked, "Would you like a ride to the airport?"

Maria smiled and replied, "No thanks. I already have one, but 
thank you for offering."

With a look of confusion, he stood there not knowing what to say. 
Finally, he said, "I need to get back to the house and take care of 
the women."

For then next twelve hours, all Ed did was take care of the women. 
Struggling to get them to the car, packed, through the airport, on 
the plane, and then off the plane. The trip was a nightmare for him, 
although it wasn't much better for Kelly. When Beth wasn't 
following an instruction, she was either staring off into space or 
crying. 
