JC: Ed Biggers
Part 5: Stasis
Chapter 15
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

It was hard to believe that three months had passed since his return 
to Arizona. Over the course of that time, he had taken the kids rock 
hunting, watched stars through the telescope, and taught the kids 
how to ride a pony. Now his time with them was coming to an end 
as they were going to return to the college in a few short hours.   

Kelly sat up in the bed and looked down at him, seeing that he was 
awake. Her hand wandered down his body towards his cock. He 
smiled when her hand reached it and wrapped around it. She 
leaned down and sucked on his nipple, giving a little nip in the 
process. She ran a thumb over the sensitive head of his cock, 
thrilling as she felt the blood surge into it bringing it erect. 

Kissing her way down his chest, she took her time reaching his 
cock. Once there, she licked it like an ice cream cone while her 
hand fondled his balls. Ed moaned at the pleasure of the sensations 
she was producing within him. She took her time, paying attention 
to the sensitive area just below the head of his cock. 

Once he was fully erect, she changed her position and mounted 
him. Putting her hands on his chest, she rose and lowered herself 
on his cock while tightening her inner muscles when she lowered 
down on his manhood. Ed's hips rose to meet her as he gave 
himself over to the sensations. Eyes closed, lost in the feelings of 
skin against skin, he pulled her down so that she was lying on him. 
She rocked her hips giving him the sensation that he was making 
small thrusts into her.

She squeezed his nipples and rocked a little harder. His breathing 
became shallower until he was holding his breath. The orgasm 
washed over him. He didn't know if she had come or not. She 
climbed off and knelt between his legs, licking and sucking his 
cock with a gentleness that wouldn't irritate the overly sensitive 
head. When it was clean, she lay down beside him and said, "I'm 
going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too."

"Don't worry. I've talked to Sherry, Marguerite, Shauna, Cathy, 
Sarah, Shirley, Rosa, and Maria. They'll take care of you while I'm 
gone."

Smiling Ed asked, "Let me guess. Marguerite and Shauna are 
going to poison me. Cathy is going to keep me so busy I don't 
know what day it is. Sarah is going to clean my office so I don't 
know where anything is. Rosa and Maria are going to butcher me 
and serve me as the main course in their restaurants."

Giggling, Kelly answered, "That's right."

Ed put an arm around Kelly and pulled her close to him. Kissing 
her forehead, he said, "I love you so much."

There wasn't any need to answer, so she just purred her 
contentment at lying beside him. Her hands traced the scar across 
his chest, wondering about the full story behind it. She noticed a 
few gray hairs on his chest and realized that they were all getting 
older. Glancing at the clock, she noticed the time and sat up. "I 
better get up. The kids will be up anytime now and I need to get 
them fed, packed, and ready to go."

Ed climbed out of bed and slipped on his robe. It felt comfortable, 
but he hadn't been wearing it much since he was staying around the 
house. Taking Kelly by the hand, they went to the dining room for 
coffee, which would be followed by breakfast when the kids woke. 
Marguerite and Shauna were in the kitchen cooking breakfast. 

The smell of coffee released by the act of pouring a cup worked its 
magic on Ed.  Holding he cup beneath his nose, he inhaled the 
aroma. Taking a sip, he held the hot liquid in his mouth enjoying 
the feeling as it cooled down. Swallowing, he could feel the 
caffeine rush through his system. A smile, announcing his 
pleasure, crossed his face. 

It was amazing that such a little thing like the first sip of coffee in 
the morning could have such an effect on Ed. The ability of Ed to 
take such pleasure in little things had always been a source of 
wonder to Kelly. There were times when he approached making 
love with that same attention to each and every sensation. When he 
did that with her, she could touch heaven. 

The children wandered into the dining room, one after the other. 
William was the last to arrive and drank his apple juice as he took 
his seat. Little John said, "Momma Kelly is making love eyes at 
Daddy Ed again."

Beth giggled at the announcement and it was her giggle that got 
Kelly's attention. She asked, "What's so funny?"

"You were making love eyes at daddy again," answered Little 
John. Looking at his little sister, he said, "She was giggling 
because she's been making love eyes at John."

"I have not!"

"Yes, you have!"

"Children, behave yourselves," admonished Kelly. 

Ed smiled and asked, "Are you looking forward to returning to the 
Druid College today?"

None of the children answered his question, each looking to the 
other to be the one that answered. Finally, it was the four-year-old 
William that answered, "Kind of. I mean, I miss the library a lot, 
but I really like it here, too."

"I know exactly what you mean," replied Ed letting his son know 
that he wasn't hurt that he wanted to return to the college. That was 
his home.

Beth said, "I'm going to miss John."

"I'm sure you will. He's a nice boy and you have a lot in common 
with him," remarked Ed. John was just as advanced in learning as 
Beth. That equality allowed the two kids to connect in a manner 
that was impossible with any other child their age. He was 
convinced that the two would end up married one day.

Marguerite and Shauna came out of the kitchen carrying plates 
with breakfast. They set them in front of the kids with a flourish 
and stepped back to see the looks on the kids' faces. The plate was 
filled with a pancake that was powered white, with red lips, a 
strawberry noise, and a clown hat made of a pineapple slice and 
banana. The kids screamed in pleasure. This was their favorite 
breakfast. 

Once the kids had started eating their food, Shauna returned to the 
kitchen and brought out two plates with Eggs Benedict. Looking at 
his plate, Ed winked at Kelly. She covered her mouth in 
anticipation of his comment. Ed looked over at Marguerite and 
said, "How many times do I have to tell you? The eggs go on the 
plate with the ham next to it and the bread over to the side."

Marguerite stepped back and looked at him with an expression that 
conveyed what he could do with the eggs. She replied, "Any 
comments about the sauce?"

Clearing his throat, Ed nodded as he looked at the pale yellow 
sauce. He said, "I didn't want to point out that you're supposed to 
smoother the eggs with catsup rather than mustard."

Unable to control herself, Marguerite burst out laughing. Returning 
to the kitchen with Shauna in tow, she remarked, "He really is 
getting imaginative in his criticism of my cooking. I didn't see the 
catsup comment coming at all."

Tasting the eggs, Ed released a satisfied hum as he enjoyed the 
mixture of flavors. The rough texture of the English Muffin, the 
salty flavor of the ham, the smooth texture of the egg, and the 
surprise of the Hollandaise sauce combined in an explosion of taste 
and texture. Marguerite had outdone herself this morning. 

The entire family had watched Ed take his first bite of breakfast. 
Once he swallowed they all returned to eating the food on their 
plates. Kelly said, "I think I am going to miss watching you eat the 
most."

"Why?"

"I've never seen anyone enjoy their food so much. You take a meal 
and turn it into a religious experience."

Ed shrugged while he took another bite of his breakfast. He let 
loose with another hum of satisfaction as he savored the flavors. 
Smiling, Kelly went to work on her breakfast. 

The staff had lined up by the door to the garage. Sarah, Cathy, 
Marguerite, and Shauna head tears in their eyes as the kids went 
from one to the other saying goodbye. Even Walt, George, and 
Bob looked a little misty eyed at seeing the children leave. Ed 
directed the children to the van. Kelly walked beside him knowing 
that this hurt him more than he would admit. Walt went around to 
the driver's seat and waited for everyone to get into the van.

Pulling out the garage, Walt steered the car down the driveway 
towards the road. Ed spotted the little figure of John running down 
the street towards the van and motioned to Walt. The van slowed 
to a stop for John. Ed pulled out his cell phone and called Shirley's 
bar. When Mary answered, Ed said, "John is running up to the van 
to say goodbye to Beth."

Mary answered, "I'm glad that he got there in time."

"Do you mind if we take him to the airport? I'll bring him back."

"That would be great. Thanks a lot, Ed. I owe you one."

"No you don't. I'll see you later," replied Ed as he disconnected 
after exchanging good byes.

Beth was ecstatic that John was going to be able to ride to the 
airport with them. Kelly opened the door of the van before John 
managed to reach it. His poor little face was flushed with the effort 
of running all the way from the bar and he was panting heavily. 
Unable to speak, he held out a hand as he fought to catch his 
breath. Twisting around to see the boy through the open door, Ed 
said, "Come on in. I just got off the phone with your mother and 
she said that it was okay for you to come to the airport with us."

Little John climbed over the seat to sit in the back row with his 
little brother as John climbed into to sit between Kelly and Beth. 
Beth grabbed his hand and said, "You ran all the way here to say 
goodbye to me. That's so sweet."

Hardly able to respond, John said, "I had to … say … goodbye."

Kelly closed the door. Once the car was secure, Walt drove on 
towards the airport. Ed watched the scenery pass, noticing how 
much closer the city seemed to his hometown than in the past. One 
day, it would become a suburb of Phoenix. He hoped that he would 
be too old to care by the time that happened.

It seemed to the passengers that it didn't take long to reach the 
airport. Once there, Walt drove to hangar where they would catch 
the chartered jet that would take the family to the college. The 
service staff was waiting to carry the luggage to the jet that was 
parked outside the hangar. The van had barely stopped before they 
were at the door grabbing the luggage.

Ed got out of the van. The acrid smell of jet exhaust struck his 
nose. The cold November air chilled his body. He shivered within 
his jacket, knowing that it looked ridiculous over his robe, and 
helped Kelly open the door. Reaching into the van, he helped 
everyone out of the back giving each one a big hug. Beth and John 
walked behind Kelly holding hands and looking very sad. It 
touched Ed to watch the kids together. Little John was excited 
about flying and could barely contain his enthusiasm. 

The last out of the van was William and he stopped to look around. 
He sniffed the air, smelling the jet exhaust. Turning to face Ed, he 
said, "I'll be back."

"I know you will," replied Ed touched that his son felt it necessary 
to reassure his father. He led William to the stairs to the jet and 
watched as he climbed up. After a quick wave, William entered the 
plane and was lost to sight. John, looking like he had lost his best 
friend, climbed down the stairs and stood next to Ed.

The pair backed away from the jet until the door had closed and 
the jet turned to taxi away. Ed looked down and said, "It sure is 
hard saying goodbye, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," replied John as he wiped a tear from his eye. Ed put a 
hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. 

Ed sat in the back of the van beside John in order to talk with the 
boy. He was six going on seven facing emotions that were many 
years beyond their age unlike when most kids encountered them. 
Ed said, "I understand that Maria has opened a restaurant here in 
Phoenix that is open for lunch. How about you and I stop there and 
get something to eat?"

"That sounds like fun," replied John.

"Would you like it if your father comes with us?" asked Ed 
thinking that he could swing by the federal building and pick up 
Sydney on the way. 

"That would be great."

Ed fished his cell phone out of his pocket and called the FBI office. 
After the normal interaction the receptionist, he reached Sydney. 
When he made the suggestion about going to lunch, the blind man 
was very enthusiastic about the idea. He suggested that his 
husband, Edward, could pick him up at the office and meet them at 
restaurant. 

After hanging up the phone, Ed turned to John and said, "Both of 
your fathers are meeting us at the restaurant. We'll call it a man's 
lunch out."

"Great!" exclaimed John proud at being included in a man's lunch 
out even though he wasn't sure what that meant. The thought that 
Beth would be proud of him brought down his mood.

"Walt, could you take us to Maria's Cantina in town here?"

"Sure, Ed. It's on the way home if I remember correctly," answered 
Walt. He pulled off the road and checked the map to refresh his 
memory. He had marked the map with locations where he was 
occasionally required to drive so that he could go from one place to 
the other without getting lost. Satisfied that he had recalled the 
location of the restaurant correctly, he pulled into traffic and 
navigated his way towards his destination.

Noticing the subdued mood of his passenger, Ed said, "It is you 
and me. We both had to say goodbye to people that we really care 
about. I guess that we'll have to take comfort that we'll be seeing 
them again in the future."

"But I'm so alone here," replied John.

The truth in the young man's words rang clear. The message 
saddened Ed, bringing home the reality under which John lived. He 
didn't have two talented siblings with whom he could share his life. 
In town he was alone in his advanced mental abilities. Ed asked, 
"How do the kids in town treat you?"

"Not very good at home. I enjoy the days when I come to the bar 
with Momma Shirley because the kids there are much nicer to me. 
They don't care how smart I am, but play with me just the same. At 
home, they won't play with me."

The news that the kids in town accepted the boy and included him 
in their activities pleased Ed more than he could express. It was 
another sign that the town was healthy. "I'm sorry the children 
where you live don't accept you."

"I've gotten used to it. It's a whole lot easier when you know there 
are a bunch of kids that accept you." John shrugged and asked, 
"Did you have the same problems when you were a kid?"

"You wouldn't have wanted to know me when I was a kid. You 
might ask Shirley about that," replied Ed knowing that he would 
have tortured poor John with a single-minded relentlessness. He 
wasn't proud of that, but had to acknowledge it.

The answer surprised John as everyone said very nice things about 
Ed. The houses they passed had lawns that had turned brown as the 
weather had gotten colder. John asked, "Why do the houses here 
have lawns while the houses where you live have sand?"

Smiling, Ed answered, "We're smarter."

The answer made John giggle, but it didn't satisfy his curiosity. He 
said, "I'm serious."

"I was too. The people here think that a lawn is what makes a 
house presentable to others. They are fighting nature here, trying to 
make their houses fit into some imagined vision that declares the 
occupants as successful. They waste water, the most precious 
resource in a desert area, in that fight against nature." Ed glared at 
the lawns, offended at their presence here. He had understood that 
in some parts of town there were actually laws that required 
owners to plant grass.  

Noticing the expressing on Ed's face, John said, "You hate the 
lawns."

"Yes, I do."

"So does Daddy Edward. He hates to mow the lawn and lets it die 
out in the summer. The neighbors get mad at him, but he just 
shrugs it off."

Ed laughed knowing that if he had never met Edward that he 
would have liked the man just for that reason. "That sounds like 
Edward. Mary was lucky to find him."

They arrived at the restaurant, but Walt pulled the van up to the 
front door rather than parking it. Ed asked, "Aren't you coming 
in?"

"No. I'm going to eat at the Chinese Buffet down the street. I have 
a date to eat at Maria's Cantina in town tonight. Twice in one day 
is just a bit much."

Ed and John climbed out of the van. With a wave, Walt drove off 
confidant that he would be finished eating well before Ed had even 
ordered. They had to wait for Edward and Sydney. 

Ed stepped back and examined the building. It had been a pizza 
place before Maria had bought it and the building bore the 
unmistakable architecture of the pizza chain. Glancing at the patch 
of ground around the build, he spotted the sprinklers that 
contrasted sharply with the cacti and sand. It was clear that Maria 
had removed the grass and bushes, replacing them with native 
plants. 

When they entered the building, Maria screamed, "Ed!"

The woman ran over to him and threw her arms around Ed giving 
him a vigorous hug. The reception took Ed by surprise, in part, 
because he didn't know that she would be working here today and, 
in part, because she wasn't normally that expressive of her 
affection. The hug comforted him. 

Releasing Ed, she turned to John to hug him. The little boy 
squirmed in her embrace, pleased at the attention and embarrassed 
by it at the same time. Holding him away from her body, she made 
a production of looking him up and down. "Mary and Shirley must 
be so proud of you. You are a handsome young man."

Blushing, John mumbled, "Thanks."

Standing up, she asked, "Two?"

"Four. His fathers are joining us." Ed removed his jacket and hung 
it on the coat rack. He no longer looked like a man wearing a dress. 
Other customers stared at the Druid, surprised to see one at a small 
out of the way place like this. 

Knowing how Ed felt about cutting in line, she added his name to 
the waiting list. The pair sat down on the chairs in the waiting area, 
watching as others were called and taken to tables. Sydney and 
Edward entered the room. John ran over to his fathers saying, "Hi, 
we're waiting over there."

Sydney put a hand on his son's shoulder and allowed the young 
man to guide him to a chair while using his cane to make sure that 
nothing was in his way. Edward followed behind allowing his son 
the pleasure of taking care of his father. Noticing the absence of a 
seeing eye dog, Ed asked, "Where's your dog?"

"Passed away a couple weeks ago," replied Edward unable to 
ignore the sad reaction of his husband to the question.

"I'm sorry to hear that," replied Ed. 

A very somber John, suffering from watching Beth leave, said, "I 
understand how you feel, Dad. Beth left today."

That wasn't news to either of his fathers. John had been 
inconsolable for the past few days, getting worse as the time of her 
departure came closer. It was still touching that John had the 
empathy to understand his father's sense of loss. Most children his 
age viewed events entirely in terms of how they affected them. 
This was just another sign that John was far more advanced than 
other kids his age. Sydney said, "I should be getting another one in 
a month or two."

Maria come over and said, "A table is ready for you now. Come 
with me and I'll take you there."

Ed and Edward followed her while John led Sydney behind them. 
The troop made quite an impact on the other diners. It wasn't an 
everyday event when one saw a Druid followed by a businessman 
followed by a young boy leading a blind man. Settling around the 
table, Maria snapped her fingers to get the attention of the waitress 
for this section. She called out, "Three teas and a sprite here."

Looking up at Maria, Ed asked, "What's with the special 
treatment?"

"This is your first time here," replied Maria with a grin.

There was a tinge to her voice that suggested she wasn't telling the 
whole truth. "And?"

"Well, I know the kids left today," admitted Maria. 

Ed reached over and pulled her close for a hug. Leaning his head 
against her stomach, he said, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Beaming at the idea that she had helped him a little, Maria said, 
"I'm glad you suggested being open for lunch. Our lunch crowd is 
actually bigger than the dinner crowd here."

"I'm glad. It looks packed."

"This is a slow day. Usually we have a longer line," remarked 
Maria, her eyes flicked over to the doorway with a professional 
scan.

"So when are you going to open the outside for dining?"

Maria frowned, as she answered, "I can't It's too humid here for the 
misters to have much effect."

Surprised at her reply, Ed said, "So get outdoor air conditioners. 
With a fusion battery, you don't have a problem with power."

Everyone with the exception of Sydney stared at Ed, taken 
completely by surprise at his suggestion. It was Edward that said, 
"Such a thing doesn't exist."

"Really? I'm shocked. I can't believe that no one has built one 
before." Ed frowned and looked over at Edward for a second. 
"You're a business man. Why don't you see what you can do about 
that?"

Maria looked at Edward and nodded her head knowing that little 
suggestions by Ed usually paid very well. As if to reinforce that 
idea, she said, "I'd definitely buy a system like that."

Turning to Sydney, Ed asked, "So how are things at the FBI?"

The blind man laughed as he answered, "It's been rather quiet since 
you and John left town. It seems like you cleaned up all the bad 
guys and rode off into the sunset."

The image made Ed laugh as he replied, "I rode, John walked."

The waitress showed up with the beverages and set them down on 
the table. This was the first time that she had served a blind man 
and she didn't feel comfortable with it. She set the teas down in 
front of the men and the sprite in front of the boy. Sydney slowly 
reached out until he located the glass. He carefully moved the glass 
to where he could reach for it without searching. 

The waitress stood beside Maria not knowing what to do. In the 
entire time that she had worked for Maria, she had never seen her 
take such personal interest in any client. Having worried about the 
blind man, she now realized that one of the customers was a Druid. 
Noticing the waitress, Maria said, "Take their orders and make 
sure their glasses are always full."

The waitress looked around and said, "They don't have menus."

Ed answered, "That's okay. We know what we want. I'll take the 
Enchilada Plate, cheese please."

Edmond said, "I'll take the same, make mine beef."

John glanced over at Sydney and then said, "I'll take the children's 
taco plate."

"I suppose it wouldn't help if I said I wanted to see a menu." It was 
an old joke and one that usually brought a laugh to waitresses, but 
she was just puzzled. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I'll have 
the Taco Plate. Beef, please."

The waitress wrote down their orders and then went to the kitchen 
to deliver it. Maria watched her go and said, "Poor thing. I don't 
think she knows what to make of you."

Maria returned to the front of the store when the waitress returned 
with chips and dips. The men ate the chips, dipping them into the 
green and red salsas, while waiting for their lunches to be 
delivered. The time was spent talking about neutral topics, 
avoiding work and absent friends. It was a pleasurable time in 
which the men laughed and joked.

When the food was delivered, they fell silent as they ate. Sydney, 
long experienced at eating tacos, managed to avoid dropping any 
food on his clothes. Edward and John watched as Ed approached 
the meal with his typical mealtime intensity, grinning at the 
evident pleasure that he took in eating. Maria managed to come by 
the table to watch as Ed took his first bite of each item on the plate. 
When he gestured with an okay, she returned to the front satisfied 
that her harshest critic was happy with her food.

Other customers had watched from their tables, amazed at the 
manner in which the Druid had approached eating. Conversations 
that had been suspended around the restaurant resumed once 
people became more comfortable with the presence of the Druid in 
the room. The waitress was kept busy running back and forth, 
refilling the glasses of iced tea. 

Eating lunch with his fathers in a restaurant had taken John's mind 
off the departure of Beth. That had been Ed's intention in taking 
him to lunch. Now that everyone had finished eating, Sydney said, 
"I'm going to have to return to the office soon. We are expecting a 
visit from the President and we're doing lots of background 
investigations on the usual suspects."

"Sounds like fun," remarked Ed. 

"Oh yeah, lots of fun. It is amazing to me how many people out 
there hate the President. They had me interview one guy that wore 
a hat made out of aluminum foil because I wouldn't break out 
laughing while looking at him." Edward shook his head in disgust. 
"I've talked with more nuts than most squirrels see in a year."

Chuckling, Ed appreciated the comment and said, "Well, if you 
need my help just forget my telephone number."

Sydney burst out laughing at the comment. "Too late. I'd like it if 
you could come down to the office and help interview people. I bet 
you could reduce it down to a couple of questions."

"I'll only interview people without hats," retorted Ed with a wry 
grin. He had no idea how he would deal with a person wearing an 
aluminum foil hat, but imagined that he would have a hard time 
resisting the urge to laugh. A slow smile spread across his face as 
an idea came to him.

Edward asked, "Have you met the President?"

"No," answered Ed. "John and I try to stay away from politicians. I 
can't take the degree to which they twist the truth. He doesn't want 
to be used by anyone for political gain."

"Really? Even with all of the things that you guys have done for 
this country, you haven't met the President?"

"Oh, we get invited about once every three months to have dinner 
at the White House. It is just standard procedure for Cathy to turn 
down the invitation."

Edward and Sydney shook their heads in amazement that anyone 
would turn down the President of the United States so easily. If 
one's power in life was determined by whom you could safely 
ignore, then John and Ed were the most powerful men in the 
country. Sydney asked, "Does Cathy screen all of your calls?"

"Yes, she does. She knows who to let through and who to block. If 
it is someone that I want to talk with, she forwards the call to me. 
Otherwise, she takes a message."

John asked, "How does she know if you'll talk to them?"

Winking at Edward, Ed said, "They have to know to use the magic 
word."

"What's the magic word?"

A grin threatened to split Ed's face in half as he answered, 
"Please."

What started as a little giggle turned into a sidesplitting laugh as 
John grasped the joke that had been played on him by Ed. How 
many times had his mother asked him what was the magic word? 
Every time she asked, he answered, "Please." Even his fathers 
found his laugh contagious and chuckled. Edward, the first to 
recover, said, "That's funny."

When he finally calmed down, John asked, "Does that mean I can 
call Beth and get to talk to her?"

"Yes, it does."

When lunch broke up, Edward took Sydney back to work. After 
settling the bill, Ed went outside with John to find that Walt was 
waiting in the van. The ride back to town seemed to take longer 
than the ride to the airport. As he patted John on the shoulder, Ed 
thought about how it was that when the destination is unpleasant 
the time to get there passes too quickly. 

The next day, Ed showed up at the FBI office wearing his cowboy 
hat wrapped in aluminum asking if they needed anyone to 
interview suspicious people. It took almost an hour for the FBI to 
regain normal operations.

 
