JC: Ed Biggers
Part 2: Equilibrant
Chapter 15
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Ed, surrounded by plants, sat on one of the benches in the atrium. 
Watching Bob transplant flowers along the path was one of the few 
chances that he had to talk to the man. Bob looked over at Ed and 
said, "I love this job."

This was the truest thing that anyone had said to Ed in several 
days. The crystalline pure tone that he heard was extremely sweet 
to his ears. Ed asked, "Why?"

Bob answered, "I used to work as a gardener full time. After that I 
was an auto mechanic and then a carpenter. The problem was that 
by the end of the week I was ready to stomp on the flowers, wreck 
the car, or burn the house. I got bored of doing the same thing over 
and over."

It was surprising, but Ed could understand. There were times when 
the cattle were acting up that he was half tempted to let them 
stampede just to see what would happen. He said, "I can 
understand that."

Joking, Bob said, "I image there was a time or two that you 
wondered what would happen if you let the cattle run off a cliff."

"You got that right."

Turning thoughtful, Bob said, "This job is different. Sometimes I'm 
a gardener, mechanic, or handy man. Every day is different and I 
don't get bored. There are good days and bad days, but I'm in 
control of what I work on. It's the best that I can imagine."

Ed said, "You're a smart man. Why didn't you consider college?"

"I have dyslexia. I can't read and my whole life has been spent 
accommodating that." Bob was rather embarrassed to admit his 
problem. He had become a master at hiding his limitations from 
others.

This was something that came as a surprise to Ed. He had talked 
with Bob many times and never had a clue. It was normal 
procedure for him to give Bob a written list of tasks and it had 
never occurred to him that Bob couldn't read the list. He asked, "So 
how do you read the list that I give you?"

Smiling, Bob replied, "Usually you tell me the work on the list and 
I remember that. If there is a problem, I take it to Bill."

"Wow, I had no idea," said Ed. Bob was a very smart guy and it 
was hard to believe that he couldn't read. Ed said, "You're a very 
smart guy."

Bob said, "Thanks for saying that. It's like suffering from color 
blindness. It doesn't have anything to do with your intelligence."

"I didn't mean to imply that it had anything to do with each other. I 
just meant that you might have aspired to more and were held back 
by it." 

Thinking about it, Bob said, "Well, I was always kept in the slow 
classes and that wasn't much fun. I was teased and called stupid. In 
terms of learning about things from books, it was never pleasant so 
I didn't ever dream of being educated in that way. Then they put 
me in a trade school. I learned plumbing, auto repair, wood 
working, and gardening. I found that I liked that more. So I guess 
you can say that I'm happy with how things turned out."

"Interesting," said Ed. Every word had a ring truth to it. Curious, 
Ed asked, "Is there anything you would like to learn that you 
haven't had a chance to try before?"

The question surprised Bob as he had never thought about it. After 
a thinking about it for a little while, he said, "I don't know. Maybe 
I'd like to learn how to work with metal. You know casting, 
machining, and finishing."

Thinking about it, Ed asked, "How about jewelry making?"

"Yes, that would be nice," replied Bob.

Ed said, "Well, I can probably arrange that. Kim knows lots of 
jewelers and could probably arrange for you to apprentice with one 
of them for a while."

"Really?" asked Bob. This was one of the things that he didn't 
understand about this family. They were so concerned that people 
continue to grow and learn. Once they found that someone had an 
interest in something, they would move mountains to give them a 
chance to explore it. 

"Really."

Smiling, Bob turned back to the plants and said, "Did I ever tell 
you that I love this job?"

Laughing at the comment, Ed stood and answered, "I'll leave you 
to it."

Walking away from the atrium, Ed decided that it would be nice to 
visit town. It had been almost a month since he had made it to 
Shirley's. Thinking was as good as acting and he headed to the 
door to walk into town. Although the house was at the end of the 
street, it was still a short walk into town. As he passed by his old 
house, he stopped and looked at it. Joe was renting it now, so he 
couldn't enter. John's house, across the street from his, stood empty 
and looked lonely. Tiger looked impatient to continue, so he 
continued on down the street.

Strolling down the street brought back sweet memories of those 
days when he was just beginning on this path. The memories made 
him melancholy.  Those were the heady days when he discovered 
love for the first time. He smiled as he remembered the first time 
he made love with Kelly and how he had felt like a virgin. The 
months of watching over Beth when she was ill were not all that 
pleasant of a memory. Still, he had done the right thing, not 
because he was forced to do it, but because he wanted to do it. 

It was mind boggling how much his life had changed. In those 
days, he was lucky to earn twenty thousand in a year. A couple of 
weeks ago, he had earned that with one consulting job. He hadn't 
even finished his degree and was able to earn that much money. It 
made him wonder what would be his future. 

He continued on into town. On reaching town, he encountered 
many people that he hadn't seen in several months. Stopping to talk 
to each of them for several minutes, it took him an hour to reach 
Shirley's. It felt good to talk to friends that he not seen in a while. 

As he was about to enter the bar, Richard stopped him at the door. 
Richard Green had been one of the men that had given Ed a lot of 
problems in the early days. Now, the man seemed to hold Ed up as 
a role model. Richard said, "You might not want to go in there. 
There are some news people looking to get a story about you and 
John."

"Who else is in there?"

Richard answered, "Shirley, Manuel, Joe, and a couple of other 
people."

Ed said, "I can't let the press keep me out of my favorite place. So, 
how about I buy you a coke and we ignore them?"

Shaking his head and laughing, Richard couldn't believe how Ed 
reacted to something that would have had him running for cover. 
Deciding that it might be fun to see what would happen, Richard 
said, "Count me in."

The two men entered the bar. When Ed looked around, he 
discovered that Shirley wasn't behind the counter, but was seated at 
the table in the corner eating a sandwich with Manuel and Joe. A 
group of people, that he didn't recognize, was at the far end of the 
room. It was a good assumption that they were the news people 
that Robert had warned him about.

Behind the counter serving up drinks was Linda Burton, the widow 
of Harry Burton. She saw them come in and asked, "Cokes?"

Ed answered, "Sure, that would be great."

Linda poured two glasses of coke and set them on the bar. With a 
smile and a wink at Robert, she said, "Two wimps for the men."

Much to Ed's surprise, Robert laughed easily at the statement. 
Noticing the look on Ed's face, he said, "I know. I gave up drinking 
the afternoon of your wedding. That little lecture of yours was a 
real eye opener."

Shirley was waving for them to join her at the table. They followed 
Tiger over to the table and pulled up an extra chair. As Tiger 
curled up in a corner, the two men seated themselves. Once settled,  
Ed said, "Howdy folks. Long time no see."

Leaning back in her chair, Shirley said, "I had thought you had 
forgotten all about us."

Shaking his head, Ed answered, "No, I haven't forgotten any of 
you. Somehow, I think somebody removed a couple of hours out 
of the day."

Smiling, Manuel said, "Senior, I think you need to learn how to get 
paid for all of your work. You are losing money at the rates you 
are charging. Shirley will be happy to explain to you how to charge 
more money for everything you do. You have to treat this work 
like a business."

By the time Manuel had finished talking, Joe and Shirley were 
laughing so hard that they could hardly remain seated. Robert 
looked confused as he didn't understand that was effectively what 
Ed had told Manuel one day. Ed was chuckling at the joke. 
Shaking his head, Ed said, "Okay, I deserved that."

Laughing, Manuel said, "I used to be the hardest working man in 
the county, but I think you have just beat me."

"I don't understand," said Robert.

Joe explained, "One day when we had made a haul and our truck 
broke down, Ed came by and helped my dad out. They put the load 
in Ed's truck and Ed helped us deliver it. On the way there, Ed 
gave my dad some business advice and then brought him over here 
to talk to Shirley. That was the day that our hauling business 
became a real business."

Manuel added, "The advice I just gave Ed was about the same 
advice he gave me."

The sudden change in Manuel's hauling business had been the talk 
of the town. A lot of other people had seen this and had taken 
chances on opening their own businesses. Robert had never known 
how it was that things had turned around for Manuel and his son. 
He looked over at Ed and said, "I never heard that story."

Ed shrugged his shoulders as though to minimize his role. 
Changing the subject, Ed asked, "So when did Linda start working 
here?"

Surprising Ed with the source, Robert said, "I brought her here on 
a date about a month ago. Shirley and her got into a conversation 
while I was in the bathroom. I came out and Shirley had hired her."

Shirley added, "Well, she needed a job and really seemed 
interested in working here. It's been nice having her work here. I 
actually get to spend a little time with my family now."

 "That's great. I bet they like that too," commented Ed. He had 
wondered how things were working out with her here at the bar all 
of the time. 

Shirley actually blushed at the comment. Noticing that Ed had 
observed her blush, she said, "We are talking about having a 
baby."

"Wow, that would be great! I can image you as a mother," said Ed. 
With a wink, he added, "Cleaning up after a baby will be a snap 
after cleaning up after a bunch of drunks."

Laughing Shirley replied, "That doesn't happen as much now that 
you and John have changed the town."

An easy banter settled over the table as people talked about their 
hopes and dreams. It was a major surprise when Robert said, "I 
guess you didn't know that I proposed to Linda."

Pleased to know that things were working out for Robert and for 
Linda, Ed said, "You're both lucky to have found each other. She's 
a good woman."

There were things that everyone at the table knew. Neither of them 
had been nice people at one time. He had been a bully and a drunk. 
Linda had been the town slut, cheating on her husband on almost a 
daily basis. They were both working hard to put the past behind 
them. Quietly, Robert said, "We both have a bit of a past, but we've 
moved beyond it. I know that you helped me see the light. I don't 
know what you did for her, but she talks about you like you're a 
hero."

Shaking his head, Ed said, "I didn't do that much, but what I did 
was important to her."

Looking at Ed in disbelief, Shirley shook her head. She knew 
exactly what Ed had done for Linda; he had saved her child from a 
life in prison. She leaned over and whispered in Robert's ear for a 
minute. As he listened, Robert glanced at Ed with puzzlement on 
his face. After she was finished, Robert said, "I will talk to them 
about that."

Frowning, Ed said, "Let the past lie as it is. Everyone has a mistake 
or two that they've made in the past and, if we are lucky, we can 
get over them. It is how we live today that is important."

The discussion was interrupted when the news reporter came over 
to the table. He asked, "Are you Ed Biggers?"

Turning slowly to face the man, Ed answered, "Yes, I am."

"I would like to ask you some questions." The reporter had been 
trying to get this close to a member of the Carter Clan for a month. 
Now that he had Ed here, he was going to do his best to tape a 
conversation with the man.

Putting on the most pleasant face that he could manage, Ed said, 
"Well, if you need directions or recommendations on good places 
to eat, I'll be glad to help you. However, I am talking with my 
friends and I won't answer any questions beyond that."

This was not the answer that the reporter wanted. He pressed his 
point and said, "I would like to interview you."

Frowning, Ed said, "I'm sure that you are aware that we have a 
public relations person working on the staff of Jim Johnson. You 
can schedule an interview through her. Do you need directions on 
how to reach their offices?"

The reporter, his frustration at being denied once again, answered, 
"I have contacted them many times about arranging an interview 
and the answer is always the same."

Knowing the answer, Ed asked, "And what is that answer?"

"You know damn well that the answer is no," replied the reporter.

Manuel quipped, "Senior, if you know the answer then why do you 
ask the question? That sounds pretty stupid to me."

The entire table laughed as the reporter flushed a bright red. He 
spat out, "You are a celebrity and have a responsibility to the press. 
The people want to know about you."

Confused, Ed looked around the table at the people there. He 
asked, "Do any of you believe that I am a celebrity?"

Everyone around the table smiled and shook their heads no. Robert 
said, "The vote is unanimous, Ed is not a celebrity. We know him 
best and we would know if he was a celebrity."

Ed said, "You heard them. Now if you don't mind, we would like 
to continue our conversation in peace."

The reporter stomped away. Ed shook his head and asked, "How 
long have they been camped out here?"

Shirley answered, "Off and on for a couple of months, ever since 
that raid on organized crime."

"Stupid," said Ed. He couldn't believe the nerve of these guys or 
that they would try to ambush him here.  He asked, "So what have 
they been doing here?"

Manuel answered, "They've been asking everyone that comes in 
here questions about you, John, Kelly, and Beth. They've been 
trying to dig up dirt on you guys. They don't want to accept that 
you are a nice guy. They want to hear about scandals and such."

Laughing at the idea that it would be difficult to dig up dirt on him, 
he said, "I'm sure that everyone said that I was a bully and a bigot. 
That wasn't enough for them?"

Laughing, Shirley replied, "Nope. You've admitted that in the past. 
They don't want to believe that you've changed."

There were things about their lifestyle that could be considered 
scandalous, but the fact that the family didn't care would 
undermine the feeding frenzy. Ed hoped that they wouldn't find 
Kim, his rock hunting buddy. Poor Kim wouldn't know how to 
handle the pressure that the press could put on someone. He would 
have to warn the family about this. Trying to make light of the 
situation, he said, "Maybe they'll discover that I have two wives 
and a husband."

The entire table laughed at that. After a while, Ed paid for the 
drinks and returned home. The reporter followed him, but halted 
when Tiger turned and approached them. As Ed and Tiger reached 
the house, the reporter and his camera crew started to head down 
the driveway. They had hardly traveled ten feet before Ling came 
out to meet them.  Ed turned to watch the activity, but it was rather 
anti-climatic when after just a few words with Ling, the reporter 
and his crew turned around and left. 

When Ed and Tiger entered the house, the cat ran into the kitchen. 
Noticing the cat's behavior, Ed followed Tiger into the kitchen. 
Marguerite was feeding the cat another five pounds of food. She 
looked up at Ed with a concerned expression on her face and said, 
"This is the third time today that I've feed that cat. Shadow ate this 
morning and Kelly called to tell me that they feed him at lunch 
time thinking I hadn't feed him. The cats are acting strange."

Ed had noticed that Tiger was sleeping a lot more than usual, 
moving only when he went somewhere. He said, "I agree. There is 
something strange about Tiger today."

"I wish John was here."

Ed agreed with that sentiment and wished that John was home. He 
was still on his desert hike and wouldn't be home for another day 
or two. The cats' behavior made him wonder if John was alright, 
but he expected an entirely different behavior from them if John 
were hurt. They'd be trying to lead them to John, rather than eating 
and sleeping all day.

It was still early afternoon, so Ed was shocked when Shadow came 
running into the kitchen and pawed at the meat locker. Marguerite 
looked at Ed and asked, "What should I do?"

"Feed him," replied Ed. The only explanation was that the cats 
were storing up energy for some major ordeal. If they needed it, he 
wouldn't deny them. 

A very irritated Kelly entered the kitchen and said, "That cat was 
impossible today. I had to come home early because he was so 
surly."

"We were just talking about that," said Ed. He pointed to Tiger, 
who had just finished eating, and added, "Tiger did nothing today 
but eat and sleep"

"Do you think John is okay?" asked Kelly worried about her 
husband.

"I think he's okay. If he were in trouble, the cats would be leading 
us to him."

Worried, Kelly said, "You are probably right."

"Where's Beth?"

"She's in her room."

Together, the two of them went to Beth's bedroom. Knocking on 
the door, it was a full minute before Beth answered the door. She 
had been crying and it showed. Ed put his arms around her and she 
slipped into his embrace with practiced ease. Together the three of 
them went into the bedroom and lay on the bed. Pressing his body 
tightly against Beth, Ed held her from behind while Beth held 
Kelly. 

At first the holding was innocent, but with time, hands began to 
wander. Ed slowly achieved an erection that, despite the tight 
confines of his pants, made itself known to Beth. After a while of 
this light playing around, Beth laughed and said, "Let's get naked."

Thrashing around on the bed as the three of them attempted to 
undress while on the bed, it quickly became apparent that it wasn't 
working. Standing up, they quickly undressed and returned to the 
bed. Ed's erection stood up straight, making its presence known. 
Beth ran a hand around the base of his cock causing it to throb. 
Happy at the power her touch had over him, an idea came to her of 
something she hadn't done in a long time. 

Winking at Kelly, Beth pushed Ed onto his back. While she took 
his cock into her mouth, Kelly climbed over Ed to where he could 
kiss and lick her pussy. When he was as hard as ever, Beth climbed 
on his cock and rode him, setting the pace to what had the best 
effect on her. As she lifted herself, she played with Kelly's breasts 
and whispered into her ear, "I want him to come in me and then I 
want you to eat me out, feeding my come to him."

The idea was enough to send Kelly over the edge. She came as a 
surprised Ed wondered what he had done right to bring her to 
orgasm so quickly. As she came, she screamed out, "Oh, yes. Do 
it."

Knowing that she was going to get to feed his come back to him, 
Beth quickly came to a nice satisfying orgasm. Ed thrust up into 
her at a pace that quickly brought him to orgasm, satisfied as his 
come filled her cunt. The idea that it was going to be fed back to 
him brought her to another orgasm. 

Once she had come, she climbed off him and lay on the bed so that 
her hips were beside his head. Kelly climbed down Ed to rub her 
cunt against his cock. She leaned over to suck the juices out of 
Beth. The sight returned Ed to a fully erect state in record time. 
Kelly eased herself onto his cock and continued to eat Beth's cunt. 
When a gob of come slipped out, Kelly licked it up and moved to 
kiss Ed. 

It took him a minute to realize what Beth and Kelly wanted. He 
accepted the kiss and the gob of come that slid into his mouth. 
Swallowing, he wondered what was the turn on of this for the 
women. Of all the things they did, this was the one that they really 
enjoyed. As Kelly rocked on his cock, she returned to eating out 
Beth. 

Another gob of come slipped out of her slit. Licking it up, Kelly 
fed it to Ed, shivering as another orgasm threatened to over come 
her. It would be a race between the two women to see which one 
came first. This was something that amazed Ed. Either woman 
could come with minimal effort when the other was doing this. 

Another gob of come slid out and Kelly fed that to Ed. Beth came 
pushing out a large amount of come. Kelly dived on it like it was 
gold and sucked it up. While kissing Ed, the come slid into his 
mouth. Almost biting his lip, Kelly came with a rush. She sat up on 
his cock and really rode him to another orgasm. This time, he came 
as well. 

Winking at Beth, Kelly climbed up to straddle Ed's face. She 
lowered her dripping cunt onto his mouth. Beth came with an 
immediate shout as her fingers moved with fevered intensity in her 
cunt. Ed accepted the globs of come flooding out of Kelly as she 
rubbed her cunt against his mouth. With one last orgasm, Kelly 
came forcing out a huge wad of come into his mouth.

Suddenly, Ed found himself bracketed by the pair of lovely 
women, each of whom sighed with satisfaction. Curious, Ed asked, 
"Why do you like that so much?"

"Like what?" asked Kelly.

"Feeding me my own come."

Beth asked, "Does it bother you?"

Smiling, Ed licked his lips as traces of come dried on them. He 
answered, "It's not that I'm upset, but I'm just curious." 

Sighing, Kelly's traced his nipple with her finger. She said, "I think 
that it is the sense of power that I feel when I'm doing it."

Thinking about it quietly, Beth said, "I don't know. I feel like I 
possess you in a very intimate way."

Kelly said, "There is that, too."

Giggling, Beth added, "Plus it is a power rush that's enough to 
bring me to orgasm every time."

Giving up on every really understanding it, Ed took pleasure in the 
idea that he could please them so much with such a simple act. He 
drew both of the women closer to him, holding them close and 
taking pleasure in knowing that he could pleasure them.

Before long he fell asleep, the effort of producing two orgasms in 
such a short time had sapped his strength. Smiling down at him, 
Beth and Kelly stood up and dressed. They snuck out of the room 
feeling fresh and energized. Their concerns for John temporarily 
forgotten. 

It was an hour later that Ed woke and dressed. He left the room and 
headed to the dining room to see what was going on with dinner. It 
would be another hour before diner would be ready. 

It was approaching sunset when Ling came into the dining room. 
They had just finished eating dinner and were talking about the 
recent events in the news. Ling said, "The cats are acting funny 
and now they want out."

Concerned, Ed asked, "Acting funny in what way?

Seeking the proper words, Ling just couldn't find how to describe 
their behavior. She answered, "I would like to say edgy, but that 
isn't right. I guess the word I would have to use is impatient."

"That's the word that I would have used to describe Shadow at the 
hospital. It's like he's waiting for something," said Kelly.

Trying to puzzle out what this meant, Ed said, "I'll let them out, 
Ling. Would you mind monitoring them while they are outside?"

Shrugging, Ling said, "No problem."

Going to the front door, both cats were waiting for him to let them 
out. He petted them both, but they didn't really respond. Opening 
the door, both cats ran out into the front yard and then headed 
towards the side of the house where they started pacing. Watching 
them, Ed wondered what was going on. The sun had set and it was 
difficult to see the cats in the darkening world.

Returning inside the house, the family retired to the informal living 
room to watch the news. As they watched the reports of forest fires 
in California, it was with more than a little pride that Ed saw the 
blue coveralls and yellow backpacks of Fusion Foundation workers 
at the edges of the fire. They had not yet taken delivery of all the 
helicopters that had been ordered, but the few they had were in use. 
When the reporter said that the fire was being contained in record 
time, Ed smiled. John would be happy to learn that his charity had 
such a positive impact on the people of California. 

An alarm sounding caused every one to jump. After months of 
silence, it was a shame to hear the sound. Heading to the clinic, 
Beth and Kelly raced together holding hands to support each other. 
Ed went directly to the security center running into Bob and Bill on 
their way there. When he arrived, Ed asked, "What's happening?"

Still working the monitors, Ling said, "The cats crossed the 
property boundaries and went into the desert. I can't find what they 
are looking for, but there must be a threat out there somewhere."

"Where are the cats?"

Afraid to look at Ed, Ling said, "I don't know. I can't find them." 

With a tightness in his stomach, Ed asked, "Is it possible they are 
dead?"

Understanding how important and integral to the family the cats 
were, Ling answered, "I can't find a heat signature for a cat. They 
are either dead or they are gone."

For most of the night, they waited to see what would come out of 
the desert. They took two hour shifts so that fresh eyes would be 
watching the area around the house at any time. Kelly and Beth 
slept in the clinic. It was a long pensive night for Ed.

At first light, Ed and Ling went into the desert attempting to track 
the cats. After an hour, Ed returned to the house with Ling. At 
least, she was satisfied that there didn't appear to be any real 
threats against the house. The cats were still missing, though, and 
that worried Ed. With the large area to cover, he was going to need 
a horse. By ten in the morning, he had gone to where he had his 
horse stabled and brought it back to the house. After a quick 
breakfast, Ed saddled up and went out to search for the cats. 

He started an ever widening search for the cats, looking for tracks 
in the desert that would indicate that one of them had been through 
the area. It was hard work, searching the desert for signs of the 
cats. It was the end of June and the weather was hot. Sweating, 
tired, and worried, Ed would not give up the search even though it 
was becoming increasingly obvious to him that the cats were gone.

The sound of a horn honking three times back at the house was the 
signal that the cats had come home or there was news about them. 
Tiredly, Ed turned the horse and rose back to the house. Only after 
taking care of the horse, did Ed go inside to hear the news. John 
had returned and the cats had left. Of everyone, Ed was the 
saddest. 
