JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 22
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Claire was on the bed with her legs spread apart waiting for either 
Dan or Ed to slide between them. The black skin of her soft 
breasts, topped by dark aureole and bullet hard nipples, was very 
inviting. Both men were still feasting on her breasts unwilling to 
turn down the invitation. Ed was certain that she had the largest 
nipples that he had ever seen. Frustrated, she asked, "Won't one of 
you get busy and fuck me?"

"We're too busy to fuck you at the moment. Your breasts need a lot 
more attention yet," said Dan in a teasing voice. 

The tense excitement caused by their attention to her very sensitive 
breast was leaving her frustrated. She needed to be filled to reach 
an orgasm. She cried, "Fuck me. Will one of you just fuck me 
already!"

"Which one of us?" Ed asked around the nipple in his mouth. 

"Either one of you! Both of you! I don't care!"

Dan and Ed shared a look and a smile. Moving slowly to prolong 
her agony, Ed positioned his body so that his cock was poised at 
her lower lips. Moving much quicker, Dan reached over and 
grabbed a tube of lube. Although she tried to speed up the process, 
Ed entered her with short slow movements. When he finally got his 
entire cock inside her, Claire was ready to come. 

In a surprise move, Ed held onto Claire and rolled over carrying 
her with him. Suddenly, she was atop him. A wild grin crossed her 
face as she took control of the act. Her grin turned to a look of 
pleased surprise when Dan inserted a lube-covered finger into her 
asshole. She stopped her motions to allow Dan a chance to prepare 
her for what was going to come. Although she wanted to ride Ed 
hard and come as quick as possible, she controlled her desire 
knowing that something even better would reward her patience. It 
wasn't long before Dan positioned his cock against her asshole. 
With a low guttural growl, she said, "Stick it in me before I go 
crazy waiting."

Dan loved the full round shape of her ass and rarely missed an 
opportunity to enjoy it. He pressed his cock against her asshole. 
For a moment, there was resistance. Claire relaxed and pressed 
back against him. His cock slipped in with ease. He waited a 
moment for her to get used to him. She trembled with a barely 
suppressed desire for them to start hammering into her. 

From his position below Claire, Ed knew when Dan had buried his 
cock into her ass. He rocked his hips so that he thrust up into her. 
Dan pulled his cock almost out at the same time. The men, 
although it was the first time they had tried this, easily adopted a 
rhythm that had one thrusting in as the other was pulling out. It 
took Claire less than fifteen seconds once they had started to come. 

After five minutes of fast furious fucking, Claire had left earth far 
behind and was now somewhere in outer space surrounded by 
blackness broken by bright white stars. A fantasy of hers had come 
true and she hadn't even had to ask for it. She had no idea that she 
was screaming like a banshee, the pitch rising and falling in time 
with their thrusts. All she knew was that she was riding an orgasm 
that felt like it would never end. 

The spasms of her muscles were having an effect on the two men. 
It was Dan who couldn't last and thrust into her savagely as he 
came. The sudden interruption caused Ed to lose it and he came a 
few seconds later with a hard thrust up into her. It was too much 
for Claire. Her eyes rolled up and she collapsed onto Ed -- lying 
atop him like a limp rag doll.

Ed recovered first, but there was little he could do while pinned 
down under Claire and Dan. Finally, Dan pulled out and dropped 
to the side. Ed rolled over taking Claire with him. He pulled out 
and then dropped beside Claire so that she was between Dan and 
him. Claire, breathing her only movement, lay with her legs spread 
in an obscene manner with come running out her cunt and ass. 

Looking at Claire, Ed wondered if she was like Kelly and enjoyed 
feeding a man's come back to him. The way that Dan swallowed 
his come earlier suggested that he wasn't a stranger to the taste of 
it. While Ed was pondering that question, Dan rose on shaky legs 
and headed to the bathroom. He returned a minute later with three 
hot towels. Throwing one of the towels to Ed, Dan knelt and 
started to clean up Claire. She purred at the sensation. 

While wiping his cock, Ed leaned on one arm looking down at 
Claire. Her young athletic body was covered with sweat. In the 
dim light of the bedroom, it gave her skin a soft glow as light 
reflected from the sweat. Ed said, "She's a spectacular woman."

"Yes, she is, isn't she?" Dan finished cleaning her body and picked 
up the third towel to clean himself. Looking over at Ed, he said, "It 
feels a little strange to be cleaning her up like this after sex. 
Usually, she straddles my face and feeds my come back to me."

"Ah, I had wondered. Kelly likes to do that. Kelly loved to suck 
the come out of Beth and then feed it back to me when we had a 
threesome. They even took turns doing it. Kelly's missed that since 
Linda usually swallows and Ling is rather indifferent to the 
activity," said Ed. 

Eyes closed, Claire stretched and wriggled on the bed enjoying the 
feel of the smooth sheet beneath her. In a soft voice, she said, 
"That sounds like fun."

Grinning, Ed figured that he was going to be eating a lot of come 
out of women in the future. Dan said, "I'd never about it."

Claire opened her eyes and looked at the clock. It took a moment 
for her eyes to make out the face of the clock. She asked, "Isn't it 
time for Marguerite to ride the horse?"

Ed glanced at the clock and laughed. He answered, "We've got an 
hour yet."

Puzzled, she looked at the clock again. Her eyesight sharpened and 
she saw that it was only ten rather than eleven. She purred at the 
idea of another hour in bed although she really felt like talking and 
being cuddled. She asked, "Dan, was it okay?"

"Was what okay?"

"Having sex with Ed," she answered looking over at Dan. She'd 
really enjoyed watching the two men together and had masturbated 
herself to orgasm. It wasn't until they had finished that she realized 
she hadn't paid attention to how Dan was acting.

Dan settled down beside her and put his hand on her stomach 
before rubbing her belly. Although he had decided that he would 
do it for her pleasure the day he had discovered that the idea of 
watching two men together excited her, he had dreaded it. The 
reality was nowhere near as bad as the fantasy his fears had 
created. He answered, "It was okay. I was happy to give him a 
little pleasure."

Reaching over to Claire, Ed traced a finger around her nipple 
causing it to harden. He was pleased to hear the truth in Dan's 
voice. He'd been worried when Dan had approached the blowjob as 
if he were marching to war. Afterwards, Dan didn't have a problem 
with Ed returning the favor. Claire trembled under his finger when 
Dan's hand ventured between her legs.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Claire. She sighed in pleasure at what 
his hand was doing to her and then said, "And I'm glad to feel 
that."

Dan chuckled and traced a path back up her body. As expected, she 
growled in frustration and then purred when his hand traced a path 
back down her body. He asked, "Did you enjoy watching?"

"Yes, I did," answered Claire shooting a guilty look over at Ed. 
Swallowing, she said, "I guess I have some pretty kinky ideas."

"Really?" asked Ed wondering what could be much kinkier than 
the things he had already done with Leroy, Kelly, Ling, and Linda.

Blushing, she looked at Dan and then back at Ed before she said, "I 
kind of like seeing men in submissive situations. Like, I've always 
wanted to do a guy with a dildo."

For a long time, Ed didn't say anything expecting her to cover 
something surprising. She stared at him as if expecting some sort 
of response. Realizing that was her great confession, he said, 
"Sorry, I was waiting to hear you say something kinky."

Claire laughed and said, "You're too much sometimes."

"Speaking of too much. I've got to prepare a little surprise for 
Marguerite. I'd better get going," said Ed as he climbed out of the 
bed. He found his clothes where he had taken them off the 
previous night. Claire and Dan watched him dress from the 
comfort of her bed. Ed had a feeling that they were going to be late 
for the great horse riding adventure.

Ed stopped by his room to pick up a bag and a rocking horse. 
Looking out the door of his room to make sure that no one was 
around, he raced to the back of the house. He slipped out the back 
door. Walt was by the horse trailer watching the horse inside. Ed 
said, "Hey Walt. I brought my own horse for Marguerite in case 
the one in the trailer is too much for her."

Walt turned and looked at Ed taking in the rocking horse the 
cowboy was carrying in one hand. He burst out laughing. Shaking 
his head, he said, "Marguerite is going to kill you."

He put the rocking horse on the ground and stepped back with a 
pleased look on his face. They had exchanged taunts over the past 
few days. He teased her that he was going to have to find an 
arthritic horse in a wheel chair for her to ride. She had turned an 
old joke of his around and teased that he was going to use this 
opportunity to poison her with his cooking. The whole household 
was holding their breaths to see what would develop.

The sound of the door opening behind him caught his attention. He 
turned and found everyone streaming out the door with huge grins 
on their faces. Eyebrow raised, he waited for the joke knowing that 
one was surely coming.

Once everyone was outside, Marguerite stepped out of the door. 
She was wearing a hoop dress that billowed out about five feet in 
every direction. He wasn't even going to speculate where she had 
found it, but there was no way she was going to be getting on a real 
horse wearing it. The horse would disappear inside the dress. 
Waving a riding crop around in the air, she said, "Bring on the 
horse."

Recovering from his surprise, Ed stepped back and pointed to the 
rocking horse. She stared at it with as much surprise as he had 
demonstrated upon seeing her outfit. It took her a few seconds to 
recover, but she managed not to laugh. The rocking horse 
disappeared under the dress when she sat astride it. She rocked a 
few times and then said, "My dinner."

Ed held out the little bag that he had been carrying with him. With 
a great flourish, he opened the bag and extracted a piece of beef 
jerky. Handing it to her, he said, "Your dinner."

No one watching was left standing by the time the little drama had 
finished. Everyone had assumed that Ed would have been unable 
to recover from her outfit. No one had expected him to be ready 
with a joke of his own. Kelly recalled earlier jokes that John and 
Ed had pulled. Happy to see the return of his humor, Kelly said, 
"I'd have paid money to see that."

Ling was laughing so hard that she had collapsed against the side 
of the house. She had found the outfit for Marguerite in Phoenix 
and thought it would totally confound Ed.  After she scraped 
herself away from the wall, she went over to Marguerite to help 
her out of the hoops revealing that she was wearing blue jeans 
under the outfit. 

Walt led the horse out of the trailer. Much to Ed's surprise, 
Marguerite mounted without difficulty. Winking at him, she rode 
the horse around the yard for a minute. Her riding style didn't 
reflect the casual ease of a person who road daily, but it was far 
more fluid than Ed had expected. After passing him, she kicked the 
horse to a faster pace and immediately found that she was 
bouncing in the saddle. She pulled up and went around the yard a 
third time at a slower pace.

When Marguerite returned to the trailer, Ed asked, "When did you 
learn to ride?"

"I used to ride when I was a teenager," she replied with a grin. 

"Figures," Ed replied shaking his head. It amazed him that after 
knowing her for so many years that there were still new things to 
learn about her. 

Suppressing a groan, Marguerite climbed off the horse. She wanted 
to rub her rear-end, finding that she hadn't settled into the saddle 
with the same skill as when she was younger. She refrained from 
making any gesture suggesting she was sore. Bob leaned next to 
her and whispered, "I'll rub it and make it feel better."

She giggled at the suggestion. Aloud, she asked, "So Ed, when will 
you start cooking?"

"Right now," answered Ed pointing to a large grill made out of a 
fifty-five gallon drum that had been cut in half. Walt had filled it 
with cactus woods since Ed never used charcoal. Going over to the 
grill, Ed lit the fire and said, "It'll take a while before we have 
coals that are good for cooking. That will give everyone else who 
wants to try a little Cuisine ala Ed have a ride on the horse."

"Cuisine ala Ed?" Marguerite asked with a grin.

"Sure. What else would you call it."

The remainder of the staff took turns riding the horse around the 
backyard. He led the horse around the yard for those who had no 
riding experience despite the fact that it was probably the gentlest 
horse in the state. Even though Kelly disagreed, he even let Betsy 
ride the horse. She loved it.

When everyone had ridden, Ed and Walt put the horse back in the 
trailer. After a short discussion, Walt drove off to return the horse 
to the stable. Ed returned to the grill and loaded more wood onto it. 
Marguerite walked over and watched him take care of the fire. She 
commented, "Cooking over real wood coals. That's just about a 
lost art. Most people use charcoal or gas grills now."

"Not the same," said Ed while he opened one of three Dutch ovens 
and examined the contents. The pinto beans were ready for 
cooking. He put the lid back on the Dutch oven.

"You're right," replied Marguerite. She didn't have a chance to 
check out the contents of the Dutch oven and was curious as to 
what was in it. Of course, she wouldn't condescend to ask.

Ed went through the rest of the food that he was going to cook. 
Sweet corn still in the husk and potatoes were the easy side dishes. 
He had the ingredients to make corn bread and cobbler. There was 
a large stack of steaks in the ice chest. When he was done, he 
checked the fire again. 

For the next six hours, he fussed with the fire and cooked the 
dinner. Marguerite was amazed at the skill with which he 
controlled the fire, adding more wood to one end of the grill to 
replenish the coals. He turned the trio of Dutch ovens every fifteen 
minutes to assure even cooking of the beans, corn bread, and peach 
cobbler. 

Everyone with the exception of Marguerite and Mona drifted off, 
promising to return in time for dinner. Sitting in chairs next to the 
grill, the trio drank iced tea and talked. Ed talked about cooking on 
the trail. Marguerite talked about riding. It was a pleasant 
afternoon despite the heat. 

A half an hour before the dinner was ready, a crowd gathered in 
the backyard. Walt and George set up picnic tables. Cathy and 
Sarah set the tables with plates and glasses for iced tea. By the time 
the food was ready to eat, the tables were set. Ed carried a huge 
platter of steaks to the table. Returning, he carried a second platter 
of steaks. Pointing to the first platter, he said, "Those are medium 
well. The other plate is medium rare."

While people selected steaks, he went to the grill and returned with 
the Dutch oven containing the cornbread. Removing the lid, he 
smiled at the perfection within it. A minute later, the cornbread had 
been transferred to a plate and cut up into pieces. Another trip to 
the grill resulted in a pile of corn and potatoes. He carried the 
beans over for the last trip.

Everyone loaded his or her plates with food. As had become 
tradition, everyone turned to watch Ed take the first bites of the 
meal. Instead of finding Ed bent over the plate appreciating the 
aroma of the food, he was watching Marguerite. All eyes turned to 
Marguerite to watch her reaction to his cooking. 

Finding that she was the sudden center of attention was a little 
intimidating. She cut a small piece of the steak, amazed at the 
tenderness of the meat and ease with which she could cut it. She 
put it in her mouth and savored the rich flavor of beef cooked to 
perfection. It was far superior to any steak she had ever tasted that 
had been cooked over charcoal or gas.

She turned her attention to the corn, taking in the effects of 
cooking buried in coals. Removing the husk, the cob was revealed. 
It tasted wonderfully, having cooked with butter and salt. There 
was a subtle flavor that came from having cooked in the husk that 
was normally missing from corn prepared in other manners. She 
sighed in pleasure as juices ran down her chin. 

There was a twinkle in Ed's eyes when she turned her attention to 
the camp beans he had prepared. Not quite sure what to expect, she 
took a spoonful of the beans. It was a rich mix of subtle flavors. 
There was a hint of a hot pepper that caught her by surprise. For a 
simple dish, she was amazed.

There wasn't too much to say about the baked potato, other than it 
was cooked to perfection. She had never seen anyone do much of 
anything special with a baked potato. The primary difference 
among baked potatoes was the type of potato and the fillers added 
once it had been cooked. She appreciated the fact that he had not 
used one of the more common baking potatoes. In keeping with the 
theme of camp cooking, the only toppings he had provided were 
butter and bacon.

The cornbread was a shock. It was hot and steaming when she 
picked it up. The butter melted as she spread it across the surface 
of the cornbread. Biting into it, she was amazed. It was sweet, but 
not overly so. It was moist, but not overly so. 

Looking over at Ed with a smile on her face, she said, "I'm 
impressed. I couldn't taste the poison at all."

As laughter broke out around the table, everyone turned to their 
plates to taste the food. Ed grinned at her comment finding his 
often-repeated compliment returned at him. He could see that his 
cooking had impressed her. 

Everyone who had never been in the desert with Ed was impressed 
with the food. Those who had eaten his cooking before were 
pleased that he had done his usual great job. After everyone 
finished eating the main course, Ed brought the Dutch oven with 
the peach cobbler. Everyone watched Marguerite taste it. Looking 
up, she declared, "This is heavenly."

Mona sat back and, rubbing her stomach in obvious satisfaction, 
said, "Looks to me like Marguerite may need to look for another 
job."

Winking at Ed, Marguerite retorted, "I just might have to nominate 
him for a Canned Soup award."

Everyone laughed at the compliment. Once the laugher had died 
down, Ed was about to make a comment when his cell phone rang. 
Fishing it out of his shirt pocket, he glanced at the caller id and 
frowned. Aloud he said, "I wonder why Rosa would call me."

He answered the cell phone with a sinking feeling in his stomach, 
particularly when he saw that Kelly was covering her eyes as if to 
hide that she was crying. In a voice filled with grief, Rosa 
informed him that her sister had passed away. 

It wasn't until that moment that he realized he hadn't seen Maria in 
ages. She hadn't come by after the attempted robbery or when the 
family had eaten at the original Maria's Cantina. The tears rolling 
down his cheeks let others know that he was getting bad news.

At the end of the call, he stood. "Rosa's sister has died. I'm going 
to see Rosa."

Without waiting for a reply, Ed stood and walked away leaving a 
stunned group behind. As he headed towards the garage, Dan said, 
"Maybe I should go with him. He looks pretty upset."

Smiling at the consideration shown by Dan, Kelly said, "No, he 
needs to talk with Rosa. I know where he's going."

Ed found Rosa, Jose, and Maria waiting for him at the front door 
of the funeral home. There was little for Ed to do financially since 
Rosa was now a wealthy person, but he could provide moral 
support in the form of a shoulder to cry upon. Rosa greeted him 
with a tear-filled hug. Crying, she said, "Oh Ed! I can't believe 
she's gone."

"How did it happen?" asked Ed expecting to hear about a traffic 
accident or some other form of accidental death.

Maria took Jose by the arm and led him away so Rosa could talk in 
private with Ed. She knew what her wife had to say to Ed and it 
wasn't something that would make Ed happy. The couple stood 
back hoping to provide moral support to Rosa by their presence. 
Taking a deep breath as if to steel herself, Rosa answered, "Breast 
cancer."

"What?" asked Ed in dismay. He couldn't believe it despite what 
his truth sense was telling him. No one had told him she was ill, 
much less dying of cancer. He didn't understand why no one had 
told him. It hurt that he had been denied the chance to have one 
last conversation with Maria and let her know how much he loved 
her.

"Don't be upset, Ed. She didn't want you to know," answered Rosa 
knowing how much it would hurt him to hear what she said. 

"Why? Why wouldn't she want me to know?" asked Ed, the 
anguish ripping through his heart. The idea that she wouldn't want 
him to share her pain made him wonder what she had thought of 
him.

"She didn't want you to see her while she was ill. There towards 
the end, it wasn't pretty. She didn't want you to see her looking so 
bad," answered Rosa repeating that it was Maria's vanity at work. 
Her tears were flowing and she clung to Ed as if he were a lifeline. 
Not only was she grieving for the loss of her sister, but she also felt 
Ed's pain. 

His legs threatened to give out from under him, but he forced 
himself to stand there. Shaking his head as if to deny what he had 
just heard, he asked, "Why?"

"My sister loved only two men in her entire life, you and John 
Carter. She wanted you to remember her as she was before she got 
ill. It was the only time I've ever seen her be vain about her 
appearance."

The news that Maria had loved him was almost a fatal blow. He 
could understand why she would love John Carter; everyone loved 
John Carter. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he stared 
vacantly over Rosa's shoulder. 

Rosa, feeling him go slack, stepped back while wiping the tears 
from her eyes. In an unconscious act, Ed pulled out his 
handkerchief and gave it to her. She accepted it, but didn't use it. 
Taking his hand, she said, "Ed. She loved you very much. She 
cherished every minute that the two of you spent together."

"I never told her that I loved her," said Ed. How many chances did 
he have to say those simple words to her? There were so many, but 
he had never taken that little step.

"She knew. Ed, we all know how much you love each and 
everyone of us," replied Rosa caressing his face with the palm of 
her hand.

"I never told her how I felt."

"She knew."

Ed looked down at the ground feeling old. He wasn't aware of 
Kelly coming up behind him until he felt her hands on his 
shoulder. In a soft voice, she said, "I'm so sorry, Ed."

Without turning around to look at her, Ed said, "You knew."

"She asked me if I could cure her," answered Kelly remembering 
when she had discussed the matter with Maria. It had hurt to tell 
her friend that she couldn't help her.  It had hurt to keep it from Ed. 
Seeing the look of surprise from Rosa, she added, "You know that 
I can't heal disease, old age, and congenital problems."

Hearing this for the first time, Rosa covered her eyes with Ed's 
handkerchief and cried into it. She hadn't known that Maria had 
talked to Kelly or that Kelly had been unable to help. She 
wondered about the limitations of Kelly's gifts. "Why is that?"

"Disease, aging, and birth defects are integral parts of the cycle of 
life. I only know of one instance where the Goddess disrupted the 
natural flow of things. That was when she had Beth die of a car 
crash rather than cancer," answered Kelly. It hurt to tell her friend 
that she hadn't been able to help. 

"I understand. I don't like it, but I understand," Rosa said. She 
couldn't blame Kelly for the fact that she couldn't heal her sister. 

Ed asked, "May I see her now?"

"No. She specifically asked for a closed casket funeral," replied 
Rosa.

For a moment a war raged inside Ed as he considered that he 
would never have another chance to look upon Maria. Deciding 
that it was best to comfort the living, he said, "I'm so sorry, Rosa. I 
know her death is hard to accept and that you must be crushed."

"Thank you, Ed," said Rosa. She'd been mad at Maria for making 
her be the one to face Ed, but she had come to grips with that. She 
understood why her sister didn't want Ed to see her emaciated 
body. She'd have wanted the same thing.

Ed said, "I should have told her a long time ago that I loved her. 
Let me tell you now that I love you and if you ever need anything, 
let me know."

"I know. You don't need to tell me."

"Promise me that you'll let me know if you ever get sick."

Rosa glanced over at Maria and Jose. She said, "We'll see."

Ed wanted to demand a promise, but he knew that now wasn't the 
time to do it. Bowing to the demands of the moment, he sighed and 
said, "Okay."

There was one last act that Rosa had to perform. She held out an 
envelope and said, "Maria asked me to give this to you."

Reaching out with a trembling hand, Ed accepted the envelope. 
Moving over to his Hugger, he leaned against it and extracted the 
letter within the envelope. Kelly watched from beside Rosa. 
Opening it, he read the words written within.

Dear Ed,

Since you are reading this letter, then it has come to pass that I 
have died. I know this has come as a shock to you. I made 
everyone who knew about my illness promise not to tell you. 
Please forgive the vanity of an ill woman. You have been an 
important part of my life and I did not want you to see the shell of 
a woman that I have become. 

Cancer is such a harsh illness and breast cancer is the worst of the 
lot. It is as though my own femininity has turned against me. My 
breasts gave me so much pleasure when you held and kissed them. 
I know that you liked my breasts. Now they are killing me. Women 
should not have to face such a tragedy.  

For years, I was too busy building a business to worry about 
finding a husband. My only regret is that I waited too long before 
looking for one. However, there was one man in my life who I 
could count upon for the kind of love and support that women 
expect from a husband. That man was you. 

I want to thank you for all the love and kindness you have shown 
me. You treated me like an attractive woman despite the fact that I 
wasn't a voluptuous as Rosa or as shapely as Shirley. You always 
made me feel like a woman. Even as I grew older, you treated me 
like a beautiful woman. Around you, I felt eternally young and 
pretty.

There were so many ways that you impacted my life. You and 
John Carter helped me grow my business. You supported me 
during those few times when things became overwhelming. No 
matter if I needed a kind word, a simple joke, a hug, or a kiss, you 
always managed to give me just what I needed. You even helped 
me accept the sexuality of my sister. Such little things, but they 
meant so much to me and you were always there.

We never talked about it, but I know you loved me as much as I 
loved you. Although we only made love a few times, I have 
cherished my memories of each and every time. After you, there 
was no other man who could measure up to the standards you had 
set. Please remember me with the same fondness as I have 
remembered you. 

It is not surprising that so many women in town love you. I guess 
one of the things I have always appreciated about you is that you 
never took love for granted. You never turned it against them. You 
accepted our love and returned it ten-fold. In that alone, you are 
truly a special man. 

Do not be sad for me. I couldn't stand the idea that I made you sad. 
Please do not be angry with me. That would be even worse. 
Remember me with love. Remember our times together with 
pleasure. 

Take care of Rosa, Maria, and Jose. Make love to the women and 
talk with Jose. I know that Rosa and her wife, Maria, love you. 
There are other men and women who love you. Take care of them 
as well.

I love you,

Maria

Tears streaming from his eyes, Ed folded the letter and put it into 
his pocket. Memories of their times together flashed through his 
mind. He knew that the relationship had begun the day he had 
informed her of the death of John's girlfriend. From that day on, 
they had grown closer by first becoming friends and then lovers. 

He didn't understand her concerns about her appearance although 
she was no different than many of the women in his life. To him, 
she had always been a beautiful woman. He glanced at Rosa and 
Maria thinking about what she had asked him to do with them. 
Since returning from the Druid College, he had not been as 
expressive of his love as before he had left. At least, he had not 
been as physically expressive of his love as before.

Naked, Ed was sitting on the couch in the living room with Linda's 
head in his lap. His hands were busy as he rubbed cream on her 
belly. He could feel the life growing inside. Despite the pleasure 
that this act normally gave Ed, his mind was elsewhere. He was 
trying to come to grips with the news about Maria. She was a little 
older than him and should have had a long time to live yet. It just 
didn't seem fair. 

"Ed," said Kelly in a gentle voice.

Startled by the fact that he had not noticed her enter the living 
room, Ed looked up at her even as she stripped off her robe to join 
him. In a quiet voice, he asked, "What?"

"It is our age," said Kelly settling into place at the other end of the 
couch. She lifted Linda's feet and set them on her lap.

"What do you mean, it is our age?" asked Ed.

"We have reached the age where the people we knew when we 
were younger are starting to die off. Our bosses, our mentors, our 
co-workers, and even a few people our own age will die over the 
upcoming years," answered Kelly. 

He heard the truth in her voice. It was a harsh truth and one that he 
wanted to deny, but it wasn't possible. He added another dollop of 
creme to his hand.  Returning to his rubbing, he said, "It doesn't 
mean that I have to like it."

Linda jerked her foot when Kelly's touch tickled her. Kelly 
laughed at the reaction and replied, "You're right. We don't have to 
like it."

The act of taking care of Linda had a calming effect on him, but it 
didn't cheer him. He asked, "Is this a sign of the rest of our lives? 
Will we live to watch the people we love die?"

"It's the cycle of life. In a little while, we'll see the birth of Eddie 
Biggers. There will be other births. One day soon, our kids will be 
having kids."

Linda smiled at the mention of the name for her child. Her smile 
turned to a dreamy expression as a result of the attentions of her 
husband and wife. She sighed and said, "Eddie Biggers. I really 
like the sound of that."
