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 18
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Closing John's notes on the serial killer, Ed felt sick to his 
stomach. The idea that a person existed who could perform such 
gruesome deeds made one doubt the existence of a God that could 
allow such perversion. The summaries of the horrendous actions 
were bad enough, but the pictures threatened to make him throw 
up. Forcing down the bile, Ed turned to John and said, "How can 
such a monster exist?"

Looking out the window of the car, John answered, "I don't know. 
All that I do know is that he can't be allowed to remain free."

An old black Cadillac drove past, headed towards the highway. 
John wrote down the time on a piece of paper; it was a little after 
eight. Agent Joe Fredricks tapped on the steering wheel 
impatiently. Although they had been there for only thirty minutes, 
he was tired of waiting. Two days of pointless inactivity had worn 
his patience.  He turned back to face John and asked, "How much 
longer are we going to sit here?"

Noting the impatience, John answered, "I think today will be the 
last day. I believe that events are in motion."

Voice dripping with disgust, Joe replied, "How in the hell can you 
say that? I've been watching that same herd of cows for the past 
two days. Nothing's happening there."

Ed glanced in the back seat at John and could see the amusement 
on his face. In an attempt to lighten things, Ed said, "That one 
heifer over there is going to drop a calf anytime now."

"We're not here to arrest a calf," replied the agent as he turned to 
look at John. He said, "I'm going to call this off. Damned amateur 
detectives don't know what they're doing. How in the hell did you 
get in the FBI anyway?"

Wryly, John answered, "I'm a close personal friend of Director 
Mike Holden."

Joe Fredricks sat behind the wheel disgusted by a guy that used 
personal connections to get a position in the FBI. His orders had 
been very specific, he was to do what ever John Carter asked with 
no questions asked. Still, there were limits to his patience and 
John's insistence on sitting here for the past two days had passed 
them. He said, "If you don't tell me what's going on, I'm shutting 
you down."

Continuing to look out the window, John said, "We are waiting for 
the Amputation Murderer to take someone else."

"The only thing he can take out here is a cow."

Laughing, Ed said, "That would make him a butcher, not a 
murderer."

Joe turned to Ed and said, "You shut up. You're a civilian and have 
no business being here."

Tired of Joe's continuous snipes at Ed, John said, "He's here at my 
invitation. If you want to stretch your legs, get out and walk 
around. Just don't go near the road."

Getting out of the car, Joe was started by Rover sitting on the roof 
of the car. He had known the cat was there, but it had slipped his 
mind. Looking down at the agent, Rover yawned showing all of his 
teeth to the agent. A shiver went down the agent's spine. He was 
going to call Ann and find out what kind of game was going on 
here. Parked under a tree in the middle of a field with a hippie, a 
cowboy, and a cougar, there was no doubt he'd be the laughing 
stock of the FBI if nothing came of this. 

Inside the car, Ed turned to John and said, "He's about to put an 
end to this."

With a sigh, John said, "I know. I'm just not going to tell him what 
I believe until I have a little more proof. The God knows that I'm 
right, but that man out there won't take that as a convincing 
argument."

Looking over at John, Ed asked, "This is your first service for the 
God?"

"Yes, it is," replied John. He added, "I'm a little nervous about it 
too."

The two men sat there looking out of the truck. Opening the ice 
chest, John pulled out three cokes. He handed two to Ed saying, "I 
imagine he'll want one when he gets back."

Slipping the second coke in the cup holder for the agent, Ed 
opened his and took a sip. An easy silence descended on the pair 
which lasted until Joe returned to the car. Slipping behind the 
wheel, Joe looked at the coke and opened it. Before taking a sip, he 
said, "Thanks. I needed this."

As the three men drank their cokes, an uneasy silence settled over 
the men. The source of the uneasiness was the FBI agent, as he 
kept tapping on the steering wheel. The time passed slowly, but the 
clock approached noon. John opened his door to let Rover in the 
car. Once the cat had settled in the back with him, John tapped Joe 
on the shoulder and said, "It is time. Drive down to the road and 
turn right. I'll tell you when to stop."

Joe looked around confused at the request, puzzled because 
nothing had happened. He turned to look at John and asked, "What 
do you mean it is time?"

With a smile, John said, "It is time for us to change our location. 
Drive down to the road and turn right."

Joe Fredricks drove down to the road and turned right. The dirt 
road was bumpy and he couldn't drive very fast. After a mile and a 
half, John said, "Stop right here. I need to take a leak."

As John got out of the car, Rover leapt out and ran across the road 
towards a herd of cattle. Ed watched as the cat assumed a low 
crouch and edge towards a calf. Tapping on the arm of Joe, Ed 
said, "Watch the cat."

As Joe turned to look at the cat, Rover wiggled his rear and then 
burst out of the grass taking down the calf. Joe shouted, "Jesus, did 
you see that?"

Before the herd had a chance to react, Rover was already dragging 
the calf to the dilapidated house. With a powerful leap, the cat 
jumped to the roof of the porch taking the calf with it. Rover pulled 
the calf up to the top of the roof. 

Joe shook his head in amazement at the strength of the cat. Ed said, 
"Amazing isn't it?"

"Incredible. I've never seen a cougar make a kill before." The agent 
was truly impressed.

John opened the back door and stuck his head in the car. He said, 
"Stay here. I'll go up to the house to make reparations for the calf. 
Remember, if I say that it's a pretty pretty day, then you are to call 
in the back up."

Catching Ed's eye, John winked to let him know that not all was as 
it seemed. Ed understood and nodded back. Fuming at what 
appeared to be another waste of time, Joe said, "I don't have all day 
for you to dally around."

Smiling at the impatience of the agent, John replied, "Remember, 
it's a pretty pretty day."

Ed watched as John headed towards the dilapidated house. It was 
hard to ignore John, he cut quite a figure walking across the field 
with his walking stick and cloak. From the road, they watched as 
he took a seat on the porch. Leaning over the back of the seat, Ed 
went through the cooler making sure that it was stocked with a 
selection of drinks. Watching Ed, Joe shook his head wondering 
why he was bothering.

Ed said, "Turn on the receiver. He's wearing his wire."

Joe turned on the receiver and listened as John talked to Rover. Joe 
said, "The wire's working fine."

Shortly after that, a beat up black Cadillac pulled off the road onto 
the gravel driveway. They watched the car as it stopped by the 
house. John stood up and walked towards the car. They could see 
that the owner of the property was saying something, but they 
couldn't hear it.

Listening carefully they heard John shout, "Hey man. I'm here to 
pay damages!"

Again they couldn't hear what the other man was saying. Worried, 
Ed asked, "Can't we turn up the volume or something?"

"No. We won't be able to hear what the other guy is saying until 
they are closer together," answered Agent Joe Fredricks. He wasn't 
sure why Ed was so interested in the conversation.

"Well, I stopped to take a leak over there. My cat jumped out and 
got one of your calves. Those are your cows in the pasture, aren't 
they?"

Now that John was closer, they could hear the other guy answer. 
"Yes. You say your cat got one of my calves?" 

When John approached close to the car, he said, "Yes. My cat 
killed one of your calves and dragged it up on top of your house."

"Jesus! That's your cat?" Ed smiled at the remark, it was not the 
first time he had heard that.

It was easy for Ed to imagine the look on John's face as he 
answered, "Yes it is."

"He killed a calf and took it up on my roof?" 

John asked, "So how much are you going to charge me for the 
calf?"

The owner answered, "That's a prime calf. He's worth fifteen 
hundred."

Ed groaned as he said, "That's highway robbery."

"It'll probably cost me another five hundred to get it off the roof."

"He ought to be arrested for blackmail," said Ed very indignant at 
the clear abuse of the situation. 

"Okay. I'll make out the check for an even two thousand. I'll just 
write it on the back of your car, if that's all right with you." 

As Ed heard John's answer, he wanted to go over and beat the guy 
senseless. He turned to the FBI agent and said, "That guy is slime."

"No law against that."

"No. Let's go into the house and conclude our business there."

"Well, its such a pretty pretty day today. I'd much rather stay out 
here," said John.

Hearing that phrase, Ed turned to the FBI agent waiting him to 
make a call to the backup unit. When the other man didn't move, 
Ed leaned over to him and said, "He said it was a pretty pretty day. 
Call in the reinforcements."

Agent Fredricks turned to Ed and answered, "We're here because 
his cat ate a cow!"

Ed snarled as he said, " He gave the code phrase. Send in the 
others."

Agent Fredricks grunted and then answered, "If you're wrong, it's 
all your fault."

"Get them here, now! If you don't, I'm going up there myself!"

A very apathetic Joe Fredricks sent out a call to the backup that 
was parked two miles away. They had been sent there so that they 
wouldn't be noticed. Even if they were noticed, they wouldn't be 
connected with this location.

Ed listened to the conversation going on between John and the 
other man as he grabbed the small ice chest from the back. 
Watching Ed gather together the materials from the back, Joe said, 
"The back up will be here in five minutes."

Ed said, "We'll wait for them before going down there. We don't 
want to let that monster get away by rushing up there alone."

"What monster? All that I've heard is a guy upset about loosing his 
cow."

The van with the back up agents came rumbling down the road. Ed 
said, "Let's get ready to move."

As the van pulled into the driveway, Ed ran out to follow behind it. 
Frustrated, Joe followed behind Ed swearing to himself. Henry 
stared in horror when four FBI agents wearing vests emerged. 
Breathing heavily, Ed and Agent Fredricks ran up behind the van. 
Ed was hindered since he carried the small ice chest. On reaching 
the van, Ed set the ice chest down next to it.

When Henry started to run, John grabbed him by the arm saying, 
"Stay right here. I don't want you going anywhere."

One of the agents ran up to John and asked, "Where is she?"

John pointed at the car and answered, "I heard her in the back of 
the car."

Another agent turned to Henry and said, "We need the key to open 
up the back of the car."

Henry shouted in rage, "You can't do anything without a warrant. I 
know my rights."

At those words, Ed went over to the back of the car and listened 
carefully. He could hear some sounds coming from within the 
trunk. Knocking on the trunk, he shouted, "There are FBI agents 
here. Is anyone in here?"

The thuds that emerged from the back of the car were loud enough 
that they could be heard on the porch. John shouted, "Probable 
cause. You can search the car."

Frustrated, Ed looked around for some way to open the car trunk. 
After spotting the keys in the car, he grabbed them and used them 
to open the trunk. Inside, two young ladies were bound and 
gagged. They were sixteen or seventeen years of age at most. They 
stared up at Ed in terror, only relaxing when they saw Agent 
Fredricks with his FBI vest. Dismayed by the look of terror in their 
eyes, Ed pulled off the gags on both women and said, "We're here 
to help you."

The women didn't know what to say first. Their conversation was a 
confusing jumble of half uttered phrases, made even more 
confusing by the tears and sobs that burst loose uncontrollably. 
The sight of the two scared young women touched Ed so much it 
was as if someone had twisted a knife in his heart. He looked over 
at Henry with rage in his eyes.

The women were bound with nylon ropes that cut deeply into their 
flesh. Ed and Agent Fredricks tried to undo the knots that held the 
women bound. The tight ropes had cut off the circulation in the 
hands swelling them and turning them a horrible purple color. Any 
attempt to cut the ropes would cut the women as well. The two 
men struggled with the knots. It took a long time before they were 
able to get the women unbound. 

As the feeling returned to their hands, the two women screamed in 
agony.  Trying to help the young women, Ed was too busy to 
notice when Henry was handcuffed, read his rights, and taken 
away to the van. He did hear the man shout, “All I wanted to do 
was make them perfect. Get rid of those ugly arms and legs, like in 
the statues.”

The words made Ed's blood boil in anger. He had seen the pictures 
of what the man had done to his past victims. Rather than give into 
his anger, he turned his attention to the two young women still 
screaming in pain.

Rover, hearing the screams, jumped down from the roof. Moving 
to join Ed, John walked over to the women to see if he could help 
them in some fashion. With the grace that all cats possess, Rover 
quickly joined him. The cat was as upset at the women’s pain as 
the men. John knelt down to pet Rover while Rover rubbed his 
head against the women's legs and purred. The presence of the cat 
took their minds off the pain and calmed them significantly. 
Smiling in an open and friendly manner, John looked up at the 
girls and said, "Ladies, I would like to introduce you to Rover."

Almost as one, they replied, "Hello Rover."

John added, "Would you like to introduce yourselves to Rover?"

The taller girl ran a hand over the silky fur. "I'm Stacy 
Hutchinson."

The smaller girl squeaked out, "I'm Sarah Smith."

“I think Rover is happy to meet you.” John turned to Agent 
Fredricks and commanded, "Give the girls your cell phone and let 
them call their families."

While John and Rover took care of the women, Ed went to where 
he had dropped the ice chest. He brought it over to where everyone 
was gathered and set it down. While the girls were talking to their 
parents, John joined Ed at the cooler. They took out soft drinks and 
snacks, pausing to open the drinks and hand them to the women. 
The women smiled in relief and took a big sip at the first 
opportunity. The look of joy on their faces was reward enough. Ed 
fished out a couple of bags of potato chips and waited patiently for 
the girls to finish their call.

Feeling very protective of the girls, Ed was never more than ten 
feet away. While Rover helped divert their attention away from 
their situation, Ed made sure that they were made comfortable. 
When the ambulance arrived, he stood over the women making 
sure that they received best care and that the men were polite. 

As the investigation activities heated up, John, Ed, Rover, and the 
women were left alone. John retrieved a couple of chairs from the 
porch and placed them in a shady spot for the women. While 
Rover lay over their feet and purred, John and Ed sat back and let 
the girls talk. They told each other how afraid they had been during 
the ordeal. They talked of the thoughts that had gone through their 
minds at the time. The fears experienced by the girls were hardly 
imaginable by Ed. He sat there shaking his head as he wondered 
what it must have been like being tied up in the trunk of the car.

When John left to talk to the other agents, Ed asked, "Sarah, what 
grade are you in?"

With a smile, Sarah answered, "I'm a junior."

Stacy answered, "I'm a senior."

Nodding, Ed asked, "Either of you planning on going to college?"

Stacy answered, "I'm planning on it, but I don't know what I'm 
going to major in."

Less certain, Sarah said, "I don't know yet."

Smiling at Sarah, Ed said, "I definitely recommend college. I'm 
going right now."

Stacy asked, "What are you studying?"

"Rocks."

"Rocks?" asked Sarah. The idea of studying rocks seemed weird to 
her. 

"Yes, I study rocks and I love it," answered Ed. Reaching into his 
pocket, he pulled out a sample of Amethyst. Handing it to Sarah, 
he said, "That is an Amethyst. It is one of the more common semi-
precious gems."

For the next half an hour, Ed entertained the two women talking 
about rocks. It was a topic that came easily to him and it was one 
that people found interesting. The women were interested in 
hearing about gems that were used in jewelry and Ed played up 
that part of the discussion. By the time he had finished, the recent 
ordeal was a past memory.

John returned from his discussion with the other agents carrying a 
bottle of iced tea. As John took sip from the bottle, he grimaced at 
the taste. Turning to Ed, John said, "I just can't stand this bottled 
junk. Iced tea is supposed to be served in a glass, with real ice, 
enough sugar to taste it, and a lemon wedge if you want lemon. 
This stuff tastes old and stale."

Stacy grinned and asked, "Can't you cast a spell on it? You are a 
wizard aren't you?"

Ed burst out laughing at that characterization of John. He asked, 
"Why would you think that?"

Sarah answered, "Look at him. He's wearing a wizards cloak, he 
carries a staff, has a pure white beard, long hair with two white 
stripes, and has a cat as a familiar."

"I'm sure you've heard that saying that if it looks like a duck, walks 
like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's it duck. Well, he looks 
like a wizard, walks like a wizard, and talks like a wizard." Stacy 
pointed at John and added, "Ergo, Wizard!"

John laughed and answered, "No. I'm not a wizard. I'm just a 
regular guy."

Having come up from behind in time to hear the conversation, 
Agent Fredricks interrupted, "He's the main character out of a 
science fiction book. One man armed with intelligence, intuition, 
and nerves of steel goes forth to conquer evil. He's the John Carter 
from the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories."

At that moment, the last vestige of hero worship seemed to fall 
from Ed. Looking at John, he saw his friend for what he was. He 
shook his head and said, "He's a regular guy that finds himself in 
irregular circumstances."

John turned to face Agent Fredricks. He asked, "What can we do 
for you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the girl's parents will be 
arriving soon. I thought you might want a few minutes to prepare 
for their arrival. The house is sealed off to everyone but police. 
We've had a porto-potty delivered so you can use it if you want to 
use the rest room. There's a portable water stand over there where 
you can get a drink or wash your hands."

"Thank you, Agent Fredricks. I'll walk back to the house with 
you." John stood up and walked over to where the agent waited. 
They returned to the house together. Staying behind, Ed watched 
over the girls as they went to clean up. They took turns at the 
porto-potty. Ever since he had opened the trunk of the car, Ed felt 
like he was their protector. The irony of a bully becoming a 
protector wasn't lost on him.

After a little while John returned to where Ed was seated watching 
the two women move over to the water stand where they could 
clean up a little. Tired, John sat down next to Ed and said, "When 
their parents come and take them away, we can leave."

"Good, this place really gives me the creeps. There is something 
inherently evil about it." As time passed here, the feeling of 
discomfort had slowly infected Ed. 

John nodded and said, "I know. I've been feeling ill the whole time 
that we've been here. I hope the place burns down to the ground. 
There is so much pain in this place."

Ed nodded as he replied, "No wonder you were able to find this 
place. It screams out to you."

John asked, "So how long did it take you to convince him to call 
the backup?"

Ed laughed as he answered, "About a minute. I had to tell him 
three times to call for the backup. How did you know that I had to 
convince him?"

"Why do you think that I wanted you to watch my back?"

As he considered the implications, Ed frowned as he realized that 
John would have been stuck dealing with Henry until Joe had 
finally realized something was wrong. He answered, "You didn't 
think they would believe you."

"Right." John pointed at two cars escorted by a half dozen police 
cars approaching the driveway. "I think the parents have arrived. 
Let's get them together with the kids and out of here. As soon as 
they are gone, we can leave."

As the cars came to a halt, Ed shouted, "Stacy! Sarah! Your 
parents are here."

The two young ladies ran from where they had been washing and 
flew to the arms of their mothers. In a touching scene, mothers and 
daughters broke down crying. The fathers stood there looking 
relieved, worried, upset, and angry. Feeling that his job was done, 
Ed hung back as John walked over to the group. John extended his 
right hand to one of the men and said, "You must be Mr. 
Hutchinson. I'm special agent John Carter from the FBI."

After the initial excitement of reuniting the girls with their parents 
had passed, Ed finally came over. He stood there uncomfortable as 
the families thanked him for taking care of the girls. To him, it felt 
like an age passed before the families left. The relief at the chance 
to leave was almost overwhelming.

Returning from dropping the keys for the car in the lobby so that 
Agent Fredricks could pick them up, Ed noticed John looking out 
the window. He said, "A penny for your thoughts."

"Oh, Ed. I didn't hear you come in." John turned to look as Ed 
joined him at the window.

"What were you thinking?" asked Ed.

John pointed down to the people below and said, "I was thinking of 
how many unhappy people there are down there on the street. You 
know, if they would just look up and see each other, for what is 
inside, they would find true happiness. They are all hung up on the 
externals and, as a result, they miss so much."

Ed stood there for a long time staring out the window, watching 
the people walk around in a hurry to go to their own destinations. 
The sight reminded him why he hated large cities so much. There 
was so much self-loathing and unhappiness that it sucked the 
energy right out of him. He said, "They worry so much about 
external appearances that they miss what is really important. They 
would be shocked at the people in our town. They'd never see what 
Jim sees in Sherry. He's a perfect figure of a man and she's two-ten 
if she's a pound."

John smiled, "What does Jim see in Sherry?"

"I don't know, but she must do something right. He's madly in love 
with her and they've been married for twenty years." The 
relationship between Jim and Sherry had always bothered Ed. For 
years he had wondered how Sherry had managed to get Jim to 
marry her. He had been convinced that she must have tricked him 
into it somehow, perhaps by claiming to be pregnant. Now, he 
recognized that they truly loved each other. 

"Was she the same size when they got married?"

"She was bigger." She was a big woman, but had been bigger in 
the past.  

John laughed and said, "I guess she's one of the few wives that 
actually lost weight after getting married. She's got a heart of 
gold."

"I know. I've thought about them a lot. I was very cruel to her in 
the past and I know that I hurt her very much. Yet, she's still nice 
to me. One of these days, I have to make amends." Ed felt bad 
about his treatment of Sherry. He had no idea how many times he 
had ridiculed her in public about her weight.

John nodded at the knowledge that there were many issues that Ed 
had yet to resolve concerning his past behavior. John decided to 
change the topic and asked, "So what are your thoughts about 
judging people by their external appearance?"

"They've changed a lot since…," started Ed. He was interrupted by 
a knock on the door. 

John went over to the door and opened it. It was a guy from room 
service delivering their dinner.  He stared at one and then the other 
realizing he recognized the John and Ed. He said, "I know you. 
You guys caught that serial killer today."

John took the bill from the guy and charged it to the room. He 
added a generous tip, knowing that the majority of his pay came 
from tips. Ed watched John and realized John was not going to 
answer the implied question. Ed answered, "Yes. We can't talk 
about it now, though. We just want to eat and get some rest. 
Tomorrow is going to be a longer day."

Watching the guy as he worked up his nerve to say something, Ed 
hoped that he would leave. Just before going out the door, the guy 
said, "You guys are all right. You took a very nasty guy off the 
street."

John looked up and replied, "Thanks."

Alone at last, John and Ed turned to the food. Together, the men 
moved the tray to the bed where they took the plates off the tray 
and set them on the small table. Removing the cover from the plate 
in front of him, he grimaced at the sight of the food. Moving the 
plate in front of John, he said, "Here's your raw meat."

Smiling, John moved the other plate in front of Ed. He said, 
"Here's your charcoal!"

After eating a meal that was less than appetizing, the men sat back. 
Disgusted by the French-fires, Ed said, "Talk about judging by 
appearances, those fries really sucked."

John laughed as he commented, "I thought for a moment that my 
mouth lost the ability to make saliva for the rest of my life."

"Thank God for the iced tea."

Ed looked out the window from his chair. The change in 
perspective hid the street below from view. He cleared his throat. 
"We were talking about judging by external appearances earlier."

"Yes we were."

"Well, I was thinking about it. You know, you are an enigma to 
me. You care so much about how other people feel, that you will 
deny yourself pleasure."

John started to interrupt, but Ed held up a hand. He continued, 
"When Beth was going through her trouble, I talked with Kelly 
about having me watch Beth one night so that you could come over 
and spend some time with her. She stated that you wouldn't sleep 
with her until Beth was better. She was right. You told me that 
yourself."

John threw his hands up in a surrender gesture as he explained, 
"What can I say? She was in a fragile state at the time."

Ed understood that and nodded his agreement with the explanation. 
There was a point that he was trying to make. He said, "Well, after 
Beth was okay I kept wondering why you weren't taking Kelly up 
on any of her offers. Then one day it hit me. You weren't going to 
sleep with her until after you slept with me."

Recognizing that Ed understood his rejections of Kelly, John 
nodded. He asked, "Do you know why?"

"Yes, I do. You didn't want to get involved with Kelly until you 
knew that the involvement had a good chance of being permanent. 
You didn't want to sleep with her and then have to dump her if it 
became clear that you and I couldn't live up to her expectations." 
Although he only realized it now, Ed felt guilty because he had 
gone ahead and committed himself before knowing that he could 
keep that commitment. 

John nodded and said "You do understand."

"I also understand something else. I think it came to me when I 
was talking with the girls this afternoon."

John looked puzzled and asked, "What?"

"You have never pressured me about anything. You ask questions 
and help lead me to conclusions that are right for me. You never 
judge, you just accept me for what I am. When I need to act, I can 
count on you to back me up. You help open doors that I would not 
be able to open myself. Today, you wanted me to watch your back. 
You know that you can count on me. When we were talking about 
you being a wizard, I argued that you were an ordinary guy. That's 
when I knew that I had accepted you for what you are. You are an 
ordinary guy that finds himself in extraordinary circumstances." Ed 
paused for effect, "Today, I realized that kind of acceptance and 
trust is love."

John smiled at Ed's revelation and said, "I agree. That is what love 
is supposed to be."

Ed nodded as he added, "Yes. It's not some wild emotional roller 
coaster ride."

John broke out into a great big grin. "I don't think that Beth and 
Kelly realize that yet. Spending time with each other is a gift from 
the heart. Demanding attention only cheapens the time spent 
together because it becomes an obligation or an act motivated by 
guilt."

Ed nodded as he followed his thoughts to their logical conclusion. 
"So I was thinking. If we love each other, what is the big deal 
about sex with each other?"

"I agree with you, Ed. What is the big deal?"

Having reached the point where he had drawn a blank, Ed asked, 
"So how do two men do it?"

John shrugged his shoulders as he answered, "I have no fucking 
idea."

Both men looked at the other and burst out laughing.
