JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 20
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

The family lounged around the pool after having played in it for 
the past hour. Naked and wet from the water, Ed was happy at 
having his wives and husband alone with him while Betsy was at 
the park with Mary Gold and her daughter. He could tell the wives 
had something on their mind and were waiting for the right 
moment to initiate a discussion. 

After sharing looks with her other two wives, it was Linda who 
broached the subject they had been avoiding all morning when she 
asked, "What do you think of bringing Chuck into the family?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Ed frowned before he answered, "Not 
much."

Surprised by his answer, Ling asked, "What? You don't think 
Chuck is good husband material?"

Ed and Leroy exchanged glances before Ed said, "He doesn't 
appreciate life or the beauty of the world around him."

"I agree," said Leroy despite knowing the wives thought Chuck 
was perfect husband material. Even as he stated his objection, 
Leroy felt a little guilty since he had once suffered the same 
problem. He had put his career ahead of family for too many years. 
"He's totally career oriented."

"What do you mean?" asked Kelly surprised at how the two men 
agreed in their assessment of Chuck without a prior chance to 
discuss the topic.

Leroy looked at each of his wives in turn and said, "He never 
complimented any of you on your appearance beyond what is 
required of polite conversation. It wasn't because he was afraid to 
say anything about your beauty, it was that he didn't notice it."

The announcement stunned the three women, in part, because none 
of them had noticed it and, in part, because the two men had 
noticed it. The fact was that Chuck had been charming and 
attentive over the meal, but he had exhibited a business charm 
rather than a personal charm. Ling nodded slowly while she 
thought about what Leroy had said. Deciding to address the topic 
of a new husband more directly, she asked, "So whom would you 
like to have as a husband?"

Simultaneously, Ed and Leroy answered, "Dan Biggerstaff."

The women stared at the two men while Ed and Leroy looked at 
each other surprised by their agreement on the subject. No one 
spoke for several minutes as they each considered Dan as a 
possible husband. Finally, Ling asked, "What about Claire?"

"She'd make a good wife," answered Kelly, much to the surprise of 
Ed and Leroy. Her comment earned a sharp look from Ling. 

Silenced descended upon the room for several minutes while 
everyone considered what had just been discussed. The idea of 
bringing Dan into the marriage had been considered by each in 
turn and then dismissed for one reason -- none of them thought 
Claire would be interested. Ling had considered it, but dismissed it 
out of hand. 

Nathan chose that moment to enter the room. He looked around at 
the family members sitting quietly. After deciding that nothing of 
any significance was going on, he asked, "Ed, could I talk to you 
for a minute?"

Curious about what Nathan could want from him, Ed nodded and 
stood to accompany him out of the room. When he reached the 
door, Ed turned back to face his family and said, "It would still 
leave us short a husband."

Nodding her agreement, Kelly replied, "Yes, it would."

Linda said, "So what?"

On that note, Ed followed Nathan out of the room. Realizing he 
had interrupted a family discussion, Nathan apologized, "I'm sorry. 
I didn't realize you were busy."

Smiling, Ed said, "Don't worry. It was a timely interruption."

Knowing Ed wouldn't lie allowed Nathan to relax a little despite 
the reason for his interruption. Taking a deep breath, Nathan said, 
"I asked Mona to marry me and she agreed to it."

"Congratulations. You should have announced that to all of us. I'm 
sure everyone will be pleased to hear the news," said Ed pleased to 
learn that both Nathan and Mona had healed to the point where 
they could commit to another. He'd had his concerns when Nathan 
and Mona had first connected, but since that day Mona only had 
eyes for Nathan. 

Nathan was silent for a moment and then said, "You haven't been 
making many demands on my time since we moved out here to 
Arizona. With Cathy and Mary here, you don't need a personal 
assistant in the same way you did when you were at the college."

It was a realistic observation and Ed nodded his agreement with 
the conclusion that his need for Nathan had significantly 
diminished over the previous six months. Having finished the first 
draft of his book the previous day, Ed knew that his schedule was 
going to be much more relaxed for the next few months. 

Seeing that Ed wasn't going to make a verbal response, Nathan 
continued, "Well, I called up General Grey and I can get a position 
at the CIA."

Surprised by the change of heart towards General Grey and the 
CIA, Ed asked, "You did what?"

"I called up General Grey and he told me that I could get a position 
at the CIA," answered Nathan understanding Ed's surprise. The 
initial purpose of his call had been to ask if there was any chance 
of returning to active duty. The general had suggested that the time 
spent working for Ed made Nathan even more valuable to the 
intelligence community. After hearing the General's reasoning, 
Nathan agreed with the assertion. 

"Interesting," remarked Ed still finding it a little difficult to believe 
Nathan would actually want to work for the CIA despite what his 
truth sense was telling him. Unsure, he asked, "May I ask what 
changed your mind about General Grey?"

"Let's just say that I've made my share of mistakes working for you 
and understand a little better the fallibility of people even when it 
comes to something as important as creating plans that have life 
and death consequences."

"Good," replied Ed satisfied that Nathan had become a whole 
person once again. 

"Mona has an open offer to work in a Washington restaurant," said 
Nathan looking down at the ground.

Smiling, Ed said, "Works out well, doesn't it. She has a job in 
Washington D.C. and you have a job right across the river in 
Virginia."

"Yeah, well…"

"I suppose someone needs to inform Marguerite," commented Ed. 
Since Marguerite was in complete charge of the kitchen, Mona 
worked for her rather the Carter Clan. It would be up to Marguerite 
to search for a suitable replacement for Mona.

"Mona is telling Marguerite even as we speak," said Nathan with a 
smile giving testimony to the fact they had anticipated the request. 

"Oh, good," replied Ed, "I'm happy for you."

"Well, I'd like to thank you for all you've done for Mona and me. 
We're both better people for knowing you," said Nathan staring off 
towards the plants in the atrium. Giving and receiving thanks were 
difficult for him, but he knew he owed Ed a debt of gratitude that 
words could never express. He promised himself that some day 
he'd find a way to help Ed when he needed it.

"I'd like to suggest we take everyone to Maria's Cantina for a 
celebratory dinner," said Ed, his mood buoyed by the good news 
about their engagement despite the fact it would increase the 
pressures on him to find a suitable husband for the family.

"That would be nice. I'll let Mary Gold know," said Nathan. 

Ed grinned and said, "I bet she's already has made reservations."

Nathan laughed and said, "Well, you are rather predictable."

While Nathan ran off to confirm plans with Mary, Ed muttered to 
himself, "When did I become steady Eddie?"

There was no one to answer his question. Rather than answer it 
himself, he headed to his room to get dressed in a desire to get out 
of the house and think about his family situation. He knew the 
family needed another husband. Once dressed, he decided to go to 
Shirley's bar. He knew Shirley wouldn't be there, but felt that the 
walk there and back along with the time spent drinking a soft drink 
or two would give him a chance to organize his thoughts. 

Stepping out of the house, he looked down the street toward the 
center of town. The houses lining the street comforted him with 
their Saturday morning familiarity. Women were out in the yards, 
children were playing before it got too hot, and men were taking 
care of the houses. None of them were strangers to Ed; he knew 
each and every one of them by name, history, and potential. His 
plans for an introspective walk dissipated as friends came over to 
greet him.  

While Ed talked to one of the newer neighbors, Dan pulled up in 
his car and greeted everyone. Hoping to have a chance to talk with 
Ed alone, he asked, "Going down to Shirley's?"

"Yes."

"Mind if I join you?" asked Dan afraid that by asking his question 
he was effectively forcing himself upon Ed.

Thinking about it, Ed realized that he could discuss his thoughts 
with Dan. Dan would be an impartial audience, at least, until Dan 
understood that he was the subject of his thoughts. He replied, 
"No, I don't mind. I'll meet you down there."

"Great, I'll see you down there in about thirty minutes," said Dan 
before driving his car to his house. 

Ed finished his discussion with the neighbor and headed on down 
the street. Maria and Rosa took a few minutes to chat with him 
explaining that their husband was in the house recovering from an 
early morning threesome.  Ed understood that only too well having 
been worn out by his wives on more than one occasion.

Reaching Shirley's Bar, Ed entered and allowed his eyes to get 
accustomed to the dark. He was surprised to find Sherry seated at 
one of the tables and waving at him. "Ed, come over here."

Ed made his way over to where she sat and took a seat at the table 
after looking around for Don. Taking a moment, he examined her 
and noticed that she'd lost some more weight. It was a good sign 
since she usually lost weight when happy and gained weight when 
things in life were bad. He knew that he had been one of the bad 
things in her life for years. He smiled when she kissed the air in his 
direction. "It's good to see you. I'm expecting Dan to show up any 
minute."

"I know."

Surprised by her reply, Ed asked, "You know?"

"Yeah. I talked to your wives. They said you were on your way 
down here and that you needed someone to talk with. I 
volunteered. They asked Dan to give you a little time before 
coming down here," answered Sherry with a grin. Poor Ed didn't 
stand a chance when the women in his life started to make 
arrangements for him.

"Have I become that predictable?" asked Ed with a sigh.

"Not really. It's just that there are a lot of people who know you 
very well."

Ed looked over at the door for a second while he thought about it. 
In a quiet voice, he said, "Familiarity breeds contempt."

"Not in your case. Usually with you I find that familiarity leads to 
orgasm, but that is just me." The large woman, with a wicked look 
on her face, was rubbing her nipple through the top of her dress 
even as she gave her reply. 

The gesture reminded Ed of the times they'd had in bed in the past 
and the enthusiasm with which she responded to her lovers. Her 
comment caused him to burst out in laughter and eliminated a lot 
of the tension he had been feeling. "It's been too long."

"Sure has lover boy, but that's not your problem now. Your wives 
are looking for a husband and you're feeling bad because you feel 
like you're holding them back." Sherry watched Ed as she fed him 
her assessment of his situation.

"Right," replied Ed as the bartender brought over a soft drink for 
him. He hadn't ordered it and realized that it was just another 
example of his predictability.

Sherry looked down at her hands and took in the liver spots that 
were developing. They were just one of the signs of age that 
couldn't be ignored. "Did you ever think the problem might be that 
you're getting older and your circle of contacts has shrunk over the 
years?"

"I'm not old."

"Ed, you're the same age I am and we are getting old." 

Sitting back in his chair, Ed studied Sherry for a minute as he 
considered what she said. It was true that she was looking a little 
older. Gravity had taken hold of her body and she sagged far more 
than ever. He looked down at his hands, noticing that his skin had 
turned to leather from years in the sun. There were wrinkles around 
his eyes and his hair had turned gray. "Okay, so I'm now an old 
fart. Are you telling me that we can't attract someone because I'm 
old?"

"No. You're established and that means you are surrounded by the 
same people day in and day out. There isn't much of a chance for 
you to meet new people any more and those you do meet are likely 
to be your own age."

Ed nodded as he thought about what she said. She was right that 
his circle of friends included mainly people his own age. He didn't 
meet many new people at the IRS. The only area of his life where 
he met a lot of new people every year was at the university and the 
professor-student relationship was not the proper one to exploit for 
finding a husband. Thinking about it, he realized that Chuck was 
one of the few new people he had met in the past six months. "Oh."

"Let's look at what you and your wives are looking for in a 
husband. He needs to be in his late twenties so that the family 
continues beyond the current generation. He has to be intelligent 
and honest. Ambitious, but with an ambition that is tempered by 
compassion since your family controls huge amounts of money. 
Am I right?"

Ed hadn't really thought about the age that much, but she was right. 
There was about a fifteen years difference between him and Leroy. 
They needed someone about fifteen years younger than Leroy. The 
spread in age among the wives didn't work out quite that evenly, 
but it was close. Kelly was older than Ling and Ling was older 
than Linda. 

The other criteria were obvious to Ed. He valued the character of 
the person more than the physical. He said, "Don't forget that he 
needs to be bisexual."

"Yeah and that's a tough condition." Shirley studied Ed for a 
moment. She asked, "So do you have any candidates that meet all 
those criteria?"

"Sure, Dan Biggerstaff. Well, except for the fact that I don't know 
if he's bisexual."

"So ask him."

"What about Claire?"

"Ask her too."

Ed shook his head and said, "That still leaves us short a husband."

"It also gives you two people the right age to find one. Their 
sphere of influence is growing and they are meeting lots of new 
people."

Ed studied the glass of cola as he thought about what Sherry had 
said. The scraping of a chair at their table grabbed Ed's attention. 
He looked up in time to see Leroy taking a seat. Leroy asked, "Are 
you talking about Dan?"

"Yes, we are." Sherry looked over Leroy for a second before a 
smile came to her face. Winking at Ed, she said, "You know, we've 
never done the horizontal tango. Interested?"

The comment provoked laughter from around the table as intended. 
Settling back in his chair, Leroy, without missing a beat, said, 
"Here? Now? You bet."

Sherry laughed and said, "You're a keeper, Leroy."

"Thanks, I think."

After taking a sip of her drink, she said, "Getting back to the 
subject of Dan, I'm going to suggest that you ask him to join your 
family. I really don't see any problems with it. I know your wives 
are in favor of it. You've got enough room in that house for five 
more spouses and enough love in your hearts for ten."

Frowning, Ed replied, "Well. He or Claire might not be interested."

"You mean the bisexual stuff? I wouldn't worry about that. I've 
talked to him and I'd say that he loves your whole family from the 
way he talks about them."

Leroy nodded and said, "I'd say that he loves us, but there's a huge 
difference between caring about another man and having sex with 
him."

"There's a big difference between sex and love," added Ed.

"It wasn't a strong desire for some man to man sex that got either 
one of you two sucking cock." Sherry looked from one man to the 
other with a steady gaze. 

The two men looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. 
Neither one of them could argue with her on that point. Ed tried to 
recall Dan's reaction when they discussed sex between men on the 
trip out to the desert. He didn't remember Dan being negative 
about that. It did remind him of one other issue. "Dan isn't all that 
comfortable around William."

Leroy barked an explosive laugh. "Who is?"

The discussion ended when Dan walked into the bar and looked 
around for Ed. A slight frown came to his face when he saw that 
Ed wasn't alone, but he quickly hid it while he made his way to the 
table. Nodding to everyone at the table, he said, "Hello, Ed, Leroy. 
Hi, Sherry."

The three at the table returned greetings. Ed pointed to the empty 
chair and gestured for him to take a seat. While pulling out the 
chair to sit down, Dan asked, "So what's up?"

Ed glanced at Leroy and, in a off-hand manner, answered, "Oh, we 
were just talking about proposing to you and Claire."

Not really paying attention to the reply, Dan sat down and said, 
"That's nice."

Sherry grinned at Ed and Leroy, winked, and then announced that 
she had some errands to run. Ed rose and kissed her in a very 
intimate manner; an act that surprised Dan. Leroy waved as she left 
the table. When she reached the door, Leroy called out, "Call me 
when you're ready to dance."

"Sure thing," replied Sherry with a grin.

Once she had left the bar, Leroy turned to Dan and said, "Yes, we 
were discussing proposing to you and Claire. Basically, we were 
trying to decide if the two of you would be interested in joining our 
family and vice versa."

While Leroy was talking to Dan, Ed gestured for the bartender to 
bring over a soft drink for Dan. He turned back in time to see the 
effect of Leroy's words on Dan. The poor young man was staring 
at Leroy with an open mouth, unable to believe what he had heard 
and unsure if they were teasing him. 

The idea of joining the Carter family had never occurred to him 
despite the fact that his feelings for the family members were very 
deep. Ed said, "I suppose the only way to know would be to invite 
you and Claire over for dinner to discuss it. I mean, these kinds of 
things shouldn't be done in a rush."

The whole purpose of talking with Ed fled from his mind as Dan 
tried to work out what the two men were saying. He had wanted to 
talk to Ed about Claire's insistence that they move into the house 
where she worked so that she wouldn't be absent should something 
happen. Now he didn't know what to think and sat there looking 
like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. 
Stammering, he tried to find some way to disengage from this 
conversation and said, "I think I need to talk to Claire."

"Probably a good idea," commented Leroy even as Dan stood to 
flee the room.  

As Dan hurried out the door, Ed turned to Leroy and said, "That 
went well."

"You think?"

"Not really," answered Ed with a grin. He could understand how 
their proposition had surprised Dan since it had come out of the 
blue as far as the younger man was concerned. It would be 
interesting to see how Dan and Claire would react.

"I agree." Leroy slumped in his seat and wondered if they had 
blown any chance of Dan joining the family. "I don't know of any 
better way to break the news of what we were considering."

"Lots of things we could have done and I'm sure the wives will let 
us know each and every one of them." 

The bartender arrived with the drink that Ed had requested for Dan 
and set it on the table. Ed looked at the drink and pushed it over to 
Leroy. His husband grinned and took a sip from the cup after 
raising it in a toast.

Claire relaxed in her tastefully decorated apartment considering 
Dan's reaction to her demand that they remain in the Carter 
household after marrying. Although the reason she had given was 
her job, she knew that she didn't want to leave the house for more 
personal reasons. She had found total acceptance by the family and 
reveled in it. No one had ever accepted her skills with such ease or 
allowed her to explore all of her limits. Her feelings for the family 
had grown beyond employee/employer. Practicing the martial arts 
in the nude with Ling had made her very aware that she even 
entertained ideas of having sex with all of them. She sighed when 
she considered that her feelings were interfering with her 
relationship with Dan.

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts and she rose to 
answer it. Opening the door, she wasn't concerned if the visitor 
saw her in her sheer white baby doll nightgown. Dan's face lit up 
when he saw her in that outfit. He loved it when she wore that 
particular nightgown since the white semi-transparent fabric 
contrasted so nicely with her dark skin. He stepped forward and 
kissed her as if he was going to lose her and wanted to fix forever 
in his mind this moment. When he broke off the kiss, Claire 
grinned and asked, "What was that for?"

"Just …" Dan realized he didn't know how to answer her question. 
After struggling for several seconds to come up with an 
explanation, he said, "I'm confused."

Taking his hand, Claire pulled him into the room and over to the 
couch. Sitting down next to him, she put his arm around her 
shoulder and snuggled next to him. She knew this position allowed 
him to feel more secure. Once his arm relaxed and molded itself to 
her, she said, "Tell me all about it."

"Well, I went to talk to Ed about the fact that you want to live here 
after we're married rather than in my house." Dan shifted nervously 
since he didn't know how Claire would react to him going behind 
her back.

Claire tensed and then relaxed once she decided that Ed was 
probably the right person for Dan to talk with about his problems 
even if they involved her. She urged him to continue his story. "So 
what did Ed say?"

"We didn't get a chance to talk about that. He was with Leroy and 
Sherry when I got to the bar. After Sherry left, Leroy said they 
were talking about proposing to us," answered Dan wondering if 
he had understood the conversation correctly. 

Claire sat up and turned to face Dan with a frown on her face. 
Disbelieving him and thinking that the joke was in poor taste, she 
asked, "Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not."

Claire took a deep breath and let it out slowly while she considered 
what Dan told her. She knew her feelings for the Carter Clan 
bordered on love, but she wasn't sure how Dan felt about them. 
She had no idea what he would say if he knew how much she cared 
about them. Trying to compose her thoughts, she leaned against 
Dan before asking, "So what did you say?"

"I said that I needed to talk to you." Dan thought about the 
conversation at the bar and realized he should have asked a few 
questions just to make sure that he understood what was being 
suggested. In hindsight, he even wondered if what they were 
proposing was marriage. They had mentioned something about her 
and him joining the family.

The couple was silent as each considered the matter. Neither had 
any clue as to how the other felt about the idea and both were 
afraid of asking the other. Claire liked the idea and was trying to 
imagine what it would be like becoming a member of the family. 
Dan was intrigued with the idea and was trying to imagine what it 
would be like to have sex with two wives at the same time. 

Claire broke the silence. "What do you think of the idea?"

"I don't know," answered Dan taking the coward's way out. "What 
do you think of the idea?"

"I don't know," replied Claire not wanting to hurt his feelings. 

The pair sat together on the couch for another five minutes without 
saying a word. Claire considered some of the problems that would 
be involved in the marriage. After a while, she said, "If we were to 
marry them, you'd have to have sex with Ed and Leroy."

"Yeah, I know. You'd have to have sex with Ling, Linda, and 
Kelly."

"Yeah, I know." The idea didn't bother Claire as much as she 
thought it would. The thought of Dan having sex with the men 
kind of turned her on, particularly the idea of watching them. Her 
nipples tented her nightgown.

Dan's hand chose that moment to wander and encountered her 
stiffened nipple. Surprised, he said, "The idea excites you."

Knowing he assumed it was the idea of having sex with the women 
that excited her, she said, "Uh, I was thinking about something 
else."

"What? Having sex with Ed and Leroy?" asked Dan wondering if 
she lusted after the two men.

"Not exactly," answered Claire with a nervous clearing of her 
throat. Knowing that he would be wondering what caused her 
excitement, she explained, "I was thinking about watching you 
have sex with them."

"Oh," he said softly and then a moment later, in a louder voice, 
said, "Oh."

Claire blushed and wished she could see the expression on his face. 
Barely loud enough to be heard, she said, "Yeah."

"I guess I'll be having sex with Ed regardless of what we decide," 
replied Dan after a moment of reflection. He wasn't thinking about 
what he would be doing. His thoughts focused on how Claire 
would react to whatever he did.

Claire could not feel any sense of excitement radiating from Dan 
during the course of his statement and that puzzled her. She sat up 
and turned to look at Dan. He gave her a hesitant smile. She asked, 
"Why?"

"I couldn't deny you anything that excites you," answered Dan 
tracing her chin with his finger. 

'He would do it too,' thought Claire overwhelmed by his statement. 
She realized that he would do anything for her. Her chin trembled 
as she looked into his eyes and saw the love for her shining forth 
from them. Overwhelmed, she replied, "I'd never ask you to do 
anything that you didn't want to do."

Dan leaned forward and kissed her gently. She put her hand behind 
his neck and pulled him tighter to her. After thirty seconds, she 
released her hold on him and he backed off. Dan smiled and said, 
"You'll never have to ask."

"I want the truth," said Claire.

"Sure."

"Are you interested in marrying into the Carter Clan?"

Dan was silent as he considered the question. Outside of spending 
his time with Claire, Dan enjoyed nothing more than watching 
sunsets with Ed and Leroy. As he thought about it, he realized that 
he looked forward to any time spent with Ed as much as spending 
time with Claire. All three of the wives were gorgeous and he 
cared for them almost as much as Claire. Kelly had literally saved 
him from a life of paralysis. Ling had saved him from a life of 
loneliness. After a full minute of silence, he answered, "Yes. How 
about you?"

"Yes," answered Claire knowing that with her affirmation, she was 
committing them to accept a proposal if one was offered to them. 

Claire tried to remember how many times her classmates in the 
police academy had called her a lesbian. They had driven any 
thoughts of sex with a woman out of her mind as a result of her 
treatment. Now she was actually considering it. She thought about 
making love to the women and wondered if she could go through 
with it. 

"So if they ask, we say yes?"

"Yes."
