Chapter 10

Ed returned from school. He was taking three classes this semester, working full-time, and trying to protect John. He was tired and wanted to eat before going to bed. He found the note on the table by the door. He picked it up and read it aloud.

“Ed, we have gone to Maria’s for dinner. Come there when you get home. Love, Kelly.”

Ed didn’t want to go there, but he knew if he was going to get anything to eat that he must show up there. He dropped his books on the desk that Shirley had bought him as a back to school present. He had been overwhelmed by her generosity and valued the desk more than anything else in the house. It wasn’t a new desk; she had found it in a garage sale. It was an original teacher’s desk from the 1930’s and was made of solid oak. He ran his fingers over the wood appreciating the warm feel that it inspired.

He went in the bathroom and looked at all of the feminine bath products cluttering every inch of the available shelf space. He sighed and washed his face hoping that it would help wake him. It helped, but not much. He went to the door and stepped out of the house. Closing the door behind him, he set off down the street to Maria’s restaurant.

Entering the restaurant, Ed stopped and looked around for his group. His eye lit upon Jim and Sherry sitting at a corner table. His stomach clenched at the memories of what he had done to her in the past. He swore to himself, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy his meal now. He chose to address his guilt directly and walked to their table. He arrived at their table and said, “Jim, I know that you have threatened to kill me if I should ever speak to your wife again. I hope that you will make an exception for me this one time.”

He stepped back from the table and spoke loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear him. “Sherry, I have treated you horribly in the past and I’m sorry. I was jealous of you and the relationship that you have with Jim. I will admit that I only saw you as a fat woman with no special qualities. I wondered how someone that looked like you could find a husband as handsome and successful as Jim while I was living an empty life. I see now that you are a woman of great quality, a woman that knows what it means to love. Jim is the one that should be envied for having found you.”

Ed swallowed and his voice quavered, “I had thought that I was handsome and dashing. I see now that I was shallow and mean spirited. I look in the mirror and see the ugliness that was within me.”

He raised his voice again, “You are, and remain, a better person than I. I do not ask for your forgiveness, as what I have done is unforgivable. No one deserves to be treated the way that I have behaved towards you over the years. I am truly sorry.”

Jim watched as Ed turned to face him. Jim could see there were tears running down the Ed’s cheeks. He hardly heard Ed say, “I thank you for the opportunity to speak my peace.”

Sherry broke out in tears. Never in a million years had she expected that Ed would make such a statement to her. It was unbelievable that he would make that statement in public. She wept as Ed turned and went to the table where John, Beth, and Kelly were seated. The other patrons in the restaurant were talking quietly among themselves. One might have thought the world was ending by the shock that Ed’s statement had had upon everyone there.

John shook Ed’s hand when he sat down, then said, “Ed, that was an amazingly courageous thing you have done.”

Ed started shaking. He mumbled, “Would you mind getting me an order to go? I would like to return home, now.”

Beth looked to John who shook his head. She made her suggestion anyway, “Ed, I’ll come with you.”

Ed shook his head and said, “No, I need to be alone for a while.”

He stood up and left the restaurant. Rover followed him out. Rather than heading home, Ed went to John’s house and sat in the backyard looking at the desert. Rover lay down beside him. Ed petted Rover for a minute and then started to cry. He wondered in hindsight how he could have been so mean. In time he quieted down and relaxed under the stars.

John stepped around the corner with a covered plate full of tacos. It was the best food to eat cold that they served the restaurant. He had known that Ed was coming here and had told the two women to go to Ed’s. He handed the plate to Ed and pulled up a chair. “Do you feel better now?”

“I guess.”

John smiled and said, “Good. Now eat.”

Ed removed the foil off the plate and spotted the tacos. He said, “Some tea would go great with this.”

John looked surprised and said, “Oh, I thought you had some tea here. Let me get some for you.”

John went in the house and got two glasses of iced tea. He brought the pitcher out to the patio with him. He set the pitcher down and then handed one of the glasses to Ed. John said, “I wanted to thank you. Nobody in town is talking about John Carter’s fusion battery anymore. Everyone is talking about Ed Bigger’s public apology to Sherry.”

Unable to help himself, Ed laughed. He said, “It wasn’t my intention to take the spotlight off you. I can promise you that.”

John nodded and said, “It was a very nice thing you did. It meant so much to her. The fact that it was public made it mean even more.”

Ed shrugged his shoulders and said, “All of my mean comments to her were in public, the least I could do was apologize in public. She must really hate me for the things I have done.”

John said, “I don’t know. I do know that you made the first peace offering. You would be surprised at the effect that your words may have on her.”

Ed slowly ate a taco. He was lost in his thoughts. He wondered how he could ever make it up to Sherry for his past treatment of her. His apology, heartfelt as it was, still seemed to be too little for the harm that he had done. John was a going to be a rich man, his future wasn’t that bright. He couldn’t set up a charity for her, like John could. All he could do from now on was to treat her with respect and defend her when others did not.

There was only one taco left on the plate. His appetite had been satisfied. He looked up at John. He said, “I’ll stop by Jim’s office in Phoenix tomorrow before class, to ask him about drawing up a contract for our group marriage.”

John thought about telling Ed about the discussions in Austin. He decided that Ed may have a better reason to go there than just asking for his legal advice. He decided to broach the subject that had motivated them to eat out.

He said, “I became a millionaire today. Jim handled six leases on the patents for us. For twenty-five million dollars each, six corporations can use our patent with non-exclusive rights. He has close to forty other requests to handle.”

Ed smiled at the news and said, “Congratulations.”

John said, “Well, you better tell Jim to get a move on setting up the legal structure for our group marriage. I want us to be able to share that money since I don’t have anything to do with it.”

Ed shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t need any money. I’m happy the way I am.”

“How about money so that you can attend school full time?”

Ed laughed at the suggestion. He said, “I have enough money to go full time. I inherited the house, the truck, and insurance money from my parents when they passed away. My only expenses have been food, drink, utilities, and clothes. I’ve got enough money set aside to last a couple of years.”

John shook his head, “So why aren’t going to school full time?”

“I think that a person should work.”

John laughed and asked, “So why aren’t you working at the school?”

Ed looked puzzled and asked, “What do you mean?”

John said, “You can get a student assistant job at the school. It will pay your tuition plus a little. If you feel that you have to work, why not work there. It shouldn’t impact your savings too much.”

Ed looked shocked. He asked, “I can do that?”

“Sure. You have a 4.0 GPA. You shouldn’t have a problem getting a position.”

Ed looked thoughtful. He asked, “What kind of work could I get there?”

John answered, “Maybe a job classifying rocks. You’ll never know until you ask.”

Ed laughed and said, “By the Gods and Goddesses, I’ll do it! That would beat pushing cattle around from the back of a horse.”

Grinning at Ed, John said, “You’re starting to talk like me.”

Ed got serious and said, “I’ll take tomorrow off and stop by Jim’s office. Then I’ll go into the school and find out what I need to do.”

John didn’t want to bring it up, but he did it anyway. He asked, “So what are you going to tell Jim?”

“I will ask him to do this for you rather than for me. The fact of the matter is that I’ve really screwed up there. She’s never going to forgive me.”

A male voice came out of the dark around the corner. “You might be surprised, Ed.”

The only one who wasn’t surprised was Rover who had been watching the man for the past minute. Ed turned so quickly that he almost twisted his back. He asked, “Who is it?”

“Jim.”

Ed stood up to face Jim. “Go ahead and do what you want. I won’t fight you.”

Jim laughed and said, “I just wanted to thank you for what you said to Sherry. Never in a million years did either of us think that you would do what you did tonight. She was genuinely touched.”

Ed answered, “It was nothing compared to the damage that I’ve done a thousand times in the past.”

Jim shook his head and said, “I wouldn’t say that. You said several important things tonight. Things that she needed to hear from someone besides me.”

Ed said, “If you ever need something, let me know and I will take care of it. I owe you both too much.”

Jim looked uncomfortable and said, “Well, I had better get back. I wanted to say thank you for what you did. We will be over tomorrow night to talk about the contracts for the group marriage. Jack is flying in tomorrow afternoon.”

Ed looked puzzled and asked, “Did John already ask you about the group marriage?”

Jim nodded his head and answered, “Yes, he did.”

“Oh, I was going to stop by your office to ask you about that.”

Jim replied, “Don’t worry. We’ll see you tomorrow night. I need to get back to Sherry, now.”

Jim stepped away even as he had spoken. Ed didn’t have a chance to respond with even a good bye. He turned to look at John and asked, “What just happened?”

“What do you think?”

Ed, still standing, looked off into the distance. Deciding that it was all too much for him, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know. I think I’m going to go home now.”

John watched Ed walk off. Ed was headed for some very tough times, particularly when news of the group marriage got around. He wondered how Ed was going to handle it when people started asking him if he was a faggot. As he thought about it, he wondered how he was going to handle it.

The next night came too soon. Ed had left at sunrise and returned at dusk. He walked in the house, exhausted, carrying a box. He took the box in his room and lay down to take a nap. He was woken two hours later by Kelly gently shaking him.

She said, “Wake up. Jack is here.”

Ed snapped awake. He quickly changed his shirt and grabbed the box. Stepping out of the bedroom, he saw that Jack had arrived. There was no sign of Jim or Sherry. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed into the kitchen. Everyone wondered as the sound of a blender emerged from the kitchen. He spent about five minutes in the kitchen before coming out carrying a pitcher of frozen margaritas and a martini shaker. John asked, “What’s with all of that?”

Ed answered, “I, uh ... Well, I, ... I stopped by the bar and found out what Jim and Sherry like to drink. I figure if they’re coming over, we should be good hosts.”

Kelly said, “I didn’t know you knew how to make those drinks.”

“I didn’t. I had Shirley teach me how this afternoon.” Ed replied. “I also went out and got some snacks in case anyone gets hungry.”