Message-ID: <47327asstr$1081458606@assm.asstr-mirror.org> X-Mail-Format-Warning: No previous line for continuation: Wed Aug 14 16:30:23 2002Return-Path: X-Original-To: ckought69@hotmail.com Delivered-To: ckought69@hotmail.com X-Original-Message-ID: <20040408192234.30246.qmail@web60408.mail.yahoo.com> From: Lazlo Zalezac X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2004 12:22:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {ASSM} JC:Ed Biggers I-20 (mf mmf ffm ff mm sci-fi) Lines: 642 Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2004 17:10:06 -0400 Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail Approved: Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation X-Story-Submission: X-Moderator-ID: dennyw, newsman __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/ <1st attachment, "biggers20.txt" begin> 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 20 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004 Ed returned from school exhausted. His boss, Nevada, pressured him into taking the promotion that he had been offered. Working full time and going to school part-time was about to kill him. He wished that John was home, but he was off in Austin doing something that he was keeping very secret. He had an early class Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and two late classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After wandering into the kitchen, he realized that he didn't have anything in the house ready to eat. He didn't feel like taking the half hour to cook and the time to clean up afterwards. Kelly and Beth were working tonight so he was on his own as far as dinner was concerned. It wasn't that he expected either one to cook for him, it was just that cooking for one was such a hassle. Driven by his hunger, he headed over to Maria's Cantina. His plan was to get a couple of tacos and then head home to get some much needed sleep. The relationship with Maria and Rosa had improved significantly. He could probably get them to rush the order. At least this way, he'd be in bed in less than an hour. Entering the restaurant, he was surprised to find people waiting for tables. He looked over at Maria and with a wink asked, "So who am I going to have to beat up to get a table?" Maria laughed at the joke. There was a time when she wouldn't have laughed. She answered, "Oh, its not that bad, just a twenty minute wait." While Maria laughed, a number of other patrons looked around nervously. Too many of them still viewed Ed as a bully and feared that they would be intimidated into leaving. Ed noticed, but decided not to make an issue of it. Instead, he said, "If you can't fit me in, I'll eat at the bar." Maria was about to say that it would be alright, when a very loud sob arose from behind her. Turning, she saw Sherry, hands held over her eyes, crying as she ran off the to restroom. Staring at the retreating figure, Ed wondered what was the matter. As he turned to ask Maria, Jim came storming over to him. His face was flushed red, the vein in his forehead throbbed, and his hands were clutched into fists. Trembling in rage, Jim shouted, "If you ever say anything nasty about my wife again, I'll kill you." Ed had no idea what he had done. There was a time when he never missed a chance to belittle her, but that was a long time in the past. It was then that he realized he had not seen Jim or Sherry for more than a year. He glanced at Maria as if to ask what had he done. There was no answer there, as she just shrugged her shoulders as puzzled as Ed. Looking at Jim, he asked, "What did I say?" Snarling, Jim retorted, "You know what you said, you bastard." Deciding that he didn't really want to deal with the situation at the current time, Ed looked over at Maria and said, "I think it would be better if I leave." Very surprised by Jim's behavior, she nodded her agreement. She had not heard Ed say anything to Jim or Sherry, but she wasn't going to step in front of Jim. Feeling sorry for Ed at what was basically an unfair accusation, she said, "I'm sorry, but I agree." Stepping closer to Ed, Jim continued to vent his rage. He screamed, "You had better go." Knowing that talking to Jim in that mood was not going to help the situation, Ed did the best that he could to prevent an escalation of the situation. With a curt nod of his head, Ed replied, "I'm leaving." Jim followed Ed to the door. Even as Ed headed out of the restaurant, he shouted, "Get out of here!" As the door closed behind Ed, he looked back at the restaurant in total dismay. Shoulders sagging as if the spirit had been sucked out of his body, he headed towards the bar hoping that he could at least get a sandwich there. As he walked, he thought about how he should have responded to Jim's bitter attack. In hindsight, he didn't see how he could have done anything different. The real problem was that he felt that he had deserved that kind of treatment from Jim for a long time. Jim and Sherry would hate him forever. At the bar, Shirley took one look at Ed and knew that he was down. Before he reached the counter, she had a glass of coke ready for him. As he sat down, he asked, "Any chance of getting a sandwich?" Shaking her head to reinforce her answer, she replied, "No. They're closed for the night. Why don't you go over to Maria's Cantina?" "I got chased out of there," replied Ed. Taking a sip of his coke, he tried to decide what to do for dinner. He guessed that the only real option was the diner near where he worked. He should have stopped at one of the places on the way home from school. At the news that Ed had been chased out of Maria's Cantina, Shirley looked at Ed in surprise. He had been so nice the past year that she couldn't imagine him causing a problem. In fact, the relationship between Ed with Maria had become pretty solid. Concerned, she asked, "What did you do?" "I don't know. I was talking to Maria when out of the blue Jim climbed all over me. Rather than make more of a scene, I left." Ed shook his head, trying to figure out what happened at the restaurant. "You have no idea what you did?" Knowing the history among Ed, Jim and Sherry, she could understand how that would blow up. One slip of the tongue about Sherry and Ed would have a very angry Jim in his face. Ed's comments about Sherry had chased Jim and Sherry out of her bar years ago. Shaking his head, Ed answered, "No, but it doesn't matter. I've deserved that from him for a long time. I just excused myself and left rather than make a scene. I'm only surprised that it took this long for him to express his hatred for me." "You're being too hard on yourself, Ed. I know that in the past that you were a bully, but you've changed a lot." Shirley looked at Ed with compassion realizing that he felt very bad about past. She was also surprised that he had taken such a passive position with Jim. "No, I'm not being too hard on myself. If you hurt someone too many times, you can expect never to be forgiven. I stepped way over the line with Jim and Sherry. They are quite right to hate me." Ed thought back to some of the things he had done to Sherry. There for a while, when ever he had seen her he had asked her if she was expecting triplets. The first time she had asked why and he had replied that he thought she was pregnant because of how fat she was. She had been indignant the first time. After that, every time he asked her the question she broke out in tears. It hurt him to think of how many names he had called her over the years. If it harm none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. How many years had he been the strong that took advantage of the weak? How many times had he taken actions that harmed others? It had been too many times and now he had to pay for it. Looking at Ed, Shirley knew there was nothing she would be able to say that would change his mind. In fact, she could understand it if Jim and Sherry never forgave Ed. His treatment of her had been very nasty over the years. Rather than deny the accuracy of his assessment, she said, "You may be right." "There's no may about it. I am right." Ed finished his coke and paid for it. Shirley watched him leave the bar, sad that she couldn't do anything to help him. In the past year she had become rather fond of him, perhaps too fond. He had come up with the idea for the sandwiches and that had increased her lunch and dinner business significantly. He had helped Manuel improve his business. Tired, hungry, and upset Ed left the bar for his house in order to get his truck. He was going to have to drive over to the diner for his dinner. It would be at least another hour and a half before he would get home to bed. It was a half an hour later before Ed reached the diner. Entering, he was pleased to find that Linda was waiting tables that night. He sat down at one of her tables and waited for her to come over to take his order. While he waited, he thought about Jim and Sherry. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Linda. She said, "Hey, Ed what are you doing here tonight?" "I got chased out of my usual place tonight," replied Ed. Smiling at Ed, Linda asked, "Chased?" Shrugging his shoulders, Ed replied, "Yes, chased. For years I harassed a woman because she was fat and married to a very successful handsome man. I said horrible things to her, usually about her weight. Now, I haven't seen her in more than year, I guess they have been avoiding me. Anyway, I was talking to someone else and her husband started yelling at me about how mean I've been to his wife. I just left rather than make a scene." "Oh, wow, so what are you going to do about it?" "I don't know what to do. I was so mean to her, that I don't see how I can make amends," answered Ed. Shrugging, she said, "You could start by apologizing." The idea of apologizing had not occurred to Ed, particularly since he considered his past actions unforgivable. He said, "There's no way an apology will fix the damage that I've done." "It can't hurt," replied Linda. She had been in a lot of situations in her past where she had bought an apology even for pretty horrific offences. On three separate occasions she had taken back a boyfriend that beat her, only accepting that he wouldn't change after the fourth time. The woman might never trust Ed, but maybe her husband wouldn't be hostile. "I've said some pretty mean things to her, but I'll apologize. I don't expect it to do too much good, but I'll give it a try." Linda asked, "What are you having tonight?" "I'll try some of the stew. I think that you guys have some of the best stew around." Ed replied remembering the last time that he had stew here. Linda looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "It's not so good today. Why don't you try the meatloaf? It's pretty good tonight." Surprised Ed asked, "What's wrong with the stew?" "It's been sitting there for a while," replied Linda. The stew had been made for lunch and they were going to throw it out soon. Ed said, "Okay, I'll go with the meatloaf. Thanks for the recommendation." Linda walked off with to submit the order to the cook. As she left, Ed thought about how she had steered him away from the stew. There was a time when she probably would have recommended it to him knowing that it wasn't very good. That had been one of the major changes in his life, he was getting much better treatment by others around him. He thought about how to apologize to Sherry and Jim. After a lot of thought, he realized that he should wait to apologize to Jim until after he had apologized to Sherry. She was the injured party and it was her feelings that had to be healed first. Of course, he felt that was impossible. Linda came back to the table with his meatloaf and a large glass of iced tea. Setting the food down on the table, she said, "Let me know how you like it." The meatloaf tasted very good. In fact, it was the best that he ever had. It wasn't too dry or too greasy, but managed to maintain the appropriate amount of moisture. He looked up at Linda and said, "This is outstanding. Usually I have to drown meatloaf in catsup, but this is really very good." Smiling at Ed, Linda said, "I'm glad you like it. The cook just changed his recipe and what ever he's doing now is really good." "It is really outstanding. Give the cook my complements." Ed was really impressed. Although he occasionally had meatloaf, it was not a meal that he ordered often. This particular meatloaf could easily become an exception. Linda replied, "I'll tell him you like it." After Linda left, Ed started eating his meal. Of course, the sides were mashed potatoes with gravy and Broccoli. Someone, somewhere, was going to have to stop that trend of having Broccoli as side dish. While there are some individuals that like Broccoli, having it every time you ate out got old very quickly. Even boiled carrots would be better on occasion. As he ate, Linda came and refilled his iced tea. He smiled and gestured to her since he had just taken a bite of his food. He wasn't sure if waitresses did that on purpose or not. There were good reasons to wait for the customers not to be able to talk when you came to the table. They wouldn't get drawn into a conversation and fail to take care of other customers. Thinking it over, that was a very good reason to make sure the customer wasn't able to engage them in conversation. While he ate, he thought about his day. It had been a pretty bad day. Nevada wouldn't give up on getting him into a position with more responsibility and hours. As much as he was enjoying school, it was wearing him out. He replayed the scene at Maria's Cantina over and over in his mind trying to figure out what set off Jim. The guy was furious at him as though he had done something to them at that moment. He just couldn't figure out what he had done. He finished his meal and pushed the plate away, satisfied with the meal. Taking a sip of his tea, he felt much better than when he had walked in here. Still tired, he wasn't hungry and was not quite so upset about the episode with Jim. He would talk to Maria about the incident and find out if there was some way that they could prevent such an incident in the future. Seeing that Ed was done eating, Linda came over to the table to see if he wanted anything else. Looking at the plate, she noticed that he had left half of the Broccoli uneaten. She asked, "You didn't like the Broccoli?" Shrugging Ed answered, "Every time I eat out, it is always Broccoli. I'm tired of it. I'd love to have spinach, brussel sprouts, green beans, or corn as a side dish." Linda looked at Ed for a second. This was not the first time that she had heard customers complaining about Broccoli. She said, "Maybe you can talk to the manager and get the menu changed." "I figure there's a good reason why all restaurants serve Broccoli as a side dish. I doubt that customer demand is the reason," replied Ed. He had discussed this issue once with John and they had speculated that it had to do with ease of storage and price. Of course, neither one had the facts to back up that conclusion. Laughing, Linda answered, "You're probably right about this one." "Linda, I wanted to thank you for the advice that you gave me earlier," said Ed. "You're quite welcome, Ed." She was amazed that this guy actually listened to her. Most men would ignore what she recommended, feeling that they knew how to handle their situation. She added, "I would find it hard to believe that she wouldn't accept your apology if it was heartfelt. Knowing you, I think it would be heartfelt." "Thanks, Linda. You're a lot more positive about this than I am," replied Ed. He looked at the check and pulled out more than enough to cover it and leave a good tip. Looking up at her, he added, "And thanks for the tip on the meatloaf. I really liked it." Linda smiled and watched as Ed headed towards the exit. About halfway there, he made a detour towards the evening manager. He said, "Hey, the meatloaf here is really great. Let the cook know that I enjoyed it a lot and hope that he keeps the same recipe." The manager smiled at Ed and replied, "Thanks. We've been getting a lot of good feedback about it." "Well keep it up." Ed turned and left the restaurant. Still tired, he wanted to get home as quick as possible. The drive was uneventful until he was almost home. The sudden thumping that follows a blow out, forced him to the side of the road. Getting out of the truck to look at the tire, he swore, "Just what I needed, a flat tire." The tire was shot. He crawled under the truck and removed the spare tire. He lifted it and dropped it, satisfied with the bounce of a properly inflated tire. At least his spare was good. He went into the truck and flipped the seat forward to remove the jack and tire iron. The jack was the old fashioned kind that hooked under the bumper. He set up the jack and loosened the nuts on the tire. It was hard work in the dark and he wanted to kick himself for not having a flashlight in the truck. It took him twenty minutes to change the tire in the dark. By the time he finished, he was so tired that the world seemed to spin on him. He looked at his watch and realized it was now almost midnight. The weather was warm and the sky was clear. Looking up at the night sky, he decided that it wasn't worth going home. He climbed into the back of his truck and went to sleep. He was shaken awake shortly after sunrise by Juan Ortega, one of the deputies. Looking down at Ed, Juan asked, "Tie one on last night?" Groggily, Ed answered, "No. I got too tired to drive home." "You're kidding aren't you?" asked Juan. He didn't believe that story at all. "No. I came home from school a little after nine. I went to Maria's Cantina to get dinner last night and got chased out by Jim. Tried to get a sandwich at Shirley's, but she didn't have any. Ended up going over to the truck stop to eat. On the way home, I had a flat tire. By the time I changed the tire, it was after midnight and I was completely bushed." Ed looked at Juan and added, "It was a bad night." Juan said, "Sounds like it. Are you sure you didn't tie one on?" Still struggling to fully wake up, Ed said, "I probably would have if I made it home. As you can see, I haven't got any booze here." Juan looked around the back of the truck and saw the tire. There weren't any empty bottles lying around and Ed didn't seem hung over. Still, he needed to check it out. He asked, "I figure if you were drunk enough not to make it home around midnight, that you would still have a little alcohol in your system. Do you mind taking a Breathalyzer test?" "No, I don't mind. You won't find anything though," replied Ed. After Ed climbed out of the back of the truck, they went through the test with him blowing through the straw of the Breathalyzer. Juan looked at the result, surprised to see that there was zero alcohol in his system. Looking up at Ed, he said, "You're clean. Not a trace. I'm a little surprised." Shrugging, Ed replied, "I'm not. I haven't had a drink in over a year." Realizing that he had lost the bet with the Sheriff, Juan said, "Well, I heard about Jim last night and figured it was a good excuse to fall off the wagon." "Taking a drink never crossed my mind at all last night," replied Ed. He thought about the fact that Juan had heard about Jim and asked, "Am I that big of a topic of conversation?" Juan laughed at the question. There were two topics of conversation in town, Ed and John. It seemed that neither one could do anything without the whole town hearing about it within hours. He answered, "Of course, it's a small town. If you and Jim exchange words, then everyone knows." Still puzzled, Ed asked, "Maybe you can tell me why Jim jumped all over my ass last night." "I heard that you told another fat joke about his wife." Juan couldn't believe that Ed didn't know why Jim was so mad at him. Shaking his head, Ed said, "I didn't make any fat jokes. I didn't even know they were there." "You didn't?" "No, I went in and saw the crowd there. I joked with Maria by asking who I had to beat up to get a table. She laughed and told me that it was a twenty minute wait. I was tired, so I said that if she couldn't fit me in, I'd eat at the bar. That's when Jim started yelling," replied Ed. Juan thought about it and said, "Do you think that they might have thought that by fitting you in, you were saying that with her there that there wouldn't be enough room for you?" "That's kind of stretching it, don't you think?" asked Ed surprised at the interpretation of the events last night. The problem was that it had a ring of truth about it. They were probably so sensitive to any comment, that even the slightest hint of a negative one was viewed as directed at her. "Yeah, that is rather tame compared to some of your past comments," replied Juan. He had heard Ed say some pretty nasty things in the past. Ed decided to change the subject and asked, "So what brought you out here this early in the morning?" Smiling at Ed despite knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer, he said, "Well, we had a couple of calls about your truck being abandoned by the side of the road. I bet the Sheriff that you were passed out in it and came out here to win my bet." For a moment, Ed was a little irked and then he burst out laughing. He said, "You can tell the Sheriff what you want. I imagine he'll believe you either way, but it's nice to know that he thought I wasn't." Shaking his head, Juan said, "I can afford the donuts today." "So what were the other explanations?" Juan had wondered if Ed was going to ask that question. He answered, "Well, one person who called was afraid that Jim had murdered you out here. They were afraid to look in the truck in case you were dead." Laughing at the image that it presented to him, Ed said, "Well, if anyone deserves to kill me it would be Sherry. I guess I would have to hope that you wouldn't press charges." Juan said, "You don't mean that." "Well, let's say that of all the people that I've harassed the worst was Sherry. She has a good reason to want to see me dead and I wouldn't blame her if she did," replied Ed. Even as he said it, he knew that she would never do that. She valued life too much, even the life of someone that tortured her for as long as he had. He added, "She would never do it, though. She's a good woman and Jim is a lucky man." Juan stared at Ed for a full minute wondering what to make of his statement about Sherry. This was the last thing that he had ever expected to hear from Ed. He asked, "Do you really mean that?" Silent for a moment, Ed finally answered, "Yes. I always figured that she had tricked Jim into marrying her. I mean, Jim could have had his choice of women and he came home with someone that would never be in a beauty pageant. I thought that she told him that she was pregnant or something." Fascinated by the revelation, Juan asked, "So what changed your mind?" "Oh, I discovered love," replied Ed. He looked up at the deputy and smiled at the effect that his words had. He added, "That's when I realized that there was really a love bond between Sherry and Jim. I now understand that he married her because he loved her and not because he was tricked." "That's amazing. You really believed that she had tricked him into marrying her?" "Oh yes. There was no doubt of that in my mind," replied Ed. Juan asked, "So you teased her because you thought Jim was too good for her?" Taking a brutally honest view of his past behavior, Ed said, "Not really. I always figured Jim was a fool for letting her trick him. I had no respect for either one of them." "That has changed?" "Yes. If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it any more," replied Ed. He had to think through his feelings on this matter. It was at that time, that he decided that he would go to school that day, but call into work and take the day off. He had to catch up on his homework, sleep, and work through his feelings about this matter. That was more than enough to occupy a whole day. Seeing that Ed wasn't feeling very talkative, Juan said, "You can go now. I'll tell the truth to the Sheriff. You had a rough night, it got late and you pulled over for a nap." Ed said, "Thanks, Officer Ortega. Have a nice day." Juan smiled at Ed and replied, "The Sheriff was right. I like the new Ed a lot more than the old one." Shaking his head, Ed asked, "I take it that this is going to become part of the regional gossip circuit." "Well, what really happened sounds a lot better than what people think happened." "It doesn't matter what people think. I know the truth and that is all that is important to me." Ed went to the driver side door and opened it. As Ed climbed into the truck, Juan returned to his jeep. As he watched Ed drove off, he called in his report. From there, he would stop by the donut shop and buy some donuts for the office. For a change, he didn't mind losing a bet against the Sheriff. Ed drove home to change clothes and get ready for school. Despite the fact that he hadn't gotten enough sleep, he knew that he could function until he returned from his last class. With a stop over at a real place to eat on the way home, he'd be back to the house by one. It was much better than trying to drive to work eating a hamburger and trying to get there by noon. After a short nap, he'd be ready to tackle his homework. At the house, he changed his clothes and started a pot of coffee. It would be an hour before he needed to leave for school. There wasn't much for him to do before leaving for the University. He didn't need to leave until seven thirty to make it to his eight thirty class. Sitting back in his chair, he fell asleep. Perhaps it was the long hours of yesterday, the emotional tension, or the lack of sleep, but he didn't wake for five hours. He had missed his classes. Going in the kitchen, his coffee pot was giving off the fumes of coffee that had been rendered into sludge. As much as he hated the taste, he actually liked the smell of burnt coffee. He washed the pot and put it back. Calling Nevada, he told him that he was not coming in that day. When asked why, Ed had replied that he was not able to work. Nevada pressed the issue, but Ed stubbornly refused to lie or to make excuses. Finally, he had just said that the reason didn't matter but that he was unable to work that day. Hungry, he headed down the street to Shirley's. It was nearly noon and he would be able to get a sandwich to eat there. More than hunger, he was driven by the need for a friendly face. It was with a little joy that he entered the bar and heard Shirley greet him, "Hi, Ed. Heard you had some problems last night after leaving here." Smiling Ed said, "Flat tire in the middle of nowhere. I was too tired to drive after I fixed it. I understand explanations ranged from passed out drunk to killed by Jim." Shirley laughed having heard the same reasons argued in the bar. The vast majority believed he had passed out; that they could expect a return of the old Ed. His easy going attitude this morning put those doubts out of her mind. She said, "Well, you up for an iced tea?" "Yes and a sandwich. I feel like having an egg salad sandwich," answered Ed. It seemed like a reasonable tradeoff between a breakfast meal and a lunch. "Interesting choice, let me call it in." Shirley went to the phone and called in the order. Without hanging up the phone, she called over to him, "They are a little busy and said that it will take a while for them to get someone free to deliver it." Ed answered, "If they call, I'll go over and pick it up." She returned to the phone and gave the message. Returning to the counter, she said, "This sandwich idea has worked out great. The only problem that I have is getting the deliveries over here." "One of these days you are going to have to get someone to help you," he said. With a wink, he added, "It will even give you a night off so that you can date one of these drunken cowboys." She shot him a dirty look, relented with a shrug of her shoulders, and then said, "I've given up there. I plan to retire an old maid. The only men that I'm interested in are all taken." Ed nodded and said, "You're right. Jim and John are both taken. There just aren't that many men out there that are good enough for you." At a loss of what to say, Shirley wiped down the bar. Ed had placed the bar pretty high when it came to men. They were two of the three that she actually felt deserved her. She couldn't admit to herself who was the third. After what felt like an uncomfortable amount of time, she said, "So what are you doing here in the middle of the afternoon. You're usually at work this time of day." "I took a day off to catch up on sleep, homework, and errands." He had almost forgotten that he had to pick up a new tire today. It was going to be a very busy day. <1st attachment end> ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ Notice: This post has been modified from its original format. The post was sent as an email attachment and has been converted by ASSTR ASSM moderation software. ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ -- Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | alt.sex.stories.moderated ------ send stories to: | | FAQ: Moderators: | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |ASSM Archive at Hosted by | |Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}| +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+