Message-ID: <47281asstr$1081203005@assm.asstr-mirror.org> X-Mail-Format-Warning: No previous line for continuation: Wed Aug 14 16:30:23 2002Return-Path: <lzalezac@yahoo.com> X-Original-To: ckought69@hotmail.com Delivered-To: ckought69@hotmail.com X-Original-Message-ID: <20040405180648.30609.qmail@web60401.mail.yahoo.com> From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com> X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 11:06:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {ASSM} JC:Ed Biggers I-15 (mf mmf ffm ff mm sci-fi) Lines: 670 Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 18:10:05 -0400 Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org> Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: <URL:http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2004/47281> X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Story-Submission: <ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Moderator-ID: dennyw, newsman __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/ <1st attachment, "biggers15.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 15 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004 A very angry Kelly stomped around her apartment shouting, "Why doesn't he want me?" It was easy to understand her frustration, John had consistently rejected every offer to go to bed with her. Beth had invited her into their bed and he had made love to Beth, but refused to even touch her. Even Beth had been irritated by the outright rejection of her lover by John. Knowing that any attempt to calm things down would fail, Ed sat mutely on the couch watching the tirade continue. He believed John wasn't going to sleep with her until he was ready to make a commitment to her. It was the same reason that he had waited to make love to her. He couldn't tell her that since it was John's reason and they should discuss it with each other. Beth sat next to Ed on the couch, watching her lover vent her frustration. Having Ed here made it much more difficult to talk to Kelly. There were times when having a man around wasn't desired and this was one of those times. Still stomping around, Kelly shouted, "The man must hate me!" Tired of it all, Ed said, "Be quiet for a moment and lets clear up some things." Kelly and Beth both turned on Ed with eyes that shot daggers at him. The attention was not exactly the kind that he had desired, but he would accept it. In the midst of the quiet, Ed asked, "Kelly, is it agreed that you want you, Beth, John, and I to become wife, wife, husband and husband?" Surprised that he was stating the obvious, Kelly answered, "Yes. That is what I want more than anything else in the world. The problem is that John hates me." Ed turned to Beth and asked, "Is that kind of marriage what you want?" Looking over at Kelly, Beth smiled and said, "Yes, I want that." Looking from one woman to the other, Ed said, "I am willing to accept John as a husband to have both of you as wives." Kelly and Beth looked at each other for a second concerned with how he worded it. Kelly asked, "You're willing?" "Yes, I'm willing," replied Ed. He continued, "So three of the four principals involved all agree on what they would like. Now, has anyone asked John?" A sudden silence descended on the room. It was not the comfortable kind of silence that existed during conversations between John and Ed. It was the uneasy kind that followed the realization that someone screwed up. Looking from Kelly to Beth, Ed said, "Now, I think someone needs to talk to John and see what his feelings are about this whole idea. Myself, I'm going home." Leaving two stunned women behind, Ed went to his truck and drove towards his house. It was only after he pulled out of the apartment complex that he understood to what actions he had committed himself. The drive home wasn't that long, but Ed didn't arrive home for several hours. As he was heading there, he noticed Manuel by the side of the road kicking his old truck. Pulling over, he called out, "What's the matter?" "Senior Ed, my truck is dead. The transmission is shot," answered Manuel. Of all the people in town, Manuel never thought one way or the other about Ed. Ed was just another possible customer and that was all that mattered to Manuel. Although he was the hardest working man in the entire area, Manuel barely made a living. The family lived in the worst house in town, barely able to get by from month to month. Seeing that Manuel was alone, Ed asked, "Where's your son?" Grimacing, Manuel said, "He's in the other truck with the other half of the load. I took the old truck so that we would only have to make one trip." After driving his the truck closer, Ed got out and said, "Well, let's get your load in the back of my truck. I can't help you with your truck, but we can at least deliver your load." "Gracias Senior Ed," replied Manuel. He moved to the back of his truck and lowered the tailgate. The back of the truck was filled with auto parts from the junkyard. It was a heavy load, far too heavy for the old truck. Together the two men transferred the load to Ed's truck. It took them about thirty minutes to move all of the parts. The physical work felt good to Ed and allowed him to burn off some of his frustration. Manuel was quiet, just working nonstop. Ed asked, "So where is all of this stuff going?" Manuel replied, "To the high school. The auto shop class is rebuilding a mustang." "Sweet," remarked Ed. He had never had a mustang, but it was a very popular car when he was growing up. The ride to the high school was quiet until Ed spotted Manuel's son driving towards him. Stopping the car, he rolled down the window and flagged him down. Stopping his truck so that he and Ed were side by side, Joe called out, "I see you have my father with you." Ed answered, "Sure do. His truck broke down back there. We're taking the load over to the school." The irritation on Joe's face was obvious to Ed. Joe glared at his father and said, "I told him that truck wouldn't make it." Recognizing the tension between Joe and Manuel, Ed tried to change the subject. He said, "Why don't you follow us back to the school and help us unload?" Frowning, Joe answered, "Okay. I'll see you there." As Ed drove on to the school, Manuel said, "My son thinks he knows more than I do about this business. He thinks that we don't charge enough. He isn't very happy and will probably quit. That will mean the end of it." Rather than admit that he agreed with the son, Ed asked, "How much are you getting paid for this job?" Manuel replied, "Fifty dollars." "How can you make any money charging that little?" Surprised, Manuel looked at Ed and asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, I figure that it took you a half an hour or more to load the truck. For two of you, that's an hour of work. It will take another hour of work for you to unload it. The junkyard is about an hour and a half away. I figure that is a three hours spent one way for you and Joe. Round trip makes that six hours. So that's eight hours of work so far. You've got to pay for gas for two trucks, I figure that's about fifteen or twenty bucks. So let us say, twenty. That means you actually have thirty dollars for eight hours of work. You just made less than four dollars an hour." Shocked, Manuel looked at Ed and said, "Four dollars an hour?" Turning into the drive at the high school, Ed answered, "Yes. Of course, it's probably going to take you another hour for the two of you to take care of the truck. Then you have the repair bills. I would suggest that this job probably cost you money." Manuel replied, "I charge what people are willing to pay." Shaking his head, Ed countered, "You charge what you think people are willing to pay. They are actually willing to pay more." Manuel said, "I'll lose business." "You'll lose business that's costing you money. Besides, you are the only one in the county doing that. They don't have much choice except to do it themselves. They'll discover that you're a lot cheaper even if you are charging more." After being quiet for a moment, Manuel asked, "So how much would you have changed?" Smiling at Manuel, Ed said, "I would have taken a simple ten dollars an hour for each person and five dollars an hour for each vehicle. That comes to about a hundred and twenty. Of course, if I was really serious about it, I would determine how much it actually costs for the truck. I'd charge fifteen an hour for you and ten for your son. That way, when you are ready to expand the business you can actually hire someone." "Hire someone?" "Sure, I'd get someone to drive a second truck as soon as possible. That way, I could make a couple of dollars or so for each hour that they are working." Parking the truck next to the garage of the auto shop, Ed turned off the engine. He turned to Manuel and said, "You are one of the hardest working men in the county. You deserve to get paid for your work. So does your son." Getting out of the truck to greet the instructor for the shop class, Ed said, "The transmission on Manuel's truck went out on the way here." "That's a shame." As Manuel got out of the truck, Ed asked, "How about having the shop class fix up the truck instead of paying for the hauling?" Staring at Ed, Manuel was shocked that he would ask for a transmission job as payment. They ran hundreds of dollars. He was even more shocked when the instructor said, "Sure. No problem. The kids can always use more experience with trannies." Joe pulled up behind Ed and got out to help unload the truck. Glaring at his father, the two men quickly went to work while Ed talked to the shop teacher. Glancing at them out of the corner of his eye, Ed could see the father and son talking to each other. The instructor went over to supervise the placement of the parts in the workshop. Once the parts were unloaded, Ed went over to the three men and put a hand on Joe's shoulder. He said, "Joe, why don't you stay here and make the arrangements for getting the transmission repaired on the truck? Maybe you can get a friend to help you tow it here." Uncomfortable at the attention from Ed, Joe replied, "Okay." Smiling at his discomfort, Ed said, "I'm going to take your father over to Shirley's for something cool to drink." Manuel replied, "I don't drink. You know, I drive for a living and can't afford it." "Neither do I. I was thinking of a coke," said Ed. Noticing the shocked looks from the three men, he added, "Besides. It's early afternoon at Shirley's and she won't be busy. You should talk to her. She's a sharp business woman." Leaving behind a shocked Joe, Ed and Manuel drove over to Shirley's. As he parked, Ed said, "I hope that you didn't mind me taking your payment in trade. I figure the transmission job is worth as much as you should have charged." Manuel replied, "Mind? I don't mind. My son was overjoyed." Entering the bar, Ed saw that they were the only ones there. Business wouldn't pick up until five that afternoon. For now, they would be able to talk to Shirley without interruption. Looking up in surprise to see customers, Shirley smiled when she saw Ed. She said, "Cokes?" Turning to Manuel, Ed asked, "Is coke okay?" "Sure." Turning to Shirley, Ed said, "Three cokes. We came here to talk to you." Looking at the two men, Shirley went to the bar and filled a pitcher with coke. She handed the pitcher to Ed. Filling three glasses with ice, she carried them to a table and sat down. Ed and Manuel joined her at the table. After the glasses were filled and distributed around the table, Shirley asked, "Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Ed said, "Manuel works too hard and makes too little. I think that he needs some business advice from a real business person. You and Maria are the best in the area." Laughing, Shirley said, "You don't know that. You just like talking to me." Ed laughed and shook his head. There were times when he worried about Shirley and the fact that she didn't get out enough. Still, she managed to keep her sense of humor even though she dealt with drunk cowboys half the day. He said, "No. I'm serious. You need to tell him about the local chamber of commerce, how to estimate his jobs, and how to tell if his business is doing good or not." Turning thoughtful, Shirley looked at Manuel. She finally said, "You know. I never think about what you do as a business, but it is. I bet you don't think of it as a business, too." Manuel said, "I just haul things." Realizing what Ed wanted to accomplish, Shirley turned to Manuel and said, "You haul things for money. That is a business. You deserve to make a descent wage and a profit for your efforts." Ed added, "You also have to pay Joe a descent wage. He's probably wanting to get married. For that, he wants to have his own house." Looking from one to the other, Manuel looked like he wanted to bolt. Taking a sip of his coke just to have something to do, he finally replied, "Maybe my son has a point." As Shirley and Manuel talked, Ed finished his coke. He stood and said, "I've got to use the rest room." The pair ignored him as he stood and went to the bathroom. As he stood at the urinal relieving his bladder, he realized that he couldn't do any more to help Manuel. It was time for him to head home. Leaving the bathroom, he noticed that Joe had stopped in and joined his father at the table with Shirley. Rather than leave immediately, Ed made a detour to the bar to pick up an extra glass for Joe. Pulling a ten out of his pocket, he put it on the bar to pay for the drinks. At the table, Ed set the glass in front of Joe and said, "Here you go. Have some coke." "Thanks." Turning to Shirley, he said, "I put the money for the coke on the bar. I'll see you later." "Thanks," replied Shirley with a quick smile in his direction. She was still working on some of the business details with Manuel and hardly heard Ed. Ed left the bar and drove home. After parking his truck and getting out, he was tackled by a very exuberant Rosa. As she planted kisses all over his face, Ed tried to figure out what was going on. Finally getting control of the situation, he held Rosa at arms length asking, "What's that about?" "Only for being the best friend that a person can have," replied Rosa. Stepping back, she turned and headed down the driveway humming to herself in an outburst of happiness. Confused, Ed asked, "What did I do?" Rosa didn't answer as she skipped on down the street. Shaking his head, he noticed John across the street smiling at him. Throwing up his hands, he went across the street saying, "What did I do?" "I don't know, but you've got lipstick on your cheek." John laughed at his friends confusion. Even Rover looked amused. Wiping his cheeks to remove any trace of lipstick, Ed said, "I don't know what to say. It's been a strange day." With a negligent wave of his hand, John said, "Come on back and have some iced tea." With both men ensconced in the lawn chairs on the patio, Ed said, "You ever wonder about life?" Laughing, John answered, "Just about every day." Shaking his head, Ed said, "No. I don't mean like that. It just seems to me that most days are alike. Things go along unchanging from one day to the next. Then one day, everything gets turned on its head and nothing really makes sense anymore." The men sat there deep in thought, each pursing the question in their own way. As the iced tea was drank, one or the other would get up and refill the glass. As the tea had the biological consequences, one or the other would get up and use the bathroom. Time passed slowly, but unmeasured by either man. Finally, John said, "I don't think every day is like every other day. It is just that most differences between days don't matter much to us. We ignore them. Then one day, the difference is significant to us. We notice and ask why today was not like yesterday, when in fact it is just like yesterday." Smiling Ed asked, "You mean today has been different because I actually noticed that it was different?" "In a way, that's true," replied John. A pause, filled by both men taking a sip of their tea, followed that statement. John continued, "I would say that the difference meant something to you, so you noticed it." Again a silence descended upon the men. It was the comfortable silence that Ed had come to enjoy so much. Rover, bored with sitting there, went for a short walk in the desert. The cat always kept John in sight. Next door, Carlos and Maria came out into the backyard and sat down. Both of them waved to John and Ed. They returned the wave in a friendly manner. After a few minutes, Ed said, "Wait a minute. I've never seen Carlos home during the day." "Come to think of it, neither have I." Looking over at the pair in their backyard, John tried to see if there was something the matter, but the couple looked happy. Watching Rover moving around the desert and the neighbors next door, they sat quietly each thinking their own thoughts. Finally, Ed said, "How about a barbecue?" "Pardon?" asked John surprised at the sudden change in topic. "A barbecue," replied Ed. He added, " We'll invite Carlos and Maria over. They can bring a salad or something." Smiling, John replied, "You know what, that sounds great." Excited at the idea, Ed said, "I'll go to the store and get a couple of steaks. Maybe you can cook up something." Considering what he could prepare, John said, "I'll make some camp beans. We've got a couple hours." From that modest beginning, the idea for a barbecue snowballed. Before long, everyone in the neighborhood was invited over for a pot luck barbecue. John had whipped up a ton of beans. Maria came over with a big bowl of potato salad. Other neighbors came over with fresh baked bread, deserts, and salads. Someone had brought over a package of chicken. They joined the stack of steaks that Ed had bought. John made patties out of half the hamburger in his refrigerator that he was keeping to feed the cat. One of the neighbors brought over a barbecue grill made from a fifty-five gallon barrel. While a fire was being built in the grill, the kids played tag in the back yard. Rover was playing with some of the little kids, letting them pet him and tickle his stomach. The yard quickly became populated with folding chairs as people brought over their own seats. A little scrounging in the neighborhood turned up some sawhorses and boards to make some impromptu tables. Ed and Carlos manned the barbecue grill, cooking the meat to order. As fast as pieces of chicken, hamburgers, and steaks were cooked, they were eaten. Ed and Carlos were soon reprieved from their duties as cooks by a couple of the other men, thus giving them a chance to get something to eat. Walking over to John with a medium rare steak, Ed smiled and said, "Here's your raw meat." John looked over at Ed's plate and commented, "Yours looks like charcoal." Both men burst out laughing and went to the table with the side dishes. After loading up their plates, they sat down to eat. Smiling at each other, they dug into their food. They had hardly gotten the first bite in their mouth when Kelly and Beth showed up. Still chewing his piece of steak, Ed held up a hand in greeting. Kelly came over to him and looked around at the crowd. After swallowing, Ed said, "Get a plate and load up on food. We have plenty here." Very surprised to see the large number of people in the yard, Kelly asked, "Did you throw a party and forget to invite us?" Realizing how it looked, John answered, "Well, it started small and just kept growing." After looking around, Beth said, "Wow, it's like everyone in the neighborhood showed up." Laughing, Ed said, "Yeah, it really grew from just John and I." They didn't get a chance to say much more to each other. Maria showed up and led the two women away to meet her husband. After two hours of playing with the kids, Rover returned to John and then went into the house. John followed the cat and fed it the rest of the hamburger. Coming through the door, Ed watched the cat eat for a moment before refilling his glass of iced tea. The two men were about to leave when Carlos came in the house and closed the door behind him. Surprised that Carlos had closed the door, John said, "Hello, Carlos. Having a good time?" Looking over his shoulder at the crowd outside, Carlos said, "Oh, that's a nice party. I'm glad I was here to participate. It seems I miss too many of the things going on in the neighborhood." Now that he was busier, Ed understood exactly what Carlos meant. He said, "We noticed that you were here and that started it." "Well," replied Carlos. He paused as if too nervous to continue. He said, "I wanted to thank you both for what you've done for us." Now it was John's turn to be confused. He looked at Ed, receiving a shrug, and then asked, "What did we do?" Very nervous, Carlos answered, "Look, I found out about Beth and Betsy sleeping together. Now, I know that you are a pretty brave guy and no one thinks you are a wimp. So, I realized that if my wife slept with women occasionally that it wasn't any thing to do with me being a man." Understanding flooded over John and Ed both. They looked at each other with a smile. John said, "Congratulations. Is it working out okay?" With a very happy smile, Carlos replied, "Yes. I never knew that two women could be that exhausting." Laughing, Ed suggested, "You have to be quite a man to keep up with two women. Lord knows I can't." Carlos turned to Ed with a smile as he said, "I have to thank you for getting the three of us talking. If you hadn't forced the issue that night, I doubt we'd have ever sat down and talked." When John started laughing, Ed looked at him in confusion. Hardly able to control his laughter, John said, "Now we know why Rosa was kissing you out there." Blushing, Ed replied, "Oh my." As Carlos turned to leave, he said, "The women are looking for some way to thank you each for all you've done." Together, both men said, "No need." Looking at each other, they both broke out laughing. Carlos opened the door and left the house chuckling. After getting themselves composed, both men returned outside. They watched Maria talking with Kelly and Beth, wondering what the discussion entailed. Odds were, they would never get all of the details under the cover of that great phrase of censorship, 'girl talk.' Rover came out of the house and went from person looking for leftover meat. After seeing the cat take a couple of steak bones and halves of hamburgers, John stood up and announced, "Everyone, just one request. Please do not feed the cat ice cream." Laughing at the memory of the walk home from Maria's Cantina, Ed seconded that by saying, "It makes the cat very sick." When John returned to his seat, Ed wandered over to see Beth and Kelly. Intending to sneak up on her, his intent was torpedoed by Maria saying, "Speak of the devil, here he is." As Kelly turned, Ed said, "I can't even sneak up on the girl talk. What's with that?" The three women laughed as Kelly mock punched him on the arm and said, "No men allowed. That's a law of nature!" Shaking his head, Ed replied, "I give up." Sidling up to him, Beth said, "You seem to have gained some popularity in the neighborhood. It seems that people are talking about you." Shrugging, Ed said, "I don't know why. I haven't done anything for the neighborhood. Now, John, he's a different story. I have no idea how many people he's helped around here." Kelly said, "I don't understand it. Anytime something good happens, you and John are the first ones to point to someone else. Can't you ever take credit for anything you do?" Shrugging away the need for credit, Ed said, "When I actually do something, I'll tell you." "What about Los Angeles?" "I was just following John," replied Ed. The reply was so automatic that he didn't even think about it. Kelly and Beth just looked at each other and said, "Right." Watching the exchange, Maria wondered what was the story about Los Angeles. She had known they went there during the earthquake, but they had never talked about it. Her ears perked up when Ed said, "Besides, you girls did all of the real life saving there. We just brought people to you." Kelly shook her head and said, "Wasn't there something about you and John running into burning and falling buildings?" Uncomfortable with the subject, Ed shrugged and said, "I guess we all agree. The real hero was Juan." As the women laughed, Ed wandered off to talk to other people there. Looking back, he could tell that Maria was busy probing for information about the trip. He hoped that they didn't make too much of a deal out that day. The last thing he wanted was people treating him like some kind of hero. Returning to his normal chair, Ed was in time to hear Jorge from a couple of houses over, ask John, "So you mean to tell me that you think a man should listen to his wife?" John said, "Of course. If she doesn't tell you what she wants and desires, then there is no way for you to give it to her." With a real look of puzzlement, Jorge asked, "So what? She's my wife." In a very patient voice, John said, "That's true she's your wife. She's your companion, your support, and your lover. Don't you think that she deserves some respect and attention from you?" "I respect her. I mean we both have our jobs in the marriage and we do them. What else is there?" In a reverent voice, John replied, "There are your accomplishments to share. To know that when you do something great, she is there beside you praising you for your great deed. To know that when you are tired, she is there to rub your back and tell you that things will be better in the morning. She can give you so much more than her duties require and that extra is what makes it all worth while." Totally captivated by the suggestion that there were more things that a wife could do than what her duties required, Jorge asked, "That extra?" Ed leaned over and, in a quiet voice, suggested, "Waking up in the morning with her mouth on your cock. Coming home from work to find her naked in bed waiting for you. To make love to her while she's washing the dishes. There's so much happiness that a woman can provide to the right man that loves her." Eyes wide, Jorge asked, "A wife sucking her husband? There are wives that really do that?" While the approach that Ed had used to get Jorge's attention wasn't the way that John had in mind, it was effective. Jorge was clearly hooked on the idea of talking to his wife. John replied, "For a wife to do that, she must feel appreciated. It takes so little from a man to make a woman feel appreciated." Extremely interested, Jorge leaned forward and asked, "How? How could I do that?" As though sharing a great secret, John said, "You listen to her. You find out what she wants and give it to her. Make her feel special like you want her to make you feel." Knowing exactly what Jorge wanted, Ed added, "You might remember that if you want her to do things down there, that you should be willing to do things down there on her." Blushing, Jorge asked, "How do I learn how to do that?" Leaning very close to Jorge, Ed answered, "You let her tell you what feels good. You should be willing to do the same for her. You need to learn to talk to each other." Jorge asked, "How do I begin?" Sitting back in his chair, like he really had to thinking about it, John said, "Pick an evening. Say a Monday evening and send the kids somewhere for a couple of hours. On the way home from work, pick up some flowers and maybe a bottle of wine. Take her to dinner and after dinner, come home. Open the wine and ask her what she wants. Listen to what she says. If you don't know how to give her something, ask her how you can do it." "Why can't I do it tonight?" As though sharing a secret, John said, "You need to think about it for a while so that the idea and approach becomes yours, not mine." <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: <ckought69@hotmail.com>| | FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderators: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |ASSM Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org> Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> | |Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}| +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+