Message-ID: <49463asstr$1097838605@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: <20041015064040.80202.qmail@web60402.mail.yahoo.com> From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com> X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 23:40:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {ASSM} JC:Ed Biggers V-19 (mf mmf ffm ff mm sci-fi) Lines: 655 Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 07:10:05 -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/Year2004/49463> X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Story-Submission: <ckought69@hotmail.com> X-Moderator-ID: dennyw, IceAltar ===== Lazlo Zalezac http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! http://vote.yahoo.com <1st attachment, "biggers5-19.txt" begin> JC: Ed Biggers Part 5: Stasis Chapter 19 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004 Bob, furious, paced in front of the house waiting for Ed to arrive. The man had hurt his wife's feelings for no reason. When Ed came home, Bob was going to give Ed a piece of his mind before his wife had a chance to see him. His stomach churned at the thought of having to leave the house because Ed had been a bastard. Bob had listened to her vent her anger for almost twenty-four hours. Marguerite was furious with Ed and was threatening to kill him when he arrived home. The day before, a package had arrived from one of the most prestigious cooking magazines in the country. Opening it, she had seen the silver trophy that featured an opened soup can on a marble base with an engraving that read, "Soup Can Award." Her name was engraved in large letters on the marble base. Inside was a note from the editor saying that no one deserved the award more than she did. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that Ed had told everyone there that she cooked from cans. As far as she was concerned, this was a career killing disaster. She glared at the third place and three first place trophies from the Culinary Contest for private chefs. After receiving this trophy, those awards were worthless. She screeched, "How could he do that to me?" George had never seen Marguerite so mad and couldn't believe what Ed had done. From the security center, he watched Bob pacing in front of the house. He was at a loss about what he should do in this circumstance. Walt sitting next to him shook his head and said, "This really sucks." "Sure does," replied George. Scratching the side of his head, he added, "It's my job to protect Ed from them." "Sarah is really pissed. She hasn't come out of her room all morning." The two men shook their heads as they thought about what that meant. If Sarah and Cathy were both angry with Ed, then preventing Bob from beating Ed to a pulp would get them in trouble with the women. After several minutes of silence, George said, "Why in the hell did he do that?" "It must be a joke that went awry," answered Walt. "It isn't like him. He's a stickler for the if it harms none, then do it rule." The mail arrived and Bob carried it into the house to Cathy. The normal procedure was for George to check the mail for explosives and then give them to Cathy. Then she would deliver the mail to everyone. With a sigh, George said, "Watch the monitor for me and let me know if Ed shows up." "Okay." Once he had dropped off the mail, Bob returned to his position outside the house. Ed was running late and he wondered if Ed knew how angry Marguerite was with him. That would explain the delay in arriving at home. Outside, he resumed his angry pacing in front of the house knowing that the later Ed arrived, the angrier he would be. Cathy sat in her office depressed at the current state of affairs in the house. The entire staff was well aware of Marguerite's fury. She announced it loudly and frequently. Everyone understood her anger, feeling that Ed had insulted them all by having a well known culinary magazine send Marguerite a Soup Can Award. Even in the office, she could hear the occasional shouts as Marguerite vented her anger. George went through the mail with his normal dispatch until he noticed a magazine with Ed's picture on the cover. He set the magazine in front of Cathy and tapped the cover with a finger. It wasn't until she noticed the magazine with Ed's picture on the cover that she showed any interest in what he was trying to communicate. She opened the magazine and read the article. The article was about Marguerite and how she was the best private chef in the world. Her feelings underwent a complete turnabout, as she became jealous of Marguerite and the attention that Ed had given her. In hindsight, she wondered how she could have doubted Ed for even a minute. In the dining room, Shauna was waiting for Marguerite to cool down a little. The kitchen was currently a very dangerous place to be and for the time being she preferred the dining room. She flinched as she heard the sounds coming from the kitchen. It hurt to listen as Marguerite threw pots and pans around the room with less than her normal care. The sounds coming from the kitchen were too similar to the sound of hitting canned food with a frying pan for Shauna to mistake it. Cathy carried the mail for the kitchen into the dining room so that she could give it to Shauna rather than Marguerite. At the moment, she was a little afraid to face the woman. As she dropped off the mail, Cathy said, "You better read the magazine." Surprised by the comment from Cathy, Shauna accepted the mail. As she picked up the magazine, she saw the picture of Ed on the cover. A sinking feeling crept into her stomach as she opened the magazine and searched for the article. She, like everyone else on the staff, knew that Ed did not give interviews. If his picture was on the cover of the magazine, then this was something very extraordinary. Marguerite, in the kitchen, shouted, "I'm going to kill that man and can him for dog food. No, that won't do. It would be cruel to feed that to the dogs." Shauna read the article, stunned at the content. The Soup Can Award was intended to be the greatest recognition that a private chef could receive. The award was to recognize private chefs who catered to the individual preferences of their clients regardless of how unsophisticated those preferences might be on occasion. The description of Marguerite in the article was extremely nice and demonstrated his regard for her skills as a chef. Even more importantly, it conveyed the depth of his love for her. Since the article brought tears to her eyes, she knew that Marguerite was going to be a weepy mess when she read the article. Sticking her head through the door of the kitchen, she said, "Marguerite." "What?" Marguerite screamed the question, giving free reign to her anger. Her arms were down by her sides with her hands curled into fists and her face was a mask of rage. Looking at the large woman, Shauna was happy that rage wasn't directed at her. Clearing her throat, Shauna replied, "There is something that you need to read." Angry, Marguerite retorted, "What? He's firing me? He can't fire me. I already quit!" "Ah, Marguerite. You really need to read this," said Shauna while she held out the magazine. It was opened to the article. Marguerite stomped over to the door and grabbed the magazine out of her hand. With the magazine crumpled in her fist she carried it to the table and threw it down. Too angry to read, she turned to leave the table, but stopped when Shauna said, "Marguerite, you should really read the article. Now! It's about the Soup Can Award." Livid at the idea that there was actually an article about the award in the magazine, her face changed from red with rage to white with a cold fury. Shauna, seeing the look on her friend's face, left the kitchen. She didn't go far, because she knew that Marguerite would need her once she read the article. As Cathy spread the word about the article to the rest of the staff, George and Walt came down to the dining room to provide their support. The news that it was a real award and one that meant a lot had eased the tension considerably in the house. All that was left was for Marguerite to realize what an honor Ed had done for her. From the kitchen, Marguerite screamed, "I'm going to kill that man and can him for dog food. No, that won't do. It would be cruel to the dogs." Shauna smiled at the difference at how Marguerite had said it this time with how she had been saying it over the past few hours. Rather than enraged, it was frustration at her mistake. The staff chuckled at the change in tone. Finally, Marguerite yelled, "How could he do this to me?" Shauna stood and said, "Time for me to get in there. The tears are about to begin." As the others chuckled, Shauna went into the kitchen finding Marguerite at the table crying over the magazine. With tears running down her face, Marguerite read aloud, "The greatness of a private chef is measured in how well they serve their employers. It isn't the great recipes that matter, but the pleasure that the food brings. Her food always brings me great pleasure." Marguerite sobbed, her shoulders rising and falling. Shauna went over to her and put an arm around the big woman. In response to the show of support, Marguerite grabbed Shauna to hug her back. She said, "Did you read the part about how only the best private chef will cook any dish, even canned soup, desired by her audience?" Shauna laughed and nodded her head. Ed had put it better than that, but her friend was barely able to see the page through her tears. Marguerite cried out, "How could he do this to me? I was so mad at him and he went and did this to me." It wasn't hard to understand the relationship between Ed and Marguerite. An external observer might easily mistake them for newlyweds based on the way they teased each other. The staff knew otherwise, Ed and Marguerite truly loved each other. Everyone should have known that Ed wouldn't do anything to hurt her, but like many couples in love there were times when misunderstandings arose. Marguerite, still sniffing, slowly pulled her self together and said, "I better cook something for him to eat." Smiling at her friend, Shauna said, "I would suggest grilled cheese sandwiches and alphabet soup." Laughing, Marguerite wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, "That would serve him right." Ed rode up in a limousine curious why the staff couldn't come pick him up at the airport. All Cathy had told him was that the house was in an uproar and that no one could be spared. He rubbed his hands, hoping that he would beat the mail to the house. They had promised him that the trophy and the magazine would arrive today. He hoped to be there to watch the expression on her face when she saw the trophy and read the article. The limousine pulled up in front of the house where Bob was pacing. Noticing the nervous energy of Bob, Ed got out with his saddlebag and went to talk to him. The limousine pulled away when Bob came running over to Ed. Without pausing to take a breath, he shouted, "You better get out of here before I beat the shit out of you." Surprised by the unfriendly greeting, Ed asked, "Why would you want to do that?" "I'm going to kill you for what you did to Marguerite," answered Bob confused that Ed might have expected any other kind of reception at the house. "What did I do?" Ed was very confused by the angry reception and stood looking at Bob puzzled. "She got the trophy yesterday," replied Bob, his voice chill with accusation. "Darn, I wanted to be here when they arrived." The reaction of Ed was so odd, that it forced Bob to think about what had happened. Bob was about to reply that Ed had to be crazy. After thinking about it for a second, he realized that Ed had suggested more than one thing was supposed to have been delivered. Puzzled, he asked, "They?" "Yea, the magazine and the trophy," answered Ed as though the answer should be clear. "What magazine?" He got a sinking feeling in his stomach as he asked the question. "The magazine with the article about the award," answered Ed. A very bad feeling came over him as the thought that she might not have gotten the magazine occurred to him. He asked, "She did get the magazine, didn't she?" "No." "She's gonna kill me." Ed groaned and looked at the house knowing exactly what the reaction would be of receiving the trophy alone. It would have been viewed as a major insult without the article that explained the significance of the award. They had promised him that both would be delivered at the same time. The message from Cathy that the house was in an uproar made sense to him. Dreading the answer, he asked, "Did the magazine show up today?" At the question, Bob realized that the staff didn't have the full story about the trophy. Concerned about what Marguerite would do to Ed when he came in the house, he answered, "I took in the mail, but I didn't look at it." As the men turned to go into the house, Marguerite came running out with tears streaming down her face. Running right past Bob, she tackled Ed forcing him onto the ground as she followed him down. Straddling him, she started covering him with kisses. Shocked, Bob stared at his wife wondering what had happened to cause that reaction. He realized that Ed was lucky, the magazine had arrived and she was happy. Sitting on his chest as she continued to cry tears of happiness, she shook her finger in Ed's face as she said, "I ought to kill you for this." She bent down and kissed him again. This time she delivered her kisses with much more passion as her emotions went through another shift. The past few minutes had been a roller coaster of emotions. The rapid succession of emotions from anger to shame to happiness to gratitude to love left her with little control. From beneath her, Ed struggled to catch his breath. She had knocked his breath away when she had landed on top of him. Bob, seeing him strain to breathe, bent down and pulled Marguerite off Ed saying, "Let him breath. You're going to kill him." "He deserves it," replied Marguerite as she turned to hug Bob. It was his turn to be smothered by her in her enthusiasm. Very confused by the turn of events, Bob did his best to hold her up. Shauna came out and helped him with Marguerite while Cathy helped Ed stand once he started breathing normally. Shaking his head, Ed said, "I take it you read the magazine article." Marguerite spun and asked, "How could you do that to me? I've been so mad at you since the trophy arrived and then I find out about the magazine article. Now I feel horrible." As Marguerite broke down in tears again, Ed said, "They promised that both of them would arrive today. I so wanted to be here when they were delivered, but I couldn't get a ride home. I had to wait for the limousine." Shauna said, "You better be glad the mail got here before you did. You'd have been dead by now." As Marguerite sniffled, Ed pulled out the ever-present handkerchief from his robe pocket and handed it to her. She accepted it and turned away as she blew her nose. Holding an arm around his wife, Bob led her back to the house knowing that she was tired and needed to be alone. Marguerite stopped and looked back at Ed. With a grin, she said, "I'm going to kill that man and can him for dog food. No, that won't do. It would be cruel to the dogs." Everyone, Ed included, chuckled at the comment and watched as Bob led her into the house. Shauna said, "She was so mad at you. Then she read that article and hasn't stopped crying since." "I didn't mean for that to happen. They assured me that they would both be delivered at the same time," replied Ed. The thought occurred to him that it was likely that the trophy had been broken in her anger. He asked, "Is the trophy in one piece?" "Yes, she was waiting to break it over your head," answered Shauna, realizing for the first time that she probably would have done that. She smiled as she added, "Of course, she did dent a few pots and pans while she pretended to cook." "Oh." Shauna bent down and picked up the saddlebag. With an arm around him, she led him to the house. "Welcome home." Laughing, Ed said, "Thanks. What's for lunch?" "The menu underwent a major change about ten minutes ago. It was filet of Ed, but was changed to grilled cheese sandwiches and alphabet soup." A huge smile spread across Ed's face at the thought of the simple lunch. Hugging Shauna, he said, "Made with store bought bread?" "Yes. We'll make it with that horrible squishy bread that you love so much." "That's great," replied Ed. It was exactly what he wanted to eat for lunch. He smiled down at Shauna as he hugged her. "It's great to be home." Ed wandered down the street wearing his blue jeans and work shirt. The first house that he passed belonged to his in-laws, Dr. and Mrs. Hayes. Realizing that he hadn't seen them in a while, he went up to the door and knocked. It was several minutes before Dr. Hayes answered the door. For a moment, Ed was speechless as he looked at the doctor. The man seemed to have aged twenty years since the last time he had been home. He said, "Hi, Dr. Hayes. I thought I'd stop by and see how things are going." "Come in, Ed. It's good to see you back in town," replied the doctor. Ed came in and looked around the living room. It wasn't dirty, but it was a lot messier than he ever recalled it looking. Dr. Hayes, using his cane, went over to the chair in the living room and sat down with a groan. Ed moved over to a chair and sat down. "How are things going?" "Slow. We aren't as young as we used to be," replied the doctor with a sigh. "What's the matter?" "Oh, you know how it is. You get to a certain age and things just aren't as easy as they used to be." Concerned with the slowness of the doctor's speech, Ed asked, "So are you keeping busy?" "I gave the clinic over to another doctor that was looking to retire to a country place. He's a good guy." The news disturbed Ed and made him wonder just how bad things had gotten. The doctor sounded depressed and that was not like him. Even at the worst of times the man had managed to have a positive outlook on things. His tone today sounded like he had given up. He asked, "So, where's Mrs. Hayes? Out shopping?" "No, she's taking a nap. She woke up this morning and didn't feel very good." "I'm sorry to hear that. Did you check her out?" The old man was quiet for a moment as if he hadn't heard the question. Ed was about to repeat the question when the doctor answered, "She's depressed." "I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you and her come over for a swim later?" asked Ed hoping that it would motivate both of them to get up and move around a little. "We'll see," replied the doctor in a tone that suggested that the answer was actually no. His hand, covered with liver spots, trembled on the cane. The lie hung heavy in the air as Ed heard the truth. He asked, "How long have things been like this?" "A couple of months," replied the doctor. The doctor looked, acted, and spoke like an old man waiting to die. Since Mrs. Hayes was still in bed, it seemed to Ed that she must be in worse shape. "What happened?" Shrugging his shoulders, the doctor answered, "The normal aches and pains of being old finally caught up to us. Her back started acting up as osteoporosis finally ate away enough of her bones for her spine to stop supporting her. My injuries have come back to haunt me." "Is there anything that I can do?" asked Ed. "No. We're beyond medical science," replied the doctor. He looked out the window of the living room unable to look directly at Ed. It hurt to admit that aloud, but he knew that lying to Ed was a waste of time. Sitting across the room, Ed watched as the old man settled into himself a little more. It was more like a collapsing into depression, the relaxing into his chair. Ed said, "You can't give up." For the first time since Ed had come, the doctor answered the question with fire, "Why the hell not?" Ed didn't know how to answer that question and sat there staring at the doctor. Licking his lips, he said, "We need you still. The kids will be coming home in the summer and want to see you." "I guess." The doctor closed his eyes for a moment and then said, "I'm feeling tired. Would you mind showing yourself out?" "I don't mind. Can I hire someone to help out around the house?" "I'll think about it." Ed left the house worried about the elderly couple. In the street, he pulled out his cell phone and called the Druid College. When the receptionist answered, Ed said, "This is Ed Biggers. Could you get me in touch with Kelly?" It took several minutes before Kelly picked up a phone and answered, "Hello?" "Kelly, this is Ed." Surprised to hear from Ed so soon after getting home, she asked, "What's going on?" "I'm worried about Dr. and Mrs. Hayes. I think they need some of your healing magic." There was a long moment of silence as Kelly considered how to answer the request. Finally, she asked, "Were they injured?" "No. She's suffering from osteoporosis and his old injuries are acting up," answered Ed. If the elderly couple were beyond the help of medicine, perhaps they weren't beyond the help of magic. At least he hoped that would be the case. "There are limits to my gift. I can heal injury, but not age. I'm sorry Ed," replied Kelly. "I didn't realize that," said Ed as he looked up at the house. "I'm really sorry, Ed. They are getting old. My gift can't turn back the hands of time. It can only speed up healing." Ed squatted down finding it hard to remain standing as he processed the implications of her answer. Dr. and Mrs. Hayes were only going to suffer more as time went by. That was the last thing that he wanted for anyone. "Ed? Ed, are you there?" The long silence worried Kelly. "Yes, I'm here." "What's that matter?" "Sorry, I was just hoping that you could help them." He sighed as he thought about what he could do to make the last years of their lives happy. Tomorrow, he would go to the employment agency and interview caretakers. "I'll come out in a week or so to see them." "Thanks, that will make me feel a little better. I'm going to interview caretakers for them tomorrow." The conversation ended with a recap of the episode with Marguerite. Kelly laughed as she said that he was going to have to be a lot more careful about his jokes. Of course, she had heard the whole story from Cathy already. Cathy had provided a lot more details about the twenty-four hours when Marguerite was angry with Ed. The discussion had taken the edge off the feeling of depression that had settled over Ed. After returning the phone to his robe pocket, he headed on down the street. The office was his next stop. It was time for him to get caught up on business and see how it was doing. There were two cars parked in the driveway and another two cars parked at the curb. Things must be going well if they had two customers. Entering, he found a woman at the desk. Two aspects of her appearance struck Ed, she was very pregnant and she was wearing large round glasses that made her look like an owl. Taken by surprised, he said, "Ah, is Lynn here?" In a very soft breathy voice that was incredibly sexy, the woman answered, "Yes, may I know who is calling?" "Ed," he replied wondering who the woman was. She got on the phone and talked to Lynn. Even before she had disconnected, Lynn had burst through the door to greet Ed. On reaching him, she threw her arms around him saying, "You're back. We've missed you." The receptionist stared at Lynn, not understanding her reaction to this man. She had been temping here for a week and had not seen Lynn act in anything other than a professional manner. Hearing the noise, Terry came out of the computer room and spotted Ed. Coming over to him, he extended a hand saying, "You're back. It's good to see you." Looking around the office, it was hard to miss the minor improvements. It was also a little crowded as the needs of the business had grown beyond the space of the house. Ed replied, "It's great to be back." A young man came out of the back room. Again, Ed didn't recognize him and asked, "Are you in a meeting?" Terry answered, "No. We were just preparing for a survey in New Mexico." "Ah, so I take it the young man behind you is your new assistant." Although Ed had told Terry and Lynn to hire assistants, he suddenly didn't feel comfortable about the fact that they had hired people without allowing him a chance to interview them. Of course, he hadn't told the pair that he wanted to interview them. Turning to look at the young man, Terry said, "Allow me to introduce Stan Winslow. He was recommended to me by Calvin." The news that Calvin had been involved in hiring the kid was a major relief. As a Druid, Calvin wouldn't recommend someone that would cause harm. He faced the kid directly and said, "Hello, Stan. I'm Ed." "Nice to meet you Ed," replied Stan still not realizing that it was Ed Biggers, owner of the business, with whom he was talking. Lynn said, "Ed, this is Mary Gold." "Ah. It is nice to meet you Mary." Ed tipped his hat in her direction. In that same soft sexy voice, she replied, "It's nice to meet you." Although tempted to say it aloud, Ed wondered how Terry or Stan managed to get any work done around that voice. Instead, he asked, "When are you due?" "In three weeks," replied the woman as she ran her hand over her swollen belly. "Wow," remarked Ed amazed that she still had three weeks. She looked very pregnant as though she was ready to give birth anytime. He asked, "Twins?" "How did you know?" asked Mary. "I have a little experience with pregnant women," replied Ed thinking about having been on hand for three women going through the greatest miracle. Turning to Lynn, he asked, "Shouldn't she be on medical leave? She's going to give birth to twins soon and should be conserving her strength." Realizing that Ed thought that Mary Gold was a permanent employee answered, "She's the temp they sent over this week." "Oh," replied Ed, not knowing what to make of the news. Lynn put a hand on his arm and said, "Don't worry. We aren't working her too hard. She's just answering phones, sorting the mail, and keeping track of our calendars." Mary replied, "I don't mind working. It beats staying at home." It was well known how much Ed liked to spoil pregnant women. Lynn said, "Don't worry about him, Mary. He treats pregnant women like they are fragile." "It is the greatest miracle that anyone can participate in," replied Ed as though that explained everything. After that, Ed met with Jerry and Lynn to establish how his business interests were performing. The mine was bringing in an obscene amount of money and Ed didn't feel right about that. The businesses that he had invested in were successes and returning much more than he had invested. Even though he was donating money for computers in public schools, his balance sheets were still growing. After business had been completed, Ed took everyone down to Shirley's Bar for tea and conversation in a more relaxing atmosphere. In the course of the conversations, he found that Stan had been a classmate of Nora Turner. While Nora's education was held back by her film career, Stan had graduated with reasonable grades. <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}| +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+