Chapter 19

Laying awake in bed as the sun rose, Ed considered the activities of the previous evening and night. He closed his eyes, cutting out all external visual stimuli and thought about what he had done. The actual act of having sex with John was not as bad as he had feared that it would be. He had wondered how he would feel afterwards and now that he had done it, much to his surprise, he didn’t feel any different about himself.

He heard John come out of the bathroom and get back into bed. It was still early, but Ed knew that it was time to get moving. Half of what drove him to start the day was his hunger. Dinner the previous night had been so bad, that he hadn’t been able to eat the French Fries and that was probably half the food on his plate.

From his bed, John looked over at Ed knowing that Ed wouldn’t wake for another half an hour. He wondered what his reaction would be this morning to the activities of last night. His thoughts were interrupted by Ed calling out, “Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up.”

John looked over at Ed in surprise. He said, “You’re up early this morning.”

“I’m hungry. Dinner was kind of small and all that exercise last night burned up the little bit that I ate.”

John laughed at the memory of dinner last night. Relief swept through him that Ed made light reference to last nights activities. He replied, “It did at that.”

“Why don’t I shower first and then while I’m shaving you can shower. We can probably be done in time to get to the breakfast buffet before it gets cold and dried out,” suggested Ed as he rolled out of bed. Looking down at Rover, he watched the cat yawn, indifferent to the events of the past twelve hours.

John nodded as he said, “Yeah, I don’t really need to shave.”

“I know, you only do it once in a lifetime.” Both men laughed at that.

After breakfast, Ed and John split up to go their separate ways. John went with Rover to get debriefed about the arrest. Ed decided to head out and shop for some presents for the women. The first stop would be a lingerie shop. He would then head over to a store that sold adult novelties. Finally, he thought he might look at some jewelry to give Beth and Kelly.

Retrieving their car from the parking garage, Ed drove around looking for a likely place to shop. After driving around for a while, he found a little shop along the road that advertised lingerie. Parking the car in the lot, he looked in the display window. He smiled as he saw the baby doll nightgowns, garters, and various gowns on display. Entering the shop, he was overwhelmed by the wide range of goods on sale. Much to his surprise, the back wall was stocked with ‘adult toys.’ Scratch one stop off the list.

Ed moved around the shop looking at various outfits. One of the clerks came over to help him. It didn’t take long to select two long nightgowns that were lacy around the top and slit nicely up the side. He chose a black one for Beth and a white one for Kelly. He decided to look at a few other outfits, just in case there was something else that he would like.

While his attention was on the corsets, two women came into the shop. One woman was in her late twenties and the other looked to be about sixteen. He glanced at them and was surprised when he caught the younger woman looking at him. Her face blushed a bright red and then she turned to the older woman. In a voice that carried through the whole store, the young woman said, “Aunt Molly, there’s a man here.”

The older woman looked at Ed and shrugged her shoulders as she smiled at him. She replied, “Laura, don’t worry about him. Now come with me.”

Molly went to the back wall and waited for the younger woman to follow her. Glancing frequently at Ed, Laura slowly made her way to stand beside her aunt. Ed returned to looking through the items of clothing. When he reached the last rack of clothes it was very difficult not to hear what Molly was telling Laura. Despite his best intentions, Ed found himself captivated by the discussion.

Taking down a vibrator, Molly said, “This is a vibrator. This particular model uses a battery. The one over there plugs into the wall and gives a much stronger vibration.”

Staring wide eyed at the device, Laura asked, “Is that better?”

Smiling at the question, Molly answered, “It depends. I don’t like the vibrations too strong, but that is just my preference. You might like it stronger. Now you can use this on yourself or have your boyfriend use it on you. You can even use it on your boyfriend. If you’re going to let your boyfriend use it on you; I suggest that you use it on yourself, first, so that you know what feels best and can guide him.”

Ed could barely believe his ears as the woman went on to explain how to use the vibrator. She was very factual and explicit about how it could be used on a woman or a man. Ed was shocked as he didn’t know half of the stuff the woman was saying. After hearing the talk about the vibrator, he decided that he would buy two of them.

Molly went through every item on the wall. She described the uses of butt plugs, strap-ons, and various other masturbation devices. Much to Ed’s delight, Laura asked questions as her aunt explained the various devices. The questions reflected exactly what Ed had wanted to ask. The bondage equipment was not as interesting to Ed, but he listened trying to understand the attraction that it might have for others.

Finally finishing with her presentation, Molly stepped back to where she stood next to Ed and said, “Now, why don’t you pick out what you would like.”

Half tempted to go to the wall and start picking up items, Ed waited for Laura to finish shopping. She kept staring at him and blushing rather than selecting items from the wall. Looking over at Molly, Ed said, “This is a very nice thing you are doing for her. I wish someone had done that for me when I was her age.”

Looking at Ed with a smile, Molly answered, “I take sex education very seriously. She should know what she uses and how to use it safely. Would you like to serve as a model so that I can explain the male sex organs?”

Blushing a bright red, Ed said, “I think her boyfriend might be much better than this old cowboy.”

Molly laughed at the suggestion and answered, “She doesn’t have a boyfriend yet. Her first date is this weekend.”

Surprised at the information, Ed asked, “So why are you doing this now?”

In a very serious tone of voice, Molly answered, “The time to learn about this stuff is before you have experience with it, not after. If you wait until after, you could end up with a pregnant teenage girl on your hands.”

“I didn’t think of that,” replied Ed.

“So will you model for her?”

One glimpse at the young women convinced him that he had no right exposing himself to her. She reminded him too much of one of the girls from the day before. He added, “No, I’m sure that you can find a better model.”

With an intensity that was rather scary, Molly looked at him very carefully as though sizing him up. He knew that she was considering an argument to convince him to model. The look on her face changed suddenly and a hand came up to her mouth. She squealed with excitement, “I know who you are. You were one of the guys that caught the serial killer yesterday.”

Surprised at being recognized, Ed mutely nodded. He looked away for a second and then back at her. Feeling that he was supposed to say something, he had no idea what was appropriate. Finally he mumbled, “I was there, but I didn’t do much.”

Laura finished selecting the items she wanted. After handing them to Molly, she stood by Ed, looking at him carefully. Looking at the lingerie in his hands, he felt very embarrassed at her direct appraisal of him. He was carrying two nightgowns, two corsets, and two tops. She asked, “Why did you buy two of everything?”

Laura, Molly, and the clerk all looked at Ed waiting for an answer. Ed looked away for a second and then answered, “It’s for my fiancées.”

Molly looked at him with amusement and asked, “Two?”

“Two women and a man,” replied Ed rather self-consciously. It was the first time that he had made that admission in public. He looked around to see what the others would say to that.

The reaction of the clerk was a negligent shrug of her shoulders. She had seen everything while working in the store. After seeing men come into the store and buy lingerie for themselves, hearing about a group marriage was nothing. She just continued to ring up the sale.

The reaction from Laura was simple. She merely said, “Cool.”

Molly said, “Interesting. How did that come about?”

Shrugging, Ed answered, “My girlfriend wanted a wife and two husbands. I love her, and the woman we want as a wife, and the other man. That’s all it is, a matter of love.”

The two women were looking at each other with amazement. It was hard to say if it was because the idea was a woman’s or that Ed was so honest about his love. Molly said, “I’d like to meet her.”

“She’s a very special woman that knows exactly what she wants,” replied Ed. He added, “With time, I’ve come to really like the idea.”

With Molly and Laura still watching him and whispering to each other, Ed went to the wall of adult toys. Very conscious of his audience, he selected two vibrators and two strap-ons. He wasn’t sure the women would enjoy the strap-ons, but he thought they might. The opinion was based solely on Molly’s description of how to use them. Molly had been rather explicit about how both men and women could receive pleasure from that particular item. The two women could use them on each other, John, or him.

Smiling, Molly said, “Very good choices. I’m sure that your ladies will enjoy them.”

Red faced, Ed went over to the counter and paid for his purchases. As the clerk rang up the strap-ons, she said, “You’ll need some lube to go with these.”

Returning to the wall, Ed took two tubes of lube. At the register, the bored clerk rang up the rest of the purchases. Ed paid for the purchases, asking that the goods be put in two separate bags. The clerk looked at him and put everything in a single bag, able to tell that Ed was from out of town and there was no chance of repeat business.

Dissatisfied with the service, Ed was tempted to ask for his money back. Looking at the bored clerk and his audience, Ed decided a more appropriate parting shot was required. In a droll voice, he asked, “Where did you learn to count?”

The clerk looked up at him in surprise and said, “Why?”

Ed answered, “Because most people can count to ten because they have ten fingers. I guess you’ve been given the finger by your customers so many times that you can only count to one.”

Picking up his bag, Ed left followed by Molly and Laura. The clerk reacted by giving him the finger. Molly called out, “That’s one, do you remember two?”

Putting the bags in the car, Ed realized that Molly and Laura were standing behind him. He turned to see what they wanted. Molly asked, “Would you talk to us for a moment?”

Puzzled, Ed answered, “What do you want to know?”

Molly, displaying the first bit of awkwardness since he had encountered her, asked, “How can I get that kind of marriage?”

“I think the better question is how do I get the kind of marriage that is perfect for me?” Ed replied as he watched Molly fidget.

While he expected Molly to answer, it was Laura that said, “Yes. That is the question.”

Smiling at Laura, Ed answered, “First you have to decide what kind of marriage you want. Then you pursue it by telling your prospective partner or partners what your expectations are. There’s only one thing to keep in mind. That’s to keep the communications open and honest. You have to listen to the other person.”

Skeptical, Molly said, “You make it sound so easy.”

Slowly shaking his head, Ed said, “Nothing in life is easy. You have to work to get what you want. Kelly was about at her wits end looking for the kind of marriage she wanted. Then one day, we met and we found love.”

Smiling to himself, Ed knew that he had found love and not from just one person, but three. He was a very rich man and knew it.

Molly said, “You sound like you really believe in love.”

“Believe in love? I found love. It isn’t an obsessive all consuming emotion or a great lust. Jealously and possessiveness have nothing to do with love. Love is a desire to help another person become all that they can be. I can tell that you love Laura. You are spending a tremendous amount of time to make sure that she has all of the tools and knowledge needed to have a good life. That is love.” Knowing that Laura would have a question about that, he turned to face her.

Much as he predicted, Laura asked, “What about sex?”

“I love sex, even if I’m not very good at it. Sex without love can be good. Sex with love is great. It’s wanting to please your partner and getting pleasure out of their pleasure. Sometimes that means you do your best to make sure that they orgasm. Sometimes that means allowing your partner to please you. Sometimes, it just works out that you both click and please each other.”

A silence descended upon the three people. Finally, Laura asked, “What about happiness?”

The question really gave Ed pause. It was a tough question and one he didn’t know how to answer. For so many years, he had not really thought about his happiness and now he did. Finally, he said, “You are responsible for your own happiness.”

Realizing that they were just standing around a parking lot, Molly thanked Ed for his time and took Laura to their next destination. Ed went in his car and sat there for a moment. The quiet and isolation in the car, gave him a chance to think about the last question that he had been asked. What about happiness? Pursuing his passion for rocks had helped him to become a happier person, but was that the real secret to happiness? He felt that there was something more to it than that. The first time that he had really felt happiness was the day that he had thrown the party for John and Betsy. Did that mean that happiness came from doing things for other people? He didn’t think so.

He started the car and went in search of a jewelry store. It was his intention to buy Kelly and Beth a pendant. Driving around town, he came across a little store that looked interesting. He pulled into the parking lot and entered the store.

It was an older jewelry store. The glass counters were scratched, the lights in the cabinets were not very bright, and the styles were out of date. The elderly man behind the counter was drinking a cup of coffee out of an old mug. His gray hair, wrinkled face, white mustache, short goatee, and half frame reading glasses gave him a kindly appearance. In a soft deep voice, he said, “Welcome to my store, young man. I’m Doug Marshall. Is there something that I can help you find?’