Chapter 14

Sitting naked on the sofa, Ed watched an old movie from the late thirties and laughed at the action on the screen. The kids surrounded him on the couch, enjoying the movie with just as much enthusiasm. Kelly entered the room and glanced at the screen. She asked, “What are you watching?”

“Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone,” answered Ed without taking his eyes off the television. “It’s my favorite.”

Shaking her head, Kelly wondered if Ed had ever seen a movie made after 1960. Watching him and the children, she decided that it was time for her to introduce them to some of the new films. There was the newest Nora Turner movie that she could get. It was rated R because of nudity, but she didn’t have a problem with the children seeing naked bodies. After what they had seen in the first year dining room, she could rent an X rated movie and they would have been bored by the lack of plot. She corrected that thought; they would have been bothered by the lack of actual caring between the participants.

Moving down the couch to make room for Kelly, Little John said, “Sit down and watch with us.”

She joined them on the couch, sitting between Little John and Beth. Looking over, she noticed that Beth was holding Ed’s hand. Ed had an arm around William, who was close to falling asleep. Turning her attention to the film, she watched the action on the television with amusement. Basil Rathbone’s character reminded her of John Carter when he was hot on the trail of a monster. She wondered if Ed saw himself as Dr. Watson, the trusty reliable sidekick of Sherlock Holmes.

The film ended and Ed demonstrated his appreciation by clapping. The kids clapped along with him, having enjoyed the film as much as he. Ed asked, “Who’s up for a swim?”

All of the kids shouted, “Me!”

In a flurry of activity, the living room was cleared and splashes emerged from the pool room as bodies hit the water at a run. Kelly stood at the edge watching as Ed and the children rose out of the water shaking their heads to clear the water from their hair. She laughed as the children immediately turned to splash their father. Moving to one of the chairs, she sat down and watched them play.

The pool chemicals gave the air a slightly acrid smell that was stronger than normal. Looking around, she noticed Walt standing across the room holding some air filters. They had interrupted him in his work. Shaking his head, he leaned them against the wall and left the room giving Kelly a quick wave. She knew that he would return when everyone had cleared the room.

William got out of the pool and walked over to Kelly. Sitting down in the chair, water dripping from his wet body, he said, “Dad is so happy here.”

“Yes, he is,” replied Kelly as she watched his wide grin and the ease with which laughter rolled from deep within his chest. The changes that had come over her husband in the past month were amazing. It was as though years had dropped off him.

Swinging his legs, William watched his brother and sister playing in the pool. He commented, “I think they are happy to be away from school.”

“Yes, they are. How about you?”

William was silent as he thought about the question, giving it the kind of serious consideration that was typical of him. He answered, “I feel at home here although I haven’t been here before. I like the desert much more than the woods. I miss the library though.”

The news about the library no longer surprised her. She asked, “Would you like to order some books for our library here?”

“Yes, I would like that very much,” replied William. He smiled as he watched Beth and Little John try to dunk their father. Ed stood straight and roared like a bear while the two children climbed over him. “He’s so happy here.”

Nora, dressed in jeans and a shirt, entered the room and watched the action in the pool from the door. They had returned from the remainder of their rock hunt the previous night and she was going to leave that evening. Kelly noticed her and said, “Come on over, Nora.”

Smiling at Ed’s wife, Nora went over to the cluster of chairs and sat down next to Kelly. The casual nudity around the children was surprising, but not shocking. She had been exposed to that aspect of the Carter lifestyle previously. Nora said, “It looks like Ed and the kids are having fun.”

Smiling, William said, “Daddy Ed is just a big kid.”

The unexpected source of the comment made Nora laugh. She asked, “Have you been hunting rocks with him yet?”

“Yes, we did a little of that in North Carolina.”

“I like the way that his face lights up when he finds a new sample. It’s pure and simple joy,” remarked Nora.

She had observed Ed with an open mind after returning from the interrogation and seen the joy with which he hunted rocks. It amazed her that she hadn’t noticed that on earlier trips. A laugh burst forth from her when she saw the kids splash him in the face. The look on his face was priceless.

Kelly asked, “Would you like to join them in the pool?”

“No. I’d rather just watch them play.” The answer was given without thought.

Smiling, Kelly could see the signs of love exhibited by Nora. She asked, “So how was the rock hunting trip?”

Nora was about to answer that it was heavenly when she realized that William was sitting there listening to the conversation. “It was great. We got a lot of samples out there. On the way back, we stopped at his mine. It’s quite an impressive operation.”

“He is proud of that mine. It’s a great example of how an environmentally friendly mine can be operated in a very profitable manner. The whole family is curious how he is going to use the profits.”

Getting bored of the conversation, William returned to the pool choosing to make his entrance in a cannon ball that would splash his father. Kelly turned to Nora and said, “As smart as the kids are, it’s easy to forget that they are kids. It’s great to see them playing like this. At the college, they spent almost all their free time in the library reading. They only played when one of their dads was available.”

Taking her eyes off Ed, she examined the kids. Physically they were well developed for children their age. They weren’t suffering from weight problems like many children their age, but she suspected that it was because of the care that the mothers gave their diets. She said, “They are really great children.”

A naked streak flashed past as Shirley’s son John ran into the room and jumped in the pool. His sudden appearance surprised everyone. The splash as he entered the water caught Ed completely unprepared. Standing, he sputtered as the kids laughed. Beth swam over to John and hugged him, happy to see her friend from town. Little John looked at John and shouted, “Chicken war!”

As William climbed on the shoulders of Little John and Beth climbed on the shoulders of John, Ed moved over to the side of the pool watching the kids with a grin. In less than thirty seconds, the battle was on. Little John and William were definitely outmatched, but they weren’t going to give an inch.

Nora went over to the bench and removed her clothes, deciding that no one would mind if she were naked around the children. Once she was undressed, she returned to her chair and watched the children in the pool.

Ed climbed out of the pool and went over to the towels. Grabbing one, he dried himself off noticing that Nora had stripped. He was glad to see that she was making an effort to fit in with the rest of the family. While he was there, Shirley came in the room carrying an armload of clothes and said, “Did anyone see a naked boy running through here?”

Ed pointed at the pool and said, “He’s over there.”

Putting the clothes on a bench, Shirley laughed and said, “He was so excited about coming over here that I think he reached the front door before I had reached the street to your house.”

She looked around and stripped out of her clothes, adding them next to the stack on the bench. Looking over Ed, she said, “You’re looking good.”

“You are beautiful as always.” Ed stepped back and examined her body with a wink. “Yes, beautiful as always. So when are you going to run away with me?”

Grinning, she answered, “When I’m too old to keep from getting caught by you.”

“Oh, I’m wounded.”

Laughing at the overacting by Ed, Shirley went over to the pool and entered the water by walking down the steps at the shallow end. Once in the water, she kept her distance from the kids knowing that they would splash her the moment they were done playing chicken. The splashing in the pool was sending water in the direction of the chairs.

Ed joined his wife and Nora, taking the wet chair that William had been in. Glancing down at the chair with a frown, he looked over at the pair of women and said, “It’s great being home.”

Looking over at her husband, Kelly replied, “Really? I can’t tell.”

Turning to Nora, he asked, “So what have you been doing all morning? We missed you at breakfast.”

Nora sighed and said, “I slept late this morning. I couldn’t believe how tired I was. I guess the events of the past week took more out of me than I realized.”

Knowing that the past week included the interrogation of a prisoner, Kelly asked, “So you watched Ed interrogate a prisoner?”

“I’d rather not talk about that,” replied Nora as her attention turned inward.

Placing a hand on Nora’s arm, Kelly said, “I understand. Seeing such evil close up is very traumatic.”

Nora turned to look at Kelly fully aware that the other woman didn’t know that the evil she had seen was the evil within her own self. Frowning, she said, “Yes. That is true, particularly when you see it in yourself, also.”

Puzzled by the remark, Kelly looked over at Ed for explanation. He didn’t answer, but just shook his head as though it was not a subject for discussion. Kelly said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a touchy subject.”

A shiver when through Nora and she changed the subject. “I talked to my agent today and canceled the negotiations for my next film. I’m retiring from the movie business.”

The news took Ed by surprise, but he was pleased to hear her say that. She needed to get out of Hollywood and work on her degree full time. He said, “You might take small parts in the future.”

She smiled and said, “Yes, I might. I’m going back to California to sell my house and get rid of all my cars. I think I’ll buy a small place in Pennsylvania to live in while I go to school. It’s long past time that I followed my interests.”

Listening to Nora, Kelly realized that she had undergone a major change over the past week. Smiling, she said, “I think you are going to be so happy.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. I will be a nicer person, I think,” replied Nora. She envied Kelly that she had a man like Ed in her life and wondered if she would ever find a man who was that good. She turned to Kelly and said, “You are the luckiest woman in the world.”

Not knowing what provoked that comment, Kelly replied, “I’m one of the luckiest women in the world.”

In the pool, the children had turned on Shirley and were splashing her with an almost continuous blitz. She was laughing and threatening, “Wait until the tables are turned!”

Laughing, Ed shouted, “Sorry, the cavalry is busy watering the horses. No rescue at the last minute.”

Kelly laughed at the comment and asked, “What, you aren’t going to rescue a damsel in distress? I’m shocked.”

Launching himself out his chair, Ed jumped in the water and started splashing the kids. An all out battle ensued, one that tired the children while delighting them. After five minutes, everyone left the pool. Ed passed out towels to the kids as Shirley dried herself off. She had not wanted to get her hair wet, but that desire had been ruined from the first splash. The kids, once they were dried off, went into the living room to watch television. Ed watched them through the connecting door as they took their seats. Beth and John snuggled together as William selected a program on space exploration. Little John shrugged at the choice and sat back to watch.

Ed returned to the chairs and sat down next to Kelly. Turning to Shirley, he asked, “Who’s watching the bar?”

“Linda.”

“How’s her baby?” asked Ed interested in catching up on the local gossip. The last time he had spent any time here, she was pregnant.

“Harry is a beautiful child.”

“Harry? She named him after her first husband?” asked Ed surprised to learn that.

“It was Richard’s idea. He felt that by naming the child Harry, they could eliminate the guilt Linda felt about her treatment of Harry by raising the child right.”

“Nice.” Ed knew that Richard and Linda would work through their issues together.

“Sammy is doing great. He enjoys his teaching job and was voted best teacher of the year at his school.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” answered Ed pleased to know that things were progressing nicely in his hometown. He wondered if there was anything that he could do to give more credit to teachers that were doing great jobs in molding the future of the country. He asked, “What do you think of a grant for use by teachers to improve their ability to teach a broader audience? It could be targeted at those that have been recognized by their peers as good teachers.”

Shaking her head, Kelly said, “I would rather concentrate on poorer teachers by sending them to teaching camps. They are the ones that need help and drag down the educational standards of the country.”

The principle behind her idea was correct, but targeting bad teachers could really cause problems. There had to be a better solution than that. Shrugging, he said, “I’ll think about it.”

“What kind of degeneracy is this?” boomed a voice from the door of the pool room. Nora, seeing the clothes worn by the man, tried to cover herself, ashamed at being naked in front of a priest. Shirley blushed, but didn’t move to cover herself.

Ed turned and saw Father Donnelley standing at the door with a grin on his face. He shouted back, “Just your normal debauchery.”