On Sunday morning, Mike and Ed were shooting hoops and having their usual guy-talk. Ed told Mike about what had happened Friday, and even though Mike really wasn't interested (what else is new?), being the friend he is, he tried to give advice.

"Ed. C'mon. You almost kissed for what- the billionth time now? Dude, just do it. Just kiss her. If anything, just do it so that I don't have to listen to this anymore." Mike beseeched, missing his shot.

"I wish I could, but even if the moment is right… she's dating Dennis now. She can't be locking lips with just anyone."

"Wasn't she with Nick when you two kissed the first time?" Mike pointed out, passing Ed the ball. Ed made a clean shot, no rim.

"Yeah. But that doesn't make it any more right."

"Regardless, I think your first step is to ask for forgiveness for being a jackass." The good doctor commented, making his shot.

"Hey, hey. I never said I was a jackass… alright, maybe I was." Ed smiled wryly. "But can you really blame me, after everything…"

"I guess not. Maybe you just need to wait this out."

Ed rested the ball on his hip. "How much longer? I've been back home for far over a year now. And besides being the occasional jackass," He gave Mike that 'shut up' look. "I've romanced, I've charmed, I've become one of her best friends. No such luck at becoming more. I'm just starting to think, if all of that didn't work, why should anything change?"

Mike slapped his friend lightly on the arm. "I don't know. I hope it will. For your sake and mine. Hey, you're bring her to the dinner on Thursday right?" Ed nodded. "See… you never know. Luck can change."

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So Ed, being the man that he is, decided to take his luck into his own hands. After he left the Burtons', he headed over to Carol's and knocked.

"Just a minute!" he heard, muffled through the front door. Sure enough a minute later Carol appeared, out of breath, her hair thrown up haphazardly, wearing old jeans and a gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt. "Ed!" she looked genuinely happy to see him, which he thought odd after what had happened.
"Good morning, Carol Vessey."

"Morning to you too."

"Do you have a couple minutes? I just wanted to talk to you." He looked behind her a bit. "I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Oh, no, no, no… come on in. I was just attempting to clean house." She laughed and let him follow her into the living room, where the television was on (Disney channel, he noted) and boxes were strewn, a few stacked somewhat precariously. "Want something to drink?"

"I'm fine, thanks. 'Even Stevens' huh?" Ed smiled, nodding his head toward the TV. Carol looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but what else is on weekend mornings? That kid on there reminds me of you, by the way. Always doing crazy schemes," They smiled at each other.

"Looks like you're starting Spring-cleaning rather early," he said, grabbing one of the perched boxes right before it was going to fall. It left a light line of dust on his baseball-style sweater.

"Well, I was looking for something of mine from years ago, and I couldn't for the life of me find it, and I got really frustrated with all of the stuff I had piled up in the attic and in closets, you know how it gets. So I decided to do something about it," She nodded her head up and down to prove her point.

"Wanna do my house when you're done here?" He joked. Carol rolled her eyes.

"You said you wanted to talk about something?" She grabbed a stack of novels and filed them into one of her bookshelves.

"Oh, right. I just, I was thinking about Friday evening," They gave each other a look. "And I wanted to apologize for what I said. I was caught up in… the moment, and I hope I didn't upset you. That was my last intention."

"I know it. Don't worry about it; it's over and done with. No hard feelings," Carol smiled, not showing her teeth.

Ed sat down on her couch and was silent for a minute. "Carol," She stopped her re-shelving and sat down beside him. He looked into her eyes. "Are you saying that what I told you didn't matter to you?"

Carol sighed. "It did. But I looked back at the situation, and you know what I realized? It was my fault. So I know that there's no reason for me to feel hurt, when I'm the one who hurt you initially."

"That's not true. It's not your fault that I…" He paused to think of the right word. "that I care about you. I brought everything on myself. I just want to make sure that this won't affect our friendship in a negative way."

"It won't. And Ed, I care about you too. You know that." She whispered, reaching up to run her fingers along his cheek.

"Right. I know." Ed got up and scratched the back of his head. "I should go. I'm gonna go now."

"Okay. Thanks for coming by," Carol smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Later. Later is good. Bye." He mumbled, closing the front door behind him. Carol smiled to herself and went back to her boxes.

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Valentine's Day rolled around before anyone knew it. On her free period, Carol ran over to the bowling alley and found Ed.

"Hey, you." She hit him lightly on his stomach with a red envelope.

"Hey yourself. Happy V-Day!" He wrapped Carol into a big bear hug.

"Happy Valentine's too! Here, I have a card for you." She gave him the envelope.

"Oh, I don't have yours here-" Ed apologized.

"It's okay. Just open it." So he did. The front of the card stated 'True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island. To find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing. -Baltasar Gracian.' Inside, in Carol's teacher-print, she had written, Happy Valentine's Day to my blessing. Thank you for teaching me what it is to have a true friend. Always, Carol

"That… that's so sweet, Carol. It means a lot to me. Thanks," Ed was sincere. He pecked her lightly on the cheek.

"Sure thing. Well, I guess I should get back to the school. I just wanted to drop by for a second to see you before tonight."

"That's right," He stated, as if he had forgotten. "I'm picking you up at seven?"

"Yep. See you then," She grinned at him before spinning around and leaving as quickly as she had come.

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To be continued…