CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Edd quickly finished getting dressed. After checking that he was 'presentable', he left his bedroom and headed downstairs to join the others for breakfast.

"Oven Mitt!", Marie exclaimed as Edd entered the dining room, "I've got a place right here for you".

Nodding, Edd headed over to where Marie was sitting. The dining room of the Royal Hotel was furnished with a multitude of small tables, so the party was not sitting as a single group, but as the tables were close to each other, it was not a major concern as they could still talk to one another without shouting.

As Edd sat down next to his girlfriend, he noticed that Ed was sitting with May at one table, Eddy was sitting with Lee at another, Lindsay was sitting with Rolf, Kevin was sitting with Nazz, Sarah was sitting with Jimmy, and Johnny was sitting with Mr. Statorowski.

"So it looks like I am the last one of the party to arrive for breakfast", Edd commented as he took his seat, "I hope that my tardiness did not hold anybody up from eating".

"Nah", Marie replied, "We were all just chatting. They'll be serving up breakfast in a couple of minutes. I did wonder though if you would be down in time though", Marie added.

"Whatever made you think that, Marie?" Edd asked, "after all, I did have my alarm set and I actually awoke thirty seconds before it would have sounded".

Marie nodded, but after quickly glancing around at the other teens, she leaned in close to Edd.

"When I woke up, I tried to wake you, but you were very deep in sleep", Marie said quietly so as not to alert the others to the fact that Marie had slept in the same bed with him, "I was going to head up to your room in a few minutes if you hadn't have come down by the time that the food was being served".

"Hey Double-Dee", Eddy said from his table, "Glad you could join us, but why were you whistling that song as you came in? I thought that you'd have outgrown 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' a long time ago!"

Edd had been whistling 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood' as he entered the dining room. The vivid dream that he had had pushed the song right to the forefront of his mind, and the show was by no means unknown to the other teens...

"Well, as I was looking outside the window when I got up, I saw that it was a very beautiful morning, and since Ventnor does look like a large neighborhood, I thought that it was a logical song to describe it all", Edd glibly replied. As he did not think that his friends would understand if he had told them about the vivid dream that he had had, he decided to come up with an alternative explanation.

"Ooh, look everybody! Tea's up!" Ed suddenly said as a waiter wheeled in a trolley holding china cups of hot tea. The waiter quickly passed out the cups to the group. Edd asked Marie if she wanted milk and sugar with her tea.

"Of course, Cutie", Marie replied with a smile, "I'll let you be Mother".

Marie giggled and Edd quietly chuckled. 'Mother' in this context was being the person who added the condiments to drinks and meals, so Edd made a point of being very polite and refined in his movements as he added milk and sugar to Marie's tea. Edd enjoyed his tea without either additive. Marie never tired of Edd's ingrained politeness and gentlemanly manners.

Marie privately had been worried about Edd this morning. When she had awoken, Edd had been so deep in sleep, she was concerned that he might have fallen into a coma. Apart from his breathing, there was simply no sign of life. Marie – who was used to the restlessness of her sisters – could not believe that a person could sleep that soundly. She knew that she was probably being a little paranoid, but that didn't stop her from breathing a silent sigh of relief when she saw him enter the dining room.

As the group sipped their tea, other waiters placed a small rack on each table holding slices of toast. On each table next to the sugar bowl and milk jug were holders containing butter and marmalade, so everyone ended up munching buttered toast and drinking tea while chatting about last night's concert.

"Ah, my sweet Schmetlockin", Rolf commented to Lindsay as he ate his marmalade-smothered toast, "This English way of eating is most pleasant to this son of a shepherd. Makes a pleasant change from food back at Peach Creek, yes?"

"Well, Rolf", Lindsay replied, "it is nice eating like this, but as I do know that you produce your own food back home, I'd have thought that you'd prefer fresh food as opposed to processed food. Those foodstuff ingredients you've given me has really enhanced my cooking".

"My daughter's right about that, Rolf", Mr. Statorowski added. He and Johnny had been sitting at the table next to Lindsay and Rolf and had easily heard the conversation. Lindsay habitually cooked at home for both of them and Mr. Statorowski really liked her cooking. The fresh vegetables and herbs and spices Rolf had given her really enhanced her dishes.

"Rolf is so glad that you have liked them", Rolf replied with a smile, "but at times different tastes are to be welcomed and Tea and toast with marmalade makes for a very nice change, yes?"

"So true, Rolf", Johnny answered, "too much of one thing can cloy after a while, and I'm really liking the food here".

"But you would not object to going back to hot dogs, hamburgers, and jawbreakers when you get back home, right, Mister Toubafor?" Mr. Statorowski asked Jimmy rhetorically – and formally. Johnny nodded.

"Jawbreakers are the first thing we'll be sucking on when Jimmy and I get back to the cul-de-sac", Sarah said. Johnny nodded.

"You know, I've always wondered where your last name came from, Johnny", Nazz said from where she was sitting with Kevin, "I mean, I understand the pun reference for 'two-by-four'; especially with Plank, but it's certainly not a common name. Mom's hereditary studies didn't shed much on its origin".

"Plank?" Mr. Statorowski enquired.

"Old friend of mine, Mr. S", Johnny quickly replied. Mr. Statorowski detected a certain tone in Johnny's voice and realized that Plank must be a non-human friend. Kind of like his teddy bear 'Mister Jinks' that he had as a youngster, so he didn't push.

"But anyway - like Nazz - I'm kinda curious as well about your name, Johnny", Kevin said, "Can you tell us all about it?"

"Family history merged two names together to form one", Johnny explained, "Dad told me that Toulon-Balfour was the original name, but one day one of my great-great-grandparents on Dad's side decided to jam the two names closer together, getting rid of the hyphen in the process. It ended up being corrupted a little to what it is now".

"French?" Nazz asked.

"More accurately Alsace-Lorraine", Johnny replied, "but as it is part of France, this vacation is also a visit of sorts to the land of my forefathers".

"But the food coming in now is part and parcel of England!", May exclaimed as the breakfast was being served. First it was English Porridge, then Poached eggs on toast with English bacon and bangers (sausages).

"Yum-yum", Ed exclaimed as the breakfast plates were put on his and May's table.

After the porridge was consumed – again in the English manner with milk and sugar added – Ed and May both turned their attention to the main breakfast course.

"Aw, there's no black pudding", May lamented as they both began eating.

"You want me to go and find you some, May?" Ed asked. May shook her head.

"It's all right, big Ed", May replied, "but thank you for asking all the same. Besides, after eating the porridge, black pudding might not be the best thing".

"I heard that porridge is what people in prison over here eat all the time", Jimmy said. Mr. Statorowski chuckled a little at that.

"Well, that's where the phrase 'doing porridge' comes from, Jimmy", he furnished, "It's just a polite way of saying that you've been incarcerated. Another term they have here for that is 'a guest of Her Majesty'".

Jimmy nodded his understanding but for some reason decided not to finish off his porridge. He turned his attention to the eggs, bacon, and bangers.

Over where Lee was sitting with Eddy, Lee was quietly eating her breakfast, but Eddy was looking a little quizzically at his girlfriend.

"Are you okay, Lee?" Eddy enquired, "normally in the morning, you're talkative, but you're rather quiet. Didn't you sleep well?"

"Sorry, Love", Lee replied, "but the ringing in my ears from the concert last night made my sleep rather brief. It's still ringing some now".

"Yeah, I had some trouble sleeping as well because of it", Eddy said next, "but that concert was certainly worth it!"

"For sure", Lee replied, "first meeting The Police, then meeting Elton John!"

"Excuse me, Lee. I apologize for interrupting, but perhaps if the ringing has not abated by tomorrow you should get your ears checked out with a doctor, Lee", Edd opined from his table, "after all, tinnitus can prove to be an annoying and stressful affliction".

"I didn't think that I was talking that loudly, Double-Dee", Lee replied, "I guess the ringing isn't helping in that regard. If it hasn't gone by tomorrow, I probably will. Anyway, you sleep well?", she asked him with a subtle glance at Marie – who smiled and nodded.

"Why yes, Lee", Edd answered, "in fact, I slept very soundly. Thank you for asking".

Nodding, Lee resumed her breakfast while suppressing a smile. Lee had known about the 'confidence-building' step that Marie had taken with Edd last night. When Marie had left Edd's bedroom, she had bumped into Lee – who had given up sleeping and was already dressed and heading down to the hotel entrance so as to have an early morning walk.

"Glad to have helped, Sis", Lee said when Marie had explained what she had done. The confidence-building steps to break Edd's reticence about sex were actually Lee's idea.

"That next step might be a little bit rougher on him though", Marie said with some worry. Lee had outlined further steps, and Marie was concerned that Edd might not accept those as readily as the first.

"If he had no trouble sleeping in the same bed with ya, I don't think it'll be as bad as what ya think", Lee responded, "but anyhow I'm going for a walk. I'll catch ya later at breakfast".

With that, Lee headed out and Marie headed back to her own bedroom. While Marie was showering and getting dressed, Lee took a short stroll around the block marveling at the quaintness of Ventnor.

Now, down in the dining room, the teens were enjoying their breakfast was well as each other's company. While they were chatting with each other about last night's concert and the return to the hotel – again courtesy of Sting's tour bus, all of them knew that as soon as they had finished eating, they had to get their gear together and get back to the ferry so that they could return to London.

"All right, people", Mr. Statorowski said after the last of the dishes were cleared away by the waiters, "I'm going to settle the bill, so you all get your day bags packed. I'll see you all in the foyer in twenty minutes. Don't take too long to freshen up. I don't want to keep the hotel van waiting, okay?

With that, everyone stood up and headed out of the dining room. Getting back to the ferry, crossing the Solent, then getting back to the mini-van in Portsmouth was the immediate game plan…