CHAPTER 45

As the party stopped at the village of Sainte-Mère-Église, the Three Ed's found themselves together looking around at the sights whilst the others were sitting at a street café eating pastries and drinking French coffee.

"I hope that Ed doesn't take too long", Johnny commented as he finished off his croissant.

"He won't", Chuck assured him as he sipped his coffee, "but don't begrudge his wanting to be here, okay? This place was where his grandfather died, so it means a lot to him", he finished in mild reproof. Johnny nodded.

As Chuck was talking to Johnny, the three Kanker sisters – who were sitting at a nearby table eating eclairs – were listening to the conversation.

"Maybe I should have gone with Big Ed, Lee", May commented after scarfing down her éclair. She was talking quietly so as not to be overheard by the others.

"What, and lose your chance to enjoy French pastries, May?" Lee answered back just as quietly with a smile. Marie giggled a little at Lee's comment, then turned serious.

"I'm glad that my Oven Mitt is keeping Ed company", she said, "but it will soon be time for the next confidence building step, and it's stepping things up a further few notches at that".

"What is the next step, Marie?" May asked. Marie told her. Lee nodded.

"Okay, but as your sister I'm gonna remind you not to let your own hormones make you lose control, Marie", Lee said quietly, yet earnestly. Marie gave her older sister a vexed look.

"I'm doing a good enough job of it thus far, Lee", Marie hissed back.

"But you've nearly made yourself lose control over it", Lee shot back, "remember just before last summer at high school with you and him in the Janitor's closet?"

Marie wanted to say to Lee that she was out of line with that comment, but then she caught herself. Marie remembered that time in school between classes where she had crept up behind Edd in the corridor and pushed him into the janitor's closet.

"What's happening?", Edd blurted out as the closet door closed, plunging the closet into darkness.

"It's only me, Cutie", Marie replied, "and I thought that it would be a really romantic thing to make out here in this closet between classes".

With that, she kissed him deeply. Edd started to go along with it, but then Marie – on a hormone-driven impulse – put her hand inside Edd's pants groping for a certain part of his anatomy. Edd was paralyzed with shock at what Marie was trying to do. It was however at that precise moment when Lee and May opened the door – they saw what Marie had done – and now saw what she was trying to do.

Edd's face was so red from embarrassment and shock, it was nearly purple in color. Marie – who saw Edd's face color now that the darkness of the closet had been illuminated by the light from the corridor – immediately withdrew her hand. Edd – beetroot red and totally speechless - went to immediately leave the closet but in the process, he stumbled over a mop and fell forward, bumping his forehead hard against the door jamb in the process. He fell stunned to the floor.

"Double Dee!" Marie cried. Just then, Kevin rounded the corner.

"What happened to Double Dee?" Kevin said as he saw the three Kanker sisters looking down at Edd sprawled out on the floor. Kevin was acting as Hall monitor that day.

"He stumbled and hit his head", Marie immediately replied with distress in her voice, "we need to get him to sick bay right now!"

Neither Lee nor May said anything as Kevin helped Marie get Edd to his feet. Both Kevin and Marie moved to carry a very unsteady Edd to the nurse's office in sick bay just down the corridor.

While Lee and May were very aware of what Marie was trying to do to Edd in the closet, both of them were more concerned at Edd's injuries. Tacitly, both decided to refrain from commenting…

When Kevin and Marie got Edd to the nurse, Edd was still very groggy. The nurse immediately put him on the couch and then proceeded to check him over. Marie – who was permitted to remain with him – realized that she had badly over-steeped the mark with what she had done.

After the nurse had ascertained that Edd was only stunned, he put a bandage over the abrasion on his forehead and then spoke to Marie:

"Miss Kanker, I'm glad to say that it looks like Eddward will be all right, but it could easily have been a lot worse. He had a hard bump to the head and whenever injuries there occur, there could be serious repercussions".

"Can I say with him, Nurse?" Marie asked plaintively. The nurse nodded, then quickly wrote out and signed a permission slip so that Marie would not get in trouble with her teacher. The nurse also told Kevin to inform both Marie's and Edd's teachers for this period of the situation. Kevin nodded and left sick bay.

"I am so sorry, Oven Mitt!" Marie said to him after the nurse left sick bay in order to get some aspirin from the staff lounge – there was none in sick bay for some reason.

"What are you sorry about, Marie?" Edd asked with confusion, "in fact, what am I doing here in sick bay?"

"You don't remember what happened?" Marie asked.

"The last thing that I remember was walking down the corridor towards my locker, then being aware of you and the nurse here in sick bay bandaging my head", Edd said, "but what are you apologizing to me for? Indeed, what happened to me?"

Marie thought quickly, then said, "Well, I crept up behind you to surprise you and the end result was that you stumbled and hit your head against the janitor's closet door".

Edd nodded. Marie looked at her boyfriend with a lot of concern. What she said wasn't exactly a lie, but she was acutely aware that her impulsive 'interlude' attempt had resulted in his being injured.

"Thank you for getting me to sick bay, Marie", Edd said, "and there is no need to apologize. In fact, it is I who must apologize for worrying you by my clumsiness".

At that moment, the nurse returned with some aspirin and a cup of water. Marie watched Edd take the tablets and drink down the water gratefully. After a few minutes, the nurse cleared Edd and both of them went to their respective classes.

Marie realized that the blow to Edd's head must have caused him to suppress the memory of what she did to him in the closet. After classes had finished for the day, she spoke to both Lee and May about Edd's condition. While both of them wanted to rub it in and embarrass Marie, they were acutely aware that Marie was very distressed by Edd hurting himself, so they decided to back off. Neither of them had spoken to Edd about it either.

All of this was flooding back into Marie's head as she recalled the incident. She had worried about what Edd would do if he ended up having total recall, but Edd never alluded to the incident since. Not even the bare boobed incident at her house, nor the confidence building steps taken on the vacation thus far had seemed to jog his memory. For that, Marie was very grateful…

"I gotta be honest: the redness of his face that day was priceless to behold", Lee said, "but be thankful that he wasn't badly hurt, Marie. Besides, what would have happened if it wasn't May or I who opened the door on youse two? If it was the janitor or a teacher, things woulda been a lot worse for you both".

"And we're not just talking about the principal or what Mom and Dad would have said. You could have lost Double Dee as a boyfriend as well", May added.

"Yeah, I know", Marie said, "it's just that I love him so damn much! But that shyness of his puts a real damper on things at times. I wanted to break the ice and release the passionate animal in him!"

"You damn well near shattered an iceberg, Sis", Lee replied, "but the confidence building steps you're doing now seem to be working. This next step of yours though will be a big one. Just be careful, okay?"

Marie nodded. She was apprehensive as the next step could very well be decisive, but then she remembered what Mary Tyler Moore had said to her in her dream, plus what Edd had said to her about his dreaming of Edd's twin brother James with Mister Rogers.

"Anyway, let's have some more eclairs", Lee said next, "This French way of eating has kinda grown on me!"

"You got that right, Lee!", May said enthusiastically.

While the Kanker sisters were talking, Lindsay and Rolf were enjoying their coffee and pastry at their table. Unlike May, both of them were eating in a refined manner. After putting down his coffee cup, Rolf leaned back in his chair and stretched luxuriously.

"Ah, my sweet Schmetlokin", Rolf said as he crossed his legs, "France is quite pleasing thus far, yes?"

"Yes indeed, but we're not in Paris yet, Rolf", Lindsay replied with a smile, "and that's the place to be on this side of the channel".

"Rolf has never been to Paris", he confessed, "but considering all that I have heard, this son of a shepherd is really looking forward to seeing it. The City of Love".

"That goes for me too, Rolf", Nazz said from her table, where she had been sitting with Kevin. Nazz - being rather paranoid about her figure - was only drinking fruit juice and leaving the eclairs and croissants well alone. Kevin however was really enjoying eating the fancy french pastries and washing it down with coffee.

"Pity that Tour De France isn't happening at the moment", Kevin groused after swallowing his last bite of the eclair that he had been consuming, "I'd have like to have seen that".

"Kev, the way you ride your bike at home, I'm betting that pretty soon you'll be riding in the Tour De France instead of just watching it", Nazz said with a smile.

"Here's hoping, Doll", Kevin replied as he reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Given the amount of sugar you consumed putting away those eclairs, Kev", Nazz said playfully, "I bet you would have enough energy to race ahead and win the yellow jersey!" Kevin grinned.

"Hey, whatever works, Doll", he replied.

During this time, the three Ed's had made it to the town square. There was a memorial tablet dedicated to the Airborne troops who had fought and died on D-Day. All three of them walked over to it and looked at the long list of names of those who had given their lives in the liberation of France on that fateful day in history".

"There's your granddad's name, lumpy", Eddy said as he pointed to one of the names etched into the granite memorial.

"Yep", Ed quietly replied. He didn't say anything else: there was no need to.

All three of them looked quietly for a few seconds at the memorial. Edd looked at Eddy, who nodded. This place was literally a pilgrimage to Ed and they were not going to say or do anything to take away from Ed the dignity of the moment. Indeed, both of them felt honored to be with him at this place and time.

Just then, Ed sighed. Edd asked, "Are you all done, Ed?"

"Yeah, Double Dee. I've seen enough. Let's get back to the others", Ed said finally, "I want to munch on a croissant with my Little May before we go on to Paris".

"Sounds like a plan, Lumpy", Eddy said. With that, they headed back to join the others.