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50
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Ed lay comfortably in his bed, a smile upon his face. The bright beams of sunlight coming in through the window with its curtains drawn away danced on his visage.
He let out a soft groan and slowly shifted his arms back, stretching out and yawning. He was mildly disconcerted at the brightness he could sense from under his closed eyelids.
The brightness... he thought, hazily. The brightness...
The brightness!
His eyes quickly fluttered open and he lay staring up at the bright morning sky. The sky was not supposed to be bright at this early of an hour! He shuffled, pulling himself in a sitting position on the bed, then grabbed the alarm clock from the side table. It read eight o'clock. The alarm hadn't gone off.
The alarm hadn't gone off... The alarm hadn't gone off... THE ALARM HADN'T GONE OFF!
It was useless now; he had lost his chance at seeing Howard one last time. Even if he was to do anything, he'd have to go directly to the airport rather than Howard's house and he would never be able to get there in time.
Nevertheless, Ed through the clock away carelessly and sprung to his feet. "Oh cream cheese on a stick!" He yelled, dashing out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. After several minutes, he emerged from the bathroom and ran back to the bedroom, dressing like a madmad.
"Cream cheese on a stick!" He yelled again, hopping out the doorway while trying to put his pants on. He entered the kitchen, saw that Kathy was busy preparing breakfast and moved past her to the cupboard. He pulled out a bowl and grabbed a box of cereal from off the counter.
"Ed, what's gotten into y--"
Ed quickly poured cereal into the bowl as steadily as he could (so steadily he got more cereal on the floor than in the bowl) then poured the contents of the bowl into his mouth and put the bowl and box down on the table.
He chewed his mouthful, kissed Kathy, and ran out of the kitchen and to the front door. Kathy came out and stood in the opening of the kitchen entry, watching Ed. "What are you doing?" She asked, bewildered.
"Can't talk now! Cream cheese on a stick!" He yelled, flung the front door open, almost making it fly off its hinges, then jumped outside, slamming the door behind him.
He ran all the way to Howard's house without taking a break. Hot, sweaty and out of breath, he stood at the doorway and knocked on the door.
"Mr. Brinkley?" Ed called, hoarsely.
There was no answer. He tried the doorhandle and found it unlocked. He stepped inside the house to find it bare of all furnishings. Clearly, Howard was gone.
"Cream cheese on a stick!" Ed yelled into the empty house, then ran outside and down the road. He flagged a nearby taxi, got in and slammed the door shut.
"Airport! Airport! Airport!" Ed yelled to the driver.
"Okay! Take it easy, fella," the driver replied, then stepped on the gas, flooring it all the way to the airport. Upon arrival, Ed jumped out, threw money at the driver, then ran into the building. He ran all the way to the front desk, muttering "Cream cheese on a stick" over and over again to himself. Finally he reached the front desk and demanded which way the flight to Kansas was.
The female at the front desk pointed him to the end of the building and he started to run.
"But sir! You need a ticket!" She called after Ed. But he did not hear her. He kept running and running, muttering the everlasting phrase of "Cream cheese on a stick."
Ed made it to the Kansas flight exit. He ran out the door and saw the plane some yards away. He looked at his watch and saw that it was five minutes to nine. He continued in a brisk run all the way to the plane's stairway.
He stopped and observed the stairway. A miracle! Halfway up the stairs was Howard!
"Mr. Brinkley! Howard Brinkley!" Ed called up the stairway.
Howard must not have heard him, for he did not turn around. "Oh cheese and crust!" Ed said to himself unhappily.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled again, "Mr. Brinkley!"
Howard stopped, held onto the railing and turned around. Confused, he looked for where the call had come from, then peered downwards to the ground where Ed stood. He shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand and observed Ed.
"Edward? What are you doing here?" He asked, the strong winds ruffling his clothing.
Against the high winds, Ed mounted the first few stairs, then shielded his own eyes from the sun and peered up at Howard, the breeze making his hair fly all aorund his head. "I had to see you one last time, sir."
"What a lovely gesture!" Howard remarked, delighted.
"I just wanted to say one last goodbye." His eyes were becoming wet.
"Well... Goodbye, Edward."
Ed's voice began to crack and waver. "Sir, will we ever meet again?"
Howard stood, looking down at Ed from his upper level of stairs. He smiled at him. "We'll see, Edward. We'll see."