Chapter 32

The school day had come and gone, and the sun had once again begun it's journey over the horizon, ushering in the twilight hour. The sky had transformed from it's ordinary blue color to hues and orange and pink; due to the position of the sun, the mountains as well as the city skyline in the distance appeared as mere black silhouettes. Although the temperature was quite chilly, the business district was abuzz with individuals. It was the week before Christmas, and several stores were offering discounts and other holiday deals.

Although the bulk of the crowds lined the Main Street of the business district, the small tree distributor, owned by Chris Nicklaus, was quite abuzz with families searching for the perfect tree. It was 5:00 p.m. and for the last hour and a half, Ed, Edd and Eddy have been working tirelessly to service the seemingly endless crowds. While Ed and Double Dee had embraced their short careers as "tree boys", Eddy seemed less than enthused at the prospect of working.

All three Ed boys had certainly come around in terms of responsibility. Ed had learned that horseplay would not be tolerated while on the clock, and subsequently learned to suppress his oafish antics as he cut, lifted, tied trees to the customers cars, and made deliveries. Double Dee, while already the most responsible out of the three Eds, certainly earned his keep by balancing the checkbook of the shop, and even fine tuning the financial efficiencies.

Eddy, however was quite bitter regarding his duties; he, Ed was habitually assigned mundane and labor intensive tasks such as cleaning out the back of Chris's truck after every delivery, polishing the various large porcelain Christmas decorations peppered around the site, and mopping the floors of the office building. This compounded with the fact that he felt the boys were being paid too little for their efforts, seemed to infuriate the short Ed boy.

Fortunately, there was currently a slight lull in business. Accordingly, the boys had gathered around the "Ed-Mobile" for a short break. Ed was dressed in his typical attire, aside from the inclusion of brown gloves and a brown ski cap due to the cold weather. Double Dee had donned a pair of green earmuffs, a green scarf, and his trademark thick orange winter coat. Lastly, Eddy was wearing red scarf, brown workman's jacket, and a red ski hat.

The boys had all retrieved a bottle of water from the office building. They were currently refreshing themselves as Double Dee jotted down financial notes using the notepad provided by Chris. As he wrote at what seemed to be machine guns pace, he decided to share his ideas with his friends.

"Well gentlemen," said Double Dee, "Going through the business finances, taking into account all expenses up to and including procurement of the decorations from the warehouse, general upkeep, electricity, and fuel consumption, it appears that Nicklaus Brothers Contracting has made a profit of $ 7,506.52 since we began our journey as tree farm assistants."

"Well whoopidy doo," said Eddy sarcastically as he took a sip of his water, "The question is, when is the cash going to flow into our pockets?"

"Patience Eddy," said Double Dee, "Discounting tomorrow night, as we will not be working due to attending the talent show, we only have two more working days until our tenure under Mr. Nicklaus is expired. Remember, Mr. Nicklaus promised us payment upon completely fulfilling our obligation."

"Not a dime until December 20th!" said Ed in a rather dopy intonation, repeating Chris's exact words upon being asked about payment.

Eddy groaned, as he kicked the tire on the trailer he and his friends used to deliver trees.

"Eddy," said Double Dee, "You should really be much more appreciative of this opportunity. Mr. Nicklaus has decided to take us under his wing, so to speak, and teach us the value of a dollar through hard work and determination. In doing so, he has also provided us with the chance to earn contributions towards our Christmas gifts for our significant others."

Double Dee paused briefly, placing the notepad into his jacket pocket for safe keeping.

"Besides,"said Double Dee, "Mr. Nicklaus is correct, twelve dollars an hour is quite generous given the fact that he is only obligated to pay us minimum wage."

"Of course you're not complaining," said Eddy, "You got the easy job thanks to that nerdy brain of yours. All's you gotta do is count they money, me and Ed gotta do all the heavy lifting and cleaning."

"C'mon mister, where's your Christmas Spirit?" asked Ed enthusiastically as he smacked Eddy in the back, surprising the small boy, "By bringing holiday cheer to our customers, Santa will see what a good boys we've been and bring us everything we want for Christmas. And boy oh boy I can't wait to see the look on my Little May's face when she opens her gift. She's gonna be soooo happy!"

"That's the spirit Ed!" said Double Dee, "And with that note, I am happy to reveal that in addition to my responsibilities as the accountant for the tree farm, I have been performing an independent analysis of our own profits. According to my calculations, we will each be earning $432.00 at the end of the week. And that's not including the currently unknown bonus that Mr. Nicklaus has promised."

"Yippy!" said Ed, "That means I'll be able to buy May's gift and have change left over, just like we talked about yesterday!"

"Yes Ed isn't it wonderful!" said Double Dee, "While the earnings from this job aren't enough to cover Marie's eye surgery payment, I have accrued a significant amount of money in my savings account over the last couple of years, and that should be enough to make up the difference."

Double Dee clasped his hands.

"How invigorating!" said Double Dee, "What a perfect instance of the power of the holiday spirit! By some stroke of luck, not only were we offered jobs that would allow us to bring Christmas cheer to all of those in Peach Creek, but we have also earned enough to fulfill our hopes of satisfying our loved one!"

Double Dee turned towards both of his friends with a smile. Ed was currently bursting with joy as he continued to hug himself out of excitement. Eddy on the other hand was not nearly as enthusiastic as his two best friends. The stout boy was currently leaning on the tree trailer, his hands in his pockets as he stared in the opposite direction of his friends with an irritated expression.

"I must admit I am quite surprised Eddy," said Double Dee, "Usually, the mere mention of anything to do with currency instantly piques your interest and brings a smile to your face. If you're worried about not being able to afford Lee's ball gown, have no fear. Ed and I can spare a few extra dollars, if it means bringing joy to another individual."

Eddy ground his teeth as he turned towards Double Dee.

"You keep harpin' on that stupid dress as if I'm really going through with it," said Eddy, "I told ya before, I changed my mind. I ain't getting no dress, and if all goes according to plan, I ain't going to the winter ball."

Double Dee paused for a few moments prior to responding to Eddy's comments. In these brief moments, he was reminded of the seriousness of the situation. Eddy was quite upset with Lee's behavior, and it seemed that the presence of Lindsay was causing intense and possibly irreparable friction within their relationship. Double Dee wrestled with an extremely difficult moral decision: reveal Lee's secret regarding her broken friendship to Eddy, or keep his promise and put his complete trust in Marie's judgment.

Ultimately, he decided to honor Marie's request; however, that did not stop him from attempting to explain the ramifications of Eddy's actions while still keeping the exact details a secret.

"Eddy, you should really attempt to be more understanding." said Double Dee, "Lee has obviously been hurt by Lindsay in the past, and due to this emotional turmoil, I would not doubt for second that she is keeping several aspects of her childhood hidden, causing her untold frustration. Please Eddy, I beg you to reconsider your approach. Please cease and desist, sit down with Lee and attempt to understand her feelings as her significant other."

At that moment, Eddy approached Double Dee at a rapid pace. He held his right index finger in a vertical position, holding it up to Edds face, slightly surprising the boy. As an angry expression overcame his face, he began yelling in a rather aggressive manner.

"No Sockhead, here's what you need to understand," yelled Eddy, "I've had the worst Christmas season I've ever had in my life! All because Lee's holding a grudge against this stupid bimbo for calling her a few names when they were kids."

"Eddy!" yelled Double Dee.

"Oh I understand," said Eddy, "I gotta get rid of Lindsay before I get dragged into another stupid chapter of this catfight. And it's gotta be quick, cause the ballet was the last straw! If she tries to force me into anything else, I'm calling it quits!

"Please, you don't understand!", yelled Double Dee in a frantic manner, "Listen to yourself, I was led to believe that you had given up your old selfish ways."

"You're calling me selfish?" asked Eddy, "Are ya blind? You've seen the way Lee's been acting. I'm the one who has been giving and giving, but not getting anything back! I don't deserve this crap."

Eddy turned away from his friends and began walking towards the entrance of the tree farm.

"Eddy, where are you going?" asked Double Dee, "We still have fifteen minutes left of work, and Mr. Nicklaus has not yet dismissed us from duty!

Eddy ceased walking momentarily, and turned towards his friend.

"Tell the old man he can keep my share of his chump change." said Eddy, "His bullshit ain't worth the money. I quit."

Eddy turned around and continued walking towards the alley leading to the main concourse of the business district, as Double Dee and Ed looked upon their friend with melancholy expressions.