Chapter 53

No sooner than five minutes after dismissal, Double Dee and Ed had snuck out of the school via the rear doors, and mounted the "Ed Mobile". The boys were on their way to their final day of work at the tree farm, and were currently pedaling as fast as they could in an effort to avoid being spotted by their girlfriends, and spoiling their surprises.

Double Dee smiled as he drove the bike down the Main Street of the business district, admiring the Christmas decorations mounted on the light posts, as well as those within store windows. As he traveled, he took note of several police officers making preparations to barricade the side streets, allowing the parade the complete right of way down the entirety of the strip. This sight, coupled with the fact that the suns bright rays had finally broken through clouds, brought great joy to the ski capped adolescent, as these were positive signs that the Christmas Parade would not be cancelled due to the poor weather.

"It appears that all of my worries this morning were for nothing!" said Double Dee as he pedaled, "The precipitation has passed, the sun is shining, and the town is making all of the necessary preparations for our adored parade!"

"Jawbreakers and Santa make Ed a very happy boy!" yelled Ed, "I can't wait to see Eddy try the new Slovak candy cane flavored jawbreakers!"

"Contrary to your assumption, Ed," said Double Dee, "I'm afraid Eddy has other plans for tonight. Between you and I, I believe our stubborn little friend with a heart of gold has finally found a perfect gift to present to Lee, and is in the process of executing his plan to procure it during the evenings."

"Eddy is such a good little Elf," said Ed, "Lee still scares me, but I know Eddy likes her a whole bunch so I like her and want her to be happy too!"

"My thought's exactly!" said Double Dee, "I must admit, I thought the presence of Lindsay, and all of the ugliness surrounding these petty competitions were going to taint the holiday season. However, it appears that I was in fact correct to trust Marie's judgement regarding the situation, as all seems to be working out just fine."

"Do you think Lee's mad at Eddy for what happened earlier today?" asked Ed

"I don't believe she was so much angry, as she was surprised." said Double Dee, "Periplaneta Americana, commonly known as the American Cockroach, is a fascinating species, but is quite intimidating to those who do not have an appreciation for it's applications as a model organism. I barely had gotten the opportunity to explain that the box contained insects before Eddy snatched it out from my hands, and opened it without hesitation. Unfortunately, his impatience led to him dropping the container out of shock, releasing an entire colony of 100 cockroaches, 50 of which were adults carrying eggs, into the school cafeteria. How unsanitary!"

Double Dee leaned to the right, turning the handlebars slightly in the same direction, allowing the bike to turn down the small side street leading to Chris's tree farm.

"While Eddy's impulsive antics ultimately led to the disaster," said Double Dee, "I can't help but blame myself for failing to instruct May on the proper container to select for her project. Nevertheless, the principal graciously deferred disciplinary action, allowing Eddy to serve his punishment via school suspension after the new year, in exchange that Eddy stay after school to assist hanging protective tarps in preparation for the arrival of the exterminator tomorrow afternoon."

"Early dismissal tomorrow!" yelled Ed, "Eddy's the best!"

"I suppose that's one way to look at it." said Double Dee rather pedantically.

At that point, the boys had finally reached the entrance to the tree farm. Double Dee steered the bicycle through the gate, towards usual parking spot next to Chris' truck. The lot was much more sparse than it was when the Ed's had started their jobs, due to a majority of the trees having been sold in preparation for Christmas. Despite the lack of trees on display, the holiday spirit was still alive; the decorations, as well as the multitude of lights daisy chained between the telephone poles, flashed exuberantly in a chaser pattern.

It didn't take long for the boys to reach Chris's truck, currently parked behind the shack. The boys were surprised to find Chris himself standing at the front end of the vehicle. The vehicles hood was currently raised, allowing Chris to check the level of his oil and other vital automotive fluids.

Double Dee and Ed dismounted the bike, at which point Double Dee engaged the kick stand. The small click prompted Chris to turn towards the boys; he simply nodded as if to say hello. He then puffed the cigarette cradled in his mouth, as he used a clothe to clean off his hands.

"Good afternoon Mr. Nicklaus," said Double Dee as the boys approached the vehicle.

"Ed reporting for duty!" yelled Ed as he stood at attention and performed a salute.

Chris removed the cigarette from his mouth, and positioned it between the index and middle finger of his right hand.

"At ease soldier," said Chris sarcastically, "How goes it boys? Last day huh?"

"Yep last day!" yelled an exuberant Ed, "Money for Ed now!"

"Ed!" yelled Double Dee, "Please excuse Ed's rudeness Mr. Nicklaus, he's simply excited regarding the holiday season."

"Shit," said Chris in a long drawn out manner, "I can't blame the boy, I'd be excited if I was gettin' paid too."

Chris placed his cigarette into his mouth, and reached toward his pocket.

"I'll tell ya what," said Chris, "Since youse two have been workin' your asses off for the last week and a half, not to mention made all your deliveries on time and profited the business, how's about I give ya's your pay checks now."

Double Dee and Ed smiled radiantly at the conclusion of Chris's statement.

"Why Mr. Nicklaus," said Double Dee, "That's very generous of you!"

"Ah, it's nothin," said Chris as he removed a wad of bills from his wallet and divided it into two piles, "I guess you can say the holiday season has touched us all."

Chris handed a pile of cash to Double Dee.

"One for you," said Chris, after which he passed the next pile to Ed, "And one for you."

"I humbly thank you, Mr. Nicklaus," said Double Dee as he exuberantly counted the bills.

Chris turned around, and returned to tending his truck as Double Dee finished counting his bills; however, the smile that had adorned his face had vanished upon completion of his task.

"Excuse me Mr. Nicklaus," asked Double Dee.

"Yeah," said Chris as he turned to face the boy.

"I don't mean to impose," said Double Dee, "I believe you may have miscounted when distributing our pay. According to my calculations, Ed and I should have received $432.00, but we seem to have only received $216.00."

"I didn't miscount," said Chris, "The deal was $ 432.00 for the work, you guys are free to divide it amongst yourselves as you wish, but the sale is final. You should be thankful that your little friend quit, cause ya would have got even less if ya's divided evenly."

Double Dee appeared quite disheartened; while Ed's share of the pay was just enough to cover the costs of May's automatic pitching machine, the $ 216.00 was not nearly enough to cover the initial costs for Marie's surgery. Ed sensed Double Dee's heartbreak, and placed his hand on Double Dee's shoulder, consoling his friend.

"Look, I can see you're upset," said Chris, "You ain't the first kid to get the pay confused. I suppose I should have been more clear, but that's all water under the bridge and a deals a deal."

The two boys stood in silence for a few moments as Chris took a draw of his cigarette.

"Look ya got your money," said Chris as he replaced the cap on his coolant tank, "If ya don't like it, nothin' stopping ya from leaving. No skin off my nose if I lose a day of work, no ones buyin' anymore trees anyway."

Double Dee remained still, his face maintaining a somewhat somber expression, at which point he turned and looked upward toward Ed. The tall, somewhat dopey boy looked down upon his friend with a frown, his bottom lip trembling knowing that Double Dee's Christmas dreams had come to a halt. However, after a few seconds, Double Dee mustered up a smile and touched his hand to Ed's shoulder. He then turned back towards Chris.

"Mr. Nicklaus," said Double Dee, "We shall do no such thing. Ed and I have committed to providing you superb labor resources until close of business December 20th, and that is exactly what we intend to do. Thank you for your generosity, and providing us with this opportunity, it is most appreciated."

Double Dee turned towards Ed.

"Come now Ed," said Double Dee, "Let's inventory the remaining Christmas decorations, shall we."

As Chris remained focused on his work under the hood, Double Dee lead Ed away from his truck and toward the warehouse, located in the rear of the lot. As Chris removed the oil dipstick, wiping it clean with a paper towel, he uttered a few words to himself.

"Selflessness and integrity, such noble character traits," said Chris in a deep benevolent voice, uncharacteristic of his typical gritty working class voice, "The spirit of the season will be rewarded."

As the Ed boys commenced their final day of work, many of the other teenagers who called the town of Peach Creek home had made their way to the Mall. Teenagers, children and a significant amount of adults made their way down the corridors, admiring the decorations while window shopping for a great holiday deal.

In the half hour since school dismissal, Lindsay had made her way to Peach Creek mall in an attempt to finalize the purchase of her winter ball gown. The blonde girl was currently standing in front of a wall mounted mirror, admiring herself as she awaited the proprietor of the high end dress establishment to return from the back room with her completed gown.

After a few seconds, Lindsay turned towards the sales counter, as if to ensure that the proprietor was still occupied in the back room. Not wasting any time, she grabbed a measuring stick, used to gauge the height of patrons for sizing purposes, from it's resting position adjacent to the mirror. She stared into the mirror as she placed the device in a vertical position, and used her opposite hand to move the indicator to the top of her head.

As much as Lindsay would never admit it, she was quite self-conscious of her above average height. Standing at 5'9" inches tall, (5'11" with her high heeled boots on), she towered above the other girls in her class; the exception being Lee, who shared her body proportions. While this allowed her to maintain a physically imposing profile to the girls she controlled on the cheer squad, it was a trait that she deemed undesirable, due to her viewing it as "un-feminine".

Lindsay's eyes widened as she removed her hand from the indicator. To her surprise, the indicator was positioned at 72 inches, a fact that was quite alarming to the diva.

"Another inch within the last month," said Lindsay to herself, "Six feet tall in heels, what luck..."

Lindsay returned the measuring stick to it's original position, after which she sighed and looked towards the ceiling.

"Looks like the doctors were right", said Lindsay in a somber tone, "I'm on track to catch up to you by the end of this year."

At that point, the proprietor suddenly reappeared from the back room of the store, breaking Lindsay from her thoughts. The exuberant woman brought the gown, contained within a long black dress bag to the sales counter, prompting Lindsay to make her way over to the register. With the swipe of a debit card, Lindsay claimed her gown and bid the proprietor a goodbye as she exited the store.

The tall blonde girl walked a few paces towards the center of the corridor, stopping in front of a life-sized decorative figure of Santa Claus. Using the protruding hanger, she mounted the bag on the extended hand of the statue, took a seat on the adjacent bench, and unzipped her handbag. After a few moments of searching, she located and removed an article of boys clothing; a yellow sweater with a purple stripe running around the area of the torso. The sweater was in fact an exact replica of one commonly worn by a certain stout and loudmouthed boy during the winter months.

"I guess it's time to find yet another stooge," said Lindsay as held the sweater out in front of her, "What in the world have I become?"

At the conclusion of her statement, Lindsay violently threw the sweater onto the bench. She then folded her arms and crossed her legs, scowling as she observed the crowds passing in front of her.