Edd knocked on the door again. He heard movement in Eddy's room. It sounded like Eddy was hopping out of bed and getting dressed. Every minute felt like an hour had passed. Edd wondered if he should turn around and go inside of the house. He knew that he was about to face whatever mood Eddy was in.
Eddy was the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve. If Eddy was in a foul mood, it became obvious to anyone within a four block radius that he was. If Eddy was excited about something, the whole neighborhood knew about it too. Eddy was extremely melodramatic and always had been. The only times that Eddy seemed to have any control over his emotions or was able to adequately mask his own emotions is if he was trying to scam someone. Even then there was a limit to how much Eddy could keep calm.
The door started to open. Edd felt like he was going to have a heart attack. He dared himself to face Eddy. The blue-haired teen didn't look so good. His dark eyes were completely glassy and bloodshot. His spiky dark navy hair clung to his sweaty forehead. Eddy reeked of alcohol. Edd's heart panged with guilt at seeing his friend like that. "I brought you a fresh pack of socks and a couple of jawbreakers."
"Double D, it's 7 am in the morning." Eddy looked irritated. He was still upset at Edd for the day before, "just hurry up and get inside."
Edd hurried inside to see the room destroyed. Dirty magazines were scattered at various parts of the room. Balled up tissues sat next to the magazines on the ground. He knew about Eddy's masturbation habits since they were around ten years old. So it wasn't that much of a surprise that Eddy would've touched himself when the doors were locked all night. The familiar vodka bottle stood right next to magazines and tissues. He didn't know if Eddy brought the bottle in himself or if Matthew brought it in for him. All he knew was that the alcohol bottle was now empty.
"Eddy, you need watch your alcohol intake. You're damaging your liver by consuming that much," Edd sat his gifts to Eddy on top of Eddy's dresser.
"Look if you're just going to nag at me, you can just get the fuck out!" Eddy snapped.
"I didn't come here to find faults with how you spend your time," Edd sat down on the bed, "I came here to try to make amends."
"Why? It's pretty damn obvious that neither Ed nor you care about me. I mean, what could be so damn important that you would keep from me?" Eddy gripped Edd's arms none too gently and shook him, "What the hell are you hiding?"
"Eddy, stop! Listen; there are some secrets that are better left unsaid."
"Bullshit!" Eddy spat.
All of his attempts to pacify Eddy had failed. Edd thought quickly on how he could appease Eddy. He decided to reveal one of his secrets to end the quarrel between him and Eddy, "Alright, I'll tell you. I'm - I'm a homosexual, Eddy. There, are you content now? I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
"That's it? That was all that you've been hiding from me?" Eddy stopped shaking him, "Geez Double D, you could've told before. I don't care that you're gay."
"Really? Thank you, Eddy," Edd smiled.
"Whatever," Eddy shrugged. Eddy was willing to accept that as part of the reason for Edd's strange behavior, but he was not completely satisfied with his answer. There had to be more to the story. He didn't know what, but there was something that he couldn't put his finger on. He knew both Edd and Ed like he knew the back of his hand. He would forgive Edd for now, but he still is going to try to keep an eye on him.
"I have good news though," Edd replied before they both heard Eddy's brother's Camaro started up in the driveway.
"Where's Matthew heading off to?" Eddy asked, listening to the car drive away.
"I believe he's going to pick up your nieces," Edd replied.
"Was that the news that you were trying to tell me?" Eddy asked.
"Yeah, it was." Edd answered.
"I can hardly wait. With my great teaching methods, they would be the second best scammers to hit the Cul de Sac!" Eddy boasted.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for when your nieces arrive?" Edd suggested. He knew that smelling like alcohol would not have made a good impression on three kids.
"You're right. I need to show them how much of a cool uncle I can be!" Eddy quickly dashed into his personal bathroom to get ready. 15 minutes later, Eddy walked out of bathroom stark nude and completely soaked from his shower. Edd once again was unwillingly placed in a situation where he had to wrestle with his own hormones. He tried banish the thoughts from his head, but they came back twice as strong. He wanted Eddy to shove him on the bed and ravish him. He wanted to feel his friend's bare skin against his own. He turned his head, clearing his head from any impure thoughts before his desire became apparent.
Eddy put on a plain white shirt, a leather jacket, dark jeans, and silver necklace. "Do I look like a cool uncle or what?"
"You look fine," Edd responded, "I doubt your nieces are going to care much about your appearance."
"First impressions are everything, Double D!" Eddy stated, applying deodorant to his underarms. "How are they supposed to take me seriously if I don't look the part?"
"Instead of spending all of your time with them trying to teach three children how to perform scams; why don't you do more meaningful things with them? Why don't you teach them more about the family? They're probably dying to know what the paternal side of their family is like. You can also teach them about their heritage. You can also find out about their personalities." Edd suggested enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I guess I work those in," Eddy shrugged.
"Uh, Eddy. What is your ethnicity?" Edd asked.
"I'm English, Irish, and Italian, mostly Italian though." Eddy replied. "What about you, Sockhead?"
"Well, my mother was French-Canadian before she immigrated to the US when she was a child and my father has Austrian and Sicilian ancestry." Matthew's words about his parents reappeared in his own thoughts, "Eddy, do you think that my parents were horrible parents?"
"Eh," Eddy didn't know how to answer that question, "They were hardly around. I only have seen them like five times since I've known ya. The only thing that I really knew about them was the sticky notes they've left all over your house. Why did you ask that anyway?"
"I honestly have no clue why I did," Edd lied. Eddy's words brought him no comfort. He was starting to believe that Matthew could be right. The only protection from the outside world that his parents offered him was a roof over his head and hundreds of rules and chores that they had in place. He began to silently count the numerous rules he had broken since Matthew moved in. He consumed alcohol before his 21st birthday. He watched Rated R movies with Eddy even before Matthew moved in. He didn't report a crime when he knew that one had occurred in the case of Matthew's reckless driving. How could he when he was living under the same roof as the man and was under the man's control until Eddy's parents returned? Perhaps the worst one in his parent's eyes was that he willingly engaged in activities with Matthew that his parents would've disapproved of. What did all of that say about him as a person?
"What's wrong, Sockhead?" Eddy waved a hand in front of Edd's face.
"Nothing Eddy, I was just thinking about stuff," Edd replied.
"Okay," Eddy turned when he heard his door opened.
"My little ankle-biters are here. I have a few places to be, so you two are in charge of them until I get back. If you two do good job, you'll get a reward later," Matthew explained briefly, closing the door.
Eddy quickly pulled him across the house, looking for his nieces. Edd was fuming over Matthew just pawning his kids off on them. How irresponsible could that man be? As much as the man's actions infuriated him, he wouldn't let it show. Eddy was too excited to see his nieces to let anything put a damper on his excitement, not even his brother's actions.
When they headed into the living room, they saw three little girls looking around the living room. The three girls were conversing with each other, trying to solve the reason why they were there. Two of the children, the three year old and one of the five years, looked like the rest of the McGee family members or at least of the ones that Edd had seen before. The other five year old looked like she mostly took after her mother. All three of them had dark eyes like Matthew, Eddy, and their father. These kids were obviously Matthew's.
The brunette five year old spoke up, looking at the other two, "What are you two doing here? Is daddy throwing a party for me here?"
"No. If there was a party, where are the balloons?" The other five year old asked, twirling her dark blond hair, "I thought we were going to go to that Mondo carnival-thing again. Why did daddy drop us here?"
"That man can't be your daddy!" The brunette yelled, "That's my real daddy! Mom told me so!"
"That's not a funny joke, you know," The dark blonde yelled, crossing her arms.
"Wait," Eddy finally spoke up, "you three don't even know that you're sisters?"
"Sisters?" The two five years stared at Eddy like he had grown an extra head. "That's not possible!"
Eddy sighed, "Let's start off slow. What are your names? First and last names."
"Bonnie McGee," The blonde answered.
"My name is Dani McGee," The brunette five year old answered. She turned to the three year old, "I better check her toy bag."
"The three year old doesn't speak?" Eddy asked.
"No. I don't think she knows how," Dani answered, digging into the bag. "Her name is Edna McGee. How could it be true? We have different moms – and I wasn't told." Dani added quietly
"It's true, Dani. In fact, I know of three girls my age who each have a different father," Edd finally spoke. He didn't know what to say to the three girls. He couldn't believe that Matthew never introduced the three girls to each other and/or never introduced them as siblings. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you three meet?"
From what Edd could understand from the two girls' sides of the story, all three of them met at Mondo A-Go Go three times before during what might have been Matthew's visitation days. They arrived at the carnival at different times and only spent a few minutes with Matthew at the most. Matthew would have another carnival worker watch the kids while he did whatever. The girls have seen Matthew take the other girls to the other carnival worker, picked them up individually when it was time to leave, and heard from each other that they were each related to one of the carnies that worked there. However, they didn't put two and two together, explaining their confusion over being half-siblings. In fact, Dani and Bonnie both falsely believed that the carnie that watched over them was the other girl's father. The three girls did get a chance to bond – as friends- at the carnival. The carnival let them ride the rides, play games, and consume fresh corndogs and cotton candy while they were there.
The two girls described the three times that they visited Mondo A-Go Go with as much enthusiasm as they would have if they won the lottery. Edd supposed that for any kid, that would be a wonderful experience. It also seemed like the girls were not physically abused by Matthew, but it could be due to him not wanting to pay child support. Edd was certain that if the girls were placed in his custody or if the family court system wasn't watching Matthew closely, they would've been abused like Eddy had been.
"So who are you two?" Bonnie asked the two teens.
"You don't know who I am? You can't recognize the most awesome, good-looking, and coolest uncle that you'll ever have?" Eddy boasted, faking offense to her question, "Yep, I'm your Uncle Eddy. No, really. Your dad and I are bros. The guy next to me is Double D. He's a friend of mine."
"Why does he wear a sock on his head?" Edd's face fell when he heard that question from one of the girls. The three girls were giggling. The mute 3 year old was either selectively mute or didn't learn how to talk yet, because Edd could hear her giggle along with her two sisters.
Eddy chuckled, "that's a story for another day. For now, I'm going to show you pictures of the rest of family." The girls followed him into the hallway. Edd got over his shock over that question and followed behind the girls. Eddy grabbed one of the pictures from the wall and showed the three girls. "This is your grandma. She doesn't know about you three yet, but she would throw a fit over you guys. She would be trying to doll you three up and buy you new outfits."
"When can we meet her?" Dani asked.
"You can once she and dad get back. They're on a road trip at the moment." Eddy replied, putting the picture back and grabbing another one, "this is your granddad. He might be grump, but he's alright. Just don't tell your dad I said that." Eddy puts the framed picture back and grabs another one. "And this is your great-granddad. He's in a nursing home and I wouldn't let him drive you guys anywhere." Eddy shuddered at all of the memories he had of his granddad running past stop signs and getting in near-collisions with other cars.
"So which one has the most quarters?" Bonnie asked, "One of them has to have money to get us each Pop Rocks?"
"That's not a question that you should be asking!" Edd scolded her.
Eddy covered Double D's mouth, "what are you talking about Double D? These three are little entrepreneurs. They just don't know where they could earn an honest quarter." He turned to the girls, "you can earn quite a bit of money from scamming people. You just need supplies and a great idea. In fact," Eddy started whispering a plan to the starry-eyed girls, who drank in the information.
"I suppose money obsession is genetic in the McGee family," Edd mumbled, remembering the story on how Eddy's ancestor lost ownership of Peach Creek in the first place.
The girls sat behind a stand that read "Hot Sauce Challenge: 25 cents." Edd was the one that reluctantly designed the sign for the girls. He wanted to spare the girls the years of ridicule that Eddy, Ed, and he experienced that was partially was the result from them creating numerous scans. The girls waited impatiently for a "sucker" while they sat beside their father's homemade hot sauce bottle. Three plastic cups that sat on the stand were filled with the hot sauce. Eddy and Edd sat on a couple of lawn chairs in the middle of the yard to keep an eye on the girls.
Kevin and Nazz started to walk past Eddy's house when they spotted the stand. Nazz had learned how to walk with crutches with ease in the past few days. Nazz read the sign aloud, "Hot sauce challenge, only a quarter? I think I'll pass!"
"What are you three twerps up to?" Kevin asked them, suspiciously. After all of the years of dealing with Ed, Edd, and Eddy's scams, he had grown suspicious of any homemade signs and stands in the Cul de Sac.
"Nothing, we're just trying to run a business. You're just too chicken to try it!" Bonnie taunted.
"You little dorkette, my family vacationed in Mexico and I've ate actual hot peppers that is much hotter than what your parents bought at the store." Kevin argued.
"It's my dad's secret recipe, smarty pants!" Bonnie retorted.
"Kev, why don't you humor them?" Nazz suggested, "They're just kids!"
"Ugh, fine!" Kevin put a quarter on the stand and took one of the plastic cups. The quarter was quickly snatched up by Dani and put in a jar next to the hot sauce. Kevin inspected the cup. It looked like regular hot sauce to him. He gulped down the hot sauce and quickly realized his mistake. It felt like he drunk down fire and he made a desperate grab for Nazz's water bottle. "I'm sorry, Nazz!" He quickly gulped down the water. He turned towards the three giggling girls that sold him the liquid fire, "that was dirty trick, you little dorkettes!"
"Hey, Shovel Chin! The point of the challenge is not to cry about drinking the hot sauce afterward!" Eddy cackled at the sight. He turned to Edd, who was snoozing on the lawn chair.
"I suppose these three belong to you?" Kevin folded his arms.
"Sort of, they're my nieces," Eddy replied with pride.
Kevin's grew pale when he heard the word "nieces." They were the spawn of that bastard in Eddy's house. One word to their daddy from them about how he yelled at them and he might as well start writing his own will. Kevin did not want to become a victim to Eddy's brother's wrath again. That man didn't even look for a reason to physically harm someone, other than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Nazz elbowed him playfully, "relax, Kevin! It was just a hot sauce challenge. I'm sure they meant no harm."
"Right." Kevin rubbed the back of his neck and faced the girls, "keep the change."
The three girls ran to Eddy excitedly and hugged his knees while he patted them each on top of their heads. "Uncle Eddy! We made our first quarter!" Dani got out the quarter and waved it in front of Eddy's face, looking for the teen's approval at what they had done.
"That's nice, girls!" Eddy replied, "hey, c'mon! Let go of my legs already!"
Edd slowly started to wake up from his nap and watched as the three girls wouldn't let Eddy's legs go. Edd couldn't help but smile at the scene. Eddy had a nurturing side. Edd had seen that side of Eddy quite a few times in the past, once when Eddy was teaching Jimmy how to be like him. He also remembered how motherly Eddy became when he touched a boomerang once when they were kids. Edd started to wonder if the boomerang actually had them acting out their repressed personalities rather than their opposite personalities as they had originally believed.
"Help, Double D! They're attacking me!" Eddy struggled to walk with all three girls hugging his legs.
"Carry us around, Uncle Eddy!" Dani squealed with laughter.
"Not a chance, Eddy." Edd replied, "This is too much of a touching moment!"
"You sadist!" Eddy mumbled.
Kevin and Nazz watched the scene, "It's really sweet. Don't you think so, Kevin?"
"Yeah, it's so sweet that I'm about to heave!" Kevin replied dully.
"C'mon Kevin," Nazz teasingly poked Kevin's chest, "I think you would be really great with kids too. Anyway, I need to head home before my mom starts to fix lunch without me. Catch ya later, Kev!"
Kevin waved, his face getting as red as his hat. He walked a short distance to his house mumbling, "Why does she say weird things like that to me? I just don't get her. Maybe I should just tell her how I feel."
Three hours have passed of Eddy getting chased around by his nieces in the yard. Eddy lost most of his energy after an hour and wobbled around during the next two hours. Edd guessed it to be around lunchtime. He should start fixing lunch for Eddy and the girls soon. He was still ticked that Matthew left the house, but there was nothing that he could have done about it. Like clockwork, the man pulled into the driveway after being gone for several hours. `Well speak of the devil,' Edd thought to himself.