Chapter 47
It was now 3:00, and the afternoon seemed to go rather quickly for all of the students of Peach Creek Junior High. The bell had just rung, dismissing the children to a beautiful Thursday afternoon.
Double Dee had been one of the first students to leave the school, and he was currently working to free his triple rider bike from the chains he had used to lock it up. He was still extremely distraught about losing Marie, and his emotions had caused him to daydream in the middle of an algebra test, earning himself a rather sub-par score. Although Double Dee had worked so hard throughout his life on academics, he was unaffected by his failing grade due to the upsetting circumstances he was forced to deal with.
As Double Dee was unchaining his bike, Ed, Eddy, Lee and May were currently walking out of the front doors to the school together, discussing their plan. Lee took notice of Double Dee.
"Alright, there he is." said Lee, "Now ya said ya had your bike, right Ed?"
"Wilco Roger Lee!" said Ed as he saluted her.
"Good," said Lee, "Take May and follow him home. You two are gonna talk to him and try to get his emotions under control. Then your gonna convince him to come over to talk to Marie later tonight."
Lee turned towards Eddy.
"We'll walk home and meet them at Double Dee's house." said Lee, "That will give ya the chance to apologize to him."
Eddy had longed to apologize to Double Dee, although he was afraid that Double Dee wouldn't forgive him for what he had done. He knew that he had to at least attempt to reconcile, and if Double Dee wanted nothing to do with him, he deserved it.
"Right." said Eddy.
Double Dee had finished unchaining the bike and positioned it to begin riding away.
"There he goes!" yelled Eddy, "Alright we'll meet ya there in a few."
"Okay," said May.
"See ya later Eddy!" yelled Ed rather dopily while he waved, "Come on May, our duty calls!" Ed grabbed Mays hand causing her to blush, and began leading her to the rack to retrieve his bike. Ed's BMX style trick bike has probably seen better days; the black and yellow paint on the frame was quite faded, and all of the chrome pieces had turned to rust, the pegs included. The bike truly did appear as if it had been grabbed out of the junkyard behind Ed's house, although it was just worn from years of use. May watched as her crush unhooked the bike and pulled it away from the rack. He placed his foot over the frame and onto the pedal, preparing to pull away.
"Alright May, it's time to ride the Ed express!" yelled Ed as he turned back towards May. Although May had ridden on bike pegs with her sisters in Rods neighborhood, she was slightly reluctant to try again. Eventually, the thought of her riding through town holding onto Ed's shoulders was enough for her to step up onto the pegs. As she placed her arms on his shoulders, she looked down to make sure her black saddle shoes were placed correctly. After a quick adjustment of her yellow knee high socks, she gave Ed the okay to begin pedaling.
Eddy and Lee watched as Ed pedaled out of the school parking lot rather quickly, in order to catch up to Double Dee.
"Look at them go," said Lee as she snickered, "They're a match made in heaven".
"I hope she knows that she's taking a big chance riding with Lumpy on that bike." said Eddy as he chuckled. "He's not the brightest bulb in the world."
The two teenagers began walking out of the school parking lot.
"Geez, I know what ya mean," said Lee, "May has no freakin common sense, I have to hold her hand through everything! The laundry, dishes, hell even when were watching movies she has to ask ten thousand questions and ruin it for me and Marie!"
Eddy stared over towards the red headed Kanker sister, he couldn't help but notice that she had once again pushed her red curls out of her eyes, revealing the blue irises that she had previously kept hidden. Lee stared back into his brown eyes, and realized how much of a miracle it was that her and Eddy were walking through the school parking lot together on relatively decent terms. The two individuals who had been arch nemesis since they first met two summers ago, were now working as allies in the effort to help those that they cared about. With that realization, Lee continued speaking.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but ever since Double Dee started seein' Marie, things have been changing around this place," said Lee, "I mean look at the Big Guy and Bucky, riding home together all jolly like it's somethin that happens everyday. And just look at us, walking home together, how pathetic!"
"I know, tell me about it," said Eddy, "The only reason I'm doin this is for Double Dee!"
"Amen," said Lee, "I'm in this to help Marie, even if it means walking home next to an annoying little shrimp like you."
The two continued walking silently out of the school gates and onto the main thoroughfare of town.
"Wanna hold hands?" asked Lee sarcastically.
"Sure, I'd love to." said Eddy in an equally sarcastic tone.
Eddy and Lee looked at each other for a few seconds before they broke out in laughter after which they continued walking down the sidewalk towards their home.
At the same time that Lee and Eddy were making their way to Rathink Court by foot, May was in the middle of an anxiety attack. Ed was pedaling his rusty bike rather quickly down the bike lane of Market Street, poor May was helplessly gripping as Ed as tight as she could. May braced herself for a collision each and every time a car overtook Ed's bike, as the cars seemed to be drawing closer and closer in towards the bike lane. After about five minutes, Ed managed to catch up with Double Dee and to May's delight he slowed down is if to remain about 30 feet behind him.
As May cruised calmly with Ed, she gradually began to fall into daydream. She dreamed that Ed would stop the bike, turn around on one knee and confess his love for her right then and there in front of the whole town. She longed for her Big Ed to return her affections, and feared that their friendship was only a temporary thing like Lee had previously pointed out. She swore to herself that she would not let that happen.
No sooner than she had drifted into her dream, she was forced back to reality by the jarring motion of the bike turning off of the main street.
"Ed!" yelled May surprised, "What are you doing? We're supposed to be following Double Dee!"
"And following him we are." said Ed as he pointed his finger forward.
May looked forward, and sure enough Ed was still following Double Dee. Double Dee had turned off of the main street for some unknown reason, and May concluded that he was either taking a different route home, or he was headed to some other location. The couple continued following Double Dee, and after a few minutes, the hustle and bustle of the business district disappeared. The road suddenly turned semi-rural and was surrounded by large plots of land that seemed to be used for farming. May became frightened, as they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.
At this point, the couple had passed a large green sign on the side of the road that read:
Welcome To The Beautful Riverside Community of New Hope.
May had never heard of New Hope, and even though they were relatively far away from home, the couple pushed forward and stealthily followed their friend. Little did they know that they were taking the exact same path that Double Dee had taken with Marie after school on that half day of professional development.
Eventually, houses once again began to line the road, and Double Dee had finally arrived at his destination. Ed and May stopped a little ways down the street and watched Double Dee tie his bike to the wrought iron gate that surrounded what appeared to be a cemetery. Ed and May looked at each other confused as Double Dee began walking into the cemetery grounds. They both had no clue why Double Dee would be here. Ed had not heard of anyone in his family passing away recently.
"Do ya think we should follow him?" asked May.
Ed didn't say a word, but reacted by jumping the curb with his bike and leaning it on the wrought iron gate, not even taking the time to chain it to the fence. After quickly dismounting the bike, he and May entered the cemetery grounds in pursuit of Double Dee.
After a few minutes of walking, Double Dee came into view.
"There he is." said May quietly.
Sure enough, Double Dee was sitting on the ground, in front of a large headstone assuming a fetal position. His hands were buried in his face and he was currently letting all of his emotions out in the form of tears.
"Double Dee looks so sad!" said Ed.
May hated seeing the usual chipper Double Dee in such an upset state as well. May put her hand on Ed's shoulder at which point Ed looked down towards her. She motioned with her head for Ed to go console his friend. As May remained at a distance, she watched Ed slowly walk over to Double Dee and tap him on the shoulder.
"Um Double Dee." said Ed.
"Goodness Ed!" yelled Double Dee as he turned around startled, "You frightened me half to death!"
Double Dee glanced around at Ed, with tears in his eyes. With a quick look behind Ed, he set his eyes on May.
"May?" asked Double Dee, "What are you doing here?"
"We followed you home from school," said Ed, "We're supposed to talk to you and help you out with getting Marie back."
Double Dee had no idea what to say. He had not expected Ed and May to show up at James' grave.
"We thought we were going to your house," said May, "We're sorry for following you here Double Dee."
With those words, Double Dee glanced back at his brothers gravestone, and then back towards his two friends. He knew what he had to do.
"I suppose that you two are wondering why I am here?" asked Double Dee. Double Dee walked over towards May and Ed with his head down to his chest.
Double Dee told his entire story about the tragic loss of James, his house, and his burns, holding back tears all along the way. Although Ed had laid eyes on Double Dees burn scars before, for the first time, he truly understood the impact that they had on Double Dees life.
May, upon seeing Double Dee's scars and hearing his emotional story, could not hold back her tears any longer.
"Double Dee," said May softly, "I had no idea, that must have been horrible!"
Double Dee had turned back around toward James' grave stone, dangling his black ski hat in his right hand. He was currently attempting to hide his own tears. Poor Ed was distraught by the story, and could hardly control his emotions as well. He took notice that May was crying next to him, and touched his hand to her face. May looked up in to Ed's emotional eyes, and couldn't help but smile at his kind gesture.
Ed turned away from May and walked towards an emotionally drained Double Dee. He tapped his friend on the shoulder, at which point an extremely teary eyed Double Dee turned around to face him.
Ed couldn't hold back his own tears any longer and proceeded to grab Double Dee in a rather gentle hug. May watched as her crush consoled his best friend for around five minutes. She was in awe at the remarkable friendship that Ed had with Double Dee; Ed really cared for Double Dee like a brother.
"Curse my life!" said Double Dee while he let out long overdue tears.
"Double Dee," said Ed, as he attempted to do his best to calm Double Dee down, "Don't you dare say that mister."
"I'm afraid it's the truth Ed," said Double Dee, "My life is doomed to be lived out as a series of unfortunate events!"
Double Dee paused.
"I loved him," said Double Dee, "He was my best friend in addition to being my brother, we did everything together. And now I stand here in this earthly realm, cursed to live out the rest of my life without him. Every morning I am forced to relive that tragic experience when I look in the mirror after my shower and see these hideous scars!"
Double Dee caught his breath and looked up into Ed's eyes.
"And ever since I received these wounds, I began to question what kind of woman could ever possibly want someone who looked as monstrous as I do."
Double Dee sniffled.
"Marie was that woman. She saw me for who I was, and not some hideous contorted freak of nature!"
Double Dee paused.
"And now her love is gone, taken away from me just as James was." said Double Dee, "And as much as I try, she'll probably never speak to me again."
Although May wasn't particularly crafty, she had managed to just place two pieces of a puzzle together. She recalled that Marie had asked her to cover for her on the half day of school because Double Dee wanted her to accompany him to a personal place; that personal place being James' gravesite. With that assumption, May was able to form an idea. Even though Marie had thought that Double Dee used her, Double Dee would have never shared intimate secrets about himself with her if his love wasn't genuine. May would later use this fact to convince Marie to take Double Dee back.
"Double Dee," said May as she touched her hand to his shoulder, "Everyone knows that you didn't purposely embarrass Marie."
"But how?" said Double Dee, "All of the evidence was pointing right at me!"
"Eddy finally stepped up and admitted he was wrong," said May, "He said that he was jealous that you were able to get a girlfriend and failed you as a friend. I think you missed it because you were already in your homeroom. At lunch, he and Ed made friends again."
"We are friends once more Double Dee!" said Ed in his dopey voice.
Double Dee couldn't believe what he was hearing. The proud, suave ladies man, Eddy McGee had admitted that his main motive for breaking he and Marie up was jealousy and envy that he had a girlfriend. Double Dee concluded that that must have taken a lot of guts for Eddy to stand up and admit that. "
May, I'm speechless, I must say that I honestly do not believe that Eddy would do such a thing!" said Double Dee.
"Eddy is sorry Double Dee!" said Ed, "And he's coming over to your house tonight so that we can all be pals once more!"
Double Dee was in awe that Eddy was actually planning to approach him with a heartfelt apology.
"I wonder what came over him?" asked Double Dee.
"Lee had a talk with him," said May, "Somehow, she was able to get him to think about what he did, and realize that he was wrong."
"My goodness, Lee helped Eddy understand the error of his ways!" yelled Double Dee.
"Yep!" said May.
Double Dee couldn't have felt happier. Due to a recent chain of events that he wasn't aware of up until now, a good portion of the tension that had erupted between the friends had began to vanish. However, even though Double Dee longed for his friendships to stay intact, he still longed to have Marie's love once again.
"How is Marie handling this?" asked a concerned Double Dee.
Ed and May looked at each other, neither of the two wanted to break the bad news to an already upset Double Dee.
"Double Dee," said May, "We tried to talk to her, but she won't have it. She is really hurt, and she doesn't want to listen to us when we try to tell her that you didn't do anything"
Double Dee's slightly happy expression turned into that of melancholy at the sound of those words.
"Listen," said May, "We figured that maybe you could come over to the trailer and talk to her. She might actually listen to your voice!"
Double Dee paused.
"But Marie had explicitly stated that she never wanted to speak to me again," said a saddened Double Dee.
"Double Dee," said May, "If Marie didn't still have feeling for you, she wouldn't be crying all day and all night over the breakup. She likes you Double Dee, hey I even think she loves you, and if you ask me you two deserve each other!"
Double Dee stared into the blonde Kanker sisters blue eyes.
"You want her too don't you?" asked May. Double Dee shook his head up and down as if saying yes.
"Then let's go, we got work to do!" said May.
Before departing the grave site, Double Dee respected his brother with a moment of silence. Ed joined the respectful gesture by standing next to Double Dee. May, raised Catholic, performed the sign of the cross in front of the grave stone, and paid respects to James with a moment of silence herself.
The group of three began walking out of the cemetery towards the front gates. To Ed's dismay, his bike was no longer sitting in its place by the wrought iron gate; his negligence in tying it to the post had made it an easy target for theft.
"Ed," said Double Dee, "I thought you said that you and May had pursued me on a bicycle?"
"We did," said Ed, "I don't know where it went"
"Did you perhaps forget to secure it the fence as a preventative measure against theft?" asked Double Dee.
Ed paused before he began speaking once more.
"Ah whatever," he said, "My mom said she was gonna get me a new one anyway."
May couldn't help but let out a chuckle under her breath as Double Dee sighed .
"Thankfully my bicycle has enough seats to accommodate the three of us!" said Double Dee as he chuckled.
"OH OH, can I drive, please!" asked Ed in the manner of an excited child.
"Shut up bub!" said May playfully, "You already had enough fun today, it's my turn to drive! Me and my sisters have always wanted one of these."
Double Dee watched as May casually took the front seat of the triple tandem bike wrapping her hands around the handlebars. Ed had not even put up a fight to drive the bike, and Double Dee had managed to genuinely chuckle for the first time since Tuesday. Even though Ed and May weren't the couple that Marie and he were quite yet, Ed was still forced to abide to the number one rule for dating a Kanker sister. It was a rule that Double Dee was all too familiar with; the girl always wins.
"Come on mister" said Ed as he motioned for Double Dee to take the seat behind him, "It's time for you to get the girl!"
Double Dee walked over to the bike and took the seat directly behind Ed. All three teenagers worked together to push the bike off, and before they knew it they had begun their long journey back to Double Dee's house, where Eddy and Lee would be waiting. Eddy in particular, had very important things to say to his brainy best friend.