Wealth Pt. 03

Ed was relieved to see his truck was still there and looked relatively unmolested.

"Yeah, I could go for some coffee," Ed agreed and helped get Star out of her car seat, then waited for Brooke to open the trunk.

"He carried Star and their bags up the stairs and waited for Brooke to open the apartment door.

Inside, the apartment was clean, even though it mirrored the exterior. The carpet looked as if a dog had chewed it up, there were gaps in between the sheets of linoleum in the kitchen, and the walls needed a fresh coat of paint.

But the couch in the small living room was clean. The table and four chairs in the kitchen was also clean. And the queen sized bed in the cramped bedroom was made with the pillows and stuffed animals placed neatly on top of the comforter.

"You be here when we get up?" Luna asked Ed.

"You want me here when you get up?" he asked her.

"Uh huh," she agreed.

"Yes sir," Brooke gently corrected.

"Yes sir," Luna agreed.

"Then I guess I better be here when you wake up, Ed smiled.

He took Star's tennis shoes off and Star scrambled under the covers.

"Hey," Brooke said quietly, closing the bedroom door.

"Hey," Ed said quietly.

"Thank you. You were, God, you're just terrific with them," Brooke said and plastered a kiss on his lips.

"He hugged her to him and they shared another kiss.

"I mean, really, when Luna said she wanted to jump instead of just walk, Graham? He would have blown up at her," Brooke said and quickly poured water into a coffee pot that looked like it was ready to give up.

"Graham? Graham Johnson?" Ed asked.

"Yes," Brooke made a face.

"You are kidding!" Ed laughed. "Yeah, you're right; he would have blown up, would have yelled at her."

"You know Graham?" Brooke asked.

"Work for him," Ed said.

"Come on, let's sit on the couch," Brooke said.

"So, how's a beautiful young lady fall for Graham Johnson's line of shit?" Ed asked.

"Got to go back a little bit," Brooke said. "Daddy reads his Bible every night. This is a sin, that's a sin. These start coming in when I'm in the fifth grade..."

She pointed to her chest.

"And of course, it's a sin; I must be sinful, right?" Brooke said flatly, no emotion in her voice. "Spare the rod, spoil the child, right? I told one lie; Michelle Tompkins had a sleep over and I lied and said her mom was going to be there even though she wasn't."

"Girls do that," Ed sympathized.

"Daddy found out Mrs. Tompkins was at the casino, oh, which is, by the way, another sin," Brooke said, some bitterness creeping into her voice. "Beat me with a belt so hard I was bleeding."

"Oh my God," Ed gasped.

"Children's Services takes me away, puts me in a foster home; the Duvaliers were real nice people; you always here about people doing all sorts of ugly stuff but they wasn't like that. What you want in your coffee?"

"Cream; that powdered stuff if you have it," Ed said. "Milk's okay if you don't."

She continued her tale from the kitchen.

"Anyway, after about a couple of months, I go back; don't even remember what happened but Daddy beat me again and this time he knocks out a tooth," Brooke said and carried in two mugs of coffee.

"Good God," Ed said.

She sat down, snuggling up against him slightly.

"And this time I go over to the News in Baylor Lake; they're another real good family too and I'm there about a year but some dumb ass judge decides I'd be better off back home, Brooke said. "And since I'm a little bigger, and these certainly are bigger Daddy decides I'm too old for a belt."

Ed drank some of the coffee; it was terrible.

"And some boy at school asks me out and I told him 'No' I mean he was so gross always rubbing his crotch all over you and I told him no and he calls our house and tells my Daddy he heard I was pregnant," Brooke said, voice again flat. "And Daddy broke three of my ribs and broke my arm in two places."

"Oh dear God," Ed said, horrified.

"So now I'm back with the News and in a couple of months I turn eighteen and the courts decide to emancipate me," Brooke said.

"Oh, well, that's good, huh?" Ed said, not knowing what else to say.

"Not really, all it means is the state to say 'you're old enough; we don't have to pay for you any more.' But the News don't kick me out even though now I'm costing them money. Career Day at my high school; I'm getting ready to graduate and there ain't shit to do and Graham comes up and tells me he can get me on at his store and I go out with him, I mean, shit, he had a Mercedes-Benz for God's sake and we go out; takes me to Manny's, never had it before next thing I know, he's on top of me," Brooke admitted.

"Oh, I think I know where this is going," Ed smiled sardonically.

He remembered Brett, Michelle, and Graham being very upset about some 'trailer park slut' getting pregnant and claiming the baby was Graham's.

"And that's not his Mercedes either; it's his mom's," Ed smirked.

"Know that now," Brooke said.

"Okay, so that's Star," Ed said. "Luna?"

"Gets me my own apartment," Brooke waved her hand around. "Takes me for a tattoo..."

She raised the hem of her tee shirt and pointed to the entwined roses that peeked out the top of her tiny shorts.

"He likes tats on girls; thinks it's sexy as shit," Brooke said.

"Even gets me a couple of rings; pain in the ass though after Star was born. See I was breast feeding, had to keep taking the ring out," Brooke said.

Ed gave a little groan imagining Brooke's large breasts with nipple rings.

Brooke looked up and smiled softly.

"But all that money he's throwing away on fixing me up the way he wants me to be? He still ain't happy," Brooke said and sipped her coffee. "Main thing he ain't happy about is he wanted me get an abortion but I flat out told him no. And he's supposedly all Catholic and shit."

She put her cup of coffee on a coaster. Ed just held his in his hands.

"And I'm lonely and bored and he's coming around and God damn, don't even look at his kid, but I'm lonely and don't know no one out here and he takes me and gets me that laser hair removal and he's on top of me and next thing I know..." Brooke said, sipping the coffee.

"Mmm," Ed sighed, thinking of her hair removal. "I love a good cup of coffee."

"Yeah?" Brooke smiled.

"Um, but what is this?" Ed asked, indicating his cup of coffee.

"Oh!" Brooke yelped and punched him on the arm.

"Next time, you make it," she said, leaning against him.

"Next time, and the time after that, and the time after that," Ed promised.

"Oh?" Brooke smiled and kissed him. "Think you coming over a lot or something?"

"A whole lot," Ed agreed.

"Uh huh, we'll see," Brooke said and stuffed her tongue into his mouth.

"But anyway, Graham just never was satisfied and tried saying Star and Luna ain't his and had to take him to court," Brooke said.

Ed also remembered how upset Brett had been over some 'trailer park Barbie' suing Graham for child support.

"Fucking slut's dropping her drawers for any dick swinging around," Brett had complained loudly. "Having kids just a way to make a buck, I swear."

Ed's opinion of Brett Johnson dropped a few notches, now that he knew the 'trailer park Barbie' in question.

Brooke Robertson was no slut, she was no gold digger, and she was no opportunist. She had walked right through the women's section and the lingerie section in an exclusive store and had not stopped to look at anything. In the shoe section, Brooke had not looked at any women's' shoes; she had looked at children's' shoes-and had quickly put those shoes down upon seeing their price tag.

If anyone was the opportunist, it was Graham Johnson. He saw a lonely, naive girl with blonde hair, big tits and a sweet smile and no viable future and he snatched her up. He imposed his will on her and then tried to discard her.

"And that's my story," Brooke smiled, running her fingers lightly through Ed's close cropped orange red hair.

She kissed him again.

"So what's yours? What's a good looking man like you need a date for his daughter's wedding? I bet there's a lot of ladies chasing after you," she said and pulled his head down for a kiss.

"Honey, you're the second woman in thirty seven years told me I'm good looking," Ed admitted.

"Oh bull shit!" she laughed. "Seriously, red hair and all them cute freckles? But come on, Ed, tell me. I seen you with two little girls today just made them love you, I mean, really, Luna wanted you to be here when she gets up from her nap, you can't fake that; why are you still single?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, for the last twenty years, my life has been about making sure Caitlin's all right, that Caitlin and Briah are taken care of..."

"Who's Briah?" Brooke asked, a little jealousy creeping into her voice.

"Hey, you have two daughters? Well, guess what? So do I," he smiled and kissed her.

"Ummm!"Star gasped as she entered the living room and spotted the two adults in a heated lip lock.

"I said give me that nose!" Ed said and bit lightly on Brooke's nose.

Brooke laughed, rubbing the spittle off her nose.

"No, no, you can't have my Mommy's nose!" Star cried out, jumping onto the couch.

"Oh?" Ed said then picked the girl up. "Then I'll eat yours!"

"No, no, you can't have my Star's nose!" Brooke lightly slapped at Ed.

"But I need to eat someone's nose!" Ed declared. "Let me go get Luna!"

"No, Mr. Ed," Brooke said firmly. "This is my house and in my house there will be no nose eating!"

"Yeah!" Star declared.

"Hi Mr. Ed," Luna said, bounding onto the couch.

"So, what time do y'all eat dinner?" Ed asked.

"Hmm, about six," Brooke said. "We've got chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese; sound good to you?"

"Sounds perfect," Ed agreed. "Well, not as good as little girl noses but..."

"And what did I tell you?" Brooke said, smiling. "No eating noses in my house!"

At Superior Motors, Jack looked up as he spotted Toni's Lexus pull up.

"Barry, looks like your daughters are here," he called out.

"Remember when he only had one?" Henry said.

"Remember when you had none?" Barry asked.

"Hi Daddy!" Toni called out, smiling widely. "We came to like kidnap you!"

"Yeah, we want to take you out to eat," Anita said, smiling.

"And who's paying?" Barry smiled.

"We are!" Toni huffed.

"Oh boy, McDonald's," Jack teased.

"We found this place," Anita said.

"Like the best soul food ever!" Toni said.

"Oh, hey, that little place, aw, damn, Sweet Pea's?" Barry asked, stretching out in the rear of Toni's car.

"Yes!" Toni said.

"Aw man, it's been forever since I've eaten there!" Barry smiled.

"And tonight's fried catfish; I remember that was like your favorite," Toni said.

"Oh, it's not like my favorite," Barry corrected his daughter. "It is my favorite."

"Like whatever," Toni smirked as she parked .

A large black woman waddled over to their table and asked them what they'd like to drink. Sweet Pea's had fried catfish on the menu and it came with a thick slab of corn bread and sweet peas. There was nothing else being served that night.

"And y'all come back tomorrow' we having stuffed bell peppers," the woman said as she put three heaping plates on the table. "Y'all enjoy, all right?"

"Daddy, you getting nervous?" Toni asked.

"No; not really," Barry smiled "She's a wonderful girl."

He looked at her as she nibbled on a steaming piece of catfish.

"You?" he asked and she burst into tears.

"Yes!" Toni admitted. "I don't want you getting married!"

"Everything all right?" the large black woman asked, glaring at Barry with a steely eyed glare.

"Yes," Barry smiled to the woman. "I'm getting married tomorrow and my daughter's just now realizing she's no longer going to have the run of the house."

In Brooke's apartment, Ed sat at the kitchen table, playing 'Chutes And Ladders' board game with Star and Luna while Brooke cooked their dinner.

"You know, you can buy them already made," Ed commented as Brooke deboned a chicken breast, then cut it into strips.

"Uh huh, and it's six dollars more," Brooke agreed. "For six dollars, I get three chicken breasts and three boxes of macaroni and cheese."

"No, Brett," Ed thought to himself as he purposely miscounted so that he would slide all the way back to the beginning. "Brooke is no little gold digging slut."

"Y'all know how to play Dominos?" Ed asked as Star celebrated her win.

"No," both Star and Luna looked at each other.

"Well, do you know how to count to five?" Ed asked.

"Yes!" both girls said and proved it by counting to five, then Star continued on until she reached fifteen.

"Okay, good, I'm going to teach you how to play Dominos," Ed promised.

Ed looked over as Brooke stretched to reach a pitcher on a higher shelf. Her tee shirt rose up and her shorts were firmly entrenched in the crack of her round butt. He resisted the urge to reach out and cup one of the luscious looking cheeks. Instead, he got to his feet.

"Here," Ed said and grabbed the pitcher for her.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. "Peggy keeps forgetting I'm five one and sticks it way up there."

"Who's Peggy?" Ed asked.

"She's the lady lives downstairs," Star informed him.

"Yeah," Luna agreed.

"She comes play with us when Mommy's got to go to work," Star continued.

"Shouldn't that be your Daddy?" Ed thought but said nothing as Brooke found a packet of generic drink mix and made a punch for their dinner.

"Ooh," Brooke smiled as she poured two sippy cups full. "Who likes green punch?"

"I do!" both Star and Luna clamored.

"Ew, green punch?" Ed made a face.

"No, Mr. Ed, you like it," Luna assured him.

Ed signaled to Brooke that he did not want a large portion; he would grab a bite to eat later, so Star and Luna got the lion's share of the food.

"Okay, I'll see y'all tomorrow," Ed said after rinsing his dish clean and putting it into the rickety dishwasher.

Aw!" both Star and Luna whined.

"Can't fake that," Brooke thought and smiled as she rinsed her own plate off.

"Pick y'all up at ten thirty, all right?" Ed said and he and Brooke shared a quick kiss at the door.

"Ooh, Baby, Momma's going to have to take her a special bubble bath tonight," Brooke thought as she watched Ed's tight ass walk away.

Clark's Drive-In provided Ed with a second double bacon burger and Ed did admire the well-muscled rear ends of the girls that whizzed here and there on their skates.

Then he wondered if Star and Luna knew how to skate. They seemed very interested in the girls that skated here; they'd probably love to skate.

He looked over at a mini-van and saw the woman from Babbage's Department Store, the one that had fitted Star and Luna in their dresses. Next to her was a smiling man with a severely receding hairline. Behind them sat five children, all smiling, all chattering excitedly. Ed had a momentary vision of himself, Brooke, Star and Luna, sitting there, eating corn dogs earlier that afternoon, and he smiled at the memory.

One of the children; she appeared to be the oldest, flailed her hands and Ed watched as the saleswoman also flailed her hands. He realized that the child was deaf. The balding man said something and four of the five children raised the volume of their chatter. The woman signed to the blonde girl and she whirled her head around to watch the car hop skate their way, tray laden with three banana splits, two hot fudge sundaes and two ice cream cones, dipped in chocolate syrup.

"Enjoy them while you got them," Ed wanted to tell the saleswoman, feeling a tear trickle down. "Enjoy them while you got them because tomorrow they'll be getting married."

Chapter 23

Michael sighed as he pulled up in front of Patrick's apartment. True, the ride to St. Thomas Aquinas would only take five minutes, but five minutes with Debbie Don't Touch Me was a long five minutes.

"Oh well, maybe she's sick and won't be coming," he said out loud, hoping God might take a hint.

But he would not be so lucky. But Debbie was in a slightly festive mood; at least she wasn't scowling when she came out of the apartment, dressed in a black and white dress.

"You look very nice, Debbie," Michael complimented her. "I like that dress."

"Well, I think they might have one in your size," Patrick said, still fiddling with the cummerbund of his tuxedo.

"Thanks," Debbie said, checking her purse to make sure she had her insulin injection.

"Here, homo, hold still," Michael ordered and fixed the cummerbund for Patrick.

"Thanks," Patrick said.

"Debbie, up front or in the back?" Michael asked, slapping his car for her to locate.

"You two sit up front," Debbie said graciously.

Ed pulled up to Brooke's apartment complex and parked and locked his truck. He smiled widely as one of Brooke's neighbors looked at him, then did a double-take as Ed trotted up the stairs in his tuxedo.

He had worried slightly how Brooke would be dressed; money did not seem to be in abundance in the Robertson household and Brooke did work at a strip club. Then he shrugged. Unless her outfit was truly outrageous, all eyes would be on Caitlin anyway.

It was Star that answered the door when he knocked and a nearly nude Brooke barreled out of the bathroom.

"Damn it, Star!" Brooke shrieked. "How many times I got to tell you don't open the door! You never know ... Oh!"

Ed smiled and covered his eyes with one hand (peeking through his fingers )as Brooke, clad in only tiny panties and thigh high stockings, whirled around and dashed back into the bathroom.

"Your mommy's right," Ed said gently to Star as he took her hand and walked to the couch. "I know you knew it was me, but supposed it hadn't been me? It could have been a bad man."

"Then I would have yelled for you to come help me," Star said.

"Hi," a hotly blushing Brooke said, now dressed in bra and slip.

"Sorry; I'm a few minutes early," Ed apologized.

"And I'm running a few minutes late; the burner quit working so had to finish the eggs in the oven," Brooke said, leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.

"But me and Luna ready," Star said.

"I see that," Ed agreed.

Both Star and Luna were dressed in their violet dresses, with their white ankle socks and ivory patent leather shoes. The two girls' hair was also tied back with matching violet ribbons.

"Hi again," Brooke smiled, coming back into the living room, putting on a gold hoop earring.

"Hi; you look beautiful," Ed smiled, admiring the light blue knee length dress and white pumps with their five inch heels.

"Well thank you!" she smiled. "And you look mighty handsome yourself."

He stood up and prepared to pick Star up.

"Of course, I liked what you had on earlier," he said and she slapped his arm.

"I bet you did!" Brooke said.

"But you really do look wonderful," Ed said and kissed her

"I can look at your stove later on, if you'd like," Ed offered as they tramped to the door.

"You know anything about them?" Brooke asked.

"It's what I do at Johnson's," Ed reminded her.

"Uh, duh!" Brooke laughed.

The girls prattled excitedly as Brooke drove to St. Thomas Aquinas.

Inside of the church, Connie Edwards, the photographer and her assistant, Darnell Woods, an effeminate African American male, scrambled around, taking pictures, quickly posing people, then shuffling them out of the way for the next shot. Connie scurried to the vestibule, rapped once, and then entered the room.

"Ma'am?" Connie asked Caitlin as Shirley fussed with her veil. "The flower girl and ring bearer? I believe you said they were your cousins, right? Are they here yet?"

"No, no," Caitlin said. "Megan and Britney got measles so my Dad's girlfriend's daughters are..."

"Your dad... When did your dad..." Theresa spluttered.

"We're here, we're here," Ed called out, carrying Star while Brooke carried Luna.