Chapter 14: Chapter 14
The rest of the semester went as smooth as he could expect. He did get the passing grade in Mrs. Dmitrov's class, a seventy eight to be exact, but it was the only class he managed to improve his grade in. The rest remained at the C- level no matter how hard he tried. Spring semester began and he no longer had a class with her. True to her word she never invited Ed over to her place again and word got out that she was transferring to another school in another city. He hoped she'd find happiness there.
Shirley continued to visit him on a nightly basis and he endured her visits. He lived in fear of Grace discovering what her mother was doing and worse, what he was doing to her. The woman struggled through her withdrawal of alcohol and Percocet but with her family's support she managed to get clean by spring. The house became an alcohol free zone and with the extra money going into the house account they ate a little better. Shirley managed to get her old job back, the manager was sweet on her, so there was even more money coming in. It only took a couple of months to be able to afford a new pillow top mattress for herself.
The school year was coming to an end and Ed was ready to begin his full time job. He'd managed to get work off and on through the winter and spring but his real job, working for Drakos Heating and Cooling installing air conditioning and furnaces would start the moment he graduated. He had a great relationship with the owner as he'd done some unpaid apprentice work with the man the previous two summers. Mr. Drakos was a surly older Greek gentleman with a strict work ethic. Ed was a hard worker with a natural aptitude with anything mechanical so he'd learned quickly at the side of Mr. Drakos' other workers.
Grace and Shirley attended his high school graduation ceremony and they went out to dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant to celebrate. There was a lot of yummy food and a lot of laughter at the table. Ed couldn't remember ever being happier.
When Grace left the table to get some dessert Shirley leaned over to Ed and let him know that she wouldn't be coming to visit him at night anymore. She had a boyfriend now who would be providing her with what she needed. Ed nodded and felt an enormous wave of relief wash over him. He smiled and nodded at Shirley as Grace returned with chocolate ice cream. He smiled at Grace's look of delight then went to get his own dessert.
Ed showed up for work early on his first day and was immediately taken out to a job site to help with an installation. He didn't have his certification yet so he mostly did the heavy lifting and left the connections to the professionals as he'd done the previous summers but he watched the technicians closely and asked questions when they were doing something unfamiliar to him. He'd picked up a lot of knowledge during his apprentice periods. He got along really well with the other workers and none took offence when he asked for them to explain what they were doing as they did it.
When they got back to the shop Mr. Drakos spoke with the installers then called Ed into his office. He smiled at Ed as the reports of his work had been favorable. He asked if Ed was satisfied that this was work he wanted to do as a career. Ed enthusiastically confirmed that it was. His boss smiled and told him he would enroll him in a six month night course for training in HVAC maintenance. He would pay for the certification exams as long as Ed would be willing to sign an employment contract to give the company time to earn back half of the course fees from salary deductions. Ed agreed and they signed the paperwork and shook hands.
Ed took to the training unlike anything he'd experienced in school. The information stuck in his brain and he couldn't get enough of the training manuals. He just got it.
With full days working at the shop and attending night courses he was pretty tired by the end of the day. Luckily the work itself was strenuous enough to keep his muscles in shape though he tried to slip in a formal work out every now and then.
He was joking with two of the more senior installers as they all ate their lunch by their truck under the shade of a tree by the sidewalk. It was a particularly hot day in late August. Both were older men who enjoyed their idle time and beer a little too much and teased Ed about his lack of a beer gut. They were both strong men but they had large round bellies. The two installers finished up and went back inside to finish the job. Ed's part inside was done and his last task was to break down all the packaging from the new appliance and put it in the van.
As he was alone he pulled his shirt off and set to work cutting and bundling the cardboard, lumber, and foam packing. He'd just loaded it all in the van and shut the door when he noticed a convertible had stopped next to the van. It was a beautiful silver sport coupe of some kind. Ed wasn't good at recognizing brands of cars. It just looked sleek and fast. Then he noticed the red hair of the driver.
Rachel Thompson was watching him through her large dark sunglasses. He realized he'd left his shirt on the front seat in the van so she could see how sweaty he was.
"Edward! So nice to see you again!" she called out.
He walked closer. "Hello, Mrs. Thompson," he replied.
"Rachel, please. No need to be so formal with friends," she said with a sultry smile.
He felt the beginnings of trouble as he watched her lush lips curve into that knowing smile she did so well.
"Is this your summer job?" she asked, her eyes roaming over his muscles.
"This is my permanent job. I'm apprenticing and going to night school," he replied.
"Oh! Do you enjoy it?" She was surprised he wasn't going on to college but did her best to keep it from her face.
"Yes, very much!" he smiled and she returned it with a dazzling one of her own. God, she was pretty!
"Then you are a very lucky man! Mark whines all the time about how dull his summer job at his father's law firm is but he's going to University in the fall to become a lawyer. I doubt he'll ever be happy."
"That's too bad. A man should be happy at what he does." Ed frowned in sympathy. Now that he was free of the stress of school and working at something he loved the thought of taking a job that made him miserable was difficult to contemplate.
Rachel was surprised Ed showed any sympathy to her son considering the nasty trick he'd played on him. It raised Ed in her eyes.
Two large men were exiting from the house carrying tools so she saw her private time with Ed was coming to a close. She made note of the name of the company then looked back to Ed.
"It was really nice seeing you again, Edward!" she said, taking one more long look at his body. Fuel for her fantasies.
"It was very nice seeing you again, Rachel. Enjoy the rest of your summer!" he said with a smile.
"You too!" she replied as she drove off.
Ed quickly put away the rest of their tools as the installers arrived. He took a little ribbing for flirting with ladies when he was supposed to be working and he blushed at that. They climbed into the truck and headed back to the office.
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