DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.

JC: Ed Biggers
Part 1: Epiphany
Chapter 3
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

 Ed was smitten by Kelly. He had never met anyone that beautiful 
who actually took an interest in him. The morning after their first 
date, he called the flower shop in the hospital to deliver a dozen 
roses to her at work. He worked around the house, keeping busy in 
the hope that it would make the time pass quicker. It didn't work, 
but it did leave him with a very clean house.

He sat down to read his mineralogy books. That helped make the 
time pass a little quicker. He was about to go crazy when the 
telephone rang. After staring at it for several seconds, he reached 
over and picked up the receiver. He said, "Hello."

Kelly gushed, "Thank you so much for the flowers! All of the other 
nurses were so jealous of me."

Laughing Ed replied, "I'm so glad that you liked them."

"Liked them? I loved them."

Ed didn't know what to say, so he changed the subject. He asked, 
"Are we still on tomorrow?"

Kelly answered, "I was thinking that you might come to my place 
and I would cook us dinner. Do you like steak?"

Relieved, Ed answered, "I love steak."

Kelly said, "Great. Oops, I've got to run. A patient is calling. See 
you tomorrow around 6, okay?"

"Sure."

"Bye."

"Bye," answered Ed even as she hung up the phone. He stood there 
for a moment trying to decide what to do. Happy that she had 
called, it only made him miss her more. 

Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he decided that it was 
time for him to get cleaned up and try to look a little nicer for her. 
First stop, the barbershop for a haircut and a shave. Second stop, a 
clothing store to get a nice pair of pants and a shirt. Grabbing the 
keys, he headed out of the house. John was outside so he waved to 
him.

The haircut didn't require much time. The barber kept trying to get 
Ed to talk, but Ed just sat there thinking about his upcoming date. 
Finally, the barber asked, "So, what are you doing in here a week 
early?"

Ed answered, "I have a date tomorrow and I want to look nice."

A few of the other men in the shop just looked at each other. 
Stories had been going around about Ed and his sudden change. No 
one really believed them. The barber said, "She must be real pretty 
for you to want to impress her like that."

Ed, with a slight smile, said, "She's the most beautiful woman in 
the world."

One of the clients asked, "So what is she doing going out with 
you?"

Much to everyone's surprise, Ed didn't brag about how women 
couldn't keep their hands off him. Instead, he answered, "I have no 
idea."

The conversation died at that point. The barber trimmed the hair 
without further attempts to initiate conversation. It was a standard 
western style short haircut. The barber probably gave a dozen of 
them a day.

Ed sat back and relaxed when it was time for the shave. There was 
nothing like a straight razor shave and this guy did one of the best 
in the entire area. The ritual always began with the hot towel to 
open the pores and relax the hair follicles. He could hear the barber 
create the shaving cream by stirring the soap with the brush. The 
hot shaving cream on the face, spread using the soft brush, felt 
great. As he sat there, the barber stropped the razor. The whick 
whick sound as the razor was pulled across the leather gave it a 
seriousness that a disposable blade never conveyed. The slow 
scraping as the whiskers were removed seemed to turn it into a 
ritual rather than a morning chore. Once the whiskers were gone, a 
damp towel was used to wipe up the traces of shaving cream. The 
astringent capped the entire ritual. 

When it was over, Ed said, "I wish you were open on Sundays. I'd 
really like to show up on my date with my face this smooth."

The barber answered, "You could do it yourself."

Ed laughed and slapped his knee. He said, "I wouldn't show up 
with a smooth face. I'd show up bleeding from a thousand cuts."

The barber laughed and said, "That'll be fifteen bucks."

Ed pulled out a twenty and handed it to the barber. He said, "Keep 
the change."

Leaving the barbershop feeling like a million bucks, he stopped by 
the bar for a drink. He stepped up to a stool at the bar and waited 
for Shirley to come over. She noticed him and asked, "Beer?"

He answered, "No. I'll take a Coke."

Shirley shrugged and poured a Coke. Setting the glass in front of 
him, she took the time to wipe down the counter while glancing in 
his direction. Ed sat there and slowly drank his coke. He wondered 
what kind of clothes he should get for his date. He hadn't bought 
anything other than blue jeans for as long as he could remember.

Finally, she could take it no more. She asked, "What's on your 
mind?"

Without any hesitation, Ed answered, "I was wondering where I 
could get some dress pants."

"Dress pants?" Shirley asked. She paused for a moment and then 
said, "I guess Cattleman's in Phoenix would be the best place."

Ed finished his drink in one gulp, pulled out a five, and slapped the 
five on the counter as he said, "Thanks, you're a lifesaver."

A very shocked Shirley watched Ed bolt out the door. Talking to 
Ed was confusing, but she realized that he had answered her 
question in the most direct fashion. She had asked him what he 
was thinking about and he had told her. 

Dressing in front of his mirror was a new experience for Ed. He 
had slipped on his dress pants after making sure that all of the tags 
had been removed. The dress shirt had not been in a package with 
all of the pins, but hung on a hanger at the store. He put on the bolo 
tie and then the western style coat. The coat felt strange and then 
he found one last tag. He cut it off and stepped back to look in the 
mirror. He shook his head in disbelief, unable to imagine that it 
was him looking back at himself in the mirror. 

Ed sat down on the edge of his bed and though about what it meant 
to be a man. After a lifetime of bragging and boasting about 
himself, he realized that was the cheap way to look manly and it 
didn't fool anyone. You had to be a man in order to consider 
yourself a man. It didn't require fighting everyone over any little 
thing to be strong, you only had to know that you could defend 
yourself when required. 

John had not acted tough and brave in the bar, he was tough and 
brave. When pushed, he had defended himself fully confident in 
his ability to do so.  Even if John had not won, he would have still 
been stronger than a guy that gave in easily to pressures to act 
against themselves. The fight had been over before it even started, 
John wasn't out to prove anything.

Ed realized that he had been surrendering himself to what others 
wanted him to do just by having someone challenge him to do 
things. How many times had he done something because someone 
told him that he couldn't do it? How many times did he actually 
boast about it after he had done it? That wasn't manly, that was 
foolish.

The question that John had asked him about his job and if he 
enjoyed it came back to haunt him. He didn't even know if he liked 
it or not.  Drifting through life, he hadn't been directing it. It was 
time for him to take charge of his life and that meant treating Kelly 
like a queen. He may not know everything that he wanted in his 
life, but he did know that he wanted her. 

Grabbing the box of chocolates from the dresser, he left the house. 
Stepping outside, he noticed Maria and her son, Juan, in the front 
yard. He waved to them and got in the truck. Maria stared at Ed 
like he was a visitor from another planet. In the entire time she had 
known him, she had never seen him in anything except blue jeans.

Ed arrived at Kelly's on time and parked in one of the few spots 
marked visitors. The complex wasn't that big, but it took him a few 
minutes to find her apartment. Feeling nervous, he knocked on the 
door. Kelly shouted out, "Come in."

He entered the apartment calling out, "It's me."

From the kitchen, Kelly answered, "Great. Make yourself 
comfortable. I'm working on the beans."

"No problem." He looked around the apartment. The furniture all 
matched, with a nice navy blue fabric. The coffee table had a 
scattering of magazines on it with a remote control for the cable 
television. The walls were covered with paintings of flowers and 
landscapes. It was a nice feminine looking apartment. 

A sound behind him caused him to turn in time to see Kelly enter 
the room. She was wearing a very nice green floral dress that 
showed off her shape very nicely. It took him a minute to catch his 
breath. He said, "You look beautiful."

Kelly looked him over and smiled at his clothes. In one of those 
mysteries that only women understand, she could tell that 
everything he was wearing was new. She said, "Wow, you like 
handsome tonight."

"Thank you." Ed stood up a little straighter as he answered. He 
held out the box of chocolates as he said, "These are for you."

Accepting the box from him, she glanced down at it. Surprised, she 
looked up and said, "Godiva Chocolates. I'm impressed."

When he had gone to Cattleman's, Ed had no a clue what kind of 
chocolates to buy for her. He had stopped and asked four different 
women what kind of chocolates would impress them. Without 
exception, every woman had answered the same. At the time, he 
had felt embarrassed about asking for advice. Seeing the look on 
Kelly's face made him happy that he had not allowed his male 
pride to interfere with identifying the perfect gift. 

She set the box of chocolates down on the coffee table and 
gestured to a chair. "Please have a seat."

Settling onto the sofa, Ed felt a little uneasy. Since he didn't know 
what to talk about so he chose a safe subject. He remarked, "You 
have a very nice place."

She looked around the apartment and said, "Well, I don't really 
spend enough time here to decorate it as I would really like. It's 
comfortable enough."

Ed said, "Well, I didn't really decorate my house. I inherited most 
of the furniture and just kept it. I guess the house doesn't really say 
much about me."

The idea that someone could live in a house and not decorate it to 
suit their taste was totally foreign to Kelly. Wondering if it was a 
male trait or just unique to Ed, she asked, "You didn't decorate at 
all?"

Frowning Ed said, "You know. Until just recently, I didn't think 
too much about those kinds of things. I didn't really wonder what I 
wanted or how I wanted to live. The other day, I started thinking 
about that and realized that I should direct my life a little more."

This was a fascinating insight into his mind for Kelly. She asked, 
"So what are you doing about it?"

Shyly, Ed looked at her and answered, "I found a woman I like a 
lot. I thought I would start with that."

Once she realized who he was talking about, she laughed merrily. 
That was the best line she had ever heard in her life. She teased, 
"Doesn't she have any say about the matter?"

"You have everything to say about the matter. I'm going to be the 
best man you've ever met. So good that you won't want to let me 
go. I'm going to be there for you and help you. I'm going to listen 
to what you say." Ed realized that he was beginning to babble and 
shut up, blushing furiously.

The seriousness of his answer gave Kelly a moments pause. She 
said, "you remember what I said about marriage. I'm very serious 
about having two husbands and a wife."

Ed had forgotten that for the moment and her reminder made him 
think. About to reply that he would be all the man she needed, he 
thought better of it. Instead, he asked, "Would you like to tell me 
more about that? I'd like to understand how it would work."

Relieved that he didn't start acting all possessive, Kelly smiled and 
answered, "How about we talk about that over dinner? I find that 
when you have a chance to chew on food after being asked a 
question, that you have a chance to reply with a little more tact."

"That's a great idea." Ed felt relieved to postpone the discussion a 
little while. He added, "I've found lately that when I'm faced with a 
new idea that I like to think about it some before making up my 
mind. I hope that's okay with you."

The evening progressed smoothly from that point on. The ice had 
been broken and they started talking without grasping for topics. 
Ed was amazed that an attractive and intelligent woman like Kelly 
would find him interesting. Kelly was intrigued by the quiet and 
thoughtful Ed. 

When it came time to cook the steaks, Kelly showed Ed the grill on 
the little patio and let him perform the manly art of preparing the 
steaks. While he was at the grill, she was in the kitchen preparing 
the beans and salad to go with the steaks. After the first date with 
Ed, she had realized that he had chosen the swordfish steaks last 
time out of deference to what he though she might like. She had 
chosen the steaks for the same reason. 

Ed brought in the steaks, his cooked to medium well and hers 
cooked to a nice medium. Kelly brought in the rest of the food. 
They sat at the table and stared at each other for a minute before 
Kelly burst out laughing and said, "Let's eat this before it gets 
cold."

Cutting off a small piece of steak, Ed tasted it and found that it was 
perfect. He looked over the table to see how she liked hers. She 
smiled at him and winked while chewing. Relaxing he tasted the 
beans, making a sound of approval. When he had swallowed, he 
said, "So tell me about this marriage idea of yours."

Kelly finished her bite of steak and answered, "Well, I lived in a 
commune with my parents when I was a little kid. There were all 
kinds of adults and children there. One of the things that I noticed 
was that when someone was feeling a little down, there was always 
someone there that felt good. They would cheer each other up and 
the overall quality of life there was pretty nice."

Ed listened thoughtfully and replied, "I can see how that would 
be."

Kelly smiled as she ate a bite of salad. Waving her fork around, 
she continued, "I thought about it for a long time and decided that 
a marriage needed at least four adults in it. I've worked in a 
hospital for a long time and I've noticed that whenever four people 
are visiting someone ill, that at least one of them is up even if all 
the others are down. One person will handle things and the others 
will support them. I took that number very seriously."

He didn't know if four was some magic number, but if she said that 
she had observed that then he would believe her. Gesturing for her 
to continue, he cut off another bite of steak. This was good quality 
beef, better than he would normally buy for himself.

"I then asked myself what balance of men and women there would 
need to be for things to be smooth. After a lot of thought I decided 
that two men and two women gave things a nice balance. I didn't 
think that three men would want to share one woman or that three 
women would enjoy getting only a third of a man's attention."

Ed hadn't thought about it that way, but he could see the logic 
behind her words. He said, "I can see that. I'm not sure that I could 
handle three women, to be quite honest."

Taking another bite of his steak, he thought about it some more. 
Kelly could see the real attention that he was giving the manner. 
Rather than press the issue, she took another forkful of beans. This 
topic had chased off more than one potential boyfriend.

After several minutes of silence, thoughtful on Ed's part and 
nervous on Kelly's part, Ed said, "What about competitiveness 
among the men for the women?"

Kelly was quiet for a moment, fearing that this is when she would 
loose Ed. She answered, "I think everyone has to make love to 
everyone else. That would eliminate that problem."

Shocked, Ed asked, "Are you saying that the men have to have sex 
with each other?"

Kelly feared that Ed was about to storm out of the house. That had 
happened so many times to her, but she knew that this was the kind 
of marriage that she wanted. She answered, "Yes."

Ed was about to leave, but paused to look at Kelly. The fear of 
rejection on her face made him think about his actions a little more 
carefully. He took a sip of the iced tea and thought for a moment. 
Finally, he said, "This is important to you, isn't it?"

The tension was too much for Kelly. She burst out crying, her 
shoulders shaking, and tears running down her cheeks. This was 
beyond anything that Ed had ever encountered. Moving next to 
her, he put an arm around her. She turned and clasp him very 
tightly, afraid to let go. 

His mind working furiously, Ed knelt beside her. Just this 
afternoon, he had come to the decision that real strength was being 
true to oneself despite what others wished you to do. He had to 
respect Kelly for her strong stand on what she wanted. Adrift in 
life, he wasn't sure what he wanted or needed in a relationship. She 
was presenting an alternative that he would never have considered. 

When Kelly finally quit crying, she stood and left the room calling 
out, "Let me fix my face."

The expression didn't make much sense to Ed, but he returned to 
his seat. He thought about his possible course of actions. He could 
leave, he could string her along, or he could be honest. The later 
choice seemed the only option that he could live with afterwards. 
He sipped his tea thinking furiously. 

Kelly returned to the room, eyes slightly red but the makeup fresh. 
Embarrassed by her outburst, she smiled at him meekly. She seated 
herself at the table and looked over at Ed. Apologetically, she said, 
"I'm sorry for crying."

Holding up a hand to quiet her, Ed said, "You don't have to 
apologize. You are pursuing what you want. I imagine that you 
have been rejected many times, but you have the strength to state 
honestly up front exactly what you expect."

Relief spread through Kelly as she realized that he understood. 
Lower lip trembling, she said, "Thank you."

Chewing his bottom lip nervously, Ed said, "I can't answer you 
right now about what you want to do. I have never thought about it 
before as something for me. To tell the truth, less than a week ago I 
would have cracked the skull of anyone that even hinted that I 
would have sex with man."

Holding her breath, Kelly wondered where this was going. Afraid 
to say a word, she waited to hear what he had to say next. She 
feared that this was a polite way of blowing her off. Knowing that 
what he was going to say next was the hardest thing that he had 
ever said, Ed took a sip of iced tea. Taking a deep breath, Ed said, 
"I always thought that people respected me for being a real man. I 
fought, drank, and loudly exposed my manly opinions. A few days 
ago, I realized that people didn't respect me, they were terrified of 
me. I came to understand that I was a bully and a bigot."

Kelly leaned forward, fascinated by his words and the heartfelt 
emotion behind them. Never had she heard a man talk about 
himself in that fashion. She prompted, "That must have been 
tough."

Shaking his head in denial, he said, "It was devastating. I saw 
neighbors running into their houses as I walked down the street. 
The other day, I helped a man change a tire on his truck. The entire 
time, he cringed like he expected me to hit him. To tell the truth, I 
didn't like the man that could invoke that much fear in everyone 
around him. It is hard to admit that you don't like yourself and 
what you've become."

Fascinated, Kelly gazed on the man across from her. She couldn't 
imagine what he had been going through the past week. Ed 
continued, "I came to realize that I was letting people push me 
around. They could get me to do the stupidest things, just by 
suggesting that I couldn't. This afternoon, I came to the conclusion 
that I didn't know what I wanted or even what I believed was right 
or wrong."

Needing a pause, Ed took another helping of beans. He was trying 
to decide how to say what he felt would be an honest answer. 
Glancing at Kelly, the look on her face gave him the courage to say 
his piece. He explained, "I don't know how I feel about your 
concept of a marriage. I really have to think about it and something 
that different is going to take a lot of thinking. I won't dismiss it 
out of hand."

Kelly burst out in a great smile. She exclaimed, "That is all I want 
from you. I just want you to consider it seriously!"

Tension that he didn't know he had slowly drained from Ed. He sat 
back and smiled at Kelly relieved that he was free to pursue the 
relationship further. The discussion over the rest of the meal was 
much less intense, but much more intimate.

When the meal was over, they went into the living room to drink 
coffee. Ed sat on the sofa with Kelly curled up beside him holding 
her head against his chest. It was quiet and intimate, as they each 
just enjoyed the sensation of holding and being held. The previous 
tension had exhausted them. Kelly fell asleep first. Ed looked over 
at her sleeping, feeling good that he could have a woman relax so 
much in his presence that she could actually sleep. Ten minutes 
later, he nodded off. 

They woke after an hour, Ed's arm had fallen asleep. He was 
looking down at her when she woke. Embarrassed, Kelly said, 
"How long was I asleep?"

Laughing, Ed answered, "I have no idea. I fell asleep about the 
same time that you did."

"Aren't we a pair?"

A smile crossed Ed's face as a thought crossed his mind. He joked, 
"The first time we sleep together and nothing happened."

Laughing at the ridiculousness of their situation, Kelly was more 
than willing to head off to the bedroom.  A thrill ran through her 
body as Ed leaned down and kissed her forehead in a loving 
gesture. She replied, "I hope our performance is better the second 
time."

Ed replied, "Well, I have to head home now. I've got to get to work 
early tomorrow. We have another auction Wednesday. I have to 
get the place ready for it."

Slightly disappointed, Kelly sat up and let him rise. He held her 
hand as she stood, the gesture meaning a lot to her. He bent down 
and kissed her. The kiss was gentle and hesitant, conveying a 
promise that a serious commitment was possible. Used to bedding 
women that were just this side of throwing up drunk, Ed wasn't 
confident that he knew how to please a woman. Kelly melted into 
his arms, amazed that such a rough and tumble looking guy could 
be so gentle. 

As he drove home, he reviewed the date in him mind and was 
pleased with how it had gone. She had thrown him a few curves 
with her talk about men having sex with men, but he would think 
about it and come to his own decision. It didn't matter what he 
decided, he had been honest with her. That was the important 
thing.

Not ready to sleep, he stopped in front of the bar to get a Coke. 
The evening had been tough, both in terms of the normal tension of 
dating a woman and the emotional exchanges of the entire evening. 
Entering the bar, the entire place got quiet at seeing Ed dressed up. 
Acting like he didn't notice, he considered what it meant. Stepping 
up to the bar, he smiled at Shirley and said, "I'll have a Coke."

Looking him over with more interest than in the past, Shirley 
poured him a Coke. Setting it in front of him, she asked, "What's 
with the clothes?"

Ed was about to answer when one of the other regulars came up 
behind him. Slapping a hand on his shoulder, the man challenged, 
"Looks like Ed is turning into a wimp. Give him a real drink."

Ed reached over and pulled the man's hand from his shoulder. In a 
flat tone of voice, he said, "Richard, I'm drinking exactly what I 
want to be drinking."

"Ed, you’re a fucking wimp."

Shaking his head, Ed was not up to this tonight. He turned to face 
Richard, looking him straight in the eye, Ed said, "I grew up. I 
don't have to prove anything to you. We both know that I can drink 
you under the table and wipe up the floor with you. Drop it, 
Richard."

With a push, Richard retorted, "Fuck you, Ed. You've become a 
wimp."

Taking a sip of his Coke, Ed realized that he was now in the 
position that John had been in the other day. He wondered how 
John would handle it. It would be so easy for this to turn into a 
pissing contest. That was the last thing that he wanted tonight. 

Richard decided that he didn't like being ignored by Ed and made 
the same mistake that Ed had made against John. Richard 
telegraphed his intentions by pulling his fist back, Ed responded by 
going for first contact even if it wasn't overpowering. Even a 
moderate smack direct to the nose was worth more as a first strike 
that a powerful punch as a second. Ed's fist made a resounding 
crack as it connected with Richard's nose. 

The blow was so fast that Richard didn't even see it coming. 
Frozen in shock, Richard moved his hand to his nose as blood 
gushed forth freely. The movement was very slow and careful as 
through he was terrified of provoking any reaction from Ed. The 
only thought going through his mind was that Ed was going to kick 
the shit out of him. His nose hurt so bad that he was seeing double. 

Turning to Shirley, Ed said, "Can you get two towels? Fill one 
with ice, but give me the other first."

Shirley did as she was asked, surprised that Ed was performing 
first aid for Richard. After she handed him the dry towel, he used it 
to wipe up the blood on Richard's face and to check the damage to 
his nose. It didn't look broken, but he wasn't a doctor. When the 
towel filled with ice was ready, Ed pressed the ice pack against the 
bridge of his nose with a gentle touch. The flow of blood was 
already slowing down, but the nose would look puffy for a day or 
two. He said, "Keep your head back. It doesn't look like it's broken. 
If it doesn't stop bleeding, I'll take you to the hospital."

Shirley watched the proceedings in amazement. There wasn't the 
normal crowing over a victory that was Ed's normal behavior. She 
had patched together too many of Ed's past victims while he 
celebrated with shot of whiskey and beer. When Richard went to a 
table to sit back with the ice pack on his face, Shirley asked Ed, 
"What just happened?"

Shrugging off the incident as though it was no big deal, Ed replied, 
"Just a slight difference of opinion. It'll be alright now. Thanks for 
providing the towels, I'll pick up the cleaning bill."

"No need. All of my towels go to the same place to get cleaned. It 
doesn't matter why or how they get dirty," answered Shirley. There 
was something different about Ed lately and this particular episode 
demonstrated it most clearly. In the past, he would have added a 
few punches just to make sure there wasn't any doubt about who 
won. Even worse, he would have left his victim on the ground to 
be cared for by someone else. In her opinion, he had demonstrated 
a strength of character that she didn't know existed.

He drained the last of his Coke, ready to head home and get some 
rest. Setting his empty glass on the counter, Ed asked, "How much 
do I owe you?"

Smiling, Shirley answered, "Consider that one on the house."

"Thanks." Ed looked puzzled as he stood up, not quite 
understanding why she would give him a drink on the house. 
Walking over to where Richard sat, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I don't think it is broken."

Ed looked at Richard closely. The nose didn't look broken, but it 
was still bleeding a little. He asked, "Do you want me to take you 
to the hospital?"

"No, I'm fine," replied Richard looking at Ed with a funny 
expression. It was as though he didn't recognize the person 
standing in front of him. In fact, he didn't. In the past, Ed would 
have left him flat on the ground with cracked ribs.

Ed straightened from his examination and turned to walk away. He 
paused and looked back saying, "Sorry about bloodying your nose. 
Take it easy and let it heal. I'm sure it will be fine."

As Shirley watched Ed leave, she decided that she actually might 
like this version of Ed. She had no idea what had caused the 
change, but Ed was a very different person than he used to be. The 
other people in the bar looked at each other, just as confused. 
There were two major topics of conversation in town now, John 
Carter and Ed Biggers. No one was quite sure what to make of 
either man. 

Returning home, Ed undressed. After looking at his jacket, he 
became upset at finding blood on the sleeve. He didn't blame 
Richard, but himself. There had to be a better way of dealing with 
the situation than he had taken. He hadn't wanted to resort to 
violence, but once Richard had cocked his arm the choices seemed 
very limited. 

As he undressed, he thought about his conversation with Kelly. He 
didn't know what to make of the ideas she had proposed. In a way, 
he was glad that he hadn't slept with her as that would have 
suggested a commitment that he hadn't yet decided to make. No 
matter how he looked at the situation, there was one uncontested 
fact - she was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen.