Z-A Monday: The Essence of the E Edition

Energized and elated - almost egotistical! - over the bus episode, Xavier found an eatery (he was famished) and ordered the eggs benedict with eggplant and endives, eschewing the escargot. Once he'd eaten, and seeking a way to exit this town and hit the expressway for home, he expended his last funds on an old Escort wagon. Not exactly his dream escape, but a good enough vehicle in which to entertain the end of this extended expedition.

And so he embarked on the final episode of this epic event. He was enthused about re-entering Planet Earth, getting employed again, earning a living, maybe extending his education. He was no Einstein egghead, but he could emerge as an entrepreneur, maybe an executive...

Then his thoughts evolved to encounter the elephant in the room. Wendy, to whom he had hoped to be engaged, with whom he had hoped to elope. Now his ex-girlfriend, from whom he felt exiled. Not exactly a euphoric event, was it? If he could erase or eliminate that exchange, he'd be ecstatic. But it existed, and he'd endure it, endlessly.

No more equivocating! No more evasiveness! He'd exhausted all the reasons not to call.

Filled with emotion, he entered her number. After an eternity, someone answered.

"Hi, this is Ed for Wendy."

Ed?

Who's Ed? EdWARD? EdWIN? EdGAR?

"Hello? This is Ed."

Long seconds elapsed, filled with envy and extinguished expletives.

"Uh, sorry Ed, I, uh, must've erred."

He ended the call.

The Escort drove on into the evening.