A/N: Song is "He Was A Friend Of Mine" by Willie Nelson.
Disclaimer: These guys belong to Ms. Proulx.
Ennis Del Mar sat at the kitchen table with a whiskey bottle in one hand and a glass in the other. The only thought running through his head wad the postcard he'd gotten the day before with the word "DECEASED" stamped in big bold letters across the front of it. The radio was on in the background and, as a new song started playing, he felt the knife in his heart twist a little more and cut a little deeper.
He
was a friend of mine
Every time I think of him
I just can't
keep from cryin'
'Cause he was a friend of mine
Tears started coursing down his cheeks. For the most part he couldn't think of Jack Twist without crying a river of tears. Pain, heartache, sorrow and misery were his only companions now.
He
died on the road
He died on the road
He just kept on moving
Never reaped what he could sow
And he was a friend of mine
He just watched helplessly as the tire irons kept swinging over and over again. Each time they came down they destroyed his heart, shattered his soul and killed the only love he'd ever been able to find in this dark and desolate world. He watched helplessly as the only person in this world to actually care about him died on the side of the road far away from him.
I
stole away and cried
I stole away and cried
'Cause I never
had too much money
And I never been quite satisfied
And he
was a friend of mine
He vaguely remembers talking to Jack's wife. Vaguely remembers her telling him about the tire accident, but, he knew the tire irons are what really got Jack. He still doesn't know how he got home all he can remember is dropping to his knees and crying like his heart had been ripped out and crushed.
He
never done no wrong
He never done no wrong
A thousand miles
from home
And he never harmed no one
And he was a friend of
mine
Jack. The sweet, lovable man who could charm a snake out of it's skin. A beautiful man who had never met a stranger. A son of Wyoming who had died on a lonely back road of Texas a thousand miles from where he belonged. A thousand miles from the man who loved him body and soul, but, could never tell him. He would take his love for Jack to his grave.
He
was a friend of mine
He was a friend of mine
Every time I
hear his name Lord
I just can't keep from cryin'
'Cause he
was a friend of mine.
He knows he must go on, but, Lord it's hard, so very hard. How can he keep living when his very soul is gone? When his very heart has been ripped out and cut up like a cheap piece of meat?
"I know I never told ya this, Jack, but, I've loved ya from the first moment I set eyes on ya outside that trailer. I just wish to God I'd had the courage to tell ya when I had the chance. I never deserved ya, Jack, never deserved the love ya gave that I refused to see. I hope ya can forgive me, Bud. Please, wiat for me. I'll be there when it's time."
Ennis lifted his glass in honor, swallowed the whiskey in one gulp, and bowed his head and cried.