Author's Note: I toyed with the idea of not writing a second chapter to this for quite awhile, but of course the voices wouldn't leave me alone. I really loved writing about Mrs. Twist… I think she's one of the unsung heroes of this story.
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Over the next couple of months, Jack's health improved, and though there were still persistent aches and scars, he was able to get around. He was about ready to go stark raving mad, being cooped up indoors, trying to be useful but not up to the large tasks that the beaten-down ranch needed. He couldn't believe he was back here after he'd tried so hard to get away all those years ago. He stayed with only a little bitching, however, because every time Ennis stopped by he glimpsed a spark—of what, he wasn't sure yet. But he'd wait it out, wait it out as he always did. If Ennis del Mar had taught him anything, it was patience.
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Don Wroe's cabin hadn't changed much since they had been here last. A new couch, one of the kitchen chairs propped against the wall upside down because the leg had broken clean off. The place was cozy enough for the use they put it to. They sat in front of the fire, the lazy flames licking at the bottom of their boots. It lit the room with ghostly flickers and dancing shadows.
After they'd relaxed a bit, downed some whiskey, Ennis paused, not looking away from the fire and simply said, "What happened?"
Jack bit his lip, hemmed and hawed, but Ennis just fixed him with a stare. "'Bout four guys got me on the side a the road. Tell you what, it weren't no fair fight and they sprung up on me afore I knew what was happenin'. I think it might a been some friends of that rancher whose wife I was screwin'. I got in a few good swings before them sons of bitches ran off, 'fraid they was goin' a get caught."
Ennis nodded. He almost asked the question that was truly on his mind, but said instead, "You tryin' to get Lureen up here?"
"Well… I suggested it once or twice," Jack spat out a harsh laugh, "but she's married to that there business, not me. Don't sound like Bobby's too excited about the idea, neither. Can't say I was too eager at the idea of goin' back, when I was still tossing it around, so it's prob'ly better this way."
"Tell the folks 'round here that you want to be here to help your Daddy, but your wife's makin' it real hard on you, and that you got a just convince her. Flirt with the pretty girls, too, but if they get too interested just tell 'em your heart still belongs to Lureen."
"Awright. Won't be hard to believe 'cause I'm always praising Lureen to high heaven when I come here. Tired a everyone still actin' like I'm some rodeo fuck-up. I got myself a pretty penny out a that business, too." He tipped his hat to Ennis, "Anythin' else, boss?"
"Don't guzzle down the rest a that whiskey, you greedy Texan."
Jack rose, dangling the whiskey in front of Ennis, making such a face that Ennis couldn't help but laugh. "Come and get it, friend!" Jack ran around the cabin, singing "Who wants some whiskey?" to a childish tune. They had a short chase, prolonged wrestling. Jack used his superior weight to pin Ennis briefly, knowing that if he tried to do verbally, he would come away with much less satisfaction. Kissing the breath out of Ennis, channeling his growing frustration, he ripped the shirt right off of the source of it.
Ennis pushed him onto his back, but even after their pants were off, he didn't put Jack on his knees. Ennis, answering the question in Jack's eyes, "I shouldn't a let you out of my sights. Never again." Jack and Ennis joined together in a slow, exquisite union. Jack soared, soared higher than the eagle he'd shot down in that time before time that he'd met Ennis. He felt Ennis right there with him, bringing them higher and higher. Inside him, a dam broke, and tears squeezed out of his eyes as Ennis collapsed in his arms. His bitterness, disappointment, and crushed dreams were swept away, replaced by a tender hope, as young and shaky as a newborn lamb. And though the tears soon stopped, the water still flowed, flowed so hard and fast it could never be contained again.
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Mrs. Twist felt, rather than saw, the completion of her life. She didn't understand every nuance and detail of what was happening, but her boy was home, healthy, and happy. She knew there wasn't much more she could serve her husband in, but she had done very well by her boy. Day by day, she faded away from life, wrapping up her last loose ends, saying her goodbyes, and then breathing her last breath with a slight smile on her face. Jack was heavy-hearted to see his mother gone, glad that he spent time at home in her final days. He couldn't help but wonder why, when he and Ennis attended her funeral, something light danced in the air between them, despite the crushing grief.
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Jack and Ennis watched Mr. Twist work, drinking coffee and smoking. Mr. Twist walked like a man beaten down, hunched and gnarled, as if his bones were moving closer to the earth to join his wife's.
Jack grimaced as he downed the last of his coffee. "Can't hardly make coffee like my mamma used to. This shit I make taste like it leaked out a that old cunt truck a mine, then got scraped off the ground for good measure. Sorry I ain't got nothing better for you, Ennis."
"Little early for whiskey."
Jack looked outside at his father again. "Well, I'ma get out there and start helpin' him soon. He sure looks like shit. I think my mamma's bein' gone wrung the last of it out a him. Stubborn old goat, though, keeps tellin' me he don't want no help."
"Tell you what, Jack. Hire me."
"Well, sure as shit, Ennis del Mar! Can't say the thought hadn't crossed my mind about a hunderd times. You want a wait until after the round up? We'll pay you good, though; I still got some money left over from Lureen, not as much as I had afore the funeral, but still enough. And once we can get this place makin' some money, it'll be real sweet. Sure you can handle all the commutin'? That truck a yours may need some tunin'. I know a real good mechanic; he'll give you a fair deal."
Jack looked ready to continue talking up a storm, so Ennis rose from his seat, nodded in the direction of the door, and the two walked out. Ennis shuffled his feet, looking around the property in a leisurely but thorough manner, and when he was done, pointed to the area between the house and the pastures. "My trailer will fit there real nice. I'll bring it by the end of the week."
Jack opened his mouth, his jaw working, but no words emerging. Ennis chuckled long and hard, "Jack fuckin' Twist with nothin' to say. If that don't beat all. If I'd a known that was the trick, I would a started a long time ago."
Jack pulled Ennis to the back of the house, checked to see no one was within sight, and clutched Ennis in a hug. "Son of a bitch. Sneaky son of a bitch."
"Well, Jack. Your father ain't goin' a make it much longer, 'specially the way he's workin' himself. He's 'bout ready to join your momma. 'Till then, we'll work our asses ever week, and head up to the mountains on the weekends. I think we both learned ourselves the hard way how to be careful. We both got a chance to make a good start here. There ain't no perfection in this world for folks like us, but we can make the best a what we got." A note of uncertainty entered his voice. "And… well… next weekend, I think we should head up to ol' Brokeback. You reckon it's about time, Jack?"
Jack's smile could have lit the whole state. "I reckon so, Ennis. I do reckon so."