Jack was walking with Ennis headed to the bar. He was thinking about how close he was able to be with Ennis now. He was next to him all the time…the very thing he had always wanted, except that, of course, he was a dog. He didn't let that get him down. He enjoyed every minute he got to spend with Ennis.
Jack liked going to the bar. One reason was he liked bars as a man. Second was that Ennis would slip him a little beer every now and then in a bowl they kept there at the bar for him. And third, he always got some kind of treat while he was there. They sold beef jerky and Slim Jims there and batting his eyes at the barmaids got him a couple every time. All in all, he enjoyed his going there with Ennis.
That night a couple of guys passing through town decided that they weren't having enough fun and thought that Ennis and Rodeo looked like they could provide them some entertainment. Jack was sitting at Ennis' feet. As the two guys got up heading for the bar, Jack moved to place himself between Ennis and the two men, a low, throaty growl coming from deep inside him. He could smell trouble coming. Ennis watched in the mirror behind the bar as the two got up.
As the two walked to the bar, the first drunk said to his friend, "Hey, Bubba, I thought there were laws about dumb animals in bars."
Bubba said, "Well, Josh, I believe I heard something about that once."
Josh said, "Seems our friend here needs to learn to respect the law."
Jack saw the boot coming but couldn't get out of the way in time. The kick sent him bouncing off the bar with a yelp. Ennis was off the stool and at the man who had kicked Rodeo. The bartender was headed to the center of the bar for his shotgun.
Jack got up, shook his head and saw that Josh had been a bit quicker than Ennis landing a right before Ennis could stop it. Ennis fell to the side and was struggling to get up. Jack took two steps to Josh's feet and jumped straight up into his face. This startled Josh so much he fell over backwards, Jack going down with him. When the man hit the floor, Jack straddled his chest with his jaws on Josh's throat. The hair on Jack's back was standing, a low, menacing growl coming from deep down inside daring Josh to bat an eye. The downed man didn't speak dog so tried to get up. Jack simply increased the pressure on Josh's throat which was clearly understood.
The bartender had pulled out his shotgun, took aim at Bubba, and warned him not to take another step. Bubba complied, hands in the air. A barmaid was calling the police.
Ennis, regaining his balance, looked for Rodeo. When he saw him over the other man, whose hands were up in surrender, he called him. Jack did not respond. He was blind and deaf to everything but this man who had wanted to hurt Ennis.
Ennis walked over and quietly called him again. Ennis looked at him in for just a moment and saw rage written in his dog's eyes…something he had never seen before.
"Come on, Rodeo. He ain't gonna be no more trouble. You done good, now, come on." Jack heard Ennis now and, without releasing Josh's throat, glanced Ennis' way to see if he was okay. The rage began to subside and Jack started to tremble.
"Come on now, boy, come on. It's okay. I ain't hurt and these two guys are gonna get there's. Come on, Rodeo, it's okay."
Jack let loose his grip on the man's throat but didn't move for a moment. He turned his head to the man and nose-to-nose, bared his teeth and growled something that meant, "If you had hurt Ennis, I'd have killed you." Josh wouldn't soon forget his meeting up with Rodeo.
Jack stepped off the man and walked to Ennis. He was shaking now and from inside came these soft but anguished sounds, asking Ennis for help. Ennis grabbed him holding him close, "you did good, Rodeo, you did good, it's alright, it's okay now." Ennis picked him up and Jack went limp in his arms. Turning to the bartender, Ennis said he'd take care of things later. The bartender told him not to bother…he was as protective of Rodeo as all the rest there. As Ennis left, he saw the police lights and sirens down the road.
Ennis took Rodeo to the truck and laid him on the seat. When he got in to drive home, Jack laid his head on Ennis' lap just wanting to be close…thankful Ennis was okay. He stayed that way the whole trip home.
Jack was able to walk inside where Ennis made sure he was comfortable. Grabbing a beer, Ennis walked out and leaned against the hood of his truck. Not long after, he started crying with the thought that he might have lost this very precious, new buddy of his. Ennis hadn't truly realized how much he cared but did now. He started to see the impact that Rodeo had had on his life and swore to keep him close and safe.
In the days to follow, Ennis began to make a correlation between how he felt for Jack and how he felt for Rodeo. He felt deeply for both. He craved the company of both. He kept Jack at such a distance. He brought Rodeo in with open arms.
He felt it was time to make some changes in his life.
Ennis sent a card to Jack to confirm their November fishing trip. It was early September.
Jack walked with Ennis to the post office, people greeting them both. Ennis gathered his mail reading it as he walked out then stopped suddenly in the street, frozen. Jack sat next to him but knew something was wrong. He realized suddenly that Ennis had just found out he had died. Jack moved around in front of Ennis making little noises. Ennis didn't see him. Jack tried harder to get his attention but Ennis didn't hear him.
Ennis looked around seeing the phone booth across the street. Jack followed him there. He tried to get in the booth with him but there wasn't space so Ennis left the door open for him. Jack heard the conversation, his ears drooping, his heart going out to Ennis.
Ennis stayed in the phone booth holding the phone long after the call was over. There was nothing Jack could do for him right now. Ennis' thoughts were far away. Odd, Jack thought, that Ennis was mourning his death when he was sitting right here in front of him.
Ennis walked back to his truck, opening the door for Rodeo by habit. Jack laid his head on Ennis' lap to try to console him. Ennis drove home in silence.
When Ennis got home and opened the door to the truck, he fell to his knees on the gravel of the driveway and started sobbing…deep, heaving sobs, his whole body shaking with the release of his control. Jack had jumped down trying everything to comfort him, to ease his pain, to tell him things would be alright. He ended up putting his paw on Ennis' back and his head next to Ennis'. They stayed that way a long time.
That evening, Ennis called his boss and said he needed a couple of days off…family emergency. He got it…grudgingly. Ennis hung up without saying goodbye. He had barely heard his boss on the other end of the line.
Then he got the number for Jack's parents in Lightning Flat.
The rest of that day and the next, Ennis didn't speak. Jack tried his best to stay with him, not too near to crowd him, but near enough that Ennis would feel comforted. And Ennis was comforted by Rodeo. He would sit in his chair, Rodeo's head laid in between Ennis' legs, and Ennis would stroke Rodeo's head while staring into the distance. They'd sit next to each other on the steps, Ennis' arm around him. They'd walk around the property, Rodeo right at his side. A lot of this Ennis did without thinking or realizing he was doing it, the bond between the two now so tight. His thoughts were far away and his sense of loss so great that, pretty much, the world didn't exist for him.
The morning of his second day off, he left for Lightning Flat. As Ennis pulled up, Jack went crazy trying to get out of the truck...he could see his mama who had walked out on the porch. Ennis opened the door, Jack crawling across him to get out. He ran right up to Mrs. Twist, stopped a few feet away, then walked up slowly and laid his head against her leg. She was astounded and quietly pet him. Ennis, no longer surprised by anything Rodeo did anymore, smiled and walked on over to introduce himself.
Jack would have nothing to do with his dad and, anyway, Mr. Twist would have no dog in his house…no way, no how. Jack didn't even come in. He looked once at Ennis, turned, and jumped in the back of the truck. "Never gonna figure this dog out," thought Ennis.
Ennis came back to the truck, tears in his eyes. He was holding a bag. As soon as he got in the truck, Jack knew what he had found. He could smell the shirts. He hoped that now Ennis knew how Jack had felt for him…how long he had loved him. It took Ennis a moment to get moving, but he soon headed back to Riverton.
When Ennis got home, he went straight to his closet, tapped a nail in and hung the shirts…Jack's symbol of his love. He looked at them for a moment, seeing how his shirt was inside Jack's…saying Ennis was in Jack's heart. He took the shirts and reversed them placing Jack in his heart now. He stepped back, a tear rolling down his face.
Ennis was quiet for a couple weeks after coming back from Lightning Flat. Sometimes he cried. Sometimes he raged. Sometimes he sat in the dark. Often he'd take Rodeo and go walk in the fields near his house.
It was on one of these field trips that it all came into place for Ennis.
He had walked for awhile finally settling on a log near the back of the property. Rodeo, as always, right there with him. Ennis sat, his head in his hands. Jack laid his head on Ennis' lap.
"Well, Rodeo, he's gone. I can't believe it, can't even think about it most of the time. I still see him. He had this smile, ya know. If I had only one thing to remember about him it'd be that smile." Here a tear rolled down Ennis' cheek.
Jack was in pain also hearing Ennis sad and heartbroken like this. He was limited in what he could do as a dog and that was frustrating for him. At the same time, he was amazed to hear Ennis talk about him the way he was. Ennis had never said these things to him before.
"What am I supposed to do now, Rodeo? Ain't nobody like him…ain't nobody ever gonna be like him. Now he's gone and I never told him how I felt. I never could get the words out, though he tried and begged in his way for me to say it."
A few minutes went by.
"The son of a bitch, kept my shirt. I thought I'd lost it but he stole it and kept it…for 20 fucking years he kept it." Tears started to fall again. "Put 'em together like he wanted us to be…had tried so hard for us to be. And all I did was push him away…stomped on his dream. Maybe if he could have said it first. Maybe if he coulda said…just once…'I love you'…maybe I could have found the courage to say the same to him."
Quiet.
"Truth is, Rodeo, I loved him so much I couldn't think straight. He was everything to me. But, ya know, I never thought I was good enough for him. Maybe that's why I could never tell him I loved him. Maybe I just thought that he'd laugh at me or something…tell me he liked me but, ya know, that was all. I know that ain't right but every time I saw that man all I wanted to do was look at him…just watch him like he was some kinda angel."
"But I did love him, Rodeo. I loved him with everything I had, every moment we was together. But I messed up. I didn't tell him while he was still here, while I could. Now it's too late."
Ennis stood up and stalked forward a few feet. From deep inside he yelled, "YOU HEAR THIS, JACK FUCKING TWIST, WHEREVER YOU ARE…I LOVE YOU. I ALWAYS HAVE AND I AIN'T NEVER GONNA STOP LOVING YOU."
Ennis sank to his knees, his head dropped.
Jack heard. He was right in front of Ennis, stunned at the words he had finally said. Jack just sat, barely breathing, mouth closed, slightly shaking…not dog-like at all.
Ennis looked up, saw Rodeo, and called him. Jack moved forward nose-to-nose with Ennis.
"And you, ya flea-bitten, good-for-nothing mutt…" Here Ennis' eyes teared up again as he reached for Rodeo's collar, hooking a finger through it. "next to Jack, you been the best friend a man could ever ask for. If it hadn't been for you and the crazy shit you do, I think things might have been a whole lot worse." Ennis pulled him into a hug.
"You're just a dumb dog, Rodeo, but I love you, too." Ennis kissed him on top of the head. "I ain't gonna treat you like I did Jack. I'm gonna tell you I love you now…not wait until you're gone and being sorry it was too late."
"Is that okay with you, boy? Huh?" Ennis held Rodeo, patting him on the side. Holding him for awhile.
Jack of course knew that Ennis had said now what he had needed to say - twice. That the breaking of that stony interior would bring him to a place where he would be a whole person and not the stunted image of one that he had been all these years.
Jack knew his time as Rodeo was drawing to a close. He couldn't help but feel the pain of loss…the loss of running with Ennis, playing, being with him all the time, comforting him when his life took a turn…just being his dog. Jack had enjoyed more than he would have believed this time he had spent with Ennis.
He wondered what was going to happen now that Ennis had done what the voices said he had to. He didn't wonder long though. Ennis still needed him right now and the comfort he could offer. Whatever was going to happen would happen when it needed to. No worry or anxiety on his part would make anything happen quicker.
Right now, he had to play fetch with Ennis. That was most important.