A Better Idea
Chapter Fifteen
Ennis had so many plans for this week, he was bubbling over with energy and excitement. Tuesday dawned drizzly and gray; a perfect day to catch up on indoor chores.
At work at the Stodemeir Ranch he checked all the medical supplies and made a list of items to be replenished, checked that all the brushes were clean and discarded those that had uneven wear, went through the ropes and straps checking for tears or breaks, he oiled the hoists and pulleys. Ennis checked with the other two hands, Bruce and Charlie that they were keeping the supplies in the cabinet organized by use, and by expiration dates. He trusted them to keep the stock of balms, salves and pills rotated properly.
Before Ennis came to the ranch, Mr. Stodemeir hired a man who wasn't aware of the shelf life of these very expensive supplies, he just placed the newly delivered items in the front of the shelf. Eventually, the items in the back had to be discarded as they'd lost their potency, and effectiveness.
Ennis took his responsibility to protect his employer from unnecessary waste very seriously. So, to prevent this sort of loss ever happening again, he made the First In, First Out system of storing and rotating supplies, an important part of his training program for any permanent ranch hands.
Growing up poor in Wyoming was not unique to Ennis Del Mar; lots of folks in this part of the country had to struggle to keep food on the table. Ennis had one advantage; his parents had taught him that the surest way to not have anything was to waste what you do have. Ennis heard his mother tell K.E. and him many times, "Take care of what you have, boy, and it'll take care of you." He tried to be as conservative with Mr. Stodemeir's property, as he was with his own.
When Ennis stopped work to have a bit of lunch, he thought about the mental list of things he was preparing for his own week. This is just too important to forget anything, he decided. So he started to jot down a list of things to tell or ask Jack when he called him, things yet to do, things to pack, stuff to eliminate. While he was writing in his small, green notebook, Charlie and Bruce joined him and pulled out their sandwiches and coffee.
"Prolly 27 people in all." Said Bruce, responding to something Charlie had asked him. "29, if you and Leah wanna come too."
"Oh thanks, Bruce, I'll ask her." replied Charlie Warren, referring to his bride of two months.
"Hey, Ennis" they both greeted him, when he looked up from his writing.
Ennis' mind was far, far away on a ranch up in Crook County, Wyoming. He had almost not realized that he was being addressed. To cover his absence and to be polite, he said, "Hmmm? What's goin' on fellas? You doin' awwright?"
"Yeah, we was just talkin' about Bruce n' Delia's pig roast and fireworks for the holiday." offered Charlie. "Gonna have a big crowd, tons of good food, and music too."
"Sound's real nice," said Ennis. "What holiday?"
Bruce looked at Ennis kinda funny. "Well, Monday, o' course, Ennis! Memorial Day! Ain't you got no plans? You oughta come out; you always like the music and the food, well as anybody. And we'll have a keg, too. Come on over, why dontcha? Bring a date, if ya like." Bruce was not shy about spending any amount of words to get his point across.
Ennis couldn't hide the stupefied look on his face. Monday? This coming Monday? His mouth broke into the widest smile Bruce and Charlie had ever seen on Ennis Del Mar's face. Ever. You could even see his teeth; it was such a broad grin.
"You'll come then?" asked Bruce.
"Oh, no, no, I can't. Sorry Bruce, I'd love to though." replied Ennis. "I'm going out of town again, this weekend. I didn't realize that I'd have an extra day to stay and help my friend, till you just mentioned your picnic."
"Is that the place you're plannin' to build that porch, Ennis? That'll be great, you havin' another day to work with." enthused Charlie.
Ennis could barely sit still, he was that excited with this news. "You guys got a minute or two; we could go over and measure out those boards on that ol' buildin' that Mr. Stodemeir said I could have, if I take it down. Want to?"
Happy to be doing something different, all three jumped in Ennis' truck and rode out to survey the usefulness of the boards from this old structure. They were only intendin' to walk it off, and write down the lengths of what they had, but they got into it, and saw a few loose boards, so they just took those off. The roof showed the most weather damage of any other part of the . . . of the . . What was it anyway? Looking inside of what he had assumed to be an old chicken coop, Ennis found he had been wrong.
Someone had lived in this cabin at one time. Maybe the early Stodemeir's? he wondered. There was no ceiling, of course, the roof and beams were exposed all the way up to the peak. There was an ingenious little one legged table, nailed to a cleat on the wall. Their bed was similarly attached, no mattress or ticking of course, but the base of a three legged bed was nailed to cleats in one corner. When he peered underneath to check the clever construction, he discovered an old tin box that had been hidden there for . . no tellin' how many years. Ennis did not feel free to open it, but gently shook the box to make sure it was not empty. It wasn't. Without hesitation, he called to Bruce and Charlie to get in the truck. Time to get back to work.
He handed the box to Bruce to hold onto till they got back up to the barn, and as soon as he could get parked, he went looking for Herman. The gray haired housekeeper, Mrs. Fowler, said Mr. Stodemeir had gone into town to visit his aunt Greta, his oldest living relative. So Ennis explained to Mrs. F. how and where he found the box; then he left it in her hands to keep safe for the owner. Relieved of this newest responsibility, Ennis promptly forgot about its existence.
With lunch break over, and the rainy drizzle long gone, Ennis drove out to the fields where they pastured the calves, to make sure that all was well with the cows and their calves. They were to be turned out with the main herd in another two weeks, and then drove up to the summer ranges. If the little ones weren't thriving by then, they'd be sold off at auction. He finished up his day's work, and eagerly headed home.
This was the evening that Ennis promised himself he'd scrub that old trailer top to bottom, and hang the now clean curtains back up. He started by dusting and then wiping down each of the walls, he washed the windows inside and out, and wished that the glass was clear enough that he could see any difference from his effort. Cloudy glass, damn! Oh, well, with the curtains rehung, it wouldn't be so obvious, he thought.
While his washed and waxed linoleum floor was drying, Ennis rooted around under the house to find his old grill, and something else he remembered seeing under there. He'd had an idea, borrowed from that old house he was taking apart. Yes! There was a nice sized piece of wood, maybe 2 feet by 4 feet that would make do as a new table top for when the girls came over tomorrow night. He busied himself, setting up the grill and finding charcoal and utensils. Ennis decided that the perfect cover for that new table top would be a piece of oilcloth.
A memory of such a thing kept tickling his brain, but he couldn't . . ."Hey good to see you home so early!" called a neighbor lady, Esther. No, no, not Esther, he thought, . . now what, . Edith!
Turning towards her, he said "Hey Edith, fine evenin', ain't it?"
Seeing her opening to talk with her good lookin' neighbor man, Edith got herself over there right quick. As an excuse, she took him a handful of luscious ripe tomatoes from her garden. Ennis was pleased with them, the girls would like them, he knew. He smiled and gave his thanks, while walking away from her toward the other end of his trailer again.
The only things he had left from his mother and dad were folded away in an old trunk, and that trunk was stored under the trailer. Where else? This is the only storage space he has for personal items.
Edith kindly offered to hold the flashlight for him so he could see under there, and before long he located the trunk. He hauled it out from under the trailer, got a rag and wiped it down thoroughly before bringing it into his newly cleaned house.
"Well, thanks again for the tomatoes, gotta get back to work now", said Ennis, trying to gently dismiss her. Edith was always decent to him, a nice gal and a good neighbor, but so much togetherness was making Ennis edgey.
In Ennis' tool box, he had some upholstery tacks that he had removed from an old ottoman, and he figured they would just do the trick.
His stomach reminded him that his first order of priority should be some sort of a supper. Ennis found a large can of Dinty Moore beef stew, and a tube of refrigerator biscuits, so he was assured of having another meal before his groceries ran out entirely. Setting the stew to heating in a pan, and letting the oven preheat for the biscuits, he rummaged for a can of peaches or applesauce, but found none. The cupboard was bare. Oh, there was a handful of very dry raisins left in the box, they became his dessert.
Ennis remembered that he had set the tomatoes on the grill when he and Edith went to look for the trunk, so he went out the door to retrieve them and also remembered to check his mailbox. Nothing much here, junk mail, he grimaced.
He'd assembled a fine supper he thought: beef stew, biscuits, (nothing to put on them, he noted), raisins and a cold beer. Aha, he would just crumble a biscuit into the stew and nothing else will be needed. Who could want anything more than this feast?
While he chewed, Ennis leafed through the junk mail. There was nothing of interest in the stack. But the act of picking up his mail had reminded him of last Thursday when he'd pulled out the mail and found Jack's letter. He smiled thinking how his entire world has changed since that moment less than a week ago. Sometimes it takes almost losing what you love the most to get your attention and wake you up, he thought about himself, and how close he came to doing just that.
He thought about the look on Jack's face when he and his mother returned from the hospital to find Ennis already there near the barn. Jack's face lit up like a christmas tree when he saw me, thought Ennis, unaware that his own face shone equally brightly. At the time, I wondered what his mother would think of us, but I needn't have worried. An Ace of a woman!
Lost in his memories of the weekend, Ennis washed up the supper dishes and put everything away in his lone cupboard. He then hung the clean curtains on each of his windows, put away the towels and sheets, and put the dried blanket on his bed.
Now to check out that trunk, he thought.
When K.E. got married, Ennis and Maggie had been there, of course. None of them ever expected to live together again. So, it was the perfect time to go through their folk's things. They divided them up so each child would have a memento, or two. None of the three cared what they got, especially, just so it was something their father or mother had touched, or had used.
In the trunk, Ennis found his father's old charcoal grey coat. It's a tough material, necessary for a hard working man in a cold climate. Ennis was glad to have it, and intended to wear it himself, seemed to be a good fit. Hmmm. He always thought of his dad as a giant of a man, tall and strong. Guess he was like his old man in some ways. Hope not others, he thought.
Digging deeper, he found a book that had belonged to his mother. It was A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and had been inscribed by her own mother's hand. It said, "To our sweet Ellie, happy 6th birthday. Love, Mama and Papa". It was dated March 6, 1920. Ennis rubbed his thumb across the writing and felt the great loss of never knowing these loving grandparents, and the sting of having so little time with his own mother. It made him want to be a better daddy for his girls, before it's too late.
In the very bottom of the trunk, was an Agate, a cobalt blue shooting marble, that had belonged to his father when he was a child. His dad told him and K.E. that he had won many marbles with that Aggie. When holding it up to the light, Ennis imagined that it was the exact shade of blue of Jack's eyes. He put it in his pocket, and decided that it would always, from this moment on, be with him wherever he was.
Ah, here was what he was remembering. It was perhaps an old tablecloth, made of early oilcloth that always made him think of his mother's apple pies. If you closed your eyes and smelled in just the right place, you could smell the apples and the cinnamon. Well that was no longer true, he found. Ennis has been searching for an apple pie as good as his mother's ever since, but none has ever compared to Ellie Del Mar's blue ribbon winning apple pies.
He spread out the oilcloth on the floor, and checked it over for holes or scrapes. Finding none, he got the damp dish cloth and wiped it down thoroughly. He dried it very well, and looked at the pattern and shape of the material. It would be long enough, and about twice as wide as was needed, so he got his best scissors out of the drawer. Flipping the patterned side over to the floor, he placed the new table top on the back side of the oilcloth, and drew a pattern around it, leaving two inches on each side for the foldover.
Quickly, Ennis cut out the piece and laid the excess aside. Once again, the face of the oilcloth went toward the floor, and the wood was placed on the backing. Folding it over like wrapping a present, he started folding under a quarter inch of material along the edge, and pulling it taut, began tacking it all down with the upholstery nails he had saved. Admiring his handiwork, Ennis remembered that there was an old wooden spool, now empty of wire, in the barn. He would use that for the table's base. Originally, he was going to nail it in place like the table at the old house, but he had decided that he needed the space in his trailer to serve more than one purpose, so this table would come apart when it wasn't needed, and could easily be stored away. He had two kitchen chairs, so he or one of the girls would have to sit on the bed. Okay, he felt happy about how the table had turned out, and much better set up for their visit.
Oh wait, he could use this trunk as seating too; he'd add a cushion if it's too short. Now he could move it all away from the bed, and set up the "dining room table" towards the end of the trailer, nearer his one and only closet. At that thought, Ennis took his dad's coat and hung it up in the closet.
He set up his make-shift dining room table with two chairs, and admired the cheerful look of it. The oilcloth has a white background covered with red teapots and blue sugar bowls, with yellow lemon slices. It made him feel warm and cozy, like it was a real home, and he'd made it for his girls.
One more thing before he forgot! Ennis pulled a thin blue ribbon out of the bottom of the trunk, and found a small slip of white tissue paper with glitter sprinkled across it. He ran out to the truck and got the key chain that he'd bought for Jack, and wrapped it like a real present, remembering to take the price tag off first. He admired the gaudy thing, and wondered if Jack would dare to use it.
No question, he thought. If Ennis Del Mar had Dared to buy it, then Jack Fuckin' Twist would surely Dare to use it! This could get mighty interesting.
It made Ennis' stomach jump around a little bit to think of this first public thing he was doing with Jack.
Jack's birthday wasn't until November 21st, so this was a, uh, a Memorial Day present. Yeah, that's what it was. He smiled at his own giddy self. Ennis tried to remember when he'd bought and wrapped a gift for someone all on his own and for no reason, and he decided, "Never before."
Ennis left the rest of the trunk contents for another time. He folded the oilcloth remnant, and placed it back in the trunk, shoving the trunk over beside the "dining room table" for additional seating. His eyes scanned the newly cleaned and shined home, and decided it would do.
Taking the wrapped keychain with him, he locked the door behind him, waved to Edith who was pinching back her tomato vines, and got in the truck. He tucked the gift for Jack back into the glove compartment, and started up the engine. He headed for the grocery store to pick up the items he'd decided on for tomorrow night's supper with Junior and Jenny.
As he passed the feedstore, he decided he'd wait till he got up to Lightning Flat before buying more feed for Scarlet and Grey. Check that off the list.
When Ennis was in the produce department looking over the baking potatoes, he heard someone call his name. Turning, he saw Virginia Fowler one aisle over pushing a full shopping cart. He smiled and waved, then returned his attention to the spuds. Coming closer, she said, "You sure missed all the excitement this afternoon, young man!"
"What excitement was that, Mrs. F? Did you get up and dance on the tables again at the Wolf Ears?" Normally, Mrs. Fowler would have blushed and hit him on the arm, a little bit flirty, and said "Oh, you!" but this time she just blinked and said, "No, Ennis, this is real."
He just looked at her, waiting to see what she had gotten into that was so exciting, but he really wished she'd tell him some other time, because he was busy picking up supper for his daughters' visit. That was more important to him at the moment.
"You know that tin box that you brought to the ranch house this afternoon, Ennis? she asked.
He nodded.
"Well, when Mr. Stodemeir saw it he started yelling, and right away he called the nursing home where he'd just left his aunt Greta, and asked to speak to her immediately. Turns out it contained their original family Bible from Germany, and other priceless heirlooms of sentimental value, some old tin types of her parents, and I'm not sure what else. He went straight back to the nursing home, to show it to her."
"Well, that's really nice to know, Mrs. Fowler. Thank you for telling me."
"Ennis, you are the hero of the hour. Mr. Stodemeir tried to call you on the phone to thank you, while he was with his Aunt Greta."
"Uh, well, ma'm, I don't have a telephone," stammered Ennis. I'm sure I'll see him tomorrow, and he can tell me all about the excitement. Good night, now. See you tomorrow, Mrs. Fowler."
He finished picking up the few items he needed for his special supper tomorrow night, and headed towards home hoping for a good night's sleep.
When Ennis arrived at the house, he put his groceries away, and stepped back outside for a smoke and a look at the moon. It was a couple of days from being Full, but it was large, and bright. He leaned against his truck and smoked his last cigarette of the day, and thought of Jack. He remembered how they loved each other in the hay loft on a recent evening, and lay naked on their blanket watching this very same moon. Well, he grinned, at least I was looking at the moon. My man was looking at me.
"Ah, do you see what you've done to me, Jack Fuckin' Twist? You've turned me into a moon-gazin' love struck fella. An' I can't seem to stop smilin' about it." Ennis took one last look at the moon, and turned and went in to bed.
The next day flew by as Ennis got to the ranch early and concentrated on the work that needed to be done. The weather was clear. He was content with hard work, had always known it, and it comforted him. Before he knew it, it was time to wash up and go get his girls.
Junior and Jenny were surprised that their evening with daddy was not going to be at the Pizza Hut, as usual. He drove them to his house, where he proudly showed off the new table, and they admired his shining clean home. Ennis started the fire while the girls got busy with the food. Junior patted out hamburgers, Ennis wrapped potatoes in foil, and sliced the tomatoes. Jenny set the table, while Junior opened the cans of beans and heated them through. The three of them talked while they worked.
Ennis thought they might have time for a game of dominoes, or Canasta while they waited for the potatoes to bake through, but they were all too busy talking and catching up with each other to think of it.
Jenny talked about how busy it was at the end of school, and that she had a wedding to sing for on Saturday morning. She was going to earn $25 for the job, her first professional fees. The pastor had recommended her, she said.
Junior mentioned how much she liked her job at the power company; she was no longer on probation as all new employees had to be to start out. She'd been accepted on as a regular full time employee with medical, dental and life insurance she said. And with a little sideways grin, she told that she had met a cute guy there the other day when he came in to pay his mother's light bill. His name is Kurt Rawlins, she said. We have a first date set for this Friday night.
"What ever happened a Troy?" asked Ennis.
"Oh, daddy, Troy's such a child." Junior said dismissively. Jenny merely cocked one knowing eyebrow at Ennis. Jenny didn't have a boyfriend yet, but she had her eye on someone. 'Course that someone didn't know it yet.
Ennis told that his friend Jack's dad had a stroke and he was going up to Lightning Flat to help out on the ranch this weekend, see what he could do for them. He gave both girls the phone number up there in case of some emergency. Couldn't think what one might be, but you never know.
He asked Junior if she had a holiday Monday, and she said she did. "Pretty nice to have a day off when you were expecting to work." she said. "I know." Ennis smiled.
They all agreed that tonight would have been a nice evening to eat outside if the wind weren't blowing so hard. "We'll eat outside the next time", said Ennis, feeling like a contented daddy who had future plans with his girls.
Soon they were sitting around the new table, eating their burgers, beans, baked potatoes and slice tomatoes. Nothing had ever tasted finer to Ennis; good food and good conversation with the finest daughters a man could want.
He explained to them that this oilcloth had belonged to his mother, then he got up to get the book, A Child's Garden of Verses, with the inscription by his grandmother's own hand. They were amazed, they had never seen anything of their grandma Ellie's before tonight. Jr. tried to imagine her.
Ennis got in the closet and pulled out his dad's coat and put it on for them. He told them how he thought his dad was a giant of a man, but his coat fit him, now. They all smiled at how a child sees things. They asked him one more time how old he was when they died. They remembered that it was on Dead Horse Road, because the name is so dramatic. Who could forget?
They put away the leftover food, cleaned up the kitchen, and swept the floor, talking all the while, and singing along with the radio Top 40 Hits.
Jenny asked if Jack's family had any horses and Ennis said "Only one, but I'm taking Scarlet and Grey up there this weekend to stay. Easier for me to take care of them up there, since I'll be goin' up most weekends for awhile. Least till we know how long Mr. Twist will be recuperating." he explained.
"I can't leave Theo to do everything for them, 'sides I'd miss them if I didn't get to brush 'em and exercise 'em myself. Always have cared for them myself, and I still want to do it."
It was a good drive taking the girls back home; Ennis pointed out how full and bright the moon was. They sang "Harvest Moon", then tried singing "Blue Moon", but none of them could remember all the words. It made them giggle and the singing got worse.
When they got to Alma's, Ennis got out with them, and walked them to their door. He took each of them in a big ol' bear hug and kissed them fondly, saying "I love you, little darlin' ", and they each echoed, "I love you, daddy".
When Jr. and Jenny got the front door open, they turned back and repeated what they had always said as little ones. "Daddy, I love you thiiiiis much!" stretching their arms as wide as possible to show how much.
"I'll see you in two weeks, if not sooner, good night girls. Remember you can come by anytime, you don't have to wait for our dinner date."
When he drove away, Ennis felt like the king of the mountain; he had the best time tonight, since he and Alma split. This means that it's been my fault that I was lonely and mssing them, 'cause I didn't put much into it. I didn't push for more time, more of their attention. I didn't know it was okay for me to make my own home for them to come to. I felt so guilty for wanting out of the marriage, that I just gave up, like I didn't have a right to be happy.
Ennis was sad at how much he hadn't known, but was happy that he now was willing to listen and learn. The girls enjoyed being here too, I know they did.
He stopped in at Smith's and got $10 worth of quarters. Ennis went to the phone booth across from the post office, and dialed Jack's number.
"Twist Residence" Jack's voice came over the line so clear, just like he was standing in the phone booth with Ennis. For the life of him, Ennis couldn't speak, he was suddenly choked with emotion, his heart was so full he could do nothing but squeak.
"jack?' he said.
"Yes, Cowboy, it's me. What's wrong?"
"Jack, I just love you so much." said Ennis, at last.
"Ennis, goddamit, what's wrong?" demanded Jack.
"Jack, Jack, nothing's wrong. Sorry, I am just so happy, if I'd known I could feel this way, I think I'd have run off with you 20 years ago."
On his end of the line, Jack was getting the picture, finally. His legs felt all rubbery and so he again, grabbed a kitchen chair as he needed to sit down.
"Uh huh?" said Jack.
"Jack, I carry you around with me everywhere I go, and it makes my whole life better. Do you realize that I never felt that I had anything to look forward to, until now? We had our fishing trips, but those were not never enough time, and I just had to wait for that post card each time. Jack, you still there?"
"I'm here, Cowboy, and I'm waiting for you to come back to me." replied Jack. He added quietly, "I can't wait to see you, baby."
"Okay, before that Operator starts bonging on us, I got a few things to ask you. Am I picking up Bobby on Friday night? And before I forget, you got any concrete mix for the porch footers, or should I bring some?"
Jack said, "No, Ennis, Bobby is not coming till next week, you can pick him up then. And I do have a couple bags of Quickrete, but that won't be nearly enough, maybe bring a couple more bags, okay?. What about your horses?"
Ennis responded about his plans for Scarlet and Grey, and he told Jack about the structure that Mr. Stodemeir said he could have. "I'm only going to try to bring the longest boards for the foundation this time, my first priority is for the horses and their gear. Don't know how many board feet I can carry this trip."
Ennis described the old house, and the strange table and bed, then told him about the tin box. Nice adventure story.
"Had my girls over to my house tonight, cooked for them and all. We never had such a good time, Jack. I owe it all to you. Everything in my life is different now, because I love you; that changes everything I see, feel and think."
"Christ, Ennis, are you saying you didn't love me before – for all these years?" Jack had a little twinkle in his voice, but halfway sounded serious, too.
Ennis was laughing now, "No dummy. But I always had to keep it tamped way down inside me, it was so long in between times when I could possibly see you, that I had to work hard at keeping you out of my daily life, out of my daily thoughts. Now you are running wild in my head all the time!"
Jack smiled. "That's good, Ennis. It's what I always wanted to do, run wild in your head. You get your sweet ass up here as fast as you can, you hear me?"
Ennis thought of something important, "Just so you know, I gave my girls your phone number up there in case of emergency. I told them about your dad, and that I would be up there every weekend until we know what's going to happen with him. Told'em I was bring'en Scarlet and Grey up there too."
"You told your daughter's you were coming up here to stay with me?" asked Jack incredulously.
"Yes, I surely did."
"What'd they say?"
They said, "Oh we hope his dad gets better soon." And Jenny asked if you had any horses up there.
"That's it? Wow. Will wonders never cease?" Jack was blown away. Kids are so amazing, they'll accept whatever you say sometimes, and other times they won't believe you if you tell them that roses have thorns."
"I can't wait to see you, Jack, but I think I'm going to get off here as soon as they start all that mess with the bonging. Will there be any reason for me to call you again before I come up? Maybe tomorrow night?"
"Yes, call me tomorrow night, Cowboy. I cannot hardly stand it when I don't see you or hear your voice." stated Jack.
"Okay, darlin'. Soon as I get the horses and gear loaded up, I'll swing by here and call you. I can't wait to see you. Your mama holding up okay?"
"Yes, she's fine, Ennis. Oh wait'll I tell you what she has planned for us!"
Loud mechanical noise interrupts their conversation, Bong, Bong, "please deposit $5.85 for the next three minutes" Bong, Bong.
"Tell me tomorrow night, Jack. Go out and look at the Moon right now and
I will too. Good Night, darlin' ." smiled Ennis into the phone.
As he was hanging up, Ennis heard Jack say, " G'night, baby."
Ennis checked three more things off his list that he had completed earlier in the evening. He went to sleep and dreamed of a blue eyed man holding him and asking if he wanted to play a game of Marbles. "I play for Keeps." said the man.