ENNIS
By Tom Forster

Chapter 4


Billy liked Ennis,— a lot.  The past six weeks were the best he had in a long time.  The work was grueling but Billy enjoyed it, especially if it meant Ennis was going to be working with him.  Uncle Vernon was right,— Ennis knew every square inch of the spread,— and beyond.  The man worked harder than anyone Billy ever saw.  On the day they were throwing out bales for the cattle, Ennis was tossing two to his one, but he didn't even seem to get winded.  Though it had been a cool day, they took off their shirts.  The hay was sticking to their sweaty bodies.  Ennis chuckled when Billy tumbled head first off the wagon onto a heifer as he tried to keep up with his pace.  It was the first time he saw Ennis laugh since he arrived in Riverton.

"Boy, you better work on that.  Hell,— I know you said you liked to rodeo, but that's plumb pitiful if you ask me!"

Billy beamed up at Ennis and hopped back up on the wagon to do his share.

This was going to be their first overnight trip up in the foothills. Billy was as excited as a kid.  He moved into the cramped little bunkhouse apartment even though his uncle said he could stay in the main house.  Billy felt he should live and work as a ranch hand to get the feel of the place.  Vernon Sr. saw this as a good sign and didn’t protest.

The beauty of the place was beyond Billy's wildest expectations. When he awoke every morning he'd pad over the cold wooden floor to the little window and look out at the majestic mountains in the distance, still capped with snow this time of year.  He just couldn't believe a place like this existed, and that Uncle Vernon wanted him to take it on.

Billy still felt out of place and unworthy of consideration for such a thing.  Despite the beauty of the land and the fact he felt he could run the place, given his years of experience, he wasn't sure if he was sold on the idea.  Hell, Ennis deserved the honor more than he did, but Billy knew how much it meant to the old man to keep the ranch in the family.

Billy was packing the last of his gear when he heard Ennis' old Ford truck pull up outside the bunkhouse.  He felt the excitement rising in the pit of his stomach.  Ennis strolled slowly into the bunkhouse, his hat low over his eyes and his hands in the pockets of his coat.  Ennis went over to the wood stove and warmed his hands, not saying a word.  Billy was used to this entrance by now.  At first he thought Ennis viewed him as a nuisance, but as Billy became a little more familiar with his ways, he got the feeling Ennis enjoyed his company, at least, some of the time.

"Hey, Ennis,— I'm about ready.  You think we're gonna see any weather while we're up there?"

Billy came out into the main room of the bunkhouse in his socks.  He sat down on one of the wooden bed frames the ranch hands used and started pulling on his boots.

"Nope, don't think we'll have any problems.  It'll be chilly but I think we can bed down under the stars tonight.  I got everything we need.  You just be sure and wear some long johns."

Ennis went over to the stables to get their horses ready for the journey.  Billy finished up his packing and stuck his head in the kitchen door to let the old man know they were heading out.

Billy could barely contain his excitement as the horses climbed up through the trees.  They traveled in silence for a while, then Billy started talking about life back in Texas, and shared a couple of stories about adventures he had when he was traveling around the Southwest.

"Ennis, you ever seen the desert?  Man, it's some’um else.  Most people you talk to think the desert is empty and ugly.  I think it's beautiful.  It's so quiet you can hear your heartbeat."

They paused at the clearing Ennis brought him to that first day.  The vista encompassed the river, a good bit of the lower grazing lands with the mountains looming in the distance.

"Hell, what am I sayin’?  Nothin can beat this!  Ennis, you ain't missin’ nothin in the desert."

Ennis liked listening to Billy tell his stories.  He was a good kid. Ennis realized Billy wasn't out for anything.  Barker made a good choice.

As they approached the uplands, Ennis began to talk some.  He pointed out trails Billy would need to know for bringing the herds up to the open range land,— trails that had been used for over a hundred years.  They stopped at a high place above a deep canyon.

“See down there.  That's a tricky part.  I've lost a few on that ridge there, and you gotta’ make sure you drive ‘em to the left of that butte in the distance so’s they come out on the right part of the river.  It's too deep if you take ‘em on the other side.  The old man will have your hide if he hears you've drowned any of his profit."

They didn’t start out until close to noon, so they continued on until well after dark.  Billy could tell the horses knew the way, but he stuck close behind Ennis just in case.  It was pitch dark.  Billy could see the thin sliver of the new moon in the Southwestern sky.  He couldn’t believe how many stars there were.  A lot more than he could see on a moonless night at the lake outside of Weatherford.  By the time they reached the camp site Billy was starting to feel the chill of the early May night.

If Ennis had been on his own he would have continued for a couple more hours to the high camp, but he could tell Billy was getting tired. The kid hadn’t said one word in over an hour, so Ennis took it to be a good indicator they should over night at this lower camp site.

It was a good spot, sheltered from the wind with plenty of dry kindling scattered around the nearby trees so they could quickly get a fire started.  To the south, if it had been light, they could have seen down to the river in the far distance.  To the north, the cold, high peaks of the mountains loomed.

They tied off the horses and took down their saddles and packs. Ennis got Billy to gather up some dry branches and stack them in the fire pit Ennis used many times over the years.  Before long they had a good fire going.  Ennis brought along some beef jerky, a couple of cans of soup and some bread.  Beans were no longer on the menu. They unrolled their bedding and sat by the fire eating their meal.

“Damn, this sure is good soup Ennis.  My stomach was chewing on itself I was so hungry.”

Billy broke off some bread a dipped it in the plate of thick soup.

After they finished their meal, Ennis went over to check on the horses and Billy stretched out on his bed blankets with his head propped up on his saddle.  The fire was going good now.  Ennis was in the shadows near the trees, just outside the glow of the campfire, where Billy couldn’t see him.  He watched Billy pull off his boots and stick his feet near the fire to warm them.

Ennis thought Billy looked real handsome.  The glow of the fire was shining in his dark red hair, casting shadows across the fine features of his face; his strong nose,  chin, and full lips.  Ennis noticed Billy bulked up some since he got to Riverton.  His chest and arms strained against the now too small flannel shirt.

This reminded Ennis of those first nights up on Brokeback before he and Jack were together the first time.  He’d sneak looks at Jack when he wasn’t aware, admiring him, the line of his jaw, the way his dark hair curled behind his ears, the muscles in his neck, his hands, the blue beam of Jack’s eyes that could penetrate into his soul.  A lonesome howl in the distance broke the silence of the cold, thin mountain air.

“Y’all got coyotes up here, too, huh?”  Billy twisted his head in Ennis’s direction.

Ennis walked back into the glow and squatted by the fire warming his hands.

“Ain’t no coyote,— ‘at’s a wolf.  They’re making a comeback in these parts.  We’ve lost quite a few head of cattle to ‘em the past couple a years.”  Ennis got up and went over to his bed roll on the opposite side of the fire from Billy.  He buttoned up his jacket and laid down with his hat and boots still on.

“Ennis, you been married before, ain’t you?  Uncle Vernon mentioned something about you havin’ a daughter living just outside of Riverton.”

“Yep, I’s married,— long time ago.  I got two daughters.  One of ‘em moved down South and I don’t hear from her much any more.”

Ennis folded his arms across his chest, it was colder than he had planned on.

“I ain’t never been married,— never even come close.  Hell, I’m ashamed to say it, but I only been with two girls in my life and neither one of ‘em lasted too long.  Thirty five years old,— ain’t that pitiful!”

Ennis smiled to himself.  They were silent for a while.

“Ennis,— you ever killed a man?”

Ennis couldn’t figure why Billy would ask him something like that. He wanted to say, “Yep, I killed a man.  It took twenty years to do it, but he was dead just the same.”  Instead he replied, “Not that I know of.”

Billy was quiet.  Ennis pulled his blanket up to his chin and began to feel the warmth of the fire sinking in.  Billy then said in a low voice.

“I killed a man.  I didn’t mean to, but I did it.”  The he rolled over with his back towards Ennis.  They both drifted off to sleep.

Ennis hadn’t slept through a full night since Jack died.  He usually drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours only to wake suddenly for no apparent reason.  He still had dreams of Jack.  They weren’t as frequent as in those early years.  A few months would go by without one, only to return with a vengeance, sometimes causing Ennis to awaken with a yelp; sometimes to awaken with tears running down his face.

Ennis opened his eyes and listened for the harmonica,— only silence and the low snorting of the horses.  It was still way too early to head out.  He lifted up his head and looked over to where Billy was sleeping, all balled up in his blankets, his back still facing Ennis.  The fire had died down to a pile of glowing embers.  Ennis sat up and pulled up the collar of his coat.  It had to be in the teens, but at least there was no wind.  Ennis quietly got up and walked over to Billy, he could see he was shivering in the cold.  He got more wood from the pile they gathered earlier and placed it in the pit.  The moist wood began to spit, but slowly the flames reappeared.  Ennis laid back down on his bedding and pulled his blankets over his head.  Billy stirred and rolled over in Ennis’s direction.

“Shit, it’s cold!  God dang it!  I ain’t accustomed to this!  Dammit Ennis, why didn’t we at least bring a tent with us?”

Ennis pulled his blanket from his face.

“This ain’t nothin,’ wait ‘til you get a feel of thirty below.  I told you to put on some long johns.  I guess you Texas cowboys are too good to sleep with your boots on.”

“God dang it, Ennis,— I ain’t got no long johns!”

Ennis laughed out loud.  He thought a couple of minutes.

“Okay, buddy, get on over here,— I’ll help you out, and put them boots back on!”

Billy scrambled to his feet with his blankets draped over his head and shoulders.  He jammed on his boots and shuffled over to Ennis.

“Get down here next to me.  It’ll be warmer that way.”

Ennis lifted up his blankets and scooted over so Billy could lay down next to him.  Billy wrapped his own blankets around himself and laid down with his back to Ennis, who then covered the both of them with his own heavy blanket.  Billy was facing the fire.

“Thanks friend,” Billy said, “I don’t think I could ‘a lasted much longer.”

Ennis rolled in the opposite direction, pulled down his hat and tucked his chin in his coat.  After a while Ennis could feel Billy’s body relaxing and the young man’s whole back side started leaning into his.  It felt good to have Billy’s warm body next to him, even if it was separated by thick layers of clothing.  Sometimes Ennis used to wake up in the night, on their camping trips, just to watch Jack sleep.

He loved hearing the deep breaths and being able to look at Jack up close without him knowing, he would sometimes stroke Jack’s hair.  It was not long until he could hear Billy’s steady breathing.  Ennis couldn’t help himself, he just got this sudden urge that he had to give into.  He gently rolled back over so that he was facing Billy’s back side, and he moved in close.  Ennis lifted himself up quietly on one elbow and looked over to make sure Billy was asleep.  He lowered himself back down and propped his head just behind Billy’s and slowly moved closer until his nose brushed the hair at the base of Billy’s neck.  He inhaled slowly and deeply.  Billy’s warm musky scent comforted Ennis, and he drifted back to sleep.

Billy stared at the flames.  This reminded him of that night he let his leg lean into Chad’s.  Tears welled up in his eyes.  He listened to Ennis’s deep breaths,— he felt safe.


Copyright 2006 Tom Forster