ENNIS
By Tom
Forster
Chapter
7
Billy was so excited he could hardly sleep. Normally he'd be
asleep the minute his head hit the pillow on his wooden bunk. The
noise from the other ranch hands didn't even wake him. Even when
they came in late, drunk from a night out in Riverton. He dozed
off and on, but decided to get up around four. He showered,
shaved and put on his good jeans. He stood before the little
mirror in the shower area and placed his new hat on his head.
Never had he been given such a gift. This was now his most
cherished possession. Billy preened before the mirror. He
guessed Ennis kind of looked on him like a son, even though there was
only fifteen years difference in their ages.
The past month and a half was hard on Billy, not because of all the
grueling work, he loved that, but because he didn’t get to work with
Ennis as close as the first six weeks after he arrived. The
overnight trip they took early in May had been about the best time
Billy ever had,— even the river crossing. He thought about the
cold night when he felt Ennis move in behind him. He could have
sworn Ennis smelled him, but maybe he’d just imagined it. Billy
had feelings for Ennis like he had for Chad all those years ago,—
only much stronger. It was more than friendship. It made
Billy nervous when he thought about it,— a good kind of nervous.
Whenever he spotted Ennis across the herd on horseback, he would
watch him until the dust and distance made him disappear.
Sometimes he'd stand just inside the bunkhouse door, in the shadows,
from the bright sun shining outside. He'd observe Ennis while he
worked across the way in the stable with the horses, and wonder what
Ennis was whispering in their ears. He even thought he heard him
humming a church hymn one day. Ennis seemed to always wear the
same type jeans and long sleeved, faded plaid shirts, with his dusty
old white hat.
One hot afternoon Ennis was chopping wood because, even during the
summer there was a chill at night. Billy felt his heartbeat
quicken when Ennis took off his hat and shirt, his lean, muscular body
defying his fifty one years. After he finished, Billy watched
Ennis sponge off the sweat and dust and then sit just inside the barn
door swigging a beer.
Six o'clock came and went, then seven, then eight. Billy felt his
heart sinking with each passing minute. Maybe something bad
happened? Both of them had the day off so neither Chet nor the
other hired hands were expecting him. Billy sat alone in the
bunkhouse almost in tears. He took off his hat and carefully set
it on his little bedside table next to his wind up alarm clock.
He lay down on his bunk and was soon asleep.
Ennis woke up to the sound of knocking at his trailer door. It
wasn't yet five A.M. That meant something bad must have happened
up at the ranch. He got out of bed and pulled on his jeans which
were hanging over the back of a chair. He opened the metal door
and Alma Jr. was standing there, he could tell she'd been crying.
"Get in here baby girl. What's wrong darlin’?" He helped
her up the step and closed the door. He reached for his shirt and
put it on. He stood over where she sat, in his bare feet, with a
concerned look. "Tell me baby, what's wrong? Is Kurt botherin’
you again?"
Alma Jr. was not prone to being overly emotional, it’s something she
got from Ennis. She’d felt really bad she had to bother her
father during the height of the summer herding season, but Pete had
become so intolerable these past months Ennis was the only person she
had to turn to for help. She was never too close to her
mother. She and her step dad got along okay, but they moved to
Cheyenne the previous year; too far to be of any practical assistance.
She was grateful Ennis fixed up a place for her and the kids, making
sure they had everything they needed. He'd checked in on her
every day for a week after they'd moved out of Kurt’s mother's place.
They had to move in with her after Kurt lost his job, and they couldn't
pay the rent for their apartment. Alma was lucky her
mother-in-law still offered to look after the kids during the day while
she was at work as a teller at the Riverton bank.
"Daddy, I'm sorry to bother you so early, but I wanted to catch you
before you left." Alma brushed away her brown hair from where it
stuck to her wet cheek. "No, Kurt ain't bothering us,— he did
come to see me last night though."
Ennis looked at her intently. Alma Jr. was the only person he
could look straight in the eye without feeling self conscious, he knew
her love was unconditional.
"Kurt wants me to take him back. Daddy, he's real sorry for the
way he's been. He even has a good offer for a job down in
Syler. He'll be working as a mechanic at that new assembly plant
they built down there. It's got good pay and benefits."
Ennis felt his heart drop, he knew what this meant and why Alma was
upset. Syler was down near the Colorado border,— a good four hour
drive from Riverton.
"Daddy, I love Kurt. He's a good man, he's never hurt me and I
know he loves me and the kids. He's just been going through a
rough patch these past couple of years." Alma began to cry
softly. Ennis sat down next to her on the beat up old couch seat
and put his arm around her.
"Then that's where you should be, baby, with your husband." He
stroked her soft hair and wiped the tears off her cheek with his long
rough fingers. "Don't worry about me, baby, I'll be fine.
We can meet up every few weeks,— it'll all work out fine."
"You've been so good to us Daddy. I hate leaving like this after
all you did to fix up the apartment for us."
Alma stayed at the trailer for a couple of hours, she and Ennis drank
coffee and talked about the past. Ennis understood his daughter
knew him and loved him better than anyone else. It pained him he
couldn’t open up to her more, but that was impossible. He didn’t
want to burden her with his problems. Ennis was happy for Alma,
he truly hoped things would work out between her and Kurt. He put
on a happy front for her, even made a couple of jokes and got her to
smile. Alma Jr. and the kids would move down to Syler at the end of the
month. Ennis said he'd help them get things together and even ask
old man Barker for a day off to help them move.
As he stood outside his trailer in his bare feet watching, Alma's car
disappear down the long, straight road. He felt the lonely pangs
beginning in his stomach. The low clouds obscured the view of the
distant mountains.
* * * * * * *
"Wake up little darlin.’"
Billy stirred, then opened his eyes. He didn’t know how long he'd
been sleeping.
"Wake up buddy, daylight's a burnin'" Ennis was standing at the
end of the bunk smiling down at him. "I'm sorry I'm late, Billy,
some’um kind of important came up. We still got plenty of time to
ride South."
Billy felt a rush of relief.
“Ennis! I'm damn happy to see you. Is everything okay?"
"Everything's just fine."
Billy splashed some water on his face, then grabbed his hat and they
headed over to the stables. They saddled their horses and filled
a canteen with water. Ennis packed them some food the night
before.
The Southern part of the ranch differed greatly from the foothills and
canyons to the north. The Barker ranch was located in the
transition zone where the great plains of the upper mid West finally
give way to the Rocky Mountains. The south part of the ranch was
mostly flat, dry grasslands with some stands of juniper and pine.
This was the area where the cattle would winter over. It could
still be very cold and snowy in the winter, but not as bitter cold as
the mountains and upper range land where the cattle were currently
being fattened to be sold for slaughter in a few weeks.
Ennis and Billy made their way out of the sheltered valley where the
house and stables were located. As they cleared the ridge the
land opened up and the sky could be seen a full 180 degrees. The
early morning clouds burned off and it was promising to be a
spectacular bright, hot summer day.
Billy's heart was singing. He rode abreast with Ennis, glancing
over at him every few minutes. When they reached the open, flat
grassland, Billy couldn't help but let out a "whoop!" and he kicked his
horse into a gallup, pulling away from Ennis. Ennis grinned,
pulled his hat down tight on his head and started after him. He
felt like a kid again. It didn't take long for Ennis to catch up
with Billy, and they slowed some, letting the warm wind hit them in the
face as they crossed the expanse. Ennis pulled his horse to a
stop and Billy circled back to him.
"Wow, Ennis, I ain't been able to let loose like that in a long time.
Man, that was fun!"
Ennis took off his hat and pointed at the horizon.
"See out that a way,— right there where that ridge line comes out onto
the flat part,— that's where we'll bring the herds out in about eight
weeks. Won't be long ‘til there'll be snow up in the mountains."
They moved onward towards a stand of trees in the distance.
Thirty minutes later they were standing along the side of a large,
clear lake. They dismounted and let the horses drink and rest.
Ennis took down his pack and they walked up into the trees. Ennis
sat down with his back against a trunk. Billy sprawled out on the
ground next to him.
"Damn, this sure is purdy."
Ennis pulled out a couple of sandwiches from the pack and they ate.
They passed the canteen back and forth.
"Ennis, I gotta be honest, I sure have missed gettin’ to hang out with
you like this." Billy took another bite of his sandwich. "I
like them other guys okay, but they just don't look at things the way
you and I do. Hell, all they ever do is talk about goin’ into
Riverton and gettin drunk,— you know how it is."
"Yep, I know,— " Ennis finished off his sandwich and was leaning
back against the tree chewing on a toothpick, looking out at the
pristine lake. "Them guys has had rough lives, Billy.
Gettin drunk is about all the fun they ever have. When you take
over the ranch from your uncle you'll see a lot of cowpokes come and
go. You gotta’ let ‘em let their hair down every now and then."
Billy looked down at a bug crawling on the ground.
"Ennis, I still ain't sure I'm gonna take Uncle Vernon up on his
offer. It just don't set right with me. He's got a son of
his own. Besides, the old man has still got a lot of years left in him,
he may be pushin’ seventy but you'd never know it."
"You may be right, Billy, what do I know?"
Billy looked up at Ennis, afraid he offended him.
Ennis stood up, took off his hat and set it down by the tree.
"How ‘bout we take a swim,— it must be a hunnert degrees out here."
They stripped down to their under shorts. Billy ran to the side
of the lake and splashed in, Ennis followed in behind him.
The water was cool and shallow, only six feet deep at the most. Billy
swam out about fifty yards from the shore. Ennis floated on his
back for a while, looking up at the deep blue sky, only to have Billy
sneak up on him and push him under. Ennis came back up, grabbed
Billy around the waist, hoisted him up out of the water then threw him
back in. They laughed and splashed around.
Ennis got out of the water and sat down on the sandy shore in the hot
sun to dry off. The sun felt good on his shoulders and
back. Billy continued to swim, bobbing under to get rocks off the
bottom. After a few more minutes he also got out and lay out flat
on his back on the sand next to Ennis. He put his arm over his
eyes to shield them from the bright sun.
"This is the life... " Billy allowed.
"Yep..." Ennis responded.
They lay on the sandy shore and dozed in the sun. Billy quietly
rolled onto his side facing Ennis, who was on his back with his eyes
closed, hands behind his head. Billy studied him, his handsome
profile, strong chest and shoulders, the light brown hair on his chest,
curling some around his nipples and making a trail down his belly.
Billy could see the outline of Ennis's penis through the thin white
cotton boxers, the water making them almost translucent; his muscular
thighs and legs covered with fine brown hairs.
Ennis reached over and pulled Billy to him. He kissed Billy hard
on the lips, his hand on the back of Billy's head. Billy jumped
up with a startled look on his face. Ennis sat up and grabbed
Billy by the ankle, looking up at him.
"I'm sorry, buddy! I just got carried a way for a minute."
Ennis panicked, could he have misinterpreted Billy? Billy backed
away from where Ennis was sitting.
"We'd better head back to the ranch. It's okay Ennis, I ain't
gonna say anything,— you know I wouldn't."
Billy walked back up into the trees and got dressed. Ennis sat on
the sand for a while longer, strong emotion washing over him, he took a
deep breath and got up. He dressed quickly.
They rode back to the ranch in silence. Ennis knew Billy wouldn't
say anything about what happened, but his heart ached just the same.
Copyright 2006 Tom Forster