Missing Family by moremojo
"Here's me and Lureen at the last state fair, and that's Bobby standing there to my right", stated Jack with a noticeable air of pride as he showed his latest family snapshots to Ennis at their secluded campground; Jack made a regular ritual of showing his family's progress to his Wyoming cowboy on the occasion of their infrequent meetings, hoping thereby to forge a closer connection to the man who mattered most to him in the whole world, and, though he regretted it, understood Ennis's inability to reciprocate in kind, and had long since ceased asking for visual evidence of the scattered Del Mar family.
Ennis usually took pleasure in examining Jack's trove of personal memorabilia, but at this instance felt an odd sadness seize his heart when gazing upon this latest portrait of Twist togetherness, noting as usual Lureen's uncommon beauty and the son's striking growth from last year's picture and his phenomenal resemblance to his handsome, gracious father; Jack discerned a shift in mood as he glanced at his best friend's weathered face and, his heart taking its cue as naturally as ice melts into water, reached up to stroke and hold the nape of his lover's neck, softly saying, "Hey bud, anything wrong?"
Ennis, usually wanting for words, sighed, "I dunno, Jack, I was jes feelin' lonesome seeing you with your family like that...I was just thinkin of what it might be like...to have kids with you, to live with you...but that jes can't be", whereupon Jack, not missing a beat, countered "No, Ennis, you're wrong...it coulda been that way...it can be that way", grabbing those big, gnarled ranch hands to emphasize the point, but Ennis, blinking away the hint of tears, gently but firmly released Jack's grip, walking silently to the creek for silent reflection, while Jack, glued to the ground, saw the old dream fly out of sight once more.