Camping by Littlewing1957
Ennis considered himself officially retired, and moved in with Alma Jr. to spend the rest of his days in relative comfort. Alma Jr. was recently divorced and was raising her young daughter and almost grown son by herself. Alma invited Ennis to stay with her after her husband left the marriage. She needed his help and wanted his companionship. Ennis’ grand kids loved him and were delighted when they found out he had come to stay.
Alma Jr. bought Ennis one of those tiny black-and-white television sets as a welcome home present. Ennis pulled the cute little t.v. from the box and inspected it. He shook his head in wonder as he turned the television on. The screen was small but he didn’t have a problem. He saw very clearly a woman practically drooling over a bottle of “Mr. Clean.” Ennis couldn’t believe it. “The future is today!” Ennis muttered as he kissed Alma Jr. on her ruddy cheek and thanked her for the gift.
Alma Jr. lived not too far from Buffalo Bill State Park. Ennis never lost his love of camping; not even after his fishing buddy passed away. His eyes twinkled as he watched his grandson place a call to the park’s office to make a reservation. James wanted to go along, but Ennis turned him down as gently as he could. He would take the boy camping some other time. Ennis needed to be alone his first time out. Alma Jr. packed her father a thermos full of orange juice, and prepared him a meal of grilled pork chops, potato salad, and bread. Ennis didn’t need much, as he would only be camping out for one night. His gear was old but still functional. James helped grandpa Ennis load his gear onto his truck. Ennis headed out to the park while his family stood on the front steps of their home, waving goodbye.
Ennis was too tired to erect his tent. The drive to the park took much longer than he expected, and by the time he found his place, he was dead tired. The truck bed was big enough for him to use as a place to sleep. Ennis looked around him as he lit a fire to heat up his dinner. The site was noisy and animated with families playing ball, cooking, and a few teenagers were listening to pop music and dancing. While he ate his meal, a few of the women noticed him and walked by his truck several times, smiling at him and nodding. Mr. Del Mar smiled and nodded back. One brazen chick even deliberately dropped a piece of wood she was carrying and bent down provocatively to pick it up. She made sure Ennis had a nice view of her daisy duke clad rear end. Ennis chuckled to himself. He almost felt sorry for her when she realized that he wasn’t the least bit interested. The pretty lady uttered a miffed “humph!” and went on about her business. When the sun began to set, Ennis fetched the pile of blankets Jamed packed for him and climbed onto the truck bed. He placed beside him the small t.v. that Alma Jr. bought him and turned it on. It worked! He actually got reception out there! Ennis covered himself with the blankets and watched an episode of Saturday Night Live. Even at that late hour the campsite was alive with people who couldn’t or wouldn’t sleep. Ennis watched the shadows of folks dancing, running, jumping. He pulled the covers over his head and remembered when he and Jack Twist were running in the woods at the base of Brokeback Mountain. Memories of his deceased lover once haunted him, but as the days wore on and he felt old, thoughts of Jack served to comfort him. Ennis liked it better that way. He huddled into the blankets and imaged his long lost lover’s arms around him. He fell asleep and called for Jack Twist to join him in a dream.