Taking Chances, by E. L. Van Hine and L.H. Nicoll

[MaineWriter]

Good morning re-readers....today, chapters 11-15.

http://louisev.livejournal.com/52792.html

“Don’t go second guessin yerself. Oh. An tomorrow, when Mel comes by ta go to the lockup with ya, no wearin yer trick socks okay?”

Ellery pulled a straight face. “I got no idea what you are talkin about Wes.”

“I asked Ennis ta go through yer sock drawer. Yer busted.”

“Shit. My own man turns on me. No sugar for him tonight.”

Wes shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder if you are really five years old inside that beanpole body.”

“Maybe,” Ellery said. “If that is all I want ta go steal one a Joe’s bran muffins before he puts on more weight.”

“Yer excused. An give Wayne my best when you go up there.”

L

[MaineWriter]

Poor Wayne, he seems to have a very short memory. This is from chapter 11:

Wayne started to speak again and then began to cough again, hard, rasping spasms that left him breathless, his face red.

“Jesus Christ Wayne.”

He nodded, unable to speak, and picked up a glass of water, gulping down a tiny mouthful of it, hand pressed to his chest. “I know,” he whispered. “But... I think it’s gettin better.”

“Don’t worry bout the insurance none, Wayne.”

“Listen, Ellery. I just want ta say I’m sorry fer never listenin to ya. You were right. An I’m sorry for buggin Ennis so much. I don’t want ta go ta my grave thinkin two a the people I like an respect the most haven’t got nothin but –“ he stopped and coughed again....

“Wayne, you don’t have ta say all this...” and was silenced by Wayne’s raised hand, his sunken eyes glaring at him in defiance of his breathlessness.

“Haven’t got nothin but contempt fer me. Maybe I don’t deserve it, but I really do respect you Ellery... an I respect Ennis too, an I’m sorry I called em an asshole.”

“He probably don’t even remember, Wayne, let it go.”

“You were right ta fire me. I guess when I started feelin sick is when I started gettin careless, an when Bill showed up I told em about what I was afraid of, cause Pinky – you remember that trucker, Pinky?”

“Oh yeah... he is banned from the bar.”

“Yeah well he called me an told me he was sick a few months ago an I been dreadin ever since.”

“Wayne, please don’t tell me you an Pinky...” his face turned read. “The man is an animal, Wayne.”

“Yeah well... “ Wayne blushed under the feverish ruddiness of his face. “He’s got a ten inch cock Ellery.”

Ellery shook his head. “God amighty, Wayne.”


L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 12:

“I sure hope so.” Ellery ate with quiet displeasure, trying to endure what might be the beginning of a long, jealous argument. The cute part was his being amused by Ellery’s tale of Gabe’s sexual inadequacy. The part that was not so cute was the dark mood accompanying it, the lack of trust, and he reminded himself that it was not he, Ellery, Ennis was jealous of, nor was the real topic his last sexual partner, but the mounting anxiety surrounding the test, the ever present questions and torment he put himself to about Jack, and his uncertainty about Jack. Right now, it seemed unimportant that Ellery loved him, and only important – whether Jack did. When he realized this, Ellery lost his appetite, but kept eating, mechanically. If I can eat through a murder trial, I can eat through Ennis not givin a shit about whether I love em or not. It’ll pass.

and then, same chapter:

“You want me ta tell ya if he calls me? An no, he hasn’t called me. But Amos Marigold called me an Wes pinned a note on my door an told me he asked you what was in my sock drawer.”

“Wes is lyin, he never asked me about yer socks. What’s this about socks?”

Ellery grinned suddenly. “He didn’t?”

“No. Why would he ask me about yer socks?”

“No reason, I played a trick on Amos in court the other day an put on red socks an he called Wes ta complain.”

“Oh. I don’t get it.”

“Dress code. I’m gonna get changed. You said Mr. Coyote was visitin after dinner. Am I stayin naked or gettin on my knees or what here?”

Ennis took another draw on the cigar, did not offer it to him.

“I don’t know, maybe not tonight.”

“Okay.” Ellery went in the bedroom, changed into a pair of black denims, and as an afterthought, put on a blue t-shirt. He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over, pressing his hands against his face. Goddamn you an yer moods, Ennis. I love you ta death but sometimes you just make me want ta scream.



L

[yb]

Chapter 12 is difficult to read, as per Leslie's quotes.

And I also want to quote the following:

“Yeah... so how is Wayne besides bein real sick. He say anythin else?”

“Yup, said he was real sorry he called you an asshole.”

“Better late than never I suppose. Maybe I ought ta go with ya some time if he’s gonna be in there.”

“I don’t know if Wayne’s gonna survive, Ennis, frankly. I tried ta be delicate about askin. I don’t know if people get better from one thing or just get sicker an get somethin else or what. Anyone call from Denver, or Sampson or anybody?”

I know I am being sentimental, but I hope when Ennis & Ellery decides the guest list for their reception, they'd remember this moment.

[yb]

Chapter 13, we get to see a rare occasion that Ellery lost his temper to Ennis:

Ellery leapt up, in a motion that seemed to quick for his usual lethargic pace. “I am sick a this bullshit about did he love ya didn’t he love ya an you sittin there wallowin in fuckin guilt over this.”

“Don’t,” Ennis said, voice choked with anger.

“I will. Ya know, I have been holdin this back for some time since dinner but there’s a little somethin else you ain’t payin attention to either while you’re playin pull the petals off the daisy. There’s someone right here right now who loves ya an that don’t seem to mean fuckall to you right now.”

“Yer wrong. It does.”

“Prove me wrong, Ennis. Yer so stuck right now in yer little guilt party you can’t even see me. You can see someone I fucked two times a year ago like a big red cape in front of a bull’s nose, but you can’t see the guy I’m fuckin right now every goddamn night, every which way ta Sunday, an I love em like there’s no tomorrow an I’d do just about anythin for em, includin gettin shot at I might add, but do you think he gives a good goddamn right now? What color his eyes are? Who the fuck cares? I don’t.”

“I’m sorry ya took it that way Ellery,” Ennis said, bridling at the vehemence of Ellery’s words. “I wasn’t tryin ta tell ya I didn’t love –“

“You don’t give a good goddamn right now whether I love ya. All you care about is who did Jack Twist fuck? Well make a fuckin list! You want ta know write it all down, everybody you think he fucked, an memorize it. Hair color, eyes, height, weight, don’t forget what size cock they got an how many times they fucked em. That’s important too. Because it all comes down ta one thing. The more you imagine he was fuckin other guys then the less important you are because yer afraid he didn’t care, an he got himself killed because he didn’t care. Let me tell you boy, on the list a things people think about when they are busy gettin murdered, one of them ain’t how much does my man care about me? They’re too busy bein killed to worry about the niceties. I told you this I don’t know how many times an maybe my bein mad an annoyed an rubbin it in a bit might get through yer brain when the soft spoken pattin on the head part won’t.”

[MaineWriter]

Good quotes, Betty, thanks!

More from Chapter 13:

“True love sometimes gives ya a second chance, Ennis.”

“So you think... it was true love.”

“Uh huh. You wouldn’t be cryin right now if it wasn’t. It wouldn’t be diggin you so deep if it wasn’t. I can’t fault ya for that Ennis. Yer a man who loves deeply. An that is what I fell in love with.”

“You don’t mind... if I loved Jack like that?”

He shook his head. “No, it just means you got it in ya. I don’t want no more cold fish men, Ennis. An you ain’t no cold fish, believe me.”

“I’m sorry, Ellery.” He squeezed the hand that was holding his arm, blinking back another pair of tears.

“I know, it’s okay.”

“I wish they’d call.”

“So do I. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Tired.”

“Come on then,” and Ellery led him out of the living room, flicking off the television with the remote, and helped undress him. Ennis seemed passive, soft, pliant now, having given up the intellectual struggle to understand his place in Jack’s life, and consequently, his place in Ellery’s life, but had resigned himself to simply accepting it, for now, accepting the warm body that embraced his, the soft kiss on his cheek, the gentle caresses on his arm and shoulder, soothing him, and they fell asleep gradually, holding each other, in the quiet summer darkness, postponing their anxiety to another day.


L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 14, and interesting conversation with Mel:

“Use that, Ellery. Tell him you’ve been reading about hopeful treatment options and he might pull through and he can’t afford to turn down that opportunity while helping people he might have harmed that he might not want to have on his conscience. His kind.”

“Mel,” Ellery said, straightening in his chair, bridling.

“Ellery,” Wes said, his tone warning.

“Wes, it needs ta be said.” Wes sighed, shaking his head. “Mel, his kind are my kind. I’m queer. An before you ask, I do live with another man. So please go light on the “his kind” comments, because I might be takin it personally.”

Mel might have just been told his table was ready for a dinner reservation. He smiled politely. “No offense was intended, Ellery. Neither to you, nor to your kind. I am suggesting a line of reasoning to the suspect in order for him to avoid the ultimate penalty in the trials awaiting him.”

“I understand. This is all because a the heat his judge daddy is puttin on everybody ain’t it? This ain’t about the boys he might a been pickin up all this time down in Austin an parts unknown.” His face was flushed with anger.

“It’s about all that, Ellery. Justin Worrell might become the most celebrated case of murders of queer men in this area, and it behooves us to do the best we can here.”

“Bullshit, Mel, this has to do with your reelection too, an it’d be a whole lot better fer you if he sang like a bird after he was snipin at members a Laramie’s finest in their own homes.”

“Ellery, yer bein disrespectful to the D.A.”

Mel put up a hand. “Wes, leave the boy be, I can’t entirely argue with his line a reasoning. But the fact is there are political realities, and a confessing murderer with a fatal disease showing remorse does go over a whole lot better in this jurisdiction and will also get Judge Worrell out of my office.”

Ellery gave Wes a smug, “I told you so” smile.

L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 15, Ennis surprises Ellery, with his reaction to the news about the AIDS test...

Ennis grinned. “You get off on that?”

Ellery nodded. “We need a cigar.” He rummaged across the table for the box and took one out. “Sure did, damn boy. Every time you do that it seems like it is something completely new. You must do a lot a thinking on yer job.”

“Yeah. Well I figured… maybe we won’t always be so fit an feelin healthy an maybe it’s stupid ta waste time fightin an bein depressed because we won’t always have it.”

“True…” Ellery said. “But I don’t think cryin over what is botherin ya is wastin time. Some stuff has ta come out.”

“Sure enough.”

“Ennis, I got some news, an I woulda told ya but I got kidnapped by Mr. Coyote at the sink.”

Ennis sat up. “They called. We’re gonna go.”

Ellery shook his head. “Yeah they called, and no we ain’t gonna go. They ain’t letting queers in this trial, Ennis. Why Sampson had us go through this fuckin runaround is beyond me.”

“That’s why they was askin all this stuff about sex?”

He nodded. “Probably.”

“So what now?”

“I figured right about now you hit the roof an break some stuff.”

Ennis accepted the cigar from Ellery’s hand. “There ain’t nothing we can do, darlin. We tried, we been to the doctor, we’re healthy, we ain’t got any a those diseases, an if they won’t test us then we just got ta wait or put it outta our minds. Stand it if we can.”

“The test’ll probably get approved sometime in the next few months then we can take it at Sampson’s office.”

“I don’t have ta get on that teeny tiny airplane.”

Ellery grinned, taking the cigar back and inhaling. “That’s one thing we can put outta our minds then.”

“Dammit Ellery. I wish we didn’t know, an we could just go on an be ignorant an blissful.”

“An if one of us got sick then we would look back an wish we had known. No, better off knowin.”

“Ya think?”

“Yeah I do.”

“Then I don’t think we ought ta waste any more time,” Ennis said, taking a drag on the cigar as Ellery handed it back to him, and putting it in the ashtray, hand already reaching for his cock to stimulate himself back to erection. “On yer knees, boy.”

L

[mariez]

Good Morning, All - Thanks for the great quotes!

In light of recent events, it was especially touching to read this:

Chapter 12 is difficult to read, as per Leslie's quotes.

And I also want to quote the following:

“Yeah... so how is Wayne besides bein real sick. He say anythin else?”

“Yup, said he was real sorry he called you an asshole.”

“Better late than never I suppose. Maybe I ought ta go with ya some time if he’s gonna be in there.”

“I don’t know if Wayne’s gonna survive, Ennis, frankly. I tried ta be delicate about askin. I don’t know if people get better from one thing or just get sicker an get somethin else or what. Anyone call from Denver, or Sampson or anybody?”

I know I am being sentimental, but I hope when Ennis & Ellery decides the guest list for their reception, they'd remember this moment.

Oh, I hope so too!  (And I hope Wayne remembers, also - maybe it would help him hold his tongue a little when he's feeling so jealous and angry!)

Thanks again!  Marie

[MaineWriter]

Re-readers,

Sorry for the delay today...bad weather interfered. But here we go, chapters 16-20.

http://louisev.livejournal.com/54202.html

In 16, Ennis comes face-to-face with the infamous Gabe Blackwell!

Ellery opened the door, letting Rudy out first so he could get to the bar as the first few customers drifted in, and then Ennis stepped out, hat pulled low.

“Well if it ain’t Ellie Mae Cantrell from Dogpatch!” said a loud, deep bass voice coming from a tall black hatted figure with a large gunbelt and a pearl handled revolver bristling out of each holster, and Ennis’s head flew up, coming nearly eye to eye with him, and he knew instantly who it was: Gabe Blackwell, Ellery’s former.

“Jesus Christ amighty,” Ellery said under his breath. “Fancy meetin you here, Gabe,” and grasped the hand extended to him, face visibly blushing red.

To Ennis’s horror, Gabe pulled Ellery toward him and engulfed him in the kind of embrace that only Ennis gave Ellery, and Ennis’s reaction was instantaneous. “Get off em,” he growled, his voice thick with menace, and the stranger looked over, blinking, dropping his arms.

“Who the hell is this Ellie Mae?”

“Call me by my name, Gabe. This here is Ennis Del Mar. Say hi to the nice man Gabe, or he might just punch yer lights out. This here’s my new boyfriend.”

Ennis made a grimace as the man blinked several times, looked at Ellery and then slightly down at Ennis, overtopping him by a good three inches. “Shit, you got yerself a nice lookin boy there Ellie... Ellery.” He took off his hat and extended his hand, stepping back a full step from Ellery. Ennis ignored it. “I’ll be in the car,” he said to Ellery, and opened the door with far too much force, slamming it as he left.

“He didn’t have ta take it so hard, El,” Gabe said, frowning. “I was sorta hopin we could catch up, you know... spend some time together.”

Ellery shook his head. “Sorry, Gabe. I’m seriously involved. An you just sorta nullified any possibility of a lighter social visit there, cause I doubt he’d sit down with ya after that.”


L