SPOILERSHow poignant is that, that he is now referring to Alma as the wife instead of with one of his nicknames or just her name?
Yes, that line really sprang out at me, too! The damage has already been done and there's no going back. Poignant, indeed. And, yeah, Jack's little "doggy dance" was priceless! How does she come up with this stuff?
..... I read some replies on this story that said Jack and Ennis need to be together because they love each other, but I hardly think it's that simple, it's often that simple in fanfic, but not in this story. Am I making sense? I can think of a hundred ways how they will never have a life together, while in other stories I can.
That's so funny that you said that! In my reply on her LJ, I told Kumari that she's not writing a "fanfic." This is altogether something new. Instead of a "J&E" story, this is an intense, brilliant, in-depth look at families. Fathers and sons, husbands and wives, daddies and their little girls. Layers upon layers upon layers. Complex doesn't begin to describe it.
I do think Jack made a good start, at least, with how he handled Bobby:
....You could die, and what would I do then? What would I do without you?”
Bobby shrugged and fell back into the chair. “Seems like you’ve been getting along fine without me so far.”
“No,” Jack said shaking his head, “that’s just it, I haven’t. We’re too far apart and look at how we’re both fucking up, see what I mean?”
“Yeah.”
Oh, God, that poor little boy is just dying for attention, he's been begging for it! In a strange way, as upset as I was at Jack for going "nuts" as Bobby put it, I think Lureen's indifference to Bobby is more painful to him and more damaging.
And, yeah, of course Ennis is in denial! I honestly don't see how he couldn't be. Jack may not be in the same kind of "denial" Ennis is in about his sexuallity or the state of his marriage, but they both have issues they're not ready to tackle yet, evidenced by the fact that Jack felt the need to please Lureen in bed. Not to mention his father issues...... (and what a painful, but excellent, scene that was!)
I thought this was a particularly insightful line, among dozens of them:
The reality of what was between them didn’t catch fire in Ennis’s mind, but seeped into his consciousness, pervasive and invisible.They're not not nearly ready for soul-searching yet, I don't think. But that entire scene between them was structured so perfectly from the moment Ennis pulled Jack inside the house - it's so evident that beyond anything or anyone else, these guys
belong to each other. And it's a beautiful thing to see - but in this situation, it's also a huge problem for a lot of good people.
What a great Christmas Eve surprise!
Marie