Ennis del Mar had spent most of his life and almost all of his young adult life living in fear of John Twist, or at least men like him, those that would hate him for what he was, a queer. He knew deep down he was queer, even though he had told Jack different back on the Mountain, ‘cause he couldn’t even admit it to himself, was ashamed of it, thought it made him less of a man, and thought it would drive Jack away. So he talked to men like that only when he had to, and when he passed them on the street, or rode by them on a ranch, he could feel their accusing eyes boring into him, and he kept his eyes cast firmly on the ground, so he could see where he was going all the time and avoid letting anyone inside him.
But the past summer changed him, brought him life and love in the form of Jack Twist, a person, a man, who loved him for who and what he was. That love wormed its way deep into his heart before he could do anything about it, and made him look up for the first time, look up into deep blue eyes, look up to see where he could go and not just down to see where he was going. They had never said the words until today, Christmas Eve, but he had known it for months. He realized that Jack’s love was a gift given to him freely, he had accepted that gift and he would not turn away or dishonor that gift, ever.
When Mr. Twist spoke, Ennis saw the look in Jack’s eyes, fear and love mixed, as his eyes moved from his man in front of him to the man behind. No sir, no time to back down, not now. They’d both come too far.
Slowly Ennis turned around, aware of the three pairs of eyes fixed on him, and looked at Jack’s father. That’s when Jack gave him another gift.
“Dad, this here’s Ennis del Mar, my best friend and my…partner,” Jack told his father without flinching.
Ennis stuck out his hand in greeting, “Nice to meetcha, sir,” he said to Mr. Twist, looking at him.
“Partner, huh? Since when do ya have a best friend and partner?” responded his father while ignoring Ennis’ hand. Ennis let it hang there a few seconds, and then withdrew it, and looked down at his boots out of habit.
“That’s right, Dad, best friend and partner,” and lover, and the one I’m spending the rest of my life with, "since last summer on the Mountain."
Partner.
“Thought you were gettin married this month, del Mar,” said Mr. Twist, finally acknowledging Ennis’ presence before him. “Where’s your wife?”
“Don’t have one, sir,” responded Ennis. He looked up again right at Mr. Twist. “Couldn’t promise Alma I’d love her for the rest of my days, and thought it best not to make a promise I couldn’t keep, so I didn’t marry her. Guess I’m not the marryin kind, sir, at least not with Alma. After that, decided to come up here and see Jack.” And hope he would remember me and still care for me like we did on the Mountain.
Mr. Twist looked hard at Ennis, and then at Jack, and then back at Ennis. “Well, good thing to do, del Mar, a man don’t make promises he can’t keep, like stayin around when ya got no real plans ta do it,” Mr. Twist said to the both of them. Jack blushed a little bit, and his mouth hardened that same little bit. But he still looked at his father.
Mr. Twist held out his hand slowly. “If Andy Murchison likes ya enough to hire ya and trust ya with his truck, you’re ok with me.”
Ennis took his hand and gripped it, giving back as good as he got. Mr. Twist looked again at Ennis, and then at Jack, and then at Mrs. Twist. Something passed between husband and wife; Jack missed it, ‘cause he’d never seen it before and didn’t know what to look for. Ennis had only known them for five minutes, and had no clue.
That’s when Mr. Twist gave Jack the first real Christmas present of his short life. As he dropped Ennis’ hand, Mr. Twist continued, “And, any friend and partner of Jack’s is welcome in our home.”
Topic: Introducing the "Jack with Ennis" Fan Fic Game - the BetterMost Edition (Read 2170773 times)