Aguirre rode in on his mare, holding a rather large package. Jack was bent over a small lamb, massaging its delicate shank. Ennis was positioned by the stream, washing the tin dinnerware. “Twist,” Aguirre shouted, “Ya ma sent you this and asked me to bring it up to ya.” Aguirre never climbed down from his horse, but threw the package at Jack. Jack caught it but was furious that his boss could be so rude. What if he missed the parcel and it fell to the ground? What if there was something fragile inside? It would be just like Jack to drop, or miss the package outright if it was thrown at him. Oh well, Aguirre was nice enough to ride out there and deliver it personally. He didn’t have to take the trouble. “Thanks, Mr. Aguirre,” Jack mused as he inspected the package. It was heavy and bore his name and not much else. Aguirre barely nodded as he turned his horse north and rode away.
“Hey look, friend, a care package,” Jack shouted to Ennis as he walked to the tent to fetch a knife to open it up. Ennis was silent. As he walked to the tent, Jack noticed a slight tensing of his friend’s shoulders when he mentioned the package, and felt like a fool for acting all excited about it. Poor Ennis - up on Brokeback an entire month and nothing - not even a letter. It saddened Jack, even though this parcel was the first and destined to be the only thing he received up on the mountain. Jack noticed that Ennis never even turned toward him. He felt for his friend, practically all alone in the world. Jack would try to make it bearable, though.
Jack found a small knife, perfect for breaking the seal on the package. While Ennis continued to wash the tin ware, Jack had an idea. He quickly ran to the tent and found a pen. He wrote Ennis’ name right next to his on the parcel. “Hey Ennis, Jack shouted, very excited now. “Don’t you want to come see what we got?” Ennis turned toward Jack at the mention of we. “What do you mean, we?” Ennis asked, incredulous. “I mean my ma sent this stuff for the both of us. Come on and get yer chocolate chip cookies before I’m tempted to eat them all.” Ennis’ heart melted. He knew Jack was telling a tale. He smiled as he walked to join his friend, amazed at his loving gestures. Jack took care of him practically from the time they met. Ennis felt unconditionally loved for the first time in his life, and in his own way, he loved Jack. Ennis crouched next to his pal and watched as he pulled out cookies, a canned ham, a couple loaves of bread, mustard, a jar of cherries and a large can of cranberry juice. Toward the bottom of the parcel lay several bars of soap. Ennis laughed as Jack inspected the soap. “How did your ma even know that I’m here,” Ennis asked, playfully. “Well…Jack stammered..I got word to her through Aguirre.” Jack lowered his eyes, but Ennis wasn’t through. He was having fun. “And when was this, Rodeo?” “Listen, Friend, Jack mumbled, “do you want to eat or not? How about I make us a couple of sandwiches out of this ham?” Ennis’ eyes watered a bit. “Okay,” he managed. The sandwiches were eaten and the boys lay out in the shade, satisfied. Ennis had a bar of soap in his hand and looked at Jack. “What do ya say we take a bath in the stream?” Jack relished the thought of soaping Ennis’ beautiful body. He rose and headed toward the stream, peeling off his clothes. “First one in…!!”