If Ennis had been alone at the post-divorce meeting. Hmmmm.
At the reunion after four f***ing years, Ennis doesn't stop to think about anything. He just acts. (*Mel pauses for a minute to replay the scene in her mind.*
Yeah. Acts.
)
And yeah, there were a lot of other things besides Ennis's daughters that activated his low startle point... but Ennis doesn't find out about them until Jack starts talking.
So would Ennis's immediate response have been to kiss Jack, if the girls hadn't been there?
Hmmm. I think the reunion was pretty unusual for Ennis. It was a release after four f***ing years of loneliness and confusion and not knowing what had happened to Jack after that summer. And Ennis had time to anticipate the reunion, the whole time between when he got that postcard and when Jack showed up. We got to see Ennis waiting that whole day, flicking his lighter and drinking beers and waiting and listening and waiting some more. And presumably Ennis was thinking about the reunion long before that day arrived.
But would Ennis react like that again? I think Ennis was scared by the intensity of the reunion, by his own lack of control. For Jack, that reunion kiss seems to have been a dream come true, but for Ennis... it's a warning that they can't be in public together. I'm not sure Ennis would have allowed himself to lose control again.
But I think that, yes, Jack expected Ennis to greet him by slamming him against a wall and kissing him until he saw stars.
Poor Jack. Poor Ennis.