Right 86 by Littlewing1957
“What do you mean you’re leaving?” It was Mrs. Twist. She was seated at her clean kitchen table shelling peas as Ennis and Jack stood over her. Jack watched his mom as she held a handful of peas in her small palm. She seemed frozen in time, her tiny mouth forming a perfect O. Jack looked to Ennis for support and reassurance, and Ennis nodded at his friend. Jack nodded back, and decided to get it over with. If he hesitated one more second his resolve would be lost forever. “We need to make a fresh start, Ma,” Jack blurted. “This is just not the place for us.” Mrs. Twist closed her mouth and placed the peas in a large aluminum bowl. Jack promised himself that he would be firm, but he felt he would crumble if his mom couldn’t handle the news. Ennis and Jack watched Mrs. Twist closely as she digested Jack’s words. Jack was beginning to think his mother was accepting of his decision, but when she began to tremble, the boys pulled up chairs and quickly sat down beside her. Jack folded his mother’s small hand in his while Ennis placed a comforting hand on her bony shoulder. Jack cooed and spoke soft words to her. “Listen ma,” Jack whispered, “You won’t lose me—us! We’ll be back once we find a place to stay and get work. We’ll let you know how to get in touch with us. You can bet we’ll visit all the time, and you and pa can come see us!” Ennis patted Mrs. Twist’s shoulder. “Ennis and I discussed this, and we would like to try and get a small ranch of our own.” Mrs. Twist was silent. She tried to understand what her son was telling her, but she just couldn’t wrap her mind around the words. “You want to get a place of your own,” she sputtered. Jack smiled. Perhaps if she could just repeat what he said, she would begin to understand and accept his decision to leave. “But what about your pa? What about the ranch and the barn?” Ennis looked at Jack and spoke up. “No need to worry about that, Ma Twist,” Ennis whispered as he squeezed her shoulder. “Jack contacted Uncle Harold. He said he’ll round up a few of his friends and they can have the barn up in little more than a week.” “Sure did,” Jack added. “And we don’t have to worry none about Harold’s health. The doc examined him last week and he’s as fit as a mule!” Mrs. Twist smiled at that. She always loved her brother Harold. It would be nice to have him around the place. “But what will your father say?” Jack looked down at his mother’s squeaky clean kitchen floor. “We already spoke to pa.” Jack spoke so softly his ma barely heard. “What did he say?” Mrs. Twist braced herself for the answer. Jack looked positively miserable. Ennis sighed. He had better take this one. “He told us to leave straight for hell.”
Jack looked around his bedroom. He left Ennis downstairs in the basement to pack his things while he placed a few of his own belongings in a duffle bag. Jack planned to travel light. He knew there would be no need to take everything he owned. With any luck, he and Ennis would find work, a play to stay, and make enough money to buy new clothes and put something away for a down payment on a spread. Jack was getting excited as he packed his shirts. He refused to let his dad’s attitude bring him down. Old Man Twist just needed a little time. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Jack was convinced that his pa would come around. He had to! His things all packed, Jack sat down on his bed and ran a hand over the homemade quilt. His grandma made it for him. He would leave it behind. As he scanned the tiny room, a million images of his childhood danced before his mind’s eye. He didn’t want to relive everything that happened in his room, but his psyche seemed to have other ideas. Jack saw shadows of himself and Alan Sims, laughing and passing a ball back-and-forth across the cold wood floor. The images were plentiful. His mother appeared before him as a young woman, moving toward him with a tray of milk and cookies. And later, he saw her a bit older, looking down on him with great concern, her hand on his hot forehead when he was sick in bed. Jack saw all of this! It was just something he had to do. And, yes, he saw the black nights when his pa climbed into bed with him. But even the painful memories of abuse couldn’t break his spirit. Jack shook the images from his mind. It was time! He rose from the bed and grabbed his duffle. He was ready to start a new life. Jack shouldered his duffle bag and headed down the stairs. The idea of heading out on his own terrified him, but he was prepared to see it through. Ennis asked him to wait in the living room for him. Jack lowered himself onto the sofa and placed his duffle on the floor beside him.
Ennis was happier than any man had a right to be. He couldn't believe that he was about to start down the road on an incredible journey. He had everything all packed, and was just about to pack the last of his things: a blue shirt, but decided against it. Ennis placed the garment down on the twin bed and spread it out nice and neat. He found a piece of note paper and a pen in the small bureau and scribbled out a note as best he could and placed it square on the breast pocket of the shirt. Satisfied that everything was in order, Ennis took once last look around. He had tears in his eyes as he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and headed for the house.
Mrs. Twist wanted to stand, but her legs couldn’t support her weight. She blew air out of her mouth when she thought about kissing her son goodbye. She knew the day would come, but knowing that Jack would leave someday didn’t make it any easier. In fact, saying goodbye to Jack and Ennis was the hardest thing she had ever done. Ma Twist sat down on her favorite chair and watched from the window as Jack and his best friend walked off down the main road. Her heart fluttered a tiny bit whenever Ennis or Jack looked back toward the ranch. She smiled as she watched them walking side by side. Soon they would disappear out of sight. Mr. Twist walked into his living room and noticed his wife looking out the window as tears streamed down her face. Old Man Twist knew all about his rep as a hard man and knew that some considered him a bastard. He just couldn’t bring himself to care what people thought of him. Until now. He wasn’t exactly sorry that he refused to say goodbye to his only child as he left to start his life. He was more than a bit angry that Jack chose to leave at a moment’s notice, especially when there was so much work to be done. Mr. Twist cursed his son under his breath, and called him a selfish bugger. But one look at his wife and John Twist began to soften. He found himself fighting back tears. It was an odd, foreign sensation for him. It troubled him. “I must be human, after all!” He spoke aloud. His wife heard him and reached a trembling hand out to him. Mr. Twist sat down beside his mate and placed her head on his shoulder. He cooed and stroked her thinning hair. He looked outside the window and watched as Ennis and Jack walked away down the road. “There, there, mother,” he soothed, as he rocked his wife back and forth. Mrs. Twist wept softly, not only out of a sense of loss, but because she never experienced a more tender moment between them. As Ennis and Jack seemed to disappear from the landscape, something inside of John Twist shifted. He gently pulled himself away from his wife and stood. “What is it, John?” Mrs. Twist asked, worried now. Her husband looked down at her and patted her shoulder. “They couldn’t have gotten far, mother,” he announced as he moved toward the coat rack. Mrs. Twist was either too stunned or too scared to say a word. John Twist pulled on his wool jacket and opened the door. “I won’t be long, ma. I gotta go after ‘em!”
Topic: Introducing the "Jack with Ennis" Fan Fic Game - the BetterMost Edition (Read 2166888 times)