(A little over, sorry, and well......you'll see....)The Visit
(August 1985)
He traveled across time zones to get there. Luckily the weather has been unseasonable in most places, unseasonably warm. But finally he arrived.
When he got there Ennis was outside with another man. This man had silvery hair and dark blue eyes. They were sitting outside, smoking and drinking beer. It was a warm night for April. Ennis looked good, a little older, but relaxed and content. Not like he was before, always on edge, always nervous and sad.
Ennis started to laugh. “Ya really scared me, ya know, I had no idea what you were doin’” he said.
“Yeah, ya were scared, real scared” the man said, laughing too. “I felt bad, a little. But it was good for ya. I wanted ya to be scared, that’s why I drove so fast. It was good for ya.”
Ennis gave the man a funny look. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, real good” and the man said, and he reached over and touched Ennis’s arm.
“Whadya readin', Tom?’” Ennis asked.
“All about the auto show” the man said, holding up a magazine. “Maybe I’ll buy me a fancy new car, then I can really go fast” he said and laughed even louder, Ennis laughed too. He watched as they sat there a while longer. Then the man called Tom said “ya wanna eat?”
Ennis nodded. He watched as they got up and went inside the trailer. Tom went over to the stove where something was cooking in a big pot. It smelled good. A lot better than beans. Ennis followed, but then he went up next to Tom and put his arms around him and began kissing his neck. Tom turned around and they kissed. His hands were moving all up and down Ennis’s back.
Then Tom said “later”, and pulled away and returned to the stove. Ennis turned and sat down at the table, looking at the magazine with the cars.
He felt a prickle on his cold neck when he heard Tom say that. He remembered Ennis saying that. He stayed there and watched and listened to them. Of course they could not see him. They didn’t even know he was there.
After a long while he left, and began going back to where he came from. He wasn’t needed there. Ennis was okay, almost happy, or so it seemed. He was glad, but sad too. How he had longed for Ennis to be like that with him, how he had longed to live like that with him.
He went back to where he came from, a long ways away.