Encounter - Chapter Nineteen
Alma, Jr., and Francie sat cross legged on the floor of their room, maneuvering Barbie dolls around the makeshift house Ennis created for them out of old boxes and plastic crates. Ennis perched on the edge of the bed, watching his beautiful daughters playing so innocently. Hearing their conversations as they pretended their Barbies and Kens were married made Ennis smile. Alma, Jr., was making her Barbie prepare dinner because Francie’s couple was coming over to eat.
“Now Ken,” Alma, Jr., made her Barbie say to the Ken doll that was sitting at the kitchen table, “you need to change your shirt because the neighbors’ll be here soon.”
Over in her “house,” Francie was changing her Barbie into a new outfit. She modeled it for her Ken, who she actually renamed “Kenny” so she could tell the difference between him and Junior’s man. Her Barbie was called, “Barbara.” When Barbara was dressed, Francie paraded her in front of Kenny, who was seated on the bed. “You like my outfit?” asked Barbara in a high-pitched voice. Francie make Kenny answer in an extremely low voice, “You look beautiful.”
Ennis glanced at the small digital clock he had placed in their room and noticed it was getting late. The girls probably should have been in bed by now, but he was really enjoying their company. Seeing it was nearly nine o’clock, though, Ennis knew he had to motivate himself and his girls and convince them to get ready for bed. Plus, he didn’t want to admit it, but he was getting a little worried he hadn’t heard from Monroe yet. Surely the new baby had come. He hoped everything was o.k.
“Ok, girls,” Ennis said, rising to his feet, “it’s time to get washed up for bed.” Francie turned toward him, the lashes on her doe eyes curling up as she glanced at him. Alma, Jr., didn’t take her eyes away from her dolls, but her pretty mouth turned down in a pout.
“But, Daddy, they haven’t had dinner yet,” said Junior quietly. She finally looked up at him. Between her little pout and her sister’s sad eyes, Ennis thought his heart would melt.
“Well, that may be,” said Ennis, resolving to stand his ground. “But they’re just gonna have to eat earlier next time. My little girls have to wash up and turn in.”
With a few more quiet objections, the girls set their dolls in Junior’s “house” and then dug through their back packs for their nightgowns and toothbrushes. Ennis went into the bathroom and began filling the tub with warm water. He rummaged in the small hall closet for washcloths and towels, and as he pulled the thread-bare items from the shelf, made a mental note to replace them as soon as possible. As he crossed the hall back to the bathroom, he glanced in the girls’ room to gauge their progress. As he expected, they were huddled together on the floor, their night gowns and toothbrushes forgotten, quietly resuming play. He placed their linens on the edge of the sink and then leaned against the door frame. He cleared his throat and both girls jumped.
“We were just waiting for you, Daddy,” Junior said, jumping up and pulling her sister to her feet. She looked scared, and Ennis furrowed his brow. Taking a couple steps into the room, he squatted in front of them, offering a crooked smile and his softest expression.
“It’s ok,” he said. “You’re not in trouble or anything.” The girls were visibly relieved. “Now come on. Let’s get you in the tub.”
~*~*~*~*~*
Ennis tucked the girls in bed, kissed them both good night and moved to the door. Before switching off the light, he turned to the girls and smiled. Francie gave him a little wave and Junior blew him a kiss. He smiled, flicked off the switch and closed the door half way so some light from the living room would shine in. It was nine thirty, and he still hadn’t heard from Monroe. He was becoming very anxious. He walked to the kitchen and rummaged through one of the drawers. Among the pencils, note pads, twist ties, rubber bands and other paraphernalia, Ennis thought he still had Alma’s sister’s phone number. If he could just give her a call, he could find out if she’d heard anything.
At that moment the phone rang, causing Ennis’s heart to pound. He snatched the phone off the cradle and uttered a quick, “Hello?”
“Ennis, I hope I didn’t wake you.” Monroe.
“Man, I’m sure glad to hear from you. Is everything ok?”
“Yes, it’s good,” Monroe said, his voice shaky. “Alma had a little trouble, but she’s o.k. They did a C-section and she’s o.k.” Ennis exhaled without realizing he had been holding his breath.
“The baby…?”
“The baby,” Monroe began, then his voice broke. “We got ourselves a beautiful little girl, Ennis!” Ennis closed his eyes, a huge grin spreading across his face.
“Congratulations, Monroe. What did you name her?”
“Her name is Jennifer Rose. But we’re going to call her Jenny. She’s got Alma’s eyes and my nose, poor thing. But she’s just an angel.”
“That’s great, Monroe,” said Ennis. “I can get the girls, if you want. They’re in bed but…”
“Oh no, no,” said Monroe, “don’t wake them. We’ll call again tomorrow. Alma will want to talk to them.”
“Ok, well, I’ll let them know they got a baby sister in the morning,” said Ennis.
“Ok, Ennis, thanks,” said Monroe. “I best get back to Alma now. You have a good night.”
“You, too, Monroe.” Ennis replaced the phone, and trotted into the living room. After settling on the couch, he flicked on the television and leaned back on the cushions. Alma and Monroe had themselves a little girl. Junior and Francie were both big sisters now. He smiled but soon found himself feeling a bit melancholy. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had talked to his sister or brother. They had their differences, but he knew he should make an effort to reach out to them. They lost their parents so long ago; they shouldn’t risk losing each other.
Ennis felt his eyelids grow heavy, and his mind wandered from his family to Jack. He wondered how Jack was getting along with his parents. He hoped things were going well. Tomorrow I’ll call Jack on his cell, thought Ennis. I’ll ask him how he’s getting along with his family. And I’ll finally tell him about mine.
~*~*~*~*~*
Ennis banged his knee on the coffee table as he tumbled off the sofa, trying to get to the telephone before the harsh ring woke his daughters. As he reached the kitchen, he slapped the phone off the cradle in his haste to answer it. A quick glance at the clock told him it was three in the morning. Swearing under his breath, he grabbed the phone from the floor and grunted a greeting.
“Well,” drawled the seductive voice of Jack Twist, “that’s some warm welcome Del Mar.” Ennis immediately felt the familiar quickening of his heart beat and tingling in his crotch. He dragged his fingers through his hair and smiled.
“Hey,” he whispered hoarsely. He cleared his throat and wandered back into the living room. “I miss you, Twist.”
“Yeah, well, I was hoping you did.” Ennis moved quietly down the hall and peeked in the girls’ room. They were sound asleep.
“You havin’ a good visit with your folks?” Jack groaned and Ennis had to suppress a chuckle. He moved back to the sofa and made himself comfortable.
“Aw, hell, Ennis, it was all I could do to fucking stay there the day,” Jack said. This time Ennis laughed out loud.
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack, babe,” Jack said. “I got there Wednesday afternoon, and the old man gets on my case, like, immediately. Mom tried to keep the peace, and I found lots of excuses to explore the property.” Ennis could hear music playing quietly in the background of Jack’s end of the phone. Where the hell was he if not with his folks?
“Man, Jack, that sucks. You didn’t spend any time with them Thanksgiving day?” Ennis absent-mindedly picked at the cuticle on his thumb.
“Well, we managed to get through the meal. Mom was serving pie and coffee, talking about church or some shit, and out of nowhere, Dad just barks out that there can’t be a god because he wouldn’t make some faggot like me.” Ennis sat up, his face burning.
“He fucking said whut?” Ennis went from relaxing, enjoying the beautiful voice of his lover, to wanting to head to New York and hunt down the elder Twist. If anything, the perfection of Jack Twist was proof positive there was a god.
“Don’t get all hot and bothered, babe. He is not worth it.”
“He got no right talkin’ to you like that…”
“He’s just a crazy fuck,” said Jack. “What pissed me off was that Mom was really making an effort, you know, to make it a nice day. Then he has to go and spout off at the mouth, make my mom cry. So I told him to go fuck himself, went upstairs, got my shit and out the door I went.”
“Jesus, Jack,” said Ennis. “I’m sorry it went down like that.”
“Yeah, me, too,” said Jack. “Mom ran after me, you know, crying, begging me to stay. She said Dad hadn’t been feeling right, that he had been saying shit out of left field for a few weeks, but I didn’t want to hear it. He turned against me the second he knew I was gay - the very second, Ennis!” Jack’s voice was rising, his anger finally breaking through. “Sonofawhore sombitch. He’s the one who aint no good. Can’t even keep up his fucking house. Don’t got a pot to piss in and treats the only person to ever stand by him, my mom, like she aint worth the dirt he wipes off his feet.” Jack’s breathing was heavy and Ennis wanted nothing more than to grab a hold of him and tell Jack he was everything beautiful in the world.
But instead, all he managed to utter was, “Man, Jack, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say a thing, Ennis,” Jack said. “I want to see you. I need to see you, Ennis.” Ennis’s heartbeat quickened again.
“I wish I could see you, too,” he said. The music on Jack’s end of the phone was suddenly quiet.
“Ok, then,” said Jack. Ennis heard what sounded like a car door open and then close. With his brow furrowed, he rushed to his window. Silhouetted against the lonely street lamp in the parking lot stood Jack.
“I’ll be right up…”