Middle of Nowhere - Chapter 3
Title: Middle of Nowhere
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They were created by Annie Proulx. I make no money from this and don't want to.
Pairing: Ennis and Jack
Summary: Ennis and Jack are working as counselors on a children's camp for the summer. Their meeting on the first evening on the camp leads to a friendship neither had expected, nor looked for.
Notes: Some elements of the story are based on real-life experiences, but I make lots of stuff up. You might be able to tell the difference.
Thanks: As always, to smilesalot, who has been a wonderful help to me in getting this story into shape.
Feedback: Any would be so much appreciated.
Chapter Notes: This is what you call a transitional chapter. Please bear with me, it may seem a little "huh?" but it's a stepping stone to get where we are going.
Middle of Nowhere
Chapter 3
Jack woke to the sound of a voice booming around his head, and for a dreadful minute he thought he was back in Lightning Flat with his Daddy yelling at him to get his lazy ass out of bed. But when he pried his eyes open, he saw Ennis sitting up in the bed next to his, looking serious.
"What the hell is that noise?" Jack propped himself up on his elbows, yawning loudly.
"Hush….trying to listen to what he’s saying," Ennis said, his face stony. Jack shrugged at Ennis’s brusque tone, and listened too.
"..you only get three chances, so if your ass isn’t on the main field by the flagpole in ten minutes after the final wake-up call, you’ll wish it was cause I’ll be adding twenty minutes on to your work time at the end of the day." The intercom system switched off abruptly.
"How many times has he said it Ennis?" Jack asked. He wondered if Ennis had heard him, so deep were the lines of concentration etched on his face.
"That was the second time," Ennis said gruffly. "Figure you need to get yourself out of bed unless you want more work added on to your schedule."
Jack watched Ennis walk into the bathroom, confused by Ennis’s abrupt manner but too sleepy to think about it. Jack fell back on to the pillow, his arm flopping over his face. Despite living on a ranch where everything began early, Jack was not a morning person.
He groaned as the intercom buzzed back to life, and Howie’s far-too-cheery voice came crashing into the cabin once more.
"Come on sleepyheads, rise and shine. It’s a beautiful a day and we don’t want to waste a second of it. Final warning folks." The line went dead for the last time.
"Shit," Jack muttered as he forced himself out of bed. As he began searching for some clothes, Ennis came out of the bathroom, looking like he’d been up for hours. Ennis glanced at Jack and without saying a word, sat down and put on his boots.
"Woulda been nice of Howie to let us sleep in on our first day," Jack grumbled, rubbing one eye with the palm of his hand.
"Take it you aint a morning person then," Ennis mumbled, his head hanging low while fixing his boots.
"Sure I am," Jack replied, offended. "Just not this early of a morning."
"It’s seven-thirty, Jack. That’s practically lunchtime where I come from." Ennis stood up, placed his cap on his head, his hands in his jeans pockets, looked around slowly, and then at Jack.
"You, er, want me to wait for you or somethin?" Ennis asked, the garbled words sounding like Ennis had a toothache. Jack thought about asking, but decided not to; he was just thankful Ennis’s sour state had evaporated.
"Nah Ennis, you go on ahead. I know you and Howie are best buddies and all, so I wouldn’t want you falling out of favour with him cause a me." Jack smiled playfully. "I’ll see you out there."
Ennis hesitated for a few seconds, looking unsure. "It’s okay Ennis, really. I’ll be out in a second," Jack said reassuringly. Ennis nodded in reply, and walked out of the cabin with some of the other guys.
Jack finished pulling on his jeans and yawned a few times as he quickly used the bathroom before leaving the cabin. He didn’t want to keep Ennis waiting.
--
Howie was right. In the light of day, the camp looked entirely different. Despite obvious evidence of the camp having lain dormant for some time, the site itself was impressive, with the lake it lay next to the most striking spectacle of all. A jetty pushed out from the edge of the lake, beside which rested small boats that bobbed gently on the calm water. A diving board stood on the edge, bordered by a life-guard station and elevated observation platform.
Ennis was mesmerised by the rays of the sun reflecting sporadically across the surface of the water like dancing tricks of light. The sun was low due to the early hour and hadn’t yet touched the leaves on the trees and bushes that populated all parts of the shore. They appeared silent and still, unaware of the sun’s rays that would slowly creep up and shake them out of their slumber.
The magical moment was broken by Howie’s now-familiar voice instructing the group on the daily morning rituals that would begin with the raising of the flag, followed by wake up exercises. As Howie talked, Ennis turned and saw Jack running at a jogging pace towards them. He glanced back at Howie, wondering if he had spotted Jack, but Howie seemed to be having problems with the flag.
Jack came over to Ennis and whispered "He say anything about me not being here?" Ennis shook his head and spoke quietly. "Just try and be on time for the rest of the week, Jack. Less trouble for you that way."
"Sure, Ennis, I’ll try." Ennis observed Jack trying to act discreet, and when the raising of the flag was over and the poorly attempted wake-up exercises were done, they were able to walk over to the dining hall unseen.
Once inside the dining hall, Ennis headed straight for the food while Jack hesitated at the door, scanning the room. Ennis turned to see Jack saunter to the back of the hall and stop near a group of girls sitting there.
He tried not to look as Jack began talking to a girl with blonde hair and a bright smile. He tried not to stare as Jack sat down and shook her hand, but turned away when Jack shifted his body towards her with his back to Ennis. He continued in the line for food although his appetite had gone. He looked up when he heard a whistle. Jack was at the back of the queue, smiling.
"Save me a place next to you, Ennis," Jack shouted and Ennis nodded. He found a table with some other guys he recognised from the cabin and began eating as Jack finally joined him. Jack dropped his tray down and began to devour his breakfast hungrily.
"See that girl over there Ennis?" Jack said between bites of food. As Ennis began to look round, Jack hissed, "Shit Ennis, don’t look right now!"
"How am I supposed to see what girl you mean?" Ennis reasoned, although he already knew the girl Jack meant.
"You can look when I’m done talking, only act natural when you do it. Don‘t make it so obvious." Jack said, exasperated. Ennis shrugged and waited for Jack to continue.
"Anyhow, the girl over there? She was on the bus with me yesterday. I tried to talk to her but she was stuck like glue to some other girl, but I knew she’d seen me. She was looking and smiling and shit like that," Jack smiled to himself. Ennis couldn’t figure out why Jack was telling him this. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know.
"Since we’re going to be practically living together for the next two months, I figured it was only polite to go and introduce myself. I think she appreciated that," Jack said smugly.
Ennis knew that she‘d appreciated it, judging from how often she twirled her hair. "Oh yeah? What’s her name?" Ennis asked, feigning interest.
"Cindy. Cute name, huh?" Jack stated the name as though it was the most unusual he’d ever heard.
"I guess," Ennis sniffed. "Had a dog named Cindy once." Ennis didn’t know where the lie had come from, but when he felt Jack studying him closely, he felt immediate regret.
"What?" Ennis murmured, feeling uncomfortable at Jack's intense stare.
"You gotta girl Ennis?" Jack asked curiously.
"Ain’t got time for no girls," Ennis replied curtly, fascinated by the pancakes on his plate.
"Well, maybe you’ll make time for girls here. I know one who’ll appreciate you making time for her. She thinks you look like James Dean." Jack raised his eyebrows as he grabbed a pancake from Ennis’s plate.
"Huh? James Dean is dead, last I heard." Ennis said, hurt and puzzled by the comparison.
"Well, unless there’s two, I think she was referring to the James Dean who used to be alive." Jack said, sarcastically. "Lighten up Ennis. It was a compliment, not a death sentence."
"Mmm," was all Ennis could muster. This conversation was starting to feel like a death sentence to him.
"So whatta you say?" Jack asked.
"Whatta I say to what?" Ennis replied irritably.
"Whatta you say we have a foursome and go out in that fancy car of yours and have us a nice time one night?"
"Whatta I say? I say no. We don’t get to have time off whenever we feel like it, just cause you want to impress some girl." Ennis regretted the harshness in his voice but was so out of his depth he was close to drowning.
"Yeah, well, what about when we do have some time off?" Jack persisted, clearly unshaken by Ennis’s brisk rebuff.
"I’m not sure, Jack." Ennis felt powerless in the face of such incessant enthusiasm. But to deny Jack felt wrong somehow, like taking a bone from a hungry dog. He sighed heavily.
"I guess we could," Ennis said eventually, bothered by how many times he’d changed his mind for Jack’s sake in less than twenty-four hours.
"Whooe hee yeah," Jack hollered. Ennis smiled at Jack, despite himself. He was doing that a lot. Jack had a smile that could make the Mona Lisa happy.
After breakfast Howie stood in his favorite place - in front of everyone - and began to issue out orders for the day. The morning was to be spent on everyone’s specialist jobs. Howie’s right-hand woman, Lisa, read out the specialities and asked everyone in those specialities to get together. As Lisa shouted out "water-sports" Jack stood up.
"That’s me. See you later, Ennis." Ennis looked up at Jack, surprised.
"You a swimming counselor?" Ennis asked, managing to sound sceptical and impressed at the same time.
"Yep," Jack said, laughing. He bent down as he was leaving, and whispered, "Cindy’s one too. Cool huh?"
Jack didn’t give Ennis time to reply, as Jack sauntered away from the table. Ennis watched as Jack joined the waterfront team, acting like leader of the pack in seconds flat. Ennis wasn’t surprised.
Ennis was grouped with pottery and photography as well as his own speciality of woodwork, and he shuffled over to where his group were. They were taken over to the studios where they would be working for the summer and given a brief tour by Marie, one of the other Head Counselors.
Ennis liked that the studios were away from the hustle and bustle of the main part of camp and set back behind the general office, and pleased that his studio had a clear view of the lake. He’d be glad to see that sight as he worked everyday.
--
The morning passed quickly. Jack was involved in uncovering and unloading the water-sport equipment stored in sheds or under tarpaulins during the winter, and spent his time making them look like new again. The work was tough and arduous and supervised by Bob, the water-sports leader. With Bob’s strict work regime, it soon became apparent to Jack that there would be no time to flirt with Cindy.
During a brief and welcome break from the sun, Jack stripped off his t-shirt and soaked it in the lake for a much-needed cooling down. As he did so, he noticed the shutters on a building behind the office opening, and watched Ennis walk around all sides of the building until all the shutters were open. Ennis worked slowly and methodically and as he came back round to the lake-side of the building, Ennis stood gazing out to the lake, seemingly lost in thought. Jack was fixated on Ennis’s face, as though he was observing a rare bird; one small sound and Ennis would be gone.
He stood transfixed as Ennis suddenly glanced over, and their eyes locked for a few seconds. Jack held his hand up in a hesitant wave, not sure if Ennis wanted to be seen, but felt compelled to do so. Ennis’s expression softened as Ennis waved back, before walking away and out of sight.
Lunch-time was spent outside under the welcome shade of some trees. Bob regaled them with stories of his many years spent working on summer camps and surviving the snow in the winter. Jack liked Bob. Despite a hard exterior, Bob was a friendly character, with a wide welcoming smile and a sunny Australian accent to match. Jack listened lazily to Bob’s lilting voice as he lay against a tree, his cap strategically dipped below his eyes to escape the sun.
"What I don’t understand Bob," Steve Finn, Jack’s fellow cabin mate, and Bob‘s fellow Aussie, was asking, "is why you choose to live here instead of back home."
"Well, as hard as it to believe, this place is my home now, and has been for fifteen years. The winters are hard, for sure, especially as I’d never seen so much as a snowflake before stepping off the plane at Bangor Airport. But the endless summers make up for them."
"Yeah, but I still don’t get what it is that made you stay here. What’s Maine got that Perth hasn’t?"
"My wife, for one thing," Bob replied, and everyone laughed, enjoying the light-hearted banter between the two men going back and forth like an easy game of tennis.
"Aaaah," Steve said, with overstated emphasis to prove he’d got the point. "A Sheila, I should have known."
"Yeah, I know, it’s as typical as the sun setting every night," said Bob thoughtfully. "I never expected to be here longer than the summer. Things tend to happen when you’re least expecting them, and I should know."
Bob looked at his watch before standing up and adjusting his hat. "Okay folks, therapy session over for today. We get to do another couple of hours of this and then you’ve got the pleasure of Howie’s company in the hall. So let’s get to it."
Jack scrambled off the grass, continuing with the tasks he’d began before lunch. The group worked well together. It seemed that the rest, the food and Bob’s guiding presence had subdued them all. The conversation was muted, save for the odd light-hearted jibe or well meant compliment on a job well done.
Jack felt strangely calm as he worked, and not even the scorching sun or lack of contact with Cindy could dampen his spirits, nor diminish his gladdened heart.
--
During Howie’s second lecture of the day, Ennis blanked out, so bored was he by the endless list of the dull-but-necessary must-nots, will-nots and can-nots of camp life. It was only the slow ripple of excitement shifting around the room that brought him back to life. Howie had finally said something worth listening to. He looked up to catch what it was and saw Jack sitting on another table with his swimming co-counselors. Cindy was next to him.
"No, you heard me right," Howie was saying, answering a question from someone up front. "Friday night will be party night. Pre-camp is a back-breaking welcome to camp life, so this is a thank you for your hard work and a good way to chill out some." Howie paused, as the cheers and whistles ran around the room.
Howie held his hand up for quiet. "There’ll be alcohol at the party, but that’s the only time that it’ll be allowed on camp. As stated in the camp literature sent out to you and on the form that you all signed....no alcohol is allowed on camp at any time. Don’t abuse the rule."
Ennis thought he should be excited about the party like everyone else, but he wasn’t sure how to feel. He didn’t know much about them. He’d never been to one before, unless his own birthday parties counted, and since they were dull and forgettable affairs, he doubted they did.
He tried to convince himself it would be good to mix in a crowd and have a few drinks to soften out the hard edges of the rough and busy days of work. His brother had urged Ennis to forge new friendships and be more sociable, but Ennis had never found a good enough reason to mingle with others before. Ennis was sure Jack would love the idea of a party. If things got awkward, Ennis could just watch Jack and hide in the shadows.
--
Jack’s reaction was as Ennis had expected.
"Whooe hee yeah!" he yelled, banging his hands on the table and then adjusting his cap, not quite sure how to have it - back to front or front to back.
"Hey Jack, calm down!" Cindy grabbed Jack’s arm to stop him from bouncing off the seat like a kangaroo. "The party’s not till Friday and we have a lot of work to do before then." Despite the stern words, Cindy’s voice was sweet and sugary, as she twirled her finger in her hair and stared dreamily at Jack.
"Aint no harm in celebrating right now though!" Jack looked across the noisy room and suddenly spotted Ennis. He’d been hoping to catch up with Ennis earlier but had been pulled away by Cindy, and now he wanted Ennis to come and join them. He wanted people to know Ennis, but wasn‘t sure if Ennis felt the same. As he considered what to do, he saw Meli in the far corner of the room, and stood up. He turned towards Cindy.
"I just need to go see someone, I’ll be right back," Jack said, and Cindy immediately sat up straight, straining to see who Jack was suddenly so eager to go and see.
Jack walked over to Meli and smiled widely. "Hey Meli, what’s up?"
"Nothing’s up, I’m fine thanks," Meli replied, with a deadpan expression on her face, one that was hard for Jack to decipher. He didn’t know if she was pissed or playing.
"Glad to hear it. How’s your day been today? Hands still clean?" He figured he could just act dumb and see where that led him.
"Where’ve you been all day?" Meli complained, ignoring Jack’s question.
"Why haven’t you come to see me in the office yet?"
"I’ve been working hard on the waterfront," Jack replied, not entirely sure if he was being told off or being told he’d been missed.
"Working hard on your tan, more like." Meli quipped, sarcastically. "Just be thankful you haven’t had to spend the day listening to songs from musicals. Howie is a musical freak, he loves them, like manically loves them like serial killers like killing people. He sings along to them, which is painful for anyone having to listen, which would be me." Meli screwed her face up in displeasure, and Jack laughed.
"You wanna go for a drink, forget all your troubles?" he asked, cocking his head to one side, pinching her nose playfully.
Meli pinched his nose back. "I‘d love to, but where? I can‘t imagine there being a pub within five hundred miles of here."
"It don’t matter where it is, cause James Dean’ll drive us there," Jack said enigmatically. Jack watched Meli struggle for a few seconds before the penny dropped and she started smiling knowingly.
"You mean the boy from last night? I saw him today. He doesn’t say much."
"That’s true," Jack agreed.
"Did you share a cabin with him?" Meli asked curiously.
"Yeah I did, his name’s Ennis del Mar and he…." Jack began, but was cut off by Meli.
"Ennis del what? That’s a person’s name?" she asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, of course it is. So, what do you say about a double-date kind of thing?"
"You mean, me, you and Ennis? Wouldn’t that be a triple-date kind of thing?"
"I meant," Jack started, "you and Ennis, and me and Cindy."
"Who’s Cindy?" Meli asked warily.
"She’s a swimming counselor too and we got…"
"Friendly down in the sand?" Meli sang, laughing at Jack’s blank look. "Isn‘t that one of Howie‘s "must-nots" and "will-nots"?" Meli said, shaking her finger at Jack in a mock-scolding gesture.
"No, not yet anyway. So what do you think?"
"I don’t know. He doesn’t know me. What does Ennis think?"
"He’s fine with it. He’s over there, let’s go and say hi."
Jack walked away before Meli could argue. She caught up with him as he moved through the crowds towards Ennis, who was sitting silently among a group of people.
"Hey Ennis!" Jack said cheerfully. "How’d it go today?" Ennis wasn’t smiling and didn’t look happy to see him.
"Fine, I guess," he said quietly, looking up at Jack and then at Meli, who smiled nervously.
"This is Meli, Ennis." Jack said, and Ennis exchanged glances with him again before extending his hand out to her. "Ennis del Mar, nice to meet you." Meli shook his hand gently. "You too."
"She’s from England," Jack piped in, as if that explained everything. An uncomfortable silence followed.
"You wanna go out tonight Ennis? Go for a drive and a drink somewhere?"
"I’m beat Jack, maybe some other night?" Ennis said shortly. Jack was unsure what was happening, but he knew that he had upset Ennis somehow.
"Yeah sure, Ennis, that’ll be fine," Jack said kindly, with no intention of pushing the issue. He looked at Meli, indicating the conversation was over.
"Well, it was nice to meet you Ennis." Meli said. Ennis simply nodded in reply.
"I’ll see you back at the cabin, okay Ennis?" Jack said.
"Sure, Jack." Ennis turned away and Jack watched him join in with the ongoing conversation at the table.
As Jack and Meli walked away, Meli grabbed Jack’s arm.
"Well, that was awkward. What was that all about?" Meli asked, staring plainly at Jack, waiting for an explanation.
"What do you mean?" Jack said, suddenly in no mood to do much of anything.
"Ennis acted like he’d rather have root canal treatment than talk to me, let alone go on a date with me." Meli looked deeply hurt and Jack felt bad. "He didn’t look too happy with you either. You two have a row or something?"
"No, course not," Jack said defensively. "He’s probably tired. We all worked really hard today I guess." Jack knew his answer was weak, but had no rational explanation that he could offer to Meli either.
"Well, I just don’t think this foursome thing is a good idea."
"It’ll be fun, you’ll see. He‘ll love you when he has a chance to get to know you." Jack felt obliged to buoy Meli up in light of Ennis’s rebuke, but the words sounded hollow coming out of his mouth.
"Says the man who has known me for less than twenty-four hours himself." Meli said. "Besides, your idea of fun and mine may turn out to be very different. Although one thing is for sure - if Ennis has any musical songs in his car, I’m walking."
Jack laughed. "Okay, I’ll be sure to double-check. Night Meli."
"Night Jacky." They waved and went in separate directions. Jack returned to Cindy, determined to focus his attention entirely on her, and not be distracted by anyone sitting directly behind him.
--
Jack returned to the cabin later that night, and saw a lonely figure sitting on the steps.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Mind if I sit with you a spell?" Jack asked. Ennis shrugged. Jack sat down and neither spoke for a while as they drank in the intoxicating mix of silence and stars.
"Nice here," Ennis said suddenly, his head tilted towards the dark sky. "The stars seem so close, close enough to touch." Ennis's voice was so low and distant Jack could hardly hear it.
"Yeah. It gets like this sometimes, back home." Jack didn't know why he'd brought that up. He hadn’t planned to talk about that. Not now, not ever.
"Yeah? Where's home for you?" Ennis asked, turning to look at Jack.
"Wyoming."
"Yeah?" Ennis said, surprised. "I'm from Wyoming too."
"No shit? Where exactly?"
"Sage. Know it?"
"I think I know it. A few hundred miles from me. Hell, everything's a few hundred miles from me." Jack’s reminder of home stuck in his throat.
"How’s not smoking going for you?" Ennis asked. Jack was thankful for the change of subject.
"Well, I was okay until you mentioned it!" Jack quipped. "I just got to keep busy and I’ll be fine I guess. You?"
"Same for me. It’s why I’m sitting out here….my brother and me, we used to have a smoke each night before turning in." Ennis talked slowly, looking up at the sky and down to the ground in equal measures, but never at Jack.
"On warm nights like this, we’d sit out on the porch." Ennis stopped abruptly, as if he'd said too much, and Jack looked at him, hoping he was going to continue.
"Sorry about your plans Jack, I really was beat and not up to driving."
"No that’s fine Ennis." Jack was confused by Ennis's unexpected apology, as much as he was muddled by Ennis's erratic changes in mood and conversation. "Did you like Meli?"
"I don’t know her Jack, but yeah, she seemed nice."
"She is nice. Even if she is British." Jack forced a laugh out of his mouth.
"So how about you? You and Cindy?"
"Yeah, she’s cute." They looked at each other for a few seconds. Ennis looked away first.
"Well, that’s good then." The silence was deafening. Jack searched for something to keep the conversation going as Ennis stood up.
"I’m beat Jack, it’s been a long day." Ennis began walking up the steps.
"Okay Ennis, goodnight."
"Night Jack."
Later, Jack lay down and let sleep wash over him. His body ached and his mind wouldn’t stop spinning. He had spent the rest of the evening with Cindy, and they had kissed goodnight by the lake. She had felt soft and sweet and the kisses were long and wet. But no matter how hard he tried to stop it, his mind drifted off to another moment, in the same place, hours before.
xxxx
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They were created by Annie Proulx. I make no money from this and don't want to.
Pairing: Ennis and Jack
Summary: Ennis and Jack are working as counselors on a children's camp for the summer. Their meeting on the first evening on the camp leads to a friendship neither had expected, nor looked for.
Notes: Some elements of the story are based on real-life experiences, but I make lots of stuff up. You might be able to tell the difference.
Thanks: As always, to smilesalot, who has been a wonderful help to me in getting this story into shape.
Feedback: Any would be so much appreciated.
Chapter Notes: This is what you call a transitional chapter. Please bear with me, it may seem a little "huh?" but it's a stepping stone to get where we are going.
Middle of Nowhere
Chapter 3
Jack woke to the sound of a voice booming around his head, and for a dreadful minute he thought he was back in Lightning Flat with his Daddy yelling at him to get his lazy ass out of bed. But when he pried his eyes open, he saw Ennis sitting up in the bed next to his, looking serious.
"What the hell is that noise?" Jack propped himself up on his elbows, yawning loudly.
"Hush….trying to listen to what he’s saying," Ennis said, his face stony. Jack shrugged at Ennis’s brusque tone, and listened too.
"..you only get three chances, so if your ass isn’t on the main field by the flagpole in ten minutes after the final wake-up call, you’ll wish it was cause I’ll be adding twenty minutes on to your work time at the end of the day." The intercom system switched off abruptly.
"How many times has he said it Ennis?" Jack asked. He wondered if Ennis had heard him, so deep were the lines of concentration etched on his face.
"That was the second time," Ennis said gruffly. "Figure you need to get yourself out of bed unless you want more work added on to your schedule."
Jack watched Ennis walk into the bathroom, confused by Ennis’s abrupt manner but too sleepy to think about it. Jack fell back on to the pillow, his arm flopping over his face. Despite living on a ranch where everything began early, Jack was not a morning person.
He groaned as the intercom buzzed back to life, and Howie’s far-too-cheery voice came crashing into the cabin once more.
"Come on sleepyheads, rise and shine. It’s a beautiful a day and we don’t want to waste a second of it. Final warning folks." The line went dead for the last time.
"Shit," Jack muttered as he forced himself out of bed. As he began searching for some clothes, Ennis came out of the bathroom, looking like he’d been up for hours. Ennis glanced at Jack and without saying a word, sat down and put on his boots.
"Woulda been nice of Howie to let us sleep in on our first day," Jack grumbled, rubbing one eye with the palm of his hand.
"Take it you aint a morning person then," Ennis mumbled, his head hanging low while fixing his boots.
"Sure I am," Jack replied, offended. "Just not this early of a morning."
"It’s seven-thirty, Jack. That’s practically lunchtime where I come from." Ennis stood up, placed his cap on his head, his hands in his jeans pockets, looked around slowly, and then at Jack.
"You, er, want me to wait for you or somethin?" Ennis asked, the garbled words sounding like Ennis had a toothache. Jack thought about asking, but decided not to; he was just thankful Ennis’s sour state had evaporated.
"Nah Ennis, you go on ahead. I know you and Howie are best buddies and all, so I wouldn’t want you falling out of favour with him cause a me." Jack smiled playfully. "I’ll see you out there."
Ennis hesitated for a few seconds, looking unsure. "It’s okay Ennis, really. I’ll be out in a second," Jack said reassuringly. Ennis nodded in reply, and walked out of the cabin with some of the other guys.
Jack finished pulling on his jeans and yawned a few times as he quickly used the bathroom before leaving the cabin. He didn’t want to keep Ennis waiting.
--
Howie was right. In the light of day, the camp looked entirely different. Despite obvious evidence of the camp having lain dormant for some time, the site itself was impressive, with the lake it lay next to the most striking spectacle of all. A jetty pushed out from the edge of the lake, beside which rested small boats that bobbed gently on the calm water. A diving board stood on the edge, bordered by a life-guard station and elevated observation platform.
Ennis was mesmerised by the rays of the sun reflecting sporadically across the surface of the water like dancing tricks of light. The sun was low due to the early hour and hadn’t yet touched the leaves on the trees and bushes that populated all parts of the shore. They appeared silent and still, unaware of the sun’s rays that would slowly creep up and shake them out of their slumber.
The magical moment was broken by Howie’s now-familiar voice instructing the group on the daily morning rituals that would begin with the raising of the flag, followed by wake up exercises. As Howie talked, Ennis turned and saw Jack running at a jogging pace towards them. He glanced back at Howie, wondering if he had spotted Jack, but Howie seemed to be having problems with the flag.
Jack came over to Ennis and whispered "He say anything about me not being here?" Ennis shook his head and spoke quietly. "Just try and be on time for the rest of the week, Jack. Less trouble for you that way."
"Sure, Ennis, I’ll try." Ennis observed Jack trying to act discreet, and when the raising of the flag was over and the poorly attempted wake-up exercises were done, they were able to walk over to the dining hall unseen.
Once inside the dining hall, Ennis headed straight for the food while Jack hesitated at the door, scanning the room. Ennis turned to see Jack saunter to the back of the hall and stop near a group of girls sitting there.
He tried not to look as Jack began talking to a girl with blonde hair and a bright smile. He tried not to stare as Jack sat down and shook her hand, but turned away when Jack shifted his body towards her with his back to Ennis. He continued in the line for food although his appetite had gone. He looked up when he heard a whistle. Jack was at the back of the queue, smiling.
"Save me a place next to you, Ennis," Jack shouted and Ennis nodded. He found a table with some other guys he recognised from the cabin and began eating as Jack finally joined him. Jack dropped his tray down and began to devour his breakfast hungrily.
"See that girl over there Ennis?" Jack said between bites of food. As Ennis began to look round, Jack hissed, "Shit Ennis, don’t look right now!"
"How am I supposed to see what girl you mean?" Ennis reasoned, although he already knew the girl Jack meant.
"You can look when I’m done talking, only act natural when you do it. Don‘t make it so obvious." Jack said, exasperated. Ennis shrugged and waited for Jack to continue.
"Anyhow, the girl over there? She was on the bus with me yesterday. I tried to talk to her but she was stuck like glue to some other girl, but I knew she’d seen me. She was looking and smiling and shit like that," Jack smiled to himself. Ennis couldn’t figure out why Jack was telling him this. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know.
"Since we’re going to be practically living together for the next two months, I figured it was only polite to go and introduce myself. I think she appreciated that," Jack said smugly.
Ennis knew that she‘d appreciated it, judging from how often she twirled her hair. "Oh yeah? What’s her name?" Ennis asked, feigning interest.
"Cindy. Cute name, huh?" Jack stated the name as though it was the most unusual he’d ever heard.
"I guess," Ennis sniffed. "Had a dog named Cindy once." Ennis didn’t know where the lie had come from, but when he felt Jack studying him closely, he felt immediate regret.
"What?" Ennis murmured, feeling uncomfortable at Jack's intense stare.
"You gotta girl Ennis?" Jack asked curiously.
"Ain’t got time for no girls," Ennis replied curtly, fascinated by the pancakes on his plate.
"Well, maybe you’ll make time for girls here. I know one who’ll appreciate you making time for her. She thinks you look like James Dean." Jack raised his eyebrows as he grabbed a pancake from Ennis’s plate.
"Huh? James Dean is dead, last I heard." Ennis said, hurt and puzzled by the comparison.
"Well, unless there’s two, I think she was referring to the James Dean who used to be alive." Jack said, sarcastically. "Lighten up Ennis. It was a compliment, not a death sentence."
"Mmm," was all Ennis could muster. This conversation was starting to feel like a death sentence to him.
"So whatta you say?" Jack asked.
"Whatta I say to what?" Ennis replied irritably.
"Whatta you say we have a foursome and go out in that fancy car of yours and have us a nice time one night?"
"Whatta I say? I say no. We don’t get to have time off whenever we feel like it, just cause you want to impress some girl." Ennis regretted the harshness in his voice but was so out of his depth he was close to drowning.
"Yeah, well, what about when we do have some time off?" Jack persisted, clearly unshaken by Ennis’s brisk rebuff.
"I’m not sure, Jack." Ennis felt powerless in the face of such incessant enthusiasm. But to deny Jack felt wrong somehow, like taking a bone from a hungry dog. He sighed heavily.
"I guess we could," Ennis said eventually, bothered by how many times he’d changed his mind for Jack’s sake in less than twenty-four hours.
"Whooe hee yeah," Jack hollered. Ennis smiled at Jack, despite himself. He was doing that a lot. Jack had a smile that could make the Mona Lisa happy.
After breakfast Howie stood in his favorite place - in front of everyone - and began to issue out orders for the day. The morning was to be spent on everyone’s specialist jobs. Howie’s right-hand woman, Lisa, read out the specialities and asked everyone in those specialities to get together. As Lisa shouted out "water-sports" Jack stood up.
"That’s me. See you later, Ennis." Ennis looked up at Jack, surprised.
"You a swimming counselor?" Ennis asked, managing to sound sceptical and impressed at the same time.
"Yep," Jack said, laughing. He bent down as he was leaving, and whispered, "Cindy’s one too. Cool huh?"
Jack didn’t give Ennis time to reply, as Jack sauntered away from the table. Ennis watched as Jack joined the waterfront team, acting like leader of the pack in seconds flat. Ennis wasn’t surprised.
Ennis was grouped with pottery and photography as well as his own speciality of woodwork, and he shuffled over to where his group were. They were taken over to the studios where they would be working for the summer and given a brief tour by Marie, one of the other Head Counselors.
Ennis liked that the studios were away from the hustle and bustle of the main part of camp and set back behind the general office, and pleased that his studio had a clear view of the lake. He’d be glad to see that sight as he worked everyday.
--
The morning passed quickly. Jack was involved in uncovering and unloading the water-sport equipment stored in sheds or under tarpaulins during the winter, and spent his time making them look like new again. The work was tough and arduous and supervised by Bob, the water-sports leader. With Bob’s strict work regime, it soon became apparent to Jack that there would be no time to flirt with Cindy.
During a brief and welcome break from the sun, Jack stripped off his t-shirt and soaked it in the lake for a much-needed cooling down. As he did so, he noticed the shutters on a building behind the office opening, and watched Ennis walk around all sides of the building until all the shutters were open. Ennis worked slowly and methodically and as he came back round to the lake-side of the building, Ennis stood gazing out to the lake, seemingly lost in thought. Jack was fixated on Ennis’s face, as though he was observing a rare bird; one small sound and Ennis would be gone.
He stood transfixed as Ennis suddenly glanced over, and their eyes locked for a few seconds. Jack held his hand up in a hesitant wave, not sure if Ennis wanted to be seen, but felt compelled to do so. Ennis’s expression softened as Ennis waved back, before walking away and out of sight.
Lunch-time was spent outside under the welcome shade of some trees. Bob regaled them with stories of his many years spent working on summer camps and surviving the snow in the winter. Jack liked Bob. Despite a hard exterior, Bob was a friendly character, with a wide welcoming smile and a sunny Australian accent to match. Jack listened lazily to Bob’s lilting voice as he lay against a tree, his cap strategically dipped below his eyes to escape the sun.
"What I don’t understand Bob," Steve Finn, Jack’s fellow cabin mate, and Bob‘s fellow Aussie, was asking, "is why you choose to live here instead of back home."
"Well, as hard as it to believe, this place is my home now, and has been for fifteen years. The winters are hard, for sure, especially as I’d never seen so much as a snowflake before stepping off the plane at Bangor Airport. But the endless summers make up for them."
"Yeah, but I still don’t get what it is that made you stay here. What’s Maine got that Perth hasn’t?"
"My wife, for one thing," Bob replied, and everyone laughed, enjoying the light-hearted banter between the two men going back and forth like an easy game of tennis.
"Aaaah," Steve said, with overstated emphasis to prove he’d got the point. "A Sheila, I should have known."
"Yeah, I know, it’s as typical as the sun setting every night," said Bob thoughtfully. "I never expected to be here longer than the summer. Things tend to happen when you’re least expecting them, and I should know."
Bob looked at his watch before standing up and adjusting his hat. "Okay folks, therapy session over for today. We get to do another couple of hours of this and then you’ve got the pleasure of Howie’s company in the hall. So let’s get to it."
Jack scrambled off the grass, continuing with the tasks he’d began before lunch. The group worked well together. It seemed that the rest, the food and Bob’s guiding presence had subdued them all. The conversation was muted, save for the odd light-hearted jibe or well meant compliment on a job well done.
Jack felt strangely calm as he worked, and not even the scorching sun or lack of contact with Cindy could dampen his spirits, nor diminish his gladdened heart.
--
During Howie’s second lecture of the day, Ennis blanked out, so bored was he by the endless list of the dull-but-necessary must-nots, will-nots and can-nots of camp life. It was only the slow ripple of excitement shifting around the room that brought him back to life. Howie had finally said something worth listening to. He looked up to catch what it was and saw Jack sitting on another table with his swimming co-counselors. Cindy was next to him.
"No, you heard me right," Howie was saying, answering a question from someone up front. "Friday night will be party night. Pre-camp is a back-breaking welcome to camp life, so this is a thank you for your hard work and a good way to chill out some." Howie paused, as the cheers and whistles ran around the room.
Howie held his hand up for quiet. "There’ll be alcohol at the party, but that’s the only time that it’ll be allowed on camp. As stated in the camp literature sent out to you and on the form that you all signed....no alcohol is allowed on camp at any time. Don’t abuse the rule."
Ennis thought he should be excited about the party like everyone else, but he wasn’t sure how to feel. He didn’t know much about them. He’d never been to one before, unless his own birthday parties counted, and since they were dull and forgettable affairs, he doubted they did.
He tried to convince himself it would be good to mix in a crowd and have a few drinks to soften out the hard edges of the rough and busy days of work. His brother had urged Ennis to forge new friendships and be more sociable, but Ennis had never found a good enough reason to mingle with others before. Ennis was sure Jack would love the idea of a party. If things got awkward, Ennis could just watch Jack and hide in the shadows.
--
Jack’s reaction was as Ennis had expected.
"Whooe hee yeah!" he yelled, banging his hands on the table and then adjusting his cap, not quite sure how to have it - back to front or front to back.
"Hey Jack, calm down!" Cindy grabbed Jack’s arm to stop him from bouncing off the seat like a kangaroo. "The party’s not till Friday and we have a lot of work to do before then." Despite the stern words, Cindy’s voice was sweet and sugary, as she twirled her finger in her hair and stared dreamily at Jack.
"Aint no harm in celebrating right now though!" Jack looked across the noisy room and suddenly spotted Ennis. He’d been hoping to catch up with Ennis earlier but had been pulled away by Cindy, and now he wanted Ennis to come and join them. He wanted people to know Ennis, but wasn‘t sure if Ennis felt the same. As he considered what to do, he saw Meli in the far corner of the room, and stood up. He turned towards Cindy.
"I just need to go see someone, I’ll be right back," Jack said, and Cindy immediately sat up straight, straining to see who Jack was suddenly so eager to go and see.
Jack walked over to Meli and smiled widely. "Hey Meli, what’s up?"
"Nothing’s up, I’m fine thanks," Meli replied, with a deadpan expression on her face, one that was hard for Jack to decipher. He didn’t know if she was pissed or playing.
"Glad to hear it. How’s your day been today? Hands still clean?" He figured he could just act dumb and see where that led him.
"Where’ve you been all day?" Meli complained, ignoring Jack’s question.
"Why haven’t you come to see me in the office yet?"
"I’ve been working hard on the waterfront," Jack replied, not entirely sure if he was being told off or being told he’d been missed.
"Working hard on your tan, more like." Meli quipped, sarcastically. "Just be thankful you haven’t had to spend the day listening to songs from musicals. Howie is a musical freak, he loves them, like manically loves them like serial killers like killing people. He sings along to them, which is painful for anyone having to listen, which would be me." Meli screwed her face up in displeasure, and Jack laughed.
"You wanna go for a drink, forget all your troubles?" he asked, cocking his head to one side, pinching her nose playfully.
Meli pinched his nose back. "I‘d love to, but where? I can‘t imagine there being a pub within five hundred miles of here."
"It don’t matter where it is, cause James Dean’ll drive us there," Jack said enigmatically. Jack watched Meli struggle for a few seconds before the penny dropped and she started smiling knowingly.
"You mean the boy from last night? I saw him today. He doesn’t say much."
"That’s true," Jack agreed.
"Did you share a cabin with him?" Meli asked curiously.
"Yeah I did, his name’s Ennis del Mar and he…." Jack began, but was cut off by Meli.
"Ennis del what? That’s a person’s name?" she asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, of course it is. So, what do you say about a double-date kind of thing?"
"You mean, me, you and Ennis? Wouldn’t that be a triple-date kind of thing?"
"I meant," Jack started, "you and Ennis, and me and Cindy."
"Who’s Cindy?" Meli asked warily.
"She’s a swimming counselor too and we got…"
"Friendly down in the sand?" Meli sang, laughing at Jack’s blank look. "Isn‘t that one of Howie‘s "must-nots" and "will-nots"?" Meli said, shaking her finger at Jack in a mock-scolding gesture.
"No, not yet anyway. So what do you think?"
"I don’t know. He doesn’t know me. What does Ennis think?"
"He’s fine with it. He’s over there, let’s go and say hi."
Jack walked away before Meli could argue. She caught up with him as he moved through the crowds towards Ennis, who was sitting silently among a group of people.
"Hey Ennis!" Jack said cheerfully. "How’d it go today?" Ennis wasn’t smiling and didn’t look happy to see him.
"Fine, I guess," he said quietly, looking up at Jack and then at Meli, who smiled nervously.
"This is Meli, Ennis." Jack said, and Ennis exchanged glances with him again before extending his hand out to her. "Ennis del Mar, nice to meet you." Meli shook his hand gently. "You too."
"She’s from England," Jack piped in, as if that explained everything. An uncomfortable silence followed.
"You wanna go out tonight Ennis? Go for a drive and a drink somewhere?"
"I’m beat Jack, maybe some other night?" Ennis said shortly. Jack was unsure what was happening, but he knew that he had upset Ennis somehow.
"Yeah sure, Ennis, that’ll be fine," Jack said kindly, with no intention of pushing the issue. He looked at Meli, indicating the conversation was over.
"Well, it was nice to meet you Ennis." Meli said. Ennis simply nodded in reply.
"I’ll see you back at the cabin, okay Ennis?" Jack said.
"Sure, Jack." Ennis turned away and Jack watched him join in with the ongoing conversation at the table.
As Jack and Meli walked away, Meli grabbed Jack’s arm.
"Well, that was awkward. What was that all about?" Meli asked, staring plainly at Jack, waiting for an explanation.
"What do you mean?" Jack said, suddenly in no mood to do much of anything.
"Ennis acted like he’d rather have root canal treatment than talk to me, let alone go on a date with me." Meli looked deeply hurt and Jack felt bad. "He didn’t look too happy with you either. You two have a row or something?"
"No, course not," Jack said defensively. "He’s probably tired. We all worked really hard today I guess." Jack knew his answer was weak, but had no rational explanation that he could offer to Meli either.
"Well, I just don’t think this foursome thing is a good idea."
"It’ll be fun, you’ll see. He‘ll love you when he has a chance to get to know you." Jack felt obliged to buoy Meli up in light of Ennis’s rebuke, but the words sounded hollow coming out of his mouth.
"Says the man who has known me for less than twenty-four hours himself." Meli said. "Besides, your idea of fun and mine may turn out to be very different. Although one thing is for sure - if Ennis has any musical songs in his car, I’m walking."
Jack laughed. "Okay, I’ll be sure to double-check. Night Meli."
"Night Jacky." They waved and went in separate directions. Jack returned to Cindy, determined to focus his attention entirely on her, and not be distracted by anyone sitting directly behind him.
--
Jack returned to the cabin later that night, and saw a lonely figure sitting on the steps.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Mind if I sit with you a spell?" Jack asked. Ennis shrugged. Jack sat down and neither spoke for a while as they drank in the intoxicating mix of silence and stars.
"Nice here," Ennis said suddenly, his head tilted towards the dark sky. "The stars seem so close, close enough to touch." Ennis's voice was so low and distant Jack could hardly hear it.
"Yeah. It gets like this sometimes, back home." Jack didn't know why he'd brought that up. He hadn’t planned to talk about that. Not now, not ever.
"Yeah? Where's home for you?" Ennis asked, turning to look at Jack.
"Wyoming."
"Yeah?" Ennis said, surprised. "I'm from Wyoming too."
"No shit? Where exactly?"
"Sage. Know it?"
"I think I know it. A few hundred miles from me. Hell, everything's a few hundred miles from me." Jack’s reminder of home stuck in his throat.
"How’s not smoking going for you?" Ennis asked. Jack was thankful for the change of subject.
"Well, I was okay until you mentioned it!" Jack quipped. "I just got to keep busy and I’ll be fine I guess. You?"
"Same for me. It’s why I’m sitting out here….my brother and me, we used to have a smoke each night before turning in." Ennis talked slowly, looking up at the sky and down to the ground in equal measures, but never at Jack.
"On warm nights like this, we’d sit out on the porch." Ennis stopped abruptly, as if he'd said too much, and Jack looked at him, hoping he was going to continue.
"Sorry about your plans Jack, I really was beat and not up to driving."
"No that’s fine Ennis." Jack was confused by Ennis's unexpected apology, as much as he was muddled by Ennis's erratic changes in mood and conversation. "Did you like Meli?"
"I don’t know her Jack, but yeah, she seemed nice."
"She is nice. Even if she is British." Jack forced a laugh out of his mouth.
"So how about you? You and Cindy?"
"Yeah, she’s cute." They looked at each other for a few seconds. Ennis looked away first.
"Well, that’s good then." The silence was deafening. Jack searched for something to keep the conversation going as Ennis stood up.
"I’m beat Jack, it’s been a long day." Ennis began walking up the steps.
"Okay Ennis, goodnight."
"Night Jack."
Later, Jack lay down and let sleep wash over him. His body ached and his mind wouldn’t stop spinning. He had spent the rest of the evening with Cindy, and they had kissed goodnight by the lake. She had felt soft and sweet and the kisses were long and wet. But no matter how hard he tried to stop it, his mind drifted off to another moment, in the same place, hours before.
xxxx