The Lie Behind the Postcard - Death and Reborn
It had passed two months since Ennis left Riverton and he can’t complain about his life. His new job is great and his new boss seems to be a good person. That Randall Malone never gives him a problem, never is unsatisfied with his work, and never makes him work too hard. However sometimes Ennis feels strange when his boss looks at him; he is not quite sure about it, but he thinks that once he caught Randall Malone looking at his ass when he stooped down to pick Laverne’s saddle when she was thrown from her horse.
“Ennis, wanna tell ya’ yer work here is amazing! My ranch have never been better,” Randall told Ennis who was talking with some of the employees about the cows prepared for slaughter - Mr. Malone was going to give a party for his daughter Laverne (mostly to impress her boyfriend).
“Ya’ think so? I appreciate it, Mr. Malone!” Ennis smiled and winked in a cute way; someone might have thought he was flirting with his boss.
“You can call me Randall, Ennis. By the way, are you single or married?” he said, looking at Ennis with some temptation.
“Uh? Well…I am divorced. Married once, but not willing to do it again. Once burned,” Ennis answered and continued his work. He was wondering why Mr. Malone was interested in his marital status.
“Ennis, don’t forget Laverne is having a horseback party next Sunday, her boyfriend’s family is comin’, so please make sure the best horses are selected!” Randall told Ennis.
“As you wish, Mr. Malone… I mean Randall! Do you have any other requests? I need to check the 10 calf that were born two days ago!” Ennis said; he was uncomfortable with calling his boss by his first name.
“Well yeah, I mean no! You can go and check there!” Malone said to Ennis. “You can be much more useful for me than LaShawn indeed,” Randall thought while walking to his house; there he saw his daughter and his wife talking.
“Well, Laverne, I think we should prepare some Buffalo Wings, ribs and steaks as principal dishes! And we can have some corn, rice, salad and, of course, my special BBQ sauce!” LaShawn was indeed a chatterbox. Then her daughter interrupted her.
“Mom, I don’t wanna be rude, but I don’t want yer nose sniffin’ around! I think I can manage! I wanna show Bobby’s parents that I can do this without any help!”
“What’ya just say? I don’t sniff around! I was just tryin’ to help ya’, lady! What I’m going to do with you, Laverne Malone?” her mother said with some anger.
“Hello, ladies, shall I ring the bell for the fight?” Randall asked “Oh please, daddy! Ya’ know mom will never be able to win against me! I am a better model since I am your daughter!” Laverne smiled at her dad.
“I can’t believe what I’ve just heard! My own daughter insulting me! 9 months of pain, 32 hours of labor - and what I got? Nothin’! This girl doesn’t respect her mother at all…” LaShawn was screaming; she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Randall and Laverne smiled at each other - they already knew this “you-are-an-ungrateful-daughter” speech by heart.
“When do ya’ think she’s gonna calm dawn’?” Laverne said, giggling. “Yer mom is a mystery to me! I never knew that!” he laughed.
“Laverne, I already have everyone here preparin’ everything for the party! Ya’re sure that Twists gonna come?” Randall asked.
“Well, daddy, I know that Bobby and his mom will come, but I’m not sure about his dad, he’s out of town, ya’ know?”
“Well, I didn’t know it, so Jack Twist is not in Childress… That explains why they are saying the Newsome shop had some technical problems recently!” he said.
“Ya’re right, daddy! Because of Mrs. Twist’s drinking problem, Mr. Twist is running the business mostly,” Laverne answered while writing in her notebook the list of guests and the food to serve during the party. They were deep in conversation when Ennis entered the house.
“Sir, can I take a few days off? I want to visit my parents’ tombs, haven’t been there in years and feel a need to see them” Ennis told his boss.
“Well, Ennis, you’ve done a great job here, sure you can go!”
Ennis smiled and left. Pretty soon he was on his way back to Wyoming, going to see the graveyard where his parents were buried, where one could find the tombstone with words “ Ennis Del Mar” on it.
Two days later
Robert Twist, Jack’s only son, was heading to Lightning Flat, where he went to visit his father. Bobby hadn’t seen his dad in two months, and he was upset about him leaving the house without saying goodbye to him.
He had been driving for about an hour before he reached a ranch where he saw a familiar man laying on the Porsche with his hat covering his head. Bobby parked his car in front of the Porsche but the man didn’t react - he was in a deep sleep.
“I guess that’s the reason ya’ came here. To sleep!” Bobby yelled at his father, who woke up and was surprised to see his son.
“Holy mother of Jesus! Bobby, you almost caused me a heart attack!” Jack told his son. They looked at each other, both silent, no words needed. “Daddy!” screamed Bobby as he ran into his father arms; he was crying, tears coming as waterfalls. “Bobby, please, stop it… Ya make me cry!” Too late, Jack was already crying. They stood there for a long time until the sun went down.
“Dad, what happened? Why did ya’ come here? Did ya’ know I missed ya’ lots?” Bobby sounded angry.
“Bobby, I know ya’ missed me bad, and I missed ya’ too, but I had some things I needed to think about,” Jack answered. They entered the house, and Jack offered his son some coffee.
“Were you born here?” Bobby asked looking all over the place; it was nothing like his house - it was as humble as his father.
“Yup, it’s my first place…” he answered.
“How come we’ve never been here?”
“My old folk didn’t like the fact I got married! He’d never thought it to be a good idea for me! He’d always been against it, said I must be here helpin’ him,” Jack said. He knew that his father and mother were aware about his ‘preferences’.
That caused his dad to be extremely hard with him - Jack thought his dad was punishing him for his orientation - but his wonderful mother always was there to cheer him up and give him her love. He knew that both of them loved him, but his father was reluctant to accept him.
“Why?”
“Well, Bobby, I think that ya’ are old enough to know the truth about me and yer mother!” Though it was by no means cold, Jack was shivering.
“Dad, what ya’re talkin’ about?” Bobby always wondered why his parents were different from the other couples. He could see it was not a real marriage; they were friends rather than husband and wife.
“I know that ya’ haven’t been together as a couple in almost 12 years! What else should I know?” Bobby asked, his voice shaking; in his heart he thought he knew the answer, but he was not ready to hear it.
“Bobby, that’s the reason I came here. To think and analyze my whole life. And I realized that all my wishes never came true because I’d never been persistent enough. If I had fought for them, I wouldn’t have lost everything I did!” he said, staring nowhere, thinking about Ennis.
“Dad, I don’t understand! What do you mean?” Bobby was scared, but he wanted to know what was going on.
“Ya’ see, Bobby, I as good died years ago… I’ve been dead for almost 6 years by now… I died the same day he did!” he said, looking in Bobby’s eyes. Jack was trying to find the right words. He needed to tell his son about his past, but was Bobby ready to hear the truth? Bobby loved his father dearly, Jack knew that, but sometimes kids don’t understand their parents’ choices.
“Ya’ just said he died? Ya’re talking about your father, right? Right?” Bobby yelled. There was some anger and pain in his heart - he wanted to believe that either he heard wrong, or he had arrived to the wrong house. But there was something in his father’s eyes that hadn’t been before. Then Bobby realized his father was fighting back the tears.
“No, Bobby! I’m not talkin’ about my dad! I am talkin’ about….” Jack was shaking uncontrollably. Then he felt someone hugging him. Bobby was trying to comfort his father.
“It’s o.k., daddy, ya’ don’t have to say it… It’s o.k.… It’s about Ennis Del Mar, right?” Bobby felt his father tensed when he heard this name.
“Bobby! Ya’ knew that?” Jack asked in a broken voice.
“Yes, I knew. Ya’ mentioned him almost every day when ya’ were in the hospital. I never told ya’ about it because I wanted ya’ to be honest with me; I knew that you weren’t ready to talk about it!” Bobby said, crying; he was hugging his father mightily, as if afraid he would leave him.
“And ya’ need to know ya’ the best dad one ever had! I don’t care if ya’ love a man! Ya’ have always been with me, all my life! I’m sorry I gave you a hard time, but it was difficult to me to get used to that!” he cried; even though they were really close there were times when Bobby didn’t talk to his father at all; for two years after he heard his father’s words on the hospital he was unable to understand why his father did that to him. He was fifteen when he realized that his parents’ marriage was a lie and they were not a perfect family he always thought.
“Bobby, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I don’t deserve being yer dad…” Jack was unable to control his emotions.
“Don’t say such things! Jack Twist, ya’ are better than all of my friends’ fathers!
“You have nothing to be sorry about! You hear, dad, nothing!” Bobby cried to his father; and he just hugged him while Jack kept crying. “Cry, daddy, please, cry, let it go! Let yer pain go out, I’m with you!”
Finally Jack was ready to tell his story to Bobby, who just listened without saying a word, and every time he thought that he couldn’t continue, Bobby said: “Dad, please keep it going!” When he finished he felt relieved but scared at the same time.
“I guess ya’ hate me know! I told ya’ the truth, now ya’ know that I’ve never loved your mom!” he said, ashamed of himself.
“Dad, I need to tell ya’ that I’m upset. That’s right, but this is the dad that I remember, this is my dad, not the other one that lived in the past. Dad, ya’ need to remember Ennis, but don’t let yerself’ die! …..” Bobby told his dad, and these words made Jack feel better.
“Now, dad, I want ya’ to do this! Divorce mom; this situation hurts both of ya’ and I luv’ ya’ both. If ya’ need to separate to be happy, I’m ok with that!” Bobby told Jack who was astonished to hear such words from his son.
“Bobby, what did ya’ just say?” Jack asked his son. “What you just heard! Divorce her; ya’ don’t have to be with the person ya’ don’t love!” Bobby replied. They kept talking for the rest of the night, and Bobby convinced his dad that if he was going to continue his life, he needed to reborn “You need to leave everything that hurts! And start a new life!” he was reluctant to say yes, but Bobby made him see his life needed to be changed.
“Now, Dad, we’re going to Ennis tomb and you’ll say goodbye to him, then we’ll return to Childress and go to that party at Laverne’s house, then ya’ will talk to mom!” Bobby said. At the beginning Jack refused, but after a while he realized that he needs to go on. Both got into the car and left; they were going to the Cokeville Cemetery - the last realm of Ennis’ soul.
It was a long drive. When they arrived there, Jack went straight to the grave keeper. “Do ya’ know where Ennis Del Mar is buried?”
“Yes, he’s up there, next to the Laurel tree”
Jack went straight to the tomb; the pain in his chest was unbearable. There it was - Ennis Del Mar, the man he always loved, is dead, and his body rested in this ugly and old graveyard, tombstone almost destroyed.
“En…there are many things I’d never told ya’… I’d always wanted to say how much I loved ya’, but ya’d never given me a chance. I’d always wanted to live with ya’, but ya’ refused every time I asked, ya’ were scared… And what we got now? Ya’re fuckin’ dead, Ennis! Ya’re fuckin’ dead…” he yelled these bitter words and collapsed, sobbing, on Ennis’s headstone, his tears falling on it. “Did ya’ ever wonder why I always came back? It wasn’t because I loved havin’ sex with you! It was because I loved ya’! Ennis, you fuckin’ son of a whoreson bitch! I once wanted to quit ya’, but was not able to do so, Ennis! I had never been able to! I wish you weren’t dead!”
Jack felt that someone was nearing him, he felt waves of cold air crushed over his body, he felt his heart started beating faster than ever, his body froze, he wanted and not wanted to look back. The footsteps stopped. When Jack found enough courage to look back, what he saw and what he felt almost killed him. It was… He started shivering and tried to say something, but no words came. He has been heard; Heaven or Hell has heard his prayer…
“En…Ennis?”
Ennis thought that it was a dream. His heart was beating as fast as if it was trying to break out of his chest; his eyes must have been playing with him. In front of Ennis was Him. Not as young as before, but it was Him. Ennis thought it was his imagination and tried to run away, but his body would not obey. He had wanted it for many years and now he was going to escape? He tried to open his mouth and say a word, but no words came, except for one:
“Jack?”