THE SWEET LIFE

CHAPTER SEVEN

Childress Texas

“But WHY, Mom? Why can’t you tell me?” The young man stood; adamant, with hands on his hips.

“Because I don’t KNOW is why.” The still beautiful at 43 years of age, mother answered.

“You must know somethin! WHY did Grandpa talk about Daddy like that? Say all those awful things?”

“I don’t know. He just never did think your Daddy was good enough, I guess.” She wrung her beautifully manicured hands. “Could we please change the subject now and get on with the weddin plans?”

“NO! Not until you tell me?”

“I told you I don’t know! Whyn’t you go ask your Grandpa while he was still alive, 'cause he sure musta known somethin that I don’t!”

“I did. All he would say is ‘Trust me on this one, boy. Your daddy was NOT a real man!’ I need to know why he’d say somethin like that.”

“Then I guess it’s just one of those things that you never will know; 'cause I sure don’t know what he meant. Your Daddy was ALL man as far as I was concerned.” She lit another cigarette.

“Momma, you gotta stop that! You know what the doctor said. You need to quit smokin!”

“That’s easy for him to say, with his cushy job, just doin nothin but readin charts and tellin people what they can and can’t do! He’s got no big weddin to plan and no son askin questions that he ain’t got answers to!” She stubbed her cigarette out in exasperation and turned to leave the room.

“I’m gonna find out, Momma. One way or the other, I’ll find out!” He called after her.

“Go ahead! Don’t matter none to me. Can’t see how you’re gonna do that though, with your Grandpa gone and your Pa not around.” She stopped at the doorway and turned back as her son spoke.

“I’ve already talked with the guys he used to work with; all they say is that Daddy was a real good guy and never did any of them wrong. They got no clue to why Grandpa talked so bad about him.”

“Well, there you go, Son. Some questions just got no answers.”

“This one does and I’m gonna find out what it is!” Bobby brushed past his mother, crossed the foyer and climbed the stairs to his room, slamming the door behind him.

He brooded on his bed a while then went to his closet and from the top shelf took down a large cardboard box of stuff he’d removed from his Dad’s office desk before his mom demolished the room and turned it into a sun room. He shuffled through the useless papers, plaques for being salesman of the year, family photos, etc. At the bottom of the box he came across a packet of postcards rubber banded together. He slipped them loose and looked at the unfamiliar scrawl. They were all from the same person; Ennis Del Mar from Riverton, Wyoming.

“Dad’s old fishing buddy!” He said to himself, reading the short messages on each card.
“I wonder if he knows anything.” He reached for the phone on his nightstand dialed ‘O’ and asked the operator for Long Distance to Riverton, Wyoming.

“Yes, do you have a listing for an Ennis Del Mar?”

Pause

“You don't? Damn! Thanks anyway."

The next day …

“But Bobby, why do you have to go up there? Can’t you just ask him over the phone?”

"I tried but he doesn't have a phone listed."

"Well he probably doesn't live there any more. This could be just a wild goose chase, Bobby. Can't you just let it go?"

“I need to see him; look him in the face and ask the questions. These postcards span a good twenty years. He must have known my Daddy pretty well. I need to go up there and meet him; see if he knows anything.”

“Well as long as I’m going to be gone to Minnesota for a week, you may as well go. You’ll be back by the time I get home? We still got lots to do for this weddin. I don’t want it to be entirely our Momma’s work.”

“I know, I know. I’ll just fly up there, see if I can find him; maybe he left a forwarding address or something. It’d be real nice talkin with someone who knew my Dad all those years.”

“I’m sure it will be, honey. You promise you’ll call me every night?”

“I will, I promise.”

“OK then, Darlin, talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”

“Love you too. Night baby.”

“Night.”

The next day …

“Oh, Momma; give it a rest, will ya? I’ll be back in a few days. It’s the only chance I have of findin out more about Daddy. This guy knew him for 20 years; Daddy probably told him things he’d never tell you. Guys always tell friends stuff they’d never tell anyone else. If I can't find this Del Mar guy, I'll just drop in and visit Daddy's folks and maybe they'll know where he is."

"Now don't you dare go tellin them what your Grampa said. They're elderly and all you would do is upset them."

"Oh I won't say anything about that; just that I'm looking to find him."

“Well, I can see you’re bound and determined to do this. I just hope you don’t end up regrettin it; findin out stuff you’d rather not know.”

“That’s my plane they’re announcin; I gotta go. Don’t worry, Momma. Whatever I find out, I’ll tell you. There’s just got to be some reason for Grandpa to hate Daddy so. And some reason why Daddy don't let us know where he is. Hopefully, this Ennis Del Mar will have some answers.” He hugged his momma goodbye and went through the gate to the waiting plane.

“Oh, Honey, I’m not sure I really want to know.” She whispered wistfully to herself as she watched his plane taxi and take off.

Riverton, Wyoming …

"You have no record of an Ennis Del Mar having a phone here ever?" The young man asked the pretty girl sitting behind the desk at the Riverton phone company.

"Now I don't know about 'ever'; I just know he ain't got one here now." She smiled up at the handsome young man in front of her and twirled a piece of her hair with her finger tips.

"Could you check your records please, and find out if there ever was an account and if he left a forwarding address? It's very important." He used his most charming manner and soon enough the girl got up and went over to the old black filing cabinets lined up against the wall, pulled out a drawer and rifled through file folders. She pulled one out and came back to her desk.

"He did have an account with us up until last year but I don't see any forwarding address. Looks like he came in and paid off his final bill so we didn't need to forward him anything."

"Maybe one of his neighbors will know where he went. Could you give me his address?"

"I'm not supposed to do that." The girl smiled coyly at him.

"Could you please? It's very important. My father is missing and this Ennis Del Mar was a friend of his. I'm hoping he might know something. I've just got to find him."

"Well, I guess it would be all right. I mean, he ain't a customer of ours any more so I don't see that it could hurt anything." She wrote the address down on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

"Kennedy's Trailer Park, Route 3, box 17." Bobby read then looked up at her and asked, "Can you tell me how to find this trailer park?"

"Sure thing. It's just east of the city limits, off a 136. You take Main Street here, down till you come to the Texaco gas station and turn right. That's 136. It ain't all that far."

"OK. Thanks; thanks a lot." He stuck the paper in his pocket and hurried on out of there.

He turned off the road when he saw the sign for the trailer park and slowed his rental car down. First trailer on his left was number 17 and he cringed a little when he saw it. It was pretty dismal. He drove on by until he came to the trailer with the sign out front saying "OFFICE".

He explained to the manager about his missing father and that Ennis Del Mar was a friend of his and that he'd come all the way from Texas to talk with him. The old woman took pity on him and while she had no forwarding address for Ennis, she told him that Ennis had worked for years out at the Cole ranch and that the owner there might have some idea where he had moved.

After getting her to draw him a little map, Bobby made his way out to the Cole ranch.
A short conversation with Mr. Cole and he was told that Ennis had moved up to Sheridan.
With a sigh, Bobby headed his rental car north. It was a beautiful drive; lots of pine trees and lots of rolling hills. It reminded Bobby of East Texas.

It was dark by the time he arrived and he decided to take a motel room for the night so he could get an early start the next morning. After flipping through the phone book and finding no listing for Ennis Del Mar, he decided to try the electric company. Some people might not have phones but most everybody had electricity.

He had a little more difficulty at the electric company. Yes, they had a listing for Ennis Del Mar but they were not allowed to give out any information of any kind about their customers. Bobby insisted on speaking with a supervisor who just happened to be the brother-in-law of the owner of Sheridan Electric so he put in a phone call and explained the situation and asked what he should do. After a short conversation it was okayed and the address was given. Bobby asked for directions and it was pointed out to him on a large framed map of the area that was hanging on the wall.

With many thanks, he headed out for the old Chambers place.

xxxxx

Their life was busy and full and they enjoyed every minute of it. The day their brood mares were delivered was a sunny April morning and Ennis stood admiring the horses as they ran about their new pasture and Jack was up on the porch writing out a check. A car pulled up and stopped beside Ennis who turned to see who it was. A young man stuck his head out of the car window and called to him.

"I'm looking for Ennis Del Mar. You know where I can find him?"

"You found him. What can I do for you?" Ennis said walking over to the car.

The young man got out and stretched his long legs. "I've been looking for you. I need to talk to you about my dad."

"Your dad?" Ennis squinted from under his hat brim.

"That's right. My name is Bobby Twist and my dad's been missing a year now and no one seems to know where he is. I found some old postcards from you. I know the two of you were friends for years so I tracked you down. I was wondering if you had any idea where I might find him?"

Ennis's jaw dropped and he stood dumb struck; his eyes devouring the young man. There was a definite resemblance there. The build was the same, so was the thick brown hair; but his eyes were big and brown. He had a nice friendly smile; similar to Jack's but without the wild spark behind them that Ennis always admired in Jack's.

About that time, the person who delivered the mares was leaving and his truck came down the drive and they stepped to either sides of the drive to let him by. Ennis looked up to see Jack walking towards them. There was only one thing that Ennis could do. He pointed to Jack.

Bobby looked over to where Ennis was pointing and recognized his dad immediately. He let out a holler that Ennis had heard Jack use on many occasions and ran to his dad. Jack stopped dead in his tracks for a minute then ran to greet his son with a bear hug and lots of back slapping, hand shaking and grinning and more hugging.

Ennis watched the reunion with great pleasure as he saw the love between Jack and his son. It didn't take long though before indecision popped up. Should he stay where he was? Should he leave for a while? Should he join them? Should he leave them alone? He didn't know what to do so he just stood there and let Jack do whatever he felt was best.

Jack waved Ennis over and he introduced him to his son who could hardly stop babbling long enough to say "hello, nice to meet you". It was a constant, "I'm so glad I found you, you look great, I was afraid you was sick or something and didn't want us to know about it, I can't believe I found you! Why'd you take off like that? and why haven't you called?"

Jack just grinned his mega-watt smile and kept an arm around Bobby. "C'mon. Let's go inside and talk. I'll answer all your questions." They started walking off but Ennis stayed where he was. Jack turned back to him and said, "Coming?"

"Later. You go on. I wanna watch the mares for a bit. See to it that they settle in."

Jack nodded his head and understood. He needed to do this alone. Ennis would be there when he needed him.

Jack and Bobby walked on into the house and sat down, side by side on the couch; still hanging on to each other.

"God, it's good to see you, Bobby!" Jack couldn't take his eyes off his son. "You've grown another couple of inches. You're tall as me now."

"Dad … what's going on? Why did you leave? I was sure you were probably sick or something and I'd find you half dead somewhere."

"Bobby, it's a long story; started years and years ago. I'm sorry I had to go the way I did but I had to jump when the chance came and I been so busy these last months, it just don't seem like it could have been a whole year I been gone."

"Well I'm not leaving until I hear the whole story, Dad. I got at least a hundred questions and I need answers to them all."

"OK. Where do you want me to start? Where it all began or where and why I left?"

"I need to hear it all so why not start at the beginning." Bobby sat back and got ready to listen.

Jack lit up a cigarette. "You're not a child any more, Bobby, and what I'm about to tell you might shock you. I hope you'll keep an open mind and an open heart and listen to the whole thing before you jump to any conclusions about me."

"Dad, whatever this story is, it won't change the way I feel about you. You're my Dad and I love you. I always have and I always will. Has this got anything to do with what Grandpa always used to say about you?"

"Let's just leave your Grandpa out of this for now. I'll tell you my story and you can make your own judgments; OK?"

"OK. I'm listening."

Jack twiddled his cigarette in his fingers and staring at it began his story. "I met Ennis when I was your age, 19, back in '63. We both showed up for a sheep herdin job up on Brokeback Mountain. We got on real fine right from the start and it was a great summer. That fall Ennis got married and I went on rodeoin. That's how I met your Momma and then we got married."

"You got married because I was on the way; right?"

"I never said that."

"Dad, I can count. I was born seven months after you and mom were married. I looked it up."

"OK, so you looked it up. What else do you know?"

"I found the postcards Ennis sent you. The first one was in '67."

"That's right. We didn't see or hear from each other for four years. Then one day I decided to write him a card and see if he wanted to get together again. It seems he was as anxious as I was." Jack stalled out with his story then, remembering those days and their reunion at the Siesta Motel. He blushed a little and stubbed his cigarette out.

"You want a drink or a sandwich or somethin?" He stood up and went into the kitchen. Bobby followed him.

"We got some tea; you want a glass of iced tea?" Jack plowed through the refrigerator.

"Sure; I'll take a glass of tea." Bobby sat down at the kitchen table and waited for his father to join him. Once he did Bobby asked, "Are you OK, Dad? You look kind of … worried."

"I'm fine, Bobby. It's just talkin about all this personal stuff. You know I never was comfortable talkin much about myself."

"Talk to me about Ennis then. What kind of man is he?"

Jack perked up at that request. "Oh, he's a good man, Bobby. The best I've ever met. His parents were killed in an automobile accident when he was 14 and all he's got is his brother he don't hardly ever hear from."

"That's too bad. So how did the two of you end up both working here?"

"This is our place, Bobby; Ennis's and mine."

"It is?" Bobby's face lit up. "What I've seen of it, it's beautiful."

"Wait till you see the rest of it. I'll take you around later and show it to you. There's a creek back behind the woods and we got us a great garden and fruit trees; it's just the best place in the world."

"A lot better than Childress?" Bobby said.

"A whole different world from Childress." Jack agreed.

"I kind of like living in a big city myself. When Marie and I get married we're going to live in Dallas."

"You're gettin married?" Jack asked.

"Uh huh. In two weeks. Sure would like it if you could be there."

Jack looked out the kitchen window at Ennis leaning against the fence watching the mares.

"Bobby, did you understand what I meant when I said that this place belonged to Ennis and me?"

"Sure I did. You meant that you and Ennis are working this place together."

"The key word in that sentence being 'together'." Jack said and watched his son's face for some signs of realization and rejection. He found none.

"Dad, did you think I was going to condemn you or something?" Bobby sipped his tea and controlled his composure. This was not what he had expected but he loved his Dad; that's all there was to it as far as he was concerned.

"You don't care? It don't matter to you that Ennis and I are living together?"

"Dad, you look great! You've even put on a little weight; you're not so skinny any more. If Ennis makes you happy, then I'm grateful to him."

"Holy shit!" Jack jumped up and grabbed his son, pulling him to his feet. "I was so scared you'd hate me!" He hugged him. "I love you so much, Bobby, but I was afraid you wouldn't understand; that you'd think I was something dirty like your Grandpa always said I was."

"I never believed a single bad thing Grandpa said about you. I thought you knew that. Did he know you were gay; was that why he said all those terrible things about you?"

"Bobby, I don't think he knew anything for sure. I only know he hated me from the first minute he laid eyes on me and a couple a times he offered me money to just take off but I couldn't do that to your Momma."

"I know you cared about Momma, but did you ever love her?" Bobby hated himself for asking but something in him just had to know.

They sat back down at the table and each took a few gulps of their tea. "Bobby, there are lots of different kinds of love. You're still young yet but you'll find that out. Your Momma and I had a great relationship and in some ways I loved her very much and I still do but it was never in the way that I love Ennis. When I'm with him, I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. I'm home. Whether that's out in the woods in a tent or here in our fine house; it's where I belong, it's where I want to be."

"You never felt that way in Childress?"

"I never did. Not for one minute. I'm from ranch people. It's been in my family for generations; it's where I belong. I never felt comfortable living in Childress."

"Is that why you drank so much? Because you wanted to be ranching or because you wanted to be with him?"

"Both. And yes, that's why I drank so much."

"Well what was it that happened last year that made you jump up and leave so suddenly?"

"I'd been asking Ennis for years to go off somewhere with me and get a place but he has two girls and he had child support payments to make. He couldn't leave them. But now they are grown and have moved away; one to Anchorage, Alaska and the other one to Chicago. He had no one left to look after and no one that he had to worry about embarrassin so he called me one night and said he wanted to try us livin together. I had to jump immediately before he got scared again and changed his mind."

"Scared? He doesn't look the type to me to be scared about anything."

"When he was a kid, some neighbor of his got drug out of his house in the middle of the night and beaten to death with tire irons cause they was two guys livin together. He saw the body. It scared his something awful. He's still afraid that something like that might happen to one of us. That's why we don't go anywhere alone. We go into town, we go together."

"That's horrible, Dad. What a terrible thing for him to see. So tell me more about him; what's he like?"

Jack's face lit up as he leaned back in his chair and started talking about all the years of experience Ennis had in ranching and all the things they had done since they bought the property.

After a while the front door opened and Ennis called, "Jack, the stallion's here."

Jack and Bobby both got up and went outside to where the truck had pulled up and they all watched as the stallion was unloaded. He was a beautiful thing, all rusty brown colored with black mane and tail. His muscles glistened in the sunlight. His nostrils flared and the beautiful head twisted around to take note of the mares grazing contentedly in the pasture.

"He's beautiful!" Bobby said as Ennis took his lead and walked him over to a pasture across from the mares and turned him loose. The horse reared up and took off with a snort to investigate his new surroundings.

Jack pulled out his checkbook and scribbled out the payment for delivery and handed it to the man, then he and Bobby joined Ennis at the rail and watched the stallion prance around and stake out his territory.

"He looks good!" Ennis said. "See him eyein those mares? He's already thinkin about gettin over there to do his job."

"They noticed him too," Jack said. "Did you see them watchin as he was unloaded?"

"Nah, I didn't. I was watchin the stallion too close to make sure he didn't hurt himself getting out of the trailer."

"They were lookin him over all right," Jack said.

"Will he be a riding horse?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, eventually, but now right now. He's got to get used to the place first and get used to us handlin him. He's broke to ride but you don't go throwin a saddle on a horse that don't know ya. You'd get throwed for sure."

"You wanna ride, Bobby? We got a couple of older horses that Ennis and I use. We could take a ride if you want."

"No, not right now. Actually I'm getting kind of hungry. How about the three of us going into town; I'll buy lunch?"

Jack and Ennis eyed each other; Ennis with his eye brows up in question and Jack with a nod of the head, answering the question, yes, he knows.

"We got half a roast beef in the fridge we was gonna make sandwiches with. Why don't we do lunch right here?" Jack offered and the three of them walked back up to the house.

Jack and Ennis worked side by side on the sandwiches and Bobby sat at the kitchen table and watched happily. Soon the three of them were finishing off the huge sandwiches and making small talk.

"Dad tells me you two have known each other since '63." Bobby said to Ennis.

"That's right. That was a long time ago." Ennis sipped his tea and continued. "We was about your age then. Your Pa was the first real friend I ever had. My brother and sister and me; we moved around a lot after the folks passed. We didn't live any place long enough to make friends."

"It sounds like you've had a hard life." Bobby commented.

"Yep; it's been hard all right. But I ain't never been afraid of hard work or doin without. It was just the way my life was meant to be, I guess."

"Looks like you got it pretty good now," Bobby smiled at him.

"The best ever!" Ennis agreed.

"Dad told me the two of you are living together now. I'm happy for both of you."

Ennis gulped a little and wiped at his mouth with a napkin and mumbled "Thanks".

"I can't get over how great Dad looks! He was so skinny last time I saw him and always looked so miserable. I'm so glad I was wrong."

"About what?" Ennis asked and looked quickly at Jack then back again to Bobby.

"When he took off like that and we didn't hear from him, I figured he was probably sick and dying and didn't want to die there in Childress."

Ennis looked at Jack.

"I don't know where he got that idea." Jack shook his head.

"Dad, you're a good twenty pounds heavier now than you were last year and it isn't fat; it's muscle. You look really good; good and healthy."

"I never felt better in my life and I ain't been sick a day since we been here; have I Ennis?"

"Nope. He's healthy as can be; must be the good air up here."

"So what are you gonna tell your Momma when you get back home?" Jack asked.

"The truth. I think she already suspects it anyway. You would think she would have a clue; wouldn't you?"

"I don't know, Son. I don't know."

"I can't believe she didn't try and find you all this time. It only took me two days."

"She knew where I was. Least ways, she knew I had a PO box in Sheridan. It's where she sent me the divorce papers to sign."

"She knew? She kept telling me she had no idea where you were or how to find you."

"Well, she's got her own way of dealin with things, I expect."

"I guess so," Bobby shook his head in wonder.

"So when exactly is this weddin?" he asked Bobby then turned to Ennis and said, "Bobby's getting married in a couple weeks."

"Is that so?" Ennis said.

"Yes! And I want you both to come. I can't wait for you to meet Marie. She's just the most beautiful thing you ever did see. And smart too! We're both studying pre-law at SMU. Once we're married we can share a dorm. They're kind of old fashioned there. No couples sharing rooms unless they're married."

"That the reason you're gettin married?" Jack asked.

"Oh no. We've been going steady now for over a year and engaged for nearly six months. It's time now for us to be together permanently and that's what we both want."

"I can certainly understand that." Jack nodded in agreement.

"And you and Ennis have been together for 21/22 years now?" Bobby asked.

"We been knowin each other that long; we ain't been together but a year." Ennis answered.

"I wish I'd known." Bobby said. "You shoulda told me, Dad. I'd stood up for you!"

"It ain't a matter of anybody standin up for anybody, Bobby. It was personal and something I begin to think would never happen. There wasn't no sense in bringin somethin up that would just cause a stir."

"Yeah, but how did you put up with Grandpa all those years; calling you names and stuff?"

"That was just his way; he was a very smart man about a lot of things but just as dumb about other things. He was a good man in the way he ran his business; I never knew him to cheat anybody; and he was a good man in the way he loved your Momma and you. It's just a shame that he was filled with a lot of garbage about people who were different from him."

"A lot of people are like that; hatin those who are different." Ennis added.

"I did love Grandpa and once I stood up to him, he cut out most of the crap."

"You did? What happened." Jack asked.

"We were on one of our summer trips, I forget which one, and he started talkin about you and using those filthy words of his and I told him flat out that I didn't care what he said about you that I loved you and nothing he said was ever going to change that and that the words he was using when he talked about you made me sick to my stomach and that I hated being with him when he talked like that. I wish I had said it sooner because he didn't do it much after that. I think I was 13 or 14 then."

"I'm proud of you, Son." Jack reached over and squeezed his son's arm. "I'm just sorry that you had to do that."

"It wasn't your fault, Dad. It was his and he knew it. Grandpa and I actually got along really well as long as we didn't talk that much about you." Bobby smiled back.

"That's exactly what your Momma always said."

They all sat in silence for a few minutes then Bobby spoke again. "It must have been horrible for the two of you; caring about each other all those years and not being together."

"Horrible don't even touch it," Ennis said.

"Did you drink a lot too? I know my dad sure did. I figured he was an alcoholic."

"No, sir; your Pa wasn't no alcoholic." Ennis said firmly.

"I wasn't an alcoholic, Bobby. I was just miserable and I didn't know what else to do with myself."

"God, I can't imagine what it would be like just seeing Marie a couple times a year. I'd go nuts!"

"That's what all the drinkin was about; least ways it was for me. I got drunk every Friday night and stayed drunk till Sunday night. The rest of the time I worked and marked the days off on my calendar. Did that for near twenty years." Ennis said.

"I remember my dad was always drinking; always had a bottle in his hand; either beer or whiskey."

"I'm sorry, Son."

"Don't be. I know why now." He turned to Ennis. "Ennis, my dad here was never a mean drunk. Not like my friend's dad. He'd get drunk and start knocking the kids around. Dad wasn't ever like that. Most of the time he'd just sit and stare off into space with the most incredible look of sadness on his face; a time or two I'd see big ole tears rolling down his cheeks. I knew he was miserable; I just didn't know why." He reached over and squeezed his dad's arm.

"You OK with this then; him and me livin together?" Ennis asked.

"Absolutely! It's just so good to see him smiling and happy; I can't tell you how happy that makes me." He turned back to his dad, "I see you shaved your mustache off."

"Yeah, Ennis didn't like it."

"Made me jealous." Ennis said with a little grin.

"Jealous?" Bobby asked.

"Uh huh. He said your momma liked it; so a course I hated it then."

Bobby grinned and looked back at his dad. "It makes you look younger. I can't get over how good you look."

"I only kept it long as I did cause she liked it." Jack said.

"I know what you mean. She loves that facial hair thing and was trying to talk me into growing one. You should see her new boyfriend. He's huge and he's got a full face beard. She thinks he's really something."

"I'm glad to hear that your Momma's gettin out and havin friends."

"I don't much care for this guy. He's the ex-husband of one of her friends. He's ranch manager at a place around there somewhere; names Malone."

"Shit!" Jack sat bolt upright. "You ain't talkin about Randal Malone; are you?"

"She calls him Randy; couldn't say if his name is Randal or not. Why; do you know him?"

"Hell, yes I do! He propositioned me a coupla times." Ennis stiffened up. "I turned him down both times; he wasn't my cup a tea. But he was married to a friend of your Momma's."

"Oh crap!"

"She serious about him? How long she been seein him?"

"Don't know. I only saw him once."

"Well, I gotta call her and have a talk with her. There ain't no need for your Momma goin down that road again."

The silence was thick between them then Bobby said, "Dad, you've got to get a phone. Now that I know where you are, I can call you sometimes. It'll be so good to be able to talk to you again. I really missed you."

"We do for a fact, Son. We just been so busy gettin the place set up and all and time just got away from me. I didn't realize it had been a full year till we started plantin our garden again. I'm sure sorry I worried you; and I hate that you thought I had gone off some place to die when all the time I was up here with Ennis startin out a new life and learnin what it was like to be happy for the first time in my life."

"It doesn't matter any more. I'm just so glad I found you and you're all right. And not only are you all right but you're with someone and you're happy. I don't think I've ever seen you smile as much as you have in this last hour."

"I got lots to smile about now. I got Ennis, I got a place of my own; it's the sweet life,
Bobby. And the only thing I have left to wish for right now is that you find the same thing with your Marie."

THE END (Four epilogues to follow)