"The Power of Ten" - Canon!AU fic, chapter one
Fic content and Rating:
”The Power of Ten” is a Canon!AU Brokeback fic in 5 chapters, rated PG for language.
Disclaimer: Jack, Ennis and Brokeback Mountain belong to Annie Proulx, Diana Ossana, Larry McMurtry and Focus Features. I intend no disrespect and make no profit.
Brief synopsis:
Jack tells Ennis that he “had to ask about ten different people in Riverton where you was livin’.” Who were those ten people, exactly, and could their meeting with Jack possibly have impacted them - and made them in turn impact Ennis - so that fate took a different direction for our cowboys?
This fic looks at that possibility and on Ennis’s related trials and tribulations in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way.
The Power of Ten: Chapter 1
Weekend with the girls
Ever after that weekend, Ennis was unable to muster any clear recollection of what he and the girls had done together. He knew he was taking them into town for burgers and ice cream when Jack showed up, so that’s probably what they did.
They’d talked some of going to a movie, too - “Jaws” was showing and the girls had been pestering him a lot to be allowed to see it. Their mom obviously had told them a firm “no”.
He always felt a terrible pain and despair clench his heart when anyone as much as mentioned “Jaws” in later years, so probably they did actually go see it. He wasn’t quite sure. He vaguely recalled some shrieking and hollering, and both a the girls hanging on to his arms for dear life. He couldn’t remember much about it. If they did go see it, whatever happened in the famous shark film made no impression on him.
All he could sense and all he could see was Jack’s pale incredulous look of complete and utter disappointment.
Well, the girls and he sure must have done something, anyhow, and he must have managed a half-assed reasonable daddy act, for his daughters seemed very happy and thrilled with the weekend. But then, they saw him so rarely, maybe they figured divorced daddies were supposed to be completely out of it, distracted and tense. Zombies with money to spend.
Once he’d dropped the girls off back at Alma’s, he got himself home and made friends with the whiskey bottle he kept for special occasions. This was a special occasion, he figured. He hadn’t felt this desperately down since Jack drove past him and disappeared down the dusty road in Signal those many years ago.
Just like back then, he felt like puking. He’d a liked to just quietly pass out.
Damn. Jack’s eyes kept haunting him… the delight that turned to dull and bleak despair, the light that went out as he realized Ennis couldn’t… wouldn’t…. was too afraid to……
Ennis pulled on his bottle and punched the wall a couple a times. It hurt like hell, but hardly managed to dull his miserable feeling of despair. Why couldn’t Jack let be? How could he not know it was impossible? Impossible! Two guys livin’ together, no way, NO WAY.
He cursed and kicked a chair across the floor, moving restlessly about in the small and pitiful room that served him as a kitchen. A desperate lion in a cage, endlessly pacing, going nowhere.
Eventually complete stupor set in and he fell into bed, exhausted, drunk and nearly dead to the world.
But even so, he could still hear Jack’s pleading, desperate “Ennis!” whispered like a sad soft echo repeating itself in his head.
The Boss
Somehow Ennis managed to crawl out of bed and get going the next morning, just as early as ever. He felt more dead than alive, and probably looked no better.
He knew he shouldn’t be driving in this state, but couldn’t manage to give a shit.
He got behind the wheel and drove on.
It was a quiet day at the ranch. Winter feeding coming up soon, some repair work was going on around the out-buildings, and Ennis volunteered for going over the home pasture lean-tos, replacing rotten or broken planks, making them ready for winter season.
He ducked his head and squinted through slit eyes as he walked with heavy steps across the yard, avoiding the painfully harsh glare of the bright new day as best he could.
Another bleak day without Jack.
All day long he shifted heavy planks, getting the old out of the way, hammering the new ones into place. Each blow of the hammer reverberated though his skull like someone was doing their utmost to cleave his brain with an axe. He figured he probably deserved it, could hardly distinguish the pain in his head from the one in his heart anyway. At any rate it sure kept him from thinking, so he figured it was for the best.
Inevitably he sobered up as the hours passed, much as he would have liked the world to remain blurry and indistinct.
By the end of the day, as he returned to check in with the boss, he was weary in body, heart and mind. But his head had cleared despite his best efforts to make it explode.
Boss Jansen heard him out about the work done without much comment, only had a couple a questions about the fixing and mending that still remained to be done. He knew Ennis could pull his weight. Didn’t need no coddling.
The reporting out a the way, he asked Ennis to stop by the feed store on his way home to pick up some new mineral formula he was gonna try out on the stock. He’d just had word the tubs were ready to be collected. Pick’em up today, bring ‘em over tomorrow.
Ennis nodded in ready agreement.
Fine. Sure thing. No problem. Not a one. Except for his skull still feeling too tight and way too small for his aching brain. And his chest feeling much too small for all the pain in his heart.
Just as Ennis was stepping out of the office, a thought struck Boss Jansen.
“By the way, del Mar, a friend a yours drove up here on Saturday. Never seen him before. Was drivin’ a Ford, a fine new blue ‘n white F160, and he had the biggest and happiest grin I ever saw on a grown man in my life. Was looking for you.”
Ennis winced in horrified disbelief. Jack had come here, the fool? God damn it! He nearly slapped both hands to his forehead to keep his skull from exploding at last.
Mr. Jansen continued right on talking, evidently oblivious to Ennis’s discomfort. After all, he had long since gotten used to Ennis squinting and mumbling and looking like he wanted to sink into the ground.
“Yeah, friend a yours, so he said. Knew you worked here, at any rate. Told him you live out St. Stephens way, but come to think a it, you never told us exactly where. Offered to open the office and see if I could find a new address on you.”
He stopped his tale of the smiling stranger to give voice to another train of though.
“You have left notice with Marv ‘bout where you’re staying now, haven’t you? You know it’s mandatory and we need it.”
“Yes,” Ennis muttered listlessly. “I mean no. I mean, I know. Haven’t gotten around to it yet. Sorry.”
His headache sure had risen from the dead with a vengeance now, and was giving it another, even more intense go.
Boss Jansen nodded.
“Well, you’ve had a lot on your mind. Can see that. Stop by Mary tomorrow and let her have it.”
Mr. Jansen shook his head, dismissing the annoying paperwork till another day. He wasn’t much for all those forms and columns and signatures and duplicates himself.
“Good thing I didn’t go search for it in vain, huh? But your friend couldn’t wait for any search, anyhow. He just wanted to be off, was practically skippin’ on his feet, was in a real hurry, said he’d find you sure enough, was right cheerful about it too, so I never got to try to dig it out for him. He find you?”
“Yes,” Ennis muttered again.
He felt he had to give the boss something to go on after Jack’d made a display of himself and his eager longing to get hold of his friend Ennis, so he added a listless; “Has been a bud a mine for many years.”
He and Jack had been seen together, after all. No use denying it. Damn that man - his man - his only man, for ever and always - and his irresponsible lack of fear and caution!
“Well, he looked like a fine fellow,” the boss said approvingly. “Hope ya’ll had some good times over the weekend. Truth be told, you sure look like you’ve been tasting more’n a drop of liquor, del Mar.”
He let a small grin show.
“Doesn’t feel so good now with the hangover and all, huh? But I bet it was worth it. Good to know you’ve been havin’ a fine time with a buddy. Figure you needed to lighten up a bit, what with all the troubles lately. ”
The boss was thinking of the divorce, Ennis reckoned. None a his business, but he meant to be kind. Wasn’t easy for folks to deal with guys whose wives left them to get hitched to well-off grocers the very next day, - or near enough.
Ducking his head, Ennis edged towards the door, mumbled something, pulled the hat further down over his eyes, said his good-days and nearly ran out a there.
He lumbered hurriedly for his truck, the unforgiving light of the now-waning day stabbing at him accusingly.
Tbc…..