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Road trippin' with Ed and Hank (6)
See me... feel me... touch me... heal me...
Disclaimer: Hank told their story to Annie Proulx. Jack and Ennis are all hers. Ed and Hank belong only to each other. Rating: PG-I $$: The best things in life are free. Comments: Always appreciated.
Everything else is here:
http://myeyesaintblue.livejournal.com/10082.html
See me... feel me... touch me... heal me...
"Touch it, Ed."
"You touch it."
"I did touch it. Now it's yer turn ta touch it."
"Don' feel like touchin' it righ' now."
"C'mon... touch it..."
"Migh' hurt it..."
"Just gentle-like is okay. Don' be rough or nothin'."
"Okay... okay...
'S kinda weird... 's real hard 'n kinda smooth..
but 's got justa l'il give ta it..."
"Hey... See tha'? Stick yer finger in there... It'll grab onta it."
"Ya wan' me ta put my finger in there?"
"Won' hurt ya..."
"Then why don' you put yer finger in there first?
"Yer closer."
"Yeah. Yer jus' as chicken as me, ain't ya?"
"Nah... I'll do it..."
"Well...?"
"I'm gonna... I'm gonna... Jus' give me a minute..."
"'M waitin'..."
"Hey... It did grab my finger.
Didn' hurt none. You try it now."
"Feels kinda funny. But yer righ'... don' hurt none...
Wha' the hell is is anyways?"
"'S a sea urchin."
"'N wha' was tha' first one?"
"Tha' was one a them big chitons."
"Sure was big. 'N real hard.
Harder than them sea stars
'n not near as rough."
"Cain't hardly believe these things are critters."
"Me neither."
"Careful, Ed... Sure is slippery out here."
"Think I don' know tha'?
Felt real bad fer tha' woman... fallin' in like tha'."
"Was righ' nice a you ta pull her out so quick-like.
'N don' think I didn' notice tha' she didn' wanna let go a yer hand righ' off."
"Guess we mighta had a moment at tha'."
"Hey... ain't tha' purty?
Think they call tha' a sea cucumber."
"Yeah? Don't look like no cucumber I ever seen."
"Maybe they got special kinda cucumbers here tha' we don' know nothin' 'bout."
"Shit."
"Wha's wrong, Ed?"
"'Fore I could touch it, it went inta tha' there hole..."
"So ya like touchin' stuff now?"
"Maybe..."
"How 'bout touchin' tha' then?"
"Sure it won' hurt me?"
"Them anemones sting other critters, but it won'' hurt us if'n we touch it.
Jus' don' stick yer finger inta tha' hole in the center...
Tha's its mouth... 'n its asshole too."
"Yer kiddin'?"
"Nope."
"Well...?"
"Well, wha'?"
"Ain't ya gonna make no joke 'bout tha'?"
"Nope."
"Ya feelin' okay?"
"Yep. Go ahead 'n touch it, Ed."
"Okay... Feels soft, but real sticky..."
"Sure does."
"Lookit this thing here, Hank..."
"Tha's somethin' alrigh'..."
"This one's real soft.
Not hard at all like tha' other one were."
"Tell ya, Hank...
Ain't never 'xpected ta see nothin' like this stuff in ma life."
"Me neither, Ed.
'N there's a whole lot more interestin' stuff if'n ya go ta one a them tropical places.
Seen some amazin' pictures. Maybe we could go snorkelin' or somethin'..."
"Figures..."
"Wha'?"
"Ain't never 'nough fer ya, is it?
Ya seem ta be fergettin' tha' we can barely afford this here trip.
'N ya know damn well ain't no way 'm cut out ta be no kinda world traveler."
"Okay... okay...
Guess I'll jus' hafta ta see if'n I can cash in them tickets ta Bora Bora I bought."
"Swear... you could go ta heaven itself
'n be thinkin' tha' there mus' be somethin' more interestin' in hell."
"Bet hell is more interestin' than heaven.
Bet Bora Bora's purty interestin' too."
"Shit..."
"C'mon, Ed... I promise I won' drag ya off ta Bora Bora."
"Dammit, Hank..."
"Wha'?"
"I know ya wanna travel.
'N not jus' 'round this here country.
'N I know damn well if'n it weren't fer me
ya'd sell the ranch 'n have plenty a money ta do it."
"Ain't true Ed."
"Tha's wha' ya wrote a while back."
"Is not. Iris is the one tha' brought up sellin' the ranch. Not me.
'N ya seem ta have skipped righ' over the part where I said
tha' I don' wanna sell the ranch neither."
"Yeah but only on account a me."
"I love tha' ranch jus' as much as you do... 'S our home."
"Yeah... But If'n I dropped dead tomorrow ya'd sell tha' ranch in a heartbeat
'n travel all ya wanted."
"Not righ' off. I'd maybe wait a week or two.
Ya know... fer appearances sake."
"Real decent a ya."
"C'mon, Ed... Ya know damn well if'n I had ta choose 'tween seein' this stuff withou' ya
or stayin' home with ya I'd choose stayin' home with ya."
"Don' know tha'."
"Well ya do now 'cause 'm tellin' ya, dumbass.
All this here wouldn' be near as much fun if'n ya weren't here with me."
"'M tryin', Hank. I really am.
'N 'm enjoyin' seein' all this stuff.
Know damn well 'm real lucky ta be able ta.
'N know damn well I never woulda if'n it weren't fer you.
But there's a lot more folks 'round than 'm used to. A whole helluva lot more.
'N tha' campground... Shit."
"Know it ain't the kinda campin' we're used ta, Ed.
But most places we been stayin' this trip are like tha'.
This one's just a lot bigger."
"Them other ones weren't full-up
so's we could find somewheres kinda by ourselves."
"Prob'bly wouldn' be so bad if'n it weren't summertime 'n all."
"Hell... Migh' as well be camped in a Wal-Mart parkin' lot.
In fact... they shouldn' oughta be allowed ta use the word campin'...
Need an entirely new word ta describe whatever tha' is."
"I know it ain't easy fer ya, Ed.
'M real grateful tha' ya been willin' ta put up with it.
'N I know it don' seem like it... but we're real lucky tha' we got a spot here at all...
wha' with not havin' made no reservations ahead a time."
"Just ain't never seen nothin' like it."
"Yeah... I ain't never seen nothin' like it neither.
'N it seems like the more crowded a place is the less outgoin' folks seem ta be.
Hell... I ain't hardly had a chance ta talk ta no one."
"'N by hardly no one ya mean tha' fella tha' used ta live in the next town over from us
'n tha' woman who's losin' her mind RVin' full-time with her husband
'n them young folks come over from Eugene ta surf
'n tha' couple from Michigan
'n them folks..."
"Okay, okay... Guess I still been talkin' ta a fair number a folks.
Hey... How 'bout we move up the coast some ta day?
Maybe it'll be a l'il less crowded."
"Cain't be no worse than this place..."
"Ain't been tha' bad, has it Ed?"
"Nah... Ain't been tha' bad. Most parts been real good. 'N I gotta admit...
Ya been doin' a real fine job a gettin' us away from them crowds durin' the day."
"Ya wanna look fer some more critters?
We can jus' pick a pool 'n stay by it fer a while...
See wha' migh' pop up."
"Sounds good ta me."
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"Hey... lookit tha', Ed. "
"I sure as hell ain't gonna touch tha'...
Know I'd end up hurtin' it somehow fer sure."
"Cain't hardly believe tha's a critter neither.
Looks more like a feather jus' floatin' in the water."
"Think the tide's startin' ta come in, Hank."
Yeah... Guess we'd better get goin'..."
"We sure seen a whole lot ta day. Lot more 'n I 'xpected."
"Touched a whole lot too."
"Yeah... I kinda liked tha'."
"Ya did, huh? Well, I got something else tha' ya could touch if'n ya feel like it, Ed.
'S kinda like all tha' other stuff... Hard 'n slippery 'n then soft 'n sticky after a while...
'N I promise ta let ya touch it before it disappears inta..."
"I get the idea alrigh'..."
"So... Ya int'rested?"
"Tha' depends... can I stick my finger anywheres I wanna...?"
"Whoa...! Dammit! Ow... Shit."
"Y' okay, Hank?"
"Think so... Ya kinda startled me there... Never 'xpect tha' kinda stuff from ya...
'Specially with other folks nearby... Jus' didn' look where I stepped."
"Ain't like no one could hear...
Uh... ya migh' wanna take yer foot outta tha' there pool.
Current residents migh' not 'preciate it."
"Shit. Don' think I hurt 'em none, do ya?"
"Nah... Think everyone looks okay.
Least-wise ya didn' land full-in like tha' woman did."
"If'n it ain't too much trouble 'n all...
would ya mind pullin' me up like ya did her?"
"Damn... Looks like ya hurt yer hand.
Stay put fer a minute while I take care a it."
"Rather get up if'n it's all the same ta you... wet's kinda seepin' through my jeans...
'N who knows wha' poor critters I migh' be crushin'..."
"Is yer other hand okay? Gimme tha' one."
"Ooomph... Thanks."
"Glad we brought some a them bigger bandages this time..."
"Jus' thought it'd be me usin' 'em on you... like usual..."
"Guess not this time.
C'mon, Hank... Hold still.
Ya know I gotta clean it out good first."
"Hurts like a sonofabitch."
"Jeez... Tha's nasty lookin'... them barnacles are righ' sharp..."
"'Fraid they got the worst a it, though...
Swear I heard 'em let out a yell righ' long with me."
"They don' look no worse fer wear."
"By the way...
answer ta yer question is...
you can stick yer finger anywheres ya wanna."
"I dunno, Hank. Broad daylight 'n all...
too many follks 'round in tha' big ol' parkin' lot we're camped in."
"Aw... c'mon Ed... So many folks 'round ain't no one gonna pay us no mind.
'N it ain't like we're gonna be doin' it on the picnic table...
Liable ta get splinters."
"Lookin' at all this weird stuff really got ya goin', huh?
Guess ya got some kinda kinky side I didn' know nothin' 'bout."
"Ain't so much the stuff as watchin' ya... Watchin' ya touch it...
Watchin' them hands a yers..."
"Jeez, Hank..."
"Yeah...?"
"Maybe... uh... it ain't early no more...
maybe most folks are gone fer the day by now...
Out on the beach or somethin'..."
"Maybe.
Ya wanna go check?"
"Yeah. Let's go check."
---
Later that day, further up the coast...
"Oh yeah... This is a lot better than tha' other one..."
"Okay... the campin' still sucks...
But this makes it all worthwhile, don' it, Ed?"
"Yeah, I guess it does at that."
"Shit... Tide's s'posed ta be headin' out... not in."
"Too bad... Bet ya won' never be able ta find a spot ta make a 'nother one."
"Don' be such a smartass, dumbass.
...Hey... ya cold, Ed? Looks like yer shiverin' there."
"'M okay. Breeze is justa l'il chilly."
"Ain't no one near us...
C'mere."
"Cut it out, Hank..."
"No."
"No?"
"No. I wanted ta wrap m' arms 'round ya at tha' holiday parade last Christmas
in order ta warm ya up 'n I didn'... But 'm gonna now...
'N ain't no one gonna stop me...
Not even you."
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"Could if'n I wanted to."
"Yeah... I guess ya could at tha'."
"Damn righ' I could."
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"If'n ya wanted to."
"Yeah... If'n I wanted to."
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