Ennis never knew how much time had passed before he half-awoke, but thought afterward that it must not have been long. It seemed to be first light, the territory between dark and dawn when the sky and landscape are still a pale blue-gray and shadows nonexistent but shapes and differences of light and dark colors are clear. He could not hear the ( Read more... )

Author’s Notes:  The following three chapters have considerably more metaphysical content than the preceding chapters, or the rest of the story. They can be interpreted as the reader wishes.  As this novel follows the movie more closely than the original story, the references to dates are somewhat different. The film gives November 1975 as the ( Read more... )

Ennis took extra care driving, as always when he had the horse trailer behind him. He’d made equally careful preparations in the last few weeks, first getting time off from the foreman who didn’t take it well but grudgingly accepted his story about doing a favor for a friend; and then borrowing a tent and other camping equipment from Vickie. He ( Read more... )

Part 2: Wedding Night

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1: http://talkstocoyotes.livejournal.com/392.html

Chapter 2: http://talkstocoyotes.livejournal.com/523.html

Chapter 3: ( Read more... )

I overlooked a few acknowledgements intended to go at the end of Part 1 and inserted them at the end of Chapter 6.  Here they are:

Acknowledgements, Part 1:

“God Bless Our Love”, Mary Chapin Carpenter
“Sweet Home Alabama”, “Ballad of Curtis Loewe”, Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Melissa”, Allman Brothers Band

Thanks to Monica and Grace at the Dave Cullen forum, for ( Read more... )

The next few months were among the most confusing and conflicted of Ennis’ life.

He knew what would have happened if David hadn’t turned away when he had, recognized the gathering storm in him and the point when lightning was going to strike, no two ways about it. They’d have been on the ground together next to that stream, doing another kind of ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

It was still early but Ennis had known the Black and Blue Eagle Bar would be busy.  As he got out of his truck and watched David close the door of his anonymous-looking rental car, Ennis wondered how the hell he’d gotten into this: two men walking into the bar together and wearing suits at that. And one of "them….

"Queer.  Say it. David’s cousin ( Read more... )

Chapter 3

The photographer peered through the camera lens long enough that any of the wedding party might have thought he was meditating, or had fallen asleep on his feet.  “Jenny, we need you to get up on the steps,” he said.  And after another endless pause, “Mr. Del Mar, please move a bit to your right. There’s a glare on you from the window.”  ( Read more... )

Chapter 2

Turning at the library and heading down Park Street to the United Methodist Church, Ennis knew he would be just barely on time. He also knew that his putting off leaving until the last minute wasn’t unintentional. As parents of the bride, he and Alma could hardly avoid each other, and the reception at the Elks Club would put him through ( Read more... )