[January 2021]   

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Word Count: 1471

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Chapters: 1

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ABSENT FRIENDS

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by

Eleanor Ward

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Kid Curry stood on the cabin porch, a cup of coffee in his hand, gazing absently out into the night.  It was a cold, crisp night, frost glistening on the grass and the nearby trees.  There had been no snow yet but indications were that it would arrive any day.

 

Curry took a sip of his coffee without shifting his gaze, wondering, for the thousandth time, where his partner might be.

 

His mind drifted back to the day, eight months ago, when they’d parted company.

 

Curry had been arrested, while Heyes had been out of town on another job, when a local woman had accused him of killing her husband, after losing to him at poker and, but for Heyes coming up with one of his genius plans, to lure out and trap the real culprit, he would now be languishing in the Wyoming Territorial prison, or worse.

 

It had been a close call. Too close. Afterwards, Heyes’ had sardonically chastised  him for ending up in jail, with a mocking “Why do you always get into trouble when I’m not here to keep an eye on you?” that caused Curry to lose his temper, leading to a full scale row, as each took out their anxieties and frustrations on the other. It had ended with Curry suggesting that they should part ways, telling Heyes that he would probably stand a better chance of staying out of trouble and getting the amnesty if he wasn’t with him.

 

Heyes had disagreed, saying he’d just been teasing him about getting into trouble when he wasn’t there. But Curry had been insistent and had refused to listen to all of his reasons for why they should stay together, sticking to his argument that, with his reputation as a gunman,  he would more likely be the cause of any trouble they ended up in than Heyes, who was less combative than him and more easily able to avoid, or talk his way out of, trouble, and that they would be better off going their separate ways.  He hadn’t meant to imply they should part forever, just until they got the amnesty.  But it was obvious that Heyes had taken it that way.

 

In the end, Heyes had given up trying to change his mind, throwing up his hands and saying “Fine!  If that’s what you want.” resisting the urge to add ‘But when you get yourself into trouble who’s gonna be there to rescue you?’

 

They had parted company the following morning, Heyes catching a train in one direction and Curry boarding a stage in the other.

 

Curry had accompanied Heyes to the train station, since his stage wasn’t due to leave for a couple of hours, both of them standing silently on the platform, as they waited for the train to come in, both wanting to try and change the other’s mind but neither able to find the words.

 

They hadn’t shook hands or even said any farewells, only a gruff “Take care.” from Curry, with a half nod and a brusque “You too.” from Heyes before he turned and boarded the train without looking back.  But, as the train had pulled out and Curry had met his gaze through the window, the look in his eyes had spoken volumes about his feelings; anxiety, annoyance, sadness, and even a hint of betrayal.

 

Despite the warmth of the day, Curry felt a chill run through him as he watched the train disappear from view.  Then, turning away, he had headed over to the restaurant for a cup of coffee, while he waited for the stage, haunted by the look in his partner’s eyes as the train had pulled out.

 

Curry came back from his reverie and took another sip of his coffee, the look in Heyes’ eyes, as he’d met his through the window, still in his mind’s eye.

 

After eight weeks on his own, Curry had realized the error of suggesting that they part company. He worried constantly about Heyes’ safety without him there to back him up in any arguments, and he missed his friend’s companionship. They were so in tune with each other’s thoughts and behaviours, even periods of silence between them was a kind of communication.  Even arguing with him was preferable to being alone.

 

He decided he needed to find Heyes, apologize to him for getting so obstinate and forcing the break-up of their partnership, and, hopefully, get things back on track.

 

Firstly, he telegraphed Lom to explain that they’d parted company and to see if Heyes had been in touch with him, disappointed to find that he hadn’t.  He then wired him back to ask him to let him know if he heard from him, and where from. Lom promised he would.

 

Next, he decided to follow the train line, stopping off at all the stops along the way, in the hope of finding, if not Heyes himself, some clue to him having been there, perhaps at a saloon, playing poker, or having booked into a hotel or hired a horse from the livery stable.  But, when he reached the end of the line, he’d found not a trace of him.

 

He didn’t know why he should feel surprised.  Heyes was good at hiding his tracks if he didn’t want to be found. Clearly, he had taken Curry’s words to heart and had deliberately chosen not to leave any clues for him, or anyone else, to follow.

 

Curry was disappointed, but vowed to continue his search, spending the next few months traveling to anywhere he conceived Heyes might go, but drew a blank on every occasion. He even contacted Soapy, and Silky, and a handful of other friends that they would trust well enough to turn to in troubled times, on the offchance he’d gone to visit any of them, but none had heard from him

 

The more places he visited, with no success, the more he regretted forcing them to part company.  He was plagued with images of Heyes having got into trouble - such as perhaps being accused of cheating at cards - and, without him there to back him up, getting killed.  To cover his tracks so thoroughly he was no doubt using another alias name so, if he were to get killed, not even Lom would get to hear about it.   The thought that he might have been killed and buried somewhere under an assumed name, with no way for him to find, him weighed heavily on his mind. Knowing for certain that he was dead would be hard, but not knowing was even harder.

 

Periodic telegraphs to Lom confirmed that he hadn’t heard from him either.  It was as though he’d disappeared off the face of the earth.

 

Curry stared, now, into the night, once again cursing himself for driving his friend away from him.

 

A few flakes of snow began to drift down from the sky, drawing his gaze.  Was Heyes camped out somewhere, watching these same snowflakes and wondering where he was? he wondered.

 

He gave a deep sigh,  “Where are you, Heyes?” he said under his breath.

 

He blinked away moisture from his eyes, that he told himself was from staring too long into the cold night air, and drained the last of his coffee.

 

“Kid.  It’s nearly midnight.” a voice from inside the cabin pulled him back from his thoughts.

 

Turning, he went inside, to see Lom with two glasses of whisky in his hand.

 

With a smile, Lom offered one of the glasses to Curry who took it with a muttered thanks.

 

He had arrived here, at Lom’s, on Christmas Eve. Lonely for company and knowing that, as their friend, and mentor, Lom was the only other person in the world who could understand how he was feeling, it had seemed the logical place to go.

 

Lom had been happy for the company and he had stayed the whole week.  Now it was New Year. Time for positivity. Time for new beginnings and making amends.  Maybe Heyes was out there somewhere, having the same thoughts as himself, and might perhaps decide to make contact. If not with him, at least with Lom, for Auld Lang Syne – for old times sake.  It was a hope to cling to.

 

Lom eyed him, knowing what he was thinking.

 

“Let’s drink to a Happy New Year.” he said, holding out his glass for Curry to clink.

 

Curry shook his head, “Let’s drink to… absent friends.”

 

Lom nodded, giving him a lop-sided smile, clinking his glass against Curry’s.

 

“Absent friends.” he echoed, before they both tossed back their drinks.

 

As he swallowed the whisky and savoured its flavour, Curry crossed his fingers and prayed that this year would bring not only their amnesty, but also his friend back to him, safe and sound.

 

--oo00oo—

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