It was with some relief that Nathan finally found Ezra, at long last, in the
middle of the night. So late, in fact, that it was nearly morning. The sky was
already starting to lighten behind them.
Chris had assigned the two men to accompany some Congressional delegate or
somesuch to California; the man was making an important speech in San Francisco
in a couple weeks, and the Judge didn't want anything to happen to the man while
he was in his jurisdiction. Nathan had accepted the mission with only
slight hesitation; things had been calm in Four Corners lately, no serious
scrapes or illnesses that needed his attention. The trip wouldn't even be a full
week; the town could do without him for that long. Besides, he'd never been to
California before.
Ezra, on the other hand - Ezra. Nathan shook his head. For a man who had spoken of dreaming of owning a
casino in San Francisco, and spoke of the more
'civilized' cities of California often, he seemed
decidedly reluctant to go. He had downright refused at
first, and it was only Chris' firm glare and stolid
insistence that had signified that Ezra wouldn't have
a chance at saying no.
Ezra had sulked for a good deal of the journey. The
Congressman, Whitfield, had actually been a pleasant
companion, as well as a decent rider. There had been
no trouble from that quarter.
As soon as they had deposited the man safely at his
intended destination, Ezra had disappeared. This was
unsurprising. What was surprising, however, was that
the man had not made his way to any of the casinos or
other gambling establishments Nathan had come across. He even tried a brothel or two, on the off chance that
Ezra had headed there, but quickly gave up that avenue
of inquiry.
Nathan had been about to give up, return to his own
hotel room for the scant remainder of the night - the
finicky gambler had probably found his own, more
'satisfactory' means of accommodation - when he
finally got a lucky break. A fellow he had come across
early in his search crossed paths with him again and
gave him the answer.
Ezra was on the beach. From the looks of things he had
been there a long time, though he hadn't gone
swimming; his clothes were still crisp, dry, and as
free of sand as possible considering his current
location, though his jacket had been removed and his
sleeves rolled up. His pants cuffs were slightly
rolled up as well, and his feet were bare - Nathan
could see his boots set neatly to one side, along with
his hat, which was now upside down and serving as a
receptacle for a now-empty bottle of beer. The breeze
ruffled his hair lightly, and the only sounds as
Nathan approached were the dim chuffing of the waves,
and the crunch of the sand underfoot. He sat down
silently next to him, several feet away from the
receding tide line.
Nothing disturbed them for several minutes as Ezra
stared out at the ocean, barely visible with the sun
still below the horizon. Nathan could barely make out
the features on the pale skin, but they appeared . sad? .wistful? He couldn't full tell. Ezra was miles
away.
"They're here, too." Ezra spoke at last, his voice
just above a whisper. "Not so many down here, on this
side, but they're here, too."
"Who?" Nathan glanced around briefly, but there was no
one within sight, nor was it likely that anyone else
had been by recently. He kept his voice low.
Ezra didn't seem to notice that the other man had
spoken. He hunched lower, seeming to shrink a little
within his clothing.
"Just once. I'd like to go back just once." His voice
was so sad, had such a pleading quality to it. Nathan
had never heard the man speak in such a broken tone
before. It chilled him. "I'd give it back. I'd come
back, I promise." His voice was almost a whisper now. "Of course, she never brings it. Can't risk losing us
both. One was enough." His voice had a bitter edge to
it now, but also seemed resigned.
"Who? What would you give back?" Nathan placed a hand
on Ezra's arm.
The slight man startled, and the spell was broken. The
sun crested fully over the horizon, peeking behind
some of the buildings on the boardwalk. Ezra blinked,
then smiled.
"The dear woman is lucky they invented the ocean
steamer, I would say." Ezra looked Nathan in the eyes
as he said this, and rose, but when he finished
speaking he glanced out at the ocean once more, the
crests and rollers tinged in yellows and pinks as the
sun came up behind them.
"I shall have to remain on this land a little longer. Perhaps when I return, I will be able to join the
dance." He spoke this to the ocean, which seemed to
roar and come to life, sending a breaker far in that
almost lapped against his toes, curled into the sand
where it was still damp.
He turned to Nathan, then stood, brushing the sand off himself idly and donning his boots and hat, restoring
his normal appearance.
"Well, my friend, shall we be off, then?"
Nathan simply stared at him for a moment, but the
spell had been broken, and he knew he would get no
answers; hell, this entire occurrence would probably
never be acknowledged. Conceding to the inevitable, he
rose from the sand himself, accepting a hand from the
shorter, leaner man. The sun floated cheerily over the
tops of the chimneys and sloped roofs, the sky rapidly
becoming its familiar blue, reflected in the
ceaselessly moving waters next to them.
"Well then, let us away from all this water. It's
making me . melancholy." A last, long look at the
water, then Ezra fully fixed his attention on the man
beside him. The familiar sparkle was slowly making its
way back into his eyes. "What do you say to a fine
meal at the Pemberton Inn before we commence our
journey westward?" He grinned.
Nathan grinned in return, slipping a hand over the
other man's shoulder, to guide him unobtrusively away
from the sandy coastline.
"I'd say you're buying."
The End
