Page 93 of Repentance and Absolution
“’Tis only a bit of candy. ’Course you can.”
She looked at Clarence for guidance.
“For God’s sake, Irene, you saved him from a pack of hungry wolves. You can take his candy.” He rolled his eyes and went back to looking at a stand of rakes in the corner.
“See?” Oscar said to Irene. “Ioweyou some licorice and gum balls. Here… Take it.”
“All right. Thank you, Oscar.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek that made him blush and smile. “I quite enjoyed the candy you gave us at Christmas,” Irene said. “Seems like when you become an adult, you don’t think of buying candy, unless you have wee ones, I suppose. But I don’t honestly know why.” She opened the bag and peered inside it, her eyes going wide. “Oh my. Look at this, Clarence. There’s even a bit of fudge!”
Clarence smiled and shook his head.
“If you’re nice to me, I may share some of it,” Irene said with a lilt to her voice.
Clarence snorted. “I’m always nice to you.”
Irene sighed. “I suppose that’s true. I’m a lucky woman.”
“Yeah, you are.”
She shrugged and winked at Oscar, her face a picture of good humor.
I felt envious of the easy way they had together, even in public, because Clarence looked like a man and was supposed to be a man, and unless he exposed himself, nobody would ever know he didn’t have a dick the size of a truncheon in his pants. It almost made me wish that Oscar could get away with passing as a woman in public, but t’would be a lot to take on, and he probably couldn’t pass anyhow. He wasn’t like Cal, who truly believed herself to be a woman, surely seemed one and preferred to be called she/her and wear dresses and pretty things all the time—or when t’was safe to do so, at least. I couldn’t imagine Clarence as anything other than a gruff fellow after knowing him so long, and I figured what was in his trousers didn’t matter. There was more to being a man than a cock and balls, and there was more to being a woman than being able to bear children.
I figured people could make up their own minds about who they wanted to be, and they were the only ones who could know for sure.
* * * *
That night, lying in bed together after a busy day and a quick tumble between the sheets, I asked Oscar if he ever thought about his parents.
He gave me a strange look.
“Not really. They’re long gone and a part of a past I don’t wanna recall, mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Well, I remember bits of my life before we ever went to Dawson City. Seems I was happy then. Not sure why my folks decided to up and go all the way north like that. But I reckon t’was the promise of gold. They figured they’d be so much better off, when t’was the opposite that happened.”
“I’m sure they weren’t the only ones.”
“No, they weren’t. Why do people always wanna get rich, Jimmy? Why can’t they be happy with what they’ve got? I’m sure we didn’t have much where we were, but I do remember bein’ happy when I was real young—playin’ in the grass, feedin’ the chickens, ridin’ in the wagon. I remember a quiet, plain life, but t’was a good one.” He gazed at me out of fathomless brown eyes. “Will you be happy with a plain life, Jimmy?”
I blinked at Oscar for a second, then gathered him against me, nuzzling his neck and kissing his ear. “A plain life with you is better than a life of riches with anyone else,” I said, and I meant it. “I reckon we got enough money to finish this here house with a little bit left, but then we’re gonna need to get jobs and figure out a way forward. But I know we can do it, and I can’t think of anyone better to do it with.”
* * * *
The following week, we rode into town to meet with Carson and Tim again.
“You know, we could build a two-story house, instead of trying to fit everything on one level. They’re all the rage, now, and they do look nice.”
“Won’t that be more complicated?” I asked, while Oscar looked at Tim’s sketch with a growing excitement.
“Not really. I helped my cousin build a place for him and his wife, the other side of Spokshute Mountain. Turned out awful nice. Wasn’t anythin’ fancy, and I expect we can build one for two bachelors just the same.”
Oscar was nodding. “Why, that sounds fine! Then I can put a whole floor between me and Jimmy’s snoring.”
“Well, we can put two sizeable bedrooms upstairs, so you’ll have a wall between you, anyways. And downstairs, you’ll have your kitchen and a sitting room and a back storage room, if you like, or a parlor.”
“What’s a parlor?” Oscar asked.
