“You just said something else interesting.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“You said there’s no telling what my dad witnessed in war.”
He nodded.
“I’d never thought about that before you said it. Maybe that’s what drives him to do all the mean things he does.”
“Who knows what’s under all his rocks?” said Leon. “Or what he thinks will happen if he uncovers them? I bet he’s terrified not to comply with all the rules in his life.”
“He’s terrified he’ll go to hell if he doesn’t.”
“Hey, man, Catholics feel the same way.” Leon laughed through his words. He wiggled his eyebrows and put a deep tone in his voice. “Unless you confess your sins to the priest.”
Releasing a loud sigh, I leaned my head back. “I suppose you’re gonna tell me I need to forgive Livy too.”
Leon circled his head with his hands, like he was conjuring up magic. “To free the mind. To get out of jail.” After a long pause, he added, “We’reallin need of forgiveness. I know I am.”
His words seeped into my heart like blood from a wound, coating me with the realization that I needed forgiveness as much as anyone. I’d hurt people too. I’d sinned like everyone else.Perfectionwas not my middle name.
“Have you really been here four hours?” I asked, tapping his chin dimple. I was tired of such serious talk.
“Yup. Sang along to ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ from right here.” He patted the ground. “Bad voice and all. Good thing there’s a decent sound system in this joint.”
I thought about telling him I’d had him paged but decided he didn’t really need to know that. I needed to keep a few cards to myself. “How did you know I’d come back for my jacket?”
He peered at me with a crooked smile. “You’re cold when normal people are hot.”
I shoved him. He grabbed hold of my wrists, pulling me down on top of him. Then he rolled us both over in the damp grass until we were side by side. Using his fingertip, he dotted the freckles on my cheeks. “You’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, Suzie Withers.”
Guiding his chin toward mine, I whispered, “You’re my miracle, Leon Wright.”
The words bounced through my head, until they had crystallized into a lyric with music behind them.Who could have thought, who could imagine, the time it would not take. To find my miracle, in the shape of you. Just in time, just for my sake.
As more words flowed, I committed them to memory. For later. Right now, my attention was better spent inside the miracle of his kiss. Soaking up every second I had left with him was all that mattered. Because as much as it killed me to think about it, there was a high chance I’d never see him again.
7:10 a.m.
“Livy Foster, please head to the information booth. Nick is here.At last.”
Chip’s page made me belly laugh. “Well, good for you, Livy!” I said out loud. “You’ve got Handsome Johnny on one arm, the professor on the other, and poor ole Slim off to the side. Where’s Nick gonna fit?”
Leon laughed. “You crack me up, little darlin’.” He leaned in to kiss me. Then did it again, and again, and again.
I considered ignoring the page. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew it might be the only chance I had to see Livy again. And, dare I say it, begin the process of forgiveness. “I guess I should go to the info booth to tell her goodbye,” I said. “And make that choice you told me about.”
Leon propped up on his elbow. “Good for you. I need to find Johnny anyway.”
We sat up at the same time, holding one another’s gazes. It was 7:15 Monday morning. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band had just left the main stage, and Sha Na Na was up next. Hendrix would follow.
Then Leon would leave. And I didn’t even have a picture to remember him by.
Silence fell between us. I suspected we were both thinking the same thing. We kissed once more before standing up. With our arms wrapped tightly around one another’s waists, we meandered back down Gentle Way toward the information booth.
From thirty yards out, I spotted Livy by her hair. She was folded into Nick’s arms. I giggled at the thought of her wearing the yellow baby doll negligee, splashing through mud puddles to get to him, with all her Woodstock suitors—Johnny, the professor, and Slim—tagging behind.
Until that moment, I hadn’t stopped to think about what Nick might look like. I’d never even asked Livy if he was cute; I’d taken that for granted. From this vantage point, I could tell he was tall and thin with long wavy brown hair that hung past his shoulders. He had a full beard, like Professor Henry’s. For a second, I considered he might be Henry but noticed Nick was much taller. And Henry was nowhere to be found.
