Ten yards apart, I got a better look at him. Nick’s jeans hung low, as if he was too thin to hold them up. He wore a loose green T-shirt and Jesus sandals on his feet. He held tightly on to Livy, as if he never wanted her to move from his grasp.
Johnny, bless his heart, stood in front of them with his hands shoved inside his front pockets, rolling a Best Cola can underfoot. Poor thing. Even though Leon claimed Johnny wasn’t the relationship type, I knew Livy had a way of seeping under someone’s skin. I was pretty sure Johnny was feeling the sting of Nick’s arrival.
Johnny happened to look up and noticed Leon and me approaching. He held his hand high, flashing us the peace sign. That caused both Nick and Livy to look over their shoulders.
Nick’s deep-set blue eyes caught mine. I shuffled back a step before the air left my lungs. Nick was my brother.
Woodstock
Day Four
Monday, August 18, 1969
7:25 a.m.
Time stood still. Ron and I eyeballed one another as if we were statues. With firecrackers exploding inside my veins, I pushed Livy out of the way. I literally pushed her. Then stumbled into my brother’s arms. Dizziness ensued. Tears sprang out of nowhere. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t flow.
“SuSu,” Ron said, stroking the top of my head.
I looked up at him. Stunned. Dazed. Confused. Fit to be tied.
Ron pulled away slightly, meeting my eyes. “You must feel like you’ve been hit by lightning.”
“Try a nuclear bomb.”
“That’s fair.”
I took a step back. To get a good hard look at him. His hair hung on either side of his face, covering his cheeks. It was the first time I’d ever seen him with long hair. Or a beard. No wonder I hadn’t recognized him.
“Wh—howare you here?” I asked, with an angry fire nipping at my words. Guilt crawled all over me for my tone, but what the heck?
Ron gave a quick glance to Livy, then looked right back at me. “I’m out of the army.”
“Noduh!” I shouted. “For how long?”
He took a deep breath, dipping his chin. “For good.”
This news overwhelmed me with elation, but I had a strong sense something was seriously wrong. It snapped me out of my fury. I grabbed hold of his forearm. “Ron, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
When he turned to look at Livy again, I noticed a gap in his beard. Whiskers no longer grew on the side of his cheek. I reached up to tuck a long lock of hair behind his ear. Ron’s beautiful face, once the longing of every girl at Central High School, had a crater stretching from his ear to his mouth. Crimson burn scars covered a large portion of his cheek. I moaned, tapping the scars.
“Stepped too close to a land mine,” he said. “You should see my leg.” He reached down to massage his calf. “I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve still got it.”
Before I could inspect the damage, Livy threw her arms up. “Yet the army sends him back into combat,” she said in a mocking tone.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked him.Not her.The very idea that Livy Foster knew things about my brother that I didn’t made me furious all over again. And to think I had wanted to forgive her.
“I didn’t wanna scare you,” Ron said, with caring eyes.
“He begged me not to tell you anything,” said Livy, placing a hand on my shoulder.
It made me flinch. “Get away from me, you liar.”
“Hey, now.” Ron guided me back into his chest, where the familiar scent of English Leather hung around his neck.
But I pulled away. “Why haven’t you written? And when did you get out?” I looked back at Livy with a pointed finger. “And how doessheseem to know everything?”
Ron twisted his watch back and forth on his wrist. “She helped me.”
