“I’ve been forced to be a rule follower,” I said.
Pulling them on reluctantly, she sighed, then stepped into the yellow silk panties and tugged them over the paper ones. She slipped the baby doll nightie over her head, sliding it down to cover her voluptuous breasts. Goose bumps had risen on her flesh. No wonder—Goldsmith’s felt like a meat locker.
Watching Livy pose in the mirror, turning this way and that, left me flabbergasted. She was pretty three years ago, but now she had blossomed into a full-fledged model. Perfect face. Perfect body. Tanned long legs that wouldn’t quit. With her ankles touching, her legs passed the three-diamonds test with flying colors: one diamond between her thighs, one below her knees, and another above her ankles.
She cocked her head to the side, speaking to me in the mirror. “I wanna look sexy for my boyfriend.”
“Will you wear that inside the tent or out?”
Her face drooped. She peered at me with an annoyed glare.
“It just seems kind of dressy for an outdoor music festival.”
“Not when it’s been three months since you’ve seen your boyfriend.” Livy adjusted the side mirrors to see her backside, her tan lines a dead giveaway of how she’d spent her summer. The Fosters had a pool in their backyard. “Speaking of the festival, have you given any more thought about going with me?” she asked. “I leave Thursday.”
Sliding down onto the white leather bench, I twisted my hair into a bun, securing it with a pencil I’d spied on the table. “I have.”
“And?”
I shook my head.
With hands on her hips, she sighed. “Why not? I really want you to meet my boyfriend.”
“I’d love to meet your boyfriend. But the only way I could do it is to lie. If Dad caught me, and hewould...” I shook my head, the consequences too horrible to imagine. “Not worth it.”
Livy sat down next to me on the bench. With her perky nipples smashed inside the see-through pale-yellow negligee, she looked like aPlayboycenterfold. “What I don’t understand is why he thought it was okay to send his young, eighteen-year-old son to the battlefields of Vietnam yet now requires his twenty-year-old daughter to live in a cloister.Psycho.”
She was right. But what could I do about it? I took a deep breath, exhaling loudly.
Livy stood back up and gazed at me in the mirror’s reflection. “I know you, SuSu. The festival isyou. Thetrueyou. If you go, you’ll discover the real Suzannah.”
My shoulders fell. “Believe me. I plan to discover that girl as soon as I turn twenty-one. Not a day later.”
“Have you thought about moving across the river to Arkansas? People are legal adults at eighteen. Same with Kentucky.”
“I don’t know anyone in Arkansas or Kentucky,” I said with a sigh.
“Just trying to help.” Flipping her long hair behind her shoulders, she added, “At least you have cool new records. Have you heard the rest?”
“I can’t take another chance. Too risky.”
Livy’s face beamed with a sudden sunshine. “Bring them to my house tonight. You can have dinner with us, and we can listen together.”
“I wish I could. Mama’s been talking about making her lasagna all week. We’re having it tonight.” Mama’s lasagna tasted better than fudge. Even Livy couldn’t make me miss it.
She whipped around to face me. “You’re acting paranoid. Your dad is not going to catch you. When he goes to sleep, just listen in your closet like last time. Once you hear the records, you’ll change your mind about the festival.” Livy knew how hard it was, yet she wouldn’t stop.
I sighed. Loudly. “This is hard enough. Please try to understand.”
“I know it’s hard, but I’m telling you, the best bands in the world will be there.” She refused to take no for an answer. Always had.
I collapsed flat back onto the bench and kicked my legs in the air.
“Crosby, Stills & Naaaaash!” She turned back to the mirror with a hand on her hip and a tilt of her head. “Do you like?”
All I could muster was a nod.
“Do you think my boyfriend will like?”
