Duh. Where else would we be headed?A funny look was all I could muster.
“Hey, maybe you dig traffic jams. I don’t know.” When he cracked up at himself, I was equally taken with the sound of his laughter, a playful yet manly giggle. Like so many of the boys walking past, he was shirtless, so I zeroed in on his chest, sculpted to perfection. Strands of dark-blond hair poked through like the sprouts of an early garden. A beefy silver-and-turquoise cross hung smack-dab between his nipples. Other than Paul McCartney, he was the cutest boy I’d ever seen.
His dishwater-blond hair was parted in the middle. It hung to the middle of his neck, but he kept it tucked behind his ears. He had muttonchop sideburns, and a cute dimple indented his chin. He wore cutoffs and high-top white Converse tennis shoes. There was a large pack on his back, a cigarette between his fingers, and another cute boy next to him.
By this time Livy had opened the trunk to retrieve our canvas overnight bag. We heard her slam it shut before walking up to joinus. A suede floppy hat dipped over one eye, but you could still see her gorgeous face, freckled and tanned. There was a fresh coat of Pink a Pale on her lips. Even I found her irresistible.
She sidled up next to me and peered at the two boys. “Hey. I’m Livy,” she said in her trademark raspy voice.
“Leon,” Boy Beautiful said, then pointed a thumb toward the other. “My cousin, Handsome Johnny.”
They both smiled, then shifted their gazes to me.
“Oh, hi! I’m Suzannah,” I said with a nervous giggle, still flustered at what I’d done and to whom I’d done it.
“Where are y’all from?” Livy asked, confident andunflustered as usual.
Leon answered for both of them. “Tar City, Pennsylvania.”
“Hm. Never heard of it,” she said, looking at her watch—not them.
“Is there a lot of tar there?” I asked, desperate to add something, anything, to the conversation.
After glancing at each other, the boys busted a gut. Both roared with laughter.
I felt heat burning my cheeks. “What’s so funny? That was a fair question.”
“It’s actuallyTowerCity. We pronounce it weird. It’s a PA thing,” said Handsome Johnny. That may have been his name—and he was indeed handsome—but he didn’t hold a candle to Leon. In my opinion, anyway.
“Y’allaren’t from around here.” Leon took a giant step backward to glance at Pally’s license plate. “Where do you guys live in Tennessee?”
Both Livy and I answered at the same time. “Memphis.”
“Helluva drive,” said Handsome Johnny.
Livy put her free hand on her hip. “No shit, Sherlock.”
Propping an elbow on his cousin’s shoulder, Leon winked. An emerald sparkle glistened in his eye. “How’s Elvis?”
“I wouldn’t know,” answered Livy. “Not a fan.” After another check of her watch, she took two steps forward, then turned back around. “Wanna walk with us? I’m supposed to meet my boyfriend at one.”
Leon flashed her a beaming smile. “Did you bring your helicopter?”
Snapping her fingers, she smiled back. “Darn. Left it at home.”
“Then we better get a move on. We’ve got a long walk ahead.”
Livy never askedHow long?And she no longer appeared frantic. The cute boys must have calmed her nerves.
Leon stretched out a hand to guide our path. “After you, ladies.”
Wonder if he’s disappointed Livy has a boyfriend?
As the four of us began our trek toward Bethel, with what had to have been five thousand other young people, maneuvering in and out of erroneously parked cars, I couldn’t get over the New York August temperature. It wasn’t all that hot. On the contrary, it was delightful. Good thing because the road was not exactly flat. We were in the Catskills, after all. With the scent of pine in the air, it reminded me of my days at Young Life camp in North Carolina.
Darling little barns dotted the landscape—one with a weather vane. Dense evergreens filled in the sides of the road. Every now and then, at a clearing, we could see lush green fields spotted with black-and-white dairy cows. Handsome Johnny wanted to stop and milk one, but Livy wouldn’t let him.
The landscape thrilled me, but my eyes were having a field day over something else. All the people around me—what they were wearing and the abundance of items they were lugging to Woodstock. All Livy and I had packed were essentials. Her boyfriend was in charge of the rest.
