Peace Love Music

by Cornelia Amiri

  “Be careful,” Blue warned.

  Jodi glanced at the ground to find she’d almost stepped on a sleeping kid. Blue grabbed her hand and she entwined her fingers with his. She found his hand large, warm and comforting as they strolled up the hill. Then he shone his flashlight on the little yellow mushroom tent.

  She turned to Blue. “Thanks for guiding me back.”

  “It’s part of my security gig, I guess. I’m always available to walk a pretty girl to her tent.”

  Giggles spilled out of Jodi’s mouth. For a moment she thought he was just doing his duty as security, but with those words she knew he liked her. Heat seemed to sizzle around him and the sensuous light in his eyes had her heart hammering.

  He leaned in closer to her, let go of her hands, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She trembled from his touch.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Oh, Jodi.”

  He whispered, “Jodi,” then brushed his warm lips against hers.

  Her lips tingled. She breathed in the scent of rain, sweat, and both kinds of grass…his scent. Blue’s lips moved against hers, pressing and pulling, massaging them more than kissing them. She felt a fire in the pit of her stomach and she moaned with need. He released her lips, yet still held her against his muscled chest.

  “I need to get up early and you’re tired, your friends may be worried about you.”

  She thought of what Ziggy and Sunshine were doing when she left them, and she doubted they’d given any thought to her at all. She hoped they remembered who she was.

  “Are you camped far from here?” She wondered why she’d asked that. It wasn’t like she was going to go look for him. Though she didn’t want him to leave.

  “Not too far. We have our own little stage there. People will jam all night. I’ll probably play a little guitar before I go to bed.”

  “Really. You have to play for me…I mean, I would like that.”

  “Sure.” The smile in his eyes held a sensuous flame. “Right now you’re soaked; you need to get inside.” He paused a moment and added, “I’ll look for you tomorrow.”

  “Yes. I’ll be here, somewhere in the crowd. Bye, Blue.” She began to pull away, but he held her tight against his chest.

  “Good night, Jodi.” He crushed his lips against hers.

  She felt like she’d melted. Her body throbbed and she couldn’t breathe.

  He eased his lips off her and released the embrace.

  “Good night, then.” Jodi couldn’t think of anything else to say. She turned toward the mushroom tent, ducked down, and crawled inside.

  She was relieved to find Sunshine and Ziggy sound asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms. She shed her wet clothes, tossed them in the corner, and slid into her dry bedroll.

  The lyrics of Joan Baez’s songs flowed through her mind like warm honey. “She moved her head a little down on the bed until it rested softly on his knee.”

  Jodi pictured Blue as the sweet Sir Galahad, Joan had sung about. That was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep.

  * * * *

  As Blue strolled back to the hill, he glimpsed thousands of people, sleeping, talking, and smoking. He trod down the slope to the stage area, where he took a left past the road hog, the bus the hog farmers painted with rainbow colors. Most of the commune had flown in on a jumbo jet, courtesy of the promoters, pretty cool for rich dudes. He came to the familiar circle of white teepees―home. Blue strode past the blazing amber campfire and a raised wooden platform they’d built for a private stage.

  He ducked into his teepee. Huge fringed pillows were strewn across Navaho rugs patterned in squares and triangles in turquoise, red, black, green, blue and orange. A buddy of his had fallen asleep in the bedroll near his, but left some incense burning. Blue breathed in the spicy scent that filled the tepee. He plopped down on his paisley print cotton blanket and crushed the pillow with his head. Thoughts of Jodi swam through his mind.

  Her face had a plainness to it, but that didn’t deter Blue. He could groove on her looks anytime. Her long hair and those pale eyes enchanted him. The way her golden hair draped her shapely shoulders and hid the side of her graceful neck taunted him. His palm itched to push the soft, lustrous strands to her back, to nibble and kiss the tempting flesh of her neck and shoulders.

  He felt he’d known her forever, the moment she’d sauntered shoeless toward him, her long hair blowing gently in the rain. Could be karma, his soul mate, for no woman had ever affected him like this one, though he barely knew her. We must have been together in a previous life, Blue thought.

  She was quiet and didn’t talk much, but her azure eyes were wide and open and they told him everything she was thinking. He couldn’t turn away from them. Though she seemed shy, casting her eyes down, not speaking much, he could tell she was adventurous, with an inner strength. She’d come to the festival alone, and stayed with people she’d never met before. There was a sadness more than a loneliness about her. Something in her candid eyes almost caused him to cry. She’d gone through some type of bad scene. He had to rap with her, get her story. Find out what he could do to wipe the loneliness, the pain from her eyes and her heart. Maybe if he sung to her.

  Blue grabbed the guitar beside his sleeping bag and wrapped his arms around its smooth wooden body. Holding it on his lap against his chest, he imagined holding Jodi that way, and his cock hardened and swelled. Blue slid his fingers to the frets of the neck, and shifting his thumb sideways across the strings, he picked the guitar as he sang, “She will be a true love of mine.”

  “Hey, man, I’ve got to get up early in the morning.” The tepee mate who’d burned the incense lifted his head.

  “Cool. I’ll play later,” Blue told him, as he gently placed the guitar at his side and lay down.

  Blue shut his eyes. His mind swirled with memories of Jodi’s warm, soft body as he held her against his chest. Her tender lips held the sweetness of strawberry wine. The very core of his body burned for her as he drifted off to sleep and into the haze of a dream.

  Mounted on a white stallion he galloped toward the fortress, perched on a mountain above a torrent sea. He’d completed his quest and now rode home, to his lady. As he guided his horse up the steep, dangerous path to his stronghold, he thought of nothing but holding his woman in his arms once more. Salty, damp air rose from the foamy, churning water below and screeching seagulls soared above him. He came to the end of the treacherous path and yelled out to the porter. He smiled as the gate opened. In a fluid motion he vaulted off his mount and dashed inside. Torches flickered against the rough stone wall of the hall as he ran past them to his bower.

  He halted before the thick oak door as his pulse hammered, he called, “I have come back to you.”

  His lady opened the door and stood before him, dressed only in a thin linen shift embroidered in Celtic spirals and tracery. He gasped as he drank in the visage of her blonde hair falling to her slender waist and her blue eyes, which drew him into their depths.

  He knew the name on his lips was not the one she went by, yet he knew this dream woman and the one he’d met today were the same. He whispered, “Jodi.”

  She threw her arms out wide to embrace him and bounded forward calling his name, “Galahad.”

  Day Two

  The chattering and patter of people passing by, the crackle of the campfire, and the smell of burning wood and coffee in the chill air woke Jodi. She crawled out of the tent and waved good morning to their neighbor, a bearded man with round wire-rimmed glasses, smoking a morning joint in his plastic-sheathed lean-to.

  Sunshine and Ziggy emerged from the yellow pup tent and joined her.

  “We’re going for a dip in the pond, you want to come?” Sunshine asked.

  “Far out, but I think I’ll volunteer at the food tent. Help out.”

 
; “Heavy. Hang loose.” Sunshine walked away hand in hand with her old man.

  Jodi strolled over to the stand where the Hog Farm fed everyone for free. “Hi, I want to help.”

  “There’s plenty to do.” A tall woman with an orange headband wrapped around her forehead and long, straight chestnut hair, dished out a plate of the brown rice, carrot, and raisin salad and handed it to her. “Eat first, you look hungry.”

  Jodi grabbed a plastic fork. “Thanks.” She shoved the textured mix of crispy carrots, sweet raisins, and the nutty flavor of brown rice into her mouth. After she’d had her fill, she tossed the paper plate in the large metal garbage can.

  The lady told her, “My name’s Mary, by the way. Here, I have something for you.” She held up a strip of cloth.

  Jodi glanced down at her forearm as Mary tied the red strip there. “I’m a real volunteer now.”

  “Yes, you are, and you have a line forming.”

  Jodi dug a large wooden spoon into the big bowl and dished out the colorful vegetarian dish to the first in line, a green-eyed chick in a sleeveless granny dress, who said, “Far out. Food comes from God. It should always be free, man.”

  “That’s beautiful.” Jodi slapped a mountain of rice salad on the next plate and handed it to a bearded man in overalls but no shirt. He flashed a beaming smile at her.

  A girl with loose red hair and a white lacy blouse stepped up next and took her share. “Right on. No meat. We shouldn’t eat our animal friends.”

  “The local townspeople donated these.” Mary set a large basket full of sandwiches covered in plastic wrap on the counter. “We can pass them out now.”

  “Great.” Jodi dug in, grabbing peanut butter sandwiches and handing them to the people in line.

  “Hey, little sister, let me help.” A tall guy with long, sandy hair and spring blue eyes joined her behind the counter. “Remember me?”

  “Yes, hi, Blue.”

  “You’re helping us out today?”

  “Yes.” She pushed her arm out to proudly show him she had a red volunteer band like his.

  “Cool.” His warm smile filled his face. “You won’t believe this but I dreamed about you last night. We were in a different time and place.”

  She shrugged. “A dream, wow, we just met.” Does he really expect me to believe that?

  His brows arched and he had a faraway look in his eyes as if he was deep in thought. “There’s a little bit more to it but it’s heavy and like you said, we just met. I’ll tell you the rest when I know you a bit better. Speaking of which, I didn’t ask you where you were from last night. I think I told you I’m with the Hog Farm. We were in a warehouse in the city, but we split the New York scene. The commune’s in the desert now, out in New Mexico.”

  “Must be beautiful. Until a few days ago, I lived in New York, too. The Bronx. A foster home, but I’m on my own now.”

  “Your family lives in New York?”

  “No.” Jodi paused. Not having a family triggered feelings of shame in her. Others seemed to consider her less important because she was alone. She didn’t usually tell people. “I’m an orphan. My parents were killed in a car wreck a long time ago. I’m on my own.” A weight seemed to lift from her. His smile and his confident, easy going nature gave her a sense of comfort and serenity.

  “You have friends who will help you, right?”

  “Not too much. My foster mother wouldn’t let me go out, call people, or have them over. I made some friends here though, they let me share their tent.”

  “I remember, you told me last night. You’re not alone, baby, there are millions of beautiful people who love you. You just haven’t met them yet.”

  A warm glow filled her at his words. She looked up and gasped as she spotted Ziggy and Sunshine in line. She shifted her gaze back to Blue. “That’s the couple I told you about.”

  When they stepped up, she handed each of them a sandwich. “This is Blue, he helped me to the tent last night.”

  “Cool, nice to meet you, brother.” Ziggy shook Blue’s hand.

  Jodi noticed their long wet hair plastered to their shoulders. “How was the swim?”

  “It was out of sight, everyone was nude.” Ziggy’s face beamed.

  “He loved it.” Sunshine’s eyes grew openly amused.

  “Far out.” It was all Jodi could think to say.

  “First we played in the mud. Slid down the hill. It’s great, man. Then we jumped in the pond to clean up.” Ziggy grinned.

  “We’re going to split, make for a spot near the stage to groove on the music.” Sunshine tossed the plastic wrap into the metal can, having scarfed down the sandwich. ”Join us.”

  “Dig on the music with your friends, its cool.” Blue smiled at Jodi and nodded toward the couple.

  “I’d like to.” Jodi brushed her teeth across her lower lip.

  “Mary, do you have enough help? Jodi and I wanted to catch Canned Heat and Janis Joplin,” Blue called out to the lady running the food stand, as she chopped carrots.

  “Plenty of help. We’re not the only ones handing out food, after all. Some of the nuns are passing out sandwiches. Go ahead. Have fun.”

  He turned back to Jodi. “Is it cool if I come along?”

  “Sure.” Blue could come anywhere with her. His mellow tone and his muscled body exuded such sexual energy she felt hot just standing near him.

  As she stepped out of the booth, he held his hand out. She placed her palm in Blue’s and he laced her fingers with his, which were cool and smooth in her own.

  With a spring in their gait, they headed toward the main stage, wove through the crowd, and dropped down in lotus positions on the first open patch of grass they spotted. Jodi peered up at the scaffolding, watching a man slowly climb up it. The tall, bright yellow, metal tubing reminded her of a Tinker-Toy tower. A chick and three guys had already made it up there, and looked down on the stage from their perfect perch.

  The thunder of applause vibrated through the air, as Quill took the stage and belted out Driffin. The bearded, dark-headed singer in a blue buttoned-down shirt, banged two wooden blocks together, then threw them, one by one, to the crowd. He tossed other blocks, drum sticks, and rattles to the exuberant audience. Everyone raised their arms and leapt high, trying to catch them.

  All around Jodi, people bobbed their heads to the music. Blue stood, reached his hand out to Jodi, and helped her up onto her bare feet. Buoyant as if drifting on a cloud, she slid her feet and moved her hips to the beat. Blue danced freely, getting in the groove. Sunshine and Ziggy waved their arms and shook their bodies to the beat.

  Jodi watched, mesmerized, as Blue danced, gliding his arms and hands through the air like a wizard working a magic spell. His long, sandy hair glistened in the sunlight, as it blew against his bronzed by the sun face. As her gaze met the smoldering flame in his eyes, a jolt of heat vibrated through her.

  The moment Quill finished, Blue slid his warm arms around her tingling shoulders and pulled her to him. With one hand in the small of her back, he held her snugly. As Blue leaned his head down, his hot breath fanned her cheeks. He crushed his mouth against hers. His lips were warm and moist as they caressed hers in a slow, drugging kiss. When he released his lips from hers, Jodi’s mouth still burned.

  Blue held her in his muscular arms as the Keef Hartley Band took the stage. The band leader and namesake, in a buckskin fringed shirt with a Native American medallion dangling from his neck, pounded the drums in a rapid rhythm as Miller Anderson’s guitar riff vibrated through the air, rumbling loud and powerful like an engine revving up. Miller Anderson’s fingers danced across the guitar strings as he sang, “the other two say stay.”

  With Blue’s warm arms wrapped around her, Jodi’s body tingled. She looked up at him and smiled. “This is so cool.”

  A s
ensuous light flashed in Blue’s eyes. “This is very nice.”

  Sunshine and Ziggy shook, spun, glided, and clapped to the British band’s jazz and blue jam.

  Jodi threw her arms around Blue’s neck. As she hungrily covered his mouth with hers, velvet warmth flowed in her.

  When the kiss ended, Blue slid his hand under her chin, drew her face to his and urgently reclaimed her lips. She kissed him with reckless abandon as she ran her fingers up and down the smooth plane of his back.

  When Santana took the stage, Jodi lifted her arms in the air as she rocked her hips and danced with Blue to the deep, soulful sound. Some people with drumsticks and some with the wooden blocks Quill had tossed to them used the plywood wall between the crowd and the stage as a drum, tapping on it, to the beat of the Latin rhythm. Santana’s drummer danced his sticks across the quads, snares, and cymbals in a stirring percussion solo.

  Freed by the music, Jodi moved her feet, legs, hands, and arms to the wild, tribal groove. Blue clapped his hands to the strong beat and the full sound.

  From the microphone, a member of the band announced, “We have one more tune for you. It’s called Soul Sacrifice.”

  The drummer rocked the very air with his solo as Jodi, Blue, and everyone bounced on their feet to the rhythm. The audience roared when they finished their set.

  Next, Jodi clapped hard for Canned Heat. Bob Hite, the Bear, in full beard and long dark hair pulled in a ponytail, wearing a bright yellow t-shirt, belted out in his deep voice, “It’s good not to be alone.”

  Blind Owl rocked the entire field with the riff vibrating from his magic fingers on the guitar. Jodi and Blue danced on and on.

  Bear played a chiming, tinkling ethereal tune on the flute as Blind Owl sang, “I want to go where the water tastes like wine, you can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time.”