off-the-charts delight, but her pleasure at seeing the demon as atwitter as a girl going to prom? Nothing could compare to the charm of that. It made the warmth in her middle expand beyond what she’d thought was possible.
Seizing the opportunity to tease, Shivaun looked at her nails and pretended to be indifferent. “I suppose that means you’ll be wanting to go.”
Lyric’s face fell into a gape.
She looked up, pointed his direction, and started laughing. “Of course we’ll go, silly.” Lyric’s smile was uncertain, but began to return slowly. “When is it?”
“It starts tomorrow. I don’t expect you to want to hang around for the whole three days, but…”
“THREE DAYS? Doo’s not playin’ for three days.”
“No. He’s not, but somebody is. It’s a festival. Nothing like this has EVER happened before. Ever! It’s the most important historical event in history, the first rock festival. Three days. Thirty bands.” He said ‘thirty bands’ with a dreamy look on his face like he’d just set foot in the promised land. “We’ll figure out when Doo is up. He’s standing in for Roundabout’s lead guitar. Who has chicken pox.”
The way Lyric smiled at that had Shivaun narrowing her eyes. “Demon! Did you give the fella chicken pox so your boy could have a taste of star fever?”
“No!” Shivaun relaxed visibly when no sneeze was forthcoming. “But now that you bring it to my attention, it would have been a great idea!”
She shook her head at him. “’Tis all the better to have fate intervene. That way we know ‘tis meant to be.”
“I don’t believe in ‘meant to be’. I believe in taking steps to make what you want happen.”
Not wanting to ruin the moment with a philosophical argument, she opted for diplomacy. “Well. I suppose there’s somethin’ to be said for both points of view.”
“Let’s not argue philosophy. Let’s go.”
“Hold your horses. I have to decide what to wear.”
“Shivaun.” He laughed. “It’s the summer of 1967. Nobody cares what you wear. It could be a Halloween costume and no one would look twice.”
She scowled. “Well, demon. I’m still a woman. And my goal is not to try for nobody looking twice.”
He sighed. “Very well. Decide how you will beguile all of northern California, but please. Do it fast?”
When she dawdled, Lyric took matters into his own magic.
“How about this?” He’d redressed her with a glance.
When she looked down she was wearing a red peasant blouse and jeans, neither of which she’d ever seen before.
“Okay?” he said. “Let’s go.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure red looks good with my hair?”
“For Paddy’s sake, Shivaun.”
“And ‘twill be too chilly for this at evenin’.”
He gave her a look. “Then it’s a good thing you have access to any article of clothing you can imagine.”
“Very well.” She laughed. “Off we go.”
Shivaun had learned early in their courtship that there were a lot of advantages to dating a demon. That was underlined and followed by dramatic punctuation when he draped the lanyard holding a AAA pass over her neck.
“What’s this?”
“All access. It means you can go anywhere at this festival and nobody will stop you.”
She lifted the laminated rectangle and looked at the graphic. “’Tis so…”
“Cool?”
She grinned. “Aye. ‘Tis very cool, demon.”
They quickly learned that Roundabout was scheduled for the next evening, Saturday, between The Byrds and Jefferson Airplane.
A couple of times musicians, whom Shivaun did not know, recognized Lyric and stopped to give him a warm hello. He introduced Shivaun. They inquired if he was working with somebody.
“I might be,” was all he said.
After the first such encounter, Shivaun said, “Past protégé?”
He smiled. “Yes. I have a particular fondness for that one. Like a difficult child who makes good.”
“Fondness? You mean like love?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “So how much musical spectating are you up for?”
“If I’m no’ needed at work, I’m yours.”
He pulled her in for a lingering kiss amid all the roadie hustle and bustle. No one paid attention to the public display of affection. Everyone continued with their tasks as if two beautiful creatures weren’t making out right in front of them.
“I’ll tell you what I ‘love’.” He bent his knees slightly so that he could put his forehead against hers., “I love hearing you saying you’re mine. And it sounds like commitment.”
She pulled back to look into his eyes. “’Tis a commitment. I’m your girlfriend for today.” He pouted. “Very well. Make that the next three days. I’m definitely your girlfriend for the duration of this very fine music recital.”