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By Misti Lake Submitted by Misti Date: 2001 Aug 07 Comment on this Work [[2001.08.07.10.05.30430]] |
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"Are the stars out tonight? I don't know if it's cloudy or bright. I only have eyes for you..." the music wafted down from the cabin on the cliff. Actually, it wasn't really a cabin. It was a lake house. A lake mansion, rather. A mansion made of gray rocks. There were young couples embracing on the lantern lit balcony. Across the gently rippling lake a girl of fifteen sat on the small expanse of rocky beach in front of the cabin her family was renting for the summer. Her name was Lucretia. She was looking up at the lake mansion, holding herself, shivering. To answer the question posed in the wistful love song, the stars were out. The sky was bright. Cloudless. Lucretia had watched the sky turn like a slo-mo kaleidoscope from robin's egg blue to rose to lavender to cerulean to sapphire to onyx. People had been calling to Lucretia all the while. Her mother: "Lucretia! The fried chicken is on the table!" Her sister, Betty: "Lucretia! We're goin' to the arcade!" Her brother, Tommy: "Lucretia! We're catchin' frogs! They're all over the place!" Finally, they had given up on her and left her alone. It was understood that Lucretia was a dreamer who needed big chunks of solitude. Lucretia had never been in love before. When she was four she had a crush on Frank Sinatra. At age six she was intensely infatuated with Marlon Brando. Then from thirteen on Lucretia believed that Ringo Starr was the ideal man. She could not be swayed, even by her best friend Margie who kept pointing out that Ringo had a huge nose and a goofy grin. "And besides...Paul and John write all the songs," Margie said once as they sat in Lucretia's bedroom flipping through Seventeen magazine. "That doesn't interest me at all. Ringo can play the drums, which is a primal thing that brings to mind another place and time. And he has charisma. I like the way he smokes cigarettes. He has a unique style," Lucretia said. As Lucretia sat on the beach gazing up at the mansion made of rocks, she wondered about Ringo. What was he up to? Who was he with? Did he stop what he was doing whenever "I Only Have Eyes For You" came on the radio, transported from the mundane for a moment? Lucretia wondered. She wished Ringo was there with her. They would dance and steal a paddle boat and kiss in the middle of the lake. Then they would jump off the paddle boat and see who could touch the bottom of the lake first. "Girl, you must be crazy. You've been out here since five o'clock." Lucretia looked up and rolled her eyes. It was Ernie, her occasional companion. His family was staying at the cabin next-door. "What are you staring at? That obnoxious party? They need to play some decent tunes." "Like what?" "Like 'Louie Louie' or 'Alley Oop'!" Ernie sat down beside Lucretia and threw a rock in the water. "I like the slow songs. They're playing my favorite now. 'True Love Ways.'" "Ugghhh. I hate Buddy Holly. Just because he died in a plane crash the djs think they have to play his songs all the time." "That's terrible! And completely untrue. Buddy Holly was the true king of rock-n-roll. Elvis is an impostor. God!" "Don't get all emotional about it. Geez. It's just music." "I take music very seriously. It affects my moods and serves as a soundtrack to my life." "I don't look at it that way. But I guess I'll have to if I want to get a chick." "If you don't care about music you can't fake it." "It's just a party, Luci." "Don't call me that. So what have you done tonight?" "Went into town and got some beer and dirty magazines." "Sure. And you smoked a carton of Kools and made love to Bridgitte Bardot." "You know me too well, sweetheart. So I made some Kool-Aid and played Monopoly with my cousins. My life lacks the glamor you so ardently seek." "I don't want much. And not all at once. But it would be nice if a little bit of glamor or romance would start trickling into my life." "I have a whole box of Eskimo Pies in the freezer. How's that? We could eat Eskimo Pies and play Truth or Dare." "No, thanks. I'm not really in the mood for that. I want champagne and caviar! Or wine and...cheese on crackers. Or at the very least, ginger ale and cashews." "You're outta luck, doll. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's take that paddle boat out for a spin. We can take it out and use it as a diving board." "God, no. Those people up there might see us. I'd be so embarrassed!" |