Crystal (Original Series Prequel 1)

And The Water Was Closing All Around

Golden Gate Park,
San Francisco, California
Wednesday, November 26, 1969
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Hurry up, Lindsey! It's freezing out here!

Stevie sat on a bench in Golden Gate Park and waited for Lindsey to show up to meet her, pulling her little black wool pea coat closed tighter around her and wishing he'd either hurry up or she had a time machine to go back to this morning and bring her heavier coat. Who knew the day before Thanksgiving would have felt like the day before Christmas?! She thought of waiting back in the car, but from where she'd parked, with her eyesight, she'd never see him when he arrived. He'd told her to meet him to get directions and a few notes about the gig on Saturday, knowing they'd be with family starting tomorrow and Fritz business would be on hold for two days. She was flying to Chicago early tomorrow morning, and she had to admit, as much as she'd missed her mom - well, everyone - she kind of wished she'd accepted Ruth Buckingham's invitation to dinner so she and Lindsey could be together without the guys around. Something about just being around him alone, no distractions, no people teasing and taunting them or criticizing the music or how they went about it, was magic. It was soothing and electrifying all at once.

"Stevie!" She turned her head and saw Lindsey, appropriately dressed with his big leather coat on, shearling-lined and probably keeping him warm enough, waving as he walked towards her. She smiled immediately at waved, squinting to be sure it was, in fact, Lindsey she was waving at.

"Lindsey, hi!" She stood up from the bench when he approached her. "I'm sorry I had to drag you all the way out here...I was shopping on Haight Street and I figured as long as we were both in the city today..."

"What'd you buy?" He looked down at the small shopping bag she held in her hand.

"Girl stuff...you wouldn't care," she said. "Two scarves, a chain belt, this one top that's very Janis...it's actually perfect album cover material because it's, like, a rock and roll chick look, but, I mean...I'm getting ahead of myself there and..."

Lindsey was smiling as she went on. Sally was right, he thought; Stevie did talk a lot, but he loved it. It was like every bit of one sentence she said excited her so much that she had to add another to explain why. He could - and had - listened to her tell stories for hours. He said, "Hey, cool...that day isn't far behind, you know...album covers and all."

"Don't jinx it," she said, laughing and leaning into him. "So what's the deal? What is all this stuff Javier wants me to know?"

Lindsey pulled a few folded pieces of yellow legal paper out of his pocket. He handed it to her and said, "Directions to the gig, set list, and he made a few notes on 'Take Advantage Of Me'."

"Did he now..." Stevie rolled her eyes and Lindsey laughed. She put the papers in her purse. "Anyway, thanks for coming out this way, Linds! Do you have to rush off, or..."

"No, I've got some time if you want to hang out awhile." No one had every abbreviated his name before. He hated that his brother Jeffrey was Jeff, his brother Gregory was Grey, his father Morris was Morrie, his mother Rutheda was Ruth and he was...Lindsey. Stevie and Lindsey, he thought. Stephanie and Lindsey...Mr. and Mrs. Jess Nicks and Mr. and Mrs. Morris Buckingham cordially invite you to join them in celebration as their children, Stephanie Lynn and Lindsey Adams, are united in Holy matrimony...

He quickly shook that idea right out of his head. Stevie was already walking ahead of him and talking again and he scrambled to catch up. She was visibly cold in her little pea coat, he noticed.

"...and my brother will put the whole damn bowl of stuffing on his place setting like a joke..." she was saying as he tuned back in. He'd been watching her hair swinging back and forth in the autumn wind and he wanted to touch it. "...but I'm like, 'Christopher, it's not funny! You know the stuffing Mom bakes in the pan is inferior to the stuffing that is actually from inside the turkey and all the juices...ugh! Brothers!" She ended with a little giggle as they walked along the railing, the Pacific Ocean over the side of the fence down below. She stopped and turned towards him, holding her coat closed. "Jeez! It's freezing out here!"