Crimson & Clover

I checked my watch as I got onto to Interstate 5 North. It was 4:15 pm. With any luck at all I figured I'd make it to Lake Tahoe by 11.  Seven hours to heaven and counting. I set the fm dial to 101 and listened to Real Don Steele spin the latest tunes. 

The buildings of the city soon disappeared followed by endless "land for sale" signs mixed with a spattering of new residential developments. A few miles later all there was to see was farmland and country side as the sun began to set.

My favorite time to drive had always been twilight. The dashboard of the Deville looked its best this time of day. But there was something else that made the early evening extra special for me. Maybe it was the way the road reflected the light of the setting sun with gentle hues of grays and orange that would make my mind wander off to a quieter place.

Sunset always reminded me of Betty and the time I proposed. She really deserved for me to do something extra special for her when I came back. I will never lie to her again, I thought, as I began to wonder why I was going to this party in the first place. By this time, I'd only driven about an hour. I'd still be able to make it back to Betty's grandfather's house for supper. She will definitely be surprised. I slowed down a bit as I pondered turning around at the next exit.

I thought about Billy and how he called me dad. It was wonderful. I had little trouble refusing Charlotte's advances. Why was this so much more difficult? For a brief moment I actually knew what the right to do was but then Real Don Steele played the song that brought butterflies to my stomach and made me remember why I was doing this, To Sir with Love, Lulu's biggest hit. Damn that Real Don Steele.

All at once my mind raced forwards as I began to imagine how the night would go. I would walk inside and sit casually by the bar. Lulu would see me and walk over, saying something like "Adam, I am so happy you're here."

Everybody in the place would watch in awe as she kissed me on the lips. She'd invite me to walk out on the balcony which I could only assume would be overlooking a lake and then she'd ask if she could see me again. We'd stay up all night. She'd speak to me in that erotic Scottish accent as I caressed her milky white smooth skin. I'd kiss her passionately, leading to an insane night of endless erotic fervor. We'd look over the lake as the sun rose in the morning and talk about our future.

Tom was absolutely right; I had given this a lot of thought. It's just that I know how she looked at me back in her suite. I'd seen that look on so many women before. Lulu wanted me, Adam Baker. Who was I to say no?

Before I knew it the hours flew by and my gas tank was almost empty. I stopped to fill up at a gas station along the highway, grabbed a bag of chips and a bottle of coke and I was off again. As I drove away I thought back to the big vending machine with Orange Crush written across it that was in front of the gas station. It was as if Betty was giving me yet another chance to change my mind. I didn't take it.

I drove along the I-5 until the route 50 turnoff for Lake Tahoe. It was a poorly lit meandering road that headed high up into the mountains. I hadn't realized what I had gotten myself into. This drive was not easy although the Cadillac sure made it better. Real Don Steele had long since disappeared from the airwaves replaced by a series of local stations that faded in and out depending on where I was in the mountains.

Luckily it was a clear night which meant that the stations would stay audible longer than if the weather was bad. Another advantage was that all of the stars were in full view, filling the sky with a spectacular showcase of dancing lights impossible to see from the city.

When we lived in Iowa, Pa would call the stars at night the greatest show on earth. The two of us would spend endless hours gazing into the sky only to be interrupted by Ma bringing us some vanilla ice cream. There were a few good memories of Ma except now I'm realizing that things changed for us once we moved to California. Pa wanted to give us a better life. Back in Iowa everybody was about the same. We lived in a small town where the people lived just fine. By California standards we'd be dirt poor but in Iowa there was no need to keep up with the Jones's. Actually the Jones family was one of the poorest in our small town.

Once we moved to California and Pa started to make a bit of money, Ma wanted the same things that the neighbors had such as a color television or a fancy new stove. Pa never understood that. He always said "what's the point of having more if it only makes you want more". I wish I had been more like Pa that way.

The funny thing is that the grass wasn't even greener in California because the damn heat made it quite brown.

I drove along the narrow road admiring the breathtaking view when a song came on the fuzzy station which hit me with such emotion that it made a permanent imprint on my soul. That song would stay with me like a captured horse that had been branded. Even if gets free the mark stays. 

Later on, that imprint would help all of these memories empty from my brain and onto this paper some forty years later.  And the song played,
Ah....And I don't hardly know her....But I think I could love her ....Crimson and Clover.

As strange as this may sound, while I'm writing these words, this is actually the first time I have ever given thought to those lyrics. Only now do I realize why they had such an effect on me at the time. I swear a shiver just ran down my spine as a whole new set memories returned.

I listened intensely to the song, the strange rhythms, the psychedelic ending. I knew with absolute certainty that this would be one the biggest hits of the year. When the song ended I frantically turned the dial needing to hear this song again and again. And then as it so often does in the mountains, without warning the weather changed.

No longer could I see the stars as snow began to fall. I pulled over to the side of the road, put the top up on the Deville then continued up the mountain, being careful not to fishtail on the slippery pavement.  The higher up I got, the heavier the snow fell. This was the most snow I'd seen since I lived in Iowa. I had completely forgotten at that this time of year Lake Tahoe was one large ski resort.

I was dressed in slacks and a jacket, nothing that was appropriate for this. No hat, no gloves, no scarf. I turned the heat up all the way and continued along, very slowly.

For miles on end I was the only one on the road as the snow became thicker and the visibility poorer. Only a crazy person would think of driving in this weather but I was so close to the party now that nothing, not even a snow storm was going to stop me. Every mile or so, I pulled over to the side of the road to clear the wipers of snow and ice. I checked my watch. It was now 12:30 in the morning. My only hope was that the party would still be going on when I got there. The things guys do for a chick, I thought, but not once did I feel it wasn't worth the risk.

I turned off the highway and headed down Lake Tahoe road when I saw Christmas lights off in the distance, red, blue, and green. The party had to be there, I hoped. Addresses were impossible to see through all the snow but this was the only building in the area and the side of the street was lined with cars so this had to be it. The building looked like a house from the front but it was long in the back, sort of like a motel but much fancier. I parked behind the last car which was a good two minute walk from the front. 

The driving had been so bad for the past hour that I hadn't thought any more about how the meeting with Lulu would go. I was simply trying to get there. Well, I had finally arrived.

Just as I was about to turn off the engine, that song, Crimson and Clover, came on the air again.

"What a way to start off the Christmas season of 1968," the DJ said, "with far and away the greatest tune to hit the airwaves all year." 

And then it played. I felt my mind drifting away in thought but this time I caught myself in the moment, realizing how close I was to living my greatest fantasy. I turned off the radio, took the key out of the ignition then anxiously plodded my way through the ankle deep snow.