Conversations With Rock Stars

I had to phone someone so I picked on you

June 10th, 1973

Before we left San Francisco that evening to fly to England, I called Casey to see if I could visit him while I was across the Atlantic. I put in a quarter and dialed his number on a phone at the airport. After three rings he picked up.
"Casey, I'm coming to England briefly with Led Zeppelin. Is there any chance I could see you?"
"Absolutely," he said. "You want me to pick you up at the airport?"
"That would be great," I replied and hung up.

It was a ten and a half hour flight to Heathrow. Their private jet had a few beds in the back, a fireplace, and a kitchenette. I knew they would be tired after the concert so I sat near the front again, hoping to stay out of the way. Around 11:00, being unable to sleep, I got up to see if I could find something to eat. There were no lights on, so I crept quietly towards the middle rear of the plane to the kitchenette. I had barely passed the fireplace when I heard someone cough. I froze and opened my eyes as wide as they'd go to see who had coughed.
"Where are you going?" A voice said next to me and I recognized it as Robert.
"To get food," I whispered back. He found my hand and lead the way. He flicked on the light which lit up underneath the cupboards and then began searching. I went around him and peeked into the fridge. There was a bang and Robert swore loudly. I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter.
"Will you keep it down in there or I'll throw you out of the plane!" Someone from the back said grumpily. I opened the tiny freezer and found ice cream. We turned around at the same time holding our treasures.
"Can't wait to eat that," he said pointing to the ice cream. He turned a dial and a bit more light came on. We returned to the couch and dug in. We sat visiting for a bit and then Robert said,
"Bev, can I lay my head on your lap?" I rolled my eyes, but said yes. His golden hair spread across the opposite cushion and he folded his hands on his stomach. We were quiet for few a minutes before he asked,
"Bevie, do you have a boyfriend?" I twirled a strand of hair around my finger and said no.
"Surprises me. I assumed you had a string of them," he said with a little smile. I shook my head.
"It's difficult," he said. "Being on tour. You're away from your family so much, but you get to see so many places and meet so many people." He sighed and I looked up, seeing movement. Jimmy appeared wearing red and white striped pajamas.
"What?" He said, his eyebrows coming together on question. My mouth had dropped open when I saw him, so I said quickly,
"Nothing. I've just never seen you in anything other than concert outfits." Jimmy raised his eyebrows and Robert started laughing.
"Really? I thought for sure you'd already seen him in nothing!" Robert said.
"I mean, you look like a regular guy," was what I lamely finished with, feeling the color rising and focusing on Robert's hair in my hand.
"Pajamas don't suit me?" Jimmy said coming over and sitting down next to me, ignoring Robert's comment. I didn't know what to say, so I just played with the golden curls.

I leaned my head back against the couch and closed my eyes, listening to them talk. I started awake and opened my eyes again. I heard Robert breathing deeply and guessed he was asleep.
"Bevie, are you awake," Jimmy whispered next to me.
"Yeah," I whispered back. "Barely."
"Let me walk you back to your seat," he said. "Unless, of course, you wanna come to bed with me?" When I didn't answer right away, he gave a quiet laugh and I could sense him stand up. I eased Robert's head off my lap and found Jimmy's hand. He led me to my seat and I just about collapsed into it.
"Goodnight Jimmy," I said sleepily. I felt a blanket pulled onto me.
"Goodnight Bev."

We landed at Heathrow around noon the next day. We got outside and the band piled into separate cars to go see their families. I waited outside and then I saw Casey's car pull up. He bent down from where he was sitting in the drivers seat and grinned. I threw my bag in the backseat and got in.
"How long are you here for?" He asked.
"I'm here until July 2nd," I said.
"Ok. Better make this fun and memorable, yeah?" he said, turning off the main road and onto a country lane. "Is there anything you're hoping to do?"
"I was just hoping to hang out with you," I replied, looking at him. He looked at me and smiled. He flicked the radio on and David Bowie's 'Starman' came on.

Throughout my three weeks in England, I stayed entirely with Casey. We hung out a lot, going to record shops, doing day trips outside of Aldwick, and spending time down by the ocean. He had band practice, rehearsals, and gigs, and I went to most of them.

One day, near the end of June, we went down during the evening to walk on the boardwalk. It was a rare day off for him and he was wearing jeans and a button up shirt, that was unbuttoned and flapping in the breeze. We climbed down off the boardwalk and onto the beach. I took my shoes off and dipped my feet in the waves. He wandered around looking for flat rocks to skip and throw as far as he could. I went to sit on the sand, still warm from the sun that day, and watched him.

He walked over to me, with his hands in his pockets, and sat down next to me.
"Casey, you should come to Led's gig at Madison Square Garden," I said, playing with the sand.
"When is it?" He asked.
"End of July, the 27th to the 29th. They're supposed to be filming it for a documentary."
"I suppose I could come," he said after awhile. "Where would I stay?"
"I'll probably find a room somewhere nearby. You can stay with me." He nodded.
"Are you close with them?" He asked, not looking at me. I thought about it.
"Yes," I said. "I guess as close as a journalist can be." I laughed a little. "They're wary about the press, but they trust me." He nodded again. It was starting to get dark so we walked back to his flat. I unfolded the blankets and spread them out on the couch. I was about to turn off the lamp when Casey came in. He fidgeted with the back of the couch before finally saying, so quietly I almost missed it;
"You looked real pretty tonight."