Page 117 of The Music Demon

“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 andnobodywill 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.”

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