Life Aid Pt 3

Suzie was awake first on the morning of the big day. It wasn’t quite daylight yet, but it was light enough for her to see Paul sleeping on his side, his arm resting on her waist. She studied his face and watched his chest gently rise and fall with each slow breath. Their faces were less than a foot apart. This was the closest she had ever felt to another person outside of her immediate family and it was the first time she had ever spent the night with a boy next to her in bed, even if this was a camping bed in somebody’s back yard. It made her feel like she had taken a big step in her path to adulthood.

She felt safe with Paul. He had not tried to do anything last night and this told her that he was respectful of the boundaries they had already set. When the time was right they would expand those boundaries. They both rejected the pressure to do things that would entirely change the dynamic of their relationship. It would come in time. She stroked the side of his head with the back of her fingers. His eyes opened slowly.

“Mornin’ Boyfriend.” she said, softy, smiling. “You slept well?”

“Hey, Girlfriend. I did sleep well. And you?” It was the first time Paul had called her ‘girlfriend’ the way she always called him ‘boyfriend’.

“Yeah, I slept pretty good. I gotta go pee now otherwise we’re gonna have a wet bed real soon. How do we get out of this tent?”

Paul smiled and got up to open the tent zipper for her. Suzie went out with her pack.

When she came back fifteen minutes later she was ready for the day. She had plaited her hair and changed into pink shorts and a white T-shirt. A brand new pair of regular white Converse sneakers were on her feet.

“Wow, you look great!” said Paul. He opened up his own backpack that had spent the night outside of the small tent because there was no room for it inside.

“You think it’s gonna get real hot today?” he asked. “Not sure if I want to wear jeans or shorts. I got both.

“It’s prolly gonna get real toasty in there, Boyfriend. I’d be wearing shorts if I was you.”

Paul gave her the thumbs up and pulled out a pair of Bermudas and a black T-shirt. Hank emerged from the house into the back yard at the same time Paul was going inside.

“Morning y’all! Ready for the big day?” he said.

“Hey Hank, we will be in just a few minutes. Just gonna change into some clothes and brush my teeth.”

“Aunt Helen is making breakfast, I was about to come out and get y’all.”

Paul caught the aroma of bacon and eggs as he went inside.

The Live Aid adventurers all sat around the circular breakfast table as Aunty Helen and her dogs shuffled back and forth from the kitchen with bacon, a big bowl of scrambled eggs, fritters and toast. Hank and Tippie were both wearing bright yellow happy face T-shirts with matching baseball caps. Hank had painted the undersides of his eyes and over his nose with thick white sunscreen patches. He said his face burned easily.

“It looks like it’s gonna be a scorcher today, kids.” said Aunty Helen. “Make sure you drink lots of water. Have you got water bottles? I have some if you need.”

“I think we’ll be OK, Aunty Helen.” said Hank. “They will have lots of water points at the concert.”

They all ate heartily and by 7am began their short walk to the JFK Stadium. It was less than a mile from Aunty Helen’s house. On the way they passed by loads of cars and buses taking people to the ground. The traffic congestion was heavy but there was a definite buzz in the air as concert goers made their way into the massive parking lot outside JFK Stadium.

“Okay, so here’s the plan.” said Tippie as they got to the main stadium entrance and saw that a massive line to get in had already formed. “We’re going to keep out of the thick of the action in front of the stage and head on up to the seating in the stands to the left of the stage. If you guys want to stick with us for the day, that’s where we’ll be, somewhere near the top.”

“Okay, we will definitely come looking for you” said Paul. “Right now we’re gonna venture along this line and see if anybody has a couple of tickets for us to buy.”

He took Suzie by the hand and they walked towards the front of the line, looking for anybody standing off to the side with tickets in their hand and a fanny pack around their waist. This was usually the sign of a scalper. Suzie had their cash in her own fanny pack. They loitered around at the front of the line for a few minutes before they got the attention of a big, long haired fellow wearing a Red Sox cap and baseball shirt.

“Hey, you got tickets?” he asked.

“We’re lookin’ to buy a couple.” said Suzie. “You sellin’?”

“Naw man, I was hoping you had some for sale. I thought you was a scalper. Shee-it.” he said, despondently. “I gotta get inside there, man. Biggest show of my life and I don’t got a ticket.”

“I’m sure we’ll find somebody selling.” said Paul. “Just gotta be patient.”

“I sure hope so.” said Red Sox. “If you find somebody selling please look out for me. I’ll run over and pay for it right away.”

“Sure thing. What’s your name?” asked Suzie.

“Sam. Sam Wilson.” he said.

“Please to meet ya, Sam. I’m Suzie and this is Boy… Paul.”

“Alright Suzie and Boy Paul, let’s work together. We gotta get in there. It’s gonna be an awesome day.”

Paul and Suzie pushed through the line to see if they could find anybody selling tickets on the other side. They found a guy sitting on a nearby parking bollard smoking a cigarette. He was wearing a Band Aid T-shirt that looked home made and he also had a fanny pack around his waist. If anybody was gonna be selling tickets it was going to be this guy. They approached him.

“Hey, you selling any tickets?” Paul asked.

The guy looked them up and down, his gaze lingering on Suzie’s legs as he did.

“I might be.” he said as he blew out a cloud of smoke.

“How much?” asked Suzie.

“$500.”

“What? That’s ridiculous. I ain’t paying $500 for two tickets.” Suzie said in annoyance.

“Each. $500 each. These are the premium tickets. You’ll get right up to the stage.” said the scalper.

“No, we can’t spend that much. Thanks anyway.” said Paul, pulling Suzie away by the hand.

“You’re a sicko.” she said to the scalper. “A thousand dollars for two tickets… really? You gonna rob people blind like that? What would your mama say?”

“Hey, it’s a free country. I’ll charge whatever I like. Little bitch.”

Suzie sneered at him as Paul pulled her away towards the front of the line. The last thing he wanted to do was get involved in an altercation with a scalper. There were also several security personnel stationed nearby, keeping a beady eye on the crowd as they filtered into the stadium through turnstiles.

They were just about to cut back across the front of the line to the other side when Paul froze.

“Hey!” he shouted, pointing at the turnstiles. “That’s the bastard who stole our money, just going through there now.”

Stephen’s shape and look was unmistakable. Suzie’s jaw hung open.

“You’re right, it is him!”

“HEY STEPHEN!” bellowed Paul. Stephen turned around slowly, a lit Lucky Strike dangling from the corner of his mouth. He saw Paul and smiled. Next to him stood an equally greasy looking and overweight hillbilly female, obviously his girlfriend, Carmen. She was wearing very heavy eye makeup, almost like a goth. Next to her stood another familiar figure to both Paul and Suzie. It was Fred, Suzie’s ex boyfriend, the guy she had ditched to be with Paul.

“Where are my tickets?” yelled Paul, walking towards the fence near the turnstiles. “I paid you for tickets and a ride and you stiffed me.”

Stephen looked at Fred. Fred looked at Suzie, a smirk on his face. Suzie suddenly realised how they had been played by Fred who must have figured out it was Paul who put the notice up at Jovino’s and then gotten this Hillbilly guy to con them.

Fred came over to the fence. They were less than a few feet from each other now.

“I knew you were an asshole.” snarled Suzie. “How could you do this to us? What’s wrong with you?”

The smirk on Fred’s face said it all. This was his revenge and the timing couldn’t have been better for him to enjoy it firsthand.

“I didn’t think you’d get here, so well done for that.” he said. “But it looks like you came a long way for nothin’.”

Paul was dumfounded.

“So, you and Stephen conned me out of $150, huh? You must think I’m an idiot.”

“Well, I’m on this side of the fence and you’re on that side, so I guess it’s pretty clear what my answer is gonna be, right?”

“You are not only an asshole but you’re also a piece of shit, Fred.” said Suzie, pointing her finger right at his face. She was bristling. “You are gonna get what’s coming to you, make no mistake.”

Fred held up both middle fingers and slowly backed away from the fence.

“Enjoy the fence, you losers!” he called back before he disappeared into the crowd.

Suzie turned towards Paul, her eyes were shimmering with angry tears.

“I am so sorry, Paul. I had no idea he could be so vindictive.” she said.

“It’s okay. Come here.” He pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her. She broke down then, sobs wracking her body. They stood like that for a couple of minutes until she calmed down. A security person approached them. He was wearing a Live Aid Polo shirt and was carrying a walkie talkie. He looked to be in his 40’s and very official.

“You kids okay? What just happened with that guy?” he asked, concern on his face.

“It’s a long story.” said Paul.

“Did he do something to you? I can go get him, if you want.”

“No, it’s OK. He just conned us out of money for tickets because he wanted to get even with my girlfriend for breaking up with him.”

“How’d he do that?” asked the man.

He listened to the story, his eyes narrowing as Paul told it.

“So you are here now but you can’t get in because that prick did a number on you?”

“Pretty much.” said Suzie, still sniffling. “We’ve come a long way.” Her eyes were puffy and red from the tears.

“Well that sucks.” said the security man. He looked at them both sympathetically and then scratched his head. “And you can’t find a scalper selling tickets for a reasonable price somewhere around here?”

“There’s one guy over there but he wants like a grand for 2 tickets. We can’t pay that much.” said Paul.

“Yeah, that is a bit rich. He’ll probably drop the price as soon as the show starts, which should be pretty soon. But… I might be able to help you out. Are you up for a short walk?”

“Right now we’ll walk anywhere if it gets us inside.” said Paul.

“Ok. Follow me. My name is Mike, by the way. I’m running the security teams on the outside of the stadium today.”

“We’re hot on your heels, Mike.” said Suzie.

—-

They followed Mike to the backstage side of the stadium where there was an even bigger security presence. This was where the artists were coming and going. It was the nerve centre for Live Aid Philadelphia and Mike was apparently a big shot here. There were broadcast vehicles and loads of big trucks, as well as trailers for the artists to lounge around in. They walked up to a security boom that led to the backstage area and Mike asked them to wait there. He was just going to see somebody inside. He’d be back in a few minutes, hopefully with good news for them.

Paul and Suzie were brimming. Were they about to get tickets? For free, maybe? After the chaotic 24 hours that they had just been through, this possibility was like manna from heaven.

“Do you think he’s gonna let us in?” asked Suzie.

“Man, I really hope so.” said Paul.

“I ought to do this crying thing more often.” She was smiling now, the anger of a few minutes ago had left her entirely, her eyes returning slowly to their normal mystical color.

Paul was looking around at the limousines that were already inside the demarcated backstage area, hoping to catch sight of a recognisable act.

“I am going to write about this experience, no matter what happens.” he said. “This is the stuff of journalist’s dreams. Boyfriend and Girlfriend travel 500 miles to witness rock history.”

“You totally should.” said Suzie. “And send it off to one of those music magazines.”

“Why didn’t I bring my damn camera?” Paul thudded the heel of his hand against his head. “I mean, look at where we are and I won’t have any photos. I’m such an idiot.”

“Hey, stop beating yourself up, Boyfriend. You’re gonna put all your photos up here, in your mind.” She pointed at her temple. “Keep snapping away, every second. The film is free and it’s an unlimited supply.”

Paul looked at her and couldn’t help but smile at the little pearls of wisdom she was dropping. How lucky was he that she had barged her way into his world that day in the arcade? She was just 17 but as his Mom had said to him after meeting her on the 4th of July cookout, she seemed wise beyond her years. In that moment he wished he hadn’t lied to his parents about going camping with friends this weekend. He should have just come clean about everything and told them that he was going with Suzie. He resolved to tell the truth when they got back.

One thing he was certain of though was that he was going to do everything in his power to keep Suzie as close to him as possible and if that meant choosing a college close to where she would be, then that was what he was going to do. He never wanted to be with anybody else. Ever.

“I love you.” he said. Suzie looked up at him, smiled broadly and then circled her arms around his body, holding him tight. She had a look on her face that Paul hadn’t seen before. It was soft and delicate, almost ethereal.

“I love you too, Paul. I really do.” He saw her tears coming back and felt his own eyes misting up.

They stood together like that waiting for Security Mike to return. When he did come back he was holding two white laminated cards with lanyards attached to them.

“Alright, you two. Today is your very lucky day! These are all access staff cards. You can hang out backstage and also watch the show from the side of the stage, if you want. But my colleague Joe who gave me these passes may need you to assist with some running around for the acts during the show, okay? Nothing serious, probably just helping offload refreshments from the catering vans and taking them into the chill zone.”

Paul suddenly felt weak. His legs gave way and he was on the ground before Suzie could stop him from falling. He sat there, on his behind, startled and speechless, looking up at Mike, who was now grinning.

“Hey, buddy. Are you alright? I know this is a big deal, but I can’t have you passing out on me backstage, man.” He was laughing now. “Here, give me your hand.” He lifted Paul back into a standing position. Suzie was hiding her mouth and nose behind steepled hands, looking at Mike like he was something that had just fallen from the heavens.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” was all Paul could say. “I just don’t… I…” he tried to talk but words wouldn’t come out.

Mike laughed and put one of the passes around Paul’s neck, then the other one around Suzie’s. They were not only in, they were in.

“You are God’s special Angel.” said Suzie. “How will we ever be able to show our gratitude?”

“Just get in there and have some fun, man.” said Mike. “Show’s like this only happen once in your lifetime. Make the most of it. I was about your age when I went to Woodstock and the security guy there did me a solid, also letting me backstage to hang with the artists. It was something else, I tell ya. I met Jimi, Janis, Creedence and so many others that weekend.”

Suzie gave him the biggest hug she had ever mustered. Paul was still speechless, but he shook Mike’s hand, then went in for his own hug.

“I will never forget this.” he eventually managed to say, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Aw, come on now. No need for tears.” said Mike. “Tell you what, if you ever get a chance to do something good for somebody else in life, just do it. Let kindness be your life’s driving force. It really makes all the difference, I promise you. I’m really happy that I could take a bad situation and make it better for you, no strings attached.”

“Thank you, Mike. I will do that, I promise.” said Paul. He wiped his face with the end of his T-shirt.

—-

“Tell me I’m not dreaming.” said Suzie after they had climbed up the scaffolding stairs at the back of the stage. “Is that Jack Nicholson who just walked past us?”

“I think it is. Golly, he’s like right there.” said Paul. “Jack Nicholson. In the flesh.”

The couple shuffled through a throng of stage hands and roadies congregated on the side of the stage in time to see him step out in front of the thin multicolored striped curtain that separated the main stage from a smaller section in front.

“Good morning, Philadelphia!” he said into a mic. The crowd erupted. He went on to explain what they were all doing there and then introduced a folk singer, Joan Baez, who had also opened Woodstock in 1969. She started singing Amazing Grace without any music to back her up. Paul had goose bumps all up and down his arms.

“You alright there, Boyfriend?” asked Suzie. “I didn’t peg you for a Joan Baez fan.”

“I’m not, but man, that song… and look at all those people out there! Holy crap!” Paul pointed out to the stadium beyond the curtain. It was packed to capacity.

“Can you see Hank and Tippie?”

Paul laughed. “There’s so many people! Look for something yellow.”

It was impossible to pick out any individuals from the 100,000+ who had filtered into JFK Stadium. It was going to be hot and there was no shade anywhere. Most men had their shirts off already and the women who’d planned ahead by wearing bikini tops weren’t far behind them.

“How lucky are we?” Suzie said. She took hold of Paul by the waist and held him close to her as the first act got underway. It was loud, too loud to hear anything not spoken into the PA. The sound hit them heavy in the chest, an invisible thumping that almost felt like it was taking their breath away. Paul held onto Suzie as the number of people in the wings of the stage increased. Celebrities walked by them, as did the musical stars.

They moved slightly to the back stage area and Paul literally bumped into Ozzy Osbourne who was wearing an enormous sequinned cape that almost poked his eye out as Ozzy walked by him.

“You alright, kid?” asked Ozzy. Paul gave him a thumbs up. He was there with his original group, Black Sabbath and they ripped into an even louder set starting with Paranoid. The crowd went wild.

After several hours it all got a bit too much for Paul and Suzie. They realised that they were hungry and thirsty, so they headed back to the chill area, got some Cokes and sat down at a table to eat hot dogs and fries that were being served free to all the crew. All around them some of the biggest names in music were also mingling. Madonna, REO Speedwagon, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, The Pretenders…

Paul gasped.

“What is it?” asked Suzie.

“Look over there, three o’ clock… I think that’s Simon Le Bon.”

“The Duran Duran guy?”

“Yeah, the Duran Duran guy! Good Lord, you say it like he’s here to serve everyone popcorn. He’s like one of the biggest stars in music. Damn. I’m looking at Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran.”

“Who’s that dude he’s taking to, the one holding that woman’s hand?”

Paul took a moment to squint his eyes.

“Did you see The Breakfast Club?” he asked.

“Yeah. Who didn’t?”

“Well, that’s the guy who sang the song.”

“What? ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’?”

“Yeah. That guy. Jim Kerr, of the band Simple Minds.”

Suzie mouthed a silent wow.

“That’s his wife. Chrissie Hynde, of the band The Pretenders.”

“Get out of here. They’re married?”

“Yeah.”

Both of them slurped their Cokes as they watched this impossible congregation of music royalty hang out backstage. Yesterday morning they were in a funk. Today they were at the apex. They couldn’t get any higher. Things had just worked out, in the face of all the adversity they had faced. Paul wondered where he would be now if he hadn’t followed Suzie down to the Interstate. The incident with Fred and his co-conspirator Stephen had melted away with the heat of the day. Things had worked out.

A tall, wiry man in his 40’s walked up to their table. He had on an official shirt, the same as the one their benefactor Mike was wearing.

“Hey, you two.” he said. “Are you the kids Mike asked me to get passes for?”

Paul stood up. “Yes sir, you must be Joe?”

“Indeed I am. Listen, I need some help with something. I need you to take those two crates of refreshments over there to the big silver trailer parked near the security point. Just knock on the door and give them to whoever opens the door, okay?”

“Yes sir, no problem. And thank you so much for this experience, we will never forget it.” Paul said.

“That’s alright, glad I could help. Mike’s a good friend of mine, he told me what you’d been through to try and get here. You having a good time so far?”

“It’s like being in heaven.” Suzie said. “I keep tellin’ Paul to pinch me in case it’s all a dream.”

Joe laughed and put a hand on both of their shoulders. “It’s real, alright. Never done a show like this before and I have done a few!”

The crates were not very big or heavy. One of them was full of soda bottles and the other had a variety of snack platters stacked on top of one another. Paul carried the sodas, Suzie carried the snacks. They got to the trailer and knocked on the door. A burley guy opened and told them to come in and put the crates down in the kitchenette as he held the door open for them. Paul went in first. Inside he saw none other than Mick Jagger sitting on a sofa, his legs folded over each other, effeminately, a fashion magazine in his hands. Jagger glanced up momentarily, just as Suzie was putting the crate of snacks on the counter.

“Oh, ‘ello sweetheart. Wot you got there?” he asked, setting the magazine aside and standing up. He moved across the trailer to inspect her crate of goodies. “Got any sandwiches in that box?”

Suzie was spellbound. She knew who he was. She just didn’t know how to respond, so she said nothing at first, her eyes dancing around to see where Paul was. He was just putting the crate of beverages down next to her.

“Let’s take a look.” she eventually said, lifting the platters out of the crate and putting them next to each other on the counter. She pulled off the foil on the first one to reveal typical catered foodstuffs, chicken legs, rolled up cold meats, diced cheese and pastries. The second platter had the sandwiches, cut into quarters. Mick took a look and reached for them with both hands, picking up two quarters.

“Lovely, cheese and tomato.” he said. “Just what I asked for.” He stuffed them both into his large mouth and then grabbed two more.

“Any soda water in there?” he asked Paul, while chewing the sandwiches.

“I think so. One sec.” Paul scanned the tops of the soda bottles and pulled out a bottle of Perrier. “This okay?”

“That’ll do nicely, fanks.” He took the bottle from Paul and went back to his position on the sofa. He looked as relaxed as a lizard basking on a warm rock in the summer. You’d never have thought he was about to walk out in front of 100,000 people to sing a few songs.

“You enjoying the show?” he asked.

“Oh yes, it’s incredible.” Suzie said. Paul nodded along. “When are you going on?” she asked.

“Oi, Danny.” he called to the burley guy who had let them in the trailer. “Wot time am I going on?” Danny looked at his watch and then pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket, letting his index finger dance along the hand-written notes.

“Uh, about ten o’ clock, boss.” he said.

“There you go, sugar. ‘bout ten. It’s gonna be great, I’m singing with Tina tonight.”

“Tina Turner?”

“Yeh. She’s blowin’ up again. Can’t get enough of her. Enjoy the show and fanks for bringing the grub.”

Paul and Suzie left the trailer, both of them with their jaws wide open. When they got outside they looked at each other in a state of shock. They’d just given food and drink to one of the biggest rock stars in the world. What else was this crazy day going to deliver to them?

As the day faded into night Paul and Suzie found themselves watching from the wings of the stage again. The Thompson Twins were singing a Beatles song with Madonna providing backup. Then it was Eric Clapton’s turn to wow the world. Phil Collins was standing six feet in front of them. He’d flown across the Atlantic in the Concorde from the London Live Aid concert and now he was going to play the USA segment of this historic event.

“So he was playing Live Aid in London just a few hours ago?” asked Suzie. “And now he’s here? In Philly? That’s crazy.”

“Dude’s got some party power, that’s for sure.” said Paul as they watched him walk out on stage, sit in front of a grand piano and start playing In The Air Tonight.

By the time Bob Dylan took the stage together with Keith Richards and Ron Wood to sing Blowin’ In The Wind in front of the striped curtains, the entire stage behind the curtain was filling up with musicians and artists who had been involved throughout the day. They were going to sing We Are The World, led by Lionel Ritchie. There was nowhere left for anybody to stand in the wings. Everybody was being propelled onto the stage, along with a choir of young children ranging in ages from 6 to 16, all wearing t-shirts with We Are The World printed on them. Paul and Suzie ended up next to the kids, singing and clapping along, cameras panning as everybody got into the spirit of the event’s emotional finale. Paul’s mind camera was shooting at 15 frames a second as he tried to take it all in. The faces, the voices, the insane buzzing human spirit. He didn’t think he could ever encapsulate it all in words, but he was going to try.

Then it was over.

They walked back to Aunty Helen’s house, cracking open the back yard gate just after midnight. There they found Hank, Tippie, Aunty Helen and several other people standing around a fired up barbecue, passing around beers and glasses of wine, winding down what had been an incredible day of music.

“Holy smokes, it’s the long lost teenagers!” shouted Hank. “I hope y’all got inside? We was lookin’ for ya all day. What happened?”

Paul and Suzie were beaming. They told the assembled group of people about their good fortune but Hank wasn’t having it.

“Naw, y’all are pullin’ my leg now.” he said. “Back stage? For real?”

Suzie opened up her fanny pack and pulled out a small plastic bag of things they had been collecting throughout the day. She handed it to Hank.

“This is for you.”

Hank took the bag and looked at it quizzically.

“What is this?” he asked.

“Guitar picks, paper coasters and what-not. Some of them are branded and we got a few signatures on coasters and napkins for y’all too. There’s one from Ozzy Osbourne in there. He poked Paul in the face with his giant bat cape thing.”

Hank stood slack jawed as he pulled out some of the items in the bag. There was a pick from Eric Clapton, one also from Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest and a bunch of other rock acts too.

“Oh my…” was all he could say at first. And then he looked over at Tippie. “Babe, get a load of this. I got me a bag full of memorabilia from back stage at Live Aid. Oh my…”

Tippie came over to where Hank was looking through his bag of goodies and pulling things out of it randomly.

“Oh my God, you spoke to Madonna?” she asked, looking at the coaster with her autograph on it.

“We even served food to Mick Jagger in his trailer!” said Paul.

The midnight BBQ didn’t last too long. Everyone was tired. By 1am the guests had left and Aunty Helen had gone to bed. Paul and Suzie sat with Hank and Tippie on the back porch, trying to relive the experience and not let it fade like a dream. The plan for tomorrow was to get on the road by 9am at the latest.

Hank offered to drive them home and they gratefully accepted, on condition that they would let them buy lunch on the road and dinner at Jovino’s. They also wanted to pay for the gas seeing as they didn’t have to spend any money getting into the stadium. This was the start of them paying back the generosity they had received and it would be a life long thing for them.

—-

Hank had Led Zeppelin turned up loud. The traffic on the interstate had come to a crawl.

“Something must be up.” he said, turning down the stereo.

“Accident?” asked Tippie.

“Prolly.”

In the back seat Suzie was snuggled against Paul. She had been dozing on and off but came fully awake as she felt the truck slow down.

“Are we there yet?” she joked. They’d only been on the road for a couple of hours.

“Hey sweetie, looks like an accident up ahead.” said Tippie. “Let’s hope it don’t stop us dead.”

Hank flipped on his CD radio and turned the channel dial, pausing momentarily on each to see if he could pick up anything about what was causing the slow down. It was a trucker thing.

“It must be a fresh ‘un. Nothin’ coming though on the bands here.” he said.

The traffic was still moving, albeit slowly. On the other side of the road they didn’t see any difference in traffic, so whatever problem lay ahead was only affecting the south bound lanes. Hank moved across from the middle lane to the shoulder side as it seemed to be going faster. They approached a bend in the road and up ahead they could see that the accident was on the centre island. A vehicle was lying on its side, only the under carriage visible. Smoke was coming out of its engine bay. Vehicles had stopped both ahead and behind it and they were waving the traffic past. There were no police or medics on the scene yet. It was fresh, as Hank had said.

As he drew level with the over-turned vehicle they could see that it was a 1970’s model Ford Transit van. It was bright green.

“No way!” exclaimed Paul. Suzie sat up, looking at him.

“What is it?” she asked.

“That is Bessie, Stephen’s van. Oh my God, he’s rolled it. Look, that’s him sitting on the island, next to it.”

“You’re kidding?”  Suzie scooted over to the window behind Hank to get a better view. Hank slowed down some more.

“That’s the guy who you were supposed to ride up with?” he asked.

“Yeah.” both Paul and Suzie said at the same time.

Stephen’s face bore the bewildered look of somebody who had just been in an accident. A bystander, a woman, crouched next to him, her hand on his shoulder. Other onlookers were trying to look inside the van from where the windshield had popped out.

Hank picked up the handset of his CB.

“Breaker-breaker, channel 9 emergency. This is Hankypank, south bound, 10-33 emergency traffic. 10-42 on I95 near marker 700. Transit van rolled over, possible injuries inside. Relay to 911. Over.”

There was a crackle of static and then a voice came through.

“Copy that, Hanky-pank. This is CokeLola base, will relay. Affirm marker 700? Over.”

“10-4, marker 700, CokeLola. Over.” said Hank. He pulled his truck over to the centre island and stopped. “I’m just gonna go see if they need any immediate assistance. Y’all wait here.”

Hank got out and walked over to where the van was. Paul and Suzie watched him out the back window of the truck. He crouched next to the popped van windshield and spoke to somebody who was also looking in. The other person was shaking their head. Hank stood up, his hands on his hips, head bowed down. He turned and walked back to his truck.

“There’s some bad news.” he said as he climbed back into the driver’s side. “Your buddy had people in the back. They got banged up real bad in there. Rescue people are gonna have to cut ‘em out when they get here. They’s all covered in crap that was also in the back.”

Paul remembered the wooden pallet coffee table and the other makeshift furniture items Stephen had showed him on that fateful day when they had met at Jovino’s. He reached for Suzie’s hand and squeezed. She looked at him with eyes that told a story of relief and dismay.

“How lucky are we, Paul?” she asked.

“We are beyond lucky.” he replied.

—-

The summer of 1985 was a time of change for both Paul Daniels and Suzie O’Neil. It was the summer when happenstance and serendipity collided on a cloudy day in a games arcade and sent the two young teenagers on an odyssey of discovery, respect and immeasurable love for one another.

Paul went to a college only 50 miles from his hometown and got a degree in journalism after 4 years. Suzie joined him there, waited tables in restaurants and took some community classes in business administration. It turned out that she had a knack for numbers after all. They stayed off campus in their own place. They were inseparable.

Suzie started calling him “Husband” in spring of 1994. Paul called her “Wife”. Sometimes he prefaced it with “Sexy” or “Clever”, whatever word he thought was apropos to the moment. Their fraternal twins arrived in 1995. They named the boy Hank and the girl Tippie, after their God parents.