Chapter 21 – Making Plans

Saturday, July 5, 1969 – 7:10pm.

"Man," Josie says as she puts on Side One of Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album, "I can't believe grown-ups actually like that 'wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful' guy. That shit puts me to sleep."

"No lie," Lacy agrees. "Ma's got an album of his she found in the cut-out bin down at the record place."

Peg nods. "I think she plays it just to torture us when we tick her off."

Lisa's eyes go wide in horror. "Shhh! Don't say that too loud, or our mom will get the same idea." She flops back on her bed and stares at the ceiling. "It's bad enough she watches the damn show every week."

As the LP starts to play, Josie pads back to her own bed, where Lacy has already staked her claim, sitting cross-legged with her back against the headboard.

"Scoot your ass over," she says, and Lacy makes room for her.

This leaves Peggy standing in the middle of the room, debating between the desk chair or the floor, until Lisa notices her dilemma and pats the edge of her bed.

"Sit here by me," she offers, and Peg is happy to oblige.

"So," she says after a brief period when no one else says anything, "I take it this bull session is about Brandon and what a prick he is."

"And then some," Lacy replies fiercely. "He owes me fifty bucks, an' the first time he rolls his happy, shot-up ass into Mace's, I'm gonna be there."

"Me, too," Josie says. "From what he told Ma, he'll be home by the end of August."

Hearing this, Lisa sits up quick. "Y'all need to take me with you. I still owe him for that shit on my birthday."

"What happened on your birthday?" Peg wants to know, and Lisa tells her the whole story.

When she's done, Peg just stares at her. "Remind me never to piss you off," she says, and Lisa's cheeks flush hot.

"Y'all need to hush," she mutters, and the three older girls laugh.

She glares, but there is nothing mean in their teasing, and then she's laughing right along with them.

After the seven songs on Side One have been mostly ignored, Josie flips the record over to play the 17-minute title track, which takes up all of Side Two.

"Here we go," Lacy says, listening for the song's extended drum solo. When it finally comes, she goes into a frenzied air-drum riff, her hair whipping around her face, her breasts moving freely under Josie's tee, and her body in perfect rhythm with the music.

The drum solo gradually fades into the final third of the song, leaving Lacy sweaty and exhilarated and her small audience staring at her in awe-struck wonder.

Except Josie, who'd co-founded the Lady Renegades with her back in 7th grade and has been trying to get her on the drumline ever since.

But Lacy, who'd been given a piccolo as a little girl and taught herself not to suck, has stayed loyal to her own, one-girl section.

"Play some Creedence," she tells Josie, who is browsing through a stack of albums now that Iron Butterfly has gone mercifully silent.

"Good choice," Josie says, and moments later the first notes of CCR's Born on the Bayou fill the room.

"I love this song," Peg says, moving to the beat. "And I love your plan to bust Brandon for his shit with the money, but aren't y'all too young to get into Mace's?"

Lacy shrugs. "Legally, yeah. But Mace won't care so long as we ain't drinkin' booze."

"Mace is cool like that," Josie agrees. "I remember Lacy's ma usta send us to fetch Stuart home for dinner."

Lacy smiles at the memory. "Yeah, an' he never wanted to come, so I'd end up sittin' on his lap while he downed a couple more beers."

"Oh, sure," Lisa mutters, jutting out her lower lip. "You got to sit on Stuart's lap, even though he's your brother." She blows a strand of hair off her nose. "I'd give my left tit towiggle my butt on Stuart's lap, not that he'd ever notice."

"You don't have a left tit," Josie teases, earning her a middle-finger salute. "And since when do you have a thing for Stuart?"

"Since now, when Lacy said that part about sitting on his lap an' I got jealous."

Josie grins and ruffles her sister's hair. "Damn, Lise. You really are a teenybopper slut."

"That's me," Lisa says flippantly. "Now shut up an' let's play Spades."

So they do, and in the end Evelyn drives home alone.