Petro was about to return to college for the fall and I couldn’t convince him to attend the next WIDD show in Tuttle with me. It was the start of his second year at Patoka State and he wanted to spend the weekend moving in. Likewise, I was about to start my first semester at Blue Star Community College on a cross country scholarship. BSCC was only about 20 minutes across the state line, however, so I’d just be commuting from home.
My coach routinely sent letters to us throughout the summer, and one of the first had included a practice schedule he expected us to follow. We were to maintain our own conditioning, and he informed us it would be apparent on the first day of practice who had followed his directions and who hadn’t. I’d only run one time all summer, and it was barely a mile around Crosby. Petro had accompanied me on a bicycle. I wasn’t worried. Not because I shouldn’t have been, but because I’d discovered a whole new world of hallucinogens and other drugs, and that community mattered more to me.
The Family Center was connected to a Lodge that was located just off one of the main roads leading in and out of Tuttle. The road also just so happened to run all the way to Crosby. It was about a half hour drive and I made it alone.
When I pulled up to the Lodge, the parking lot was already full, so I found a spot on a nearby side street.
I felt a little awkward walking up to the venue alone, but I’d thought about Gabby nonstop since the prior show. Something about her had stayed with me. Her presence. Her demeanor. Her energy. Her smile. Nearly every time I closed my eyes, even for a moment, I saw her smile. I wanted to see it again.
Once inside The Family Center, I began looking for her. I wasn’t concerned with finding a good spot for the show, because though WIDD had quickly become my favorite band, my primary reason for being there wasn’t to see them.
From the time I arrived until the time the show started, I moved in and out of the building. If she wasn’t there yet, I was hoping to intercept her at the entrance. At some point I felt like my activity was becoming noticeable to the people hanging out around the doorway, or on either side of it, so I found a spot near the entrance where I could keep an eye on who came in and out without looking curious.
Eventually WIDD came out and the show started.
I tried to convince myself to settle in and enjoy the music but it wasn’t happening. I was there to see Gabby, and any time I turned away from the door I was afraid I’d miss her. The only time I left my spot was when the ritual began. I moved as close to the activity as I could and spent the entire length of the drum solo studying each participant. If Gabby was one of them, however, I couldn’t tell.
Once it was over, I moved back to my original location and continued to observe the movement around the entrance for several songs until I finally thought I’d caught a glimpse of her.
Practically shoving people out of my way, I took off in that direction.
She was just about to start making her way through the crowd when I reached her.
“Hey!” I yelled, gently touching her shoulder from behind. Spinning around, her face lit up as soon as she saw me.
“Hey!” she smiled and reached out for a hug, “How’s it going?”
“Good!” I replied, “You’re late.”
“Don’t even get me started,” she dropped her shoulders.
“Ok,” I put my hands up. She smiled again and looked toward the stage.
“Where’s your friend?” Gabby asked.
“Getting ready for school,” I replied, “His classes start Monday.”
“Did you come alone?” she glanced over each of my shoulders. I nodded. “What a coincidence! Me too!” she raised her eyebrows, “Are you staying for the rest of the show?” I nodded emphatically. “Come on!” she slid her arm under mine and started maneuvering her way through the crowd. We got about twenty yards from the stage and she turned to me with a large smile before becoming lost in the music.
“How many times have you seen them?” I asked Gabby once we were far enough outside the venue to hear each other. WIDD had played a handful of songs after she’d arrived and I’d noticed she seemed to know the words to the majority of them.
“Oh man,” she slowed her pace as she thought about it, “Maybe a dozen?” My ears were still ringing from the show, and that, coupled with people shouting and carrying on around us was making it hard for me to hear her.
“You wanna step over here and have a smoke?” I asked.
“Sure!” she replied. I removed two cigarettes from my pack and handed her one. “Thanks!” she received it. We walked to a nearby building on the other side of the parking lot and leaned against a wall. I lit her cigarette before mine, and we each took a deep drag.
“So you’re like a bonafide fan?” I continued.
“Of WIDD?” she asked. I nodded. “Oh ya,” she said emphatically, “How could you not be?”
“I know!” I agreed, “I’ve spent the past couple weeks getting into their music. I had no idea how good they were.”
“I don’t think many people do,” she added.
“So you follow them around?” I continued.
“When I can,” she nodded.
“So we’ll start running into each other more often?” I asked. Gabby smiled warmly.
“Maybe. They don’t play out as much when school starts from what I’m told,” she gazed off toward the last of the people exiting The Family Center, “I guess they attend different schools. As far as I know they don’t have any shows lined up after this one.”
“That sucks,” I said, “I just started getting into them.”
“I know!” she agreed, “Maybe they’ll change their mind.”
“Hopefully,” I took a drag, inhaling deeply. It was quiet for several moments as we continued watching the activity across the lot. “What are you doing now?” I broke the silence.
“Smoking a cigarette with you,” she smiled.
“I meant after that,” I clarified, “Are you meeting friends somewhere or something?” Gabby stared into my eyes as if she was trying to decide how to answer before eventually her head slowly shook. “Do you want to smoke a bowl?” I asked. Again she lingered for several seconds until a smile grew across her face and she nodded her head. She was always smiling, and anytime you didn’t think her smile could get any bigger, it did.
We finished our cigarettes and then I led her to my car.
“Do you know any good spots or do you just want to drive around?” I inquired.
“I’m okay with driving,” she answered.
“Okay,” I nodded, “I’ll just head out this side of town and cruise the backroads. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely!” she replied.
“Which one?” I grabbed several cassettes from the area in front of my gear shift and handed them to her, “I think Liquid Love’s in there right now.”
“Liquid Love’s perfect,” she placed the tapes back where I took them from, “Is it okay if I skip songs?”
“Please do,” I nodded toward it. Gabby fidgeted with the buttons on my car stereo as I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. I was anxious to see which song she selected, and when she did, I found myself becoming even more affected. It was a song I had fixated on, and at the time, would’ve considered my favorite on that particular album. The title was “A Solitary Tree.” “That’s my favorite song on that album,” I informed her, “I’ve been obsessed with it.”
“Mine too,” she relayed as she softly began humming along to it.
Once we were a couple miles out of town I took the first left that looked like an infrequently traveled road and slowed my speed. After another mile or two I reached under my seat and retrieved a weathered sandwich bag that contained my weed and a pipe.
“Do you mind packing it?” I asked.
“Of course not,” she retrieved it from me. A few moments later she handed me the bag and I shoved it back under my seat. She tried handing me the pipe, but I insisted she go first.
I continued further down the rural road as we smoked and listened to WIDD, looking for somewhere to park, and potentially get out to enjoy the evening.
“Look!” I pointed out the front windshield, “It’s a sign!” Alarmed, Gabby shot forward to the edge of her seat and began scanning the darkness for whatever I was trying to draw her attention to.
“What?” she asked frantically, “What is it?”
“There!” I continued pointing, “A solitary tree!” As we drew closer to a single tree sitting at the convergence of the road we were traveling on and an unfinished lane separating two corn fields, I slowed to a stop. Gabby took it in for a moment and then placed her hand on her chest.
“That scared me to death,” she took several deep breaths, “I thought it was going to be like an alien or something.”
“A what?” I started laughing.
“I don’t know!” she exclaimed, “You said it all excitedly like it was something crazy!”
“It is crazy!” I said defensively, “It’s a solitary tree and we were just listening to that song! Is that not crazy?”
“Not the level of crazy you yelled it in!” she faced me.
“Sorry,” I apologized, “I thought it was.”
“Maybe you’re just high,” she handed me the bowl.
“I’m high as fuck,” I refused it, “but I think you are too.” Gabby thought about it for a moment and then rested the pipe on the console between us.
“I am,” she agreed and we both started laughing hysterically.
“You wanna see what’s down this lane?” I asked once we collected ourselves.
‘What if it’s a house?” she peered out my window.
“It doesn’t look like that kind of lane, but I guess it could be,” I studied it, “If it is, I guess we just turn around. I just feel like we’re supposed to.”
“Because of the tree?” she looked at me funny.
“Because of the solitary tree,” I corrected her. Gabby glanced down the lane again and then back at me before nodding her head with a smile. I smiled back and turned the car into the lane, slowly creeping between the tall thick walls of corn stalks flanking us.
“It’s kind of creepy,” Gabby noted after we’d gone about twenty yards. She was right, but I didn’t want to admit it.
“We’ll just go a little bit further,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t have to drive the whole length back in reverse. A couple minutes later the corn stopped and the lane opened up into a small clearing. In the middle was another lone tree.
“Oh my gosh,” Gabby placed her hand over her mouth. I stared at it for several moments with a stupid smile on my face before turning to face her. She was already facing me. “You were right!” she said, “It was a sign!”
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“That we’re in the right place?” she guessed.
“Ya,” I nodded, “Ya.” We both turned back to the tree and continued staring at it. After a few moments Gabby rewound the tape and began playing the song A Solitary Tree over again from the beginning. We sat in complete silence until it was over.
“That was amazing,” she whispered.
“You wanna get out?” I asked.
“Oh hell no!” she cried, “This is like the perfect setting for a horror movie!” We both laughed again until our sides hurt.
“In the song The Laughing Lady’s hanging out behind the tree,” I noted, “Maybe she’ll impart some wisdom on us.”
“We might have to perform the ritual,” she added, “Are you prepared to do that?”
“Right now?” I asked. Gabby nodded. “Not this time,” I shook my head, “Maybe we practice and come back?”
“Yes!” she became excited.
“Alright,” I faced the tree, “It’s a deal.”
“I’m kind of dying of thirst,” she said, “I’ve got serious cotton mouth. Do you have anything to drink?”
“I don’t,” I replied, “Sorry. There was a gas station right there by The Family Center. Wanna grab a drink there?”
The clearing provided plenty of room to turn the car around and I did so with ease.
A short while later we were at the gas station.
“What do you want to do now?” I asked as I paid for our fountain drinks. Gabby took a sip and then scanned the wall behind the counter for a clock.
“Oh, I gotta get home,” she said, “I didn’t realize how late it was.” I located the clock myself and saw that she was right. It wasn’t so late we were in jeopardy of seeing the sunrise but it had moved well past midnight.
“Are you parked at The Family Center?” I glanced in the general direction of The Lodge. Gabby nodded and took another drink before heading toward the exit. I followed her outside where we stopped in front of the doors.
“Thanks for the drink,” she said, “And the other stuff.”
“I can walk you to your car,” I offered.
“I’m good,” she replied, “but thanks. Maybe we’ll run into each other again soon.” Stunned by the abrupt manner in which we were parting, I stood there speechless. I wanted to ask her if we could hang out again, or even for her number, but her demeanor had changed. Her facial expression and posture said she was ready to go. Almost urgently ready to go. Without waiting for me to find words, she reached up and gave me a hug with her free arm. “See you Guy!” she smiled.
“Bye,” I uttered as she took off across the street.
I watched Gabby disappear behind The Lodge and then got into my car where I sat waiting to watch her drive off. After 15 or 20 minutes of no headlights I decided she’d left in the opposite direction and headed home myself.