Woodstock 50th Anniversary Celebration Bethel, New York
Bethel, New York
“Why didn’t you just kiss him? That’s what I would have done,” Adelaide says. “I love kissing.”
Hold back, Big Mama, I tell myself. Let her talk. She trusts you. Mustering all my will to simply listen, I just nod with an excited grin.
We are in my Mustang with the top down, headed to hear Santana at the luscious new amphitheater at Bethel Woods.
“You should have kissed him first,” she says.
“I guess girls don’t wait for boys to make the first move anymore, huh?”
“Not always.” She pats the dashboard. “My first kiss was in a convertible. A really cool Corvette.” She crosses her arms in front of her, shifts in her seat to look my way.
“Sounds romantic,” I say, then nudge for a little more. “How old were you when you had your first kiss?”
Now she’s fumbling with the car radio—stalling, I suppose. She stops on Adele, “Make You Feel My Love,” a perfect song—Adele’s voice, Bob Dylan’s lyrics. There’s a long stretch before she answers. “Fourteen.”
“How old was the lucky boy?”
“Eighteen.”
My heart stops. What else happened in that Corvette?
A pause settles in. “Daddy thinks girls should wait till marriage to, you know, have sex.” Adelaide giggles. In a nervous sort of way. “I don’t talk to him about guys. He doesn’t need to know everything.”
The pounding against my chest accelerates. Instead of pushing her for more, I simply ask, “Are you still dating this fellow?” I didn’t think she’d dated anyone, much less a grown man.
“We never actually went out. He found a prettier girl. My age.” Her voice trails off, and I detect a hint of sadness.
“Well, he goofed.”
“She’s got long blond hair and a perfect face. She thinks she’s the shit.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she thinks she’s all that. All the guys are in love with her.”
“Ahh. The beauty queens. The boys are always chasing after them. There was a time when I was crazy jealous of Livy because she could have any boy she wanted. I finally learned that real beauty comes from right here.” I lean over and tap her heart.
She shrugs.
“Hey. You are plenty beautiful. And your heart”—I touch it again—“is even more so. Beauty is not about having a perfect face. It’s about the way you love others and how you make them feel.”
“I know, Grammy.” She sings along with Adele, and I have to admit she’s got what it takes to make it as a singer. Or an actress. She’s darn good at both.
“Just do me one favor,” I say, patting her leg.
“What’s that?”
“Be careful when you’re kissing. Before you know it, you’re going all the way.”
She cracks up laughing, shakes her head to and fro.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nobody says ‘go all the way’ anymore.” A beat passes before she adds, “I know what I’m doing.” There’s conviction in her voice.
By now we have arrived at the Bethel Woods amphitheater, and I get in line to park.
“There’s a spot!” Adelaide exclaims, pointing left. “Over there.”
I take a quick turn, and sure enough, she’s right.
Once I put the car in park, she jumps out and helps me roll up the convertible top. There’s no prediction of rain, but I’m not taking any chances. It wouldn’t be the first time an unexpected rain shower showed up in Bethel, New York.
As we walk toward the front gate, I slip my arm around her shoulders. “I know you know what you’re doing, lovey. Your Grammy is just old school sometimes.”
“My parents have talked to me about that.”
“Have they?”
She gives me an exaggerated nod.
Instead of asking for details, I give her a wry grin. “Your father may think he knows everything about me, but he does not. You’ll know more about me after this weekend than he’s ever known.”
“Cool!”
Squeezing her shoulder, I say, “And that’s just between us. Like you said earlier, he doesn’t need to know it all.”
She laughs. “Mom and I say that all the time. Daddy’s old school too.”
“And what about your mom?” I know the answer. I just wonder what she’ll say.
“She took me to get the Gardasil vaccine when I was thirteen.”
It’s time to shut my mouth. I have no business asking questions about things I don’t want to know.
Grandmothers don’t need to know everything.