One of the workers announced that the food was ready and the crowd fell into line and started to move as the servers did their work. When Mystery got to the servers she motioned to Earl and explained they were both going to be eating from the large tin cup. Without breaking stride one server scooped two helpings of rice into the cup and the other covered it with two ladles of vegetable curry.
Meg had gone through the line before them and was standing with some people who were talking and laughing and seemed to be enjoying themselves.
“Let’s find a place to sit,” said Mystery, as she walked toward some rocks about 50 yards out. They found a spot where they could sit comfortably and lean back against the rocks. Mystery came up with a spoon and put it in the tin cup. “Here, you eat some and then pass it me.”
“You go first Mystery.”
“Okay.” She took a few bites and said, “It’s pretty good, especially when you consider it’s been prepared in the wilderness. Here, take some.”
“You’ve been to a few of these Gatherings before, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Why do people call out ‘welcome home’?”
“It’s just a way of saying the Rainbow Gathering is a down home, warm and fuzzy place to be.”
“Your turn,” said Earl, as he handed her the cup. “How long will you be here?”
“We’ll probably leave somewhere between the 5th and the 7th.”
“Isn’t it over July 4?”
“Sort of but people stay later; the clean-up crew stays on for a month getting the environment back to ecological harmony. Here, you can have the rest.”
“Thanks,” said Earl as he took the tin cup.
“Where are you going to sleep tonight?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll throw my sleeping bag down in the first place that looks good. That’s what I did last night, on the way here.”
“I’ve got a good sized tent if you want to sleep there.”
Earl liked the way she asked him, simple, casual, making it easy for him no matter what his answer. She must want him to say yes – why else would she ask?
“Sure,” said Earl, trying not to seem overly anxious, “that would be great.”
“Meg has her own tent,” Mystery said with a straight face.
“That’s nice,” Earl said. “One thing I should tell you, although you might have already guessed. I’ve been sleeping in my clothes and I haven’t had a shower for a couple of days. I probably smell like road kill that the buzzards passed by.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll see that you get clean. Do you want to go to the Granola Funk Theater first?”
“Maybe. What it it?”
“It’s a simple stage out in the woods where people perform songs, dances, sometimes theater, skits, that type of thing. Usually there’s a stage manager who makes a schedule of who performs when. It’s pretty fun and definitely different.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Mystery led the way down a trail that branched off into another trail. After a few hundred yards Earl was about to ask if they were going the right way. Just then he heard some music and Mystery said, “It’s just up there.”
A little ways up and the trail branched off again. The right fork led them through a grove of trees and up to the Granola Funk Theater. A group of musicians was on stage, a guitar player/singer was singing a song that praised the Rainbow Gathering and the Rainbow way of life. He’d strum a few cords and sing a verse and then the other musicians would play and sing behind him.
They were followed by a small band with a number of instruments: ukulele, mandolin, guitar and didgeridoo plus a girl who chanted and sounded like a cacophony of wind and string instruments. When they were finished they came off the stage and hugged everyone in the crowd.
There was energetic dancing by two couples who switched partners back and forth and sang as they danced. They reminded Earl of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in ‘Grease’ or the classic dance movie, ‘Saturday Night Fever.’
There was a skit, which was interesting, and a few more singers, some with instrumental back up. Then a fiftyish hippie, with a battered Yamaha guitar and wooden folding chair, took the stage. He unfolded the chair and sat in front of the crowd. Then he began strumming the guitar.
“I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself.” Strum.
“What for?” said a guy next to Earl.
“I was born not too far from here in Eugene, Oregon.” Strum.
“I attended parochial school from grades one through eight.” Strum
“Then I went to public high school.” Strum.
“Do you want to go?” said Mystery.
“Yes.”
Mystery and Earl began walking toward the trail as the old hippie continued.
“Then I attended the University of Oregon where I ran track.” Strum
“I got married to a cheer leader in my junior year. She was a beautiful girl.” Strum.
“But the responsibilities of a wife, my studies, and track and field began to take its toll. And I began to fall.” Strum.
Mystery and Earl were well up the trail but they could still hear the old hippy telling his sad tale. But then, to the crowd’s delight, things began to look brighter.
“And then a friend, a true brother, gave me …” the old guy let the crowd hang for a long moment and then pulled out…”a joint!”
The crowd cheered and applauded as the hippy stuck the joint in his mouth, strummed his guitar, and lit the joint. He took a hit and passed the joint to a girl in the crowd who was thinking he didn’t look all that old.
“So I became a doper and acquired a clear and positive view of things. I didn’t take things so hard which turned out to be a good thing because I flunked a string of classes when I quit attending and skipped the finals.” Strum.
“ I got kicked off the track team as the coach was big on players showing up for practice and my wife ran off with my friend, the true brother, and I never saw either of them again.” Strum. Strum.
Earl and Mystery were almost out of earshot now. They could tell the old hippy was still talking but they couldn’t understand the words. Then the crowd clapped and cheered.
“I’ll bet he’s passing out joints to the multitude,” said Mystery.
“It’s possible,” said Earl. “It’s got to be something more than an oralautobiography with a strum every so often.”
Mystery walked along and Earl followed after her. He took his mag light from his belt, turned it on and shined it in front of Mystery’s feet. After a minute or two he handed her the light. “You’re in front, its better if you take it.”
When they turned off on a narrow trail that led to Mystery’s tent she reached back and took Earl’s hand and led him the last 100 yards. She stopped and unzipped the flap to her Texsport Lodge Square Dome Tent. She pointed to a tent five yards away. It wasn’t as large as Mystery’s but it looked like it could sleep two or three people comfortably. “That one is Megs.”
“Nice. You ladies have got the gear.”
“We could have shared one tent,” said Mystery, as if she’d read Earl’s mind, “but then it could have been awkward if I brought you here for a bath.”
“True. I forgot about the bath actually.”
“Really? I’m surprised. Don’t you remember saying you felt like road kill that the buzzards would pass by?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“If it’s any consolation I think if you were dead on the road the buzzards would eat you.”
Earl laughed, “That is a major consolation. Thank you.”
Mystery smiled and leaned down into the tent. “Follow me,” she said.
Earl ducked down, stepped into the tent and followed her to the middle where he could stand straight up and have a foot over his head before the ceiling.
“This is quite the tent,” he said. “I didn’t even know they had tents you could stand up in, outside the Army or t
he circus.”
“It’s nice huh? That’s why I got it, so I could stand up. I don’t like crawling around if I don’t have to. So are you ready for your bath?”
“Sure, I guess. I don’t see a bathtub.”
“It’s not that kind of a bath.”
Mystery went to the corner of the tent and came back with two metal bowls that stacked together, a wash cloth, a small bottle, and a thick black rubber container that was double the size of a hotel water bottle. “Take off your clothes Earl and I’ll show you how this works.”
While Earl undressed Mystery picked up the black rubber bottle and poured a few inches of water into one of the metal bowls. “This rubber bottle has been out in the sun for a number of hours so the water inside was warm.”
She picked up the small bottle and poured a little liquid into the bowl. Then she swished her hand in the water. She held up the bottle and told Earl, “This is non-rinse soap, it’s what they use in hospitals to give bed baths.”
Then she put the wash cloth into the non-rinse soap and water, picked up the two stacked bowls and walked until she was standing in front of Earl who was naked except for a pair of blue underwear.
“Sorry Earl,” said Mystery as she handed him the bowls, “today’s not laundry day.” Her hands now free she hooked her thumbs on either side of his Jockeys and pulled them to his ankles in one smooth motion. She helped him step free and then tossed his shorts over with the rest of his clothes and stood up to take the bowls.
They both smiled and Earl said, “Okay.”
Mystery had Earl turn around and started cleaning his neck and then his back down to his waist. When she squeezed the wash cloth into the empty bowl she was surprised to see that the water wasn’t that dirty.
She turned him around and washed the front of his neck, his arms and chest and stomach. She worked slowly, making sure she covered every inch. When she knelt down his penis stirred slightly but she skipped over it and washed his legs and the top of his feet. Then she rinsed out the wash cloth with her left hand, took his penis with her right, and began to wash it. It more than stirred this time.
Mystery looked up and said, “What was it that Mae West used to say? Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just glad to see me.”
“I don’t have a pocket at the moment so it must be I’m glad to see you.”
“Good,” she laughed as she picked up the rubber bottle, poured water over the wash cloth and squeezed the excess into the metal bowl.
She’s rinsing off the non-rinse soap which seems like it shouldn’t be necessary Earl thought, unless…and then he was in her mouth and she was moving up and down on his penis, sucking him like a pop cycle she was afraid might melt. When she had him take off his clothes and began giving him a bath Earl figured they’d end up in bed together, but this was a surprise, one he was extremely happy to be experiencing.
Earl looked down at Mystery and thought this is a woman who knows how to focus. When he climaxed he bent at the waist and fought to suppress a scream. Then he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Mystery.
“I know I’m not telling you something you don’t already know,” he said in her, “but that was wonderful.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“Would you like me to give you a bath?”
“No, thanks, I gave myself one this morning.”
Later, as they lay naked on the sleeping bags, they kissed and hugged and then Earl reciprocated. About half way through Mystery said in a whispered moan, “it feels so good,” and began making pleasant sounds which increased in intensity until she reached her climax.
Mystery lay with the back of her hand on her forehead waiting for her heart beat to slow. After a while she said, “That was wonderful as well. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“I did, quite a lot actually.”
“We’ll have to do it again sometime.”
“Deal.” Mystery reached past the border of the sleeping bags and brought back a shallow plastic container. She reached in, brought out a baby wipe, and handed it to Earl.
When he finished using it Earl said, “You’re the most together camper I’ve ever seen.”
“Like the Boy Scouts say,” she looked into Earls eyes and opened hers as wide as she could, “be prepared!”
After they made a double bed by zipping their sleeping bags together, they crawled in and lay on their backs and looked up at the tent ceiling.
“Can I ask you a practical question?”
“Of course.”
“What do you do if you have to piss in the middle of the night?”
“You can go out through the trees until you get to the shitters but that’s a relatively long walk. You can step outside and try to find place closer but not near any other tents. Or you can use that number 10 can over there in the corner. Be sure to put the lid back on when you’re done.”
“Thanks. When we met at the gas station I wanted to ask about your name.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I just wanted to be different. I figured most people would ask you about it right away.”
“You figured right. A lot of people ask and some people just screw up their faces and say ‘your name is Mystery?’ like they can’t, or don’t want to, believe it.”
“So Mystery’s your real name, not your Rainbow name, right?”
“It’s my real name. I use it at the Rainbow as well where it gets questioned a lot less.”
“I can understand that, it’s a great Rainbow name and, in my opinion, a great regular name.”
“Thanks. I got it from my brother actually. When I was born my folks named me Misty. My brother, who was a couple of years older, couldn’t pronounce Misty too well. I don’t know if he could pronounce Mystery either but apparently when he referred to me it sounded more like Mystery than Misty. Pretty soon my whole family was calling me Mystery, and then it was kids in the neighborhood, then kids at school, and it went from there.
“Two years ago Sam , my brother who was responsible for my name, died of leukemia at the age of 27. A few days later I started working on getting my name legally changed.”
Earl was silent for a moment. When he spoke he said, “That was quite a story, thanks for telling me. I’m sorry about your brother.”
“Thanks for listening, I don’t tell the whole story very often.”
“It must have been tough losing your brother.”
“The toughest part was when we found out that the treatment wasn’t going to work and that he was going to die. But after he accepted it he told me he was ready to go and wasn’t worried. During the last weeks he said he was actually looking forward to it. Someone who worked at the hospital told him about the verse in the Bible where Paul compares his life to running a race. Sam really liked that one. He’d tell us he was about ready to finish the race and we shouldn’t feel bad just because we weren’t as fast as he was. Then he laughed so hard I thought that would kill him before the leukemia did.”
“He sounds like he was a character. A brave one.”
Mystery nodded, “He was.”
They lay together and talked into the night. Mystery told Earl that she owned a small clothing and jewelry store in Santa Cruz and Earl told her about his quest to become an actor. He didn’t mention any of his criminal activities. Not much upside to that, he figured.
* * *
Chapter 20