Heather raised the sports bottle full of margarita high. "To being away from kids and old men!!" she proclaimed loudly, and chugged hard on it, provoking laughter and cheers from her friends, as well as on-lookers on either side of the blue minivan.
It was a warm summer evening in the parking lot of the mega amphitheater. Inside, some unknown hopeful band was playing; no doubt to precious few people. The parking lot was nearly full. All the smells you would expect outside the big rock show were in the air; cigarettes, marijuana, hot dogs and hamburgers on charcoal grills unloaded from the back of pickups. People tail-gated and socialized as they got full and got buzzed outside where it was cheap. The headlining band was still hours from taking the stage and who wants to pay $9 for the same beer you could bring in your cooler for a fraction of that?
Heather had come with Cindy in her blue van, and had been drinking hard since they pulled away from the cul de sac. She had used the sports bottle to conceal the margaritas, and Cindy had no doubts that each one she had mixed contained more and more tequila and less mix. Cindy sipped her first as they chatted with the people parked on either side, and some friends from the neighborhood who had stopped over.
Heather was loud and outgoing as always, in a way that Cindy normally admired. Heather was always in her element when it was time to party and have fun; watching her talk animatedly, tell jokes, laugh, you would guess her much younger than her 38 years. They had met nearly ten years ago when their kids had played in little league together and had become friends quickly. Cindy's husband Pete had hit it off as well with Heather's husband Bob as well as two husbands could. Subsequently, they had often found themselves celebrating various things together; holidays, kids birthdays, and later graduations.
People drifted away towards the entrance of the venue as the show was about to begin. "C'mon bestie, let's find our seats" Heather said, slurring slightly, as she threw an arm around Cindy, who laughed at her drunken friend. They laughed as they walked towards the security gates.
As they approached the end of the lot, they both noticed a young man in the bed of an orange truck, moving a cooler into the toolbox mounted near the cab. He was fit and his toned muscles were highlighted in his summer gear: a tank top and jean shorts. He had dark hair and strong features, highlighting a nice smile.
"Look at that!" Heather whispered. "Gorgeous..."
Cindy laughed. "Little young don't you think?"
"Yes but that's good..."Heather said, rubbernecking as they walked. "When they're that age they can't get enough. They can get it up over and over, all night!"
"Heather!" Cindy squealed, reddening.
Just then, either through some psychic ability or (more likely) drunken people being more loud than they realize, the young man happened to look over and make eye contact. Cindy looked down while Heather erupted in a big smile. "Hi" she said, sticking her butt out to the side with her hand on her hip as she walked.
"Uh, hi" the stranger said, his smile broadening. Heather called out to him, winking as she said "Do you have seats honey? or are you on the hill? I got a seat for you..."
"Heather!!" Cindy said, pulling her by the arm as she was now walking backwards. The young man's friends made catcalls and he laughed shaking his head. "What's gotten into you?"
"Alcohol" Heather said, laughing. "I'm cooped up too much. I want to live. And he was cute..."
They passed through the metal detectors and had their tickets torn, and then filed through into the venue. They both were familiar with the place; they had both seen many shows and had many good times here. They followed the small boardwalk-like path led through the trees to where the stage and stands are, overlooked by a large hill where people who had general admission tickets sat on blankets they brought. Heather wanted more drinks so they stopped by one of the small stands that sold beer and mixed drinks. Cindy stood in line while Heather said she'd be right back.
Cindy watched her friend move towards the restrooms across the way. As she went she meandered left and right, saying hi and batting her eyelashes at every attractive male she passed. She was like a bee bouncing from flower to flower on a spring day. While she was a heavy girl she was very attractive and well kept; her naturally curly hair was always blond with no traces of roots, her nails and toes done, her skin tanned from the sun on her deck or a tanning bed in the winter. Cindy began to worry slightly. Heather was flirting with strangers, which was a step beyond her normal outgoing party mode.
Cindy thought of the conversations they'd had over the years. Heather had been married to Bob since she had been 18 and he had been 22. She had often complained over the course of their 10 year friendship- with tact at first- that she was not very connected to Bob. She described him as "boring, dry, an old man" when she got a few drinks in her. Normally she did it in a joking way but Cindy had sensed more to it than that...a real loneliness in their marriage. She must just be cutting loose a little, Cindy thought. No big deal. We're married not dead after all. She bought the drinks and joined her friend, who was chatting with a new attractive young man outside the bathrooms. She had to pull her along again to get to their seats.
The band took the stage, and the music played and the drinks continued to flow into the night. Heather and Cindy sang along as loudly- and probably badly- as the people around them in the stands, and as darkness descended over the place they could almost pretend they were back 20 years to when they had first heard this band. It was a time portal back to when life was a fast moving blur of new things and good times, even if the drummer was now balding and there were age lines in the former-heartthrob singer's face. It would be worth every moment of the headache and wooziness tomorrow's hangover would bring, Cindy thought. Heather said in her ear that she was going for more drinks, and Cindy said "Water" mouthing the words distinctly since it was still so loud. She turned her attention back to the stage as Heather shuffled by towards the aisle.
Cindy's attention was on the stage as the band launched into what would end up being the last two songs of the night, both of which were favorites of hers. Afterwards, as she stood applauding with the crowd in hopes of an encore, it occurred to her Heather had not yet returned. She made her way through the crowd intent on finding her, heading for the nearest beverage stand.
As the band returned to the stage and began their encore, she found Heather talking to two young men next to the now closed refreshment stand. She held two large drinks in her hands, and was laughing and slurring. The young man closest to her was in her personal space, and as he spoke to her he was touching her. His hand was on her arm, her shoulder, the small of her back, as he said whatever witty things he was saying, eliciting laughs and eyelash bats from her friend. He could not have been more than 25. He wore a blue bowling shirt and had dark hair, coiffed in a way meant to look nonchalant. He was attractive. His friend was shorter and less broad-shouldered than he was, with closely cropped brown hair. If they were a super hero duo, he would be the sidekick, Cindy thought.
The whole scene struck a tone of disapproval with Cindy. A married woman being pawed at by some strange young man. Were Bob here, he would almost certainly beat the young man senseless. She tapped Heather on the shoulder, who held one of her drinks out. "I said Water" Cindy said, taking the drink anyway. "And we're missing the end of the show."
