Observation tower

Blaine and I were going to spend the afternoon at a state park exploring a few walking trails. Thunderstorms overnight and on-and-off rain all day today spoiled that. I was extremely disappointed. Maybe it's because the park we were going to is in the area where my parents grew up, and although I've been there a lot, Blaine has never seen it. I was looking forward to showing it to him. Probably, the more significant reason is I wanted to spend a good part of the day alone with him.

For a little while I didn't think we would get together until evening for dinner. He called back though and proposed we visit a different park, one where the trails are through the park rather than the steep river bluffs and where there are plenty of picnic shelters if we needed to duck out of a shower. I wasn't entirely certain he was ready to see my hair after it's been in and out of rain, but I jumped at it.

Last week when Eve and I went to the birthday party -- at this same park, in fact -- I paid for the park pass and had gone ahead and bought one good for the season. Since I have the permit, we took my car.

When I picked Blaine up, he slid into my car like he...well, like he was being crammed into a tin can, but once he found out how to put the seat back, he rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Let's see what you have on the rad-i-o," he goofed.

I blocked his hand from the buttons. "Let me explain--"

"No, no. I did not get the opportunity to explain anything. Let your choices speak for themselves."

I started the car. Blaine hit the power button. Lately all I listen to is the George Ezra albums I have downloaded to my phone, so the radio was tuned to the station I listen to on the way to work. It's a local AM station (also broadcast on FM because it is the 21 century) that provides excellent local news.

"Ah, a traditional choice," Blaine commented. He read through the other stations on that tier. "Symphony? You told me you didn't care for the symphony."

"As a rule, not a lot, but I listen when I'm stressed out."

"Hmm, OK. The '70s on 7," he wobbled his head to suggest he'd give me the benefit of the doubt.

"As you will see later--" He held up his hand to stop me from finishing my explanation.

"'80s on 8."

"High school and --" He snapped his fingers at me.

"Now this surprises me." He had reached the last two buttons -- '40s Junction and Radio Classics.

I grabbed his hand and spoke quickly. "I am a fan of Big Band music, it's true. And The Jack Benny Show is still laugh-out-loud funny all these years later. Also, the radio version of Gunsmoke blows the TV show out of the water."

I punched a button to show the second list of stored stations. "These are my primary music stations. Three fulfill my lifelong craving for England Dan and John Ford Coley." With my hand still holding his, I pointed at him with his own finger. "Don't judge." He chuckled. "Hair Nation is also for stress relief, although at a much higher decibel than the symphony channel. And Prime Country because I still love Clint Black, Randy Travis and The Judds." The next tier of favorites are primarily classic rock stations. I still like the music but have grown tired of hearing the same thing all the time.

"You can pick whatever you like." I tapped the menu button so he could scroll through the stations.

He pressed the favorites button and found his way back to the trio of soft rock stations. "Let's give this a try."

At the park we left the car outside the lodge and used the map to get us onto a trail that zig-zagged through the park, mostly sticking to the center where the points of interest included the water park, a playground, a small building where they hold concerts and melodramas in the summer, horse stables and all the various camping areas. It wasn't terribly satisfying from a scenery standpoint but it was quiet, thanks to the intermittent rain that kept almost everyone inside their campers or cabins.

Before going back to the lodge, we sidetracked toward the river. This is the same river we walked along a couple months back but this park is several miles from that one. There's an observation tower at this park that provides a really nice view of the river. I have not been to the top in more years than I can figure out. I'm not comfortable with heights but I usually ignore that. I knew that my best bet for climbing the structure was to go fast without stopping or looking anywhere but up.

I beat Blaine to the top. When he stepped onto the platform, he asked, "Are you training for something?"

"Heights," I was a bit out of breath. "Best to ignore them." He walked over and put his arm around my shoulders. We stood there in the center of the platform for a minute. I moved toward the railing. Once there, I was a little shaky but it passed quickly. Blaine stayed beside me.

"Tell me something," he said, "about this England Dan thing." I laughed a little bit. "I know the name but not the music."

"'I'd Really Love to See You Tonight'," I said. "Forever my favorite song."

"It sounds vaguely familiar."

I took a step away from the railing and pulled the cell phone out of my jeans pocket. To my surprise I had a cell signal. I opened the YouTube app and found the song. Blaine came around to see the screen, and I leaned into him. He put his arm around me while we watched a clip of them performing the song on Midnight Special.

"Oh I remember this," he said softly, listening. At the end he said, "How old were you when this was out?"

"Probably 9 or 10." I could feel his chuckle, and I smiled. "You were in high school. You probably danced to this at a homecoming," I tilted my head back and looked up at him.

He shrugged, "It's possible but I don't remember it." I tried to picture him dancing in a small school gym on a still-warm fall night. He would have had a date. I shut down the imagination quickly. He asked, "What is it about this song that you like so much?"

"Back then I thought it was the epitome of what dating and romance would be like."

"Go on."

"As I've gotten older I appreciate the lyrics. They evoke a physical place and an emotional space, and together create a perfect mood. I mean 'There's a warm wind blowing the stars around, and I'd really like to see you tonight' still gets me every time."

"Play it again." I found it on the phone, and we listened to a little more than half of it, then I tapped the pause button.

"Mica is certain he just wants to sleep with her that night and then walk away. I choose to believe he's acknowledging she doesn't feel the same things for him anymore but he misses her so much he's willing to accept a drive along the beach."

 "I like your interpretation," he said close to my ear. I like when he does that. He took the phone and restarted the song, then stepped in front of me as if we were going to dance.

I took a small step back and moved my head to say no. "I really can't dance, Blaine."

He stepped forward. "As I recall from those Homecoming dances, all you have to do is sway."

There on top of an observation tower on a deeply gray day with mist on our faces, Blaine gave me something I didn't think I'd ever experience: the epitome of romance, '70s style.