Keith suggested camping. There was one big tent. He seemed keen to make sure Joanne was going, and Joanne seemed to be making sure I was going. It looked like all four of us guys and her were in, but by the time Saturday came, it was down to just Keith, Joanne and myself. I tried to back out but Joanne wouldn’t let me. I was curious about why. I was trying to gauge Keith on this, but I couldn’t read anything.
I was staying in a cabin outside a small town with four student friends. We were looking for summer work. Joanne, the one girl, was from Quebec. The way she talked so openly about private things made the rest of us embarrassed and she would laugh at us for it. She was so free, and years ahead of us in ways.
She wore long brown hair that hung around her shoulders like a shining curtain or a cape. She couldn’t talk without it sounding like breathy porn and she couldn’t smile without it looking like everything had a hidden sexual meaning.