Leo met our plane at LA X and it was good to be back in the LA sunshine after the drizzly cold days we’d spent with Tobey’s family. I’d had a wonderful time getting to know his father and brothers better and the getaway had been good for both of us I knew. I for one felt as though I was back among the living, no longer bogged down by such a heavy depressive weight upon me.

Tobey, too, seemed to have fared well during our trip north. Having finally kicked the last stages of his deep cough, the color was back in his face and his eyes were clear and ocean blue as I gazed at him across the back seat of Leo’s Toyota. He caught me looking and gave me a sweet smile as he squeezed my hand.

Yeah, it was definitely good to be back.

Now we had a whirlwind day and a half ahead of us to prepare for our trip to Hawaii. As much as I was looking forward to it, I felt so mentally and emotionally exhausted that I would have been happy to crawl into bed for a few days and put everything aside for awhile. Monica, however, had different plans and whisked me off to the salon for a haircut and pedicure before I could even get my bags in the door.

* * *

Tobey

“I had Monica make that hair appointment thing so we could talk, dude,” Leo said.

“Yeah, you gotta fill me in. What went down with that hearing thing?” Tobey asked.

“You’d better sit down,” Leo told him.

* * *

Natalia

“So how was the trip, Nat?” Monica asked as her Jeep careened through traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard.

“It was really nice, Monica, I’m just a little tired,” I told her. “Those boys have so much energy.”

“Do they look like Tobey?” she asked. “They’re half-brothers right?”

“Yeah. The younger one does, Weston. He’s a dead ringer, except he’s blond,” I smiled. Weston not only had Tobey’s looks, but his sly charm and sensitivity.

“Nooo way!” she giggled.

“Well Tobey was blond when he was little,” I said. “I’ll have to show you some of his pictures. He looked like a little girl till he was about 4 or 5.”

Monica was laughing. “He still has girly lookin’ feet,” she snorted. “Speaking of, we’re getting you a pedicure today, you have to have pretty feet to go to Hawaii!”

* * *

Tobey

“WHAT?!” Tobey nearly shouted.

“I know,” Leo said calmly, consciously trying to keep his voice in a soothing tone. “It’s even worse than we thought.”

“THAT FUCKING BITCH POISONED MY MOTHER?!?”

“They owned up to it right there at the hearing, Tracy slipped her something so they could get you away from Nat – “

Tobey was on his feet, a ball of rage boiling inside of him. He lunged for the computer monitor on the desk, needing to throw something against a wall that would make a big crash.

“Woah, Tobes!” Leo was on his feet instantly, and lunged for Tobey just in time, sparing the IMac as he grabbed Tobey around the middle, pinning his arms to his sides.

“I. COULD. FUCKING. KILL. HER!” he seethed through clenched teeth, struggling against Leo’s hold on him.

“I know dude, those Simmons women are evil to the core . . . “

“GOD DAMN IT!”

“Just let it out, bro,” Leo encouraged, still holding on.

Tobey was grunting and struggling in frustration and anger, the news that Tracy Simmons had purposely poisoned his mother to give her girls the chance to drug his girlfriend slowly seeped into his enraged mind.

“WHY?!”

“I dunno man.”

“It’s not enough they drugged my girlfriend, they had to poison my mother too?!” Tobey’s voice cracked on the last word and he suddenly went limp.

Leo hung on to Tobey long enough to steer him back into the chair next to the desk.

“Fuck!” Tobey choked out, putting his face into his hands.

Leo sat across from his friend, keeping a steady hand on Tobey’s shoulder. Maybe he should have given him the good news first.

* * *

Natalia

“Monica, I don’t really want a whole makeover, just a trim is fine,” I said, pushing aside the hairstyle books she kept showing me. I couldn’t concentrate on those photos or make some sort of major decision concerning a new hairstyle right then. I was tired and my mind was so cluttered with all the things I had to accomplish in the next day and a half. I was feeling overwhelmed as it was, and here Monica wanted me to get a whole new look this afternoon.

“Nat, just look at this one –“

“NO!” I told her. “Stop stressing me out.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to stress you, hon,” Monica apologized. Then she laughed. “This is supposed to relax you!”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“OK, I’ll stop, your biggest decision today will be what color polish you want on those toes.”

I thought for a second. “Pink.”

“Just see what the stylist says, OK? Bangs are really in right now . . . “

My eyes told her to hush, and that’s when my name was called to go back and sit in the shampoo chair.

* * *

Tobey

“Man, I am so sorry,” Leo said. He squeezed Tobey’s shoulder, as if he could infuse some strength into his friend by doing so. “I can’t imagine what all this has been like for you.”

Tobey lifted his face from his hands, soaked in tears, sweat – Leo wasn’t completely sure. He shoved a ball of tissues towards his friend only to have his had pushed away in refusal.

“C’mon, Tobes . . . “

Tobey stood up abruptly and Leo followed.

“Come here.” Leo wrapped his arms around his friend in a giant bear hug and held on. It took a moment, but he felt some of the tension drain from Tobey as he returned the embrace. Leo hugged him tighter. “I know you can get through this, bro,” he said quietly. “I’ll do anything I can to help. OK?”

Tobey nodded into Leo’s shoulder, for once welcoming having that shoulder to lean on. He’d spent the last week putting everything he had into giving Natty all the TLC she needed. He’d been the strong one, the pillar of strength. He was glad to do it – wanted and needed to do it – but he now realized, a little TLC on his behalf wasn’t such a bad thing.

Leo rubbed Tobey’s back as the two broke their embrace. “Are you ready for the good news?” he asked.

* * *

Natalia

“We could do just some long, face-framing layers right in here,” the hair-stylist was saying.

I sat looking at my reflection in the mirror as Nicole – the stylist – was showing me where she would cut the layers. I realized I looked like I could use a makeover. I wondered what could be done about the dark circles under my eyes . . .

“OK,” I said, “that sounds nice.”

“Yay!” Monica cheered quietly, sitting beside me to oversee my transformation. “And maybe some highlights,” she hinted.

“Monica, that’s all going to be really expensive,” I was saying, “I can’t –“

“Pfft, it’s on Leo, his treat,” she winked. “I think some nice caramel highlights right in here –“

Nicole was agreeing with her.

“Leo?" I asked. “Monica – what’s up with Leo, exactly?”

She smiled, “You know, he’s just a nice guy. He wanted me to treat you to a girls’ day out, help you enjoy yourself for once,” she said, nudging my knee. But I saw the gleam in her eye.

“Monica, are you and Leo . . . “ I raised an eyebrow, causing her to blush and look away from me. “Monica Marie Shreiber!”

She was giggling. Monica was still giggling!

“So – so how is he?” I asked, my mouth agape in shock and adoration. My best friend was hooking up with Leonardo Di Caprio!

* * *

Tobey

“There’s something good in all of this?” Tobey grumbled, swiping the heel of his hand across his cheek.

“Sit back down, bro,” Leo suggested. “I haven’t even told you the half of it.”

“You were supposed to call me,” Tobey grumbled as he sat, “and let me know how things went.”

“I didn’t think you needed to deal with all this while you were with the kids, man,” Leo apologized. “You deserved a break from this shit, and I wasn’t about to ruin it for you. Did you have a nice time? How are the boys?”

“Yes, they’re great, now will you just tell me – “

“OK, OK,” Leo cleared his throat. “Well, the three witches of Eastwick showed up late, for one thing – twenty minutes late for a court hearing does not make the guilty party look good, you know.”

“It takes a long time to apply the layers of war paint,” Tobey quipped.

“Right, yeah, the makeup that team must go through – bluerrgghhh!” Leo shook his head as if to clear it of a nasty image. “Anyway, so the judge was pissed at them anyway. Then the evidence that they had on these girls was just – unbelievable, Tobes. That tape Monica made basically sold them down the river, they couldn’t deny a shred of the evidence at all. And then while Tracy Simmons was preaching at the entire court what fine upstanding citizens her bitch daughters are, she let slip that she’d rushed your mom to the emergency room that night with Salmonella poisoning from some fish Wendy had eaten.”

“I thought it was eggs,” Tobey interrupted, cringing. He hated eggs.

“Well that’s when they stopped and asked her how she knew it was from the fish,” Leo said. “ Your mom had said she assumed it was from an omelet she’d had at brunch. Tracy tried to brush it off and that’s when they brought out that she’d picked up an interesting package at the post office the day before. Something she had to sign for.”

“Which was?”

“Which was from some laboratory in New Mexico,” Leo stated triumphantly.

“What?”

“They traced it, man. She called this lab posing as some bigwig at UCLA and got them to send her this crap – “

“Salmonella?”

“Yep. They called the lab in New Mex and confirmed. 'Doctor' Tracy Simmons had requested that three vials of salmonella, as well as some Rohypnol and MDMA, to be shipped overnight express to be held at the LA postal office. She used someone else’s phony credentials to get the stuff.”

“What the fuck?”

“Well, they had her signature and everything right there, she couldn’t deny it or write it off to save her life, man,” Leo was gloating.

“Doctor, my ass,” Tobey grumbled. “The only thing that woman has a degree in is Bitchology.”

“Dude, wait. She like freaked out right there in the courtroom and it all came right out. She sent your Mom to the hospital that night and called you up right away. As soon as she got off the phone with you, she was on the phone with Courtney telling her how much Rohypnol and MDMA to put in Nat’s drink. She stood there and sold herself and her two little darlings right down the river,” Leo paused. “The sentencing is in four weeks. They posted bail so they aren’t being held, but there are orders of protection on them for you, Wendy and Natalia.”

“There’s not going to be a trial?” Tobey asked.

“They tried and hung themselves, dude, it’s over.”

Tobey looked at Leo incredulously. This couldn’t be real. This was too good to be real.

“That Tracy bitch isn’t just evil, she’s incredibly dumb,” Leo stated firmly.

“No trial?” Tobey asked again, unsure he understood. “It’s over?”

“We’re done, man. The sentencing is set for the twenty-fifth.”

It had suddenly all sunk in for Tobey. Natalia was not going to have to go to court, they would not have to face the torrents of publicity that would surround such a trial, the people who had done this were going to pay . . .

Tobey jumped out of his chair, upsetting it, as he let out a whoop of joy and began pounding Leo on the back.

“This is so fucking awesome!” he shouted at his friend. “Natty’s not going to have to go to court! WOOOO!”

Leo tried to settle his friend as Tobey jumped around the room.

“TOBIAS!” he shouted.

“What?” Tobey asked, stopping his one-man celebration.

“There’s just one other thing,” Leo said calmly.

“Oh no – "

“No, no, it’s nothing new. It’s just something to consider.”

“Such as?”

“Well, there’s still the matter of this Derek jerk.”

Tobey’s face immediately darkened at the name.

“Nat can still press charges of sexual assault against him, Tobey,” Leo said. “It’s up to her.”

* * *

Natalia

“I never agreed to a bikini wax, Monica!”

“Well you can’t hardly go off to Hawaii without one,” she said, draping her arm around me as we were taken into another room at the salon.

“Monica, I don’t – “

“You do now,” she said to me. “Eyebrows and bikini,” she told the beautician.

I was handed a silk robe and the beautician showed me the changing room around the corner.

“Monica – “

“Excuse us,” Monica smiled graciously, “while we discuss the options.”

That was when a nice card of illustrations was placed in my hands of the different, errr – styles I could choose from.

“Oh, my gosh,” I mumbled. I never would have dreamed of the things people do with that ummm, region.

“This one,” Monica said, pointing to the one labeled The Sphinx. The completely hairless – option.

“All of it?” I whispered. “No way!”

“Take my word for it,” Monica whispered back. “Do the words increased sensitivity mean anything to you?”

I stared at her incredulously. This was beyond anything I had ever considered for ummm, myself.

“Trust me, Nat. It’s so freeing,” she said.

I gasped. “You did this? Eww!”

“It was Leo’s idea,” she explained. “Apparently, it’s the norm with these Hollywood types. You poor thing, Tobey must have been too shy to ever clue you in.”

“Monica!” My eyes felt like would pop right out of my head.

“If it seems too drastic, you could go with this one,” she said pointing to The Brazilian. “It’s really popular. They leave just a little patch in front but clean all the rest up."

My face felt like it was on fire.

“Believe me, he’ll be so into this Nat.” She took me by the hand and led me to the chair and pointed out the ‘style’ to the beautician. “Do you want me to leave?” she asked me.

“Oh no way,” I said, “you can stay and witness my pain!”

With that I flounced off to the changing room. Stepping out of my yoga pants and panties I slipped the silk robe on over my top and tied it at the waist, glancing at my reflection in the mirror. The haircut had turned out really nice and the caramel colored highlights really did brighten my face. It was true I had let myself go during the last month. I mean, let’s face it – two weeks ago it had been a major chore for me to just crawl in the shower and wash my hair. I studied the dark circles under my eyes and wondered if I should ask for a facial while I was here.

* * *

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into that,” I wailed at Monica, carefully getting off the table I had to lie on while being plucked like a chicken. “That fucking hurt!” I pouted.

“That’s why I told you to wear yoga pants, hon,” she said. “I made the mistake of wearing jeans – not smart.”

I just shot her a disgusted look as I made my way to the changing room.

“Nat,” she said, lowering her voice. “Skip the panties,” she whispered. “Trust me, elastic is not your friend right now.”

* * *

When we finally left the torture chamber – I mean salon – I have to admit I was feeling a bit like a new girl. I had silky, bouncy, flowing, highlighted hair, French manicured nails, fresh dewy skin – and a nearly bald you-know-what.

“We need a celebratory frozen mocha,” Monica said, climbing into the Jeep.

“I can’t go anywhere,” I said. “I have to go home.”

“Why?”

“Monica, my panties are in my purse!”

“Do you really think that’s a novel thing in Hollywood, Nat?” she laughed. “Come on, we’ll stop off at the Coffee Bean by Leo’s house, there’s something in the neighborhood I want to show you.”

* * *

Tobey

“Mom, how are you?”

“Hi sweetie!” Wendy’s voice was a welcome sound on the other end of the line. “Are you back from your dad’s?”

“We got back this morning,” Tobey said,” yeah it was good, we had a nice time. Mom – how are you? I just got all the news from Leo, I can’t believe . . .”

“High drama, isn’t it?” Wendy said. “Honey, I am so sorry I ever got you and Natalia mixed up with – “

“Mom, it’s not your fault, no one blames you,” Tobey told her. “I just really needed to hear your voice after hearing what she’d done to you. I – “

“I’m fine, honey,” Wendy reassured him. “I’m staying with your Aunt Beth for New Year’s, and we’re – “

“You’re here? You’re near LA?” Tobey had dialed his mother’s cell phone, not knowing if she was still in Vancouver or had gone back to her home in San Diego.

“Well, Orange County . . . “ Wendy corrected.

“Can you come for dinner?” Tobey asked. “Nat and I leave tomorrow night for Hawaii, it would be nice to see you before we go.”

“Well, I could, Tobey, but wouldn’t you and Natalia like to have a quiet evening alone after being with the boys and your dad all week?”

“We’re going to have twelve days to ourselves in Hawaii, Mom,” Tobey said. “We already invited Leo and Monica for dinner. Please say you’ll join us.”

“Are Leo and Monica dating?” Wendy asked. “They seem to be quite cozy these days.”

Tobey laughed. “Come for dinner and you can ask them yourselves.”

* * *

Natalia

“I need to tell you about the hearing the other day,” Monica said as she joined me at the table in the corner.

Something inside me froze. Hearing. Right. That had taken place while Tobey and I were in Oregon. I suddenly felt unprepared to deal with the landslide of emotions this was sure to stir up.

“No,” I shook my head, “I don’t want to talk about – “

“Nat,” Monica’s hand was on mine. “Honey, it’s OK, I know this is hard, but you have to know what went down. It’s quite shocking, but overall things are good.”

My heart was racing as I glanced at her face.

“Just listen, OK? That’s all you have to do.”

* * *

Tobey

The guys decided to make a quick run to Ralph’s supermarket to pick up food for dinner that night. The girls had been out all afternoon, so Leo and Tobey decided to prepare dinner for them when they returned. Tobey hit the produce department, Puma cap pulled low, and began filling the cart with salad makings, tofu, veggies for stir fry, and fruit for breakfast the next day. He’d whip up a stir-fry and salad for dinner and Leo could bake some brownies for dessert. The ladies would all be impressed, he hoped, as he selected a deep green broccoli bunch and three zucchinis.

Leo wheeled his cart precariously through the busy cereal aisle as he made his way back to the seafood counter. He selected scallops and shrimp and figured he could cook it all on the barbecue outside so Tobey wouldn’t complain too much about the smell of non-vegetarian food cooking in his kitchen. Wheeling past a display of paper towels, Leo ducked into the baby food aisle when he noticed two young girls coming his way. He began tossing jars of stained squash into his cart as the girls went past him, hoping that would throw them off. It worked. Except that he now had 24 jars of strained squash in his cart. He made his way to the baking aisle to find the brownie mix.

* * *

Natalia

“She purposely poisoned Wendy?” I asked, shocked beyond belief. “How could she do that? Wendy’s been her friend forever!”

“I told you, hon – shocking stuff,” Monica said. “But I’m so happy you won’t have to face a trial with those three evil women. ERGH! I could just wring their necks!”

I was so shocked. The past month of my life had been sheer agony because of three evil people and their greedy need for power, attention and fame. Their target had been Tobey, their victims his mother and I. I sighed, trying to take it all in. It still seemed so surreal somehow.

Monica leaned across the table and embraced me. “Just try to let it go, Nat,” she told me. “It’s over, you never have to see those three again. Just focus on getting yourself healed, OK, honey?”

I nodded, a few tears brimming. A huge desire to see Tobey and Wendy was growing inside of me. I just needed to see them and hug them. I wondered if Wendy was even in town, and planned to ask Tobey to call her when we got back home.

As Monica and I left The Coffee Bean, she told me we had to take a little drive into the hills. There was something near Leo’s house she wanted me to see.

* * *

“That one?” I asked, looking at what could accurately be described as a concrete fortress.

We were in Leo’s neighborhood, about two blocks away from his house, and Monica was showing me a house on a corner that she claimed was for sale.

“It’s been on the market since late last summer,” she told me. “But you know, the economy is going in the toilet. They just lowered the price, according to Leo. He says Tobey looked at it back in the fall. What do you think?”

“I think it’s ugly,” I said. “Who wants a cement house?”

“The actual house is back in there, Nat, you can’t see it from the street. See, it’s all nice and secure,” she turned the corner. “See from here you can see part of the back. Look at all those windows. I bet it has a spectacular view.”

“How much do you think a house like this costs?” I wondered.

“Millions,” Monica said. “Leo says it has an awesome pool, too.”

I continued to take it in, wondering what – if any – possibilities this house could possibly have for Tobey.

“Let’s go home,” I said quietly, anxious to see him now.

* * *

Tobey

“Dude, I should make a cake,” Leo said, “forget the brownies! You guys are gonna be away for Nat’s birthday, I’ll make her a cake!”

Tobey was weary. After ten whole minutes debating the virtues of Betty Crocker versus Duncan Hines brownie mixes, Leo could not come to a decision. Now he was off on a different tangent altogether and Tobey fully knew this could literally take up the rest of the day. He surveyed the shelf in front of him, taking in not only the brands of boxed cake mixes, but also the 150 various flavors. There was no way Leo could handle deciding on just one of those.

“Does Nat like chocolate or vanilla?” Leo asked.

Oh, if only it were that simple. Tobey knew better.

“Why don’t we pick up some dessert at the bakery?” he suggested, trying to steer his friend towards the checkout lanes in the front of the store.

“No, seriously, man, I wanna make her a cake,” Leo was saying. “I think she’d be impressed.”

“Why are you trying to impress my girlfriend?” Tobey mumbled, not actually thinking anything of it. He really just wanted to get out of the supermarket and go home.

“It’s her birthday,” Leo said simply. “What exactly is yellow cake?”

Tobey’s face brightened suddenly. Stepping into actor mode, he brightly proclaimed it to be Natalia’s absolute favorite cake and that it was definitely the one Leo should make.

“Now let’s go.”