LOST & FOUND IN TINSELTOWN PT 2

(a Nic & Jolie story)

by Deb Mac

SYNOPSIS: Jolie continues work on her covers album with Sammy. Nic tries to vacation and make peace with her
past. Trouble follows.

DISCLAIMER: Based on my screenplay, A Fine Line, chapter 15b of the story series, How Do We Do This? This one
got a little long. Figured it made better sense to break it up. Soft Place To Land by Kristen Hall / Mary Gauthier.

RATED R for language and sexual situations.

TIMELINE: Beginning of September. Two years deep.

PREVIOUSLY... “A Fine Line”: https://www.scribd.com/document/393292331/A-FINE-LINE

“How Do We Do This”: https://www.scribd.com/document/423571601/How-Do-We-Do-This
“The Ride”: https://www.scribd.com/document/423571714/The-Ride
“A Perfectly Imperfect Union”: https://www.scribd.com/document/423571821/A-Perfectly-Imperfect-Union
“The Sitdown”: https://www.scribd.com/document/423571916/The-Sitdown
“Tomorrows”: https://www.scribd.com/document/423571999/Tomorrows
“Fast Changes”: https://www.scribd.com/document/423572087/Fast-Changes
“Crossroads”: https://www.scribd.com/document/423572161/Crossroads
“Scarred-Over”: https://www.scribd.com/document/425741278/Scarred-Over
“Harry's Day: https://www.scribd.com/document/443329509/Harry-s-Day
“The Kiss”: https://www.scribd.com/document/443329578/The-Kiss
“Paper”: https://www.scribd.com/document/456420523/Paper
“Family”: https://www.scribd.com/document/472044819/Family
“Letting Go”: https://www.scribd.com/document/497253973/Letting-Go
“Old Voices, New Ears”: https://www.scribd.com/document/550508612/Old-Voices-New-Ears
“Lost & Flound In Tinseltown Pt 1”: https://www.scribd.com/document/644838631/Lost-Found-in-Tinseltown-Pt-1

~~~
On Tuesday evening of their second week in LA, Nic took the opportunity to go out to dinner with
Carly as her father requested. Sammy and Jolie had once again gotten stuck in the studio a little late.
Since they didn't have the luxury of adding days to the schedule, they ended up working longer hours
than he had planned for nearly every day.

They walked from Chelsea over to a nearby bistro that Carly and Sammy liked.

“I've never been here before,” Nic said.

“I think it's kind of new. We get coffees in the morning sometimes. The lunches are great. Haven't
tried dinner yet.”

“It it French?”

“Kind of international, really. I think the owner is from Lebanon.”

“Oh, cool.”

They snagged a table out on the patio which faced the street. The weather was perfect for it and the
low light atmosphere was very relaxing.

“It's really nice of you to make time to do this with me. I'm sure you have much more important stuff
going on,” Nic said.

“Why would you think that? I've actually been looking forward to getting to know you better. I hope
your dad and I aren't butting in on your vacation.”

“Nah, I'm mostly just trying to enjoy having a little time to be lazy. It's always so busy at home.”

“Kids are a lot of work.”

“Yeah, I have some sympathy for my parents now,” Nic laughed.

“How's your mom?” Carly asked. She'd wondered if Nic stayed in touch with Marion after she
appeared in Jersey and forced a meeting.

“I think she's OK. We've talked a couple of times. It's still awkward. We don't really know each other
anymore. She missed a huge chunk of my life and I was oblivious to what was going on in hers even
before she left. But we're trying.”

“Well, takes time.”

Nic nodded. “Sorry you got caught up in her shenanigans back there. That must've been pretty strange
for you.”

“It was. Sammy told me what happened with them so it never occurred to me that I'd be meeting her
after all those years.”
“Yeah, I don't know what that says about your luck.”

“I think it was a good thing. It shocked Sammy into talking about things he may have kept bottled up,
and I think that helped him. Maybe it also helped me understand you guys a little better.”

“He does seem... lighter, or something. I'm not sure how to describe it.”

“Lighter sounds right, like a weight was lifted off him.”

Nic felt that in her gut. “I really hope that's true. He deserves to be happy again... I blamed him for all
of it, ya know? I hurt him repeatedly, and that's before Jolie. Spent years punishing him for what
Marion did. After a while, he disppeared on me too, into himself, his work, his women. So I just quit
on everything. I was too angry to absorb his pain. I can see now that neither of us could handle how
broken we were after we lost her.”

“Felt like a death.”

“Except she chose it. And I can't watch him go through something like that again, you know? I still
feel responsible for the last time he got burned, because Jolie chose me.”

“Nic, I get that his history with women is complicated, but I promise you I'm a grown-up, and I don't
play games,” Carly said very seriously. “I think the main reason we hit it off in the first place is that
we're both straight shooters. We say what we mean and we mean what we say.”

“You really care about him? He told me he cares about you.”

“Honey, we're crazy about each other. We work well together and we play even better.” Carly gave her
a cheeky grin.

Nic returned her smile. “I'm glad. I am. I'm not trying to put any kind of weird pressure on you. I just
really want this happy, relaxed guy that I've missed for so long to stick around for a while.”

“He's a good man. He takes his work to heart. That's why he tends to get close to the artists he works
with. It's why he's great at what he does.”

“You know, I really appreciate hearing that. I want a chance to know this guy that everyone loves so
much. I wanna be his daughter again. I want him to see the person I am now.”

Carly felt her eyes go damp. “That's what he wants too, sweetie.”

She took hold of Nic's hand long enough for some creepy dude who was walking by to notice. They
didn't see him take out his phone to record them.

Carly had Nic's eye as she said, “He has a lot of regret about letting his relationship with you go
sideways. But I can tell you that he's really proud of your sobriety and he's glad to see you happy too.”

“He talks about me?”

“All the time.”

“That must get boring.”

“It's what us old folks do, darlin'. We talk about our kids, and our ailments.” Carly let go of her hand
and patted it once.

Nic smiled when really, she almost wanted to cry. Her feelings had softened more toward her dad than
she ever imagined they could, though jagged edges of resentment and sharp turns of uncertainty
remained.

“It was so tough on him when Jolie and I got together,” she acknowledged. “I didn't think he'd ever
forgive me. How many men lose the woman they're seeing to their daughter?”

“Oh, I'm sure that happens every day,” Carly teased gently.

“Sure, it's ridiculously common by now,” Nic reciprocated with a little grin. “I don't know. He's never
actually said that he forgives me, but he seems to have made peace with reality.”

“That's the thing about reality. It doesn't give you much of a choice. Do you forgive him?”

“I think I mostly do, yeah.”

“Have you told him?”

“Not in so many words. But it feels like we've let a lot of stuff go. The last few months were already
infinitely better than the last few years.”

“You keep working at it, things'll keep improving. But those words? I think you both still need to say
them out loud to each other. Just my opinion.”

Nic smiled. “I totally get what he sees in you. Well, besides the fact that you're gorgeous, obviously.”

***

Later, when the ladies left the restaurant together to walk just up the street to Chelsea, neither of them
noticed that the creepy dude who had glared at their contact was still watching them from across the
street, now flanked by two other creepy looking dudes. His phone was still out, still recording. They
had recognized Carly and drawn some mistaken conslusions.

As Carly and Nic headed toward the studio, two of he guys followed them while Creep #1 passed them,
turned and walked backward as he said, “Hey, aren't you Carly Culver?”

She nodded dubiously. Of course they all honed in on her, being the petite one of the pair. He stopped
and the other two guys pulled up the rear to steer them into the side parking lot of a closed shop.

Nic's back immediately went up. She looked around for avenues of escape, but they were surrounded,
and now out of sight of most passersby. “What is this?” she asked them. “What are you doing?”

“I didn't know you were a big ol' carpet-muncher,” the head creep droned at Carly, ignoring Nic. “Bet
your fans are in the dark on that, huh? But I got video of you holdin' hands with your girlfriend here.
Is that what y'all do? The big country stars? You leave Nashville and come out here to Hollyweird to
get your freak on?”

Nic stepped between the guy and Carly. She matched his height and looked him right in the eye,
refusing to cower. “Hey, you better back up off of her right now.”

“Or what, you skanky dyke bitch?”

“Nic, don't!” Carly said with alarm.

“Yeah, Nic, don't,” the guy repeated mockingly.

She maintained her steely gaze and said, “In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not four foot nine and ninety
pounds soaking wet like she is. And I'm not afraid of you.”

“Is that right?”

“Look, I'm tellin' you, you better knock off the shit and let us pass.” No one moved for a minute.
“Don't start none, won't be none,” Nic warned one last time.

“Oh, you think you're tough, huh?” Creep #2, who was bigger than her, said from behind. He pressed
into her and grabbed her ass.

“Get the fuck off me!” she snapped. She stomped the top of his foot as hard as she could, shifted and
quickly elbowed him in the face. He crumpled to the ground. She was sure she'd broken his nose.

Carly's face registered only shock. She pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed 911.

Passersby out on the sidewalk along Santa Monica Blvd were starting to spot them now and a small
bunch of them bottled up there at the entrance to the lot. Phone cameras had come out by the time the
other two closed in.

“911, what's your emergency?”

Creep #1 backhanded Nic hard, splitting her right cheek open and tried to grab her shirt. Too fast for
him to react, she took a step back, blocked his hands and kicked him in the balls. When he went to
clutch them, she clocked him across the jaw, sending him staggering sideways till he droppeed to his
knees.

“We're being assaulted. Three men. Alley off Santa Monica Boulevard. I don't know the address.”
Carly replied. “The-there's a crowd gathered.”

Creep #3 was acually dumb enough to come at Nic from her right. Remembering what she'd learned as
a kid, she used her longest weapon, a sidekick, against his nearest target, the kneecap. She heard a snap
and he collapsed in a heap.

She whispered to herself, “Jeet Kune Do, motherfucker.”

A few hoots and whistles came from the gathered crowd.

Nic went to Carly's side, finding her agape, stunned by what she'd seen. “You alright?”

“Me? What about you? You're bleeding. You OK?”

“Hell yeah.” She gave Carly a quick smile and fist bump.

“Where'd you learn to do that?”

As the creeps sat writhing in pain on the cracked asphalt of the parking lot, Nic heard a siren. “Tell ya
later,” she said as the police car approached. She delibrately relaxed her posture and put her open
hands out to the sides. She noted all the witnesses and cameras. There would be video of this
everywhere. But that was probably a good thing.

The cops parked and exited the car.

“Evening Miss. What's going on here?”

While she described what had happened, one of the two cops called an ambulance for the battered
thugs. Afterward, he went to speak to the onlookers who remained gawking with their phones out.

“Anyone get what happened on camera?” he asked them.

Several people volunteered that they did.

The creep with the broken leg went to the hospital. After being treated on the scene, the other two went
to jail. Nic and Carly were escorted to the police station to give their statements.

***
Nic feared that her father would be angry over having to retrieve her from the police station, not by any
stretch for the first time. When she saw his face it was clear that he was absolutely livid. But not with
her. Instead his own expression crumbled momentarily when he saw her injury. And her fear. He
touched her face, then rested his hand on her shoulder as he listened to Carly's account of what their
assailants did to his daughter, and might've done to her too. If Nic hadn't stopped them.

“I wish you'd seen her. She was cool as a cucumber. Stepped in front of those assholes to protect me.
It's their fault they got hurt. They never should've put hands on her,” she concluded.

“They'd better keep those animals away from me,” Sammy declared.

Nic thought maybe he was overcompensating a little for not having been around to keep her from
getting assaulted for the second time in her life. He embraced her and she folded gratefully into his
arms, as he held her protectively. She rested her face against his shoulder and she felt 14 again. Before
things got convoluted.

“You sure you're OK?” he asked.

“Just a little cut.”

Jolie entered a bit later, having followed them to the police station in her rental car so she could take
Nic back to Chelsea to pick up hers. When she approached them, she had no idea what to say. She
embraced her wife with tears stinging her eyes. She was so shocked that Nic got hurt, so rocked by the
violence of it all, it just wasn't computing. She was glad to hear that Nic put her attackers out of
commision for a while. But what the hell? What was with Nic and all the hitting?

From the video of the incident, it was clear to the police that Nic and Carly were stalked and
confronted, and that Nic was attacked and defended them. She was released with no charges.

When they all left to walk to their cars, Sammy kept a protective arm around his daughter's shoulders.
When they got there, he faced her seriously. “What you did was really brave and really crazy. I'm
grateful as hell that you were able to handle the situation. Please do not ever do it again.” He kissed
her on the top of her head.

“I still don't quite understand what happened. But you?” Carly hugged her. “Damn, girl. So
impressive.”

***
Having been quiet at the station, Jolie was tender with her heroic, injured wife back at the house. But
still rattled at the brutality.

“I'm sorry you had to pick me up at a police station again,” Nic said. “I keep my nose clean for two
years, come back here, and the shit hits the fan.”

In a rare occurance, Jolie simply had not known what to say to any of it. She just touched the battered
face of her beloved gently. Finally, she whispered, “I hate that they did this to you. It terrifies me. Just
like seeing Harry in the hospital after the bean ball.”

“I'm ok. It's just a little cut,” Nic repeated what she'd told her father.

“You'll probably have a bruise tomorrow.”

“It's nothing.”

“It's not nothing. Nic, you got in a fight with three men. It could've gone so wrong. Should I be
worried about this temper of yours?”

“This wasn't about my temper. You saw the video. They attacked us. What choice did I have? I
wasn't trying to hurt anybody! I just fought them off.”

“Sure. I hear that.” In her discomfort, she tried to joke it off. “Just hope you never get that mad at
me.”

It landed with Nic as dismissive. “Why would you say that? I would never raise a hand to you. And I
wasn't in some blind rage. It was CFB that I had to do something. Who knows what might've
happened to Carly if I hadn't?”
“I'm sorry. This is all just really new to me and I don't know how to handle it.”

“There's nothing for you to handle, OK? What's done is done. It's like at LSU. The only reason I
wasn't actually raped is I woke up from a blackout just in time to fight off my attacker. At least this
time I was sober so I didn't take out a building.”

Disarmed, Jolie nodded. “Sammy said he's gonna have Carly engage her normal security detail. He's
afraid she'll have a target on her back with the crazies once word gets around about this.”

“We might too. You think maybe you should get the guys you use on the road to come out here?”

“Nah, what are those punks gonna do from jail?”

“What if they don't stay in jail? What if they have friends?” Nic suggested.

“Are you really worried?”

“Not especially.”

“If you want someone to roll with you, I'll get someone.”

“No-no, I' don't need a babysitter. It'll blow over, eventually. God, I swear I don't go out looking to
cause trouble.”

“Oh, I don't care about trouble, I just wish I didn't feel so helpless, like I can't protect my own. It's so
weird because that's what the psychic pegged me for in Ashville.”

“Pegged you?”

“Yeah, remember how she called that out as my biggest fear? She said I can't control it, like she was
telling me that's not my job. Starting to look like it's yours, and that scares me even more. Seeing you
hurt, it's... I can't.” She shook her head.

“Jolie...” Everything Nic thought to say sounded dumb, so she just let it hang.

“You don't need to be a tough guy for me, OK? I don't wanna see you getting in the way of anybody's
fists again for a while. Please?”

“I'll do my best to steer clear, promise.”

“Cool,” Jolie let out a tired sigh. “I guess I should just be grateful for those damn kickboxing lessons,
huh?”

Nic only smiled, wishing they could drop the subject. “I saw a ton of phone cameras out.”

“So?”

“Your name's gonna come up. Might get ugly.”

“Don't care.”

“Really?”

“Baby, you got gay-bashed, for God's sake. All I care about is that you're OK. And I will conceed that
I really don't care that those assholes are not. Or what anyone has to say about any of it.” She moved
into Nic's space and pulled her in by her hips. “As scary as all of this is, I gotta admit, it's really sexy
that you're a total fucking badass. But I do hope this is the last time you have to bust out those fists.”

“Feet. It was mostly feet this time. Best tools for the job.”

“You're just...”

“A giant pain in the ass? More trouble than I'm worth?”

“Nope.” Jolie kissed her sweetly. “You're my champion.”

***

The very next day, TMZ obtained multiple angles of video from the parking lot incident. When they
went to the web with the story, the emphasis was on Carly Culver being attacked by stalker-fans and
and a mystery woman bailing her out. The police had issued no statement at that point.

By the time their daily TV show aired that evening, they had identified Nic Vickery as Carly's
protector. They confirmed that Jolie Vickery was recording with Sammy Lightner at Chelsea, and that
Carly and Sammy were dating. And then everything got crazy when the attorney for the creep who had
recorded Carly and Nic together at the restaurant “holding hands” gave them the footage he had shot
and told his side of the story. TMZ then speculated, disgustingly, that Nic was “going after another of
Sammy's girlfriends”.

All of their phones began to ring with reporters asking intrusive questions. The ladies gave no
comment. Sammy blasted every one of them, but also basically said nothing.

Over the next couple of days, it became a thing, the accusation about Nic and Carly. Paprazzi began to
stalk them. Jolie received concerned calls from home and reassured them that it was all garbage and it
would go away if they ignored it.

But it wasn't going away. TMZ interviewed the head creep in jail and gave the nutjob a platform from
which to spew his filth. He also claimed that he just wanted to talk to Carly, get her autograph, but
instead Nic jumped in and picked a fight with him. A bald-faced lie, of course. But it said a lot that he
thought that gave him and his crew an excuse to assault the women.

The Nashville press also put him at the center of the controversy and things began to get very
uncomfortable for Carly. That rattled Sammy.

Jolie insisted that they just carry on with their work and pay it no attention, but he wasn't having it. He
was starting to believe that they needed to make a joint statement. But no one agreed with him on that.
Nic, of course, wanted nothing to do with the press. And Jolie only wanted to protect her, so she felt
like they should all keep their mouths shut.

***
The video had repurcussions back home too. Theta and Freddy were very worried, even after he called
Jolie and she explained everything. She tried to put them at ease, but the reality of the situation just
made them seethe at the garbage that was being spewed about their family.

Harry was just embarrassed at first, but then Blake made him see how cool it was that Nic fought three
guys and beat them when he made a badass edit of a bunch of different angles from all of the videos
that people had posted online, and adding Enter The Dragon sound effects and music. It certainly
turned Harry's frown upside down.

Kenny and Carol were confused at first, until they saw the actual video of the incident. Afterward,
Kenny called his assistant. “I want ballons and a Way To Go cake on her desk when she gets back to
work.”

“This is so dumb,” Harry told Alice. “Those people are crazy. Carly's really into Sammy. And I know
Nic loves my mom, like more than anything. She would never do what they're saying.”

Alice hugged him, proud of his faith in his family. “It just feels like they're trying to distract from the
fact that she kicked the shit out of some bigots who tried to hurt her. But that is the real story.”

“Damn right it is. You know what?” Harry pulled his phone out of his pocket. “We should take Blake's
edit of the video and make that shit go viral.”

She sat on his bed nearby and took out her own phone. “I like the way you think.”

He got Beast, Dan, Blake and all of his other friends to spread the video all over their various social
media platforms. Pretty soon, all the kids were talking about it. At least to that demo, especially the
girls and the queer kids, Nic was fast becoming a bit of a shero. Unbeknownst to her.

***

The heat stayed on. It was renewed after TMZ reported that the thugs were indicted on charges of
stalking, menacing, assault, and bias assault. They had been unable to post bond, so they all remained
in jail.

They also reported that on that very day a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to bail them out began.
Nic got word from the LAPD that they had asked a judge to make GoFundMe take it down, but it
remained and it was growing.

Sammy was deeply disurbed by the idea that those “animals” would be free very quickly. There was
nothing he could do about that. And it bothered him that the women in his life continued to refuse to
have a bodyguard as well. But again, he couldn't force them.

He was also disgusted by the continuing escalation of the gossip about all of it. He felt increasing
pressure to put an end to that. He felt the only correct way to approach it was for the decision to be
made by his daughter. He bypassed Jolie to appeal directly to her.
“I don't care what they say about me,” he plead with her over the phone. “But this is really dangerous
for Carly, with that conservative country fanbase coming at her. It could wreck her career. She doesn't
deserve that. And I can't watch her suffer because of us.”

“Because of me, you mean.”

When he didn't correct her, she broke. “Dad, I didn't do anything wrong. You know that all of this is
total bullshit. Right?” He didn't respond quickly enough for her. “Dammit Sammy, come on! You
know I didn't make a move on Carly! What the fuck? Why are you letting these ridiculous lies get
under your skin?”

“I hate this. I hate all of it. But 'no comment' is not getting us anywhere.”

“Enough of my life is already public. I can't believe you wanna drag me out into the spotlight over
this. I don't owe anybody anything.”

“I wish I could just brush it off, but I can't. If we don't figure out how to shut it down, Carly's going to
leave, go back to Nashville. Her publicist is adamant that she should go back there and deal with it,
head on. Right now. She shouldn't have to face this alone.”

“What is it that you think we can do to shut it down?”

“I think we should all sit down together with someone we trust, clear everything up.”

“Who do you trust in the entertainment press? They're a bunch of jackyls.”

“The morning show people are fairly sane and reasonable in my experience. Like your friend Gayle
King.”

“I guess.”

“Please think about it, talk to Jolie. We've got to do something.”

“Wish Mark was still out here so he could film something and we could release it.”

***

As luck would have it, Anderson Cooper's people reached out to Nic and Jolie. He was very interested
in the story and wanted to know if they'd come on his show to talk about it. They discussed the
prospect and decided to go for it. Nic really didn't want Carly to leave. That notion was giving her
flashbacks to a pissed off, mopey-ass Sammy she didn't want to see again anytime soon. Plus
Anderson was gay, so she thought that should make him somewhat sympathetic. When she called
Sammy to ask what he thought of that idea, he was very relieved. And Carly knew Anderson well and
was comfortable with him.

They set it up and CNN sent a crew to shoot their satellite segment the next day at Sammy's house.
Cooper's intent was to run a compilation of the spectators' video clips and let Carly and Nic basically
narrate them.
He made a quick statement, and then launched into the facts of the case as they were known at that
moment. “First, I want to make it clear, that I abhor violence, but I also understand that a person has a
right to defend themselves and the people they care about when attacked. And in this particular
instance, I think it will become clear which side I come down on when you hear the story. Not in
dispute is the fact that three men stalked and cornered Carly Culver and Nic Vickery in a parking lot off
Santa Monica Blvd. The actions they took from there, which were recorded by many onlookers, lead to
charges of stalking, menacing, assault, and bias assault. Is that accurate?”

“Yes,” Carly said.

“Nic, would you like to tell your side of what happened with these attackers?”

“Sure. They came out of nowhere and sort of corraled us into this parking lot and surrounded us and
they started heckling and harrassing Carly. Throwing homophobic slurs at us.”

“It was like he was just dripping with hatefulness,” Carly offered. “Sent my hackles up.”

“Mine too.”

Anderson played the video as Nic described the scene.

“I stepped in and told the main guy that they needed to back off and let us pass. He zeroed in on me
and the guy behind me grabbed my rear and pushed himself into me. So I shirked him off, stomped his
foot, shifted and elbowed him in the face. The main guy backhanded me and tried to grab me, so I
kicked him in the jewels and cracked him across the jaw. Then the last one came at me from the right
and my balance was on the wrong foot, so the quickest way to stop him was to kneecap him with a
sidekick.”

“It happened so fast. How'd you learn to do that?”

“I was obsessed with kickboxing for a couple of years when I was young. Guess it's muscle memory.”

“And as a result of the altercation, these guys are all up on charges, and you were cleared of any
wrong-doing, correct?”

“That's right.”

“But then they released video they took that they claim shows you and Carly holding hands over a
romantic dinner. Would you like to address that?”

Sammy interjected, “That's the whole reason we're here, Anderson. To put an end to the offensive
nonsense that the TMZs of the world continue to perpetuate.”

“It's just bizzarre,” Carly said. “This guy is making things up in his own head. What he saw was a
simple human gesture of friendship, maybe even a little maternal.”

“It was maternal, I felt it was,” Nic confirmed. “We were talking about my dad. This is all so
ridiculous.”
“I asked them to go to dinner together to get acquainted because I'm hoping that Carly will be in my
life for a long time to come. I want our famlies to know each other.”

“There is no 'there' there, Anderson,” Carly said. She pointed to Sammy and herself and said,
“Couple.” Then she pointed to Nic and Jolie and repeated, “Married couple. That's it. That's the
bottom line. Can we move past this now and get on with our lives?”

“Jolie, anything you want to say?” the host asked.

“Yeah. I'm tired, you know? We put up with a lot, Nic and I. I'm sure you do too, Anderson.”

“I do.”

“And we don't complain. But those men attacked my wife, Sammy's daughther. Thank God she was
able to protect herself from serious injury, and Carly from whatever it was that they wanted to do to
her. She was their real target. This clickbait garbage media campaign is unfair to both of them. There
is nothing weird or nefarious going on here. We're all family. Those creeps need to face justice for
what they did, and this shit needs to stop. Oops, sorry Anderson. I'm just over it. I'm in LA to work,
and I'm asking that the gossip rags please leave us all alone so I can finish up and we can go home.
Seriously, we're not that interesting. After this, I won't be making anymore statements.”

“None of us will,” Sammy added. “Going forward, if anyone has anything else to say, they can contact
my attorney. We've also added extra security at the studio, so anyone trespassing on that property will
be dealt with.”

***

When word had first gotten out about Nic kicking the gay-bashers' asses, more “old friends” came out
of the woodwork. After the interview with Anderson aired, her phone blew up. As she spoke to them,
she found that she'd outgrown many of these people. Most were now sober. A few maybe not so much.

Looking for a distraction from all the crap they'd been stuck dealing with, Nic made plans to meet up
with one of these old friends who'd suddenly found her phone number somehow. And Jolie suggested
that they get dressed up and go out that evening. To hell with everyone and everything that kept trying
to wreck their trip. Sounded like a great idea.

She found a parking spot on a side street, across from Reckless Rose Fine Instruments. Probably only
because it was a weekday, mid-afternoon. Otherwise, there was typically no parking anywhere near
Venice Beach. It had been years since she'd been there. Not much had changed. Even on a Thursday,
it was still a mixture of gaping tourists and “colorful” locals.

It should have come as no surprise that her old friend, Radley “Boo” Tisdale would end up in Venice, a
college dropout, “starving” artist, with a trust fund. As one friend described her, “deliberately scruffy”,
so no one would know she was still living off her rich daddy's dough.

Nic was a little nervous about meeting up with her. In truth, she hadn't intended to look Radley up. By
all accounts, the party was still very much in full swing with her, and their partying often went off the
rails back in the day. But Radley had called her up and put her on the spot. She realized she couldn't
duck the situation.

They had gone to private middle and high school together. The Tisdales lived next door to the
Lightners. Radley's dad had made fast friends with Sammy as soon as they moved in since he was a
very successful exotic sports car dealer, and Sammy was an aficianado. That threw the girls together in
many social situations and they grew close. Rad always had that easy smile and some crazy-fun
mischief to get into. But they hadn't seen each other, or even spoken since Nic made that fateful
transfer from USC to LSU.

She turned right when she reached the Boardwalk and headed toward the apartments and condos people
paid far too much for. As she walked, she became lost in memory. It was happening a lot on this trip.
Things she hadn't thought about in years would suddenly pop to the surface. Not all of it was
unpleasant, and she was grateful for that.

It woke her from her reverie when she heard, “Hey you,” from behind her. She turned to find her old
friend standing there in shredded jeans, a white tee and a mess of short, chopped black hair. In
girlhood, they'd both sported the same long, brown, wavy locks.

“Wow, Rad. Almost didn't recognize you.”

“I'd know you anywhere, Stretch.” They hugged and Radley took a long gander at Nic. “I mean I've
seen you on TV and stuff too, so... You look great.”

“You look... chill.”

“Pretty much always.”

“How are your folks?”

“Fine. Not together anymore, but probably better for it.”

“Damn. Sorry man. Always liked your mom. She was sweet,” Nic said, recalling how cool Mrs. T
was. Always a good ear when she needed it, especially after her own mother took off.

“Still is.”

“Huh?” …lost in memory of one night in particluar. “Oh. Yeah, sorry. Didn't mean it to sound like
she died or something. Please tell her I said hi.”

“Sure.”

“I saw Marion a few months back. First time in eight years.”

“Wow, really? How'd that go?”

“Rough. She just showed up in Jersey and pretty much demanded to see me. Really pissed me off.
But Sammy was in New York working, so we all had a chance to sit down and hash some stuff out. At
least I finally understand why she felt like she had to bail.”
“Why?”

“It's complicated. But the bottom line is things got so bad, she tried to off herself. And she was afraid
that if she didn't get out, she'd eventually succeed.”

“Shit, dude.”

“Yeah. I don't know, maybe it's because I was a kid, but I never imagined anything like the stuff she
told me.”

“She OK now?”

“More or less, I guess. Only saw her that one time. She's still living in Paris.”

Radley nodded, unsure of what else to say. A silence fell between them briefly before Nic said, “I
heard you quit school.”

“You too.”

Nic shruggled. “I'm taking some classes again, but I guess I won't be getting a degree.”

“Who needs it anyway, right?”

“I'd be set if they handed out Bachelor of Vague Ideas & Half-Assed Dreams.”

“Shit, wouldn't we all?”

“So what have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know. Just livin'. Still painting,” Radley always had a knack for self-deprication. The way
she looked away and shuffled a booted foot on the concrete told Nic that hadn't changed.

“Cool. You were always great at that.”

“Well, I got mad fat stacks of unsold shit back at my place. You're welcome to pick through it all.
Maybe there's something worthy of your skullery toilet.”

“Shut up! There's no skullery. But I'd love to pick your stacks.”

“Sounds kinky. I'm in.” That drew a laugh from Nic, and Radley felt her cheeks go hot at the sight of
those goddamn weird-ass dimples. Too cute. “So you finally figured out you're gay, huh?” she said,
with a furtive glance at her friend. “You do know I always kinda had a crush on you, right?”

“I had no idea. How come you never said anything?”

“You were in denial. Didn't wanna freak you out.”

“Well, you know, I wasn't really what you'd call present when we ran together.”
“There were times I was scared I was being too obvious.”

“Really? Fuck. It's like I had no gaydar whatsoever.”

“Never too late.”

“I'm married.”

She lifted Nic's hand, looked at her wedding ring. “Married doesn't always mean monogomous.”

“It does for me.” She pulled her hand back, but carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt
Radley's feelings.

“You sure? I know plenty of married dykes who bring a stranger home once in a while.”

“You're not a stranger.”

“That is a mere technicality.”

Nic shook her head, not unamused, but definitely adamant. “We don't fuck around. May sound terribly
dull to you, but I love my wife. I mean, like, big crazy love. My family is my everything.”

“Doesn't mean we can't still hang out. Come blaze up with me.”

“Nah, I'm sober.”

“Jesus. Do you ever have any fun at all anymore?”

“Dude. Have you seen my wife?”

She had indeed. Of course she had. Jolie Vickery had been famous for a decade, desired by millions.
That her friend had married this stunning woman was mindboggling. “Good point.”

“Let's walk.”

They set out along the Boardwalk path.

“How's your face? I saw what happened.”

“Yeah, how insane was that shit? I've been all over the place and I had to come back to LA to get gay-
bashed for the first time. And in fucking West Hollywood too. But I don't think those guys were
locals.”

“What, OC Nazis?”

“Is that a thing?”

“Kinda, yeah.”
“I think I heard one of the cops say they were from Arizona, but I could be mistaken. Don't really
care.”

“You weren't really mackin' on Sammy's new grilfriend, right? I mean you can tell me if you were. I
won't judge,” Rad joked.

“No way! Total bullshit. I love my wife, remember? And Carly's really into Sammy. He sent us to
dinner together to get to know each other because he and Jolie got stuck working late. We just walked
two blocks down the street to get some food. Those assholes jumped us when we were walking back
from the restaurant.”

“Fuckers,” Rad scowled. But then a slow grin crept over her lips as she thought of the cool kung fu
video someone posted online with Nic making like Bruce Lee. She remembered her friend taking those
MMA lessons. Who knew it would stick? They were just kids. “It's so delicious that you kicked their
asses.”

“All adrenaline, probably.”

“Love that supercut that's going around.”

“The who that's what?”

“The video with the martial arts movie sound.”

“What are you talking about?” Nic asked.

“Come on, I can't believe you haven't seen it.”

Radley pulled up the YouTube clip on her phone and Nic's jaw dropped. There she was, thrashing bad
guy ass from multiple angles and with full “wataa!” and heroic music. “What the hell is this?”

“Perfection. Five moves and three dudes were writhing on the ground.”

She noted the name on the account and recognized the handle as Blake's. “My kid's best friend posted
this, probably made it,” she whispered. It was kinda sweet. It did make her look like an asskicker.

“Cool.”

“The way I have to keep breaking out my ass-whuppin' skills makes me wonder if it's time to go back
to the dojo.”

Radley laughed. “I think you're doing just fine. I sure wouldn't fuck wit ya. What do you do for a
living back in Jersey? Mob enforcer?”

That drew a snicker from Nic. “Hardly. I'm a happy housewife. Stepmom to a teenager, which I guess
can sometimes feel like being a mob enforcer. I work part time at a sports agency.”

“You still write?”

“I try to. Keep hoping one of these days the floodgates will open and it'll get easier. But it's still just
drips and drabs here and there.”

“Well, you know sometimes you just have to get out of your own way. Best advice I ever got is don't
edit yourself. Nothing is set in stone till you say it is so go wild, experiment. What can it hurt?”

Nic nodded. “My writing teacher says the same thing. Does that work for you when you get stuck?”

“Sometimes... For me, I find that I gotta be loose.”

“Yeah, I gave that up.”

Radley smirked. “Funny. I don't mean stoned, necessarily. I mean if the idea is nebulous, I let it be,
for as long as it needs to be.”

“Yeah, but you can't make a living writing if you can't do it on a deadline.”

“Don't you kind of have the luxury of not having to do it for money?”

“I do. Same for you with your painting?”

“Guess so.”

“Is that good for us?”

Radley laughed off the question with more self-deprecation. “The fuck do I know? Maybe for now it
is. Maybe I don't get blocked too often because I don't take it too seriously.”

“Fair enough.”

“So what are you working on that's got you stuck?”

“Eh, maybe it's all just crap.”

“Don't do that.”

“What?”

“Steer us off a tender subject. We used to tell each other everything.”

“Well, not everything,” Nic charmed.

“Talking about it might help you get your thoughts together.”

“It's a very boring subject. I'd rather hear all about you. Are you seeing anybody?”

Radley reluctantly acquiesced to the subject change. “I see a lot of somebodies. As often as I can.”

Nic, relieved, “Good for you. You are being careful though, right? Lotta crazy people out there.”
“Oh, I've had my fair share of run-ins with crazy. Hell, I might've even been the crazy one myself on
occasion. Haven't had to kick anyone's ass yet though,” she teased.

“Let's hope it stays that way.”

“You know me. Ima have my fun, regardless.”

“You ever been serious about anybody?”

“Sure. Not like I'm a stone cold playa or something. But I don't do well in captivity. I don't mean to
fuck shit up, but I always do. Just makes more sense not to get in too deep.”

“Well, I hope somebody sweeps you off your feet someday. Because it feels great, and you deserve
that.”

Radley actually blushed. “Is that, uh... is that what happened to you?”

“You could say that,” Nic grinned and felt her own face go flush when she flashed back to the studio
lounge, that first time she and Jolie really made out hot and heavy.

“I saw that,” Radley said, focusing in on Nic's face, taking a few steps backward as they walked so she
could maintain eye contact with her. “Y'all are fire, huh?”

Nic nodded, still grinning.

“That's cool. It's good to see you happy.”

Nic realized that she wasn't just feeling a rush of heat at the memory of her first real intimacy with
Jolie. “You know, uh, the sun's starting to get to me a little. Is there somewhere we could grab a cool
drink and some shade around here?”

“I know just the place.”

They went to a small stand with some outdoor seating on the Boardwalk. Thankfully, the tables had
umbrellas. Nic laughed at the name, Gin & Juice. You could get an adult beverage, something fresh,
or many combinations of both. Nic got a Watermelon Ginger Hibiscus Fresca. Radley got a Bloody
Mary. They took a table and turned toward the beach to people-watch and continue chatting.

“Can't believe you're a Jersey girl now,” Radley said. “What's that like? You guys hang out with
Springsteen and shit?”

Nic laughed. “Not so much. She probably knows him. I've never asked. And yeah, she has rock star
friends---”

“Like who?”

“Well, she's really close to Johnny from GooGoo Dolls, and Sharon van Etten.”
“She's hot.”

“She's fucking awesome. She sang at our wedding.”

“No way! Sharon van Etten was your wedding singer?”

Nic nodded.

“Rock stars really are different.”

“Nah. Not really. I mean, she knows a lot of great people and we have a lot of fun. It was really cool
doing the European leg of her tour last year. And we have these mini concerts at the house sometimes
with her friends and that's always a blast.”

“You got to do Ride man.”

“Did that mainly for Harry. Took lessons and got my license for it. But she did buy me the trike we
rented, and I really fell in love with riding.”

“What's Norman like? He seems so cool.”

“He's the sweetest guy. And yeah, very cool. He's exactly like you see him on the show.”

They giggled like schoolgirls talking about a boy they liked.

Radley took a long pull off her drink, once again scoping Nic out. “So you're like a real biker chick
now?”

“We don't get to ride as often as we'd like to. It's hard to find the time. Believe it or not, we lead a
pretty regular suburban family life. You'd be so bored with us.”

“Totally,” Radley laughed, and shook her head.

“Although Jolie did get the shock of her life last week when Lenny Kravitz dropped by the studio and
played drums on the cover of Fields of Joy she was recording.”

“No shit? She knows Lenny?”

“She doesn't really know him. I think she met him a couple times on award shows or something, but
my dad set this up. She's a huge fan.”

“Yep, that's the kind of shit that happens to boring normies everyday.”

Nic tried to shift the focus away from herself. “So what's a day in the life of Rad like?”

She took another long drink of her Bloody Mary and leaned back, looked out toward the beach, as if
trying to think of how to describe it. “Well, you know... wake and bake, have a bite to eat, then I
usually come out here and hang. Some days I set up and paint. Might hit a club or two at night. If I'm
lucky, I meet a new friend.”
“And nobody ever stuck?”

“Once or twice. Just not for long.”

“I hear that.”

“What about you? How in the world did it take you so long to figure your shit out?”

“You remember how I was. Numbed out, hiding. Sure I'd hang out and party. Be charming, but not
too charming. Do your drugs. Then go home alone.”

“Why?”

Nic shook her head. “I just didn't wanna feel anything. Face anything. I didn't wanna be me.”

“What was so wrong with being you?”

“I don't know I just felt so angry all the time. So... how do I put this...? Ummm, raw maybe? Like I
was sunburned and the world was sandpaper.”

“Damn... Open up the notepad on your phone and write that down. It's one of your drips, or drabs, or
whatever. You just gotta let go of fear. All that fucked up shit from back in the day, write it down, get
it out.”

It was a recurring theme. Quit dodging, start spewing. Nic had given the prospect a great deal of
thought. She had started and scrapped a few ideas. The closest she'd come to writing about the great
boondoggle of her life, why her mom bailed on her, she had “accidentally” sabotaged with negligence
during an edit.

Radley could see right through her.

“Make all that pain your fodder. Seriously. Jotting down your best lines should be for you what
sketching is for me. Speaking of which...” Radley said as she pulled a little notepad and pencils out of
her mini backpack.

“No...” Nic gaped, embarrassed.

“You're gonna let me sketch you.”

“Oh, am I?”

“You know you want to.”

“No, I really don't,” Nic laughed nervously.

“That's it right there. That's the smile. You have cutest dimples in the weirdest places.”

That made her blush.

“I can't believe you have no idea how hot you are.”

“Oh come on dude, knock that shit off will ya?”

“Nope. You wanna know how I see you? Just give me a few minutes.”

Nic sighed, gave in, admittedly fascinated.

“I really did have a crush on you Nicole, that was no bullshit.”

“Nic.”

Radley's pencil stopped moving and she just looked at her friend. Something about the way she said
that... Wow. Made her a little clammy. “Right. Nic,” she repeated. And she honed in, focusing even
closer on the perfect cheekbones, cute little Irish nose and chin, the curve of her exquisite lips, the
freckles. Those dimples.

“What... are you doing?” Nic interrupted her reverie.

“Kinda like updating your file in my head. For art! Were your eyes always that green?”

“Do lines like that work for you in the clubs?”

“Not a line.”

“So you're not flirting with me a little bit?”

Radley shook her head. “I'm flirting with you a lot.” She was able to hold Nic's eye for a few more
seconds before Nic broke it. She went back to sketching.

“OK... I can't deny I'm kind of enjoying this. But.”

“I know, I know. You're very much taken. I can't compete with Jersey.”

Nic laughed and relaxed in her chair. “I missed this. You cracking me up with your endless bullshit.”

Radley gave her a genuinely sweet smile. “So tell me about her, your Jolie.”

Nic sighed. “She's...”

“Rich? Sexy?”

“Different.”

“Different how?”

“You remember what Sammy was like when he finally got through the initial shock of my mom taking
off on us.”
“He kinda went a little nuts chasing tail?”

“A little? It was like living in the damn Playboy Mansion, endless parade of hot chicks always hanging
around. Remember, I just quit going home after a while because it got too hard to ignore?”

“Yeah, you went away for school to get away from all that.”

Nic nodded. “See, I always thought Jolie was just another one of those women, whoring themselves
out to the old man for whatever they could take him for. So I dismissed her, just like all the others.
Turns out I was so completely wrong about her. I mean, yeah, they did screw around for a few years,
but they have honest love and respect for each other. Because she's real. She's down to earth. She
doesn't have an entourage or staff. It's just us. And she's such a great mom. Cool, smart, sweet...”

“Oh Jesus, you are gone daddy gone.”

“I am.”

“Looks good on you.” Radley grinned as she continued to sketch. “How much longer are you guys in
town for? Any chance I could meet her?”

“Barely a week left now, so there's probably not enough time, sorry. Someday though.”

Rad fought to hide her disappointment. “Well, I'm really glad you made time for me today.”

“Yeah, me too.” Nic could tell her friend was stung.

They went quiet for a few minutes as Radley continued to sketch. Finally, she showed the sketch to
Nic.

“Let's go back to your place,” Nic said as she looked at it.

Radley's heart nearly stopped. “Oh my God. For real?”

“I wanna pick your stacks. For real.”

They carried on with their conversation as Nic looked through the paintings in Radley's cluttered, but
cute apartment. She chose a few and asked how much.

“Twenty bucks each.”

She handed it over. “You could get way more than that.”

“How much, you think?”

“What do I know from art? But they're really cool and original. If you could get them into a gallery, or
even like a coffee shop or something, you could make some real money. Don't you ever sell 'em out on
the Boardwalk?”
“Nah,” Radley grinned, flattered by her old friend's words. “I have no idea how to relate money to art,
but I would like to get rid of some of this stuff.”

“So get out there and hustle.”

“I should. I will.”

“Are you happy Rad?”

She shrugged, rattling that thought around in her head for a while. “What's that even mean? I have
good days and bad, like everyone. But I can't really complain. I've got enough money to live on and I
get to do pretty much whatever the fuck I want. I have family, good friends. Could things be better?
Sure.”

“Like how?”

“Sounds crazy, but I get bored. I think I kinda wish there was a part time job I could do that didn't
suck.”

Nic laughed. “Well, I can't say it doesn't suck, but it's never boring. Ever thought about being a studio
intern?”

“Whoa, no. What's that like?”

“Depends on who you're working for.”

“Is that something you could recommend me for?”

“I could, but I don't know if they'd drug test.”

“Oh. Well... still might be worth looking into. Maybe I could meet my sugar mama.”

“Did you really just say that to me?”

“I think I did.”

They dissoved into laughter.

“Seriously, would you do that for me? Put in a good word with Sammy or whoever?”

“Sure. But I gotta warn you, if Sammy decided to take you on, it'd be kinda like boot camp. You'd
have to dress nice and show up on time, do what he says with no lip. And if you ever show up high,
that's it. No second chances.”

“I hear ya.”

“For real, now. If you want to get yourself squared away, makes some changes, it could be really good
for you. It certainly helped me get my shit together. But if you're not ready for that, I'd advise you not
to take it on.”
“Got it.”

“Should I make the call?”

Radley nodded once. “Make the call.”

“OK.”

“Thanks... I think?”

They laughed again and she pulled Nic in for a hug that she then parlayed it into a kiss. But Nic cut it
all short.

“Damn, you are a good kisser,” Radley teased.

“Fuck you,” Nic giggled.

“Figured I might as well go for it since I was already on my tiptoes.”

“Jerk.”

Radley gave her a grin and backed off.

Nic looked at the time on her phone. “Shit, I better go.”

“Hot date?”

“Yes, actually. Meeting Jolie for dinner.”

“Sure, of course.”

Nic stacked the paintings she bought and headed for the door. Radley held it for her.

“Hey, if the thing with your rock star ever goes sideways, call me.”

“Take care of yourself, Boo.”

***

Nic rushed to her car, realizing that she was already severely late. She knew she was never going to
make it to the house in South Malibu Beach to get cleaned up before driving all the way back down to
meet Jolie at this fancy restaurant she'd been raving about that sat squarely between Santa Monica and
Venice Beach.

They planned to dress up, make a real night of it. But things went long at the studio again and now Nic
was running way late too. Jolie still managed to spruce up at the studio and change into a sweet little
cocktail dress that she'd brought with her that morning, just in case of another late day.
She made it to the restaurant first and took the table they'd reserved. She ordered an Old Fashioned and
texted Nic to see where she was.

But Nic never texted while driving. As part of getting her license back after moving to Jersey
permanently, she had to take Defensive Driving classes, which had scared her to death. She wasn't
lying when she told Freddy that she was no leadfoot, and that carting Harry around all the time had
made her more responsible behind the wheel. She loved driving, and riding her trike, but she took it
seriously, paid attention. So even in her rented hot rod, she was careful in So Cal's terrifying traffic.
Consequently, it took fifty million fucking forevers to get to the restaurant.

When she handed her car over to the parking valet, she immediately texted Jolie one word. “Here.” It
felt shitty thinking how she'd already left her waiting for more than half an hour, sitting alone, probably
with more eyes on her than she welcomed considering their still-fresh new scandal. Why'd they decide
to go out again? Face the stares and glares? And in a super-swanky restaurant? The idea felt alien
now. She knew she was about to draw even more bugged-out hairy eyeballs because she walked in still
in the jeans, sneakers and henley tee she'd worn to Venice for the meet-up with Radley.

They finally spotted each other across the semi-crowded room, like some lame-ass, rom-com cliché.
Jolie stood when she saw Nic enter, but looked let-down to see that she wasn't dressed for the venue.
When Nic got a gander of her wife, in that hip-hugging little black dress, her heart skipped. Then her
perfect lips spread into a devilishly suggestive yet sweetly apologetic grin. That melted Jolie ito a
puddle of adoration, as usual.

The restaurant had a dress code and the host didn't want to let her enter wearing those casual duds until
Jolie appeared to retrieve her, merely looking the guy in the eye and taking Nic's hand. Noting that the
apparent street kid was Jolie Vickery's guest --- wife, someone corrected --- he backed down
immediately.

“I'm so sorry I'm late,” Nic began, “I didn't have time to go back to the house to change. It's been one
of those comedy-of-errors days that wasn't really very funny at all in the end.”

“We could just get out of here go back to the house.”

“Yeah, except I'm starving. And you already got me past the gatekeeper.”

“Then let's get you fed. You'll need your strength.”

“Ooh, OK,” Nic smiled. “You look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you, baby.” Jolie took her to their table.

“So you're not mad at me?”

“Nah. Just glad to see you. I missed you today.”

“Well now I feel really bad that I didn't get all dolled-up for ya.”

“Woulda been fun to do what we planned. But I'm also perfectly content to just have a nice dinner and
take you home.” They shared a quick kiss and sat down.
“Sounds heavenly.”

“You want a drink?”

“Yeah” She looked at the beverage list quickly.

Jolie signaled the waiter. “What did you get up to today?”

“I spent the day at Venice Beach. Saw my one gay friend.”

The waiter arrived tableside.

“Can I have a ginger ale please?” Nic asked.

“Yes miss.” He nodded and disappeared quickly.

“Have you told me about him? Her? I don't remember.”

“Her name's Rad and nah, probably not. I wasn't sure I was gonna go. She's still partying. Like all day
partying.”

“Oh.”

“But I gotta trust myself, right?”

“Sure. How'd it go?”

“It was interesting.” Nic pulled the sketch out of her bag, unrolled it and laid it on the table.

“She's got the hots for you.” Jolie instantly observed.

Nic laughed. “She's got the hots for everybody.”

“I don't know...” Jolie really examined the flattering nature of the sketch. “Seems like more than that.
How do you know her?”

“Next door neighbor. Went to school together. Sammy was friends with her dad so I saw her a lot and
and I guess we were close for a while. We started partying together when we were in high school...
She did tell me today that she had a crush on me, but she was afraid to say anything.”

Jolie nodded. “I see that. She's talented.”

“Yeah, uh... I kinda bought some of her paintings.”

“Oh, I can't wait to see those.”

“That's part of why I was late. We ended up meeting two hours later than we planned because that's
just how she is. And then I kinda lost track of time when we went back to her place.”
“You went back to her place?”

“To look at the paintings.”

“OK...” Jolie smirked.

“Did she flirt with me? Yeah, pretty much all day. But come on, are you really jealous?”

“No.”

“She can't compete with Jersey.”

That made Jolie laugh. “What?”

“It's funny because it's true.”

“OK, I know you guys took a selfie. Lemme see her.”

Nic pulled her phone out of her bag, found the pic and handed it over.

“She's cute.”

“Yeah, but she's totally not my type.”

“Oh, you have a type now?”

“Yeah, I like 'em a little more mature, maybe even married, with a kid.”

Jolie handed the phone back to her with a wry grin. “Hmmm, I know someone just like that.”

“She free tonight?”

“Maybe...”

“I really am sorry I was late and wrecked our plans.”

“OK, but one of these days I am gonna get you on the dance floor in a hot little dress again.”

“Absolutely. I promise. But you know, there are still places we could go dance even though I've got
my tomboy on.”

“Oh God.”

“What?”

“That idea just gave me a little bit of a rush.”

“Wanna do it? Want your boyish girl to take you out?”

Jolie looked at her in the most lascivious way. “Fuck. Yes.”

The waiter returned just in time to see it. Nic flashed from game-face, to slightly embarrassed, then
back again as he put her drink in front of her and retreated.

***

They didn't make a big entrance at Dana's. They just walked in, totally wrapped up in each other and
went right to the dance floor. Still, it didn't take long for Jolie to be recognized. She just didn't care.
Her focus was only on her girl. But then Nic was recognized. From the fight videos. The whispers
and stares started. No one aproached them, but cameras came out to take covert snaps and even a little
video of them dirty dancing. They ignored it all, just enjoyed themselves.

Later, when they took a break to get drinks, some folks did find the courage to invade their weirdly
public privacy to ask for selfies with Jolie, or both of them. They obliged. Some also congratulated
Nic on kicking some homophobic ass.

It might've felt a little intrusive, but Jolie was pretty accustomed to being approached. And it was
certainly not a bad thing, after all that sleazy gossip about Nic and Carly, for them to be seen basically
hanging all over each other in a trendy gay bar. Hell, if Jolie's publicist had thought of it, she would
have planned it.

The music was thumping and the lights were hypnotizing. Something about her jeans grinding against
that tiny black dress Jolie was wearing made Nic once again wish she had brought the toy box with her
on this crazy LA trip.

They were having so much fun, they didn't even notice how late it was getting. And Jolie had to be
back at the studio ready to work at 9 AM the following morning. They were really pushing the
envelope on the late nights yet again in the same week.

After getting way too hot and bothered on the dance floor, they ended up making out in a corner booth.
Nic asked, “Still need me in some slinky dress?”

Jolie had reached the boiling point by then. “You're not gonna be wearing anything much longer.”

“Well let's go then woman! You want naked time with me tonight, we gotta bug out pretty much now.”

Just like that, Jolie took her hand and they were out the door.

***

They were annoyed at having had to take both their cars from the restaurant over to Silver Lake so they
could take them both back to the house. It meant they couldn't ride home together. By the time they
were forced to part in the parking lot, Jolie could no longer keep her hands off Nic's perfect ass. They
shared one last kiss before getting on the road. How the hell were they ever supposed to endure this
lonely loney drive?

Nic called her over the Bluetooth in the Challenger. “You said earlier that you missed me today. Why
today, especially? You're so... Uh...”

“Baby, my heart is on fire. So are... other things...”

Nic laughed.

“We did Love Is Alive today. It felt so good when I sang it on the deck at JB, I just really wanted to
record it. It wasn't on the schedule, but Sammy let me take a stab at it anyway.”

“Did you tell him why that song lights you up.”

“Hell no. He didn't need to know that song was gonna make me think about you all day. I was so
excited to get done with work so I could see you, but it also made me late.”

“Then I was even later than you, and not in uniform. Dammit, I feel worse now.”

“Oh, you more than made up for that.”

“Not yet. But I will when we get to the house.”

“Well shit, pedal to the metal then! Let's go!”

“Hold on there, Fast & Furiosa. Let's not crash these beautiful cars. We'll get there. Enjoy the
anticipation.” Nic grinned devilishly as she disconnected the call.

***

By the time they arrived back at the beach house, they were both so insanely riled up that things
escalated quickly. They didn't bother to turn on any lights. They just began making out. No words. It
was languid, but intense and very, very wet.

Finally, Nic backed Jolie toward the big window overlooking the back deck and that beautifully
turbulent moonlit ocean. She carried on kissing her, pressed her whole body into her, and pushed the
straps of that gorgeous little dress off her shoulders, as her jeans rubbed against the hem of it. She felt
Jolie's hands push up under her shirt and let her help lift it off.

Once the last of their clothing was tossed aside, Nic turned Jolie toward the window, wrapped one arm
around her and slid her hand over her wifes's hip. Jolie reached down to pull their bodies together.

At the end of the day... at the end of the damn day... this was all they needed. Not toys, not gimmicks
from books. Just each other.

Nic slipped her fingers into Jolie's center as she kissed the side of her neck. Jolie pushed back into her
with a low growl. Soon, they fell into a perfect rhythm.

Crashing waves, meet crashing waves.

***
Later, with Nic wrapped tenderly in her arms, they languished in bed together, spent and content. Jolie
mused, “What a wild day. I couldn't do any of this if you weren't here.”

“Sammy making things hard on ya?”

Some days kinda suck, but I really can't blame him for any of it. It's a challenge, you know? Covering
your heroes. I've got opinions.”

Nic snickered. “needs to respect that.”

“He mostly does. I know he's trying.”

“Why can't you just do 'em the way you do 'em on the deck?”

Jolie kissed her head. “Wish I could, but Sammy's arrangments are always gonna be way more
complicated than that. He's always got these big ideas.”

“You said you're in charge this time.”

“I am. But his big ideas right sometimes too, ya know. He is who he is. Most of our tension this time
is because the schedule's too tight for perfectionists like us. I don't ever wanna do this squeeze-in shit
again. Just another reason to build a studio back home.”

“I'm all for that.”

“We just gotta get through this one, and then I'll figure something out, OK?”

“Sure.”

“I'm just relieved that the label likes what they're hearing so far. Sammy knows how to throw them a
bone on the tracks with commercial potential, so they stay hands-off about Crossroads.”

“Right.”

“This is for them. At least I got to choose these very specific songs, which makes it mine. Plus, I keep
getting ideas for all these little riffs and fills which has never happened to me before.”

“That's so cool.”

“Yeah, Sammy's being a mensch, letting me track them. He's even liked a few of them enough to use
them. At least that part's been fun.”

“I know it's gonna be great, but I do I wish it was easier for you.”

“Wouldn't be LA if I wasn't butting heads with your old man.”

Nic nodded against her. “Guess so.”

“This whole trip has been totally weird, huh?”

“Understatement.”

“I'm so sorry everything went sideways, and you got hurt, and then we've got all this fallout.”

Nic shrugged. “Fuck the fallout. It's noise. I'm just lucky most bullies can't fight.”

“I still can't believe that shit even happened,” Jolie said. “If I'd been there---”

“If you'd been there, I definitely would've gone all caveman rage-monster and killed somebody.”

“That's dark.”

“That's fact. You wanna see me lose my shit, let somebody come after you. Instinct, remember?”

“It's my instinct too. Or so I thought. I can't quit thinking about how that psychic in Asheville told me
to quit stressing myself out trying to protect everyone I love. Sure, fine, lady. Then both my kid and
my wife get knocked upside the head within weeks of each other. How freaky is that shit?”

“Same amount of freaky as my mom showing up out of the damn blue, just like she predicted.”

“She made me rethink my hypervigilance. Doubt myself. I let my guard down and my worst fear
came true. I still feel horrible about freezing when Harry got hurt. Now I feel shitty for dragging you
out here and getting you hurt too.”

“Don't,” Nic said pulling her tighter. “You can't control every fastball and asshole in the world. I think
that's what she was trying to say. But you don't need a psychic to tell you that.”

Jolie sighed into her. “ I guess...”

“I'm OK out here, in spite of everything, I swear. This part is awesome.”

That broke Jolie's melancholy. “This part is giving me life right now.”

Nic rose and kissed her. “Me too,” she smiled.

“I just love you so damn much. It feels incredible having all this time alone with you. Nobody to
overhear. No interruptions.”

“God yes it does, squealer.”

“What'd you just call me, screamer?”

Nic laughed. “Loud is fun.”

“Freeing.”

“This is the most privacy we've had since our honeymoon. I wish we could spend every minute of it
just like this.”
“Baby, there's nothing in the world I'd rather do. I don't want you to think my days are terrible. It is
still work, but I'm enjoying playing great music with great friends.”

“Well then I'm glad.”

“You glad you've been seeing your old friends?”

“Mostly.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?”

“Nah... It's just stirring up some ghosts for me that I probably need to deal with. Like you said, maybe
I should write something.”

“OK. Well, at least I'm here to help you work out your horny feelings for Rad.”

“What? I never said--- You stop that!”

Jolie laughed. “No, I'm happy to be of service.”

“I only have horny feelings for you!”

“Bullshit. You're human.”

“So who am I helping you work out your horny feelings for?”

“Oh, I have a whole list.”

“I knew it! Name names.”

Jolie moved on top of her. “How long have you got?”

“As long as it takes.”

***

Next morning, Nic happily made Jolie a hearty breakfast to get her ready to go to work, and as they sat
and ate and talked, she mentioned that she kind of accidentally offered to see if she could get Rad an
internship at the studio.

“She says she's just looking for pocket money and something to do that she might actually enjoy. I
think she really wants to find her calling, or her cohort, or something.”

“Is she ready for the party to end?”

“I asked her that.”

“And to be accountable to a drill sargeant?”

“Yeah, I warned her it would be like a rehab boot camp. She still wants me to make the call.”

“Well, you know, the partying does get old after a while. It could really help her. Even if she doesn't
stick it out, maybe he can teach her some structure, start her on the path.”

“You're a true believer again, huh?”

“If you wanna know the truth, that never stopped. Been thinking about that a good bit out here. If I
really wanted to break away completely, why'd I choose Deacon for Crossroads? Ya know? It's not
always easy, but Sammy pushes in the right directions. Some of us need that.”

“But you're not some wild thing who lacks discipline anymore. You do fine without him.”

“I don't know about that.”

“If you wanna start recording back home, you'll have to move past him. Maybe it's time?”

“I won't lie to you. I've always felt really comfortable at Chelsea with him, even with the head-
butting.”

“Comfort zones are overrated.”

“Yeah, I guess you're forced out of yours almost daily.”

Nic gave a small nod. “It ain't easy, but it's growth, you know? I don't think you need him as much as
you think you do.”

“Because I have you to keep me in line. You're kind of a natural-born duck-liner-upper.”

“So maybe we've both outgrown Sammy. That doesn't mean we have to ditch him. He's your mentor
and friend, and he's my dad. He'll always be in our lives. But we can have a normal, adult, hands-off,
human relationship with him now, can't we?”

***

Friday evening, Jolie came home from the studio late again to find Nic snoozing on a chair on the deck,
with a book on her lap. She smiled and stood in the doorway, watching heat lightning trace crazy
patterns in the purple clouds out over the ocean as the sky darkened.

Nic stirred after a few minutes. She just knew she was no longer alone. She looked back to see Jolie
standing in the sliding glass door. “Hey,” she said, stretching.

“You look really peaceful.” Jolie stepped out onto the deck.

“Better watch out, I'm kinda getting used to this lazy beach life.”

“You? Really?”
“Yeah, what da ya know, huh?” Nic smiled at her with the most sweetly pacific expression.

For a moment, all Jolie could do was revel in the sight of this calm, elegant woman who surprised her
every day, always made her heart beat faster. She kicked off her shoes, removed her light denim jacket
and slid onto the chair beside Nic, who shifted to make room for her.

“Sounds like you had a good day. What'd you do?” Jolie asked, laying her head on Nic's shoulder.

“Mostly, I hung around here. It was nice. I had no plans, so I dozed back off after you left, then I made
a nice snack, took a long walk on the beach. I read. Even wrote a little. Felt good.”

“You feel good.” Jolie snuggled against her, let out a huge sigh.

Nic wrapped arms around her. “Baby you sound so tired.”

“Yeah, my brain is mush. Can we just chill here for a while, like this?”

Nic pulled her tighter, drinking in the scent of her hair. “For as long as you want.”

“Cool.”

“Did you have a rough day?”

“Not especially. I think maybe the long hours are just starting to get to me.”

“Wanna take it easy this weekend? Lay in some food, keep a low profile, recharge?”

“That sounds perfect. Only I am gonna cook for you for a change,” Jolie said.

“Yeah? Sweet. I love it when you cook for me.”

“Anything you want.”

“Let's do a little shopping tomorrow and see what we feel like when we get there.”

“OK. God, it'll be so nice to just spend a chill weekend with you here finally. We deserve it.”

“We do. You hungry right now? I could make something.”

“Why don't we order in? Hey, you remember that pizza place we found when we first got here that's
actually good? Let's get a pie and a salad.”

Nic grabbed her phone, pulled up their delivery app. “Might take a while for them to get here. Did you
know that Friday night is the biggest night for pizza delivery nation-wide?”

“I did not.”

Nic thumbed-in an order. “Sausage/pep?”

“Yep. I'm a simple girl. Ooh, and they have the Greek vinagrette dressing too, right?”

“They do. Order placed. Expected delivery, 9 PM. See? Long wait.”

“That's OK. Just gives me more time to lounge here with my favorite human.”

Nic smiled, put her phone away, and drew a long, content breath. “You want a glass of wine or
something?”

“Maybe later. I'm totally happy right now.”

“Me too.”

“You smell really nice, by the way. What is that?” Jolie asked.

“Oh, I found this sandalwood and vanilla sunscreen at the coolest little shop on the Venice boardwalk.
I used it earlier.”

“Picnic ice cream.”

Nic laughed. “What?”

“You smell like picnic ice cream, out in the woods. When I was little, my family would go camping.
My pop was an 'HVAC professional', right?” she said with air quotes. “He thought it was funny to
always have perfectly frozen ice cream on hand. Pretty sure he was running an ice cream maker off a
truck battery.”

Nic's sweet laughter continued. “I love Freddy.”

That made Jolie smile. “Me too. Have you checked in with him lately? Is Betty Lou OK?”

“Yesterday. Everything's OK back home.”

That stole Jolie's smile briefly as she flashed back to Harry ambushing her with that screengrab of
Pavel.

Nic noticed. “What?”

“Nothing. Just missing my kid is all.” He had not Facetimed with her since that day. He merely texted
her every night, I'm home. That was it. She knew that he knew she wouldn't make a thing of it because
that would mean talking about him. And there was sure as hell no way she was getting into that topic
again with Nic. That would send what was stacking up to be a very nice evening totally off the rails.
Nope. Not here. Not now.

“I miss Harry too. Feels weird being away from him this long. And knowing that he's had to deal with
all that shit around the attack just adds to my anxiety.”

“Babe, I know it's unfair that our crap gets dumped on him all the time, but you can't blame yourself
for garbage someone else created. That's just life, you know? For our family anyway. Every family
has its challenges. Ours may be a little more public than others, but I think our boy handled it
brilliantly. And how 'bout Blake, that little shit?”

Nic cocked a grin at her. “Should we really be so amused by that video? Are we sending the right
message to the kids in our lives?”

“I think take no shit from bullies and creepers is a pretty fucking good message.”

“I guess. I just hope I'm not becoming a bad influence.”

“I don't like the violence. It scares me. But I am glad you can take care of yourself. I mean, what else
were you supposed to do?”

“The way things are going, I'm thinking maybe it's time to hang a punching bag in the basement gym to
keep my skills sharp.”

“I guess we could get you one when we get home.”

“Cool. Might even see if I can find a class somewhere. Refresher, ya know? You could take a class
too. It's great exercise, and it's really fun.”

“Yeah, I don't wanna punch things. My hands are kind of important to me.”

“Right, sorry. Didn't think of that.” Nic took her hand, kissed it.

“Wait, are you gonna get busted-up Bruce Lee knuckles and shit?”

“Hell no! Sweetie, we wear padded gloves. And he did that on purpose, to make his fists like anvils.”
Nic threaded their fingers together, grinned lasciviously. “My hands are important to me too, you
know? Plus, I always do my best to practice the Art of Fighting Without Fighting.”

“Right.” Jolie pulled her into a kiss.

“Can I ask you something?” Nic said when she broke it.

“Sure.”

“Is it weird that I'm feeling this... melancholy-something coming off you right now?”

Jesus. No fooling Nic. Jolie had no idea what to say, though she was steadfast in what not to say.

When she didn't speak, Nic nudged, “I thought I'd be the one who might get a little blue out here, not
you. But if I am, it's a light blue. What color are you?”

“Kinda purple, maybe? At least I'm trying to be.”

“Creative mode. How can I help?”

“Well... Why don't we fire up that underused Jacuzzi over there and take this chill party to another level
while we wait for the food?”

“Swim suits or birthday suits?”

“Birthday.”

“Cool. Will you at least go grab our bathrobes so we have something to put on when the delivery guy
gets here?” Nic extricated herself from Jolie and went to turn on the hot tub.

Jolie pouted a bit, but rose and began to remove her clothes as she headed toward the bathroom to get
the robes. She returned a little while later with her hair pulled up in a loose bun and not a stitch on to
find Nic equally butt-naked and sticking her toes in the bubbling water to test the temp. “Think I will
crack that bottle of wine after all. Want me to bring you anything?”

“I've got water.”

She dropped the robes near the Jacuzzi. “Be right back.”

Nic felt her belly flip as she watched her gorgeous wife walk away. “Dayum,” she whispered to
herself, amused at how easy it was for all thought to be obliterated at the mere sight of her.

Once they settled into the hot tub, facing out toward the sea, Jolie let out a long sigh. “This is great.
Couple lazy days with you. Feels like vacation.”

“Yeah, I hope we can forget about everything and just be.”

“That's my plan.”

“It's so much simpler at home.”

“Yes, it is. I do miss simple, but look at that view. And we get to walk around the house naked and
make all the noise we want.”

“I think I may be enjoying that part too much,” Nic admitted.

“No such thing. Took us nearly a year to get back to a beautiful place like this, alone.”

“True.”

“Nearly a year. Ring any bells?”

“Of the wedding kind? Yeah. It's three weeks away, our anniversary.”

“So what are we gonna do? Wanna go somewhere?”

“After we were just away on this trip?”

“We'll be home for two weeks, and then we can just take a long weekend someplace,” Jolie suggested.
“Harry can stay next door.”
“Wow, you are a different person from the last time we were out here.”

“What's that mean?”

“You don't need Harry under the same roof to sleep anymore.”

“And you don't need drugs to sleep.”

“There are still times I can't shut my brain up, but at least I'm physically and emotionally drained most
nights. In a good way.”

“Exactly.”

Nic smirked as she gave it some thought. “OK then, I'm up for it if you wanna do that.”

“So where do we go?”

“I don't know, you're the world traveler. You pick.”

“Oh come on, I dictate where we go all the time because of my job. Your turn. Anywhere you want.”

“I don't know. I'll have to think about it and get back to you.”

“Fair enough,” Jolie smiled and kissed her sweetly.

“It really has been a great year,” Nic sighed, leaning back, sliding an arm around her love, “For me
anyway.”

“Me too baby. Best year ever.”

“Better than the year your son was born?”

“Well, that year was kinda rough, you know.”

“Better than the year you broke out and had your first platinum album?”

“Well, that was pretty fucking awesome, but this is way better.”

“Better than last year? The awards? The Europe trip?”

“The wedding,” Jolie added.

“Right.”

“Yeah, last year was pretty fucking awesome too. But this right here, right now, just spending this
beautiful time with you... It's the most perfect thing I've ever known.”

“God,” Nic whispered as she fell onto Jolie's lips. “That's the most perfect thing anybody ever said to
me.” She felt those somersaults in her belly again. “Best year of my life too.”

She pulled Jolie over onto her lap, but only so they could make out. Neither of them liked sex under
the water. It interfered with sensation. But make out, they did.

Finally, when they needed to catch their breath, Nic whispered, “I want you to take me right over there
where you found me, under that crazy sky, with the sea serenading us.”

“I was gonna say the same thing to you, not nearly as poetically though.”

“So...?”

“I am absolutely gonna do that. But let's stay here for a while. We've got all night, and this is just so
fucking relaxing. Plus, we have food on the way. I'm so hungry.”

“Me too. OK. I'll be good.”

Jolie grinned at her. “Not too good, and not for too long.”

Later, when the pizza arrived, they moved to the table on the deck. “Don't you think this is a damn
decent pie?” Jolie asked as she took her second large bite of the slice she immediately grabbed as soon
as Nic put the box down. “I mean, now that you know what really great pizza tastes like from back
home?”

“I do.”

“And they really nail this Greek dressing. It's just the right mix of garlicky and tangy.” She opened the
salad and put some in a bowl, poured the golden deliciousness over it.

They chowed down, and afterward continued to chat and giggle and flirt. Both enjoying each other's
company, and feeling the tension build.

Finally, all talk stopped. Jolie merely stared at Nic. Then she rose, walked over, took her hands and
lifted her off her seat. She took the bathrobe off her, dropped her own and pulled her close, kissing her.

Nic had already been mad with the barely contained want of her for a couple of hours. They made their
way back to the deck chair.

“My skin feels electric right now,” Nic whispered.

“That must be catching.” Jolie kissed her throat, folding into her. “All I've wanted all day was to be
right here.” She slipped her leg between Nic's.

She drew an uneven breath, and nodded, losing the ability to speak. As Jolie moved on top of her, Nic
once again turned her eyes to the heavens. The clouds had cleared out and the emerging starfield above
that roiling ocean almost seemed to spin before her as she melted around Jolie.

She never imagined she'd enjoy such happiness on this trip that she'd actively feared. But this moment
was absolutely everything. The soft breezes, the sounds of the sea, and her gorgeous wife's passionate
attention. It was all just so glorious.

Jolie began to kiss and nip, suckle and lick her way down Nic's torso. She paused and looked up with a
smile. “You taste salty.”

“Been outside in the sea air most of the day. And night.”

“Mama Nature's amuse-bouche.”

Nic giggled, but was put silent when Jolie resumed her mission conquer the southlands.

***

The following morning, over breakfast, Nic handed Jolie a piece of paper. “Remember how I always
say I could never make a living at writing because it takes me forever to spit out something new?”

Jolie unfolded the paper to find a poem called Soft Place To Land.

“This is literally the first time in my life something poured out of me.”

Jolie read it.

Look at me, on the high wire

As I attempt to balance safety with desire
Step right up, get your tickets here
What you see should have you trembling with fear
Without a net, here I go
Ladies and gentlemen I promise you a show
As I'm crashing through the clouds I used to walk on
Reaching out for unfamiliar hands
Falling into the eyes of strangers
I wanna smile but I can't
I'm looking for a soft place to land

When you're up so high it's hard to know

If you look foolish waving to the crowd below
It was plain, to everyone but me
Only a fool forgets the pull of gravity
But for a while, didn't I fly?
Didn't I shine like a star up in the sky?

I remember blue sky

I remember company
I remember laughter
I remember everything

As I'm crashing through the clouds I used to walk on

Reaching out for unfamiliar hands
Falling into the eyes of strangers
I wanna cry, but I can't
I'm looking for a soft place to land
It's so hard to find a soft place to land

“Holy shit. This is... beautiful,” she said quietly when she was finished.

Nic grinned, blushing. “Yeah? I wasn't sure it was any good because it came out so easily.”

“Seriously.” She shook her head. “Wow.”

“Not sure how it happened. But Rad gave me a pretty good piece of advice, I think. And it just
clicked.”

“What was that?”

“My problem has always been overthinking things. I've always been my own worst enemy. She told
me to get out of my own way and reminded me not to pre-edit myself. Just let go and see what
happens.”

“Wisdom.”

“I've always had a tendency to sabotage myself.”

“We all have that inner voice that tells us we're shit.”

“Yeah...”

“Baby, in your case, I promise you, it's always lying to you.”

Nic couldn't supress a smile. “Any chords comin' to ya?”

“Maybe,” Jolie smiled right back at her. “Wanna hand me the guitar?”

Nic passed over the baby Martin she'd borrowed from the studio from its stand by the window bench.

“How do you hear this?”

Nic laughed. “What do I know? To me, it's just poem.”

“Happy? Sad? I might have an idea to resolve it differently, but I wanna know what you were thinking
about. There's some real angst there.”

“Uhhh... Well, I was thinking about old times, I guess. Where I was. Where I am. And something you
said, actually. You told me I'd always have a soft place to land.”

“Yeah,” Jolie grinned, remembering. She poined to her lips, which earned her a kiss.

“Happy,” Nic whispered.

 ***

Carly entered the recording booth as Jolie sat fiddling around on her Gibson, Nic's poem on a music
stand in front of her.

“Mornin' Jolie,” she said brightly.

“Hey Carly. How's it going?”

“Good. Sammy stopped by the office to take a call.” She dropped her bag on one of the sofas and sat
down near Jolie. “What ya workin' on?”

“Something new, actually.” She handed the poem over to Carly.

Carly read it over. “This is really good,” she smiled when she was done.

“Right? Nic wrote that. Every once in a while she gives me these poems. And I immediately start
hearing chords.”

“Cool.” Carly handed the page back. “So what have you come up with?”

“Grab a guitar and I'll show you.”

Twenty minutes later, Sammy entered the control booth to find his artist and his girlfriend cheerfully
playing and singing an unfamiliar tune together. He didn't interrupt. He just turned it up so he could
hear it better and took his seat to listen.

When they finished a pass-through of the song, Sammy hit the intercomm. “Sounds great,” he said,
startling the women, who hadn't noticed he was even there. “That yours, Carly?”

“Nope,” she said, hanging a thumb at Jolie, feeling a little embarrassed for stepping into the middle of
things. “That's my cue to skiddaddle,” she told Jolie. “Thanks for letting me play along. It's really
beautiful.”

She exited the booth, told Sammy goodbye and left.

“What was that all about?” he asked Jolie when she entered the control room and plopped beside him in
a chair at the board.

“Just messin' around with something new.”

He gave her a sideways glare at the way she phrased that. She smacked his arm.

“Knock it off. You know what I mean. When I iron it out, I'll play it for you.”

“Oh, it's not a hair-on-fire, gotta record it now situation?”

“Not for this record. Something for my backpocket.”

“OK,” he smiled. “Well, it sounds like you're of good voice today anyway. Ready to get to work?”

“Sure.”

“Were's Deacon?”

“He went to grab a coffee, I think.”

Sammy took out his phone and texted his engineer. “We're ready to start.”

Deacon texted back, “Copy that.”

***

As Jolie began to pack her things up at the end of the day, her mind settled on the fact that she hadn't
been able to get Harry on the phone for a week. He barely even responded to her texts. The more she
thought about it, the more she began to fume. Things were changing with him and she hated it. He
would never have pulled a stunt like this before.

She grabbed her phone and punched up her father's cell number. She didn't even let Freddy get past his
“Hey hun,” before she demanded, “Put Harry on the phone.”

“I can't.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I'm not at the house. I'm out at our place, just checking on things.” He made his voice as calm and
soothing as he could. Something was obviously up and he felt the need to mediate, even though he was
clueless. “What's wrong hun?”

“He's mad at me. Won't return my calls. I can barely get him to text just to let me know he's home at
night. If I didn't know he was safe in your hands, I'd be flipping out.”

“Can you tell me what happened? Maybe I can help.”

“I don't wanna burden you with this nonsense. It's an old fight.”

“Well, I'll tell you what then, as soon as I get back to your place, I'll make him call you, right in front of
me.”

“No, no. Don't do that. You can just tell him I called and I am not happy with this behavior. I'll deal
with it when I get home.”

“OK then. You guys doin' all right out there with all the hullabaloo and all?”

“Yeah, it died down a little after the Anderson Cooper thing. Nobody's bugging you back home, are
they?”
“We're good.”

“Is my kid at least behaving himself with you?”

“He's fine. Wrapped up in school and his girl, as usual.”

“And you're keeping an eye on those two?”

“Of course we are.”

Sammy entered the recording booth then. Jolie shot him a quick glance and held up a finger. “Great
Dad, thanks. I gotta get going, OK?”

Hanging up, she resmued packing her things to leave the studio for the day.

“How'd you end up working on a song with Carly this morning?” Sammy asked casually, not picking
up on Jolie's distress.

“Oh, um, she caught me messing around with this idea I had and she plugged right in with some great
suggestions. Did you hear any of it?”

“A little.”

“I think it could be something. Wonder if she'd wanna work on it some more with me. You think?”

“I can ask.”

“If she can come by for a little while tomorrow, that'd be great.”

“OK, I'll see if I can make that happen.”

When he did mention it to Carly that evening, she was thrilled with the idea of working on it with Jolie.
She liked what they'd come up with so far very much.

They made a plan for her to spend the following morning at Chelsea to see if they could finish writing
and demo it.

And that's exactly what they did. After completing the writing of the music, Jolie suggested a change
to the last line of Nic's poem, so that the song would end on more of an upbeat note.

Instead of “It's so hard to find a soft place to land”, she wants it to end, “I've finally found a soft place
to land.”

“I get why you want to change that line,” Carly said, “but I think it works better the way it was.
There's power in the melancholy.”

“You and your depressing country songs,” Jolie teased.

They asked, but Sammy refused to offer an opinion since the song wasn't on the track list for this
project. When they recorded a demo with Jolie singing and both women playing acoustic guitars, they
ended up doing it her way.

They sat in the control booth and listened to the playback together.

Sammy kept his face carefully neutral.

When it was over, Carly turned to Jolie. “This is really beautiful,” she opined. “How would you feel
about letting me record it?”

“Your way?” Jolie smirked.

“Yes, my depressing country way.”

Sammy's ears perked up at that. “You want to what? You, my current girlfriend, you want to record a
love song my daughter wrote about her wife, my ex-something-or-other? And you want me to produce
it? Nobody's life is that weird.”

“Yours is. And somehow, I'm OK with that. Could be a great song. What else matters?” She kissed
him and looked toward Jolie for her reaction.

“Sure,” Jolie said. “You're gonna get a co-write credit on it anyway. For helping me figure out the
chord progression and how to bridge it. Nic would be thrilled. Why not?”

Sammy smelled money, a collaborative crossover. More than that, he smelled something deeper,
something enduring. “We could lay something down right now if you want to. Work it out so you can
both release your own version.”

“I'll play guitar,” Jolie offered cheerfully.

“Is Mick still in town? He plays some slide. I'm hearing slide on a Carly Culver version. What do
y'all think?”

“Yeah.” “Yeah.” Jolie and Carly agreed simultaneously. Sammy texted him.

His reply? “I'm in. When?”

“Nowish?”

“OK. Give me an hour.”

Over the course of that hour, with Deacon on acoustic bass, sitting in with Carly and Jolie, Sammy
arranged what they would finally track, with Jolie playing rhythm and riffs and singing back-up, Mick
on slide.

Looking at his charts, Carly asked Sammy, “What about a little violin swell right here?”

He nodded, actually smiled at her. “Good instinct. I'll see if I can scare up a cat or two for that.”
Jolie supressed a small snicker at how fucking adorable it all was.

***

Later, back at the beach house, Jolie burst in after work all happy. Before she even laid eyes on Nic,
she called out, “Baby, you'll never believe this! You have another collaboration. Carly recorded your
song!”
“Wait, huh? What are you talking about?”
“Soft Place To Land became two different songs today.”
“You lost me.”
“One is my own upbeat folk version. Hers is a sad country song, which believe it or not is closer to
what you wrote. But I wanted it to be hopeful.”
“Are you pulling my leg? 'Grammy winning, country crossover superstar Carly Culver put her own
music to my poem?” Nic's incredulity forced her to deploy air quotes. She instantly regretted it.
“Yep.”
“Won't it fan the loony flames if she collaborates with a couple of dykes?”
“Who cares?”
“All of Nashville?”
“Who reads the writing credits anyway?”
“From what I understand, all of Nashville!”
Jolie waved a dismissive hand at her. “Don't worry about it.”
“Why did you guys record separate versions?”
“I just see it differently. There's room for two interpretations, I think. When you hear mine, I hope
you'll get why I changed the line, the tone at the end.”
“Sure, of course. I trust you. Musically, you do know best.”
“It wasn't music I changed. Well, you'll see. I'll bring both versions home on a thumb drive
tomorrow.”
“Cool, I'm excited to hear both of them.”
“You've gotten scary-good at this whole poetry thing.”
“Think so?”
“I do. Maybe you could collect them up for a book or something.”
“Someday maybe, when I have enough of them.” The idea of compiling enough poetry for a book
made Nic a little queasy. That could take years at her glacial writing pace. She decided to change the
subject. “Hey, I'm probably not supposed to say anything, but I heard you called home yesterday
looking to snatch a knot in Harry's ass for not staying in touch.”
“Dad tell you that?”
“Harry told me.”
“Well, at least he's talking to you.”
“What's going on with you two? This is weird.”
“He's being a damn teenager, is what. We're approaching that stage where he thinks he can tell me
what to do.”
“You want me to say something to him?”
“No. I'll take care of it when we get home.”
***

Nic no longer had a key to her father's house so she actually had to ring the bell and wait for him. She
knew he was in the kitchen already because she could smell what he was cooking. Something Creole,
no doubt. He knew her taste.

After letting her in, Sammy poured another glass of one of his frou-frou red wines for himself and
offered her something to drink.

“Water's fine.”

“I have sodas, tea, an absolutely fabulous selection of juices and kombuchas.”

“Water's fine,” she repeated.

He smiled. “Sure. Sparkling? Mineral? Vitamin?”

“Just regular water.”

“OK. You know where the fridge is if you want anything else.”

“It's cool, Dad. I'm fine. Don't get hung up just cause this is literally the first time in like ten years or
something that we've chosen to hang out here at the house together, just us, with me being totally
sober .”

“I wish I could laugh.”

“It's perfectly OK if you do.”

“Has it really been that long?”

“Yeah, about that, I'd say.”

“Wow. That makes me profoundly sad.”

“Me too, but I try not to dwell on it too much. It's not like we can get that time back. We just have to
keep moving forward.”
He nodded, took a minute to collect his thoughts and admitted, “I'm weirdly nervous.”

“Don't be. I think it's normal for us to be a little uncomfortable with each other for a while. It'll work
itself out if we just keep trying. What ya cookin'? Smells like Granny's kitchen in here.”

“Shrimp etouffee. Her recipe.”

“Oh yum. I love it when you make this stuff for me.”

“Great. You can have a seat. It'll be ready in about ten minutes.”

She pulled out a chair at the center island and sat down to watch him continue fussing over the stove.

“So how are things going for you out here?” he asked.

“Pretty good. Been trying to make a vacation out of it. I don't get much time to take it easy these
days.”

“Jolie keeping you busy back in Jersey?”

“There's always stuff to do back home. But I'm not complaining. That's just life, you know?”

“Can't work all the time. Gotta go have fun with your hawt rawd, right?” he asked, his voice dripping
with comical disdain.

Nic laughed. “You're such a snob, Aston Martin. I love Betty Lou.”

“Oh, did she get a tattoo too?”

Nic giggled now. “I'm surprised you remember that song.”

“Of course I do. It's hilarious.”

She hadn't seen him so relaxed in years. It warmed her heart. “I just had to name her that. Owning a
hot rod is a very Chapel Hill thing to do after all.”

“I've lost you to the dark side of gearheadism.”

“Yeah, well, I think you probably could've figured out that I was gonna take after 'Uncle' Deacon on
that front.”

“You got your height from me, your beauty from your mother, and everything else from him, it seems.”

“Jolie says I also got my organizational skills from you.”

“I've heard that. She says you keep her on track.”

“Not that she needs it. She's pretty organized, being Capricorn and all.”
“Yes, but she also has that stubborn, independent streak that can send her off on tangents.”

“That's just because she's too damn smart and creative for her own good sometimes. She tells me
things have been going really well with you two this time around.”

“Yeah, I think so. She's been pretty relaxed and open, which helps. Maybe you have something to do
with that?”

Nic actually blushed. “Maybe... I've done my best to make things as easy as possible for her while
we're out here.”

“I'm sure she appreciates that. As do I.”

“Well, I just want us all to get along, you know?”

“We have been, haven't we? Like one big happy family?”

Nic regarded him closely. “Was that snark?”

“Maybe. To be perfectly honest, I've had a couple of moments in the studio when I forgot where I was
and that none of it was real. And it felt incredibly strange to me when my feet touched the ground
afterward. I ran through all of the emotions all over again when I remembered that she wasn't coming
home with me. Mark was there to capture one of those moments and you're probably going to see it in
Jolie's film.”

Nic sighed and looked down before she could stop herself. “I thought we were past this,” she said
quietly.

“So did I. I suppose it was just easier without the close proximity?”

“Shoud I be worried?”

“About what?”

She looked at him sideways, her face dripping with what he remembered as teenage sarcasm.

“No! No,” he insisted.

“You have Carly now, and it would be really shitty of you---”

“Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything foolish. I'm not crazy. I know it's a different world now.
I'm just being truthful with you about my feelings. I thought you and I agreed to to do that from now
on.”

She nodded. He was right. She asked for this. She asked him to let his guard down so she could do
the same.

“We knew this wasn't going to be easy. What I've decided to do is use this time to say my proper
goodbyes to the past.”
“Fair enough.”

“The way she's talking, this is probably the last time I'm going to produce her. At least out here. If she
does build her own studio in Jersey, that's it. She really won't need me anymore.”

“I'll always need you,” Nic said, her voice small, tentative.

Sammy felt a crack form in his heart. He reached over and touched her hand. “And I want to be there
for you. I owe you that. Hell, I owe you years of... back-presence.”

“And I owe you years of not being a selfish asshole.”

“No. I'm the dad here. And I can do better. I can get my head out of my own ass and do better by
you.”

“I can do better too. I will do better.”

Sammy nodded.

“Your ladyfriend is very wise. Like a sexier, less green Yoda. Tiny, but maybe not quite that tiny.”

That pulled a smirk from Sammy.

“She says we need to talk it all out once and for all and forgive each other. Like say the words out
loud.”

Nic watched his left eyebrow go up and then the corner of his mouth twisted like that really hit him
hard. “She's a smart one all right,” he said quietly.

“I've had some therapy and I've thought about it a lot and it seems to me like the biggest problem
between us has always been misplaced blame. And maybe a little bit of emotional immaturity on my
part.”

He nodded. “Of course you were immature. You were a kid. And I was too messed up when Marion
left to see how much you were hurting.”

“You wouldn't even get out of bed the week she left. I tried everything. The staff tried everything.
Your friends tried everything. You fired the staff. You fired your assistant. You quit the job you were
on. You never walked away from a job before. And what was I supposed to do? There was no one left
for me!”

“I know. It's a bit muddled in my memory, but I know.”

“I couldn't even get you to talk to me. Deacon came and stayed at the house for a while because I
asked him to. You threw him out too.”

“Those first weeks were hard. But I remember you started cooking for yourself and it smelled pretty
good, so I ate with you. And you just kind of took over the cooking.”
“If I didn't cook, you wouldn't eat. I busted my ass to try to make things better for you because I didn't
know what else to do. And what was my reward? When you did pull yourself together, you
disappeared into your work and your whores. You checked out. You quit on me.”

“I did.”

“We were supposed to help each other and you weren't there! So I was like fuck it, you know? I was a
ball of rage and hurt and I blamed you for all of it. I quit on everything too. I just wanted to drown out
all the noise and I sure as shit found my ways.”

“And then I blamed you for acting out and making my life harder. It's embarrasing to even say that out
loud, but it's true.”

“We're some pair, aren't we? At each other's throats over something that was beyond our control. We
both really screwed everything up, didn't we?”

“Royally. And we let it go on for far too long. As the adult in the situation, the responsibility for that
falls on me. At the time, I felt like I did everything I could think of to make you happy. You hated it
here so I let you go to that boarding school you wanted to go to. You got kicked out. We tried another
school. You didn't like that one, so you bailed. Somehow, we still managed to get you into the college
you wanted. And that didn't work either.”

“School? Why would you bring that up? Because of all the money you wasted?”

“No! I don't care about the damn money. What kind of monster do you think I am?”

“You sure you wanna ask me that? This is not about school! It's about you watching me fall apart and
not even trying to help me pull it back together.”

“What the hell was I supposed to do? I begged you to go to rehab! I couldn't even get you to see a
shrink.”

“I was a kid Sammy! You shouldn't have given me a choice!”

“And what would you have done if I'd forced the issue? You would've told me to go fuck myself,
right?” He gave her a moment and she nodded solemnly. “I guess I was scared you'd just take off.
And I'd lose you forever. I couldn't take another loss like that.”

“You let me run wild because you were afraid I'd run away?”

His turn to nod. He couldn't meet her eyes. He knew it was a chicken shit excuse. But it was the truth,
and he needed her to know it.

“I could've died out there, at least half a dozen times. You have no idea,” she said quietly.

“I do have some idea. I had to pick you up at the police station a few times.”

“At least it wasn't the fucking morgue.”

“Were you trying to hurt yourself?”

That question stopped her anger cold. She hesitated before she said, “No.” Then, “I don't know. I just
wanted to be numb. Not necessarily dead, but numb.”

He didn't know what to say to that.

“I guess I was on the same path as Marion when you think about it.”

Flumoxed, he reached for his wine as a momentary diversion. When he saw his hand on the glass, he
realized exactly what he was doing. “Self-medicating is in your genes. As is avoidance.” Pushing the
glass away, “I've... had a little therapy myself.” After a moment, he asked, “Do you talk to her at all?
Marion?”

“I have a couple of times. It's a work in progress, finding common ground with her. She's trying. We
just don't really know each other, and it's still hard for me. I don't know, it's like... when rage is all
you've felt for someone for so many years, it's hard to let that go.”

“It becomes your armor.”

“Yeah. What do I do with that?”

“Take it off? Put it down?”

Nic took a deep breath and said, “God, I really wish we could just stop relitigating the past. We're still
here. And I do think we're gonna be OK evetually.”

“We can be. But I also think talking about this stuff is how we break the cycle. You can say anything
to me, all right?”

She nodded. A small, hopeful smile surprising them both.

“I'm not your enemy,” Sammy said quietly. “I just wanna be your dad.”

“I want that too.”

“Right now I can at least feed you.”

He went to the stove and pulled the plates over to serve up his carefully-prepared meal. It was an
escape valve and they both knew it. But a moment to regroup was welcome.

Sitting down to tuck-in, Nic said, “Thank you for peeling and beheading the shrimp for me. I
appreciate it.”

“Less authentic this way, but I think I still got enough flavor in it.”

She took a bite. “Mmmm. Hell yeah, you did. It's great, but it tastes a little different somehow.”
“Oh, I used a non-alcoholic cooking sherry instead of the really good red wine I usually use. I wasn't
sure what the AA rules are for booze in the food.”

“Booze cooks off. And I'm not in AA.”

“Sorry, I just assumed.”

“I'm sure that works great for some people. Just wasn't for me. There are other ways.”

“What worked for you?”

“Your boot camp, for starters. No shit. As much as I hated it, I had to function, didn't I? Then there
was Harry. How could I use around the kid? Then Jolie. I wanted to feel every second I spent with
her. Still do. I think maybe you get that part at least. Right?”

He nodded.

“I don't struggle to be present anymore because I have a life that I love. In all its weird, imperfect
glory.”

“Simple as that?”

“Well, apparently, for some people, addictions can be situational. Real, genetic disposition toward it
makes it harder. I'm not saying I haven't wanted a drink here and there. Probably, what I miss most is
weed, honestly. But I don't need it. It's not a fairytale or whatever, but I can handle the difficulties and
lows now. I know they're temporary, and I'm not alone anymore.”

He nodded again. He got it all. Finally. He was feeling similar reawakenings in himself since his
relationship with Carly took a romantic turn. Hope and comfort could go a long way.

“Speaking of studio boot camp, you remember my friend Rad Tisdale?”

“The little girl from next door? Sure.”

Nic smiled at how Sammy remembered her.

Then he said, “She was always getting you into mischief.”

Oh, if only you knew, she thought.

“Have you seen her?”

“Yeah, she's got an apartment off the Boardwalk in Venice. She's just painting and knocking around.”
She pulled up the selfie she took with Rad and showed it to Sammy.

He smirked. “She still looks like trouble.”

“She's OK. Just kinda... aimless.”

“How's she making a living?”

“TFB. She's bored. That's dangerous. She needs a challenge. Something to do.”

“What are you saying?” He pushed her phone back to her across the table.

“Maybe she could use studio boot camp.”

“Oh no. I'm not picking up strays.”

“Doesn't have to be you. Maybe you could recommend her as an intern to someone else. But if it was
you, she might just thrive. She's so creative, and she's got personality for miles. She'd keep everyone
laughing all day. She's also a people-pleaser, so she'd do a good job.”

“Is she sober?”

“I told her she would have to be.”

Sammy scowled grimly. He remained unconvinced that he should even consider doing this. Did he
have the strength?

“Can you just meet with her? See what you think?”

“OK, tell her to show up sober and just be herself. I need a baseline to see if this is workable. I'll
check my schedule tomorrow and give you a time.”

“Cool.”

“Speakng of TFBs, I restored your trust fund. You should be receiving the paperwork back... home.”

“Hey, I ain't no TFB.” She swiped playfully at his hand. “You know I'm not living like that. I just
wanted the cushion back.”

He smiled. “I know. I wish I hadn't done what I did. I am genuinely sorry for every shitty thing I've
done to you, Nicole. All my kneejerk asshole moves.”

“I'm sorry too. For giving up and wasting all those years being mad at you, blaming you for Marion's
fuck-ups. That wasn't fair. I know I hurt you too. Hell, you might've been a better dad if I'd just let
you. Even if things can't be what most people would call normal between us, I want you to know that I
forgive you.”

“You get a pass. On all of it. You don't really require forgiveness for reacting to insanity that was
beyond your control or understanding. But for what it's worth, for the fear and the hurt I did feel in the
wake of your reactions, I forgive you too.”

“Tabula rasa?” Nic asked.

“Tabula rasa,” Sammy confirmed. “And I want you to know that I'm proud of you. For getting sober.
For deciding you want to write. I love the new 'song'.” He smiled unironically when he air-quoted it
because it wasn't mocking, it was truth.

“Damn...” she marvelled. “You've never said that to me before.”

“That cannot posibly be true.”

“OK, maybe not never, but sure as shit not for a long time.”

He glanced up as if weighing that and then nodded. “OK, let's focus on the future from now on.”

“Sounds like a plan. So what's going on for you next?”

“Well, I do have a couple of jobs cooking that I can't talk about yet. Beyond that, just spending as
much time with Carly as we can find.”

“She's somethin' else.”

“She really is. Maybe it's too soon to be thinking like this, but just between us, she makes me feel like
I might want to get married again. It's just damned impossible with me out here and her based in
Nashville.”

“Can't you record anywhere?”

“Sure.”

“Then why do you need to live here anymore? You moved out here initially because it's where the
industry was and you were trying to work with the best, right?”

He nodded, chasing a bite of shrimp with a sip of wine.

“Things have kinda changed, haven't they? Don't you know you're Sammy fucking Lightner? You can
work anywhere you want. Even Nashville. The studios there are stellar, right? And the players are top
notch?”

“Indeed.” He considered that.

“What do you really have here anymore? Nashville is closer for Deacon's no-flying ass. I'm an east
coaster-now. Granny would be ecstatic. Why couldn't you move back there to be with your woman?”

He was stunned silent.

“I mean if you love her. Do you?”

He nodded.

“Then grow a pair. Do something! You wanna let another good thing slip through your hands?”

“Meaning?”
“Meaning maybe you could've made something real happen with Jolie a long time ago, if you'd ever
actually tried. Who knows? Thank God you didn't because where would I be? The point is it's a
whole new world now. If you wanna be with Carly, go be with Carly. Just pull up stakes and move
your ass.”

“Like you?”

She threw him a glare, but smiled. “Hell yeah!”

“I'm not a kid, Nicole.”

“So what? You've pretty much accomplished everything you ever wanted to out here. You've got more
money than you could ever spend. What's really holding you back?”

“You wouldn't miss this place at all?”

“Nope. I just feel like LA has this... unshakeable stink of desperation all over it. And the house? It's
just a house. They have those everywhere, you know? Getting the hell out of here did wonders for me.
It's like it freed me from Marion's ghost. Dad, the only thing I have left in LA now, is you.”

***

An hour later, as she helped her father clean up the giant mess he made in his kitchen, Nic began to feel
uncomfortable rumblings in her lower gut. At first, she dismissed it as a bit of gas from the very rich
dinner she'd just plowed through. But the feeling grew, and then a sharp pain doubled her over.

“You OK?” Sammy asked.

“I don't know. Kinda feels like bad gas.”

“Uh oh. Hope the shellfish was OK.”

“Yeah, I'll be right back.” She grabbed her mini backpack and went to the nearest bathroom. And felt a
gush. “Crap!” she exclaimed. She fished in her bag and thankfully found a tampon.

When she rejoined her dad in the kitchen a few minues later, he was still concerned. “Did you get
sick?”

“No, it's not that. Just my damn time, unfortunately. I was hoping it would wait till we got back
home.”

He nodded. “Well, I'm glad I didn't poison you at least.”

“You got any Tylenol or Advil?”

He fetched the requested meds and handed her the bottle. “Take it with you.”

She downed a couple of pills and shoved the bottle in her bag. “Hate to cut it short, but I'm gonna take
off before it gets too bad.”
“Sure.”

He walked her to the door and she hugged him. “Thanks for doing this. It was great.”

He relished the feeling of getting a warm hug from his daughter. “Thanks for agreeing to it.”

“Probably won't see you again before we leave on Sunday.”

“That's OK, I understand. Safe travels.”

“Think about what I said about moving to Nashville, will ya?”

“I will.”

She nodded and turned to go.

“Nic,” he called after her. “Just wanna say I love you kid. Call your old man once in a while, OK?”

“I will. Love you too Dad.”

On the way back to the beach house, Nic stopped by a drug store to buy a heating pad. That usually
helped with her stomach and lower back pain. She fumed at how the fun was obviously over now for
the rest of the trip. Some people might like sex on the rag. She wasn't one of them. There was too
much pain in the pelvic area. And also, it squicked her out. She felt gross and unsexy and it was just a
total no-go.

***

Friday was Jolie's last day in the studio. There was one vocal she was not happy with and wanted to re-
record, and there were some fills and tweaks to work on here and there. When she left that morning,
Nic was still in bed with her heating pad. They both knew that was likely where she would remain for
the bulk of the day. It didn't always hit her this hard, but when it did, she was hobbled for a day or two.
Jolie sat on the bed beside her, reached over and brushed a lock off Nic's forehead. “I'm walking out
the door. You sure there's nothing else you need?”
“Nah, I'll be OK. I just feel weirdly tired. I'll probably sleep a little longer.”
“I'll bring dinner back. Nothing too heavy, I know.” She kissed Nic on the forehead. “Hope you feel
better. Call me if you need me. For anything. Even just to talk.”
“I don't wanna bother you at work. We have tonight and all of tomorrow to hang out before we have to
go home. Go finish your business here.”
***
It was 6 PM. Her gear was all packed. She'd checked her bag a few times already. Why was she
hesitating? Was she just not ready to leave?
Sammy entered the recording booth. Jolie sighed and sat on the arm of a sofa.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Yeah. I just realized I am actually gonna miss this place. And I really need to thank you for
everything you've ever done for me.”
His heart actually skipped a beat. “Jesus, this sounds like goodbye.”
“Hell no, it's not that. You're family. What it is is something I should have done a long time ago. I
wanna tell you what you've meant to me. You've been there for me when no one else was. You've been
a great friend, lover, mentor. There's no question I would not be where I am without you. I just really
want you to know how much I love and appreciate you, OK?”
“Because you won't ever be coming back.”
“Probably not. It feels like time to move on.”
“From me.”
“Nah man. Just from the whole LA thing. I was actually gonna ask you if you might have some time
to chime in on the studio build I'm getting all geeked up about. Because this isn't the last time we're
gonna work together Sammy. Just the last time out here. I don't need LA anymore. Maybe once I get
up and running on that project, I could pick your brain?”
“Sure.”
She hugged him.
“I want to thank you too. For trusting me all these years, even if we didn't always agree. And for all
the fun we had.”
She gave him a small smile.
“And also for taking care of Nic.” His voice broke. “She's... well, I can tell she's really happy with
you. And I can relax now because I know she's gonna be OK.”
She hugged him again. “You should come back east for Christmas.”
“I might be going to Nashville for the holidays this year.”
“Good for you.” She smacked his arm, then kissed his cheek. “I'm gonna get outta here before I cry or
something.”
He nodded. “Safe travels.”
***
Back at the beach house, Nic's period made her want to spend most of the day in bed. She eventually
got up and had a small lunch of soup and hot tea. Then she decided to lounge on the deck since it was
an overcast day. She brought a book, a notebook, and a large water bottle with her. She read a little,
scibbbled a few things, dozed a bit and began to feel somewhat human again.
After work, when Jolie got home, they ate a light dinner on the deck.
“It'll be my turn soon enough,” Jolie remarked.
“Hmm?”
“To go OTR. I always catch up with you. Probably Sunday when we're on our way back home. It'll
hit me on the plane or something.”
“Ugh, baby, I hope not.”
“You feel like taking a walk on the beach? A little exercise'll do you good. Then we can settle in and
watch a comforting movie we've already seen too many times.”
“Sounds perfect.”
As they walked along, listening to the gulls that fluttered around, and the waves that lapped at the land,
Jolie began to hum. Nic vaguely recognized the tune. “What's that? Sounds familiar.”
“Down by the sea is where you drown your scars,” she sang.
“Oh, uh.... 'Malibu' by Hole, right?”
“Yeah, just popped into my head.”
“Feels like I did a little bit of that, scar-drowning.”
“Yeah? I'm glad.”
“Kinda ready to go home though. It still feels too complicated out here for me.”

“Yeah, but all in all, a pretty good trip, wouldn't you say? You got to see some old friends, beat up
some assholes, have lots of uninhibited sex, work some shit out with your dad, write something
gorgeous that turned into two songs...”

Nic laughed. “Yeah, I'm not sure causing another scandal was a good time, but otherwise, it was totally
cool.”

“Stop it. You didn't cause anything.”

“Still wish it didn't happen.”

“I do too, but only because you got hurt, and it all just sucked.”

Nic threw her a sideways smile and squeezed her hand.

“So, I was thinking about our anniversary.” Jolie returned those gestures. “Maybe we could go to New
Orleans.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you could see your people.”

“You just wanna meet Sammy's mom,” Nic teased.

“I do.”

“Hanging out with my granny on my anniversary. Such a romantic idea,” she laughed.

“It could be. Come, don't overthink it. It'll be fun. We can do some sightseeing, enjoy a little of the
nightlife, break a fancy hotel bed...”

“Oh...” Now that was an idea she could get behind. “OK, yeah, um, I'm in.”

“Cool.”

“You ever spend any time in the city?”

“Stayed a week there once, but it was ages ago. Did some touristy stuff with Harry, ate some great
food. It was the middle of summer though and it was hot as hell. Mosquitos terrorized us.”

“This is a better time of year to go. A weekend isn't really enough, but we'll find some mischief to get
into.”

“We can head down there on Thursday morning, come back on Monday night.”

“Sounds good. Haven't seen Granny in like three years. Wonder what she'll make of you.”

“What will she make of you? She's never even met Nic Vickery.”

“God, you're right. I was not in good shape the last time she saw me.”

“Well, you're in excellent shape now, and it's about time she got an update.”

Nic let go of Jolie's hand and threw an arm around her, turning her face for a quick kiss as they strolled.
She felt her toes sink into the warm sand with each step and that grounded her. “I love you, you know.”

Jolie stopped them and fell onto her lips, languished there, cherished the taste, the feel. Hearing her
wife utter those three glorious little words always flipped her switch. Knowing tonight was going to be
about easing Nic's discomfort, she kept the switch in neutral. “I do know. But it's nice to hear it out
loud once in a while.”

“I may not say it every day, but I mean it every day.”

“You show it every day.”

Nic smiled. “I try.” She threaded their fingers together again and they walked on.

“So, NOLA then?”

“NOLA.”

“Cool.” Then, a stray thought hit Jolie hard. A thought, she admonished herself, she should have had
long before bringing up the idea. “Wait, is this another trip that might trigger bad memories for you?”

“Nah, we won't go anywhere near LSU. Or my old haunts. Or my friends.”

“I said the destination should be your choice then I co-opted it. I'm such a jerk. We can go anywhere
else if you'd rather.”
“No, let's do it. My granny's place is really cool. It's peaceful there. Sammy tried to buy her a new
fancy house when he got successful, but she wouldn't have it. So he bought up all the property around
the old homestead and bankrolled her to fix it up or build onto it however she wanted to. She's a real
character so she made it into a unique experience.”

“Why didn't you go there more often when you were in town?”

Nic took a moment to think about that. “I should've. But I just didn't wanna be alone with myself. My
crazy thoughts, all that sadness and anger. I needed the noise to drown it all out.”

“Won't it be nice to spend time there now, in that peace? With clearer thoughts? Hopefully less
sadness and anger?”

“Far less anger, only a little sadness. Might not ever be free of that completely. But I'm not gonna let it
run me anymore.”

“Right on.” Jolie slowed them to a stop and turned to look out over the sea. The sunset was obscured
by the cloud cover, and the winds were picking up. The languid waves from earlier were giving way to
stronger ones. “I will miss this beach. It's so pretty here.”

Nic stepped behind her and wrapped her in relaxed arms. “Mmmhmm.”

“We'll just have to find other pretty beaches to visit.”

“Sure. The Gulf Coast is gorgeous.”

Jolie drew a long breath and leaned back into Nic's soft embrace. “Some people get energy from the
ocean. I get peace. What do you get?”

Nic shrugged. “Little bit of both, I guess. I felt really good out there on that deck. I read, I wrote, I
even dozed off once in a while. The gulls, the boats, the people walking by. It's like, it was beautiful,
but I was detached from it. Almost felt like it was all just there for my entertainment. Like background
in a movie scene, just rolling past, not really real. I guess that's kind of weird.”

“Either it's an existential crisis, or just an artist's detachment.”

Nic laughed. “I'm probably more crisis than art.”

“Art is crisis. We salvage what we can from that place.”

“I gotta figure out how to do more of that. Break that wall. Quit resisting going deeper. Not sure what
I'm so afraid of. It's like with Sammy, my instinct was to try to get past our shit, stop reliving it. But
he says we should be able to talk about things if we need to. I don't know, maybe I'm better off dealing
with it my way.”

“I get it. When you can't talk to anyone else, you can talk to your notebook. But you know you can
also always talk to me. About anything.”
“Back at ya.” Nic mulled for a moment before she said, “If I do break the wall though, whatever I find
there belongs to me. I need to use it.”

“Write about it, you mean.” Not a question.

“Yeah. If I'm going to have to keep confronting the past, whether I want to or not, it's gonna become
my fodder. I'm gonna own it.”

Jolie turned in her arms, held her. “Yep. Make art from your pain and give it to the people so maybe
they understand their own a little bit better. That's what we're supposed to do. I'm proud of you.”

“Wow, that's the second time I've heard that in two days. Is there some kind of delirium going
around?”

“Shut up,” Jolie hugged her lovingly.

Nic sighed in her embrace, so contented, so warm.

Jolie pulled back to look at her wife. “How you feelin'? You getting' tired? Wanna turn around.”

“I'm good,” Nic assured her. “But we can turn around if you want to.”

“Let's get you back. I plan to spend the next two days taking care of you, making you as comfortable
as possible until we have to get on that plane for home. Sound good?”

“Sounds wonderful. Can I have ice cream?”

“Darlin', you can have anything you want.”

***

Just as they were about to board the plane for home that Sunday, Jolie got a call from Harry. Her heart
skipped just for a split second. She wasn't sure why he would be calling now. He knew she was
heading home. Still annoyed with him, she answered, “Now you call me? We're getting on a plane.”

But her aggravation was met with the sound of her son crying, frantic. She couldn't understand a word
he was saying. “OMG, baby, what's happening? Slow down and try again.”

He struggled to catch his breath. Finally, he was able to choke out, “Trouper collapsed. We're rushing
him to the emergency vet.”

“You and Grampa?”

“Yeah.”

“OK, take it easy sweetie. Just try to be calm for Trouper and let your grampa handle everything. We'll
be home in about 6 or 7 hours. I wish there was more we could do. Keep us updated, OK?”

***
Two hours later, after they were able to turn on their phones again, Jolie received a text from her father.

“He didn't make it, hun. I'm so sorry. Vet says it was heart failure.”

“Oh God,” Jolie said when she read it. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

Nic leaned over and looked at the text. “No way!” She also began to cry.

Jolie texted her dad. “How's Harry?”

“About like you'd expect. Alice is with him.”

“Thanks Dad.” She turned her phone off and ran a hand over her face. “I can't believe this happened.
It's what I get for fighting with my kid while I'm not there to take care of him.”

“This isn't your fault. Trouper was fourteen years old. We could all see that he was slowing down.”

“Yeah, but his last check-up was good.”

“That's the tough thing with animals. It's hard to know when they're hurting because they can't tell us.”

“My poor boy. We've been mad at each other for over a week, and all I wanna do right now is hug
him.” She began to cry again.

A handsome, young male flight attendant named Andy approached cautiously at that point. “Ms.
Vickery,” he said softly, kneeling beside Jolie, “is there anything I can do for you right now?”

She patted his hand and Nic noticed that her wife's hand was shaking. “No sweetie, I just got some bad
news from home. I'll be OK in a minute.”

“OK, let me know if you change your mind.” He stood and straightened his uniform vest.

“On second thought Andy, can I get a double bourbon, rocks?”

When he was gone, Nic took Jolie's hand.

“I can't do this. Harry's had that dog since he was five. He's...”

“I know. It's gonna be a long flight. But we'll get through it. And be there for our boy.”

“I love that silly mutt. He was so sick and wild when we got him. We nursed him back to health and
Harry just loved on him till he settled down. Once he bonded with the kid, Trouper just followed him
everywhere and he became so gentle.”

Tears poured from Nic's eyes now. “The sweetest.”

“You just go along all dumb and happy, thinking everything's great and then someone you love is just
gone? What the hell?”
Nic sure knew that feeling.

Andy returned with a highball glass containing just the right amount of ice, and two Maker's Mark shot
bottles.

Long flight indeed.

~~~END~~~