The next morning, the annoying ringing of her hotel room telephone woke Helen up from her deep sleep.

“Hello?”

“Rise and shine, blondie; we’re in my balcony. Liv is here, too. We’re waiting for you.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

Oh, for crying out loud,” Helen thought to herself. “It sounded pretty good out there. I definitely heard laughter. Too bad I’m in the crappiest mood ever. Oh well… I’ve missed Liv. I’d love to see her again, although I’m sure she can’t be much help.

James let Helen in the suite and went to the kitchen with Rick. She could hear her friends’ loud laughter, long before she joined them on the balcony. And, incredibly enough, Gina was the one who seemed to be having the best time of the lot. Indeed, the slender redhead was ecstatic. She didn’t resemble at all the stiff, cynical woman she had met a few months ago.

“Welcome to L.A. you guys.” Helen said, her voice still rather hoarse, as she stepped out into the balcony.

“How’s my sweetheart doing?” Olivia smiled up at her, arms open as Helen approached.

“I’m good.” Helen said, hugging her friend. “Hey, Gina.”

“Shandaken girl!” Gina’s squeaky voice and her huge hug baffled her even further. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Ok, this is weird. Gina never does that.” Helen remarked, seating herself across from Olivia.

“People change, sweetie.” Olivia winked at her.

“Especially when they have a new boyfriend,” Michelle teased.

“I am not going to comment on that,” Gina spoke, jutting her chin up as she averted her gaze from Michelle.

“I’m happy for you, Gina.” Helen smiled. “Can I get some coffee over here?”

“Thank you, my dear.” Gina returned the smile. “I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but, for the first time in quite a while, I’m actually happy.”

“And Rick’s responsible!” Michelle taunted her again, as Olivia poured coffee into a mug.

“It is a little hard to believe.” Helen agreed.

“Personally, I don’t care.” Olivia voiced her opinion, handing Helen the mug. “He’s a little crude, but he is a nice guy. Who else would have tolerated James for so long?”

“Hey!” Helen exclaimed. “That’s your husband you’re talking about!”

“I know.” Olivia nodded. “But, let’s be honest here. Up till a few months ago, he was very, very high maintenance.”

“Sorry for asking, but what are you guys doing here?” Helen said, lifting the mug to her lips. “Liv, you said you had a few things to do in New York.”

“I did, but I missed my big brute.” A sly smile spread across Olivia’s face. “Plus, Rick wanted to discuss a few work-related issues with him.”

“And I wanted to visit L.A., at last.” Gina interjected. At that point, a song introduction filled the air. Before long, Rick emerged from the bedroom to the right, wrapped in a white sheet and a hairbrush in his hands, as the entire suite was rocked by Kiss’s “I was made for loving you”.

“This is going to be fun.” Michelle hummed. The four friends watched, as Rick danced around in the living room, eyes locked on Gina the entire time. Holding the hairbrush close to his mouth, he even pretended to sing it to her, pointing at her. Michelle, Olivia and Helen burst out laughing, but Gina was an entirely different matter. She focused her attention on him and would not take her eyes off her new boyfriend. Helen was laughing so hard that she pounded her hand on the table, as Olivia and Michelle collapsed into each other.

“You can laugh all you want.” Gina spoke in a snobby tone, as the song faded out. As the four friends quickly realized however, Rick’s performance was not over yet. He tossed the hairbrush across the floor and joined them in the balcony, with the same, silly look on his face.

“Great Lord…” He said, looking up into the sky, as he extended both arms. “It’s been a long time since you and I talked. I have not been your humblest of servants. I tend to swear a lot. I spend a lot of money on booze. I do not know if I am worthy of this huge honor to have this great piece of…” He paused, “… art in my life. Gina is…” Rick didn’t have time to finish his rant. Two massive arms emerged from behind him and pulled him backwards. “Hey, man!” He cried. “I’m not done yet!”

“Excuse us, ladies.” James said with a nod.

“Was he going to say ‘ass’?” Helen’s question made them laugh even harder.

“More than likely,” Gina replied. “He’s been focusing his comments on mine since Olivia’s wedding.”

“Is that why you’re dating him?” Michelle chuckled.

“You don’t have the least clue as to what kind of man he is.” Gina’s voice turned into a sweet, loving whisper. “He takes me to all kinds of fancy places, he introduces me to everyone, he’s a great listener, he pays attention to all of my needs, and the sex? Oh, my God. It’s just out of this world.”

“I’m intrigued,” said Helen as she raised an eyebrow.

“He gave me this amazing massage the other day.” Gina lowered her tone. “He’s got magic hands. They’re very soft. He was very patient with me. He rubbed me all over for more than two hours. All that pampering made me feel so good, so special… he spent more than twenty minutes massaging my butt. I couldn’t help but breathe hard and moan. We had the best time in bed.”

“God, that sounds hot…” Michelle commented. “I mean, can you imagine your boyfriend massaging you for that long? It’s got to feel good.”

“I was expecting that from him, really.” Helen spoke her mind. “The guy’s all about the ass.”

“Are you jealous, Shandaken girl?” Once again, Gina’s snobby tone reappeared, much to Helen’s annoyance.

“Damn it, what is wrong with you people?” She yelled. “James calls me ‘girl’ all the time, Marcus calls me ‘country girl’ and Gina calls me ‘Shandaken girl’. Helen! Ok? My name is Helen!”

“Whoa! Whoa!” Olivia exclaimed. “Calm down. First of all, who’s Marcus?”

“God…” Helen gave an exasperated huff. “He’s the biker from your wedding. He lives here.”

“What?” Olivia squeaked. “He…”

“That’s right, Liv.” Helen interrupted. “He lives here. We went out, a couple of nights ago. We had fun, we had sex and then, he practically kicked me out. Last night, Michelle and I ran into him. He’s a chef at this Italian restaurant in Glendale. I confronted him. I swear to God, I was this close to punching him in the face. But then…” Her voice broke, tears rising up in her eyes as she dropped her gaze from Olivia’s stare. “Then, he explained everything.”

“Oh, no,” Olivia whispered, rising from her seat. “Helen, what did he say?”

“He lied to me about his last name. He said it was ‘Hurst’, but it’s ‘Donovan.’ He’s some rich realtor’s son. He used to be in the marines. While in Iraq, he found out that some colonel had been dealing drugs. They got into a fight. Marcus killed him. There were witnesses, but they took them out, right before his eyes. The government told his father he was a traitor. He doesn’t know his son’s still alive.” A single tear rolled down Helen’s cheek, as she finished her short narrative.

“Sweetie, look at me.” Olivia urged, sitting down on her knees beside her. “Do you like this guy?”

“Very much;” Helen whispered; “Why?”

“We can try to help him.” Olivia declared, reaching up to cup her friend’s face. “Gina, tell her about Rick’s nephew.”

“Pete is a very skilled hacker.” Gina’s tone changed to an emphatic tone. “He’s the one who, um…”

“Say it, Gina.” Olivia commanded. “It’s all over, anyway.”

“He hacked into ‘Atlas Records’ database and retrieved the video of Olivia’s bribery.” Gina went on.

“We can ask him a favor.” Olivia spoke in her most comforting voice. “Don’t give up yet.”

“Liv, what are you talking about?” Frustration still lingered in Helen’s voice. “This is the Pentagon, for God’s sake. The level of security will be much higher, not to mention that hacking into a government agency is a felony. Honestly? I don’t think they’d be stupid enough to keep an electronic record of this.”

“Maybe,” Olivia shrugged. “But, I wouldn’t be wearing this ring on my hand if it hadn’t been for you. It’s the least I can do for my friend.”

“Oh, Liv…” Helen sniffled, reaching down. She put her hands on her friend’s shoulders and gently pulled her up, as Olivia wrapped her arms around her back. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” Olivia whispered, holding her tight, as Helen’s tears soaked her t-shirt; “Anytime.”

“Guys, I’m sorry to interrupt this emotional moment, but, I have a rehearsal with James at six and it’s blazing hot. I haven’t been to the beach yet. Let’s go catch some rays.” Michelle suggested. “The redhead here could use a tan.”

“What a great idea.” Gina’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come to L.A.”

“I’m going to talk to the guys.” Olivia spoke, easing her grip on Helen’s back. “I like that idea, too. Helen, don’t feel like you’ve lost just yet, ok?”

“Ok.” Helen nodded, wiping her tears off her face.

It’s hopeless, Liv. I don’t know how good a hacker this Peter guy is, but that’s not the point. I doubt he’ll want to go to jail for some stranger like me. Thanks a lot, though. That hug made me feel so much better.