She decided none of it really mattered because for the 1st time since leaving home, Reeyonna felt like a human being. They did some MDMA & went shopping before their early dinner. ReeRee bought herself a stunning dress from Ovum, the Kardashian’s new maternity line, and really did feel JustSpotted redcarpet glamorous. (She got Rikki an amazing beautiful shirt from Kitson, & jeans from 7For All Mankind.) She always wanted to own a pair of Louboutins and last week found a barely pre-walked pair online for $165. She wore bangles and nugget earrings from Belle Noel, Kim’s jewelry collection, with lots of beauty products knocking around in her purse, selecting what People said Kim and HeMo and Rachel Bilson had in theirs—FusionBeauty Lip Plump Color Shine in Flirt, Dior Style Liner liquid liner in Black, Motives pressed eyeshadow in Toast, Joico Flexible Shaping Spray & Joico hairspray. Getting rid of those cameras made her feel better too, like she had cut off another dead piece of her mother that was weighing her down.
Her grandma used to say, “Don’t just do something — sit there!” It felt so magical to just sit, to sit with your man in the 
y ambience of an amazing Hollywood restaurant and be waited on by pretty, young, happy-faced servers, talented, gorgeous people with probably the same exotic/normal hopes and dreams you had, actors, singer-songwriters & painters, plus Reeyonna thought a lot of them were more like her too in that they didn’t necessarily think of themselves as “artists” but of the type, say, who might want to become crime scene investigators or forensic pathologists should they have the time and money to go to med school or whatever school or lab you needed to go train. The servers made you feel good about yourself, they wanted you to love the food and the ambience (how could you not?), they wanted you just to be you, & to love yourself because if you did, it would be so obvious, you would shine, and shine your light on others, thus making it easier for them to love themselves even if it looked like they already did because a person could always love themselves more and the more they loved themselves the greater their love could be for you and the whole world. From their table Reeyonna saw part of a huge stone statue in the garden dining area (the person she spoke to on the phone said the garden tables were booked 6 months ahead at minimum), which their server (an actor, gay, who said he’d just done a New Girl) told them was an Indian god called Shiva. Shiva was young and freshfaced handsome, just like one of the servers, he looked so amazing and peaceful, a little like Ryan Seacrest but more manly, Shiva’s smile reminded her of Adam Levine’s right at that moment when his eyes are closed in blissful meditation and he’s about to press the button before the others. As Reeyonna sat there taking everything in she decided not even to let the baby weight she put on—30 lbs. — upset her. On the ride over they passed a Nike billboard that said you are entirely up to you, make your body, make your life, make yourself. She’d learn a lot from Nike ads/affirmations & decided now was the perfect time to truly “make” this body — and this life — her own. Because suddenly it was so clear how a small ripple that began with a romantic dinner at Sur between two people who loved each other & loved their servers and all the patrons too on a faultless dusk soon-to-be (not soon enough!) night in West Hollywood (as Shiva & perhaps some older celebrities in the garden looked on) could expand and travel one knew not where, becoming a wave of light & love that helped to make the world a better place.
OMG the food was crazy good. She couldn’t wait to bring her BFFs here, she missed them so much! Since she ran away everyone was planning to get together but something always happened and it got fucked up. ReeRee had the shrimp dumpling appetizer that http://www.twisting-the-nosh-away/sur-menu-faves/ said was a fave of the Olsens & Rikki had the calamari Jimmy Fallon scarfed whenever he was on the “Left Coast.” For their salads, Rikki chose the Fantasia (HeMo said it was to die for) and Ree settled on the deceptively simple amazingly fresh house salad. A taste bud treat! For her entree, she ordered the vegetarian Arborio rice that Alicia Silverstone, Amber Tamblyn & Anna Paquin found so alluring (Mrs. Paquin Moyer also adored the lemon picada chicken) & Rikki got the Ahi tuna that Lamar & Khloé twittered about. For dessert? A blackberry cobbler that Sur’s Facebook page said Dr. Drew always ordered “without fail” (also a fave of the late Jeff Conaway and the late Mike Starr), & a trio of sorbets which happened to be loved by the trio of Ivanka Trump, Ashlee Simpson & Lake Bell.
After three glasses of wine, ReeRee made up her mind to not just do something, sit there — meaning, past the verbally contracted 6:30PM ultimatum. It wasn’t until 6:45 that the hostess approached with a sweetly pained expression to say she needed their table, which by then was totally fine. ReeRee had proved her point, that she was someone to be reckoned with.
They sauntered out. Still no paparazzi & the night was still bright.
. .
They took Coldwater then turned left, west on Mulholland, tracing the mountain’s spine until they reached a lookout with benches facing the Valley. Rikki lit a joint & they smoked for a while, standing/straddling the little bike like a wooden horse and staring into the glittertwink.
“Rikki, I want to move out of that house.”
Silence.
Wind.
All of the lights, above & below.
She was buzzed from the weed and the 7.5 vikes.
The MDMA was fading…
“We can find like a little apt above a garage in Hollywood or even the Valley. On Craigslist month to month.”
Silence & whistly wind between silences.
“I just keep having this feeling, I’ve had it since I got pregnant. That once we get a home of our own, good shit’ll start to happen for us.”
They got off the bike and stood on the lip of the lookout where the grass met the dirt of the hill. Teenage wastedland. A good 10 minutes standing & staring into the bejeweled voidspace of the world. Benched themselves. Took in cityscape & night sky. Finished the blunt. Bathed in ½-wind/½-breeze, ½-warm/½-cool. ReeRee goosebumpshivered. Holyshit I am so loaded Rikki this shit is so intense I am so, sooooooooooo fucking stoned.
Jus sittin on the dark of the bench… wastin’ time. Wasted—
This bench is so weird…
… does it seem weird to you?
wind and silence wind and silence silence wind swhoosh swhoosh swhoosh what IS that. Oh. Cars. Three cars. That’s so weird they’re behind us but it totally sounded like they were in front of us. In the sky. A fourth one slows — a couple looking for their own empty lookout. They clock Ree & Rikki & then the car vanishes.
Half a swhoosh. . . . . …
“Rikki, you have got to promise me one thing, you have to. Our baby is going to be beautiful but if something’s wrong with it which there will not be but if there is you have to totally promise you will love it like you would a baby who was perfect.” Crying now. “Because what I’m saying is there is no such thing as a baby who isn’ttotally fucking perfect. Will you promise?”