Peter came up to the door of his house, still a little disoriented. He had almost left Cass's house without his clothes, which wasn't the hugest problem in the world since he spent most of his time around the house naked, but he didn't want to freak Natalie out by entering the house in the nude. Before he opened the door, he silently prepared himself for whatever would be going on behind it. Peter took a deep breath and opened it to hear the sound of loud cheering and laughing. Jumping in surprise, he was shocked to see Natalie and Stephen sitting on the couch with a game of Yahtzee.
"Yes, full house!" Natalie cheered. "Stephen, I can't believe you had this game in the house all this time and you never learned to play it! It's so much fun!"
"Yeah, that's easy to say when you're winning," said Stephen, rolling his eyes and taking up the dice. "Oh, hey Peter!"
"Hey," said Peter groggily. "Look at that, you didn't destroy the place."
"Of course not silly," said Natalie as Stephen rolled the dice. "We just dug around in the basement looking for something to do, and we found Yahtzee! I still can't believe you guys never played it."
"Yahtzee!" Stephen exclaimed, making Natalie and Peter jump. "Yes! In your face Natalie, I'm kicking your ass!"
"Not yet, you're not," said Natalie. "Just because you got a 'Yahtzee' doesn't mean you win!"
"Isn't that what the game's called?" asked Peter.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean a thing," said Natalie. "By the way, how was your night? You look like you've had an awfully good time."
"It was okay," said Peter, not really wanting to discuss it while Stephen was all riled up.
"Oh, come on Peter, don't be silly," chided Natalie. Oh well, Peter thought. At least she was in a good mood. "Your eyes are red, you smell like a Grateful Dead concert, and, between you and me—well, Stephen too—you still look to have a raging semi!"
Peter jumped and looked down. He hadn't noticed it before with how tired he was, but, sure enough, there was a slightly-bigger-than-usual bulge in the crotch of his pants from the lack of release from that morning. He knew he should have woken the girl up…of course, he was wondering how Natalie noticed it and why she had been looking there in the first place…
Stephen and Natalie laughed as Peter turned red and did a weird crossed-legged crab walk into the kitchen. "Pete, come on man, it's not that bad!" said Stephen through his giggles.
"Why the hell are you looking?" Peter called, embarrassed, from the kitchen.
"Well, once it's called to attention, it's sort of noticeable!" said Stephen. "I dunno Natalie, maybe his night was better than this morning." Natalie giggled and Peter turned even redder. He should be more embarrassed by Stephen poking fun at him, not Natalie! Maybe he was just too comfortable with Stephen.
"Well Natalie, when all of this excitement dies down," said Peter, bracing himself for a stupid reply from Stephen. "I thought that I'd maybe show you around the neighborhood; have you get to know everyone, or at least some people."
"Wow Peter, I'd like that very much," said Natalie. "Stephen's been telling me who lives around here!"
"Yeah, there are some pretty groovy people," said Peter, coming out of the kitchen, all—uh—relaxed. "I'm gonna get a coffee and we can go, if you're up to it."
"Wait," said Stephen. "If you were just in the kitchen and you didn't have a coffee…then what were you doing in there?" He smiled and his eyes glittered wryly.
"Not what you think, pervert," said Peter. "I'll be back." He walked back into the kitchen, ignoring Stephen's and Natalie's giggles again. Peter made his coffee black; he figured the stronger the better, with the night he had. His head was pounding, but he'd bring Natalie out anyway. She seemed perfectly happy at the moment with some human interaction, so her meeting more people would only make her happier, right? When his cup was filled, he made his way out to the living room where Natalie and Stephen were wrapping up their game.
"I still don't understand how you can get a Yahtzee and still lose the fucking game," said Stephen, perplexed.
"Maybe you'll win next time," said Natalie. She looked up at Peter with her glittering blue eyes, eager. "Are we going soon, Peter?"
"Yeah," said Peter, taking a sip. He flinched with the heat of the coffee and pulled a face as it burnt his tongue.
"Aww, was it too hot?" Stephen cooed, as if a mother talking to her baby. Natalie smiled; it seemed like her happy high was going down. Women were such roller coasters…
"Ya wanna find out? I'll spill it on you," joked Peter. "Come on Natalie, let's go. You coming, Stephen?"
"Nah, I'll stay, I'll let you and Natalie catch up with each other," said Stephen. "I also gotta find some kind of way to beat that damn game too. Have fun guys."
"Don't hurt yourself Stephen," said Natalie, standing up to go next to Peter. "I really am looking forward to seeing everybody."
"Okay Natalie, let's go," said Peter. "You sure you want to stay, Stephen?"
"Yeah Pete, I'll be fine," said Stephen. "See you two later."
"Bye, Steve," said Peter as he and Natalie walked out the door. Natalie gave a soft smile to Stephen, who returned it, but not without feeling a weird leaping in his chest. He covered up the odd movement that came along with the lurching with a stupid-sounding laugh, to which Peter frowned at and Natalie's smile disappeared into a look of confusion.
"Heartburn," Stephen said quickly, knowing just how dumb it sounded as it came out of his mouth.
"Drink a soda," said Peter, obviously not believing whatever that was. Stephen nodded and Natalie continued to stare, seeming to be a completely different person than she had been a few minutes ago. She gave one last quick smile as she and Peter finally stepped outside and closed the door behind them.
"That was rather odd," said Natalie as she and Peter walked down the street. "I swear, he was just fine a moment ago…Stephen's a strange man, isn't he?"
"He can be," said Peter. "But trust me when I say there are stranger." He made a turn and Natalie followed. "Not in a bad way though, they're all good people." He made his way down to Cass's house again; there were probably still plenty of people there, and chances were the party was dying down by now, so Natalie wouldn't get a glimpse of all the freaks.
"And what good people are these?" asked Natalie.
"A good friend of mine, and probably some more," said Peter, opening the door to Cass's house again.
"The door's unlocked?" asked Natalie, looking perplexed.
"Of course," said Peter. "We're all friends here." He walked inside and urged a nervous and anxious Natalie to do the same. "Cass! I'm back! With company!" Peter called.
"Cass?" Natalie muttered under her breath, thinking…oh, it couldn't be. But, of course, if Peter Tork of The Monkees and Stephen Stills of The Buffalo Springfield lived here, then Mama Cass of The Mamas and the Papas wasn't a huge stretch. Sure enough, just as soon as Peter called, who else but Big Mama herself came into the main room.
"Peter, so nice to see you!" she said with open arms. "Long time no see, am I right?" She beamed, obviously joking, since this was where Peter was just a few hours earlier. Her eyes fell on Natalie. "And who's this?"
"Cass, this is my friend Natalie," said Peter. "She's staying here for a while. Natalie, this is—well—from the look on your face I don't think I need to tell you who!"
"Oh yes, I remember you saying something about her," said Cass. "Hey there Natalie! Come on, have a seat, can I get you anything?"
"Oh, no, not for me, thanks," said Natalie, dazed and going to the couch. Peter sat down beside her.
"All right then," said Cass. "Peter? Anything for you?"
"Coffee, please," said Peter.
"Another one?" asked Natalie. Peter shrugged as Cass chuckled and went to the kitchen to get a cup for him.
"I need it," said Peter.
"So…Mama Cass, eh?" asked Natalie as the two of them were left alone.
"Yep," said Peter. "She's sort of the Queen on the Canyon. She knows everybody, and everybody knows her. Also, her parties are legendary."
"I've heard a thing or two about yours," said Natalie, cocking an eyebrow.
"I haven't had any in a while," said Peter.
"Why not?" asked Natalie.
"Just a bunch of stuff, we'll talk about it later," said Peter as Cass came back with his cup of coffee. "Thanks, Cass," he said as he took the cup.
"So Natalie, what brings you to the Canyon?" asked Cass, taking her own seat.
"Um…" said Natalie, not exactly sure what to say. She didn't want to go into all of her reasons; breaking down and emptying everything in front of Peter was okay, but she just didn't know Cass well enough to do the same for her. "Just looking for a change of scenery," Natalie said instead. "And Peter and I had been in contact, so I thought this would be the place to be, ya know?" Peter glanced quickly over at her, knowing what a load of crap she had just said, but not saying a word. Natalie smiled back in appreciation.
"Well, you're right," said Cass. "This is the place to be. Have you met anyone else yet?"
"Peter lives with Stephen Stills," said Natalie. "So I've met him. He's about it so far though."
Cass laughed. "He's a good kid," she said. "All he does is music…when he's not chilling and jamming with Peter here, he's always off singing with David!"
"David Crosby, from The Byrds," said Peter to Natalie.
"Oh!" exclaimed Natalie. "My, Stephen is an interesting character! He's living with Peter, dating Judy Collins, and now you tell me he sings with David Crosby? What a man."
"Sounds like you must really like him," said Cass, grinning.
"Oh, my, yes!" said Natalie, not catching Cass's insinuation. Peter, instead of grinning along with Cass, felt a surge of jealousy go through him. But why? Stephen was likeable, and he knew that Natalie liked him, or else she wouldn't have come to stay with him. Maybe it was because he was used to being the friend.
"That's good, you'll probably be seeing a lot of him," said Cass. "So Natalie, what do you do?"
"What do you mean?" asked Natalie.
"I mean what do you do, what's your bag?" asked Cass.
"Oh, well…I have a hand at singing, I guess," said Natalie. "And guitar…I guess you can say I do a bit of folk singing."
"Oh!" said Cass. "Then you'll fit right in here! Peter, have you ever heard her sing?"
"Yes, I have," said Peter, remembering the second time they had met, backstage after a Monkees concert. Despite Mike's bitching and moaning about it (he and Natalie didn't get along quite well), Natalie took Mike's guitar and sang "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen. It was the most beautiful sound Peter had ever heard, but Natalie was modest. "She sounds wonderful," Peter said with a genuine smile.
"Oh, Peter, you're such a flatterer," said Natalie with a swat of her hand.
"Honey, if Peter says you're good, then you're good," said Cass. "This man doesn't bullshit!" At that moment, one of the doors in the house opened and the blonde girl that Peter had been with last night came walking out into the living room. She didn't stop; she just walked out and gave Peter an immensely flirty and sexy stare as she flounced out of the house. Cass chuckled. "Heard that you had fun with her last night, eh Pete?"
"To be honest, I don't remember a thing," said Peter, who really was finding last night fuzzy.
"I guess that's the best kind of time," said Natalie. "Peter, do you think I'd be able to walk around alone for a while? I do need to get some fresh air."
"Go right ahead," said Peter, wondering if it was because of the blonde girl. Of course, Natalie knew that it wasn't because of her; she really did need to explore for a while. She found it strange how she went so quickly from needing human interaction to alone time. She hoped her roller coaster would end soon, but little did she know it hadn't even begun yet.
"I'll be back," said Natalie. "I'll either come back here, or back to your place; whichever I feel like."
"Okay Nat, see you later," said Peter, happy that she was interested in the neighborhood, but wishing she would stay. Natalie smiled like she had at Stephen and walked out the door.
Cass leaned over to Peter once Natalie had left. "You have some feelings for that girl, don't you?" she asked.
Peter laughed softly. "She's a friend," said Peter. "I just hope she feels better…she is pretty though."
"Are you still hung up on Reine then?" asked Cass.
"I dunno," said Peter. "I just think I'm hung up on myself."
"Meaning?" asked Cass, waving her hand along.
"The band," said Peter. "It's killing me, Cass. I don't know what I'm gonna do after this tour…they want us to do a fucking TV special…it hurts to say this man, but I think I'm done with The Monkees."
"I don't blame you," said Cass. Peter smiled and Cass hugged him. But really…leave it to Natalie to come to Peter with her problems at the same time Peter was dealing with his own. Maybe they could lean each other in their hours of need.
Outside, Natalie wandered the street. She saw all the houses lined up nicely, but didn't see anyone standing outside; or at least anyone she knew. Not deterred, she kept going until she saw a young woman with an acoustic guitar sitting on the front porch of her house. At first Natalie wondered if she shouldn't bother the woman, but she started to walk up anyway. Peter had said that everyone in Laurel Canyon was friendly, so why not take a chance? The woman had long, straight blonde hair with bangs over her blue-grey eyes and a long face with high cheekbones that could almost be described as elfin. She was strumming her guitar with her long, graceful fingers and sang in a beautifully unique voice. As she saw Natalie approaching, she looked up from her guitar and smiled widely. "How do you do?" she asked.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted you," said Natalie frantically. "I'm just new here and thought I'd get to know the neighborhood."
"Oh, so you're the new girl," said the woman, putting her guitar aside and standing up. "People have been talking about you; you're staying with Peter, right?"
"How did people find out about me already?" Natalie asked, surprised.
"Well, Peter told Cass last night, and word gets around quickly here," said the woman. "I know how you feel also—I was the new girl in town before you came along. My name's Joni by the way, Joni Mitchell."
"I'm Natalie, Natalie Marshall," said Natalie. "So nice to meet you, Joni."
"So, word is that you came here from London for a change of scenery?" said Joni.
"Yes ma'am," said Natalie. Yeah, a change from her crazy, separating family and her ass of an ex-boyfriend…that was for sure.
"I'm not from here either," said Joni. "I was born in Canada. I've been all over the states, actually, but I was last in Florida before David Crosby came and plucked me right out of there! He brought me here, and let me tell you, this is the best place for a musician to be right now. Are you a musician?"
"Sort of," said Natalie. "I do a little singing."
"That's cool," said Joni. She took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one up. "Why don't you grab the guitar and do something? I'd like to hear."
"Oh!" said Natalie, taken aback. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt…" Joni gestured her over to the bench and handed her the guitar. "I guess I could play something by Judy Collins; she's my absolute favorite. Stephen—Stephen Stills, I'm sure you know…he lives with Peter and since Stephen and Judy are steady, I may actually get to meet her!"
"I love Judy, I've met her a couple times, she's great," said Joni. "I'm excited to hear."
"Okay," said Natalie. She thought for a moment, and remembered Judy's song "Both Sides Now." Just as good as any! As Natalie started the song, she saw a large smile grown on Joni's face as she took a drag from her cigarette. Oh my, she actually likes it! Natalie thought as she continued to play and sing. She finished out the song and Joni applauded.
"That's a really good song," said Joni. "I loved it." But why that odd smile?
"Thank you," said Natalie. "I find that song very relatable, especially right now. I mean, as you grow and lose your innocence, you have to look at things from both sides, right? And you find things aren't as they seem." Of course, she as again thinking of why she came here, but Joni seemed to have another idea.
"Nothing really is as it seems," said Joni. "Hang on Natalie, I'll be right back." Joni went into her house with that same smile and came back a moment later with a copy of Judy Collins' album "Wildflowers," the same song "Both Sides Now" was on. "Would you like to see something?" asked Joni. Natalie nodded, wondering, and Joni flipped the album sleeve over to where the songs were listed. Joni pointed one long finger to "Both Sides Now" and…in tiny little letters, Natalie read something she found just amazing
"Joni Mitchell."
"You—you wrote it?" exclaimed Natalie in wonder.
"You bet I did," said Joni. "I'm so glad you like it. It is very relatable." Natalie beamed at the woman who wrote her favorite song, and, she hoped, her friend. "You sounded fantastic on it."
"Thank you, Joni," said Natalie. Maybe she'd find more comfort here than she thought.
Back at Peter's and Stephen's:
Stephen lay on his bed, staring right up at the ceiling. It really was a strange feeling he got when Natalie left with Peter. Of course, it shouldn't bother him at all, but what did he know? Peter was sure as hell dealing with his own troubles. Natalie was too, although he had not the slightest clue what they were…and boy was Stephen himself having his own issues. Judy…he never stopped telling himself that he loved her, but he also knew they were growing apart. They were seeing less and less of each other, and there was something more…
Unlike Peter, who always denied himself when he was falling for someone and often waited months before giving in, Stephen fell in love hard and fast. While his feelings for Judy were failing, others were growing. Natalie. Yes, Natalie, the girl who he had no clue was going through and thought he was a nut. The girl who he knew that Peter would soon fall for, even if it took him ages to admit it. It only made it worse that she was such a diehard Judy Collins fan, but Stephen didn't care. She was beautiful, sweet, and interesting.
But Judy…he couldn't bear to break her heart although his was already tied in knots. He knew it as too late to turn back from Natalie, no matter who she fell for and who would fall for her…Stephen sighed, muttered, "Fuck…" and put his hands over his face. All he could do was helplessly hope…