The Sauna Part 115

My jaw dropped open and Jon immediately grabbed the phone from me.

“Richie, where are you?” he demanded.

“Relax bro. I’m okay. Quite fine actually. I’m in Scotland!” Richie laughed.

“Well at least I know you’re in good hands!” Jon laughed back.

“You have no idea” Richie purred smoothly.

Jon had no idea that right at that moment Elaine was sitting on Richie’s lap, nuzzling at his neck. He had flown in yesterday as a surprise, Jon discovered, so even Lainie hadn’t known he was coming to visit. The reception he received when he arrived made him feel more than welcome.

“So how long will you be staying in Scotland” Jon asked, wondering what his plans were.

“I’m not sure actually. It depends on how long my lady wants to keep me” Richie laughed as Elaine playfully bit his neck.

“Is everything okay with Ava, Richie?” Jon asked, turning serious for a moment.

“She’s fine. Truth is, she’s going away with her school class on a field trip to DC to see the Capitol and all that shit, so she’ll be gone for almost a week. Heather is going along too as a chaperone, so I think it’ll be good for them to get away and spend some time together. Since that left me a free man, I decided to hop on a plane and visit Lainie” he explained.

The guys chatted a bit until Jon handed the phone to me. I’d caught the gist of the conversation and was anxious to talk to Elaine, knowing how excited she must have been. I knew she’d had reservations about allowing herself to get emotionally involved, especially with a rock star, and I hoped that Richie’s surprise had given her the reassurance she needed.

“Hi Trish” I heard Lainie’s lilting voice over the receiver.

“Hi there yourself! Guess I don’t need to ask how you’re doing!” I said excitedly.

“Oh, I’m doing” Elaine joked back, trying to put across nonchalance which worked rather well until I heard a peal of laughter in my ear.

“Richie, stop! Just wait!” I heard her giggling and I could well imagine what had sparked her reaction.

“Is Richie giving you a hard time? Put him on the phone and I’ll straighten him out” I kidded her.

“Oh, he’s certainly giving me a hard time, alright” she said, emphasizing the word hard.

“That sounds like Richie” I agreed, shaking my head back and forth.

“So what’s this I hear about you quitting your job? Is Richie pulling my leg?” she asked seriously.

I explained my decision and how I’d come to reaching it, but Elaine sounded skeptical. She wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea of trusting Jon with my future and I could hear the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. I understood, though. It hadn’t been an easy decision for me either, and it certainly wasn’t like me to put so much faith in my heart as opposed to my head. But I didn’t want her to worry.

“Lainie, it’s okay, trust me. I do know what I’m doing and I really have thought this through” I tried to convince her.

“It sounds like you’ve made up your mind already, so I won’t try to talk you out of it. Have you given notice?” she asked.

“Yes. Just a couple more weeks now and then we’re planning to go on vacation, but I don’t know where Jon is taking me yet. It’s a surprise” I said excitedly.

“Well, you could always stop on over here, you know. But I’m sure wherever you go, you’ll be happy as long as you’re with Jon” she acknowledged.

“Absolutely” I agreed.

“Someone’s getting impatient over here, so I better say goodbye before I can’t anymore” she said and I heard Richie say goodbye to me in the background.

“Bye Lainie. Bye Richie” I said as I clicked off the phone.

“Well, that sure was a surprise!” Jon said, beaming.

“I’ll say, but I’m glad that they both sound so happy. I think I’ll go inside and see what I can scrounge up for dinner. I think I’ve got some hamburgers frozen if you want to get the grill going” I suggested, pointing to the bag of charcoal near the portable grill.

I went in the house and rummaged around in the freezer and produced a package of frozen burgers, but realized we had no rolls. I called out to Jon and he said he’d run up to the store as soon as he finished putting things away in the garage and had the grill going. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but we had the leftover antipasto and I figured Jon could pick up some potato salad at the store.

I replenished my coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. I was still tired and the headache was back to a dull throb. Jon came in and saw me sitting there with my head in my hands and walked over and began to rub my neck and shoulders. It felt soothing and I leaned back against his chest as he continued the massage.

“Don’t let me drink like that again” I groaned, kicking myself now that I was paying the consequences.

“S’okay baby, you’ll feel better tomorrow. We’ll just take it easy tonight and hit the sack early. Maybe I can pick up a movie when I go to the store. How’s that sound?” he offered.

“I really love you so much, Jon” I said, looking up at him and he bent down to kiss the top of my head.

“I love you too. I’m going to wash up and head to the store. Do we need anything else besides rolls?”

I gave him a short list of a couple things, including marshmallows, since I couldn’t imagine firing up the grill without roasting marshmallows. He grinned at me like a little kid and checked the cupboard to be sure we had popcorn to go with the movie later too. We really did make a good pair, I thought, smiling.

Jon left for the store and I took another couple aspirins and threw in a load of laundry. I hung up our costumes and took them downstairs to store for another time and started slicing a few onions for the burgers and set the table. I was picking through the mail when he came back with the groceries.

The grill was ready and I left Jon in charge while I unpacked the food and looked to see what movie he’d chosen. It was a Steven Segal action movie I hadn’t seen before and I smiled. He did know what I liked.

He called in through the window to let me know the hamburgers were almost ready and I finished setting out all the condiments and the antipasto and potato salad just as he came in with the tray. We sat down to eat and I was beginning to feel better as the aspirin seemed to be working finally.

After dinner, we cleaned up and toasted a few marshmallows outside. I teased Jon about keeping an eye on the woodpile as I noticed he seemed to be making a rather wide berth when he walked near it.

“I’m with the cats on this one” he admitted.

We put the remaining stuff in the dishwasher and Jon decided to take a quick shower before we watched the movie as he felt a little grubby from having cleaned out the garage. I threw the laundry into the dryer and laid out my clothes for tomorrow and decided to change into a comfy pair of pajamas before making the popcorn.

Jon came out of the shower, wrapped in a towel and stopped short when he saw me in the PJ’s and laughed. I guess it wasn’t quite the image he was used to as I looked like I was ready for a slumber party. He came over and hugged me and told me to go downstairs and get settled. He’d bring the popcorn and the movie and I didn’t argue.

I was snuggled up on the couch under a fluffy blanket when he appeared, carrying the bowl of popcorn and the movie. He was dressed in his sweats and looked pretty comfy himself. He handed me the bowl and started the VCR before joining me on the couch. It really felt nice to spend a quiet night at home together.

I cuddled up next to him and we watched the movie, munching our popcorn and chatting very little as the movie was good. The dryer went off about midway through and Jon stopped the tape and brought the basket of warm laundry out to fold as we started up the tape again. It was just shy of ten o’clock when the movie finished and I stacked the laundry back in the basket while he rewound the tape.

“Ready for bed, darlin’?” he asked, yawning himself as he picked up the basket.

I nodded and he held out his hand, helping me up from the couch, and we made our way upstairs. I stopped and refilled the cats’ food and water, wondering why no one came running when they heard the food. The reason became apparent when we walked in the bedroom and saw all of them stretched out in various positions on the bed.

“I guess it is bedtime, huh?” I laughed, repositioning a couple of them in order to make room.

Jon stripped off his sweats and I shed the PJ’s since I hated wearing anything to bed. We eased ourselves under the covers, trying not to disturb the little critters any more than we had to and I could feel the warm spot on my side where Zeke had been laying. I scrunched over closer to Jon, soaking in the warmth from his body and he held me as we kissed each other goodnight.