The Sauna Part 129

The day passed quickly as I caught up on chores that needed doing and I sent Jon to the store to pick up some groceries for dinner. It was a dreary, gray day and I was in the mood to bake some bread and I had the supplies at home.

“What smells so good?” Jon asked as he came in through the back door.

“Bread-Don’t open that oven!” I warned him as I saw him reaching for the handle.

“Okay, okay. It just smells so good. What’s for dinner, wife?” he said as he slid his arms around my waist.

“That depends. I can make shepherd’s pie if you got the ground beef or I can make a turkey casserole or we can just have soup and sandwiches. What’s your preference?”
I replied.

“Shepherd’s pie sounds intriguing. Can I help?” he offered.

“Actually, yes. You can chop up some onions and celery” I decided, handing him a knife.

Jon went to work on the vegetables while I made the mashed potatoes and cooked the ground beef. We mixed it all together and I added a can of corn and popped it in the oven and hunted around for some gravy mix. The bread was done and we each had a warm piece to tide us over until the meal was ready.

Soon dinner was done and we cracked open a bottle of wine. I lit a couple candles and we sat down to eat. It was a simple meal, but one I’d always liked on a cold, gray day and Jon seemed to enjoy it as well. Warm, fresh bread was true comfort food and when we were finished, I had a craving for hot chocolate.

We made a couple mugs and I had just enough Buttershots left to spike it and we settled down to watch TV. There was little worthwhile to watch on a Sunday evening, so Jon scanned my collection of videos and laughed when he saw that Roadhouse was among them.

“You really do like action movies, don’t you?” he said, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, generally. But there are a couple chick flicks there if you’d rather” I teased and he threw a pillow at me.

“I like action flicks just fine, but I was in the mood for something mellow tonight” he said defensively and I made duck lips at him then.

“How about ‘Dirty Dancing’ then? That one always makes me cry” I suggested.

He gave me a look, but searched again and found it, popping it in the VCR as he settled next to me on the couch. I pulled a big plush blanket off the top of the couch and we snuggled in to watch the movie.

I’d seen the movie a dozen times before, but it was one of my favorites and I became engrossed immediately. Jon had seen it too, but he liked it, and was absorbed in the story when the phone rang. It was Richie.

We paused the movie and he and Jon talked for a few minutes, and we firmed up our plans to fly in on Tuesday and stay until the following week. Lainie was coming in to spend the holiday with Richie, but we would miss her as we were leaving the day before. I wanted to give us some time with my sister and my folks before the holiday and the show, but we’d see her then as she was coming to Florida for the concert.

Jon turned the movie back on and we finished watching. True to my word, I cried at the scene between the father and the daughter, and Jon handed me a Kleenex after drying my eyes. When the movie ended, we were both tired and relaxed and headed upstairs for bed. I put a few remaining dishes in the dishwasher and set it and we brushed our teeth and went to bed. We were beginning to seem like old married folk now.

**************************

The next day flew by as we packed our suitcases and made ready to leave for Richie’s. I confirmed that Cherie would watch the cats while we were away and by Tuesday we were on the plane for California. I was looking forward to getting away from the dull, gray, rainy weather that plagued Buffalo this time of year.

It was a long flight, but having a private jet helped enormously and we were truly pampered compared to commercial flights. Vicky offered us drinks and all manner of snacks during our flight, but primarily gave us privacy. I guessed that she had seen quite a few things over the years she had worked for the band and knew privacy was the most precious commodity.

But today Jon and I were relatively average passengers and we didn’t give her a lot she had to be discreet about. I was absorbed in the book I’d been reading and Jon was preoccupied with phone calls and making arrangements with the guys to meet on the following Friday for a quick rehearsal prior to the show and to run down the set list. We touched down in California in the late afternoon and Jon gave Richie a call on the cell to let him know we’d arrived.

“Hey, bro, we’re here. We’re just about to land. How’s the weather here?” I overheard Jon say.

“It’s a balmy 78 degrees, so you’d better shed those parkas before you get off the plane. I’m just pulling up to the airport now, I’ll meet you at the usual spot in about fifteen” Richie replied cheerily.

“Right” Jon acknowledged and hung up. “We’d better change our clothes, it’s 78 here and we’ll be dyin’ in all these clothes” he suggested, turning to me.

We had dressed pretty warmly leaving Buffalo, but we’d packed cooler clothes in the overnight bag in anticipation. The plane had touched down and we were taxiing to the hangar now, so Jon stood up and grabbed the travel bag and dug out our clothes. He changed into a t-shirt and stuffed his sweatshirt back in the bag and I changed into a tank top and my favorite black skirt, handing him my folded jeans and sweater.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, babe?” he asked with a grin.

I looked at him quizzically, not catching his meaning and he lifted my skirt playfully. I rolled my eyes and sighed as he assisted in removing the panties I’d been wearing with my jeans.

“Better?” I asked rhetorically.

“Much” he smirked, slipping an arm about my waist and drawing me to him.

He kissed me just as Vicky entered and announced that we were at the gate. I grabbed the carry on bag and a smaller suitcase while Jon took the larger one and a medium-sized suitcase from the storage compartment.

“I knew I should have supervised your packing” he said with an exaggerated groan.

“Yeah, right. If it were up to you, I wouldn’t even have been allowed a bathing suit” I pouted, feeling that I had only packed bare essentials given it would be nearly two weeks before we got home.

Jon tugged on his baseball cap disguise and we disembarked and made our way to the VIP club to meet Richie. He was there already, waiting with a drink. Jon ordered a couple glasses of wine as I hugged Richie and we sat down at the bar to discuss our plans. We were about thirty minutes away from Richie’s house and I soon learned that San Francisco was about six hours away, so we might just fly there instead of driving over the weekend.

We decided we’d go back to Richie’s and just relax after the long flight and hang out for the night. He was anxious to show me the sites, but I really wanted to see the house and get settled. Ava wasn’t with him since he would have her next week for the holiday, so Richie was pretty much a free agent while we were there.

The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining with barely a cloud in the sky. I had never been further west than Colorado and I was looking forward to seeing the ocean and the area for the first time. The warmer temperatures and blue skies alone were a welcome change from Buffalo. Richie pointed out some of the local spots and areas of interest and we arrived at his house around five.

“So whatcha makin’ for dinner, bro?” Jon started as soon as we walked through the door.

“Shit, man, you’re here two minutes and you expect me to wait on you” Richie laughed.

“I can’t believe you’re hungry after that lunch we had on the plane!” I exclaimed.

“Hell, yeah. It’s been a couple hours” he said defensively, patting his stomach which actually growled for added emphasis.

“Actually, I had something in mind, but let’s see what we’ve got for snacks since it’s still a little early” Richie said indulgently as we dropped our bags and wandered into the kitchen.

The house was enormous and I was overwhelmed almost immediately. Jon’s place in Jersey was small by comparison and my own house seemed like a doll house in contrast to the grand scale of Richie’s estate.

“Richie, this place is absolutely fabulous! I want a total tour-I’ve never seen a place like this” I exclaimed breathlessly.

Richie beamed and Jon looked at me, a bit surprised. I had to admit I was star struck. Jon’s home was beautiful, but it was a bachelor pad compared to this. I wanted to ask Richie for a map as I was certain I’d get lost just trying to find the bathroom.

“C’mon, I’ll show you around. Jon’s seen it all before and he can find the food without me” Richie announced and escorted me through all the rooms, ending at the guest “room” I’d be sharing with Jon.

“It’s more of a suite” I commented, more to myself than to Richie.

“You’ve never been inside Jon’s old house-where Dot lives now, have you?” he wondered.

“No, just his current home. This is magnificent” I breathed.

We returned to the kitchen to find Jon scarfing down some cookies and making coffee and we both laughed, but I was grateful for the coffee. He poured us each a cup while I gushed over the house and Jon smiled knowingly at Richie.

“I’ll start dinner since someone is so hungry, but why don’t you two go upstairs and unpack or go outside on the terrace and relax.” he grinned.

“Do you want some help? Maybe I’ll learn something” I volunteered, but he shooed me and Jon away, preferring to keep his culinary secrets to himself.

Jon and I grabbed our bags and went upstairs to our room and I began to unpack while Jon opened the french doors onto the terrace. The light evening breeze felt good and carried with it the scent of honeysuckle. He stretched out on the bed and patted the mattress and I knew then that I wasn’t going to get much else unpacked.