The Sauna Part 68

I drove to my other office, the one in the Southern Tier, and prayed that no one had seen my picture in the paper and that I could just have a normal day. The traffic was light and I sang along to ‘Bounce’ on the short drive, enjoying the sunshine and wishing I could join Jon and Richie at Zoar today.

Jon stretched out in the hammock in the backyard and went back to reading while he waited for Richie to arrive. He was anxious to discuss some of what he’d been reading, but reminded himself he’d have to keep his hands off of me long enough to have a conversation. That didn’t seem very likely these days. He found himself engrossed in the chapter about the Mysteries when his cell phone rang.

“Hey man, I’m on my way. We just left the airport. How long a drive is it to Trish’s?” Richie’s voice sounded over the phone.

“It’s about an hour. You should be here by eleven” Jon replied, checking his watch. “Did you bring your guitar? I thought maybe we could try some writing.”

“Yeah, I got it with me. I couldn’t come for a visit without expecting you to wanna work” he laughed, knowing Jon too well.

“Good. I’ve got some ideas, but no guitar to work out the melody. Hey, though, it won’t be all work. Trish’s friend from Scotland is coming in Thursday night. Ya never know, maybe she’ll like you” he said sarcastically.

“Yeah, right, with my luck, she’ll be a Jon groupie” Richie complained.

“So you’ll need to be even more charming in order to win her over to the dark side, man!” he challenged.

“Fuck you, man. You’ll see. She’ll realize you’re just a blonde bimbo after she has a taste of the King of Swing!”

With that, Richie said goodbye and Jon settled back down to finish the chapter he was on, still chuckling. He was looking forward to spending time with Richie. No matter how bad a situation was for either of them, Richie could always make him laugh. Maybe he’d even write a song or two.

When I arrived at the office, I discovered my adventure in New Jersey had already become legend. I walked into the main waiting room only to see numerous pictures from Entertainment Tonight and a few I hadn’t seen before from one of the shows taped up around the secretary’s reception window with streamers surrounding the display. Goddess, could it get any worse?

“You’re here! Surprise!”

It could definitely get worse. There were my fellow co-workers, grinning like idiots, with a ‘Welcome Back” cake. There was no escape. That’s what I got for not concealing my Bon Jovi addiction. Marissa, the secretary, who was the sweetest woman ever and the polar opposite of Alice, was beaming and gave me a huge hug. No doubt the party was her brainchild.

“Welcome Back! And congratulations! You got to meet your hero and a little more, huh?” she bubbled, nudging me.

I tried so hard to be a “hardass” at work and it was so apparent that no one who knew me bought it for a second. Annika, who I supervised directly, winked at me and gave me a hug. I was speechless, but the tears in my eyes at their happiness for me spoke volumes.

“Angie is coming for lunch to celebrate too. We closed the office until after lunch. Now come sit down and tell us everything!” she said, sounding like a mother hen.

“You guys are too much. I can’t believe you did all this for me” I said, tears streaming down my face and totally wrecking my attempt to appear calm, cool and business-like.

“We called Angie to see if you were coming back and she said she talked to you yesterday morning, so … we wanted you to know how excited we were!” Marissa gushed.

“Wow! And I actually thought I could sneak back in without anyone knowing. I should have known better” I lamented, but I was relieved too. I didn’t know how I could have managed to keep it a secret for very long.

I sat down and told the story yet again. What they hadn’t known was that Jon was here in Buffalo and just how serious the relationship really was. And they wanted to know about Richie, too, and Marissa nearly fainted when I explained he was flying in to stay with me for a few days. She’d always thought he was just too cute and followed everything about him in the tabloids and reminded me that I’d promised to get her an autograph if I ever met the band.

“Oh, Marissa! I completely forgot! I will, I promise. I’ll see him tonight” I said, mentally thinking how cool it would be if I could get Richie to come and autograph something in person.

Angie, my boss, arrived just before lunch and brought me a card signed by all the folks downtown who were sure I’d quit the moment they heard about me and Jon on the news. I reassured her I had no intention of quitting and made sure that her unspoken question wasn’t lost on me. We did have an opportunity to discuss arrangements for working from “home” when I needed to be in New Jersey. Since my job was largely administrative now and I had only a handful of clients I was committed to, she thought it was a reasonable solution.

After lunch, I tore through the chart audits at breakneck speed. I wanted to get home and Annika benefited from my hurried perusal of her charts as I was far easier to satisfy than usual.

“Is this a gift or are you just feeling particularly generous now that you’re in love?” she asked in reference to my renowned attention to detail that generally made chart reviews pure torture.

“Consider it a gift. I’m just a bit off balance these days” I admitted.

“Well, I for one, hope your mellow mood lasts. And not just for myself, but for you too.
You’ve always been way too hard on yourself. I think this rock star in your life is just what the doctor ordered” she finished.

Annika’s charts might be a disaster at times, but there was no denying her wisdom. She’d chided me many times for not going home on time and finding evidence that I’d been in on the weekend to catch up on things. Maybe she was right. Maybe Jon was the motivation I needed to just lighten up, though Annika would never have said it quite that directly. I nodded happily as I packed up my stuff and prepared to leave.

“We’ll see” I smiled.

Richie had arrived at the house a bit later than Jon expected as the limo driver wasn’t familiar with the “backwater” of Gowanda, as he called it, after getting lost twice. But Richie made it in one piece and Jon had a bottle of wine chilled and ready when he got there.

“I was beginning to wonder if this place even existed, man. Damn! You didn’t tell me she lives in the middle of the woods!” Richie said as he dropped his luggage on the grass and sat down in the backyard.

“Yeah, it is pretty private” Jon agreed.

Richie quirked an eyebrow and Jon gave him a toothy grin and no more needed to be said. He poured Richie a glass of wine and motioned him to sit down. Richie stretched out on the chaise lounge and noticed the book on the table nearby. He picked it up and read the back cover.

“So this is what you’ve been up to?” he asked Jon.

“Yeah, I haven‘t finished the book yet, but I can so relate. Especially after Sunday, man, I’ve never experienced anything like that” he said, serious now.

Richie was intrigued and wanted to hear more. Jon shared his understanding of Wicca so far and described what happened Sunday in the woods. Richie listened quietly, surprised at Jon who’d never showed that much interest in spiritual pursuits. He had had many of the same misconceptions Jon had in the beginning and that had made him curious about how Jon could seem to accept this so easily, but now it made more sense. He wasn’t quite ready to embrace it the same way Jon seemed to be doing, but he pointed out a number of parallels with his own faith. Jon told him about Zoar then and how that really convinced him after he experienced first hand what I’d described.

“Let’s go to Zoar, man. I remember how to get there and you’ve gotta see this place. It’s only ten minutes away” Jon said excitedly.

“Okay, I’m game. But Jesus, I gotta use the bathroom. It was a long fuckin’ ride out here.”

Jon took Richie inside and they dumped his bags in the guest room and Richie went to relieve himself. Jon packed up a snack and Richie’s guitar and they headed for Zoar. It was just going on two o’clock. They walked the path we’d taken on Sunday and arrived at the same spot and Richie let out a whistle when he looked out over the gorge.

“Freakin’ awesome. This place is magical” Richie murmured.

They walked down a trail, exploring further than I’d taken Jon and came to a path that led down a steep slope to the creek. Richie scrambled down the path and Jon followed and they hiked for about a half mile, following the sound of running water. They both stopped in awe when they reached Deer Lick Falls.

But it wasn’t the Falls that caught their attention, although it was beautiful and picturesque. The sound of laughter filled the hollow and their eyes were riveted on the bathers splashing and cavorting naked in the pool of water below.

“Holy fuck!” exclaimed Richie.

“Fuck me double” Jon whispered. “Trish wasn’t kidding.”

There were about a dozen people, mostly naked or at least partially naked swimming and sunbathing. There were no children, only adults, and a couple who would have done well to have kept their clothes on. But that image was more than made up for by the three young women frolicking in the water.

“C’mon man, what the fuck are you waiting for? Let’s get naked” Richie sputtered, stripping off his shirt and unbuttoning his pants while Jon stood there, hesitating.

“Shit, Richie, I don’t know about this …”

But Richie was already naked and sporting a boner to beat the band. It was too late to talk him out of it and Jon’s erection was begging for release, so he followed Richie’s example. Stripped down and naked, Jon splashed along into the water behind him.

The icy water dampened their enthusiasm and their erections receded almost immediately. Jon was relieved. After all, these were true nudists, not nubile nymphettes preparing for an orgy. Richie made his way over towards the other bathers, the young women in particular, but Jon hung back.

He watched from a distance as Richie began working his charm and the women were giggling and chatting in no time. He motioned to Jon to join him and the girls watched anxiously as Jon ducked his head under the water and drew it up, smoothing his hair back. He made his way over to them, being careful to keep himself submerged in the water.

Richie made the introductions, using only their first names, and explained he was here visiting for a few days and the girls shared they were locals. They chatted a bit and Jon was polite, but clearly uncomfortable and decided to get out and get dressed, motioning to Richie that it was time to head back.

“What’s up with your friend? Doesn’t he wanna stay and play? We’re doing a bonfire later” the one named Candi asked.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just in love and anxious to see his old lady tonight, but I’m all yours ladies, if someone would give me a ride home?” he suggested.

Candi didn’t have a car, but Valerie, her older sister, offered to take Richie home and he went back to where Jon was waiting to discuss the idea. Jon looked disappointed, but he shook his head agreeably. Maybe this was just what his buddy needed to get his confidence back. He made sure Richie had his cell phone and my number so he could call and get the address when he was ready to come home. Jon headed back up the incline alone, wondering how he was going to explain this when he got back to the house.