The Sauna Part 157

After dinner we settled down in the bed to watch TV and snuggle with the cats. It was our last night at home and I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could. The phone rang several times, but Jon didn’t answer and eventually he turned off the ringer all together. We heard Richie’s voice on the answering machine, sounding a bit anxious, but Jon still ignored it.

“Fuck ’em, let him see how it feels” he said when I started to get up to answer it.

Jon had a temper and I hoped I’d never be on the receiving end of his vengeance. He could be very cold when he felt wronged and I wasn’t so sure I liked that part of him, but I had learned not to argue with him when he gave me that look. I stayed where I was, feeling the tension in his arm as he laid it on mine to keep me from getting up.

“How about some popcorn?” I suggested, needing to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, okay” he agreed, relaxing a bit.

I got up and went to the kitchen and put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. I grabbed the bottle of wine we’d opened with dinner and refilled our glasses, thinking it couldn’t hurt. I brought the glasses into the bedroom and smiled to see Jon in the bed, surrounded by cats. There was a repeat of the Sopranos on TV and he looked quite content at the moment.

The microwave dinged and I returned to the kitchen and emptied the bag into a large bowl. I melted some butter and poured it on as an extra treat and grabbed a few napkins before joining him in the bed. He caught me up on the episode we were watching as he grabbed a handful of popcorn.

The phone had stopped ringing and the evening passed quietly enough. I was beginning to feel the wine and the show was over now, so Jon turned his attention to me. He set the empty bowl on the floor and climbed on top of me as I spread my legs to welcome him. We made love gently, without urgency, taking care not to disturb the cats that were sprinkled around us on the bed.

We both giggled as Zeke snuggled between us, sensing we were now finished shaking the bed. I leaned over the cat and kissed Jon goodnight and he seemed more relaxed. The cats were all purring contentedly and we were soon lulled to sleep by the sound.

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

I woke the next morning to the sun streaming in through the window. The weather had warmed up considerably and the world outside looked magical. The freezing rain yesterday had coated all the tree limbs with ice and everything sparkled now as it began to melt from the warmer temperatures and it looked like a good day to travel.

It was still early and we had time before Rick arrived to pick us up for the airport. I snuggled against Jon who was still asleep and he reached for me as he began to wake up. I nuzzled his neck and he opened his eyes and smiled.

“Today we leave the world behind and begin to indulge every fantasy, agreed?” Jon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Agreed” I replied.

We got up and Jon made the coffee while I fixed us some breakfast and we sat down to eat. Jon called Rick to make sure we were on schedule and he only half listened to the messages from last night, deciding to call Richie and get it over with before we left as he’d left several frantic messages.

“Hello?” Elaine answered and I saw Jon’s eyes narrow.

“It’s Jon. Is Richie there?” he said abruptly.

“Well, yes. I’m so glad you called. We’ve been trying to reach you since last night. We were upset by the news” she said in her lilting Scottish accent.

“Lemme talk to Richie. Now!” Jon demanded.

“Jon? Jesus, I’m glad you called. What’s going on? We heard all kinds of rumors” Richie said anxiously.

“Oh yeah? What did you hear?” Jon asked sarcastically.

My stomach began to twist and I was glad I had finished eating as I had no appetite for this. Eddie jumped up on my lap and purred softly, and I stroked his fur, trying to remain calm. I wanted to see them make up, but Jon was being antagonistic.

“We heard that you and Trish ran off and got married because of us and that you had shut down the Backstage Boards. There’s a rumor going around that this would be the last tour and that you were calling it quits” Richie said with a deep breath.

“Do you think I would do something like that without telling you?” Jon replied sardonically.

There was dead silence for a moment as Richie absorbed the impact of this statement. Jon was frowning and I could hear Lainie’s voice in the background, but I couldn’t make out what she said. Jon was being deliberately cruel and I gave him a sharp look. Richie didn’t deserve this. He’d hurt Jon, but he hadn’t done it on purpose.

“Jesus, Jon, I’m sorry. What are you saying?” Richie said finally, breaking the silence.

“I’m saying I wouldn’t announce news without sharing it first with all of you. You knew Trish and I were married; for God’s sake you were both there! You knew Trish was going to begin running the Board in January and that mom was retiring. I didn’t shut it down, but maybe it froze up with all the activity after I made the announcement. What’s the matter with you-has your wife addled your brain that much?” he spat.

Again there was silence. My heart went out to Richie, but also to Jon as I knew he was lashing out because he was deeply wounded and very unhappy with the whole affair. The one thing he’d counted on among the band members, and especially Richie, was loyalty. It was one thing for Richie to have made such a personal decision without so much as a phone call, but it was quite another matter entirely to allow his new wife to manipulate the media without consulting him. Jon needed to be sure that Richie knew who was boss when it came to the press.

“For Christ’s sake, man. I said I’m sorry. I didn’t plan any of it, really. It just happened and Elaine was so happy and wanted the world to know we were married. I don’t even know how it leaked to the press, but it wasn’t me. Once it got out, I couldn’t very well deny it, could I? And what damage did it cause, except to your pride? Was it really such a fucking crime, Jon? Do you have to control everything, even my personal life?” he demanded.

It was Jon’s turn to be quiet now. Richie had a valid point and deep down Jon knew it. Richie had no idea how our feelings about Elaine had changed as we’d never expressed our reservations directly. As far as he knew, we were happy about the engagement and while the marriage had been a shock, it wasn’t a betrayal. Richie hadn’t called the press in an attempt to defy Jon’s authority about how to handle publicity; he was just caught off guard. And clearly, he didn’t realize how Elaine had manipulated the situation.

“Okay Rich, I’m sorry too. I thought you called the press conference without even bothering to run it by me. When you didn’t call to tell me what happened, I assumed it was by design. Shit happens and you’re right, it hasn’t really caused any damage except between us. Are we okay, bro?” Jon asked, regretting that he’d assumed the worst.

“Yeah, we’re okay. I should have called you after the media found out and warned you it’d be in the papers. I never meant for you to find out like that and I am sorry. Blame it on love” he said apologetically.

“Look, man, we’re leaving for vacation for a couple weeks and Rick will be here in about an hour to pick us up. We’re good, right?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, we’re good. Tell Trish I’m sorry too, would ya? I’m sure you’ve been a prick to live with lately and that’s my fault for not calling. Have a good trip” he laughed, trying to lighten the tone.

“Okay, Rich, I’ll tell her. It’s been a miserable couple of days. See ya at the show” Jon said as he hung up.

“Shit. You heard everything, right?” Jon asked and I nodded.

“Three guesses who ‘leaked’ the news to the press” I replied.

“No shit. Richie’s a fool when it comes to women” he added, shaking his head.

“Jon, he’s not the only one Lainie fooled, at least at first. I still don’t want to believe she’s behind all this” I lamented.

“C’mon Trish. I know it sucks, but you can’t believe she’s really so shy and quiet now, can you? Did you see that picture in the tabloids? And most of the quotes came from her. She had this planned all along and we all played right into her hands” he said disgustedly.

I found it hard to believe that she could be this conniving, but the evidence was mounting. I hated to be wrong as much as Jon did, but there was no denying it anymore. I wasn’t as convinced that she had planned this all along, but there was no other explanation for how it got leaked to the press. She might have fooled us all in the beginning, but we weren’t likely to be blind-sided again.

Jon and I showered and got dressed and we were ready to go when Rick arrived. I had him come in and officially introduced him to the cats and told him a little about each one. I especially warned him not to touch Floyd’s butt and Jon elaborated on Zeke’s special needs.

“I thought there were five. Did I miscount?” Rick asked innocently and Jon explained that Beowulf had passed away in her sleep the night before last.

“I’m so sorry, guys. I’ll make sure everybody gets plenty of attention while you’re gone” Rick said sympathetically and Jon wiped the tear from my eye.

A vacation was really what we needed after the last few weeks and I was determined to put aside everything but Jon while we were away. He had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that this trip was special and that the memories we made would hold us while we were separated. We closed the door to the house and with it we closed the door on all the sadness and anger we’d shared since returning to Jersey. We would keep the pact that we had made this morning now that we had officially begun the adventure.