The Sauna Part 180

It was just after seven when Jon came back to bed and pulled me close to him, tucking my head under his chin as he held me. He stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head and sighed. I reached around and drew him closer, wriggling my hips against him suggestively, but I noticed Lil’ Jon did not seem to respond. It must have been quite a night.

“How’s your head, love? I brought you some aspirin” I said as I yawned and stretched.

Jon held me still and was quiet and I wondered if he had fallen back to sleep. I twisted around slightly and looked at his face, but his eyes were far away and distant. I stroked his cheek and he flinched as if I had jarred him out of some reverie.

“Jon, what’s wrong?” I asked as I tried to sit up, but he held me.

I knew something was terribly wrong and it was far more than the banger of a headache I expected he’d have. I wondered whether he and Richie had had an argument and I was growing concerned.

“Jon?” I tried again and this time he answered me.

“We need to talk, babe” he said finally.

My heart began to pound and I knew this was serious. I went over the evening in my head, trying to recall if I had said or done something to cause him concern as I waited for him to continue.

“You were right about Elaine. You were right about all of it” he said simply.

I didn’t immediately grasp the impact of his words, but something inside me registered and I felt my stomach tighten. I struggled to sit up and he released the death grip he had on me and looked into my eyes.

“Jon, what are you saying?” I asked, holding my breath.

“It’s Elaine, babe. You were right. She made a pass at me last night” he said miserably and then the whole story poured forth.

I listened in stunned silence until he finished and I was appalled. There was no possible way to misinterpret what he revealed and I was incensed at her audacity. She’d tried to seduce my husband, here, in my own house, on the eve of our official wedding. How dare she?

“I want her out of my house!” I exclaimed, seething with rage.

“I know, babe, so do I” Jon said soothingly.

“Jon, what are we going to tell Richie? He’s going to be devastated!” I cried, and tears started to form as I thought about the real victim in all of this.

“That’s if he believes me, Trish” Jon said quietly.

“How could he not believe you? You’re his best friend! Surely he wouldn’t doubt you, not after all you’ve been through” I lamented.

“Baby, I was drunk last night and Richie knows that. Elaine could twist the story and make it seem like I came on to her or like I misunderstood, took things out of context. I know I didn’t and I’m glad you believe me, but I don’t trust her one bit. She’s got Richie wrapped around her little finger and he defends her behavior and makes excuses for her as it is. She’s his wife …” he trailed off.

“Oh, Jon …” I moaned as it all began to sink in.

“God, how I hate her …” he sighed.

We sat there together as we wrestled with what to do. Jon reached for the aspirin I’d left on the nightstand as his headache was back with a vengeance and I was beginning to get one too, even though I hadn’t been drinking. It would have been better if Richie had seen it with his own eyes, but there was no way that Elaine would make the same mistake twice. The sun was shining and it looked for all the world like a beautiful day. It would have felt better if it was storming.

Jon and I showered as there was little point in trying to sleep. There were still things we needed to do today and we had no intention of canceling the wedding after we had gone through so much trouble to arrange it. Richie would sleep in late and I guessed that Elaine wouldn’t make an appearance without him and that would at least buy us some time while we considered our options.

We went to the kitchen and I saw the barely eaten sandwich still on the table. I looked at it with disgust as I tossed it in the garbage and made us some coffee. Neither of us had any appetite and we both passed on the notion of breakfast as we sat down to discuss the situation.

“Jon, if it were you in Richie’s position, wouldn’t you want to know?” I wondered.

“I would and I would expect Richie to tell me the truth, but I doubt that I’d believe him” he said as he considered it.

“But Jon, things are so different with us. Are you sure that Richie doesn’t have any doubts about Elaine himself?” I wondered.

“I’m not certain that he has no misgivings about her, no. But I’m sure he’s never questioned her fidelity” he said ruefully.

I had to agree with that as it was hard to absorb even now and that was still true even given that I’d had my suspicions. They were still newlyweds and Richie had just been through this with Denise. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if I was in his shoes.

“Do you believe that she even brought up the past, when Richie and I were just stupid kids? I guess everyone knows the stories about the band and the women and …” he said, sounding exasperated as he ran his hands through his hair.

“She was just using that to manipulate you Jon. Everyone knows it was a long time ago and no one in their right mind would believe that you and Richie still shared your women!” I said, furious that she had tried to twist the knife in his gut and make him feel responsible.

“I know, I know, but I can’t deny what we did” he said shaking his head and regretting the youthful dalliances more than ever.

“Stop it! Don’t do that to yourself! Look at me, Jon!” I demanded and he raised his eyes to meet mine.

“I love you and I want you to forgive yourself, do you hear me? This wasn’t your fault and you’ve got nothing to punish yourself for anymore, okay?” I insisted.

“Okay, babe, okay. I just wish I could take back those years and do it all differently. I was such an ass and I do regret it, but I can’t change the past” he said sadly.

I reached for his hand and held it in mine. We all had regrets and for a rock star who had the world at his feet, Jon had not committed so many sins. He wasn’t perfect and I loved him more for his conscience, but I didn’t want him to torture himself because of it. I stood up and moved towards him and drew his head against my belly as I stroked his hair, comforting him.

“Thanks, darlin’. I love you so much, have I told you that lately?” he murmured into my robe.

“Yes, but I don’t mind when you repeat it” I smiled.

He stood up and kissed me and we held each other for what seemed like forever. Eventually we moved apart and returned to the bedroom to dress and tackle the easier tasks of the day. I called the caterers and Jon called the mayor and confirmed that he’d be at the house by four. He called Tico and asked if he and Eva could come early as he wanted a buffer between him and Elaine and we figured the more distraction the better. Maybe it would help to get another opinion from someone outside the immediate situation as Jon and I were too close to it.