The Sauna Part 183

Eva came downstairs with Elaine right on her heels, but she ran to my side as soon as she saw the state I was in. Elaine stopped dead in her tracks as she watched from the doorway. I was beside myself as I sobbed into Eva’s shoulder.

“Trish! What’s the matter? Shit, what happened?” she asked, shaking me.

I looked up and saw Elaine standing there, dressed demurely in something Eva had found for her to wear. The outrage and venom that had been seething inside me since last night erupted as I saw her standing there helplessly. I shook myself free of Eva’s embrace and I lunged at her, unleashing a torrent of invectives.

“You fucking little whore! You evil bitch! Get out of my house before I kill you!” I screamed.

Elaine stumbled back against the wall as I hit her full force and she crumpled to the ground, covering her head with her hands. This gesture only enraged me further and I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her as hard as I could and yanked her to her feet. Eva was afraid I would kill her and pulled me away as she looked at Elaine coldly.

“You heard her-get out!” Eva shouted, but Elaine hesitated, pretending to be the victim.

“But I haven’t done anything! What’s happened? Trish, please!” she protested.

“Eva, get her out of my house and out of my sight before I kill her, I mean it” I warned, trembling with rage.

Elaine cringed in the corner as Eva moved towards her and hauled her up to a standing position. Elaine shrieked in terror as she swooped down on her and I imagined that Eva appeared much like an avenging Valkyrie as she dragged Elaine towards the door. She pushed her out into the yard and slammed the door in her face, locking it behind her, before returning to me.

“Thank you” I said, as I began to collect myself and calm down. “I just couldn’t bear the sight of her for one more blessed minute.”

“I don’t blame you, but what happened? Where’s Tico?” Eva asked gently.

I told her as much as I knew and she nodded and tried to reassure me that the guys would work it out between them. We could hear Elaine wailing on the front porch and we both snickered, but I knew she was causing a scene.

“Eva, would you grab her things upstairs and toss them out to her so she can call a cab and tell her that I’ll call the police myself if she doesn’t stop yammering. Beyond that I don’t care” I smiled wearily.

Eva accomplished that task with some relish before joining me at the kitchen table. Elaine had stopped her ranting outside and all was quiet, at least for the moment. Coffee, for once, seemed less important than wine and I poured us each a glass as we heaved a sigh of relief. There was nothing more to do now but wait. The next piece was up to the boys.


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Tico had arrived at the diner in record time and even he was surprised at what he saw. Richie and Jon were in the parking lot, squaring off like two pit bulls, and Jon’s car was dented and scratched. But that was minor compared to Jon’s face, which looked like a bloody mess, and a small crowd had gathered outside.

“Shit” Tico muttered to himself as he became dimly aware of a cell phone ringing continuously nearby.

“Hello?” he asked, finding the thing in the pocket of Richie’s jacket which was lying on the sidewalk.

“Richie!!!!!!” a voice wailed into his ear and he realized immediately that it was Elaine.

“This is Tico” he said simply and Elaine begged him to let her talk to Richie as she hurriedly explained how I had had her thrown out.

“I’d suggest you go and check into a hotel for now. Richie won’t be calling you back anytime soon” he grimaced and hung up, turning his attention to more immediate matters as he shut the phone off altogether.

Tico had seen the guys fight before, but this was quite different. It wasn’t merely a drunken scuffle this time and he noticed that Jon wasn’t really fighting at all. He was ducking and stepping sideways as he tried to avoid Richie’s advance and he was trying to talk to him, but Richie was in a blind rage. Tico wondered whether he even realized it was Jon he was attacking as he took off his jacket and threw it on top of Richie’s.

He intervened quickly as he stepped behind Richie and grabbed him, pinning his arms, as Jon came to his aid and they wrestled Richie to the ground. Richie was swearing and cussing and his legs were flailing, but Tico was a powerful man and he had him locked in a vice grip that he couldn’t escape. Jon knelt beside him and tried to soothe him with his apologies.

Tico relaxed his hold on him as Richie began to settle down and stopped struggling. He was starting to feel the pain now as the fury drained away and he was left with a profound sense of loss and emptiness. Jon’s eyes were wet with unshed tears and Tico sighed heavily, wishing for all the world that he could’ve prevented such anguish.

“You can let go now, Teek. I’m not gonna hurt anyone, okay?” Richie promised softly.

“Are you okay, Rich? Please look at me, bro” Jon pleaded.

Richie looked up at him then and he saw the truth in Jon’s eyes and the depth of concern that showed on his face. He also saw the dried blood and the swollen nose and realized what he had done. Jon hadn’t tried to hurt him; he’d only told him the truth out of love and respect and he’d repaid that friendship and trust with accusations and attacks. Richie was utterly beside himself as it began to sink in and he hung his head in shame.

“Jesus, Jon, what have I done? What have I done?” he moaned.

“Richie, it’s okay, man. We’re here” Jon said soothingly.

“C’mon, amigo, let’s go back to the house now. We’ve got a wedding today, remember?” Tico said, gently reminding them both.

“Fuck! What time is it?” Jon asked, looking alarmed.

“Early enough for you to get home and get cleaned up and dressed before the kids show up” Tico replied as he herded them into his own car.

“Jesus, what about…?” Richie couldn’t bring himself to say her name. “I don’t even wanna see her again and you can’t want her at your house” he said, turning to Jon.

“No need to worry about her, Trish took care of that” Tico laughed, thinking it was the first thing that had really struck him funny all day.


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The phone rang and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard it and Eddie flew off my lap where he’d been keeping me company. I’d been on pins and needles waiting to hear from Tico or Jon and I picked it up on the first ring. Eva’s cell rang too and we both answered immediately.

“Trish? It’s me. Are you okay?” Jon asked, anxious to just hear my voice.

“We’re okay, love. Elaine is gone, but what about you? What about Richie?” I asked, praying silently.

“I’m okay and the three of us are on our way back to the house now. What happened with Elaine?” he wanted to know.

I told him what happened and I heard him chuckle when I explained how Eva had “taken out the trash”, but I needed to hear about Richie. I was worried he would be furious when he found out I had thrown his wife out of the house.

“Ask him yourself” Jon said as he put Richie on the phone.

“Richie, are you alright? I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am … for everything. I feel like it’s my entire fault for introducing you and then opening my big mouth when you two had the fight and now …” I began to confess but Richie stopped me.

“Trish, slow down, darlin’, and listen to me. I’m not angry with you or Jon or anyone but myself for being such a blind fool and with her for what she’s done to all of us. If anyone’s to blame, it’s …” Richie began when I interrupted.

“Oh Richie, you didn’t do anything besides trust someone you loved. Please don’t apologize, you’ve nothing to be sorry for …” I replied when he cut me off again.

“Trish, you haven’t seen Jon’s face yet” Richie said sheepishly as he looked at Jon who was frantically trying to clean off the blood before they walked in the house.

They were already in the driveway and Jon realized I’d panic if I saw him the way he looked and he was desperately trying to make himself more presentable. His nose was definitely swollen, but it didn’t appear broken and he hoped some ice would bring down the swelling. There was little more he could do in the car and Tico and Richie nodded in agreement as they got out and walked up the drive.

“Jon’s face? Richie what are you talking about? What happened?” I demanded, feeling on the verge of panic.

“You can see for yourself in a minute” Richie replied as I heard the front door.

“Trish, baby, before you get upset, it’s just swollen now, really” Jon said, trying to prepare me, as he walked into the kitchen.

I dropped the phone and ran up to him, pulling his hand away from his face as I gasped. He looked like Bozo the clown and he winced as I reached out to touch him. I was speechless at first, but the look on my face was one of sheer disbelief.

“Trish, I am so sorry. I just lost it. I don’t know what to say” Richie said, genuinely ashamed as he stared at the floor.

“Oh Jon, baby …dear Goddess” I uttered, my voice choking in my throat.

“Baby, I’ll be fine, really, it’s nothing. Richie’s got a wicked right hook, but it looks a lot worse than it is. Let me get some ice on it and I’ll be fine” Jon continued, trying to comfort me.

Tico had already gotten some ice from the frig and was wrapping it in a towel when he looked at the time. It was after three o’clock and the mayor and the kids and Dot and her boyfriend would be arriving pretty soon. Everyone still needed to get cleaned up yet and he motioned to Eva.

“Chica, help Trish get ready, would you? We’ll clean Jon up and get ready ourselves, okay?” he encouraged as he handed the towel to Jon.

Jon pressed the towel to his face and the cool cloth eased the throbbing sensation he felt. The bleeding had stopped and he could breathe without difficulty but he knew it looked pretty bad. I thanked Tico for the offer, but I shook my head to decline and Jon willingly followed me into the bedroom.