The Sauna Part 186

Jon closed the bedroom door and turned to kiss me before removing his jacket and tie. He looked weary now too, but I saw the twinkle in his eye as he smiled.

“Hell, it’s good to get out of that monkey suit!” he sighed as he drew me to him.

I began to unfasten the buttons of his shirt, anxious myself to sink into his warmth and put the day behind us. Jon unzipped my dress and peeled it away from my body as his lips brushed my shoulder. I felt the familiar tingle at his touch and I shrugged off the dress, standing naked before him. He wasted no time in relieving himself of his pants and his shirt before lifting me into his arms as he moved towards the bed.

“I love you, wife” he purred in my ear as he lowered me onto the bed and slipped himself in between my legs.

“I love you too, husband” I crooned as I parted my thighs wider to receive him.

We made love tenderly and passionately as our bodies melded together, joining us in the ageless dance of lovers. The events of the last twenty-four hours faded off into memory as we lost ourselves in oblivion and dissolved in our union.

Jon rolled off of me heavily and sighed. It wasn’t often that I witnessed his exhaustion, but tonight was one of those times and we were both spent. Today, oddly, we had really seemed the most like partners in coping with a difficult situation and in a strange way it was rather rewarding. I lay beside him as I stared at the ceiling and smiled.

“Baby, that felt so good. I really needed that tonight” he observed.

“Me too, love. And thank you for letting me take care of the press today. You trusted me to handle that and it really meant a lot to me. I truly felt like your wife today” I said, sharing my thoughts.

“You didn’t feel like my wife before that?” he asked, turning me to look at him.

“I did, but I didn’t feel like much of a partner, Jon, until you let me actually do something for you. You take care of so many things for so many people, myself included, and it was important to know that once in a while there’s something I can take care of for you” I explained.

“Trish, don’t you know how much I need you?” he said seriously.

“I do, baby, I do. It’s just that today was just different somehow. I have always felt loved and cherished with you and I know I make you happy, but I haven’t been much help to you, you know? It’s hard to explain, but I was just so glad to actually feel like a part of things and I just wanted to tell you how happy that made me” I tried to clarify.

I was kicking myself now and wishing I hadn’t said anything as I surely didn’t want him to think he had somehow failed to make me feel like his wife. That wasn’t it at all. Jon just had a habit of always handling everything and today seemed like such a rare opportunity to finally give something back to him, no matter how small it was. He really wasn’t an easy man to take care of as there was so little he seemed to ever need.

I leaned over and kissed him and Jon found himself trying to absorb what I’d said. It wasn’t a complaint, it was just an observation. He didn’t have to deal with everything alone or by himself and he did appreciate the help. And it did feel good to know that someone cared enough to step in and handle an unpleasant situation just to relieve some of his stress.

“Trish, I’m not very good at depending on other people, but believe me when I tell you I need you in ways I never imagined possible. I can’t describe it, but the way you love me fills up an emptiness I can’t begin to explain. You gave up your life just to share mine; no one has ever loved me that much. The look in your eyes when you’re happy to see me is all I’ll ever need, baby” Jon disclosed, feeling more vulnerable than he was accustomed to feeling.

He was surprised himself at the relief he felt when he said what he did, but it was the truth. It had been hard to let down the walls he had built over the years and the depth of emotion he felt was a bit frightening at times, but he wouldn’t trade it for all the fame and fortune in the world. He’d found what it meant to be truly loved and now that he knew, he couldn’t imagine living without it.

The day had been charged with emotion and Jon’s words unleashed an internal landslide as he spoke. It was hard to believe that Elaine’s betrayal could have resulted in bringing us closer than we’d ever been, but I never felt more love for Jon or from him than I did at that moment. He knew that I gave him all that I had and that no matter how little it seemed to me, it was enough for him. And I knew too that he gave me his heart and his soul. He folded me into his arms and we held each other until exhaustion gave way to sleep.


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


It was late Sunday morning when we finally woke. The sun was streaming in through the window and I looked at the man lying beside me. His hair was lit like spun gold and he had the faintest remnant of a smile on his lips, but his nose looked like Jimmy Durante. We were going to have to ice it some more and try to bring down the swelling or it would be obvious at the show tomorrow night. I touched Jon lightly on the shoulder and he woke, blinking at me in the brilliant morning light.

“Morning, wife” he grinned a little crookedly as his face looked almost lopsided now.

“Morning, husband” I smiled back, thinking he looked more like a boxer than a rock star today.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” he asked, looking cross-eyed as he tried to look at his nose himself.

“Yeah, babe, it’s bad” I laughed as he kept trying to see it better and I brought him a hand mirror before he ended up hurting his eyes.

“Shit! Richie has one helluva wicked right hook! It looks even worse and it’s starting to bruise too. There’s no way I can disguise this now” he observed grimly.

“We can try icing it again, but I think the damage is done. Are you sure it isn’t broken?” I wondered, having no real experience with this.

“I don’t think so, but I’ll see if the doctor will look at it. Maybe he can give me a shot of something to bring down the swelling and we can cover it somehow” he suggested.

“Too bad it’s not Halloween, then maybe…” I began as he reached for me and pulled me back into bed and began to tickle me.

“It’s not very nice to make fun of the wounded” he teased and I hung my head in mock shame.

We got up finally and headed for the kitchen and I got the coffee started while Jon made an icepack and looked at me woefully. He looked rather pathetic sitting there and I was torn between pity and giggles as he gave me puppy dog eyes. Richie must have smelled the coffee and joined us as we were sipping the first cup.

“Holy shit, man! Jesus, that thing looks like a neon sign today! No wonder my freakin’ hand is killing me” he exclaimed as he moved Jon’s hand away and peered at his face.

Richie’s hand was indeed swollen as well and I wondered if he’d be able to play with it in that condition. I grabbed more ice and wrapped it in a towel and handed it to him and he averted his eyes, too embarrassed to meet my gaze.

“At least I’ll be the pretty one on stage for a change” he cackled as he looked at Jon over the rim of his coffee.

I had to chuckle at that and even Jon had to laugh at that. I made us all some breakfast as no one had eaten much last night and we discussed our plans for the day. I wanted to get out and do a little shopping as I still needed to buy a number of things for Christmas and I actually wanted Richie’s help. I figured it would also provide him some distraction so he didn’t dwell on what had happened, but Jon wanted to talk about how they would handle the press tomorrow.

“Okay, I’ll go and take a shower and get ready while you two plan your strategy and you need to call the doctor and see if he’ll see you on a Sunday” I reminded Jon.

While I was bathing I tried to think of what I wanted to get for everyone. Jesse was easy-art supplies would be something he’d like. Stephanie wouldn’t be too hard either, but Jakey and Romeo had me stumped. I wasn’t used to buying gifts for younger kids and I knew Richie could help and I really needed some ideas for Jon besides just the scrapbook. What do you buy for a man who had everything?

I joined Jon in the kitchen while Richie got ready and we made a list of everyone we needed to buy for and ideas for gifts. It was quite a list and Jon figured he would have some time too before Christmas, but he wasn’t planning to go out until his face looked a bit better. He knew the media would have a field day with this and he needed to call Matt and explain and get their stories straight before he made a statement tomorrow.

“Okay, I’m ready to pay my penance and take Trish shopping” he announced and Jon smirked.

“Have fun, bro! It’s almost worth the price just to be able to avoid having to shop this close to the holiday!” he smiled triumphantly and Richie hung his head like a dejected dog.

“C’mon, it won’t be that bad” I cajoled and Richie followed me to the door as he waived goodbye sadly to Jon.

“Richie! Stop that! We’ll have fun” I insisted as I pinched his arm for good measure.

“I know, I know. It’s all an act, Trish. I don’t want Jon to think I’m actually gonna enjoy this or I’ll lose my leverage when I need a favor” he smiled sheepishly as we walked down the driveway to the car.