The Sauna Part 198

“So, how about those presents?” Jon chuckled softly.

“I guess we could do that now, although it seems a bit anti-climactic” I replied, half-seriously and half in jest.

Jon laughed at the pun, but he was anxious now for me to open my gifts and he sat up, pulling me along with him. He tossed me my robe and slipped on his own as we were both a bit chilled now and the fire needed attention. It had begun to die down and I went to get us some eggnog while he blew on the embers and added another log. I turned on some Christmas music and we settled down by the tree.

“Open this first” he urged, handing me a small box.

I opened it carefully, saving the paper and he smiled. Some habits die hard, I had to admit. I drew out a beautiful pendant on a silver chain and I caught my breath. It was an exquisite pentacle, surrounded by scrolling vines which gave it the delicate appearance of filigree, and as I looked at it more closely I realized that there was an inscription on the lower edge. ‘For My Beloved Goddess~Jon’ the inscription read.

“I love it! I’ve never seen anything like this, honestly! And the inscription… Jon… I… ”

I threw my arms around his neck, my eyes brimming with tears. I was moved beyond words and I couldn’t speak. It was so beautiful and precious and I was touched by the words he had written. Jon made me feel like a Goddess and there was no question that he represented the God to me. I turned and lifted my hair while he fastened the clasp, kissing my neck as he did so.

“You are my Goddess, you know” he whispered.

“Jon, I love you so much and you are my God, too” I replied, my eyes shining with the love I felt for him.

We kissed again, but I was anxious now for him to open his special present. I reached under the tree and drew out the package and handed it to him with a grin. He removed the card that was attached and opened it first:

I wanted you to have something while you’re on tour to remind you of what’s waiting at home! I love you, baby~
Trish

Jon had a smile on his face as he tore off the wrapping and opened the box. I could tell it wasn’t quite what he expected and I had a good idea where his mind had gone. He removed the scrapbook and fingered the cover for a moment before opening the book. The first page was one of my favorite photos of us and showed Jon as he dipped me for a kiss against the setting sun. He grinned instantly, remembering when it had been taken on our trip.

He laughed and smiled, studying each page as he read the inscriptions I had added, remembering the stories behind the photos and admiring the additional embellishments I had added. There were pictures of us from the trip, from Buffalo and Jersey and even some that Richie had taken in California. There were pictures even he didn’t remember and ones I had taken when he hadn’t realized it. There was even a page for a wedding picture which I hadn’t had time to add yet.

“This is amazing …” he said in a choked voice, taut with emotion, as he lingered over one of the pages.

It was one of the photos that Richie had taken back in Buffalo after the Handfasting. I had never shown it to Jon and I had forgotten about it myself until I downloaded the pictures. In the photo, we were standing together and looking directly at one another and you could see the hill where we had been joined in the distance. I had to hand it to Richie as he had more talents than we realized and I was grateful to him for his clever work with the camera when we weren’t paying attention.

“Richie really took some amazing photos, didn’t he? I didn’t even realize he’d taken them until I downloaded everything from the camera” I nodded.

“It is a great picture, but I meant the book itself. All the work you put into this and what you’ve written. I can guarantee you that I’ll be homesick as hell now!” he laughed a little sadly.

We hadn’t talked about the tour or decided just how we would manage things while he was away, but we both saddened at the prospect of separation. It would be the first time we were apart since the day we met and neither of us wanted to think about that right now, but we were both a little quiet as the thought loomed over us.

“Thank you, baby. I love what you did and I will take it with me for when I get lonely” he said, hugging me a little tighter and a little longer than usual.

I reached for another gift, but he stopped me.

“Nope, it’s someone else’s turn” he grinned, shaking off the momentary melancholy as he handed me a gift bag.

“Someone else?” I wondered as I looked around the room.

“Read the tag” he smirked.

“Merry Christmas to Zeke & his Buddies from Dad” I laughed as I read the tag aloud. “Do you hear that, boys? Dad remembered to get you presents!” I squealed.

Zeke’s ears twitched and he looked directly at me as I called him over and Eddie was already digging a paw into the bag. It was as though they understood every word sometimes. Zeke had actually been lying near the fire earlier, but now they were all sitting beside us waiting patiently. Even Floyd.

Eddie had managed to drag a furry mouse toy out of the bag and I could hardly deny Jon’s comment that he was the biggest brat among them. I helped the others and discovered that there were treats for Opie to share and toys galore for everyone. Only Floyd sniffed and looked at Jon with disdain.

“I didn’t forget you, old man” Jon cackled as he reached in the bag and withdrew a package marked with a tag for Floyd.

“Here ya go, buddy. Kitty herbs!” he announced proudly and I laughed.

He’d thought of everything. If he couldn’t win Floyd over with his charm, he’d drug him into a mellow mood. And it worked as Floyd actually was a catnip junkie! He started to purr loudly and roll around in the catnip Jon had proceeded to sprinkle all over his lap and the carpet.

“Richie?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Yeah, it was his suggestion. Damn! The little bugger really likes it too!” he observed.

Floyd was almost drooling with affection now and Jon was positively tickled. I remembered suddenly reading something that Jon had been quoted as saying when he gave an address to some college students years ago and I had always liked the phrase. It seemed to fit now.

“Passion + Perseverance=Possibility” I quoted and Jon looked up and stared at me.

“I was a fan, you know” I smirked back at his startled expression.

“Shit. I can’t take credit for the original quote, but I thought it sounded pretty impressive at the time. I just never thought it would come to describe my desperate attempts to win over the furry devil” he snickered.

“Okay, next!” I announced as I pushed another package into his hands.

He opened the package, careful this time to save the wrapping, and opened the box. Inside were the leather journal and the quill pen I had found. ‘For all your musings’ I had written inside the cover along with the date.

“This is cool, but you’ll have to show me how to write with it. I can use this to jot down lyrics when they come to me. It sure beats an old napkin” he grinned.

It was my turn again and I opened another larger box that was quite heavy. I had no idea what it could be and I carefully lifted out the contents and removed the Styrofoam. It was a beautifully sculpted stone statue of a cat angel and emblazoned on the collar I read the name.

“Beowulf” I said softly, tears brimming in my eyes.

“Trish, I know you miss her. It’s a statue we can place over where we buried her in the back yard” he said gently.

“Oh, Jon!” I exclaimed, my voice muffled against his chest as he held me.

“Baby, I know” Jon cooed tenderly as I cried.

I was so touched again by his thoughtfulness and intuition and as much as I missed her, I loved him more for remembering. The statue itself was simply elegant, just like Beowulf was I thought to myself. It was one of the most precious gifts I’d ever gotten. Jon continued to comfort me until the sobs that had caught me off guard subsided and I was able to find words to express my gratitude.

“This means so much to me, I can’t tell you how much. It’s one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done. I love you so much. I just don’t know what I would ever do without you!” I babbled as I hugged him again.

My last gift seemed so lame in comparison to what Jon had done. His gifts were not so much lavish as they were sentimental and poignant and I wished I’d been more creative. I didn’t have Richie’s humor and I didn’t have Jon’s poetic soul and I had really struggled with trying to find gifts that I thought he would like that were more personal than stunning. I handed him the two remaining packages, wishing I had done a better job.

Jon opened the jacket from the vintage store and he loved it and fortunately it fit him very well. He laughed at the DVD and wanted to watch it immediately. If I had failed in my own eyes with choosing clever gifts, Jon didn’t seem to notice. He was happy with all his presents and the reaction his gifts had had and he thought it was one of the best Christmas’s he could remember. He was a charitable soul indeed.