The Sauna Part 215

Jon heard the phone through his drunken haze, but he was too tired to care and he couldn’t reach it from the bed where he lay. His head was splitting and it hurt just to move. He rolled back on his side and sat up with a start.

Holy fuck! What did I do? He thought to himself as he saw the lump under the covers beside him. His heart was racing as he stared in horror at the body in bed with him and blinked, trying like hell to make the image disappear. But there it was still. He couldn’t remember a thing and he couldn’t see what was under the covers and he was afraid to look any further. He prayed to the Gods to make him wake up and pleaded for it all to be a bad dream.

When he opened his eyes for the third time and nothing had changed, he started to panic. He shook the sleeping form gently and spoke.

“Hey?” he said in a soft voice, almost wishing the body would dissolve as he touched it.

“Fuck! What is it man? What time is it?” he heard Richie’s voice and nearly fell out of bed.

“What the fuck? What are you doing here? What the hell happened last night?” Jon demanded as he shook his buddy awake.

“Shit, Jon, you asshole! You fuckin’ keep me up all night whining and crash in my room and now you wake me up at the crack of dawn?” Richie said irritably.

Jon looked around and realized he wasn’t in his own room and that he was still in his clothes. Richie was blinking at him now and looking rather annoyed since he’d been rudely awakened. But he started to chuckle when he looked at Jon’s face and saw how his features changed as awareness began to take hold.

“Jesus Christ, bro! What did ya think happened? I never thought I could drink enough to sleep through your snoring, but I couldn’t find the key to your room and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sleep on the floor in my own room!” he grinned.

“Jesus, Richie! I never thought I’d hear myself say I was glad to find you in bed with me, but man, am I ever glad to see you!” Jon beamed.

“Wish I could say the same! Fuck, turn off that smile, asshole, you’re blinding me!” Richie countered. “What time is it?”

Jon looked at the clock and then turned back to Richie as he ran his fingers through his hair and sat up.

“It’s almost nine. I heard the phone ring. Where the fuck is it?” he groaned, thinking he really needed some coffee now that his heart had stopped racing.

“Try your pocket, you idiot” Richie said as he rolled back on his side and pulled the covers over his head.

Jon got up then and reached in his pocket and there was his cell phone. He flipped it open and saw that there was a message from me and played it back as he grabbed his jacket off the chair and headed for the door.

“Thanks, bro” he called out to Richie as he made his way to his own room.

Once inside he hit speed dial and waited for me to pick up. It was just after two and I had fallen asleep, but I woke up and reached for the phone.

“Jon?” I answered, my voice thick with sleep.

“Yeah, babe, it’s me. You called?” he said, feeling better than he had felt in a long time. Relief was a remarkable cure for a hangover.

“I did?” I replied as I struggled to shake off the fog.

“Yeah, baby, about an hour ago. It’s okay, though, go back to sleep and call me when you wake up” he said affectionately.

“Uhm, okay. I love you, Jon” I said as I hung up the phone and fell back to sleep.

“I love you too, Trish” Jon smiled as he dialed room service and ordered some coffee and breakfast.


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


It was nine o’clock when I finally woke up and I headed downstairs to start up the coffee. Jim was already up and there was a pot waiting and he greeted me as I walked in the kitchen. I reached for a mug and poured in some cream before filling my cup and joining him at the kitchen table. Cherie was still sound asleep and she wouldn’t be up before noon. She never rose early if she didn’t have to get up.

“Morning” I said, taking a sip. “Thanks for the coffee. Did you sleep well?” I asked.

“Like a log. All that driving really wore me out” he replied. “Did you find out what happened with Cherie and Dave?”

“Yeah, we stayed up and talked. How much do you know?” I wondered, not wanting to break Cherie’s confidence, but wishing I had someone to talk to about the whole thing.

“Just that Dave finally crossed the line and that she’s having some doubts about the marriage. She didn’t tell me a lot, but I know she didn’t tell him where she was going and who she was with” he answered.

“That about sums it up I’d say” I replied, hesitant to say anything more.

“S’okay, hon, you don’t have to fill in the blanks, I can guess. He smacked her around, didn’t he?” Jim said as he eyed me.

I nodded in agreement since he’d already put two and two together. He’d known Cherie as long as I had and he’d never quite liked Dave all that well, but they’d managed to get along over the years.

“I hope you can talk some sense into her, Trish. Cherie deserves better than that” he said firmly.

“Me too” I nodded again. “I’m gonna go up and get dressed and take a bath. Help yourself to anything you want, okay? Do you need anything?” I asked, anxious now to call Jon.

“No problem, honey, I’m good” he smiled and I refilled my cup and went back up the stairs.

I filled up the tub and called Jon as I stepped into the water and sank down, feeling the heat and relaxing. He picked up immediately and I grinned when I heard his voice over the wire.

“Hey, baby, how’s it going?” he purred smoothly.

“I’m doing fine, but Cherie’s another story” I began and proceeded to fill him in on the details.

“Shit! He hit her? Man, there’s no excuse for hitting a woman. She’s gotta end it, babe” Jon said resolutely.

“I know, I know, but it’s going to take some discussion before she finally accepts that” I smiled.

Men were such simple creatures sometimes, I thought to myself, but not so with women. For Jon it seemed an obvious choice as he knew his limits and there were no excuses. Dave was an asshole and Cherie needed to leave him and that was that-a no brainer as far as he could see. I tried to explain how the decision was more complicated for women and why they often chose to stay with these men.

“But you’re gonna set her straight, right? She can’t go back there, not to him anyway. We’ll help her with anything she needs, okay? I know a lawyer …” he began.

“Thanks, love, but I don’t think we’re there yet. But thank you for understanding that I need to help her as much as I can and I know money is just a small part of the issue for her. Cherie was the breadwinner in that relationship, but I don’t want her going broke if he fights her, and I know he will” I replied.

“Anything she needs, darlin’. Anything at all” he assured me with his support.

“So what’s new with you? How was the show?” I asked, changing the subject.

Jon wished he could share what had happened last night, but he wisely decided to keep that a secret he and Richie would take to the grave. They’d already agreed it was one for “the vault” and he knew I wouldn’t see the humor in his momentary confusion when he woke up to find he wasn’t alone in the bed.

He chatted about the show and other mundane affairs and didn’t tell me he’d decided to fly home as Richie had suggested. He wanted to surprise me instead. He had tonight’s show and he needed to do the sound check right now and have dinner before the performance and then he’d be on the plane headed for Colorado. The crew had their orders and he was anxious to get through today and tomorrow he’d be home.

We said our goodbyes and I hung up, feeling excited that I’d be joining him soon. I planned to spend the rest of the week with Cherie and Jim and then I would fly out to Scotland on Friday. I’d purchase the ticket today.