The Sauna Part 218

It was just before noon by British time and Jon’s plane was approaching the airport. They had made good time and the flight was a bit shorter on a private plane as they could fly into Durango directly. He readjusted his watch as it made its descent; it was five in the morning on Tuesday in Colorado. Jon grabbed his bag and his guitar and disembarked, racing through the airport as he headed for the area where the limo was waiting. If he hurried, he’d be at the house before breakfast.

There had been a light snowfall and the ground was dusted with powdery white stuff. It certainly was beautiful country Jon thought to himself as he looked out the window. They made a brief stop at a Sonics and he ordered a coffee at the drive-thru, anxious to be on his way. He sipped it slowly as he felt his pulse quicken the closer he got to home.

The cats had gotten confused with the change in sleeping arrangements, but eventually they’d adapted and wandered into the guest room. I didn’t realize how small a single bed was until I was forced to share it with a horde of insistent cats. They had all taken to sleeping with me when Jon wasn’t home. I had twisted myself into a pretzel, but we had all managed to fall asleep eventually and I never heard a sound as the front door opened.

Jon left his bags in the hall and tiptoed up the stairs, careful to not make a sound. His heart was thumping wildly as he walked silently towards the bedroom, anxious to surprise me now that a night’s rest had calmed his own inner demons. He opened the door slowly and crept as stealthily as a cat towards the bed, straining to see in the dim morning light. But what he saw made his heart nearly stop.

The look on Jon’s face was a portrait of anger, shock and despair. He was too late. There in our bed he saw Jim with a woman’s arm draped over his chest as they slept. His breath hitched in his throat and he shook his head, again hoping it was all just a bad dream. But unlike the day before, Jon was stone cold sober and he knew what he saw was real.

“Fuck! Trish! How could you?” he bellowed, his anguished cry causing a panic throughout the entire house.

Jim and Cherie startled awake and sat up and stared as Jon’s eyes narrowed and he looked like the wrath of the God. I woke at the sound as the cats scattered and fled and I sat up in bed, suddenly shaking.

“Trish! Trish!” I heard my name being called as if from a great distance and I sat paralyzed for a moment as fear gnawed at my gut.

“Trish!” Cherie shrieked again and her voice broke through my trance.

I grabbed my robe from the chair and raced to the bedroom to find Jon standing frozen in the middle of the room, unable to move. Cherie was trembling and Jim held her protectively as he babbled at Jon, trying to explain. I moved beside Jon and turned him to look at me, but his eyes were unfocused as he stared at my face. I saw such a mixture of pain, rage and confusion there that I wanted to weep as I realized what had happened and what he must have thought.

I reached out to hold him and his arms slid around me, pulling me closer. He buried his face in my hair and I could feel the tremors run through him as I stroked his back reassuringly.

“Trish?” he said in a ragged voice.

“Yes, Jon, baby, I’m here” I said soothingly.

“Jesus, Gods, what the hell happened?” he whispered, trying to make sense of the scene he had witnessed.

“Baby, I let Jim and Cherie have our bed and I took the guest room since the bed was so small in there” I replied quietly, my heart still thumping wildly.

“I thought it was you, baby. Jesus, I thought it was you in the bed” he said, finally grasping what had happened.

“I know, Jon, I know. It was dark and you didn’t know about Cherie and Jim” I said softly.

Cherie was hyperventilating and Jim was trying to calm her, just as I was trying to set Jon’s mind at ease. The whole thing had been quite a scare for us all and it took a few moments before we were able to absorb the shock. Jon was relieved, but with his relief came embarrassment, as he realized how wretchedly he’d misinterpreted things.

“Cherie, Jim… I am so sorry… I thought…fuck, well you know what I thought” he said as he ran his hand through his hair. “And Trish, Jesus, Trish, I’m so sorry. I feel like an ass. I just wanted to surprise you …” he started to explain.

“Well, you certainly accomplished that, my love” I giggled, finally finding a release for the tension I felt. “Jon, I’m sorry too. This wasn’t the welcome I would have wanted to give you.”

He kissed me then and I melted against him, feeling the last of the tension dissolve. Goddess, but it felt good to be in his arms. Jim had started to chuckle as he regained his composure, but Cherie was still trembling like a leaf and it took longer before she recovered, but soon she was breathing normally as Jim stroked her hair.

“C’mon, love, let’s go down and make some coffee and I’ll fill you in on what happened” I suggested.

It was starting to feel uncomfortable with Jim and Cherie still in our bed and I was anxious to get Jon away and leave them some privacy. We went down to the kitchen and I started the coffee as Jon slid his arms around my waist and nuzzled my neck. The cats were still hiding and we were alone.

“Gods, Trish, I just never expected that. I just never imagined…” he breathed in my ear.

“I know, baby, what a shock. I would have told you what had happened, but I just found out about them myself. But let me welcome you home properly” I replied as I turned to face him.

He took my face in his hands and kissed me again, but deeply this time. There was no need for any more words now that we were together and Jon saw no reason to tell me his fears. He knew they were groundless and he was ashamed that he’d doubted me, even if only briefly.

“You know, I just bought a ticket yesterday. I was planning to fly out on Friday to join you as a surprise myself” I laughed at the irony.

“We can fly back together, doll. I can only stay a few days and blew off a press conference and an interview as it was” he murmured, still holding me tightly.

“Jon, is everything okay? What made you come home all of a sudden? It’s only been a few days, love” I asked, stepping back to look in his eyes.

He looked weary and tired and it had been a long flight for only a few days together. I wondered what prompted such an impulsive decision and it wasn’t like him to deviate from a schedule or blow off a commitment. Jon shook his head and just smiled.

“Everything’s fine, babe. I just really missed you” he lied.

Well, it wasn’t really a lie. Everything really was fine and he had truly missed me. The rest wasn’t something I needed to know and he wasn’t about to admit that he’d let his imagination get the better of him. And he was glad to be home, now that things had settled back down. The coffee finished brewing and I poured us each a cup and Jon flashed me his superstar smile when he tasted it.

“Timmy’s?” he chuckled.

“Of course” I grinned back.

I proceeded to tell him what had transpired and I shared the good news that Jim was available for as long as we needed him. Jon looked surprised when I told him I was planning to join him on tour and that I was willing to leave the cats for that long. They had finally come out of hiding and Opie was screaming for breakfast while Eddie rubbed his face on my leg.

“C’mon guys, Daddy will feed you” he announced as he opened the cupboard to get them their food.

They milled about him as he refilled the food bowl and he reached out to pet Zeke on the head.

“Sorry I startled everybody” he said to the cats and they purred contentedly as they vied for a spot at the food bowl.

Cherie and Jim finally joined us and I offered to make breakfast, but no one was especially hungry. It was still early and Cherie, for one, wasn’t used to being up at this hour. We decided to go out for brunch once everyone had a chance to get cleaned up.

“Jon, man, I really am sorry about all of this. I know how I would have felt if I’d been in your shoes and came home to find some guy in my bed” Jim said graciously.

“Let’s just start the day over and forget about it. I’m grateful you’re here and I’ll owe you something big for making it possible for my lady to come with me on tour” he replied as he hugged me and we headed upstairs to get cleaned up.