The Sauna Part 220

After brunch we returned to the house to relax and unwind. Cherie and Jim decided to go out and explore the area for something to do and to give us some time alone. Jon called Richie to see how the press conference went and I poured us each a glass of wine. It was nice to have the house to ourselves for a bit.

“Hi Richie!” I called into the phone and Jon handed the phone to me.

“Hey doll! How’s it goin’? Did Jonny boy surprise ya?” Richie chuckled.

“Actually, I think it was pretty mutual. Ask him to tell you what happened” I grinned and handed the phone back to Jon and he groaned.

He recounted the details of his arrival but I couldn’t hear Richie’s comments on the other end. My mind drifted a bit while they talked about business and I began to wonder why Jon had been so ready to believe it was me that he found in bed with Jim. Had he suspected that to begin with? Was that the reason he made this surprise trip? Could he really believe I’d betray him so readily?

Jon ended the call and stretched out on the couch, laying his head in my lap. I stroked his hair absently while he told me about the press conference, but I wasn’t really listening. I was distracted and I needed answers to the questions that were racing around in my head.

“It sounds like Richie handled the press really well. They wanted to hear details about what happened with Elaine, but he kept his answers pretty vague” Jon was explaining.

“That’s good. I’m glad it went well. Jon, what made you decide to come home for such a short stay?” I interrupted, changing the subject as I wasn’t satisfied with the answer he’d given me when I’d asked him the question earlier.

Jon swallowed hard and recalled his conversation with Richie before he left England. He was somewhat ashamed of what he’d been thinking and he had no intention of admitting his fears.

“I just really missed you and Richie encouraged me to come home. I guess I was just being a prick to the guys” he replied, satisfied that he wasn’t actually lying.

“Jon, you knew I’d be joining you in just a few more days and we hadn’t been apart for even a week. Tell me the truth” I demanded.

He knew I suspected there was more to the story and there wasn’t much he could say to justify his actions; he knew they were foolish. He was praying I’d drop it and he didn’t want to hear what an ass he had been for feeling jealous, so he tried another tactic.

“Call me a fool, a fool for love. I just needed to see you.”

He flashed me that smile that he used for the cameras, summoning all of the charm he could muster and praying that it would work. He’d learned how to woo women and he’d perfected his art, but it didn’t save him this time. I knew his tricks and I wasn’t so easily swayed.

“Jon, look at me and don’t give me that face” I warned, my voice tinged with irritation.

“Trish, please…” he tried, knowing he’d failed and resorting to pleading.

“You didn’t trust me, did you? You were checking up on me” I said finally, answering my own question.

He sat up and faced me but this time it was me who turned away. I was hurt and disappointed and I knew he had doubted me and I didn’t want to look at him. His distrust was insulting and I was angry. He reached out and grabbed me, turning me around and taking my face in his hands as he forced me to look him in the eyes.

“I’m sorry, alright? I knew it was stupid and I really do trust you, but I couldn’t get the image out of my mind. I kept picturing you laughing with Jim and I just couldn’t stand it. I kept thinking about Dot and how someone moved in while I was away … Trish, please, I just couldn’t bear to lose you like that. I know you’re not Dot, and I’m not the same person I was with her either. But you don’t know what it’s like to be apart for extended periods of time. Things you never expected can happen without any warning” he begged me to understand.

I saw the pain in his eyes and I crumbled. He wanted to trust me, but the past was taunting him with cruel reminders of what had happened with Dot. I ached at his torment and I wanted to comfort him, not add to his burden. I pulled him against me, holding him close, as I murmured soothingly in his ear.

“I’ll never leave you, Jon. No one could ever come between us. We’ve shared many lifetimes together; there is no one else for me. There never could be, baby” I cried.

I felt his body grow slack as he heaved a sigh of relief and he melted against me. It had been excruciating for him to admit how insecure he had been, but he had needed to face his demons and allow me to see them. He wasn’t accustomed to feeling so vulnerable and he’d fought it the only way he knew how, by trying to control it. He felt a tremendous weight being lifted and he knew how it felt to be loved, really loved. There weren’t any secrets he needed to keep anymore.


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Cherie and Jim returned home later that afternoon and found Jon and I curled up on the couch, fast asleep. The change in time zones had taken its’ toll and Jon was exhausted and had fallen asleep with his head in my lap. I had closed my eyes for only a moment and that was all it took for me to nod off myself.

Opie greeted Jim and Cherie with a loud scream, announcing to everyone that it was way past his dinner time. Jim was already filling the food bowls, hoping to quiet the chatter, but it was too late. We’d have had to been dead to sleep through that scream.

“Jeez, what time is it?” Jon wondered, looking around.

“It’s about six o’clock” Cherie answered. “We found a Chinese Buffet we thought we could try for dinner and there’s a Karaoke bar right down the street. Are you guys up for it?” she beamed excitedly.

I bit my tongue and stifled a groan. Cherie loved Karaoke as it gave her a chance to sing for an audience and she never passed up an opportunity to perform. I looked sympathetically at Jon, guessing it was the last thing on earth that would appeal to him during a tour, but he smiled indulgently.

“Sure, that sounds like fun” he said amiably and I shot him a grateful glance.

He rolled his eyes for my benefit alone, but his smile told me he was in a good mood and nothing could really upset him at the moment. We hurried and got cleaned up and headed off to check out the buffet. Jim and Cherie were up front this time and Jon and I snuggled in the back seat of the car. We were happy just being together.

The Peking Restaurant was just past Pagosa on the main road and we passed by the bar on the way. I shook my head as I read the neon sign advertising Karaoke and I knew that was all Cherie cared about. It looked like a dive, but to be totally honest, I was far more at ease in places like that than I was in the fancy places we frequented back East. I teased Cherie that I’d be disappointed if there wasn’t a mechanical bull.

“Yeah, I’m just hoping there’s a pool table inside. Do you still like to play, Trish?” Jim asked.

“Hell, yeah, I love it and Jon’s not half bad either” I tickled him.

“Hey, I beat you before-I can whoop your ass again” Jon retorted.

“Maybe when we get home, babe, but not on the pool table” I giggled seductively.

“You’d better be careful, Trish. You might just be planting ideas you might come to regret” Jon bantered back with a smirk.

We had reached the restaurant now and it looked fairly busy. A crowded restaurant was a good sign and I hoped that it meant that the food was good as we piled out of the car and headed inside. There was a short line and Cherie insisted on treating us since it had been her idea and Jon put his wallet away with a shrug.

“Thanks, doll, but you really don’t need to do that. You both are our guests now, remember?” he replied.

“Yes, but I wanted to thank you for having me here and to thank Jim for well, uhm, rescuing me from the situation I was in. Besides, I won’t be able to take Trish out for her birthday, so this will have to do” she explained.

Jon didn’t argue and we followed the waitress to our table. The buffet was quite large and Jon and Jim went up first while Cherie and I waited at the table and munched on some noodles and dipping sauce.

“Sushi!” Cherie squealed with delight when Jon returned, his plate heaping with raw delicacies.

“Eel?” I asked, making a face.

“Don’t worry, babe, there’s nothing quite as exotic as that at the buffet” he grinned, recalling the first time he’d introduced me to sushi.

Cherie and I grabbed our plates and went up to the buffet. Cherie headed straight for the sushi while I steered clear of that area just to be on the safe side. There was plenty to choose from and even Jim had found things he wasn’t averse to eating. I laughed when I saw his plate stacked with chicken wings and I knew his tastes hadn’t changed all that much.

We made light conversation while we stuffed ourselves at the buffet. I hadn’t even been all that hungry, but once I had seen the variety that was available, my appetite found me. The coconut chicken was calling my name as I made a second trip to the buffet.

“Try this” I encouraged as I held out a piece on my fork for Jon.

“Damn. That is good. Where was that?” he asked as he stood up for his third round.

“Just past the sushi” I winked and he scowled at me.

Cherie was trying to get Jim to try a piece of raw something that was wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with some rice. I giggled loudly when I saw him make the sign of the cross and she pouted. He wanted to please her, but Jim had his limits and sushi was too much to ask. Jim had a hopelessly pedestrian palate and she had to accept that. I teased him about how one of my proudest accomplishments had been getting him past his zucchini phobia and even he had to laugh.

“I still don’t like it, you know. I just realized it wasn’t going to kill me” he quipped.

We’d finally filled up and the waitress brought us a platter of fortune cookies and we each took a turn reading out loud. Cherie went first.

“Romance will come when you least expect it” she read, smiling at Jim.

“Forgiveness is a gift only bestowed on the worthy” Jon announced, his eyes meeting mine.

“Opportunity knocks only once, be sure to answer the door” Jim read from his paper.

“Sushi” Cherie whispered and we all laughed.

“Compassion is greater than righteousness” I said quietly, reflecting on how oddly appropriate each of our fortunes had been.

Curious words of wisdom coming from a cookie, I thought.