The Sauna Part 230

The show that night was actually quite amazing. The rest of the guys were surprised at how well Richie played and it seemed like a dark cloud had lifted now that Elaine was no longer lurking in the shadows. They didn’t realize that Richie had now come to terms with much of the baggage he’d been carrying and that he’d found faith in God once again. After Jon left him that evening, he’d prayed to his God to take him under his wing and guide him to find the love he now knew was waiting.

The story had already hit the news by the time the guys started the show and one particularly offensive headline had made me furious: Rock Star’s Estranged Wife Gets Hit by Car-Suicide? Fortunately, there was very little of this sort of journalism and most of the stories did not indulge in such speculation. The love Richie felt came from his fans more than made up for any bad press that he was exposed to. Signs showing support for him were proudly displayed in the front rows of the venue and all through the crowd and he thanked the fans with all his heart for their loyalty and affection.

Jon and I returned to our room with much lighter hearts. We made love that night with frenzied abandon, followed by such overwhelming tenderness and emotion that we both felt renewed. What had begun as an arduous ordeal earlier that day had resulted in a healing experience for us all. It appeared that the Gods really did know their jobs pretty well.

We had the following day free and we decided to go and explore Glasgow now that we had the time. Richie came with us and the three of us went in search of adventure or at least something fun. I’d been exploring a website about Glasgow that morning and I really wanted to see Provand’s Lordship and the Glasgow Cathedral. Provand’s Lordship was the oldest house in Glasgow and was built in 1471 for the Lord of Provan, an official of the Cathedral which was located across the street.

Jon and Richie were happy to accompany me as they had never been there themselves and Jon filled Richie in on what he believed was the basis of his affinity for Scotland. He shared the dream he had had while we were in Sedona and then what he’d learned from Victor about his previous life.

“So you and Trish really did know each other in a past life? You actually remembered it?” Richie asked with a touch of awe.

“Rich, man, it was so vivid I could almost taste the beer in my mouth” Jon assured him.

“I’m dying to see the garden out back; it’s full of medieval herbs!” I squealed excitedly as we walked through the stone building and soaked up the atmosphere.

“Trish, it’s winter time. I doubt there’ll be that much to see” Jon reminded me.

“I know, but it has stone face masks and a fountain and I’m hoping they’ll have markers to show what the herbs are and maybe I can get some ideas. They’re all medicinal as this used to be part of a hospital when it was first built” I explained.

We stepped out onto the frozen earth and my breath caught when I saw the garden despite how barren it looked. I felt an immediate sense of calm as I closed my eyes for a moment and imagined how it would look in the Summer. I could see all the herbs in full bloom, sandwiched between the spaces of a Celtic knot made of boxwood. I knew I had been here before and it was almost as though I’d been transported back to another time and place. I could just barely smell the hyssop and horehound as I stood still and smiled, my breath forming curls in the frigid air.

“I know this place” I whispered to the Gods.

Jon and Richie stopped so suddenly that they nearly piled into me, marveling at the rapturous expression I wore.

“Jon, I remember. It’s changed, but I remember. The faces weren’t here then …” I said, turning to look into his eyes as I trailed my fingers over the cold, roughened stone.

“You were here before now?” Jon asked, taken aback.

“Yes. I can see the garden in Summertime. I was gathering herbs to make a posset for your ailing throat. Oh my Goddess, Jon, I remember” I said, tears filling my eyes.

I stood there transfixed for a moment as bits of a long forgotten memory came back in waves. I had been given permission to take herbs from the garden to brew a medicinal remedy for my husband who had a terrible cough that would not abate. I’d chosen those plants that I knew would soothe his raw throat and I had a fleeting glimpse of brewing the concoction in a large kettle over a fire. I was surrounded by vials and tinctures, dried herbs in jars and I’d crushed the fresh flowers and leaves in a mortar and pestle on the table behind me.

“Jon! Richie! I was the village apothecary! Goddess, I remember!” I bleated, flooded with images and scenes from another life.

Jon smiled as he pulled me against him, holding me close while I trembled from the cold and the force of the memory. Richie was speechless as he stared at me in wonder and I reached out to draw him closer to us.

“I’m okay, Richie, really. I’m not crazy and I haven’t lost my mind. I just didn’t know why I felt so compelled to come here until now” I beamed.

“It makes sense, you know, Trish. You were a healer then and you’re still a healer today” Jon observed and I nodded.

We were freezing now and despite my joy at recalling the past, we started back towards the house. I instinctively moved towards the fireplace, which had been lit to ward off the chill. The three of us huddled together and the memories slowly faded away.

“Did the potion you made for me work?” Jon inquired.

“I believe that it did” I chuckled.

Jon drew out his checkbook and wrote a donation to the society that maintained and restored the house for the city. They had saved it from demolition and given it over to the public trust and admission to museums of this sort were free to visitors. He handed the check to the one of the workers who looked at him with amazement.

“You’ll make sure this gets to the right place?” he asked with a grin.

“Absolutely I will sir” the stunned employee jabbered and we left to proceed to the Glasgow Cathedral across the street.

Richie was lagging behind as he had a question for one of the staff. He was curious about the comment I’d made about the stone faces not being here in the past and he wanted to know if they were a newer addition.

“Oh yes, sir. The Tontine faces were added in 1994 when they rebuilt the garden. They were originally from another building which had been built much later than this one and they have quite a history themselves. Would you like to hear about it?” the young man suggested.

“No, no thanks, not today. Just curious” Richie replied, shocked at the accuracy of my memory.

The Cathedral was an enormous, imposing building but it didn’t inspire quite the same awe that I’d felt in the garden. It seemed vaguely familiar, but without the sense of personal meaning that the garden and house had awoken. A tour had just started when we arrived and we joined in with the small group and learned some of the history of the Cathedral. Richie found it more interesting than either Jon or I as it had a very long legacy of being Christian for over 1500 years.

From there we went on to see the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life & Art and we could have easily spent an entire day there, but it was growing late and we were all famished. We had skipped lunch altogether and Jon wanted to take me to a place that he and Richie had often frequented, so we left prematurely and headed off for the Fox and Hounds for a good Scottish meal.

Jon and Richie both ordered pints of their favorite house brews while I preferred to try the Irish coffee, my drug of choice. There were many regional delicacies to sample and we ordered a selection of appetizers to begin. Jon chose the fresh, steamed mussels with garlic and chardonnay cream while I tried the crispy, coated camembert with red currant jelly and Richie asked for the grilled black pudding. We were soon laughing and feasting as we shared each of our appetizers with one another.

I was already feeling quite full when the main meals arrived, but I managed to make room for most of my own and a taste of each of their dinners. The crispy fried leeks that came with my chicken were a hit with Richie as well, as he stole another one from my plate. I tried a bite of his steak Diane and Jon held a forkful of char grilled salmon for me to taste. I was planning to pass on dessert until the waiter read us the choices and I changed my mind.

“Chocolate fudge cake over here” Richie grinned at the waiter, rubbing his belly which appeared rather prominent.

“Chilled crème Catalana ice for me” Jon announced and the waiter looked over at me.

“Apple crumble with sweet vanilla custard” I groaned in submission.

We passed our desserts back and forth; each more delicious than the last, as we all agreed we’d need a cart to roll out on when we were finished. It was a rare opportunity to try so many national recipes and the food was superb, so we happily over-indulged. It sounded almost like an orgy as we made sounds of appreciation and fought over the last of the fudge cake. The owner smiled broadly with satisfaction as we applauded his culinary expertise. I wouldn’t need to eat for a month after gorging on so much rich food.

It was late in the evening when we returned to the hotel and we declined the invitation to check out the bars with the guys, preferring instead to lie on the bed and recover. Richie stayed in for the night as well and he and Jon both called the kids before we turned in for the night. It had been a pretty filling day in more ways than one!