The Sauna Part 243

We woke a few hours later with ravenous appetites and having spent the last of our energy on our sexual exploits, we now needed to refuel. The resort hosted several exceptional restaurants and since it was my birthday bash, Jon left the choice up to me. He handed me several menus that were provided and I decided I’d like to try Le Ciel as French sounded romantic.

We showered and changed and decided to get fully decked out as the place was rather elegant. I surprised Jon with a new cocktail dress that he’d never seen and which clung to my curves, but left my arms bare and that stopped just short of my knees. It was made from a silver, shimmery material that seemed to move in the light and it was a bit different from what I usually wore.

“That’s gorgeous, babe. Where did it come from?” he wondered as he found a shirt that rather matched and began to get dressed.

“Don’t laugh, but I bought it on eBay when we were back home in Jersey. It was ‘pre-worn’ and not too expensive and I thought it would come in rather handy” I grinned a little sheepishly.

“You’re kidding? ‘Pre-worn?’ Is that what they call it?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Yep, it sounds better than ‘used’. But it’s not too shabby, huh?” I prodded and he kissed my cheek.

“Not shabby at all” he admitted.

I pinned up my hair and put on the necklace he’d bought for me when we first shopped together and I added a pair of hoop earrings. I finished my make-up and helped him adjust his tie and stepped back to make sure it was straight. If I hadn’t been quite so hungry, I’d have suggested we stay in our room and I would have ravished him instead.

“Darlin’, there’s always dessert” he winked as he hooked my arm in his and we went down for some dinner.


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


We managed to get a table in a rather secluded spot in the restaurant and I hoped Jon wouldn’t be recognized. Ordinarily I wouldn’t have minded, but I really didn’t feel like I wanted to share him tonight. My cell phone rang after we’d ordered our drinks and it was my dad, and my mother, calling to wish me a happy birthday.

“I’m sorry to be calling so late, Trish, but I forgot. Your mother had me rattled all day and I just now remembered. How old are you now?” he said, sounding a bit agitated still.

“I’m forty-five, dad. Is everything okay with you and mom?” I wondered, judging from the tone of his voice that he hadn’t had a good day.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just the usual shit, you know. Should we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ or has that rock star boyfriend-err, husband-already done that?” he teased.

“That won’t be necessary. Jon and the guys all serenaded me last night and, in fact, it was the first time I ever heard him singing off key” I laughed, eyeing Jon who gave me duck lips and mouthed he was drunk.

“Oh yeah?” my dad laughed.

“Where are you Trish? You sound so far away. Are you having a good birthday? I can’t believe my baby is forty-five” my mother chimed in.

“Yeah, mom, it’s been a great day. We’re in Europe since Jon is on tour and we had the day off and he took me to a wonderful spa for the day. We just sat down to eat dinner” I explained, knowing that neither of them would remember Jon’s schedule.

“We’ll let you go then, kiddo. Have a good birthday and say hi to Jon for us and take care of yourself, okay? Don’t go getting run down and getting sick. I know how you are” he added.

“Yes, father, I will. We plan to get to bed early tonight anyway” I assured him, winking at Jon.

“Okay then. Bye Trish, we love you” he said as he hung up.

“I love you too” I replied, a slight tear in my eye.

“You miss your folks, don’t you?” Jon asked, perceptive as always.

“Yeah, I always feel a bit sad when I talk to my dad” I acknowledged.

“Hey, your sister didn’t call. Do you think she forgot?” he asked, suddenly realizing we hadn’t heard from a soul all day.

“I doubt she forgot. I just forgot to turn on the phone earlier” I said, checking for messages.

“Shit. There’s six missed calls” I announced, hitting the button to play back the messages while I glanced at the menu.

Message 1 at 2pm: “It’s me. We were just calling to say happy birthday. I’ll spare you the singing as I’m sure you’ll hear it from daddy. Call me when you get a chance, but remember the time difference!” from Linda

Message 2 at 4pm: “Hi, Trish! It’s Cherie. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday! You don’t have to call back, though. I’m sure Jon’s holding you hostage somewhere fabulous” from Cherie

Message 3 at 5pm: “Hey, Trish. Eddie and the boys wanted to say happy birthday to their mom. Oh yeah, and me too. Hope you and Jon are off celebrating! Opie says to send cake” Meows in the background. From Jim and the cats

Message 4 at 6pm: “Hi Trish! Happy birthday!” followed by song with all the kids singing and then Dot’s voice apologizing “Sorry, but they insisted on singing it to you since they couldn’t see you in person. We all hope you’re having a wonderful day!”

Message 5 at 8pm: “Happy birthday, girlfriend! Teek just called and told me it’s your birthday. Tell Jon he better be a good boy, at least for today! Love ya, babe. Call me” from Eva

Message 6 at 9pm: “Hey, thought I’d try one more time. It’s three o’clock now. Remember we go to bed around nine” from Linda

Jon and I laughed as we listened to the various messages, especially the one from Jim and the cats and the one from the kids. I was touched that so many people had remembered and I suspected they might have had a little prompting from Jon. I figured I had better call Linda after we ordered as I noticed the waiter hovering around to see if we were ready. I looked again at the menu and it was hard to decide, but I finally made a selection and closed the menu, sipping my wine, and the waiter hurried over to take our order.

“I’d like the Scallop and Langoustine Carpaccio with Citrus Marinade and Caviar” I stated resolutely.

“A fine choice, Madame. It’s one of our specialties” the waiter replied.

“I’ll have the Loup de Mer Baked in Dill with Artichoke Risotto and Champagne Sauce” Jon announced and we handed the waiter our menus.

“Another excellent choice. May I interest you in a cold plate as an appetizer or perhaps our signature Leek Soup au Gratinee?” he suggested.

Jon looked at me and since I was famished, I readily agreed, preferring the heartier sounding soup to a cold plate of meat and cheese. The waiter nodded and disappeared to go place our orders and I dialed my sister.

“Hey, Linda! I thought I’d better call now while we’re waiting for dinner” I said.

“Well, how’s your birthday so far? What did you two end up doing?” she wanted to know.

I told her about our trip to Neuschwanstein Castle as it was one of her favorite places and I went on to share our day at the spa, minus the more graphic details, of course. She wanted to know if Daddy had called and admitted she’d emailed him a reminder and I told her he’d had a bad day with mother, but I didn’t know exactly what happened. She agreed she would give him a call to check in on him.

“It sounds like you’re having a great time and I wish I could be there with you to celebrate. I did catch a glimpse of you on the news when they flashed a clip about Richie’s wife, but it was mostly about that and the cameras were focused on him and Jon. It’s a shame that it ended that way. But you looked really good, by the way” she said.

I was a little surprised as Linda wasn’t one to pay much attention to such superficial things and I thanked her for saying that. Everything had happened so fast, it was hard to believe that it was only a short time ago when we were in Scotland. I told her about Cherie and Dave and the recent developments with Jim and she was rather shocked.

“Well, it sounds like it’s all for the best now. You’re happy with Jon and I hope that Jim finds his own happiness with someone else. Does it bother you any? You know, him and your best friend?” she wondered suddenly.

“It was a bit weird at first, but I really hope that it works out between them. They both deserve to be happy” I answered honestly.

“I’ll let you go and enjoy your dinner and your evening with Jon. Tell him hello for me too, okay?” she added.

“Will do. Bye Linda” I said as I hung up the phone.

“She’s going to call your dad and check in on him?” Jon asked, sipping his soup.

“Yep and she said to tell you hello too. She saw us all on the news after the trouble in Scotland” I explained.

Jon nodded quietly as we finished our soup and our salads arrived. We continued to talk about our friends and our family and Jon silently wondered why he hadn’t heard from his family. He’d called and left messages earlier in the day to remind his mother and brothers that today was my birthday and it would be nice if they called, but he’d gotten no messages so far himself and it was beginning to gnaw at him.