The Sauna Part 295

The remainder of the week seemed to fly by as I found myself occupied with phone calls and planning, work and entertaining, and I felt as if my cell phone had become permanently attached to my ear. Eva and I managed to squeeze in a few shopping trips and an afternoon at the spa, but when Sunday finally arrived I had run out of steam. Eva had flown home yesterday to prepare for Tico’s return and I was anxiously awaiting Jon’s arrival at the airport. I was looking forward to just spending some time at home relaxing with Jon.

I had barely slept at all the previous night as I was just too tightly wound and I was glad to have a few moments alone to be by myself. So much had happened since I’d been home and I only had eight days remaining before Jon’s birthday bash and there was still plenty to do. I was exhausted from all the preparations and excited about Jon’s return, but I was nervous about getting everything accomplished that I still needed to do without Jon getting wise to the plan.

As I waited for his plane at the airport, I paced back and forth and my mind drifted from reviewing my mental checklist to my conversation with Jon’s parents. I’d been greatly relieved when I’d spoken to Jon’s Dad after Tony’s suggestion and John Sr. had reassured me that Carol had sworn to be on her best behavior if I would allow her to attend the birthday celebration. He gave me his word that she hadn’t had a drink since the whole episode with Backstage and that she greatly regretted her actions in that situation. It wasn’t until after I’d spoken to her myself and she’d convinced me of her sincerity that I relented and agreed she could come. Goddess, I hope I made the right decision.

Matt, on the other hand, was a whole other story. According to both John Sr. and Tony, Matt was still in denial of the role he played in the whole Backstage affair and continued to insist that he was only looking out for Jon and that I was to blame for all the problems that occurred. Given this, there was absolutely no way that I could possibly invite him and I doubted that that rift between Jon and his brother would ever be repaired. I still had misgivings about Carol, but her behavior with me when we spoke was enormously different. She took full responsibility for what had happened, admitting her participation from the beginning, and she confessed to having poisoned Matt against me. Sobriety was an amazing revelation, she shared.

I wanted to believe her for Jon’s sake, but I did so with reservations. She’d hurt me badly and she’d nearly destroyed Jon and I felt very protective of him after what happened. I couldn’t have cared less at that point about mending the relationship with her for my sake, but the therapist in me knew that healing her relationship with her son was the best thing for Jon. And Jon was my only concern. If there was any likelihood that sobriety and insight could undo the damage, it was worth an attempt at reconciliation. It might just be the best gift Jon could receive.

I checked my watch again as the thoughts swirled in my head. His plane would have landed and he should be clearing security momentarily. I scanned the sea of faces that were passing through the gate, searching for the one that I longed to see. Every blond head I saw from a distance made my heart skip a beat until finally I saw the one that belonged to my husband.

Jon began waving vigorously the moment he spotted me and he pushed his way through the throng of people and ran as fast as he could. His heart was pounding and the smile on his face could have lit up an entire city block as he caught me in his arms and swung me around, mindless of the small crowd that had gathered nearby. I noticed them first, but paid little attention as I was caught in the fervor of our reunion.

“Baby! Gods, how I missed you!” he whispered hoarsely into my ear.

“I’m so glad your home!” I breathed breathlessly as he set me back on the ground and I kissed him hard on the lips.

“Let’s get the hell outta here” he announced, pulling me along toward the exit.

“I think you’ve been spotted” I said under my breath as I nodded toward the small knot of people who were watching us with some interest.

“Yeah, but nevermind that. There was a woman on the plane who recognized me and she chewed my ear off all the way here from NYC. She got her autograph already, so I’m done with the rock star gig. I just wanna be with my wife” he grinned mischievously.

Jon had taken a commercial flight here from NYC as it was actually faster and he’d only brought along his carry on bag, preferring to ship the rest of our personal items since we didn’t really need anything right away. I’d opted for a limo this time instead of driving myself, and without any baggage, we were able to effect a pretty speedy departure and avoid any further delays by potential fans. Once in the limo, I crawled into Jon’s lap and welcomed him home with a less public kiss.

“Damn, it’s good to be home” he chuckled when I released my lock on his lips.

Jon filled me in on the last shows of the tour and I was happy to hear that they’d not been disappointed by the response of the Japanese fans. The band had always loved performing in Japan and they’d never forgotten how the fans there had helped support them in the earliest years when they were struggling for recognition. Times may have changed and their fortunes had turned, but their fans in the Orient had always been true and these last shows had been no exception. There was something about seeing folks who were ordinarily rather reserved turn into a fist-pumping, lyric-shouting mass that was always a thrill and he recounted his memories of the first show they did there.

“You know, at first, we were a little bit startled at how well-behaved the crowds always were when they entered the venues and took their seats in a pretty orderly fashion. It wasn’t like it was here in the states or even in Europe. It kinda seemed more like they were attending a piano recital, not a rock concert” he explained and I nodded for him to continue.

“We were pretty intimidated in the beginning and it felt like a challenge-could we work ’em up enough to get loud and rowdy? I gotta tell you, I think that made us better performers because we had to work at it to get a reaction but it always paid off in spades. We learned pretty quick that it took effort to work an audience and we got really good at it. I think we owe our success as a touring band, at least in part, to the Japanese fans. They might be slow to warm up, but once they got going-well, damn, they made the audiences at home seem pretty tame!” he smiled broadly. “We always leave Japan feeling like rock stars” he finished.

I was sorry I hadn’t had the chance to experience the Japanese audience and see the difference first hand, but I knew there would be opportunities again in the future. If I’d stayed behind, I’d never have been able to pull off the party I’d planned. I knew Jon didn’t quite understand why I’d been so anxious to get home, but in another week he would see why.

“So how was your visit with Eva? Did you two do your part to help the economy?” he prodded.

“She’s a shopping machine! I thought I was a shopper, but she made me feel like a novice” I grinned.

“Hell, I hope her bad habits didn’t rub off” he teased, kissing me affectionately on the nose.

I started to defend Eva, but Jon’s eyes had darkened and he was already engaged in unbuttoning my blouse. My words died in my throat as he cupped my breast in his hand and pushed me back onto the seat, crawling on top of me as he lowered his lips to meet mine. My mind went blank and the longing to feel him inside me was overwhelming as I instinctively reached to loosen his belt. Jon straightened up for a moment and replaced my hand with his own, shedding his jeans like he was running a race. We really weren’t that far from home, but trying to stop now was out of the question. I might just as well have tried to stop a speeding bullet with my hand.

I hoisted my skirt and raised my legs to his hips, yanking him down and gripping him tightly with the strength of a vice. Jon plunged into me, drilling deeper and faster as his body crashed against mine with each thrust and parry. Our rhythm was desperate, ferocious and insatiable. Finally he exploded inside me, releasing his seed like a depth charge within the walls of my abyss just as I too found nirvana.

We lay there together, sweaty and panting and grinning like loons. The windows were foggy and our overheated bodies were spent, but we were blessedly peaceful, having surrendered at last to the call of our natures. And without a moment to spare I realized as I heard the sound of tires upon gravel as the limo pulled up the drive. We quickly sat up and straightened our clothes and I wiped at the smudge of lipstick I’d left on Jon’s collar. When the driver opened the door, our silly smiles and the remnants of my kiss were the only apparent signs of our frolic.

“Home” Jon sighed as I turned the key in the lock and we stepped over the threshhold into our waiting house.