“Hello and welcome to the revitalization center. My name is Augustine Leo, and I’ll be your guide through the luxury itinerary that you booked. Please enjoy the complimentary cocktails while we walk.” I fell in behind him, walking past a small rock fountain and four people sitting on mats on the floor in front of the fountain, eyes closed, repeating some sort of mantra.
“First up we’ll be joining your partner in the steam room. After your steam you’ll have a cool shower then we’ll be moving on to Thai herbal compress massages followed by fifteen minutes at the pool. After sun time, we’ll move into a meditationsuite where you’ll have thirty minutes of silence and self-reflection with no cell phones or any outside interference.”
He took a pause and smiled, and I thought he was done, but then he started up again.
Then we’ll head back to the spa for a facial, a manicure, and a pedicure, and finally, you’ll be free to join the other guests for dinner at the main ranch with more hearty Western fare. Or you can enjoy the sunset on the veranda of the spa, where you’ll be served something from our healthy mind menu. The choice is yours.”
“Okay.”
“Mr. Hennessy is waiting for you in steam room six. This way, please.”
I hurried to finish my cocktail, a fruity blend of pear, apple, lemon, and lime juices with a touch of vodka. It was really delicious. Augustine led me to a changing room where I stripped out of my horsey-smelling jeans and tee and into a red towel. My clothes would be laundered for me while I was being pampered.
Augustine then led me to one of several steam rooms. I stepped in and gasped at the heat and moisture that slapped me in the face. Jamie was sprawled out over a bench, his glasses in a little pouch, his hair stuck to his head already.
I sat down beside Jamie, sweat flowing from me. It had to be well over a hundred and ten in here.
We proceeded to melt into puddles. When our time was up, we were given robes and then hustled to a shower room. The cool shower felt amazing, as did the dip in the pool, the massages, the mani/pedis, and the facial. The only thing I had some trouble with was not reaching for Jamie while sitting in a room with incense and Tibetan singing bowls vibrating harmoniously around me. All he had on was a spa robe cinched around his lean waist and nothing else. He’d refused to pull on his dirty briefs or the paper knickers, as he called them, so hewas bare. I’d donned the disposable underwear and was kind of regretting it. They felt odd on my balls.
“I feel you looking at me in that way of yours,” he said, sitting cross-legged on a mat with his eyes closed.
“I can’t help looking at you that way. I love you. That’s my dopey Craig-is-in-love look.”
He cracked one eye open. “I love that look. Keep doing it.”
And so, I did, through the meditation where I never meditated unless admiring your boyfriend was considered meditation. If so then I meditated the hell out of it.
During dinner on the verandah, as the sun set, I stared at him adoringly. My gaze never strayed from his beautiful profile as the sky changed colors from scarlet to blue and then to black. A hundred billion stars blinked to life, and I enjoyed the wonder on his face in the soft glow of small solar lights spaced about the large porch. Coyotes howled in the distance. An owl called out for a mate.
I’d never felt more at peace. Then my damn phone vibrated.
“Ugh,” I sighed as I debated replying to the text or not. “Should have left on silent,” I mumbled as I pulled it from my back pocket. The spa had treated us like royalty. Ten out of ten stars. Jamie had already said he wanted to return as soon as we could. Maybe we could live outside of the city someday, find a nearby place with a couple of houses, the girls could get horses, and I could finally have Bruno back. If I didn’t lose him in court. And there he was. Fucking Leon.
“See who it is. If it’s junk, then silence it,” Jamie suggested before sipping his lemon/lime soda on the rocks. I read the text. Read it again. And then read it a third time. “You look odd. Is everything okay?”
“They found the delivery guy.”
“What? Tell me.”
“Get this. He’s a client of Leon’s and was trying to cross the border in a panic. It seems my ex made him an offer to dispose of evidence that would prove him guilty in an upcoming case if he did this one little favor for him. Then, when the deed was done, Leon told him to get the hell out of the country and never tell a soul, or he would ensure he died in prison.”
“Bloody hell. That’s got to be illegal?”
“According to Detective Russo, tampering with evidence is a huge no-no. Seems the guy is singing like Taylor Swift.” I looked up from my phone. “I’m too scared to be excited.”
He moved over to my lounge chair, hugged me tight, and then kissed me on the lips. Gently, with a smile that reached his pretty eyes.
“I give you permission to be as excited as you want to be.”
So, I shot to my feet, taking him with me, and we danced a dance of pure joy under a desert moon.
Epilogue
Jamie
Returning home earlyfrom a seminar at the college, I wasn’t expecting to find Oli and Jackson in such a focused huddle in our living room, especially not with Craig kneeling beside them, poring over what appeared to be a sprawl of blueprints and papers. The scene was domestic and intense, all at once.
Of course, I expected Oli and Jackson to be together every moment they could, given they’d come home from Disney an engaged couple, but to see Craig there as well made me smile. I couldn’t be happier for my best friend, particularly when I knew I’d marry Craig one day.
