Early one Saturday afternoon, after spending most of the morning in town, I
decided I should go and relax in a sauna for half an hour. I decided to head
straight for the "Sauna & Beauty Parlour", where Iíd been a couple of times
previously. As I arrived, I was met, in the waiting room, by one of my best
friends, Katy. She asked me what I was doing there. I replied by saying that I
was exhausted after spending the morning in town and had come in for a relaxing
sauna. When Iíd finished speaking, she told me that she was there for her weekly
facial, which usually took about thirty minutes. After a short pause, one of the
beauty consultants came in to the waiting room and told Katy that her facial
treatments were ready. The music being played on the PA system within the
premises was one of my favourite female solo singers, Enya. I thought it added
something ëspecialí to the atmosphere. A couple of minutes later, I was told that
the sauna was ready. As I was getting undressed for the sauna, all the memories
of my friendship with Katy during the past few years came back to me. For some
unexplained reason, as soon as I got inside the sauna, I began thinking about
Katyís stunning good looks. As I sat on the lower seat of the sauna, waiting for
the heat to start ëhittingí my body, I began to hear what sounded like Katyís
voice. >From what I could hear of the conversation, it sounded as though Katy was
talking to another slightly older woman about the exams sheíd just finished at
school. Within a couple of minutes of the talking beginning, Katy and a slightly
older and taller woman walked into the sauna. They were both wrapped, from head
to toe, in gigantic white towels similar to my own. "Hi", I said, still reeling
from the shock. "Hi", they both said in unison, as they went to sit down on the
higher seat of the sauna. "Sorry for barging in on your relaxation, Alan. I
didnít think youíd mind some female company", explained Katy. "Thatís all right;
make yourselves comfortable", I replied. Once theyíd settled, Katy explained her
presence. "They ran out of stuff to put on my face during my facial, so they
offered me a free half an hour session in the sauna". "Oh, right", I retorted.
After a short pause, Katy went on, "Alan, Iíd like you to meet Nina. Nina, this
is one of my best friends, Alan". I leaned over and shook the hand of this
beautiful young woman, who I was sure I had seen several times in the past few
weeks. "Excuse me Nina, but donít I know you from somewhere?", I asked. "Yeah,
Iíd say so ... this is where I work!" replied Nina with a smile. "Of course ... I
should have realised", I said. As Katy and I had known each other for quite a few
years, we started talking about some of the things weíd got up to in the past.
She reminded me of a few of the funnier incidents weíd both witnessed in the
years gone by. We went on to discuss what we had done recently. I told Katy about
what had happened during the celebrations for my 20th birthday. Then, the three
of us started telling some really funny jokes. After a while, I asked Katy if she
was going out with anyone. She said that she hadnít been out with anyone in the
past couple of months mainly because sheíd wanted a rest from the hassle of
relationships, boys and all that sort of stuff. "I think itís time I grabbed a
quick shower", said Katy. "Iíll leave you two alone to get to know each other".
Almost as soon as Katy had left the sauna, Nina asked me how long Iíd known Katy.
I began to explain that weíd known each other years ago, but had lost contact
with each other because Iíd become "a bit of a recluse". She said she was
intrigued to hear more about the friendship, and asked me to continue. "There
isnít really all that much more to tell, to be honest with you", I told her.
"Well Ö from what Iíve heard during the past few minutes, along with what Katy
has told me in the past, there is a lot of history between you and her", she
replied. "Yeah?", I said, before pausing briefly. "Exactly, what has Katy been
saying about me?" As the conversation continued between Nina and me, I felt as
though we were becoming friends really quickly. There seemed to be some sort of
ëbondingí between us, as though weíd known each other for years. The conversation
then moved away from talking about my friendship with Katy, to talk about what I
was doing at the moment and where I would be going on holiday. As the
conversation seemed to be coming to a conclusion, Katy came back into the sauna,
after having her "quick shower". As she sat back down, she explained that sheíd
been so hot from the amount of walking sheíd done in the past few days that she
had spent longer than normal in the shower. As soon as she finished her
explanation, an eerie silence seemed to descend on the sauna for some unexplained
reason. Just then, Nina begun talking. "Iím starting to get quite hot sitting up
here". She went on to make an rather unexpected request, "Would either of you
mind if I moved my towel down to my waist?" "No, go ahead." said Katy, almost
without hesitation.