Chapter 55: Unexpected Complications

July 17-18, 1985

[We were just going in the house when Sarah flashed, “Charlie, I’m at the hospital! I think we may have a very serious problem...”]

“Are you okay”

“Yes, I’m fine, but you better circle the wagons! There’s this Native American doctor who is certain that you and/or Linda have ancient healing powers. AND he and his colleagues know you are friends of Greg Sanders!”

“How do they know our names? Linda and I never...” Aw SHIT. We’d told the two victims we were friends of Greg’s.

“Charlie, they don’t know your names yet, but they have Greg’s name AND address. I’m on my way home, you might wanna get your dad and Jim involved. It’s only a matter of time till they figure out YOUR names. I’ll tell you what I discovered, just, please don’t kill the messenger?”

“Sarah, it’s not your fault, thanks for finding this out for me. You’ve got a kiss waiting for you, not the gallows. Thanks to you, at least we won’t get blindsided.”

Dammit all. My worst fears were materializing and it was happening two days before my wedding. SHIT. Dad flashed, telling me not to panic. He said he had a contingency plan that we could use if necessary. I told him I wasn’t looking forward to relocating to Colorado.

Dad laughed, “You’re not going to run, Charlie. My plan is more of a dance than a cut and run.”

Bob, who had just gotten home said, in a deadpan voice, “Then he’s screwed. Everyone knows he CAN’T DANCE.”

As much as I wanted to punch him, all I could do was try not to laugh with everyone else. I told Dad about our plans to have dinner with Paul tonight and check out a new spa.

He said to go as planned, but he would come over, in case we had any unwanted ‘visitors’. He said that being not home right now, might actually be for the best. He said to have fun and not hurry home. He even asked if the spa might have enough room for the parents.

Mary arrived home from work, anxious to know how I felt and what I was thinking about my situation from this afternoon. My soulmate had sensed I was very uneasy and confused. I had also unintentionally shut her out. I had to reassure her I wasn’t purposely trying to block her.

While waiting on Sarah, we began discussing what we would wear tonight.

Where they had initially been excited to swim ‘au naturale’ they were now wondering if having strings hanging between their legs might be weird.

Greg, Bob and I said nary a word.

Diplomatically, I said, “I’m good with whatever you ladies decide. I won’t feel embarrassed in the least, honest.”

Jamie just smiled at me and said, “What the heck. I’m sure this won’t be the first time Paul’s seen a lady in our condition.”

Bob started saying something then popped his hand over his mouth. The girls all looked at him and broke out laughing.

Linda said, “Remember Bub, you’re still on probation! We’re in a little better mood today, so go ahead, if you feel froggy, leap.”

Everyone could see him thinking before he said, “I was JUST going to say, your favorite swimsuits probably wouldn’t hide the string, anyway.”

He pulled his head down like a turtle, causing all the girls to laugh.

Jamie hugged him and said, “You’ve got a point. Besides, there’s no sense ruining our swimming suits in that hot water.”

Sarah arrived home and the girls appraised her of the situation about not wearing the swimming suits. The girls all slipped on comfortable shorts and tank tops while the guys wore shorts and T-shirts. We all jumped in Mary’s minivan and headed to Paul’s Pool Emporium for some Portillo’s and fun.

Sarah filled us in about what she learned. She told us, “It was weird, when I asked the hospital administrator about the victims, he started questioning ME. He asked what I KNEW, about HOW the victims survived to even make it to the hospital.

“I played dumb and told him that’s why I was there, I wanted the story. I got lucky, in that one of the doctors they brought in was Tina, an old friend from high school. She was on MY side and helped convince the others that I was ignorant of the event. Their questions stopped, but so did their information.

“Only Tina, my friend, would even talk to me. She told me, in confidence, that the trauma surgeon discovered a few ‘extraordinary’ things that led to them calling in the Native American, Dr Andre Honyestewa. He had also visited that Rockford hospital where Andie and Cathy had been cured. He’s like the medical version of your friend, Joshua.

“The victims, Jose and Hector Hernandez, are the ones who spilled the beans. They told the doctors that all they remembered was that the two of you were holding them and then they felt warm. They said you were friends of Greg’s. They didn’t know you other than that.

“Tina said it was the ‘warm’ description they gave that tipped Dr Honyestewa that you might be what he called, ‘ancient healers’. Andie and Cathy had also said their ‘Angels’ made them feel warm. Anyway, back to your question, about the ‘strange’ things that happened with your healing.

“Tina said the surgeons were shocked that all of the bullets they removed seemed to have some kind of ‘skin’ formed around them, that encapsulated the bullets and may have even kept them from infecting the areas they were in!

“The bullet that nicked Hectors heart is still in him, because it’s now lodged behind his heart and his heart seems to have ‘healed’ itself. They are calling in a heart specialist to try and find a way of removing the bullet without redamaging his heart. Tina said they want to know more about the skin around the bullets. They even sent it out to be analyzed. That’s driving the cops crazy, because they wanted it for evidence.

“The surgeons think whoever the ‘healers’ are, can give them the answers. I figured you probably didn’t know, or you wouldn’t have wanted me looking for answers. Tina’s certain they’re going to hire someone to find you and question you. I didn’t let on that I had any idea who Greg was, figuring that would lead her towards not asking me any more questions.”

I took a deep breath, “You did good Sarah. That thing about the skin is interesting. I wonder if Linda and I had been able to ‘finish’ our healing, whether or not the bullets would have caused any further damage. The thing that scares me the most is that Linda and I could become public knowledge if we’re found and questioned. Especially, because the ‘experts’ may not believe we really DON’T know how we do it, let alone exactly WHAT it is we do.”

Sarah added, “Oh, Tina also mentioned, that Dr Honyestewa tried to tell the others that too. He told them ‘the healers’, if they were indeed some reincarnation of the ancient ones, probably WOULDN’T be able to explain what they wanted to know.”

That little tidbit of information could come in handy. Mary even suggested that maybe I should talk to Dr Honyestewa, directly, before the investigation got too far along. Jamie said that I should wait until AFTER our cruise. She was afraid, that since this would be the ‘discovery of the century’, they wouldn’t want to wait for us to ‘frolic’ while they pined away for the knowledge they so desperately wanted.

Bob started laughing, “Now I know what dance Dad was talking about! I can teach you, Charlie! It’s called the ‘Okey Dokey Shuffle’!”

We were still laughing when we arrived at Paul’s Pool Emporium.

Paul welcomed us, dressed in a designer swimsuit and a Hawaiian shirt. Since we forgot to call with our order, he quickly wrote everyone’s choices down and phoned it in. His assistant had already left to go and pick it up. While she was gone, he showed us all the different models he had.

There were many.

He said most of them were ‘modular’ in that we could easily design anything we wanted. The first thing he needed to know, was how many people would be using it at the same time.

After some sheepish looks, I said, “Well, it’s like this, the 7 of us will use it a lot. There’s 5 more that will join us regularly, like once a week.”

Paul was grinning, “And...”

I snickered, “AND, we might have another 10 to 12 that will want to join us once in a while.”

Paul chuckled, “So, possibly as many as 24 at one time?”

Greg had a crooked grin, “I suppose that’s possible, but that would be rare, more like...” I could see him doing the math in his head, “probably like 20 at the Max.”

Paul said, okay, I see you have some plans with you, let’s see how much floor space you have. That will actually determine the biggest spa you can have and we’ll go from there.”

We looked over the plans. The area I had figured for the hot tub measured 24 feet by 12 feet, which left a three-foot walkway completely around the tub. Paul was impressed and said that we could indeed have one big enough for 24. He also said one of the things that had to be considered was the water displacement with that number of people in the spa at one time.

He told us he had, what he felt, was the only spa on the market that had an automatic leveler. A certain amount of water could be pumped into a holding tank that would be kept heated and then pumped back into the spa as needed. He said that was necessary, otherwise the level would have to be kept low enough to accommodate the maximum number of people.

With his system, since there was only seven or eight of us using it, all the time, the level could be kept perfect for us. Then, when we knew company was coming, we could manually turn the lever on and watch a graduated measuring stick until the level was where we wanted. Or, as long as everyone didn’t sit down at once, the automatic feature of the leveler would quickly pump an appropriate amount of water to the holding tank, to keep the spa from overflowing.

I would’ve never thought of something like that until water went spilling onto the floor!

Another feature of his spa, was that every four to six stations had its own pump and motor. That way, if only seven or eight of us were using it, we would only have to turn on two of the pumps.

Next, he showed us all the different shapes and designs he had. The one that caught all of our eyes was shaped something like a four leaf clover. There were curved areas that seated four people each, in a more intimate grouping. He explained that this was adjustable, before the spa was filled. Each four-person section could be connected in different ways that would provide for more intimacy or more total group exposure. He had a small scale model that he was showing us how it worked. He said the spa he intended on using tonight, was built that way, but it would only accommodate 12 people.

His assistant returned with our dinner and we all sat and ate, discussing all the different possibilities. Our group was torn, some wanting just an oval as opposed to the clover design. The clover ended up winning out, when Paul said the curved sections provided more jets that could be aimed at different spots. That’s what made his spas more like a Jacuzzi than a hot tub.

The girls all LOVED that idea.

There was a momentary pause when we stood by the spa we were about to get into.

Jamie asked, “Um, Paul, is it okay for women who are using, you know, Tampons to use a spa?” She was blushing like crazy, causing Bob to snicker.

Mary pointed at him, “Careful! You’ve only got one meat stick, Dick, er Bobby.” The girls were giggling.

Paul said, “No problem! You’ll just want to put in a fresh one afterwards.”

Sarah pulled out a box of Tampax Supers, grinning.

Paul grimaced, “That box reminds me of the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

Bob chuckled, “Come on, tell us!”

Paul took a deep breath, “Okay, well, shortly after I was married, I was going to the grocery store. My wife asked me to get her a box of Tampax Super, as she was almost out. I was embarrassed, since I’d never bought those kind of things before, I told her I felt like a perv. She said to ‘man up’, that her dad used to get them for her and her mom all the time. Well, one thing led to another and I found myself getting checked out, but I’d forgotten the damn Tampax. Shit! Well, I tell the cashier, I needed to run and get something. She said she’d have the stock boy bring it up and wanted to know what I needed. Red-faced, I told her I needed a box of Tampax Supers. Well, she gets on the damn intercom and says, ‘Joe, bring a box of Tampax super to register 5 please?’ The lady behind me was giggling and joking with the gal behind her about my embarrassed looks. Well, the guy musta thought she said THUMBTACKS because he gets on the intercom and says, ‘Does he want the kind you push in with your finger, or the kind you beat in with a hammer?’ The lady behind me sprayed a mouthful of Coke all over the place.”

The girls were all in hysterics. They quickly stripped, then Paul, being the gentleman, helped the ladies in. His blood was rushing south! Within seconds, we guys joined them. Paul asked if his two assistants could join us, so they could ‘help’ with his demonstration. He pushed a button and called them in. They came in carrying trays with soft drinks. Their only attire were their smiles. We set our drinks in recessed cup holders, built into the molded top surrounding the edge of the spa. Jamie squeaked as she sat down, “What is this on the seat?”

Paul grinned, “Oops, I forgot to tell you, every spot has a special jet that goes between your legs. The ‘seat-spots’ are slightly more rounded than the rest of the spa, so you can find them easier, once you know what to look for.”

It took a minute for us to familiarize ourselves and when we sat down, there was a jet between our legs. I was wondering what the big deal was, until, after we were all seated. Paul asked if we were ready. We all nodded and he pushed a button next to his spot and HOLY COW, there was a very nice, erotic spray hitting my cock and balls! The girls were all giggling and Mary said, “THIS is the one we want! Ohhh, this feels sooo good.”

Paul pushed the button a second time and there were now two jets massaging our backs. One more time, and more jets were massaging our legs and feet. When he said the round and oval spas didn’t have as many of these jets, our minds were made up.

He said the temperature in this spa was 100 degrees. We could set ours anywhere from 88 to 104. He said temperatures above 104 weren’t recommended except for certain cases. He said even at temperatures of 100, the longest we should stay in was 15-20 minutes. If we wanted to stay in for longer periods of time, we should lower the temperature a couple more degrees. Pregnant women should only stay in for 10-15 minutes, max.

We were all getting very relaxed when a chime started dinging. Paul said that was the timer. We’d been in for 15 minutes. Since Mary was pregnant, we all chose to get out.

Paul told us there was a ‘snooze’ function, that would chime in five minute intervals. After two ‘snoozes’ the spa would turn off automatically. At lower temperatures, we could adjust the timer for up to 30 minutes. We could always get out, cool off, then go back in.

We were all sold on the type of layout that we were currently in. We could all see each other without craning our necks too much. Paul said that if we chose the 20 or 24-person spa, we could adjust it for an even more ‘inclusive’ feel.

Now it was time to talk turkey. The price of a 24-person spa liked to take my breath away. It was almost half again MORE than our pool, $12,250.

Paul figured on our reaction. “There’s a lot more engineering and plumbing, motors, pumps and electronics in a spa than a pool. A 16-person spa, just like the one we were in would be $8000.”

This made us reconsider our needs for the biggest spa. Paul also mentioned that the cost of heating a spa was directly proportionate to the size. Would it really be worth it, if it would only be needed once or twice a month? With the max time of 15-20 minutes, we could always use it in ‘shifts’ if there were that many people interested at the same time.

Again, our silent communication abilities made it a short discussion. The idea of a 24-person spa was nixed in favor of the 16-person version. The one that Linda and I had picked out was $6000, so this one was right in that ballpark, pricewise anyway. Paul’s was FAR nicer and I trusted him.

We told Paul we decided on the 16-person spa and I told him that Adam had recommended him.

Paul chuckled, “Oh, I know Adam sent you! He called right after you did, to make sure you didn’t forget. Okay, if you’ll give me a couple minutes, I’ll write this up and we can go over the figures.”

We chatted with Paul’s girls for a bit. They seemed to be a little disappointed that none of us came on to them. Mary explained that we didn’t think it would be appropriate since we weren’t expecting to be sexually entertained. They remarked that most guys couldn’t keep their hands off of them and that they kind of enjoyed it. Jamie told them that we were all very conscientious about VD because we were about to go on a cruise where a clean VD test was necessary. Since we’d just been tested Monday night, we couldn’t be taking any chances.