Because they overslept, the morning was filled with practicalities: maneuvering around one another for the shower, sink, and mirror; walking and feeding Jo Friday; and getting to the aesthetics clinic on time. There were no meaningful or awkward conversations, other than Maura suggesting that Jane might really enjoy the treatments at the clinic, and Jane agreeing to give it a shot, "And if I hate it, at least I'll have something to bitch about, right?" Maura laughingly agreed, and so they both went.
The clinic was an understated sort of place, the sort of elegance that is made to look effortless. Maura stepped up to the counter and spoke with the receptionist, who glanced at her computer, made an adjustment, and then nodded. "Family and Friends treatments, or Couples?"
"Ah… Let's say Friends," Maura said quietly, cheeks pinkening.
The receptionist glanced at Jane, suppressed most of her smile, and nodded again. "I see," she replied; and she did. Maura smiled back, this time in confirmation of what the receptionist had correctly identified, even though she herself had not yet come to sureness or definition. This was what she loved about this place. Always professional, yet never cold or distant, the staff knew how to put anyone at ease.
Within a minute, another black-clad employee came to usher them into separate changing rooms that smelled freshly of a pleasantly astringent cleaning solution: these rooms were sanitary. "Please remove your clothes and put them into this bag. Take some of these disposable undergarments if you would prefer not to have full nudity," she gestured to individually wrapped, single-use panties and thongs and bandeau type breast coverings, "and put on a robe and slippers. When you're ready, press this button here, and I'll come to get you." She whisked away efficiently.
"You don't have to be naked for the treatments." Maura gave Jane a smile to reassure her, noting, "It's just that some of them feel so good for the whole body that you'll actually be uncomfortable if there's much that they can't reach on you. Use the disposable things rather than your own, because they'll get various creams and such on them." Then she disappeared into her own changing room.
With a groan, Jane stepped into her own, took Maura's unspoken advice, to an extent, and went with the disposable panties but not the disposable bra, and then pulled on the robe after folding and packing her clothes away in the bag provided. Taking in a deep breath to settle her nerves, she pressed the button and waited.
About two minutes later, the employee came back to let both Jane and Maura out of their changing rooms. She took their clothing bags, explaining as she led them down the hallway to their treatment room that the bags would be put in a safe locker until the women were ready for them again. She brought them inside, where yet another black-clad person was already there, and departed to go and help others.
"Maura, my dear," said the slightly round-bodied, grey-haired woman with a light Southern accent and a smile that lit up her enormous blue eyes as she walked up to her caramel-haired client. Her voice was equally warm and rich, like a really good coffee, as she asked, "May I touch you?"
"Please," replied Maura with the same almost-teasing tone, and the two embraced as if they were old friends. In a way, they were. As they let go one another, Maura explained for Jane, "Here at the center, everyone is very careful to do only what will make a client feel comfortable. They always ask first before any kind of touch, so that a client always knows that it's their choice. Jane, this is Chris Koopman, who's been my aesthetician since I was a child, barring the time I spent in France. Chris, this is Jane Rizzoli, my especial friend."
Chris turned to look more closely at Jane, having heard the adjective applied to her. Whatever she saw made her smile again and offer a hand. "May I shake your hand, Miz Jane?" she asked.
"Um," Jane looked from one woman to the other before extending her hand, "sure."
Another woman entered the room as Chris got acquainted with Jane. She was introduced (along with a request to shake hands) as Julie, a licensed massage therapist, and explained that while Chris performed her treatments on one woman, she would massage the other, and then they would switch. "Is there any area on which you would prefer that I specifically focus attention, or perhaps avoid?"
"I…hmm," the tall brunette shifted uncomfortably, "I have a… scar on my back that you … um, well, you know, the muscles get pretty tight around it. Not sure you can do much with that, though." She flinched and gave an apologetic look to everyone in the room. Neither Julie nor Chris seemed uncomfortable, and Julie said, "My husband has a great deal of scar tissue as well. I will do all I can for your pain."
Maura shook her head, having no strong preference. "I trust you to find what needs finding." She then glanced towards Jane and murmured, "Julie is extremely good at tending to hands." As Jane decided what to do about that, she turned back to Chris so as not to make the decision seem more momentous by staring. "Chris, I think it might be best if you start with me, and Julie with Jane. That way, Jane will be relaxed by the time she gets to your treatments, and she can see how they're done. She'll be within sight of me most of the time, won't she?"
"Yes, of course. Shall we begin?"
Maura followed Chris and immediately sat and lay back in a chair that looked something like the ones in a dentist's office, glancing back towards Jane reassuringly as she said to Chris, "I give you permission to touch my face, head, hair, hands, feet, and body for the duration of our session, in any area not covered by fabric, as needed in the performance of your professional duties." Slightly less formally and a bit less audibly, she added, "Just do everything that looks like it needs doing. I trust your expertise. Jane will probably need to ask more questions, and she probably won't want anything waxed, but just ask. She can surprise you."
With wide eyes and slightly faster than normal breath, Jane watched Maura run through the formalities before turning to Julie. "Hands, huh?" She held her hands up to waist level as she looked down at her upturned palms. "I trust Maura's judgment," she murmured to herself before looking back to the waiting professional. "They… if there's something… okay," she let out a calming breath. "If you can do something with them, that would be… good."