At 11:30am, Paul knocked on Holly's door. Within a few seconds, she opened it.
"Ready?"
"Ready, Fred!"
"Oh, do you have a bathing suit?"
"Right here." She showed him a paper bag she was carrying.
"We'll do this, then I'll treat you to lunch."
"Sounds great."
They left together.
They took the subway uptown. They walked down the street to the Show Me Salon and walked in.
"Hi, may I help you?" asked the receptionist.
"Hi. I have a noon appointment under the name Paul Varjak—V-A-R-J-A-K."
"Just a second…oh, yes, for our mud baths."
"That's right."
"MUD BATHS?" Said Holly.
Paul smiled. "That's right, Holly!"
"No wonder you told me to bring a bathing suit!"
He smiled. "Yep!"
The receptionist also smiled. "Come this way, please."
She led them to one of the rooms. Inside were two tubs filled with dark grey mud. She let them look at the tubs for a bit, then she led them back into the hallway over to two doors marked MENS and WOMENS.
"Here are the changing rooms. There are also showers and complimentary robes. I'll wait while the two of you change.
"Thanks," said Paul.
They changed and met the girl. She led them back into the "mud room."
"You have an hour here. I'll meet you guys at 1:00. Enjoy yourselves!"
"Thank you," said Paul. The girl left.
"Which tub would you like?" he asked.
"I'll take this one." She walked to the left-hand tub.
"All right."
They took their robes off and got into the tubs.
"Well, what do you think?"
"I hate to disappoint you, but I've done this before!"
"You have?"
"Whenever it rained heavily, Fred and I would go outside and play in the mud in our backyard."
"Oh, darn it! But then again, how old were you, at the time?"
"Kids."
"Well then, this is the first time you've ever done it as an adult!"
She smiled. "Good point, Fred! Touché."
They relaxed and spread the mud over themselves. It had a silky-smooth appearance on their bodies.
"This is nice," she said.
"Yes, it is."
"Have you ever done this before?"
"Once, with Emily."
"I see."
"But I must admit I enjoy doing it with you even more!"
"Thanks, Fred!"
They relaxed for a few minutes.
"Holly, would you mind standing up?"
"Standing up?"
"Just for a few seconds—please?"
"All right." She stood up in the tub.
"You look like a bronze Venus!"
Smiling, she got out of the tub. Then she walked over to his tub and got in with him!
"Holly!"
"Oh, don't worry, Fred; the worst that could happen is we'll get thrown out!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right!"
She kissed him, and they cuddled together in the mud. After a little while, they began spreading mud over each other.
"Fred, I can honestly say I've never done this before!"
"That's wonderful!"
Eventually, Holly got out and went back to her own tub.
The hour went by, and the girl came back into the room. "Ok, your hour has finished."
"So soon!" said Paul.
She smiled. "I know! All good things must come to an end!"
Before getting out, they were provided towels. They used them to clean off their muddy feet and legs. Then they put their robes back on and she escorted them to the changing rooms. They showered and put their clothes back on and met the girl at the front. It was $25 total, and he gave her $30. Then they went to a restaurant that was close to the spa.
While at the restaurant, Holly slipped her shoes off and inspected her feet. "I think I've got some mud between my toes, Fred!"
He smiled. "So do I. We can take foot baths when we get back home!"
She smiled. "Good idea, Fred!"