Tohoku, Japan
They arrived at their "resort," which was not much of a resort at all. Since Tohoku was not known for being a tourist attraction, there was not much to choose from. A few residents had the means to provide places to stay for people like Wheeler and Linka who were just looking for a quiet get away. The owner gave them a sheet of paper that they printed out on a computer. It was in broken English, but had told them about the skiing equipment that was available for them to use, as well as a map of the nearest hot springs and a business card for a local masseuse who traveled to people's houses, or in this case, cabin.
"Arigato," Wheeler says as the owner hands him the keys and bows.
"You know Japanese?" Linka asks.
"That was the extent of it. I know more Russian."
She mutters something in Russian and he reacts,
"Babe! Keep it down. I'm ok with you calling me a sexy beast in private, but it's just embarrassing when you do it in public."
She nearly chokes on her laughter.
"Durak."
"I know what that means too."
She smiles innocently at him.
"So what do you want to first?" Linka asks.
"Nap? I was up early."
"We both were!"
"Yeah, but I don't handle it as well as you do. Just a few hours, then we can do some skiing."
"Ok, I admit, a nap does sound nice."
"Great!" Wheeler says as he picks up their bags.
They entered their modest cabin. It was just one big open floor plan with a small kitchen, a couch, no TV, and a bed. One bed.
"Umm."
"Don't worry Babe. It's all yours. I've got the couch."
He drops their bags and plops down on the couch. He kicks off his shoes and tries to get comfortable. He is fast asleep before Linka has even managed to get settled. Unlike her carefree Yankee friend, Linka needed to at least get somewhat organized and unpack a few essential things.
She takes one of the extra blankets from the bed and puts it over Wheeler before slipping off her shoes and crawling under the covers of the bed for her own nap.
Later that evening, when the sun had started to set, they finished up their skiing session and headed back to the cabin.
Wheeler groaned when he stood up from taking off his boots.
"Too old for skiing, Yankee?" Linka teases.
"I guess."
He continues to roll his neck to try and loosen it up.
"Perhaps now would be a good time to look for the closest hot spring so you can soak."
"That does sound nice."
"Let us change then. It will be a nice way to relax before dinner," she says.
"Dinner…I didn't even think about that."
"Well, they say there is a first time for everything…"
"I didn't see anything. No restaurants, not even a McDonald's."
"Maybe we can find a market and make something."
"I think I'll leave the cooking to you Babe. I don't think we're gonna find anything microwaveable in the market."
"Nor will we find a microwave in this room!"
Wheeler grabs his swim trunks and waves them in the air.
"Last one to the hot spring is a rotten egg!"
"It is freezing out here!" Linka squeals as she takes off the layers of clothing covering her swimsuit.
"Hurry up and get in! This is awesome!" Wheeler says as he sinks down into the hot spring so that only his head is above water.
Linka quickly follows until she is submerged and seated next to him.
"You are right. This is amazing. Look at the view."
She points, but quickly puts her arm back into the water for warmth.
He looks towards what she was referring to, seeing snow capped mountains through a veil of blooming cherry blossoms.
"That's the second prettiest thing I've seen today."
"Oh? What was the first?" She asked, trying to recall the scenery they observed on their ski trip.
"You!"
She blushes.
"Oh Wheeler, I thought you were being serious!"
"I am! It's cool that you're trying to be humble and all, but don't pretend that you don't know that you're beautiful."
"I just am not one to dwell on looks I guess…"
"Why? 'If you got it, flaunt it,' as the saying goes."
"When I dwell on it, it makes me sad."
"Sad? I don't think I've ever heard of someone who was sad about being hot."
She shakes her head.
"It makes me sad to think that if not for my looks, you would not be here with me right now…you would not have offered to come with me…"
"You think I'd be that bad of a friend that I'd let you do this alone?"
"Nyet, I am sure you would still be a good friend…you just would not be as interested in helping me."
"I don't know…you're probably right. I'm a slime ball like that I guess."
"Nyet, you are not."
"I'm not? Isn't that basically what you're saying?"
"Nyet. I am not saying you are a 'slime ball.' You are just a typical male. Looks matter. I am not holding that against you. I am just saying that if I were average looking, you would be taking pity on me, not trying to convince me that I will still find love despite not being able to have children."
"I don't think so…but I guess we'll never know. Just accept the fact that you're beautiful and stop thinking negatively. You're going to ruin your trip."
And mine too, He thought to himself.
"Da, you are right. Let us just relax and enjoy the hot spring. I can practically feel my troubles washing away."
"Good. My back feels better too."
"A few hours of this and I may be ready to sleep, and you will have to fend for yourself for dinner!"
"Me too. I'll sleep well tonight, even on that couch," he says.
"Is that why your back is hurting?"
"I don't know. Probably just old age catching up to me. Can't sleep like I used to."
"I will trade you," she offers.
"Nah, you keep the bed. It's only for a night or two. I'll live."
"Ok, if you are sure. The offer still stands though. Plus, we still have those free massage coupons that they owner gave us to use."
"Oh yeah!" He says eagerly.
When they get back to the cabin, they find that the family that they are renting it from has prepared dinner for them, solving their 'what are we going to eat?' problem.
"That was great!" Wheeler says as he stretches out on the floor, arranging the pillows that they had been sitting on so that they are now under his head.
"Da, I am stuffed," Linka agrees, standing to start collecting the dishes and cleaning up.
"Babe, leave that. Just come here and relax a bit."
"I will relax once these leftovers are put away and do not spoil. I am sure you will be hungry later and want a snack."
"Ugh, you're right."
He gets up and starts gathering things.
"I can get this," she says.
"No way…I'm not letting you work while I lounge. You'll hold that over my head for the rest of this trip…or the rest of my life!"
"Nyet, not this time…there is not much, and you are still in pain."
"Nah, I'm fine," he says as he bends down to pick up the napkin that he dropped.
She catches him wincing and goes over to take the things he has gathered from him.
"Go. Relax. I will join you in a few minutes."
Wheeler listens, sort of. Before he takes his previous spot on the floor, he starts a fire in the fireplace, stacks the pillows in front of it, and spreads out a blanket.
"You look comfortable," Linka comments as she returns from the kitchen.
"Mmm hmm," he says, keeping his eyes closed. He's surprised when he senses she's laid down beside him, closer than he was expecting.
"I am glad you got a fire going."
"Cold?"
"Da, my hair got wet in the hot springs. Now the back of my neck keeps getting chilled each time my hair hits it."
He slips his arm behind her neck and is sure to pull her ponytail out of the way, his arm creating a barrier between her neck and wet hair.
"How's that? Better?"
"Da…nice."
She sighs and closes her eyes, enjoying the relaxing moment after an early start to the day and an active evening of skiing. The hot springs helped her unwind and now that her stomach was full, she was content. The warmth of the fire and the coziness of cuddling with Wheeler caught up to her quicker than she was expecting. Soon she was asleep and once he knew she was comfortable and not going anywhere, after taking some time to enjoy the moment, Wheeler also fell asleep.
Wheeler wakes up when he feels a chill. The fire had gone out, leaving them without any heat. Linka turns onto her side, getting closer to Wheeler to try and find warmth. He reaches behind him to pull a blanket off the couch and carefully places it over top of them, trying not to jostle her too much and risk waking her. Her head has moved to rest on his chest allowing him to move his arm to rest on her hip and hold her to him.
"Why can't it always be like this, Babe? This is perfect."
He kisses the top of her head and falls back to sleep.
The next morning, Linka is the first to wake up and is surprised to find herself curled against Wheeler's side. She has a moment of panic and is embarrassed that she allowed herself to fall asleep like this. Her initial discomfort at the awkwardness is quickly replaced though when she realizes how comfortable she actually is, not just the physical way that she fits perfectly against him, but how relaxed and safe she feels. The purpose of this trip was to take her mind off her problems, but it wasn't until this moment that she truly felt that maybe she could be happy someday. Maybe Wheeler really was the one who wouldn't care about her inability to have children.
But it is too much of a risk. She chastises herself for even considering it.
She lifts her head to press a kiss to his jaw and whispers,
"I could not stand it if I had this and lost it too."
She rises and takes a chance by leaning down and placing a kiss on his lips. He remains asleep so she begins brushing her fingers through his hair.
"Yankee, wake up."
He opens his eyes and smiles when he sees her looking down upon him.
"Mmm. Mornin'."
"You are going to be even more sore from sleeping on the floor. Silly old man," she teases.
When she had sat up, his arm that was around her had fallen to the floor, but he has since replaced it around her hip.
"Nah. I was actually really comfortable. More so than when I slept on the couch."
"Get into the bed."
"Huh?" He asks, taken aback by the unexpected request.
"I know it is still early for you, but I am awake and will not be using it. You go ahead and get in and get some more sleep. I will see about breakfast."
She stands up, disappointed at the loss of contact, but needing to distance herself so that she does not allow anymore fantasies of a perfect relationship to enter her mind. She offers her hand to help him up and then heads towards the kitchen area.
"Ok," he says. "I think I saw some coffee in the cupboards."
"Spasiba."
A while later, Wheeler awakens to the smell of breakfast cooking. He lays there for a bit and watches her maneuver around the kitchen. He noticed that she stopped at one point and stretched out her lower back. He immediately felt guilty for keeping her with him on the floor. He gets out of the bed and walks up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and squeezing.
She jumps at the initial contact, not hearing him approach, but she soon stops what she is doing and lets him continue to rub her shoulders, gradually moving down her spine until his hands are kneading the muscles of her lower back. She hums her approval.
"How did you know I needed that?" She asks, leaning her head back to rest on his shoulder.
"I was watching you and noticed you were a bit stiff. My fault for suggesting you join me on the floor."
"Nyet. My fault for falling asleep so quickly. I did not mean to…but I do not regret that I did. I was actually very comfortable…until I got up."
He bows his head to place his lips against her ear.
"Serves you right for calling me a silly old man."
She chuckles and nods her head.
"I guess I am being punished…although right now, I do not see it as a punishment…that feels really good."
"I was thinking, we should probably take advantage of that massage service that was in the paperwork we got," he suggests.
"I thought I already was taking advantage of it."
"Not fair. I want one."
He was hoping that maybe she would offer to return the favor.
"True…I suppose we can call in the professionals. If you can make my back feel this good, I can only imagine what an expert can do."
An hour later, they are both laying facedown on their own portable massage table while two surprisingly strong women work on their clients' sore back muscles. Linka was a little disappointed when the two women arrived, a tinge of jealousy hit her. She wishes she had had the courage to offer to rub Wheeler's back in return for the massage he had started to give her.
"Pretty nice, huh Babe?"
"Da…but I have had better," she replies, looking over at him with a smile and glad that the masseuses cannot understand English so that her remark does not offend them.
"Thanks," he says, returning her smile. "And thank you for letting me. You didn't freak out or pull away. That was…a pretty big deal. To me anyway."
"You do not need to thank me…you should not be thanking me. I could not even manage to give you a back rub in return."
"Well, you arranged for this…that's something."
The fact that he seems to prefer this massage over the prospect of her being the person to give him one stings so she changes the subject.
"So where do you think we should go next?"
"We're pretty close to Russia, right?"
"Da."
"So let's go visit your family?" He suggests.
"Just because we are close to Russia does not mean we are close to my family. I live on the western side of the country. We are closest to the east."
"So? You in a hurry?"
"Nyet, but we will have to take the Trans Siberian Railroad from Vladivostok on the Pacfic Ocean coast to Moscow. The trip is four days. My town, Vladimir is the second to the last stop on the fourth day," she explains.
"Cool. I always wanted to take a train trip cross country…it'll just be your country, not mine. So it's settled then?"
She is torn. She wants to see her family, but she doesn't want to face the friends that she has been avoiding on her social network site.
"Home sweet home, here I come."
To Be Continued…