Page 21 of Just Say Christmas
“I knew it,” Nyree said. “It’s either strippers, which is a big no, or it’s a cast of characters here to play out a murder mystery, which we have to solve. Also no.”
“No,” Victoria said, as the doorbell rang again. “You get to lie down for this.”
“The mind,” Koti said, “boggles.” And Nyree had to agree.
* * *
MARKO
You could say that Marko was relaxed. Golf, fishing, and a candlelit dinner of fresh snapper and lobster off the barbecue with his best mates? Sea and stars and Nyree in her most teasing mood, with his baby growing every day and their wedding, not to mention their honeymoon, finally around the corner? There weren’t many days better than that.
Victoria came back outside with a woman. Tall and slim, pushing a wheeled cart in front of her, with furniture on it. Tables? Something like that. She had silver hair that curled fairly wildly, and the backs of her hands were tattooed with red designs, which was odd. She was wearing a long, deep-purple dress like a gown, and heaps of silver jewelry, complete with a big silver pendant set with a kind of triangular symbol. She looked like a witch.Exactlylike a witch. What, they were doing fortune-telling?
“Evening entertainment,” Victoria announced. “Everybody, this is Chrysalis.”
Chrysalis?Marko wanted to laugh, but he managed to stop himself. Koti and Kate exchanged a look, but they didn’t laugh, either.
“I have a few other things by the door, if somebody would like to help me bring them in,” Chrysalis said. “We’ll do it out here, I think. Starlight and space. Perfect.” Her voice was extremely soothing, but also suspiciously bright. She reminded Marko of his mum, or possibly a kindy teacher, so she’d better not be some sort of disguised stripper.
Thinking about his mother reminded him of his card of the day.
Oh, no.
The Star,she’d written, under a photo of a naked woman kneeling beside the water. In the evening, in case you hadn’t got the point.
His mum, of course, had provided him with the point.
Think tantra,she’d written. Paying attention, patience and payoff, and a blossoming of energy. You’re going to have a very, very good day, and since it’s an important weekend for you, that’s wonderful news. Give my love to Nyree, or better yet—give her yours.
He hadn’t answered that one. “Geez, Mum,” he’d muttered, then showed it to Nyree.
“Oh,” she’d said. “Wow. Well, that’s special,” then started to laugh, and so had he. “We’ll be in a house with about twelve other people,” she’d pointed out. “How special can it be, if I’m not allowed to make any noise?” And then glared at him and said, “Don’t even say it.” Which had made him laugh some more.
“Oh,” his bride said now. “It’s henna. Isn’t it? How fun. So what are the guys going to do?”
“No,” Victoria said brightly. “It’s couples massage. Chrysalis is going to give lessons to everybody who wants them. She came very highly recommended. I figured, everybody who wanted to could learn something, and everybody who didn’t could go for a moonlit swim, or maybe play ping-pong. There’s a table in the games room here, did you notice? Also a pool table. I’m up for either.”
Chrysalis said, “I have two more massage tables outside, and a few bags as well. Victoria told me four or five couples, but I brought six tables just in case, so no worries, there are enough for everyone. Some of you boys can give me a hand while the rest of you clear your dinner away. Get changed into whatever you like—swim togs, undies, whatever works for you—and we’ll put on some music and light some candles, relax, tap into our communication, and find out how to make the energy flow.”
All that did sound exactly like something his mum would say, but she also still sounded like a kindy teacher, so it would be fine. Not as much of a treat as Victoria realized, because every fella here probably got three massages a week, but learning to give one to your partner that wasn’t just about pounding the hell out of sore muscles wasn’t bad. And itwasVictoria, after all. If Nyree had booked it, now, there could’ve been trouble, but Nyree rarely booked anything. She was more spontaneous, you could say. Responsive, you could also say.
Actually, massage lessons were fine.
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Owners of the Yoni
MARKO
He changed his mind.
First off, there was Ella, who said, “That sounds fun. Want to do it with me, Tom?”
Tom said, “Maybe not tonight. I’ll do the washing-up with you, though, and we can go for a swim instead,” and Marko thought,What?When he’d been twenty, he’d have jumped on the chance of a reciprocal massage session so fast . . .
“I’ll help,” Victoria said, so that was another “No” on the massage, which wasn’t a surprise, but also made Marko wonder why the hell she’d set it up. Nothing like making the non-coupled participants feel left out.
On the other hand, he had a feeling he might enjoy it, so he gave up on the thought, moved the enormous dining table and chairs to one side of the deck along with some of the other boys, then carried massage tables into the house and set them in a circle, with another table, of a non-massage variety, in the middle. They draped the tables with sheets that Chrysalis pulled from one of the huge black bags she’d brought with her, and the girls disappeared into the house to change.
