Trying to Relax

 

Month 11 Day 20

1939 Hours

Drake MacGregor

 

“Hands off!”

Drake stopped short as Ryan came flying out of the deck 9 rec room, nearly hitting Drake before bouncing off the opposite corridor wall. That can only be the work of— Mac appeared in the doorway and glared at Ryan. Like I thought.

“I don’t know how I can put it any more plainly,” she said angrily.

“Come on, Mac, what’s the big deal?” Ryan asked. “It’s not like Bugalu cares if you date others. You’ve already been out with Tall Bear and Clines.”

“They keep their hands to themselves!” she growled. “And I haven’t dated Clines, he needed help with his pronunciation of the Yukosk language.” She turned and started up the corridor.

She is so upset, I can almost see steam emanating from her. Drake hurried forward to catch her. She whirled when his fingers touched her elbow, and he flinched, expecting her fist to explode against his face. But although her fists were balled, they were held stiffly near her thighs.

“Oh, it’s you.” She turned away and started off again.

Drake walked with her, careful not to touch her again. “Mac, you need to calm down.”

“No kidding!” she snapped.

“Well, I can help.”

“I’m sure you’d like to!” she spat. “Like every other man!”

Ouch. That hurt. “Hey,” he objected softly.

She came to a sudden stop and took a deep breath, but didn’t turn to look at him. “I am so upset. I can’t even think straight,” she muttered

“I can see that,” he agreed.

She glared from the corner of her eye. “Well? What do you want me to do?”

He glanced around. They had long since left both Ryan and the rec room behind. A rec room probably isn’t a good idea for what I have in mind, anyway. His eyes landed on the door of a privacy room that wasn’t far away. “First, let’s get you away from irritants like Ryan,” he suggested, gesturing towards the privacy room.

She hesitated for a long time, then bolted inside. Drake followed at a more sedate pace, pausing in the doorway. Good. This one has a table and chairs. Still have to be careful, though, if I don’t want to go flying against a wall. Mac was already sitting at the table. Leaving the door ajar, Drake took the opposite chair, and turned it backwards to sit down, thus placing the chair back between them as well as the table.

“Now what?” Mac asked.

“Now I’m going to send you on an imaginary vacation,” he answered.

“What?”

“Try and humor me,” he smiled. “What do you like to do on furlough?”

“What do I like?” she frowned. “I don’t know. I drink. A lot.”

This could be tougher than I thought. “Okay, forget that question. If you could go anyplace you wanted to go, and do anything you found relaxing, where would you go, what would you do?” She still looks confused, like the whole concept has no meaning for her. “Okay, let’s say you have a half hour to do anything you want aboard ship, and nobody’s going to bother you while you do it.”

“Oh!” There was a gleam of interest in her eyes at last. “The arboretum, during twilight. There’s a willow there, and when I climb underneath it, I can almost believe I’m at home.” She gave a little grimace. “Well, except this willow doesn’t have a spring flowing past it. I used to sit under that willow and soak my feet in the warm water.”

“Warm water?”

“Yeah, it was a warm spring,” she answered at once. “Pretty close to a constant 99 degrees.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. Warm water, solitude, surrounded by plants. He smiled. “That good, Mac. Now, close your eyes and try to imagine what I describe”

“What are you going to do?”

Still too upset to remember she trusts me. “I’m going to sit here and describe a scene I think you’ll find relaxing.”

She stared at him blankly for a moment, then her eyes slammed shut. “I’m ready.”

“Okay, imagine this. Furlough has arrived, and you’ve booked yourself a room, your own private little hut, on a beautiful tropical island. Your hut is surrounded by gorgeous, fragrant flowers and tall palm trees. Just off the patio at the back of your hut, there is a pool of water, bubbling gently...” He went on to describe the natural jacuzzi and how good it felt when she let the warm water surround her; the aroma of the flowers wafting past her nose. He could see her body relaxing, and let his voice fade off, letting her own imagination continue the daydream. After a few minutes of silence, she raised her hands to rub their backs and fingers. After a couple minutes of that, he softly asked, “Do you need a hand massage?”

Her eyes opened just a slit, instead of popping open. “A what?”

“A hand massage. Similar to what you’re doing, but I would do it for you, work the tension out of your hands.”

She stared at her hands as she continued her efforts, then pushed them across the table towards him. “It’s like they’ve been permanently balled up for pretty much the past week.”

He gently picked up one and began rubbing the fingers, working the tension out of the muscles. Wow, if this is how badly knotted her hand muscles are, I hate to think how tense the rest of her is. Her whole body would be one big knot.

He continued working with her hands, first one and then the other, then the first one again. He wondered if he dared suggest a neck and shoulder massage. But then, as he was trying to figure out how best to make such a suggestion, Mac gave a deep sigh, and most of her tension just seemed to melt out of her. She breathed a low moan of appreciation. “This feels so good, MacG.”

I’ve never had a hand massage work so well on the entire body. “I try to please,” he returned lightly. I wish all her problems were as simple to fix as this one has been.