I'm spending the day at Glen Ivy Hot Springs, relaxing. I normally go with girlfriends, but not always. I've come here alone a few times and it's glorious to not worry about anyone else's schedule or needs.
There are many women here, all ages, all shapes and sizes. I'm comfortable in my one piece, even though I can no longer "rock the bikini," the way I once did. My suit is black and strapless, with ruched material in front, which is kinder to the softness that remains after two pregnancies.
There are also a few men at Glen Ivy, albeit not as many as women. Mostly married couples, a few gay men sometimes... But there are a few older men who come here alone for the therapeutic waters.
My routine is as follows: arrive, unpack in the locker rooms, change clothes and head out to the "Vista" pool, an oblong hot tub (about 12 feet long and narrow) facing out over the valley. I come here first because this is the moment when I really feel like I've gotten away from the stresses of work, home, kids...
I lean back against the jets and feel the warm water bubble around me. It's very early, so there still aren't many people in the various pools. I wish I'd bought a Mimosa or a Bloody Mary or a Tequila Sunrise, even though it's before 10 am, but no matter. There's time. A few people begin to filter up onto the various decks. Some young women enjoying a bridesmaids' party, then an older couple arrives, sliding into the water.
Then I see you. Inside my tummy, butterflies begin to beat their wings, fast.
You stroll up to the pool, completely nonchalant, slip off flip flops and walk down the steps. You find an open spot on the bench, a few feet away from me. With a sigh you submerge and immediately come up, shaking off water, and you extend both arms out along the rim of the pool. Our eyes meet and you give me a nod and a greeting, like I was any other perfect stranger. I blush and look away, my heart pounding.
He's here, I'm thinking... Omg hope did he get here?
Trying to maintain my "game face," I join in with the casual conversations around me. I mentally go through my checklist of what I do next at the resort, and wonder whether I should tell you, so it doesn't feel like I am constantly running away from you. Then my dilemma is instantly solved.
"This is my first time here," you comment to the pool in general. "Any suggestions for how I should spend my day?"
Several people remark about this or that service, the order in which they do the mud and mineral baths (FIRST mineral bath, THEN mud...) other features of Glen Ivy. You listen politely, making appreciative noises. Then I put in, "After this soak, I have a specific ritual here... You'll probably develop your own. But next I'll go to the lap pool to swim laps, 20-30 at least, before getting into the mineral tubs ... Followed by the red clay mud (then a shower). After that I float in the shallow upper deck pool and tan for awhile. My appointment in the Grotto is at noon, and that process takes about an hour... By then I'm ready for lunch. After lunch I'll nap in a lounge chair up on the "quiet" deck, slipping in and out of the hot waters there... Finally I take a sauna and clean up to go home...
Wow, that was probably more than you needed to know, right?" I finish, smiling at you with a twinkle in my eye.
The others listening remark that I must have been here a hundred times to work out a regimen so specific. I say, no only a couple dozen times... And we all laugh. I stand to get up and you casually follow me out of the pool.
Out of earshot of the others now, you ask, "Is my being here going to disrupt your day?"
"Absolutely not! I'm so excited you're here... This is going to be wonderful!" Selecting towels from the stacks nearby, I hand you one and wrap one around me. "Do you want to swim laps with me?"