Singed Synapses and Deranged Dendrites

At the Spa (#disguise)

Sheila took two glasses of cucumber infused water from the tray and thanked the waiter. She took two tablets out of her purse and dropped them into one of the glasses. Adjusting the belt of her spa robe and dawning her sunglasses she leaned back in her luxurious chaise lounge and picked up her book. 

But she did not read. Nor did she sit and admire the view of the stunning snow-capped peaks that stood before her. She watched the people, mostly couples, getting in and out of the thermal pools, sunning themselves on the lounge chairs, or swimming in the pool that connected the outdoor patio to the inside portion of the spa where the saunas and steam rooms lay. 

At lunch she put her book down, drank down one of the glasses of cucumber water and tossed the other in the grass. She reapplied lipstick (a new color for her), and pushed a sweaty brown curl back from her forehead. After a few hours, Sheila slipped her bare feet into the soft padded slippers provided by the spa and walked upstairs to the dining terrace.

At lunch she sat at a table behind an older gentleman accompanied by a much younger woman with large breasts. They, like her and everyone else, wore their robes to lunch. The young woman ate a salad, the older man ordered soup and a sandwich. They laughed together and touched each other's hands over the table. The woman's cleavage was hard to ignore.

Sheila watched them intently from behind her sunglasses but the couple never looked at Sheila. Middle age women are not usually noticed, particularly by couples in love.

As the staff cleared away lunch Sheila followed the couple back down to the spa and took a chaise lounge inside near theirs. She watched them cuddle together on the luxurious pillows for a while. 

Sheila took two more cucumber waters from a passing tray and again placed two tablets in one. She pretended to read her book. She watched the couple enter a sauna and then come out and go into a small cold plunge pool shaped like a nautilus. The girl squealed and held her large bosom in the frigid water.

Then the girl went into a hot tub and the gentleman entered a steam room. 

Sheila waited four minutes. Then she stood, adjusted her robe, picked up her cucumber waters, and walked over to the steam room. She opened the door just as a hiss of steam filled the room. It was difficult to see much through the dark haze lit only by lights that glowed from beneath five marble chaise lounges. Sheila exhaled with relief. Only one was occupied by the older gentleman. 

"Care for a cucumber water to maintain hydration?" Sheila asked. Her voice felt odd, her British accent clipped as her lungs filled with eucalyptus-infused steam. A hot flash overcame her and the room felt almost unbearable.

"Oh, thank you," said the gentleman. He took the glass Sheila proffered and downed it in one gulp. Then he lay back on his chaise. Sheila lay down on a chaise nearby for about three minutes. When she saw his body twitch she got up and left. She went to the locker room, changed into her street clothes, got in her car, and left.

When she reached the highway she pulled off the curly brown wig and let her own blonde hair fall out of the clip that had held it in place. She turned her phone back on. About an hour later it rang.

"Mrs. Olsen?" asked the voice on the other end of the line. 

"Yes," replied Sheila.

"I'm afraid your husband was found collapsed at the Holistic Mountain Hot Springs Spa. He was confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital. We suspect a cardiac arrest. I'm so very sorry."

"Oh, my goodness!" said Sheila in the distinctly American accent that was her own. She paused for a count of three. "I...I can't believe it. I thought he was in New York on business. This is devastating." The gentleman on the other end talked her quickly through the required logistics.

Sheila put down her phone and smiled.