The spa was a total dream. It as perfect. While she had not had the chance to ask for the customization she loved, this place had it all set perfectly. All of her friends were getting the royal treatment they wanted. She made a mental note to not only tip well, but also recommend the place all over her social media presence. Business rarely got this level of treatment right for customers.
She wanted to know which of her girlfriends had the brilliant idea to have a few gift bags delivered with all manners of goodies and confectioneries to enjoy. This was a splendid night. She was starting to forget the way she had taken her man by storm not that long ago. This was zen. This was time away from men and their ego driven nonsense. Yet, she wished he was there to enjoy along with her. Not that he’d ever step foot in a spa.
As they were wrapping the spoilage treatment, the time to transition to the hall of the place was quickly arriving. The promised DJ was going to bring a special mixed for just them. The crowd was not going to be present, as it was just the small group of friends. This only meant that there was more space to go crazy and have a blast. The closing evening plan was to take a tour of the city in the limo celebrating, as they’d probably be a bit too wasted to drive.
She was assured by her friends that the husbands and boyfriends were all on standby and would arrive to pick them up in the early hours of the morning. They had all taken the next day off too. This was bliss.
The very first sign of anything wrong was quite subtle. Too subtle for her to notice. It would eventually dawn on her later that night that things were not as they seemed. Their first round of drinks, the bartender had mistakenly given them bubbly that had no alcohol content. While the apologies were sincere and profuse, the barkeep took a bit too long to return with drinks. The music was of the perfect tempo and the girls quickly forgot about the delay as they danced.
Second sign that something was wrong, again, was very subtle, but each of her friends took turns randomly disappearing back towards the spa with various reasons and plausible excuses. She didn’t think much of it, but she was aware that this was not typical. They always went to the bathroom in pairs or as a pack. But because they would return rather quickly, she didn’t make much of this unusual pattern.
The third sign something was wrong was a bit too late for her to do anything to correct or escape. The gals started to move in closer to her in a circle. She was initially ignoring the vibe of an intervention about to take place. By the time she realized that the music was starting to wind down and that the girlfriends were all in a good circle about her, she knew that things had taken a turn and the rest of the night was not in her control anymore.
As far as she figured, they had a surprise and would take her somewhere else. They had not yet had their promised alcohol, and that was not sitting well with her. But, that was OK. They were having a blast. Now to find out where they were taking this party to.
As soon as they felt she was paying attention, her BFF started to lead the circle towards the changing room of the spa. Another round of pampering? Not very original, but hey, she had on the most comfy of footwear and the others were still dolled to the max, they could use a bit of relief. Then, they could head to another spot and find a barkeep who actually wanted to get tipped.
Her friends did note that it was a bit strange she was so preoccupied with drinking, as if she was running away from something, as it was not her style to drink even socially. So, they were going to have a brief intervention to help her find her way back. They wanted to make sure she wasn’t trying to escape something she needed to embrace.
By now, they were in a private room by the spa’s locker room. The gals were all looking super cheerful and ready to burst from the secret they were holding. Whatever was next, it must be good.
Shallows of the Deep 