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bunnypretzels · 6 days ago

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Ubud Massages: 3 Days, 3 Kinds, 3 Different Price Ranges

Fu’s first massages! Lo didn’t come along but not for the reason we originally thought:

🐔 Is it because you’re ticklish? 🐍 No, it hurts. I’m all bones! So when they massage me it’s just rubbing on bones. 🐔 🤣

Fu and I knew we wanted to get massages during this trip but don’t know why we waited until the last three days to do them. Nonetheless, we got to experience three different types of massages. Fu took a nap during two of them. I would probably not do one of them again.

Day 1 at Beji Ayu 😌

Traditional Balinese Massage

I went into this not know what a Balinese massage is supposed to feel like. I was just looking to relax. I’m doing some research now about what a “real” Balinese massage is supposed to consists of. I think we got a good couple of traditional techniques during our massage. From what I’m reading, a Balinese massage consists of:

Scented oils

Rolling of the skin

Cupping the hands together and clapping them up and down the back

Acupressure (applying pressure to acupoints)

Long gentle strokes

Deep tissue

At Beji Ayu, I think we got all of that except the deep tissue. I am not complaining because I learned from my very first deep tissue massage that it is not for me.

Ayu is a Balinese word for deep beauty – both inner and outer – that can be perceived by others from one’s behavior: a relaxed glow, good – will towards others, and a warm -hearted presence.

I really like that.

Anyway! Look pass the old floor, walls, and ceiling design and enjoy the massage. This place is tucked away in a little alley right off the busy streets near the Ubud Market. It wasn’t hard to find with Google Maps.

It was quiet and empty when we first arrived. The interior reminded me of a simple house. We didn’t know where all the workers were but we needed to use the bathroom. 😅 Someone eventually heard us and came out to greet us and point us to the bathroom.

We didn’t have a reservation when we first arrived. They were busy with other guests but had any availability for two Balinese massages in an hour. We made our reservation and went to wander.

When we got back, they provided us robes and showed us to the locker rooms. There is separate male vs female locker rooms. Each locker room had a shower. They told us we could take a quick rinse before we got our massages. This noob that Fu was, he wore his pants and his belt into the massage room. The lady was like take it off. 🤣

The one wall of the room we were in had a big opening. Being in an alleyway with less foot traffic was good because it was more peaceful that way.

There was a bowl of flower petal for you to look at when you laid down on the massage bed. After a minute you will have your eyes closed anyway but this was a thoughtful touch.

The massage was so good Fu fell asleep twice! 😂 It was gentle and very relaxing. I probably could have feel asleep if I wasn’t trying to follow the movements.

The oil that they used smelled really good. We asked them about it afterward and was told it was lemongrass. That was surprising cause I normally don’t like lemongrass. We ended up buying a lemongrass and harmony one.

Lemongrass oil ingredients: coconut oil, lemongrass oil, ginger oil, and lemon oil

Harmony oil ingredients: coconut oil, cananga oil, cubeb oil, ginger oil, nutmeg oil, patchouli oil and styrax benzoin extract

They told us we could shower afterward. I thought this was odd. Was never told to shower after a massage before. Maybe they were worried we would feel uncomfortable walking around with all the oil on our skin. I just did a quick rinse.

I would definitely come back here again for another massage. We even got complimentary hot banana fritters and tea!

🕐 1 hour

💰 298000 IDR + tip

Day 2 at StarChild 2 ♨️

Deep Tissue + HOT Stone Massage

Another alley location. Closer to the main road. Not too close to Ubud Market though. This one was a bit more modern looking. The room we were in had a big stone bathtub and a shower.

We wanted to try something different this time. Hot stones! I was going back and forth about trying this. I don’t like the feeling when I get too hot. But their list of selections said “warm” stones so I was like what the heck! Let’s do it!

It was … nice and painful. 😅 My masseuse could definitely kill people with her thumbs if she wanted to. Fu asked me when we were done if I was also in pain. 🤣 We didn’t realize a deep tissue massage went along with the stone massage until we read the description afterward.

Warm stones and traditional Balinese-style massage techniques are combined in this deep tissue massage, which is especially effective in relieving muscular tension, problems and pains in the hips, neck and shoulders.

I was too focused on how painful this massage was to worry about anything else LOL There were a few moments of relaxation though. I noticed there were a few techniques similar to our previous massage. There was definitely the cupping the hands together and clapping them on the back.

The “warm” stones were HOT. 🔥 How do their hands deal with it!? It felt almost burning when the stone first touched my skin. It felt better as they started to run the stones along my body. Then it got HOT again when they placed it in its spot. She got done placing the stones on one side of my leg before I asked that we don’t place the stones on anymore. I was okay with the rubbing but placing them was too hot for me.

The one thing I didn’t like about this place was that we could hear people outside and in the other rooms. The walls don’t go all the way up so we could hear people talking in the room next door at times.

I did like the drinks and fresh fruit they gave us after though.

🕜 1.5 hours

💰 $35.76 USD + tip

📍 Sayan, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia

Day 3 at Jaens Spa Shanti 🙆

Four Hour Massage Package

There are two locations for Jaens Spa. One called “Jaens Spa Ubud” near the monkey forest and this one, “Jaens Spa Shanti”. We chose this one because it was closer to our villa. I would recommend making a reservation a day or two before. Especially if you are doing a longer massage or package.

We wanted to try something different again. We looked at their online massage options and noticed a picture of someone getting a massage from two people at the same time. This was their Radja Synchronicity message. I’ve never seen it before. I also wanted to try a scrub. We ended up deciding on the Radja Nenda Spa Package. This came with:

Radja Synchronicity massage

Scrub or mask (we picked scrub)

Flower bath (always wanted to do this! 🌺)

Facial treatment (we did the Biokos Natural Facial because we didn’t want to do the cucumber one)

Hair creme bath (omg this was heavenly! 🤩)

Food and drinks

We started off with a drink and a survey. The survey asks things like how would we like the temperature of the room, how more pressure we liked for our massage, and whether we have any physical pain or medical conditions they should be aware of. After that is done, a lady confirmed which package we wanted to do. She showed us a list of the different types of scrub and mask with the ingredients and explanation of the benefits of each. She also let us smell the different scents. We ended up picking the Green Tea Scrub and Franginfani for our facials. Then she showed us a menu for our food options. We chose the babi guling. I wanted to have babi guling one more time before we left so this was perfect. She let us pick whether we wanted to eat halfway through our treatments or after we were done. We picked to wait until we were done.

Before entering the massage room, someone washed our feet and gave us slippers. I always feel weird about people washing my feet. Not cause I’m ticklish or anything.

The massage room was dark, completely closed off with a stone bathtub and a shower in one corner. They provided us with a robe and underwear. We were kind of confused about the underwear so we just kept ours on and left the ones they gave us on the table. It made sense later why we should have changed.

The radja synchronize massage is a game changer! It was a full body massage at one time. They massaged my legs and arms/back all at once instead of focusing on one area. Fu fell asleep again. 😆 The ladies and I were just giggling about it. 😛 I was focused on feeling the movement and being impressed at how synchronized they were. I wonder what kind of training they have to go through for this.

The scrub was a bit chilly. It felt like a facial scrub with all the little pebbles but all over your body instead. The lady rubbed the scrub all over then put the cove back over me. I laid there for a bit before she comes back to check if the scrub is dried. When it is, she’ll gently brush everything off.

Next is why you want to change into the underwear they gave you. After the scrub was brushed off, she asked me to stand and covered me with a quick yogurt layer. I think this was to get all the stuff from the scrub off. She asked me to stand then began to rub the yogurt all over. It was very cooling. I liked it. It was a milkier texture than a thick cream so it drips down all over you soo .. change your underwear.

Right after, she told me I could get in the flower bath. Another reason to change into the other underwear because everyone is still in the room when you get in so there is no time to change into the one they gave us before.

I could hear them preparing the bath during the massage. That was a bit distracting. It might not have stayed so warm if they prepared it beforehand though. Fu didn’t really want to do the flower bath so they gave him an extra 15 minutes for his massage before doing the scrub and yogurt. He still had to get in to shower off all the yogurt. I always wanted to do a flower bath because it looks so pretty online. Which I guess would only be worth it if I were planning to take pictures. I didn’t take any pictures. I was more playing with all the flowers, lime slices, and lemongrass sticks. It was nice for the first couple minutes but then felt like a hot tub, too hot. And the tub was a bit uncomfortable. When I didn’t have my hands at the bottom of the tub, I would slide into where the water almost went over my chin.

I learned here that facials are not for me. First, they did a facial massage. Then some kind of thin mask. While the mask was drying, they brought over a steamer that was steaming my face. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. A couple more minutes and I would have had a nervous breakdown.

We ended our experience with a hair creme treatment and a head massage. Omg I would do this once a week if I could. First, they washing our hair. Then they put some kind of creme in it and massages our heads while the creme was in there. Felt similar to the cooling yogurt. They left the creme in there for a bit while they massaged our arms and hands. It was a really nice way to end the trip. The creme is washed out before they spray something to finish it all up. I wasn’t a fan of the smell of the spray. I ended up going home and washing my hair because of the smell. But some people might like it.

Dinner was served by the entrance of the spa. There was a small single table set up. One of the better babi guling skins I’ve had this trip!

Oh yeah! They also offer car service. We had trouble calling a Grab to get back to our villa. It was dark out and there were no taxis nearby. We remembered when we were called to book yesterday that they asked if we needed a pickup. They told us the price but we opted not to. I don’t know if they only charge for pickups but they offered to drop us off at our villa for free.

Although we enjoyed this four-hour experience. It felt too much for one session. We agreed that two hours would probably be ideal. Two hours one day then coming back for more two hours of something else. DO THE HAIR CREME BATH!!

🕓 4 hours

💰 1858950 IDR + tip

This whole experience left us feeling like a #brandnewbabyduck 🐣🤣 We enjoyed each massage with its unique, sometimes painful, techniques and would do more massages in the future. I liked doing the massages in the late afternoon so we could feel nice and calm, go to dinner or go home and relax.

Now I need to find somewhere back home that has a hair creme head massage.

#asia #indonesia #bali #ubud #massages #experiences #tips

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lillaydee · 2 months ago

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In Time Part 7

Rancher Joel Miller / Reader

You lost your dear Uncle. Your TV Star boyfriend dumped you. You needed a job. You got one at a ranch in Wyoming. Where you met Joel. A very grumpy man. Grumpy man has issues.

WARNINGS:

Grumpy Joel, Hurt Joel, Grieving Joel, Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Joel Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (The Last of Us), Mentions of Hostage Situation and Shooting, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us), Mutual Pining, Fluff and Angst

SERIES MASTER LIST

Part 6

---

You made your rounds at the stables and cowshed, making sure no one needed medical attention, your tea in hand. The horses were happy to see you. The cows too, even if they only came to you when you brought them food. The chickens were… non-committal. There were maybe four people working today, all tipped their hats at you and went back to work. You were giving the barn cat some much needed affection when Joel came in, coffee mug in hand, an easy smile greeting you.

What a difference two days made.

He told you there’s a blizzard warning out for that evening, and he wanted to make sure you have everything you need should you need to hunker down for a day or two. The pantry in the kitchen was pretty well-stocked, if you wanted to raid it. You willingly took the offer, going with him to get some canned goods, pasta, milk and eggs, just in case. Two of the men went around the stables and the sheds, making sure the animals had everything they needed while you helped Joel clip thick, heavy ropes on the pegs from one building to another, beginning at your cabin, in case you needed to get around. The other two checked all the spotlights, making sure they all work. Joel made sure the generators for the stable and sheds were hooked up and ready to go, in case of a power cut, the water tanks filled and wrapped up.

After a quick lunch, where you made the five thankful, tired men some sandwiches, Joel went into the woodshed and chopped off some more wood, bringing as much of it to your cabin, and stacked more outside just in case.

If you’re being honest with yourself, they way the men were getting ready for this blizzard scared the living shit out of you. Would you survive this? The worst bout you ever had with natural disasters were the light earthquakes LA sometimes get, and those four days of heavy rain you had to suffer through in Bali, where you and Benny spent four days ordering room service, getting full body massages and sleeping in at your 5-star resort. Did those even count as natural disasters?

At about three in the evening, snow had started to fall. Heavily. The men left after going around one more time, double checking everything on their list, and shut the doors to the stables and sheds. Joel walked you home. As he was about to leave, he clocked the worried look on your face.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’ll be alright. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”

You nodded apprehensively, trying hard to look like you were okay, when in fact, you were definitely not.

“Do you want me to stay? I can stay,” he offered.

You were torn, you didn’t want to trouble him, but you were really scared.

“I’ll stay,” he said with finality in his voice. “Just let me go grab some stuff, okay?”

You nodded, still petrified, now at the thought of him driving off down the road in a pre-blizzardy snowfall.

“Shut the door. I’ll be right back.”

You watched him leave, your heart beating uncomfortably fast.

Forty minutes went by, he hadn’t returned. It shouldn’t take this long to drive to the main house, grab some stuff and come back.

You wanted to call him but didn’t want to interrupt what he was doing.

You were starting to panic.

Out of desperation for something to do, you put the kettle on, and made him some coffee. Just as you were putting the lid on his cup, a quick knock sounded. You rushed to the door, a snow-covered Joel stood there, bag in hand.

You stepped aside, and he rushed in, stomping his boots outside the door, and brushing snow off his raincoat, his face red from exposure.

“What happened? Why didn’t you drive?”

“Truck died on me. Had to walk,” he said, shivering slightly as he took his jacket off.

You felt horrible.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m used to this, remember? I’m dry, see?”

He had taken the plasticky trousers he was wearing, as well as his thick, heavy boots off, the clothes underneath looking dry, every part of him looked dry, save for his face, a bit of his hair and very thick neck.

You nodded and gave him his coffee. He quickly took a sip.

“Hey, this is good coffee! Just how I like it!” he told you, smiling, clearly trying to make you feel better.

You managed to smile. You took his bag and placed it in your bedroom. He sat in front of the stove for a bit, warming his hands and socked feet.

He told you about the worst blizzard they had – Sarah was only five. No one got out for days. Thank God they were well prepared, and even then, they actually lost some cows. Time flew by when you talked to him, you found. Conversations were easy. Silences comfortable. He helped you around the kitchen while you made dinner, and dinner was filled with easy banter and laughter, so much so, you forgot that up until three days ago, you never actually had a full conversation with this man.

Come bedtime, he started taking sheets from your linen closet to set the couch up. You did some mental calculation and realized he wouldn’t be very comfortable on it. His feet would be sticking out at the end unless he slept with his back on the armrest.

“Erm, I don’t think you fit on that couch. Take the bed. I’ll sleep out here.”

“What? No! I’m not making a lady sleep on the couch. I’ll be alright.”

“Come on, I made you stay, I can’t let you sleep on the couch,” you pleaded, feeling so guilty you wanted to cry.

“It’s okay. It’s your first blizzard. I understand, please don’t worry about me.”

You contemplated the situation for a bit.

“Look, the bed is huge. Why don’t we both take the bed?”

He looked a bit shocked and flustered by your suggestion. You quickly put your hand up.

“No, really, think about it. We have enough pillows. We’ll put a pillow wall between us. You stay on your side; I’ll stay on mine. We can use two blankets. How’s that?”

He thought about it, too long for your liking.

“I promise I will punch you in the face if you got handsy.”

He looked scandalized by the suggestion.

“Hey! What if you got handsy?”

“Then you have my permission to punch me.”

He laughed. Deal.

The pillow wall was quickly made, and you both got in, both dressed rather warmly considering the blizzard that was covering everything outside. The view out your windows was basically TV static, black and white spots that wouldn’t let you see past your nose. You felt comforted that he was here. There was no way you could sleep in this condition. You kept imagining the windows breaking and the roof coming off and you were found frozen in your bed days later, your eyes wide open, a horrific expression on your face…

God, you shouldn’t have watched too many movies.

“Night Amelia.”

“Night Joel.”

---

Joel first conscious thought that morning was that he was uncomfortably hard. He had a very nice dream. One that involved you. The wind was still howling in the darkness outside. He could hear it. He opened his eyes and was met by your sleeping face. Somehow, during the night, both of you had ended up hugging the pillow wall and were now facing each other. Your face was squished on the pillow wall, your hand over it, resting dangerously close to his tented crotch, your leg between his.

Shit.

This was definitely not helping with the situation he had going between his legs. For the first time in his life, he cursed the fact that men get hard-ons. Women didn’t have to worry about their sexual needs being obvious for the world to see. What the fuck was he going to say to you if you noticed? Sorry I have a raging hard on because I had a wet dream about you? I couldn’t help myself because I hadn’t had sex in ten? Eleven? TWELVE years? Fucking hell Joel. How was he still functioning?

He couldn’t move. You shifted slightly, your lips opening and closing, settling with them slightly opened. And moist. He kept watching you. Even puffy from sleep, with crusts in your eyes, you looked gorgeous. He longed to touch you, touch your lips – just to see how soft they were. They certainly felt soft in his extremely realistic dream where you were down on your knees looking up, your mouth full of him. He wanted to kiss you so badly. But he couldn’t. He mustn’t. You met a month ago. And he had only heard you call him Joel once. Last night. As he was falling asleep. He liked the way you said his name. He wondered how you would say it if he…

“Hmm…” you moaned, your eyes closed, your lips pouting further, and damn it, you licked your lips. “Hmm… Joel…”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

This was torture. He eased his leg off yours, and very carefully got out of bed. He went to the living room, and palmed his crotch, pressing hard, trying to persuade it to calm down. He could not, must not give in to his desire to just rub one out, you were right next door for fuck’s sake. He tried walking it off, didn’t work. He thought of his grandma, but only your pouty face, moaning his name came up. Fuck. What was he going to do? He couldn’t take a cold shower; your bathroom was right there next to your bed. What would he say if you woke up? I like taking showers at 5 am during a blizzard? He couldn’t jump up and down without alerting you, thanks to the wooden flooring. He’s equally desperate to get off and get rid of his erection without getting off at the same time.

He had to do it. He had no choice. He made sure the bedroom door was closed. He took several deep breaths, opened the front door and stepped outside.

The wind and snow pelted him like big blobs of water balloons. Ice-cold water balloons. He counted to five, and stepped back inside, shivering so much his teeth chattered. But the problem was taken care of. His dick shrunk back so quickly he would be surprised if they could ever rise to the occasion again. He sat in front of the stove, stoking the fire, adding more wood, and prayed to God he wouldn’t catch a cold. Although, that seemed like a much better option than having you catch him with a hard on after sleeping next to you. He’s supposed to be your friend. That’s all. He shouldn’t kid himself thinking you would ever fall for an asshole like him, especially not after the way he treated you when you arrived.

“Joel?”

His head snapped towards the bedroom door, you were standing there looking fucking angelic in your sweatpants and hoodie, hair all messed up and face puffy from sleep. He wondered if you would look like that after he…

Nope. No… no, no, no, no, no. Don’t. Do not go there Joel Miller. All that effort of almost getting blown off in a blizzard and risking frostbite would go to waste if he did.

“Why are you all wet? Fuck! Are you okay?”

You ran back inside and got him a blanket and a towel. He mumbled something about checking the firewood. You sat next to him, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, and toweled his hair off for him. He let you, hands holding the blanket around his body, eyes closed, savoring this very private moment with you. You quickly dried him off and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. You went back to him, and wrapped your body around him from the back, rubbing his arms and chest to warm him up.

Joel wasn’t actually that cold anymore. The stove was roaring with fire. But who was he to resist? He couldn’t help but close his eyes to the sensation. So, this was what heaven felt like.

---

You kept rubbing him, trying hard to warm him up. Was he cold, though? His body felt warm to your touch. So warm. You could feel his bulging biceps as you rubbed them, and his chest, oh… the definition of solid. You pressed right up to him, your hands spread open from the broadness of his back and shoulders, your own unsupported chest rubbing up on this brick wall that was his back. You felt warm. So warm.

Wait, were you warming him up, or was he warming you up?

Were you cold? Or was he cold?

Were your eyes closed? Why were your eyes closed?

Why were your rubbing motions slowing? At what point does rubbing turn into caressing?

Why was your nose pressed up to the back of his neck? Fuck, why did he smell so good?

The click of the boiling kettle broke you out of your Joel-filled stupor. You asked him if he was feeling better, and he breathed a soft yes. His eyes were closed, his hands holding on to the blanket covering his body tightly, knuckles white. Oh, he must be very, very cold.

You got up and made him his cup of coffee, and yourself, your cup of tea. Your face feeling hot – which had to be the effect of standing too close to the steaming kettle. Why else would your face be hot? Right?

You took your time making the drinks, and Joel took his time sitting in front of the stove, taking a lot of deep breaths before standing up and joining you in the kitchen, making sure that the blanket was still covering his torso, glad to discover that his ability to stand to attention wasn’t affected by his rendezvous into the blizzard earlier after all.

---

The blizzard passed that second night. You were awoken by the sounds of the snowplow and found Joel sleeping way at the other end of the bed, his broad back straining the shirt he was wearing. You had to actively get out of bed and go to the bathroom to stop yourself from scooting over and spooning him.

You hadn’t left the house in 36 hours. Time to see the damage. You put your jacket on and opened the front door. The whiteness you saw on Christmas day was nothing compared to this. Heck, even the poles on the deck were white. There was snow up to your waist at your front door. How the fuck were you supposed to get out?

The plow came closer, and you waved at Ed, one of the more senior guys at the ranch. He waved back and proceeded to carefully maneuver the machinery around your front yard, getting as much snow as he could out of the way, before jumping off with a shovel, and began clearing a path to your deck, and began shoveling there too.

A hand landed on your shoulder, and Joel, his hair mussed from sleep, his jacket and plasticky pants on, asked Ed for the shovel, telling him he got it from here. You went in and made him his coffee, and by the time you came out, he had cleared the deck, and was making a path down to your office.

Damn, you missed the show.

He came back in, very quickly had some toast, and told you he needed to get going. Lots to do after a blizzard. The family will begin arriving today, he should check everything was alright for them. He’ll make sure a path was cleared for you in case you were needed at the stables or cowsheds, although things seemed fine when he checked the CCTV footage, and none of the ranch hands had called him this morning. He quickly packed his belongings, and you handed him his thermos, filled with more hot coffee, and thanked him for keeping you company.

Before he left, you took his hand, pushed yourself to your tippy toes, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Thank you, Joel.”

He smiled at you, hesitated a bit, but finally just nodded and walked out.

Joel’s cheek burnt red hot throughout the twenty minutes’ walk to his house, keeping him warm all the way.

He was never washing that cheek again. Not until he could guarantee another dosage was coming.

---

You were at your office, checking that all was well with the place, sweeping snow on the outside after it had been shoveled. Your phone pinged. Many times. You opened the text app and saw that you had been added to a chat group called “Da Milla Famiglia”.

*Tess added you.

*Tess removed Joel

Tess: Video attachment

It was a wobbly video of Tess, Penny and Ellie driving up the road leading to the main house. Joel was clearly in frame, his coffee in one hand, the other on his hip, a wide smile on his face, waiting for them. The voices of the three could clearly be heard.

Tess: Are you recording?

Ellie: Yes, yes, it’s recording.

Penny: Good. We need proof.

Ellie: What is going on with his face?

Tess: Is he… smiling?

Penny: Noo… that can’t be.

Tess: Penn, he’s right there. He’s fucking smiling.

Ellie: Should we call 911? Did he have a stroke? Oh my God, he had a stroke. We should call 911. Fuck, I’m recording. Penny, call 911.

Penny/Tess: Language!

Ellie: Fuck that, JOEL is smiling! What is wrong with him?

Penny: Oh. My. God. Is that a thermos in his hand?

Tess: Noo… that’s impossible…

The car stopped. Joel was clearly smiling. He opened the door for Penny.

Joel: Hey, welcome back! (hugs Penny, and kisses her on the cheek)

Joel looked into the car, smile still wide.

Joel: How was your drive?

Tess: It was okay, bit icy… (mumbles as she gets out of the car).

Joel hugged Tess, who tensed like she was expecting him to punch her. Kissed her on the cheek too. She and Penny kept staring at him, looking for signs of trouble.

Ellie: Oh my God. Seriously. What the fuck is going on? Shit! He’s coming.

The camera was lowered. The door opened.

Joel: Hey kid, had a great Christmas?

Video ended.

Okay… Joel Miller was smiling. A lot. Wow. You were about to put your phone away when it pinged away again.

Frank: What. The actual. Fuck.

Maria: You sure that’s Joel?

Frank: Audio note

Frank: Tess, turn around and look at him from between your legs. See if his legs touch the ground.

Bill: What the fuck are you talking about?

Frank: I saw a horror movie once. If his legs don’t touch the ground, he’s not Joel. He’s a ghost.

Bill: Frank, stop recording!

You just laughed and went back to work, going on your rounds to make sure the animals were alright. When you finally left the cowsheds, a very excited Ellie jumped you, wrapping herself around your middle, a box in her hands.

“Hello, excited girl.”

“Hi Doc. Missed you.”

“Missed you more.”

“I got you something. I helped Penny’s mom bake them.”

She produced the box, filled with blue macarons.

“You baked these?”

“Uhuh.”

You popped one in your mouth. The crunchy, gooey, nutty flavour burst in your mouth; the salted caramel filling almost made you swoon.

“Oh, my God! Ellie! These are amazing!”

“What’s amazing?” Joel appeared from behind the cowshed, peering over your shoulder, looking inside the box.

“Ellie baked these. They’re amazing! Try one!”

He took one and took a bite. His face contemplative for a second as he chewed, before popping the rest into his mouth, reached into the box and grabbed a few more. He ruffled Ellie’s hair, mumbled ‘good job, kid’, mouth full of macarons, and walked towards a large snowcat parked next to the field, popping another into his mouth before climbing in and closing the door.

Okay. First a snowplow and now a snowcat? Was he trying to kill you? You watched helplessly as he took off his jacket, started the engine and began maneuvering the large equipment towards the fields, your minds going so many places, far beyond what the eyes could see. You wonder what else he could drive…

“Er, earth to Doc?”

Hmm?

Ellie was staring at you, her eyes darting between you and the snowcat. Her eyes went back to you, and then lingered on the thermal mug in your hand.

A flash of recognition.

“Okay, what the fuck happened while we were gone?”

---

On New Year’s Eve, the family packed several picnic baskets and piled into several cars before heading to the retirement village where Joel and Tommy’s parents live. Apparently, you could see some spectacular fireworks from several villages and towns from there. Tess had asked if you wanted to go with them, but Joel opened his passenger door and gestured for you to get in. He very quickly got in himself and drove off before anyone else could decide if they wanted to go with you. You saw the family quickly gather around each other as Joel drove off.

You and Joel hadn’t spent as much time together as you did, just a few hellos while working and having lunch together when you happened to be in the hall at the same time, which, incidentally, was every day since Mrs Adler came back from her sister’s, not that you planned it or anything. So, it was nice to have some alone time with him again. Ellie kept hounding you about what happened over the break, and you had managed to avoid answering her thus far. She straight out threatened to haunt your dreams until you do. I’ll be your little mind gremlin, sneaking into your brain at night to find out what really happened, she said.

Joel had a new bounce in his steps. He told you he talked to Sarah, and you were right, he said, it helped. Thank you. There’s a lot he had to do to really move on, but small steps, right? You smiled at him, happy to see him this way.

When you arrived, you were met by an older couple. They greeted Joel with a hug and a kiss, Joel an exact copy of the older man. They turned their attention to you, Joel introducing you as the new vet. The lady practically ran to your side of the truck and gave you a friendly hug. Anita Miller, she said. And my husband, Jake. The older man gave you a small peck on the cheek, saying it was nice to meet you.

Joel and his dad got the stuff you brought out of the car, Anita wrapped her arm around yours and led you to the clearing where the picnic was taking place. You heaved a sigh of relief at the many, many temporary fireplaces set up along the area, having worried all day how the heck you were going to survive midnight outdoors again. You had only survived Christmas eve thanks to the hot water bottle and Joel the human incinerator sitting next to you. But this was a much more open space, and surely, Joel would want to spend his time with his family.

Joel helped you set up the tables and chairs. Just as you were done, the rest of the family arrived, and you went along setting the food and drinks, the ladies too, along with some of the residents, while the men set up the barbeque. The next thing you knew, you were being surrounded by Maria, Tess, Penny and Anita, a serious look on their faces. You gave them a questioning look, and they all just began speaking over each other.

“You need to tell us what happened during the break.”

“Yeah, we came back, and Joel was a different person.”

“He smiled – a lot. And you two are suddenly buddy-buddy? And he’s friendly to Ellie! What the fuck happened?”

“Did you say something to him? Did you put something in his food?”

“Did you kill him and replace him with someone else?”

“Did you guys fuck?”

“Tess!” you exclaimed, hand on your chest, your face horrified at the idea.

“What?”

You were looking around, looking for help, and saw that he was being cornered by Tommy, Frank, Bill and Jake. He looked at you, eyes pleading for help. You shrugged and gestured at the ladies. He just smiled and shook his head, before making himself busy with the food, ignoring everyone. So, you decided to do the same.

“Great, they beam thoughts at each other now,” Maria muttered.

“I’m not done with you. I’m getting answers one way or another,” Tess said to you. “And just so you know, you owe me one of those magic toasts Ellie couldn’t stop talking about, for the tampons,” she teased.

The picnic was really nice. His parents were very friendly, they made you feel very at home. Everyone did, actually. Joel really did look like a different person. You sort of understood the whole curiosity behind this, but you wouldn’t have questioned a positive change. What did it matter why he changed? He changed. For the better. Take it, run with it.

You helped clean up after everyone had finished eating. Tommy followed you around with a large bag, while you deposited everything in it.

“I won’t ask you what happened, even though I am really curious. But, these few days, it was like my brother was back. I’m going off a hunch, here, but I think I have you to thank for it. So, thanks Doc.”

“What are we talking about, here?” Joel came to join the two of you, helping you clear the table you were at. Tommy quickly shoved the bag at him and left, winking at you. “What was that about?” he asked you. You shrugged.

He wanted to know what you were thinking, if you would be offended at the thought that spending those few days with you alone practically made him a different man. But he couldn’t tell you how he felt, what if you retreated from him? He needed your energy now. He couldn’t imagine not spending time with you. He felt like himself again, and it was because of you. What if you didn’t feel the same way? What if he was only feeling this way due to his guilt? What if it was just his horny, pent-up energy talking? He couldn’t risk telling you unless he was sure. You didn’t know anyone else here, just them. What if you were just being friendly? You seemed the type. From what he had observed, it seemed more likely that you thought of him as a new friend that you could rely on.

So, he’ll stay quiet.

You wanted to know what he was thinking, if you played a role in him being a different man, as self-serving as that may have sounded. But you couldn’t tell him how you felt, what if he retreated from you? You needed his friendship now. You couldn’t imagine not spending time with him. You were beginning to feel a lot more at home here, and it was because of him. What if he didn’t feel the same way? What if you were only feeling this way because you were lonely? What if it was just your horny, pent-up energy talking? You couldn’t risk telling him unless you were sure. You didn’t know anyone else here, just them. What if he was just being friendly? He didn’t seem to have too many friends, and had rejected women again and again, not wanting to commit to anyone. It seemed more likely that he thought of you as a new friend that he could rely on.

So, you’ll keep quiet.

When the time came to ring round the new year, you went along with the countdown, everyone pairing up for the occasion. You looked for Ellie, not wanting her to be alone, but she had partnered with Mrs Adler, the two of them gleefully doing the countdown. You and Joel were the only ones without a partner. He came to where you were standing, his low, low voice reciting the numbers along. You felt a shiver run down your spine. It must be the cold. You wrapped your hands around your body, realizing for the first time how slow countdowns are. It took forever to reach 1.

Your eyes met his at 3, his gaze piercing into your soul. You found yourself unable to keep your gaze on him, what if he could read your mind? But at the same time, you couldn’t look away. You longed to drown in those eyes. Your heart was beating so fast you were sure your ears were pulsing.

When people yelled happy new year, he leaned in, his hands on yours, and brushed his lips against yours. You were stunned. You were electrified. You couldn’t move. You could feel all the nerves in your body fire. Goosebumps everywhere. Your body felt warm.

He pulled back before the fireworks even started.

“Happy New Year, Amelia.”

“Happy New Year, Joel.”

And he let go of your hands and turned to marvel at the fireworks.

You were suddenly cold again.

---

Part 8

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