Page 137 of The Ruler
“Because Laura would know I was lying,” he said matter-of-factly.
Now wasn’t the time to argue with him. “I’ll make sure Laura gets the message,” I said and turned to return to the others when Magni stopped me with his hand on my arm.
“Can I have her message?”
I gave a nod and transferred the recording to his wristband. “Got it?”
“Yes.”
I was almost by the door when he called my name. “Pearl.”
I turned and met his eyes.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
“My pleasure.” I smiled.
CHAPTER 31
Meditation
Khan
When I sat cross-legged on Sunday noon, with my eyes closed and calming music surrounding me, with a woman’s soft voice guiding me into a state of relaxation and meditation, I did make a mental note never to agree to anything just because I was post-orgasmic.
Our wedding night had been everything I had hoped for and more. Pearl was open to experimenting, and with about twenty years of theoretical experience gathered from watching old porn, I had enough ideas to last us a lifetime.
No wonder I’d been susceptible to complying when she asked me to try meditation. I had been on my back, panting and sweating after an athletic performance in the art of satisfying my woman and myself.
Pearl was a sly panther, and had purred in my ear about how much she wanted me to try meditation. Just sitting and relaxing for twenty minutes hadn’t sounded too bad at the time, so I’d agreed. Anything for my kitten.
“Take a deep breath and feel your limbs relax,” the soft female voice said and I followed instructions.
Annoyance, and a list of ten practical matters that I could be doing instead of sitting here, flared up and I opened my eyes.
I tried, I concluded and untangled my legs to get up from the floor.
“What are you doing?” Pearl asked from the sofa and lowered the book she was holding.
“I thought, you’d left,” I said.
“No, I knew you wouldn’t give it a real chance so I stayed to make sure you did.”
“Look, I tried, but it’s not working and honestly, I would rather play chess.”
“Why do you love chess so much?” she asked.
“Who knows, I just do,” I said. “Pearl, honey, meditation might work for you, but it won’t work for me, I’ve got too much on my mind.”
On bare feet, and wearing only shorts and a tank top, Pearl came to sit in front of me, signaling for me to get back in position. “That’s exactly whyyouof all people need to meditate. It’s a way of creating clarity in your mind.”
“How?” I asked dryly.
“Imagine your mind is like a pond and right now there’s a storm of thoughts making the water dark, muddy, and impossible to navigate through.”
“I’m not a fish, I don’t have to navigate through water,” I said impatiently.
Pearl just smiled patiently. “You need to quiet down the storm of thoughts.” She used her hand to show something dropping slowly through the air. “The pond will become clear again when all the mud falls to the bottom, and not only will you be able to see things you didn’t know were there, but the surface of the pond will serve as a mirror, showing you true reflections of yourself and the people in your life.”
