I WILL FEAR NO EVIL by Robert A. Heinlein

In a big, ugly, ornate, old house Miss Joan Eunice Smith sat in Lotus on a mat in her dressing room near a large mirror and facing her nurse-companion-maid, also in Lotus. “Comfortable, Winnie dear?”

“Very.”

“I think you’re even more limber than I am. All right, let’s get into the mood for exercise. You start it.”

“All right. But, Miss Joan? What does it mean? Oh, I like it; it’s very relaxing. But what jewel in what lotus, and why?”

“It means nothing. And everything. If you must have words, it means peace and love and understanding and anything that you think of as good. But it’s not for thinking, dear; it’s for being. Let yourself be open to it, don’t think. Don’t even try not to think. Be.”

“All right.”

“Start us. Remember the breathing. I’ll get in step.”

“Om Mani Padme Hum.”

(Om Mani Padme Hum. See that aura round her, Boss? She must have had quite a night.) (Shut up, Eunice; these prayers were your idea.) “Om Mani Padme Hum.”

“Om Mani Padme Hum.” (Om Mani Padme Hum.)

“Om Mani Padme Hum.” “Om Mani…”

(That’s enough, Joan.) (So short, beloved? Clock says only twenty minutes.) (I use a different clock. We’re warm all through, we’re ready. Winnie is more than ready; you’ll have to call her back.)

“Om Mani Padme Hum. Winifred. Winnie darling, hear me. The sun is rising and so must we.”

The little redhead was still perfectly in Lotus, soles of her feet turned upward on her thighs, hands in her lap, palms upward. She was still intoning, with her breathing paced exactly with her prayers. But her eyes had turned up; only the whites showed. “Come back, Winnie. Time.”

The girl’s eyes turned down to normal; she looked puzzled, then smiled. “Already? Seems like only a moment. I must have fallen asleep.”

“Happens. Are you ready? Warm and loose and your muscles soft as cotton?”

“Uh . . . yes, I am.”

“Then let’s try some singles.” Joan Eunice flowed upward from the mat like a flower unfolding and was standing. “You criticize me and I’ll criticize you. Then we can have companion exercises for dessert.” Joan looked at herself in the long glass. “I think my belly is firmer every day. I keep telling myself.”

“It’s perfect and you know it.” The redhead got up more slowly, caught herself in a yawn.

“Still sleepy, dear? No pleasant dreams last night?”

The girl barely blushed, then shrugged and smiled. “Pleasant all right but not enough hours. I hope we didn’t disturb you.”

“Didn’t hear a sound. Wouldn’t have guessed if you hadn’t told me when you came in to kiss me good-night. Dear, if you’re short on sleep, maybe you’d rather just criticize.”

“Oh, no, I’m getting more out of our exercises than you are—don’t want to miss a day. But—yes, I’m short on sleep. Paul— Oh, dear! But I didn’t say his last name.”

“Didn’t hear you, I was rubbing my ears.”

“Fibber. He didn’t leave until half past two. So I did lose sleep. Not that I minded!”

“I’m sure you didn’t. Winnie dear, I did not mean to snoop. Oh, normal curiosity—being a virgin myself.”

The nurse looked startled, said, “But—” and shut up.

Joan Eunice smiled. “Sho’, sho’, hon, I know what that ‘But’ means. Mrs. Branca was married . . . and Johann Smith was married four times, not to mention jumping out of windows. But Joan Eunice is a virgin—dig me, doll baby?”

“Well, looked at that way—”

“Only way I can look at it. So I’m curious as a Girl Scout. But telling me would still leave me knowing nothing, even if you wanted to tell, which I’m sure you don’t. Someday—no hurry—I suppose I’ll find out for myself. So don’t you dare blush again and let’s get on with our exercises. I’ll run through the Tortoise variations and you push me if I need it.”

After an hour of twisting and stretching and posing Joan Eunice said, “Enough. Much more and we’d be sweating instead of glowing. Ready for gruesome twosomes?”

The high note of the outer door sounded in the bath-dressing room. “Damn,” said Joan. “I mean a ladylike ‘darn.’ Damn. Into your tights, dear, and I’ll drop your smock over your head. Tell ‘em ‘No ice today.’”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *