“Oh, Haffy, my darling figgy pudding hubby,” Karina said, for she was not to be outdone in hyperbolic compliments to her wealthy husband who, if he was not exactly handsome, still had a wonderfully compelling personality, tremendous vitality, enormous charisma, quite startling capabilities in the bedroom, and marvelous taste in women-not to mention oodles and oodles of lovely money, “you have done everything to satisfy my body but my spirit remains unfulfilled.”
“Why is that, o beloved whose face is like unto a blossoming white rose, whose eyes are brighter than the twinkling stars, whose …”
She cut off the flow by burying her face in her heavily beringed hands. “I fear I allowed myself to be distracted from my own spiritual journey by the suddenness of our passion. So overcome was I with the newness of our love that I grew complacent about what I knew was my true calling, my greatest spiritual quest-to aid Acorna and her people and teach them to channel their energies and use their gifts in a proper”-and profitable, for Karina thought wealth was very proper-“manner.”
“But, my little oasis of carnal conviviality, Acorna went with her people to learn their ways and will soon return to us. Surely you need not pine ? “
She sighed deeply. They were sitting beside the fountain in the courtyard, where they had just partaken of a fabulous meal. She had only picked at the third course and had barely touched her sherbet. She popped another of those little chocolate egg truffles into her mouth though. Haflz was right. She had to keep her strength up. “Oh, Hafiz, my “wise and wily warrior in the world of wealth, you are such a debonair fellow, so learned in the ways of commerce and the battle of the marketplace, that in your munificence of spirit you no doubt saw the beautiful Linyaari beings as like yourself, as sophisticated as they were soignee.
“But I, who communed with them on both a deeper level and a higher plane than any among our own kind, recall their childlike innocence, their need to be nurtured and tutored along the great spiritual pathway that it has been my privilege to travel lo these many years. Their incredible healing and purifying powers which really need sharp management so they don’t go exhausting themselves by giving all that valuable stuff away.
“I was to have been Acorna’s mentor in just such a way, but now our lovely Lady of the Light has gone with them to this secluded home world of theirs, a place where no one can find them, a place where our beloved Acorna and all other potential are lost-not to mention the potential of a whole planetful just like her! -to me and all who love her.”
Hafiz scratched his bearded chin, pondering the words of his wife, words which he had come to learn had many levels of wisdom.
Then he shrugged as if it were all a small matter. “Acorna said she would return, and her people were of the opinion that she would be given honors and rank among them and sent to us as an envoy. I’m sure she and they will be with us again soon, 0 my heart of butter. And this home where they live is only in space, beloved, not in that land where our esteemed friend and colleague Li now resides. And if these people can locate it in space, so can the finest engineers and navigators in my employ-that is to say, the finest engineers and navigators available. And this planet, if need be, could be visited. Especially by a friend.”
“Friend? Why, you are practically the only family she has! Apart from your nephew and his friends, she had only Mr. Li. And while I am in constant contact with him, his guidance is lost to her. In fact,” she added shrewdly, “it is his guidance in this matter, his insistence that Acorna and her people should still have access to our advice and assistance, that has caused me to dwell on this matter while neglecting my diet.”
Hafiz was momentarily incensed. “You have been having clandestine visits with Delszaki Li, my old rival, and neglecting to feed the body upon which I have lavished so much love?”