Earth(27)

"And?" I asked, not following.

"They sort of correspond to six of the chakras on the human body. Maybe together they’ll reach The Seventh – Sahasrara. This is, in a way, just like Akasha. It is the state of pure consciousness, transforming the divine. The 1,000-petalled lotus."

"Buddhist much?" I asked.

"Yes, yes," Susan chimed in. "That might be just what we need to beat Shawn."

Now my mouth hung open. "What – meditation?"

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe there’s more to the names—'The Seven' and the Chakra—that we've been missing all along." She turned to Alex. "These seven vortices on the human body are focal points for receiving and giving energy."

He nodded.

She continued, ignoring my raised hand. "What if there can be such a thing on the body of Mother Earth, so to speak."

"Oh, I get it," I said.

"Congratulations." Susan smiled, turning back to me.

I cleared my throat, and all eyes traveled down to the cup still sitting on top of the bar.

"Drink!" Bee exclaimed.

"Not from that thing, honey. Not ever." I glanced at Alex. "So what are the chakra points on the body?"

"Let's see – there is Muladhara, set at the base of the spinal cord and associated with the element of earth. Then there is Manipura—"

"Okay," I said, cutting him off. "You lost me at Mu…Mula…"

"Muladhara," he helped.

I shook my head. "We're going to have to come up with code words or something."

"What, like 'head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes'?" Susan began singing the song and going through the motions. I put Bee down so she could join in.

"More like head, throat, stomach, and prostate," interrupted Alex. He snorted, the only one laughing at his joke.

Bee was still singing, but now substituting 'puh-state' when she touched her toes.

I glared at Alex. "Well that wasn't very Buddhist of you."

Susan picked up the Chalice and tucked the stem under her belt. She took my arm. "Come on, let's go see if we can find a real Buddhist on board."

"Why?" I asked.

"So they can teach you how to meditate."

"I know how to meditate; my mom taught me."

"Not like this, she didn't," Susan mumbled. She looked over her shoulder at Alex. "You have prostate duty!"

He sighed, looking down at Bee now doing a squat dance. "Puh-state, puh-state!"





Chapter 17





One of the Guys





Our search around the ship for a Buddhist provided none. Apparently, we didn't attract the type. Susan left to put Bee down for a nap while I stayed to help in the kitchen, peeling the last of the potatoes uprooted from Robert's farm. Speaking of the devil, ten minutes into peeling, Robert entered the kitchen and everyone else left. Most preferred to avoid him if they could; I refused to be chased away that easily.

Robert eyed me, picked up an unwashed carrot, and started to chew, loudly. I took a deep breath.

Meditation would come in handy right about now.

"Not many trees around here anymore," he said.

I paused, setting my peeler down on the counter, but didn't retort. By now, he surely didn't think lightning and trees were the extent of my power.

He took another bite of carrot. He pointed the nubby end at me and said with a full mouth, "I'm warning you, if you ever do anything like that again—"

"Let me ask you something, Robert."

His eyebrows rose in shock at my interruption, but I’d thought of a use for him, which was just as shocking for me.

"If I wanted to break into a group of tightly knit men; be one of the guys – so to speak, what would be the best way to do it?"

He resumed chewing, mulling over the question, probably trying to figure out where I was going with it.

"Not your group, Robert." I rolled my eyes. He didn't have a group.

"Well." He cleared his throat. "I suppose you'd have to prove yourself to them."

"Prove myself? How, exactly?"

"Equal them. Show you are one of them."

Equal them? I snorted; that might be kind of hard. Any woman who seeks to be equal with men lacks ambition.

"Don't get all high and mighty," Robert said, as if he knew what I was thinking. He pointed the nub at me again. "If they catch on to that attitude, they'll never let you in. And don't show them up. That'll just piss 'em off." He stopped himself. His eyes opened in surprise again, then his brow furrowed. He’d caught himself helping me with a problem.

How did that happen? I smiled to myself, picking up the peeler and resuming my work.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" he trailed off when I raised my eyebrow, looking at him. "Oh forget it." He threw the rest of his carrot stick on the table in front of me and left the room.