Freshened – Shibumi

When Quotable Quotes Quoted are Questionable.

When confronting someone, honesty is STILL the best policy – only if you STILL have too many teeth.

Shibumi!

That’s the onomatopoeic word to describe what Henry felt as his sternum impressed his backbone.   With Sheena suctioned to his chest, Henry opened his eyes wide and quickly shut them.   What hath God wrought?  Henry’s pedestrian mind’s eye may have seen this sight in the abstract but it was being driven home in the concrete.  In addition, she was babbling.

“Sheena, what are you saying?  Fish?  What are you doing?”.  Wet?  And then the words a man had never said to a woman, “Get off of me!”

For the first time in their short courtship, Sheena responded catatonic.

Henry needed to do something, think of something to break the spell.  Maybe he should shock her back.  Maybe he could make her laugh.  Shibumi?  His thick psyche presented a questionable quote for this conundrum.

Henry somehow remembered, that in the obscure spy novel Shibumi, author Trevanian has his protagonist Nicholas Hel remark to a young lady on what he considered to be an indecent pose.  He would try it.  He would have to code switch his diction into that of an educated sophisticated speaker.  No small feat here.  He would have to paraphrase the passage into what might be rated a hard R.  Blame Sheena’s silence for, once again, Henry saying something stupid.

Henry impersonated the faux spy Hel, “By the way, can you stand a bit of avuncular advice?” Blink once for yes, twice for no.

“It is a sartorial indiscretion for a young lady so lavishly endowed with…” he wasn’t sure how to continue, “nether-hair as you, to wear no shorts, and sit in so revealing a position.”  Henry gulped.  His failing courage now as disjointed as his conjugation.

He was getting through!  She did not speak and she did not blink but somehow his lost-in-translation presentation of another’s well formed passage made…her skin crawl.  This was good.

Henry, encouraged, continued, “Unless of course, it is your intention to prove that your endowment is natural.”

Sheena’s right arm proved every bit as powerful as her left.  His orthopedic discrepancy now perfectly aligned as his numb skull leaned and attempted to kiss his right shoulder.  His next intended sentence slipped through his lips along with an ample, light viscose liquid and a slight, dark sticky venous discharge.

She’s baaaack.  Sheena’s momentary cerebral depression subsided.  Henry’s extended deflation excited.  They went at it, how might one say?

Shibumi.