“Can I ask you something?” Luna said when she returned her gaze back to the cave opening.
“Sure.”
“How do you stop an intimate rig relationship from going stale?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, being out here for weeks on end. The same scene, same space, same activities. I do fear that it will weigh on companionship.”
“Do you mean making it work with Bognath?” Dukk asked cheekily.
“Yes, it feels as if the excitement is waning.”
“The novelty is less or gone?”
“Yes, exactly. How do you be with someone when the novelty is dissipating?”
“Can I answer that indirectly by asking you something else?”
“Sure.”
“What worked over the last month to keep you in a good place?”
“Well, a lot has been happening. Learning about keeping the rig going. Learning in general. The stop overs. The drinks and dancing. The emergencies. Having fun with Bognath. Learning about having sex out here. There has been lots to keep me busy and distracted.”
“What about the many hours in between? What helped keep you from going crazy in the long quiet hours. The hours when you were alone, on watch, in the middle of the night, for example.”
“Shit, that is a good question,” Luna asked and then paused.
“I guess quietness,” Luna replied after a moment. “Emptying the mind. Allowing my mind to go anywhere but nowhere at the same time. Taking time to just be.”
“What happened in that place?”
“I became calm. I felt centred. I even found things I hadn’t seen. Things around me. Things about me. Things about others. It renewed me.”
“OK, and so perhaps that can work also when you are in the very intimate company of another?”
“You mean quiet time, naked with someone, in addition to time spent having sex or sleeping.”
“Exactly.”
“Interesting. That is something I will need to pay attention to.”
“Speaking of paying attention,” Dukk said. “We are coming up on the cave.”
Excerpt from Rule of Twelve, Book 2 - Convergence, Chapter 5
