14. Josy and the Pussycats

Josy Lynx started to awaken - just ever so slightly.  He was just barely aware of where he was, and the task that lay ahead, but at the same time he was still dreaming of sitting on a low tree limb on the side of a lake with his fishing pole; he looked at his reflection in the still water and saw the face of a wild Canadian Lynx.  Then he remembered the Panther sisters giving him a massage last night, on the fold-out couch in the living room.  They insisted he strip off his clothes and lie on his belly so they could work on his flanks — they were stressed out from sitting and driving across country, and he would need to sit for longer as they flew to the Moon.  And his flanks connected from his ankles to his shoulders, so they would need a clear line to work on.  At least that was their excuse …  …But that’s the last thing he remembered from last night.

His eyelids were still heavy, and he was still half asleep, as he began to take a deep breath to awaken to the early morning light that began to diffuse through.  Breathing brought awareness to his whole body, and he realized that he was lying on his side, knees bent, arms folded up in the middle under his chin, under a blanket … not lying supine anymore.

Then he realized that a warm body was pressed up against his arms and legs.  His eyes popped open, as his half-dreamy state evaporated instantly into the morning’s reality.  He saw the dark black hair on the back of the head of Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx lying next to him.  She was under the blanket with him, breathing the quiet breath of deep sleep.  He quickly sat up and looked around the room, but she didn’t stir at all.  Should he lie back down and wrap an arm over her?  Maybe kiss the back of her neck?  Or was she trying to trap him?  What about the Panther sisters?  What happened to them?  Why did he fall asleep on them?  Did he disappoint them, and loose a chance with them?  Or were they part of the trap?  Maybe he escaped their trap by falling asleep?  Maybe they trapped him by putting him to sleep?  His head spun around at least three times, as his mind tried to process this situation with a strange woman in his bed and all these conflicting thoughts all at once.

He found his pants on the back of the couch and got off the fold-out bed to put them on.  He reached in his pocket and pulled out a rounded rock that he found in a small stream in the mountains way up near 10,000 feet above sea level.  It was deep green, so pretty, so beautiful to him.  He had looked for any more hint of that green in any other rocks, but found none.  He placed his latest favorite rock on the bed where he was lying, and realized Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx was naked, also.  He gently covered her back, put on his shirts, and walked into the kitchen where the lights were on.

The Panther sisters were there, starting the preparations for the morning feast they were planning.  They all stopped and smiled at him as he walked in the room.

“Hey lover boy!” Sapphire Panther said to him, smiling.

“Leaping Lynx sure did leap on you last night!” Amethyst Panther said, winking at him.  Pink Panther giggled a little, quietly.

Sapphire Panther walked over to him and put her fore-arms on his shoulders, her hands wrapped around the back of his neck, fingers interlocked, and looked him deep in the eyes.  He thought for a moment she was about to kiss him, and he didn’t move, almost stiffened.  “So lover boy, did you enjoy the massage last night?”

Pink Panther giggled “we sure knocked you out fast!”

“Ah… yea…” Josy Lynx smiled softly, trying fruitlessly to hide his awkwardness in this moment of confusion he was feeling.  “What I can remember … I don’t normally … I mean, how did I fall asleep with people … how did I stay asleep all night … I always wake two or three times at least, usually more just to roll over … how come Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx didn’t wake me?”

“Mr. Spock taught us how …” Amethyst Panther said.  Pink Panther outright giggled.

“Oh stop with the cheese this early” Sapphire Panther said to Amethyst Panther, her arms still wrapped around Josy’s neck.  “Stick with fruity jokes before 8:00AM.”  She turned back to look Josy in the eye.  Pink Panther giggled some more, as Amethyst Panther cracked a small laugh.

“There’s a combo of meridian points, and with the right flow of Qi in and out … easier than rocking a baby.  It would have been a week before you even talked to any of us, let alone slept with anyone” Sapphire Panther explained.  Pink Panther giggled a little more.

“Ah” Josy Lynx said softly, trying to hide the weakness in his smile.  Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx walked in the room slowly and quietly, wrapped in the blanket, rubbing one eye with her one exposed hand.

Sapphire Panther released her hold around Josy Lynx’s neck, as she said “you better grab him before he runs up a tree to hide alone again.”

Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx smiled as she continued rubbing her eye, still waking.  “I’ll just climb after him.”

“OOOOh OOOOH!” Amethyst Panther said.  Pink Panther giggled some more.

Sapphire Panther looked Josy Lynx in the eye.  “You’re doomed,” she said, as she walked away, bumping her hip against his, knocking him just slightly off balance.

“He can always hide under my blanket” Pink Panther said.  Her sisters laughed out loud.

Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx walked over to Josy Lynx and exposed her other hand.  “Did you leave this for me?” she asked him, opening her palm to show the green rock.

“Ah, yea” Josy replied.

“So romantic” Sapphire Panther said.

“OOOOH!” Pink Panther said.  Amethyst Panther snickered a laugh.

Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx wrapped her fingers around the rock, holding it firmly in her palm, and withdrew both of her hands back under her blanket-wrap.  “He’s so nice and warm to curl up next to” she said looking around the room.  She smiled as she turned and walked out of the kitchen toward the bathroom.

“OOOOOOOOO!” the trio-sisters said in near unison, smiling back, all three giggling.  “Doomed” Sapphire Panther said.  Amethyst Panther cracked another laugh.