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Obedient, Kate said I had to try to be more obedient.
I am not sure what she means because I am always obedient, when it comes to her.
Like just the other day when she asked me to take Newton for a walk around the grounds, I did just that. I could not be blamed that he ran into the rose bushes and got stuck. Well, I suppose I was distracted, she was on the other side of the gardens practicing this thing called 'yoga'.
So, I might have taken my eyes off him for a couple moments. Of course, once I heard the whimpering, I carefully got him out. Then I spent nearly an hour plucking thorns out of his coat, we sat on a sofa in the drawing room as he wrestled in my lap. And yes; I did position myself facing a particular window so that I could still see her out in the garden, stretching. Plus, Newton smells amazingly floral now.
When we first came back to Aubrey Hall for the off season, she insisted that I take the time to relax. Perhaps take up a 'hobby'. And I did try… Well I ended up watching Ben do his art, the thought of getting paint on my hands was unthinkable. I mean, what if Kate came into the room and I needed to hug her? I could not risk getting paint on any of her beautiful dresses.
I did not spend that long in his studio, he said I was distracting him. I only made a few requests, that he stop painting fruit and maybe do a portrait instead. Maybe a portrait of me and Kate, or one of her riding Nectar, or even one of her doing her yoga. I think I would put that last one in my study; it would certainly make doing the accounts less dreary. Anyway, Ben eventually told me to “get out”.
A hobby was not what I wanted anyway, I just needed Kate. I wanted to know what she was doing, what she was thinking. Then she recommended that I try her yoga, it is supposed to calm the mind and such. To be honest, I would have never even thought to ask if I could join in on it. I thought she would think that I was up to something. Plus, could I even concentrate if she was doing those poses right there next to me?
Of course, I immediately accepted her invitation. She does want me to learn to be more obedient after all, so I politely compiled with her request. I hope I did not seem too overjoyed…
The first session we had did not go according to plan, well not to her plan. Kate said I was “not behaving in a way that could enable stress-relief and relaxation”. I thought my actions would lead to exactly those two outcomes...
Later on, I decided to do some research on this whole yoga thing. Kate did fill me in on some of the history, did you know it originated in ancient India? I do love when she speaks of India, I cannot wait for us to get to visit there again.
When browsing some books about how to crack the discipline, I learnt that there are all these different types. I quite liked the sound of the ones that are meant to be for ‘devotion’, and ‘action’. I am still a man of action, so I thought that one would suit me rather well. Kate thought the same.
Anyway, that is how I ended where I am sitting right now; in the ‘Thunderbolt’ pose behind Kate's ‘Downward Facing Dog’. I am getting very, very good at being obedient.
The other night in the library, I came across a reference to something called the 'Kama Sutra'… I think that is the next hobby I would like to try. There can be pleasures in obedience after all, can there not?