“What am I to tell Turismo?” insisted Don Jaime. He wrung his thin hands.
Mrs. Ross half turned away, stopped, looked back at the mayor. To think that I could have married him once, she thought. God watches over women and fools.
Inspiration filled Mrs. Ross. “Tell Turismo,” she said, “… tell them that San Juan is the fairest flower in all of Mexico’s tourist attractions. But tell them that every such blossom must have around it a bush of thorns. Everything of beauty must have at least one flaw in it. Otherwise people do not realize how beautiful it truly is. That is what you must tell them. Tell them that I—Emma Ross—I am the thorn in San Juan. Tell them that!”
And she reflected: How right I am! And now I’m saddled with that artist. What a complicated thorn! She mentally shrugged, thought: Well … anyway, I still have the sunshine.
A roll of thunder crashed from across the lake.
Looking toward the noise, Mrs. Ross saw a line squall moving toward her over the darkening water like a black wall.
“Good day to you,” she said to Don Jaime, who still stood there staring at her, his brows furrowed in puzzlement.
Then, she hurried inside before the rain struck.
***
About the Author
FRANK HERBERT (1920–1986) created the most beloved novel in the annals of science fiction, Dune. He was a man of many facets, of countless passageways that ran through an intricate mind. His magnum opus is a reflection of this, a classic work that stands as one of the most complex, multi-layered novels ever written in any genre. Today the novel is more popular than ever, with new readers continually discovering it and telling their friends to pick up a copy. It has been translated into dozens of languages and has sold almost 20 million copies.
Herbert wrote more than twenty other novels, including Hellstrom’s Hive, The White Plague, The Green Brain, and The Dosadi Experiment. During his life, he received great acclaim for his sweeping vision and the deep philosophical underpinnings in his writings. His life is detailed in the Hugo-nominated biography Dreamer of Dune, by Brian Herbert.
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A Thorn in the Bush Page 7
