Flamethroat (14 page)

Silence fell upon the bathroom. I didn
’
t know what to say to comfort Jack, so instead I watched his face closely.

‘
They have offered us a room,
’
Jack said suddenly.

‘
How nice,
’
I said, lifting a handful of bubbles.
‘
Another good nights sleep
–
and a breakfast too.
’

‘
They have offered us a permanent room,
’
Jack finished.

I stared.
‘
Permanent?
’

Jack nodded.
‘
They want us to stay.
’

‘
We can
’
t,
’
I said quickly.
‘
I have to get my family back.
’

‘
I know, I know,
’
Jack said hurriedly, kneeling beside the bathtub so he was eye to eye with me.
‘
I thought perhaps, once we find your family, we might come back? Just for a little while.
’

I thought what life might be like living here
–
in a pretty little apartment above an apothecary, with friendly people. With Jack.

‘
Do you want to stay?
’
I asked slowly.

Jack winced slightly at the implications of things unsaid,
‘
I don
’
t know.
’

My heart began to pound loudly against my chest. I did not like where this conversation was going one bit, yet I could not be selfish, Jack had been fatherless for much longer than I had.

‘
I want you to be happy,
’
I said finally.
‘
Don
’
t worry about me. If you want to stay
–
I won
’
t stop you.
’

‘
Over the years I have dreamed about this day a million times. I
’
ve gone over the things I would say and do in my head. I
’
ve fantasised about finding my father and having a family again. I used to dream about playing catch, fishing, hiking or just talking with my Dad. It was all I ever wanted for a long time. Sometimes, I would even talk to him as though he was there with me. I would tell him of my achievements and imagine him to be proud of me.
’

I smiled at Jack, fascinated with this personal revelation.
‘
I understand.
’

‘
But then I met you,
’
Jack said quickly, as though desperate to say everything that was on his mind before he lost his nerve.
‘
Everything changed. Gradually, I stopped thinking about where my father was and whether he was alive or not. I lost interest in finding him. I stopped talking as though he was there. Instead, I would imagine you were there.
’

I stared at Jack, unblinking, willing myself to say something, yet nothing came to mind.

‘
You are good for me,
’
said Jack.
‘
I know that sounds ridiculous, but I used to feel so isolated until I met you. I have always been able to heal physical wounds, but I have never been able to fix what goes on in my head. You just seem to block out all the bad stuff that goes through my mind, just by being around. Why do you think I
’
ve followed you high and low these past few months?
’

I averted my eyes. Suddenly the bubbles seemed interesting. I could not bring myself to look at Jack. I knew my cheeks must be extremely pink from embarrassment.

‘
Do you understand what I am saying?
’
Jack said seriously.

I looked up and met Jack
’
s eyes. I nodded.

‘
Good,
’
he said,
‘
Now get out of that bath before you turn into a prune.
’

~

Dinner at the Greenwood
’
s was only slightly awkward. Whilst Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood were perfectly friendly, they asked embarrassing questions.

‘
How long have you two been together?
’

‘
What are your plans for the future?
’

‘
Why are you going to Concord City?
’

‘
What do your parents do?
’

Jack
’
s father and stepmother seemed just as intent on getting to know me, as they were Jack. Jamie seemed absolutely smitten. He insisted on sitting next to me at dinner.

‘
Looks like my boys have good taste.
’
Mr. Greenwood said when Jamie snatched up the chair beside me.

‘
You absolutely must stay the night,
’
Mrs. Greenwood insisted halfway through dinner.
‘
And tonight I will wash your clothes and hang them up to dry so they are ready in the morning.
’

Dinner was delicious and by the time I had cleared my plate I was extremely tired, but I couldn
’
t call it a night without first letting Hawthorne know that we were spending the night in Scyre. I worried that Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood would be suspicious if I walked to the outskirts of the town. I confided this to Jack and he waved it aside.

‘
Who cares what they think? I
’
ll come with you.
’

Finding Hawthorne was never difficult. We seemed to be in tune with each other
’
s thoughts. He knew when I was looking for him and always turned up at the right time. We told Jack
’
s father that we needed to collect something from a shop in town and quickly ran into the forest where Hawthorne sat waiting for us. He seemed extremely putout when I told him that he would have to make do for himself until dawn. I gave him a kiss and together Jack and I walked back to his father
’
s home. Jack remained deep in thought until we reached the apothecary once again.

Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood insisted that Jack and I take their bed for the night and said they would sleep in the sitting room. Jack and I tried to decline, but they shouted us down and sent us to bed. We had shared a bed on only one occasion before now and it had not been comfortable. However, as Jack and I slid between the cool covers it felt strangely familiar and natural. Both Jack and I let out sighs of relief when we hit the pillows.

‘
It
’
s been a big day,
’
I said as Jack blew out the candle on the bedside table.

‘
Mmh,
’
Jack agreed.
‘
I never expected this. I suppose I have you to thank.
’

‘
Me?
’

‘
You brought me here,
’
he said, turning to me.
‘
Perhaps that is why I felt compelled to hang around you.
’

‘
You mean it wasn
’
t my good company?
’
I smirked.

Jack chuckled.
‘
The question is; what do I do when you find your own family?
’

‘
What do you mean?
’

‘
Do I come back here and get to know my father and his family?
’
Jack said hesitantly.

‘
I don
’
t know,
’
I whispered.

‘
Or do I stay with you?
’
He finished.

You stay with me, of course
, I thought to myself, but I did not tell Jack this.

‘
I suppose I shall cross that bridge when I come to it,
’
he said.
‘
But you know, we could do it.
’

‘
Do what?
’

‘
Live together, find somewhere nice and get steady jobs. I think we could do with a little less drama in our lives.
’

‘
It would have to be somewhere sunny
’
I mused.

‘
Of course. We
’
ll get a dog too.
’

‘
What about Hawthorne?
’
I asked.

‘
Oh yeah. He can come too.
’

I smiled.
‘
Perhaps we should live on a farm then.
’

‘
I could deal with that.
’

~

‘
Be careful, won
’
t you dears? Don
’
t get lost.
’
Mrs. Greenwood said, straightening my collar.

‘
And don
’
t trust the Concord City officials,
’
Mr. Greenwood added.

‘
You
’
ll come back right?
’
Jamie said, looking up at me with his enormous blue eyes.

‘
Of course,
’
I said, glancing at Jack.
‘
Right?
’

‘
Right,
’
Jack agreed.

‘
Thank you for everything,
’
I said to Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood.
‘
For the food and the clothes.
’

‘
And the accommodation,
’
Jack added.

‘
We wish you would stay longer,
’
Mr. Greenwood said with a sad smile.

‘
You
’
ll see me again,
’
Jack promised.
‘
There are just some things we need to do first.
’

‘
Take care, son,
’
Mr. Greenwood said. Hesitantly, he gave Jack a one-armed hug before releasing him and kissing my cheek. Mrs. Greenwood gave Jack and I a kiss each before pressing a heavy parcel into my hands.

‘
What
’
s this?
’
I asked, looking down at the neat package.

‘
Just a little bit of food and medicine
’
she smiled sweetly.

‘
Thank you.
’

‘
We are very grateful,
’
said Jack, a little stiffly.

Everything felt strangely formal as we left the Greenwood
’
s property. They waved at us from the apothecary door, watching us walk down the street and out of view.

‘
How nice,
’
said Jack a few minutes later when they were out of sight.
‘
What
’
s in the parcel?
’

Opening it I found that there was bread, cheese and a bladder filled with liquid, along with an assortment of medicinal herbs. Amongst this was a small pouch filled with coins.

‘
Great!
’
said Jack, quickly counting the coins.
‘
This is very generous of them. I suppose they didn
’
t tell us it was there because they knew we wouldn
’
t accept it.
’

‘
We need it,
’
I told Jack.

He nodded in agreement,
‘
What
’
s in the bladder?
’

I handed Jack the bladder. He took out the stopper, sniffed the opening and tasted it.

‘
It
’
s wine,
’
he told me a moment later, his lips stained red.