Flamethroat by Kate Bloomfield Page B

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.
    ‘ Wine? ’ I said with raised eyebrows. ‘ Do I like wine? ’
    Jack smiled and handed me the bladder. I took a small sip and pulled a face,