Blue Flame

“Yes, they will stop now,” Church assured her as he sat and smiled at her, “Let me explain,”

Church spent the next hour or so explaining about the gift and their edict in life, and about her auntie Heidi. Although he never mentioned she was his chosen bride.

Greta then came into the room and asked. “Is everything okay? Have you taken your medication Sharon? Would you like a cup of tea Church?”

“No, thank you, I’m fine,” said Church.

“Isn’t it a lovely ring Sharon? Okay. I’ll leave you to it then. Shout if you need anything, and don’t forget to take your pills Sharon.”

Greta backed out of the door, closing it behind her.

“What was that stupid woman talking about?” Pinky asked.

Church had forgotten about the ring, with explaining to Pinky about the gift and the spirit world, so told her the ring was a ploy which they could use to their advantage.

Church told Pinky that she needed more time to learn about everything and experience things, so she could get a clearer understanding. He suggested that she came to his cottage.

This came as a shock to Pinky, but she felt relieved. Although everything Church had told her seemed unbelievable, she’d trusted Church from the moment she met him.

She glanced around her sparse unwelcoming room and said, “When do we leave?” She asked, smiled, and looked at Church who frowned and appeared nervous. “What’s wrong?” She asked

Church sighed, gazed into her blue eyes, and told her about the Chosen-ones joining.

Pinky grinned as she listened to Church’s voice get croakier. When he’d finished, Pinky smiled and put her hand on his thinning hairline and stroked the top of his head “So you and I are supposed to fall madly in love?” she whispered.

Church nodded.

Pinky chuckled, slapped his head, and said, “Bah, don’t talk shite! You look like Bob Hoskins, and I certainly wouldn’t go out with him, let alone marry him.”

They stared at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing.

“These Spirits of yours must be as bonkers as I was, are they on drugs?” giggled Pinky.

“They certainly got it wrong this time,” chuckled Church, hoping that they had.

They laughed for several minutes before Pinky looked sullen and said, “My parents got money from the government for taking care of me, so they would never let me go.”

Church showed her the ring.

“Maybe they will with this,” he said and told her his plan.

Church went into the living room. Greta and Harold sat on the sofa pouring over pictures of new cars in magazines. Harold had never worked, and after they had spent the money that he’d inherited from his grandparents many years ago, they had lived off government benefits. Pinky, although an annoyance to them, served them well, with generous carers allowance payments.

“I need to take Pinky to the facility at my cottage for treatment; she needed more help which I can provide there,” said Church.

Harold and Greta looked at one another. “Will we get extra payments?” asked Harold.

Church shook his head and said, “No, but the treatment is free.”

The Pinquist’s mumbled and whispered to each other shaking their heads.

Church and Pinky knew they weren’t about to allow their golden goose to go anywhere without an incentive. Church took the letter from the table, folded it and added, “Oh, and Sharon told me she would give you the ring if you’d let me help her. But I understand if you aren’t happy to let her come.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Harold, looking as if someone had just taken away his favourite toy. “Let’s not be too hasty, Church.” he stammered, “If you think you can help her. Sharon already seems a lot better since you arrived.”

“Yes,” agreed Greta. “Maybe for a short while will be okay, she is eighteen now, so can make her own decisions.”

* * *

“Isn’t greed great?” said Church, driving along the motorway.

“Yeah, I knew those two greedy parents of mine would jump at the chance for the money. The only problem is, what happens when they find out the ring did not belong to the Queen of Denmark and isn’t worth that much?” enquired Pinky from the passenger seat.

“Oh, that,” smiled Church.

“The ring was one of my favourite rewards. I will explain how that works later, but it was given to me by…”

“Just get on with it,” Pinky interrupted and feigned a yawn.

Church smiled and continued,

“What I said about the ring was almost true. It was from the 19th century. However, it did not belong to Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwenn, nor was it made by Jensen. It’s a Sybil Dunlop ring and made for the wife of Logie Baird. I estimate the value to be around the same and knowing your parents, even for such a short period, I imagine they will not care about anything but its value.”

“Made for Yogi Bear’s wife, that’s cool,” Pinky chuckled.

“Logie Baird, not Yogi Bear,” Church continued, “He invented the television.” Church saw Pinky smirking and knew she was joking. He smiled as Pinky then asked,

“So why feed them all that rubbish about Denmark then smartarse, hmm?”

“Well, it would’ve sounded stupid saying Heidi had a ring from England when she’d never been away from Denmark in her life, wouldn’t it?” said Church, sounding smug.

“Hmm, I suppose so,” Pinky said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Besides, it made them feel guilty about not visiting Heidi,” said Church.

Pinky asked question after question during the ride to the cottage. Church told her he would explain later and relieved when he pulled up outside the front door of the cottage. Pinky felt happy; it was just as Church had described and how she had imagined.

“It looks like it’s had a woman’s touch,” she commented.

Church laughed and helped her unload her belongings from the car boot, went inside, and showed her to one of the upstairs rooms.

“This will be your room. Anything you need, just ask. You unpack, and I’ll cook us something to eat and show you around,” said Church, leaving Pinky to accustom herself to her new surroundings. For the first time in her life, she felt comfortable and had a sense of belonging.

* * *

Greta and Harold went upstairs to clean Pinky’s room after she and Church drove away. They felt delighted and had already picked out which model of Toyota they wanted.

They went inside the room and noticed how tidy Pinky had left it. Her medications and a tin of marijuana rolled cigarettes, arranged neatly on the bedside cabinet top, with a note leaning against the water carafe, which read: