Just A Sip

Christmas cheer, a neighbor shares a cake. Spirits listen in.

 Brenda entered Saint Jerome's church with a silk Christmas scarf on her head. She crossed herself in case anyone was watching her. There were many funerals held inside the church for the Blundons over the years. There were three boys, Mr. Blundon, Carrie Blundon, and Fannie. 

Brenda dropped 8 quarters into the candle offering box, and proceeded to light 8 votive candles. The two last ones would be for her parents. She whispered to each person, and wished them well on their Spiritual journeys.

It was warm, and peaceful inside the building. She wondered if Mr. Blundon was very Catholic. She had the feeling that he was more connected to the Freemason's philosophies than religious dogma.

She knew that the church frowned on suicides, but her mother had taught her that suicide was often the result of a clear decision for a person who had no hope any more, or someone may have been filled with guilt, or grief, insanity, or physical pain.  

Brenda wondered where the Blundons may have sat when they came into church for the "word" or a ceremony, blessing, or out of sheer habit. The Blundon children who were still alive might know, but how could she approach them ? And did it really matter where they sat ?

Brenda lowered her head, and sent out strong energies to her parents first. She laughed when her mother told her "you KNOW I'm fine" but her father didn't seem to be receiving vibes at the time. He would check in later at an odd moment. There were no hard fast rules with Spirit communications. "You got what you got when you got it." Lester Feldman of Georgetown said so. He was one of the first local mediums to point out that some of the Spirits had problems for awhile when they passed on. 

Brenda walked to the trolley, and enjoyed the short ride home. The car passed directly in front of Daniel's little house, but the shades were lowered. No gawking allowed. Her church experience had been a good one this time. 

She stopped at the shop, and replaced a lightbulb, then headed to Dumm's Corner to buy food for the rest of the week. As she passed the Wilson's house, Harriet came trotting out the front door with an iced lamb cake. 

The perfect neighbor raved about the shop Easter window. Brenda promised her an invitation to the next seance. Harriet was eager to participate. She finally finished a book about Spiritualism, and understood that it had nothing to do with the devil. Her pharmacist husband still tried to discredit anything that wasn't "Christian all the way."

Brenda thanked her for the lamb shaped cake, and headed to her big old house. After a hot bath, she ate the lamb's head, and neck. There would be plenty left for Daniel if he should happen to escape the love nest, and make her happy for awhile. But he didn't call. She made a fire in the living room fireplace, and stared into it. 

She sipped a bit of wine, and then whispered aloud  "I wonder if Mr. Blundon thought he was on the trolley tracks the night he died instead of the train tracks? If he had been drinking, or tired, maybe."  Then she heard a stern, but soft voice inside her head say "Go to sleep." And she knew that it was not her father speaking.

 

C J. Marks