Rock the Baby – Episode 16

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Double or Nothing

Doc held the case in her hand and a quizzical look on her face. I showed her the deep fryer pot, the cooler, and the bottles of cooking oil. I told her my idea. What would happen if we covered the cold fire case in oil and then opened it? The oil should act as an insulator. And since cold fire is by definition cold, the oil should not burn. So won’t that stop the cold fire? And won’t that stop the magnetic field?

A tiny crease formed across her brow and those dazzling eyes darted left and right a few times as she considered the idea. Then her face relaxed and a great smile spread across it. “I think it will work,” she told me. “Or it will blow up in our faces.” For that smile I would risk getting my face blown off and more.

The case didn’t fit in the fryer pot. That would have been my preference. It fit easily in the cooler though and we poured every bottle of cooking oil we had over it. I tried insisting that Doc go inside. I didn’t see any sense in putting both our lives at risk and this was my idea after all. She tried insisting that I go inside since it was her experiment that caused all this in the first place. We stood appraising each other’s resolve for a minute or two and decided we were in it together.

I held the case down so it was completely covered by the oil. Doc released the lock and slowly lifted the lid a tiny bit. One big bubble glooped out of the case like belch. Several smaller bubbles silently followed. When we had gotten all the air out that we could, Doc relocked the case.

I grabbed a screwdriver from the workbench and tested it briefly against Doc’s arm. It stuck. I moved the tool to the cold fire case. No more magnetism. It worked. And there were no explosions unless you count our whoops of happiness. I grabbed a couple shop towels and we wiped the oil from our hands.

Suddenly Doc threw her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. She held the embrace and cried freely on my shoulder. I breathed deeply and wrapped my arms around her. Nothing in my life ever felt as good as her body pressed tightly against mine. My heart thumped so hard against my ribs I was sure they could hear it across the street.

Or was that the sound of helicopters traveling overhead?

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Please come back next week for Episode 17.

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