Under the Arches

living your life in the same way you have been doing up until this moment.’

  ‘I’ll try, but it won’t be easy. Will you be around to talk to?’ asked Angelina.

  ‘I’ll be in and out as I have been, but on the whole, yes,’ said Zeus kindly. ‘I am coming to the end of my work now, and having said all this to you there is no way I would leave you to deal with it on your own.’

  Angelina smiled.

  ‘I’d like that,’ she said.

  They sat there a while longer, and then Zeus got up and cleared away the shattered remains of the plate and they finished the rest of the washing up. It was getting late, but Angelina felt like she needed some company for a while longer, so they retired to the sofa upstairs to watch some television. There was little of interest on save a Champion’s League match involving Liverpool and some obscure eastern European side, which they settled on watching.

  ‘I like football,’ said Zeus when half time came.

  ‘Did you play it when you were last here?’ asked Angelina. It would have seemed like an odd question to an observer, but she knew that there were no odd questions where Zeus was concerned.

  ‘I did actually,’ he replied. ‘A bit of six-a-side with the lads with one guy reffing. It was certainly a nice way of relaxing at the end of a hard day’s preaching. We were doing quite well in the Galilee Sabbath league until circumstances turned against us.’

  ‘Circumstances?’

  ‘Yeah, my crucifixion for one. I was top goal scorer at that point. At least I finished on a high.’

  Angelina laughed and shook her head.

  ‘You should be a comedian,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you must be making some of this up.’

  ‘You mean if I wasn’t the Son of God and all, or such a demon craftsman?’ said Zeus.

  ‘Or so modest!’ cried Angelina grabbing one of the cushions and hitting him round the head with it. They collapsed into a fit of hysterics.

  ‘Hey I’ve got a question,’ said Angelina when she had regained her composure. ‘Why Watford? Why England for that matter?’

  ‘Oh, for the excellent transport links,’ said Zeus with a wry glance up at the ceiling.’

  ‘Come on, be serious.’

  ‘Oh all right. I guess the simple answer is, why not? It sounds like a bit of a cop out, but for the most part it really is that simple. There are some small factors that did sway it though. Over the past few years, almost more than anywhere else, the United Kingdom has been spiralling into a state of mother culture and political correctness gone mad. So much so that I feel that its people must be some of the most stout-hearted in the world to endure it without going completely crazy. I thought it best to experience this for a time, and figured that if I came out the other side the same man as when I went in, everywhere else would be a doddle.’

  ‘But there are far worse countries than ours,’ said Angelina indignantly. ‘There are wars, famine and drought going on at this very moment all round the world.’

  ‘Why does that make them worse?’ asked Zeus. ‘OK, their problems may be much more severe than those faced by most here, but in a way that makes them easier to judge. In such places life is a lot more black and white. There are few people who would fall between two stools, as it were. Rich and poor, oppressed and oppressor; it is far more straightforward than here. I chose the UK for its cultural diversity and its complex political system. It is a place where the talentless are revered and the deserving scrape to get by. It is an interesting moral landscape, and one I have been studying for a while now.’

  ‘And Watford?’

  ‘Close enough to London but without the tourists,’ said Zeus with a smile. ‘You have to look a little deeper to find its merits, but I assure you they are there.’

  The evening drew in and finally Angelina decided that it was time to head home. It had been a draining evening, with so much discovered and discussed that her mind took a while to let it all go and allow her the luxury of some sleep.

  Angelina awoke next morning with Zeus’ warnings about wasting her talents ringing clearly in her mind and she resolved not to let her knowledge of the forthcoming day of judgement ruin her studies. Had she been a bit older, she knew she could have had quite a bit of fun buying things on credit and generally pampering herself until the end of the year, but she knew Zeus would have frowned upon it and in any case she doubted there were any credit card companies that would allow a girl her age to sign up, despite their general lack of scruples.

  October continued to pass on its merry way without the weather getting significantly colder. This was good for Angelina, who spent a lot of her free time outdoors to keep away from her mother and especially Derek, who seemed to be round almost every evening, and whose company she could not stand for more than a few short minutes.

  She took to hanging around in Riverside Park, sitting on the swings and thinking about everything and nothing depending on her mood.

  One Wednesday, having sat for a while in the park on her way home from school, she returned home to find her mum home alone watching TV.

  ‘Where’s Derek?’ asked Angelina suspiciously as she hung up her coat and took her shoes off. She didn’t really care so long as he didn’t suddenly materialise from the bathroom.

  ‘He’s working dear,’ said her mum. ‘Come and sit with me. It’s been a while since we had a girly night in.’

  This sounded ominous. As much as she loved her mum, Angelina knew what the topic of conversation would most likely turn to and she didn’t really feel in the mood for it. Nevertheless she sat down on the sofa next to her as the credits for Neighbours rolled up the screen, and tried to look attentive.

  ‘So, how’s school going?’ asked her mum.

  ‘Ah, the calm before the storm,’ Angelina thought.

  Out loud she said, ‘Great. I’ve started my extra maths and English tuition and it has been going really well. They’re even talking about moving me up a year in those classes, although there are problems with the timetable at the moment.’

  ‘That’s wonderful Angel. I’m really glad you are realising your full potential at last. And you’re up to date with all your homework I take it?’

  ‘Mum, it’s fine OK? It’s all under control.’

  ‘Ok darling, just checking. You know, we don’t get a chance to talk that much any more.’

  Angelina bit her tongue. Any response to this was likely to get her into trouble.

  ‘Darling, I wanted to talk to you about Derek,’ said her mum suddenly.

  ‘Bingo, there it is!’ thought Angelina.

  ‘I was wondering what you thought of him,’ her mother continued.

  ‘Honestly?’ asked Angelina, rearranging her position on the sofa to a more defensible one.

  Her mum nodded.

  ‘I think he’s a Class A prick,’ said Angelina.

  There, she’d said it. Now she just had to await the fallout.

  ‘Now that’s not very nice, is it Angel?’ said her mum, clearly disappointed by her response. If she had been expecting anything different though, she was a fool. ‘What would make you say such a thing?’

  ‘I could have said a lot worse,’ said Angelina stoutly. ‘You asked my opinion and I gave it.’

  ‘But what makes you think that?’

  ‘Oh it’s everything mum. The way he looks at you, talks at you; it’s the comments he makes, it’s his roving hands. It’s everything. I just think he’s a sleazy bastard.’

  ‘How dare you use that language about him!’ cried her mother.

  ‘But it’s true,’ said Angelina crossing her arms defiantly. ‘And you didn’t mind ‘prick’, but perhaps that’s the problem. He’s a sleazy bastard and he’s using you for… well, for whatever you do that makes so much noise when I’m trying to get to sleep.’

  Her mother’s mouth opened and closed dumbly for a few seconds and Angelina knew she had stepped way over the line.

  ‘How dare you!’ said her mum again when the power of speech had r
eturned. This time, however, there was real anger in her voice. ‘Get out!’

  Her finger pointed towards the door, but Angelina was already halfway there.

  ‘He’s an idiot mum and he’s not a patch on Dad,’ she called out as she went. It was a cheap shot, but she was angry and upset.

  ‘Don’t bring your father into this!’ screamed her mum. ‘Out, now!’

  Angelina was already gone. She fled the block with tears streaming down her face and turned in the only direction she knew would be safe; towards the Arches. She had let her dislike for Derek run away from her. It had been over three years since she had seen her mum that upset. That time it had been her father’s doing and Angelina knew how much she hated him. The thought that she might actually hate Angelina that much was too much to bear.

  She ran down the street, under the railway bridge and crossed on to the roundabout. There she began pounding her fists as hard as she could on Zeus’ door. She willed it, almost begged it to open, and when it did and she saw his dreadlocked head emerge from behind it she threw her arms around him and burst into more floods of tears.

  Zeus hastily stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette and tucked the remainder behind his ear for safekeeping. Then he led Angelina to one of the chairs and sat her down while he made her a hot chocolate. There she remained with her head in her hands sobbing uncontrollably, until Zeus returned with the drink.

  ‘Your mother loves you,’ he said, placing the cup down before her.

  Angelina looked up at him through bloodshot eyes. ‘How did you…?’

  Zeus