Under the Arches

that. Please come again soon.’

  They headed back downstairs, but as Zeus reached out to open the door for her Angelina held up her hand.

  ‘Zeus, please, tell me who you are.’

  ‘Another time perhaps,’ he replied and showed her out. ‘Thank you again,’ he added, then the door was closed and Angelina found herself standing in the dim light of the street lamps in the middle of the roundabout.

  She trudged home slowly, her mind struggling to piece together all that had just happened.

  The rest of the week proved a complete write-off at school, for Angelina could think of little else aside from her evening with Zeus. None of her questions had been answered and a million and one others had been added to the list.

  Another ‘talk’ with Mrs Adcock at the end of Friday passed without Angelina really knowing what had been said, such was the state of preoccupation in her mind. That evening she again tried to piece together the puzzle that was Zeus. The man had all the appearance of a tramp, but lived in an immaculate house that was situated in possibly the most bizarre location she had ever come across. It was well appointed with all mod cons, yet he chose to sell the Big Issue in the centre of Watford. What was his deal? Why choose to live such a double life? It was not as if his appearance changed when he was at home. The only difference had been that the stupid beanie had disappeared and his dreadlocks had been tied back in a sort of ponytail. So much of it did not add up.

  She eventually went to bed fed up of thinking about it and resolved to go round the following evening and get some answers.

  It just so happened that Derek had managed to get the Saturday night off work and that he and Angelina’s mum planned to have an evening in together. That made it all the more easy for Angelina to leave that night and at half past six she made her excuses and left the house. She had paid slightly less attention to her appearance this time round, since she was no longer feeling any nerves and wished to appear more laid back and casual.

  She walked down to the Arches, and when she saw that there was no light on she headed round towards the retail park, which was the most direct route into town. She wandered past all the garages and furniture stores, and had almost made it to Watford High Street station when Judas appeared from nowhere and started jumping around her excitedly. She looked around and saw Zeus walking down from the traffic lights on the ring road, waving at her. She waved back.

  ‘Hi Zeus,’ she said as he approached.

  ‘Good evening young lady,’ he replied. ‘Again I sensed that you might be round this evening so I got some food from Sainsbury’s for us.’

  She looked at the bags he was carrying. He had sensed that she would be round? Things were becoming more and more curious. They began walking back through the retail park towards the Arches.

  ‘A good couple of days?’ Zeus asked her as they passed the Nissan garage.

  ‘Not bad,’ Angelina replied. ‘A bit boring really. Mum’s got her new man round tonight so I had to go somewhere. How about you?’

  ‘Sold out today,’ replied Zeus. ‘I think Watford may have won a match or something, so there was a late flourish of good will.’

  Angelina smiled.

  ‘What did you get for dinner?’ she asked.

  ‘Bangers and mash, and something special for pudding. But I can’t show you yet.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘It’s a surprise.’

  ‘Oh…’

  ‘You know it never ceases to amaze me,’ Zeus continued. They were about to pass the Saab garage and were nearly back at his house.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘This bloody path has more holes in it than all my clothes put together. It seems like as soon as the council identifies a job that needs doing they just go right ahead and start ripping up the pavement without any thought about the major gas works that may be due in six months time. So we get left with this ridiculous patchwork across all our pavements. The roads look just as bad too.’

  ‘I’d never really noticed,’ said Angelina.

  ‘When you walk along here every day it soon comes to your attention. Anyway, we’re here now. All we need is a gap in the traffic and…’

  He held his hand up at a car that had just pulled onto the roundabout and they crossed. The driver shouted something rude out of the window, but they ignored him. Zeus fumbled for some keys in his pocket and opened the door. It was dark inside, but at the flick of a switch a series of up-lighters came on and cast a nice ambient glow around the room. Zeus immediately set to work getting dinner ready and they made small talk as they waited for it to cook.

  Angelina enjoyed eating dinner without a TV in front of her and continued to tell Zeus about her frustrations with school and her general apathy for the consumer culture that the media tried to force upon her. When they had finished the main course Zeus brought out a piping hot chocolate sponge pudding with ice cream, which caused all conversation to stop completely while they savoured its goodness. When they were done they both sat back with satisfied smiles. After a couple of minutes Angelina opened her mouth to speak, but Zeus beat her to it.

  ‘I know what you are going to say,’ he asked. ‘You have so many questions and I have been cruelly guarding my answers from you.’

  Angelina nodded. She suddenly felt quite tense, as though a great conspiracy was about to be uncovered. It seemed as though Judas could sense her nerves and he came and nuzzled her hands affectionately.

  ‘You asked who I was last time you were here,’ Zeus continued. ‘Let me show you.’

  He reached forwards across the table with both palms facing upwards. Angelina immediately noticed that his left hand had a scar in the centre just like his right. Slowly he turned his hands over and she then saw that there were matching scars on the back of them, as though something had once pierced straight through them. A sudden chill shot down Angelina’s back and she recoiled from the table.

  ‘If I were to tell you that I had matching ones on my feet…’ said Zeus.

  There was a long pause, while a sense of incomprehensible realisation began to creep over Angelina.

  ‘… then I would ask you to show me your side,’ she said.

  Slowly Zeus lifted up his jumper and the t-shirt underneath it. Just beneath his ribs on one side was an even larger scar. Angelina nearly fell off her chair.

  ‘Oh my g… I mean… you’re…’

  ‘Jesus Christ,’ finished Zeus.

  Angelina fled back up the hill with tears streaming down her face. It was the only thing she could think of doing. She did not stop running until she had reached her room and shut the door behind her. She threw herself onto her bed and sobbed to herself for hours, until there were no more tears left to cry. Then she lay staring vacantly at the ceiling, while her mind wrestled endlessly with what had been put before her.

  She must be going mad. He must be a figment of her imagination. The man, the house, even the dog just couldn’t exist. But what if it did? What if it was all true and she really had just eaten bangers and mash with the Son of God? What on earth did that mean?

  She buried her head under her pillow and tried to block out the world. She hated it and wanted it to go away. Or maybe she didn’t hate it. Maybe she was just afraid because she didn’t understand. Try as she might she could not switch her mind off. Angelina had never been a particularly religious person. Her parents had taken her to church when she was younger, but she had only really tolerated it, and in any case they had stopped going years before they had split up. Maybe that was where it had all gone wrong.

  It was long past midnight when her mind finally gave in and she fell into a fitful slumber.

  When she awoke the following morning she was surprised to find that her mind was surprisingly clear. Perhaps subconsciously she had come to some kind of decision, but in any case she knew what had to be done. She needed to get some proof. She set of into town full of determination and within fifteen minutes she was walking up the High Street and could hear his voice.
r />   ‘BIIIG ISSUE… and roll angels bring thyn hard rock hallelujah BIG ISSUE sir?’

  She stomped up the pavement and stood, arms crossed, in front of him.

  ‘I need proof,’ she said bluntly.

  Zeus peered down at her and took a long slow draw on his cigarette.

  ‘Proof?’ he repeated. ‘Angelina, trust what your heart is telling you and you will need no proof. Come round later when you have thought it through some more.’

  And that was the end of the matter. Three words were all she had managed. His manner of address had not been patronising or condescending in any way. He had simply told her what she was going to do and that had been that.

  She wandered back from town and headed to Riverside Park, the one she had visited the evening she had first gone round to Zeus’ house, and sat on one of the swings for several hours trying to listen to her heart. It was not easy. Her mind kept interrupting. The logic and reason upon which she based so many of her decisions no longer seemed relevant. Over and over she went through things, but she did not seem to get very far. Eventually frustration overcame her and she wandered home. Her mother was not in, which was no real surprise. She flicked on the TV to find golf playing on BBC1. It was just the sort of mindless viewing that she needed. For three whole hours it went on; hole after tedious hole of it. When it finally came to an end it was announced that Songs of Praise would follow and she knew it was time to get her act