Under the Arches

together.

  She took a long shower, cleaning all her doubts away and feeling determined to start afresh. Then she got dressed and headed on down to the Arches. She knew he would be in. Something inside her told her so. When he answered her knocks at the door she did not immediately bombard him with questions, but sat down quietly and accepted his offer of a cup of tea. She observed with mild interest that the bottles of mineral water lining the sideboard appeared to have multiplied. They sat in silence for a while, sipping away, neither in any hurry to push for conversation. Finally, when the last remnants of the tea were getting cold in the bottom of her cup, Angelina plucked up the courage to speak.

  ‘I’ve been thinking,’ she said slowly and deliberately. ‘And I’ve got some questions.’

  ‘Fire away,’ said Zeus sitting back and pulling a rolled up cigarette from behind his ear. ‘You don’t mind…?’

  Angelina shook her head.

  ‘OK, here goes,’ she said. ‘What was my father’s full name?’

  Zeus rocked back on his chair with a broad smile on his face. ‘Mr David John Marsh,’ he replied.

  Angelina nodded slowly. ‘And what did he do for a living?’

  ‘He was an accountant, and quite a good one at that.’

  Angelina’s face brightened slightly.

  ‘What was his favourite football team?’

  ‘Arsenal, which made him a popular man around here.’

  ‘OK, and what caused him to split up with my mother?’

  ‘He cheated on her.’

  ‘Right,’ she said nodding. ‘Let’s try something else. What is the capital of Mozambique?’

  Zeus laughed loudly. ‘Angelina Marsh, I did not need to prove myself to Satan and I do not need to prove myself to you. That’s why it’s called ‘faith’, you know.’

  ‘Oh go on,’ said Angelina smiling herself now. ‘Just one more.’

  Zeus looked at her kindly. ‘Just one more then.’

  ‘OK. Why do some people brush their teeth before eating breakfast?’

  ‘Oh,’ said Zeus frowning. ‘Oh dear. Umm… no, I think you’ve got me on that one.’

  He shook his head and chuckled. Angelina laughed as well. It felt like the release of a thousand worries and doubts and she got to her feet and danced around the room in happiness.

  ‘I knew it,’ she said. ‘Deep down I knew it, even before you told me.’

  ‘I know you did,’ said Zeus. ‘Sometimes these things need a helping hand for people to realise them.’

  ‘Oh, but I’m so sorry for the way I was last night. I should not have run out on you like that.’

  ‘Not at all. In fact it was one of the better responses to that announcement that I’ve had. Most people just call me a blasphemer and start throwing rocks.’

  Angelina sat down in the chair next to him and reached out towards his hands.

  ‘May I?’ she asked.

  ‘Go right ahead.’

  She took his hands and ran her fingers slowly over the scars. They were smooth, and the pigment of the skin was different to that around them.

  ‘Can you really feel nothing there?’ she asked.

  ‘Not a thing,’ said Zeus.

  ‘Wow. What was it like?’

  He looked at her sincerely through his deep brown eyes.

  ‘I couldn’t even describe it,’ he replied. ‘Like nothing else on earth.’

  Angelina looked down at them again meekly.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘It must be awful to see them every day and remember what happened.’

  ‘On the contrary, it is of utmost importance that I remember. It was the defining moment of my life, and indeed all the Christian faith. That is why I had the cross made into this table.’

  ‘What?’ cried Angelina recoiling so quickly she nearly fell off her chair.

  ‘Well you must have wondered why I didn’t have a newer one,’ Zeus said with a faint smile.

  ‘I… I did notice, but I had no idea… are those the real… err… nails?’

  She pointed at one of the joints.

  ‘The very ones,’ said Zeus. ‘Although it didn’t really need them to hold it together. I am a carpenter after all.’

  Angelina looked at him sheepishly.

  ‘I hope I’m not being a pain, but I have more questions,’ she said.

  ‘Not at all,’ said Zeus. ‘Keep ‘em coming.’

  Angelina smiled.

  ‘So, what does the Son of God have on his iPod?’

  Zeus stared at her for a moment and then burst out laughing.

  ‘So much for the serious talk,’ he said, getting up and fetching it from a small table in the corner that also housed a PC. ‘Take a look for yourself.’

  Angelina took from him and began flicking through the track listings.

  ‘Black Sabbath, Lamb of God, Judas Priest… Wow, I’d never have had you down as a heavy metal man.’

  ‘What did you think I’d be into?’

  ‘More sort of choirs and organs and hallelujahs. Kind of like church music.’

  ‘Christ no!’ said Zeus. ‘My father may be omnipotent, but he does have the most awful taste in music. Give me some of the devil’s music any day.’

  Angelina frowned.

  ‘Did you…? Did you just swear?’

  Zeus frowned too.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘Is it still swearing when it’s your own name?’

  Angelina shrugged.

  ‘I don’t know either. It’s so common round here that I don’t normally notice.’

  She continued looking through the files on the iPod.

  ‘Hey, you’ve got Lostprophets.’

  ‘Yeah, I thought there were a few chaps I once knew who would be interested in them,’ said Zeus.

  Angelina shook her head. It was all so bizarre. Zeus pulled out a packet of Rizla papers and some tobacco and began rolling another cigarette. Angelina watched him with interest.

  ‘Why do you do that to yourself?’ she found herself asking. She hoped it did not sound patronising, but Zeus did not look bothered.

  ‘I was kinda checking out the various temptations that people on earth get exposed to,’ he said. ‘I was beginning to get a little cynical about it all, but then I thought: How can you judge them if you haven’t tried it yourself? Turns out I’ve developed something of a habit.’

  Angelina shook her head again and giggled.

  ‘What?’ said Zeus.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Angelina. There were tears at the corners of her eyes. ‘It’s just I never pictured my Lord and Saviour as a chain smoking metaller!’

  Zeus shrugged his shoulders and lit his cigarette.

  ‘Appearances darling, they can be so deceiving.’

  The rest of the evening went by in a bit of a blur. They chatted away about music and the world in general and before they knew it, it was past eleven o’clock.

  ‘Hey, you’d better be going,’ said Zeus once they had realised.

  ‘I suppose so,’ said Angelina. ‘School tomorrow. Hurrah!’

  ‘You know it’s important,’ said Zeus sternly.

  ‘I know, but everything is going to seem so meaningless after tonight.’

  ‘Yes, but the world is still spinning out there and you should give yourself the best start possible in life.’

  ‘I know,’ said Angelina again and got up to go. At the doorway she paused.

  ‘Why Zeus?’ she asked.

  ‘If I went around telling people my name was Jesus they would probably run a mile,’ he replied. ‘I did think about Jay-Z but that was already taken.’

  ‘So is Zeus.’

  ‘Yeah, but that’s ancient history. Or mythology even. Anyway it comes from the pronunciation of my name in Spanish; Hey-Zyoos.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Angelina. ‘How silly of me. Well, thanks for a lovely evening.’

  ‘You’re welcome. Listen Angelina, I will be out and about a bit over the coming weeks, but by all means call round if y
ou want a chat. I should not be gone for more than a day or two at a time.’

  ‘OK,’ said Angelina opening the door and stepping outside. ‘Thanks again.’

  ‘Cheerio,’ said Zeus.

  Angelina closed the door and leant her back against it, her heart pounding. There was a smile on her face that could not be budged. She had a feeling inside of indescribable happiness and she just did not know what to do with it. She walked to the edge of the roundabout, but instead of crossing the road she felt a strange compulsion to run round it. There was little traffic around and she managed three laps before a car appeared. Even then she didn’t stop, and continued running up the hill towards her flat without a care in the world. When she reached the door to the block she still didn’t feel like stopping, but good sense finally prevailed and she went inside and closed the door behind her. She leapt up the two flights of stairs to the first floor and then regained her composure before quietly entering the flat. She did not know whether her mum was in, but she did not want to lose the feeling inside her and so she crept into her bedroom as silently as she could. With the door closed she lay on her bed until the early hours of the morning, a feeling of unbridled joy coursing through every inch of her body and soul.

  The following day she woke and her smile was still there. For the whole of the next week she felt happier than she could remember and she found that her energy and attention span were vastly increased.

  She even began to participate in class, much to the surprise of her fellow pupils and the delight of Mrs Adcock. Her efforts during PE even prompted her teacher to invite Angelina to hockey practice after school on the Wednesday, and almost to her own astonishment, Angelina went along. It was as if she had woken from a long slumber and embraced the living world with open arms.

  It was not until the following Sunday that she decided to go and see Zeus again. Despite her renewed focus on her studies