‘I can only tell you what I know,’ says his mind, ‘and I don’t know what this image means or why it haunts us.’
The almost-full moon rises and looks down on the banks and ditches of the hill-fort, the labial configurations at either end meant to baffle invaders or possibly honour the white goddess. Despite the paling of the sky the stars are clearly visible, brighter than in London. Burning and flickering, they send their light from before the age of dinosaurs, the Babylonian exile, the fall of Rome, the sack of Jerusalem. ‘See the Great Bear?’ says Lola. ‘Ursa Major?’
‘The Big Dipper,’ says Max, ‘and the North Star.’
‘Polaris,’ says Lola. Gripping Max’s hand, she murmurs rapidly, ‘Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Merak, Dubhe.’
‘What was that?’ says Max.
‘The names of the seven stars of Ursa Major. Say them after me: Alkaid.’
‘Alkaid.’
‘Mizar.’
‘Mizar.’
‘Alioth.’
‘Alioth.’
‘Megrez.’
‘Megrez.’
‘Phecda.’
‘Phecda.’
‘Merak.’
‘Merak.’
‘Dubhe.’
‘Dubhe.’
‘Max and Lola,’ says Lola.
‘Stop,’ says Max’s mind. ‘This is a serious ritual. What are you doing?’
‘Lola and Max,’ says Max. He thinks he might faint.
‘That’s it then,’ says Lola. ‘That’s us with the seven and the absent friends. And Hale-Bopp says yes.’
‘Who’s Hale-Bopp?’
‘The comet. It’s up there in the northwest between Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Very bright, although you can see the tail better on moonless nights.’ She takes Max’s head in her hands and aims him at the comet. ‘See it?’
‘Got it. You seem to be good friends with the stars.’
‘Yes,’ says Lola, ‘good friends with the stars. I’m pregnant.’
When Eve first said those two words to Adam she watched his face closely. Lola’s doing the same with Max.
‘Wow,’ says Max.
‘Say more,’ says Lola.
‘Speechless,’ says Max. Big hug, big kiss.
‘So you’re happy about it?’ says Lola.
‘Like crazy,’ says Max.
28 Overload
March 1997. It’s 01:15 so it’s the 22nd now. Lola has just made her announcement and Max has said his very few words. It’ll take about ten minutes to come down from Mai Dun and walk back to the car. Not much traffic at this time in the morning so it’s maybe two and a half hours back to Fulham. Say a total of two hours and forty minutes that have to be filled with something. ‘What am I going to say?’ Max says to his mind. ‘What am I going to do?’
‘Don’t ask me,’ says his mind. ‘What we have here is overload. All I want to do is be somewhere else.’
‘That makes two of us,’ says Max.
‘Two of us what?’ says Lola.
‘Two of us with something to think about.’
‘You said you’re happy about it but you don’t seem happy,’ she says.
‘It’s a lot to take in,’ says Max. He squeezes her hand but she doesn’t squeeze back.
‘I’ve never come here with anyone else,’ says Lola. ‘Never said the names of the seven at midnight on this day of the year with anyone before.’
‘I’ll never forget this day and night as long as I live,’ says Max.
‘You look, you sound, as if you’re saying goodbye,’ says Lola.
‘The present is always saying goodbye to the past,’ says Max.
‘You never used to talk bollocks like that,’ says Lola. ‘Wait a minute — do I smell Lula Mae Flowers again?’
‘Deny everything,’ says Max’s mind.
‘I cheat,’ says Max, ‘but I don’t lie.’ Saying it out loud. Did he mean to?
‘So you’ve slept with her,’ says Lola.
‘I’m afraid so,’ says Max.
‘Stop there,’ says his mind, ‘or you’ll be doing more harm than you can ever undo.’
‘Say more,’ says Lola. ‘I need to know the whole thing so this day can be complete.’
‘She’s …’ Max pauses as he looks into the abyss.
‘O my God,’ says Lola. ‘Don’t say it. Say it.’
‘Pregnant,’ says Max.
‘Pregnant!’ says Lola. She recoils as if she’s been smacked in the face with a dead mackerel. ‘You bastard! And while your baby’s growing in her belly you crawl on top of me and do me one more time for good measure. You’re disgusting. Stupid, stupid me! I brought you here and we did our stupid little ritual because I thought I was your one and only and you were mine. I thought I was your destiny woman — that’s what you called me in the Coliseum Shop and everyone turned to look, remember?’
‘I remember.’
‘And this would be our destiny child,’ says Lola.
‘We need to talk about all of this,’ says Max feebly.
‘No, we don’t.’ They’re in the car now, the Jaguar snarls, leaps forward with a VROOM, and they’re off to the Weymouth Road and up to the A3 5.
Max can’t think of anything useful to say and Lola preserves a stony silence as she looks straight ahead into the darkness and the yellow motorway lights. Names and numbers of exits grow large in front of them, small behind them. Arrows point to right and left, up and down. ‘You’re driving too fast,’ says Max. ‘Remember, we’ve had quite a bit to drink.’
‘Yes,’ says Lola.
‘Where did the raven go?’ thinks Max as the car veers off the motorway, plunges down an embankment, and crashes into something concrete with numbers on it.
29 The Mountains of Ararat
April 1997. Afternoon. ‘What about the raven?’ says Max.
‘All I know,’ says his mind, ‘is that Noah sent it forth and “it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth”.’
‘What then?’ says Max. ‘I want to know more.’
‘That’s all it says in Genesis, just what I told you.’
‘Maybe,’ says Max, ‘that raven is still out there, looping the loop, doing aerobatics, flying up a storm.’
‘Well, they are great flyers,’ says his mind. ‘This one must have gone crazy, cooped up in the Ark for almost a year. So I expect it would loop the loop and so on when it got out of there.’
‘What about Mrs Raven? There were two of everything but this bird took off on his own and was never heard from again. Mid-flood crisis? What?’
‘Don’t know,’ says Max’s mind.
‘The mountains of Ararat,’ says Max, ‘are they behind the boiler?’
‘Yes.’
‘But the raven’s not behind the boiler.’
‘Nevermore,’ says Max’s mind.
‘Hello,’ says a nurse. ‘Welcome back.’
‘It’s great to be back,’ says Max. ‘Where?’
‘Poole Hospital,’ says the nurse. ‘How’re you feeling?’
‘Not sure,’ says Max. ‘When is this?’
‘Sixth of April,’ says the nurse.
‘When did I get here?’ says Max.
‘Twenty-second of March.’
‘Not today.’
‘Right.’
‘What?’ says Max.
‘You’ve been in a coma and you’ve just come out of it.’
‘Lola?’
‘Lyla,’ says the nurse.
‘What Lyla?’ says Max.
‘Me Lyla,’ says the nurse. ‘I thought you were speaking my name.’ She shows him her name badge: LYLA MURPHY.