Despite the Angels (25 page)

“I’m just going to borrow your eyeliner, okay?” Lucy came into the room, heading towards the little dressing table.

“Hep me wiv vis!” Alison’s words were garbled around the pin. Lucy pulled a chair over, got up on it and helped to hold the poster up. Alison fixed in the second pin and turned to Lucy.

“If you’re using my make-up, you can bring me home another fellow. The last one was no use.”

“Cheek of you! Pinch every guy who ever looks at me and then chuck them away; or they get sense when they realise you’re only a kid. But they don’t come back my way. You’re in debt to me, I reckon you owe me a whole set of makeup, the work I’ve done trying to get a boyfriend.”

“You’re better off without them, those creeps.”

“Don’t steal them if you think they’re creeps! Go and find your own.”

“I will, as soon as Mum lets me go anywhere interesting. I’m nearly eighteen now, surely that has to help.”

“Just means you’re more dangerous. If I was Mum I wouldn’t let you anywhere.”

“She can’t stop me when I get into college.”

“You mightn’t, if you spend all your time mooning around after pop stars and not studying.”

“You’re not studying and you have Finals.”

“Yes, and I have a study plan which I stick to and it includes seeing the girls one evening a week.” Lucy found the eyeliner and went back to her room.

“OK now,” Trynor said to Kumbal, Alison’s guide, as they moved through the corridor between the two girls’ rooms, “Lucy’s going out again. Your job is as usual.”

“Not hard. The little minx loves making eyes at Lucy’s boyfriends. And with her being prettier, it’s easy to let her do enough to unsettle the boys. Of course, now that Alison is old enough, we can let her actually go out with the next one, without her parents having a fit.”

“Yes,” said Trynor, watching Lucy’s careful attention to her eye make-up, “we have to be careful and remember what the current society’s rules are. It was so much easier back when women had more freedom. After all, when she was Alessia, my Lucy was a mother well before she was Alison’s age and everyone rejoiced.”

“Mmm,” Kumbal agreed, “it did seem simple back then. The lives were shorter, too. How old was Alessia when the Wave came?”

“Seventeen. We were caught out that time.” Trynor stretched out on Lucy’s bed. “I hope nothing ghastly happens this time round. We have great plans, everything arranged for the best, but we never foresee the unforeseeable. That’s why we’re here now, Haliken’s mistake about Kathleen’s infection.”

“No, we’re here because of your mistake, don’t try to wriggle out of that one! We were all meant to get going ten years sooner. They’d have met and married, and had Moonsong again by now. Providing of course, you had put her into the same denomination as David. Ten years ago that would have been an even bigger problem.”

“Yes, it’s easy to forget how important it is to humans. Silly now, not to have remembered when I actually got killed only thirty-eight earth years ago for being the wrong religion. Of course at the time I didn’t realise that was why, I was only a child. And now, with the rush getting her to earth when I realised I was late, I’ve put Lucy into a different group. It was such a good family for her and for Alison. I really don’t know why it should be so difficult for her to meet David, why they all make such a fuss about it. We don’t care what religion they have. Except for the ones with child sacrifice. I really object to child sacrifice.”

“I know you do. We understand.” Kumbal sat on the bed and let some of her energy flow over Trynor, quietening his indignation. “But I don’t think there are any of those left, are there?”

“Not officially.” Trynor was subdued. Kumbal brightened deliberately and put on her most cheerful voice, the one that human listeners might have recognised as an exasperated nursery teacher.

“Well, anyway, the religion thing will probably cause fewer problems the older she gets. It’s never impossible, there are always ways to get them to meet, don’t we all make sure of that, when it’s necessary? That’s why the humans get so fussed about their taboos, they know they can’t trust themselves not to fall in love with the wrong people!”

“But they fall in love with the wrong people all the time. Look at David wasting his time with Kathleen. And she with him.”

“Ah, but the humans think it is a wonderful match.”

“Shows how much they know.” Trynor sat up. “Looks like we’re ready. So I’ll go and see if I can keep her out of trouble and you watch over my back-up plan!”

Lucy looked at herself in the mirror once more and pulled a face at her reflection. She had done her best and she thought that with such indifferent materials to start with she didn’t look too bad. “You look lovely, Lucy. You are perfectly nice looking, with some very good points. Now stop worrying, far too many young men find you attractive for my peace of mind as it is.”  She put her new bag over her shoulder and admired the effect. That would do. It was only a drink with a friend in the Pavilion in Trinity after all. Nothing special.

“That’s good. The special nights are an even worse strain, worrying that you’ll set your eye on someone new. And then trying to convince you to bring whoever it is home. Just talk to the girls, Lucy. Okay, I’m coming. Bye, Kumbal.”

Two hours later Trynor was backing away in front of Lucy, trying to block her view of a group from the rugby club.
They were pushing and jostling to get to the bar and Lucy had just stood up to make her own way there to get more drinks for herself and her friends.
Trynor was in as much of a panic as he could ever remember being, in spirit. Being locked into the gas chamber was worse, he thought, but not more significant. Not for me, anyway. I wish I could turn opaque, so they couldn’t see through me.

“Hello Trynor!”

Oh shit, thought Trynor, maybe I should be even more transparent and then he wouldn’t have seen me,

“Hello Roki.”

“Fancy meeting you here!”

“Fancy”

“ Is it Eloise you’re with?”

“Yes. She’s Lucy this time.”

“Great! A woman again. It was crap when she was a guy. As Lewis she was almost no fun at all.” Roki was looking round and caught sight of Lucy, where she was at the bar, trying to attract the barman’s attention. “That her? I’d have known her anywhere!”

Trynor sighed. “Of course you would, her energy pattern hasn’t changed. Now please leave her alone. We are working a plan and it’s hard enough without you two mucking it up.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Get her together with David-Daniel-Dorothy and let them have the baby again. The ‘baby’ insists, says they have great energy when they’re together.”

“Still at that?” Roki looked around. Lucy was still waving at the barman, with gradually decreasing enthusiasm as he ignored her once again.

“Hey, Martin! Look who I’ve found!” Roki was gesticulating at one of the rugby group
, a tall well built young man, who was reaching in to the bar over the other customers and lifting the full pints out, distributing them to his friends. He kept the last pint and lifted it towards his group.

“Cheers, lads!”

The other boys echoed him and they all drank.

“That’s enough, Roki, don’t try again, please!” Trynor was dancing on the spot, trying to attract attention from the barman’s guide, who was sitting on the back counter, between the spirits bottles, watching the melee in front of him. “Get your man to serve my girl, please!” Trynor shouted, through the hubbub. The guide, a very old calm soul, apparently had a hands off approach. He smiled. Trynor was not sure whether it was in response, or in general pleasure at the world around him.

“Martin, look! There she is!” Roki was nudging Martin. Martin looked round. “He heard me, look, at last he heard me!” Roki was jubilant.

“Sod’s law. He hears you just when it isn’t right. Come on Lucy, you don’t want another drink. Go on to McDonald’s instead.”

“Tut tut. Promoting junk food. Shame on you.” Roki grinned as
Martin leant forward a little to the barman and spoke in a firm voice.

“There’s a lady here trying to get served, I think.” He smiled at Lucy. “What were you trying to get?”

“Two glasses of Guinness and a vodka and orange. Thank you.”

Martin repeated the order to the barman and looked down at Lucy. He saw a medium height, medium pretty girl.

“Must be tough, trying to get attention, when you’re small.”

“I’m not small! I’m average for a woman.”

“Oh, I’d say you’re more than an average woman,” Martin grinned and his eyes crinkled. “Martin Fitzgerald.” He put out his hand.

“Lucy Browne.” Lucy shook the proffered hand and then found she couldn’t take her hand back. Martin was holding it. He lifted it to his lips and made an exaggerated gesture of kissing the back of it. Lucy was still, looking with amazement at the top of the head bent over her hand.

“Cheap move, Roki. And untrue. He never kissed her hand like that in France. It was Daniel who made the gallant gestures.”

“So? My man has become more gallant, now he’s not trapped by class distinctions. Look, she recognises him.”

“Unfortunately. Lucy, put him down!”

Lucy watched as Martin straightened up. She found herself tongue-tied as she looked at him. The barman put her drinks on the counter and announced the price. She fumbled for her purse, but a large firm hand came out and held hers.

“Put your money away. I’m getting these.” Martin paid and then looked round for his friends. “Where are your friends sitting? The lads were looking for some beautiful ladies.” In a daze Lucy led the way back to her table and introduced Martin to Sarah and Jen. His four friends jostled over, gave their names and made attempts to shake hands without spilling drinks. They pulled stools over from other tables and soon they were all a noisy group together. Jen leant over to Lucy.

“Nice find! How did you do that? Men to choose from,” she whispered under cover of a gust of laughter from the boys.

“Tell you later. Hands off Martin, he’s mine.”

“Fine. Four others.”

The girls had a wonderful evening, as three girls will in the company of five boys all vying for their attention. At closing time, phone numbers were exchanged and they all spilled out onto the street and separated towards their bus stops. Martin took Lucy’s elbow.

“I’ll walk you to your stop.”

“Thank you. Bye Sarah, bye Jen.” She grinned broadly at them and they smiled back. Jen gave a surreptitious thumbs-up and Lucy laughed, feeling very happy.

The bus came into view almost as soon as they reached her stop, rattling round the corner and up Nassau Street at a great rate. Martin only had time to take Lucy’s hand and again kiss the back of it. Her heart sang and she promised him she would be at home tomorrow if he phoned.

At home, the house was quiet. Lucy tiptoed to her room, wishing she could sing and dance her way there and express some of the excitement that was fizzing out of her. ‘I could have danced all night!’ she hummed softly to herself as she let herself into her room and closed the door. It immediately opened and Alison looked round it.

“Well, how’d it go? D’ya find me one?”

“I found five. You can have four of them. One of them’s mine.” Lucy sat down on the bed and patted the place beside her.

“Yes, tell her all. Then Kumbal can get working.”

“You know, I can’t explain it, but I feel as though I’ve known him for years.”

“You have. It doesn’t mean he’s good for you. Cut loose now, before it’s too late.”

“He’s lovely. Kissed my hand. Made me feel really special.”

“He sounds a real creep. Kissing hands. Yuck!” Alison made vomiting sounds as she poked her finger into her open mouth. “Did he kiss you properly?”

“No, of course not. He’s a gentleman.”

“Oh my god, you’ve gone mad. Since when did you want a ‘gentleman’?” Alison made it sound as though a gentleman was the next thing to a rapist
. Kumbal nodded her approval of this approach.

“And he’s phoning me tomorrow. So get out and let me get ready for bed. He might ask me out.”

“Ask him round. Let me check him out for you, you’re not in a fit mental state to make judgements.”

“Yes, Lucy, she’s right. Ask him round. Go out for a walk or something, so your head isn’t turned by a romantic date.” Trynor was walking to and fro, twisting his hands together. “Kumbal, what am I to do? This is the worst thing that could have happened and she’s gone all gooey on me. Jotin will kill me!” The idiocy of this comment made them both laugh, so they missed what Lucy said next.

“A romantic date. Yes, I think he’ll do romantic really well. I’m not showing him to you, you ruin everything.”

Several times over the next months, particularly once her finals were over, Lucy sat with Martin and listened spellbound to his stories about himself and his family. She was mesmerised by all they had in common and told Alison about it when she got home. Alison was unimpressed.

“So what if he’s interested in rugby? You aren’t. You like badminton.”

“It’s sports, isn’t it? Healthy. Gets you moving, stretching,” Lucy paused and then continued in a dreamy voice. “Actually, rugby’s probably better, gets you out in the open air too. Maybe I should take it up. Martin’s been explaining it to me.”