Zu threw herself into Jay’s arms as soon as he opened the door.
“Oh Jay.. I’ve missed you so much!”
Zu hugged Jay so hard she was afraid of breaking his ribs.
“I’ve missed you too darling” replied Jay, a little subdued.
Zu kissed him passionately on the lips, not wanting to let go of him. She finally pulled herself away from him and noticed his hair colour, the redness of his face and his bruising.
“What’s happened to your hair and your face Jay?”
“What do you mean?.. I’ve always looked like this” Jay tried to buy time whilst he thought of an excuse.
“Your hair is black!.. And your face is .. well.. it’s red.. and blotchy.. What have you been doing on that ‘course’ of yours?.. Dying your hair and sunbathing?”
“No.. not exactly.. Well.. we had a lot of team building activities.. and umm.. on one of them we had to do some acting.. so they coloured my hair.. But don’t worry.. It’s not permanent..”
Jay could tell by the look on Zu’s face that she didn’t believe a word he was saying, but he continued nonetheless.
“..It’ll wash out Zu.. and we’ve been doing some outside stuff.. in the sun.. You know?.. I should’ve taken some sun cream with me I suppose”
“Yes.. you should!.. But it wasn’t that hot in London..” Zu grabbed a tuft of Jay’s beard “..You’ve got to take care of that pretty face of yours Jay!..” Zu tugged hard at his beard “..Now.. Tell me the truth or I’ll pull this off with my bare hands!”
“Ok.. ok.. Zu..” Jay held her hands in his to inhibit her beard-pulling “.. I was going to tell you.. but now is as good a time as any I suppose.. Please.. Just let go..”
Zu released Jay’s beard and followed him into the kitchen.
“Where do I start?” asked Jay.
“How about at the beginning?.. And is there another woman involved?..” Zu glared at Jay’s face, looking for any inkling of a guilty reaction “..And if there is I will have to kill you!”
Jay was certain that she meant it “No!.. God no!.. There is no ‘other woman’.. but yes.. the beginning would be a good place to start.. You are right.. It’s like this.. You remember all the hassle I’ve had with the police?..”
Zu nodded.
“..Well.. they asked me if I would do a deal with them.. or rather the Intelligence Services to be exact.. Basically they wanted me to help sabotage Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities in return for them dropping the charges against me and Ben.. I said yes”
“What?!..” Zu was lost for any other words.
“Zu.. it is very important that you never say anything about this.. to anyone.. ok?”
Zu nodded again. Jay gazed down at the table to gather his thoughts.
“So.. I’ve just got back from Kuwait.. and Iran”
“Seriously?.. And why didn’t you tell me any of this before you went?.. Don’t you trust me Jay?”
“Yes.. Of course I trust you Zu.. It was everyone else I didn’t.. or rather.. couldn’t trust.. You know.. if the wrong people got to know about this.. then things would get very nasty.. And they still can if we’re not careful..” Jay grasped Zu’s hand “..I’ve been in Iraq as well.. The Iraqis basically saved my life“
“Why?.. What happened?”
“It’s a long story.. but I’ll tell you everything later.. ok?” Jay grabbed hold of Zu’s hand and started walking her towards the bedroom.
“It just sounds so unbelievable Jay.. I’m not saying I don’t believe you or anything.. I just need to know why you do it.. Why did you say yes?..” Zu stopped him in the hallway and demanded an answer “..You could have been killed!“
Jay turned to face Zu and stroked her cheek with the palm of his hand “I wanted to clear Ben’s name.. and mine.. And I think a part of it was that I wanted to understand myself..” Jay cleared his throat “..I know this will sound strange.. but my dad used to say that in order find your way in life you first need to be able to find yourself..” Jay held Zu’s hand again “.. I had to do something better.. something bigger.. But we can talk about that later too..”