Body And Soul

Why did Pete tell Zoe that he and Angela were separated, when in fact they weren't? Because that's the way he felt at the time. I think that excuses Pete's behaviour. It's a case of diminished responsibility, because of the alcohol and the fact that Men are Putty in Zoe's Hands, when she's manic.

Anyway, back to the present: Zoe, obeying the voice of Pete's Soul cajoling her from behind the crucifix, picks up a phone and calls Pete at home. Her hands are shaking, she's that nervous.

Angela answers. Zoe immediately hangs up. She hadn't been expecting a woman's voice. So: Pete had been lying that night when he'd told her that he and his wife were separated.

If only she'd called a day later! That would be a different story.

Zoe decides to run a nice, hot bath, scented with ylang ylang, in her candlelit bathroom. That's usually the precursor to her suicide attempts, and today is no exception.

By the way, the character of Zoe is based on the woman who told me that your soul leaves your body and ascends into heaven when you die.

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Four little words: "Will you marry me?" are often followed sometime later by four more: "I want a divorce".

What happens in between? Usually children are born and raised. This is not true in Angela's case.

Angela says it, coldly and with finality, to herself while sitting alone on a park bench in Primrose Hill, watching a glorious October sunset after only two years of marriage. You would call it a Loveless Marriage if you were a lawyer.

Why are sunsets so glorious? My eyes are welling up with tears just thinking about them. Oh God. It's moments like these that I live for, along with all the other moments.

Why does Angela say "I want a divorce" to herself today instead of yesterday, or tomorrow? Here's a likely cause: That morning, after Pete had left for "work", Angela had dialled 1471, because she was suspicious about last night's hang-up phone call. And Zoe's mother had answered. Here's the gist of what Zoe's mother had to say to Angela, without the sobs and the pauses, and with the salient events put into chronological order:

The downstairs neighbour noticed water flooding from Zoe's bathroom, where Zoe lay in the bath, unconscious. The neighbour, a quick-thinking woman, had called the police, who arrived an hour later, whereupon they broke down Zoe's door. The police, being used to such things, had suspected a suicide attempt, and so were accompanied by paramedics, who rushed the naked Zoe into an ambulance, and pumped from her stomach the following drugs:

Methylphenidate, Nomifensine, Modafinil, Valium, Amitriptyline, Absinthe.

A suicide note was found in the bathroom, taped to the mirror above the sink. It was typed on a word-processor and used the Courier Font.

Zoe's mother, being next of kin, was called. She rushed to the Royal Free Hospital, where, after a very frustrating time speaking to different department officials, she finally traced Zoe's bed, where she lay sleeping.

Some time later, Zoe was discharged, and her mother drove her home.

The main item of interest in the suicide note is the fact that Zoe was pregnant.

Angela jumped to conclusions when Zoe's mother read that part out, mainly because Angela had seen Zoe and Pete together at work, and had noticed that there seemed to be a kind of Spark between them.

Yes, I know the sex of the baby, and also I know who the father is. Sadly, the baby doesn't survive to term. It will be pumped out of Zoe's warm womb by powerful contractions, brought on by the miracle abortion drug Mifepristone. Probably a good idea, with her family history.

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That same day, the day that Angela said to herself, "I want a divorce", Pete Goes Online in the café, where he reads Zoe's suicide note. Zoe has emailed it to him, in addition to printing it out and sticking it to the mirror of her heady-scented bathroom.

Pete's Soul, floating beside him, reads it too. That's too much for the both of them.

What does Pete's Soul feel when he read Zoe's suicide note? Guilt! Remorse! What's the way to deal with Guilt? Atonement! Pete's Soul, as quickly, painlessly and miraculously as it had separated from Pete, recombines with his corporeal self.

Have you ever had an epiphany? Zoe has them the whole time.

And it's suddenly clear to the now whole and complete man, Peter Albright, what he must do:

He has to be with the woman he loves, right now.

But which one? The sexually attractive bipolar Zoe that's carrying his unborn child? Or his beautiful wife Angela who's carrying Jesse's unborn child?

The sexually attractive bipolar Zoe, because she truly loves him.

Never mind about "I will." That was three years ago. People change.

He rushes out of the café without paying for his coffee. They don't mind, they know he'll be back tomorrow.

The café is a short walk from Zoe's apartment. But Pete runs across the street. Why does he run? He's bursting with new found energy. If he were less bursting with new found energy, he might have phoned Zoe from the café instead.

He runs into the path of an oncoming bus.

I bet you didn't see that coming. Neither did Pete.

The accident happens just minutes away from the Royal Free hospital, but it still takes ages before an ambulance arrives.

The number on the bus is 268. What's the significance of that? None.

When the bus hits Pete, full-on in the chest, Pete is killed instantly, but Pete's Soul floats away unscathed, lucky bastard.

It's an unlikely, ludicrously abrupt and unsatisfying ending. I suppose you might feel cheated. Well, I'm sorry, but that's how death is, sometimes. You know how many people are killed every day crossing the road? Well, Peter Albright is one of those people. God Rest His Soul.