The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (20 page)

Talie
sin
hear
s
the fr
ont
do
or
open and the de
ep
trump
et
of his fath
er's v
oice
.

'H
elloo?'

Talie
sin
tak
es
the dirty towel and puts i
t
in th
e
laundry bask
et
.
His f
ather
ha
s ea
sed hi
s
broad frame into a
wooden chair which
c
reaks und
er
his weight. At a glance he is no more Tali
esin's
father than
Adam
.
He
is dark and his colouring l
ends
him a fierce air
,
like
s
ome South Wali
an
Heathcliff, a description which is accentuat
ed
b
y
a permane
nt
shadow. His full
head of wiry black hair i
s
the texture of Brillo-pad and wh
en
it ra
ins
th
e
droplets
s
it on it as they do
now
.
His
nos
e
is thi
ck
and passionate and
his ey
ebrows
have
a flourishing life of their own and run in on
e
c
ontinuous bush
y
line from one sid
e
of his head to the
other. Thi
s
lupine
effect is softened by the eyes
,
the same mahogany sauc
er
eyes as Taliesin's
;
searchin
g,
enthusiastic eyes
with a naive expectancy
.

'How was school?' he asks, mustering a smile and then
staring awa
y
beyond
Taliesin at the fridge and th
e c
at
's
saucer.

'Okay,
'
Taliesin says.

'
That's good
.
Did Jonathan mention
your Mam rin
ging?'

Taliesin nod
s.

'Don't
feel that you have to
s
tay here for Christma
s.
It's her turn to have you.' He says this as if
he's rehearsed it.

Ta
liesin fin
gers
an old n
ewspaper a
rticle
o
n h
olidays.
'Will
yo
u
g
o th
en?'
hi
s
f
ather as
ks
.
'I don
't
mind
.'
Taliesin i
sn't
sur
e
wh
at to say
.

'
As l
ong as yo
u
don
't
t
hink
I min
d. S
he's
s
till
y
o
ur m
other.'

In
hi
s
h
ead T
aliesin
sees hi
s
m
other
with
n
othin
g
o
n
i
n
a ga
rden
w
ith
Toni
.
The
y're
pi
cking a
ll t
ypes o
f
a
ppl
es
a
nd h
ave
trott
ers
in
stead
of
le
gs.
Hi
s
f
ather
h
as
b
een
drinkin
g
.
Hi
s s
mile
is
unn
atural a
nd
hi
s
cl
othes g
ive
o
ff
a
pun
gent
pub
s
mell.
H
e
h
as sta
rted
g
o
ing t
o
th
e
G
olden
Fl
eece
r
egularly
thes
e
l
ast
f
ew
m
onths
;
'catc
hing
a
f
ew
drin
ks' w
hen
h
e's
fini
shed o
n
th
e
f
arm
.
Ta
lie
s
in h
as
w
alked past t
he pu
b
on
h
is way
t
o s
c
hool
a
n
d wonde
red
w
hat
g
oes
o
n
in it. Th
e
p
ainted
s
ign h
anging a
bove th
e e
ntrance d
epicted a go
lden
fl
eece
th
at
l
ooked
m
ore
lik
e
a
m
ank
y
a
norak th
an a
n
o
dyssey indu
cing
tr
ophy.
J
a
s
on a
nd h
is
Ar
gonauts w
ouldn't
hav
e
bother
ed.
Th
e 'C
hildren N
ot
All
owed'
n
otice o
nly
mad
e
him m
ore s
uspicious.

Hi
s
f
ath
er
l
eans
in con
spiratorially
.

'I'
ve got
s
o
m
e
thing e
xciting
t
o
tell
yo
u. I d
on't wa
nt
you
t
o
br
eathe a
w
ord
of
it t
o a
nyone. D
on
't
s
ay a
n
y
thin
g
to
J
onathan.
A
nd do
n't tell
yo
ur
m
other ye
t
.
I
w
ant
it to b
e a
surpri
se
.
It
's a
ll ri
ght.
I
kn
ow
wh
at y
ou're
thinkin
g,'
h
e say
s
.
'
I kn
ow,
I kn
ow
.
But. Li
sten.
Li
sten
to m
e
.
I'v
e
b
een
t
alkin
g
t
o a
m
an
a
b
o
ut th
e
cav
e.
We
co
uld
o
pen it t
o
th
e
publi
c.
Stal
actites.
St
alagmites.
Of
c
ourse, I'll n
eed
t
o
t
alk
t
o
th
e a
uthorities
fi
rst -get it
c
hecked
-
but I
c
an
'
t
see
th
at
ther
e
w
ould
b
e a
probl
em.'

His
father has been talking himself into this idea for a while. He first mentioned
it a year ago. Taliesin's mother said she thought it a mad idea. He insists it
is his most realistic and straight forward yet; that the cave might be of
interest to the public
.
Since his mother
left home, Taliesin has noticed how his father talks to him in a different way,
not as a father might talk to a son
,
more as
a husband might talk to a wife. It is as
th
ough
h
e
i
s
l
ooking
f
or
th
e a
pproval he fail
ed
t
o ge
t. H
e
kn
ows
th
at
T
aliesin w
ill li
sten
t
o
hi
s
pl
ans w
ithout und
er
min
ing t
hem.

'
Is it
sa
fe?' T
aliesin as
ks.

'
W
e'd
n
eed
li
ght
s a
nd
s
teps
.
N
othing t
hat
ca
n't b
e
d
one
.
I
'll s
how
i
t t
o yo
u.' Hi
s fat
her rub
s
hi
s eye
s, m
a
s
sages
h
is
t
em
pl
es a
nd hum
s.

T
aliesin
l
ooks a
t h
is
p
arents
diff
erently
the
se
d
ays.
H
e o
nce f
elt
p
erfectly co
nfident t
elling
h
is
fri
ends
ho
w exe
mplary hi
s
m
other a
nd
fa
ther w
ere;
h
ow
cl
ever
h
is
f
ather,
h
ow
mu
sical
hi
s
m
other,
h
ow
utt
erly bri
lliant th
ey ge
nerally
were
.
But th
e
m
yth is
b
eing ex
posed
a
nd h
e w
ill h
ave
t
o
find n
ew
p
edestals
f
or
th
em to s
tand u
pon
.
Pe
destals
se
t
a
t
a
lo
wer,
l
ess
d
izzying a
ltitude
a
nd m
ade of so
mething l
ess
th
an
m
arble
.

Hi
s fa
ther
yaw
ns
a
nd pi
cks
up
a
n
ew
line in
a
n
o
ld
way.

'
You
ca
n t
ake
th
e
tr
ain
t
o
W
est
H
aven,
I think th
ere's a
tr
ain
fr
om
Pr
escelli.
W
e
'
ve go
t
a
tim
etable.'
H
e g
ets up
a
nd rumm
ages
f
or a
tim
etable
in
a
drawer.

'I'm n
ot go
ing
ye
t,' T
aliesin says
.

'
Arr
iva
l
s, a
rrivals…d
epartures .
. .
her
e.
Y
es, s
traight thr
ough.
Y
ou
d
on
't
eve
n h
ave
t
o c
hange
.
' H
e
l
eans
f
orward a
nd b
egins
t
o
rub hi
s fo
rehead. H
e
l
ooks
up
a
nd
o
ut
of
th
e
wind
ow,
li
stening. '
Thank G
od
it'
s
rain
ing, '
h
e says
.

T
aliesin 's
mind i
s
r
eceptive
t
o
thi
s.

'
You beli
eve i
n God
,
d
on't yo
u?'

'I'm n
ot s
ure
t
hat I d
o
r
eally,'
his f
ather
says
.

T
aliesin is a
mazed at thi
s c
onfession.

'
But
yo
u pr
ay so
metimes?' Tali
esin
a
sks.

'I u
sed
t
o.
In th
e
field
s.'

'
What d
id yo
u
say
?'

H
is fa
ther b
egins
to l
augh.

'
I d
on't
kn
ow
.
.
.
a
nything
.
I usuall
y
ju
st as
ked
fo
r
so
meth
ing
.
'