b) 27 june

We sit on the sofa, after, in the swelling dark, the blind over the
big victorian window like a negative of the lined paper you had at
school.


"How about Gideon?" I ask. Yesterday he said he'd gone off
Rowan Arthur. Both our Mums liked that one. Mum said "Rowan's a good
name. Your cousin Simon's"(Mum and he shared a great aunt. Mum knows
every twig of her family tree. She likes to mention him, as he is an
architect)"second boy's middle name is Rowan"
We could only think of Rowan Atkinson
R snorts "It's a bit biblical isn't it?"
I was thinking of a Dorothy Dunnet book, remember vaguely it's someone
Old Testament. I know R knows his bible inside out. "Is it?"
"Yes, that's what those bibles they leave in hotel rooms are called :
Gideon bibles!"
"Oh"
Thinking old testament, I say "Raphael"
"That's good!Raphael!" he says, enthusiastic. He says it kind of hard,
like I imagine Americans might. Raff-eye-yell. I expect him to tell me
about the angel. I can only ever remember something to do with liver
and Raphael. The sound is so nice though. And if you think of the
artist, his pictures are like peaceful joy.
I wonder what other Raphaels there are. "Wasn't he a mutant turtle or
something?"
"Yes! He was my favourite, he was well hard! I had a T-shirt with
Raphael on! He was the best teenage mutant ninja teenage turtle!"
Hm. I like the sound though. Try to think of something a bit like it.
Mum had another cousin called "Rafe?" I wonder
"RAFE??!!" I'm not calling our kid after something from
Mordor!!!!!!!!!"
"not wraith! Rafe!" but all sort of romantical raffishness has gone
from it now. It's become part of the shadow sea surrounding our island
sofa
"How about Rowan Arthur?" he says