One Greek Summer Wedding

Chapter 5

Akis hadn’t really had time to tail the bus to make sure his grandmother got home OK but, despite all her bravado, she was close to eighty years of age and had an arthritic hip she refused to acknowledge. He also knew that the ongoing feud between Irini and Sofia meant neither mother nor daughter seemed to be able to overlook the others’ shortcomings to care for each other the way they should. Someone had to look out for Irini and he had given himself that role. Because, despite Sofia’s opinion to the contrary, he did care about family. He just wasn’t willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of some ancient curse that had to be fiction.

And then the text had arrived. He gazed out over one of the three secluded bays in this small settlement he’d grown up in. The water was all the shades of aquamarine, stretching out like a fine piece of shimmering silk cloth. The message was a few short lines from his mother, an invitation to his family home. An invitation. Most of his friends still had a key to their family home, could come and go as they pleased, were welcomed any time. He’d had no key since his mother had told his father they needed new doors…

He took a deep breath and tried to manifest a little solace. That was the only thing he missed living in Corfu Town. As much as he adored the hum and buzz of the vibrant capital and how different that was from this tiny village, the sheer quiet, the fact that even though you knew the island was full of tourists there were spots here where you could find tranquillity and solitude. Even if it was only temporary.

He took his phone from his jeans and checked the message again.

Wedding planning. There will be coffee. 1p.m. Do not be late.

For all Akis knew it could have been sent to many, not just him. Perhaps Cosmos; his sister, Anastasia; his dad, Thanasis; and any number of the other people involved with creating this wedding extravaganza that seemed to be more about Sofia showing the whole island their wealth, which Akis knew was dwindling rapidly.

He checked his watch. It was a little before 12p.m. Well, arriving early was not arriving late, was it?

Akis pulled his motorbike up alongside the palatial building that looked nothing like any of the small, terracotta-roofed homes a few winding turns below it. It had started out as a modest four-bedroom home but, over the years, it had expanded to meet Sofia’s need for upgrades and improvements. Now, with the urns of flowers in full pink and orange bloom, it looked something like a Barbie’s Dreamhouse. Akis’s father was standing outside, examining the end of the hosepipe and looking confused.

‘Ya, Bampás,’ Akis greeted.

Now Thanasis looked as if he was verging on scared as Akis made his way up the steps to the front terrace.

‘What are you doing here?’ his dad asked in a hoarse whisper.

‘Do not worry. I have an invitation. My presence has been requested. It is all legitimate and above board.’

‘I know you have been invited,’ Thanasis said. ‘But the text message said one o’clock. This is not one o’clock.’

Akis smiled at his father and laid a hand on his shoulder.

Thanasis sighed. ‘And you know that.’

Akis took the hosepipe from his father. ‘What is wrong with this?’

Thanasis shrugged. ‘Ever since your mother bought a more powerful attachment than the fire department’s, it has not worked correctly.’

Akis made an adjustment to the yellow plastic device at the end and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened.

‘See!’ Thanasis exclaimed. ‘Everything that is made more complicated does not work.’

‘Thanasi! Are my flowers watered yet?’

It was Sofia shouting from inside.

‘One minute,’ Thanasis called back. Then he looked at Akis with desperate eyes. ‘Do I try to make it work or take the ridiculous thing off?’

‘Whatever you decide,’ Akis said. ‘I will make you a distraction.’

Without dwelling any further, he pulled the screen door and entered the house. It was either stride in with confidence or duck for cover. Today he was choosing confidence.

‘Ya, Mama.’

Sofia span around, the whisks from a food blender in her hands beginning to drip on the ultra-modern tiles of the kitchen.

‘Argh!’ Sofia shrieked. ‘What are you doing here now? And look what you have done already!’

Because, in this family, he was to blame for everything, even cake mixture on the floor.

‘I said one o’clock. This is nowhere near one o’clock. Are your shoes clean? Don’t touch anything.’

Akis didn’t know whether to check the soles of his trainers or scrunch up his fingers. Instead he grabbed a piece of paper towel and dived at the cake mixture.

‘Argh! No! Do not waste it!’ Sofia exclaimed, trying to snatch the kitchen roll from him.

‘It has been on the floor.’

‘Yes, but this floor is so clean you could eat the entire cake from it without a spoon!’

Akis retreated from the spillage, watched his mother take a spatula to the mess and put the mixture back into her bowl. She was wearing a dress he hadn’t seen before, an apron tied around it, her dark hair swept back into a bun. She took care of herself, always had, in the same way she was fastidious about this house. As children, he, Cosmos and Anastasia were only allowed to sprawl when they were outside. Outside they had been able to play noisy games, swing from ropes amid the olive groves, spear fish with sticks and roll each other through the sharp bamboo. Inside, however, their toys had been corralled into designated areas, then, when play was done, they were swiftly put away in expensive rattan boxes, all trace of dolls, cars, and grasshoppers Cosmos had plucked from the garden, eradicated.

‘Why are you making a cake?’ Akis asked. ‘You said in your message it was only coffee.’

‘For you only coffee. For my other guests there will be cake.’

‘Guests?’ Did she mean his brother and sister? Both of them currently still lived at home as far as he was aware – hardly guests. Although it had been a few weeks since he had caught up with Anastasia. The last update he had had from her was a photo of her hanging off the back of a RIB.

‘I am organising an event, Aki. There is much to do. People to ask for assistance.’

‘And I have offered to help in any way I can.’

‘Not in any way you can.’

The reply was laced with bitterness. And he knew exactly what she was referring to. It was always what she was referring to. His so-called destiny. The family duty. Just because he was the first-born male. His default was always to leave whenever this subject came up but when had that ever really worked? It might get him out of the immediate conversation, but it didn’t make the problem go away with any degree of permanence. Time to make his position clear.

‘I am not becoming a priest, Mama.’

‘Argh! Why would you say that? Right here, right now? So brazen! I do not know what to touch first!’

Now Sofia had abandoned the baking bowls, snatched up a small icon of the island’s saint, Spyridon, and was running around the kitchen island to take hold of a ten-inch ceramic statue of Jesus that hung out in an alcove she had made into a shrine. She was clutching both of these, holding them out towards him as if he were evil to be banished.

‘Why would you say that? I ask you again! It is like you want your brother’s wedding to be cursed!’

Akis shook his head. ‘Now I do not know how you can say that. Why don’t you think that I wish nothing but the best for my brother? Have I not always always tried to protect him?’

Sofia shook her head. ‘But your intentions towards the church. They are not what they should be, Aki. That is why these things happen.’

Now anger began to bubble up fast. ‘You think that Cosmos falling into that machinery was because I had not committed to the church? I was the one to save him. I am the one who lost a finger.’

Immediately he couldn’t help but touch that void on his left hand where his pinkie should be. It was smooth where the amputation had been made, when it had become obvious nothing could be done to save it. But, it was what it was, his priority had been to save his brother’s life. Anything else he could bear. He could even still play the piano with a little extra effort.

‘And that was the work of the gods!’ Sofia shook Jesus.

‘Mama, let me be clear. I have no intentions towards the church.’

‘I know! And you make this so obvious! But we are running out of time! This year you will be thirty and what then for our family? You know the stories!’

‘And what are stories if they are not fiction?’ he asked, gesticulating as he spoke. ‘Show me the evidence that says when the Diakos’s first-born son has not become a priest before they were thirty that there has been fire, flood or famine!’

Sofia shook her head, crushing the icon of St Spyridon against her chest. ‘You already speak of your brother’s accident. I will not speak of anything else like that in this house.’

Akis tutted and shook his head. ‘Because there is no evidence. This curse does not exist!’

‘Disbelievers are sons of the Devil. I have brought you up better than this.’

There was a thumping at the door and before either of them could react, it burst open and a donkey strutted into the kitchen, braying with every step.

Sofia screamed. ‘See! This is what is happening to us! It begins! Now, on the very cusp of your brother’s wedding.’ She poked Jesus towards the animal as if it was a fencing sword. ‘Thanasi! Thanasi, help me!’

Akis knew this donkey. It was Pig. Which meant one of two things. Either something had happened to his grandmother since he had seen her safely into her house, or she was only a few paces behind. Akis took Pig by the collar and stopped him from drawing nearer.

‘Sofia, I am here!’

Irini’s voice filled the space more than Pig had and Akis watched his mother recoil, both icons hugged close as she pressed herself up against the kitchen units, and Irini came into the room.

‘Get out! This is the curse! First the hosepipe not working, next my cake mixture on the floor, then you arrive early and then you…’ She was looking to Irini now. ‘Why are you here?’

‘You invite me to come!’ Irini answered, putting a hand on one of the kitchen chairs to steady herself.

‘I did not!’

‘I have message on my phone. It says I need to be here at one o’clock for coffee and wedding planning.’

‘That is the same message I have,’ Akis replied, letting Pig nuzzle at his hand.

‘Well, it is a mistake. You should not be on the list,’ Sofia said harshly. ‘And it is not yet one o’clock!’

‘Well, I see Pappa Yiannis at the cafeneon on my way and he tell me he is coming here at twelve thirty so I decide to come early,’ Irini said, lowering herself down into a chair.

A chill ran down Akis’s spine now. ‘Pappa Yiannis is coming here?’

Pig let out a high-pitched bray as if the priest’s presence was unacceptable to him too.

‘Pappa Yiannis is a valued friend of the Diakos family,’ Sofia said, grabbing the kitchen spray and wiping down the worktops.

‘But Pappa Spiros is officiating Cosmos and Wren’s wedding, isn’t he?’ Akis asked.

‘Yes, but Pappa Yiannis’s main role within the church is to move things into this century. He was instrumental in setting up a messaging service for confession,’ Sofia said.

Irini began to laugh. ‘Pappa Yiannis thinks that his app will be more popular than the Tiks-Toks.’ She mused for a second. ‘Although perhaps young people will have to make a confession about the kinds of things they Tiks and Toks about.’

‘I have to go,’ Akis said, handing Pig’s rope to his grandmother. He definitely knew what this was now. Yes, there might be vague wedding planning going on, but Pappa Yiannis was nothing but a poorly dressed-up ambush.

‘You cannot go!’ Sofia exclaimed.

‘Why not?’ Akis asked. ‘A few moments ago you are telling me I am too early.’

‘Everything to a schedule,’ Irini said, plucking a grape from the fruit bowl on the table and popping it into her mouth. ‘I expect Thanasis has to book an appointment to take a shit.’

‘Mama! I do not have language like that in my home,’ Sofia said.

‘Soon you will not have anything or anyone in your home.’

‘Tell Cosmos I will call him later,’ Akis said, going towards the door.

‘Wait! Stop!’ Sofia said, rushing forward and standing as a barrier between him and the outside.

Akis stood still and met her gaze. This time he was using the power of his eyes to get to the truth. Even though he was convinced he knew the score already.

‘Please, Aki, do not look at me like that.’

He didn’t break eye contact. Pig let out a snort.

‘Tell me why Pappa Yiannis is coming here?’ Akis asked.

‘To… explain.’

‘Explain what?’

‘How good a life inside the church is,’ Sofia admitted.

‘Why?’

‘So that…’

‘Yes?’

‘So that… you can be a priest before you are thirty and we can stop worrying about this curse ruining all our lives!’

Pig wailed.

‘That is the noise he makes before he shits,’ Irini informed them.

‘Sofia!’ Thanasis’s voice called from the garden. ‘The hosepipe is working. But I cannot get it to stop!’