Chapter 57
57
‘Please, Christo, take this wine away from me. I don’t even like it and Spiros will be here when he finishes work and I have to introduce him to Mama and?—’
‘How about you take a breath?’ Christos suggested. ‘And this.’ He passed Magdalena a bottle of Bikos water. ‘And you do not have to introduce Spiros to Mama tonight. She is surrounded by friends. He could have a relaxed evening, a few beers, some souvlaki with you; she will not even notice.’
‘I know,’ Magdalena agreed. ‘But, I want to introduce him tonight. It feels that after Vaggelis’s service it is a good time for new beginnings. I’m ready.’
Christos nodded. His little sister, all grown up. He put his arms around her and held her tight.
‘O-K, what’s going on? You only hug me like that when you’re about to drop a bomb so what type of bomb is it?’ Magdalena asked, stepping back from the embrace and eyeing him with suspicion.
‘I’m going to go back to Athens soon. I’ve been away from the business too long and although I have a team, there are things I should be doing that I can’t do from here.’
‘O-K,’ Magdalena said, still looking at him a little strange. ‘Well, we knew you were going back at some point but you’re making a big thing about it and it’s literally an hour away on the plane.’
‘I am… thinking of asking Molly to come with me,’ he said in a rush.
‘Oh my God!’ Magdalena exploded loudly. ‘Move in with you!’
‘No!’ Christos said quickly. ‘Sshh, no, nothing like that. It’s way too soon to think about that but?—’
‘But?’
‘But, I want to spend more time with her, get to know her better without the pressure of Vaggelis’s estate and, in some ways, that’s what Corfu is right now for us. We’re looking at the apartment every day, the truck, The Greek Dynamo ?—’
‘Armeena,’ Magdalena added. ‘Who, by the way, has taken to sleeping in my wardrobe.’
‘Inside the house of her own free will?’
‘See, some part-owner you are, you hadn’t even noticed!’
He sighed, putting his hands through his hair. ‘What do you think? Am I crazy? Is this whole weird situation we’ve found ourselves in any sort of basis for a relationship?’
‘You’re not crazy,’ Magdalena told him. ‘And I know who would definitely approve of you inviting Molly to Athens.’
‘Who?’
‘Your father,’ she said, reaching out and squeezing his arm. ‘Your real father.’ She took a breath. ‘You know, half the reason I drank brandy in my coffee this morning before the service was because I had this awful feeling that Dad might turn up here. Andreas, I mean.’
Yes, he had thought the same thing, hadn’t been able to stop himself from scanning the crowd for him. But, no one seemed to know where he was, so no one had been able to reach him to tell him his best friend had died, and in forty days nothing about that had changed.
‘Wherever he is, Christo, if he is even still alive, neither of us can let him hang over us like some spectre. We both need to live our lives exactly how we want to. We aren’t what he did to us.’
He nodded. ‘I know. You are right.’
‘Sorry, can you say that again? I will just get my phone out and I will record it so I can play it back over and over.’
He smiled. ‘I am never saying it again.’
‘Look, there’s Molly, over there. Go and ask her to go to Athens!’
Christos looked across the planted area filled with white plastic tables and chairs to where Molly was walking back to her table. There was no time like now.
‘Christo!’
It was his mother’s voice.
‘You need to get ready with the boat for the fireworks!’ she yelled across the space.
‘Is that the time already?’ Magdalena asked, checking her watch. ‘I definitely need to sober up.’
‘And, it looks like, if I want to talk to Molly, I will be taking her on the boat,’ he replied.