Chapter 31
Emilia had just finished having dinner at home with Chloe and sat back in her chair with a luxurious sigh. The two were sitting at a small table outside, on the side of the property that looked out to the beach below and the vast open sea. The cooling breeze felt amazing, especially now that the sun had set. Sitting in the stillness with the sounds of the sea in her ears made her heart sing.
Chloe smiled brightly when their eyes met as she reached for her glass of water, but said nothing. She obviously felt the same. The silence was too precious to break.
Elise had gone AWOL. A few hours earlier, she’d declared she was off ‘on a special mission’, to which Chloe had responded with a cheer, raising her hand to Elise for a high five. No explanation was offered, and Emilia didn’t see the point in asking any questions. The girls guarded their secrets well – like the Saracen pirates once guarded their gold around this island.
‘Aaah… It’s so wonderful out here!’ Chloe exclaimed with a huge sigh, breaking Emilia’s reverie.
‘Yes, the sea view is amazing…’ Emilia sniggered and added, ‘Plus, sitting on this side of the property shields us from Mrs Popi’s wandering eyes. Twice now she stopped me in the street when she saw me dash to the bakery in my true form to ask me questions about Lia. It’s impossible to avoid her! She probably sits on her veranda spying on us all day!’
‘Using top-notch binoculars, no doubt!’ said Chloe with a giggle.
‘Yes! Military-grade ones! With night vision and a heat sensor!’ added Emilia and they broke into hysterics.
When they sobered, another comfortable silence ensued. Emilia still had the form of Lia since the morning, when she’d sung the song in Andreas’s bathroom. She looked down at her spotless hands and arms, and her spider-vein-free legs. Oh, it felt wonderful to be young. Again, her mind wandered to the mystery of the spell ending too soon, following Andreas’s touch.
Out of the blue, she heard the familiar squeak of the low garden gate. Her eyes met with Chloe’s, and in hers she saw the same trepidation that she felt.
‘It’s probably Elise… returning early…’ whispered Chloe. They couldn’t see from around the corner.
Emilia shook her head, eyes half-closed. She could hear the soft thud of Mrs Popi’s slippers as they hit the tiles on the path. ‘I swear, this woman has a radar, sweeping my garden for activity 24/7!’
‘Emilia? Emilia are you in?’ echoed Mrs Popi’s voice, too near for comfort, along with her rap on the front door.
Emilia stood, heavy as lead, and moved to show herself from around the corner. ‘Hi, Mrs Popi. Emilia is not in. She’s gone for…erm… a walk with Elise. Can I help?’
‘Oh, it’s you! The twin!’ she said with a lopsided grin that was heavy with sarcasm.
Emilia pretended she didn’t hear. ‘Is there something you need?’ she asked, for the first time noticing the woman was holding a plate covered with aluminium foil.
Mrs Popi approached her slowly, never breaking her scrutinizing gaze. ‘I brought some halva .’ She reached the corner and saw Chloe sitting at the table. ‘Oh! Hello, Child! You did well to sit out here tonight. It’s awfully hot, but it’s always cool here…’
‘Would you like to sit with us?’ asked Emilia before she could stop herself, but her good manners had gotten the better of her. She wished she could take it back, but now it was too late.
Mrs Popi sat in a vacant chair and let out a deep sigh as she left the plate on the table. ‘Aaah! What a view, and what a breeze!’ She made a face, tightened her lips, then added, ‘Irini and I, we’ve had our afternoon coffee a million times at this table over the years. This takes me back. She was a good woman, God may rest her.’
‘Yes, she was…’ said Emilia as she sat back in her chair, before she could stop herself. Oops!
‘Aha! How do you know Irini?’ said Mrs Popi, her eyes igniting as she turned in her chair, one sharp finger pointing at Emilia. ‘So, you do admit it! It’s you , Emilia! ’ She leaned toward her, her wrinkled nose nearly touching hers. ‘What is this masquerading about? Huh? Out with it! I’ve known you all your life, Emilia! You can’t fool me, no matter what cosmetics or other tricks you women use nowadays to make your skin all taut and glowing! Not that there’s something wrong with that, but don’t lie to people! Why pretend you’re someone else? It’s not nice!’
Emilia panicked, lost for words, and turned to Chloe instinctively, if only to escape the old woman’s demanding glare.
In response, Chloe raised her arms, giggling, then landed one hand on Mrs Popi’s hand that was resting on the table, causing the latter to turn to her, looking surprised.
For a few moments, Mrs Popi and Chloe stared at each other, the way an Indian charmer stares at the Great Cobra, and it was clear who was mesmerising whom.
‘Erm… ah… I am sorry, maybe I misbehaved a little. I didn’t mean…’ said Mrs Popi after a few moments that had felt like an eternity. Chloe had just released her from her mesmerising stare, allowing Mrs Popi to turn to Emilia slowly, her face painted with evident remorse.
‘It’s okay…’ mumbled Emilia, astounded. She couldn’t help but throw an inquisitive look toward Chloe, who shook her head quickly, as if asking her to stop.
Mrs Popi took a napkin out of the pocket of her black robe and blew her nose. Then, putting it back, she pointed toward the covered plate. ‘The halva is from Aleka. “For Emilia”, she said. You girls can have some, of course. There are four pieces in there. I went to Perdika tonight with my daughter and her family. She invited me to join as it was her birthday. We had lunch and remembered the old days with Aleka.’ She sighed, looked skywards, and added, ‘The time when she and Emilia played together in this house, almost every day… And Irini was still here.’
Emilia felt Mrs Popi’s longing for her old friend, a longing for someone who could never return. She knew the feeling well, and it caused her heart to break a little. She cleared her throat. ‘Thank you… for the halva, Mrs Popi. And please thank Aleka for us, if you see her again.’
‘Oh, I don’t know when I will see her again, but my daughter will be seeing her daily from now on. She will pass on the message.’ She gave a little smile, and it held something cryptic, it was obvious.
Emilia took the bait gladly. ‘Daily, you say? And why is that?’
‘She got a job at Perdika as a cook! All was arranged on the spot tonight, would you believe?’
‘A cook? At Perdika?’ asked Chloe, springing upright and stepping away from the table a little to break into this cute little happy dance. She began to cheer and whoop, jumping on the spot, skipping, lifting her arms and pumping them in the air.
‘What on earth are you doing?’ asked Emilia.
‘Why are you so happy, little girl?’ said Mrs Popi with a chuckle.
That seemed to sober up Chloe, and she came to sit back down on her chair, looking a little self-conscious. ‘Oh… nothing. Just happy she got a job,’ she said with a little frown, avoiding their eyes.
Emilia and Mrs Popi threw her strange looks. Chloe fell silent but she had a Cheshire cat smile drawn across her face now. Emilia shook her head and turned to Mrs Popi.
‘Yes, well, congrats! Good luck with the job, I mean, that’s wonderful! But, I thought Aleka had a cook! She left?’
‘Yes, she quit. Today. Leaving her in the lurch. Can you believe it? It was lucky that—’
Chloe pumped her arm again and let out a resounding, ‘YESS!’
‘Chloe! What’s wrong with you tonight?’ asked Emilia.
Chloe looked upwards, lower lip jutting out, then said, ‘Oh… nothing… nothing…’
Mrs Popi let out a sigh, then said, ‘As I was saying… it was lucky that my daughter visited Perdika today. Aleka said her cook had made the halva as a goodbye gift that she served her along with her notice. She was desperate for a cook to start the next morning and when my daughter told her she’s between jobs as a cook she hired her immediately.’
‘Well, if this halva is from Mrs Voula I am having a piece for sure!’ said Chloe, eyes dancing. She uncovered the plate, grabbed a piece, put it on a napkin and began to munch, making appreciative sounds as she did so.
‘Voula? Is this the name of the cook Aleka had? And how do you even know her name?’ asked Emilia, but Chloe was so caught up in enjoying her semolina dessert she didn’t even seem to listen.
Mrs Popi leaned closer to Emilia’s ear. ‘I thought you were the strange one, but this kid takes the biscuit. What a funny bunch you all are!’ She stood slowly, then said with a hint of sarcasm, ‘Tell… Emilia … that I said hi. I’m sure I’ll… catch her another time.’
With that, she was off, leaving Emilia full of questions as she looked intently at Chloe. She seemed still in a world of her own enjoying the halva . There was just one tiny morsel left on the napkin. The child popped it into her open mouth, goggling her eyes as if it were a cinnamony piece of manna from heaven.
‘What?’ she asked, raising her shoulders when she noticed Emilia’s confounded gaze.
‘Nothing, Chloe. But one of these days, you and Elise are going to have to do some serious explaining to me. Sometimes, you girls… you make me think I got way more than I bargained for when I got that CD!’