Chapter 38
Emilia and Chloe arrived at Trata by taxi dressed to the nines. Emilia had chosen an elegant black dress with thin straps, a modest neckline and a low back, and it made her feel like a different person. The skirt was flowy, generously adorned with black lace, and reached down to her knees. As she walked, the skirt flowed from side to side, and it was mesmerising to look at.
Getting out of the taxi, she took Chloe by the hand, and they strode along the pavement to the front steps of Trata. Thanks to her high heels and her glorious new dress, she felt like a model on a catwalk. She’d never worn anything half as elegant as this before. The girls had insisted she buy the dress and the high heels, and she was glad, once again, for their guidance.
Chloe looked really cute, dressed in a pink frilly dress and black lustrous shoes. She had a shiny headband on her long flowy hair with silver flowers on it that made her look like a little princess donning a tiara. She was adorable.
Still holding Chloe by the hand, Emilia ascended the steps to the seating area of Trata and froze at the top step, a hand flying up to land on her chest.
The place looked whimsical tonight, and so romantic, adorned with flowery garlands and extra lanterns on the walls, their electric flames flickering dimly with orange and yellow hues.
Porcelain candle holders sat on every table, their tiny flames trembling in the night breeze.
Taking a few steps forward, Emilia noticed a music company of three sitting in one corner, and only then did she realize the beautiful Rebetiko music she could hear was live. Two men were playing the bouzouki and a woman accompanied them with a tambourine as she sang the song, quite beautifully.
The seating area was almost full of patrons, just a half dozen or so tables left vacant. People were having a good time, chatting excitedly, their tables served with centre plates brimming with different kinds of meze, ouzo served in the glasses.
She checked her watch. Quarter to nine. Just fifteen minutes to showtime! I’d better go see him and say hi before he has to play host to them all!
She suggested to Chloe to go with her to the kitchen and find Andreas. They entered the building but stopped at the kitchen door to check, in case it was too chaotic in there for them to disturb.
But, as chaotic as it looked, Andreas’s face beamed and he gave a little cheer when he saw her from behind the counter. He had seemed busy, giving instructions, as Voula and Elise kept putting various kinds of meze onto cold plates.
Oh my… Andreas wore an elegant light blue suit with a patterned tie that matched his eyes, to a mesmerising effect. It took all she had to hide her admiration and peel her eyes away, if only for a moment, just as he began to come from behind the counter to approach them.
Stefan was stacking plates a little further away, talking to a young woman, who Emilia guessed to be his girlfriend, Anja. Just as she thought that, both turned and Stefan raised his hand in greeting.
‘Emilia!’ So happy you’ve come! Thank you!’ said Andreas, kissing her on both cheeks, then gently pinched Chloe’s cheek when he greeted her next.
Stefan and the girl approached and the former introduced her.
‘So happy to meet you!’ said Anja in perfect English, with the typical German accent. It made her endearing in a second, especially as she had an adorable round face with a smile that reached all the way to her ears. She had the most striking green eyes, a scatter of cute freckles on her nose, and reddish brown long hair cascading over her shoulders.
‘Don’t tell me! Lia was busy again?’ said Andreas with a wink.
‘Yes, sorry. But she did say she wasn’t coming, didn’t she?’ said Emilia.
Chloe was now chatting with Stefan and Anja, and Andreas took the opportunity to gently pull Emilia aside. ‘Can I ask you something, Emilia?’
She swallowed hard, apprehensive of what he might ask. ‘Yes, of course.’ She looked into his eyes, those crystal blue pools of clear water, and it helped to ease her discomfort for a while, until he said, ‘What is it with Lia? I mean, really?’
She cleared her throat. ‘What… do you mean?’
He heaved a long sigh. ‘I don’t know… Something bugs me, and I worry about her. Is she okay? I mean, in her thinking… patterns? If… I may ask that?’
‘Why… do… do you worry?’ she stammered.
‘She… seems to have an issue with… touching, you know? But it’s not consistent, and that’s what makes me so baffled. For example, if I try to hand her a refreshment while she works in my garden, she doesn’t take it from my hand. And yet, when it’s time to go, she sometimes offers me a handshake.’
‘Oh… I see…’ mumbled Emilia, lost for words.
‘Yes… Um…’ He frowned deeply, then added, ‘You know, if it weren’t for her initiating the odd handshake, I’d think for sure that she suffers from OCD or something. This must be a terrible thing to have. So, does she have an issue of the sort?’
After a few moments, and seeing that Emilia remained tongue-tied, he put up both hands and added, ‘Please, don’t get me wrong, Emilia! I am not being nosy. I just care, that’s all… She’s such a lovely girl! Capable, and sharp as a tack.’
Emilia gave a soft huff. It helped to relieve the tension she had kept inside while he spoke. ‘No… To be honest, I mean, I don’t know for sure. But, I expect if she had OCD, or some other similar condition, she would have told me. I am her…erm… aunt, after all.’
‘Yes, of course.’
She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know. But I wouldn’t worry about it. As you said, she is intelligent; she will seek help if she needs it. But I can assure you, she likes you very much and enjoys working in your garden. And why wouldn’t she? You treat her to refreshments and cookies while she works, as if she were a guest, and she appreciates that. She told me so herself.’
‘That’s good to know. To be honest, one of the reasons why I asked you was because I was worried I may have done something wrong.’
‘No!’ protested Emilia a little more loudly than she’d wanted to. Bringing her voice back down a few notches, she added, ‘I mean, this is not possible. As I said, she always speaks so highly of you.’
‘This is a weight off my shoulders, thank you for sharing that. But then, there’s this sneaky escape this morning, too. What was that about? I mean, I can appreciate the work emergency, but how long would it have taken her to come out the front door and explain, then go?’
‘I know, and I am so sorry… but, the truth is…’ Emilia had worked out an excuse since the afternoon. It was perfect, but a little embarrassing to say it. At least, it involved Lia, not herself. And even though they were the same person, somehow, it rid her of a big chunk of the embarrassment involved in saying it.
He leaned a little closer and whispered, ‘What is the truth?’
‘Well, she didn’t have an emergency. Not at work, anyway.’
His eyes narrowed as he leaned even closer and whispered, ‘What was it then?’
‘A bad case of a stomach bug.’
He leaned back abruptly and almost shouted, ‘What?’
‘She told me exactly what happened this morning. She had to rush to the ladies’ room twice while she was here for lunch today. Remember?’
Andreas scratched his head. ‘Yeah… Indeed she did. And I did think at the time that it was a sudden rush to the ladies’ room on both counts.’
‘Well, she had terrible stomach cramps. Crippling ones. The second time she rushed to the ladies’ room she had to run out the back and head straight to the pharmacy for medication. She was too embarrassed to come out here and tell you all.’
‘Oh, my goodness. Now, I understand. And, I am glad that I asked for more information. Thank you for telling me, Emilia.’
His eyes were warm, the blue almost liquid in them, when he leaned in and left a tender kiss on her cheek.
‘Thank you for being so brave to confess something so embarrassing, too,’ he told her with a mischievous grin.
She chortled. ‘Sometimes, embarrassment is necessary for the truth to be revealed.’ As soon as she said it, it dawned on her that this was a true gem of truth. She only hoped that when the truth eventually came out—because she had no doubt truth always did in the end—that it wasn’t going to be too embarrassing for her. Not too detrimental either, enough to make him so mad as to hate her.
She heard him laugh and turned to meet his gaze again.
His eyes were dancing with mirth. ‘Now that we’re being so honest with each other, I’ll tell you something else, Emilia. You know, not once have I seen you and your niece together. She goes, then you come, and vice versa.’ He put two toying fingers on her chin and shook it affectionately. ‘You and Lia are not the same person and you’re having us all on, now, are you?’
He laughed with abandon, eyes raised to the ceiling, and all she could do was stare, gaping like a fish, and wishing the floor would give in and swallow her whole.