28. Indie
INDIE
SEPTEMBER
“Dark and cold… all around me, it was so dark and cold. I couldn’t see anything through the abyss…. I thought I was dead already, and I looked up as I drifted further and further away from the surface. Sinking down, down, down into the darkness… BAM!”
I startle at Demetri’s hands smacking together, sounding like a thunderclap. Petra’s arm tightens around my shoulders as she giggles from her seat next to me.
Her mother, on the other side of her, says something in rapid-fire Greek that sounds like she’s scolding Demetri for scaring me. She wags her finger and shakes her head, but leans into Petra’s father’s embrace at her side. He places a kiss on his wife’s head and pulls her closer.
My friend is a carbon copy of her mother, Dina, who pulled me in for a tight hug when I came to their house for dinner my first night here.
She cupped my face and kissed my cheeks, telling me all the food she made for me—grilled meats, fresh salads, and vegetables—and said she made sure everything was safe for me.
Tears stung my nose at that, but I just smiled and thanked her sincerely. Petra’s father, Nikos, is a short but solid man and more of a quiet type, but he still murmured a kind greeting. His eyes track Petra’s mother wherever she moves, making sure she is alright, speaking in soft Greek to her.
The tenderness of the scene, of their embrace and palpable love, makes my chest hurt, so I force myself to look back at Demetri.
Petra’s husband is exactly like I expected from the way she spoke about him. Tall, dark, and handsome—definitely. Completely obsessed with his wife—without a doubt. But he’s also incredibly animated with the way he speaks, all flailing arms and hands and eyebrows wiggling. And he’s genuinely funny.
The dark-haired, dark-eyed man literally jumps to stand on his chair, his body crouched, his hands out, his eyes wild as he tells his “most treasured tale.”
“Tearing through the water like Poseidon himself, but with the face of mighty Aphrodite,” he says, looking at Petra and holding both hands out in front of him like he’s praying. “My sweet and beautiful Petra.”
Petra and I share a look, and she rolls her eyes like she’s annoyed. The smile on her face says the exact opposite.
“I told you he’s a charmer,” she whispers to me with an exaggerated lovey face, making me laugh.
Demetri just winks at his wife before continuing on with his tale about Petra pulling him from the water and breathing life into his lungs.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” Petra says, but Demetri just waves her off.
“It’s a metaphor, αγ?πη μου,” Demetri says, blowing her a kiss, which makes her smirk. He pounds his chest. “She breathed life into my lungs and from that day forward—”
“After I shoved sand into your face for being careless?”
“—I belonged to my sweet,” he says, stepping down from the chair, “beautiful,” he kneels in front of Petra, “magnificent,” he takes both of her hands in his and places kisses on the backs of them, “Petra.”
They smile at each other, eyes so full of love it’s almost overstimulating to see, so I turn my head to give them some privacy.
Teddy and Demetri would have gotten along like a house on fire, both having the same lovable personalities.
And I think that’s what’s tangling me up because the Teddy I fell in love with is the one who followed me to London to give me his Pop’s ring.
Who bought me every meal and organized exclusive tickets to sights I desperately wanted to see.
Who left me beautiful drawings that made me cry, that are safely tucked away in my suitcase.
The Teddy I fell in love with respected my boundaries all through this trip.
He actively made this trip better for me, and helped me realize that my control freak tendencies were inhibiting my enjoyment.
Teddy was the balance I needed, taking some things off my plate so that I could just breathe.
I forgot about that being the best part of a true relationship.
Partnership.
This trip healed me. Not completely, but I feel so much better than I did all those months ago. Less stressed, less like I’m a rubber band pulled past the point of tension, and one wrong move or word is going to make me snap completely.
It’s bittersweet, this being my last night in Santorini.
We’re at Demetri’s family’s restaurant, called Ariadne’s, named after his great-grandmother, who taught the family all her famous recipes. It’s quite popular with tourists for its food and rooftop lounge, which offers a perfect sea view, but tonight they closed it to the public.
A goodbye dinner for me.
Petra had been so excited as the day of my arrival in Santorini approached and had offered to pick me up at the airport.
She also offered to let me stay with her in her family’s home instead of a hotel, but I—very respectfully—declined.
I prefer to go back to a hotel and have some peace and quiet, and from what Petra has said, her family is… not.
“We’re Greek,” she shrugged as an explanation for the volume. “We know many things—quiet is not one of them.”
I’m quite sure that I met the entirety of Petra’s family my first night here, who swallowed me up into hugs and treated me like I was a longtime friend. Petra didn’t even blink when I told her I felt a little overwhelmed and brought me up to her old bedroom to decompress.
“They’re wonderful.”
“They’re loud and obnoxious!” Petra laughed, flopping back on her bed. “But they’re family, you know?”
“Not really,” I admitted, and Petra tilted her head at me.
Her eyes grew softer and softer as I explained my parents, my emancipation, and myself putting myself through undergrad and med school. Working three jobs at one time, flipping burgers and scrubbing toilets to pay the bills.
“I thought Teddy was my family,” I admitted, my throat tight. “I thought you made your own family. I thought that was possible for me.”
“It is,” Petra said, pulling me in for a long hug. “Teddy is not the end-all, be-all.”
My lip wobbled, and the words came out barely above a whisper.
“I really wanted him to be, though.”
“I understand,” Petra nodded before pulling back to look me right in my eyes. She smiled. “My γιαγι? always told me this—there is no harm that does not offer something good.”
And just like that, those words settle into my chest. It’s the same thoughts I had myself, but hearing it from Petra, who heard it from her wise grandmother, feels like validation.
This breakup was necessary for me. I feel like I’ve grown so much in the last month, into something better than I was. Stronger in so many ways, but also… softer.
More open to experiences and friendships. Not doubting myself that people are going to not like me from the jump, slamming those doors shut before they even had the opportunity to open fully.
It’s amazing the perspective you gain with a little distance, with stepping out of your comfort zone.
I was nervous about this trip, but determined to do it.
And then, when Teddy had agreed to come with me, it felt like training wheels.
I would have someone there with me to eat meals with, to see the sights with, and to talk to.
I had been fine on my own for so long, but Teddy gave me a taste of family and then yanked it away from me. Maybe that was necessary. There those maybes go again, but… maybe I like maybes now.
Maybe things don’t have to be this or that.
They can just be.
I can just be.
And now, as I sit with my family, built from the ruins of my life, I feel at peace.
But the entire time I’ve been here in Santorini, I've had no special drawings with my breakfast.
In the morning, when my food was brought to my room, I looked under my plate and deflated when I didn’t see anything. No drawing. No notes.
And I kind of hate how disappointed I am about it. Like I was waiting for something I told myself I didn’t need anymore. I didn’t realize how much I had been looking forward to them, and then I got a little annoyed at myself for being disappointed.
I don't begrudge myself too much, however. Petra has kept me busy, showing me around this beautiful place—taking me to the beach, watching the sunsets from the roof of her and Demetri’s house, visiting the hot springs, hiking, and eating at her parents’ house or at the usual places she loves to go.
This has been the most fun I’ve had in so long, and I’m sad to see it end, but so grateful I experienced it.
Petra turns to me, seeing my gaze on her, and smiles.
She reaches out and lays a hand over mine on the table and squeezes, and I glance around the table to see each of Petra’s family members laughing and smiling together.
“I’d like to raise a toast,” Demetri then says, standing up on his chair once again and raising his glass. I reach forward to grab my glass of ouzo and raise. “To our newest family member, Indie.”
My heart warms, as do my cheeks, as everyone awws and turns to me. Demetri grins, and Petra kisses my cheek.
“You will always have a home here in Santorini with the Katsoros,” Demetri says.
“And the Makris,” Petra’s dad rumbles, waving his hand. “Friends. Family. It’s all the same to us. You are ours, whenever you need.”
Tears sting my eyes, and then Petra chirps from next to me.
“To Indie! Γει? μα?!”
The entire family repeats her loudly and boisterously. “Γει? μα?!”
Smiling, I toss back the slightly spicy liquor—so much better than my college days of Fireball. The families erupt in cheers, and someone turns on the music.
Then Petra’s grandmother ambles by with her cane, but stops before me and gently cups my face with her weathered hands.
“Ftou, ftou, ftou,” she says, making a sound with her mouth, like she’s spitting on my face. Then she smiles brightly, pats my cheek, and moves on.
I sit there, a little surprised and confused, as Petra giggles next to me.
“What just happened?”
“Γιαγι? was warding off the mati for you,” Petra says, smiling and wiggling her fingers. “The evil eye. It’ll bring you good luck.”