Chapter 12
12
Anthony delivered on his promise and the following morning the three women were in the limousine, each with a bellini in one hand and a bagel in the other. Somebody had put a Spotify nineties classics soundtrack on through the car’s Bluetooth and so Cher was belting out ‘Believe’ and they were all singing along. Deedee, after exchanging looks with Gina and Rosie who both gave her nods of encouragement, called out to Anthony in the driving seat, ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ for the umpteenth time in a silly, sing-song voice.
‘OK, not funny!’ Anthony yelled over his shoulder followed by a petulant, ‘Party time is over!’ and slid the blacked-out glass privacy screen closed so they couldn’t see him any more in the driver’s seat. ‘And Cher’s checking out too.’
‘Oh dear… I think we went too far in winding him up,’ Rosie said through a mouthful of poppy seed-topped peanut butter and jelly bagel when the music suddenly fell silent.
‘Hmm, well he did start it… telling us to, “pipe down in the cheap seats and stop behaving like a trio of overexcited teenage girls on a college road trip”,’ Deedee said, and finished the delicious peach purée and prosecco drink, set her flute inside the safety grip on top of the bar and bit into a bagel. She was still pondering on what had happened earlier when they first got in the car and was now concluding that Anthony was up to something, so was inclined to believe that he absolutely deserved the teasing.
They had been in the limousine for only ten minutes or so, when Anthony – out of the blue – had suggested calling into Athena, Yiannis’s family taverna in Queens later on as apparently it was on the way to Haven Harbor in the Hamptons and so ‘would be rude not to’. A lovely idea, of course, as Deedee was always up for seeing Elena and Cleo and it made sense to call in for lunch if it was on the way, but there was just something about the way Anthony had said it. Deedee hadn’t been convinced it wasn’t a set-up; Anthony attempting to play matchmaker. Because even though he hadn’t said anything directly to her about rekindling things with Yiannis, Karl was bound to have talked to Anthony about her ‘date that wasn’t a date’ with Yiannis. And then Yiannis had called her almost immediately after Anthony’s supposed ‘sudden suggestion’ asking in a very breezy voice, ‘What are you up to today, Dee? I know we have our dinner date scheduled, but I’ve found myself unexpectedly free so thought we might catch up today as well if you fancy it?’ Of course, she had then quickly told him about the codicil and seeing Joe on camera and going to the Hamptons to take a look at the beach house. All the while with Anthony piping up in an overly theatrical pantomime voice in the background about how he had already suggested, ‘calling into Athena with it being on the way’. So they had settled on seeing each other around midday in the taverna.
As it turned out, it was nearly one o’clock when they drove onto the forecourt outside the taverna. Deedee had barely stepped out of the car when Yiannis’s mother, Elena, came dashing out to greet her. Even at eighty-three years old, Elena was still energetic and wasted no time in pulling Deedee into her comfortingly plump embrace.
‘Ah , louloudi mou ,’ Elena said in Greek, quickly followed by, ‘my flower’ in translation as she gently pushed Deedee back just enough to kiss each of her cheeks. Then after clasping Deedee’s hands in hers, Elena stepped further away and with outstretched arms this time, she took a good look at Deedee before tutting and declaring, ‘Come, you need to eat!’ followed by a beckoning hand to Gina, Rosie and Anthony too.
Inside, and the four of them were greeted by a long table laden with all kinds of Greek mezze sharing platters, piled high with delicious looking stuffed vine leaves, crispy calamari, pitta bread, prawns, feta, houmous, olives and Deedee’s favourite spanakopita filo pie stuffed with spinach and cheese and topped with pine nuts. Various other platters had skewers of lamb, chicken and beef chunks threaded with peppers and onions on, bowls of salad and piles of warm gyros too. The air was scented with a cosy, homely mixture of garlic and basil giving a welcoming atmosphere that immediately transported Deedee back to the island of Kalosiros, where she had spent many happy summers holidaying with Yiannis on his boat, and where, last year, she’d met Rosie and Gina.
After enjoying a delicious meal, Deedee left the others at the table and made her way to the back of the restaurant and out to the kitchen to find Cleo. She popped her head in the door and waved to Cleo who, after wiping her hands on an apron, came out to give Deedee a hug.
‘Deedee… So good to see you again,’ Cleo said warmly. ‘I’m actually finishing up now for the day and was about to come and see you before I go.’
‘Is it really that late?’ Deedee glanced at her watch and saw that it was already three o’clock. They had all been so busy chatting with Elena and enjoying the lunch that she had lost track of time. But then she realised Yiannis still wasn’t here, and it was unlike him to be late. In all the years she had known him, he had never just not turned up.
As if reading her mind, Cleo explained, ‘Yiannis just called, he’s caught up in traffic, he’ll be here soon.’ Deedee nodded. ‘And I’m so happy you are trusting me with your birthday party food. Did you like the sample menu I sent over?’
‘Yes, yes of course, thanks, Cleo, everything you suggested sounds wonderful. Although to be honest, I’m very happy to have whatever dishes you decide on for the birthday gathering, because I know it will all be delicious.’ She beamed. ‘Just like the lunch we devoured, which was incredible. Anthony was very happy to have Elena pack up an enormous doggy bag for him.’ Deedee paused to beckon back over her shoulder towards the restaurant, ‘But sorry to land on you so suddenly like this. It was all very last minute. Between us, I think Anthony is up to something, Karl too. You’ll laugh about this! They’ve been trying to push me and Yiannis together. As in romantically! I think they all just feel sorry for me and have come up with this ruse to orchestrate a rendezvous. They even seem to think our dinner tomorrow is an actual date. It’s all very childish to be honest, schoolboy stuff… Yiannis and I clearly aren’t in a “situationship”, which is what Karl said the other day; can you believe that?’ Deedee shook her head.
‘Would that be such a bad thing?’ Cleo pulled the chef’s net away from her head releasing a tumble of black curls. ‘You know Yiannis has always held a candle for you. In fact, I don’t think he ever really got over you when things ended all those years ago… And with good reason of course, he should have behaved better, so it served him right.’ Cleo pulled a face. ‘And you know Mom would be overjoyed if you and Yiannis rekindled things.’
‘Oh, not you too…’ Deedee laughed. ‘That would be like rekindling a flame that last flickered over a lifetime ago! And Yiannis most definitely did “get over me”, please trust me on that.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘He’s been very happy indeed with his very many girlfriends over the decades.’
‘True,’ Cleo laughed too, rolling her eyes.
‘You know what he’s like! He’s an incorrigible flirt. A player. And of course, that was partly the reason we fizzled out romantically all those years ago. That, and the fact we lived on different continents, so it was never going to properly work long-term and long-distance. But we were very young and so I’ve never held it against him, to be honest. And besides, it was free love and all that back then. Even though at the time I was heartbroken when he cheated on me. I never did really go with the whole “relaxed” vibe that was going on in those days. No, we were always much better as friends.’ Deedee shrugged.
‘Sure… but aren’t the best relationships built on friendship?’
‘Have you been chatting to Karl?’ Deedee stepped in. ‘Is this some kind of ambush him and Anthony have roped you in on too?’ She gave Cleo a scrutinising look. ‘Because honestly, I’m fine… I made the mistake of mentioning that I didn’t want to get old and had been feeling a little lonely, that I had been missing Joe and how being here had heightened that. But, you know, I actually saw him come to life yesterday in a recorded codicil that he filmed at his lawyer’s office.’
‘Oh, Deedee, that must have been difficult,’ Cleo said with concern.
‘It wasn’t actually as hard as I had imagined it would be. In fact, it has brought me some peace on that front. So now I just need to get my head around being seventy years old!’ She widened her eyes, still feeling a bit detached from this fact.
‘Well, I’m pleased you found comfort in seeing Joe on the screen.’
‘Thank you, and I know they mean well, but Yiannis, Anthony and Karl really don’t need to rally like this by setting me up on a pity date with my oldest friend, just because we dated a lifetime ago and I mentioned feeling a bit blue about my big birthday.’
‘Oh, Dee, I don’t think it’s like that. Yiannis absolutely does still carry a torch for you, he always has. You know he adores you. But he was Joe’s friend too and knew the two of you were meant to be together, that Joe was the love of your life. Yiannis has just always wanted the best for you. I reckon my brother knew he couldn’t give you what Joe did, he’s always been a player… We all know that. So when things turned serious with you and Joe and you got married, Yiannis bowed out gracefully. But I reckon the flame never actually burned out completely, for him anyway. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, the way his face lights up. Yes, he was good at hiding it when Joe was alive, and he’s never once said anything to confirm my theory, I promise you. But I know my brother inside out and I’m convinced he is still in love with you… and not just in a platonic way.’ Cleo paused. Silence followed as Deedee thought about everything Cleo was saying. ‘And he has grown up in recent years too. He’s not the player he once was. Also, you have to admit that it would be nice – we would be sisters!’ Cleo lifted her brows. ‘You know, I mean, if you and Yiannis were to ever get back together, maybe marry even… Um, err… Just as a possibility, a crazy romantic fantasy—’ Cleo stopped talking, her cheeks pinkening. Another silence followed. ‘Sorry… I got carried away. And I shouldn’t meddle. Don’t tell Yiannis, please.’
‘It’s fine,’ Deedee said, rubbing the side of Cleo’s arm affectionately. ‘We are already sisters though, you know you’re like family to me… Yiannis too, the greatest friends I’ll ever have. But that’s also why it would never work with Yiannis and I. Sorry Cleo,’ she added, wondering who else was involved in the machinations of her love life. She knew Anthony and Karl often drove out to Queens to come to Athena for dinner and so could easily have been talking to Cleo. Elena as well, maybe… Deedee knew that Elena would love nothing more than for her son to be romantically involved with Deedee once again.
‘Mom will be disappointed,’ Cleo said, as if reading Deedee’s mind. ‘You know, she still laments about you being the daughter-in-law she missed out on all because of her foolish son. But at the end of the day, Deedee, it’s not about what my brother wants, or even my mom, Anthony, or Karl… It’s about what you want. How do you feel about Yiannis?’
‘Um, well… like I said, we are friends,’ Deedee started before letting her voice tail off because she hadn’t really thought about it properly. But since the conversation with Karl, she had found herself pondering more on her relationship with Yiannis and knew that it likely was more than just a platonic friendship. It was difficult to describe exactly and so she hadn’t tried to. Certainly not while Joe was still alive, the thought of her friendship with Yiannis being anything more had never crossed her mind, but since his death, it was true that she had grown closer to Yiannis. She did feel differently towards him but had found herself deliberately holding back due to her loyalty to Joe.
‘And is that really all it is?’ Cleo held her gaze. ‘Because, remember I’ve known you for a very long time too and just like I know my brother inside out, I think it’s fair to say that I also know you pretty well. Like a sister! And I’ve seen the intimate glances going between you and Yiannis, the way you light up too when he’s around.’
‘Oh, stop it.’ Deedee laughed as a cover for the sudden swirl of confusing thoughts flooding through her. She opened her mouth to say more but stopped on seeing Cleo look over her shoulder. Turning, Deedee saw Yiannis coming towards them, pushing a hand through his thick wavy hair that had flopped forward, his handsome McDreamy face flushed from having rushed from his car, she assumed. And she had to admit… he did look hot. He truly did. She inhaled sharply through her nose and fiddled with her necklace as a way to distract herself from whatever was going on inside her. Now was not the time to analyse further.
‘We were just talking about you,’ Cleo teased, giving her big brother a playful punch on the arm.
‘Oh yes? All good, I hope,’ Yiannis laughed easily as he put a hand on Deedee’s back and gave her an affectionate kiss on each cheek as he always did, treating her to a burst of his deliciously familiar spicy scent.
‘How are you, Dee? So sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived. It took an age to get through the damn traffic. I was stuck in a meeting and stupidly left it too late to leave,’ he explained.
Ah, so it was a last-minute plan set up by Anthony , Deedee realised, and then groaned inwardly at the boyish immaturity of her three male friends’ antics. They were so obvious! Although she had to admit that she was feeling intrigued and also blindsided by everything Cleo had said about Yiannis. Was it really true? Did he still carry a torch for her? She genuinely hadn’t seen this from him at all, not an inkling, certainly not when Joe was still alive, or even since his death and she made a mental note to confront Yiannis later on to find out what was really going on. She certainly wasn’t about to go along with some sort of silly plan they had cooked up between them to take care of poor old lonely Deedee in her dotage. So maybe tomorrow evening over dinner? Yes, she would look Yiannis in the eyes and ask him. And between now and then, she knew she needed to have a proper good think about how she felt too.
Suddenly realising that Yiannis was staring at her, waiting for an answer, Cleo too, Deedee gave a breezy, ‘Oh, I’m fine, and no need to apologise, it was only a last-minute thing… Nothing to worry about. It’s not like we had a firm plan or anything and we can see each other any time, can’t we?’ The corner of her mouth only lifted ever so slightly into a smile – or was it a smirk? – as she attempted to cover up the fact that she had rumbled the ruse. It was a lovely romantic notion that Cleo held, and Deedee knew it was well intentioned, but she also knew that no matter how she did truly feel about Yiannis, she knew that she still loved Joe and just couldn’t contemplate betraying him. Certainly not with his friend! It wouldn’t be right. Deedee knew what betrayal felt like, it had happened to her twice in her first marriages and she had vowed ever since then not to do that to someone else. Even in death.
Yiannis leaned into the kitchen and swiped a piece of sticky baklava from a tray.
‘Oh, yeah, sure, of course,’ he said, unconvincingly. Deedee had known him long enough to know that he was purposefully playing it cool, most likely in an attempt to not give the game away. Ha! Well, two could play that game… she’d let him carry on for now. ‘And I’m starving.’ He took a big bite before swiping another piece and handing it to Deedee.
‘Hey… those are for the customers,’ Cleo scolded, giving Yiannis another punch on the arm.
‘Then I’ll pay… How much for two pieces of baklava, dear sister?’ Yiannis shook his head and laughed.
‘You can pay for one piece… Deedee doesn’t need to pay. Only you,’ Cleo said, folding her arms and staring at her sibling as if they were children again and goading each other.
‘How is that fair?’ Yiannis teased, taking up the mantle as he pulled a face at his sister.
‘Cleo, make him pay for both,’ Deedee said, giving Yiannis a pretend pointed look. ‘I couldn’t eat another thing in any case. I’m completely full after the delicious lunch… which I will pay for, of course.’ She nodded, enjoying the light-hearted banter which felt just like the old days when they first met and had many fun times chatting, teasing and generally messing around out the back of the restaurant here by the kitchen.
‘Deedee, I wouldn’t dream of taking your money… it’s on the house. The party food too,’ Cleo quickly said.
‘Oh, Cleo, I can’t let you do that… I insist on paying,’ Deedee said.
‘Nope. It’s your birthday present from all of us… I’ve already talked to Mom too and she won’t hear of it.’ Cleo put her hands up as if she wasn’t to be swayed, exchanging another look with Yiannis.
‘Well, in that case, come here!’ And Deedee pulled Cleo in for an enormous cuddle. ‘Thank you, it’s incredibly kind and generous of you.’
‘Sisters, remember!’ Cleo winked before turning and waving over her shoulder as she made her way to the exit door leading out to the staff car park.
‘What was that all about?’ Yiannis said as he walked back into the restaurant with Deedee.
‘Oh, just a private joke,’ Deedee said nonchalantly, amused on seeing the baffled look on Yiannis’s face as she glanced sideways at him, quickly scrutinising to see if his face looked any different. Was it ‘lighting up’ as Cleo claimed? Deedee wasn’t sure… it just seemed the same, friendly ‘Yiannis face’ as it always was.
‘Hmm… you look like you’re up to something,’ Yiannis said, nudging her.
‘Really?’ Deedee retorted trying not to laugh. ‘Guess you’d know all about that,’ she teased, deciding to play along for now.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You tell me,’ she said, her impulsivity getting the better of her and maybe now was actually as good a time as any to confront him. In fact, why wait until tomorrow evening in the restaurant and potentially spoil ‘their date that wasn’t a date’? She stopped walking. Yiannis did too. They faced each other.
‘What is it?’ he said, his voice tender as he touched her arm. Deedee let out a breath and scanned his face searching for the truth. She looked right into his cornflower-blue eyes. Was he still in love with her? Or did he just feel sorry for her and wanted to be kind while she was here? And how did she really feel about him? She had definitely felt ‘lifted’ on seeing him, in a kind of excited way. In fact, she always did, every time, whether it was on holiday in Greece or even just now, here in the corridor by the kitchen where she had seen him a thousand times over the decades. She had always assumed it was because she was just happy to see him, her best friend, but maybe it was something more. She did love him, she definitely knew that, she always had, but did she love love him? The thoughts lingered…
‘Dee, tell me what’s on your mind… is everything OK?’ Yiannis looked concerned now. Deedee opened her mouth to speak but the moment passed, as before she could get a word out Elena suddenly appeared.
‘There you are! Why are you so late? You can’t expect Deedee to wait forever for you. Have you no manners?’ Elena chastised, marching up to Yiannis and batting him on the arm. ‘Deedee is going to the Hamptons, and you make her wait all this time for you to arrive.’ Elena paused to draw breath before carrying on. ‘Joe gifted her his childhood home… A beautiful beach house! He knew how to be a gentleman; God rest his soul.’ And after crossing herself, she hit Yiannis again, before shaking her head at her son in exasperation. Laughing, Yiannis put his arm around his mother, kissed her on the cheek and then herded her in front of him and back into the restaurant.
‘Hurry, hurry… You need to eat before you take Deedee to the Hamptons,’ Elena chivvied. ‘She wants to get there by early evening so she can walk on the sand in the sunlight.’
‘Mom, I’m not going to the Hamptons, I have to go back to Brooklyn for a photoshoot tonight,’ Yiannis said, and caught Deedee’s eye, as if checking to see if she was expecting him to come to the beach house too. She smiled in sympathy and shook her head, admiring his patience as this was pretty standard for Elena, always chastising him. And, to give Yiannis his due, Deedee had never once, in all the years she had known him, seen him complain or argue with Elena. He just let it flow over him, his easy-going nature a quality, a sign of his love and respect for his mother and dare she say it, Deedee did actually find it incredibly appealing. It was one of the things she had always loved about Yiannis.
‘No, no, no… Yiannis, you need to make more effort.’ Elena turned to Deedee. ‘I tell him he works too much; this is why he doesn’t have a wife, but he never listens.’
‘Oh, Elena, I know what you mean… and he really should listen to you, I tell him the same,’ Deedee said, mischievously, because even though she admired Yiannis’s patience, she wasn’t about to let him off the hook just yet with his pity date shenanigans. And besides, she also loved teasing him, it was something they had always done, it was a significant part of their friendship. Yiannis lifted his hands in the air and mouthed ‘Whaaaaat?’ at her, before adding, ‘Why are you joining in? You’re supposed to be on my side,’ he said, a look of sheer incredulity spreading all over his face.
‘No, no, no… Deedee is on her own side,’ Elena continued berating. ‘She is a woman of substance, courage and knows her own mind. She walks her own path. She is like me.’ Elena nodded as she gave her grey curls a little preening pat.
‘Oh, Mom, that’s enough now, come on… let’s go and sit down,’ Yiannis said smoothly as Deedee tried not to laugh at Elena’s audacity and the chastened look on Yiannis’s face as he attempted to appease his mother. ‘And Mom, I will tell you where I’m taking Deedee tomorrow evening…’ he paused, flashed a look at Deedee and then with a wicked grin on his face he turned back to Elena and added, ‘…on a date!’
Elena stopped moving, looked at each of them in turn and then let out a yelp of delight before instantly dropping her arm from Yiannis’s and looping it through Deedee’s arm instead. Elena then practically ran Deedee over to the table where they had all been sitting to interrogate her for the details of this exciting development in her relentless quest to turn her son’s platonic friendship into something romantic, no doubt. All the while, Yiannis stood back, rolled his head to one side and shrugged at Deedee with the most infuriatingly wide smile spread across his handsome McDreamy face. She could see he was relishing in being off the hook with the spotlight of his mother’s interrogation firmly back on her instead.