Chapter 6
Chapter Six
S telios’s little face still had Grace worried. The boy’s solemn dark eyes seemed huge in his head, and he hadn’t put up his hand once during the lesson. When she’d pushed him to answer a direct question, his reply was vague. Even when she’d allowed the others to let off steam with a five-minute race around outside, he’d just sat on a bench and watched everyone else.
During her long career in primary education, she’d seen everything from children losing their parents before they were ten to pupils having to cope when a father went to prison, and, in a couple of cases, full-on abuse. She really didn’t think any of these scenarios applied here, but she knew what an unhappy child looked like.
The bell rang for the end of the class and Grace waited in the playground and ticked off her list as each child went home with a parent or trusted carer. When Stelios’s mother, a smartly dressed but harassed-looking young woman, arrived, she took her opportunity.
‘Can I have a quick word with you in the classroom, please.’
The woman frowned but nodded.
‘Can you take Stelios, and I’ll be in in a minute.’
Grace was unsure how much Stelios could understand, so she didn’t want to take any chances. She settled him with a book in the corridor outside and ushered his mother in.
‘Please call me Grace.’
‘And I am Konstantina. Pleased to meet you.’
Thankfully the woman’s English seemed adequate for the conversation ahead.
‘I won’t keep you, but I’m a little concerned about how quiet Stelios is in class. I don’t want to pry, and be assured that everything that is said here is strictly confidential, but is there anything going on at home that I should know about?’
Konstantina’s eyes immediately filled with tears, and Grace was compelled to put her hand on the woman’s arm.
‘His pappoús, or grandfather… my father’—the woman sat back for a moment—‘is dying. We are very near the end now, and although we haven’t told Stelios everything, I know he feels it.’
Grace’s heart went out to her.
‘They adore each other. Stelios is an only child, and you know how close Greek families are. My husband and I own a couple of restaurants in town, and we work long hours, so his pappoús has been a big figure in his life. He taught him how to swim, how to fish…’
The woman’s tears were streaming down her face now.
Grace got up and put a box of tissues at her side. Konstantina had a good blow before she spoke again.
‘I’m so sorry to be like this. Most of the time, I’m fine. I can keep it together at work, but the thought that it’s affecting my little boy…’
‘Don’t worry about it. It’s only natural for both of you to be sad. I understand what you’re going through.’
Grace was taken right back to having to tell the girls that Phil wasn’t going to make it. That all the treatments, the hospital stays, the special diets and the exercise programmes had been in vain. But this wasn’t about her. She needed to focus.
The woman’s eyes were on her, and Grace saw the compassion in them.
‘Yes, I really do think you understand.’
Stelios’s appearance in the doorway stopped the conversation in its tracks.
‘ Esai etimi, Mama ?’
Grace didn’t need to speak Greek to know that the boy was bored and wanted to go home.
His mother was already up and out of her chair.
‘Yes, I’m ready, little one.’
Grace spoke under her breath.
‘So, I will come up with some ideas to help Stelios, and we’ll speak again. I wish you the very best.’
‘Thank you. I’m so pleased you are his teacher.’
An idea came to Grace as Stelios put his hand in his mother’s and they walked out together. She rushed upstairs to the shared kitchen. Great, Charlie was still there.
She had to admit his ready smile had a certain charm.
‘Grace. What can I do you for?’
When she explained what the boy was going through, and what he could do to help, Charlie didn’t hesitate.
‘Of course, no problem. I was close to my grandad too. He was the one constant in my life, especially after my parents split up.’
Charlie was no longer smiling. There was certainly more to him than Grace had first thought.
‘So, if I OK it with Thanassis, you’re up for coming in towards the end of the lesson tomorrow?’
‘Sure thing.’
* * *
The whole class cheered when Charlie came in with Buster just before lunchtime. After explaining all about dogs and how to look after them, Charlie got the children to point out and name all Buster’s body parts in English.
A long, slow look around the classroom followed.
‘And now I need an assistant to help me with some tricks…’
Every single hand went up.
Charlie pretended to look from child to child before alighting on Stelios. He gave Grace a quick glance, and she dipped her head to confirm.
‘How about you? Do you like dogs?’
Stelios nodded and looked more animated than Grace had seen him since lessons began.
‘Would you like to help me?’
The nodding got more frantic.
‘OK, what’s your name?’
‘Stelios.’
‘Come and sit on the floor by me, Stelios.’
The boy did as he was told, eyes wide with wonder.
‘Children, you must always ask the owner if it’s OK to stroke their dog, because sometimes dogs just aren’t in the mood, just like you. They may be tired, hungry or not like being touched.’
Charlie repeated his words in Greek, which wasn’t usually encouraged for the bilingual teachers; it was English-only in the classroom. But the message was important enough to make sure every word was understood.
‘Luckily, Buster loves strokes, so say hello to him, Stelios.’
The boy put out his hand, gingerly at first, but as soon as the dog yelped and danced around, there was no stopping him. Stelios hugged and held onto Buster for dear life.
‘And now’—Charlie left a dramatic pause—‘I’m going to whisper in Stelios’s ear, and he’s going to get Buster to do some tricks.’
The boy listened with intense concentration before speaking in a strong voice that Grace had never heard before. He was usually so quiet.
‘Buster, sit!’
After Buster had placed his bottom on the classroom floor several times, it was time for a new trick.
‘Buster, beg!’
The classmates shrieked with laughter as the dog went up on his hind legs and waited for a treat from Stelios.
‘Buster, shake hands!’
There were plenty of awwww s as the dog lifted his paw and Stelios reached out to grasp it.
Charlie whispered one last time in Stelios’s ear, and the boy made a gun with his hand.
‘Bang bang!’
Buster rolled over and the class went wild. Grace wasn’t too sure about bringing that sort of imagery into the classroom, but Stelios’s shining eyes wiped away her uncertainty.
Charlie’s eyes were shining too. She’d certainly been wrong about him. A more natural teacher she couldn’t hope to find.
It was like she had time and space on the island to delve deeper and not just take the people she encountered at face value. Her circle of friends had slowly diminished over the past few years as divorce, death and retirement had narrowed it down and people had moved away. She needed to widen it again. Will’s face flashed into her mind. Perhaps he was worth further investigation. Just as a friend, of course.
She mouthed ‘thank you’ at Charlie as he left with Buster. He mouthed back, ‘See you tonight.’ It was the introductory meal for the teachers, hosted and paid for by Elena and Giannis. She didn’t really want to go, but it looked like that wasn’t an option.
There were still fifteen minutes until the end of the lesson, and she needed the class to calm down after the excitement of the dog’s visit.
‘Who wants to draw a picture of Buster?’
It was a resounding yes.
She’d try and speak to Stelios’s mother this week about getting the boy a dog. Although it was a big commitment, it might help him over the worst, and as an only child, he would have the dog as a companion for years to come. Her girls had always had each other to rely on. Konstantina had driven off in a new BMW, so she didn’t think she was putting any financial pressure on her. If only all problems could potentially be solved so easily.
* * *
Grace was the first to arrive at the restaurant, which was a couple of streets back from the port. It looked like something out of a tourist brochure. Grey painted tables and chairs were laid out in rows on the cobbled street, each setting adorned with a red placemat, an upturned glass and a bowl, and on each table a caddy with olive oil, vinegar and serviettes. A narrow throughway for pedestrians separated one row of tables from another.
The cream plastered walls of the restaurant were broken up with red painted doorways and window frames, and a huge bougainvillea had been trained up and across the street, its strings of bright pink flowers hanging at different heights above their heads.
There were a few tables inside when she peeked in, cosy against the thick stone walls, but who would want to be trapped inside when they could eat out in the street on a warm evening?
She’d worn white linen tonight, a new dress with a deep V neck, and broderie anglaise detailing on the sleeves and hem, and teamed it with a necklace of beads in different colours and some big gold earrings.
White had always suited her, and she’d got a few glances from older Greek men as she made her way down to the port from the language school. But maybe she was kidding herself. She hoped she wasn’t mutton dressed as lamb. It was one of the phrases her daughters found hilarious and accused her of making up. There was a whole raft of sayings that seemed to have just vanished within a generation. She supposed she’d learnt them mainly from her mother. Things like ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’ or ‘the early bird gets the worm’ had her daughters rolling around.
She and her friends still used them occasionally, but she’d have to remember not to utter any at the meal, as she’d be the oldest guest by far, and she didn’t really want to point it out.
Daniel and Rose arrived together, and sprang apart when they saw her, which made Grace smile. She’d seen them secreted together in corners, and hoped it was going well.
By the time all the teachers had arrived, it was half an hour past the agreed time. Grace had noticed that time seemed to be a bit of an elastic concept for Greeks, particularly in relation to social events.
Giannis and Elena turned up a fashionable forty minutes late and sat at either end of the table. The atmosphere cooled a few degrees as they glared at each other. Giannis positioned himself next to Anna, who was wearing a skintight black dress, which, Grace had to admit, looked stunning.
Grace took the seat next to Elena. She’d wanted to grab her anyway, to find out more about the one-to-one lessons she’d been asked to provide for her and Giannis’s children when the language school was officially closed during August. Nearer the time, they’d all get a list of private clients who wanted to be taught in their homes, but she’d been singled out to go to the house of the bosses for some reason.
Thanassis sat down opposite her, looking very dapper in a white linen shirt. Out of the classroom, he scrubbed up well.
‘Look, Grace, we are matching. You mustn’t tell everyone we got dressed together.’
‘You’re hilarious.’
Charlie was on her right, and after she’d thanked him again for his help with Stelios, they got into a conversation about his DJing. Grace was fascinated to learn more, but their chat was cut short by Giannis standing up.
‘I hope everyone has wine. Let’s raise our glasses to a successful summer term. Yamas! ’
‘ Yamas! ’
Grace knocked back some more of the taverna rosé that was dotted down the table in jugs. It wasn’t at all bad. She’d had a glass earlier while waiting for the language school owners. And some of the yummy homemade bread with maidanosalata, a delicious creamy parsley dip.
‘This restaurant, run by a local family, has been here for over a hundred years,’ said Giannis, raising his glass in the direction of the waiters. ‘All the food is wonderful, especially the stuffed squid which they are famous for. I hope you don’t mind that we have pre-ordered a series of dishes that we will all share together, which is the Greek way. So, please, enjoy the food and wine.’
It was the signal for the waiters to file out with a plethora of ceramic dishes, red like the woodwork, all held high over their heads. Grace’s mouth watered. She’d held back on her usual snack tea, and the smells that floated through the air were amazing.
Many mouthfuls later, of everything from moussaka to squid stuffed with feta and chopped peppers and drizzled in a sharp lemon butter sauce, Grace was stuffed. She’d also drunk her own bodyweight in wine and needed the loo.
She stepped inside but pulled back at the sight of Giannis and Anna, heads bowed, in the corner by the fireplace. She couldn’t hear any of the conversation, which was in Greek anyway. Anna was moving her hands around a lot and Giannis’s face was strained. The bonhomie of his earlier toast had vanished with the daylight.
Luckily the sign for the toilets pointed upstairs, and Grace rushed up the sweeping staircase in the hope she hadn’t been seen.
When she came down, they were still at it, talking in fierce undertones. Grace returned to her seat just as Elena got up. It wasn’t clear exactly what was going on inside, but it was certainly something Elena didn’t need to see, in Grace’s opinion.
‘Elena. I wanted to catch you. Can we have a quick chat?’
The younger woman sat down again with a barely audible sigh. Tonight’s outfit was a glorious mix of cappuccino and caramel linen separates, paired with fabulous gold jewellery, but the sadness in her eyes made Grace want to scoop her up for a hug. She was sure her boss wouldn’t want her interfering in her life, or gently helping things along, as she liked to call it. Her daughters would probably have a different description.
‘Yes, of course.’
‘I just wondered if we could go through what I’ll be teaching your children when we start the private lessons.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Elena’s slightly horrified look told Grace that it wasn’t quite the done thing to discuss anything business-oriented at the works dinner. But she was stalling for time. She hadn’t seen Giannis or Anna come out of the restaurant yet. Elena’s perfectly manicured hand, complete with unchipped coffee-coloured nail varnish and several gold rings, one with a sparkling stone the size of a pea, landed on her arm.
‘I will invite you to the house for coffee in a couple of weeks’ time, and we will go through it all then.’
‘That would be lovely. I look forward to meeting your children.’
Out of the corner of her eye, Grace saw Anna take her seat again.
‘Good.’ Elena stood up. ‘And now, if you’ll excuse me.’
At least her husband would be on his own inside the restaurant. Grace let out the breath she’d been holding and wondered if she’d make a good deep-sea diver.