Chapter Thirty-Six
‘Baba!’
Nina stormed through the house, eventually finding Theo in his room, lying on his bed with his headphones on. He kept his eyes closed as she came in, although she was pretty certain he knew she was there.
She flicked a headphone off his ear, and he lurched up, eyes flying open and hands flying into the air.
‘You trying to give your poor baba a heart attack?’ he grumbled, but he looked sheepish even as he spoke.
‘No, but you know you deserve a telling-off.’
He spread his arms and tried to look innocent. She wasn’t buying it.
‘How could you let me walk in to Sam like that without telling me?’
He shrugged and pulled a face. ‘Oh well, this boy, he’s come all the way to see you and he brought these flowers and he looked so sad without you, Antheia . . .’
‘He cheated on me! And you said he didn’t deserve me.’
‘Well, I know, but you can at least see him while he’s come all this – why, you’re not getting back with him, are you?’ He looked horrified, his eyes like saucers.
‘Of course not,’ she said. ‘No thanks to you, though.’ She poked his ribs and he yelped, batting her away and rubbing his side with a wounded expression, as though she’d inflicted a great injury on him. ‘Bit of warning would’ve been nice,’ she muttered.
‘Okay,’ he relented. ‘I’m sorry. Next time an ex-boyfriend flies all this way over to beg to be forgiven I will give you this thumbs up.’
‘Heads up, Baba.’
He grinned. ‘This is what I said.’
Life continued peacefully.
Days were spent with Theo, readying the house, preparing paperwork, planning when to start inviting guests. Evenings and weekends were a pleasant, mellow mix of spending time with Eirini and the children, paddleboarding – she was now an expert – and going out for walks.
Sometimes George sent messages. She never read them. She considered blocking him, but couldn’t quite bring herself to.
‘Why don’t you come for a nice walk, eh?’ Theo asked one evening. ‘Come with your baba, bit of fresh air, lovely views. Eh?’
Theo looked suspiciously innocent, his eyes stretched wide.
Nina frowned. ‘What are you up to?’
‘Me? How could you say this? I just want to come with my Antheia for a walk at the end of a hard day.’
Nina eyed his bare feet, propped up on a chair as he sat in the courtyard. ‘Yes, you look like you’re working your socks off.’
‘Come on, come for a walk, eh? I’ve been asking and asking and you’re always too busy to spend time with poor Baba.’ He pulled a face, drooping his lips and casting his eyes down. ‘I’ll be waiting till the cows freeze over at this rate.’
‘Till the – I don’t even know what to do with that one, Baba!’ She laughed, despite herself. His Oscar-worthy performance didn’t entirely convince, and she still had a sense he was up to something, but he was right; she’d been seeing a lot of Eirini recently and hadn’t made much time for Theo.
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Let me get my jumper.’
‘Good, yes, yes, off you go.’
Theo had snatched up his phone and was furtively typing.
‘Who are you messaging?’
‘What? No one. Just looking up how to make a kite.’
‘Make a kite? What are you on about?’
‘Stop being such a nosy parking!’ He hid the phone against his chest. ‘Go off and get this jumper.’
‘Nosy parker, Baba,’ she called as she grabbed her jumper, grinning to herself as she heard him grumbling.
They walked up the mountain, stopping regularly to admire the view as the sun set.
Theo talked about his time there with Clare, laughing and smiling affectionately as he told stories of her racing him to the top, and winning every time.
He told how she insisted on singing Abba songs, loudly and breathlessly, as they made their way.
How she had tried ouzo and hated it, but kindly café owners kept giving it to her for free, and she was forced to surreptitiously feed it to the plant she was seated next to.
How every boy she met fell in love with her but she, inexplicably, only had eyes for Theo.
Nina listened, imagining a young Clare, purple-haired and full of energy, causing merry havoc in this quiet village. She would never tire of listening to Theo’s stories about her, and she was so glad he was able to tell them, at last.
Theo fell quiet as they reached their destination, and she thought at first that he was saddened by the memories. But he was looking somewhat sheepish, rather than sorrowful, and she soon realised why.
Standing at the top of the hill, holding a parcel wrapped in a tea towel, was Maria.
Nina stopped. Theo and Maria both looked at her with equally shamefaced expressions.
‘What’s she doing here?’
Theo spread his hands and gave her a schoolboy grin. ‘I thought it was about time you gave her a chance.’
Maria stepped forward, holding out the parcel. ‘Moro mou, I made you baklava.’
Nina said nothing. She remained firm, even when she noticed that Maria’s hands shook slightly as she held out the cloth, and her heart tore just a little bit to see her friend in distress. Her former friend, she reminded herself.
‘Please listen, if you will only let me explain, I thought that –’
Nina glared from her to Theo. ‘Shame on you,’ she said. ‘Shame on you both. I can’t believe you tricked me, Baba.’
She stormed off, smarting from seeing Maria, and all the memories that brought, slipping and tripping as stones rolled beneath her hasty feet on the steep path.
Her mind was spinning. What she really needed was something physical, something fun and a little bit scary, something that would clear her head. She wanted to find a mountainside to climb or cliff to jump from or a cool, deep sea to dive down into and watch the turtles swimming.
She wanted George.
Nina swallowed hard and blinked away tears.
But George’s betrayal was the worst of all she’d experienced. In listening when she needed to talk, in sharing her love of adventure, in fighting so passionately for what he believed in, in kissing her with such fire that she’d never known anything like it.
And in doing all this while married to another woman.