Chapter 12
A lot of people had turned up for the funeral. The church of St George in Adamas was packed with old friends, neighbours and other acquaintances of Aunt Irini’s. Among them, Mr Roidis, who walked straight up to Emilia upon spotting her, before the service even began, to offer his condolences with feeling. He was then called over by a couple, regrettably leaving her to stand on her own.
A little later, Mrs Popi turned up, rushing over to Emilia as soon as she saw her, and then, together, they approached the coffin to offer their respects. When the priest arrived, Mrs Popi took a seat next to Emilia. She chattered for most of the service, making it impossible for Emilia to hear the priest and the psaltis that chanted along.
Mrs Popi kept pointing with her chin here and there, identifying for Emilia the few distant relatives of her uncle’s—Aunt Irini’s late husband—who had turned up.
Emilia knew none of these people. Actually, the only relative she could identify was her cousin Aleka, who had arrived late. She was standing to her left, a good distance away, leaning against the wall as the church was packed and all the pews and chairs were taken.
Aleka wore an elegant black dress, a thick necklace around her neck, and massive dark glasses that made her look like a movie star. At least, she took them off a while later, hanging them on her rather low neckline, to finally show a modicum of respect.
Aleka was forever dressing all posh, from her teens onwards, and she’d always socialised with people who had the same style. This made it a great mystery, why she’d wound up, of all people, with the absolute slob of a man who stood next to her now. He wasn’t just leaning leisurely against the wall; he had placed one boot against it too, reminding her of the way men leaned against the wall sometimes, mostly in bars, beer in hand, checking out the talent that passed by.
It was a shocking sight for a funeral, especially because the man who accompanied her cousin was Takis, her no-good ex-boyfriend from the stupidest part of her youth. It had taken her a split second to recognize them both across the distance. Yet, it still racked her brains as to how these two could ever wind up hanging out together. Perhaps, they’re a couple… But, so what? Who cares?
Emilia sniffed and looked away, allowing herself to tune in to Mrs Popi’s incessant blathering again. As if their minds had just communicated telepathically, the old woman pointed toward Aleka and Takis and said: ‘Oh! There’s your cousin! Beats me why, but she got herself involved with this wastrel. Don’t know him but he looks like trouble to me. See how his eyes are wandering? Tut tut! But she’s not any better, mind you.’ She elbowed Emilia then, causing her to feel hotter by two degrees in an instant.
This woman is impossible! Emilia remembered her being inappropriate in the past too, forever gossiping and bad-mouthing people, but Aunt Irini had loved her for some reason and always encouraged her company. So, for the sake of Aunt Irini, and because of the sombre occasion, Emilia decided not to voice her disapproval. After all, she was only there for a few days. She’d never have to think of the woman again after that.
Emilia directed her gaze toward the open coffin, where her beloved auntie lay. She looked serene, like an angel, as if this terrible disease had never touched her. A tear rolled down her cheek. Mrs Popi saw it and patted her hand.
Then, the priest called out to the congregation to approach for ‘One last kiss’ and everyone formed a line. This was going to be tough for Emilia so she steeled herself. She’d done this three times before in her life – giving a dear family member that one last kiss… It was never easy.
Gritting her teeth, she stood and joined the line of people, who waited to kiss Aunt Irini’s forehead, or the icon propped up against the coffin.
###
Having paid her respects, Emilia got out of the church to get some fresh air. Mrs Popi had stayed inside to chat to a mutual old acquaintance.
She stood at the top step and let her gaze fall softly on the sea view stretching before her. The serene setting calmed her heart from the earlier upset, somewhat.
‘Emilia? Is that you?’ she heard in a rather shrill voice, and turned to find Aleka and Takis standing before her, her arm looped around his. They looked shocked somewhat, Takis especially, who retracted his arm from around Aleka’s and stared, lips slightly parted.
‘Hi, Aleka, good to see you,’ said Emilia offering her hand.
Aleka pulled her in for a loose hug instead. As soon as she let her go, Emilia turned to Takis. ‘Hi, Takis.’
Her greeting seemed to have unglued him from the spot where he’d been standing like a marble statue. He took an abrupt step forward and offered his hand to shake hers frantically. ‘Oh, Emilia! I don’t believe it. It’s been, like… I don’t know!’
‘More than twenty years,’ said Emilia.
‘So good to see you again,’ he said. ‘You haven’t changed a bit.’
‘Thanks,’ Emilia said, knowing he was just being nice. He didn’t look the same at all; that was for certain. A receding hairline and a weathered, leathery face had replaced the abundant thick hair and the pimply, yet supple teenage skin she recalled when they were sweethearts back at school. When she didn’t know better.
‘Not one bit!’ he carried on, looking enthralled, as he stared at her, mouth gaping, his hands on his hips.
Aleka moved closer to him to loop her arm around his again, clearly claiming him. It was interesting to see. She was obviously feeling threatened.
Typical Aleka. She was forever competing with Emilia when they were young, and Emilia had long sussed it out. And since it takes two to tango, Emilia had never engaged in that game with her. Once again, she had no intention of ruffling her cousin’s feathers. Smiling politely, she said, ‘So, are you guys seeing each other?’
Aleka raised her voice an octave higher to say, ‘Yes! And we’re so happy!’ She turned to him to squeeze his jaw tenderly, then added, ‘Takis and I are engaged to be married.’
‘That’s wonderful. I’m happy for you,’ lied Emilia, arranging her features into the most pleasant smile she could muster. She couldn’t care less.
Looking satisfied, Aleka took a few moments to smooth Takis’s shirt, during which he froze like a mannequin. Only his pupils kept moving, endlessly from side to side, like windscreen wipers.
The thought caused Emilia to bring a fist before her mouth and pretend to cough. She turned the other way to suppress a titter. Poor thing! There are some things that even Takis doesn’t deserve!
‘So, Emilia, you still live in Athens?’ she heard and spun around again.
‘Yes, Aleka.’
‘You staying long? Perhaps, we could get together.’
‘Yes, thanks, that would be… uh… lovely, but… erm… I don’t have long to stay, and I have arranged to spend time with some friends,’ she said, thinking on her feet. Thank goodness for Andreas!
‘Oh, I see.’ She raised her chin and added, ‘But, maybe you could drop in at the taverna one day. It’s not far—’
Despite herself, Emilia cut her off. ‘What taverna?’
Aleka pouted her lips, planted an open palm on her chest and replied, ‘ My taverna! It’s called Perdika and it’s on Papikinou beach. You remember where that is, right? It’s not too far from Auntie’s house.’
‘Yes, I do. It’s a beautiful beach.’
‘Well, come over and see us! Here’s my card!’ Aleka fished a card out of her clutch bag and handed it to her with a flourish.
Emilia held the card, pretending to be studying the rudimentary map on the flip side. Avoiding Aleka’s gaze, she said, ‘Great, thanks… I can ask my… um… friends… to go swimming with me to Papikinou one day, and then maybe we’ll all visit you for a meal.’ She’d always found it hard to lie. Not looking at the person she lied to made it easier.
When Emilia finally looked up from the card, she found Aleka looking pleased. Takis beside her was keeping quiet. Too quiet. I wonder what happened to him over the years to change him so much. You couldn’t shut him up when we were young!
‘Emilia, I forgot to ask… What do you do for a living?’
Emilia guessed this question had an agenda. Aleka was just curious to see if she had topped her by being a business owner. For a split second or two, Emilia was tempted to lie, picking something fancy. No! I’ve never been ashamed of who I am, nor did I ever feel competitive, unlike her. That was Aleka’s problem, not hers, and Emilia still wasn’t going to participate in her stupid, ego-ping-pong game.
‘I am a landscape designer. Freelance.’
Aleka tilted her head, looking genuinely curious. ‘What’s that exactly?’
‘Oh, sorry. I design and create gardens. For businesses and homes alike. I use different elements to create the look and the vibe my customers are after. It’s rather creative work, and I really enjoy it.’
Aleka squinted her eyes. ‘You mean you plant trees and stuff? You’re a… gardener? Isn’t it a tough job for a woman? All this manual labour?’
‘No, it’s… fine…’ Emilia’s voice trailed off, sounding feeble in her own ears. Even though she’d anticipated it, it had still hit her so hard it had punched the air out of her lungs. Her cousin’s first stinging remark after twenty years. Some things just never change. Emilia had always avoided her, and that was the best way she knew how to deal with her venom. She couldn’t help it, could she? To compete. Even now. But I know better than to get annoyed with a toxic saddo like you! I’ve been through hell, missy. You have nothing on me…
Reminding herself where she was, and whom she was here to honour, she calmed herself down without much effort. She pressed her lips together, then brought a hand to her face and started to fan it.
Aleka gave a smug little smile, her chest all puffed up, but when she turned to make eye contact with Takis, he glared at her in response.
Emilia registered this with a warm feeling in her heart. Thank you, Takis… In the name of those first two years when you were sweet, before you turned into a cheating piece of shit… thank you!
‘Ugh, well…’ Emilia said finally. ‘Speaking of gardens, I walked past Auntie’s house this morning. Her garden… It’s in such a state! Broke my heart. Auntie had loved it so much… and she was forever in there, do you remember? Watering, planting, spraying and pruning her immaculate rose bushes, her fruit trees, and her blooms. All gone now. I was so sad to see everything wilted and overgrown by weeds.’
Aleka smoothed her hair. ‘Well, obviously, there was no one to tend to it all. Aunt Irini had been sick for a long time.’
‘Yes, I know. Mr Roidis told me.’
Aleka’s eyes turned huge. ‘The notary? How do you know him?’ Her brows looked like two paragliding sails that had caught the wind, about to take off.
Emilia tried to contain her amusement when she said, ‘Oh… He’s the one who informed me about Aunt’s passing. He informed me about her cancer too, of course.’
‘Oh! That’s kind of him, but—’ Aleka paused, then shot a curious look to Takis, who seemed to have lost his voice for good, and continued, ‘But, how did he even have your number, Emilia? How peculiar!’
‘Not peculiar at all… Aunt Irini had asked him to call me, you see. To invite me to the funeral, and to the hearing of the will as well.’
‘You’ll be coming to the reading of the will? I didn’t know that!’ Aleka said, raising her voice.
Amused by her cousin’s predictable reactions, Emilia stood like a statue and simply said, ‘Yes, Aleka, I will.’
Aleka and Takis exchanged more curious looks, initiated by the former. She fidgeted with her hair, then with her dress, her eyes wandering all around for a few moments.
Then, Takis called a man, who had just come out of the church, and ventured toward the churchyard with him to chat.
Aleka threw an annoyed glance at the two men, then shook her head and said to Emilia, ‘Well, Auntie has always been very nice to us both. I guess she wants to give you something to remember her by. Perhaps, Uncle’s field just out of Adamas. It’s a good field and it’s been sitting there for years since Uncle’s passing. You could sell it and earn a bit of cash…’
Emilia felt herself stiffen. Her cousin’s assumptions were mostly inappropriate. The timing too, seeing that their beloved aunt wasn’t even buried yet. And there she was, splitting her property between them. Emilia didn’t expect a thing… How dared Aleka assume? How dared she feel so entitled? Emilia had lost her voice, and all she could do was scratch her temple, looking away, hoping Takis would return and remove Aleka from her sights immediately.
Clearly unaware of the annoyance she’d caused, Aleka went on, ‘Remember how Auntie used to take you and me for long walks to Uncle’s field in the summer?’
That was a sweet memory, and it caused Emilia to smile genuinely, somehow. She gave a soft sigh. ‘Yes, of course. Those were the days. Uncle always loaded us up with bags of vegetables to take home with us after our visit to his field. It’s such a fond memory for me. But I certainly never expected him or Auntie to leave me anything. I missed Uncle’s funeral, and I am just glad now that I could come here at short notice for Auntie’s.’
‘Well, Aunt Irini is leaving me her house, obviously!’ said Aleka after a few moments, her face bright.
‘She told you so before she died?’ asked Emilia. She meant nothing by it. It was a genuine question, but Aleka’s face hardened somewhat, all the same.
‘Not exactly, Cousin. But she did say a few nice things to me when I’d visit her to help her out while she was sick. You know, doing an errand for her here and there, or bringing her some food from the taverna so she didn’t have to worry about cooking. She was so poorly toward the end. And, somehow, the closer she came to the end, the more she praised me, bless her little soul! “Aleka mou”, she’d say, “What would I do without you? You’re a treasure!” ’
Emilia knew better than to challenge her any more. She simply nodded and said, ‘Oh, that’s nice… She was so lovely. Always thankful for the tiniest thing.’
That’s when Aleka surprised her by poking her in the arm and saying, ‘Mind you, toward the end, it was difficult for me to visit. Her minder was often neglecting her duties, as she had other elderly people to visit in the day. The house smelled, and, sometimes, I just couldn’t bear it, you know? So, I’d leave the food containers in the veranda for the carer to find them when she next dropped in.’
‘Oh… uh…. That’s…’ Emilia was lost for words. Poor Auntie! Why didn’t Aleka clean for her when the house stank? Or, at least, hire someone to do it? I’d have done so much more for Aunt Irini… So much more…Because she deserved so much more than this!
‘Well, bless her soul, her troubles are over now. She doesn’t have to suffer any more, right?’ said Aleka, shrugging, causing Emilia to snap out of her thoughts.
Thankfully, the ushers brought out the coffin then, causing a stirring among the congregation standing before the door. Everyone stepped out of the way to allow them to get out, shifting wildly like swarming bees, separating Emilia from her toxic cousin.
Emilia took the opportunity to rush to the front gate, where she’d spotted Mrs Popi. Suddenly, her company felt almost like a refuge, the lesser of two evils. Together, they began to walk toward the cemetery that was situated just a little further away, via a pedestrian path.
As she sauntered along, surrounded by people, Emilia’s heart churned with a mixture of uncomfortable feelings as she thought of her angelic aunt and her vile, as always, cousin. Anger, bitterness, regret, and tremendous sorrow vied for attention. The only bonus was the fact that she was too caught up in her thoughts to register Mrs Popi’s resumed commentary on the locals.