Chapter 20
After a hearty meal at one of the many wonderful tavernas of Adamas, Elise led the girls to one of the bars at the edge of the bay that played loud reggae music. Plush sofas and low round tables were laid out on the sand. The girls went to one of the last two vacant sofas, counting themselves lucky.
A waitress came to take their order, and a few minutes later their drinks arrived delightfully colourful, the tall glasses decorated with fruit pieces and paper flags. They were cocktails for Emilia and Elise and an exotic fruit juice for Chloe.
The girls chatted and joked about the events of the day and, all the while, Emilia felt amazed at how laid back and free she felt. Just two days earlier, she was aching to be young again, feeling so alone in Athens and so upset, and now, she was back on Milos, the owner of a house! What’s more, she had two amazing new friends that looked out for her like two guardian angels.
Like angels. Indeed… She looked at the girls across the table to find they were chatting to each other at the time. Smiling to no one in particular, she cast her gaze aimlessly around the other tables. The place was packed.
She froze when she looked toward the bar. Oh! Three men, all of them middle-aged, were sitting on stools there, and she was shocked to see they were all looking her way. One of them stared at her quite suggestively while the other two seemed more tactful. They only threw her the odd glance between sips of their drinks.
Wow. I had forgotten what it feels like… to be noticed by men. She dropped her gaze to her hands on her lap and to her legs. She hadn’t seen her skin so unblemished and so radiant for years on end. Surely, to start anew as a young woman would be wonderful… But Andreas… We couldn’t have a future then…
Just then, her phone rang, and she was both amazed and elated to see that it was him. ‘Hello?’ she said, turning to the girls with an apologetic look.
They responded with happy smiles before turning toward each other to resume talking.
Andreas’s voice sounded jovial. ‘Emilia! How are you?’
‘ Yasoo! Hi, Andreas. I am so sorry I didn’t phone… But I’ve been busy moving into the house today.’
‘Really? So, it’s official? You’re a resident now?’
‘Yes! I moved in, but… uh… nothing’s definite. I’m staying on the island for a while…. Just taking some time to decide what I’m doing next.’
‘That’s… that’s wonderful , Emilia! I am so happy for you! And, to be honest, for me too! It means I can see you again! Which would be absolutely wonderful. We seemed to have clicked from the get go.’
That warmed her heart. ‘Yes, we did, didn’t we? And you certainly make me laugh, which is a lifesaver for me right now.’
‘It is?’
‘Yes, of course, Andreas. And, again, I do apologise for not having phoned you once yet. But it’s been mad! For what it’s worth, I did mean to call you back…’
‘Nah, it’s fine. I don’t mind phoning you to report on our little girl. She’s fine, by the way, eating like a tiger cub!’
He gave a chortle, which made it easy for Emilia to picture him. She imagined his bright eyes laughing along. She ached to see him again.
Andreas went on speaking. ‘If she carries on like this, you won’t recognise her when you see her again. She’s already plumped up a lot from all the food! I have the impression she’ll grow to be quite tall.’
‘Good. She’ll make a scarier guard if she’s bigger.’
‘Nuh! I have a home alarm system for that. Though, if I had any intruders and Sissi attacked them to bite their ass I wouldn’t necessarily mind.’
Emilia giggled in lieu of an answer.
‘Oh, it’s great to hear you laugh, Emilia. I don’t like to think of you grieving over your aunt. I bet her house holds old memories. Hopefully, they warm your heart more than they could ever upset you.’
Emilia’s heart melted to hear these caring words. ‘Yes, Andreas. Indeed, it is so. I am very lucky that way.’
‘I am glad to hear it, Emilia. Look… if you need a friend to talk, just say the word, okay, and I’ll be there for you… I know the loneliness is terrible when you’re grieving. People don’t call or visit, sometimes for days on end, thinking you’d rather be on your own, when, in fact, it’s the exact opposite. I’ve been there with my late wife, when she passed on, bless her soul…’
‘Oh! I didn’t know. I am sorry, Andreas.’
‘Thank you, Emilia. It’s not recent, it’s been five years now. Though, the pain of the loss of a loved one never really goes away. It just becomes more bearable.’
Emilia felt for him. She knew well what he meant. She also ached to ask him if there had been another woman in his life ever since, but, of course, she had neither the right nor the cheek to ask him that. His voice echoed again before she could say anything.
‘So? How are you doing for company? You know I am here for you, if you need me.’
Emilia perked up. ‘Thank you, Andreas. This means a lot. Actually, I am out having fun in Adamas tonight! I have two… girlfriends of mine here. They’ve come to keep me company at the house.’
‘That’s wonderful, Emilia. Kaloriziko , by the way. Congratulations on the new house. Are your girlfriends from Athens?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh, that’s nice. You girls are welcome to come over for a coffee if you’re visiting Papikinou beach. I run a café/restaurant there. It’s called Trata.’
‘Really? I had no idea you’re a restauranteur! I thought you’ve only been here a month. That’s super-fast. You’re amazing!’
He tittered and said, ‘I can’t lie… no matter how much I’d like you to think I am sooo amazing… But the truth is, it’s only a café at the moment. A very basic one at that. My son and I are currently working hard to expand the café menu, and to build the bar. We haven’t started operating the restaurant side of things yet. I don’t even have a cook. We offer some basic meze with ouzo for now, and that’s all, food-wise. But, one thing at a time… I’ve learned in my life to take things slowly… and we only bought the property a fortnight ago.’
‘Oh, that’s very wise, Andreas. Good for you. And thank you for the invitation. My friends and I will gladly take you up on your offer, first chance we get.’
‘I look forward to seeing you there! When should I expect you?’
Emilia felt flustered. She didn’t want to commit to a day and time until she’d spoken to Elise and Chloe first. And, of course, she’d have to wait till she switched back to her real form before she appeared before him. Then, she recalled something else. Her cousin Aleka had mentioned at the funeral that she ran a restaurant on Papikinou beach. What are the chances? And what did she call it? Oh, Perdika! That’s right. Maybe, we can visit them both in one go. A coffee at Perdika just this once to keep Aleka sweet, even though I don’t really care to see her again, and then an ouzo at Trata to see Andreas. ‘Say, Andreas? How far is Perdika from Trata?’ she asked casually.
‘Perdika?’ he said, sounding taken aback.
‘Yes, Perdika. It’s a restaurant on Papikinou beach, right?’
‘Yes, it is. And, sadly, it’s just two doors away from me. Too close for comfort.’
‘I don’t understand. Why do you say that?’
‘It’s the owner… Aleka…’ He said the word as if someone had just sprayed his mouth with vinegar. ‘She’s a nasty piece of work! Do you know her?’
Emilia was shocked for a few moments, her mind whirling. Knowing how ill-mannered Aleka could be, she felt at a loss to imagine what she must have done to Andreas for him to sound so repulsed by her. She cleared her throat. ‘I am sorry to say we are related… She is my first cousin.’
‘Your cousin? Oh, my! My commiserations!’ he said, now bursting into laughter, causing her to relax.
‘Yes, well… I’ll just say I can relate, having known her all my life, and having spent more time with her than I could handle, and I’ll leave it at that.’
They both laughed with that, then he said, ‘Well, if this is the case, why do you care where her restaurant is? Just keep away from her. Trust me. She’s poison.’
‘Wow. I can only imagine what she must have done to you!’
‘Let’s just say she didn’t like it when I opened the café. She doesn’t like me because I came from Germany. That’s what I heard from the locals we both know… And I am not even German! Go figure.’
‘Hm. Not surprised. Logic never was Aleka’s strong point.’
Emilia then noticed Elise and Chloe looking at her wide-eyed and pointing to a spot a little further away where many patrons were dancing on the sand. They seemed eager to join and kept gesturing to her to go with them. ‘Listen, Andreas. I have to go now. We’ll talk later. I’ll see you at Trata as soon as I can make it.’
‘Look forward to it, Emilia mou . Kalinichta .’
His wish for goodnight had sounded really sweet, especially as he had used the endearing ‘mou’ after her name, which meant ‘my’… ‘My Emilia’. It was common for Greeks who were familiar and loving to each other to use that between them, be it lovers or family members or just friends. She felt compelled to address him likewise.
‘ Kalinichta, Andrea mou . Talk again soon. Give a kiss to our foster daughter for me!’ she said and hung up, the sound of his laughter echoing in her ears long after they’d ended the call.
###
After dancing with her friends for almost half an hour, Emilia felt parched and returned to her seat alone to finish her cocktail. As soon as she did, a man came to sit on Elise’s seat and leaned toward her to say, ‘That glass certainly looks half-empty, darling. Allow me to buy you another?’
He was fair-skinned, with spiky brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. But he was young. So young. Barely out of high school. Besides, she wasn’t there to meet a guy. I won’t be looking for a man this young at any place or time!
Emilia shook her head. ‘Thanks for the offer, but I am not interested. Nothing personal, I can assure you.’
He grimaced and stood, leaving her without as much as a second glance.
Emilia watched his retreating form, aghast. So, that’s how flirting has evolved since I was last in the game. Before she could take another sip from her cocktail, she heard the familiar sound of someone sitting on the fake-leather seat beside her and turned to look, praying this time it was Elise or Chloe and not another stranger.
To her surprise, it wasn’t one of the girls, but not a stranger either. It was Takis. Cousin Aleka’s fiancée and her own ex-boyfriend back at school. Feeling self-conscious, and seeing that she was now so close to the age when they used to be an item, she found herself cringing in her seat and bending forward, too much for it to seem normal. Yet, she couldn’t help it.
Takis bent forward and put a hand on her back, tapping it gently. ‘Hey! Are you okay? Are you choking?’ he asked, his voice heavy with concern, and with an evident slur.
Reluctantly, she looked up, straightening somewhat, and put a hand on her forehead. ‘Oh, no, thanks… Just felt dizzy for a moment, I am fine now…’ she lied to explain herself.
‘Phew! You scared me, girl!’
His eyes were glassy. This man had been drinking a lot this evening.
Before she could say anything, he put a flat palm on his chest and added, ‘Sorry. I am Takis! This is not a pick-up line, I assure you! But the truth is, I’ve been standing over there with my friends…’ He pointed toward the bar and she saw two guys sitting there waving to her with tight smiles. Only then did she realize Takis and his friends were the three that were checking her out earlier. Somehow, she hadn’t recognised Takis across the distance, but, in her defence, their faces had not been well illuminated with the strong bar lights behind them, and with only fairy lights hanging overhead.
She waved back casually to the two men and turned to Takis again, confused. She was worried now. Had he recognised her?
‘Anyway, I wanted to come over and meet you, just to be sure…’ He leaned closer, staring deeply into her eyes and added, ‘Nope! Silly me! It’s just that you look just like a friend I knew once. But she has brown eyes… And, she is my age, while you’re clearly twenty years younger or so!’ He straightened in his chair and flailed his arms, taking her aback when he exclaimed, ‘To be frank, girl, you are gorgeous ! But you’re definitely not Emilia.’
Emilia blinked a few times, and before she could utter a word, he leaned in again, a leering look in his eyes. ‘And your name, sweetheart, what is it?’
‘It’s… Lia…’ she said automatically, as if in a dream, too shocked to think.
He chuckled. ‘Lia? Like, Emilia? Now, this is most uncanny!’ He slapped his knee and gave a hearty laugh. ‘Seems like I am not done with the name Emilia yet, you know? She was the one that got away. Never got over her. But, perhaps, you’d like to… numb the pain a little?’ He took her hand and squeezed it in his own. It felt warm and clammy. Disgusting even.
‘What?’ she exclaimed, withdrawing her hand. ‘What right have you to—?’
He raised his hands in what looked like a well-exercised backward manoeuver. ‘Hey! I only came over here to tell you that you’re beautiful. Don’t get all offensive on me. What’s wrong with you women these days? Can’t a guy make a move on a girl anymore? What the heck!’
By the time she’d recovered from this second shock, he was standing over her. ‘Sorry I came over, honey ,’ he said, his tongue dripping sarcasm. ‘Maybe it runs in the name. The sting.’
‘The sting?’ she said, vexation growing inside her. ‘Are you referring to that Emilia “that got away”, like you said? What did she do to you, out of curiosity?’
His tone turned snarky when he put his hands on his hips to say, ‘Not that it’s any of your business, girlie , but she was unforgiving, crazy, and unpredictable. I imagine you’re just the same. You women are all the same! You’re poison ! I’m sick of you!’ he said, walking away with a huff.
Shocked, Emilia watched as he joined his friends, only to pick up his keys and walk away, ignoring them when they clearly protested.