Chapter 42
Emilia was working on Andreas’s front garden again today. All the work in the back garden had been done. A few minor jobs were left to do here, much to her delight. In a couple of days she would finally finish. Lia can then disappear… forever. No more lies.
She had thought about everything. She would announce to Andreas on her last day that she had a ferry ticket and was all packed up to go back to Athens. No more Lia.
Emilia’s heart still leapt when she remembered her special private moments with Andreas on his yacht the previous night. She never felt more decided her whole life and she owed it all to Esmera, who had given her this gift to help her realize that finding true love doesn’t require being young. Any moment in life is a possible time to find love and happiness again. She was more than happy to be the forty-five year old that she was. Wrinkles, sun spots and all. Her true self.
So content was she that she had forgotten for a while that Andreas wasn’t feeling well today. Stefan had answered the doorbell and had come out to greet her. He’d said his father had a bit of a hangover today and was going to come out a little later.
She chuckled as she thought about him. He had started with downing tsipouro shots with some of his friends long before the meal came to be enjoyed with free-flowing wine. No surprise he’s got a bit of a headache. If only I could kiss it better… She smiled to herself and carried on with her work.
A little while later, she heard the front door open and was deflated a little to see only Stefan and Anja descending the steps to approach.
She took the refreshment they offered and went through the pretence of meeting Anja all over again, this time as Lia, when Stefan introduced them.
After taking a few sips of her refreshment, she asked how Andreas was doing.
‘Not good, Lia,’ said Anja in English, looking around, then down at her shoes.
‘Did he take any tablets for the headache?’ asked Emilia.
‘He said he did,’ said Stefan, glancing at her only for a moment. He seemed to have eyes only for Anja.
‘I should be ready to finish for the day in an hour,’ she said, then cocked her head to add, ‘Do you think I could speak to your father before I leave? If he’s feeling better? I have something to say.’
‘Yes, sure, I’ll let him know.’ Stefan offered a tight-lipped smile and put an arm around Anja, leading her to the stairs, and they both went inside.
###
Emilia was done for the day. No one had appeared in the last hour, certainly not Andreas, and now, she was worried. Normally, he would come straight out if she asked to see him. Just how bad is this hangover? Poor thing. She wondered if she should knock on the door or not. Maybe I should go… not disturb him… But no! I have to see him today in Trata. I need to switch back to my true form. His touch will make it happen!
Led by her need to see him today in her true form, her feet began to move, as if of their own volition, taking her up the stairs and rushing her to the door.
She knocked, and, for a few moments, wasn’t sure if anyone had heard her. She could hear no one speaking. Weird… Three people are in there. Normally, with just father and son, I could hear them chatting and laughing all morning. They’re not even playing music. They always do. My God, is he so bad?
Finally, the door opened, and Andreas appeared, much to her delight, though it didn’t last long. He had dark sunglasses on, and his hair was tousled, as if he’d just come out of bed. He even had the most tattered t-shirt on which wasn’t his usual style. He always looked so spotless and well groomed, as if ready to go out.
‘Hi, Lia… Nakis said you wanted to talk?’ His voice sounded groggy, and she peered at him for a few moments, wondering how badly he was suffering.
He put a hand on his forehead. ‘I am sorry… erm… about the glasses. I have a bad migraine.’
‘Sorry to hear, Andreas. I won’t keep you long. I just wanted to apologise in person for leaving the restaurant yesterday without saying goodbye. It was an awful thing to do after your kind invitation and the wonderful lunch you offered me.’
He flicked his wrist. ‘Please don’t apologise, Lia. Your aunt explained what happened. I understand.’
‘Yes, well… Okay… So…’ She noticed he had said that straight-faced, not a hint of humour in his expression. Just last night, when she explained why Lia had left so suddenly, he had howled. She missed that Andreas. Her Andreas. Of course, he didn’t know she was his Emilia. Why would he warm up to her this morning? She was just some young woman.
‘Well, I’ll be off now. Thank you,’ she said, offering her hand, eager to change to her true form soon. Just after the field next door, along the road, stood a huge recycle bin that was perfect to dive behind and hide from onlookers.
He took her hand and shook it limply. ‘Thank you too, Lia. Speak to you tomorrow.’
‘Yes, see you…’ she said, rushing to leave, the dizziness starting just as she neared the garden gate to swing it open.
###
Emilia entered the seating area of Trata to find it rather quiet in the late afternoon – as she expected. It suited her fine as that meant she would have the chance to sit with Andreas for a while. She sat at a quiet table in one corner under the shade and looked eagerly toward the entrance door.
Anja came out breezily to serve coffees to a couple sitting on the opposite side. Turning around to leave, she spotted Emilia and raised a hand in greeting as she began to come closer.
Anja had her long hair pulled up in a bun, and wore a white t-shirt with ‘Trata’ and a large fish emblazoned across the front. It was apparent that the girl had eagerly assumed the role of waitress in this place. Emilia smiled widely at the thought, knowing what Andreas’s dream involved for the young couple.
‘Hi!’ she said when Anja arrived to stand before her.
‘Hi, Emilia! How are you?’ she said in English.
‘Fine, thanks! You do waitressing, I see?’
‘Yes! I might as well make myself useful, you know?’
‘Sure. I am sure the men need the help.’
Anja tilted her head and pointed toward Emilia with a limp finger. ‘You know, if you put your hair up in a bun, you’d look just like your niece Lia! Has anyone told you that you two look almost the same?’ She shook her head, mouth agape, and added, ‘If you don’t mind me saying, you look so young, Emilia! How do you do it?’
She chortled and Emilia laughed too. It was easy, now that she knew Lia was soon going to go away. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. Thank you.’
‘No, really! I have to know!’ said Anja, still laughing.
‘Nuts and seeds. Every day,’ said Emilia, half-joking and half in truth. ‘They offer precious fatty oils. They work miracles on the skin.’
‘Nuts and seeds, huh? Any ones in particular?’
‘Each has its own value. Buy different kinds, have a spoonful of various seeds, and about a fistful of different nuts daily.’
‘I love it! Thank you!’ she said, jumping up and down on the spot. She had a childlike quality that made her adorable. ‘So, what can I get you?’
‘A cappuccino please. Single, one sugar.’
‘Coming right up!’
Before she could leave, Emilia said, ‘Is Andreas here?’
‘Yes, of course he is. I’ll tell him you’re here,’ said Anja and winked, then went inside.
Emilia imagined the girl knew, like everyone else, it seemed, that she and Andreas had gone off to be alone for a while last night. She didn’t mind. She’d shout it from the rooftops if she could.
Andreas came out a few moments later, much to her delight, except he wasn’t his usual self. He leaned over to put a warm hand on the back of her neck and the other on her shoulder as he left a soft peck on her lips. Then, he sat beside her and let out a huge sigh. ‘ Emilia mou … you’re such a sight for sore eyes,’ he whispered, taking her hand.
He kissed it, then rested it on his thigh. The love he expressed was just as warm as she remembered it, but his eyes seemed tired, his face a foreign mask of pinched features.
‘What is it, Andreas? Are you okay?’ she asked, interlacing her fingers with his and leaning forward.
He looked away and said, ‘Nothing too bad. A stomach bug.’
‘A stomach bug? But… Lia… she told me you had a bad hangover this morning. A migraine.’
Alarm flashed in his eyes, then he looked down at their intertwined hands. ‘Yes… Yes, I did. But my stomach is also not right. I think I partied too hard last night.’
Something in her gut twisted, then gave her a stab. It was a warning that he wasn’t telling her the whole truth. ‘Are you sure this is all, Andreas? Is there something else troubling you? You can tell me…’
He looked up then and met her gaze mutely for a few moments. He seemed exhausted. Like he’d been roaming in the desert for hours, looking for water, and he was still to find it. ‘I can’t lie to you, Emilia mou …’
She steeled herself, then said, ‘So, there is something else?’
‘Yes, but it’s… a family matter. I’d rather not talk about it. I need time to process it.’
She swallowed hard. It wasn’t the first time someone had professed love to her, then took it away quickly. Is this an excuse to keep me at bay? To let me down softly? ‘Time?’ she uttered with difficulty.
‘Yes… erm… I just feel like… the whole world is crumbling down around me right now.’ He took a deep breath, raising his face to the ceiling, then met her gaze anew to add, ‘But don’t worry, Emilia mou . I’ll be okay.’
‘You’ll be okay?’
He patted her hand. ‘Yes. Don’t worry.’
Before anything else could be said, Anja showed up to bring Emilia’s coffee. They discussed Elise for a bit, who had taken the day off, then Anja told Andreas that Voula needed him in the kitchen for something.
Emilia sat alone with her coffee for the next few minutes, just letting her million questions settle to stew inside of her, mixed with her all too familiar old sense of misery. Was it too good to be true? Is he having second thoughts already? So many excuses! A hangover, a stomach bug, a family matter… All of them lies, surely. It was just the alcohol talking last night! I am so, so stupid! He can’t love me, not really, if he’s pushing me aside and lying to me from day one!
She was still feeling the twinges in her insides when she heard children’s laughter. She looked up from her lap to find Lena, the cook’s daughter, standing before her, her friend, Sotiria, beside her.
They said hello, informing her they’d had a lovely lunch in the kitchen with Chloe today, but the latter had already left. Lena rattled off a list of all the goodies they had enjoyed, all made by her mother, ‘the best cook in the world’.
Sotiria then pointed to the street to show Emilia two bikes leaning against an electricity pole. She said Chloe had given them to her and Lena so they could cycle to Trata after school. Sometimes, Chloe came along with them, on her own bicycle, and other times she didn’t. And other times, Lena came on her own. No matter how many showed up for lunch each day, they said Andreas didn’t mind.
‘He is sooo nice!’ said Lena. ‘Almost as nice as my dad was.’
‘I am glad he doesn’t mind,’ said Emilia. ‘This way, you can spend more time with your mum.’
She tousled the child’s hair and looked at both their beaming faces for a while, then they went back inside. Her spirits lifted somewhat, thanks to the gaiety of the children, so she managed to finish her coffee in peace, her mind empty for now, as she let her eyes caress the sparkling sea in the distance.
But it didn’t last long. The branches of the tamarisk trees near the shore swayed seductively to her in the soft breeze, as if calling her over, as if willing her to remember what had happened on the shore the night before, when the alluring moonlight had transformed the place, making bold and impulsive even a man who wasn’t perhaps ready for love… or maybe, he wasn’t sure of his feelings. She didn’t want to believe he had deliberately lied about loving her. Perhaps, he had been hasty. Yes. Hasty… I can accept that. And, maybe, with time… he could…
Her thoughts were interrupted abruptly when she heard a familiar voice. It was Stefan, calling her name. She whipped her head around to find him standing before her with Anja.
‘Hi, Emilia!’ he said and they both sat down. ‘How are you?’ he added, switching to English, since Anja was present.
Emilia gave a faint smile. ‘Just fine, thanks. How are you doing?’
‘It’s been rather quiet today, and we’re glad for that as we’re still so beat from last night. It was crazy at the party!’ he said before seeking Anja’s gaze.
Anja bobbed her head frantically to agree, then said, ‘And we have the memorial tonight, so we are closing early.’
Emilia couldn’t help but stare at her blankly for a few moments. Finally, she asked, ‘What memorial?’
Stefan’s face dropped. ‘Ugh… for my mother? Didn’t my father mention it?’
Emilia forced herself to give a dim smile. ‘No, he didn’t.’
‘Well, we brought her ashes from Germany here with us to fulfil her last wish. She wanted her ashes to be scattered in the bay here, you see, where she swam as a young girl. Did my dad mention the two of them knew each other from school in Adamas?’
‘No… he didn’t share that either. But… he hasn’t really spoken to me much about your mum.’
‘Well, anyway, Dad wanted to get the opening of the restaurant out of the way first, and he wanted to get his own boat too, before we fulfilled Mum’s wish. We arranged for a priest to say a quick blessing for Mum this evening at the chapel in the cemetery. We are meeting him there at seven p.m., if you want to come. We will then get on the boat together to scatter Mum’s ashes. Again, you’re welcome to join us.’
Emilia was shaking her head profusely when she said, ‘Ugh… thanks, but I’d rather not. Your father hasn’t mentioned it, so I don’t think it’s my place to be there.’
‘Oh, please, don’t think like that. I can go in now and ask him—’
Emilia shouted her reply, without meaning to. ‘No! Please don’t! I…I’d rather you didn’t.’
Stefan nodded, now looking very sheepish, and took Anja by the hand. ‘Sorry, yes, of course. I see what you mean. My bad. Shouldn’t have suggested it.’
‘I guess your father wants to keep it strictly for the family. It’s a… family matter . I fully understand this.’
‘Yes, of course, Emilia.’ He turned to his girlfriend. ‘Shall we go in, Anja? We got… dishes to put away.’
Anja nodded mutely and the young couple gave little waves, avoiding her eyes, before going back inside.
Emilia felt badly for them, but nowhere near as badly as she now felt for herself.