by Lena Manta
“But there’s no need to excuse yourself, gentlemen,” Kimon said. “You’ll be leaving me with two beautiful women at last. If you had any tact at all, you’d have done that earlier!”
The husbands smiled and hurried off. Complete silence immediately fell on the group. Julia kept her eyes fixed on the floor and didn’t utter a word. Eugenia smiled at Kimon, but he kept staring at Julia.
“I don’t want to seem rude, Mr. Alexiadis, but I’ll leave you for a little while alone with Julia. I noticed a friend of mine a few minutes ago and I must go and say hello to her.”
As Eugenia went off, Julia couldn’t believe her friend had deserted her.
“Will you stare at the floor for much longer?” Kimon asked.
“I think it’s the best thing I can do,” she answered abruptly.
“Yes, but it’s not the cleverest. You attract attention and I don’t think you want to do that.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That your husband himself introduced us, and it won’t seem logical to someone who notices us, for you to stand there in silence looking down when one of your husband’s clients stands opposite you.”
Julia raised her head and fixed her eyes on him. “Then I’ll look at you. And I repeat that I don’t like this game. I have no desire for a relationship with anyone. I love my husband, I’m happy with him, and I want you to leave me alone. Why won’t you believe me?”
“I never said I didn’t believe you. However I always get what I want in life. And now it’s you that I want.”
“And the fact that I don’t want you—doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“Absolutely nothing! It’s only a matter of time before you realize that with me you’ll be much happier than you’d be with an employee in an office who, by the way, could find himself out of work tomorrow.”
“Are you threatening me with something or have I made a mistake?”
“I never threaten a woman. I’m simply showing you all the parameters. It happens that people are let go sometimes. It could be your husband, and then you’ll understand that I can offer you everything. Come with me, Julia, and the world will belong to you.”
“Please, Mr. Alexiadis, leave me alone and find someone else more willing to be offered the world. I’m not interested.” Now Julia was in a rage. She left Kimon by himself and found Eugenia.
“Come with me!” Julia said sternly and her friend followed her without any objection.
They found themselves in the restroom.
“Don’t ever do that to me again!” Julia snapped.
“What did I do?” Eugenia asked innocently.
“Stop it! You know very well you shouldn’t have left me alone with him.”
“But what could I do? It was obvious that he wanted to talk to you. So what did you talk about?”
“To put it briefly, he told me that if I don’t give in to him, Fokas will lose his job.”
“My God! This gentleman is playing rough. What will you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Maybe you’ve taken it the wrong way.”
“It’s wrong any way you look at it. And I think the time has come to talk to my husband.”
“You mustn’t do that. It’s the surest way for him to find himself out of work. Are you stupid? If you tell Fokas about this, he’ll go and demand an explanation from Kimon. You can imagine what’ll happen after that.”
“You’re right, it’s dangerous . . . but what else can I do?”
The day after the party, when a very expensive necklace arrived together with the usual bouquet of flowers, Julia felt the blood rushing to her head. Furious, she opened the window, saw Kimon smiling at her, and threw the necklace and the flowers at him with all her strength. Then she slammed the window shut. Trembling with nerves, she collapsed on a chair. She racked her brain for a solution to her problem, which seemed to get bigger and bigger every day. She even thought of asking her father-in-law for help, but she rejected the idea as foolish. How could she tell her husband’s father about the dreadful things that had gone on and persuade him that she had no responsibility for them? Nor could her mother advise her. In the letters Julia had written she’d never even referred to the problems she’d had with her mother-in-law, and she didn’t want to burden her mother with her concerns now.
She could hardly believe her luck when Kimon disappeared from her life as suddenly as he’d appeared. She guessed that her violent response to the necklace made him finally understand that he was wasting his time with her. Julia felt as if she had recovered from a serious disease. She could now leave the house without constantly looking over her shoulder to see if she was being followed.
It didn’t last more than two months, however. Kimon Alexiadis appeared again, and more insistently this time. He even invited them to dinner with Simos and Eugenia. Julia knew it would be impossible to refuse to accompany her husband without raising suspicions. So she obeyed her destiny, knowing it would be a very difficult evening.
Kimon welcomed them to his house, which was a palace in a suburb of the city, clearly designed to make an impression. However much Eugenia showed her frank admiration both for the man and his house, Julia confined herself to the strictly necessary approval of the works of art that their host proudly showed them.
That night Julia found out that Kimon had been abroad for the last two months and she silently wished that he’d stayed wherever he was and left her in peace. She didn’t expect things to get worse now that he was back, but she was wrong. Kimon became her shadow. He turned up wherever she went and often approached her, starting up a conversation with some ridiculous excuse. One day when she was waiting for Eugenia at a pastry shop, he dared to sit down at the same table, something that made her so furious that she tipped a glass of water on him and ran off.
The next day she was surprised to see her father-in-law at her door. His grim expression made her heart nearly stop.
“What’s going on, Father? Has something happened?” she asked as soon as she closed the door behind him.
“Something’s happened and I want the two of us to have a little talk,” he answered, and she could hear the sadness in his voice.
They sat in the sitting room and Julia offered him a coffee. The older man smoked for a while in silence. He seemed embarrassed and had difficulty beginning, so Julia, who had never seen him in such a state, began the conversation herself.
“Father, something’s happened. Don’t keep me in agony, please!”
“Yesterday I had a meeting with someone in a pastry shop in Kypseli,” Kyriakos began.
It didn’t take long for Julia to understand that her father-in-law had witnessed the scene with Kimon. A feeling of liberation flooded over her. She may not have had the courage to seek his advice herself, but fate had brought her perhaps the only person who could help her.
“Of course! I hope I didn’t splash you with water too,” she said, unperturbed.
“Julia, I want to know what’s going on with Alexiadis!”
“Do you know him?” she asked in surprise.
“Oh, I know all about him—the good and the bad. And you, what do you have to do with such a bastard?”
Without any more hesitation, Julia told him what had been going on for the last few months. She explained all the efforts she’d made to discourage Kimon and the reasons why she’d said nothing to her husband.
“I don’t understand how and where he found the nerve to pursue me so aggressively,” she said. “Suddenly, one day, I realized that he’d become my shadow. Then the flowers and the notes began.”
“I believe you, my girl. I have no doubt that you bear no responsibility. And even if I’d had doubts, yesterday’s soaking would have quickly dispelled them.”
“So where do you know him from?”
“It’s a long story. My brother, the one who came to the wedding, was the reason I met that scumbag. His wife caught Alexiadis’s eye more than two years ago. She was younger tha
n my brother and very beautiful. Alexiadis began besieging her. Except that Alexandra didn’t have the same strength as you and she didn’t love my brother so much. She gave in very quickly and the whole of Thessaloniki laughed behind the back of a man whose only crime was that he loved his wife and completely trusted her.”
“And what happened? From what I’ve heard, Alexandra is dead. Was she killed?”
“That’s what we told everyone. But it was suicide. When that bastard grew tired of her, he threw her out like a rag, but it seems that she really loved him. She couldn’t bear it and killed herself. The scandal would have come out in the open, and for the first time Alexiadis seemed afraid. But my wife saved the situation. She did everything to cover things up. She hid my sister-in-law’s suicide note, and thanks to Evanthia’s cousin, who was a prosecutor in the traffic police, the suicide was reported as a tragic accident.”
“Unbelievable!”
“There’s more. Alexandra was pregnant when she died and the baby wasn’t my brother’s because he couldn’t have children. Alexiadis was the father but it didn’t bother him. Evanthia worked a miracle there too. I don’t know how, but nobody ever found out. So the one who was really responsible got off and managed with unbelievable audacity to say he owed us a favor. That’s why I panicked when I saw you yesterday. I realized that the good-for-nothing has his eye on you!”
“Yes, but why? Just like that? Where did he first see me and how did he find out so much about me so he could begin to pursue me? Something bothered me about his story from the beginning. It’s as if someone sent him to me on purpose.”
“He has good taste,” Kyriakos whispered, as if at a loss.
“He has no taste at all, Father!” Julia said angrily. “If Fokas finds out, I’m finished. Leaving aside the fact that Kimon has threatened me in no uncertain terms, saying that my husband may lose his job if I don’t . . . do you understand?”
Kyriakos got up suddenly from his chair. “Don’t be afraid; nothing will happen, my girl. Now that I know, I’ll help you.”
After her father-in-law left, Julia felt she could breathe more easily. At last she had an ally; finally she wasn’t alone. She began doing some housework, ignorant of what was taking place on the other side of the city.
At that very moment, taking every precaution, Evanthia crossed Kimon’s doorstep. He received her in his living room.
“You’ve finally come,” he said.
“We said we’d avoid meetings. Why did you ask to see me?”
“Because this business has to stop immediately! I’m exhausted, I’m bored, and what’s more, there’s no result. Your daughter-in-law is a moral rock. Whatever I do, all my efforts come to nothing. Besides, I’m afraid I’ll become a laughingstock.”
“You nearly became a laughingstock back then, but I rescued you.”
“And I paid you back with interest! From the beginning, I didn’t like your game, yet I agreed to play it. But nothing’s going to happen. The girl is completely honorable and she loves your son, just as he loves her. Why don’t you leave them in peace?”
“That’s my business.”
“Fine. But I think I’ve settled my account with you. I give up. I’ll leave the girl in peace and I advise you to do the same.”
“I don’t need to be lectured, especially by you. Next you’ll tell me that you felt ashamed!”
“Yes, because that’s the way it is. I may do whatever I like with women, but with women who want it. Not to mention that cooling my heels under the window of some woman doesn’t suit me. Just yesterday she threw a necklace I sent her out the window, and it was really expensive. If anyone had been watching, what would have happened?”
“All right, all right. Stop your whining! In any case, I got what I wanted.”
“Maybe I’ll regret having asked, but what exactly did you want and get?”
“Photographs.”
“Photographs?” Kimon rolled his eyes. “Have you gone crazy? I forbid you to use them!”
“Calm down. No one else will see them except my son.”
“Oh, great. Now I’m not worried,” Alexiadis shot back sarcastically. “And if he comes to me to demand an explanation? What will I tell the man?”
“Don’t worry about that. He won’t come to you. I know my son. And if he does, you only have to say that his wife wanted it.”
“You’re unbearable, Mrs. Karapanos.”
“That’s not what you said when I saved you from a scandal that would have expelled you from the high society of Thessaloniki.”
“At this moment I wonder if it was worth the trouble, now that I’ve gotten mixed up with you like this. But tell me, what do the photographs show? The girl never did anything reprehensible. Just yesterday she doused me with water.”
“We avoided that snapshot. But in all the others it looks as if she’s speaking to you in various places and you look like a couple. In one, you even kiss her hand.”
“Yes, I remember, and immediately afterward your daughter-in-law nearly scratched my eyes out! But what do you want to achieve with all this?”
“I want my son to see that the girl he married is not for him, that she chased him for his money.”
“But Julia doesn’t care a damn about all that. She only wants Fokas. It’s a shame!”
“So let the shame be on me, Alexiadis; you don’t have to get mixed up in it. Remember that I’ve kept Alexandra’s letter where she names you as the reason for her suicide and the death of her unborn child.”
“You’re a blackmailer!”
“Thank you for the information. The important thing is that I do my work. This village girl is not for my son, and now I have the weapons I need to fight her.”
Evanthia departed, leaving Alexiadis to shake his head helplessly. He’d never known another woman like this one, nor did he ever wish to.
As soon as Fokas got home, Julia knew that something was bothering him.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Did something happen at the office?”
“Yes, but it has nothing to do with work. An old friend came to see me. I knew him when I was doing my national service. He’s a contractor. He suggested that we work together.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“Not so wonderful. He’s been away from Greece for years. Now he’s based in Africa.”
“In Africa? And what would you do there?”
“There’s tremendous development going on in Cameroon. He takes on various projects, mostly government ones. He suggests I come there.”
“To Cameroon?”
“Yes. He tells me I’ll make a lot of money. He asked me how long I’ll remain an employee on a salary and he insisted that people who dare, succeed. He really got me thinking!”
“So what do you think?”
“I can’t leave, Julia. First of all, how can I drag you to Africa, on the other side of the world? Then I have my parents here.”
“About your parents, I understand, but don’t think about me. I have no problem following you.”
“Are you telling me the truth? Would you follow me?”
“What sort of a question is that, Fokas? Of course I’ll come! My life is wherever you are.”
“But you won’t have anyone down there.”
“Who do I have here? And you have to admit that it’s a great opportunity for you. Think carefully about it and whatever you decide, I’ll agree to it.”
Julia embraced him and saw that her husband’s eyes had darkened quite suddenly and inexplicably.
Alexiadis stood like a pillar of salt, staring at Kyriakos Karapanos, who was standing on his doorstep. He suddenly took a step back and Kyriakos entered the house, closing the door behind him.
“And now, the two of us,” Kyriakos said angrily.
“I don’t understand,” Alexiadis stammered in a low voice.
“What business do you have with my wife? Wasn’t it enough that you sent my sister-in-law into the next world? Now you have your
eye on Evanthia?” Kyriakos asked.
Alexiadis rolled his eyes. “Have you gone crazy, Kyriakos? I have nothing to do with your wife!”
“So what was she doing at your house? I saw her leaving just now with my own eyes. Tell me! Whatever you didn’t pay for then you’ll pay for in spades now!”
Kyriakos grabbed him by the lapel and shook him. He dragged him into the living room and shoved him into a chair, where he stood in front of him, hands on his hips, and stared at him furiously. When he left Julia a little while earlier, his first thought was a head-on attack on the perpetrator. He didn’t expect to see his wife leaving the house, taking extraordinary precautions not to be seen, but when he did, his suspicions were confirmed. Evanthia was behind the plans for seduction, using the past to enlist Alexiadis as an ally. Not for a moment did it pass through his head that there was any sort of bond between his wife and the man who, at this moment, was looking at him in fear, but it was the only way to make him confess.
“So!” he shouted even more angrily. “Are you going to tell me what sort of relationship you’re having with my wife and how long you’ve been making a fool of me?”
“For the love of God, Karapanos! You’re making a mistake. I don’t have that sort of relationship with Evanthia.”
Within a few moments, Alexiadis had revealed everything to him.
“And since my daughter-in-law didn’t give in, what does Evanthia have to gain?” Kyriakos asked.
“From what I understand, every time I met Julia, she arranged for someone to take photographs. She’s sending them to Fokas—that’s what she told me. I swear that this is the whole truth, Kyriakos. I tried to get her to change her mind. She didn’t listen to me. She threatened me with that old business. She told me she’d kept the letter from that poor woman and that it revealed everything about us in it. What was I supposed to do?”
“You’re a ridiculous man, Alexiadis. A useless bum and nothing more. Stay away from my children and my family. If you don’t, I swear to you you’ll pay very dearly!”
