“No, you’re not dreaming,” Father Haralambos replied hoarsely, his voice breaking. He held Eva in his arms, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tightly.
Eva looked at him, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re really here.”
“I’m really here.” Father Haralambos looked at Eva and tenderly kissed her on the cheek. “I prayed to God to help me through and to find you. He listened. I love you, my child.” “Here, let me look at you.” He held Eva at arm’s length. “You’re a bit skinny—is Zoe not feeding you?”
Eva laughed through her tears and brushed some of the wetness away. “I thought you were dead,” she said, her voice breaking as emotion overwhelmed her once more. “I prayed so hard that somehow you would have been able to survive.”
“God was looking out for me, my child. And He was watching out for you and Zoe. Just like I asked Him.” Father Haralambos kissed Eva on the forehead. “Can we sit down?” he asked, gingerly making his way to the couch. He sat down and stretched out his bad leg. Eva sat beside him, still not believing her eyes. Her father was sitting in her lounge room. Alive!
“You don’t believe it, eh?” he said, his eyes sparkling with happiness.
“D-d-does Thanasi know? He didn’t say anything about it in his last letter. You went back to Greece? How did you escape? Were you on the train when it blew?”
“One thing at a time!” Father Haralambos put his hands up. “Before I answer, tell me about yourself.” He hugged Eva’s still-trembling shoulders. “Are you happy, my child?”
Eva looked down at her hands, which were entwined with her father’s. “Well, I don’t like the heat and the people are sometimes very strange.” She looked into Father Haralambos’ eyes and smiled. “But yes, Father, I’m very happy!” She lifted her arms to encircle his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek, then rested her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh. “Having you here makes me even happier.”
“That’s all that matters,” he said. He stroked her head, running his fingers through her hair. “I like your hair cut short. It suits you. Your mother had her hair like that.”
“Do you really like it?” Eva ran her hand through her short hair. “Zoe doesn’t like it. She likes my hair long and has threatened to cut her own hair.”
“Zoe is threatening you? Some things never change, do they?” Father Haralambos chuckled. “You look so much like your mother,” he whispered, and tenderly stroked Eva’s cheek. “The last time I saw Daphne, she had her hair the way you have it now. I thought she was the most beautiful woman.”
Eva took her father’s hands and kissed them. “I can’t believe you are here.”
“Oh ye of little faith,” Father Haralambos joked. “Other than being happy to see me, why have you been crying? You look tired and upset.”
“How do you know that?”
“I can see it. I may be old but I’m not blind yet.”
Eva leaned back against the sofa and cuddled up against Father Haralambos. “It’s like one of those long serials Zoe is so fond of where everything that can go wrong, usually does. After you left on the train and the bombing, the Americans liberated Athens.”
“Yes, I was told about that but—”
“I’m getting to it, Father,” Eva quipped, making him smile. “The Resistance went in action and bombed the house.”
“Yes, I heard about that, and Muller was killed.”
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’? One doesn’t survive a bombing.” Father Haralambos’ reply caused Eva to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Alright, maybe I survived a bombing, but not with the Resistance going after Muller.”
“He survived—”
The front door opened and Henry walked in carrying a bottle of wine and chocolates. He was oblivious to Father Haralambos’ presence as he took off his coat and hat and placed them on the hook near the door.
“Evy, I got—” Henry turned around and stopped midsentence when Father Haralambos stood up. “Father H!” Henry hurriedly put the bottle of wine and the chocolates on the floor. He engulfed him in a bear hug and lifted him off the floor.
“Oh, my dear God, Henry, you’re going to squeeze the life out of me!” Father Haralambos laughed and Henry let go of him and beamed.
“You’re alive!”
“I am indeed. How are you, my boy?” Father Haralambos asked as he cupped Henry’s bearded face. “You look wonderful.”
“I’m well, Father.” Henry grasped Father Haralambos’ hand and kissed the back of his hand. “I’m so happy to see you.” Henry turned around to look at Eva, who was wiping tears from her eyes using her shirtsleeve. “You see, good things do happen.”
“I see.”
“Oh, my goodness, I need to sit down,” Father Haralambos said. Henry let go of him and stood beaming as Father Haralambos sat back down.”
“Where’s Zoe?” Henry asked.
“Kitchen,” Eva managed to say before she was overcome with emotion and just gave up trying to speak.
“Now, do you think you can call Zoe back in from the kitchen, so I can greet my other daughter properly?”
Eva wiped away her remaining tears, then cupped her father’s face in both her hands and gave him a loving look. “Zoe, get out here!” she called. Zoe and Elena came out of the kitchen. Zoe was carrying a plate full of cheese, olives, and bread.
Father Haralambos smiled, and then he started to laugh and slapped his thighs in joy. Eva also laughed at Zoe’s joke. The German occupation of Larissa had been brutal and many families were left starving whilst the Germans ate quite well. Cheese, olives, and bread were the staple diet for many Greeks. Zoe had often joked that she was never going to eat them again if she survived the war.
“Ah, Zoe, you remembered!” Father Haralambos clapped his hands. “Come here, little one.”
Zoe put the plate down and melted into his arms. Eva could not believe the sight before her. Zoe was now sobbing against him. Eva caught Father Haralambos’ eye and he winked.
“My little Zoe,” Father Haralambos repeated, and kissed Zoe on the forehead. “I missed you so much.”
“I love you, Father H,” Zoe replied and looked up at him. “I’m so happy you’re not dead.”
“So am I,” he said dryly.
After a long moment, he opened his arms and Eva and Zoe hugged him. “So, my daughters, are you going to introduce me to your friend here?”
“Hello. Since these two are quite rude, I’ll introduce myself. My name is Elena Mannheim.” Elena extended her hand and grinned.
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Mannheim. You may have guessed that I’m Eva’s father.”
“Would not have guessed that at all.” Elena shook her head and put her arm around Zoe. “Mr. Haralambos, I think I’d better leave you with your girls.” Elena smiled at him, and gave him a little wave as she was led out by Zoe. The corridor light bulb flickered. Zoe closed the door, leaving Father Haralambos and Eva together in the lounge.
***
“Thanks for the coconut thingies, El,” Zoe said. “I’m sorry about our plans for dinner but—”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s not often you get someone coming back from the dead.”
“You don’t know the half of it. There’s more to this story that I’ll need to tell you later.”
“You know, I would say that you two are very lucky.” Elena smiled sadly. “I’m a little jealous.”
Zoe gave her a hug. “If I could wish you anything, it would be to see your family again.”
“I know, my friend, I know.” Elena wiped her eyes. “I would give anything in this world to see my family again.”
“You can share him with us if you like,” Zoe offered. “I love this man so much. He took care of me after my mother died. He was there for me even though I gave him so much trouble...”
“Trouble? You?” Elena teased. “I don’t believe it.”
“Ha ha.�
� Zoe bumped Elena with her hip. “I love him so much.”
“Father H? Is he a priest?”
“Yes, a priest. It’s a very long story.”
“Does everything with you have to be different? Are we still going out tomorrow?” Elena asked.
Zoe had discovered that she and Elena both loved to shop, and they spent many hours window-shopping at Farmer’s department store in the city. It had brought them closer together in a strange kind of way. To their mutual amusement, they had also discovered that Eva passionately hated shopping.
“I would love to, but not in the morning,” Zoe said. “Can we go in the afternoon? I want to spend some time with Father H tomorrow.”
Elena nodded. “Of course. I didn’t think you would just abandon him and go shopping right away.”
“Thank you. Are you sure you don’t want to stay? Get to know Father H a little bit?”
Elena took Zoe’s arm and held it. “I think this is a special time for the both of you. You’ll tell me all about it tomorrow. I see your friend is staying with you,” she said.
“Yes, he’s sleeping in Evy’s room, although I think with Father H here, he may be sleeping on the couch.”
“How well do you trust this man?”
Zoe put her arm around Elena’s shoulders and leaned in. “I trust Henry with my life.”
“Wow.”
“Henry was Eva’s guard back in Larissa. He saved her life more times that I can count. When Eva needed him, he was always there. There is no one I would trust more to protect Eva than Henry.”
“He must be a very special person for you to trust him so much.”
“He is.” Zoe nodded. “It’s a long story, El, but I will tell you when we sit down alone. He’s not a Nazi. He was just a regular soldier whose job was to protect Evy. That’s all he did.”
“Hm. I don’t want to keep you from your guests. Maybe we can have lunch sometime during the week and you can tell me.”
“Looking forward to it,” Zoe replied and kissed Elena on the cheek before Elena walked away towards her own apartment.
Zoe sighed. She opened her apartment door and went inside, where she found Eva nestled in Father Haralambos’ embrace. Eva had her eyes closed and a look of pure contentment on her face. Her expression made Zoe feel warm inside and she sighed again, this time in happiness that the two people she loved most in the world were here, safe and together at last.
Chapter Nineteen
“Ah, Zoe, come sit.” Father Haralambos tapped the seat beside him. Eva made room for Zoe to sit between her and her father.
“So, Father H, what happened with the train?” Zoe asked, choosing the most obvious question first.
“Ah, the train. Well, we left the station and I’m not sure how long we traveled, but I heard an explosion and that was it. I don’t remember much of it. I woke up in a tent with people speaking bad Greek.” Father Haralambos laughed. “Very bad Greek. It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized it was the Americans. I asked them to forward a note to you.”
“We didn’t get a note,” Eva replied, looking at Zoe, who shook her head.
“Oh! I gave the note to the young medic and he told me he was going to send it on. I guess they had more pressing matters than playing postman.”
“Eva was hurt too,” Zoe said, taking Eva’s hand. “Muller tried to kill her…again.”
“What happened?” Father Haralambos asked. His concerned glance traveled to Eva, then to Zoe.
“Things spun out of control pretty quickly when my guard went to Jurgen and told him about me and Zoe. Muller ordered him to kill me. He would have succeeded if Zoe and Henry hadn’t got half the Resistance,” Eva said, smiling proudly at Zoe. “Reinhardt shot me.”
“Oh, my dear child! Are you all right now?”
“Perfect,” Eva replied. “I’ve got Zoe, I have you, and Henry.” She glanced at her former bodyguard, who was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.
“So what happened after you woke up? Why didn’t you come and find us?” Zoe asked, wanting to know how Father Haralambos had managed to stay alive.
“I got moved to a hospital ship. I didn’t know about it until I woke up again. The war in Greece was heating up and the Americans wanted the hospital ship out of harm’s way, so we sailed away. I thought you would have got my note,” he said, looking annoyed. “I’m so sorry that they didn’t tell you. I thought you knew. When you didn’t reply to my letter, I didn’t know if you were still alive. I hoped you had gone back to Germany, because I didn’t want to think the other option, that you...”
“You thought I had died,” Eva whispered.
“Yes, I waited every day to hear from you. Every time they passed out the mail and I didn’t get anything from you, I thought I had lost you again.” Father Haralambos swallowed hard. “I cried like a baby. I lost hope that you were still alive and I damned Muller to hell. I know I should have prayed for him, but he took my little girl and I wasn’t ready to forgive...or forget.”
“Oh, Father,” Eva said, kissing him. “I’m so sorry. I was in an American hospital unit in Larissa until I was well enough to travel. Then we went to Egypt with Henry. We spent a year there before sailing to Australia.”
“How did you know we were here?” Zoe asked.
“Thanasi told me.”
“You saw Thanasi? When? He didn’t say anything in his last letter,” Zoe said.
“I asked him not to. We went back to Greece and we were in Athens. One day I ran into a friend of his. You remember Constantine’s younger brother, Alex?” Father Haralambos paused to take a sip of tea. “I was going to the bakery to get those little cakes I love so much, and when I turned the corner, I bumped into Alex.”
“Did he recognize you?” Eva asked.
“Not right away; I had shaved off my beard. I introduced myself and the poor boy nearly fell over.”
“I’m sure he did,” Zoe said and glanced at Eva.
“The best part was when he told me both of you were alive and living in Australia,” Father Haralambos explained. “He told me you were living in The Land of Milk and Honey. As you know, the civil war is still going on in Greece, but we managed to get a message to Thanasi. He wrote back and gave me your address.”
“That little sneak!” Zoe said. “Next letter, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind for keeping the news to himself.”
“Go easy on him. I asked him not to tell you. I wanted to surprise you both.”
“You surprised us,” Eva replied and put her hand over her heart. “Any more surprise and I think my heart would have stopped. Where are your bags? Where are you staying?”
“At Saint Nicholas Parish. The Archdiocese gave me a nice room—”
“Father, I meant long term.”
“Ah, well, I’m still a priest and the Archdiocese wants me to go back home once the fighting is over. There is much work to do, but in the meantime I’ll be at Saint Nicholas and with you. You are my family and God has blessed me by finding you.”
“You have to stay the night here tonight,” Zoe exclaimed. “You have to—it’s getting late and we don’t want you to go out into the night.”
“It’s just around the corner, Zoe. It’s not far.”
“You can take Eva’s room and I’ll sleep on the couch,” Henry suggested with a smile.
”We have space for everyone,” Zoe quipped.
“You have your own room?” Father Haralambos asked Eva, who nodded.
Zoe grinned. “Oh, yes.”
“So you are and Zoe are just friends now?” He frowned.
“She’s married,” Eva said, suppressing the laughter.
“What?” Father Haralambos’ eyebrows rose with his voice, and he half stood in surprise.
“Yep, see?” Zoe showed off her ring.
He took her hand. The simple band was on her ring finger and his frown deepened. He looked at them in shock. “The last time I saw you, Eva, you confessed your love for Zoe. W
hat happened? Did you change your mind?”
Eva began to feel a bit sorry for Father Haralambos. She let her mouth stretch into a grin. “Yes, Zoe fell in love on the ship. She was asked and she said ‘yes.’”
“Hey, I was in love long before then. I just got married on the ship. Seems it took somebody a long time to pluck up the courage to ask me,” Zoe said, teasingly.
“Where is he?” Father Haralambos asked. It was apparent that he had decided to be supportive, no matter how bizarre the situation had become.
“Who?” Zoe asked, an innocent expression on her face.
“Your husband.”
“Right here,” Zoe replied, hugging Eva.
“I’m confused,” Father Haralambos complained.
Eva burst out laughing, as did Zoe.
“Gotcha!” Zoe exclaimed. “That will teach you to surprise us!” She hugged him. He blinked, and then playfully swatted Zoe’s behind, matching her mischievous look with his own.
“You always were a scamp,” Father Haralambos said.
“I asked Zoe on the ship if she wanted to be with me for the rest of our lives and she said yes,” Eva confessed, sitting down at Father Haralambos’ other side. She chose her words carefully, not wanting to use the word “married” in case her father found it unpleasant.
“‘Be with you’?”
“Well, as you can see, I gave her a ring,” Eva said a little shyly, “and I pledged my love to her.”
“I see.” Father Haralambos nodded. “And did you say vows to each other?”
“Yes,” Zoe answered.
“Are you living up to those vows?” he asked, his tone and expression serious.
“Yes,” Eva replied. “You don’t approve?” she asked, her happiness wavering suddenly. What if he did not approve? What if he insisted that she and Zoe be separated? A sick feeling spread outwards from her stomach, and she tried to quell her apprehension by remembering who he was — a father who loved her.
Father Haralambos put an arm around her shoulders. “Do you remember what I said to you in Larissa, after you told me how you felt about each other?”
Where Shadows Linger (Intertwined Souls Series Book 2) Page 16
