Those You Trust: compelling women's psychological fiction

by Bernie Steadman

  ‘He is. He’s a businessman, Anna, not a monster. He never intended to hurt these people, He has to make hard decisions sometimes, but he will always make amends to the local people.’

  I smiled at her. ‘I think you might be his conscience though.’

  ‘That may well be so.’

  Mrs A skipped around like a child, placing cloths and objects and colour swatches in each room, then changing her mind and moving them all again. I pottered to the café opposite and brought back coffees and pastries for us. This was going to be a long morning.

  I opened my notebook once the initial flurry had subsided. ‘Shall we start in the kitchen?’ I asked, and off we went.

  The rest of the morning passed in the most enjoyable way. I love my work, Delphine had a good eye and Mrs A was delighted to finally get to choose what she really wanted, which was much more modern than I had expected.

  ‘I inherited so much from my parents, and from his,’ she said. ‘The house was like a museum, stuffed with things. It’s why it burned so well.’ She shrugged. ‘Yes, I have lost many things, but’ – she tapped her head – ‘the memories are in here with me. At least we got out with our lives, and now I will have a beautiful new home.’ She patted Delphine on the hand. ‘My angel,’ she said.

  Delphine was embarrassed. I gathered this wasn’t how she was usually referred to. I could see she was moved though. Hard only on the outside, as Father Georgiou had said.

  Things are never as black and white as we would like them to be, are they? I knew who Delphine was, of course, and so did Mrs Andreanakis, but we were both warming to her, even though her husband had no doubt broken many laws. Should I have refused to help her because she stayed with Kokorakis? Perhaps, but I had stayed with Will for ten unhappy years, and had only got away because it became possible to move to Crete. I would like to hear her story one day, and find out why she had stayed. I started to gather up my things. Perhaps she loved him. Simple as that.

  16

  I was exhausted by the time Delphine dropped me at home. I had a huge list of things to organise and buy, but not as much as Mrs Andreanakis, who had been charged with equipping her kitchen and dining room. I assumed that the house conveyancing would go through quickly and without difficulty, as Delphine had said, so I gave myself two weeks to put together the designs and plans.

  Mr Andreiou had already gone by the time I got home. All was quiet. I raced upstairs into the bathroom, and there was the shower corner, tiled and neat, and a cubicle waiting to be fitted. There was hot water on, too. I rang him immediately and thanked him. What a great day.

  I couldn’t face cooking because I was so tired, so I rang Alex and Cathy. I fancied some easy company where I could speak English and celebrate a very good day. Cathy was busy with the production of the local English language newspaper that seemed to take up a lot of her time, but Alex sounded delighted, and we agreed to meet at the fish restaurant on the promenade where I’d had lunch with Cassia the week before.

  I felt much more relaxed about going out for dinner with Alex than I ever did with Leo. I chose my rose-pink cashmere jumper, black jeans and flat boots, shrugged on my old thick poncho to keep out the keen wind, and strolled down to the quayside feeling hungry and ready to relax.

  Alex was waiting outside. He kissed me on the cheek and held the door open for me, which was nice. Inside, the restaurant was quiet as it was only just eight o’clock, but the lighting was subtle and we could watch the sea rolling gently onto the beach. It felt intimate and warm.

  ‘What would you like to drink?’ the waiter asked in Greek.

  I was amazed. He was the first person to assume I was Greek and not some other nationality. He suggested a local red, which was strong and rough, but would taste wonderful with moussaka, so that’s what we ordered.

  ‘How is the house purchase proceeding?’ asked Alex, pouring the first glass of wine.

  ‘Brilliantly! Mrs Andreanakis is so excited, and likes my ideas, and I think we have found her the right house in Paleochora. Between us, I reckon we can make a cosy home for the two of them.’

  ‘And Mrs Kokorakis, how is she?’ He lifted an eyebrow at me over the rim of his glass.

  I took a moment. How was she indeed? ‘You know, she isn’t like some sort of gangster’s wife. I mean, she’s got all the status symbols and the bling, but she’s sweet under all that. I quite warmed to her, and enjoyed her company. She has a very good eye for interiors.’

  He looked at me thoughtfully. ‘That’s interesting to know. I wonder why she has stayed with that man? She must know what he’s like.’

  ‘That’s easy. Security, wealth, privilege, fear of being alone. Maybe she loves him. Why does any woman stay with a man who is bad for her?’ I blushed. Hadn’t I done exactly the same thing? Perhaps that’s why I liked Delphine; I recognised her.

  ‘And once you’re settled into the world your husband creates for you, it is hard to escape, yes?’

  ‘Too right it is. I think I lost the ability to take a decision on my own. Mine even chose my clothes, for goodness’ sake.’ I took a swig of wine. ‘Sorry, this is not what I want to talk about. Tell me about boat renovations.’

  Alex laughed and showed me his hands, which were paint-spattered and roughened from barnacle-scraping. ‘This is me in the winter. I clean, mend and replace worn-out parts ready for the summer.’ He drank a little wine. ‘And then I sail the Med with small groups of people who want to see the less well-known islands.’

  ‘It does sound wonderful,’ I said, thinking of his offer.

  ‘Do you get lonely here in winter when it’s so quiet?’

  ‘Sometimes, but I joined the language class and met you, and Cathy takes me under her “making new people welcome” wing. You should come along to some of the expat events she organises, they can be fun. We’re joining in the Easter hat parade on Saturday and having a huge feast in the square. Come.’

  ‘I will at some point, but not on Saturday, sorry. At the moment I’m trying not to be so obviously a foreigner. At least my Greek is coming along.’

  ‘And mine, at last.

  Tell me a bit about you, Alex,’ I said. ‘Have you ever been married?’

  He poured us more wine. ‘I have been married, twice.’ He looked up at me under his eyebrows. ‘That must make me seem like a gigolo?’

  I giggled. I couldn’t imagine anyone less like a gigolo. ‘Are you?’

  ‘I might be…’ Then he chuckled. ‘Sadly, I’m not. Wife one was my childhood sweetheart who left me as soon as she grew up and realised she wanted a very different lifestyle.’

  ‘She didn’t want to be married to a computer geek?’

  ‘No, she wanted to be married to a woman.’ He laughed at the look on my face. ‘It takes time to know these things. I’m happy for them both. They are good friends of mine now. You can meet them sometime if you like?’

  ‘Okay. It’s good that you could stay friends.’

  ‘Yes, with her, but not with my second wife. She and I parted badly, and I don’t get to see my children as often as I should.’

  ‘You have kids?’ I was stumped. Why hadn’t I known this? What had we been talking about for weeks after class? Me, I supposed. Or listening to Leo was more likely.

  ‘I have two boys, aged fourteen and seventeen. You’ll meet them in the summer when they come for a holiday.’

  The waiter appeared with two steaming dishes of moussaka and a bowl of local greens. I was glad of a moment to process all this information. Alex was a dad. I bet he was a good one. ‘Are they still in Sweden?’

  ‘Yes, at school there. I miss them. They love to sail, and fish, and swim. They are good boys.’ He dug the spoon into the greens and added them to his plate. ‘Shall we talk about something else?’

  ‘Of course, sorry for being nosy.’ I poked at the moussaka to let out some steam. ‘Something odd has happened actually,’ I said, helping myself to greens, ‘that I would like your advice on.’

 
‘Odd good, or odd bad?’

  ‘Good. I knew I must have relatives on the island, and it turns out I’m living next door to my mother’s second cousin, or great something or other, Irini. She didn’t tell me until the other day.’

  ‘Extraordinary coincidence?’ asked Alex. ‘Or was she shy?’

  I chewed down a forkful of moussaka and followed it with a sip of wine. The waiter was right, it tasted great. A more expensive bottle would have been lost in the rich lamb mince of the dish.

  ‘I think she was waiting to see what I was like. Then she invited me to afternoon tea with her son, who is the local priest. I like both of them.’ I chewed for a few more moments, unsure of whether to tell Alex about the strange history of my parents and their relatives. In the end I thought it might help me sort out what I should do. ‘The thing is, the house I inherited is my paternal grandmother’s house, even though I think Irini’s family may once have owned it. So, the mystery is, why won’t my father tell me anything about his parents? I obviously must have met my grandmother, she was called Nyssa, when I holidayed here as a child. And why did she live on her own?’

  Oh, of course, what an idiot I was. ‘And I never understood why Mum and I stopped coming here, but we must have been coming to see my maternal grandmother, too, and when she died, Mum had no more strong ties to the island.’

  Alex put down his fork. ‘This is indeed a mystery. Do you know why your father left the island?’

  ‘I can only think that he fell out really badly with his own father. It must have been something terrible. Irini referred to it as exile. He has never returned, not even for his own father’s or mother’s funeral. He doesn’t talk about Crete, or answer any of my questions, and neither will my mother. Irini said I would have to ask my father to get to the truth. That it is not her story to tell.’

  ‘That is probably true. To keep back information in families is common, I find. Getting to the truth is not an easy path.’

  ‘I know, but it’s quite important. Irini specifically warned me away from Kokorakis, and I have a sick feeling in my stomach that he might be at the back of all this. It’s all a bit complicated, isn’t it?’

  Alex took my hand and squeezed it. ‘Some things are safer left buried, you know.’

  ‘I know, but I can’t leave it. I’m like a dog with a bone, I keep worrying away at it.’ I laughed and squeezed his hand back. ‘Thanks for listening to all this.’

  ‘It’s intriguing. I can see why you cannot let it go.’

  ‘I’m invited to a dinner party at the Kokorakis’ house on Saturday night. Perhaps that will reveal a little more.’ I took my hand back and drank more wine. ‘It’s eating away at me. No, the only thing I can do is to go home and ask my father directly what happened all those years ago.’ I looked into his blue, blue eyes. ‘I have to know.’

  He grinned. ‘And so, our heroine throws herself into the path of danger, and takes on the local bigwig in order to clear the name of her dishonoured father… It would make a good movie.’

  ‘Heroic Swede comes to her rescue when she falls on her backside at the first obstacle, more like. I’m sure it’s nothing so exciting, but I’ll book a flight home next week and go ask.’ I had a sudden mad moment of wanting to cancel Leo and take Alex to the party instead, but Leo had been so excited I felt I couldn’t let him down. Alex read my mind.

  ‘Will you be taking Leo with you on Saturday night?’ he asked, his eyes drifting sideways to the slow rolling sea.

  ‘Yes, I’ve already arranged it with him. He was as excited as a child at Christmas,’ I said, and for the second time, wondered why.

  ‘He has not been around much these last couple of weeks,’ said Alex. ‘Are there difficulties in purchasing the property?’

  ‘Not so far as I know. I think the difficulties are in persuading the authorities to allow him to build a casino here. Kokorakis holds the lease to the building, I know that. That’s why Leo’s so keen to meet him on Saturday night. I know very little about what he’s up to and I’m fast losing interest.’

  Alex merely shrugged. ‘I suppose he must do whatever it takes, but it worries me that he is trying to move so quickly. Here, tradition is as important as the law. He should take time to learn the customs, and not upset the system.’ Alex shrugged again. ‘Americans, always in a hurry.’

  I felt a bit deflated at the mention of Leo. I was so confused about him. We had little in common except sex and his need for a designer. Nothing wrong with a fling based on sex, of course. It was certainly a novelty being with someone so passionate and urgent. But he kept disappearing and I’d still like to know what he was actually up to, my mystery man.

  ‘Hello, earth calling Anna.’ Alex topped up my glass with the last of the wine.

  We’d eaten the food and I was feeling warm and sleepy. I hadn’t even noticed that several other tables had filled up during the course of the evening. ‘Sorry, I was thinking,’ I said.

  ‘Are you okay, Anna?’ he asked. ‘Is all the family intrigue worrying you?’

  ‘No, it’s not that. I’m a bit confused about Leo, that’s all. Like you, I’m worried that he’ll get into serious trouble and end up angering Kokorakis, or the authorities in Chania.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Still, it’s not my problem, is it?’

  ‘No, it’s not,’ said Alex with a grin that may have been relief. ‘I’m glad you are not thinking that. Cheers,’ he said.

  I yawned, one of those where you try not to yawn and stretch your lips into a ridiculous rictus grin. ‘Sorry, I guess I’m tired. It’s months since I did an honest day’s work.’

  He laughed. ‘Come on then, as I’m boring you, I’ll get the bill and walk you home. A walk will help to digest the food.’

  ‘Oh no, I’m getting the bill. I invited you, remember?’

  He struggled a bit, but then he gave in. ‘Next time, it is my turn to pay. Okay, independent woman?’

  ‘Very okay, kind sir. It’s been lovely, Alex. Thanks for being such good company and listening to my story.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure. I haven’t had such good company for a long time, either. We should definitely do this again.’

  I smiled up at him. So it had been a date then. Get me, newly divorced and seeing two blokes at the same time. Racy.

  Alex took my arm as we left the restaurant and we strolled back in silence, enjoying the sound of waves against the shore and the occasional sleepless seagull calling for a mate.

  At my door he kissed me on the cheek and left, striding out with his long legs and whistling under his breath.

  Inside, making mint tea, I felt quite odd. I’d wanted Alex to come in, to stay longer, but I knew where that would lead, and he probably did too. It was all so complicated with Leo still in the picture.

  17

  Delphine sat up in bed, supported by pillows and cosy under the duvet. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the staff to keep the house warm enough for her. She clattered her nails on the laptop, cutting quickly through emails and rubbish so she could go back to snooping online. The previous day, delighted by Anna’s involvement and expertise in the world of interior design, she had done a thorough search on the internet and found Anna named as one-time partner in Hunter Design, a well-established design house in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, England. The gallery photos were almost all in tasteful shades of taupe, grey and black, with an occasional flash of beige or cream to lighten the palette. Even Anna, who looked thin and sad, was wearing the corporate colours, which washed out her sallow skin. Only the ex-husband, Will, looked at home. He was looking off into the distance, as if focused on things far more important than a website. She snorted. Pompous fool. Still, she bet he wasn’t so pleased with himself now.

  Nikos came into the bedroom with coffee and little buns on a tray. He placed them carefully on the bed and peered over her shoulder at the screen. ‘You’ve found her. What do you think? Is my brother’s daughter a threat to me?’

  Delphine tutted. ‘Niko, l
eave it. She’s lovely, and wants only to live here and enjoy her work. Stop being so melodramatic. What harm could she bring to you? No, I like her very much, and I want to tell her that I am her aunt on Saturday night after the dinner.’ Her eyes drifted away from him. ‘For me, it is like having a daughter after all these years.’

  Nikos withdrew his arm from her shoulder and slumped into a nearby chair. ‘It is, I suppose, time. Time I faced up to what I did all those years ago. But what will she think? Her father has clearly told her nothing about me. She may hate us both, for what we are.’

  ‘That’s not the way to look at this. In the same way that your mother told you nothing about Anna’s birth, so Anna’s father followed your instructions to stay away and keep silent. So many stupid secrets are still carried in this family. What a waste of years when we could have shared so much.’ She stopped then; she could see how much he hated it when she told him the truth. He was a child in so many ways. ‘Well, you can work on your confession and be ready to talk to her on Saturday.’

  He turned to go, already dressed and ready for the day’s meetings.

  ‘Wait, I haven’t finished.’ She cleared her throat and thought about what she wanted to say. ‘I truly believe Anna will be pleased to know who we are, but that so-called boyfriend of hers, Leonidas Arakis, he is an oddity.’

  ‘Why? Have you found something out about him? He seems to be hopping about between here and the mainland, but he hasn’t been talking to my land agent about the land he supposedly wishes to buy. I’ve been waiting to see what he will do.’

  ‘No, I haven’t found out anything about him. That’s my point. There is nothing on social media or any of the business sites about him at all.’

  ‘He is a ghost?’

  ‘Exactly. And why would that be the case, do you think?’

  Nikos scratched his ear. ‘Hiding his identity? Why would he do that? Did you find my younger brother, Stephanos, on the computer?’