I’d done the first part in reconciling the brothers. Two of them were at least on the same island. Tomorrow I would tackle the third, and arrange for Dad and Nikos to meet. Oh, joy.
29
I woke to the sunlight beating down on my face as usual, and stretched. The sound of traffic and people’s voices came and went through the open window as they headed into town for the Tuesday market, which reminded me that I was now feeding three, and would need to shop soon. I slipped out of bed and listened at the guest bedroom doorway; all was quiet, so I took the opportunity to shower and choose what I would wear. I used my new makeup and tied a little cotton scarf around my neck to make sure the bruises, which were turning green and yellow, were hidden. Nice. Then I styled my hair as best I could and sprayed it with half a can of hairspray to hold it. Done. This was going to be a big day for all of us, especially Dad and Nikos, and I didn’t want any unnecessary distractions like bald patches getting in the way.
Of course, one of the stairs creaked loudly as I crept down them so it was too late to worry about waking them up. It was the work of a few moments to make a list for market and down a welcome coffee. And I had another few moments to contemplate what the day might bring, like news that Leo was in custody. I picked up my phone. Could I risk a call to the police station with the parents upstairs? No, the officer had said they would inform me of any news, so I should wait. So, instead, I rang Delphine and told her about the night before and how wonderful it was for Dad to have met an old friend in the town on his first night here. Then we made arrangements to go up to the house for lunch.
‘Oh,’ said Delphine, ‘also I have arranged for the family doctor to come to your house at nine on Thursday to see Theo. Will that be all right? The English hospital has sent on his details as you requested.’
‘That’s wonderful, thank you so much for doing that. I’ll feel better if I know he’s okay. See you later.’
I then managed a quick call to Alex, who was delighted that I was back, and a bit concerned about meeting my parents so soon into their trip. Nevertheless, I warned him not to make plans for that evening, as we had promised to go back to Dimitri’s Taverna, and I’d love him to join us. He laughed and said he could tell there was no point in arguing. Good man.
Throwing open the back door to let the light in, the grey cat, who was lounging in the morning sun on top of the adjoining wall, raised her head and miaowed at me. Over the wall, Irini was hoeing round her courgette and salad plants. I cast a quick worried glance at my tiny plot but they looked fine. Amazingly, as I’d abandoned them for almost a week.
‘Kalimera,’ she said, and put down the hoe. ‘Don’t worry, I have watered your plants and taken out the weeds.’ She came across to the wall, and beamed at me. ‘Thank you for giving me back my cousin, and for bringing your father home.’ She put a hand to my cheek. ‘You’ll see, the sun will make him well again. Are they still asleep?’
‘I think so, they’re very tired. Thanks, Aunt Irini, for looking after the place for me. I didn’t know for sure I’d be bringing them back with me, but here we are, and we’re meeting Nikos and Delphine at lunchtime.’ My worries about the meeting must have shown on my face.
‘Don’t worry, they are brothers. They will find a way through to each other, and they have their wives with them to hold onto them if the emotions run high.’ She made a little gesture, waving her hand about. ‘Cretan men, they go up, they go down. It’s hard to keep them even!’ She laughed loudly, and as if on cue, Mum came pottering out into the garden.
‘Oh, you’ve made the house so lovely, darling,’ she said, ‘and look at your little garden.’ She gave me a kiss and leaned across the wall to kiss her cousin. ‘Kalimera, Irini, are you well?’
Irini said she was well, thank you, and I got a word in while I still could. ‘Will you join us for breakfast?’ I asked and she beamed again. I didn’t think I was going to have much difficulty with my mother about moving back home.
I left them chatting and made my way back into the kitchen to lay another setting at the table. I could hear the shower running, so Dad was up too. I found stale bread which would be fine toasted, honey, yogurt, some fruit that wasn’t too soft and some Mizithra cheese. I boiled some eggs. A feast.
Dad came downstairs and stood in the living room, looking at everything. I knew he was picking up and looking at the photos Irini had given to me, and the ones I had found in Nyssa’s folder, which were piled on the dresser. He wandered into the kitchen and gave me a kiss on the cheek. That was a first. ‘Thank you for making me come, Anna,’ he said. ‘This is a beautiful home.’
He’d never said that about our designer house in Alderley Edge, and he was right. That was never a home.
Dad sat at the table in the kitchen, so I called the ladies in and we had a noisy, chatty breakfast.
Once they were full of food and coffee, and Dad looked better than he had for a week, Irini invited them round to her house. She’d invited Stavros along to meet his aunt and uncle. At least I thought they would be called aunt and uncle. Family relationships are quite difficult, I find, to fathom.
I left them to it and went off to the market to stock up on fresh food and to stretch my legs. On the way I called in at Maria’s. It felt like months since I was last there, although it had been lovely to have her over for dinner. And then things had gone completely pear-shaped, and I hadn’t seen her since. The taverna was packed, as it always was on a market day, so I struggled past the shopping bags and plonked myself at the bar. As soon as she noticed me, Maria rushed around to the front of the bar and hugged me, quite ferociously.
‘Welcome back, my friend! It’s a miracle, Anna. He’s given me the taverna. It’s mine!’ And she danced me around the tiny space between the tables and the bar. ‘I know it was you who persuaded him, and I cannot thank you enough. Your money is no good in here anymore, isn’t that right, Spiros?’
Spiros came through from the kitchen and jerked his head at me. It wasn’t a smile, but better than his usual scowl. He went back to cooking. ‘I’d still throw him out,’ I whispered, and she laughed.
‘Maybe, but he has been very, shall we say, grateful since Kokorakis changed his mind.’
‘Ooh, how nice. I may have news myself on that score…’
Maria’s dark eyes became huge.
‘But I haven’t got time to tell you about that at the moment, as more has happened. Maria, I’ve brought my parents back with me, and I think they may come back to live here. It’s exciting.’ And with that I hopped off the stool and went off to the market, leaving an intrigued Maria behind.
When I got home, the parents had returned and were sitting quietly in the garden. Dad was dressed in a check shirt, stone-coloured chinos and his brown deck shoes. He looked relaxed and not as grey after a good sleep. Mum looked equally good in a summer dress and cardigan. ‘You two have scrubbed up well,’ I said. ‘Give me an hour or so to sort out the food in the kitchen and then we’ll set off.’ I knelt down in front of them and took a hand in each of mine. ‘It’ll be okay, you know. He’ll be as worried about this as you are. More, probably. Just stay calm, and see how the afternoon goes.’
We walked slowly up the hill, and I let them reminisce about places they recognised. Dad was quiet as we approached the gates, and Mum’s mouth dropped open. Dad looked once at the big house, and then walked across to stand outside the empty villa that had been his childhood home. Mum held his hand.
‘Come on, we can have a proper look later,’ I said, conscious that the housekeeper, Eleni, was waiting at the open door. In the entrance hall Nikos stood, formally dressed in one of the beautifully-cut dark suits that he favoured, Delphine at his side in grey silk. Without even trying, they had out-styled us all.
‘Welcome, my brother, to my home,’ said Nikos, and held out his arms.
Dad was shaking to maintain some self-control, but he managed it. He stayed where he was for a moment, then walked forward and offered his hand. ‘Niko, you l
ook well.’
‘Better than you, I fear,’ was the reply. He grasped Dad’s hand and held onto it.
Dad snorted. ‘You always were a tactless bastard.’
And Nikos gave a loud belly laugh. ‘And you always saw through me.’
They continued to stare at each other. I wasn’t actually breathing at this point, and had unconsciously grabbed my mother’s hand, like a five-year-old. Please let them be okay, was all I could think.
Delphine stepped in. ‘Welcome, Galena, Theo, and Anna too, of course. Welcome, please come into the sitting room.’ She took my mother’s arm and we went with her, leaving the two men facing each other in the hall. ‘Come along, you two,’ she said over her shoulder, ‘let’s get to know each other a little better.’
Her request broke the stalemate and they followed us, much to my relief. I didn’t want them going off and having private conversations where Nikos could tell Dad about Leo’s behaviour before I did. Mum would have a fit. I needed to whitewash it a little.
Delphine seated us on the grey velvet sofa, and she sat opposite with her husband. Eleni came in and took aperitif orders. I went straight for wine, no messing about. It was just like getting ready to pitch to a new client, I was a bundle of nerves and ready to improvise. I’d do anything to make it go smoothly. The huge picture window was bare of curtains, I noticed, and with it came the fantastic light and view down to the ocean.
‘So, Theo,’ said Nikos, ‘tell me about your life. I have met your beautiful daughter, and I can see she gets her looks from her mother.’
Dad snorted again. ‘Your sense of humour hasn’t changed, has it? Well, once I found somewhere to live, I trained to be a chef, brought Galena over from Crete, and we made our life running the restaurant.’ He gestured to the room. ‘Clearly, we have not done as well as you.’
Nikos made his own gesture. ‘This? This means nothing, as I have come to realise too late in my life. Family is the most important thing, and I…’ He stopped. ‘Well, I let you go, and for that I can never forgive myself.’ He moved forward to the edge of his seat. ‘Do you ever think you will be able to forgive me, Theo?’
We all looked at Dad, who wasn’t smiling. He was silent, looking down at his hands folded in his lap. When he spoke, it was slowly, gravely. ‘I have held hatred in my heart for almost my whole life. Hatred for you, hatred for my father, and hatred for all that being banished from my home took away from me.’
He raised his eyes and looked at his brother. ‘But now, after speaking with my daughter, I understand that you are not an evil man, but that you were weak in front of our father, and I was weak too, or I would have come back and fought you for my place here. My pride was stronger than my sense. So, maybe we are as bad as each other. Maybe, there could be something shared between us, especially as you have tried to steal Anna away from us, with all your promises to her.’ He said the last sentence with a twinkle in his eye.
‘Nobody’s stealing me from anybody,’ I piped up, ‘I want you all in my life. If I’m going to inherit Uncle Nikos’ business, then I intend to use the profits to do good. And anyway, it won’t be for years yet, will it? So we have all the time in the world to get to know each other. To be a family.’ Get me, the peacemaker.
Delphine stood. ‘And what better way to do that than over food? Come through to the dining room.’
Mum’s face was a picture as she followed Delphine, holding tightly onto Dad’s hand. I could see her trying not to cry but also open-mouthed as she took in the grandeur of the marble floors and the ridiculously long table. At least Delphine had had the sensitivity to place us all around one end of it. The food came and we did small talk, Delphine keeping the chat going while I kept a close eye on the men.
‘I’m not going to fall over, Anna,’ said Dad at one point. ‘You don’t have to keep checking on me. I’m fine.’ Admonished, I relaxed a little and had another glass of wine, thinking that I needed to go steady and keep it all running smoothly.
‘This food is delightful, Delphine,’ Mum said. ‘Greek but modern, more nouvelle cuisine than hearty. It’s so good.’
Delphine beamed at her. ‘Thank you, Galena. Eleni, my housekeeper, she trained in Paris. She will be honoured that you like it.’
I really would have to spend some time with Eleni if I wanted to refine my cooking. I was anticipating dessert, if it was half as good as the main courses, I’d be in heaven.
Dad was pretty quiet. I guessed he had a lot of thinking to do now that he was back at home and there was no feud and his estranged brother was sitting next to him. It would have shaken his whole world view. And, of course, he was selling the restaurant, the one solid foundation for his life in England. I didn’t dare ask him how he was again, so I joined in the chit-chat about weather, and curtains, and who they were going to see while they were over here.
After lunch, Nikos asked Dad if he would like to see the old villa, and off they went, just the two of them, to see Dad’s childhood home. I was desperate to go too, but I could wait. If they could survive time on their own, they could begin to heal. Please don’t tell Dad about Leo, I urged Nikos’ retreating back. Not yet.
Once we were on our own, Mum couldn’t stop herself from gushing over. ‘Oh thank you, Anna, for bringing us back. It’s been too long. And thank you, Delphine, for helping us to manage this meeting. Theo is a good man, but this long separation has made him bitter and old before his time.’ She faltered. ‘And this illness, well, who knows what might happen? So this has come at the right time, and I’m so grateful.’ All the tears she’d been holding onto took that moment to spill over, and I was happy for Delphine to take her off to sort herself out.
I looked out of the large window, down the drive to the villa and wondered what they were up to in there. I really wanted to see if Nikos had emptied it, or left it as it was fifteen years ago when their father had died.
Delphine came in and stood behind my shoulder. ‘No shooting. That must be a good sign, no?’
I laughed. ‘It’s gone better than I thought it would, that’s true. Do you think we can do this? Bring the family back together after all this time?’
She smiled at me. ‘As you said, we have time. Oh, by the way, the decorators are working on the Andreanakis house, and all is going well. We should go over and see progress next week some time.’
‘I’d like that, it’ll bring a bit of normality back into my life, and I can get rid of the bags of her stuff that are currently in my loft.’
‘I have also begun to look for somewhere for Constantinos, as we promised. I think this will be a great thing that we can do. Thank you for making it happen.’
‘The English phrase is “strike while the iron is hot”,’ I said. ‘Nikos would probably turn me down now that he’s thinking straight.’
She said, ‘Maybe, or maybe you are who he has been waiting for. Look, they are returning, and still talking.’
‘Mum said they were very close as boys growing up. It was the betrayal that broke Dad.’
‘And have you contacted the youngest brother yet?’
‘No, not had a chance yet.’
‘Well, you need to know that he is here on the island. The police rang to say that he landed this morning. I think he may be looking for his son, too.’
‘How hard can it be to catch an American, out of season, on an island?’ I asked, exasperated. ‘I need to know we’re safe, Delphine, especially now.’
‘I know, but don’t worry, Nikos has made sure the police are following Stephanos. I think your suspicion that Stephanos is in league with his son to take over Nikos’ business is correct. It would be better if you didn’t make contact with him until we are sure. If his lawyers contact Nikos, then we will know.’
Don’t worry? I sat back down in a daze, and remembered little of the next hour or so. Dad and Nikos came back, and when we got up to leave, there was definitely a bit more warmth in their goodbyes. We promised to meet up later in the week, but I was glad to get awa
y. I’d pushed Leo to the back of my mind, but now he was back in there, and I was frightened now that I had my parents staying with me.
We strolled back home and I suggested an afternoon nap if they were to be fit for a long night at Dimitri’s. I knew they wanted to chat too, and there were few spots for privacy in my house.
‘Be good. I’m off to see a friend, but I’ll be back in time to take you out for yet more food and wine!’ I placed the spare keys on the dresser. ‘Just lock up if you want to go out anywhere.’
I was worried stiff. In fact, I locked the front door behind me as I left and walked the half-mile along the beach to the boatyard deep in thought. It would have been completely naïve to imagine that Leo’s bid for the business would go away just because Nikos and I had said no. After all, Stephanos and his sons had as much claim to it as I did in law, even if Nikos didn’t want them to inherit.
It would be so much easier to rip up the agreement with Nikos and allow Leo to take over, wouldn’t it? I stopped and contemplated the ocean. But that would mean he would be here, in my town, forever, and I couldn’t bear that. Liar, abuser. A man I couldn’t trust. And I didn’t think for a moment that he had any good intentions as far as supporting the local community was concerned. No, I had to fight, again. I wanted that business and all its wealth to do something marvellous. And I needed a bit of Swedish courage to help me fight for it.
30
I’d not seen Alex’s boat, and I had no idea what it would look like. I did know it was called Runaway. There were several boats on stilts in the yard in various stages of repair but I had no trouble identifying Alex’s. It was the one where he was standing on a ladder in a pair of tatty shorts and a faded T-shirt painting in the name along the shiny wooden hull. It was a fabulous-looking boat, like a 1920s pleasure cruiser, but with sails. I got up close behind him, and said, cheesily, ‘Permission to come aboard, Captain?’ He nearly fell off his ladder.
Those You Trust: compelling women's psychological fiction Page 23
