“Hello, Tee,” Father Haralambos said as he cupped Tessa’s face. “It’s been a long time.”
“Too long, Pani,” Tessa replied, and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. “Look at you—you got old and priestly.”
Father Haralambos chuckled. “Unlike you, I can’t color my hair or beard. Do you like the priestly look?”
“I do not color my hair…yet.” Tessa ruffled Father Haralambos’ beard. “It suits you, my friend, it suits you.” She took Father Haralambos’ hand and sat down at the kitchen table.
“What happened to your knee? Eva’s sore back and your knee—is it some sort of secret Mitsos bonding ritual?”
Stella chuckled as she brought a chair from across the room and sat next to Tessa. “She was riding a horse.”
“Oh, no, Tee, you can’t ride. What were you doing on the horse?”
“The problem is not her riding, but her dismounting. She slipped in some horse manure.”
Father Haralambos burst out laughing. “That reminds me of when you were chasing that goat.”
“Stop.” Tessa put her hand over Father Haralambos’ mouth. “Don’t you dare. I thought priests were supposed to be all secretive and not reveal anything.”
“Oh, no, I want to hear this,” Stella said.
“I wasn’t a priest then, but a simple shepherd boy. However, because I love you, I won’t tell Stella that you chased that goat around the farm as he was chewing your panties.”
“Panayiotis Haralambos!” Tessa playfully slapped him on the shoulder.
“I can honestly tell you I have never laughed so hard in all my life. The goat lived, which is always a good thing.” Father Haralambos chortled. “Ah, the good days.”
“Were they good days?”
“Yes.” Father Haralambos nodded. “They were the good days. All I had to worry about was chasing goats to get back the panties of my future sister-in-law.”
“You have a very selective memory.” Tessa patted his hand.
“It’s the only way I can deal with what came next.”
“Yet here we are, back in Larissa and reminiscing about goats and panties.”
Father Haralambos sighed heavily. “Ah, for those days. A lot has happened since then.”
“You should have been allowed to marry Daphne.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t, and that German fellow was. He gave them everything I couldn’t.”
“He also tortured your baby girl,” Stella quietly added, trying to take the sting out of her words. She mentally slapped herself at his furrowed brow.
“Yes, he did.” Father Haralambos stroked his beard.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, dear Pani,” Tessa said gently.
Father Haralambos smiled. “There you go quoting some dead writer again. There are things we have no control over and this is one of them. The other was your premonitions.”
“You were the only one who truly believed, even when I didn’t.”
“I did. There was nothing an exorcism or treatment at a lunatic asylum could cure.”
“What made you believe when the others did not?” Stella regarded Father Haralambos with interest.
Father Haralambos looked down at the cup of tea on the table. “Daphne and I were looking for something that would account for the demon possession, something that would seem out of place. We knew that if it were demon related, we would find the source of Tessa’s visions. Then I found something that I didn’t tell Daphne or anyone else about.”
“You found my artwork.”
“Yes. It was of me and Daphne kissing.”
Tessa grinned. “I did like that one.”
“Yes, so did I when I saw it. I was about to call out to Daphne that her little sister was spying on us when I noticed the date.”
“What was the date?” Stella glanced at Tessa and smiled.
“Two years before I plucked up the courage to talk to Daphne. Right next to Tessa’s initials was the date.”
“You believed me because of that?”
“Not just that.” Father Haralambos shook his head. “I had a great aunt who they all said was crazy. I believed everyone until I went to see her. That woman was the sanest person I had ever met.”
“What was her gift?”
“She looked at me and I thought she was looking straight into my soul,” Father Haralambos replied quietly. “I remember her words so clearly. She looked at me and said, ‘Panayiotis, son of Constantinos, you are a man of God. Believe in the unknown; believe there are things it’s impossible to believe are true. You will know great joy and you will know a pain so deep that nothing will remove it. You will meet your one true love and her name is Eva, but she will not be yours for long. You will be forever connected and the bond will never sever.’”
Tessa’s eyes widened. “When was this?”
“I was doing my army training and I was about to be discharged. The lunatic asylum was near Thessalonica so I went to pay her a visit.”
“She said Eva, not Daphne?”
Tessa and Father Haralambos looked at each other and smiled. “Daphne’s first name was Eva, but because our mother was named Eva, everyone called her by her second name.”
“Daphne.”
“Yes.” Tessa nodded. “Daphne liked the name Eva, but it got confusing with mother and daughter having the same name. It’s a Mitsos tradition. Our mother was named Eva Maria, and her mother was called Eva Theodora.”
“That is just confusing.” Stella chuckled. “Most Greeks don’t have two names.”
“It’s a tradition in my mother’s family because they were German. Daphne called her daughter Eva Theresa.” Tessa smiled. “So the tradition continues.”
“So what happened after you saw your aunt?”
“I found a job as a shepherd in Larissa about six months after I saw my great aunt at the asylum,” Father Haralambos said.
“Did you know Daphne’s name was Eva?” Stella leaned forward, intrigued by his story.
“No. She introduced herself as Daphne and it was only after we started to court in secret that she told me her first name.”
“What did you do?”
“I did nothing. I didn’t believe my great aunt could tell the future or know about Daphne so I chose to ignore her words. I was called to the lunatic asylum because she was dying and I went to see her. I was too late and she had passed away before I got there.” Father Haralambos sighed and took a letter from his pocket. “I was given this letter as part of the little she had left. I have kept it all these years because I believe that there are things I can’t explain. I don’t believe my great aunt was demonized. I do believe God has given faithful women of the past the ability to be prophetesses.”
“What does the letter say?”
Father Haralambos unfolded the creased old letter and put his glasses on. “‘My dearest great nephew, this letter is for you, and you are reading this because I am no longer of this world. Forgive me for being so melodramatic, but being here in a lunatic asylum, melodrama is the only thing I have left.’”
“She also had a sense of humor,” Stella said.
“She was right,” Tessa said softly.
Father Haralambos looked over the top of his glasses at Tessa with a sad smile before he dropped his gaze back to the letter. “‘I did not reveal the whole truth to you, Panayiotis Constantinos. Your love is Eva, but her initials are EDM. You will have already learned this by now. Follow your heart, great nephew. You will know of great joy and great pain. Become the man that you are, become the spiritual man that you want to be. It is not with sadness that I leave you this letter, but with joy, for I will be seeing my loved ones in heaven. Be well, be brave, and remember that your little one will have your strength.’”
“Wow,” Tessa whispered.
“I read that letter a few weeks before I found your artwork. I told Daphne and I showed it to her.”
“So Daphne believed?”
“She said she knew there was nothing w
rong with you, but you and your parents were convinced there was.”
Tessa turned to Stella. “Pani came to see me in Athens.”
“I was studying at the Theological Seminary and it was near Saint Gregori,” Father Haralambos said.
“Do you remember the young man I introduced you to? The artist?”
“Yes, he was an imposing fellow and I felt like I was a little boy when I stood next to him.”
“That was Thomas’s father,” Tessa said. “He died in the fire.”
“You are a very unusual priest,” Stella said, softening her words not to be rude to Tessa’s friend.
“I am.” Father Haralambos nodded.
“Aren’t you conflicted by what you see before you, what you know to be the truth, and the fact that the Church teaches you that all of this,” Stella pointed at Tessa, “is demonic in some way?”
“Stella!” Tessa said.
“No, Tessa, Stella is correct.” Father Haralambos put his hand up to stop Tessa’s objections. “It is a conflict, but not for me. I choose to believe that God has chosen certain people to have the ability to foresee the future. The Apostles and other Saints did have that ability. I don’t understand it. I don’t know how it works, but I also don’t know a lot of other things in this life. I am a simple shepherd boy. I don’t know why my daughter loves a woman, but she does. Do you know what faith is?”
Stella nodded. “It’s believing in something you can’t see.”
“The Bible says, ‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ I have faith in God even though I cannot see Him. I choose to believe in things that I cannot see and yet believe they are real. I believe my great aunt and Tee have the gift of prophecy.”
“You are a very enlightened soul that belongs to a Church that is in darkness,” Stella said.
“I am a man who has faith, Stella. I don’t need to understand why things are the way they are.”
“You are extraordinary,” Stella exclaimed. “I have never met a priest like you.”
“I do not think there are many priests who have a lesbian daughter, a former almost sister-in-law who has the gift of prophecy, or a great aunt who was a prophetess. It is a little out of the ordinary.” Father Haralambos chuckled.
“I know what you did for her during the war.”
“I did what any sane person would have done, and that is help a wounded soul.”
“You knew she was your daughter, right?” Tessa asked.
“I knew the minute I saw her in that field,” Father Haralambos replied. “The way she stood. Everything about her was Daphne. The first time I heard her speak, I nearly called her Daphne.”
“Tessa was having the same problem.”
“It is hard for the both of us to see her, and yet it is not her,” Father Haralambos explained. “It is also hard for your brother, Stella, to see you and know that you are not what he wants you to be.”
“It’s not up to him what I am. When Timothy was killed in France, I fell apart. It was over. Everything just didn’t matter anymore until my brother Nicky reminded me what was important.” Stella took Tessa’s hand.
“How did he die?”
Stella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “He was shot in France helping wounded soldiers.”
“‘Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,’” Father Haralambos quoted.
“Yes.” Stella nodded. “I was angry with the world, and angry with Timmy for dying and leaving me alone after I had lost our child, but my brother showed me so much kindness and love. He was the one who urged me to fulfill Timothy’s dream of caring for the mental health of soldiers. They needed help in dealing with the death that was around them. It is why I went to Athens to finish my studies and it is how I ended up going to Saint Gregori Lunatic Asylum.”
“That’s where she fell for my charms,” Tessa gently teased as she squeezed Stella’s hand.
“Dion doesn’t understand what Tessa means to me. She brought me happiness and joy. He thinks grief has turned me into a deviant.”
Father Haralambos nodded. “Yes, he did mention that when he came to see me.”
“I don’t know what to do to change his mind nor do I want to waste my time in trying.”
“I will tell him that I came, that I counseled you, and that he doesn’t need to worry about Zoe, since she’s getting married.” Father Haralambos shook his head. “Zoe getting married.” He chuckled.
“Are you sure you can’t perform the ceremony?” Tessa touched Father Haralambos’ arm. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, Tee, I am.”
“What a shame. Is there any chance you may be able to travel to Germany with us?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t. As I said to the girls, I would love to travel with you, but the church has suffered extensive damage in the storm, and I want to stay and oversee the repairs.”
“The church was damaged so much?”
“Yes, the ceiling collapsed over the altar and there is other damage to the building. It wouldn’t be right for me to leave. I would have loved to have caught up with my old friend, Father Faber—he lives in Berlin.”
Stella looked at Tessa in surprise. She turned back to Father Haralambos. “Is that Father Johan Faber from Berlin?”
“Yes, do you know him? I met him in Athens when I was at the seminary. Of course he’s Catholic, but I bumped into him at St Gregori when I went to see Tee.”
Tessa’s smile grew. “There are more things in heaven and earth, dear Pani.”
“Pardon?”
“Father Faber has a fleshly sister.”
“Yes, I believe he does. She’s also in God’s service.”
“Father Faber’s sister is Sister Irene,” Tessa quietly said. “She was the one who convinced me I wasn’t crazy.”
“She believed you?”
“Yes. She also convinced Stella that I wasn’t crazy or possessed.”
“Well, goodness me.” Father Haralambos gently laughed. “It is such a small world.”
Tessa touched Father Haralambos’ hand. “Sister Irene was also the one who helped save Eva’s life.”
Father Haralambos’ eyes widened. “It was no coincidence that Johan and I met that day at the asylum.”
“I don’t know. It may have been. There is something else you need to know. Sister Irene and Father Johan are Eva’s great aunt and uncle,” Tessa said.
“God works in mysterious ways and there is a plan. I don’t know what it is, but He knows. There is no other way to explain it.” Father Haralambos shook his head in wonder. “There are indeed more things in heaven and earth.”
Chapter Sixteen
Zoe leaned against the doorjamb and watched Eva attempt to put on her stockings. Eva leaned one-handed against the wicker chair, using it as a brace, and tried to hook her stocking over her foot with her other hand.
“This isn’t so hard,” she mumbled.
Her new found triumph stopped as her stocking snagged against the chair. She sighed. “Go on, you can say it.”
“You have a great ass.”
Eva chuckled.
Zoe came around the chair and looked up at Eva. “When did I get fired from being your dresser?”
“You’ve never been fired, but I can do this myself.”
“Yes, I can see.” Zoe held up two torn stockings she found near Eva’s feet. “It’s been quite a success, although your range of movement has improved. You can bend a little.”
“Yes, but not enough to put on my stockings without snagging them.”
“Sit,” Zoe said.
Eva put both hands on the wicker chair and lowered herself down.
“This is the part I like,” Zoe said as she rolled the stocking up the long leg and snapped the garter into place. “I really like the sound that makes.”
“You also like taking it off.”
“Yes, that too.” Zoe rolled the other stocking up and did the same to the gar
ter. “Right, I think you are ready. What do you think of what I’m wearing?”
Eva nodded her approval at Zoe’s emerald green satin dress with black Chantilly lace. Zoe’s red hair cascaded over her shoulders in long rivulets and a green hat sat above the curls and was tilted just a little. The emerald opal Eva had given Zoe on her sixteenth birthday just before the end of the war was sitting in the hollow of her neck. It was one her prized possessions
“I love that necklace on you.”
Zoe’s hand went to the necklace around her neck. “It’s my favorite,” she said with a smile.
“Green is also my favorite color, and I love that dress.” Eva crooked her finger and beckoned Zoe to her.
Zoe put her hands on each side of the wicker chair and smiled before she tenderly kissed Eva on the lips. She helped Eva out the chair.
“Blue is my favorite color on you,” Zoe said as Eva looked at herself in the long mirror.
Eva was wearing a navy blue dress with a beaded and rhinestone collar. Her hair was up, which accentuated her long neck. She also wore her mother’s gold cross around her neck.
“I think we are ready,” Zoe said.
“Not quite, love. Hand me my cloak.” Eva turned away from Zoe to adjust her dress.
“It is warm out there. You sure you want to wear that?”
“Yes.”
Zoe sighed and went around the bed to pick up the cloak. She held it for a long moment and shook her head. She flipped the garment over her arm and came to where Eva was finalizing her makeup. Their eyes gazed at each other in the mirror and both smiled.
Zoe came up behind Eva and helped her put on the cloak. She overlapped the ties. “If you put the hood on, you’re going to squish your hat.”
“I’m not wearing a hat; just the cloak.”
“Evy, it’s going to be very warm outside.”
“I know but…”
“You like wearing it. Alright, at least if you feel too hot, take that hood off, okay?”
Eva smiled and nodded. “Yes, Mama. You look beautiful, and now we are ready,” she said with a smile. She grabbed her cane, which was leaning against the dresser, and then she took Zoe’s hand and they left the bedroom.
Awakenings (Intertwined Souls Series Book 4) Page 12
