Zoe brushed away the tears and lifted her head to see the village gravedigger going about his business. “You're still alive, Andreas,” she muttered. The old man had been the village gravedigger for as long as Zoe could remember.
“Mama, I'm sorry I told you all those hurtful things. I never wanted to leave you alone, but I've learned so much, and I wish you were alive so I could take you to places you read about. I’m an artist. See, all that time sketching behind the chicken coup did pay off.” Zoe looked down at the grass. “Eva sent me to university and she worked really long hours to make it happen.”
Zoe let out a sigh as she got up from the ground and dusted herself off. Looking again at the white cross that bore her mother’s and father’s names, she crossed herself. “I love you, Mama.” She looked up at Eva and beckoned her over.
Eva quickly walked over and stood next to Zoe in front of the simple graves. Two large white crosses bore the names, Helena Lambros and Nicholas Lambros, etched into the wood.
“Father Haralambos takes care of the graves,” Zoe explained.
Eva made the sign of the cross. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lambros, my name is Eva. I just wanted to thank you for raising your daughter, who is kind, generous, and loving. Everything you wanted her to be.” She glanced at Zoe, who was wiping the tears from her eyes. “She has helped me through my darkest times. You should have seen her grow up and be happy. I’m sorry you are not here. She has grown into a beautiful woman, very brave, but she’s also got a loving heart. Thank you.” Eva touched the headstones and bowed her head for a few moments. She then looked at Zoe and held her hand.
“What did you pray about?” Zoe asked.
“I thanked God for your love,” Eva replied. She gave Zoe a quick kiss.
Chapter Forty
“Now where has that woman of mine disappeared to?” Stella muttered as she stood at the threshold of the kitchen door. Tessa was standing outside, waiting and watching for her niece and Zoe to arrive. She had been scanning the road leading to the farmhouse for over an hour. Stella shook her head at the sight.
“Theresa! You’re going to make that knee worse,” Stella called out, knowing she was going to be ignored.
“No, I’m not. I’m putting my weight on the other leg. That’s what a cane is for.” Tessa did not move from her position.
“I’m missing my serene girl! When you see her, please ask her to come home.” Stella grinned when Tessa turned and looked at her. “Ah, that got a response!”
Tessa came towards her and smiled. “Stella, darling, I’m going to remind you of this when Thomas brings home another girl.”
“I told him that girl was horrible. Why can’t he find a good girl or a good boy? I don’t mind as long as they are perfect for our son.”
“The problem is, my love, you won’t approve of that person.”
“Of course I will.”
“No, they won’t have what you think Thomas needs.” Tessa leaned the cane against the wall. She cupped Stella’s face and smiled. “The last time Thomas brought home a girl, you were not very enthusiastic. I think your exact words were, “That woman has crazy eyes and I don’t trust anyone with crazy eyes.” Tessa laughed. She lightly kissed Stella.
“Her eyes were crazy.”
“It’s not her fault she was cross-eyed,” Tessa said, making Stella laugh.
“She wasn’t cross-eyed. She was not modestly dressed, and the color she chose! Who wears black to meet the mother? Who?”
Tessa laughed. “That’s a bit funny coming from a woman with almost black eyes.”
“I have never liked anything dark.”
“You have dark eyes,” Tessa repeated and grinned.
“I can’t help my eyes, but it’s a choice to wear dark all the time. It’s unnatural.”
Tessa kissed Stella. “Yes, Angel, it’s unnatural.”
“Darling?”
“Yes?”
“I think we have visitor’s arri—” Tessa whipped around so quickly that Stella didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence.
“Where are they?”
“They are just walking down the hill.”
Tessa grabbed her cane and walked quickly to the edge of the porch. “How can you see that?”
“Eyes like a hawk.” Stella chuckled and buffed her nails on her shirt. “I’m very good at distracting my girl.”
Eva stopped at the top of the hill and looked around. There were several houses further down the hill surrounded by cotton fields. It was a gorgeous vista.
“Nice, isn’t it?”
“It’s beautiful,” Eva replied. “Wish I had my camera.”
“You mean this one?” Zoe pulled the camera out of her bag. She laughed.
Eva took the camera and started to shoot several shots of the scenery before her. “I can’t wait to develop these.”
“You might want to ask the owner of the fields if you can do that.”
“Huh?”
“There’s a law that says you have to ask the owner of the land if you can take photos,” Zoe said seriously.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Zoe nodded. “So go and ask.”
“Where does the owner live?”
“See that farmhouse that’s first in line before the others on the left? That’s the owner.”
“Oh, alright,” Eva said, a little distracted as she put the camera away. “Do you know them?”
“I do.” Zoe smiled. “It’s me.”
“What?” Eva’s eyed widened. “Are you being serious?”
“Yes.” Zoe nodded. “I own the fourteen fields spread out across the valley right in front of us.”
“All this is yours?”
“No.” Zoe shook her head as she took Eva’s hand. With her other hand she swept across the valley before them. “It’s ours.”
“What about Theo?”
“Theo has another fourteen fields on the other side of the valley. When he turned eighteen years old, Father gave him his inheritance. He did the same with Michael and Thieri. There’s another fourteen fields on the west side that belonged to Thieri. I sold the other fourteen that belonged to Michael for the cabin we got to sail to Australia.”
“Wow.”
“Papa believed in giving his children their inheritance when he was alive. He didn’t believe in leaving everything till the end. Papa was going to give me the fields as soon as I turned eighteen years old.”
“Oh,” Eva replied as they walked down the dusty road. “You own the farmhouse now, right?”
“Yes. Theo owns his house in town and I get the cabin and everything else.”
“I married a very wealthy woman,” Eva teased.
“Yes, if you count dirt as being wealthy.” Zoe shrugged.
“Is there such a crazy law about the photographs?”
Zoe grinned. “Yes, the town elders passed it just before the war. It was a very strange law.”
“Those crazy Greeks. Who would want to take photographs of fields?” Eva laughed when she saw Zoe’s smirk. “So can I develop my photographs, Miss Lambros?”
“You can, Miss Haralambos, thanks for asking.” Zoe gazed at her. “You do realize that if I kissed you now, poor Mr. Papadimakopoulos is going to have a heart attack?”
“Who is that?”
“There is an old man looking at us from the second farm house.”
“How can you see that?”
“Eyes like a hawk.” Zoe chuckled when Eva snickered.
The easy banter made Eva and Zoe relax. The journey to the farmhouse was going to be emotional for them both. Zoe’s anxiety about going back to the farm wasn’t lost on Eva, even though she was going through her own turmoil. Zoe had not returned to the farm since her mother’s death.
Eva put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders and brought her in for a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m nervous. It’s just a farm, but I have a knot in my stomach the size of a football.”
“I know what you m
ean.”
“I vowed never to set foot in that place again. I just wanted to leave.” Zoe’s voice broke and she looked out at the fields.
“We are both facing our demons, love. This place has so many bad memories, but also some good ones,” Eva whispered into Zoe’s ear. “You have loving memories of your family. It’s going to be hard, but you have to remember the good things.”
“I do have happy memories.”
“Why don’t you tell me about them as we walk down there? We both need something to laugh about.”
Zoe gazed up at Eva. A smile creased her face as she wiped away the tears with the back of her sleeve.
“I could tell you about the time I put a frog in Theo’s bed.” Eva glanced down and grinned at Zoe’s exuberant and animated storytelling.
They walked down the road a bit more until they saw Stella approaching them. She was wearing a light green shirt with bright pink polka dots and a light purple skirt.
“The woman is color blind,” Eva muttered, causing Zoe to giggle.
“Thank the Goddess you have arrived. My normally very serene wife was very unlike herself.” Stella kissed Zoe on the cheek.
Eva stood up straight. She was feeling a little bashful. “Darling, I can’t kiss you all the way up there. Bend your knees,” Stella asked jokingly.
Eva did as she was asked and Stella put her arms around her.
“I’m sorry for last night,” Eva whispered.
“I think the apology should be from me to you, darling. I wasn’t thinking. It’s my fault.” Stella took Eva’s hand and held it. “We can talk about this some more at the house, because if I keep you out here any longer, your aunt Tessa will be jumping out of her skin.”
“Why don’t you go to her?” Zoe suggested, gently pushing Eva ahead. Eva glanced back and walked purposely towards the farmhouse.
Tessa tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach as she watched Eva approach. She put her hand over her mouth in shock. She was aware of what her niece looked like through her visions and art, but seeing her in person was entirely different.
The resemblance to her sister was unmistakable—the hair was dark, almost black, straight and long, just the way her sister wore it. Even from this distance she could see Eva’s light blue eyes. Tessa was the same height as her niece. Tessa smiled at the way Eva carried herself with grace. Even the gait was Daphne’s. “Oh Daph, she is you all over,” she whispered.
Eva smiled, causing Tessa to gasp. For a brief moment she was going to call her sister’s name, but she stopped herself in time. Eva’s smile transformed her face and transported Tessa to the last time she had seen her sister. Daphne was leaving the asylum to go back home. It was going to be the last time they would see each other, even though neither of them knew that. Oh Daph, you created a beautiful child. I bet she even sounds like you.
Tessa dropped the cane and opened her arms, inviting Eva into her embrace. Eva rushed the last couple of steps and melted into her embrace. They both started crying at the same time.
“I’m your aunt Tessa.” Tessa cupped Eva’s face with both hands and looked into her eyes. “I have waited thirty years to meet you, Eva Theresa. Waited thirty years to tell you how much I love you and that you are loved. I’m your blood and there is nothing they can do to change that.”
“I’m Eva. Hello, Aunty,” Eva managed to say, although it came out more like a garbled mash of unintelligible noise.
“Eva Theresa,” Tessa said the names proudly. “I love the sound of that. My sister honored me with naming you after me.” She reached out and brushed the tears from Eva’s cheeks.
Eva nodded, and swallowed audibly. “My mama loved you so much.”
Tessa’s heart skipped a beat on hearing Eva’s voice. “You sound so much like her. She had the same soft voice, so gentle.” Her tears continued to fall. This time it was Eva who reached out and wiped her aunt’s cheek.
“Thank you for saving my life,” Eva whispered, and smiled shyly. Tessa shook her head. She felt like her heart was going to explode right out of her chest.
“You saved your life, darling. I just helped a little.” Tessa took both of Eva’s hands and held them. “Now before we get too emotional.” She laughed. “Let me meet your gorgeous redhead.”
Eva looked back at Zoe. “That’s her.”
“She looks so proud of you that I think she’s going to burst,” Tessa whispered into Eva’s ear.
“Yes, that’s my Zoe, although she doesn’t have her auntie’s fashion flare,” Eva replied. Tessa laughed and beckoned Stella and Zoe over.
Tessa watched as Zoe quickly walked over, her hand slipping into Eva’s and gently squeezing it.
“Hello, my name is—”
“Aunty Tessa.” Zoe didn’t stand on formalities and embraced Tessa. Tessa laughed and nodded. She looked at Stella over Zoe’s shoulder.
“Goodness, you are a tiny one, aren’t you?” Tessa stroked Zoe’s cheek. “Very brave, loving, and beautiful. I’m glad we are finally meeting, Zoe.”
“Well, that was quite emotional,” Stella said softly. She cupped Tessa’s cheek. Tessa took her hand and kissed it. “You should have seen her all morning,” Stella said lightly. “Are they here yet? What are our girls doing? Did they get lost?”
“Now, now, I wasn’t that bad.”
“You put my eyeglasses in the icebox,” Stella quipped, making everyone laugh. “Trust me, girls, that is not like Tessa. She is usually very calm, but the prospect of seeing her niece today just made her giddy.” Tessa and Eva were looking at each other. “Now, Theo said he would be around later.”
“We had Despina drop by the cabin. She was Eva’s housekeeper during the war.” Zoe kept up the conversation while Eva was acting shyly towards Tessa and Tessa just gazed at her with a smile.
“How was that like?” Stella asked, and looked at Zoe with a knowing smile.
“It was good. Eva liked Despina.”
“Is that right?” Stella smirked.
“You know, I really love the color of the sky—it matches your shirt.” Zoe threaded her arm through her aunt’s elbow. “It has that really nice green and the polka dots really do give it a nice glow.”
Zoe and Stella looked at each other and then at Eva and Tessa, who were very quiet. They shook their heads.
“Evy,” Zoe came up against Eva and took her hand. “Did you hear what I just said?”
“Um.” Eva shook her head.
“It’s alright. It wasn’t anything important. Do you want to help me find my Oliver Twist book?”
“Is that the one Theo brought you back from Thessalonica?” Stella asked.
“Yes.”
“Where did you hide it?”
“Under the chicken shed,” Zoe replied. “Come on, Evy, let’s go find my book.”
“Alright.” Eva was led away by Zoe to find the book.
Stella sighed. She glanced at Tessa’s tear stained face and put her arm around her waist. “Darling.”
“Yes, Angel.”
“Our babies are home.” Stella’s own voice broke as she held Tessa in her arms.
“Welcome home, love,” Eva whispered. She cupped Zoe’s face and kissed her tenderly.
Zoe buried her head into Eva’s chest and wept as Eva rubbed her back. They stood there for a while trying to come to terms with the emotional events over the last hour.
“Oh, I’m going to run out of tears by the time we get back home.” Zoe wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“As long as they are happy tears.” Eva sniffed.
Zoe took Eva’s hand and they walked around the courtyard, passing the chicken shed. Just under the brushes and the wooden supports for the shed was the book. Zoe stared at it for a few moments and then dropped to her knees.
With trembling hands, Zoe picked up the damaged book. It was a little water logged, barely held together, the pages stiff with mud. She turned the pages over, barely able to make out the inscription written inside. She tried
to swallow the lump in her throat.
To my favorite sister, Zoe, may you always have more than Oliver did! – Love, Teedore.
Eva pulled Zoe into her embrace, stroking Zoe's chestnut hair as Zoe wept anew. She held Zoe slightly away from her and gazed into her eyes. "You always will have more than Oliver ever did. Welcome home, love."
Chapter Forty-One
“This is the kitchen.” Zoe whirled around the large room. A long bench which held a sink stood against one wall with a large window. It overlooked the side entrance to the farmhouse and also had a view of the fields and Mount Ossa in the background. In the middle of the room was a long table. The other side of the room contained another long bench and cupboards. On the wall were hooks for pots and pans.
“Wow, I love it,” Eva said.
“Do you cook?” Stella asked. Tessa was leaning against the bench. Stella noticed Tessa’s eyes never left Eva. She smiled and made a mental note to tell Tessa that it was a little creepy for her to do that. On the other hand, Eva was doing the same thing. She would quickly glance at her aunt and then, on being noticed, there would be a shy smile and she would turn back to what Zoe was talking about.
Stella found that Zoe was fully aware of what was going on but kept on the commentary regardless, occasionally throwing in some nonsense to see if Eva was paying attention. Only once did Eva respond with a puzzled look. Stella wondered if Zoe was used to Eva being distracted and found an amusing way of dealing with it.
Eva smiled shyly and shook her head. “We found out pretty quickly that I’m not very good at it.”
Hidden Truths (Intertwined Souls Series Book 3) Page 27
