The Ebb

by Effrosyni Moschoudi

  “By smothering me?” Sofia huffed with exasperation. “Why can’t he be a normal father like everyone else? Why this prison?” she complained, as a tear rolled down her cheek. In her head, a wistful thought of Danny fleeted past. Happy, blissful Danny, who lived free and had lots of fun. Lucky Danny, who didn’t have to answer to anyone. No doubt he had liberal parents, and they trusted him.

  “It’s not a prison, kyra mou. Don’t think of it like that,” interrupted Gran.

  “But why won’t he trust me? What horrible things does he think would happen to me if only he let me go out with friends and have some fun like a normal human being?” Hot tears now coursed down her cheeks.

  “You’re not listening to me, Sofia mou,” answered Granddad. “All this is now behind you. You’re twenty-one now. You have one more year of studies, and then you’re free. You can either get a job straight away, or go abroad and get a master’s degree. Either way you’ll have tons of freedom and the chance to socialise with friends as much as you want. Your father knows this is bound to happen. Hang in there! Stop hurting yourself with questions and things from the past. Not your father, not your gran or I, or anyone else can stop you from leading the life you want. Do you want to know why?”

  “Why?” Sofia asked with a sob, gazing at him through two pools of tears.

  “Because all that’s been hurting you lies in the past, and this cannot be changed. But your future, well, that’s another thing. This, my love, is all yours and it’s only up to you. Focus on what lies ahead so that you can make your future as perfect as you can and as close to your dreams and aspirations as possible. So what if things at home haven’t been as you wanted while growing up? Hardly anyone ever had a happy childhood. Everyone has complaints about their parents. So stop feeling left out! All right? And don’t you ever use any heartache in your life as an alibi! In effect, this would keep you chained in the past, and would stop you from moving forward. Always claim the best out of life, agape mou! So forget the past and focus on the future,” he concluded, squeezing her shoulder affectionately.

  “Thank you, Pappou… I will do that.” Sofia gave him a hug and soon, her eyes were dry. Granddad had been a teacher all his life, following in his father’s steps in a way, except priesthood of course. Sofia had never met her great-grandfather but imagined he was just like Granddad: a wise teacher and preacher. There was no upset that Granddad’s tender words couldn’t take away.

  As for Gran, she was the busy housewife, and she was a loyal and an eager one. She didn’t have an education and hadn’t read any books to grant her a broad knowledge about the ways of the world, but her hands were just as soothing as the wisest words could ever be.

  She had just placed the fruit bowl at the centre of the table, and was now hugging her granddaughter, planting kisses on the top of her head without saying much, seeing that her affection was speaking volumes. She had a silent power, the one that only pure and unconditional love can convey.

  Sofia gave them both a heartfelt smile and glanced at her watch. “Oh no, I’m running late!” she exclaimed in a bit of panic and rushed to the kitchen to wash her plate and mug.

  “It breaks my heart,” whispered Gran when Sofia was gone.

  “I know,” replied Granddad bitterly.

  “If only we could tell her… she might understand her father’s insecurities a bit better then.”

  “No, Kyriaki! It’s all in the past now. It’s an upsetting story; why mention it to her?”

  “For starters, she would understand why her uncle Yiannis is treating her like this.”

  “No. It’s the lesser of two evils. We’ve tried so hard to help both our boys put this behind them… I don’t want it coming out in the open again. None of us could bear it. The guilt, the pain, our terrible loss…” Granddad shook his head, his eyes red-rimmed and full of sadness.

  ***

  When Sofia got to the pier for work, she was only slightly late. Still, there were hardly any holidaymakers around yet. She scanned the beach with her eyes. Danny and Steve hadn’t arrived yet. As soon as she and Jimmy got all the equipment out ready for the day, she dropped in on Loula at the bar and heard the good news: Loula’s day off for next Saturday had been confirmed.

  Akis was there and seemed all right about it, or if he was jealous about Paxos he didn’t show it. Instead, he had a permanent smile on his face. Sofia thought that was strange. Her cousin was seldom in good spirits in the morning. He was always sleepy and tired from working till late every night.

  Loula was quick to explain the reason for this novelty as soon as Akis went back to the kitchen. Apparently, he had met a girl, someone he liked very much. She was a British tourist girl called Tracey. According to Loula, she had spent three consecutive nights at the bar with Akis, and they seemed to be very keen on each other.

  ***

  “Hello there, gorgeous!” shouted out Danny from the water. It was so busy that morning that Sofia had forgotten to look out for him for quite some time.

  “Good morning, Danny,” she replied, flashing him a big smile.

  “Steve and I are off to the bar. Shall I get you anything?” He pointed at Karavi, much to Sofia’s delight.

  “Thank you, but I’ll go there shortly to see my friend. I need something to eat. I’m starving.” A glimpse at her watch confirmed it was almost time for her midday break.

  “Even better!” said Danny looking up at her from the shallows. “You’re referring to the nice blond girl behind the bar, yes? I’ve seen you chatting,” he said with a wink.

  “Yes, she’s my best friend. Come with Steve and I’ll introduce you properly,” she replied, thinking it would be a treat for Loula to chat with them for a bit with a translator available. She still had quite a soft spot for Danny’s friend.

  Not five minutes later, they all sat at the bar, the boys enjoying a refreshing cocktail, and Sofia munching on a toasted sandwich. As for Loula, she was leaning forward at the bar, resting her head on one hand, with a dreamy look on her face. Each time Steve spoke or asked her a question, she turned to Sofia eagerly for the translation.

  Steve was the quiet type but in this instance he was very talkative. He obviously liked Loula a lot because he hardly took his eyes from her, and most of his questions were directed to her rather than Sofia. So far, he had found out she was a local girl, an only child, and that this was her first job. He was pleasantly surprised to hear he was only two years older than her because he thought she was a lot younger.

  As for Loula, she was delighted to get to know him better. She had just found out he lived with his parents and his little sister. She was particularly interested to hear about his dog, Betsy. She was a golden retriever, who knew how to sit, roll, jump, and even fetch her toys. As Loula and Steve faced each other grinning, the young girl was already daydreaming about them walking Betsy together hand in hand in an English forest.

  “Us? City folk? Oh no, my mate and I are village boys!” replied Danny to Loula’s question if they lived in London. Having no real knowledge of any places in England, other than the city names she picked up from the football leagues, it was hard for Loula to picture them in the place he had just mentioned they came from, let alone where in England it was.

  “Ti? What?” Loula asked in Greek. She hadn’t even caught the name.

  “Sussex!” the boys repeated in unison.

  “That’s not a town, that’s a county, right?” asked Sofia, whose knowledge on British geography was much better than Loula’s.

  “Yes. We come from a small Sussex village called Helmston. It’s not far from Brighton,” said Steve.

  “And where’s Brighton?” asked Sofia as soon as she translated for her girlfriend.

  “It’s near Helmston!” joked Danny readily, only to receive a playful jab on the ribs by Steve.

  “No, really! I don’t know. Whereabouts in England is it?”

  “You’re joking! You don’t know Brighton?” exclaimed Danny.

  “No, I
don’t. But in my defence, I’ve never even been to England. Is it a famous place?”

  “Well, it’s very beautiful and it’s on the south coast,” replied Steve.

  “And it’s very touristy with lots to see,” interrupted Danny.

  Sofia leaned forward in her seat. “Yeah? Like what?”

  “There’s the Royal Pavilion, the Marina, the seafront, and our famous piers of course,” said Danny proudly.

  “Piers? Big ones?” asked Sofia, who had seen enough pictures of piers in British magazines to know that some of them were large and even had funfairs on them.

  “Well, they’re slightly bigger than this one!” Danny pointed at Sofia’s workplace with a snigger. Steve and Sofia chortled while Loula just watched, her expression blank.

  “Ti lene? What are they saying?” Loula asked Sofia in Greek, anxious to join in the fun.

  “Why do you keep asking us to have tea?” interrupted Danny before Sofia could speak, looking highly amused by his own pun. “I’m happy with my cocktail, thank you!” he added with a wicked smirk.

  Sofia gave him a playful nudge. “Silly-billy!”

  Danny grinned from ear to ear. “My name’s not Billy.”

  “Ti lei? What’s he saying?” asked Loula, feeling totally left out by now.

  Steve’s face was a picture of sympathy as he gazed at Loula. He wished he could explain to her his friend’s stupid pun about tea and the unfathomable Greek word she kept repeating, except he couldn’t. The next best thing for him was to relieve his frustration, which he did by giving Danny a slap on the back of the head.

  It seemed to work, plus it wiped the grin off Danny’s face. He knitted his thick brows and gave Steve a puzzled look, but Steve ignored him. Instead, he kept his eyes on Loula, who was listening intently to Sofia while she translated all she had missed.

  “Oh, I see! Funny pun,” said Loula letting out a little giggle. It felt good to be able to join in the merriment again.

  “So what was it that Loula’s been saying?” Danny asked Sofia, his face deadpan.

  “In Greek, ‘ti’ means ‘what’. Loula’s been asking me to relay to her what you’ve been saying.”

  “Fancy that! Can you imagine what a cup of what would taste like?” he piped up then, in a high-pitched voice. He was clearly off again. “Tea-tea-tea! Cup of what if you please!” he kept saying now, jumping up and down on his stool, faking impatience.

  “You’re being stupid mate,” said Steve, extending the palm of his hand towards Danny, who then, much to the girls’ curiosity, reached inside his pocket and placed a random coin in his friend’s hand.

  “What’s that all about?” asked Sofia, intrigued.

  “Do you really think I was going to go on holiday with him without a backup plan?” asked Steve, and his friend joined him laughing.

  Sofia looked at them puzzled, and Steve finally explained that before coming over to Greece, they had agreed that every time Danny did or said something silly, he would have to hand him a one-pound coin. Sofia translated quickly for Loula and now they were all laughing.

  “Oh dear! Are these tears?” said Sofia wiping her eyes, not believing she was having so much fun. A thought crossed her mind then that if she could only keep Danny forever in her life, her never-ending sorrows would be a thing of the past.

  “So, how much money do you have so far?” asked Loula in Greek. After Sofia translated, Steve pulled a face that feigned indignation.

  “He’s a cheat, isn’t he?” he replied, showing the girls the ten-drachma coin that Danny handed him.

  “Wait a minute, that’s nowhere near one pound in Greek money!” said Sofia.

  “In my defence, I’m in Greece! I don’t have one-pound coins on me,” replied Danny, putting up his hands with a devilish grin on his face.

  Steve shrugged his shoulders. “You could give me the equivalent in Drachma; I don’t mind!”

  “The deal was to hand you one coin remember?” retorted Danny. “It’s all in the contract mate! You should be more careful when making a bargain with me!” He shook a sharp finger at Steve, his face bright with mirth.

  “I’ll get you back in England, you cheater!” replied Steve. “Don’t worry, girls, he’s not likely to wisen up any time soon. I’ll be getting his money back home till kingdom come,” he assured them and another round of laughter filled the air.

  “Oh shoot! I have to go back to work. See you later guys,” said Sofia upon glancing at her watch. She sprang up and made to go, but Danny caught her arm.

  “See you in the afternoon?” His face was so serious that when she stopped to face him, she was taken aback. His blue eyes were twinkling above flushed cheeks. It was a sight of sheer beauty, already a cherished image in her mind that nothing, least of all time, she knew, would ever erase.

  “Of course,” she replied with an easy smile. She was alone with him again. Each time he looked straight into her eyes like that, the whole world around them melted away, fraying to nothingness like an old piece of woven cloth, caught in the breeze of sheer rapture.

  “Shall we feed the birds together again?”

  “Oh no!” A sudden panic made Sofia bring a hand over her mouth. For the first time ever, she had finished her lunch without leaving a single trace for her winged friends.

  Danny looked amused when he guessed. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that. I’ll save a bite for them from my lunch later. We can’t leave the kids starving now, can we?” he asked with a wink, the blue in his eyes a vast sea, his fleshy lips delicious.

  Chapter 27

  A few minutes later, Sofia was sitting at the pier head when Danny swam up to her. She had just cooled off with a quick dip, seeing that it was quiet. Even Jimmy had decided to have a long coffee break at Karavi. Therefore Sofia guessed Danny had been waiting for the opportune moment to approach her. She was thankful for that. She preferred it that way; Jimmy not knowing that she and Danny had made friends. Perhaps she was being paranoid but thought it best not to attract any attention. Any of the villagers could mention something to her Uncle Yiannis and then her father would hear in record time that his daughter was flirting with young tourist boys.

  “Come have a swim with me,” he urged her, speaking in a hushed tone.

  She flashed him a pleasant smile. “I’ve just had a swim.”

  “Oh come on! There’s no one about and even your boss has gone off.”

  “He’ll be back soon.” Sofia’s voice wavered, as she gazed at him with regret.

  Danny tilted his head and mirrored her expression. It was evident to him that she wanted to oblige him. “Don’t worry,” he suggested in a soft voice. “We’ll keep an eye out, and as soon as we see him come this way, I’ll disappear.” He winked and flashed her an irresistible smile.

  “I don’t know.” Still hesitant, she turned around and tried to spot Jimmy at Karavi but to no avail. He was probably talking to her Uncle Nikos behind the kitchen counter. They often had a chat there during Jimmy’s coffee breaks.

  “All right,” she conceded jumping in the water, “But we’ll stay right here by the pier.” If they just paddled around the pier head, they would be hidden from people on the beach. That included everyone at Karavi as well as Gran and the other village women who were having a chat at the time by the willows. Gran and Mrs Danda had passed by only five minutes ago on their way there for their daily dip.

  “Fine,” he replied with a cute grin that made her heart skip a beat or two.

  “So, where’s Steve?” she asked after a quick dive. She cocked her eye at Danny when he didn’t answer at once, waiting with a hesitant smile for him to respond. Danny was hypnotized at the time and couldn’t help it. He was silently marvelling at the iridescence of her flaming red highlights that glistened and darkened when wet.

  “Back on his book,” he finally answered, “Although, I must say, he’s got a new interest now. Keeps going back to Karavi for refreshments. Can’t work out why!” He shrugged his shoulders, a wi
cked smile spreading across his face.

  Sofia smirked. “I see.”

  “Oh come on, I’m bored here. Let’s go out a bit!”

  “I thought you said you wanted to swim. Why should we go out?”

  “Out! Out to sea, silly!” He pointed to the deep waters.

  “That’s in! And you’re silly, not me!”

  “No, that’s out! In is where you go to sunbathe! There!” Danny pointed towards the beach.

  Sofia huffed. “You got it all wrong! In is in the water and out is out of the water. It can’t be the other way round!”

  “Oh yeah? That’s how it is, is it?” he asked, planting his feet on the seabed and placing both hands on his waist underwater, feigning a mood that’s brewing for a fight.

  “That’s how we Greeks understand it,” Sofia reasoned, tipping her chin.

  “Well, missy, I’ll have you know it’s the other way round in England!”

  “In this case, you have a funny language,” she teased.

  “No, it’s you who has a funny language!” he retorted in the same mock-indignant tone, approaching her now with an irresistible smirk on his face. He looked amused, and it was obvious to Sofia that he was enjoying this ridiculous exchange just as much as she was. She stood frozen, and when he stopped, his face a few inches from hers, she drew a shallow breath, the world shrinking to nothing around her again.

  “Come on, give us a kiss,” he whispered deliciously.

  “What? No!” she replied, all at once unsettled, as if waking abruptly from a heavenly dream. He had put his arms around her, and she found herself pushing him away. Feeling annoyed with him, yet not knowing exactly why, she paddled away from him as he glanced back at her, evidently surprised.

  Her back was now up against one of the wooden supporting piles under the pier head. Her eyes turned huge as he approached and all at once, her face took on the look of a trapped animal. It was a flicker only, and then her delicate features arranged themselves into an expression of defiant assertiveness that would make it impossible for anyone to argue with her.