by Pilar Lepe
“Well, everyone is entitled to a lawyer right?” Evelyn laughed to lighten the mood since she noticed Amy was telling the story feeling a little shame.
“Mark says he wants fiscal.”
“That’s what he says today, he is still young and idealist, but we’ll see in the future, sometimes reality is harsh and we have to look for other options.”
“You are so right dear. Please, don’t bother about Ralph, he want to feel he’s still got it somehow, but it’s just on the outside.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t take him seriously.”
“I think family is here. I only had one daughter, but my siblings were very fruitful. Each one has four kids, and since they’re three of them, Deb has twelve cousins between the ages of six and seventeen.”
“I only have one brother and I only had Mark, my brother has three, but we don’t even have cousins because both of our parents were only child.”
“It’s the same that will happen to Mark and Deb’s kids.”
“Then they will have to have more children.” Evelyn said laughing.
“Do you realize we’re talking about silly stuff?”
“Yes, I’m planning our kids’ lives.”
“Well, let’s see who is here, I’m hungry.”
Amy’s siblings turned out to be really nice people, and all of their kids including Ralph’s side of the family. They were a total of fifteen kids from all ages; screams and laughter filled the house and garden, something that bothered Evelyn a little because she wasn’t a fan of little kids, but she had no choice but to accommodate for a while. She tried to ignore the pulling of her dress and the soda spilled on her dress.
Aside from all of the little incidents, lunch went really well, everyone ate wherever they wanted to. Evelyn finally enjoyed her time with this big family and she was very thankful they appreciated Mark.
After lunch, everyone put their bathing suit on and Ralph insisted that Eve should do it too to dive into the water, and even though she didn’t want to, she had to give in because the little blondes, insisted to go in the water with aunt Eve, she looked at Mark to help her out of this, but he ignored her whispering into Deb’s ear, she imagined Mark was making fun of her and she went into the guest room to change.
She went to the bathroom first and after went directly to the guest room to look for her things. She changed quickly to her one-piece bathing suit; she was half naked when the door opened abruptly.
Chapter 16
“What?!”
“Damn!” Said a masculine voice and closed the door shut. “Sorry, it wasn’t locked.” The voice continued behind the door.
Evelyn feeling upset, grabbed the sunblock and sunglasses before heading out.
“Didn’t they teach you to knock?” Evelyn was beat red.
“I apologized. I already told you what happened.” Answered the man with a defiant tone of voice but admiring her at the same time.
“What? Did you not get a good look before?” Evelyn said and left.
“Wait! How many times do you want me to apologize? It was an accident, I already told you. Besides, I didn’t see anything.” He said hoping to sound convincing.
“Look.” Evelyn turned to face him. “I’m not old fashioned, but I think it’s rude to go into a room of someone else’s house where there is a complete stranger changing.”
“I don’t understand your logic, but you’re right. It’s really rude, I apologize again. It’s just that every time I come into this house, I use that room and today I didn’t ask if someone was there.”
“You’re family?” Evelyn asked while she was walking towards the back door of the house.
“No, we’re old friends.” He answered letting her go first.
“Nick! Eve! I see you two met each other.” Ralph seemed delighted with the news.
“And what an unique way of meeting each other.”
“What do you mean?”
“We bumped into each other on our way to the bathroom.” Evelyn answered putting her sun glasses on trying not to look embarrassed.
“What a coincidence!” Ralph said excitedly. “Nick, this is Eve Thomas, Mark’s mother.”
“Eve, this is Nicodemo Andreatos, my partner in the law firm and an old friend.”
Nick stretched his hand to shook Evelyn’s, and she had no choice but to shake his hand, but she let go quickly because she felt a little tingle going up her arm. Then she excused herself with the excuse that the little girls were waiting for her.
Evelyn had more than she was willing to admit playing with the little kids in the pool, she could tell they were very well educated and so warm just like their parents. She was sure it was due to growing up in an affectionate household, she was a little jealous. When Nick decided to go into the pool, she thought she had enough and went to sit beside Amy.
Deb’s mother was very outgoing to Evelyn’s taste and she barely heard what she was saying; she answered yes to everything without even knowing what the lady was asking, all her attention was towards the body of that guy Nick, fortunately her sunglasses were dark enough to disguise it. Evelyn couldn’t stop thinking that she would’ve loved to have met him under other circumstances.
After thinking about it, she decided that a man’s presence would not affect the rest of her evening, so she relaxed and enjoyed her time with the rest of the guests, achieving to forget the embarrass moment. The man was very attractive but a total snob according to Evelyn, he probably thought he was a great conqueror with his looks of a Greek god.
Around six, everyone started to leave, so Evelyn thought it was time to leave as well. As much fun as she was having, she was tired.
When Nick saw Evelyn getting ready to go, he went over to try to chat with her, he couldn’t take his mind off the image from earlier, if her back was like that, he couldn’t imagine how the front would be like. Everyone had left and there was only a small group left formed by the owners of the house and Mark with Evelyn.
“I think it’s time to leave.”
“Why don’t you take Eve?” Amy interrupted. “You have to go downtown.”
“Where do you live?”
“At Kondos.” Amy responded before Evelyn could open her mouth.
“It’s not necessary, we came in a van from my business.” Mark said because he had looked at Evelyn’s desperation face. “Besides, I have to take a last look at a case I’m working on.”
“That’s my boyfriend, very responsible and that’s why I adore him.” Deb gave him a kiss on the cheek and everyone laughed.
“Mark told us you’re going to Greece.” Ralph said curiously.
“Yes, I leave on Tuesday.” Evelyn gave Mark a dirty look which Nick noticed.
“You’ll have a great time. There’s a lot to see in Greece, a lot of history and great men.” Amy said winking at her.
“Nick was born there, but he was raised in the States,” Ralph continued wanting to keep chatting.
“Yes, but we moved here when I was very little, my dad’s older brother had been living here for years and he convinced him to come.”
“His brother was the owner of Anderatos restaurant.” Amy interrupted again. “I said was because he passed, now Nick’s cousin manages it.”
“We used to go there a lot.” Evelyn said, feeling relieved by the change of subject.
“Used to?” Nick asked interested.
“We haven’t been there for a while, last time we went to another one that just opened, I really liked it.”
“The Greek, I know it. The food is really good there. Imported ingredients, authentic recipes, real Greek wine.”
“You’re advertising the competition?” Ralph said laughing.
“Sadly yes. My uncle’s restaurant is stuck in time because they don’t want to take risks and invest in better products. The traditional dishes have lost a lot of its quality.”
“The chat is really nice, but we have to go.” Evelyn said.
“I imagine Mr. Thomas must be wo
rried.” Nick said trying not to show interest.
“There’s no Mr. Thomas, Eve is divorced...” Yet again, Amy had to give the inappropriate information. “I’m sorry Eve, I’ll be quiet.”
“Don’t worry Amy, it’s no secret I’m divorced. Amy is my maiden name.” She said looking at Nick.
“Then I feel more relieved.”
Evelyn looked at him puzzled but she didn’t say anything. She said her goodbyes giving everyone a hug, but when it was Nick’s turn, he took her by the shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek and whispered kalispera*. Then he left leaving all of them astonished.
“I think Nick fell in love.” Amy said delighted.
“Should we go Mark?” Evelyn asked ignoring Amy. “I think it’s getting late.”
* «Goodnight» in Greek.
Chapter 17
When Sarah arrived Monday morning to work, Evelyn had everything cleaned and organized, she was putting the flowers in the preservative.
“What happened? Woke up early huh?”
“Yes, I already went to the market, I woke up at six. Now I’m finishing everything up, I want you to do the very least.”
“Remember my niece Cindy is coming to help.”
“I haven’t forgotten, but you told me she was young, you’re not going to make her work a lot, are you? By the way, how much do I have to pay her?”
“Nothing, she is coming to have fun, to do something different. My sister is very strict with her. If you want when you come back, you can give her something small or bring her back something from your trip.”
“How old is she?”
“Fifteen.”
“You know what I worry most about? We don’t have anyone to deliver.”
“I could not take those orders for these days.”
“Impossible, I would lose my clients.”
“Well, there’s a girl.”
“Another one?”
“Yes. Pam. She’s my neighbor’s daughter and she doesn’t have a job. She has driven a taxi before.”
“Do you think she’d like to do deliveries? It would only be that, besides, I can’t pay much.”
“She’s not doing anything right now, she’s on the couch all day watching T.V.”
“How old is Pam?”
“Around twenty-five.”
“Could you ask her? With all there is to do, I almost don’t feel like traveling.”
“What are you talking about? Please relax and go, everything is going to be OK here. If you’re worried about her payment, think it’s for a good cause. Maybe you’ll even find the love of your life.”
“I don’t think he exists, though yesterday...”
“What happened? You still haven’t told me anything.”
“Good, Deb’s parents are very nice. They live in a beautiful house that is more like a mansion, they have their own waterfall by the pool, they’re both professionals and not snob at all. But they are very sociable and great to investigate about other people’s lives.
“I want to know everything.”
Evelyn told her everything about the day before. She talked about the family, the kids, how the little kids wanted to play with her at the pool and called her aunt Eve. She also told her about the embarrassing moment she went through with Nick. Sarah had her mouth opened and didn’t even blink.
“But what did you think? Did you like him?”
“Looking at him, yes. I put sunglasses on to look at him closely. Broad shoulders, wide hips, tanned skin, green eyes.
“Very different from Sam.”
“Very. I could tell he was self-confident. And the best part is he is Greek!”
“Really?! Tell me more, please. What a coincidence, you’re going to Greece and you meet a Greek guy in California.”
“When Ralph introduced us, he said...”
The phone rang interrupting their conversation.
“Wait, I’ll answer.” Sarah said. “It’s for you, I think it’s personal.”
Evelyn frowned and she moved towards the phone.
“Good morning.” Evelyn said seriously.
“Eve? This is Janet Taylor, Josh’s mom.”
Evelyn dropped a stool beside her. She was speechless. What would she want after all these years?
“Eve?” The woman said again.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“I know my call surprises you, but it’s important.”
“I don’t understand, what do you mean?”
“It’s Josh...he’s sick.
“I’m sorry but I don’t see how...
“He’s dying and he wants to see Mark.”
“What for? Is he scared of going to hell?”
“Don’t be so harsh please; he needs to ask for forgiveness.”
“And he has waited until he got sick to do that?”
“Please, Eve!”
“I don’t know if he’ll want to go, at least I won’t try to convince him.”
“At least let him decide.”
“Where is he?”
“New York, at Sinani.”
“Fine, I’ll tell him, but I won’t force him. Goodbye.”
Evelyn hung up not waiting for Janet to respond. She looked into space for a moment, thinking whether she should tell Mark or not. She didn’t want him to go see his dad, what for? Josh never cared to look for his son and the Taylors pretended he didn’t even exist, because the blame they put on her also was splatter on her son, forgetting that none of their problems was the boy’s fault.
“Eve, what’s wrong? You’re pale.”
“Mark’s father is dying and he asked to see him.”
“Oh! What will you do?”
“I don’t know, I wish I didn’t have to tell him, but I know that’s not the right thing to do.”
“You’re right, it should be his decision.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“In New York, at the hospital where Sam works. I think I’ll have to postpone the trip. But before I tell Mark, I should call my parents to see what they know.”
“You’ll go with him?”
“If he asks me to, yes.”
“You know you can count on me.”
“Thank you Sarah. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go upstairs for a minute; I want to talk on the phone with no interruptions.”
Evelyn took the apron off and left the shop. What was going on? Why so many bad news at the same time? First Sam leaving, then her mother’s condition and now this. Aside from her resentment towards her ex-husband, she didn’t wish he was dead. She had always hoped for him to realize what he had been missing out on and to get to know his son. But she never thought that day would come when death was around the corner. He was probably doing this because he was scared and not because he really regrets not being there for his son.
When she went inside, the first thing she did, was to go into the kitchen to get some coffee, it was either that or the ice-cream that was on the freezer, but she was taking her of herself to hide those love handles though little, it still bothered her.
Then she took the phone and dialed her mother.
Chapter 18
The phone rang a lot before someone picked it up from the other side of the line, then a man’s voice Evelyn had barely recognized picked up. It was her father’s.
“Good morning. Gus Thomas. To whom am I speaking to?”
“Da...dad?”
“Eve!!! Judith is Eve!!!” He yelled and the woman from the other side said something Evelyn couldn’t understand.
“Yes dad, it’s me.” Evelyn’s eyes were full of tears as she remembered how close she was with her father before, however that wasn’t enough to stop the distance between them.
“My little Eve.” He sobbed. “Please forgive me, all these years I didn’t know how to get close to you. I was feeling embarrassed not knowing what I would say to you, not being capable of defending you when I should have. I never wanted things to go the way they did, I can’t blame it all on your mother be
cause it was my fault she decided for me.”
Eve couldn’t hold it in any longer, it wasn’t tears of a woman, they were tears of a lost girl who was unfairly banned from her house and her family.
“I’ve missed you so much...”
“And I’ve missed you my love, I’ve missed your joyfulness in this house. I haven’t stopped blaming myself for what happened; I should’ve killed that damn boy.”
“Please, don’t talk like that, I don’t think about that stuff anymore. Thanks to that man I have Mark who has lightened up my life.”
“Judith told me he was a good kid and very smart, I am very happy to hear that. You deserve all the best that comes in your way.”
“Thank you dad...I love you.”
“And I love you; I want to see you badly. When will you come? I can’t travel anymore, doctors won’t allow it.”
“I don’t know that. Right now I have a problem. Janet Taylor called to say Josh is at the hospital in New York and he wants to see Mark.”
“After all these years? And what does he want?”
“To ask for forgiveness to die in piece.”
“He’s got some nerve. I’m sorry, I am no one to judge after what I did.”
“But you’re right, he never called to see if Mark needed anything, or if he was sick, or how he was doing at school.”
“Does Mark know?”
“I haven’t talked to him yet. If he decides he wants to go and if he wants me to go with him, I’ll have to postpone the trip to Greece.”
“Right, you travel tomorrow.”
“Now I’m not sure, maybe I should postpone it indefinitely.”
“You should go sweetheart, don’t even thinking about not going.”
“I don’t understand your eagerness for me to take it now.”
“We always left those plans for later, and look at us now. We’re old and sick.”
“How is mom?”
“Sometimes she’s fine, sometimes not so much. I’m really scared, I don’t want her to leave me.”
“That’s not going to happen dad. Have some faith. I want to talk to her.”
“Fine, but promise me you’ll come soon.”