In a little over two weeks, more had been done to restore and refit The Knot again than Haldane had previously achieved in six. But then, the first time, he had been working alone but now he had help; a great deal of help and from every able-bodied man in the village. Each morning when he walked across to the caique he would find at least four or five villagers, who were either giving up their leisure time or had been let off from their regular employment for the day, waiting to start work under his supervision. and at least twice a week Xenophon Hasapis and his sons would drive over from Sitia to give a hand.
This morning Haldane had been working alongside three local fishermen and Spiros Tsitsanis who proudly boasted, and not without some justification either, that he was the best baker in Elounda.
They had made an early start as usual and at one o'clock they broke off for their mid-day meal which would be followed by a siesta until five when, Haldane's companions assured him, they would put in another two or three hours. He thanked them and then, as they headed for their homes, he strolled over to the taverna.
He was surprised to find Annika's car parked just along from the entrance. He was expecting her but not until that evening.
She was sitting on a stool at the bar counter talking in a low, conspiratorial voice to Elena and Nikos. All three of them looked expectantly towards the doorway as Haldane entered. There were no other customers at any of the tables.
Haldane smiled cheerily and waved. "Yassou," he called, then moved down towards the counter.
It was then that he saw their expressions; all three looked grave, over grave even and they did not acknowledge his greeting. He felt a sudden sickness in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, he was certain of it.
'What is it?' he asked anxiously as he came up to the counter and searched their faces questioningly. Even Annika did not smile instead she looked away from him, avoiding his eyes. 'What is it?' he repeated.
Elena and Nikos glanced at one another. Elena nodded. 'Tell him,' she said flatly.
'Tell me what?' enquired Haldane, frowning and now very concerned.
Nikos shrugged helplessly. 'It is about the taverna, Leandros', he said. 'Last night you asked me if I had come to a decision about your offer, about the sailing centre.'
'Yes,' said Haldane.
'And I said nothing.'
Haldane nodded. 'You changed the subject.'
Again Nikos shrugged. 'Well, now is the time for me to give you an answer.' He sighed. 'A final answer. One which nothing can change.'
Haldane had, by now, anticipated what Nikos was going to say to him and he was bitterly disappointed. And it showed. 'I see,' he said quietly. He looked at Elena. 'And how do you feel about Niko's decision?'
Elena picked up a clean glass and busied herself needlessly polishing it. Still Annika did not look at Haldane. 'Oh, now I am in complete agreement with Niko,' Elena said. And for a moment Haldane thought he saw the beginnings of a smile in the corners of her mouth. But if it was ever there, she suppressed it. 'There is symphony between us,' she added.
'Have you any idea of how much money the people who wish to build a hotel where this taverna now stands are willing to pay for it?' asked Nikos.
'A lot I'm sure,' replied Haldane.
'A lot!' exclaimed Nikos. He made a gesture as if to show there was no way in which the sum could be expressed. 'More than we could make in profits in ten, twenty years with your idea.' He pulled a face. 'If we made a profit that is.'
All right Niko;' sighed Haldane. 'I understand. You've said enough.'
'More than enough.' reprimanded Spiridakis and his voice came from behind Haldane who swung round sharply.
The lawyer was standing in the doorway to the patio.
He shook his head chidingly and, crossing to the bar, wagged a finger at Annika, Nikos and Elena. 'This is a cruel game you are playing with Leandros,' he told them.
'So now the joke is over, eh?'
Totally bewildered, Haldane shot a look first at Annika and then at Elena and Nikos. Despite Spiridakis' admonition, their expressions remained grim and serious arid then, realising that they could no longer keep up the charade, their faces broke into smiles and all three of them burst into laughter.
'Oh Leandros!' exclaimed Elena, almost doubled up with mirth. 'If only you could have seen your face. So solemn. So sad.'
Still laughing, Annika nodded in agreement but then shook her head and gave Haldane a wryly apologetic look. 'Babis is right. It was perhaps too cruel. Forgive us.'
Only slowly did Haldane begin to realise the truth. 'You mean ... I' he stammered. He looked at Spiridakis. The lawyer nodded.
'Why else do you think I am here?' he said. 'Only for rich clients or for my brother, Leandros, would I leave my office on a matter of business.' He gave the trio of conspirators a stern look and then smiled. 'So, let us now eat together and discuss the terms of the partnership.'
Overjoyed, Haldane impulsively kissed Annika on the cheek. She gazed into his face, delighted by his happiness and sharing in it.
They had lunch on the patio and during the meal went over every point that would have to be written into the contract in detail. Spiridakis made notes. Haldane was even happier when he found there was nothing on which he and Nikos disagreed. When every point had been covered, Spiridakis closed his notebook and sighed contentedly. 'Good,' he said. 'Full accord then. Between both parties. And since I represent both parties, and with equal concern, not only does that prove that I am a brilliant lawyer but it also makes my job much easier.'
This was greeted with laughter by his companions.
'And your fee?' teased Annika.
'Will be none the less for that,' replied the lawyer with mock haughtiness. 'I was, after all, quite prepared to haggle for either party.'
Haldane smiled. 'Against yourself?'
'On your behalf, Leandros,' Spiridakis assured him.
'And on ours,' exclaimed Elena indignantly.
'Of course,' acknowledged the lawyer gravely. 'And am I not a fair man? Had there been a dispute I would have listened to reason. And what better reason than my own? .So the result would have been the same. Only the business would have taken much longer.'
This prompted more laughter. Haldane shook his head admiringly. 'You should go back into politics, Babis,' he said jokingly. 'Government and Opposition. All in one. Everything would be so much simpler.'
Spiridakis' expression changed. Now he was no longer playing a game. 'No, Leandros,' he said sadly. 'Reason has little part to play in politics. I know. In that world self-interest rules with expediency as her consort'. He smiled. 'But I get serious,' he apologised. 'Forgive me.' His eyes on Haldane, he raised his glass of wine. To the new partnership, Haldane and Vassilakis.'
Haldane smiled at him. anxious to dispel any of the doubts which might still be troubling him'. Spiridakis looked away from him and across at Elena and Nikos. 'Or as your lawyer,' he mediated. 'Vassilakis and Haldane.' The others laughed again. Spiridakis shrugged. 'Either way, the partnership.'
His companions lifted their glasses. The partnership,' they chorused. Then they all sipped their wine.
'And when will it be official, Babis?' Haldane asked eagerly. 'How long will it take you to draw up the agreement?'
'There are certain formalities. But a few days only,' said Spiridakis.
'And then we sign?' said Nikos. The lawyer nodded.
That must be a very special occasion,' declared Annika. She turned to Spiridakis. 'Can you have the documents completed by next Sunday?'
'Certainly. That I can guarantee.'
'Excellent,' she exclaimed. 'Then next Sunday you will all come to my house. The agreement can be signed there. I would like that. And we can eat a little, drink a little and enjoy each other's company. And, Babis, you must bring Sia.'
'Are you sure, Annika?' Haldane asked her doubtfully. 'It'll be putting you to a lot of trouble.'
'What trouble?' she demanded with a smile. 'And I insist. Nikos, yo
u and Elena can get away for a while, can't you? With Alexi?'
Nikos glanced at his wife. She nodded, her expression pleading. He conceded. 'For a while,' he said. 'For such an event. In such a gathering. And to visit your beautiful house. Of course.'
Annika triumphantly brushed her hands together, Greek style, showing that the question was decided and all further argument fruitless. 'Bravo,' she cried. She looked at Haldane. 'You see. It is settled.'
Haldane smiled gratefully. 'Thank you.'
'One thing,' said Spiridakis. 'What name will you give to this new business of yours? Have you thought about that?'
Nikos and Elena exchanged shy, hesitant looks. Haldane shrugged. 'I haven't,' he admitted. 'It never occurred to me.'
'Nikos and I have,' Elena quietly.
'Doesn't this place have a name already?' asked Haldane.
Elena shook her head. 'No. It is just known as the Taverna Vassilakis. But now it should have a name. A real one written up outside. And if you are not against it, Leandros, we would like to name it after my mother. ' She paused. 'The Taverna Melina.'
Spiridakis frowned slightly. Haldane looked down at the table.
'You object, Leandros?' asked Nikos anxiously.
Haldane raised his head again and smiled. 'No,' he said. 'I don't object.' He looked at Elena. 'It's a beautiful name,' he assured her. 'So let's drink to that,’ He picked up his glass. 'The Taverna Melina,' he murmured softly.
Annika, sitting up in the bed beside him, her arms around her knees, gazed thoughtfully into the shadows on the other side of the room. 'Elena's happiness is important to you, is it not?' she said in a low voice.
'Yes,' said Haldane.
Annika nodded. 'I am glad.'
Haldane put out a hand and stroked her arm. 'As your happiness is important to me. Even more important. You and I. That's important to me. Us. That's the most important thing of all.'
Annika looked at him and smiled .. And now I am very glad,' she said. And then she went on, studying his face closely. 'And you have a great affection for Alexi.'
Haldane nodded. 'He's a good lad.'
Annika shook her head. 'No,' she said. 'It goes deeper than that, you’re feeling for him.'
'You think so?' he said casually to cover his unease.
'Yes. I think so. I have seen the look you give him some times. It is as if he were your own flesh. Yours are perhaps the feelings of a man who has had no children of his own.'
Haldane stared up at the ceiling. 'But I have,' he said quietly. 'There was a child. A boy. Only he died when he was two months old. And I'm not sure that really counts, does it?'
Annika frowned. That is something I did not know,' she said. 'Something you have never talked about.'
Haldane kept his eyes on the ceiling. 'No,' he admitted. 'Well, not much to say about it, is there? Two months. Nine weeks. Sixty-one days. Hardly an eventful life. Not many memories. And my wife couldn't have any more.' He turned his head to look at her and smiled gently. 'But you do have children. Two. And we've never talked about them either.'
'They are hardly children,' said Annika. 'Andreas is twenty-two and Katerina is twenty.'
'And they are studying in France?'
She nodded. 'At the Sorbonne. Both quite clever and both very sophisticated.'
That's good. They might even approve or at least understand.' She gave him a questioning look. 'About our relationship,' he went on. 'About how we feel towards each other.'
'About how we love one another,' sighed Annika. 'Is that what you mean? Love. Use the word, Leandros. It is not one of which to be afraid. Or to be ashamed of.' She nodded. 'Yes. They would understand.'
'And approve?'
'Of you? Yes, I am sure of that.'
'Of us?'
'Probably. Although they could be a little concerned.'
'About what?' asked Haldane.
'That I might be hurt by it,' replied Annika. She studied him. 'It is strange. We have become so very close and yet we are still strangers. There must be much that we still do not know about each other. Things of the past.'
Haldane frowned. 'Yes,' he said. He held her gaze for a while and then he reached out for her and took her in his arms. And when they had made love, she fell asleep in his embrace.
An hour later when she suddenly woke again Annika found that he was no longer beside her. Puzzled, she got out of bed, put on her robe and went downstairs.
Haldane was sitting at his worktable poring over detailed drawings of the designs and extensions to the taverna using as a reference the meticulous, pen-and-ink sketch which he first showed to Elena. He'd put on a dressing gown and slippers and, smoking his pipe, he was fully absorbed in what he was doing.
Half-way down the stairs Annika paused and called quietly. 'Leandros?'
Startled, Haldane swung round on the stool. Annika continued on down the stairs and crossed to him. He put his pipe down into an ashtray on the table and smiled at her apologetically. 'I couldn't sleep,' he said. 'Had a lot on my mind.'
She nodded. 'Ever since lunch I think.'
'Well, now that's all settled there's so much to do,' he pleaded.
That will not wait until later?' she enquired gently.
Haldane shrugged. 'Lying there. Just thinking. It seemed such a waste. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you.'
'You did not disturb me. Only just now did I wake.'
Haldane smiled. 'Were you worried?' he asked. 'Did you think I'd gone out on the town. To celebrate. On my own.'
Annika smiled back at him. 'No. I was not worried about that,' she said. And then she added teasingly. 'But, of course, if that is what you want ... '
'I don't,' he said and he drew her close to him. 'It never even entered my head.' He kissed her. 'I love you.'
She looked at him approvingly. 'Bravo, Leandros. And I love you. And every second of the time we spend together is like a jewel to me because I am not with you often enough. I woke and you were not beside me. I felt robbed. The hours are slipping by. Soon it will be dawn and in a little while I must return to my home.'
Haldane frowned. 'Do you really have to?' he asked.
'It is a working day. I must be at the factory. I have a business to run.'
'When will I see you again?'
'I am not sure, my dearest,’ she sighed. 'Tomorrow I must go to Chania. For meetings. I will have to be there for two or three days.' She pointed to the drawing board. 'And you, too, have many things to do.'
Haldane nodded. 'Yes.'
'So perhaps, sadly, we will not be together again until next Sunday.' She smiled reassuringly, 'But then for certain.'
Haldane looked into her eyes. 'I'll miss you,' he said simply. 'And I will miss you. Even more I think.' She put her arms around him. 'So, come back to bed,' she whispered.
When Haldane stirred out of a deep, dreamless slumber the next morning Annika had gone. There was a note lying on the bedside table. Haldane picked it up and, rubbing the night out of his eyes, crossed to the window and pushed open the shutters. He read the note.
My darling,
It is time for me to go and you are sleeping and there is
nothing to say except andio. Know that your joy in what
there is now between you, Elena and Nikos is also my joy. May the future treat you well, as you deserve. And may it also be a future in which there is a place, however small and however fleetingly, for someone who loves you as much as I do.
Annika.
Haldane looked up from the letter, troubled and frowning. Then he read it again, twice. And after the third reading his expression was no longer distressed or uneasy. He had about him the air of a man who has made a decision against which doubt no longer had any appeal.
In a mood of resolve and purpose he turned from the window and crossed to the bathroom.
An hour later, showered, shaved, dressed and breakfasted, Alan Haldane drove to Neapolis. He had visited Melina's grave once before and not long after he had moved into the ho
use in Elounda. And then. as now. he had brought flowers with him.
He placed the fresh blooms on the marble tomb and then scrutinised the face in the ornately framed photograph attached to the headstone.
He gazed at the picture for a long time; the face of the woman he had loved and who had carried and given birth to his child; the woman from whom he once again silently begged forgiveness; the woman he now called upon for understanding and release; the woman to whom he had come to say farewell.
And when that was done, he put out a hand, touched the photograph lingeringly, smiled gently and then turned and walked away from the grave.
Back in his house once more, Haldane opened the drawer of his worktable and, from under a pile of papers, took out the snapshot of Melina taken so many years ago. He studied it intently. The face of the forty-nine-year-old woman buried in Neapolis was that of a half-remembered stranger. This was the Melina he had known. This was the image which he wished to retain in his memory forever.
With his eyes still on the snapshot, he crossed to the fireplace, took a match from the box on the mantelpiece and struck it. Then he set fire to the photograph, placed it carefully in the grate and, straightening up again, watched it burn.
Spiridakis gathered up the contract and the other documents on the table. 'So,' he said. 'You now own the property you wanted in Anoyia and Stelios Prevelakis is content. '
Katerina Matakis grunted. 'As he should be,' she muttered. 'At such a price.'
The lawyer smiled. 'A fair one. And almost half that which he first asked.'
'True,' Katerina acknowledged grudgingly. 'You will take another glass of raki?'
'Thank you, no,' replied Spiridakis with a look of regret. 'I must return to Heraklion. I have a great deal of work waiting for me there.'
Katerina nodded understandingly. 'I am grateful to you for coming,' she said. 'For humouring an old woman who does not like travelling.'
Spiridakis gave her another smile and put a hand on her arm. 'No,' he corrected her gently. 'To see a friend. A valued friend.'
He put the papers into his briefcase and closed it Katerina turned from him and crossed to the window. 'And my daughter?' she enquired. 'Have you seen her recently?'
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