The House by the River

by Lena Manta

  Nine-year-old Evanthia, on the other hand, was completely and utterly tied to her grandfather. She went to his store with him, and they regularly took long walks together. All of Thessaloniki got to know them; wherever little Evanthia was, there would be her grandfather. He was also the only one she would allow to check her homework, and although she didn’t like school much, she studied hard so as not to disappoint him.

  That summer, when Kyriakos took her fishing, Evanthia found her destiny in life. From then on she often dragged her grandfather away from his shop so that the two of them could go fish. Julia and Faida observed all this and often laughed about it. By now, these two had taken over the running of the house together and always began their day with the usual coffee, except that their company now included Evanthia. Often daughter- and mother-in-law talked about the old days, and they could now laugh at the past. Only occasionally did Evanthia lament the mistakes she’d made that drove her only child away. Whenever this happened, Faida would always distract her by asking to hear the story of the cup again and they would all end up laughing and hold hands.

  They lived like that for three years, and during that time, the wounds that had opened in Cameroon finally closed. The loss of Fokas stopped hurting with the same intensity as it had in the beginning and became a sweet burden on all their spirits. It was a burden none of them wanted to avoid; it was what bound them to him.

  It was unexpected, but in reality they should have expected it. It was unbelievably painful, but how else could it have been? Kyriakos Karapanos took his last breath just before the spring came, thrusting them back into winter. His eighty-year-old heart, already tired, stopped beating during a short time he spent in the hospital. They were all shocked when the doctor announced it and didn’t want to believe him.

  The children were more upset than anyone. For the second time in their short lives they had lost someone they adored; for a second time they felt the ground give way under their feet.

  The house suddenly felt empty as the six females were left behind to weep, and their grief for Fokas returned more sharply.

  Julia felt as if she were suffocating in the house and went out to walk along the waterfront to get some air. More than a year had passed since the death of her father-in-law and yet the heavy atmosphere didn’t seem to lift. Every corner was filled with his presence. The summer was already nearly over and in a short time the schools would open. Everything seemed the same, but nothing was the same. The store had been sold for a very good price, leaving her mother-in-law a serious sum of money, just as Fokas had left a large sum for Julia.

  Julia took a deep breath to stop the tears flowing. She didn’t know how to go on. Everything around them was full of painful memories, memories that made them suffer more than they could bear. More than anything, she was concerned about the children. They had all changed a great deal. Everything that tied them to the city, which none of them really liked, was lost with the death of their grandfather. Hara seemed to be suffocating more than any of them and quite often she had hinted at the possibility of leaving, but her grandmother’s wounded air always made her stop talking.

  Julia heard hurried steps behind her and turned to see who it was. She was astonished to find her daughter Hara standing there. “What are you doing here, child?” she asked.

  “Don’t be angry, Mom, but I followed you.”

  “And why did you follow me?”

  “Because I wanted to talk to you when we were by ourselves. You must listen to me.”

  “All right, we’re alone here. So tell me. What’s going on?”

  “What’s going on is that we can’t take it anymore. The younger ones agree with me!”

  “About what?”

  “Listen, Mom. We came to Thessaloniki after our father died—maybe that’s why the city upsets us. Now even more because it’s connected to everything bad in our lives.”

  “But we live well here.”

  “We lived well as long as Grandfather was alive. But now it’s hell here. And all three of us want to leave.”

  “And where would we go?”

  “I think you know . . .”

  “And Grandmother?”

  “Grandmother agrees. If you’ll allow it, she’ll come with us. She even helped me decide all this. She wants us to leave if it will make us happy and she knows she can’t live far away from us.”

  “Why does this smell to me like a plot?” Julia asked her, not believing her ears.

  “Maybe because that’s something familiar to you,” her daughter teased.

  “Do you understand what you’re asking me? Do you understand that things will be very different there?”

  “That’s exactly what we want. A new beginning in a new place that doesn’t remind us of anything but is beautiful. And you yourself have said to me a thousand times how beautiful that corner of the earth is. So? What do you say?”

  “Let me think for a while.”

  Her daughter kissed her and left as fast as she had come. Julia turned her short walk into a long one. Dusk was falling; the sea had darkened but was calm as if it didn’t want to disturb the thoughts of this small-framed woman who walked slower and slower until she stopped and stood, looking at the water with a steady gaze. Her whole life passed in front of her like a movie. She had done the only right thing in her life when she followed her heart and Fokas, but she had to admit that she hadn’t managed to stop the river from dragging her along. It had taken her countless miles to another continent. Now, it seemed that fate had decided on a different course. If Julia was honest with herself, she had to admit that Hara had only spoken out loud what she herself hadn’t dared to say. The desire to go home had been in her heart for some months now. Now, the fact that a whole tribe would return with her, together with a girl of another nationality and color, made her smile. And then Evanthia came into her mind. Who could have predicted that she would return in the company of her mother-in-law? What strange games life plays!

  Julia’s gaze finally cleared. She’d made her decision. She knew very well what she wanted. She wanted peace, she wanted her home . . .

  The house by the river.

  ASPASIA

  Stavros’s house disappointed Aspasia a great deal. It was at the edge of the city and very small, tucked into a courtyard with other small houses around it and lots of neighbors. Stavros seemed to be very popular: when they arrived, everyone was waiting for them in their doorways and started throwing rice at them. Her mother-in-law, Kyria Stella, was very happy to see them and took pride in her beautiful daughter-in-law. They had first met at the wedding, and as soon as Kyria Stella was introduced to her future daughter-in-law, her eyes filled with tears. She hugged her and kissed her and gave her her blessing with all her heart. Kyria Stella also took a warm liking to Aspasia’s mother, as the two had a lot in common. Both had grown up in a village and both were simple women whose only interest was the happiness of their children.

  Right after the ceremony Stavros, Aspasia, and Kyria Stella left in the car that Stavros’s boss, Kyrios Alekos, had lent them. When they arrived at Stavros’s house, the three of them went inside. Aspasia looked around her. The kitchen, which also served as the living room, was the largest room. Two bedrooms made up the rest of the house and Aspasia noticed with horror that they were next to one another. Would she spend her wedding night here with her mother-in-law a breath away? She nearly started crying.

  With the help of the neighbors, they unloaded Aspasia’s things and she started to arrange her clothes in the closet, trying to hold back the tears that had started to fall. She already wanted to go home. At least there they didn’t live one on top of the other. The yard at home was a gateway onto nature and the infinite. She could breathe freely there, and she had the river to carry her along on its green waters. Here everything was so small and wretched that it weighed on her spirits.

  Stavros found her crying on the bed that his mother had made up with pure white sheets decorated with lace she had crocheted h
erself.

  “What’s the matter, my love?” he asked anxiously. “Why are you crying?” His tender voice made Aspasia cry even harder and he didn’t know what to do. He reached out his hand and stroked her hair but Aspasia showed no sign of calming down. “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I can’t help you,” he said softly. “Speak to me, my darling. Why are you suddenly so upset?”

  “I want to go home,” she stammered between her sobs.

  At that Stavros smiled with relief. “Is that all it is? Don’t you like the house?”

  Aspasia stopped crying and looked at him in surprise. “How did you know?” she asked, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief he gave her.

  “It’s not so strange. And I don’t like the house much either, but it’s the only thing I could find. But don’t worry. Kyrios Alekos announced that he wants to open an office in the Peloponnese so he’ll be sending me there.”

  “So we won’t be staying here?”

  “No. In a week or two at the most we’ll leave for Kalamata. We’ll find a house together there, something more to your taste, and move in as soon as possible. The only thing is that we’ll have my mother with us too. I can’t leave her alone, Aspasia. I hope you understand.”

  “Of course I understand,” she hurried to assure him. “You made that clear to me from the beginning and I accepted it.”

  Her look, though, told him that something was still bothering her. “Come on, grouch!” Stavros said with a smile. “Tell me what else is annoying you, because it’s not just the house.”

  Aspasia lowered her eyes in embarrassment. “And tonight?” she asked him softly. “What’s going to happen tonight? Is this where we’re going to spend our wedding night?”

  Stavros started laughing and hugged her. “Silly girl! Where did you get that idea? Did you have so little faith in me? As soon as you’ve changed and packed a few clothes, we’re leaving.”

  “Leaving? Where are we going?”

  “Kyrios Alekos has a house in Tyrnavos. Last year he completely renovated it and he’s given me the keys so we can stay there as long as we want. It’s not a fancy hotel, of course, but we’ll be all alone there.”

  Aspasia sprang into his arms. She was still crying, but with tears of relief and happiness now.

  The house at Tyrnavos was beyond their expectations. They arrived late at night to find food in the cupboard and plenty of wood in the yard for the fireplace that dominated the sitting room. A little while after they entered the house, a roaring fire had filled it with warmth and Aspasia had fried some eggs.

  “I’d have liked to make you something better,” she told Stavros. “But this was all I could manage tonight.”

  “Don’t be silly. This is wonderful,” Stavros replied, smiling and sitting down quickly at the table. “To be honest, I’m starving,” he added.

  Their meal was made complete by the wine that Kyrios Alekos had left for them in the fridge.

  “Your boss must love you a lot,” Aspasia observed as they ate. “He went to so much trouble for us.”

  “The man has a big heart. I’ve been working for him for six years and I love him very much. He and his wife treat me like a son.”

  “Don’t they have any children of their own?”

  “They have . . . a daughter.”

  “What? You didn’t tell me about that.”

  “There’s nothing to tell you. The truth is that they would have really liked to see me with Despina. They’d hinted at it, but she fell in love with a sailor and married. Fortunately—for me, that is—because I’d have been in a difficult position.”

  “Don’t you like their daughter? Maybe she’s ugly?” Aspasia teased.

  “She isn’t ugly, but she wasn’t for me. We weren’t at all suited. I tried to explain that to Kyrios Alekos but he didn’t seem to understand. Later Despina introduced her husband to him and that was the end of the story. The poor man was bitter about it, but relaxed. Still, his love for me didn’t change. Maybe it got stronger. As if he felt bad that his daughter went her own way and didn’t marry me.”

  “What did he say about me?”

  “He was very happy I’d found the sort of girl I wanted.”

  The evening continued beside the fire. As the time passed, Stavros’s eyes shone brighter and brighter, while Aspasia’s embarrassment became more obvious. Stavros felt ready to burst. His mind searched for ways to approach his wife but he instantly rejected them all as being too coarse. Then his eye fell on the radio that was in the room. He thanked his lucky stars that at that particular moment they happened to be playing simple, romantic songs. He reached his hand out to Aspasia and pulled her up for a dance. It was enough.

  After their dance, Stavros lifted her in his arms and carried her into the bedroom, where the large double bed was waiting for them. He put her down gently and lay down beside her. Aspasia looked at him. Her eyes were shining like his. The moon peeped in from the window, making her hair look like molten gold as it surrounded her face, and her body looked beautiful on the white sheets. Stavros knew he couldn’t contain himself another minute.

  They stayed for five wonderful days in that house, and if someone had asked them how they liked Tyrnavos, they wouldn’t have known how to answer. They were indifferent to exploring the area. All their interest was directed to each other’s bodies. Stavros found it difficult to take his hands off his wife, and Aspasia was curious to explore all the avenues of pleasure with him. They had to return to Larissa eventually—Stavros couldn’t stay away from his work any longer. They both knew, though, that these last few days would remain in their memory as the best time of their marriage. From now on they would have to be more careful with their expressions of affection so as not to embarrass Kyria Stella. Or so they thought.

  Stavros’s mother remembered very well how much she had loved her husband. In the glances that the newlywed couple exchanged she saw the same flame she had experienced and realized that she should leave them alone as much as possible. On the day they returned, as soon as they had eaten, Kyria Stella got dressed and took her handbag.

  “What are you dressed up for, Mama?” Stavros asked in surprise.

  “Oh, son, I didn’t know you were coming back today, and I promised Argyro I’d help her make a jacket for her son,” she answered before turning to her daughter-in-law. “Argyro is a friend of mine, my girl, but she has one fault. If you laugh at her it puts her in a bad mood and I can’t bear her moods. And she doesn’t seem to be able to learn how to sew. So what can I do, eh? Not go to help her? You two shouldn’t bother to wait up for me because I might be late.”

  Then she disappeared and Stavros turned to his wife with a knowing look. “If that wasn’t a deus ex machina, I don’t know what is,” he said, taking her in his arms and laughing.

  The next day, after Stavros left early for work, Aspasia was surprised when her mother-in-law announced, “Listen, girl. Now you’re queen of the house. From now on, you tell me what to do and I’ll follow.”

  “But what are you saying, Kyria Stella?” Aspasia protested in embarrassment.

  Her mother-in-law cut her off with a movement of her hand. “Forget the formality, Aspasia. Just call me Mother because we’re mother and daughter now. The house is more yours than mine! And the fact that you accepted living with me is a big thing, but it doesn’t mean I give the orders. I just help you.”

  That same night, their second in the house, Kyria Stella got dressed to go out again.

  “Where are you going again, Mama?” Stavros asked with obvious curiosity.

  “Hmm . . . I’m going to see Kalliope, son,” she answered quickly. “She’s making some lace for her daughter’s dowry and she asked for a little help.”

  And before anyone could say anything more, Kyria Stella disappeared.

  Stavros turned to his wife. “What on earth? Everyone’s forgotten how to crochet and they need my mother to help them?” he asked. Stavros had a look of mock disbelief on his face, but the next mome
nt his expression changed as Aspasia’s very presence, alone with him in the house, aroused him.

  A few days later Stavros and Aspasia left at dawn for Kalamata with precise instructions from Kyrios Alekos. They were to find an office on the port suitable for their work and a house quite nearby for themselves. He provided them with the addresses of some people he knew who would help them. They set out full of high spirits; to them the trip felt like a second honeymoon. The summer had just begun, so the journey was pleasant, and they were full of dreams about what seemed to be a shining future.

  They were very lucky to find an office on the first day. It was exactly what was needed for a transport agency and from what Stavros learned, there was plenty of work here and many possibilities if someone was willing to work. He was very eager on behalf of Kyrios Alekos, who had helped him so much. The greatest stroke of luck, though, was the house they found. It was in a quiet neighborhood with a distant view of the sea, which made them both happy. It was quite large, but completely suitable for a couple who wanted to have a family. There were three bedrooms and a large kitchen and living room, and in the yard there were trees and flowers that reminded Aspasia of home. Since the rent was affordable, they closed the deal without any discussion.