I took time out one afternoon to contact Cassia and Tinos, as Nikos and Delphine had agreed that I would be the one to break the good news about the new project. I arranged to meet them at Maria’s taverna for a drink. Cassia had been intrigued on the phone but I gave nothing away until we were seated outside on the deck, looking out at the sea, and having to wear sunglasses against the glare reflected off the waves. In the distance, huge tankers plied their wares slowly across the bay. Summer was definitely on its way.
‘So, what do you have to tell us, Anna?’ asked Tinos, sipping beer from the bottle.
I didn’t know quite where to begin. I told them my parents had come back for a holiday the week before, which explained my absence from Greek class, and then broke the family connection to the Kokorakis family. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t develop bad landlord tendencies,’ I said to their shocked faces.
Cassia got the first word in. ‘You are Mr K’s niece?’ she spluttered. ‘No!’ She caught her twin’s eye and they laughed in amazement. ‘Well, I never suspected that. You have a saying in English, I think, “chalk and cheese”. Is that right?’
‘Too right. But he is my uncle and he and my dad have spoken for the first time in forty years, so all is good.’ I didn’t tell them about Leo and his father. It was all a bit raw.
‘In fact, I have been working on Uncle Nikos over the last couple of weeks, to get him to put right what he did wrong. You know how Delphine and I have been helping the Andreanakises to buy a new house? Well, she and Nikos also want to help you, Tino. To make amends.’
Tinos looked out to sea, long fringe blowing back in the breeze. ‘I don’t want help from that man,’ he said and the stubborn set of his jaw made me believe him.
However, the stubborn set of mine meant there was no way I was giving up. ‘Just listen. They are setting up a charitable foundation, to offer help to unemployed local people, and they want you to run it. A training school for chefs and waiters that will have a café and possibly a restaurant or a bakery? Oh, I don’t know, or anything else you think might be needed. Cassia, you could offer legal advice there, free, for example.’
Tinos didn’t speak. He sucked on his beer.
Cassia jumped in. At least she was showing some excitement. ‘Tino, get off your high horse and listen. You would be able to do what you have always wanted to do, free from worries about money, helping people get back to work. It could be fantastic!’
‘With his money? His dirty money?’ He shook his fringe aside as it blew into his eyes again.
She rolled her eyes. ‘The money’s not dirty, Tino. It’s just money. Kokorakis’ practices are dirty, sometimes, it’s true, but this is a good thing he wants to do. Think about it.’
I burst in. ‘Use it to do good, Tino. Please don’t give up this chance because you’re hurting.’ Honestly, I’d never thought he would turn it down. It was his dream. Men, always letting pride make stupid decisions for them.
Cassia said, ‘So, to be clear. This is Kokorakis trying to make us forget all that he has done to us?’
‘No, not forget, make amends. He’s fully aware of what he’s done. Delphine has seen to that. Things are changing up there.’
Maria came out to see if we wanted anything else, and stopped halfway through a sentence when she sensed the mood. ‘I can come back, sorry,’ she said.
‘No, stay. Maria, you can hear this too. Kokorakis wants to set up a charitable foundation for Tinos to run, teaching young people how to cook, and how to run a restaurant. The unemployed will benefit from this. They will be able to get jobs.’
‘I don’t want his dirty money,’ said Tinos again.
Maria stuffed a cloth into her apron pocket and cocked her head to one side. ‘So, you don’t want to use his money, I understand that. But I think you’re not in a position to refuse, are you? You either go back to Athens, with your tail between your legs, having achieved nothing, or you use this money to do good here on the island, and by God we need it.’ She gave a huge shrug. ‘Don’t throw the donkey out because it brays at night.’
She may not have said exactly that, but some of these Greek proverbs really are beyond my ability to translate.
Cassia nudged her brother, who was holding onto his sore arm and had drifted away. Revisiting the night of the fire, I expected. ‘Let it go,’ she said. ‘Let’s take his money and do what we have always wanted. I’ll make sure the legal paperwork is fair, and I’ll help you. It could be wonderful, Tino.’
‘It could,’ said Maria. ‘Come on, make the old bastard pay for once. You could make a beautiful school for cooking.’
Tinos looked up at her, and gave her an equally large shrug back. ‘Okay, okay. You got me. I have to move on. I have to forget. But I don’t have to like him, do I?’ He held his hands up and batted his sister away before she could hug him, or speak. ‘Stop it. Stop talking at me now, you three witches. Anna, what would I have to do?’
Phew.
‘Nothing yet. Delphine will contact you when she has found some premises for you to look at. It will be her you deal with, not Nikos, so don’t worry, although he does want to meet you. Thank you for saying yes. It’s going to be wonderful. I think he can finally put right the wrongs that he did to you. Thanks for letting him do it.’
Maria put her hand on my shoulder and addressed the others. ‘You must know that Anna has done all this, and she made Kokorakis give me the lease to the taverna, too, so I am not out on the street. This is all mine now.’ She did a twirl on the deck. ‘She has done so much since she came here to change how things are. How they have always been. Let us celebrate that.’ And with that, out came the raki, and we toasted the future.
The call for us to go up to the big house came on the following Saturday. I realised that my parents had been on the island for almost a week and we hadn’t had a conversation about the future yet. I should have realised that Delphine would have something planned.
We arrived just after two in the afternoon, on a glorious day with a pale-blue sky and the smell of wild flowers in the air. We walked up the hill, and Dad was happy to get a little exercise. The sun had begun to tan his skin, and he was tolerating food better. Mum looked great too; she was happier than I had seen her for a long time. I must have been blind not to have noticed that the restaurant had become not just too much for them, but something they didn’t want to do anymore. Dad’s illness had given them the perfect excuse to find a new owner. I briefly hoped Michael was enjoying himself back in wet old Manchester.
But then I wondered how difficult it is to give up what you know, especially if it has been giving you a good living for so many years? That was a question we would face that afternoon.
Delphine met us on the drive and led us, not into the big house, but over to the villa, where the doors were open and the curtains drawn back. ‘Welcome,’ she said, and gave us all hugs. ‘I thought you should see your old home as it could be, Theo, not wearing shrouds as it was last week. Come in.’
She’d been working hard. The rooms were bright and sunny. She must have had a cleaning company in, as everywhere sparkled. She led us through each room downstairs, and I watched my dad seeing it all again, and thinking of his mother and father. It was so long since anyone had lived there. Sad, really.
The old furniture was still in place, but Delphine had put new cushions and throws on the sofas, and tablecloths on the tables and had the wood polished until it shone. It was fascinating for me. It was still a traditional Cretan house, with framed photographs of relatives I didn’t know on the walls, a huge dresser decked with china in the dining room, and in the kitchen, three small barrels standing one on top of the other in a corner. They looked like they had been there forever. Nikos was standing in front of the barrels, waiting for us and holding a tray of small glasses.
‘Anna, you may not know our tradition,’ he said, ‘but when a Cretan child is born, his parents put aside a barrel of wine, usually their own wine, and save it to drink when that child turns
eighteen, then twenty-one, when they marry, or have a baby. On many, many occasions. This’ – he indicated the middle barrel – ‘is Theo’s barrel. Do you remember, Theo?’
Dad spread his hands wide. ‘Of course I remember. We drank it at my eighteenth birthday. It was like nectar.’
‘Then we should drink today, for today I have my family back and we are at home.’ He poured us all a small glass and toasted Dad with a hearty, ‘Yiamas!’
It tasted like port, and was absolutely delicious. ‘Wow, Dad, you’re a good vintage,’ I said, and he laughed.
‘Yiamas to you all,’ Dad said, and we had to down the second glass in one. It was certainly warming.
‘And now,’ said Nikos, ‘we should try my wine, which is even older, and even better.’ So we did.
I may be biased, but Dad’s was nicer, and I couldn’t help looking at the third barrel, and thinking how sad it was that Stephanos would never get to drink his own barrel of wine.
Delphine led us through into the dining room, which was set for lunch, and I admired some very old plates and bowls full to the brim with food.
‘They were Nyssa’s pride and joy,’ said Delphine, ‘and it’s right that we are using them again.’
As usual, the housekeeper, Eleni, was on hand to serve us and we tucked into another excellent meal. I really was going to have to get cookery lessons from her.
At the end of the meal, during which I kept stealing glances at Nikos to try to gauge his mood, he called us to order. I’d been discussing the Andreanakis house with Mum and Delphine, but we soon quietened down. Nikos stood up and cleared his throat.
‘I have not set foot in this house since our father died fifteen years ago. Our mother did not come home at all once Theo and Stephanos left. Father broke her heart forever. I know that you, Galena, had some contact with her when Anna was very young, and it must have been a comfort to her to know that you were doing well and had a child of your own to love.’ He smiled sadly at Delphine. ‘We have never been so lucky. But when Anna came to the island, it changed everything. In a few short weeks our lives have completely altered, and it is down to her.’
He put a hand out to stop me from interrupting. ‘No, I know that Leo and his father coming here were not your doing, and I’m not talking about that nonsense. It was a horrible time. I meant that you have made me look at myself, and what I have become.’
I didn’t dare look at the others. Would he do what I’d suggested?
‘When my father died, I had little in my life except work. I found Delphine, but it was too late, I had become entranced by my own ability to make money. And I was cruel, I know that now. Of course, I made the excuse that it was just business as I had somebody beaten up or took back their home when they couldn’t pay up. I never allowed myself to feel anything, it was easier that way.’ He looked at Delphine and his eyes filled with tears. ‘Why you stayed with me, I will never know. But I am grateful. Life without you would be like a death for me.’ He took a sip of wine and rubbed his brow.
‘So, today I have come to a decision. Theo, Galena, come home. Take this house, it is yours.’
Dad stood up to face his elder brother. ‘You mean this?’
Nikos grinned at him. ‘Please, come back.’
Dad turned to Mum, took her hand and asked her, ‘Do you want this? Would you live here with me?’
‘Of course I would, you old fool,’ she said. ‘Haven’t I wanted this for half my life? We can come home. We can live in our own town with our own people, in your family home. Of course I want to! Thank you, Niko, I appreciate what you have done for us.’ She dipped her head at him.
‘Then we will accept,’ said Dad. ‘Thank you.’ He raised his glass and we had a toast. I stole a glance at Delphine, who was looking straight at me. She winked.
Mum’s smile was so wide it almost made me cry, and I may have had a little weep when Dad sat down and kissed my mother and they held onto each other like teenagers. They were coming here to live, with me. It was more than I could have hoped for.
‘And I have more news for you,’ said Delphine. ‘The chief of police rang Nikos this morning. Leo was arrested early today on board a container ship bound for Italy. His father is back in Athens and will be charged, too. So you are safe!’
I didn’t know what to say. A huge and heavy weight lifted from me. I’d hardly realised I was carrying it around until it was gone. ‘Will Leo go to prison?’
Nikos said, ‘He will if you are prepared to testify against him. The police have the photographs, and we can get the officer and doctor to support you.’ He stared intently at me.
I didn’t hesitate. ‘Of course I’ll go to court. He needs to be punished, and so does his father. Sorry, I know Stephanos is your brother, but you can’t go around behaving like he does, can you?’ I was feeling breathless at the thought of going into court and facing them again, but I had to toughen up if I was going to get justice. ‘Yes, I’ll do it.’
‘Good. Good,’ said Nikos, ‘then we will make sure that justice is done. Now you can put him out of your mind for several months, and enjoy yourself, can’t you?’
‘Yes, I think I can,’ I replied, and laughed with them all.
We had another walk around the house after lunch, Mum peering into all the rooms, and me planning décor in my head. Even Nikos was relaxed and smiling. It was a happy afternoon.
Delphine asked Panos to drive us home, as Dad was reeling, and not from the drink he had consumed, he was in shock. ‘I don’t know if I can cope,’ he said, and sat quietly on a sofa until the car came round to the front of the villa.
Nikos took me off into a corner. ‘I am thinking about what you said, Anna. You are right. Delphine and I could live simply and I wouldn’t have to be in fear for my future all the time if I sold to the vultures who are gathering.’ He gave me a dry kiss on the cheek. ‘I will think some more.’
‘Thank you, for all of this, and for bringing my father back to his home.’
‘I didn’t do it, you did. I should have done it years ago. How I have wasted all our lives through this nonsense. And Stephie, little Stephie. I have to blame myself for what he has become.’ He shook his head and led me out to the car.
‘That’s not true, Uncle. Your father made him that way, not you.’ I clambered into the car after my parents, noting Mum’s concerned face.
‘Off for a nap with you, Theo,’ she said as soon as we got in the house. ‘We have some thinking and planning to do, and I want you clear-headed.’
Dad dutifully climbed the stairs. ‘I need to lie down,’ he said, and I heard him get into bed.
Mum took my hand as soon as we were alone. ‘I don’t know what you did to change Nikos but well done. You’ve given us a whole new future to look forward to, and your father actually listened to you. A miracle,’ she said, laughing quietly.
I laughed too, but with relief. ‘I’m really hoping that Nikos agrees to sell, and steps away from the business. It’s running those huge businesses that has made him a hard man, but it’s right that he should pay for what he’s done.’
Her eyes widened.
‘Don’t worry, he’s already agreed to most of what I asked him to do. Who knows, he may give up the business after all. Especially to avoid the taxman.’
She laughed, then looked more serious. ‘And what about this Leo, your cousin? You haven’t told me all about him, have you?’ She wasn’t stupid, my mum.
‘We had a brief fling. Really, that’s all it was. I knew straight away that there was something wrong about him. I knew I couldn’t trust him, but it was difficult to put my finger on exactly what was wrong about him.’ I rubbed my neck. ‘Then I found out what he was really like. I’m already dreading having to face them both in court, but I’ll get through it, because you’ll be with me, won’t you? But let’s not think about them now, let’s do more important stuff.’
We settled down on the sofa then, me with my laptop and Mum with a notepad and pen.
; ‘So,’ she said, ‘what did you have to do first when you moved out here?’
The afternoon wore on, and we enjoyed plotting and planning together, but I had a small ache somewhere in the region of my heart. ‘Mum, I want to go and see Alex, and tell him what’s happened. I haven’t seen him for days. Will you and Dad be all right on your own tonight? There’s plenty of food if you can stuff anymore in, and you can watch a film if you like, although I guess you have a lot to talk about, too.’
‘We’ll be fine. In fact, it will be easier if we are on our own so I can talk freely to him. For a start, we’ll need to ring Michael and accept his offer. I have so much to arrange.’ She threw her pen into the air and caught it. ‘You know, darling, I can’t tell you how happy I will be to turn my back on that dingy flat and the sheer slog of running that restaurant. I never thought this could ever happen. It was just a dream.’ She started to cry, and waved me off. ‘Go and see your man, we’ll be fine.’
Elation is the most fleeting emotion, but one of the very best. I strode out along the prom feeling light, as if only willpower could stop me from flying away into the endless blue of the sky. I was giddy with it, the feeling that life would be good. That the world was full of possibilities. Why did I have to be a designer all year round? Couldn’t I do that over the winter months? Could I cook on a boat? Could I be with Alex all the time?
When I got to the boatyard, I was horrified to see that the yacht had gone from its dry dock. Then I stopped panicking and walked a little further to the marina, where the yacht was tied up against a jetty, and Alex was working on the deck wearing his usual tatty cut-off denims and an ancient T-shirt. He looked gorgeous, and my heart leapt in a way it never had.
Those You Trust: compelling women's psychological fiction Page 26