Adonis in Athens - Page 43

11

A shocked silence filled the room as Sophia gasped, then got up and ran out, the door slamming behind her. Maria waited a beat, looked at Giorgios—who suddenly seemed interested in another helping of pastitsio—before going after her daughter.

“What just happened?” Paige whispered to Apollo.

“I’ll tell you later,” he whispered back.

Thespina said something to Apollo and he nodded. “Yaya wants to show you her garden… Would you walk with her? I’m going to try to calm everyone down.”

“Of course.” Paige got up and the older woman took her arm, leading her outside.

They walked in silence and then Thespina began to speak. “My English, not so good, but I understand everything. You understand?”

Paige smiled and nodded. “You speak quite well!”

The old woman waved a hand. “Not good, but when children are small, they learn English and Yaya must help with studies. I learn because they are talking all the time. I do not speak, just listen, but now I try.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind if we don’t talk.”

“Talk is good, no?”

“Oh, yes!”

Thespina knelt in front of a bed of roses and said something in Greek before snipping a beautiful white rose and handing it to Paige. “Beautiful flower, yes?”

“Yes, thank you.” Paige held it to her nose and inhaled deeply, enjoying the fragrant aroma.

“You like Greece?” Thespina tended to her roses, not looking up, but Paige sensed an underlying meaning.

“I love Greece,” she said slowly. “I just don’t know if Apollo and I can make this work.”

Thespina paused and looked up at her, squinting. “Make work. Like marriage?” She chuckled. “All marriage work! Just needs love and respect.”

“Love and respect…” Paige smiled at the older woman. “We have a lot of that, I think.”

“You love Apollo?” Thespina straightened up and looked at Paige curiously. There was no censure or accusation in her eyes, only a genuine desire to know the answer to her question.

“Yes.” Paige sighed, twirling the rose between her fingers. “He’s…wonderful. Smart and handsome and so sweet. I don’t know what to do.”

“Is easy.” Thespina headed around to the back of the house, opening a door that led to some sort of basement. “Come.” She led her down a short flight of stairs into a cool, dark room filled with boxes, trunks and what appeared to be random pieces of furniture. She dug through a few boxes and pulled out what looked like books. She held them against her chest before settling into an old rocking chair. “Sit.” She motioned to Paige.

Paige sank onto a stool next to her, looking at the contents in her lap curiously.

“Family,” Thespina said softly. “My husband—he die long time.”

“Apollo said before he was born.”

She nodded. “Yes, many year.” She opened the largest book and it turned out to be more of a photo album. “This is Apollo—my husband.”

Paige’s eyes widened; it was almost eerie how much Apollo looked like his grandfather. They had the same broad-shouldered build, dark hair and chiseled features. And Thespina had been fair-haired as a young woman, similar to Paige. Seeing Thespina and the elder Apollo together in the old pictures brought a wave of nostalgia over her that she couldn’t quite identify. This wasn’t her family or her heritage, but looking at them was like looking into a mirror. Their wedding picture was similar to many of the era; two unsmiling faces wearing simple wedding attire. Yet the twinkle in Thespina’s green eyes was unmistakable, even in a faded, black-and-white picture.

“We do not love yet,” she said, pointing to the picture. “We are…” She squinted, trying to think of the word. “My father and Apollo father decide we are to marry—we do not love.”

“Oh, an arranged marriage?”

Thespina nodded. “Yes. This. Apollo is angry, love another woman—not good. I am happy. My father is mean, I want to leave. We get married and I tell Apollo he can be with other woman—I want only to be safe.” She murmured something in Greek. “Is hard to explain…my father not good man. You understand?”

Paige nodded.