Adonis in Athens - Page 44

“Apollo still loves other woman…but she is not happy with me. She wants marriage, and she tell my father I am not good wife, that I shame my family. My father come to take me—he hits me very much, takes me home, says I have failed.” Her eyes were far away suddenly, lost in the past.

“I’m so sorry,” Paige whispered.

Thespina snapped back to the present, her eyes twinkling now. “Is not bad. My Apollo is good man. When he comes home and finds things broken—no wife—he understands something is bad. He goes to my father house, sees me with blood…” She motioned to her face, indicating swelling. “He is angry, fights with my father, says I am the best wife, his wife, he will take home.” She smiled. “He tells me he is sorry, he will not see this woman again, that he sees that my father is very bad man and he will take care of me. And I am having baby.”

“You were pregnant?” Paige’s eyes rounded.

Thespina giggled like a teenager. “We have bed, yes? No love, but…” She frowned, struggling to find the word she wanted in English.

“Sex?” Paige supplied, blushing but unable to resist helping her find the right word.

“Yes! Sex!” Thespina laughed loudly, slapping her thigh. “Much sex for wedding—I know man wants this and we are married, so I do! Other woman has no brain…she lose my Apollo because she should not go to my father. Very bad!”

Paige nodded. “Yes, that was terrible!”

“Then Apollo love me.” Her eyes sparkled as she talked about him. “We are close, love comes quickly, and then children…was good life. He die soon.” She sighed. “But memories…” She flipped the pages of the photo album, showing one of her and her husband probably in their 30s. They were laughing, staring into each other’s eyes, their love all but wafting off the page.

“Apollo looks like him,” Paige whispered, fingering one of the pictures.

“You take.” The older woman pried the picture off the page, handing it to her.

“No! You should give that to Melina or Sophia!”

She rolled her eyes. “Melina good girl, but has no luck. Sophia…” She made a motion with her hand that Paige assumed was disparaging, but didn’t say anything else. “You will take, so you will remember.”

“I’ll always remember you!” Paige smiled. She pulled out her phone and held it up. “Selfie?”

Thespina narrowed her eyes. “This is phone?”

“Camera,” Paige said with a smile. “Look.” She leaned against her and hit the button to switch to the front camera, taking a picture of them. Then she showed it to her.

Thespina frowned. “No! Is ugly! Outside, with sun! Come!” Like a child, she put down the photo album and tugged Paige’s hand until they were outside. “Now!” She grinned.

Paige took several more pictures of them, laughing as Thespina made funny faces in all but one. Then she pulled her own phone from her skirt pocket and held it out. “Picture?”

“Let me see.” Paige turned it on and studied the symbols. Almost everything was in Greek but she recognized the camera icon and touched it. It wasn’t a fancy phone, but it seemed to have all the basic features so she played with it until she realized there was no selfie function. “We can’t,” she said sadly. “But I can send you this one.”

Thespina cocked her head. “No self-eeee?”

“It only takes pictures out…” She pointed and took a picture of the rose garden. “See?” She held it out for Thespina to see.

“Bad phone!” Thespina muttered.

“What are you two up to?” Apollo came around the corner smiling at them.

“I showed her how to take a selfie on my phone,” Paige explained. “But she seems annoyed that she can’t do it on hers.”

“I can take a picture of the two of you,” he said in Greek to his grandmother, taking the phone from Paige. He grinned as Thespina hugged her tightly, and snapped the picture. When he showed her she grinned back at him.

“Beautiful!” she said in English. She looked up at him and switched to Greek. “You must not let her go, Apollo.”

He nodded. “I’m trying, Yaya, but Sophia didn’t help the situation and it’s not easy for her to just quit her job and move here.”

“If you let her go, you will always regret it,” she said gently. “Like Sophia. And Melina.”

“Melina?” he frowned. “Did she leave someone back in America?”

Thespina just smiled, taking Paige’s hand and leading her inside. “Come. We will have sweet now.”