Chapter 11

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 .

"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 ."

"Dessert," Apollo corrected her .

"That wasn't a hard one to figure out," Paige smiled at him. He leaned over and kissed her, his lips smacking hers soundly. "What was that for?" she asked .

"'Cause whatever you and my grandmother did, you made her smile and laugh, which makes me happy ."

"She's delightful," Paige said. "We didn't do anything special !"

"Every day is special, no?" Thespina asked .

They walked back into the house and found Dimitri, Maria, Giorgios and Melina having coffee. Sophia wasn't there and Maria looked up as if nothing had happened .

"Did you and Thespina have a nice walk?" she asked, getting up and greeting Paige .

"Yes. Her roses are beautiful. I wish things would grow like that in Las Vegas, but it's hard to have that kind of garden in the desert ."

"Is it very hot?" Maria asked. "More than now in Greece ?"

"Well, there's no ocean, and that makes a difference ."

Without Sophia, the rest of the afternoon was pleasant. They had a table full of desserts and then strong Greek coffee. As Dimitri, Giorgios and Thespina dozed in different chairs, Paige and Melina helped Maria put away the food in the kitchen. Apollo had disappeared to return a phone call to a client so Paige had no choice but to follow the ladies .

"You must not be angry with Sophia," Maria said after a moment. "She is angry. The baby…" She glanced at Melina .

"They don't know why she can't get pregnant again," Melina said. "There's nothing wrong with her, but it's been three years since Mihalis was born and nothing. Not even a miscarriage ."

"Has Giorgios been tested?" Paige asked reasonably .

Mother and daughter exchanged looks. "That's not a thing here," Melina said quietly. "He says nothing is wrong, and won't get checked out ."

Paige frowned. "Well, if there's nothing wrong with her …"

Maria nodded. "Yes, difficult situation. But Greek men are very proud—not like in America ."

"I don't think a medical condition has anything to do with pride," Paige said. "But I may not understand the culture ."

"Do you think you will be happy in Greece?" Maria asked, wiping her hands on a towel and looking directly at her .

Paige was starting to get used to these abrupt changes in conversation, but she wasn't sure what to say. "I think I could be, but it's scary. Apollo is…amazing. I just don't know how we would do it. I don't speak Greek, I wouldn't be able to work—I don't know what I would do. He works long hours and I would be alone. No friends, no family — "

"You have family!" Maria said firmly. "We are family now ."

"But you don't know me," Paige said quietly. "I can't explain why, Mrs. Lakkas, but I love your son. We did something foolish three years ago, but now that we're together again, I know exactly why we did it: he's wonderful and I guess he thinks I am too ."

"I absolutely do," Apollo said, coming in behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "You're not trying to talk her into leaving, are you ?"

"We try to talk her into staying," Maria said gently. "But I don't think she's ready. And I don't think you are either, Apollo." She looked from one to the other. "I would like very much to see one of my children happily married…and I can see that you and Paige are very much in love. The trouble is that she's American and you're Greek. Very American and very Greek. This is not simple, to change your whole life and move to another country ."

"Mama, after what Baba did, maybe it's time for me to spread my wings. Find a job in America and — "

"Apollo!" Maria's eyes widened. "You cannot !"

"Listen to me," he said gently, gripping her hands in his. "Not forever. But a job for a major shipping company in the U.S. might be good for me. I could learn how other, bigger companies do things, build my résumé and come back to Greece when the time is right ."

"If you go, you will not come back," Maria said sadly .

"That's not true," he said, glancing at Paige. "If I spent five years in the U.S., working in the shipping industry, would you be willing to give it a try here in Greece ?"

"It would give us time to be really sure this is going to work," she said softly. "But I don't want you to do that unless you really want to ."

"It wasn't the plan," he admitted, "but after what happened with this deal, I feel like maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. Baba is ready to come back to work and I think Lena could do a lot more. She didn't go to college in the U.S. to work in a clothing store! She could help until I'm ready to come back ."

Paige was watching him intently. " Apollo …"

"I know," he said quickly, looking at her. "I know . But as I watched things play out yesterday and today, I truly feel like it might be time to do something different. Mick could help me get my résumé together and — "

"Is Mick still in San Francisco?" Melina asked quietly .

Apollo glanced at her. "Technically, yes. How did you know that ?"

"We're friends on Facebook," she shrugged. "But I haven't seen him on lately ."

"He's been in Japan working on a big project for his firm," he said absently. "You should send him a message. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you ."

"Maybe." She shrugged .

"Your father will be upset," Maria said .

"I'll talk to him, but deep down, I think he'll agree that the experience I'd get could be invaluable," Apollo said. "And honestly, I can't lose her again." He glanced at Paige .

Paige moved into his arms, burying her face in his chest. She didn't know why he'd suddenly decided to come to the U.S. after spending the last week trying to convince her to stay in Greece, but it made her happier than anything ever had in her life. She couldn't imagine losing him either, and this seemed to be an excellent compromise. If things worked out, she would definitely be open to moving to Greece. It would give her time to learn the language and for them to build a foundation they didn't have now. It seemed like the best possible plan; she just couldn't quite believe it was happening .

I t was late in the day before they got home. As expected, Dimitri wasn't happy about Apollo's plan to move to the U.S. and Paige had sat by helplessly as they argued in Greek, leaving her to her thoughts and worries. Apollo seemed to have made up his mind, sticking to his guns without ever raising his voice and spending a lot of time talking with his father. Eventually, they'd said their goodbyes and headed home. With the exception of Sophia, everyone had been friendly and kind, even Maria, which appeared to have surprised Apollo .

"My father must have threatened my mother within an inch of her life," he laughed when they got back to his house. "I've never seen her so polite in a situation she obviously had issues with ."

"Maybe she realized that being already married is different than, ‘hey, we're getting married,' or, ‘hey, she's pregnant and we have to be together,' or something like that ."

He laughed. "I suppose there is that ."

"Apollo, you changed your mind really quick," she said softly. "Are you sure you want to move to the States? I think it's a knee-jerk reaction to your father hurting your feelings, combined with my hesitation to moving here ."

"Maybe," he acknowledged. "But it's not a bad idea and I think I could learn a lot. It would give you time to feel more comfortable about us, you know ?"

"What about you?" she asked. "Don't you feel as hesitant as I do ?"

"It's not as extreme of a change for me," he said gently. "I lived in the States for five years and I have friends. I know the language, know my way around some, and have my own money. Even if I don't work for my father anymore, I have money put aside and dividends that come to me no matter what. You don't have that, so I understand why you're reluctant. I really do ."

"Your family is going to hate me for stealing you away," she said softly .

He shook his head. "Just as yours would hate me for the same reason ."

"It's different for girls," she said. "No matter how much we claim to be strong, modern women, most of us still let a man be the main breadwinner. Many of us can survive on our own, whether we're secretaries or pharmaceutical reps or teachers, but I can only think of one of my girlfriends who makes the kind of salary that would support a family. Maybe that's just my corner of the world, but my parents would be happy I found a man who could take care of me. As long as I was happy and could come to visit once a year or so, they wouldn't be nearly as emotional about it as your family ."

"I think I need to put out some feelers—I'm going to talk to some buddies from college and my friend Mick—while we enjoy the time you have left in Greece. I don't know that I can come until I've got some job opportunities, or at least some interviews. You'd still have to move, though. You know that I can't work in the shipping industry from Vegas ?"

"I know ."

"So you'll have to leave your friends and family—and your job, which I know you love ."

"I love you more," she whispered, meeting his eyes .

"Music to my ears." He scooped her up and carried her to bed .