both sea and mountains, she had been free and unrestrained and was determined her own children would have a taste of what she had had, if only for the duration of their summers.
‘Oh yes, Mama,’ Calli replied lovingly, addressing her mother as she had when she was a child. ‘Our holidays here with Yiayia, Bappou and the family were great.’ Smiling, she reached for another piece of melon. ‘And you know something? Having spent all this time with Thia Froso, I have seen such a different side to her, she is quite wonderful. I feel sort of guilty now that when I was little I used to ignore her.’
‘I know, I always felt bad about that, but you can’t make children like someone if they don’t . . .’ Eleni replied. ‘I could never understand why you were so resistant to her.’
‘It’s not that I didn’t like her. I guess it’s because she used to try too hard and it irritated me . . .’
‘Well, I’m really glad that you found each other now. Better late than never, eh?’ Eleni said, giving her daughter a little hug. ‘She was such a good, loving sister to me, Calli mou, she was my confidante and my best friend even though she was so much older than me. When I met your dad, she was the one who talked to my parents and persuaded them not to stand in my way. My mother was fine but the men in the family were resistant. My sister stood by me all the way.’
That evening’s gathering in Froso’s garden saw the usual crowd of relatives and friends arrive, including Michalis, bearing gifts of food and drink and the inevitable musical instruments. Eleni had been in the village for almost a week by now, most of it passed in a carefree manner, spending mornings on the beach, resting during the afternoon heat, then socializing in the evenings. Impatient though Calli was to continue with Froso’s narrative, she decided she must wait for her aunt’s signal to bring her mother up to date with the story. But Froso held back, apparently in no hurry to continue.
That night, aside from Michalis, who Eleni was eager to meet, there was another person present that she was delighted to see again after many years, a man who throughout her childhood had been a constant presence, whom Eleni and her siblings loved dearly and called Thios. He was old, almost completely blind and had lived as a recluse for years, yet on learning the news of Eleni’s arrival, he made the supreme effort to join the party, wanting to see her again.
‘Come, Calli mou, I want you to meet someone very dear to our family.’ Her mother took her arm and ushered her towards their old guest. ‘This is Thios Pavlis’ – she turned to look at her daughter – ‘you might have met him many years ago but you were quite little, so you probably don’t remember him.’
On hearing his name, Calli turned to look at her aunt. She instantly knew who the old man was even if she hadn’t met him yet. Froso had promised to take her to him but the old man had not been well so they’d postponed their meeting. Finally there he was, Kosmas’s eldest brother and his only surviving relative.
Calli beamed with pleasure to finally see him. She reached for his hand and held it for a long moment, her throat tight with emotion, then bowed her head and kissed it.
‘This is my daughter,’ Eleni said, moved at the sight of such tenderness from her girl, assuming that her gesture was prompted by respectful regard for the old man’s advanced age and disability.
Pavlis reached forward and touched the young woman’s head. ‘I give you my blessings, my girl,’ he said, his voice as weak as his touch. ‘If I had better sight I’m sure I would see you are as lovely as your mother – she was always beautiful, even as a child. May you live a long and fruitful life and bear many children to carry forth our Cretan blood.’
Calli stood in front of the old man, unable to speak, emotion choking her, and as she turned to look at Froso, she saw her eyes brimming with tears.
‘Thia Eleni! Over here.’ Costis’s loud voice from the other side of the garden snapped them out of their emotional reunion. ‘Come, I want to introduce you to someone.’