the end it is his choice, he has to do what feels right for him.’
They lay on the beach a while longer, unable to tear themselves away from each other until Calli remembered her mother and aunt. She had to go to them: Eleni would be awake by now and would need her. Mother and daughter shared most things; there had never been secrets between them. If something of importance happened to Calli she would always hasten to tell Eleni, and the latter would drop everything in order to listen to what her daughter had to say. But however eager Calli was to tell her mother her news, she knew that this time she must wait. It was her turn to listen to Eleni. Her own moment would soon come; for now, she had to be there for her mother.
Eleni was at the stove making coffee and Froso at the kitchen table cutting bread. The two women looked up at Calli and smiled. It was a serene scene, relieved of yesterday’s drama. The young woman was taken back, she hadn’t expected it.
‘Kalimera,’ Eleni said and smiled again. ‘Couldn’t sleep, or just an early bird today?’
‘Both,’ she replied as she sat down next to Froso, trying to appraise the situation.
‘Did you two sleep all right?’ she asked.
‘Not really,’ Eleni replied, ‘but it’s fine. Sleep will come in its own time.’
Calli looked at Froso: her eyes were red, but she was smiling and nodding. ‘It will take time, my girl,’ she said. ‘I’ve lived with this knowledge all my life, but your mother needs time . . .’
‘We are going to go to see Pavlis later. We’ll take him lunch and eat together.’ Eleni turned to Calli. ‘Come with us?’
Of course she would go, she thought, and nodded. Apart from being fond of the old man, she knew he was the only member of Kosmas’s family still alive, their link to the past.
They sat in the kitchen with the doors and windows opened to the garden as they had done so many times in the past. This time it was Eleni who busied herself with the preparations, insisting that Froso took it easy.
‘Will you get the eggs, my girl?’ Froso asked Calli. She didn’t need to be asked twice. To her delight, she found that the hens had graced them once again with four large brown eggs, still warm, nestling in the pen. She picked up each one in turn and placed it in the basket, a task she had performed so lovingly during her childhood for her yiayia Calliope. On her way back she plucked a few ripe red tomatoes and a bell pepper which was hanging down ready for the picking. Returning to the kitchen she handed Froso the basket.
‘Here you are, Yiayia,’ she said and kissed the top of her head, ‘your hens have been busy this morning.’
Froso lifted her head, her eyes brimming, and nodded, emotion stifling any words she wanted to say.
They had a peaceful breakfast together, little being exchanged between them. Then it was time to prepare the lunch which they would take to old Pavlis: nothing complicated, something simple and tasty. Froso frequently cooked for him and they would often take lunch together in his house; he lived alone and largely relied on friends and relatives, but Froso had been his most regular provider and visitor. In the summer they would eat in his garden under the shade of the trees with a fresh breeze blowing from the shore, while in winter when the rains came, they would sit in the warmth of his kitchen with a blazing wood fire in the hearth. Froso couldn’t say which season she liked best; though life was easier in the summer months – no mudslides, falling trees or heavy downpours – she still enjoyed those winter days with Pavlis. She couldn’t explain it, but when she sat at the table in his cosy kitchen, the rain lashing against the windows and the sound of the sea roaring in the distance, she felt Kosmas’s presence most strongly. It was as if he were there with them.
‘Pavlis has always been fond of my briam,’ Froso told them. She had already prepared it and was putting it into a pot to take with them. ‘But sometimes I try to take him something different, like a joint of chicken or pasta, as well.’ Together, in unison, they peacefully busied themselves with the lunch: three women harmoniously putting their minds and skills into