Being Shirley Read online

Annie pushed her chair back and followed her over to the sink. The two women hugged tightly. “You are my sister. My Kiwi bird sister and I am so glad you are here with us,” Kassia whispered.

  “And you are mine and Roz’s Greek sister. She would have loved you if she had gotten to meet you, just as much as I do,” Annie whispered back. They released each other then, switched the kitchen light off and tiptoed off to their respective rooms. Both women tried not to think about the fact that they would both be back in that kitchen in a few short hours’ time.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Annie stumbled into the kitchen, bleary-eyed. She felt like her head had hardly touched the pillow and when she’d rubbed the steam from the bathroom mirror, she’d had been horrified at her resemblance to the Raggedy Anne doll she’d played with as a child.

  Now, as she cut a zombie-like path towards the coffee pot, she caught sight of Alexandros’s amused glance and her hand inadvertently flew up to her chin. She gave it a rub and hoped that the foundation she had smeared over it in an attempt to hide the rough patch of red skin beneath wasn’t too much of an obvious cover-up job. She decided the best course to take until she was wide awake was to ignore him, so she filled her mug with the thick brew and turned her attention to Spiros instead. He was seated next to his brother and in what had become a familiar sight in the mornings, tried to coax Nikolos into finishing the last few mouthfuls of his breakfast. His hooded brow as he waved the spoon in front of his son’s firmly shut mouth gave nothing away. Feeling her gaze upon him, he glanced up and greeted her with a good morning and at the same time held out a restraining arm to prevent Mateo from carrying out his mission. At the sight of her freshly washed hair springing into curls, his eyes had lit up, the toast on his plate a distant memory.

  “Good morning, Spiros.” She managed to muster up a smile. “Who ever said men can’t multitask?” Her comment went over the top of his head, as he was too intent on holding Mateo back and not sending the spoonful of yoghurt in his other hand flying across the kitchen. She watched in amusement as the little boy’s plump fingers twitched in eagerness at the sight of her ringlets and she contemplated just letting him give her hair a few good tugs. It might get the urge out of his system once and for all. Then again, it might not and anyway, today was not the day. Her eyes were dry and scratchy, and she felt far too fragile from a lack of sleep for that sort of carry-on. Instead, she carried her coffee over to the table, placed it down well out of little hands’ reach and held her hair back in a ponytail as she bent to kiss the tops of the boys’ silky, dark heads and inhaled the lingering scent of baby shampoo.

  Not bothering to pull out a chair, she stood by the table and sipped greedily at her drink. The familiar tingly sensation of the caffeine coursed its way through her veins. Mama pushed her way in through the dining room, having obviously finished setting the tables, and Annie felt a guilty jolt. That was her job. Still, she thought as she shot a dirty look over at Alexandros, who graced her with a knowing wink, there was no reason he couldn’t have done it just this once.

  “Good morning, Annie.” Mama, unbothered by her apprentice’s tardiness, called cheerily and took up arms, or rather the whisk, at the bench. “I cook you some eggs, yes.”

  “I can do it, Mama.” Annie moved to the stove and tried to take the whisk from her. It was like trying to snatch a bottle from a hungry baby. She attempted to wrest it from the older woman, who was having none of it. Flicking the whisk at her, she shooed Annie back to the table. “You go sit down. You do not look well this morning, paidi mou. Have you had a rough night?”

  Alexandros snorted at his mama’s unwittingly appropriate choice of words and she swung round to look at her last born. “Alexandrosaki mou, are you alright?”

  “I am fine, Mama-mou, don’t worry. It is my coffee, that is all. It went down the wrong way.”

  He smirked knowingly as Annie shot him a look and Spiros’s gaze flicked curiously between the two of them before he shook his head and pushed his chair back. He stood and hauled Nikolos up, who was intent now on licking his spoon and squealed ear-piercingly when his father took him out of his highchair. He swung him up onto his hip and beckoned to Mateo. “Come on, you are obviously not going to finish that so we might as well get you washed and dressed.” His older son’s piece of toast had now had all the Nutella licked from it and Mateo had managed to smear the chocolate spread all over his face in the process. He reminded her of a Dickensian chimney sweep boy as he hopped down from his chair, grateful for release, and cast one last lingering look at Annie’s hair before he trailed after his father.

  “Is Kassia still in bed, Spiros?” Annie called after him.

  “Yes, she was tired so I decided not to wake her.” His expression was as inscrutable as ever as he led the boys out of the kitchen.

  “They have a fight, I think,” Alexandros stated matter-of-factly as the door shut behind Mateo.

  “If they did, it is none of your business, Alexandrosaki mou,” Mama admonished with a wave of the wooden spoon. “It is between them, and they will sort it out.”

  Annie’s gaze swung between the two of them. They were completely unaware that it was the pair of them who were behind the couple’s fight in the first place, she realised. Mama was right, though; it was up to them to sort things out now. She had said her bit last night. Her toast popped, so she drained her cup and placed it on a plate before she poured herself another cup. She tried not to look horrified as a moment later Mama had whipped the plate away and with that heavy hand of hers, slathered the two slices in butter.

  “Our guests, they are sleeping in today, I think.” She scraped the mound of creamy eggs from the pan and onto the toast. “There was a karaoke party at Wendy’s place.” She tapped the side of her head. “They are probably all, how you say?”

  “Worse for wear.”

  “Yes, worse for wear. Serves them right.” Her face creased into a smile as she held the laden plate out to Annie. “You eat it all, Annie kopelia mou. You are too skinny.” She gave her the once-over as she muttered again with a shake of her head, “Too skinny.”

  Annie took the plate and thanked her. It would be a waste of her time to add that unless Mama stopped loading up her plate this way, she would soon be saying too fat, Annie, my girl, too fat. As it was, she was going to have to buy herself some new jeans if she didn’t want to keep feeling like an overstuffed tube of cannelloni each time she squeezed herself into them. Mama thrust the pan in the sink and rolled her sleeves up; Annie felt a pang of sympathy for her bustling about, happy in her work. Little did she know that Alexandros was going to drop a bombshell on her in the next few days by announcing he was returning to Brazil. Not only that, her daughter-in-law planned to have a word in her ear too.

  She sat back down and made light work of her breakfast as Alexandros winked at her and got to his feet. He carried his cup and plate over to the sink. “I have a few things to do in Elounda, Mama-mou. Can you spare me this morning?”

  Mama’s eyes glowed with warmth as they settled on her youngest son. “Of course, agoraki mou—you go. We will manage, no problem.”

  Annie scooped the last of her eggs on to the remaining triangle of toast and stuffed it in her mouth. She marvelled once more at his ability to wrap her around his little finger, just as Kassia pushed the door open. She looked as dishevelled as Annie felt and as she spied Alexandros taking his leave, she scowled before she called out, “Hey, where are you going? It’s your turn to clear up this morning!” It fell on deaf ears as he shut the door behind him. Annie lined her knife and fork up on the plate and told her friend to sit down. “I’ll make you a coffee.” Kassia sat gratefully down and Annie carried her dirty dishes over to the sink. Alexandros hadn’t even bothered to load his in the dishwasher, she noticed, as she fixed her friend a strong brew.

  Annie placed it in front of her. She heard the bell as the first guests pushed the dining room door open. They were up and about, and ready to start their day. It was time
hers started properly, too, she thought and ordered Kassia, who had pushed her chair back at the sound, to stay put, just as Mama had done her. “I can manage. You sit and have your breakfast.” Then, pen and notepad in hand, she pushed the door to the dining room open with her hip in the manner she had become so well-practised at.

  ***

  Annie was feeling decidedly washed out by the time the breakfast service was over and as she loaded the last cup and saucer into the dishwasher, she mentally cursed Alexandros. She frowned. Knowing him, he probably had nothing to do in Elounda other than lie on the beach and watch the world go by. Actually, lying on the beach sounded like a wonderful idea, she thought as she sprinkled in the powder and set the machine to run. She could do with grabbing half an hour or so of shut-eye if she were going to make it through tonight’s shift at Georgios’s with her happy face firmly in place.

  With that thought in mind, she headed to her room and fished her bikini out of her drawers. She wriggled into her bikini bottoms before she hooked their matching top at the back with a disparaging glance down at her burgeoning middle. Thank goodness for sarongs, she thought as she flapped hers open and wrapped it around her waist before she unhooked her tote bag from the back of the door. Her gaze rested on the cover of the book from the bedside table for a moment. One of the guests had left it behind and so far it was a good read. She stuffed it, along with her sunblock and a towel, into the bag. She’d fill up her water bottle on the way out. First things first, though, she thought as she slid her feet into her jandals and swung the bag over her shoulder. She’d pop her head in to say cheerio to Kas.

  She tapped on the door to the office and waited a moment before she stuck her head round it. Kassia’s dark head was bent over a stack of accounts she had announced she had to see to once the breakfast rush was over. “Hey, how are you feeling today? Did you manage to get some sleep?” She still looked pale.

  Kassia looked over the top of her glasses at her and smiled. “Sort of.”

  “Will you talk to Mama today?” Annie perched on the edge of the desk.

  “Yes.” She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. “I have thought about what I want to say, and I think I can tell her things have to change without upsetting her.”

  “Good. And what about Spiros—have you cleared the air with him?”

  “Not yet.” She reached over and patted Annie’s arm. “Go enjoy the sunshine. It will all be fine. I promise.”

  Annie smiled back at her. Yes, it would be fine, she thought as she hopped off the desk. With a final wave, she wandered through to the kitchen to fill up her bottle. As she walked across the expanse of grass down to the pavement a moment later, she glanced over to where Mama sat at the picnic table. Nikolos dandled on her knee and chewed furiously on a toy. His tooth still wasn’t through then, she mused and watched for a moment as Mama cheered Mateo. He kicked a soccer ball to his father. She waved over and called out that she was going to the beach for a while. They waved back and she set off down the grass verge to the pavement with a spring in her step. It was going to be a good day because as her mother used to say, “she could feel it in her water.”

  ***

  Annie’s eyes flew open and she blinked against the sun’s mid-afternoon glare as she tried to remember where she was. Her book lay open on her chest. She must have dozed off. Something about lying around in the sun knocked her out cold every time. She remembered how she had put the book down and closed her eyes; she’d told herself she’d just rest them for half an hour. Now, as she reached over and rummaged in her bag, she produced her phone and saw that two whole hours had slipped by. Carl had texted her, too. As she scrolled through the typically long-winded message, she had to smile. Carl and David had flown up to Auckland last weekend to see Bruno Mars play. Now that gay marriage was legal in New Zealand, David had decided that should they eventually tie the knot, he wanted Bruno’s song “Just the Way You Are” played at their wedding. Carl pushed for John Legend’s “All of Me” and apparently they weren’t talking at the moment, both in stand-off mode, although they both agreed on the fact that she should be their best woman. She could just picture Carl, hand on hip, telling David that his choice was the number one wedding song of 2013 as she pondered what she as a best woman would wear to their hypothetical wedding. She tapped out a quick reply and sent it; she sat up to have a swig on her water bottle. She was really dry, which meant she had probably been doing her usual mouth wide open dribbling routine. She glanced round, pleased to see there was nobody nearby.

  Her mind flicked back to the adventures of the night before and she felt a warm glow. That was all, though, she realised. It was true what she had told Kassia. Her and Alexandros had both in their own ways used each other, and she wished him well. He was one of life’s characters that you couldn’t help but be fond of—unless he was your brother-in-law. Her feelings for him went no further than that, though, she thought as she turned her attention to the sea.

  It was like glass today and there were only a handful of bathers in the water. She’d have a quick dip to cool off and wake herself up properly before she headed back to Eleni’s for a nice strong cup of coffee and a bite of something to eat. By then, it would be time to get herself ready for her evening shift at Georgios’s. “Sounds like a plan, Annie,” she said aloud. She stood up and stretched before she padded over the pebbles. Enjoying the feel of the cool water as it covered her ankles, she stood for a moment at the point where the pebbles dipped and gave way to waist deep water before she plunged in. Swimming a few strokes, she flipped over onto her back and gazed up at the cloudless sky. Life was glorious, she thought, feeling as if she really didn’t have a care in the world.

  ***

  Annie wrapped herself in her towel and packed up her bag. With her feet into her flip-flops, she ambled back up the path to the road in order to walk the short distance back to Eleni’s. A handful of tourists meandered ahead of her at a pace set by the afternoon heat. It was funny how she no longer classed herself as a tourist, she mused. She saw a figure dawdle along in the distance. It looked like Alexandros and, with her hand up to shade her eyes, she squinted in his direction. The man had paused to speak to a group of girls heading out of one of the serviced apartments. Definitely Alexandros then, she thought and veered off the pavement and onto the slope of the front garden. It was then that she spied Mama and Kassia among the olive trees. She could tell by their rigid stances that neither woman was happy. Mama, as predicted, wrung her hands and Kassia, her own hands palms up towards her, looked to be pleading. Mateo ran past them, too caught up in his game to be aware of anything being wrong. He played with a homemade kite, a plastic bag tied with a string that caught the wind that in the last few days had begun to blow up at the same time each afternoon. Nikolos was in the baby swing under the tree and kicked his chubby little legs but didn’t really go anywhere.

  Annie hesitated for a moment, unsure what she should do. Their argument wasn’t to do with her but it was obvious that Kassia had not managed to convey her feelings in a diplomatic way. She would hate for things to be said between these two women whom she cared so much about that couldn’t be taken back. Her mouth set in a line of resolve. She owed it to them both to try to smooth things over.

  It all happened very quickly after that because as Annie marched over, clear in her role of peacemaker, Mateo shot past her, racing after his kite. His legs pumped as he ran down the grass verge that disappeared through the gap between the parked row of hire cars. “Mateo! Stop!” Annie screamed. Mama and Kassia’s eyes swung towards the road just as a woman’s scream mingled with a screech of brakes. It was followed by a dull thwack.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Annie was the first to reach the road. A cold fog descended as she ran on automatic pilot and pushed past the woman who stood by the kerb, frozen in shock, murmuring, “We were talking and then the little boy—he just ran out.”

  As she crouched down next to the body splayed in the middle of the road,
she dimly registered a car door slamming behind her. “Alexandros, can you hear me?” She leaned over him and sent up a silent prayer that he was still with them. Her eyes locked on his and pleaded with him to be okay but his stare was flat and uncomprehending. “Please, God.” This time she begged out loud, “Alexandros, come on, talk to me!” As the light drifted back into his irises, she took hold of his hand with both of hers. “Oh thank you, thank you, God.”

  He licked his lips and rasped, “Mateo? Is Mateo alright?” Annie hadn’t realised she held her breath until that moment and as she exhaled, she glanced up and saw that Kassia had scooped her oldest son up into her arms. She held him to her so tightly that he squirmed, not comprehending what had just happened and how close he had come to breaking his mama’s heart. “It’s okay. He’s fine—Kas’s got him,” she soothed as he groaned.

  “My arm, it hurts.”

  “Stop moving. You need to lie still until we can get you some help.” She cast her eyes around, frantic for a phone.

  “He came out of nowhere. My God. I braked but there was nothing I could do. I am so sorry, so sorry.” A man’s quavering Germanic accent sounded behind her but Annie ignored him and yelled for someone to ring an ambulance.

  “I’ll do it.” The woman Annie had pushed past swung into action. “What’s the number?”

  Kassia held her hand out for the phone, still holding tightly onto Mateo with her other arm. “Let me do it. I’ll be quicker.”

  “I’ll go and fetch the doctor.” Annie recognised the voice as belonging to Wendy, the English woman who managed the apartments up the road. She watched as she took off up the road and willed her to run her fastest.

  “My arm, it hurts.” Alexandros groaned again just as his mama joined the little huddle. At the sight of her youngest son lying crumpled on the road, she set up a keening that would have put the worshippers gathered at Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall to shame. She only stopped when, despite Annie and Kassia’s protestations that he should stay where he was, he sat up, clutched his bad arm with his good and assured her he would be okay. Annie remembered the car’s driver and turned to give him a reassuring smile. The relief was etched into his ruddy features.