Daughter of the Winds (17 page)

As he slipped away into the dusk, Eddie took one last look at the assembled men and wondered how many, if any, of them would still be alive tomorrow.

Chapter fifteen

Eddie
was sitting in the shade of a fig tree when I got to the beach.

“
Hi!”

“
Whoa, nice bruise!”

“
Thanks.”

“
You’re welcome.”

We smiled at each other awkwardly
.

“
So...” I prompted.

“
So, this is where Pru and I used to spend our weekends.”

“
Is it?”

“
Yep. This is the ‘fabled’ Fig Tree of the bay that is supposed to be renowned for its fertility giving properties. We had a lot of fun here. We’d swim, snorkel, drink beer. It was quite a nice life when we first got out here. Everything was so new. None of these hotels were here then.” He waved at the buildings behind us. “And none of these bars and cafés. There was one place to get a drink from round here and that was it. You never knew what day they’d be open either. There weren’t all these people back then. Sometimes it’d literally just be me and yer mum so I guess it wasn’t worth staying open every day, but if they were around, taking deliveries or whatever, they’d always get us a bottle of beer or something. At weekends we’d have lunch here and at the end of the day the bloke would ask us what we’d had cos he wouldn’t have been keeping track. He relied on our honesty back then. ‘Course, it’s all changed now.”

I slumped down into the sand beside him.
“Sounds like a lot of fun.”

“
It was, yeah. It was so different from back home. When we first got here we went straight in the sea in February. The locals thought we were crazy. I was so hot that first summer I used to lie in a bath of cold water to cool down.” He laughed at himself and shook his head. “She was always searching for something, your mum, some new adventure. I hope she found it.”

“
I’m not sure that she has. I think that everything got a bit dull when she moved back to England. Certainly not so much snorkelling.”

“
Did she go back to Bedford? See her mum?” Eddie asked genuinely interested.

“
No. Well, not that I know of. After her mum died she had to head back a couple of times to arrange the sale of the house and stuff but I don’t think there was any love lost between the two of them from what I can gather. But you’d know more about that than I do.”

“
Her mum was a piece of work. She never approved of me. But then, if I’d had a daughter I wouldn’t have approved of me either.” He chuckled. His face suddenly dropped as he looked to me. “So she’s remarried then?”

“
What?”

“
The divorce. The solicitor said she was getting remarried.”

“
Oh. No. It didn’t happen. They split up not long after that. No she’s happily single. Her and her cats. She’s worried she’s going to end up as an old woman living on her own, talking to cats all day long. She’d love someone in her life but she likes things done exactly her way and she’s not very good at compromise.”

“
She’s not changed that much then,” he commented dryly.

“
And what about you, Eddie? Did you find what you were looking for?”

“
Up to a point. I’ve come to terms with a lot over the last few years and I’ve not got a bad life here.”

“
Why have you never left Cyprus?”

“
I did leave it. Several times in fact, it’s, well, I could never stay away for very long.”

“
Why? Do you love it that much?”

Eddie looked to the sea and moistened his lips, thinking carefully.

“Which answer do you want?” he asked. “The one I give the tourists or the truth?”

“
Hit me with the truth, I think I can take it.”

“
Well....” Eddie took a deep breath and looked into his hands. “I don’t want to leave Edward. I know it might sound stupid to you, but I’m the only one who even acknowledges that he ever existed. I still visit his grave and put flowers on it. If I wasn’t here then who’d do that? I know he’s not really here anymore but it’s the only link I’ve got to my son and I don’t know how I’d go about remembering him if I left. I’ve got no photos. No one to talk to about him. Stupid really.”

“
That doesn’t sound stupid at all,” I answered quietly.

“
I held him, after they’d delivered him. They wrapped him in a blanket and handed him to me. He was warm. He was the most perfect thing I’d ever seen. I kept willing him to open his eyes. I’d never prayed so hard in my life.”

“
I’m sorry.”

“
No. Don’t be. It was a long time ago. I can at least hold onto the fact that I got to see him and to hold him. Your mum never did. She never got to say goodbye. Not really.”

I looked down at our hands clasped together.
Did I take hold of his hand or did he take hold of mine? I didn’t even remember it happening. It was an odd experience, being with a stranger who you had known all your life. He wasn’t really what I had expected, but then my expectations had been pretty low.

He suddenly shook himself like he had come to his senses.
“You hungry?”

“
Ravenous.”

“
Come on then, let’s eat. I hear on the grapevine that you write about food,” he stated. “You are about to have the world’s greatest mezze.”

“
I hear that a lot.”

“
Yeah, but not from me. When I say it, I mean it.”

I laughed as he helped me to my feet and we walked up the beach to where his car was parked.

“Get in,” he motioned to the car.

“
We’re not eating here?”

“
No chance. This is watered down for the British appetite. No, tonight you dine with the Cypriots. I just wanted to show you the tree that your mum spent her time sitting under. I thought you’d like to see it.”

“
Thank you.” I slid into the passenger seat of the battered blue Ford.

“
What? You’re not impressed by the wheels?”

“
I didn’t say that.”

“
No, but the way your nose wrinkles up like you’ve just stood in dog dirt betrays you.”

I laughed at that.
He wasn’t the first person to tell me that my face was easy to read.

“
Don’t get me wrong, you’re a lovely woman but, Jeez, you say it all with one look. There’s the ‘I’m disgusted look’, there’s the ‘you’re an idiot’ look and there! There’s another one, that’s the ‘you’re pushing your luck, Eddie’ look!”

I feigned mock indignation but Eddie laughed at me.
“The upside is, you do light up the room when you smile. Just like Pru.”

“
Thank you. And now you’ve succeeded in embarrassing me, do you want to tell me where you are taking me?”

“
A little village up Troodos mountain. It’s all plastic tables and chairs, cheap cutlery and ‘rustic’ decor. It’s not really one of your upmarket gaffs but the food is pretty much top-notch. I think you’ll like it.”

When Eddie said it wasn
’t upmarket he wasn’t joking, but it was full of old-world charm. There was no flashy sign or welcoming party. If I hadn’t been with Eddie, I wouldn’t have even noticed that it was there. We double-parked behind another car which gave me a slight attack of anxiety but I followed Eddie into the restaurant nonetheless.

He greeted the proprietor in Greek like they were old friends and
led me to a table out back. There were eight square tables with matching white tablecloths. At the centre of each table was the lit stub of a candle, even though there was still a fair amount of light left in the day. Next to it was a jug of water. There was no roof out here on the terrace but there were beams entwined with vines above our heads dripping with green opals of fruit. We sat on neighbouring sides of the table so that we could both take in the view down the mountainside. The lush green valley stretched out before us like a languorous cat in front of the fire.

Beneath us the insects that come alive at dusk were beginning to move and call to each ot
her. I was so lost in the view that I almost forgot that I was sitting there with Eddie and so when he spoke to me I jumped.

“
I ordered us a selection of dishes. I hope that’s ok.”

“
Great, thanks.”

“
So what’s the plan now?” he asked.

“
How do you mean?”

“
Well, you’re not just here for the food and the sun. You’ve got the names of your biological parents but I get the feeling that you still aren’t satisfied. So, what next?”

“
Tomorrow I’m going into Famagusta to see what’s left of Varosha. I want to see your old flat and where Helene died.”

“
Well, it’s been nice knowing you,” he smirked. “You do know that’s likely to get you shot, don’t you?”

“
So I’ve been told. But I’m not that easily deterred.”

I was spared the task of having to elaborate by the arrival of
tsatsiki, hummus and taramasalata with finger-scalding pitta breads. Before these bowls were finished, souvlaki, stiffado, kleftico and afelia were placed before us. I didn’t know where to start so I grabbed the dish closest to me.

“
Ummm. Stiffado.” I inhaled deeply. There were the usual scents of beef, tomatoes, red wine and wine vinegar but something else was tripping over the hunks of meat. I took a mouthful and savoured the taste: cinnamon and fresh parsley. Nice additions. The meat was so tender it threatened to dissolve on my tongue before I could even chew it. It was exactly what I needed with my still-sore and swollen jaw.

I followed that with the
afelia it seemed an obvious choice given the inclusion of red wine in this dish also. The coriander seeds crunched and popped in my mouth almost sensually and so I moved onto the kleftico with something approximating the food equivalent of lust.

“
This is delicious,” I said with a mouth half full of lamb.

“
Isn’t it?”

“
Do you come up here a lot?”

“
Yeah. It’s where I bring all my hot dates.”

I raised my eyebrows at him and he laughed.

“Don’t flatter yerself! Apart from the fact that I’m old enough to be your father, I nearl
y
wa
s
your father. No, actually I don’t get that many dates. I can’t compete with the Greek men on charm or looks. It’s a good job I enjoy my own company.”

“
Well, it’s great here. I love it. Can we get some wine?”

“
Knock yourself out. Not for me though.”

“
Of course, you’re driving.”

“
Yes, but it’s not only that. I don’t drink. I’m teetotal.”

“
But you run a bar,” I said, stating the obvious.

“
I am well aware of the irony.”

The waiter came over when I motioned for him.

“Could I get a glass of red wine, please?”

He just looked at me and Eddie laughed.

They spoke to each other in Greek and then Eddie said to me, “He doesn’t speak English. Or at least, he pretends not to.”

“
Sorry. I thought everyone on the island did.”

“
Most do, but I don’t think that Statos wants to attract Brits to the restaurant so he stubbornly refuses to speak the language of the tourist.”

The proprietor brought the wine to me and I made a point of
thanking him in Greek.

Dis
hes of calamari came and went, dolmades were dispatched without effort and I even requested another serving of the divine stiffado. As we came haltingly to the end of our meal the sun slipped away, transferring our attention back to each other.

“
Why are you so intent on getting to the old flat? It’s just bricks. There is nothing there of any consequence. People and memories are all that matters.”

“
That’s it though.” I leant forward onto the table. “I don’t have any memories of Cyprus, do I?”

“
So you’ll get memories of a rundown building covered in dust. What good’s that, really? We all have to let go of the past, Leni.”

“
Says the man who won’t leave his son’s grave.”

Eddie looked sharply at me, his eyes showing their hurt like beacons in the dark.

“Shit! Sorry Eddie, sorry! Oh God, I shouldn’t have said that. Sorry. Truly I am. I’m not good at taking advice. It makes me prickly. Sorry. I can’t believe I just said that. I can be such a cow.”