I looked in the mirror, and not that I thought she was right about the “beautiful” part, but I had to admit I didn’t look half bad. The long afternoons on the beach had turned my skin a nice golden brown, while the hot, arid climate worked wonders in keeping my frizzy hair tamed and under control. I may have even lost a few pounds, which seemed pretty unbelievable with all the big meals we indulged in.
Then I looked at Kat standing beside me. And even though she was smiling, I knew she was worried about me.
“Kat, I’ve decided to drop my trips and stay till the end of the month. But I’ve imposed on you and Yanni long enough, so I’m moving to a room in town.”
“Nonsense. I won’t hear of it,” she said, shaking her head in dismissal.
“But I insist. You guys have been more than generous, and this friend of mine, Chloe, that I met through Adonis, she found a room that’s available, starting tomorrow.”
“Yanni will never allow it,” Kat said, shaking her head. “We have plenty of room, and you’re not an imposition. And just in case you haven’t noticed, hospitality is like a religion here; it’s taken very seriously.”
“But you and Yanni are leaving soon, and—”
“I’m afraid I can’t consent,” she said, her voice sounding final.
And just as I’d started to craft a defense, Adonis pulled into the driveway. “Have fun,” Kat said, smiling as she placed her hand on my shoulder. “And don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Adonis drove along narrow, winding roads to a part of the island I’d never seen before. But with the absence of streetlights, and the moon still in its crescent stage, it’s not like I was seeing it right then either.
He made a sharp turn onto a long, unmarked drive, and we headed toward a huge, sprawling house at the end. And the way the headlights shone, lighting it from below, it loomed large in a way that seemed almost eerie.
“This is your house?” I asked, trying not to sound amazed. But jeez, it. was even bigger than Yanni’s.
“I know, it’s huge,” he said, parking the Jeep and killing the engine. “But it’s actually three houses. My sister, her husband, and
their twin boys live in one; my grandmother is in the other; and the rest of the family stay in the main house.”
“And what about your house? You don’t get your own?” I joked.
“Afraid not.” He shook his head. “I’m not married, so I live with my parents.”
I stared at him, cringing.
Oh my God! He lives with his parents?
I mean, I couldn’t imagine going out with someone like that back home.
“I know it’s a weird concept,” he said, noticing my reaction. “It’s just how we do things. But don’t worry. I keep my own apartment in Athens, so it’s not like I’m a complete mama’s boy. Besides, nobody lives here year-round; they usually only come for the occasional summer weekend. So most of the time I have the place to myself.”
I nodded weakly, feeling embarrassed forjudging him.
“And by the way,” he said, opening the door, “there are going to be a few extra people joining us tonight.”
“Oh?” I glanced at the big scary house that was getting more intimidating by the second. “Who’s all coming?”
“About twenty of my closest relatives.” He laughed. “But don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
“If you say so,” I mumbled, opening the door and preparing for the worst.
“And one more thing.”
Oh God, what now?
I thought. I
mean, why did I even come here?
“I have something for you.”
I turned to see a small gray box resting in the palm of his hand. “What’s this?” I asked, not entirely sure I should accept it.
“Just open it,” he urged.
I glanced at him and then down at the box, hoping things couldn’t possibly move
that fast
here. And when I lifted the small, hinged lid, I found the most beautiful pair of gold earrings—far nicer than the ones I’d tried in the store that day.
“Oh, they’re beautiful,” I said, tracing the intricate design with the tip of my finger. “But I can’t accept them.” I snapped the case shut and handed it back.
“But you have to! In our culture it is very rude to return a gift,” he said, pushing the box toward me.
‘That’s not true.” I laughed.
“Okay, tell you what. You put them on, and if they’re hideous I’ll take them back, and we’ll never mention it again.”
“And if they’re not?”
“Then you have to wear them to dinner.” He smiled.
I removed the earrings I was already wearing and replaced them with the ones in the box. And when I looked in the rearview mirror, there was no denying they were completely stunning.
“So you’re keeping them?” he asked.
“Well, they’re not exactly hideous.” I shrugged.
And then he leaned in and kissed me. And as I kissed him back, I was thinking maybe we could forget about this whole scary dinner thing and just head downtown.
But then he pulled away, looked into my eyes, and said, “Ready to meet my family?”
Upon entering your hotel
room check under the bed,
behind the curtains, and inside
the closet. And don’t forget
the peephole.
Adonis’ mother was named Irene, which oddly enough meant “peace.” Because even though she was gracious, and pleasant, and welcomed me into her home, shaking my hand warmly while giving me the triple cheek-kiss, I knew immediately that Kat was right—she ruled that house with an iron fist, and her eyes didn’t miss a thing.
And unfortunately, for most of the time, her eyes were focused on me.
We were sitting at the large, food-laden table with Adonis on my left, and a cousin who was named either Christos, Georgos, or Tassos on my right when someone asked me to pass the
kotopoulo.
Kotofoulo. Kotopoulo.
I gazed at the three platters nearest my plate, wondering which one contained the
kotopoulo.
Was it that lamb dish on the blue-and-white platter? Or the baked fish with his head still attached, cloudy eyes gazing up at the ceiling? Or maybe it was the one that looked like chicken?
Knowing I had only a one-in-three shot of getting this right, and feeling Irene’s eyes blazing into me even though she was talking
to her sister-in-law, I blindly reached out and grabbed the plate directly in iront of me.
Gripping the heavy ceramic platter by its edge, I was struggling to lift it without dumping the contents when Adonis leaned over and quietly whispered, “He means the
other kotoponlo.”
And then he picked up the chicken dish and passed it to one of his two hundred cousins whose name I couldn’t remember.
Oh jeez, of course! KotoPOULO. Like
polio.
Like
el Polio Loco.
And I was about to give him the lamb, which is called “ami.” Duh!
I looked down at my plate and cut into my own
kotopoulo
as Adonis gave me a brief squeeze on the knee. “Um, this
kotapoulo
is really good, er, Mrs. Vrissi,” I said, still not comfortable with calling her by her first name.
“Ejharisto,”
she said, giving me a crisp little nod. “Do you enjoy cooking, Hailey?”
“Well.” I took a sip of my wine. “Not really.” I looked up to see her staring at me, her face irozen, expressionless, and I knew I had about thirty seconds to find a way out of this, or at least offer some plausible explanation for my lack of domesticity. “I mean, I’m on the road a lot, you know, for work, so most of my meals come from airports and vending machines,” I said, unintentionally tacking a nervous laugh onto the end of that.
“I see.” She pressed her lips together in a thin line that bore no resemblance to a smile. “And this ‘on the road’ bit. Adonis tells me you are an air hostess?” She peered at me from the head of the table.
“Um, I’m a flight attendant, yes,” I said, noticing that everyone was now staring at me, which made me so nervous my hands started to sweat.
“Well, I can imagine how that must be very amusing for a year or two while you are still quite young,” she said, lifting her wine and looking at me. “And how long have you been flying?”
“Six years,” I said, knowing immediately after it was out that I’d just blown the interview.
“Well, I can’t imagine you’ll be doing it loo much longer if you want to start a family.”
And to
that
I said nothing. Which was the best move I’d made the entire evening. Obviously we were experiencing a bit of a culture clash, as Id always thought flying was a great job for moms, since it allowed generous amounts of time off, along with the opportunity for occasional escape. But really, it was a moot point. I mean, I wasn’t so sure I was ever going to have a family. And if I did stop flying, well, most likely it wouldn’t be by choice.
And even though Adonis had his hand on my knee, squeezing it in a private proclamation of solidarity, I couldn’t help reaching up and fondling my new earrings, reminding myself how at least one person at this table liked me.
“Those are beautiful earrings,” Adonis’ sister Anna said. “Did you get them here?”
She was smiling at me, and I knew she was just trying to smooth the tension by saying something nice. But I also knew it’d be a lot better if I didn’t mention that they were a gift from her mother’s most cherished son. “I got them . . . a few days ago,” I said, cringing at how suspicious that sounded.
“Oh really, where?” asked the ever-alert Irene, slipping on the glasses that dangled from a gold chain around her neck and peering at me from across the table.
“Oh, well, um, I don’t exactly remember the name,” I stammered. “But it was one of those little shops? You know? In town?” I was sinking, drowning, failing miserably.
“She bought them at Lalaounis,” Adonis said suddenly, squeezing my knee even harder. “We ran into each other on her way out.”
He bought these at Lalaounis? jeez, even I’ve heard of them. They’re like the Cartier of Greece!
I looked at Adonis and smiled, feeling myself relax as I sliced a dolma in half. “That’s it,” I said. “Lalaounis, that’s where I got them.”
By the time Irene was leaning in for the triple cheek-kiss good-bye, I actually thought she might bite me.
“Your mother hates me,” I said the second we were in the Jeep and heading down the driveway.
“No, she doesn’t.” Adonis shook his head and turned onto the road.
“Uh, sorry but you’re wrong. She despises me.” I gazed at his profile, wondering how he could have missed all the signs. I mean, if I was sure of only one thing in this world, it was that Irene Vrissi not only hated me, but was casting an evil spell on me at that very moment.
“Hailey, trust me. I know my mother. And believe it or not, that actually went quite well.”
Okay, if that went well, I can’t even imagine how a had night might go.
That woman had taken issue with my lack of culinary skills (and lack of interest in learning any); my profession and lifestyle, which were completely bound together; and during the dessert course had actually balked at my family tree, narrowing her eyes when I explained that as far as I knew in my convoluted, mostly European, mixed-up mongrel lineage there wasn’t a trace of Greek DNA to be found—anywhere.
I shook my head and gazed out the window, wondering how many girls before me had suffered that fate. Maybe that’s why Adonis was still single. Irene had scared them off, or turned them into ogres.
“Should we go downtown?” he asked, turning to look at me.
But feeling tired and deflated, I shook my head no. “I think I should just head back to Kat’s,” I told him, watching in surprise as he pulled over and parked beside a low stone wall.
“Hailey, look at me,” he said, reaching for my chin and turning my face toward his. “I didn’t bring you home to upset you. I brought you home because it’s important to me that you meet my
family. And I know in some ways she may seem like a typical pain-in-the-ass Greek mother, but the truth is, she only wants what is best for me. And believe me, that didn’t go nearly as bad as you think. You were nice and polite, and yet you stood up for yourself when you had to. Trust me, she will respect you for that.”
“I don’t know,” I said, gazing into his eyes, wanting more than anything for that to be true.
“Listen.” He trailed his finger down my temple, over my cheekbone, and around my ear to the beautiful earrings he’d given me. “I like you. And if you like me too, then nothing else matters, right?”
And the truth was, I did like him. And like he said, it’s not like she lived there. She only showed up for the occasional weekend. So avoiding her in the future should be a total breeze.
On my fifth day of calling in sick, Kat cornered me. “What’s going on?” she asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.
“What do you mean?” I inserted the earrings Adonis had given me, and avoided her eyes in the mirror.
“Hailey, don’t get me wrong, I love the company, and don’t want you to leave, but you can’t keep calling in sick.”