Dani furrowed her brow and brought back her head so she could look up at Theo. “How?”
“Remember Lydia saying I reminded her of someone?”
She nodded.
“Well, it turns out she once had a lover from Perdika, where my papou was from. And Andreas’s father’s name is Zeno.”
Her eyes widened as she thought back to Papou Zeno. “So what does that mean?” she asked. “That your papou had an affair with Lydia?”
Theo shrugged. “I don’t know. Or he knew Lydia before he met my yayá. It’s not like I can ask him. But, it’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think? And how else would he know about the eye?”
She let that ruminate for a moment, but when she opened her mouth to ask more questions, Theo spoke first. “Juicy, there’s something else I want to talk to you about—”
But there wasn’t time for that. Phoebe popped open the door, calling out that it was time to eat, and waited for them to enter. Whatever it was that Theo wanted to talk about would have to wait.
They went back into the house and took two places around the long table. As everyone was settling into their seats, Theo leaned in and whispered in Dani’s ear, “We’ll talk later.”
Christos and Phoebe brought out the food—moussaka, salad, lemon potatoes, tzatziki, and gigades—bringing the brightly colored dishes out family style onto the table.
The food got passed around the table, and she initially took small portions. But once they started eating, the food reminded her of home. Or rather, the Galanises’ home. God, she’d missed this. This was what she had wanted out of this trip.
Good food. Laughter. Adventure. Life.
Theo.
He’d relaxed since the morning. The news about Andreasreally seemed to loosen him up. For most of the evening, she almost forgot they were still on the run.
After they’d eaten, they sat around the table as Andreas and Theo swapped stories about growing up in Greece versus the United States. It was funny how she’d always thought of Theo assoGreek, yet Andreas and Christos teased him for beingsoAmerican. But despite the tension between Andreas and Theo earlier, they joked and ribbed each other like they were old buddies. It reminded her of his relationship with Eddie.
“What about you, Daniela?” Phoebe asked. “What is your family like?”
“Oh, also loud,” Dani joked, causing everyone to laugh. “Though not as loud as Theo’s family.”
“Yeah, but Juicy makes up for it by being the loudest out of all of us,” Theo said, earning an elbow to the ribs from Dani.
“Ow, I’m bruised,remember?” he said yet again, grabbing his stomach with one hand while the other rested on the back of Dani’s chair.
“You’re such a baby. How long are you going to milk that one?” she teased.
Christos reentered the room carrying a plate with cake. “Who wants dessert?” he asked, setting the platter on the table.
“What is it?” Theo asked, eyeing it from a few seats down.
“Milopita,” Christos responded.
Theo waved his hands. “None for me. I’m allergic to apples.”
“Daniela?” Christos asked. “It’s an apple cake.”
She held her hands over her stomach. “Oh no, thank you. I’m stuffed.”
Christos began slicing the cake and passing plates around the table, when Phoebe turned her attention back to Dani.
“Juicy? What’s Juicy?” Phoebe asked.
“Oh, it’s just a silly nickname he gave me when we were teenagers,” Dani responded, wiping her mouth and placing her napkin in her lap.
“But what does it mean?” Christos said.
