Joanna snatched Chris’s phone from her hand and went and sat down on one of the old, leather couches. She zoomed in on his face. Unlike most older American men, her father was fit and thin before he died.
His teeth were slightly crooked, but they were still his own. No dentures for him. He had a pen behind his ear. Was he a writer? His shirt was pressed clean. His tie was tight and…
Suddenly overcome with emotion, Joanna broke down.
“Miss Joanna,” Chris cried. “What’s wrong? Is it just seeing your father? Nick, get her a glass of wine.” She then ran to the check-in counter for a box of tissues and held the box for Joanna as she pulled some out.
“I’m sorry, it’s just … I feeling a lot of emotions right now,” Joanna sniffed, distraught at this unexpected show of feeling for a man she never knew. “I’m confused. If he was so wonderful why did I never have a chance to meet him? I don’t understand. Why the distance? I think we would have liked each other perhaps.”
Nick reappeared with a glass of wine and Chris took it from him, holding it out to Joanna. “Here, please. Take a sip. They don’t call it spirits for no reason.”
Joanna laughed sheepishly and drank it quickly.
“I wasn’t going to tell you this but … you have me feeling bad for you now,” Chris said, and playfully slapped Joanna’s knee. “Tomorrow, I will show you his room. I found a box of letters before that I couldn’t bring myself to throw out. Now I know why. Your father must have been on the other side, encouraging me to keep them.”
“Who were the letters from?”
“Your mother, Miss Joanna. So many of them.”
“What?” she asked, wiping her eyes. “From when? What are they about?”
Chris patted her hand. “You’ll just have to read them and find out for yourself.”
Chapter Eight
They showed Joanna to her room only after Chris had forced olives and hard cheese upon her. “You need to eat. You look pale.”
It was the master suite - the only room on the fourth floor.
Its balcony and outdoor patio covered almost the entire area and length of the third floor below. There was a large king bed in a separate bedroom, living room, and kitchen. It was three times larger than her apartment in New York.
“No, please, it’s too much. Give it to some of the wedding guests. I don’t need this much. I promise.”
“Óchi, óchi. Enjoy, Miss Joanna,” Chris persuaded gently. “It’s already done. Relax.”
Nick placed Joanna’s luggage on the bed for her and said, “After you take a shower and rest up, come down to the lobby. I’ll take you to town for dinner and show you around some more.”
“OK,” Joanna said, her heart fluttering a little at the idea of going to dinner with the handsome Greek.
Chris smirked and shook her head at Nick.
“Keep your eye on him, Miss Joanna,” she joked, as if reading her mind. “Greek men aren’t usually this polite to women. Even if they’re the daughters of Georges Herod.”
They left Joanna alone, and she walked out onto the patio to call Peter.
To the right, the sun was setting and casting the clouds in a wonderful peach-pink glow. The water rippled and shimmered in quiet ecstasy.
Were they any bad views in Skiathos? She loved how everything was mountainous and wild. Poseidon and Apollo were putting up a great show and if she had to prove her devotion to one of them, she’d be hard pressed.
She calculated the time difference between Greece and New York. It was only eleven in the morning back there. She dug her phone out and dialled Peter. It went straight to voicemail.
“Hi honey. I’ve arrived safely in Skiathos. You’re never going to guess what he left me. It’s beyond belief. Give me a call when you can. I’ll probably be in bed before too long, so give me a call if you’re not too busy.”
She hung up. He was probably already at work showing some Wall Street investor a new high rise apartment. She decided to take a hot shower and get ready for the evening.
Inside, the bathroom was direly in need of remodeling. The paint, the towel rack, the shower rod all looked like they were probably dated even in the seventies.
She turned the hot water on, half expecting to see brown, muddy water seep out, but to her surprise it was clear and immediately hot. So hot, in fact, she wouldn’t be able to shower at full temperature.
