Her phone vibrated in her purse, and she assumed it was Donna calling to see if she got the promotion, but it was that number again.
Greece.The Greek lawyer.
Joanna answered it without hesitating.
“Joanna Nelson,” she said.
“Hi, Miss Joanna, this is Nick, your father’s lawyer. I’ve been contacted by a lawyer from your husband about selling your father’s property.”
“Well, he’s not my husband, but yes, that’s right.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. My apologies, Miss Nelson. I’m calling because I was hoping I could make you reconsider. As I said, your father forbade me to tell you what he left you. You see, he wanted you to come to Skiathos to see it for yourself. He doubted you would come otherwise. I’m really not trying to be coy. It was his very last wish to me upon his deathbed.”
“You knew him?” Joanna asked. “You knew my father well?”
“Oh yes. We all knew George. He was very much loved by everyone who knew him. He was somewhat of a local celebrity in fact.”
Joanna got up and closed her office door then went back to her desk. “Can you please just tell me what he left me?” she pleaded.
“No, I’m sorry. I can not.”
“You mean you won’t?”
“No Miss Joanna. I cannot tell you. You must come to Skiathos to claim your inheritance. That is the condition. It cannot be sold until then. Right now I am its caretaker. If you don’t come, it will remain in my name. I am more than happy to keep it, but that is not your father’s wish. I could have kept it from you and you would never have known. But I too, really think you should come.”
“My father really did mean something to you then?”
“Yes, Miss Joanna. He really did. Even in death, I will do anything for George.”
Joanna put her feet up on her desk, “I don’t even know his surname.”
“Georges Herod. Though we all just called him George.”
She laughed. “I don’t believe it! I work for a publishing company called Herod Publishing.”
“I know. I thought that was strange, too, when I found you. My friend and I had a good laugh about it. It is one of God’s little messages. Subtly hidden.”
“Nick, why doyouthink I need to come to Skiathos?”
The lawyer hesitated, but when he answered his tone suggested the answer was obvious. “It is your homeland, Miss Joanna.”
“No, I’m from New York. I’m a New Yorker, Nick. Always have been, always will be.”
“But half of you is Skiathan. And all Skiathans must return home at least once. Come, for just a little while. That’s all your father wanted. He didn’t care about money or anything like that. He just wanted you to see where your people are from.”
“But why didn’t he contact me before he died? Why this grand gesture after death?”
Again the hesitation. “Miss Joanna, again to answer that, you must come to Skiothos.”
Joanna exhaled and wanted to hang up. The most difficult part about all of this was that Nick was being sincere. It was clear in his voice.
To make it worse, he was actually the person who would benefit from hernotgoing, and yet here he was doing everything in his power to persuade her.
If she were younger, she’d be head over heels for the mystery. Would have put the entire trip on a credit card and gone in the blink of an eye.
But, as Donna frequently reminded her, that part of herself had been dormant for a couple of years now. Possibly since her mother’s death.
“I just got promoted today— just a couple of hours ago in fact,” she told the lawyer. “I’m now one of the senior editors at Herod Publishing. I can’t just leave. The company’s transitioning, and I’m a major part of that change. If I were to—”
