Page 14 of Footprints in the Sand
Eva laughed. “I guess I have a lot to get used to!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Anna said in a heavily accented English. “Tell us. How do you like Greece so far?”
With her drink in hand, Eva tried to convey her initial impressions of Aliki and the island at large, telling them how beautiful the water was, how delicious the snacks and drinks were, and how kind the people seemed to be. (Of course, she wasn’t sure if Athena was entirely kind. Maybe she was just protective of Dimitra and confused about the arrangement, like Eva’s mother.)
During her explanation, several other family members swept into the garden, bringing with them chaotic conversations, hugs,and kisses. A handsome man with black hair and olive skin picked Athena up and kissed her on the cheek, speaking a fast and exuberant Greek. Athena laughed and laughed and said in English, “Nico, put me down! We have a guest.”
Nico, who was maybe thirty and therefore just two years older than Eva, set his mother down and turned to smile sloppily at Eva. “You must be my brand-new Aunt Dimitra,” he said, sticking out his hand to shake. Eva was surprised at how fluent his English was. It was barely accented. She guessed he’d watched a lot of American movies and practiced alone. That, or he was well-traveled, which felt like a rarity on an island like this.
People didn’t get out much. Then again, not everyone from Martha’s Vineyard liked to travel, either. Islanders liked to remain on their big rocks floating out on the sea.
“I’m Eva,” she said.
“Nico. Welcome to Paros.”
Eva felt her stomach bubbling with nerves.Give it a break, Eva, she told herself. He’s flirty and fun, and that’s about it.
But already, Nico sat down beside her with a drink in hand. “You’re going to need help tonight,” he explained in a funny voice, his eyes sliding side to side. “My family is enormous. Lots of names, and lots of repeated names. There are three Nicos, four Dimitris, and three Yorgos. It’s chaos.”
Eva snorted with laughter. “Why so many repeats?”
“We Greeks like the names we have.” Nico shrugged. “We don’t just make them up on the spot. Like, what is this American name you have? Ashley? Brittany?”
Eva rolled her eyes. “They’re perfectly good names.”
“Your name is perfectly good,” he said. “Eva. Like the Bible, no? Here in Greece, we also have Evas.” His eyes glinted with intrigue.
Eva told her heart to stop banging on like that.
For the next hour or so, Nico did his best to introduce her to everyone in the family as “the new Aunt Dimitra.” For those who couldn’t speak English, he translated everything she wanted to say, and she found herself laughing a whole lot more than she’d laughed the past few weeks. She also learned a little bit about Nico. He was a fisherman alongside his father, following in the tradition of many men from the village of Aliki.
It felt romantic and cliché to go to Greece and fall in love with a fisherman. Maybe that was what she would do? She barely had any money left, and she hated her job. She was also extremely mad at her ex-boyfriend. Didn’t she deserve a little story of her own?
Around eleven thirty—a time when the Coleman family might hang it up for the night—the uncles and cousins got out their traditional Greek instruments, the bouzouki and lyre and begena, and began to sing and play for everyone. Nico gestured for Eva to get up so that he could show her the traditional dance moves, which felt a little like dramatic line dancing. After drinking three ouzos, Eva’s heart was full.
When she performed the steps with Nico, she felt someone’s eyes on her, watching, and she turned to find Athena, Nico’s mother. She couldn’t read her expression. She imagined she wasn’t entirely pleased that the new American girl was hanging out with her son. Her smile dimmed, and she nodded at Athena and told Nico she was going to sit back down.
“Why?” Nico asked, shocked, then looked beyond her and spotted his mother. He bent to whisper in Eva’s ear after that. “My mother is quite difficult, isn’t she? She has a set idea of how she wants my life to go.”
Eva felt tender toward him. “My mother is the same. She can’t believe I’m not married yet. She’s been nagging me about it for years.”
“Right?” Nico closed his eyes. “I just went through a breakup. My heart’s in pieces, and she’s asking me about grandchildren. I don’t get it. Doesn’t she want me to have a fulfilling life?”
Eva nodded furiously. “I realized today that I hate my job. I realized that because I was so obsessed with my relationship and future plans, I wasn’t really thinking about myself or what I truly wanted. I think that’s why I’m here in Greece. I want to figure that out.”
“It’s a good place to do it,” Nico said.
“What do you really want?” Eva asked.
Nico thought for a moment, then burst into laughter. “I really want to dance with you!”
It felt ridiculous to talk so openly about this with a stranger on a Greek island. She started dancing again, throwing her head back. She felt free.
Soon after, Eva filled her plate with as much delicious Greek food as she could find: moussaka and olives and more sesame bread and plenty of cheese and crackers. More wine was poured, and some of Nico’s other cousins invited her into the fold, excited to practice their English and ask her about where she was from.
“How is Aunt Dimitra doing over there?” a woman named Aphrodite asked, a woman Eva soon learned was Nico’s sister.
“I haven’t really heard from her!” Eva admitted. “It might seem strange, but I don’t actually know her. My family and friends will get to know her a lot better than I ever will, which is sad.”
