Page 45 of Footprints in the Sand
Aphrodite sat back down but shook so violently that the chair beneath her quaked. “He and Dimitra’s husband were really close. There were always issues with money and Kostos, things my mother mentions. I never really knew what was going on. They kept me out of it, mostly. But some people say that Kostos was bad news.”
Eva swallowed. “Jean-Paul said he was.”
“I’m not surprised,” Aphrodite said.
Eva leaped to her feet. Feeling frantic, she flew down the hall and into the bedroom that Dimitra and Kostos had once shared. She had a hunch, and all she could do was pray it was wrong.
“What are you doing?” Aphrodite called.
This time, Eva didn’t hesitate to pick up a framed photograph of Kostos and Dimitra. There he was. The man with black curls and black eyes. He was every bit the man she’d seen at the Naxos market just two days ago. There was no denying it.
Aphrodite appeared in the shadows of the bedroom, gasping for air. “What’s going on?”
“I think Kostos is still alive,” Eva said firmly. “I think I saw him on Naxos.”
“That’s insane,” Aphrodite said. “Plenty of guys look like Kostos with black hair and black eyes and so on. Come on, don’t make up stories like this.”
But Eva had taken a photograph of the mystery man. She turned back on her phone to show Aphrodite what she’d found and was immediately drowning in messages from Jean-Paul, her mother, Theo, her best friend Rainey, Finn, and, of course, Nico, who’d written her three heart emoji and: when do you want to see me again?
Eva kept those messages from Aphrodite. She didn’t want to complicate things.
Eva pulled up the photograph she’d taken of Kostos and showed it to Aphrodite. It was blurry, but it was every bit the man in the pictures in this very bedroom. Aphrodite gaped at it for a long time, as though she were trying to find a way to dismiss Eva’s claims.
“I think he was involved in something bad,” Eva muttered. “Maybe it had to do with the drugs Nico’s selling or something.Perhaps it got so bad that he had to hide himself, fake his own death.”
“But why would he just go to Naxos?” Aphrodite asked. “It’s just an hour away!”
But Eva had a history in something like this. Her own grandfather had built a second life on Martha’s Vineyard, just a stone’s throw away from Nantucket Island.
“If men want to make a mockery out of the women they love, if they want to start over, they always find a way to do it,” Eva said softly. “Your brother talked about dark family secrets that need to be kept in the dark. But in my experience, you have to bring those secrets to the light in order to finally, finally heal.”
Aphrodite’s hands were shaking. She passed the phone over to Eva and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to say.” And then she added, “But Kostos’s body was never found. And he was a seasoned sailor and fisherman. It never really made sense.”
“It’s too perfect, isn’t it?” Eva said.
Aphrodite’s face was green. “I need a drink of water.”
Eva followed Aphrodite back into the kitchen. “I know this is your family I’m talking about. I know it’s delicate and complicated. I know, too, that it could destroy Dimitra to learn this.”
Aphrodite was steely. “If Kostos really faked his own death to get away from her, she has to know. Maybe then she can finally move on. Perhaps she can finally free herself from that love.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Martha’s Vineyard - July 2025
It was in the chaos of that late afternoon after Finn left that Dimitra heard from Oriana.
ORIANA: William’s yacht just pulled into the harbor. He wants us to join him tomorrow night for a party.
Dimitra didn’t know what to say and didn’t respond right away. Oriana double-texted, needing Dimitra to echo her excitement.
ORIANA: It’s so exciting! He’s here! And he’s brought buckets of champagne! Let’s celebrate!
Dimitra bristled. She didn’t feel emotionally ready to go to some uber-wealthy person’s party, not so soon after meeting Finn and hearing about Harry’s emotionally difficult life, about Ginny and his ex-wife, and all the responsibilities that awaitedhim. Then again, Dimitra owed it to Oriana to attend the party, and she owed it to herself to put herself in a position to make more money, to set herself up for the future. Her art was finally getting the recognition she’d always longed for. She didn’t know if she deserved it, but it was here. She couldn’t throw it away.
That evening, Harry spent time on his sailboat while Dimitra stayed home, watching a romcom and eating popcorn and trying to go to bed early. Ultimately, she tossed and turned, worrying about both Eva and her own future. When she knew it was morning in Paros, she dialed Eva’s number, but nobody picked up. Her heart pounded. Where was that girl?
She called her sister instead. Athena answered, as she always did, with an annoyed tone. “There she is. The sister who abandoned me.”
