Page 40 of Limits
‘Mama, what is your problem?’ Pav hissed once they were out of Millie’s earshot. He’d left her with two of his sisters (the actual bride to be had disappeared half an hour ago) and some of his cousins so he could try and talk some sense into Mama. Glancing over there as he pulled Mama away he could see Millie’s mouth was set in a thin line and her knuckles were white from her grip on the champagne glass she was holding. To be fair to them his sisters and cousins were trying, but the short cold responses they got in return were not showing any signs of improving. He sighed and turned back to Mama; he had to make this quick.
‘My problem?Myproblem? That woman is the one with the problem. My God, your Great Aunt Agathias was more pleasant, and she only opened her mouth to spit at people near the end. At least that was entertaining. Pavlakismou, please; she is a walking corpse.’
‘Mama!’
‘Ugh! Look at her. Designer clothes, looking down her nose at everyone. Does she ever smile?’
‘She’s shy. She has … anxiety.’
Mama’s eyebrows shot up and she blinked once. ‘That woman is not worried, she is cool as a bowl of tzatziki.’
‘You don’t know her, Mama,’ Pav said through gritted teeth. ‘Give her a chance.’
Mama rolled her eyes. ‘What was wrong with the last one? Now she knew how to have fun.’
‘Yes, Mama, she did know how to have fun. She had a lot of fun; some of it, I might add, was not with me.’
‘Okay, okay. So nobody’s perfect. At least she spoke. This one, all she does is stand there with a sour face.’
At that moment Pav felt a small hand touch his arm. To his horror Millie was standing right next to him, her face pale and the hand that was holding the champagne shaking very slightly.
He should have known when he picked Millie up that this was not going to end well. She’d opened her door to reveal an elegant outfit, totally at odds with his family’s vibe: her mask of make-up was secure and her hair was back in that bloody roll again. He didn’t say anything, thinking that she needed her armour to face a situation she found intimidating.
He should have said something.
As soon as his mama and sisters saw her when they arrived at the Greek restaurant hosting the engagement party, Pav knew they saw the wrong Millie. Then she had recoiled from his mama’s hug, her body held stiff with shock. And Pav couldn’t explain that Millie just wasn’t used to random hugs; that you had to work up to it with her. That when she was tense and worried about making a good impression she froze up. His sisters had just looked at each other in bewilderment, and his mama looked hurt. Millie had managed a stiff little hello to everyone, avoiding all eye contact, but since then she’d been more or less silent.
His uncle had welcomed her to his restaurant, doing the standard boast of how it was the best Greek food in London. Telling her that ‘Even the Greeks, they come here from Greece to eat my food.’ Millie had managed a non-committal hum, taken a sip of her drink and tried to smile. But the smile-attempt was by far the worst fake smile Pav had ever seen from her, and that was saying something. It was more of a grimace really.
‘I think I’m going to go home now,’ Millie whispered to his shirt collar. ‘I … I have a headache.’ Pav glared at his mother, who pressed her lips together before biting one of them and looking guilty.
‘No, don’t go yet,’ Mama said, moving forward and into Millie’s space. Millie drew back until Pav’s arm halted her retreat and he felt her stiffen. ‘I have cure for headache, passed from my mother’s mother to my mother, to me. I will get it. Wait, wait.’
‘Mama, I don’t think …’
‘Ah! Here it is.’ Mama withdrew a small pot of tiger balm from her handbag and unscrewed the lid. There was nothing his mama did not think Tiger Balm could treat. ‘I just need to …’
‘No,’ Millie said as Mama’s fingertip came up toward her temple. Then she twisted away from Pav and took a step back. Mama frowned and her hand slowly lowered back to her bag.
*****
Millie tried to get more words out, but the hurt look on Pav’s mama’s face froze her vocal cords. Why couldn’t I just be normal? For once: just this one time, why couldn’t I just fit in? she thought. But there were so many people packed into that small restaurant, and they all talked at her at the same time. They were all so colourful and warm andloud, just like Pav. The difference between them and her was jarring.
‘Talia, let the girl be.’ Millie turned to the soft voice of Leon Martakis, Pav’s father, the only person in the room who did not seem to have taken an instant dislike to her. After hug-gate with Talia Martakis at the start of the evening, Leon hadn’t attempted physical contact other than to touch her arm for a moment as he told her softly that she was welcome. Unlike his family, he seemed to be a quiet, watchful man. ‘Not everyone uses Tiger Balm as a cure-all – in fact you may be the only one.’
Talia sniffed and gave a jerky nod. ‘Of course,’ she said as she shoved the little pot back in her bag.
‘I … I’m sorry … I …’ Millie couldn’t think of a single explanation that wouldn’t make her look even more weird or rude.
Talia waved dismissively and plastered a fake smile on her face. ‘Don’t worry. Eat, eat. I … I have to sort the cake.’ She turned and bustled away. Leon gave an apologetic smile before he followed after her.
‘I’ve got to go,’ Millie said once they were out of earshot.
‘Look, calm down a minute,’ Pav told her, his large hands coming up to steady her upper arms. ‘You just need to relax and –’
‘I’m sorry. I can’t do this. All these people … you have so much family.’
‘You were okay in the bar the other night and then the pub with me,’ he said, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice. ‘Why can’t you think of it like that?’
