Page 103 of Chosen Road

“Yes, Yiayia. An olive branch represents peace, right?”

“Nee. Yes.” She nodded emphatically, her eyes still on the tattoo.

I lowered my shirt and she looked up at me.

“You’ve been my peace this whole time I’ve been apart from Amber and Alex. Thank you, Yiayia.”

Her mouth went slack with surprise, and she covered her face with her hands for a minute, and then she hit me. “Paliopaido, making Yiayia to like tattoos.”

Her eyes shone with tears, and I chuckled as I pulled her close.

She pulled away. “Kala. We need to be strong and happy now for the boy.”

I made coffee for both of us, and we sat in the family room, confirming what we were going to bring to Vander and Ruby’s as our contribution for dinner. It was difficult for her to give up the running of the kitchen for Sunday dinners. In truth, she cooked for all of us several times a week, so this restriction chafed. Badly. To make it up to her, we were careful to let her lead the planning.

The pounding of Alex’s feet sounded on the stairs. He hit the bottom, took a running start, and slid across the wood floors.

“Guess what, Yiayia?” he yelled, his face lit with happiness.

“What, agori mou?” Yiayia feigned ignorance. She believed herself to be an excellent actress.Greeks invented theatre, you know.

I hid my smile by taking a sip of my coffee.

“Mom’s wearing Dad’s t-shirt and she slept in his bed last night.”

I choked and spat my coffee across the coffee table as Yiayia cackled.

She turned an appraising eye on me and winked. “Bravo, agori mou.”

Chapter 33: Music to My Soul

Gus

“How many tattoos does your dad have, Jace?”

The clatter of cutlery and passing of dishes could not even begin to drown out Alex’s big voice. Why, oh why, must he wait until we’re at the dinner table to question everything?

Jace cast his gaze upwards as he thought about it. “Three: my birthdate, my brother’s birthdate, and my mom’s name.”

“You know you started this, right?” Vander accused Ruby, pointing at the boys with his fork.

“You’re the one with the tattoos,” she quipped, laughing.

“You told me to tattoo your name over my heart, so I did!”

“Is no good to mark your bodies, agoria,” Yiayia said, then leaned over and patted my cheek with a soft smile. “Agoraki mou.”

I chuffed out a laugh at the look of incredulity on Vander’s face.

“My dad has thirteen. Thirteen tattoos,” Alex informed the whole table, nodding to underline his statement.

“Thirteen?” Yiayia squeaked and moved to pinch my cheek. Like the boys, I’d learned to duck.

“I’ve only got three, Yiayia,” Vander teased.

“What are you going to get, Jace?” Alex asked.

Yiayia’s face turned purple. “Yiayia is going to boil you, Alex!”

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