Limassol, Cyprus
Present day
‘Dad, I don’t trust him.’
Katerina put her glass down on the table with a bang that caused some of the liquid to spill on the marble tabletop and stain it like blood. She looked breathtakingly furious.
She was sitting with her father, Andros, on the veranda of her parents’ house near the Limassol Nautical Club, one of the very few old houses left next to the sea that had not been replaced by apartment complexes or hotels.
It was the twilight time, just after dusk and the view of the Bay of Limassol was breathtaking. On the Western end was the leg of Cyprus with the monastery of St. Nicholas and the RAF base at Akrotiri and the Limassol salt marshes, further up the glorious and endless sandy beach of Ladies Mile and the new port and closer to the city the lights of the old port and the Molos reclaimed area, now a recreational space and favourite place for Limassolians to stroll and exercise.
On the Eastern end twinkled the lights of the tourist area. The dark spot in between was the little eucalyptus forest called Dasoudi where the erosion by the sea over the years was visible. And then behind her she could see the lights of the city climbing up the surrounding hills.
Limassol had expanded a lot in only twenty years. She still remembered a much smaller city in the eighties with the Churchill Hotel, now the Crowne Plaza, the city’s Eastern boundary and the Amathus Hotel and the ancient site of the city of Amathus being quite a lengthy journey, almost as if going to another town. And there were the lights of the ships dotting the bay. The view never ceased to move her every time. It was as if she saw it for the first time, every time.
Her mother, Anna, was busy in the kitchen preparing the evening meal. Even though they had help, Anna insisted that she cook as many meals for her family as she could, even against her husband Andros’ reprimands. She knew Andros was tired of telling her to sit and relax. She was not getting any younger, but Anna was playing deaf.
One minute, she would acquiesce to her husband’s requests, fidgeting all the time from restlessness, but the next minute, having grown tired and impatient, would get up and those hands would get busy on this and that, like a bee with her wings flapping at a rate of ten times a second, with a speed that you could almost lose track of her, as if watching a Formula One race with Anna being the car whizzing past, her hands as if they had a life of their own, as if they were under a spell.
Andros turned to his daughter.
‘Katerina, I agree with you, but he sounded sincere on the phone. He probably means it this time. Andrew Le Charos is a difficult and ruthless man, but he is family, after all. He has requested this meeting and I think you should be the one to go. I think we should give him a chance.’
‘After all he’s done to this family and to our business, trying to sabotage us and for some reason Elli as well at every turn?’
‘Katerina, remember that that is business. It is a game and Andrew plays it well. So does Elli. In business she can be as ruthless as Andrew. We were close once. He was very different back then. Someone does not change that much. The Andrew I knew or at least a big part of him must still be there, I’m sure.’
Katerina was like a dog with a bone. She would not let go. She hammered her point in, attempting to reason with her father whom he thought of being too soft and understanding in this particular instance. Perhaps getting older made us see bad things in a softer light. Could it be selective amnesia, she wondered, but could not utter her opinion to her father in this way. She chose a more tactful approach and spoke in a half-conciliatory tone to get her arguments across.
‘Maybe the row with his father and his self-exile in Australia changed him and caused an irrevocable breakdown with the family that cannot be mended. Aren’t you at least suspicious of his motives? It’s very sudden after all these years, is it not?’
‘I will admit that the thought had crossed my mind. Call me a stupid old man, but I’ve wanted this rapprochement for a very long time. People do have a sudden change of heart brought about by a guilty conscience or loneliness. There may also be business opportunities to come out of this.’
‘So it’s always money isn’t it?’
‘Katerina, there is nothing wrong with that. We would not be where we are now, if it weren’t for our ancestors taking advantage of opportunities and I have followed that tradition throughout my life. I think Andrew deserves our benefit of the doubt.’
Katerina could not hide the outrage that had risen like bile in her throat and sought release through her vocal chords lest it choked her.
‘Deserves? He has done nothing to deserve anything or earn any drop of pity. If you ask me, Andrew does not give a damn about this family. Why now, after all these years he decides to make contact? I don’t buy it. He’s up to something. He just cannot accept the fact that, first, not only did our family not collapse after he left, but it thrived beyond even his and our wildest expectations. I think for all his money and his power he feels jealous and resentful of us. And second, he simply cannot accept that Elli Symitzis, and especially a woman, is a lot richer and much more powerful than he is, and, on top of that, one of the most powerful business figures in the world and de facto leader of the Greek and Cypriot business communities around the world; and that she’s also the head of the Order of Vlachernae.’
Andros almost choked. Katerina had inadvertently hit the nail on the head; and she didn’t even know the truth about Andrew and Elli. ‘How do you know this?’
‘I have my sources.’
‘What sources?’
‘Dad, that’s my business. Oh, come on, you know how people like to gossip.’ She paused and her demeanour changed from antagonistic to conciliatory. There was no point fighting her father. She knew she wouldn’t change his mind about this, so she might as well help him and resolve this. And, besides, she could show Andrew up for what he really was and expose his deviousness. The thought made her feel slightly better, but not for long. Suddenly she was gripped by anger that Andrew was playing with her father’s feelings. She vowed that he would pay. But she would not admit this to her father now. ‘Anyway, you are right. We have nothing to lose and maybe everything to gain.’
‘Are you mocking me?’
‘Dad, I wouldn’t dare.’ She smiled her mischievous smile and winked at her father. ‘I will go.’
‘I’ve booked you on the morning Emirates flight via Dubai.’
She looked at him surprised.
‘I had no doubt you would go despite your protestations. You will never change. Sense always prevails with you in the end.’
‘Oh, dad, you know me better than I know myself.’ She bowed her head in grudging respect. Her humour had lost none of its caustic sting and effect.