The Summer House in Santorini. Samantha Parks
it just fine, didn’t you?”
“No thanks to you,” she said, but she smiled despite herself. “I’m Anna,” she said, sticking out her hand.
“I know, I picked you up from the airport,” he said, shaking his head.
Anna retracted her hand. “I remember, but I was giving you a chance to introduce yourself properly.”
“Ah, okay,” he said, wiping his hand on his pants before extending it. Based on their state, Anna wasn’t sure it would do any good. “Nikolas Doukas.”
Anna swapped her burger to her left hand and shook Nikolas’s hand with her right. She felt the same tension as she had at the airport, but she managed to shake hands fairly naturally this time. “Nice to meet you, Nikolas,” she replied, trying her best to emulate the accent in which he pronounced his name.
He chuckled in response.
“What?”
“For someone who’s half-Greek, your accent is terrible,” he said.
“Well, what am I supposed to do about that?”
“You can call me Nikos. Everybody else does.”
“Nikos,” she said, much more naturally. “How’s that?”
“Much better.” He was still holding her hand, and he shook it again. “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t help you with your bags. Here in Greece, our women can carry their own luggage.”
“Yeah, because Greece is so famous for its progressive feminism,” Anna said, rolling her eyes.
“Yeah, well, we’re making up for lost time,” Nikos said, tilting his head. “You’re here about the summer house, right?”
“Yeah, just to get it signed over and maybe on the market.”
Nikos chuckled. “On the market? In a week? You’ll certainly have your work cut out for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see,” Nikos said with a dismissive wave. “Tomorrow is my day off. I’ll come by and help you out.”
Anna nodded. “I don’t know how much help I’ll need, but sure. You can make up for today.”
Nikos laughed and nodded. “I have to get back to work in a moment, but help yourself to some more food. Kostas brought more than enough with him.” Then he touched her lightly on the shoulder and left.
Alone now, she looked around her, seeing people’s eyes flicker over to her and then away again. She leaned against the wall eating her burger, but no one came to speak to her. In fact, people actively avoided her as they moved around the room, giving her a wide berth.
A woman came through the door, a Serious Business Woman with a white blouse, stilettos and a power-bob haircut. She looked around the room, greeting some of the guys, then spotted Anna.
“Hello,” she said, walking up with her arm outstretched. Anna set her burger down to shake her hand. “I’m Xenia.”
“Anna Linton.”
“Nice to meet you, Anna. What are you doing in my staff room?”
Anna looked around. “I’m here with my grandfather,” she said, “Christos Xenakis. Nikos brought me here.”
“Oh, you’re Giorgos’s daughter!” she said, smiling. “I heard you were coming. Welcome to Santorini, and to Kamari Sands Resort.”
“Thanks, it’s my first time here,” she said. “Are you the manager here?”
“I own it, actually. Family business. Just bringing it into the twenty-first century, which is why these guys are here.” She gestured to the workmen all around the room.
“Nice,” Anna said. “Very impressive.”
“So, what brings you to the island for the first time?”
“Well…” Anna said, rubbing her hands together, “how much do you know about my parents?”
“Not much,” Xenia said, shaking her head. “I mean, I knew your dad, but only casually.”
“Well, my parents met here while my mom was traveling, then she got pregnant and they moved back to Connecticut, where my mom is from. My mom had my sister and then me, and Giorgos had a string of affairs, so my mom kicked him out and he lost his green card. When he died a few months ago, he left me and my sister his house, apparently. So I’m here to sell it.”
Xenia nodded and inhaled sharply. Anna had definitely given too much information, but she wasn’t sure when she’d have another opportunity to talk to someone from Santorini who wasn’t already on Giorgos’s side.
“Question for you,” Anna said, changing the subject. “Does everyone speak such good English? Nikos does too, but not my grandfather.”
Xenia shrugged. “It differs, but Nikos and I both went abroad for college. I went to Dartmouth in New Hampshire, and he went somewhere in the UK, I think.”
Anna nodded, stifling a yawn; she would have to get a nap in at some point.
“You’ll be fine,” Xenia said with a smile. “Besides, your grandmother’s English is excellent. Now don’t hold off on your lunch on my account. I’ll see you later.”
“Thanks, see you later,” Anna said as Xenia left. The guys were starting to filter out, so she grabbed a seat at the table and ate the rest of her burger. There was an order of fries on there, too, so she ate that as well. Afterwards, she sat there for another fifteen minutes or so until her grandfather walked back into the room.
“Anna!” he shouted, just like he had when he first saw her. She would have to get used to that. “You eat?”
Anna nodded. “Yes, yes, I ate,” she replied, getting up and walking over to him. “Now where is your home?” she asked, putting both her arms over her head like a roof when he frowned, clearly not getting it. Finally, his eyes lit up with understanding.
“Home!” he said, just as enthusiastically as he had said her name. “Wait,” he added, holding up both hands, and left the room again.
Already getting used to her grandfather’s disappearing/reappearing acts, Anna decided she would simply wait for him to return again. So, as the room fully emptied of Greek men, leaving behind wrappers and bags and stray fries, Anna sat back down at the table and put her head down.
An undetermined amount of time later, a hand shook Anna awake.
“Who’s there?” she asked, opening her eyes and looking around, feeling a throbbing pain in her neck. How long had she been asleep? As she turned, she saw a woman, maybe in her sixties or seventies, stood behind her with her arms folded across her chest. She wore a navy floral dress with a wide collar and a white apron tied around her plump waist. Her greying hair was secured in a bun with a pencil. She looked like every grandmother from every storybook ever. Which was fitting, since Anna knew from Lizzy’s photos that this woman was her grandmother.
“Hi, Eirini,” Anna said, unsure of how much she would understand. “We go home?”
“Yes, we’ve been ready to go for twenty minutes now,” she said, surprising Anna with her perfect English. “Christos is more patient than I am. If you’re coming with us, please do so now.”
Anna nodded, standing up, grabbing her bags and following Eirini back down the corridor and out the front door. The sun was now low in the sky; Anna must have napped for hours. No wonder her neck hurt. A white pickup truck sat just outside, with Christos in the driver’s seat. Eirini motioned to the back, where tools and building materials crowded the bed.
“You want me to sit back there?” Anna asked, peering over the edge and trying to find an empty spot big enough for her to sit.
“No,