(Lena is 36 in this story. Her kids are 14, 10, and 9. Kostos is 38)
"How can you do this without any warning?"
"I don't want this to be harder than it already is. Please, let me go."
"You'll be seeing a custody suit," Sam threatened.
"I'm willing to send the kids back to you on holidays, but we can't do a weekend cycle from Greece to here."
"Exactly. You are trying to keep our kids away from me."
Lena shot out of bed and grabbed a suitcase, "I wasn't going to do this until tomorrow, but you have gotten me so mad, I can't sleep," she piled her clothes into the suitcase without really folding them. When she had finished with her clothes, she started with blankets and another suitcase, "I just want the ones that my parents gave me as a wedding present. They used to be my Grandmothers," she explained to him, "I'll be shipping them to Greece," she found a refrigerator box in the basement and threw them in. She taped several of the children's board games and puzzles closed before they too flew into the box. Lena then took a deep breath and tiptoed into her daughters' room. She packed both of their clothes into one suitcase. Enough for two weeks until the package arrived in the village. She reorganized the box now that she wasn't as angry. Putting the board games neatly in two layers in this large box. The clothes came next. A third suitcase was begun for Lena's son. All excess clothes went in the box. Toys and stuffed animals were a big worry for Lena. Half stayed, and half went in the box. She fixed each child with a carry on. A carry on included crackers, a notebook, coloring book and crayons, a portable CD player, a stuffed animal and two books. She would buy travel games at the store the next day when she got some necessary items for her carry on.
Lena's adrenaline was still rushing through her veins when she sat down from packing. It was after midnight, and she really needed to talk to someone. Instantly, she thought of Tibby. Tibby lived in Los Angeles directing movies. It would only be just after nine there. She dialed the phone.
"Hello!" Tibby answered the phone.
"Hey Tibby," Lena said quietly.
"Lenny!" Tibby sounded shocked that Lena was calling.
"Not out partying?" Lena joked.
"Don't be ridiculous. Not on a Tuesday!" Tibby joked back, "Whats wrong?" she asked, "Its after midnight."
"Oh, I told him," she said simply, "I packed up and didn't know what else to do. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh," replied Tibby, "Didn't go so well?"
"I don't know! We just didn't have anything in common anymore. I think he was having an affair with his secretary too. I can't prove that though. I couldn't help thinking about..." she trailed off half in dreamland, half so Sam wouldn't hear her.
"Kostos?" Tibby asked.
"Yeah. That is part of the reason I'm going to Greece. I also need to get away."
"I wish you the best of luck my friend," Tibby said sympathetically.
"What?" asked Lena.
"Its a line from my movie. Is it not good?"
"Not out of your mouth," replied Lena with a chuckle.
"Call Carma," Tibby ordered, "I talked to her yesterday, and she hasn't heard from you in two weeks. It will be less expensive there than in Greece. I don't think she'll care that is almost 1 am."
"I'll call Carma," Lena said firmly.
"Okay then. Goodnight."
"Bye."
"Have a safe trip,"
"See you."
Lena hung up and redialed the phone.
"Hullo?" a man yawned into the phone.
"John!" Lena said cheerfully, "Wake Carmen up. I need to talk to her."
"Okay," John said faintly and then Lena heard a grumble then John's voice, "Honey, wake up. Lena is on the phone."
"Fine," Lena heard Carmen grouch, "I'll go down and get it in the kitchen."
"Hello?" Carmen said a few moments later.
"Hey Carma. Tibs told me to call you. I'm sorry its so late, but I needed to talk to you before three tomorrow. I'm moving to Greece."
"Not for him?" asked Carmen, who seemed to wake up at the mention of Greece.
"I'm getting a divorce. Sam and I just aren't working out."
"Not for him?" asked Carmen again with a yawn.
"I've told you about my problems before!" scolded Lena.
Carmen sat in silence, and Lena knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Not completely for him."
"Why Greece then? Huh? Huh? Why not some place closer? You could be closer to me or Tibs, or Bee, but you choose to move halfway around the world. Why are you doing this Lena?"
"My kids deserve to learn about their roots."
"I still don't believe that you don't want to see him."
"Always the voice of reason aren't you?" Lena sighed.
"Only when you're Kostos crazy," there was a pause, "If you're looking for a 'go forth and find your long lost love.' You aren't getting that from me. Try Bee for that. I will say that I wish you luck in your new home. I just hope your family can do what is good for them. Do you really think it is smart bringing your kids to a school where they don't know the first language of most of the student body?"
"They have Greek language classes there. A lot of the kids speak English because it is an international language. I didn't know Greek and I was fine."
"But you didn't go to school there."
"Thats true," Lena said without contesting.
"I'm just saying, it isn't going to be easy for them to adjust. You will get a lot of arguments from them."
"I know that, I do Carma. Am I being selfish?"
"Parents sacrifice tons for their kids. Thats why I only had one. You deserve to do what you want to do."
"Do I?"
"Gosh Len! Make up your mind!"
"Why did you make me re-think this?"
"I'm just stating the obvious."
"Like that is what I needed," Lena scoffed.
"You're the one who called me."
"I wasn't looking for advice Carmen."
"Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
"Fine, you can hang up now. Goodnight."
"Bye," Carmen yawned and hung up the phone.
Lena broke the news to her children the next day, "Kids," she said, "You, and I are going to Greece."
"On vacation?" her son Peter asked.
"No, not on a vacation. We're going to live there."
"What about Daddy?" asked Lena's youngest daughter Melody.
"How could you move me? I start high school next year!" chimed in Lena's oldest daughter Andra.
"Lets just try this out for the summer, and see how you like it there."
"Okay," Andra sulked.
"There are a lot of hot guys there. Both your Aunt Effie and I had summer romances in Greece."
"Eww Mom! We did not need to hear that!"
"and Daddy will not be coming with us," Lena added to Melody.
"Why not?"
"Daddy and Mommy had a fight."
"Is it our fault?" Melody asked.
"Not at all," Lena hugged her, "It isn't anyone's fault."
After a long plane ride, they arrived in Greece. Then, they took a taxi to Oia and their new home. Lena set her suitcase in the room her Grandmother had assigned her the first summer she was in Greece. Peter had Effie's old room, and Andra would share the master bedroom with Melody. Andra didn't like that there was only one bed in the room. Lena promised that they would get new beds, and in the mean time, Melody could sleep in Lena's room.
Lena explored old haunts during an afternoon when her kids were swimming in the olive grove. She walked the streets and looked at all the nice old shops. Nothing but the people walking around had changed. She bumped into someone as she reminisced.
"Excuse me," she said, then looked up to see who it was even though she thought she didn't know anyone in the city, "Holy Shit! Kostos?"
"Yes. What are you doing here?"
"I just moved here. I wasn't getting along with my husband anymore. We were just people living together. We weren't in love with each other anymore."
"Ah, I'm sorry," he replied sympathetically.
"No you aren't," Lena called him on it.
"I'm not, but I do know what you're going through. I ended my marriage the day after my daughter turned 18. We kept it together for her. It was a loveless marriage. There were no other children, I didn't want to bring any other lives into our pain."
"Wow, and I thought I had it bad. My marriage didn't start going south until about three years ago. I do have three children from it though. Andra is my oldest. She is fourteen, Then Peter who is ten and little nine year old Melody is last."
"Those are beautiful names."
"I picked the girls' names. Sam, my husband, picked out the name Peter. What is the name of you kid? I don't even know if it is a boy or a girl."
"Her name is Andrea."
"That is a pretty name," Lena smiled at him. Was she flirting?
"Thank you. I picked it from a name book. She is 19."
Lena felt like kissing Kostos. She didn't know how he felt, so she didn't kiss him, "I should probably go find them. They're having a good time with the extra freedom they get over here."
"I need to go back to work."
Lena nodded solemnly, "You're welcome to come to dinner tonight. It won't be gourmet, but..." she didn't know where she was going with that sentence.
"I would love to," Kostos smiled at her.
"Dinner is at 6:30. I'm living in my grandparents' old house. It was good to see you. See you at dinner," she walked towards the house, "Holy Crap! I have no idea what we're having for dinner," she said out loud to herself. It was a good thing that Kostos didn't hear her.
"Welcome," Lena said as she opened the door.
"It smells good," he handed her a bouquet of flowers.
"Thank you. Let me take your coat. Please sit down in the kitchen. I'm not quite done."
After dinner, they took a walk. Kostos suavely put his pinky finger around Lena's. He waited for Lena to move it, but she didn't. This relieved both of them who where unsure if they had mutual feelings. Slowly, their hands got more entertwined until they were completely holding hands. They walked that way until they arrived at Kostos's house. Kostos opened his door. On the other side were two people making out.
"Andrea!" Kostos yelled in shock. Then he rattled off in Greek.
"Papa!"Andrea cried. Her boyfriend was still holding onto her waist.
"I should go," said Lena meekly as she turned around.
"When will I see you again?" Kostos removed the anger from his voice.
"Just come over sometime tomorrow. I'll be home," Lena didn't want to think. She just wanted to get out of an akward situation.
"Okay," Kostos said rather frantically. Then he began yelling in Greek again.
"How can you do this without any warning?"
"I don't want this to be harder than it already is. Please, let me go."
"You'll be seeing a custody suit," Sam threatened.
"I'm willing to send the kids back to you on holidays, but we can't do a weekend cycle from Greece to here."
"Exactly. You are trying to keep our kids away from me."
Lena shot out of bed and grabbed a suitcase, "I wasn't going to do this until tomorrow, but you have gotten me so mad, I can't sleep," she piled her clothes into the suitcase without really folding them. When she had finished with her clothes, she started with blankets and another suitcase, "I just want the ones that my parents gave me as a wedding present. They used to be my Grandmothers," she explained to him, "I'll be shipping them to Greece," she found a refrigerator box in the basement and threw them in. She taped several of the children's board games and puzzles closed before they too flew into the box. Lena then took a deep breath and tiptoed into her daughters' room. She packed both of their clothes into one suitcase. Enough for two weeks until the package arrived in the village. She reorganized the box now that she wasn't as angry. Putting the board games neatly in two layers in this large box. The clothes came next. A third suitcase was begun for Lena's son. All excess clothes went in the box. Toys and stuffed animals were a big worry for Lena. Half stayed, and half went in the box. She fixed each child with a carry on. A carry on included crackers, a notebook, coloring book and crayons, a portable CD player, a stuffed animal and two books. She would buy travel games at the store the next day when she got some necessary items for her carry on.
Lena's adrenaline was still rushing through her veins when she sat down from packing. It was after midnight, and she really needed to talk to someone. Instantly, she thought of Tibby. Tibby lived in Los Angeles directing movies. It would only be just after nine there. She dialed the phone.
"Hello!" Tibby answered the phone.
"Hey Tibby," Lena said quietly.
"Lenny!" Tibby sounded shocked that Lena was calling.
"Not out partying?" Lena joked.
"Don't be ridiculous. Not on a Tuesday!" Tibby joked back, "Whats wrong?" she asked, "Its after midnight."
"Oh, I told him," she said simply, "I packed up and didn't know what else to do. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh," replied Tibby, "Didn't go so well?"
"I don't know! We just didn't have anything in common anymore. I think he was having an affair with his secretary too. I can't prove that though. I couldn't help thinking about..." she trailed off half in dreamland, half so Sam wouldn't hear her.
"Kostos?" Tibby asked.
"Yeah. That is part of the reason I'm going to Greece. I also need to get away."
"I wish you the best of luck my friend," Tibby said sympathetically.
"What?" asked Lena.
"Its a line from my movie. Is it not good?"
"Not out of your mouth," replied Lena with a chuckle.
"Call Carma," Tibby ordered, "I talked to her yesterday, and she hasn't heard from you in two weeks. It will be less expensive there than in Greece. I don't think she'll care that is almost 1 am."
"I'll call Carma," Lena said firmly.
"Okay then. Goodnight."
"Bye."
"Have a safe trip,"
"See you."
Lena hung up and redialed the phone.
"Hullo?" a man yawned into the phone.
"John!" Lena said cheerfully, "Wake Carmen up. I need to talk to her."
"Okay," John said faintly and then Lena heard a grumble then John's voice, "Honey, wake up. Lena is on the phone."
"Fine," Lena heard Carmen grouch, "I'll go down and get it in the kitchen."
"Hello?" Carmen said a few moments later.
"Hey Carma. Tibs told me to call you. I'm sorry its so late, but I needed to talk to you before three tomorrow. I'm moving to Greece."
"Not for him?" asked Carmen, who seemed to wake up at the mention of Greece.
"I'm getting a divorce. Sam and I just aren't working out."
"Not for him?" asked Carmen again with a yawn.
"I've told you about my problems before!" scolded Lena.
Carmen sat in silence, and Lena knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Not completely for him."
"Why Greece then? Huh? Huh? Why not some place closer? You could be closer to me or Tibs, or Bee, but you choose to move halfway around the world. Why are you doing this Lena?"
"My kids deserve to learn about their roots."
"I still don't believe that you don't want to see him."
"Always the voice of reason aren't you?" Lena sighed.
"Only when you're Kostos crazy," there was a pause, "If you're looking for a 'go forth and find your long lost love.' You aren't getting that from me. Try Bee for that. I will say that I wish you luck in your new home. I just hope your family can do what is good for them. Do you really think it is smart bringing your kids to a school where they don't know the first language of most of the student body?"
"They have Greek language classes there. A lot of the kids speak English because it is an international language. I didn't know Greek and I was fine."
"But you didn't go to school there."
"Thats true," Lena said without contesting.
"I'm just saying, it isn't going to be easy for them to adjust. You will get a lot of arguments from them."
"I know that, I do Carma. Am I being selfish?"
"Parents sacrifice tons for their kids. Thats why I only had one. You deserve to do what you want to do."
"Do I?"
"Gosh Len! Make up your mind!"
"Why did you make me re-think this?"
"I'm just stating the obvious."
"Like that is what I needed," Lena scoffed.
"You're the one who called me."
"I wasn't looking for advice Carmen."
"Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
"Fine, you can hang up now. Goodnight."
"Bye," Carmen yawned and hung up the phone.
Lena broke the news to her children the next day, "Kids," she said, "You, and I are going to Greece."
"On vacation?" her son Peter asked.
"No, not on a vacation. We're going to live there."
"What about Daddy?" asked Lena's youngest daughter Melody.
"How could you move me? I start high school next year!" chimed in Lena's oldest daughter Andra.
"Lets just try this out for the summer, and see how you like it there."
"Okay," Andra sulked.
"There are a lot of hot guys there. Both your Aunt Effie and I had summer romances in Greece."
"Eww Mom! We did not need to hear that!"
"and Daddy will not be coming with us," Lena added to Melody.
"Why not?"
"Daddy and Mommy had a fight."
"Is it our fault?" Melody asked.
"Not at all," Lena hugged her, "It isn't anyone's fault."
After a long plane ride, they arrived in Greece. Then, they took a taxi to Oia and their new home. Lena set her suitcase in the room her Grandmother had assigned her the first summer she was in Greece. Peter had Effie's old room, and Andra would share the master bedroom with Melody. Andra didn't like that there was only one bed in the room. Lena promised that they would get new beds, and in the mean time, Melody could sleep in Lena's room.
Lena explored old haunts during an afternoon when her kids were swimming in the olive grove. She walked the streets and looked at all the nice old shops. Nothing but the people walking around had changed. She bumped into someone as she reminisced.
"Excuse me," she said, then looked up to see who it was even though she thought she didn't know anyone in the city, "Holy Shit! Kostos?"
"Yes. What are you doing here?"
"I just moved here. I wasn't getting along with my husband anymore. We were just people living together. We weren't in love with each other anymore."
"Ah, I'm sorry," he replied sympathetically.
"No you aren't," Lena called him on it.
"I'm not, but I do know what you're going through. I ended my marriage the day after my daughter turned 18. We kept it together for her. It was a loveless marriage. There were no other children, I didn't want to bring any other lives into our pain."
"Wow, and I thought I had it bad. My marriage didn't start going south until about three years ago. I do have three children from it though. Andra is my oldest. She is fourteen, Then Peter who is ten and little nine year old Melody is last."
"Those are beautiful names."
"I picked the girls' names. Sam, my husband, picked out the name Peter. What is the name of you kid? I don't even know if it is a boy or a girl."
"Her name is Andrea."
"That is a pretty name," Lena smiled at him. Was she flirting?
"Thank you. I picked it from a name book. She is 19."
Lena felt like kissing Kostos. She didn't know how he felt, so she didn't kiss him, "I should probably go find them. They're having a good time with the extra freedom they get over here."
"I need to go back to work."
Lena nodded solemnly, "You're welcome to come to dinner tonight. It won't be gourmet, but..." she didn't know where she was going with that sentence.
"I would love to," Kostos smiled at her.
"Dinner is at 6:30. I'm living in my grandparents' old house. It was good to see you. See you at dinner," she walked towards the house, "Holy Crap! I have no idea what we're having for dinner," she said out loud to herself. It was a good thing that Kostos didn't hear her.
"Welcome," Lena said as she opened the door.
"It smells good," he handed her a bouquet of flowers.
"Thank you. Let me take your coat. Please sit down in the kitchen. I'm not quite done."
After dinner, they took a walk. Kostos suavely put his pinky finger around Lena's. He waited for Lena to move it, but she didn't. This relieved both of them who where unsure if they had mutual feelings. Slowly, their hands got more entertwined until they were completely holding hands. They walked that way until they arrived at Kostos's house. Kostos opened his door. On the other side were two people making out.
"Andrea!" Kostos yelled in shock. Then he rattled off in Greek.
"Papa!"Andrea cried. Her boyfriend was still holding onto her waist.
"I should go," said Lena meekly as she turned around.
"When will I see you again?" Kostos removed the anger from his voice.
"Just come over sometime tomorrow. I'll be home," Lena didn't want to think. She just wanted to get out of an akward situation.
"Okay," Kostos said rather frantically. Then he began yelling in Greek again.