Drama on Euboea Ch. 11

Drama on Euboea

Chapter 11: What is Maria going to say?

Daktylos and Lanike had exhausted themselves sexually so much the previous day that their very first night together turned out rather quiet and tender. After they got up the following morning, the blind young lady surprisingly didn't want to put on her dress but continue wearing Daktylos' clothes:

"After breakfast, I wanna go to the goats again, and I think your pants and shirt are better for that," was her reasoning.

The girl probably just loved the unfamiliar texture or the different smell, but the widower found the masquerade charming anyway and thus didn't object.And we're still alone here, he reminded himself: Lanike's mother was still in Athens, while Maria and Stavros - the neighbors on the other side - wouldn't return from the baptismal ceremony until early afternoon.

When Lanike needed to pee at some point, the widower assisted, holding the bowl. The charming act aroused both of them afresh, however, and they quickly ended up on his bed again before lunch. As Lanike had already taken off her knickers, she simply kneeled on the mattress to allow Daktylos to tickle her juicy flower.

Since they couldn't be sure for how much longer they would be able to enjoy their solitude, they quickly went behind the partition in the kitchen to wash, after which the young lady put the dress back on in which she had come to Daktylos' house the previous morning - when she had still been a virgin.

Stavros and Maria returned around two o'clock; as jam-packed as the mule cart was, they had obviously bought lots of things on their way back, either in Karystos or down in the village. They both were in good spirits but also seemed fatigued:

"Oh, Daktylos: What a trip!" Maria groaned: "We got stuck in the mud twice and had to get off to push the cart out," she waved her hand dismissively, before she carried two bags into her home.

Daktylos helped her husband bring everything inside, before he went down to the village himself to buy a few things, get a shave, and find two baby rabbits for Lanike. The barber was pretty chipper, as always, but instantly asked Daktylos when Lanike's mother would come back.

Apparently, he had seen Maria and Stavros passing on the cart the previous morning and then return earlier this afternoon:

"So, you were alone with Lanike overnight?" he asked, while lathering up the soap.

"Well, yes... someone had to stay with her," the widower tweaked the truth a bit so that it sounded as if he had made a sacrifice.

As nosey as Georgios was by nature, he surely would have loved to ask another question, but he knew that Daktylos wasn't going to divulge any more details. And the latter's face was covered in shaving foam, anyway. No, Daktylos and Lanike's relationship was so piquant that the barber held back.

To not appear impolite and raise any suspicion, Daktylos asked the barber when he was done if he knew whether the young farmer across the street had little bunnies for Lanike. As expected, Georgios wasn't sure but just sent him across the road to Dimitrios.

When the two men leaned over the fence, there were half a dozen kits, but they were still too young to take away from their mother:

"If you promise to take two, I'll keep them for you," Dimitrios assured the widower: "But someone has already asked before you. Let's see how many he wants."

In the end, they agreed to talk again in about a week, and Daktylos bought some lamb sausage and vegetables a few houses down the street, before he returned to his house up the hill. As he was doing the dishes in his kitchen, a messenger boy appeared with a note from his lawyer friend in Karystos, saying that he couldn't meet this Saturday.

Daktylos wasn't too disappointed though, as that gave him more time with his sweetheart.And the following Saturday, as Leonidas had suggested, Lanike's mother might be back, so that there would be issues to talk about. Such as Vera's house, which Lanike's father had sold to have money for the steamship tickets for America.During which deal he had also thrown his blind daughter in the mix, from what it sounded like.

As he was going to have dinner with the neighbors and Lanike, Daktylos refreshed and then put on one of his favorite shirts. Now, he was sitting with Stavros and his quasi fiancée at the neighbors' dinner table, while Maria was still in the kitchen. She had just hollered that it wouldonly be another ten minutes.

Which was no problem, since Stavros wanted to read aloud from the newspaper he had bought this morning anyway:

"Agadir Crisis: The big Fear of a new European War," he began.

Unsure if he should reply, Daktylos dreamily reached for Lanike's fingers, which were resting on her left thigh under the table. Rubbing the back of her elegant hand, Daktylos wondered if he would have done the same if it had been resting on the table.

Playing with her fingers, he recalled that Lanike was wearing his late wife's wedding ring earlier, but she wanted to take it off before going to Maria's house, which was tactful of her. The ring was now on the nightstand in Daktylos' bedroom;if she comes with me later, she'll probably want to put it back on.

As happy as Lanike was after her first night with a man, a subtle smile had been playing around the corners of her mouth, but now she was concerned that there might be a war, which may affect the peaceful life here, in her small village on Euboea, close to the coast:

"Is the war going to come here, too?"

"Oh, Lanike, we don't know. But we're far away from Morocco. So probably not. Don't worry about it," Stavros tried to comfort her, seeming eager to read some more from theEmbros, which was printed in Athens but had to be almost a week old by now:

"Well, isn't that already the second time that the French...?!" Daktylos interjected but Stavros had already moved on in the meantime.

Now, he folded the newspaper so that a photo was showing on top, before he passed it to Daktylos across the table. In the background, Maria was still clanking pots, and now Stavros poured more wine, while Daktylos was still holding Lanike's left hand under the table.

She looked serene and grateful, as often as she was beaming in Daktylos' direction. Apart from her eyes rolling a bit uncontrollably in their sockets, she had an endearing, beautiful face.Yes, she's probably looking forward to another night together - unless Maria puts her foot down.

Not to be impolite, Daktylos looked carefully at the photo in the paper but then also read the heading out loud, so that Lanike could follow what was going on at the table:

"Το αμάξι χωρίς άλογα συνέτριψε δύο πεζούς εις τας Αθήνας-A horseless carriage ran over two pedestrians in Athens."

"Have you ever seen such an... auto-mobile, Daktylos?" Stavros was curious, and now Maria brought the large pot with soup.

Before Daktylos would reply, he gave the photo in the newspaper another long look: The vehicle had hit a street pole and was a shambles, but the poor two souls it had hit before weren't in the picture:

"Those motors are dangerous when they drive by themselves. They are heavy... and fast. You can really kill someone with such a thing," Stavros was amused and upset at the same time, shaking his head.

"B-but... if there's no horse or mule in front of it, how does it move?" Lanike was curious, while Maria filled the bowls.

As Stavros was breaking the bread, Daktylos told Lanike that there wasa machine inside:

"Similar to a steam ship," he knew.

"A machine?!" Lanike asked again.

"Lots of moving metal parts. There's some oil... or a similar liquid, which is burned. Well, it kind of explodes, rather. The motor... powers the wheels, and the driver steers those in the front," Daktylos explained, who had read an article about automobiles once in a magazine.

Which Elena had brought back from Chalkida, after visiting her parents, like every summer. Stavros placed the ashtray down on the floor now, next to his chair, and put the newspaper away, while Maria covered Lanike's lap with a large napkin.

The by far most important question of the evening was, of course, whether Maria would allow Lanike to spend the night with the widower again.Or should we abstain tonight, out of courtesy?Daktylos asked himself. Lanike and he had talked about the various options or how they could convince Maria, but they hadn't been able to come up with a clear strategy.

However, before they would address this most delicate question, the conversation at the table revolved around what the neighbors had seen and done on their trip:

"The ceremony was really nice. And the food was good, too," Stavros volunteered a few facts.

Daktylos was still astonished that Maria had cooked this afternoon, after their exhausting trip.Yes, she's an excellent cook, he realized again. Lanike was probably spoiled in that regard, although she had devoured his bean stew for lunch as well. But Maria's soup here was clearly better.And the fresh bread they bought in the village this afternoon is also lovely.

"Was the food better than Maria's?" Daktylos asked Stavros, gifting his wife an indirect compliment.

"Well, no... I wouldn't say that. But there were lots of different things. And all the children behaved well," Stavros was genuinely astonished.

"But you got stuck in the mud on the way back?" the widower asked rhetorically, admiring Lanike, until Maria shot him an amused but also ever so slightly reproachful smile.

Or what was that look on her face?At least, she found Daktylos handsome and likeable, as far as he knew, which should make everything easier. For Daktylos, Lanike was now his fiancée, which he had already told her. But he also knew that they couldn't go door-to-door with their taboo-laden relationship.

"So, Lanike slept at your house?" Maria now asked the widower, also rhetorically, beginning the negotiations.

"Well, she can't really be by herself. If she needs to get up at night... and it was pouring pretty much the whole time," Daktylos almost apologized.

Maria looked him over again, which Lanike couldn't see, of course, but now she suddenly offered to sleep here, at Maria's house:

"It was really nice over at Daktylos' but..."

Naturally, this came as a surprise, and no one replied immediately. At least, the core of the issue had finally been brought up. Daktylos was still unsure if Lanike's remark was clever or detrimental to their endearing plan, but now Stavros spoke up again:

"Well, if you slept together at Daktylos' house yesterday, you can do so again tonight."

Oh, had Stavros phrased that ambiguously on purpose?Before anyone could reply, however, Stavros raised his glass to toast toVera's safe return and that everything will turn out alright. Maria was panting audibly and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, as she often did.

Perhaps to let the delicate issue simmer a bit, Maria asked the youngest if she wanted a small sip of wine, too. Pouring it, Maria sighed, seeming more concerned than cross. She surely was thinking about how the issue could be solved amiably and in no way looking for a fight. It seemed highly unlikely that Maria would veto the plan.

If that were the case, she would have said something long ago. And not invited Daktylos to her house to read the fables to Lanike or have dinner together. Or send Lanike over to play with the goats. Now though, Maria may have felt cornered, since her husband had already sided with the lovebirds; perhaps, as he was slightly inebriated?

"Well," Maria continued: "I don't want people to talk. Everyone knows about the... situation... that Lanike is alone here, without her parents. And you're a widower, Daktylos... they're probably already gossiping at the well... or church."

Yes, that was likely. Daktylos wondered whether he should mention what the barber had said earlier but decided not to.

"I don't want to make such decisions over Lanike's head, Maria. She's grown up, into... well, a young woman," Daktylos argued gently, before he toasted Stavros, since he knew the older neighbor was on their side.

"Well, up here, nobody will know if Lanike goes to Daktylos' house with him in the evening. And stays there overnight. Apart from Konstantinos', there are no other houses nearby. And you wouldn't have to get up at night," Stavros reminded his wife, as he was reaching for the ashtray again.

Stavros never eats much but always quickly,Daktylos noticed again.

"What did you do all day yesterday? I've already seen the embroidery..." Maria began again by introducing a new, yet related topic; perhaps to buy herself some more time to think.

And so, the blind girl reported that she hadcooked and eatenwith Daktylos:

"We also talked. About lots of things. Even logic and letters. And he told me about a blind woman in America who went to university. She's blind and... and..."

"Deaf," her lover helped out.

"Yes, deaf... that woman always had another lady with her, like a teacher. She wrote letters into the blind woman's hand, so she could learn..."

Maria certainly liked listening to Lanike, but she was tired from their trip. Yawning, she only nodded - but then cast an eye at her husband who was filling his glass once more, before he lit another cigarette.Which was at least his third. Although the dilemma wasn't solved yet, Daktylos liked that he was collecting Brownie points:Yes, we didn't just sleep together but I also helped Lanike, and we had interesting conversations.

And neither Lanike nor he had lied to Maria yet; obviously, there were a few things they needed to hide. There was no way to talk about the sensual part of their relationship.But no need, either. Daktylos was still not sure, though, whether Maria had any idea that Lanike and he had already consummated their marriage, so to speak:

"I don't know what Vera would say... but I guess we can imagine that," Maria was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Mama isn't here," Lanike reminded Maria defiantly: "And Daktylos has already washed me many times. Like he did with Elena, when she was sick..." Lanike rushed forward again.

Now, Maria must have really felt cornered. She sighed again, looking abashed; perhaps she was envisioning Daktylos washing the naked young woman. Or her peeing in his presence.

The wisps of smoke were curling upward in a cozy way, and - despite all the tension - the atmosphere in the room wasn't actually unpleasant. Daktylos didn't feel as though he had been caught or needed to justify himself. Yes, the age difference was enormous, but he was still virile - and Lanike had grown into a woman:

"Daktylos, you are so much older...tsk-tsk. It doesn't feel..." Maria began again, stating the obvious.

She probably wanted to addright, but her husband had raised his hand and interrupted her:

"Maria, if Lanike is going to sleep here tonight, we'll have the same discussion again tomorrow," he chuckled a tad mischievously: "And the day with Daktylos obviously did her good. You said so yourself earlier," Stavros reminded his wife.

"Yeah, I know," Maria was shaking her head again in disbelief, clicking her tongue once more.

Which she hardly ever did. Daktylos' accountant-brain had even prepared a table that listed all the pros and cons of his liaison to young Lanike, but he didn't feel like listing all the good things he could do for her, as that would have meant implicitly praising himself.

To alleviate some of the tension, postpone a decision, and distract everyone, Stavros now opened the newspaper again:

"Oh, look: Someone stole the Mona Lisa. Well, you may have heard that already, but they still haven't gotten her back, it says here..."

"They stole the... Lisa?" Lanike asked, of course.

"TheMona Lisa, darling. It's a painting of a beautiful woman by Leonardo da Vinci."

"Was she his wife?" Lanike wanted to know, again being unintentionally funny.

"She wasn't," Daktylos was pretty sure: "I don't think they were married."

"Η Τζοκόντα εξηφανίσθη από το Λούβρον - Διεθνής καταδίωξις-TheGiocondadisappeared from the Louvre - International Manhunt," Stavros murmured, before he passed the paper across the table again and offered Daktylos one of his new cigarettes, which he had almost certainly bought earlier in Karystos.

From the corner of his eye, Daktylos saw that Maria was yawning again, although she had covered her mouth with one hand. But then, he also realized that she was suppressing laughter, which Lanike wasn't supposed to notice. So, Daktylos passed his cigarette from his right hand to the other to be able to touch Lanike's forearm, which was now resting on the table.

The neighbors could see that, of course, but that didn't bother him. The question whether his Lanike would sleep with him at his house was far from settled, but Maria must have realized by now just how strong the bond between Lanike and Daktylos was.

Since Maria certainly didn't want her husband to keep drinking and smoking, she stood up rather abruptly and began clearing the table. She seemed ever so slightly gruff and nervous as she did so, avoiding eye contact with the two men:

"Lanike, you can always sleep here. But if you like it when Daktylos... helps you... oh, dear... I just don't know..." she exclaimed, sounding slightly desperate, before she turned away.

Lanike surely heard the quiet sobbing as well, and now Daktylos watched Maria walk past her husband toward the kitchen, carrying a stack of plates with the spoons on top.

"B-but M-Maria! I d-don't w-want you t-to b-be un-happy either," Lanike called after her.

Daktylos took Lanike's hand and was impressed how fervently her young bosom was heaving. He raised his glass for one final time and finished it, before he nodded at Stavros:

"As strange as it sounds, but you're right: If Lanike sleeps here tonight, we'll have the same discussion again tomorrow."

Now, Daktylos felt guilty. Lanike probably did too; she was lost in thought but stood up immediately when Daktylos rose. Maria had returned in the meantime, and the widower could see that she had wiped away her tears in the kitchen.

"My whole life..." Maria sniveled again, perhaps meaning that she had watched Lanike grow up.

Yes, and now the blind young woman was standing here at the table with the widower from next door, holding his hand.Tightly. To walk with him over to his house. And spend the night with him there.

"I don't want to sleep alone," Lanike affirmed: "And Daktylos loves me; I know that. It's just the way it should be, Maria."

When the older woman gave a barely perceptible nod, Daktylos took it as a sign to set off without another word. That way, Maria didn't have to give her explicit consent; actions spoke louder than words anyway. He bid farewell to Stavros by raising his free hand in a wave, before Maria murmured a quiet, resignedWell, thenand added:

"But please be extra careful. That no one sees you. You know how people are."

As the two of them strolled over to Daktylos' house, the mood was a bit awkward, but that was to be expected. Tonight was probably the most momentous evening the two of them had ever experienced - though they still had another, surely similar, discussion with Lanike's mother ahead of them.

For a moment, Daktylos wished Vera would stay away for another whole month - or better yet, two - maybe until Lanike was pregnant, but of course he didn't say anything, because Lanike was surely missing her mother. Inside the house, standing next to the kitchen table, they kissed - but so tentatively, as if it were their very first time.