Samantha
I stroked my stomach as I rubbed moisturizer on it after getting out of the shower, my mind was stuck in my conversation with Theon on the plane. When Lara told me that he and Harper had broken up, I didn't know exactly what to feel. It was somewhere between relief and guilt, but I couldn't feel happy, not about that. Besides, I was still involved with Mike.
But hearing all those words coming directly from Theon's mouth only served to increase my confusion.
" Girl, are you going to help me or not? " Delphine's voice called to me from outside the bathroom "I brought your dress.”
I put on the hotel robe before leaving the bathroom, finding the old woman fully dressed waiting for me. She was wearing a lilac ensemble and her hair was freshly washed.
" You said you brought my dress? " I questioned, guiding her to a chair.
" Of course, I bought it along with mine, I just didn't expect you to gain so much weight in such a short time.”
I took a deep breath, ignoring the gratuitous little attack that was always present in our conversations, even when we were having a nice moment.
" I'm going to get dressed before I start this," I muttered, "I could be eating, you know.”
She didn't care much; instead of paying attention to me, she was busy drying her hair while I got dressed. Getting ready wasn't that difficult; I did a simple hairdo to match the dress with the orange stones she had bought for me, and went to devote my attention to her.
" Have you and Mr. Vardalos known each other long? " I asked as I carefully brushed her dry hair.
" I met him when I was just a girl of fifteen," she revealed, "he lived in Pilos, the same town I grew up in, in Greece.”
" So it's an old love? " I watched her face through the mirror, noticing a gleam in her eye.
I was about to do her hair when a knock sounded on the door that led to the adjoining room, and I left it there and went to answer it, finding Theon waiting patiently. He had showered, shaved, and changed his clothes, and I could smell the aroma of his aftershave lotion, making me want to lean over and soak up that aroma straight from the source. But instead, I stepped aside so that he could enter the room.
" You are really pretty," he complimented me, drawing a sincere smile from my lips.
I was used to getting compliments, I knew that I was beautiful and that men wanted me. But when Theon complimented me, especially after the pregnancy, those simple words made my day better, as did his smiles.
" Your grandmother thought I wouldn't fit into the dress," I sneered as I walked up to her while Theon closed the door behind him.
He said something in Greek to his grandmother, and she answered without much concern as I resumed my work on her hair.
" Don't listen to her," he ordered, sitting down on the edge of the double bed that was present there.
" Do you think I care? " I lied " but she was about to tell me her story with Mr. Vardalos.”
" Really? Where did this engagement come from, γιαγιά? " Theon seemed more interested " I know you knew each other from Pilos, but I never imagined you had a romance.”
" I think it's more than that, she met him when she was fifteen " I smiled at him.
" Yanis was my first love," she didn't mind revealing, "as soon as we met, I knew he would change my life. He had gotten a job building some houses to expand the town, which at the time was just a village. His father had recently passed away, so he supported his mother and sisters.”
I continued to work on her hair while keeping my attention on her words, as it turns out, the story is more interesting than I expected.
" I met him during a festival, his sister was a friend of a friend and introduced us. We spent the night together at a waterfall. I remember climbing up to the second floor, to get in through my bedroom window when I got home in the morning and realized that my parents had called the police to look for me. In the end I went downstairs and pretended to be home the whole time, and lucky for me, they had waited for me in the living room and didn't think to come up to my room to check whether or not I was there.”
I couldn't help but laugh at that situation. I would never have imagined that old woman doing something like that, but seeing the genetics of the Adamos family, I believe that in her youth, Delphine was really beautiful. My gaze went to Theon, who was watching his grandmother with a small smile on his lips.
" So you were a juvenile delinquent, old woman? " I couldn't help but tease her.
" What happened next? Did they believe you were home? " Theon questioned.
" Yes, they ended up apologizing to the police for wasting their time, and Yanis and I kept sneaking around for months, until they found us," she narrated.
" They didn't take it well? " Theon looked at her.
" Far from it, my parents were already settling my marriage to the late Mr. Loukas," she looked away for a moment, "his family was of the same standard as ours, unlike Yanis. He asked me to marry him and I tried in every way to get my parents' blessing, but they made it clear that it was out of the question.”
For a moment I felt sorry for the old lady, it can't have been easy to go through something like this.
" What happened next?”
" We both decided to run away and get married somewhere else, but the police intercepted us before we even left town. My father wanted them to arrest him, and he had the influence to do it," she sighed, "So I made a deal, I would forget all about that story for good, marry the Mr. Loukas as soon as possible, and they would leave Yanis alone.”
Theon and I looked at each other not knowing how to react to the situation. Before we could think of anything to comment on, Delphine returned to the story.
" My mother found out about my pregnancy the week of the wedding. She was furious with me, that I would jeopardize everything they had worked so hard to achieve. In the end she gave me a tea to solve my problem right after the wedding. I thought I was going to die from the pain.
I had finished her hair and stared at her stunned at the revelation. For a second I imagined myself losing my son, especially after the scare of the last week, and I could hardly breathe because of the lump in my throat.
" I'm done," I finally stammered, while Theon seemed to be able to contain his surprise better than I could.
" Yanis eventually married and had children of his own, just like me," she ignored me as she looked at the result in the mirror, "his wife passed away three years ago, and when he heard about Mr. Loukas, he didn't hesitate to come after me.”
" But why run away, γιαγιά? " Theon questioned " We would have had a proper ceremony with everything you deserved.”
" And do you think I would risk losing him again? I've already been stopped once, I won't allow it again," she stood up, fixing her dress in a decisive manner.
" I'm going to the bathroom," I warned, getting out of there as quickly as possible.
I locked myself in and went straight to the sink, letting a few tears escape. That story was too surreal for me. If it all happened when she was fifteen, how long did they wait to be together? Sixty years? More than that?
One day I will feel something similar for someone? My thoughts took me to Theon, but there was a difference there. Delphine and Yanis were forced to separate, while Theon and I could have tried something if things hadn't been so complicated.
" Samantha, is everything all right? " he knocked on the door, startling me.
" Yes, I... " I didn't know what else to say as the knot returned to my throat.
" May I come in? " worry took over his voice.
" Yes," I thought for a moment of denial, but the desire to see him at that moment overcame me, and I went to the door, unlocking it.
He opened it carefully while I dried the corner of my eyes with a piece of toilet paper, trying to disguise my state.
Theon didn't look surprised, quite the opposite, he took the paper from my hand, drying the few remaining tears himself.
" My grandmother has already come downstairs, she said that when you stop being so emotional we could join them," he remarked nonchalantly.
" I'm usually not, but hormones.... " I felt my face heat up.
" No need to explain, I wasn't expecting it either," he offered me a reassuring smile.
I agreed, taking just a few minutes to put on my makeup.
When we arrived at the indicated chapel, the old couple was there, anxiously waiting for their dream to come true.
The ceremony was simple and quick, and we were the only witnesses present, although I filmed it and sent it to Lara. Theon made sure to take everyone out for a celebratory dinner at a nice restaurant, and soon after, we returned to the hotel, where Delphine moved into Yanis' room, leaving me alone with the other.
The two of them spent some time in the casino and were still planning to attend a magic show when I decided to retire. The whole trip had been exhausting and I could no longer stand on that heel. I just wanted to throw myself on my bed and enjoy the comfort of a good night's sleep.