Chapter 9

The airplane roared as it approached the ground. Angela looked outside her window and looked for the first time in years at the airport of Athens. Suddenly memories of her previous visits to Greece flooded her. She had been there many times with her mother sightseeing and visiting museums and archaeological monuments and other times with her college friends going to the islands and spending her days sunbathing and her nights dancing.

It was a beautiful place, blessed from God. The people were kind and inviting and they always loved the fact that she could speak Greek fluently. The sea was warm and the beaches were either sandy and golden or white, full of small round pebbles. The sun was shining and summers in Greece were too hot but she didn't mind.

She had fallen in love with Corfu, an island very close to Italy but she had also appreciated the beauty of the Cyclades with their white houses made of stone. Wherever you turned your eyes you could only see white blue, like the deep sea or the clear sky.

She had been happy in Greece and she would find happiness here again. Maybe she could even build a future for her and her baby. The plane landed and all thoughts were interrupted as she unfastened her seat belt and gathered her belongings.

The process at the airport was short because she didn't have anything to declare and she picked her luggage yearning to face the greek sun again. She passed through the doors and sighed taking a deep breath of air. She would have to make it alone, she would not give up so easily. She was a fighter after all.

The room at her hotel was not big but it was clean and cozy. As soon as she got in she took a long, hot bath and laid naked beneath the soft covers. Too tired to think she fell asleep but in her dreams the absence of someone was tormenting her. She was desperately trying to catch him, to hold him and pull him close but he escaped her embrace until he disappeared leaving her empty with an ache in her stomach and sweat covering her body.

Angela woke up feeling more tired than before. The wicked thought seized her and wouldn't let go. Did James think about her? Did he miss her? Did he even wonder where she was?

After that scene at the hospital Angela had decided that she had to leave. She needed time to heal her wounds, to forget about Nick, to think about the baby and about James but she never expected to miss him so much.

"Come on girl! Get a grip! You stayed with James only for three days, you cannot possibly feel that way", she thought to herself.

The phone rang and it startled her. Who could that be? Who knew she was here?

"Parakalo", she said and the voice at the other end of the line laughed.

"It's nice to see that you haven't forgotten your greek, kid". His accent was so characteristic that she smiled to herself.

"Uncle Mitch!", she exclaimed although they were not related in any way.

"What are you doing here aggele mou?", he asked calling her an angel tenderly.

"I wanted a change". The stupid excuse sounded inadequate even to her own ears. She knew that Mitch would never believe that but she was willing to bet anything that he would never demand any explanations.

"Well it's good that you chose our warm climate for your vacation. Why didn't you call me? I'm glad that Giorgos remembers you and decided to inform me that you are staying at his hotel".

"I should have known! The old bat! He was always nosy. I would call, uncle. Honestly! But I didn't have the time".

"Ok. I'll pretend that I believe that. Come meet me downstairs kid. I will take you out for ouzo and we will catch up".

She agreed instantly to the proposal and got dressed in less than ten minutes. Mitch was her second most favourite person in the world and she called him uncle out of affection since she had first met him. His house was always open for her and her mother and he welcomed their visits.

After all these years he hadn't stopped loving her and that made her feel better. She had lost the only person who cared for her and the thought that there was someone else who loved her numbed her pain. Georgia had disappeared leaving behind a hole in Angela's life that couldn't be replaced by no one else.

They met in the lobby and she hugged him tight while he told her how beautiful she was. Walking the streets of Plaka so close to the Acropolis Angela felt an inner peace for the first time in years. This place was sacred, full of mysteries and distant memories of a glorious past. It had an effect on her every time she was there.

They sat at a tavern, he ordered ouzo for him and a Diet Coke for her and they started talking about everything; her job, his loneliness and most importantly about all the summers they spent together.

"Your mother was an incredible woman. She managed very well on her own, she didn't need that pathetic husband", Mitch said taking a sip of his ouzo.

"You never liked him". It was a statement, not a question.

"What was there to like? He was older than her, he had no money, then Nick was born and he took after him".

"He is the spitting image of his father", Angela admitted.

"He is rotten to the bone. That kid is the reason I never wanted to have any children". He gazed at her seriously, his brows lowering in a scowl. "Is he the reason you are here?"

Angela smiled. Uncle Mitch knew her all her life and there was nothing she could hide from him. "Among other reasons", she replied evasively.

"Angela..." He took both her hands in his own and his voice was filled with emotion, "You don't have to be afraid of that malaka! You and the baby will be safe here".

Angela gave a small cry of surprise. "How the hell did you know?"

"Come on kid", he said simply and grinned at her. "I may be old but I am not a fool. You drink Diet Coke and you eat very carefully. Plus, you are more beautiful than ever".

Angela giggled. The greeks had a very funny way of finding out about things. If a woman was glowing then she had to be pregnant.