We rode the bus from Athens, the island of Evia close enough to the mainland of Greece to be joined by bridge. On the way, my mom and I told Zenetta that we didn't know if we wanted to stay at her sister's house for the whole weekend since there were so many things we wanted to see. First thing in Sula's door, we sat down to lunch. Sula spoke only Greek and regarded us with suspicion as she smoked. "Sula wants to know why you aren't eating?" Zenetta asked. We were eating, but the table was set for 12. Stuffed zucchini, cabbage rolls, fried potatoes, spanakopita, bread rolls, salad, Greek cheese, olives, fried fish, and octopus legs. Sula gestured to the octopus and told a long story to Zenetta. "She was lucky. Because you were coming, the sea gave her this octopus. She hasn't caught one for a long time. This one she beat on a rock 75 times to tenderize. And do you realize she is 73 year old?" We told Sula over and over again, "Nostimo!" But she just shrugged. "Why isn't she eating?" I asked Zenetta. When Zenetta translated, Sula frowned and waved her cigarette over the table. "She's not hungry," said Zenetta.
I had had a healthy sampling of everything on the table and was more than halfway through the giant fried fish that could have been the meal unto itself when I sat back in my chair, stuffed. Sula leaned forward and pointed her cigarette at my fish and told Zenetta, "If she doesn't like it, I can make her something else."
After lunch, the sisters began closing all the curtains in the house, insisting my mom and I both lie down for a nap. We refused. We were in Greece! How could we waste time napping? We wanted to go walking along the Aegean Sea. The sisters thought that was a very bad idea. We said goodbye anyway and tried to convince them we would be okay. Zenetta accompanied us down the street so we wouldn't get lost even though you can see the beach from Sula's front porch.
Sula crossed herself when my mom and I appeared a couple of hours later at her street that dead ends at the beach. We knew the sisters would be worried. It was our first outing alone in Greece since we had arrived, two days before in Athens. "Well, what do you think of Sula's beautiful Agia Anna?" Zenetta asked. "We've decided we need to stay until Monday." Sula kissed her hand, crossed herself, hugged us and sat down on a bench to have a cigarette.
I had had a healthy sampling of everything on the table and was more than halfway through the giant fried fish that could have been the meal unto itself when I sat back in my chair, stuffed. Sula leaned forward and pointed her cigarette at my fish and told Zenetta, "If she doesn't like it, I can make her something else."
After lunch, the sisters began closing all the curtains in the house, insisting my mom and I both lie down for a nap. We refused. We were in Greece! How could we waste time napping? We wanted to go walking along the Aegean Sea. The sisters thought that was a very bad idea. We said goodbye anyway and tried to convince them we would be okay. Zenetta accompanied us down the street so we wouldn't get lost even though you can see the beach from Sula's front porch.
Sula crossed herself when my mom and I appeared a couple of hours later at her street that dead ends at the beach. We knew the sisters would be worried. It was our first outing alone in Greece since we had arrived, two days before in Athens. "Well, what do you think of Sula's beautiful Agia Anna?" Zenetta asked. "We've decided we need to stay until Monday." Sula kissed her hand, crossed herself, hugged us and sat down on a bench to have a cigarette.
 |
| Sula pushing the ouzo with our late evening snack. |
No comments:
Post a Comment