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Chapter 14 – No Takebacks
Ruby
I took extra care with my outfit the next morning. Little good it did. I’d hardly slept, and no amount of makeup could cover the bags under my eyes.
He probably wouldn’t show. It was just an expression. See you tomorrow. People said that. Still, I put on my best jeans and chose one of my weekend t-shirts. I looked down at myself mockingly. A weekend t-shirt as opposed to a weekday t-shirt. My fashion sense was epic.
I tore them off and put my regular jeans and t-shirt back on. I didn’t wipe off the makeup, though. I told myself I didn’t have time.
I packed Jace off to school and headed to Spuds. Yiayia rarely came in anymore, thank God. I couldn’t deal with seeing Vander in front of her until I understood what was happening.
For the first few hours in the morning, Spuds’ doors remained locked while I prepared for the day. With my music pumping, I enjoyed those morning hours. By ten, orders started coming in for lunch, and by eleven I opened the doors. Minty and her girls, a few doors down, were among my best customers.
Minty worked with two crazy women she positively adored. One of them, Junie, was a total crackerjack. Willa was quieter and always smiling. They ordered from here at least twice a week.
Immediately next door to me was a tiny Greek grocery called Shop the Parthenon. The owners, Elisavet and Yanni, were Greek and well into their seventies. They were crazy nice, and just a little bit crazy. She ordered him around all day until he got tired, and then he retreated to his comfy chair in the corner with a Greek coffee and the daily newspaper, while she talked to her friends on the phone.
By quarter to eleven, I couldn’t stand the anticipation any longer and needed to escape for just a few minutes. I slipped out the door and locked it behind me, then scooted over to Shop the Parthenon and ducked inside. The bouzouki music drifted softly from the speakers, barely discernible, and certainly undetectable once Yanni and Elisavet started talking.
“Yanni! Is Ruby! Ela, Ruby mou, sit down.”
“Hi, Thia.”
Elisavet wasn’t really my aunt, but as a Greek woman, once you reached a certain age, you became ‘Thia’ to everybody.
“Yanni! Get Ruby something to drink. Ti theleis, koukla mou? What you want?”
Yanni came over to greet me, his hands empty, a smile on his weathered face. “Hi, Thio. How are you?”
“Good, koukla mou. How are you?”
“I’m good, Thio.”
“What you want, koukla?” Elisavet asked. “Yanni, get the girl something!”
He held his hands out to his sides. “How I’m supposed to know what she want? She tell you, yet?”
“Huh,” she grunted, then turned back to me. “What we can get you?”
“I need my dolmadakia fix, Thia.”
Elisavet turned to order Yanni to go get it, but he was already on his way. Elisavet grasped my hand and pulled me none too gently towards Yanni’s chair in the back corner. An old brown recliner, with a thick crocheted blanket thrown over the back, enveloped me like a hug. It sat ready for when the cold weather hit, when Elisavet would tuck Yanni under it, and make him a Greek coffee to warm him after being outside. Greek men like to be coddled by their women, and Yanni, as hard as he worked, was no exception.
“Sit, koukla.”
I laughed. “I have to get back to work, Thia. I just wanted to say hi, and grab a snack.”
“Five minutes. You work too hard! You sit for five minutes.”
There was no point saying no. It always surprised me that once she got me sitting, Elisavet ignored me entirely. I smiled inside, delighted with their antics. Yanni meandered back and forth while Elisavet ordered him to do what he had already set about doing. It made me miss my Pappou while simultaneously bringing his memory closer.
The door opened and drew my attention. I sucked in a breath, relieved Elisavet wasn’t close enough to hear it. Vander stepped inside.
Being somewhat hidden in the corner, he didn’t see me. I shrank back in the chair hoping he’d get in and out quickly, hoping he wouldn’t ask Yanni and Elisavet if they knew where I was.
“Hello,” Elisavet greeted him from behind the counter. “What I can get you?”
“Kalimera,” Vander wished her a good morning in Greek, and Elisavet went all atwitter.
