In the Shade of the Monkey Puzzle Tree (20 page)

‘
Crazy dog,’ says Theo, only to be met with Bob’s two front paws on his chest again before he leaps away to continue his running about. But he is soon tired and lies on his back for Theo to rub his belly, rolling back and forth in ecstasy, before jumping up and running the length of the apartment again.

Theo is glad to play with the dog, block out thoughts of the Gypsies, Phaedon, Dimitri, or even Tasia. When they get hungry, they share what
’s left of the bread and feta and eventually, they both fall asleep on Theo’s bed.

Age 41 Years, 1 Month, 25 Days

His arm dangles, fingers touching the cool marble, head hanging at an awkward angle. The sun reaches his face, turning the inside of his eyelids red. His back feels hot. Reluctantly, opening his eyes just enough to make out shapes, he tries to roll over. An immovable warm object pushes back, inhibiting him.

‘
Oi, you big …’ He tries to push the dog with both hands, give himself some room on the mattress. The dog wakes and tries to lick his face, his nails tearing at Theo’s bare skin. Theo shuffles away and slips from the edge, landing heavily on the floor.

The dog jumps off and bounces on his front feet, excitedly.

Theo staggers to the kitchen, where his coffee cup is washed and waiting.

Half an hour later, he looks around the rooms to see what, if anything, he needs to take with him. The village seems a long way away although in truth, it is only a couple of hours by bus.

There’s nothing he needs except the money. Bob thinks it’s a great game and enthusiastically helps Theo get the notes out from under the bottom step, making off with a handful. Theo finds them later, torn and slightly soggy, scattered in the bathroom.

The sun is out again, no sign of clouds. Theo whistles as he descends the stairs.

‘Mr Theo!’ Margarita’s mama is outside sweeping her porch. ‘You have my dog!’

‘
Actually, he seems to be his own master …’ Theo begins.

‘
He is my dog!’ the woman spits with emphasis.

‘
Tell him that.’ Theo marches down to the gate and turns towards the remains of next door.

‘
Here,’ Theo says handing a paper bag to Riya before striding off towards the coastal road, where the bus dropped him nearly eight months previously.

The bus door opens and Theo steps inside.

‘He with you?’ the bus driver asks. Theo turns round and Bob is sitting by the bus, head cocked on one side, whimpering slightly.

‘
He’s …’ But the words do not have time to come out before Bob bounds up the steps, finds an empty seat, and curls up underneath it.

‘
Extra for the dog, my friend,’ the bus driver says.

Athens streams by, an endless parade of tall, grubby apartment blocks standing proud and erect, crowding out the older, more ornate houses that hang on here and there. Traffic lights are, for the main, overruled by waving policemen. Churches sit every few miles, incongruously ornate. The passengers on the bus cross themselves three times as they pass, a Papas on the seat behind Theo muttering something and kissing the cross around his neck.

The metropolis seems to go on forever. Theo lets his eyes close. Bob rests his head on one of Theo
’s feet and sighs.

When he wakes, the sea is on his left, sparkling blue, almost too bright to look at. Out in deep waters, long tankers are anchored, their huge mass diminished by the expanse of the sea. Close to shore, a man rows a small boat.

Theo looks in the direction they are going. An island on the horizon, hovering without an anchor. He lets his eyes close again.

A hiss as the doors open and a change in the engine
’s low rumble jolt him awake. ‘Corinth,’ someone shouts. The dog lifts his head. ‘Five minutes.’

The women get out chattering, excited. Theo climbs down the dusty steps to stretch; Bob finds a tree. Marinos, Aikaterina and their son may be at home by now. Aunts and uncles fussing over the boy, noting how much he has grown. Aikaterina by her mother
’s side. Soon that will be him too, back amongst his people.

He ruffles the dog
’s spiral coat for comfort. How will his mama and baba react? He left with no warning, and he stole. He has a lot to explain. Or does he? They knew for years that he felt suppressed by his baba, yet neither of them listened or took him seriously. They paid him nothing, so he had no independence. No, on reflection he has nothing to explain, and the money will all be repaid. He will not be intimidated or put down.

He just needs to see they are alright and that life in the village is continuing as usual. Athens has become his reality. He needs to return to his roots to see how far he has gone, how big the changes are, to see the contrast.

The bus driver grinds out his cigarette, and this seems to be the cue for everyone to get back on board. Bob bounds in happily, drawing shrieks from a pair of old women, one of whom says something about putting him on a pole and mopping her floors with him, and they cackle to each other. He attracts some loving caresses from a blond couple with rucksacks.

Theo smiles at the dog, who bangs his stumpy tail on the floor. If the dog is going to stay, Theo will to have to learn about grooming him. He will ask Vangelis up towards the monastery. He has many dogs, breeds them, and trains guard dogs. He is sure to know.

He can imagine Stathis’ smile already, and Mitsos will give him a warm welcome, too. Cosmo will complain that he did not let him in on the secret, and Theo will no doubt spend too much time trying to convince him that it was spontaneous. Vasso will give a sideways smile before launching into one of her monologues, laughing away to herself. His mama will cry.

The old men who make the
kafeneio
their home will no doubt be hoping for him to return behind the counter so they can have a better cup of coffee. He might do it, for an hour or two, just for fun.

The bus rocks and rattles as they make slow progress, the road narrower and more full of potholes now they are away from the capital. They climb up the mountains, zig-zagging their way up, the cliff face on one side and a sheer drop on the other. Theo watches as they come over the top and begin the descent to the plain below. The water is too far to see yet; they have miles and miles of orange groves to drive through before he is anywhere near home.

Bob jumps up and puts his front legs on the seat as if he can sense their progress, too.

‘
No,’ Theo says and pushes him down. He folds his arms and drifts off.

‘
Saros,’ the driver shouts. Theo wakes suddenly, blinking sleep away. Bob is curled up on the seat next to him.

‘
Get down,’ he commands as he stands, rubbing his eyes and patting at his hair. The door of the bus won’t open.

‘
Give it a kick at the bottom,’ the driver suggests.

The sea air hits him, so fresh and clean. He breathes deeply and can feel all sorts of knots and tensions releasing. The dog cowers by his ankles, the space by the harbour unfamiliar and so open after Athens.

Theo grins. It is good to be back. He is no longer the Theo who left; instead, he is a taller, stronger, wiser version. He chuckles at his thoughts. He certainly has been through all sorts. The men in the
kafeneio
will be mesmerised with the tale about the man in his dirty white dressing gown. The questions they will ask. They will be amused by the old woman and her rent scam. Theo laughs out loud, and Bob wags his tail.

‘
Come on, little dog. We’d best start. It’s a long walk if we don’t get a lift, so better to have finished before the sun is too high.’ Bob stays by his heels, stopping to sniff now and again, then running to catch up, tongue lolling.

He would like to tell them about Jimmy, but that sits uneasily. He runs a hand across his stomach, over the money belt.

‘
It’s you is it? So you come home, eh? Shame you didn’t tell me you were even leaving.’ Cosmo pulls alongside on his moped, his post sack across his back. ‘I suppose you want a lift?’

‘
Hey, friend. How are you?’ Theo slaps him on his shoulder.

‘
Alright, apart from my friend leaving without a word. Get on.’

Theo slings the post bag over his shoulder and straddles behind Cosmo.
‘Not too fast, eh? The dog won’t keep up.’

‘
He’s yours?’ Cosmo laughs. ‘You could wash a floor with him.’

The moped makes a hesitant start and Bob runs after them, his dreadlocks swinging in mad arches around him, his tongue hanging out to one side. Theo could swear he is smiling.

‘Slow down. We are losing him.’

‘
I’m on post office business. I have letters to deliver; I cannot wait for a dog.’

‘
Stop then, friend. I will get off.’

Cosmo slows down grudgingly, the dog catches up and for the rest of the journey, Theo tries to explain that his sudden departure was not personal to Cosmo and that he is glad to see him. Cosmo says he could have sent a postcard, and sulks for the rest of the journey. This thought never crossed Theo
’s mind. But by the time they reach the village, Cosmo’s mood has improved and they agree to meet for a coffee later.

Theo walks up the main street towards the square, past neatly tended gardens on either side of the wide lane. Nothing has changed. The low stone houses look a little less white than he remembers, the blue shutters not as freshly painted. But the small things are reassuringly the same. The house on the right with the palm tree still has a tin bath leaning against the wall. The one on the left that belongs to the schoolteacher still has a pile of boards outside, waiting to be made into a chicken shed. The scale of everything seems small, and there is so much space.

The road opens to the square. The kiosk is still there with newspaper strung like flags and beyond lies the
kafeneio
.

But something is wrong with the scene. The
kafeneio
doors are not open. The lights are not on. A lone man sits on the steps, wearing a shabby suit and leaning on a shepherd’s crook.

Theo quickens his pace. He turns his head as he passes the kiosk, Vasso wishes
him a hearty hello even though her face is drawn and she cannot erase an underlying sad look. Something has happened. The old man sitting on the
kafeneio
steps turns out to be Cosmo’s father. ‘Ah, Theo. She will be glad you are here.’

‘
What do you mean? Who will?’ His voice is staccato, his heart beating fast.

‘
Your mama, who do you think?’ He studies Theo’s face. ‘
Panayia
!’ He calls on the mother of his god. ‘You don’t know, do you?’

‘
Know what?’ Theo can hear his voice rising. ‘I have just been with Cosmo. He never said there was anything to know.’ His pulse pounds in his temples.

‘
Only thinks of himself, that boy.’ He puts a hand on Theo’s shoulder. ‘Old Yanni, your baba, he’s not well, Theo. Now don’t take on. He is home from hospital.’

‘
Hospital? What has happened?’ But Theo does not wait for an answer. He runs to his home up behind the bakery, Bob the dog after him, barking, enjoying the game.

‘
Give him my regards,’ shouts Cosmo’s baba.

‘
Mama,’ calls Theo, pushing the kitchen door.

‘
Theo!’ His mama crosses herself, then embraces him and kisses him all over his face. Theo cannot help but compare her to the dog and pushes her off.

‘
Where have you been? Where did you go? We were so worried.’ Her questions come in one breath. ‘Oh, I am so glad you are safe.’ She feels his arm, sniffing tears of joy, picks up his hand and then drops it, her eyes blazing. ‘How dare you worry me like that?’ Her tone jumping from joy to snapping anger.

‘
What is wrong with baba? Where is he?’ Theo looks down the passage to his parents’ bedroom door. His mama grabs his arm again, smiles, and then cries.

‘
Leave him, Theo. He is sleeping. I am so glad you’re home.’ Her hands pat his shoulders, feel his waist to see if he has lost weight, shaking her head and tutting, before pushing him from her. ‘I cannot believe you just left without a word.’ She turns her back on him.

‘
What happened, Mama?’ He can hear the crack in his voice and he fights back the tears, his hand reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Turning, his Mama strokes his hair from his face, smoothing it down his cheek. He jerks his head back.
‘Tell me,’ he demands.

‘
He is just getting old, Theo. It was too much.’

‘
What was too much?’

His mama looks away from him, grabs at the tea towel on the table, and begins to folds it neatly. Theo snatches it from her thin fingers.
‘What was too much?’

‘
The …’ She stutters, tears filling her eyes. ‘The
kafeneio
, Theo. The
kafeneio
was too much for him.’ She lifts her apron to her eyes. ‘Why did you not leave a note, call us, anything?’ She clutches her heart. Theo looks down the corridor to the bedroom door.

His mama is laughing again now, her eyes not leaving his face, unable to decide whether to be cross that he left or ecstatic that he is back.
Bob shuffles on his stomach from under the table to Theo’s feet, quietly whining.