Where Do We Go From Here?

Christmas spent with my family was great. Yia Yiá decided on making a mixture of culture foods. She had a spread of traditional American cuisine, down to traditional Greek celebratory foods. I even got to make the dessert with Callie, even though we sucked at baking. However, Aunt Lila supervised our feeble attempts at making pie. It wasn’t long until Aunt Lila and Aunt Aethra took over mines and Callie’s job and corrected our mistakes. That evening was spent in the back foyer of Paraklésis Inn where we had a few sips from Uncle Cadmus’s wine cellar—surprisingly enough, Callie and I were admitted to one glass of wine—while opening our Christmas presents. My parents didn’t really get me much because the trip was costly and a gift itself.

However, they did manage to get me a few vinyl records I have yet to collect and some clothes. I bought my parents a weekend trip to Napa Valley for February, since according to the website; it’s the best time of year to experience wine tasting. Everyone wasn’t really extravagant when it came to gift giving this year, mostly because the trip to Santorini was expensive. If anything we each gave each other small things, like souvenirs from where we resided. Aunt Aethra, however, outdid herself by purchasing me a new camera. It was a Nikon brand and it came with a snap-on lens that you see professional photographers use. It was an above and beyond kind of gift, considering that I wasn’t going to be a professional photographer.

“It’s not new, but it’s still in great condition.” Aunt Aethra commented sheepishly.

“I can’t accept this.” I replied before adding “It’s too much.”

Aunt Aethra waved me off. “When I was in college this acted as my lucky charm, so think of it as an early graduation present.”

I humbly accepted her gift even though it still seemed like too much. This type of camera was the kind of thing that most aspiring photographers would kill over. The zooming feature itself was something that I wouldn’t normally use since I wasn’t savvy in photography.

We were nearing the last day in Santorini, forcing Callie and I to pack up before we procrastinated too long. By now our—meaning mines and Callie’s—suitcases looked intensely overstuffed that I feared the zipper would rip off from the seam and throw out our newly bought items. Callie had accumulated a new wardrobe during her brief stay in Santorini. I could see a few of her newly obtained fabrics spilling out of her carry on duffle bag.

“So he hasn’t called you once?” Callie asked with a scoff in her voice.

I shook my head. “No.” I answered solemnly.

I was passed the point of being upset with Tony that I managed to convey apathy when Callie mentioned his name around me. However, Callie was still utterly upset with Tony that last night, when she was on the phone with Mike, she nearly chewed his ear off because of his best friend’s lack of communication.

“Mike said he hasn’t really hung out with Tony for a while. Tony kept saying that he was busy or whatever.” Callie huffed as she sat on her suitcase to squish it down flatter.

“Cal’s, I don’t really care. If the worst possible thing had happened” I mentioned while thinking indifferently of Tony and Carmen together “Then I’ll break up with him. However, I am holding out on the fact that maybe, just maybe he has a good reason for not calling me.”

Callie rolled her eyes. I knew that she meant well, but I just couldn’t stand to spend another minute worrying about Tony when all I wanted to do was live in the moment and enjoy the last few hours I have with my family.

“How’s about we head down to that bookstore.” Callie suggested.

I smiled warmly at her. Whenever Callie knew I was upset, she’d take me to a bookstore of some sort to cheer me up.

“That sounds brilliant.” I commented before the both of us grabbed our purses and Alexander’s moped keys—this past week Alex and Marcus had generously let Callie and I borrow their mopeds for our escapades to the cramped town of Santorini.

Once reaching Smart Emfaníseis—Greek for Smart Reads—Callie and I walked in. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but as I browsed through the cluttered bookshelves I stumbled upon an old, weathered book of Remnants by Shell Faranoskov—a Russian author that I’ve grown accustomed to, mostly because I loved Hubert Finnegan and Hubert Finnegan would always reference Faranoskov’s work. I flipped through Remnants and fell in love with how it resembled the works of Jane Austen combined with Emily Dickenson. I smiled before tucking the story under my arm before scanning the spines of the books in hopes I could find a mythology book. Callie walked up to me with a satisfied smirk on her face.

“I found a Greek Fashion magazine.” She squealed with delight. Her smile turned into a slight frown as she added “I don’t understand any of this though.” She said while flipping through the pages.

I laughed before taking it from her hands and flipped through its pages. “Omorfiá, styl gia tin kathimerin í gynakía.” I recited.

“What does any of that mean?” Callie asked.

I laughed. “It says ‘Beauty, style for the everyday woman.” I translated.

“Oh, well that sound perfect.” Callie answered optimistically.

“Yeah, I’d probably have t read it for you.” I laughed.

Callie shrugged. “Yeah, you would. But I think it’d be cool to have Santorini in print, right.” She commented happily.

“Yeah.” I answered.

It was then that my phone started buzzing in my pocket, making me fish it out. I glanced at the caller ID and felt my heart completely stop. It was Tony’s name that lit up the screen. I looked up at Callie with a weak smile on my face.

“It’s Tony.” I told her.

“Oh, oh.” Callie said, her eyes growing wide. My phone kept buzzing. “Answer it!” She urged.

I sighed while answering the call. “Hello?” I asked hesitantly.

“Verity, hi.” Tony replied. His voice sounded soft and he seemed to be reserved which was unusual to me.

“Hey.” I said, but my voice sounded bland.

“Sorry for not calling you sooner—I was just dealing with some things.” Tony replied vaguely.

“It’s fine.” I said a little too quickly, not to mention that the tone of my voice sounded like a few octaves higher than normal.

“How are you?” He asked, avoiding on giving me an explanation.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

We both sounded like we weren’t being honest and it frustrated me that we couldn’t communicate normally. There was more silence that ensued after his statement.

“Why’d you call, Tony?” I asked bluntly, refusing to beat around the bush.

“I just wanted to hear your voice.” He answered softly.

My throat tightened, constricting my words. How could I be mad at him when he sounded like a little boy who needed reassurance from me that I still loved him?

“You still there?” Tony asked.

I hadn’t realized a few minutes passed by in which I remained silent.

“Yeah.” I croaked out. “It’s nice to hear from you, considering that I haven’t heard from you at all in these past two weeks.” I added.

I could hear Tony sigh. “That’s my fault.” He admitted. “Christmas was hectic here and I just—I’ve been dealing with a situation I will gladly explain to you when you come back.”

I couldn’t help but think the worse of his statement. “Tony, please tell me this has nothing to do with Carmen.” I said with closed eyes and a pained expression on my face.

I could feel the doubt growing within me. Tony was silent which worried me even more.
I scoffed. “You cheated?” I asked bitterly.

“No, but it’s complicated.” Tony replied. I could hear the certainty in his voice as he denied my assumption.

I looked out the window of Smart Emfaníseis, wondering what could possibly be troubling Tony’s mind.

“I’ll talk to you when I get back.” I said impassively.

“Sure.” Tony answered before saying “I love you.”

I nodded even though he couldn’t see me do so. “Bye, Tony.” I said before hanging up.

Callie peeked around the corner, holding a few more magazines in her hands. “So, how’d it go?” She asked.

I shrugged. “He loves me.”

Callie’s expression lifted a little. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.” I answered impassively. “I’m gonna pay for this.” I told her before walking to the register.

Callie followed behind me, letting the topic drop completely. There was something unnerving about the Tony was talking. His troubles involved Carmen, and yet he swears he didn’t cheat on me. Was she harassing him? Did she try to make a move on him? Was she trying to take him from me? Every question that popped into my head fed into my insecurities. I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around myself as I timidly waited on the guy to ring me up. Callie noticed this too and kindly draped her arm over my shoulders to comfort me. I smiled gratefully while on the inside I was an anxious mess.

Notes

Two updates for the night since I haven't updated in a while :)

I wanna hear some predictions - I already have the next two chapters written. However, I wanna hear your thoughts on what you think will happen next.

Thanks for reading everyone! And your comments make me feel extra special!! <3