By the time they reached the house, a young woman with a curly-haired baby propped on her hip had come out to see what all the barking was about.
‘Shh, Titan. Can I help you?’
‘I’m looking for my aunt, Kýria Eugenia Papadatos.’ Eléni’s heart pounded. It was obvious the woman didn’t recognise the name.
‘I’m sorry, we moved here last year. We bought it from a family called Drakos, I’m afraid.’
‘Thank you, anyway. I lived here for a few years when I was young, before I moved to Wales.’ Eléni turned to leave before the woman could see the hot tears pricking her eyes, leaving Simos to say goodbye. Why had the letters between her mother and her sister stopped? Where had Eugenia moved to?
As they walked back to the car, Simos placed an arm around her. ‘I’m so sorry, Eléni. I know how much you were looking forward to seeing your aunt again. I would normally recommend we go to the post office for a forwarding address, but there have been two owners since she left the house.’
‘It’s not turning out to be a very good day, is it?’ said Eléni. ‘But I’ve enjoyed seeing more of your lovely island. I just have to accept I’m not going to find my uncle or my Aunt Eugenia.’
They drove back in silence until Simos banged his hand on the steering wheel. ‘Of course. Why didn’t I think of it before? I know the person who has the same job as me here in Fiscardo and I could see if he’ll do me a favour. I’d do the same for him. I’ll ask to see the census records from 1971. If your aunt is still in Fiscardo, we’ll find her address there.’
* * *
Eugenia Papadatos was indeed still living in Fiscardo. Eléni and Simos arrived at the locked wrought-iron gates of a large, detached house in a street where pink oleander trees in full bloom edged the wide pavement.
‘This is a bit grander than the smallholding. Can you see a bell?’ Eléni pressed the brass button set in the gate frame. They waited a while before she pressed again. Still no one answered.Just as they were about to go, a grey-haired woman emerged and walked towards the gate.
Eléni forgot all her worries about formality. ‘It’s me, Eléni.’ Memories of how kind this lovely woman had been to her when they’d first arrived at her house came flooding back.
Her aunt gasped and peered through the metal bars as she unlocked the gate. ‘Cassia’s Eléni? I can’t believe it! You have grown into a beautiful woman from the tiny girl you were when I last saw you. Come in, come in, please.’
The two women embraced and were overcome with emotion. ‘Theía, this is my friend, Simos.’
‘Welcome, Simos. It’s good to meet a friend of Eléni’s.’
‘You, too, Kýria Papadatos.’
‘Please call me Eugenia.’
The two shook hands.
‘Eléni, why don’t I leave you to catch up with your aunt and I’ll call back for you — say, an hour? You’ll have so much to talk about. I will be in the way, I’m sure.’
‘You don’t have to, but if you’re sure,efcharistó.’
Eugenia saw Simos to the gate and locked it behind him.
Eléni’s aunt led Eléni to the back of the garden where they sat in the shade under an ecru-coloured awning. In front of them was a paved area full of ornamental pots overflowing with colourful trailing plants. A bright cerise-pink bougainvillea tumbled over a wooden pergola at the end of the cultivated space that led into an orchard full of orange and fig trees laden with fruit.
‘This is a beautiful house, Theía. What made you move here?’
‘It was our family home, where Cassia and I were brought up. I moved here after our mother died. See the swing hanging from the ancient olive tree?’ She pointed to the left of the pergola. ‘Well, that’s where we used to have hours of fun. Maia did too. It’s had new ropes, but the seat is the one my baba madefor us, and the branches have just grown thicker and stronger. How is Cassia?’ Her face became serious.
Eléni knew there had been some sort of row between them. ‘She’s fine, but she didn’t want me to come to Kefalonia. I’ve only just found out she’s not my birth mother. A few months ago, I found a letter from you saying someone had come looking for us.’
Eugenia let Eléni talk. ‘I know why she took me away and I’ve had a very happy life, but they should have told me. It’s why I’m here. To find all I can about my birth family starting with the man who I think is my uncle.’
‘I’ll never forgive her for not coming back to see Mamá when she was dying.’
For a moment, neither spoke and there was an awkward distance between them. Eléni defended her mother. ‘I’m sorry, but Mamá is terrified she will be prosecuted for taking me out of Kefalonia without permission from the authorities. It’s the reason she doesn’t want me to find my uncle. She said she broke the law, but what she did was in my best interest. After meeting Simos, I know it was. I just wish they’d told me so I didn’t have to find out like I did.’
‘But it’s been nearly twenty years. So many people emigrated. I doubt they would be concerned about your mother doing what she did, even then. And what do you mean about Simos?’
‘His family was wiped out like mine, but he didn’t have anyone like Cassia. He was taken to an orphanage on the mainland where he suffered terrible abuse.’
