Read Online Hello, Hollywood! by Janice Thompson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Janice Thompson
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distance, the bell above the door clanged, and I looked up as an elderly man entered, shoulders stooped. His soft, wrinkled skin reminded me of a pug puppy, and the pale blue-gray eyes spoke of weariness. Wow. He’d make a great character in a sketch. I filed away his physical attributes for use in a future episode. If I kept my job, anyway. Right now I’d better not be making any plans for the future, just in case.
The man straightened a bit, brushed the rain from his jacket, and sighed. “They told me it never rains in Southern California.” I recognized the accent at once. Greek. Thick yet shaky. “They were wrong.”
Mama smiled in his direction. “Sorry about the weather, but welcome to Super-Gyros. What can I get for you? Are you hungry? If so, we have the best gyros in the state. And if you like coffees, ours are wonderful, simply wonderful.”
He stared at her as if seeing an apparition. “Thera. Little Thera.” His voice trembled. For that matter, so did his hands as he extended them in her direction. “You don’t remember me, child?”
“Remember you?” Mama stared at him for a moment, a blank expression on her face. I drew near. So did my sister. And my sister’s children. And Babbas. After a few moments, the man said something to my mother in Greek. I barely made out his words through his tears. His name, maybe?
“M-milo Consapolis?” Mama’s eyes widened and she took a step backward. “Aunt Athena’s Milo?” Mama began to rant in Greek, her emotions now in full swing.
“One and the same.” He extended his hand once again, now speaking only in Greek. “Though if memory serves me correctly, your aunt broke my heart when you were quite young, so you can hardly call me Athena’s Milo.”
“She broke your heart?” Mama shook her head. “But she always said . . .”
“That I left because she took you in?”
“Yes.” Mama’s voice broke and tears filled her eyes.
Milo shook his head. “Nothing could be farther from the truth. I was perfectly agreeable with the idea of marrying Athena and taking you into my home as my own child until your parents could send for you. That was never a problem.”
Mama nearly collapsed against the countertop at this news. “Then why did she say that?”
“You know of her legal struggles, right?”
“Legal struggles?” Mama shook her head. “No.”
“When her mother died, the family estate was left to Athena under the condition that it remain in the family name. She was in her late thirties at the time and had never married. Likely her mother thought she would remain unattached. Athena’s attorney advised her not to marry if she wanted to keep the home.” He shrugged. “I’m sure there were ways around it, but her fear kept her from finding out, so she remained single.” The pain in his eyes reflected his feelings about that.
“I had no idea.” Mama swiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Milo nodded, still looking wounded. “Athena had so many internal struggles. In my heart, I believe she thought I would eventually leave her, just like her papa abandoned her as a little girl. You know?” He took Mama’s hand. “Thera, I know that she loved you, in spite of the way things looked, and I felt you had a right to know.”
“You’ve come all the way here—to California—to tell me this?” Mama wiped away a tear and sniffled. “I can’t believe it. God bless you for that.”
“Well, I came for another reason too.” Milo shifted back to English. “I received a call from Athena’s attorney the week after she passed away with specific instructions to bring you a gift. One she wished you to have.”
“A gift?” Now my mother’s tears began in earnest. “Yes, I received the letter. I knew some sort of inheritance was on its way. Oh, that poor, dear woman. How I misjudged her over the years! This just goes to show you that no one is beyond God’s reach. He has worked a miracle by softening my heart toward her, even
The man straightened a bit, brushed the rain from his jacket, and sighed. “They told me it never rains in Southern California.” I recognized the accent at once. Greek. Thick yet shaky. “They were wrong.”
Mama smiled in his direction. “Sorry about the weather, but welcome to Super-Gyros. What can I get for you? Are you hungry? If so, we have the best gyros in the state. And if you like coffees, ours are wonderful, simply wonderful.”
He stared at her as if seeing an apparition. “Thera. Little Thera.” His voice trembled. For that matter, so did his hands as he extended them in her direction. “You don’t remember me, child?”
“Remember you?” Mama stared at him for a moment, a blank expression on her face. I drew near. So did my sister. And my sister’s children. And Babbas. After a few moments, the man said something to my mother in Greek. I barely made out his words through his tears. His name, maybe?
“M-milo Consapolis?” Mama’s eyes widened and she took a step backward. “Aunt Athena’s Milo?” Mama began to rant in Greek, her emotions now in full swing.
“One and the same.” He extended his hand once again, now speaking only in Greek. “Though if memory serves me correctly, your aunt broke my heart when you were quite young, so you can hardly call me Athena’s Milo.”
“She broke your heart?” Mama shook her head. “But she always said . . .”
“That I left because she took you in?”
“Yes.” Mama’s voice broke and tears filled her eyes.
Milo shook his head. “Nothing could be farther from the truth. I was perfectly agreeable with the idea of marrying Athena and taking you into my home as my own child until your parents could send for you. That was never a problem.”
Mama nearly collapsed against the countertop at this news. “Then why did she say that?”
“You know of her legal struggles, right?”
“Legal struggles?” Mama shook her head. “No.”
“When her mother died, the family estate was left to Athena under the condition that it remain in the family name. She was in her late thirties at the time and had never married. Likely her mother thought she would remain unattached. Athena’s attorney advised her not to marry if she wanted to keep the home.” He shrugged. “I’m sure there were ways around it, but her fear kept her from finding out, so she remained single.” The pain in his eyes reflected his feelings about that.
“I had no idea.” Mama swiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Milo nodded, still looking wounded. “Athena had so many internal struggles. In my heart, I believe she thought I would eventually leave her, just like her papa abandoned her as a little girl. You know?” He took Mama’s hand. “Thera, I know that she loved you, in spite of the way things looked, and I felt you had a right to know.”
“You’ve come all the way here—to California—to tell me this?” Mama wiped away a tear and sniffled. “I can’t believe it. God bless you for that.”
“Well, I came for another reason too.” Milo shifted back to English. “I received a call from Athena’s attorney the week after she passed away with specific instructions to bring you a gift. One she wished you to have.”
“A gift?” Now my mother’s tears began in earnest. “Yes, I received the letter. I knew some sort of inheritance was on its way. Oh, that poor, dear woman. How I misjudged her over the years! This just goes to show you that no one is beyond God’s reach. He has worked a miracle by softening my heart toward her, even
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