Page 21 of Deep Blue Lies
“Hi there, can I help?” I turn to see the reception girl has finished with the phone. She’s about my age. Her short black hair is streaked with green – unusual, but it suits her. She’s pretty.
I step closer, and I can see over the counter now, at her desk strewn with paperwork.
“I was…” – how to put this? – “Is Kostas here?”
“Kostas…?” She looks momentarily uncertain. “He is, but…” She glances behind me, at a closed door I hadn’t noticed. “He’s a little busy this morning, we have to register everything with the safety board.” Her voice has an American lilt to it. “What’s it about, can I help?”
“Um.” I feel the same anxiety as before. Why is this so difficult?
She smiles curiously as I hesitate, the corners of her eyes crinkling in a way that’s engaging. I smile, like it’s nothing really.
“I wanted to ask him about someone who came to the island, about twenty years ago. I was told he might know them.”
“Oh, right.” She considers this for a few moments. “OK, well that’s…odd.” She thinks for a moment, then brightens. “I could go see if he’s OK to talk? He might like a break.” She gives me a grin. “He gets so pissed off with how slow the website is. Like, we have a super-fast connection here, but it’s a government website and they’resoslow. You know what I mean?”
I nod, and she looks towards the office, but doesn’t walk over there yet.
“You’re Ava, right?”
“Um. Yeah. How did you know?”
“You started working at Hans’s place. It’s kind of a small island.” She gives an apologetic shrug. “You’re from England?”
“Yeah.” I hesitate now, then something about her manner, how friendly she is, makes me go on. “Actually I was born on the island.That’s what I want to ask Kostas about. Whether he maybe knew my mother? Whether he can tell me anything about her time here.” I don’t mention my father, somehow that feels a step too far.
“Oh wow,” the girl says. “Well I don’t know. He’s been here for years, so it’s possible.” Then she holds out her hand.
“I’m Sophia, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
I shake her hand, her skin is soft, supple. She smiles at me for a moment, then it disappears.
“That sounds pretty heavy,” she goes on. “Is she dead? Your mum? I’m sorry?—”
“No.” I shake my head quickly, then smile. “You’re actually the second person to ask me.” I pull in a breath. “She’s not dead, it’s just I can’t ask her about this.”
“Oh.” Sophia looks at me strangely for a moment, but doesn’t push it. “But that’s why you’ve come out here? To find out about her?”
“Yeah.” I bite my lip. “That, and because it’s just a really nice place.”
She smiles at this. “Yeah. It is.” She glances towards the office again, but still doesn’t move.
“So where are you from?” I ask. “Are you American?”
She laughs at this and screws up her nose. “No. I just grew up watching a lot of American TV. No, I’m from here.”
I feel a bit – I don’t know, foolish, when she says this. Because even if I was born here, really I’m just a foreigner while she’s properly from the island. I sense she picks up on it too, and she’s back to business.
“Let me go and see if he’s in a mood to talk.” She raises her eyebrows and starts to move from behind the desk, and I change my mind at once. My gaze goes to the noticeboard, the stern-looking man in the photos.
“No, it’s alright, if it’s not a good time?—”
“No.” Sophia holds up her hand to stop me. And she seems to read my mind. “Kostas looks scarier than he really is. Believe me.” She touches me lightly on the shoulder as she moves past to theoffice door. Before I can do anything to stop her, she knocks and pushes the door open at the same time. She disappears inside. I hear classical music, and then voices – Sophia and Kostas presumably – but they’re speaking in Greek. A few moments later Sophia comes back out, leaving the door open this time.
“Yeah, he’s got a moment.” She offers me a supportive smile. “You can go in.”
The music drifts from the open door. Soft, soothing, somehow at odds with the man in the photographs.
I press my fingers against the photograph in my pocket, which captured Kostas all those years ago.
