As soon as Helena walked outside, they stopped talking and turned to look at her. The older lady's eyes were staring at her closely. Those eyes seemed very familiar… All of a sudden, she realized this was Dimitris' mother. They had the same eyes.
Helena wished she had taken care of her appearance a little more. Somehow, she didn’t think Mrs. Nikolaou approved of blue jeans and T-shirts. And out of all these days, she had to oversleep today. God knew what her future mother-in-law was thinking about her. She most certainly couldn’t tell by looking at her motionless face.
"Helena, this is Mrs. Nikolaou, Dimitris' mother," Sophie said. "Mrs. Nikolaou, this is Helena," she continued and couldn’t hide the pride in her voice.
Helena walked over to the older lady and extended her hand for a handshake. The older lady took her hand in hers and continued studying her face without saying a word. Then her eyes went down to the ring on Helena’s hand.
"It’s very nice to meet you," Helena said and was embarrassed to hear her voice no louder than a whisper.
The old lady just nodded and let go of Helena's hand.
Helena felt uncomfortable as the old lady remained silent and was relieved when Dimitris came outside.
"Mother!" he said, all excited. "When did you get here? I would have come to pick you up."
The old lady's face lit up, staring at her son. "There’s no reason to be fussing over me. I found my way around, long before you were born, young man. Now come here and let me take a look at you."
Dimitris walked over and kneeling down beside his mother, he gave her a hug. Then his eyes met Helena's, who had collapsed on a lounge chair, feeling her knees going weak.
"Mother, you've already met Helena, haven’t you? Isn't she beautiful?" he asked in a light voice. He got up, walked over to Helena, and took her hands in his. He squeezed her trembling hands in his and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I hope my mother hasn’t scared you to death. She’s the sweetest person in the world after she gets to know you a little bit.
Helena glanced at the old lady, and she could tell the affection she had for her son. Her face was all lit up, looking at him, and her eyes were sparkling.
"I’m going to bring us all something to drink," Sophie said.
"I’m going with you," Dimitris said and got up. "I have to make a phone call."
They both went inside, and Helena was left on the veranda alone with her future mother-in-law. She turned uneasily in her chair.
All of a sudden, the old lady got up and walked towards her. Helena felt like a trapped animal and looked around her for an escape, but there was nowhere to go. The old lady came and sat next to her.
"I didn't mean to frighten you," she said. "I just love my son very much, and I want him to be happy. He’s a very handsome and rich young man, and a lot of families on the island and in Athens would love to have him as a son-in-law. I was concerned when I heard you came back… I know how Dimitris is and how strongly he believes in tradition. He was very upset when he came back and found out you were gone to England. I just want him to be happy…" She got quiet and studied Helena's face.
Helena was overwhelmed by the sincerity and truthfulness of Mrs. Nikolaou. She took the old lady's hand in hers and stared at her straight in the eyes. "I love your son very much, and I’ll try my best to make him happy," she said simply.
The old lady studied her face silently for a few more moments, which seemed as an eternity to Helena. Then a smile lit up her face, and she nodded in understanding.
When Sophie came back outside, she found Helena and Mrs. Nikolaou sitting back in their chairs, staring towards the sea. Helena noticed Sophie’s concerned look, which, however, turned into a bright smile when she saw Mrs. Nikolaou's beaming face.
Dimitris came outside a few minutes later and started talking with his mother about friends and relatives in Athens.
Helena kept quiet. She was content, knowing she’d just won a battle. However, there was still a war she had to fight tonight. All those people at the party tonight, staring at her, judging her… at least she had one more ally on her side—Dimitris’ mother.
They finally all got up to go inside. They were going to have a late lunch, since they weren’t going to have time for dinner before the party. Of course, there was going to be plenty of food at the party, but Helena doubted she would be able to eat anything with all those people watching her.
Helena felt exhausted, when she finally went to her room. She lay on her bed for a few minutes and closed her eyes, listening to the birds and the sound of the sea crashing on the rocks. She finally opened her eyes and got up. She didn’t want to fall asleep and be late for her own party.
She went to her bathroom and filled up the tub with warm water. The whole room was filled with the scent of jasmine from the soap she used. She lay back in the tub and took some deep breaths. Tonight was her engagement party… She closed her eyes and thought of Dimitris. Oh, how she wished he loved her like she did. She opened her eyes and rose up. He’s going to love me, she thought determined. I’m going to make sure he forgets all about Stella.
She got out of the tub, dried herself with a fluffy towel, and came out of the bathroom. Martha had already brought her dress and had everything laid out on the bed for her. She stared at the dress for one more time… She felt like Cinderella going to the dance…
A knock on the door brought her back to reality. It was Martha to help her get ready. When they were finally done, she stood back and looked in the mirror.
"You’re absolutely beautiful!" Martha cried out. "Just wait until Captain Dimitris sees you like this!"
Helena had to admit she’d never looked better in her life. The dress fitted her like a glove, and her hair was all raised up to the top of her head with just a few strands hanging, with gardenias forming a wreath at the top. The aroma from the flowers filled the air. The gold locket her mother had given her was the only jewelry she was wearing, besides her ring.
She heard a knock on the door and answered, expecting to see her aunt. However, it was Dimitris who came into the room. Her breath caught in her throat, seeing how good he looked in his tuxedo. He stood there staring at her, while Martha snuck quietly out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"I don't think I want to take you to the dance tonight," he said, and Helena felt her heart sinking. He doesn’t like the dress, she thought. "I’ll be afraid someone will lose his mind over you and steal you from me," he continued. "You’re breathtaking!"
"Do you really think so?" she asked, feeling her heart going back in place. If only I could look better than Stella tonight, she prayed silently.
"You look like an angel," he said. "I almost forgot what I came here for. I brought you this," he said and gave her a long box. She opened it and found a beautiful watch. The bracelet was made out of white gold with diamonds and sapphires, just like her ring. "I noticed you didn’t wear a watch, so I brought you this to match your ring," he said.
"It’s beautiful! Thank you so much… I don't know what to say."
"Well," he said, "I'll see you downstairs. If I stay here any longer, my mother and your aunt will be coming upstairs to check up on us."
He gave her a light kiss on the cheek and, turning on his heel, he walked outside, closing the door behind him. Helena sat on her bed and stared at the watch. Everything was so perfect, just like a dream. She had no idea for how long she sat there, until Sophie came in the room and told her they were going to be late, if they didn't leave immediately. Helena jumped up and followed her out of the room.
"You look beautiful," Sophie said, as they were walking downstairs.
"So do you!" Helena said, and couldn’t take her eyes off Sophie in her black evening gown. She was magnificent, just like a queen, with her hair raised up and diamonds hanging from her ears and neck.
Dimitris and his mother were waiting for them in the living room. Michael, Yiannis, and Christina had left a little earlier in Sophie’s Jeep, taking Steve a
nd Martha with them. Mrs. Nikolaou had taken off the black she’d been wearing since her husband's death, and for the occasion, she was wearing an elegant mauve gown.
Dimitris helped Mrs. Nikolaou—who sat in the front—get inside the Jeep, and then held the doors for Helena and Sophie to climb in the back.
The Aliveris’ house—Nadia Aliveris was the only sister of Dimitris’ father—was close to Chora. Driving over there, they had to go through town, and Helena noticed it seemed deserted. She felt her heart sinking, realizing that everybody was at the party.
They could hear music and laughter from far away. The house was huge, built on top of a hill, overlooking the water. Cars were lined up all the way to the bottom of the hill.
Dimitris drove the car very slowly, since there were people walking to the house all over the road. When they finally got there, Helena noticed they had reserved a space for them to park in the front. She felt eyes on her from the moment she stepped out of the car. Dimitris helped his mother and Sophie out of the car, and then came and took Helena’s hand, leading her inside.
It seemed that all conversation stopped as they entered the huge foyer. Mrs. Aliveris came to welcome them and took Helena to introduce her around. Helena felt lost without the warmth of Dimitris' hand holding hers. Everybody was really kind and made her feel nice and welcome.
As if in a dream, she walked around, meeting new people and talking to others she’d met before. She couldn’t remember anyone's name, and she could feel the muscles on her face hurting from the effort to keep on smiling.
She was also a little disappointed to find out that her uncle and Katie weren’t coming to the party after all. It seemed that Katie wasn’t feeling very well. Helena didn’t care much about seeing Katie again—as a matter of fact, she was glad she wasn’t coming. However, she was upset her uncle wasn’t going to be there. For some reason, if he came, she would have felt like part of her father was there with her.
Is she really sick? Helena wondered. She had this feeling Katie was probably trying to avoid Mrs. Nikolaou. I wonder why?
Exhausted, she looked around for Dimitris and saw him talking to his mother. She started making her way towards him, when Stella showed up. She was wearing a beautiful light green gown which left her shoulders and back bare.
She’s astonishing, as always, Helena thought bitterly, watching Stella walking over to Dimitris and practically throwing herself all over him.
Helena felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t believe Stella would behave like this in front of everybody, and especially, Dimitris' mother.
"She’s a desperate woman," a familiar voice next to her, whispered.
"Alex!" Helena exclaimed, recognizing the voice and turning around to face him.
"I’m so glad to see you!"
"You seem like you could use a friend. By the way, you look beautiful tonight," he added.
"Let me get you a drink."
"Just some juice," Helena said. "I couldn’t handle any alcohol right now."
"My uncle is really upset with Stella," Alex said. "She’s making a fool of herself, and everybody knows it. He even warned her, before we left the house, to behave."
Helena glanced over to where Dimitris was standing with Stella. Their eyes met and locked. The longing in his eyes made her breath catch in her throat, and a jolt of desire shot right through her entire body. It was amazing he could make her feel like this, even from that far away.
Suddenly, he started walking towards her, and she felt nailed to the floor; she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
He came to her and took her hand in his. "It’s time," he said, and Helena followed him without a word.
They made their way through the people and went to stand next to Mrs. Nikolaou, Michael, Sophie, and their hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Aliveris. People gathered around them, and silence fell over the room.
"Dear family and friends," Dimitris started, "we thank you all for coming tonight to share this moment with us. We’re here to honor Helena, the dear daughter of Captain Angelos Sistakis, and welcome her back to our island. Furthermore, tonight we have another great reason for celebration. Helena has agreed to become my wife."
Helena could hear whispers from all over the room. She kept her eyes fastened on the picture hanging on the opposite wall. She kept a smile on her face but couldn’t look at anyone right now. She just stood there, feeling Dimitris' hand holding hers tightly.
Dimitris pulled her closer and put his arm around her shoulders. "I knew you would be excited for us," he said. "I only wish our fathers were here with us tonight to celebrate."
All of a sudden, everyone started talking at the same time. People were pushing each other to get closer to congratulate them. Bottles of champagne were brought out, corks were flying everywhere, and glasses were clinking.
Someone put a glass in Helena’s hand. She took it mechanically and raised her face to look at Dimitris. He was also holding a glass. He raised his glass to her, and they crossed their arms in order to drink, according to the Greek tradition. Everyone started clapping, and when they put their glasses down, Dimitris pulled her in his arms and covered her mouth with his in a passionate kiss. Helena felt her knees growing weak and the room spinning around her… When he finally let her go, she had to hold on to the table behind her in order not to fall. Her cheeks were burning, and she was too embarrassed to look at anyone.
"Come on, my dear," Mrs. Nikolaou said and put her arm around Helena’s shoulders. "We, Greeks, are used in showing our emotions even in public. People expect that."
Helena glanced at Dimitris, puzzled. Did he kiss me because everyone expected him to? she wondered.
"I’m so happy for you," Sophie interrupted her thoughts and gave Helena a big hug. "You’ve stolen everybody's heart tonight."
Including Dimitris'? Helena wondered. However, she didn’t have time to think of anything else, as Dimitris came and took her by the arm, leading her to the dance floor. Everybody opened up in a big circle and gave them the floor, as Dimitris led her in a passionate dance. Helena felt lost in his arms. He was holding her so tight, spinning her around the floor.
For a moment, she completely forgot where they were… The only things she was aware of were the music and Dimitris’ arms around her. She raised her face and stared deep into his eyes. He seemed as lost in the moment as she was…
When the music stopped, she felt confused and almost lost her balance. He held her close and kept staring into her eyes. Suddenly, Helena realized everybody was staring at them and tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her go. He must have realized it too, but he didn’t seem to care. A faster paced song started, and people gathered around them and started dancing. Helena was still feeling kind of lost, when she felt Dimitris leading her to the pace of the song. They kept on dancing for a while, when he finally led her to the bar. She felt her mouth was dry, and gladly accepted the juice he offered her.
Before she knew it, she found herself surrounded by people who were shaking her hand and congratulating her. She stood there and kept on smiling, while feeling her head spinning. She wished she could get away from it all and escape into the peace of the night. She looked around in search of her husband to be, but he was nowhere to be found.
She finally decided to go outside and get some fresh air. She needed to get away from all these people. Everyone was really nice, hugging her and congratulating her, but she felt like she was drowning.
She started making her way to the French doors, which led to the veranda, when someone grabbed her arm. She turned and saw Alex. He pulled her through the crowd towards the double doors leading to a library. Alex closed the heavy mahogany doors behind them and stood there, staring at her for a moment.
Helena went over to the large French doors which led to a balcony, a little higher than the main veranda. She walked outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. It was dark on the balcony, and she enjoyed that. She felt like she’d been in the spotlight for too long.
br /> Turning around to go back inside, she heard voices from the veranda below. Her breath was caught in her throat, recognizing Dimitris' and Stella's voices. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could tell they were arguing. Helena felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t want to hear any more, but her legs were glued to the floor, and she couldn’t move. Finally, she heard Stella break down in uncontrollable sobs.
Helena walked to the edge of the balcony, and looking down, she saw Stella in Dimitris' arms… Helena had seen enough. She went inside and threw herself in a chair. She was startled to feel someone moving around in the room, and then she realized she had completely forgotten about Alex.
"You look like you’ve just lost your best friend," Alex said. "Are you feeling all right?"
"I’m fine," Helena said, trying to make her voice sound as steady as possible.
"What’s wrong with you?" Alex broke out, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her from the chair.
Helena looked at him with eyes wide open by surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked confused.
"Are you going to go along with this?' he asked.
"Go along with what?"
"Are you going to marry him?" Alex inquired and could hardly control the anger in his voice.
"Yes, I’m going to marry him," Helena said, still not sure of what exactly Alex meant.
Alex let her go so suddenly that she fell backwards. Fortunately, the chair was there; otherwise, she would have landed on the floor.
"I thought you were different," he said. "I thought you were stronger and were going to stand up to them. But obviously, I was wrong."
"Alex, what are you talking about?" Helena asked.
Alex walked over to the French doors, ignoring her question. Helena walked behind him and put her arm on his shoulder. He turned around and looked at her. She could feel there was something seriously wrong, and she wanted to help but didn’t know how.
"Helena," Alex said and pulled her in his arms. Helena was too surprised to react. "I love you," he continued. "I fell in love with you the first time we met. I knew what everyone thought and about the arrangement your fathers made, but I didn’t think you were going to go along with this. I believed you were stronger. You came with me to the cave. You wouldn’t have done this if you were planning on marrying him."