Never Summer Again

Chapter Thirty-Eight - Charade

Score: Circus - Christina Aguilera

Mark

Do you remember the first time, when you were somewhere you knew you didn't belong? When you were trapped in a place, or a situation that you really wanted to escape, but couldn't? Like, that time, when you were walking towards the person you fancied, finally ready to confess your feelings, but, then and there, you saw them kissing someone else? Or that time when a friend invited you to a party, where you knew no one else, but you agreed to go just because you had no better place to be? And then, you found out that you didn't belong there and the rest of the people were weird?

The urge to leave right fucking now, or to dig a hole into the ground and just crawl into it? The sensation of pinpricks on your skin, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, gooseflesh rising on your arms? The whooshing sound of blood, rushing in your ears?

That's exactly how I feel right now. Even worse.

The restaurant that Laura has booked for hers and my dad's pre-wedding dinner is a fancy taverna in Peraia, a beach town near Thessaloniki. And, if you think that "fancy taverna" is an oxymoron, you might want to think twice.

It is on the beach and our long table is placed directly on the sand. It is draped with a white linen table cloth and the covers on the backs of the chairs are matching. Fairy lights and white curtains are hanging from rails, propped on four posters, sticking from the sand close to the four corners of the table. The night breeze is swaying the curtains gently, opening them enough to allow for the rest of the guests, dining in the restaurant, to sneak a curious peak at the noisy party, hosted inside the extravagant box on the sand.

Seafood and cheese, and freshly baked bread are being served on silver platters in the middle of the table and bottles of cooled white wine are being passed around.

The setting is perfect for a pre-wedding welcome dinner, but the guests and the conversation? Not so much. It was supposed to be a cozy family dinner, but, apart from me, my future step-sister, and my grandparents, no other family is present. Even Laura's parents didn't come. The rest of the guests are business associates and partners of my father.

The conversation that has been going on sounds like a business meeting. For the past two hours, I've been listening to my father and Laura talk about merging their businesses, adding a clinical trials unit to their portfolio, and future expansions to new markets. Nobody is talking about the wedding or the flowers, the beautiful view, or the dreamy setting. We could have been in a stuffy conference room, eating crackers and drinking bad coffee, and it would have made no difference at all.

If it wasn't for Lydia, who's sitting in the chair next to me, I would have left long ago.

My soon-to-be step-sister Alice, who's also the Maid of Honor, is sitting across from us next to her girlfriend and looks equally uncomfortable. Alice is working at her mum's dental clinic, at the registration desk. Understandably, she doesn't look pleased, when her mother steers the conversation her way.

"Alice is going to dental school next year, and I've assigned someone to train her at the clinic," Laura tells my grandma, who nods politely. I'm grateful that I can see her and Gramps. I last saw them three years ago. At least they seem healthy and happy. We had a long talk about my mum and Lilly, at the villa earlier today. I'm glad they seem to still like Mum way more than Laura. "I'm looking forward to Alice stepping in a little more. I'm a bit tired, to be honest, and I'd love to have someone that I can trust around."

"Thanks for asking me what I want, Mum!" Alice whispers under her breath loud enough for everyone to hear. Smriti, Alice's girlfriend, chuckles.

"Young people these days..." Laura says, smiling coldly at her daughter. Her green eyes turn to ice. "We try to do everything right for them, and they still don't appreciate it. If you think your grandparents asked me what I wanted to do, when I was your age, Alice, you're wrong. I knew I'd go to dental school and become a dentist, just like your grandfather. And my life turned out just fine. So, instead of giving me this modern teenager "You don't respect my feelings" attitude, show some gratitude for not having to intern for free somewhere you'd be serving coffee and watering potted plants."