Winter Hearts

Dad Jokes

Mikhalis opened the door to find Siana standing outside with Leo, their hands entwined as they waited for him to open it.

He knew immediately something was up, from the sombre expression in Leo's eyes as he bowed his head in greeting, and from Siana's teary, tired eyes. Something had happened between him walking home and them walking home, and he could see that his normally happy Siana was somewhere where she could not see happiness.

"Koukla mou, ti yeinetai?" Darling, what's happening?

He waited as she turned to Leo and nodded, letting him go. He went to the stairs, looking back one last time before taking the steps up, two at a time. Siana turned back to him and smiled a weary smile. Mikhalis turned and walked inside, letting her close the door behind her.

He put the kettle on to boil and waited for her to come into the kitchen. She came in, obviously distracted by her thoughts, and leaned against the counter as they listened to the water begin to rumble inside the pot.

Mikhalis just waited, knowing that she was trying to find the words, or the right moment when she had control of her feelings, to express herself.

Finally, she reached for his hand across the counter, unable to meet his eyes.

"I still haven't called mum. She doesn't know," she said softly, as he took it.

She started crying then, and he drew her in for a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder, sobbing quietly. Mikhalis felt alarmed by her emotion, not having seen her cry like this since she was a little kid. He would immediately have thought she had a falling out with Leo, but he had seen with his own eyes that they had not.

He knew Siana understood that the only thing she had total control over, were her own actions and her feelings. Thus he surmised that this outburst was not so much to do with her newfound relationship, but rather something bigger than it, that would affect it in a way she could not control.

This thought scared Mikhalis, because he worried that it was something that he could not do anything about at all to help her.

"Mum won't mind, you know that," he said gently.

"She will if she doesn't hear it from me first," Siana mumbled, pulling away to sniff and wipe her face with her hands.

Mikhalis looked at her quizzically. "It's only been a few days, she won't mind that you found someone and didn't tell her straight away."

Saying that seemed to upset Siana rather than calm her.

"Can we sit outside? It feels better outside," Siana said, going to the kitchen door and opening to let herself into the yard.

Mikhalis grabbed an old jacket he kept by the door just for this purpose: Siana's predilection for sitting in the cold on the hard wrought iron furniture at all times of the day meant that he had to be prepared.

She sat at the table, sinking into her chair and resting her head on the back of it to look up at the stars. He saw her eyes momentarily flick over to the balcony above them where the boys were staying. He could see her tears were already drying, and felt better for her.

She sighed, saying, "Dad, you're mature enough, right?"

Mikhalis laughed, nodding. "Yes, Ana mou, I can take whatever it is you're going to tell me."

Siana giggled, a little hysteria overcoming her for a moment. She smiled at him, on the verge of crying again, but not letting herself. MIkhalis sensed that perhaps she felt reluctant to speak to him about something that was intensely personal to her. Maybe she felt she had no choice, and now felt obligated to give him a heads up before he found out from someone else - just as she had felt guilty about not speaking to her mother yet. Mikhalis wanted to tell her that none of that mattered to him. After all, she and Leo had only known each other less than a couple of weeks. Who was he to expect her to report everything to him, when he himself understood that in the sweetness of a new romance, noone would want to include other people at all.