She nodded. “This morning I’m going to tell Dimitra.”
“Tell me what?” Her daughter had just come into the kitchen. Alexa turned her head toward her. “That you don’t want me to marry Kristos? Did the thought of my being too young make you so upset we had to leave the dinner early? Was that it?”
Alexa took a deep breath. “No, honey. What I have to tell you has nothing to do with you and Kristos. Please sit down and listen. I have news that’s going to change your world.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t. The fact is, I told you a half-truth the first time you asked me about your daddy.”
“What do you mean?”
This was it. “Your father and I did get unavoidably separated, but I could have contacted him through his parents. There are reasons why I didn’t do that or why I didn’t reveal his true name to you.”
“Which is?”
“Nico Angelis.”
Her daughter laughed. “Are you teasing me?”
Heaven help me. “Not at all.”
Dimitra eyed her incredulously. “You don’t mean the Nico Angelis who came to dinner the other night—”
“Yes, honey. You said Kýrie Angelis reminded you of the photo I gave you of your father. That’s because it is him. It’s a picture I took of him when I was seventeen while I was on vacation in Salonica. In a short three-week period Nico and I fell madly in love and planned to be married after he finished his military service. He’d promised to write to me, but he never did, and I never heard from him again.”
Dimitra paled and finally sat on a chair.
“I discovered I was pregnant two months after he’d left Salonica and we’d moved to Canada. When you were old enough, I told you your daddy’s name was Dino. That was done to protect your reputation, and the grandparents and Nico from gossip. The news would have brought scandal to his illustrious family and to your papoú.”
Tears filled Dimitra’s eyes. “Is this the truth, Papoú?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
Alexa sat by her. “To this day Nico still doesn’t know he’s your father.”
“What?”
“I never told him. Though your papoú knew how to get in touch with Nico’s parents and would have gotten word to him that he had a daughter, I’m the one who begged him to do nothing because I was convinced Nico had only been having fun with me and had lost interest after he’d left. Saturday night was the first time I’ve seen him in nineteen years.”
“You’re kidding! What happened? Why didn’t you ever hear from him? How could he have been so horrible to you?”
Alexa loved Dimitra for coming to her defense. She took a deep breath. “He wasn’t the one who was horrible. My friend Monika, the girl I was staying with, was jealous of our relationship. Once I returned to Nicosia, she sent back every letter he ever wrote. But it took four years before she confessed to me what she had done.”
Her daughter shook her head, looking totally fragmented. “I don’t believe it.”
“They’re in that bag right there, stamped and postmarked. Nico was my errand last night and he gave them to me. You’re free to read them. You’ll learn a lot about your wonderful father. I loved him heart and soul. There’s no one like him.” Alexa pulled his last letter out of her pocket and handed it to her. “When you read this, you’ll see what a remarkable human being he really is. He never lost his faith in us.”
Her daughter took it from her, then jumped up from the chair. “But this is outrageous! She actually intercepted your letters and sent them back to him unopened?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the most hideous thing I ever heard!” Dimitra cried. Tears gushed down her cheeks. “How could anyone do something that evil?”
“It was a very evil act, I agree. After her confession, I was beside myself and wanted Nico to know the truth, that he had a four-year-old daughter. But your papoú found out he’d just gotten married to a prominent woman from a family from Athens. It was the biggest society wedding of the year in Greece. He was also rising in his career and the media focus on him was growing.”
Dimitra let out a wounded cry. “Was that more important than his finding out he had a daughter?” Her pain-filled words rang in the room.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of risking his happiness when he’d found love again. Your papoú wanted me to tell him, but I was afraid of ruining his life, so I stayed quiet. After seeing him on Saturday night, I had no choice but to tell you the truth, knowing you’ll never be able to forgive me.”