Gate Deadlock (3 page)

Use it wisely.

There was something more in the envelope: a key
to a safe deposit lock of the National Bank of Greece. I was so
curious about what my father had in store for me that I left for
Greece on the next day.

‘I wish you didn’t have to go there, Emma. It’s
probably about some family heirloom.’ my mother had told me, but I
could see how worried she was.

‘You know I can’t let go just like that, mum.
It’s something I just have to do.’ I had insisted. She knew me well
enough to understand that any effort to talk me out of this would
be vain.

In the bank lock I had found the most unexpected
things: files, which I recognized to belong to my dad’s archives,
as I had seen them on his desk years ago. They had been labeled
with strange names that made me instantly recall the circumstances
under which my father had named them. Actually, my dad and I used
to play the “baptism” game, where I got to decide the title for
each of the files he was working on.

I was instantly deluged by an overflow of
the sweet memories of my childhood, of the happy years when my
dad’s smile would seal every day as he held me
safely
in his wide embrace, when he explained to me the ancient Greek
myths, when he tucked me into bed kissing my forehead. Inside the
cold walls of the bank, I could almost feel him; I sensed his
presence more intensely than ever. I cried myself out until my eyes
became swollen and my head felt awfully heavy. Eventually, I picked
up the thickest file, the one he had named after me.

I had spent endless, tearful nights studying
‘Project-Em’ before I decided to fulfil my dad’s dream. He had
planned an excavation in a specific area in Greece that belonged to
him, aiming to bring out another ancient sanctuary, at least that
was what I thought at that time. This one seemed to be really
important to him, like some kind of an obsession, as I saw numerous
notes and maps where he had tried to locate the exact point where
the sanctuary probably lay, covered by layers of history throughout
the ages. He had labeled this spot as Point-X, the landmark of his
Project. The excavation was scheduled for a week after his death. I
found that he had recently bought this piece of land in the
district of Mesinia, of which my mum was ignorant, and had made all
the necessary arrangements with the Greek authorities.

Mr. Jackson helped me with the legal details, as
I became the only legal heiress of my dad’s archives. With my
stepfather’s help, the university “adopted” Project-Em in terms of
funding, as a tribute to my dad’s memory.

Unfortunately, I had not yet achieved to
resuscitate the project due to unanticipated exigencies of Greek
bureaucracy for the last three years. This summer, however, I was
pretty optimistic about it, as I had received a letter from
Demetra, the supervising archeologist, informing me about the
latest developments.

‘Good news Ms Ioannou. I have worked out the
problems with the Archeological Service. I’m pretty sure that the
excavation will be starting within a month. I need you to be here
as soon as possible.’ she had said over the phone.

I was so much looking forward to it! My initial
inhibitions about returning to Greece were erased, as a lot more
than summer school were lying ahead for me.

I left the empty tray on my desk, reminding
myself to congratulate Kate on her cooking progress, although I had
only tried the roast lamb.

I turned off the Dvd player because it was
impossible to concentrate on the film, as my mind was still on the
gorgeous tutor. That strange feeling still had not gone off and my
intuition was warning me that I would soon get to know him
better.

I thought of the summer school group
meeting that would be taking place the following morning, feeling
strangely exhilarated. For the first time ever since I had broken
up with Colin I felt my heart beat fast and it surprised me to
admit how much I had missed that feeling.

The next morning I woke up really early. I
turned my head drowsily towards my bedside table to look at the
small alarm clock our prudential landlady had left for us. I saw it
was only 6.30. The summer school meeting was not until 10.00, so I
tried to go back to sleep discovering soon that it was
useless.
I had been tossing and turning,
my pillow over my head, for almost half an hour when I finally
decided to get up.
I went straight to the kitchen to
make coffee, since only after an adequate dose of caffeine would I
be able to function properly. Strong coffee has been my one and
only addiction, a delight I would always permit myself to indulge
to.

The hot, bitter liquid worked instantly as
a miracle. I reached for my laptop and I sat on my bed cross-legged
putting it in front of me to
check my
e-mails. But I knew my mind was elsewhere.

Why should I be so
anxious for this meeting
? I asked myself
as I waited for my computer to load. It would be a Monday morning
meeting as always, where Rose,
the summer school
supervisor, would announce the classes for this week and a
discussion with our tutors would follow. Of course, Dr Auburn would
be joining the school staff today.

I promised myself to do my best so as not
to behave foolishly in front of him again.
Generally, I have always been a person with great control
over my emotions and my reactions.
I have consciously
been very careful so as not to let others see through me. This is
what I have been doing ever since my father’s death. I have been
well practiced.
It is an impulsive
strategy of defense that’s helped me confront my problems in
my own way, shutting out anybody who attempts to sneak into my
thoughts and my
feelings.
But above all,
it made my mother feel better, as she had fooled herself with the
comforting thought that I had overcome my father’s loss so
much
easier than anyone
had expected and
without any irreversible consequences. Only I knew the truth. When
she got married to Daugh, everyone thought I had accepted it quite
easily, again without consequences. But I knew better than
that.

An e-mail from my mother
appeared on the screen, but at that moment I was not in a mood for
more advice on how to behave in a foreign country.
I
had known for a long time that whenever I went away, her deepest
fears were triggered off. She would never express them directly, of
course, but she would bombard me with tips, as if she had copied
pages of a travel guide. I found this totally unnecessary, for I
had never come up against any problems with the locals here.
Everyone was minding their own business, which
was what I wished for
.

I eventually decided to take a look
at my mother’s e-mail and found it was what I had expected. The
only unexpected thing about it was a surprisingly useful attachment
by Daugh, with links relevant to the presentation I was to make for
the Greek university conference in about two weeks. He had
persuaded me to sign in, so that I would enrich my résumé, as he
and my mother wished I would follow in my dad’s steps towards an
academic career.

I turned off the computer and took a second cup
of coffee. I decided to have it in the garden, where it was still
pretty cool and quiet, trying to concentrate on the next chapter of
the detective story I had started reading a couple of days ago. But
I was about to discover that the book held no interest for me
anymore, as I kept checking the time every ten minutes.

It was 9.00 now and I decided it was time
to get dressed. I had a quick shower, put on my stretch light blue
jeans, my red sneakers and a loose, floral patterned red and white
blouse.
I looked at my image in the
mirror and gave myself a smile
of approbation. I
never had any problems with my looks, although I’ve always
considered myself as common, in fact I have been grateful for being
like that. My strong point, I guess, is my figure, one of the few
things life has been generous to me, because I have a slim figure
but curvy at he same time, making others think I spend my time at
the gym, which is far from being true of course. Kate always says
that she envies my “sexy figure to which I should be giving more
credit”. My hair is long and light brown and I have my mother’s
gray eyes, although the almond shape and the long black lashes come
from my dad.
So does my complexion, which
is not the typical British pale colour. Colin used to say I was the
most beautiful girl in uni but I was sure his judgment was far from
being unbiased.
Besides, he was used to lying to me,
anyway.

I took my sunglasses, cap, and backpack and went
to get Kate. Her door was open and I saw she was still in bed. Tony
was not with her.

‘Isn’t it a little too
early?
’
she asked stretching
her arms lazily.

‘Well, I have to run some errands
before the meeting, so I guess I’ll see you there.’ I set off
before she started getting suspicious of the reasons for my
anxiety.

I found my car, a white Beetle, a gift
from my mother on my last birthday, under the shadow of an olive
tree in the backyard. Daugh had hired a driver to drive it to
Greece a week before my departure. Inside it still felt cool. That
was good, considering it was 30° C already outside. I wondered
whether my stretch jeans had been the right choice in this
temperature, as I felt them stick on my already sweaty
legs
.

I turned on the stereo and music from my
favorite band, singing about chasing starlight, flooded the cabin.
‘That’s definitely a good way to start your day!’ I said to
myself.

The meeting did not last longer than an
hour.

Rose started with the introduction of Dr
Auburn.

Christopher came to shake each student’s hand
with a polite smile on his face.

When it was my turn, he said ‘Nice to see you
again Emma. How are you today?’

‘Fine.’ I replied laconically, smiling but
keeping my hands under the desk. Not having to touch him was a good
idea, as I would not like to freeze again in front of everyone in
the room. Kate followed my example too, so nobody noticed my
awkwardness.

I was determined to preserve my self-dignity
this time, so I would choose every word carefully. After all, I had
had enough time to prepare myself for meeting him this morning.
Never again would he catch me unprepared.

‘Emma, you should know that
Christopher is also here to supervise the developments in
Project-Em.’ Rose announced in an anxious manner.

I flinched, alarmed by what she had just said. I
had not been prepared for this. He could have told me last night,
if of course I had not behaved like a fool.

‘I see.’ That was all I managed to
say.

‘Then, can I see you in my office after
the meeting?
’
Christopher
asked me.

‘Sure.’ I said, this time in a fake-casual
manner, although Ι was certain my eyes revealed how alarmed Ι still
was.

During the rest of the meeting, I tried
hard not to look at him, although he was sitting just a few meters
across. I had noticed he too was wearing light blue jeans and an
off-white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The
first three buttons of his shirt were undone
revealing
the upper muscles of his chest. It was impossible to
concentrate
on what the tutors were saying.

Kate was doodling absentmindedly;
she
was probably recalling last night’s date with
Tony. I noticed that Beth and Sue at the front desk were staring at
Christopher. I had heard them talk about him excitedly before the
meeting started, trying not to laugh at their childish remarks.
When he was shaking their hand, they looked as if he had mesmerized
them.
There you are
, I
thought, satisfied with my
discovery
.
I’m not the only one who behaves like a schoolgirl in front of
him.

Truly, he was the most
beautiful man in the room, in the building, in the city, in the
whole world for all I cared.
He does not
belong in this context
,
I
thought
.
Men like him
you expect to find in magazine photos of celebrity parties and VIP
resorts, not in a summer school meeting of the faculty. No, he did
not belong there. He was the only dissonance in that room. I could
not resist staring at him anymore, and the same wistful feeling
started to overwhelm me once again. Thankfully, the meeting was
over before anyone noticed my dazzled expression.

I stood up and walked to the
door, battling with my desire to run away. Kate had caught up with
me, asking me something I could not hear. I turned around and saw
that two of the female students we
re going
straight to him to welcome him again.

He talked to them politely
for a few moments, noticing I was waiting for him by the
door.
He asked if he could be excused with the most
irresistible smile of his.

‘Hey, have you heard anything I
just said?’ Kate was complaining next to me.

‘Sorry, what?’

‘I just said we’re going swimming with Tony and
Mick at four. Make sure you’ll be there and don’t stand us up
again. We have to get you out of the house, girl. It looks like you
still need a push.’ she said, as she put her arms under the straps
of her backpack.