Lynn tossed and turned all night in bed. She was alone and that was just as well, since one sight of her husband would have caused her to overflow with anger all over again.
The effects of that anger were still roiling around in her stomach. The much-anticipated steak and ale pie had congealed into a lump somewhere in her innards. She badly needed an indigestion tablet from the bathroom cabinet next door but nothing would make her risk encountering her husband in this state of mind.
She rinsed out her mouth in the washbasin of the small ensuite toilet then paced up and down from the window around the double bed and back. The movement helped her brain to organize thoughts instead of merely spraying panic around. She had to compose a rational case to dissuade Stavros from simply going ahead with his plan. If she could not impress him with the depth of her fears for the future, she could not see how they would be able to go on.
The thought of ending their marriage stopped her cold in her progress around the bedroom. What was she contemplating? Divorce? After a lifetime with this one man could she really be thinking of such a drastic step? And yet, the alternative was equally impossible for her. Give up her life here, her home and her family, for what? How could she endure an existence in what had always been, to her, a foreign land? Didn’t Stavros like England after all these years here? England, where they had brought up their daughter Sarah; where their only grandchildren lived; the place where he had made a good life through the university work he loved. Why would he want to turn his back on all that and start again at their time of life?
Never had the contrast between their opposite views about life seemed so insurmountable. Lynn had often given in to Stavros’ opinions when conflict arose. It was simply easier to do so. His ability to rationalize and his conviction that his ideas were much more potent than those of anyone else, had overwhelmed Lynn’s wishes for years. She was the one who compromised to re-establish peace.
But this argument was different.
Into Lynn’s mind came an image of herself as a warrior princess standing before the entrance to a treasure cave. In front of the princess stood a soldier in full armour but she was clad in a cloak of righteousness that could repel all invaders. She would prevail. She had to defend herself. Defeat was not an option.
“Oh, please!” she groaned. “That must have been a scene from a bad movie!”
And yet, there was a grain of truth in the medieval scenario. This time she would not give in to her husband’s wishes. This time she would fight to defend her treasure; her family and her way of life.
A smirk twisted her lips. Stavros had no idea what he was about to encounter.
Stavros Kyriakos jerked suddenly and just prevented his body from falling to the floor. It was dark, and for a moment he could not remember where he was. The pain across his back soon reminded him that he had tried to sleep on the couch in the lounge. In no way was the furniture large enough to encompass his long legs and broad shoulders, as the uncomfortable aches throughout his body demonstrated. He tried to sit upright and discovered his leg was numb and something was twisted in his neck. The only solution was to roll slowly off the couch on to the rug and try to straighten out his frame.
By the time he had adjusted his body enough to sit leaning against the couch, he remembered why he was there.
“Damn it!” he murmured, as he massaged his neck muscles. “What is wrong with the woman? She never behaves like this. What did I do wrong? How could I have provoked this reaction by simply expressing a thought about our future? There must be something more going on.”
He cast around in his mind for an answer. Nothing seemed to be appropriate for the situation he now faced.
He had been especially busy at work, although what he was doing was arranging things for their future; surely she could appreciate that. Perhaps he had been neglecting Lynn? It happened from time to time and often provoked strange reactions. He paused and thought back over the last month. After a minute or two, it came to him.
She’s worried about Easter in Greece, of course!
With that realization, Stavros felt relief. He had figured out the problem and now everything would, inevitably, return to normal. He flexed his toes and noticed the numbness had fled. He would pop into the kitchen and make a cup of tea for his wife. That would sort everything out.
When the tea was made, he arranged the cup and saucer neatly on a tray with a napkin and tea biscuits.
He considered if it was worthwhile to venture out to the garden and pick a daffodil for the tray but decided it was too early and, in any case, he had no idea where his wife kept such things as flower vases.
With a pleased smile, he tiptoed up the stairs, balancing the tray carefully so the tea would not slop over the side of the cup and spoil the effect.
He knew Lynn would not expect this treat. Their morning routines did not usually allow for such courtesies. Most often he headed off to the college early to get a start on preparations for the day ahead and frequently did not see Lynn until the evening.
Well, she would assuredly be suitably impressed by this gesture.
He gently tapped the door and waited for a response. None came.
He cleared his throat and called, “Lynn, dear, I have some tea for you.”
“I’ll get my own tea, thank you. That’s a decision I can make on my own!”
Stavros pursed his lips. This was not going to be as easy as he had thought.
“Well, please come downstairs so we can talk about things. I am sorry I sprang this topic on you so suddenly. It’s just that I have thought so much about the move that I assumed I had already mentioned it to you.”
Lynn’s feelings softened at the apologetic words. It was not often that her husband actually said ‘sorry’ out loud. She usually had to infer those words from his subsequent behavior.
She did not, however, bend enough to open the bedroom door. She spoke through it.
“I’ll be down in five minutes. You can reheat the tea in the microwave. Remember not to put any of the good china in there!”
Her voice rose at the end of this request and Stavros took heart from the knowledge that she had been concerned about something other than his current mistakes. He turned and carefully negotiated the stairs.
Everything will be all right now, he reassured himself.
Lynn took the time to dress carefully in an outfit she knew her husband admired. She brushed her silvery hair forward over the basin, to build some body, then smoother the top layer until it framed her brown eyes and disguised the network of laugh lines, as Caroline called them. Wetting her fingertips after she removed the loose hair from the basin, she whisked them over her brown eyebrows where she noticed some grey hairs had taken up residence. A new trick she had learned, was to make sure the ends of her brows pointed upwards. According to the TV makeover experts this lifted the face and gave a lighter look overall. She took another speculative look at her face and decided a better disguise was required for her blotchy complexion. She did not intend to let her husband see the effects of an hour or two of sobbing into her pillow. A quick application of a moisturizing foundation and a subtle new lipstick soon brought a fresher look. Her eyelashes just needed a layer of dark mascara then she was as ready as it was possible to be, under the circumstances.
Men used to prepare for battle with helmet, armour and weapons, she thought. Women have more discrete ways of fighting their battles, perhaps, but I feel more empowered when I know I look my best.
Entering the kitchen as quietly as she could, Lynn noticed her husband’s shoulders were hunched as he nursed the cup of tea he had re-heated for her.
Good, she thought. He looks vulnerable. I will need all the advantages I can muster.
“Oh, there you are! I was beginning to worry. I should heat this tea again for you.”
“No, don’t bother. I’ll make a fresh pot later. We need to talk.”
“Exactly!” Stavros responded, hopefully. “I am sure we can sort this out once you hear all my plans.
It’s a beautiful site near the sea and you can be a part of every development of the house so it suits you completely.”
Once again, Lynn was overwhelmed by the realization of how many decisions her husband had already made without consulting her. She felt the anger rising in her chest and took several deep breaths to quell the emotion that threatened to bring tears. She turned away and glanced out of the kitchen window until she had mastered her feelings.
“I am afraid you are just making the situation worse for me, Stavros. You have wasted both time and effort with all the plans you made that excluded me. Listen to me now!” She waited until she had his full attention.
“I have no intention of leaving England to live in Greece.”
Having dropped this bombshell, Lynn reverted to her customary wifely manner and pointed out that Stavros was going to be late for his morning grad session. She was gratified to observe that her husband’s mouth had fallen open in shock and he could not summon a response to her abrupt and definitive statement.
Giving her a decidedly strange look, he left the kitchen and she could hear him collecting jacket, shoes and briefcase before exiting the house. Not another word was exchanged.
“That will give him something to think about today, besides teaching,” she proclaimed to the couch in the lounge, where the rumpled blanket and twisted pillows attested to an uncomfortable night.
Just then she saw the wine stain on the rug and moved swiftly into action. She knew how to deal with a variety of stains and this housework activity would give her some respite from the worry swirling around in her brain.
She had thrown down the gauntlet in this battle of wills but what her husband’s reaction would be was as yet, an unknown quantity.
Stavros found the familiar drive to the Eastbourne motorway difficult for some reason. He usually completed the drive on automatic pilot and hardly noticed the weather or the other drivers. This morning he seemed to have difficulty matching speed on the fast lanes and was alarmed to be honked at by a car behind him. This cleared his mind a bit and he approached the traffic lights at Polegate with a better focus. As he waited for a green light, he had a moment to assemble his thoughts about the morning’s disclosure. What had come over Lynn, was the predominant question. He was not accustomed to his wife debating his decisions in this way and the result was unsettling, to say the least.
Could she be serious? The implication in her final statement was that she would stay in England when he left for Greece. If she went through with the threat, and Stavros could hardly conceive of such a thing, the entire project would be futile. He could not spend his retirement pension on building a house for his wife if she was never going to share it with him. The vision he had of his happy future in his old homeland began to crumble at the edges. Something drastic would have to be done, and soon, if this disastrous situation was to be resolved. They were due to depart for Athens in a few days to meet the family on Paros. Another jolt passed through his body as he contemplated the possibility that Lynn might not join him for the Easter celebration this year.
What was he going to do about Lynn?
As the lights changed, the car surged forward and Stavros simultaneously stowed the issue, and all attending questions, in the back of his mind. It would have to wait until later. There was another disturbing item on his agenda which required his entire attention this morning.
What was he going to do about Pauline?