Seduced by Passion

Seduced by Passion - Chapter 6

Friendship

Claudia crossed her ankles and folded her hands on her lap, contemplation etched into her face. "Well, Malik told me that his mother, Sanaa, told him that Andris first visited Akilina in nineteen-fifty-eight, the same year he was born. Max, Malik's father, was running Jewel Beach at the time. That's where Andris stayed."

"At The Davenport?"

"The Davenport wasn't built until eighty-three," Xio said.

"That's right," Claudia confirmed. "Your grandparents booked it in advance every year after that. Anyway, Andris asked a lot of questions about the history of the island. Max and Sanaa thought he was just a curious tourist, but at some point he told them he was born here, and asked if they knew anything about a Greek couple who lived on the island around nineteen-twenty-seven to nineteen-twenty-eight. They didn't, and when they asked why he couldn't get answers from his parents, he told them he hadn't known he was born here until after they had passed. Sanaa told him that her mother, Kaiah, might have answers, so she took them to meet her. And just like that—" She snapped her fingers. "Andris and Kaiah became friends. By the time I came along, they were two peas in a pod."

"Is she still alive?" he asked eagerly at the prospect of meeting and talking to her.

"Very much so, although she's..." Claudia pressed a finger to the corner of her mouth and turned an enquiring face to Xio. "How old is Kaiah, ninety?"

"Ninety-four," Xio answered, shifting nervously in the chair as if she didn't want to talk about her great-grandmother.

"Ninety-four and as sharp as a knife. Maybe Xio can take you to see her."

Xio cleared her throat and pinned her mother with a censuring look. "Mom, you know I can't just take him to see Botoá." Her fingers fidgeted around the edges of the envelope.

"I'm sure she'll bend the rules for Andris' grandson." Claudia flipped her wrist dismissively.

Xio shook her head, and rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed with what her mother had suggested. "Were my godparents also friends with Sherylyn?"

Raph admired her tact for changing the subject, or in this case, bringing it back on course. "Who is Sherylyn?" he asked.

"My father's first wife."

Bad blood? he wondered at the disdain in her voice.

Claudia gave her daughter a stern-faced look before saying to Raph, "I asked Malik the same thing, and he said they never took to her, or to Fitzroy, Xiomara's half-brother."

"I can understand that," Xio murmured with a jerk of her head.

Definitely bad blood. "My grandparents obviously liked you, Claudia." He gave her a warm, friendly smile, hoping to offset whatever silent battle was going on between her and her daughter. "I can see why you got along."

"Andris and Kerena were easy to like, too." Claudia said, returning the warm compliment.

"You are easy to like."

"You are too sweet, Raph, especially after my hysterical entrance."

"I'll admit I was a little scared." He grinned.

"I doubt that. You don't look like the scare-easy type," she threw back at him.

They all laughed.

Raph was eager to move the conversation along. "I wonder how Pappoús knew he was born on Akilina if his parents didn't tell him. And how did they end up here in the first place?"