at?
She stood up.
Abruptly the woman turned her head and spat.
Lelia stood rooted there. Surprise and anger boiled in her. Why you dirty old bitch.
She started forward.
The woman saw her move and turned her head away again, spread the fingers of her left hand and shoved the hand palm-outward in her direction.
“Nah!" she barked.
And suddenly the sailor was on his feet, rattling off some unintelligible Greek to the woman and at the same time stepping toward Lelia, stepping between them to hold her back. The woman answered angrily and then it was a shouting match between them, with everybody on the lower deck watching.
She didn’t understand a word of it.
She damn well didn’t like it either.
The woman was pointing at her, yelling. The sailor shouted back, red-faced, gesticulating wildly.
Finally the old hag snatched up her plastic bag and repeated the palm-outward shove. “Arpa!” she said.
She pulled the shawl up over her shoulders and walked stiffly away.
Lelia and the sailor looked at each other.
“Do you mind telling me…?”
The man looked sheepish. Forty-five, she guessed, and acting like a ten-year-old. Greeks.
“I am very sorry. I apologize for her. Very stupid old woman, very…insulting. I am sorry. She is old, you see, and these old peoples, they have stupid thoughts. She says you have the evil eye. I am sorry.”
He grinned, embarrassed.
“She gave you a moondza."
“Moondza?”
“A bad word. How you say? A curse. Yes, a curse. A swearing word. That is the spreading of the fingers, you see. ‘Aipa!’ she say. Catch! You catch the moondza. You see? Is old foolishness. I apologize for her.” Lelia sat down. So did the sailor. She could see how uncomfortable he was, how much he wanted to get back to his book.
Not yet, she thought.
Something swirled in her. Something wonderful. Just outside her conciousness.
"And the bead? What was the bead she was fingering? She wore it around her neck.”
“Ah! To preserve her from the evil eye. You understand, we are new country now but we are old country too and many people still believe in this…this evil eye. So they carry the bead. And you have blue eyes, you see. Very blue.”
“So-"
“It is the thought, the belief, that the woman with blue eyes is best to give the evil eye. Is stupid, no?”
Lelia said nothing.
“But she will not trouble you now.”
“She’d better not.”
“Don’t worry. I have told her.”
“Thank you.”
“Is nothing. Is fine.”
The man went back to his book, his face still flushed with excitement. She wondered if he was really reading.
Now and then the two middle-aged women would glance nervously in her direction.
She lit a cigarette.
“What if it were true?” she said quietly.
“Eh?”
“What if I really could cast the evil eye. You’d have been very wrong then, wouldn’t you? To have helped me.”
The man stared at her, forgetting it was impolite, forgetting himself completely for a moment. He gawked.
“But you are a tourist,” he said. “Are you not?”
“Yes.”
He spread his hands and shrugged.
“How can tourist have the evil eye?”
How indeed, thought Lelia.
DODGSON
MYKONOS
“Hey, Skippy. Look who’s here.”
He looked where Danny pointed and saw another ferry full with passengers pulling in to Paradise Beach, scraping bottom in the shallow water. Climbing off the ladder, carrying a towel and beach mat, was Billie Durant, looking tanned and fine in a black one-piece bathing suit cut high along the thighs.
He stood and brushed off the sand and was about to call her
She stood up.
Abruptly the woman turned her head and spat.
Lelia stood rooted there. Surprise and anger boiled in her. Why you dirty old bitch.
She started forward.
The woman saw her move and turned her head away again, spread the fingers of her left hand and shoved the hand palm-outward in her direction.
“Nah!" she barked.
And suddenly the sailor was on his feet, rattling off some unintelligible Greek to the woman and at the same time stepping toward Lelia, stepping between them to hold her back. The woman answered angrily and then it was a shouting match between them, with everybody on the lower deck watching.
She didn’t understand a word of it.
She damn well didn’t like it either.
The woman was pointing at her, yelling. The sailor shouted back, red-faced, gesticulating wildly.
Finally the old hag snatched up her plastic bag and repeated the palm-outward shove. “Arpa!” she said.
She pulled the shawl up over her shoulders and walked stiffly away.
Lelia and the sailor looked at each other.
“Do you mind telling me…?”
The man looked sheepish. Forty-five, she guessed, and acting like a ten-year-old. Greeks.
“I am very sorry. I apologize for her. Very stupid old woman, very…insulting. I am sorry. She is old, you see, and these old peoples, they have stupid thoughts. She says you have the evil eye. I am sorry.”
He grinned, embarrassed.
“She gave you a moondza."
“Moondza?”
“A bad word. How you say? A curse. Yes, a curse. A swearing word. That is the spreading of the fingers, you see. ‘Aipa!’ she say. Catch! You catch the moondza. You see? Is old foolishness. I apologize for her.” Lelia sat down. So did the sailor. She could see how uncomfortable he was, how much he wanted to get back to his book.
Not yet, she thought.
Something swirled in her. Something wonderful. Just outside her conciousness.
"And the bead? What was the bead she was fingering? She wore it around her neck.”
“Ah! To preserve her from the evil eye. You understand, we are new country now but we are old country too and many people still believe in this…this evil eye. So they carry the bead. And you have blue eyes, you see. Very blue.”
“So-"
“It is the thought, the belief, that the woman with blue eyes is best to give the evil eye. Is stupid, no?”
Lelia said nothing.
“But she will not trouble you now.”
“She’d better not.”
“Don’t worry. I have told her.”
“Thank you.”
“Is nothing. Is fine.”
The man went back to his book, his face still flushed with excitement. She wondered if he was really reading.
Now and then the two middle-aged women would glance nervously in her direction.
She lit a cigarette.
“What if it were true?” she said quietly.
“Eh?”
“What if I really could cast the evil eye. You’d have been very wrong then, wouldn’t you? To have helped me.”
The man stared at her, forgetting it was impolite, forgetting himself completely for a moment. He gawked.
“But you are a tourist,” he said. “Are you not?”
“Yes.”
He spread his hands and shrugged.
“How can tourist have the evil eye?”
How indeed, thought Lelia.
DODGSON
MYKONOS
“Hey, Skippy. Look who’s here.”
He looked where Danny pointed and saw another ferry full with passengers pulling in to Paradise Beach, scraping bottom in the shallow water. Climbing off the ladder, carrying a towel and beach mat, was Billie Durant, looking tanned and fine in a black one-piece bathing suit cut high along the thighs.
He stood and brushed off the sand and was about to call her
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