A Letter to γιαγιά
Jan 5, 2012 16:52:00 GMT -5
Post by Luke Pyrrhos on Jan 5, 2012 16:52:00 GMT -5
Luke wrote often to his γιαγιά back home in Greece, about twice per month, which was a lot more often than most young people his age contacted their grandparents. Maybe they didn't have as wonderful connections with their family as he did, of which he was extremely grateful and happy to say he had experienced. His γιαγιά was more of a mother or motherly being than his own mother had been, but that might just have been because of circumstance. He'd seen his grandmother more in the last two years than his mother or father or sister, all of whom lived in Miami. They moved there with the whole family when he was a few years younger, about fourteen. And then he'd had his blowout with his father and ended up at Hammel.
He'd been at Hammel until he was nineteen, which was a bit of a stretch for any person, five years it took him to get his act together. But now look at him, he was with the love of his life, the girl that had been neighbors with him in Greece, of whom he was almost set to marry by their parents when they could hardly speak. She turned into the most gorgeous girl that he'd ever laid eyes on, and when he finished off at Hammel, he went back to Greece, not Miami, stayed with his γιαγιά (grandma), until he got up the nerves to propose to his childhood sweetheart, and became engaged to marry in the summer.
They had come back to Vermont because mainly he wanted to. He felt like he had left all out of the blue, and even flew off early that he missed his graduation ceremony! Personally, now as Luke was thinking back on it, that wasn't the smartest move. And then they decided to open up a restaurant, with his father's help, to the people of Pilot Ridge, however, it turned out that not many people actually liked Greek food for some reason. They much preferred fast food and fatty things. So..the business wasn't exactly booming, not even when his fiancee Alexandria was the main hostess. If she couldn't bring people in, he didn't know what would.
Luke felt that it was best to go big or go home, and although he and Alex tried hard to get the place going, it wasn't really working, and they were actually wasting more money putting effort into keeping the place running than they were making; they were losing money and he wanted to get out of it while he still could. Not that he'd go bankrupt, his father opened it after all, and he was technically in charge of the place, Luke only stood in as a general manager. And with the money his father made, this was pocket change to him, so it wouldn't really kill anyone to close it down. He was sure someone would make it into a dance studio or a burger joint and do a lot better.
He wasn't making these decisions on his own, though. Like a gentleman and a business partner, he'd talked with Alexandria and she had agreed with him. He could tell just by looking at her that she wanted to say 'I told you so', but she kept her mouth shut, and he thanked her for that. His pride could get in the way of a lot of things, but Alex knew how to stick it to him, and deal with him when he did manage to get a little crazy. So, with a lot of thought and debating, Luke had called up his father in Miami, explained the situation, and agreed to pay the difference in debt that the place had accrued, but that's all his father held him to. Pyrrhos' Place would be closed down within a month, according to his father and his father's 'guys', who would work it out with the landowners. He knew what that meant, but with this sort of thing, you keep a blind eye on it and go on with your life. Works best that way.
With that out of their hands, what would they be doing now? They could stay in this frozen little town full of metas and locals, or they could move. Alexandria loved travel, and Luke's budget allowed as much travel as he or she wanted. Their choices were California, Hawaii, Italy, India, Cambodia, Australia, or back home to Greece. They wanted to get married in Greece, but that was six months away. They could get a short-term apartment wherever they wanted, anywhere in the world. Eventually, they decided on Australia, because she'd always wanted to swim in the reefs and go to the Sydney Opera House, and Luke was willing to buy the world for Alex if that made her happy.
With a few strings pulled and tied, they found a place down in Sydney, and were set to leave in two weeks. That gave Luke time enough to finish up any bonds or anything he wanted to say or do with anyone he left here. After that, Luke really didn't think he'd ever return to Vermont, and if he could help it, the Northern bit of America at all. They might go to California and Hawaii together just to say they'd been there, and of course, they'd visit his family in Miami, but Greece was their spot, unless they just loved Australia too much to choose to live there. It was all sort of up in the air, but he was alright with that. The one person that he felt that he needed to tell all of this to was his γιαγιά. He wrote down every little detail -minus the stuff about his father and his goonies- and added the last phrase:
"Έρχομαι στο σπίτι."
With that, he signed it kissed the letter, and prepared it with an envelope, multiple stamps, and sent it out in the mail box. She knew that he'd be coming soon enough, but she always liked to be told ahead of time, as she was quite the party planner and always threw huge feasts and week-long festivals. In only five months, Alexandria would become a Pyrrhos, and he couldn't wait.
He'd been at Hammel until he was nineteen, which was a bit of a stretch for any person, five years it took him to get his act together. But now look at him, he was with the love of his life, the girl that had been neighbors with him in Greece, of whom he was almost set to marry by their parents when they could hardly speak. She turned into the most gorgeous girl that he'd ever laid eyes on, and when he finished off at Hammel, he went back to Greece, not Miami, stayed with his γιαγιά (grandma), until he got up the nerves to propose to his childhood sweetheart, and became engaged to marry in the summer.
They had come back to Vermont because mainly he wanted to. He felt like he had left all out of the blue, and even flew off early that he missed his graduation ceremony! Personally, now as Luke was thinking back on it, that wasn't the smartest move. And then they decided to open up a restaurant, with his father's help, to the people of Pilot Ridge, however, it turned out that not many people actually liked Greek food for some reason. They much preferred fast food and fatty things. So..the business wasn't exactly booming, not even when his fiancee Alexandria was the main hostess. If she couldn't bring people in, he didn't know what would.
Luke felt that it was best to go big or go home, and although he and Alex tried hard to get the place going, it wasn't really working, and they were actually wasting more money putting effort into keeping the place running than they were making; they were losing money and he wanted to get out of it while he still could. Not that he'd go bankrupt, his father opened it after all, and he was technically in charge of the place, Luke only stood in as a general manager. And with the money his father made, this was pocket change to him, so it wouldn't really kill anyone to close it down. He was sure someone would make it into a dance studio or a burger joint and do a lot better.
He wasn't making these decisions on his own, though. Like a gentleman and a business partner, he'd talked with Alexandria and she had agreed with him. He could tell just by looking at her that she wanted to say 'I told you so', but she kept her mouth shut, and he thanked her for that. His pride could get in the way of a lot of things, but Alex knew how to stick it to him, and deal with him when he did manage to get a little crazy. So, with a lot of thought and debating, Luke had called up his father in Miami, explained the situation, and agreed to pay the difference in debt that the place had accrued, but that's all his father held him to. Pyrrhos' Place would be closed down within a month, according to his father and his father's 'guys', who would work it out with the landowners. He knew what that meant, but with this sort of thing, you keep a blind eye on it and go on with your life. Works best that way.
With that out of their hands, what would they be doing now? They could stay in this frozen little town full of metas and locals, or they could move. Alexandria loved travel, and Luke's budget allowed as much travel as he or she wanted. Their choices were California, Hawaii, Italy, India, Cambodia, Australia, or back home to Greece. They wanted to get married in Greece, but that was six months away. They could get a short-term apartment wherever they wanted, anywhere in the world. Eventually, they decided on Australia, because she'd always wanted to swim in the reefs and go to the Sydney Opera House, and Luke was willing to buy the world for Alex if that made her happy.
With a few strings pulled and tied, they found a place down in Sydney, and were set to leave in two weeks. That gave Luke time enough to finish up any bonds or anything he wanted to say or do with anyone he left here. After that, Luke really didn't think he'd ever return to Vermont, and if he could help it, the Northern bit of America at all. They might go to California and Hawaii together just to say they'd been there, and of course, they'd visit his family in Miami, but Greece was their spot, unless they just loved Australia too much to choose to live there. It was all sort of up in the air, but he was alright with that. The one person that he felt that he needed to tell all of this to was his γιαγιά. He wrote down every little detail -minus the stuff about his father and his goonies- and added the last phrase:
"Έρχομαι στο σπίτι."
With that, he signed it kissed the letter, and prepared it with an envelope, multiple stamps, and sent it out in the mail box. She knew that he'd be coming soon enough, but she always liked to be told ahead of time, as she was quite the party planner and always threw huge feasts and week-long festivals. In only five months, Alexandria would become a Pyrrhos, and he couldn't wait.
