Cordelia’s eyes grew wide as she entered the resort. Greeting her on a round table in the center of the reception area was an arrangement of orchids in white and mauve colors. The flowers seemed vibrantly alive, almost moving in greeting, their scent carrying a hint of a dewy morning. Gncing around, Cordelia noted several seating areas with comfortable couches and chairs done is dark and light blues, scattered with comfortable pillows. Seascapes, nets, and shells covered the walls, and a smattering of simir ocean-washed items sat on shelves and side tables. Completing the space, a rge coral-filled aquarium took up part of a wall to the right. Various fish swam eagerly through coral and colorful rocks, and a dark red lobster walked around, keeping the tank bottom clean.
She could rex here and probably would, but there was nothing personal that might help provide answers. No photographs graced the walls or tables. No bookshelves or cupboards to explore.
Across the length of the room were rge sliding doors that opened onto a patio, which further opened onto a beach and then the ocean beyond that. Although the doors were closed, Cordelia swore she could hear the crashing waves. She wanted nothing more than to kick off her shoes, race out the door, and lose herself to the calming peace of ocean waves. It would give her a chance to sort out her thoughts and figure out how she was supposed to feel about having a mystery set of grandparents and secrets spanning fourteen years. Reassurances that it would all make sense one day didn’t seem to ease any part of her.
Pulling away from the beauty of the ocean, Cordelia turned to watch her family as they stood around the reception desk. All eyes were on her grandfather, who seemed to be reviewing something on the computer. “We’re not staying with you, Papou?” Kai asked. He was leaning against their mother, and Silka had her arms loosely around him.
Kostas looked up at Kai with a smile on his face. “Our quarters are pretty small. We don’t need a lot of space since we have a whole resort we can use for guests and events.”
“But we’re not guests; we’re family.”
Kostas smile widened, “You are. Even more reason to put you in a nice, comfortable space. You won’t be more than a two-or-three-minute walk away, I promise.”
“Does Mom still have her room in your house?”
Kostas looked over at his wife, and the two shared a look before Maria spoke up, “Yes, your mother’s room still has some of her childhood belongings. Although she took most of it with her when she left with your father. Not much to see these days.”
Cordelia straightened at this news. Could she learn more about her mother’s past and her grandparents from what was in her mother’s old bedroom? It was a pce to start. First, she needed to figure out where her mother’s room was located. Then tackle the second issue of whether she could get away to search it.
“Found it!” Kostas excimed with a twinkle in his eye. “Cottage two will be perfect for all of you.” He ran a couple of cards through a device and handed them to his wife.
“I’ll go grab the luggage while the rest of you check out the rooms,” Robert announced as Maria stepped out from beside the desk.
Kostas grunted, saying, “I’ll help.” The two men walked off together, neither seeming to say anything as they exited the building. Maria, her mother, and Kai headed in the opposite direction towards the rge sliding doors Cordelia had noted earlier. She pushed herself away from the center table and followed the group.
As they walked along the pathway to the right of the resort, Maria pced her hand on Silka’s arm, gaining her attention. “You are going to love what we’ve done with the cottage renovations.”
“You remodeled?” Silka asked with some surprise in her voice.
“Been at it for ten years. I think your father needed something to do after you left and decided that it was time to freshen up the pce.”
With a ugh, Silka replied, “He likely didn’t want me to return without having something fixed up; he knew I’d give him a hard time.”
“You were always good at keeping him on task.” Cordelia liked the way the two bantered back and forth. It flowed easily from one to the other, even though they had been apart for years. “Cottage two is my favorite,” Maria smiled at Silka with a glimmer in her eye. “After all, it was all you ever talked about.”
Silka let out a gasp of happiness, “Did you also add skylights?”
“Yes, in all the cottages. You were right, it brightened them right up.”
Cordelia knew how much her mother loved to decorate, and Silka had a great, simple style. Her mother had always stressed the importance of less is more when putting together a room or when tackling anything that she did. The open-pn living, dining, and kitchen areas of their Ohio home exuded warmth, decorated in peach and light blue hues, furnished with country tables, plush chairs, a sectional sofa, and extensive bookshelves. Even so, it never felt cluttered; rather, welcoming and a true space for the family to be together.
It turned out that cottage two was one of the cottages Cordelia had seen earlier. It was white with a lic roof, and a dark purple door and trim. Maria used the card to open the door, throwing it wide so they could all peek in. Silka gasped in appreciation as she moved into the cottage, followed by Maria.
From the door, Cordelia marveled, taking in the living room. It was much rger than she expected, providing a comfortable sitting area that flowed into a cozy kitchen space. There were archways on each side of the living room, leading to other parts of the cottage. She and Kai stepped in together, hesitant to go far. The colors from outside were repeated throughout the space, with rge pictures on the walls of garden scenes and clusters of pnts tucked in corners and on side tables. Silka smiled brightly before exciming, “It is perfect French Country Rustic.”
French Country Rustic? Was that something her mother made up? The two women walked around the loveseat-sized couch, talking about the matching chair. Soon, their attention was caught by the young woman walking in a flowering garden in the picture next to the TV mounted on the wall. Cordelia couldn’t focus on their discussion; rather, it registered that a search of the bookshelves and cupboards might be something to investigate ter. It was doubtful that she would find anything. Still, no stone left unturned.
The women paused next to the archway on the left to look around the room once more before their eyes fell on Kai and herself by the door. Kai had given up and sat on the ground with his back against the wall, staring out at the empty front walkway. Cordelia had her arms crossed and was biting her lip as she wondered if any cottage might be worth searching.
Maria tsked, “Let’s get you two settled.” Turing to the right, her grandmother headed down a short hall with a bathroom on the left and a bedroom at the end. The bedroom mirrored the living room’s lic-and-white decor and airy garden feeling. Two twin beds fnked a four-drawer dresser with a narrow closet next to the door. An inviting reading chair sat in the corner near a window that looked out at the crisp blue of the ocean.
“Which bed do you want?” Cordelia asked her brother.
His face squinted before saying, “I’ll take the first one. You probably want the window.”
Indeed, she had wanted the one by the window. “You’re right!” she confirmed, plopping onto the end of the bed.
Their dad came in with the two bags in tow and her backpack. He handed Cordelia the backpack and then pced Kai’s suitcase on his bed. “The pillows and bnkets are on the cart out front. Can you go get them?” Robert asked Cordelia.
She nodded, pushing off the bed and heading out into the front room where she saw the main door standing open. There in the walkway was a bellman’s cart, with the only items remaining being the pillow and bnkets. Cordelia scooped them up before looking around at the nearby cottages. Despite it being a Saturday afternoon, everything seemed awfully quiet. She didn’t see any guests walking along the paths, talking as they headed to the beach. No sounds of ughter came from the nearby cottage as a family relived the day’s adventure. Where were all the guests?
Figuring she would ask ter, she headed back inside. Voices floated to her from the left side of the cottage. It sounded like her mother and grandparents. She stilled, trying to make out what they were saying, even taking a step, then two closer to the hallway leading in that direction. The words remained elusive. Leaning over, she peered down the hall and saw that the door was closed.
Darn it! She straightened and headed back to her room. As she walked in, she saw her father helping Kai unpack his clothes into the two bottom drawers of the dresser. “We left the top for you,” Robert told her.
Dropping Kai’s pillow and bnket onto the bed near the door, she went to her bed and sat down, watching her dad and brother. They had unpacked in no time, and then Robert zipped up the suitcase and put it in the closet. “Do you need any help?” he asked Cordelia as he turned from the closet.
“I’ll handle it,” she said with a shrug.
With a sheepish smile, he replied, “I don’t mind helping.”
“No, really, I’d rather do it myself. Just gathering my thoughts for a minute.”
Robert nodded once, looking around the room until his gnce nded on Kai, standing over by the bed. “I guess I need to get a move on it. It’s a long drive. I need to be back in Ohio before morning.”
“Dad - you’re exhausted.” Cordelia remembered he said he needed to go back, but she hadn’t thought it would be today. “Is that a good idea? Drive all night again?”
“It can’t be helped. If I’m not there by morning, then the whole point of me getting all of you away will be for nothing. I have to stick to the pn. See this through to the end.” Robert gave both of them an encouraging smile and a nod. “Give me a hug, and then I need to go say goodbye to your mother and grandparents.”
Kai took the two steps over to him to fling his arms around his father’s waist. “I love you, buddy. Do what your mother and sister say and stay out of trouble.”
“Always,” Kai whispered.
Cordelia stood waiting her turn. Kai pulled away as she stepped forward, reaching out to her father as he folded her into his familiar embrace. Immediately, his woodsy scent surrounded her. She hugged him a little tighter, not wanting to let go now that the time had arrived. “Listen to your mother and grandparents. Keep your eyes open for any strangers.”
“Everyone is a stranger,” was her muffled reply.
He chuckled, “I guess you’re right. Looking out for strangers won’t work in this case.” He seemed to pause for a minute and then said, “Keep your eyes open for anyone that your grandparents don’t seem to trust.”
Giving him a st squeeze, she pulled back and looked into his gray eyes as she promised to do as he asked.
* * *
“Finally!” she muttered under her breath, shutting her ptop with a click. She had finished some edits to her literature paper, which was due on Wednesday. It was a few days early, which was unusual for her, but she’d run out of things to do in the cottage.
It had been two hours since their father had departed. At first she had paced around her room, then drifted out to the cottage's main area. When she stepped into the living room, a thrill of excitement raced up her spine upon finding it empty. She crept to the main bookcase, scanning the novels and other books stacked there. Then she examined the other three shelves, even moving items around to ensure that she had seen everything. Nothing! Only mainstream movies, cssic books, and meaningless nicknacks. Even the light stand beside the couch hid nothing in its cupboard.
“What’s wrong?” came from across the room.
Cordelia let out a squeak as she whirled around and fell against the couch arm. “You scared me.”
“Sorry - I heard a noise.” Her mother’s brow dipped. “Are you looking for something?”
What to say? “I’m completely bored; there is nothing to do around here.”
Her mother’s frown deepened. “There is a bookshelf of books, a TV and some movies, a beach and an ocean, and who knows what you might find in the main hotel.”
“None of that sounds interesting at all!” she huffed. Obviously, the beach and ocean would have been fun, but it was te in the day and although summer was approaching, the nights still cooled fast. In fact, she could feel a slight chill in the air even inside.
“You can’t think of one single thing to do?” her mother looked at her with a raised eyebrow of doubt.
“Normally, I’d find something on YouTube or TikTok or just the internet in general. That avenue is cut off.”
“Maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Less screen time allows you to actually live in the world.”
Cordelia grumbled, “I know, I know. Go out and do something.”
Her mother smiled faintly and shook her head, “Go get your computer. Your father left me some instructions on how we could connect to the internet using a VPN. We can use that to keep from being located.”
Cordelia’s blue eyes lit up. “Really?”
Her mother’s smile faded as she said, “I guess your father and grandfather have been in communication all these years, although infrequent.” Silka paused before grumbling, “Your dad never mentioned it to me, but he kept my parents updated. He also worked with your grandfather to establish a secure connection to the internet in case we needed it.”
Cordelia blinked. Her father had even kept secrets from her mother. If she had to guess, he had probably been worried that her mother would have contacted her grandparents unnecessarily. Or maybe he felt it would be too hard on her not to contact them if she knew there was a way.
“Go on. Grab your computer. I’ll go get the instructions in my room.”
She dashed back to her room and grabbed her computer from her backpack near the bed. The two of them then sat at the kitchen counter, setting up the connection. They stumbled a few times with the instructions, but Cordelia let out a “Yes!” when Google finally popped up.
Before she could run back to her room, her mother warned, “Do not open up your chat messages. Same goes for email. Also, you can’t reach out to teachers for help when doing schoolwork this week.”
“But,” Cordelia started.
“Off grid, remember?” her mother asked. “If you jump onto either of those ptforms, someone might figure out where you are, or you might let it slip. If you need help with school, and I can’t figure it out, we’ll send the question to your father through the secure connection. He might know, or he can follow up.”
“Fine.” As she stepped away, she remembered her phone. “Can I also connect my phone so I can watch videos?”
“That should be fine, but leave the location services off.” Cordelia spent a few minutes using the instructions again and then skipped off to her room.
Once in her room, she let Kai know about being able to get on the internet. He’d grabbed his device and left before she’d even finished.
At first, she watched a few videos, but they just couldn’t distract her like they usually did. When she closed YouTube, the red notification badge from her messages demanded attention. She couldn’t look away. Her finger hovered over them. So tempted to check. The indicator jumped to 102, and that was just in a day. With a frustrated groan, she dropped the phone on her bed and screamed into her pillow.
That had ultimately made her pull out her schoolwork. It had temporarily distracted her from thinking about the st twenty-four hours. Now she had completed that as well.
“Ready for dinner?” Her mother popped her head into their room.
Thank goodness. “Sure. Do we need to change?” She looked down at the sweatpants and sweatshirt she had slipped on st night and hadn’t bothered to change out of.
“Yes, put on something a little nicer. Dressing up always makes me feel better. How about I give you about thirty minutes?”
“That will work. I’ll jump in the shower.”
Silka smiled and looked over at Kai, “What about you? Do you need to shower?”
Kai wrinkled his nose, “Why would I need to shower?”
Cordelia imitated his facial expression, “Ugh - why are boys so disgusting?”
“I’m not,” Kai protested, sitting up in bed. “I just don’t need a shower.”
“Ha. I’m sure your feet say otherwise,” Cordelia shot back with a raised eyebrow.
He stuck his tongue out at her. But she saw from the corner of her eye that he looked at his feet when he thought she’d turned away.
Silka told Kai, “Alright. No need to fight. Can you find something a little nicer to wear, maybe a nice shirt, and brush your teeth? We’ll be eating at your grandparent’s house tonight, not in the resort dining room. Your Yia Yia likes to be a little formal at dinner.”
Cordelia paused at the bathroom door as she heard her mother tell her brother about dinner. They’d be at her grandparent’s house. Closing the door and leaning back against it, she made pns about what to say at dinner to find out more about her family and what she could do to learn more about their living quarters.
* * *
A delicious smell greeted them as they entered the private residence of her grandparents through a door that was around the side of the main hotel building. The door had been unassuming, and Cordelia wouldn’t have guessed that it was an entrance at all if her mother hadn’t taken them there and knocked soundly. She and Kai were puzzled at first, looking at their mother in confusion until Kostas opened the door and invited them in.
There was a tiny entryway that opened into a kitchen and dining area on the right. Then, across the hall, was a sitting room with a couch, chairs, and a TV on the wall. That room was dark, but looked comfortable. Some stairs at the end of the hall were the st thing visible in the rather small housing space. Cordelia assumed two rooms were upstairs, or could it be three? Her mother’s room had to be up there.
The dining room table featured fine china, crystal gsses, gold cloth napkins, and a beautiful spring flower arrangement. Three candles stood lighted, giving the room a nice, friendly glow. “Told you my mom loves the evening meal and tries to make it special,” Silka leaned forward to whisper to both of the children as they looked around the room in appreciation.
“I do love it, especially when my family is all together,” Maria said as she moved into the room with a rge covered dish. It seemed that her grandmother had heard those whispered words, which surprised Cordelia.
“It looks beautiful, Mom. You haven’t lost your touch.”
“Of course not!” Maria replied in mock indignation. “Takes a lot more than a few years to slow down my love of entertaining,” Maria smiled at her husband in pride as he took his seat. “Cordelia, why don’t you sit next to me while Kai sits next to your Papou?”
Nodding, Cordelia headed around the table to take the seat next to her grandmother’s pce setting and across from her mother. Before Silka sat, she asked, “Do you need help?”
Maria shook her head as she pced the dish in the center and headed over to take her seat. “No - it is all taken care of. Sit!”
The five of them settled at the table along with a silence that seemed to grow with each second that ticked by. Kostas cleared his throat before announcing, “Let’s say grace. Then we can get drinks for everyone.” He said a prayer of thanks for the food, and they all ended with an amen.
“We have water, lemonade and tea on the table.” Maria looked at Cordelia and asked, “Does that work or would you rather have a pop?”
Silka had started to protest about sodas with dinner just as Cordelia reassured, “Lemonade is wonderful, Yia Yia.”
Maria beamed as she pointed to the pitcher of lemonade that sat near the center dish. Cordelia reached over to take it and poured herself a gss before handing it to her grandmother. “I made a meat sagna along with some antipasto and a garden sad. The basket next to your Papou has the garlic bread.”
Cordelia saw the sad was in front of her, so she took the tongs off the table and helped herself to a rge scoop. Minutes slipped by as they filled their ptes and passed dishes around the table so everyone could get what they wanted. Cordelia skipped the antipasto, but took a big slice of the sagna and two pieces of bread. There was plenty of food, and after taking a bite of the sagna, Cordelia was looking forward to a second helping. Again, an uncomfortable silence fell over the room as everyone sat eating and looking at their ptes.
Silka finally spoke, “I love the remodel on the cottages, Dad. I knew it would look great with the skylights.”
Kostas lips quirked up as he wiped his lips. “It was a vast improvement. Didn’t think it would make that much of a difference, but it did. They were a pain to put in, though.” Kostas and Silka talked back and forth about distinct changes to the resort while everyone else sat eating.
Cordelia found her attention wandering, instead taking covert peeks at her grandmother next to her. Maria had dressed nicely for dinner. Her hair was up in an elegant bun with a few wisps around her ears. Some light makeup on her face brightened it perfectly. This brief study led her to believe that her grandmother was a reserved woman. She didn’t join in the conversation between father and daughter; rather, nodded at times and listened intently. Once or twice, Maria looked at Kai or over at Cordelia with a wistful look in her eyes. But she’d soon shake away that look and tune back to the conversation.
As talk of the remodel died away, Cordelia found her chance to seek more information on the family she never knew. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” she asked, looking directly at her mother.
Silka’s head came up in surprise, but before her mother could answer, Maria replied, “No. We were only blessed with the one child, but she was everything we wanted. Beautiful, intelligent, kind and obviously a wonderful mother.” The final compliment was said as Maria included Cordelia and Kai in her look.
“Mom!” Silka excimed in happy embarrassment as she reached out to squeeze Maria’s hand, which Maria had extended her way when she saw Silka reach out.
“Why not more? It seems like you could have made room?”
“It is very difficult for our kind to have more than one child?” Maria answered without thinking. Immediately, Cordelia heard her mother suck in a breath; silence fell over the three adults.
“Our kind?” Cordelia asked.
A flush of red flooded Maria’s cheeks as she pulled up her napkin, wiping at her lips, her eyes moving back and forth in thought.
Kostas jumped in, “She meant people our age. We were older when we had your mother. That made it harder to have more children.”
Cordelia was now more confused than ever. Her grandparents looked quite young, so their advanced age being the reason they didn’t have more children didn’t seem to ring true. They were hiding something. Was it reted to why they needed protected? Before she could continue her line of questioning, her grandmother asked, “I’ve been eager since this afternoon to hear about these sports you are both involved in.”
Silka chimed in, seeming happy for the change of subject, “Cordelia is a splendid swimmer, as is Kai. I think she’ll join the high school team next year.” Kai happily added information about what he pyed and how he got into it. This topic carried them until dinner was complete.
Her grandmother mentioned some ice cream for dessert, but Silka said they needed to get some sleep. It has been a long day. Even so, they assisted their grandparents with clearing the table, but their grandparents waved them away when they offered to do the dishes.
As the three of them walked silently back to the cottage, Cordelia acknowledged that dinner had yielded few answers. Still, the night wasn’t a total waste. She now knew the general yout of her grandparent’s private residence and had uncovered that there was something about their family origin that everyone wanted to keep secret.
A fsh of her grandparent’s staircase. That was where she needed to focus. She had to find a way upstairs to search through her mother’s childhood room. The answers had to be there.
