“Kota me manestra,” said Eleni.
“I’m ready now,” said Leo.
“Set the table, then,” said Eleni. Before the words finished leaving her mouth, her sons had begun to mobilize.
They ate dinner at a glass-top table on the screened-in porch out back. Golden time had come and gone and dusk had arrived. Eleni had lit candles and the dogs slept beneath the table. The diners were high above the yard at tree level, and branches and leaves brushed at the screen. A half mile over the District line and they were in a canopy of green.
The table was heavy with food. In the center sat a whole chicken roasted with garlic and lemon on a bed of orzo in tomato sauce, a large bowl of salad, bread, and a plate of tarama, olives, and feta cheese.
Eleni poured herself another glass of wine. Spero and Leo were still working on their first beers.
“Pass me that manestra,” said Leo.
“Again?” said Spero.
“I can’t stop eating it, man.”
“Fas na pachinis,” said Eleni.
“He’s already grown, Ma,” said Spero, passing the orzo to Leo. “He’s not gonna get taller if he eats more, he’s just gonna get fat.”
“Do you see any fat on me?” said Leo. “ Do you?”
“A little in your peesheenaw,” said Spero. He was speaking of Leo’s behind.
“You were givin it a good inspection, huh?”
“You can’t help but see it. It’s like a billboard.”
“That’s all muscle back there,” said Leo. “That’s why I can’t wear those skinny Levi’s like you do. I got a man’s build.”
“Your father used to tell me to buy you Lees,” said Eleni, looking at Leo. “And he’d say, get Levi’s for Spero.”
“Lees had more room in the back,” said Spero helpfully. “To accommodate your manly build.”
“In the front, too,” said Leo.
“Stop it,” said Eleni. “More salata, Spero?”
“Entaxi,” said Spero, telling her that he was fine.
They spoke a combination of Greek and English when they were home. It made their mother happy. Neither Spero nor Leo was Greek by blood, but, somewhat defiantly, they considered themselves to be honorary Greeks. Both were Orthodox, raised in the church. Of the four Lucas children, they were the ones who had attended Greek school, an after-public-school program, when they were young, which they loathed at the time but which paid off with dividends later on. Both had played basketball in the Greek Orthodox Youth of America league as well. Spero had been a wrestler primarily but was a strong athlete and had held his own on the courts. Leo had been a standout point guard in high school, and in the church league he tore it up. He was thirty years old, and it had been twelve years since he had last played GOYA, but in the Baltimore-Washington corridor Greek guys of his generation, even those who had cursed him at one time, and a few who had muttered racial epithets under their breath at him, now spoke of Mavro Leo with reverence.
“Your sister called me,” said Eleni.
“Epitelos,” said Spero. It meant, roughly, that it was about time.
“What’d she want?” said Leo.
“Just to catch up,” said Eleni, noticing the look between Leo and Spero. Irene, the eldest of the siblings, rarely called home and visited even less frequently. She had made her break from the family long ago and had not looked back. As for Dimitrius, their older brother, Eleni knew not to mention his name in front of her younger sons. Leo in particular had no love for his older brother, whom he simply called the Degenerate, and couldn’t forgive the stress he had put on their parents. Leo didn’t care about his whereabouts or how he was doing. Eleni, of course, had forgiven Dimitrius for everything and would have embraced him without reservation if he were to walk through the front door. She didn’t speak on Dimitrius to Spero and Leo, but he was still in her thoughts constantly, and she prayed for him every day.
“What’s goin on with Irene?” said Spero, not much caring, appeasing his mother.
“She just won a case. Some corporate thing.”
“Big money,” said Leo.
“I suppose.” Eleni had a sip of wine, looked at the glass, and killed what was left. “How’s work going, Leo?”
“Good,” said Leo. “I got this class, all boys. I’m really enjoying it, and I think they are, too.” He looked at Spero. “You’re coming to visit, right?”
“For career day?”
“We don’t call it that. I bring in people who have had success, from different backgrounds, to show the boys their options. You got a story, man.”
“I’ll come in if you want me to.” Spero pushed his plate away. “What are they reading in your class, The Scarlet Letter, somethin like that?”
“We’re finishing up an Elmore Leonard,” said Leo.
“Which one?”
“ Unknown Man #89.”
“Good one.”
“Hell, yeah.”
“You can do that?”
“I gotta clear it, but I can teach pretty much any book I want.”
“You’re enjoying it,” said Eleni.
“I am,” said Leo. “I found my calling.”
“Better watch out for the big boss,” said Spero. “That superintendent gets a wild hair up her ass and you might be out on the street.”
“She’s not gonna fire me, man,” said Leo. “I do my job.”
“What about you, Spero?” said Eleni, her eyes slightly unfocused. “How’s things?”
“I’m busy.”
“Working on anything in particular?”
“Nothing serious,” said Spero, not wishing to worry his mother. “A little bit of this and that.”
The men had cleared the table and were sitting back out on the porch. Eleni was in the kitchen washing dishes, nipping at another glass of wine. Dark had come to the backyard, the lights from the candles moving across their faces with the passing breeze.
“So who was that woman at your apartment when I called?” said Spero.
“Girl name Kyra. She’s all right.”
“Stray cat or house cat?”
“Stray.”
“What about that teacher at your school?”
“We still hang out,” said Leo. “You seein that lawyer?”
“She’s not a lawyer yet. I like her.”
“How much?”
“We’re having a nice time.” Spero looked through the open French doors of the screened porch to the kitchen. “Mom’s hitting it pretty good tonight.”
“She’s happy we’re here.”
“You think it’s that? That this is a special night for her and she’s having an extra couple of glasses to celebrate? Or do you think that it’s like that every night for her?”
“I don’t know,” said Leo. “Gotta be hard for her to navigate her life without Dad. To figure out where it’s going next. I think you oughtta, you know, lighten up some. Let her flounder a little if that’s what she needs to do. If that means an extra glass of wine or two a night, so be it.”
“If Dad was here, the TV would be on right now. Mom would be with him, watching one of his westerns or karate movies, keeping him company. Even though she had no interest at all.”
