The Butterfly Storm Read Online Free

and the sauces are done.’
    ‘I know, I know.’ She leans towards me and whispers, ‘I’m working with amateurs.’
    ‘It’s stormy, Mama, it’ll be cooler tonight,’ Alekos says. He puts his arm around her
shoulders.
    She stands on tiptoes and kisses him on both cheeks. ‘And busier.’
    There is no winning when she’s in this mood. We back up the stairs, leaving the steam, hot food
and tempers behind. Alekos heads for the shower and I return to our bedroom. It is icy cold
and dull. I pull the curtains open. Only a smudge of blue remains in the sky. Rain lashes
the balcony and thunder continues to rumble overhead. I slip my dress on and glimpse
movement. A red butterfly flutters and lands on the wall. Its wings are bright and still
against the white, as if it has been painted on. I leave it there, safe from the storm. I gather
my hair in a ponytail and quickly put mascara and lip gloss on. I turn the air con off for
Alekos.
    I knock on the bathroom door. ‘I’m ready.’
    Alekos emerges with only a towel wrapped round his middle. He looks me up and down. His eyes
linger. ‘That’s quite a dress. Do you want to help me get ready?’ he says, nodding towards our
bedroom.
    ‘I know you too well, Aleko,’ I reply. I blow him a kiss and wiggle my retreat along the hallway. ‘I’ll
be downstairs.’
    I don’t have to wait long. Alekos is down in minutes, wearing grey trousers and a short-sleeved shirt,
his black hair combed and styled. He finds me with Takis retrieving dusty bottles of ouzo from the store
cupboard.
    ‘Is the car ready to go, Baba?’ Alekos asks.
    Takis looks up from the crate of bottles and nods. ‘Take me with you, eh?’ He winks. ‘Enjoy
yourselves tonight.’
    …
    The windscreen wipers won’t go fast enough. We drive in a half-light; the sky is so dark and
heavy with rain. We head towards the dusky remains of the evening’s sunshine and soon the

storm is behind us, the rumbles distant and the flashes less intrusive. Alekos winds the
windows down as the car heats up. We pick up speed on the national road and cool air rushes
in.
    ‘Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?’ I ask.
    Alekos reaches for Takis’ cigarettes on the dashboard and pulls one out. I tut.
    ‘He doesn’t mind,’ he says with the cigarette between his lips.
    ‘I do.’
    He gropes for the matches and passes them to me.
    ‘Only if you tell me where we’re going,’ I say.
    He shrugs in defeat. I light it and watch him breathe in smoke before blowing it out through the
open window.
    ‘To the Olympus festival,’ he says.
    ‘To do what?’
    ‘Wait and see.’
    I don’t have to wait long. We pull into a car park in the foothills of Olympus and fight our way into
a parking space. The evening is cooler and the earth is damp underfoot. There’s a fresh smell of soil
mixed with the aroma of sweetcorn being grilled on a stall by the entrance. The sun has dipped behind
the mountain, leaving a stain of red and pink spreading across the horizon. I look behind at the slate
grey clouds gathering over the sea.
    We round the corner and walk towards a ticket booth.
    ‘We’re seeing a play?’ I ask.
    I recognise where we are but I haven’t been here since the first summer when Alekos
showed me the sights. The sun, disguised by the breeze, had burnt me while I stood on
the stage at the Ancient Theatre of Dion and bellowed the few lines I remembered from
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . It was an incredible setting nestled between the mountain and the
sea.
    Alekos buys the tickets. ‘We would have come last year but I didn’t think you knew enough
Greek.’
    ‘But now?’
    ‘I think you’ll enjoy it.’
    He couldn’t give me a greater compliment. He passes me the tickets.
    ‘ Agamemnon ,’ I say.
    ‘I know. A tragedy. Not right for an anniversary.’
    ‘I studied it at school.’
    ‘We can do something else if you want.’
    ‘No, no, this is great. I’ve always wanted to see a play here.’ I reach