Tales of the City 06 - Sure of You

already.”
    “Oh.” Anna seemed to redden slightly. “How nice.”
    Stratos gestured toward the retsina. “I took the liberty. I hope you don’t…”
    “Wonderful,” said Anna, holding out the empty glass.
    Stratos poured rather elegantly. “Mona has been telling me about your unpleasantness with the disco.”
    “Oh, yes,” said Anna. “Can you hear it where you live?”
    He shook his head. “Not much. My house is protected by the hillside.”
    “Lucky you,” said Anna. “We’re just above it. The sound bounces off the water and heads straight for our place. There’s a sort of amphitheater effect, I suppose.”
    “It will end soon,” he said.
    Mona was irked by his typical Greek complacency. “I’m gonna cut the wires one night.”
    Anna gave her an indulgent little smile, then turned to Stratos and said: “My daughter is an anarchist, in case you haven’t noticed.”
    “She thinks I’m kidding,” said Mona.
    Stratos chuckled and raised his glass in Mona’s direction. “Perhaps I will join you. We will be guerrilla patriots.”
    Mona clicked her glass against his. “Death to disco,” she said.

    During dinner, four or five cats climbed down from the wall and did a weird little gavotte around Anna’s legs. “This one reminds me of Boris,” she said, tossing a scrap of fish to an ancient tabby. “Do you remember him?”
    Mona nodded. “Is he still alive?”
    “No.” Anna looked wistful. “No, he’s gone. I have Rupert now.”
    Stratos filled their glasses again. “Did you tell Mona about Pelopi?”
    “No,” came Anna’s soft reply. “Not yet.”
    Was she blushing, Mona wondered, or was that just the sunset? “What’s Pelopi?”
    “It’s a village in the mountains. Stratos has kindly offered to…show it to me.”
    “Oh.”
    Stratos said: “It is the birthplace of the father of Michael Dukakis.”
    “Oh…right.”
    How could she have forgotten about Pelopi? The taverns of Molivos were abuzz with media pilgrims on their way to the sacred birthsite. Several local farm trucks even sported Dukakis bumper stickers. The mayor of Molivos, it was said, had already made plans to ship a traditional Lesbian dance troupe to the White House in the event of a Democratic victory.
    She wasn’t holding her breath.
    “Stratos says it’s lovely,” Anna put in, giving Mona a meaningful look. “His cousin has a house there.”
    “That’s nice. Another day trip, then?”
    “Well…no. We thought we’d stay over.”
    Nodding slowly, Mona saw the light.
    Of course. They were fucking. Or at least wanted to be very soon. How could she have been so thick?
    Anna regarded her peacefully with a slight, beatific smile, which said: Don’t make me spell it out.
    “It is much smaller than here,” said Stratos. “Very beautiful.”
    Mona nodded. “Is your cousin away or something?” “Mona, dear…”
    She flashed her parent a crooked smile, acknowledging the conquest. That it was Anna, and not her dyke daughter, who was about to be laid on the Sapphic isle was an irony lost on neither one of them.
    Oh, well. This was what you got for believing in brand names.
    “So,” Stratos jumped in, “you will have the villa to yourself for a few days.”
    “Fine.” She smiled at them both. “No problem. Have a good time.” After thinking for a moment, she added: “But don’t leave on my account.”
    “We’re not, dear.”
    “Because I can always take a room…”
    “I’m leaving on my own account,” said Anna, cutting her off with a vengeance. “I’m eager to see Pelopi.”
    “Mmm. Well, I can see why.”
    Her parent gave her a hooded look.
    “That’s pretty awe-inspiring. The birthplace of Dukakis’s father.” Mona shook her head in mock amazement, enjoying herself to the fullest.
    Anna avoided this gentle harassment by staring at the big greasy clock on the wall of the Mermaid. Eventually she asked: “What time is it in San Francisco?”
    Mona did some quick arithmetic. “Uh…nine o’clock in the morning.”
    “Oh, good.” Anna rose suddenly and gave Stratos an apologetic look. “Would you be a dear and keep my daughter company for about ten minutes?”
    “With pleasure.” Stratos’s smile turned cloudy after a moment. “Nothing is wrong, I hope?”
    “No, no. Not a thing. I just want to call the children.” Anna turned back to Mona. “I’ll just dash up the phone lady and be back in three shakes. We’ll all go someplace for dessert.”
    She gave them both