A Recipe for Daphne Nektaria Anastasiadou (the rosie project .TXT) đ
- Author: Nektaria Anastasiadou
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When Kalypso decided it was time to leave, she grasped her red saucer hat so that it wouldnât fall, sprang forward, andâso quickly that Fanis didnât have a chance to reactâkissed his ear lobe. She was out the door in a second. Fanis was left sitting there, paralyzed by the sensation of her kiss: he hadnât known that the ear was an erogenous zone. Over the months to come, her ear-lobe kisses progressed to nibbles, licks, and bites. Fanis had never before experienced such intense pleasure. After Kalypsoâs death, he never let another woman touch his ears. That part of his body belonged to Kalypso.
âAt your service.â
Fanis looked up at the waiter. Then he looked at the other customers. Everyone was dressed badly, which meant, of course, that it was still 2011. âFour cherry-jam-filled surprises and a tea,â he said.
âRight away.â
Fanis turned his attention to the street and saw a young woman walking so quickly that she was almost skipping. Her long hair bounced against the small of her back. Without thinking, he jumped up and knocked on the glass. She turned and waved. âCome in,â he said.
Daphne came over to his table. âIâm meeting Selin,â she said, between cheek kisses.
Daphneâs outfit lacked the joy of Kalypsoâs polka dots, but it had an ethnic sort of elegance: an ankle-length black dress and a long necklace with a silver pendant that looked like . . . the hand of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Did Daphne have tendencies toward the other side?
âWhatâs that?â Fanis asked.
Daphne picked up the pendant. âThis? My favorite necklace.â
âIâm not talking about it as jewelry,â said Fanis, âbut as a symbol.â
âItâs Fatimahâs Hand for Muslims, Solomonâs Hand for Jews, and the Mother of Godâs Hand for Christians.â
âHow lovely,â said Fanis, relieved. âMy favorite Turkish word is hoĆgörĂŒ, which means looking pleasantly upon other people and their ideas. So much better than tolerans, isnât it, which really just means that youâve decided begrudgingly to put up with others? That hand, as youâve explained it, Daphne dear, is a symbol of hoĆgörĂŒ.â
âI love that,â said Daphne.
âDo you know what I love?â said a woman.
Fanis turned and beheld cherry-red fingernails clutching a drawstring duffel. God, he thought, I must start coming to Neighborâs House earlier in the day.
Selin sank into a chair beside Fanis and answered her own question: âI love that Istanbul is the biggest city Iâve ever lived in. Bigger than Paris, and yet I still manage to run into someone I know almost everywhere I go. Isnât that wonderful?â
âCertainly,â said Fanis. âIt must be because weâre always out.â
âUnfortunately we canât stay long,â said Selin. âThereâs something we have to do.â
âSomething important?â said Fanis.
âYes.â Selin took a Chinese fan from her purse and aired her perspiring face. âA secret.â
âYouâll have a tea at least.â
Daphne hugged her unbleached-canvas schoolbag to her chest. âWe have an appointment.â
Fanis sighed. Selin shifted an ear toward one of the wall-mounted speakers, exposing the left side of her neck. There it was: the persistent hickey. She definitely had a boyfriend.
âDo you hear that?â said Selin. âItâs Ella Fitzgeraldâs âIt Donât Mean A Thing.â I just love the Stuff Smith violin solo.â
Fanis closed his eyes and sang along.
âYour voice is extraordinary,â said Daphne.
âThatâs kind of you to say, dear,â said Fanis, âbut itâs Ellaâs rhythm thatâs extraordinary, not my voice.â
âI must hear you chant sometime,â said Selin.
âI must hear you play sometime,â said Fanis.
âPerhaps you will.â Selin crossed one meaty leg over the other. âMr. Fanis, do you mind if I ask an indiscreet question?â
âThatâs the only kind I like.â
âHow old are you?â
âHow old do you think I am?â
Daphne twisted her beautiful long hair over one shoulder. âSixty-five.â
âSixty-two,â said Selin. âCome on, tell us. And donât lie.â
âI donât know how to lie,â said Fanis. He removed his identity card from his wallet and displayed the birth date. âMarch 27, 1935. Seventy-six. Would you have guessed it? And I have no one in the world, neither children nor relatives.â He looked Daphne in the eye. âMy future wife will inherit everything: my apartment, my antiques, even my illustrious Byzantine surname.â
Fanis hoped that this might tempt Daphne, but it was Selin who responded, âSurely, Mr. Fanis, a man like you doesnât need to entice women with an inheritance.â
Who was this siren, this enchantress, set on preventing him from marrying one of his own kind? Then again, Fanis reasoned, was not his goal, in a larger sense, to perpetuate old Istanbul, and was not Selin, a Sephardi whose family had lived in the City since 1492, a part of old Istanbul? He couldnât deny it. As lovely as Daphne was, those comfy sandals and untrimmed cuticles might grow tiring. Yet Selinâwith her kitten heels, her flawless maquillage, and her artsy spunkâwas already overworking his old heart.
âWe need to get going,â said Daphne.
âBut you havenât had tea,â Fanis protested.
He didnât even have a chance to stand. Selin leaned over and kissed his cheeks, paralyzing him with the scent of her perfumeâYves Saint Laurent, CinĂ©ma?âand a peek at her dark dĂ©colletage. âGoodbye, Mr. Fanis,â she said.
âHave fun, girls,â he heard himself say, but he was unable to move. As soon as they were out of sight, he glanced downward and noticed, right in front of him on the table, a business card. In white letters on a blue background were the words âSelin Kerido, Violinistâ and . . . her
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