Free Bound to You by Nichi Hodgson Page B

that phrase, ‘
kronia polla
’. It basically translated as ‘many years’ and made me think of the conversation we’d had about times past that night in the resort. I hated waking up on my birthday without Christos beside me. Why hadn’t I gone over to stay at his last night? He’d said he was too tired but it wouldn’t have been any trouble to him to let me crawl into his bed.
    When I got to my desk there was a decorated chocolate caterpillar cake perched on a filing cabinet at the top end of the office. My colleague Emma grinned at me. ‘What did the divine Christos get you?’
    ‘These earrings.’
    ‘Let me see?’
    I touched the studs protectively. Emma came over.
    ‘Oh my, they’re not diamond, are they?’
    ‘No, not diamond.’
    ‘The man’s got good taste. Just wait for the big one.’
    That night Christos and I met my younger brother, Alistair, for a quiet dinner in Soho. My brother was busy studying for an MA and though we were close, we rarely managed to meet up any more. He was ferociously intelligent, quiet and thoughtful, with a dry sardonic wit. He got on with Christos as if they were already family.
    We started reminiscing about the fun we had had together over the years. Alistair began to laugh. ‘Do you remember when we made you that Giorgos card, Christos, for your birthday? It had a picture of George Michael on the front during his Wham! days and you thought it was from the guy in the gym you knew who was also called George . . .’
    ‘. . . and that he was cracking on to you, Christos
mou
!’ I added. ‘Oh God!’
    ‘Yeah, and then I nearly went and confronted him about because of you two!’
    The three of us laughed together, and dinner carried on in this way, punctuated with our shared memories.
    As soon as the bill had been paid Alistair had to make a move. ‘Don’t study too hard, Mog,’ I warned him. Mog was our mutual nickname for one another.
    ‘I won’t, Mog, don’t worry.
    ‘Good luck with the PhD, Christos,’ he said.
    I gave Alistair an affectionate kiss on the cheek, and they patted one another on the back, before he slipped off back to his university halls.
    Christos and I sat facing each other. I was happy and relaxed. This was the right way to spend a birthday, with two people I liked as much as I loved. ‘What do you want to do, Christos
mou
? Shall we stay at mine tonight? Or I can stay at yours? I don’t have any clean clothes but I think you have that dress at yours, don’t you, the one I left in Greece that Mimi sent over with you?’
    Christos gave me a troubled smile then leaned across the table to stroke my head. ‘Nichi
mou
, I need to go home tonight.’
    ‘Well, like I said, I can come to you.’
    ‘No, Nichi
mou
. I mean I need to go home alone. I just have so much reading for tomorrow. I need to be up early in the morning. Need to be ready to study.’
    I stared at him. Not tonight, Christos. Not on my birthday. ‘But Christos, I need to be up too. I’m still at the hospital this week, remember?’
    ‘Well then, all the more reason for us both to stay at our places tonight. I’ll come across at the weekend. Sunday, perhaps. I’ll make you a nice dinner.’
    ‘But Christos, it’s my birthday!’
    ‘But Nichi
mou
, I’m here! We’ve had a nice dinner with your brother and now we can just go home and prepare for our busy days tomorrow.’ I started to put on my jacket. ‘Come on, Nichi, you know how difficult this is for me. You saw how Alistair had to rush off there to get back to his books.’
    ‘Christos, it’s just one night. My birthday night. Jesus, when are we ever going to have sex any more? We might as well be bloody married!’ The waitress looked over at me nervously. I clearly looked as though I were about to make a scene.
    ‘Let’s go,’ Christos said, and ushered me out of the restaurant.
    We walked to the tube together in silence.
    ‘So do I need to make an appointment to sleep with my boyfriend these days or