Chances Are... Stories of Hope Melina's Tale by Andrea Lena DiMaggio

Olympus Diner…Hawthorne, New Jersey

“Yanni….Damn it, Helen??? Didn’t you speak to the boy yesterday?” Nick looked over at his son, who was bussing the booths in the back. He had been at the diner since four that morning, and at eight in the evening, it had been a very long day. He gazed intently at his watch, almost as if he was timing the boy.

“Nicko? (pronounced Nee-ko) Leave the boy alone. He works hard and he’s the only one now that Pete is off to school.” Helen sighed. Four children, three of whom were out of the house. That left the youngest to bear the weight, not only of the demands of going to school and working at the restaurant, but the sole focus of Nick’s frustration when things weren’t going so well. And because Nick was an alarmist stranded in a sea of optimism and success, everything looked bad even when it was going good.

“It doesn’t look right to the customers. He’s a boy, and he looks more like my sister than my sister does.” Nick was always full of silly jokes and even some cruel taunts when Kelly was around, having been the big disappointment to the Macros family by coming out with her girlfriend the previous fall.

“Nicko…stop that! You know you can be so mean. Kelly loves you and would die for you…and you treat her like a stranger. Pretty soon, I may not be around, eh? And then what? Your big boys all grown up and off to school or to the football. They don’t call and they don’t even come home. Pete didn’t even call when he got to school. And what about Yanni? He works harder than anyone here, even you. What more do you want in a child. Someday you’ll look around and everyone will be gone. Think about that!” Helen shook her head. It was so hard to love someone so obstinate, but you hardly ever get to choose whom you fall in love with. Helen fell out of like with her husband years ago, however, and felt helpless in protecting her youngest.

“You coming tomorrow?” The girl stood at the counter and handed Yanni some cash. He rang up her bill and handed her the change.

“No…you keep it…maybe get a nice set of burettes?” She teased, and the boy winced, wondering if his father had overheard. Thankfully, his father had turned his attention to the bakery delivery man as his voice boomed from across the luncheonette.

“I can’t. I’ve got a final Thursday and tomorrow night is the only night I’ll have a chance to study.

“You have to tell them. You just have to.” The girl’s hand reached out and grabbed his, squeezing it gently.

“Alex is watching, Mel…” She looked upward, reminding the boy about his best friend…her brother.

“I know….shhhh…. Please, Ari….don’t use that name around my Dad… He’ll kill me if he found out.”

“I’m sorry… and I’m sorry for bringing up Alex. It’s just that he loved you so much… Now that he’s gone, we only have each other.” The girl’s eyes filled with tears at the memory of her loss; Alex Polidouris gone from leukemia at nineteen, and denied even in death the life she wanted to lead. And her best friend, Yanni Macros…. Melina; since eight years old, stuck in a life that denied her any hope of being what and whom she was. Ariadne Polidouris loved Melina… like the sister she was, and she was determined that she was not going to lose this sister to foolishness and ignorance like Alex. She had begged and pleaded with her father to honor Alex’ wishes. Instead of a dear sister, the family buried a son and brother, hair shorn to a ‘proper’ length and garbed in a blue suit.

“Stephie’s going to be at the meeting…can’t you come…even for a little while. I can help you study tomorrow night. Please, Mel….Yanni…okay?”

“I’ll see.” Stephie was going to be there. The other part of the puzzle that was Yanni Macros. And he was probably right about his father. When Nicko found out about his sister, he had some friends get ‘insistent’ with Kelly’s girlfriend at her job. When all was said and done, Nicko had made his point about his sister’s choice of company, and ended up estranged to his only sibling. He was right, and that was all there was to it. If Nicko found out about Melina and the girl she had fallen in love with? Stephanie Elias…Stephen Elias was the only person besides Ari who understood Melina, and that more than anything would lead to disaster if Nicko found out.

“I need you to come right after school tomorrow,” Nicko said as he walked up to the counter. He hit a few buttons on the register and placed the bakery receipt in the drawer before pulling out a twenty. He thrust the cash into the boys hand.

“And get yourself a haircut…no arguments.” Nicko pointed to his belt and laughed as the boy winced. It had been a while since he and his father had one of those ‘discussions,’ but he knew his father meant business.

“Pop…I have a final the next day…I have to study.”

“You can study in the back when things get slow.” Nicko pointed to the swinging door into the kitchen.

“No arguments, boy.” Nicko laughed at the word. It was funny to him since he was demeaning his child’s age. Helen was right, of course. Nicko didn’t realize just how much he was blessed with a devoted son…a devoted child who loved him and would do anything for him. Yanni was conflicted in so many ways. He sighed as his father pat him on the back before walking away.

“Haircut…and come in right after that!”

“Oh….okay.” He turned to see that Ari was still standing at the counter.

“I’ll tell everybody that you send your love.” She spoke in a normal tone, but finished in a whisper.

“Melina.” She blew Yanni a kiss before walking out of the restaurant.

“Yanni? Take care of this mess,” the boy heard his father yell from the kitchen. He walked through the door to see a pile of dirty dishes stacked in the large sink.

“Georgie went home sick, so you gotta finish this before we go tonight."

What seemed like the longest day in the world…a day that was supposed to be a day off of school and work…became even longer. The boy looked at his father, who just pointed to the extra work; the responsible child who needed no prompting got an angry glare.

“I haven’t finished bussing, Pop. Which do you want me to do first?” A reasonable request which was answered by an even meaner glare.

“Don’t give me a hard time, Yanni…I’ve been here since noon and I’m tired. Get the bussing done quickly and then get these done.” He pointed once again to the pile, which hadn’t gotten smaller or less obvious in the past few moments.

“If you didn’t stop to talk to the girls all the time….” He walked past him and hit him hard in the arm, just below the shoulder, making sure that he used his knuckle to jab.

“Now that’s for what I didn’t catch you doing.” Nicko laughed and walked out of the kitchen leaving the boy to survey the mess. He quickly sorted silverware and plates and cups, making the job easier. He was literally walking through the door into the dining room when his father yelled one last time,

“Yanni…come on….get moving. These tables aren’t going to buss themselves. The boy put his head down and bit his lip before walking out of the kitchen.

Later...

She looked in the mirror. It was two-thirty in the morning, and school and a haircut and work already were pulling at her. She touched her face softly; her fingers brushing lightly at a lock that was destined to disappear later that day. Her eyes were on the verge, but no tears had formed as yet. Her nostrils flared and she gritted her teeth. Her face was wan; even her mother had started to notice the lack of weight; the tired look that seemed to greet everyone.

“S ´agapao! (I love you!)” She blew a kiss to her image before walking slowly to her bed. She laid down and looked up at the ceiling, seeking some sort of celestial skywriting that would help answer all of life’s questions. She shook her head once before covering her eyes with her arm. Too much loss and too much pain and too much sadness and way too much weight on the girl’s shoulders pushed her that one final inch or so toward despair and she began to sob. She turned over and looked at the empty pill container…not enough to depart, but enough to bring a night’s…an early morning’s rest as she cried herself to sleep.

Next: Melina’s Chance