At their cabin door, both women were already doubled over with laughter. Once inside, Anna embraced her mother and helped her get into bed.
"You don't need to worry about me,
Mother. I really can take care of myself."
"I know, darling, but you are still my baby. I bought you a little something special. I'll give it to you tomorrow." Melpo closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep, snoring loudly.
Overwhelmed by the night's events, Anna found it difficult to loosen up. She sat quietly, staring at her still intoxicated mother. Except for the shallow movement of her chest, the rest of her body looked like the spirit had abandoned it. Anna was embarrassed that her mother had found her with Nikolas, and felt compassion for her maternal concern. At the same time, she couldn't help feeling disgusted by her behavior.
***
In the morning, Giovanni brought fresh coffee, which quickly reached Melpo's nostrils.
"Give me some coffee please," she said in a trembling voice, holding both sides of her head tenderly. "I'm never going to drink again ..."
Anna looked at her solemnly. Melpo caught her eyes.
"Okay, okay, next time I'll drink less," she said, as though she knew it wasn't true. She took a sip of her hot coffee, almost scorching her lips. She set the cup down and added more cream and sugar to it, and then tried again. Anna sat in a chair across from her mother.
"What do you really need from me,
Anna?"
"All I really want is a mother." Anna lowered her head, as if to hide her emotions, and continued, "And her love ... The love I needed when I was a child and I need now just as much."
Melpo listened as though Anna had not spoken.
"When I was a child ... Did I ever tell you about my own mother?" she asked and Anna shook her head. "She was from Anatolia, from a poor Armenian family. My father picked her as his wife for her beauty, her youth, and her shyness. Rumors were that she was adopted." Melpomeni took another sip of coffee. "My father treated her like a slave. Even though we always had servants, and lots of them, she was at his disposal day and night, an obedient dog that he patted on the head once in a while, and threw a bone her way ... like a tender touch on her cheek."
She took a deep breath. "There was very little time for me. I learned next to nothing from my mother except to hate men ... Well, at least to distrust them ... They say you have to receive love before you can give it away ... I never developed the instinct for being a mother." Melpomeni's eyes were wet with tears. "My mother went to church a lot. Finally, God heard her prayers and took her. She died very young."