A Remembered Love Ch. 01

~*~

Five days later

They had been in Santorini for four days now and they loved it. Angel was already starting to get a toasty tan, Stephanie and Lizzy had gotten a little darker too. Thankfully Stephanie brought her laptop because her camera memory kept filling up. Angel wanted her to take pictures of literally everything. She even wanted her to take pictures of the people they passed on the streets, the beach, stores, scenery; she even wanted pictures of the lights. Stephanie loved Angel's excitement and was happy they had made the trip to Santorini. The bed and breakfast they were staying at was amazing and had breath taking views of the of the sunset each night. Angel couldn't say enough of how 'pretty the blue water is'.

They had just come from a sailing trip and were walking down the dock when Angel asked for her hat. Stephanie was sifting through the tote bag one second and the next she was falling. She had ran into someone and in order for not to fall on a daughter who was right behind her she quickly twisted to her left and landed on the dock. Stephanie almost got away unscathed but she ended up hitting her head on one of the guardrails.

She was disoriented for a few minutes but came around quickly when she heard Angel crying for her. That's when she noticed someone was carrying her. She tried to look around but every time she did she got extremely dizzy. It felt like she was being taken on to a boat. The whole time she could hear Angel crying for her and Lizzy trying to calm her down near by. She was placed on something soft and asked if she was all right. Oddly the voice sounded familiar. Stephanie slowly opened her eyes. She instinctively screamed and tried to back away. Kneeling right in front of her was the spiting image of Alex. The only difference between her Alex and this man was the man in front of her looked older, his hair was shorter parted on the left and slicked back and there was a grey streak that went through his hair on the right side.

The man immediately put his hands up and no idea what was making this woman act that way. She was mumbling something but he couldn't quite catch what it was. After about fifteen seconds Stephanie shot off of the lounge chair and started to make her way to the Lizzy and Angel who were standing by the back of the boat right next to the exit. That when she realized that she was on one of the very big yachts that was anchored to the dock.

"Miss I'm sorry but I can't let you leave yet. You are bleeding from the head profusely" he said as his long strides closed the distance between them. He stopped her by gently putting his hand on her arm and she immediately tensed up. An electric shock coursed through the both of them when there skin first made contact. But he still held on to her so she couldn't leave. The blood was now trailing down the side of her face and dripping on to her collarbone. She looked at him for the longest time then began to relax.

"I'm so sorry, for a second I thought you were someone I used to know, but you can't possibly be him" he said while her eyes roamed his face. She suddenly whispered "you cannot be him because he is dead". He absently agreed with her because as beautiful as she was he had never seen this African American woman before and he clearly was not dead. She was small, about five six and had on a striped blue yellow and white sundress that showed off her gorgeous milk chocolate skin. It framed her curves very well without really showing them off. Her eyes were dark brown, she had curly hair that was in a ponytail at the back of her head and a perfect bow mouth.

Right now she was chewing on her bottom lip and for some reason he wanted to tell her to stop because she would mess up her perfect lips. For a crazy second he as if he was having déjà vu but it quickly slipped away. He slowly lead her back inside the yacht and had her seat on one of the bar stools. Then he quickly began to look for the first aid kit. He spared a glance to the other woman and little child who followed them into the bar area. The woman was beautiful and also African American and he really couldn't see the child because she was crying into the neck of the woman.

That caught the first woman attention and she immediately asked the woman she called Lizzy to bring her here. The woman complied and when she immediately brought the little girl to the woman. She took the child and positioned her on her so she was crying into the side of her neck that didn't have blood and started whispering to the child. 'It's okay jellybean, mommy's not hurt.' And ever so slowly the child began to calm down and his hopes began to go down with the recognition that if the child was her daughter the meant she surely had a husband somewhere.

After he found the kit he made his way to back the woman. That's when he noticed the mother and daughter were wearing the same sundress the little girls just more child like. That brought a smile to his face and the woman was looking at him and she gasped.

"Does your cut pain you?" he asked, thinking something was wrong. She just shook her head no or at least she tried to.

"It's just that...you look exactly like someone I use to know." She said studying his face again. He didn't mind, in fact he liked that the woman was looking at him. Little by little he began to clean the cut, which had stopped bleeding by now. It really wasn't as bad as he thought. He cleaned it thoroughly always asking her if it hurt too much when she winced. Once he got through cleaning the cut, he coated the cut with ointment because it was in an awkward position for a Band-Aid. He quickly cleaned up the blood that was on drying on her face and neck and after he was done, he threw everything away. The little girl had stopped crying by now and only sniffled ever so often.

Just as luck would have it, his sister Delfina had brought some candy on the boat the day before and he was sure that it would cheer her up.

"I have some candy around here somewhere for the little one" he said while motioning toward the little girl. She smiled up at him. He asked the woman would it be okay if the child had candy.

"That would be great. And thanks for everything. Sometimes when I'm looking for something I forget that I'm walking and tend to crash into things a lot" she joked while trying to lighten the mood. He chuckled a little and found the candy bag behind the bar and walked around and brought it to the lady.

"That's alright, I'm sure that happens to everyone. I didn't catch your name by the way. And what type of candy would you like little one" he said while looking at the little girl who was still hiding in her mother's neck. She didn't look to be no more than three or maybe four but from what he could see, she was pretty like her mother.

"Oh sorry about that, my name is Stephanie Robinson and this is my daughter Angel" she said while she stuck her hand out for him to shake. Then she coaxed the little girl into sitting up and when she finally did he was almost stepped back in shock. Sitting in front of him was the spitting image of his little sister Delfina but only a couple of shades darker and the little girls hair was tight little ringlets that was being held away from her face with a ribbon instead of loose and curly like his sister's. Then he started to see himself in the little girl, she had his eyes and his nose. He was so transfixed on the little one that he didn't hear Stephanie when she asked him his name the first time.

The little girl was going through the candy bag by now that he held in front of her and her face was scrunched up in total concentration, like the pieces she picked were very important. It was the prettiest thing he had ever seen in his life. Immediately something started to tug at his heart and mind. He finally heard her asking him his name and he torn his eyes off the little girl he looked at her and was about to say his name when he was interrupted.

"Alexandros, do you know who bag this is? It was just sitting on the deck just outside the boat" Delfina asked as she walked through the sliding door and looking at the tote bag so she barely had time to see what happen next. Alexandros had turned toward her when he heard her voice and saw that his father was right behind her. So he didn't see total shock and horror that came across Stephanie's face. Stephanie and Lizzy both gasped loudly.

"Alex...Alexander?" She whispered and he instinctively turned to his name being called. There was a flash of emotions he saw cross her face. Pain, anguish, hurt and then came rage. She shot up from the bar stool clutching her daughter to her causing the candy bag to spill out of his hand. It looked like she was holding back tears.

~*~

"Alexander Petridis?!" She shouted accursedly as she handed her daughter to Lizzy.

"How do you know my name?" He asked and when she saw the shock and confusion on his face and before she even knew what she was doing, she hauled off and punched him in the jaw. She then hurried to the door before she hit him again, this time with her hand good. She rushed passed the woman and older man and didn't see their shocked faces when they looked at her daughter as she took her back into her arms. All she could think about was getting her baby off this boat and out of this freakish nightmare. Lizzy kept saying 'oh my God' as she tried to keep up with Stephanie as she rushed off the boat.

Once they were half way down the long dock, she repositioned her daughter on her hip and would have put her down but she was walking to fast for her to ever be able to keep up. She passed a tall blond haired white man who was just standing there staring at her and her daughter. His staring made her pick up her pace even more. Then Angel started to ask her why did they have to leave the nice man's boat and that she wasn't finished picking out her candy, she wanted to go back and get some more. 'Never' she growled before she could stop herself. Then she quickly apologized to her baby and to her that she would by her all the candy she wanted later. The bed and breakfast was a short but steep climb away from the dock and she didn't slow down until she was at her door.

Right when she was about to grab the door handle it opened. It was the owner; she had been remaking the beds and putting out new towels. Stephanie thanked her and quickly walked in. That's when she finally heard Lizzy talking. She put Angel down and the little girl ran to the bed and dropped her candy she that had safely been clutching in her hand up until then. She was blissfully unaware of the emotions that were going through her mother at the moment. Stephanie finally started to hear the questions that Lizzy had been throwing at her since they had started walking.

"Steph, could that really be him I'm I can't remember how he sounded on the phone the one time I talked to him but oh my gosh it looks just like him. I should know Angel shows me the picture at least five times a day" she came close to her and whispered so Angel wouldn't here the conversation. Stephanie looked over at Angel who was sitting on the bed and counting her candy. She told Angel that her and auntie were going to go outside and sit on the little landing porch and for her to take out her coloring book and draw. After she got outside she bent over and moaned.

"I think I'm going to be sick. Oh my god did you see the woman that came on to the boat?" She asked as she slowly broke down. All of her worse imagined fears, the ones she dared never to give a voice to, were coming true. The man she had loved more than life had been alive this whole time, forgotten about her or at the very least was pretending to and it seemed that he moved on. Her stomach contents immediately tried to make there way up her throat. She kneeled down and prayed for what, she didn't know. Stephanie just prayed. Then all of a sudden her chest started to tighten up and her throat started to close up. Stephanie was outside but it felt like everything was closing in on her. She wasn't getting enough oxygen to her lungs and as a result she her chest started to heave. Lizzy saw that she was starting to have a panic attack and forced her to sit on of the chairs on the little landing porch.

Once Stephanie was in the seat she Lizzy gentle forced her head down between her legs and told her to take deep breaths.

"That's it Steph, just take deep breaths and think about Angel in there. That's it breath in and out, breath in and out" she said as she gently coerced her into breathing normally again. After a few minutes Stephanie said she was ok and wanted to be let up. Lizzy let her grip go on the back of her neck and helped her sit up right. The look on Stephanie's face made her heart go out to her friend.

"Why would he do that to me, Lizzy?" She asked miserably as tears silently streamed down her face.

"Why would he-" Stephanie began to cry so hard the rest of the question was unintelligible. She cried hard tears and all Lizzy could do was just close the door so that Angel wouldn't hear and hold her best friend.

~*~

They had all stood there shocked, Alexandros holding his jaw, Delfina was still holding the tote bag, and there father was standing there with his mouth slightly open for probably a full two minutes after the little altercation. Then Robert came scrolling into the room.

"You would never believe it mate. I just saw a woman carrying a miniature Delfina and I would be saying that someone was stealing your baby if I didn't know any better" he said jokingly. It took him a couple of seconds to figure out something was wrong and when he did, it was around the same time that they were coming out of there shock. Then everybody was talking at once. They all were asking Alexandros questions. Like who were those people? Why did that little girl look at him and Delfina? Why did that woman hit him? And how did the little girl look just like him? How did the woman even know him?

His father came over to gently shake him out of his shock. But all he could think about was that woman knowing his name. The last time he had been to America was about a year ago, and it was only for a week. But what was really puzzling was right after she called his name he had a flash of her lying naked in a bed moaning his name while he feasted on her glorious breasts. That didn't last long because she socked him one a couple of seconds later, bringing him back to reality. Now he was standing with his father in his face.

"Papa please, give me some room" he said as went to sit down on the barstool. Besides the ache in his jaw, his head began to hurt also.

"Wait everyone stop talking." Giorgos gently commanded. Once Delfina and Robert stop talking, he turned back to his son, his firstborn child. He needed to help him figure this out. There was something all of them were missing.

"Now son, please tell us what is going on." Everyone turned to look at Alex. He didn't notice because by then his head was in his hands and his head was really starting to cause him true pain.

"Delfie, can you go get my pills. And father I don't know who that woman is" he said looking up at his papa as Delfina dashed off to get the pain pills.

"Well apparently she knows you and I don't want to even begin to think of why that child looks likes you" he said while giving his son a stern look.

"One things for sure, that woman sure does have a hell of a right cross." Robert said as he came to stand next to Alex and lightly touch the bruise. Delfina was back in a flash with a bottle of pills and a glass of water.

"Hell papa, I didn't meet the woman until a few minutes ago when she literally ran into me. And your guess is as good as mine as to why her child looks like us." He didn't want to say me because he just knew that would be opening a can of worms.

"Let's start off with how she ended up in here with you" his father said as Alex took to pills and quickly drank half of the water.

"Like I said she ran into me and I'm guessing that she didn't want to fall back on her daughter, who was directly behind her, she ended up falling sideways and striking her head on one of the concrete polls. I immediately brought her in here when I saw the blood."

"Wait, was she waiting here for you?" Alex shook his head no.

"I think that they just got off one of those tourist sailing boats" he said as he sat the empty glass down.

"What are their names?" Giorgos asked trying to get all of the information that he could.

"The woman, her name was Stephanie and the little ones name is Angel" he replied like the way their names rolled off his tongue.

"I think to other woman name was Lizzy or something like that." His father was about to say something but he cut him off.

"And before you ask, she is American and that is all I know. We didn't talk much because I was tending to her cut and her daughter was crying."

"Was the child hurt did she need medical attention?" Giorgos asked. He'd always had a weak spot for children in his heart.

"No papa, she was fine. She was just a little upset a seeing her mother hurts is all" Alex reassured his father.

"Hey I think that this is her purse." Delfie said as she brought a large bag into view. Delfie, his father and Robert opened the bag and began to go through it.

"I don't think you guys should be invading her privacy like that." Alex said as they began to take things out and put them on the coffee table.

"We need to know what is going on mate and where to return the bag to, so I think she'll forgive us for peeking." Robert said as he pulled more things out. He thought to protest more but he was really intrigued by this woman and her daughter. So he stayed quiet. After a few minutes, they had everything out in on the table. There was two passports, a female wallet, a small Greek translation book, a bottle of water, sun screen, a little girl's hat, and a few other things.

"Her name is Stephanie Robinson, she hasn't traveled very much and she has been here for four days. Delfie then opened the second passport and the shock registered on her face caught everyone by surprise. Robert took the passport out of her trembling hands and read the name.

"Angel Alexandra Petridis age 3."