The Labyrinthine Wedding – Day 12

I really like the village of Kathekas, where my mother-in-law’s house is. It’s up in the mountains, so it’s cooler than places near the beach, and it’s quiet and peaceful. I enjoy sitting on the front porch and just being…reading my book or enjoying nature. I could see myself in a place like this, writing and recharging my batteries. I’m not saying I’d like to be here all the time, but it would be a nice place to get away for a little while.

Of course, my mother-in-law doesn’t know the meaning of the word restful. From the moment she gets up in the morning, she can’t sit still, even if she’s not actually doing anything useful. She bustles around the house, moving piles of accumulated junk from one place to another, but not actually tidying up. Then, she hounds us to get ready to go somewhere and do something. This greatly annoys my wife, so that she’s always irritable and cranky. Which is probably another reason I spend so much time outside to avoid the two of them.

We went to the sea today to Vrahaki Beach, the not-so-private beach on my mother-in-law’s property. It’s supposed to be theirs alone, and there is a sign on the driveway that says to keep out, but nobody cares. It’s a free beach, so everyone wants to use it. And since my mother-in-law is only around sometimes, she can’t police it all the time. People even bring campers and tents and camp right on the property! I’d have found some way to keep them off, like put up a fence and gate, but it didn’t seem to bother my mother-in-law at all.

I loved the beach. It was set in a small inlet backed up along the cliffs with huge boulders surrounding the area. The sea floor was covered in smooth rocks and pebbles, and there were underwater rock shelves throughout the inlet. Which was pretty cool, because you swim pretty far out and then stand on the rocks. And then, a little ways off the shore was a huge rock formation jutting out of the water. My wife told me that when she was a kid, she used to swim to this rock.

It was pretty crowded on the beach, but we found a space to lay out our accoutrements. And then, Troy and I happily jumped into the water. While I went out exploring, Troy stayed near the beach, playing with the rocks and trying to make friends with the other children. It felt good to get out of the heat. Eventually, I coaxed Troy to let me take him out on the raft, while my wife swam out to her rock. We edged around the shoreline and finally made it out to meet her.

We stayed out for several hours before deciding to head home. That’s when Troy started to throw a temper tantrum because I wouldn’t let him take every rock in the sea home with us. It got loud. It got teary. And everyone on the beach was staring. But I refused to budge. We had agreed on four rocks, and he was only getting four rocks. So, I carried all of the gear up to the car, and then came back for Troy. I threw him over my shoulder and carried him up the cliff, kicking and screaming the entire way. He finally calmed down when he fell asleep on the way home.

After showers and a late lunch, my mother-in-law took Troy to get a special present. Apparently, without my knowledge or consent, she had arranged to get a bunny rabbit from someone in the village and give it to Troy. He was thrilled, and she was delighted to be the favorite once again. Now, we have to deal with the fallout of giving the rabbit back when we leave.

Later in the evening, my wife’s cousin and his family came over to visit. They are also in Cyprus on holiday. We had seen them in Athens on our last trip to Greece, and his two daughters were very sweet to Troy. It was good to see them again. They’re a very nice family, and all of them will speak to me in English to make me feel more welcome. The two daughters were once again very taken with Troy, and he enjoyed the attention, showing off his rabbit and telling them stories about dragons and giant snakes. While he did that, we shared wedding photos with my wife’s cousin and his wife, since they were unable to come to the wedding. It was a nice evening to sit on the porch and enjoy good company.