Athens by Night

Valentine’s Day 1968, rooftop bar, Athens Hilton. I’m drinking Coca Cola, my brother has a Fanta. My mother rolls her eyes at the price, but Demitris the millionaire is paying. Demitris stirs the ice in his Metaxa and turns to my mother: “Will you marry me?” My brother unscrews the top of the saltshaker and places it gently back on so it looks normal. I do the pepper. “Not in front of the children,” my mother whispers. Demitris unwittingly salts his peanuts, his trousers, everything. “Want to try the pepper? I ask. He doesn’t laugh. We remained poor as dirt.

 

Sandra Jensen’s work has been published in Word Riot, Sou’Wester, AGNI, The Irish Times, and others. She is working on her first novel, a literary adventure set in war-torn Sri Lanka. The novel won the 2011 J.G. Farrell award for best novel-in-progress.

Photo credit: Dan Wilson

One Response to “Athens by Night”

  1. Meredith Cameron says:

    Hilarious Sandra!

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