A Sour Cherry Lemonade …and the Clouds of a Growing Storm

By Tony Matarrese

It is Saturday afternoon and after another week of trading stock options… studying Greek through my online language course…and doing my weekly shopping at the farmers market (λαϊκή αγορά) …I decided to take an afternoon walk into the harbor area of Nafplio to visit my friend, Kostas.

As I began my 20-minute walk into town…the sky that had been blue with white cotton-ball-like clouds, had quickly begun to be replaced with huge grey bands of clouds to the south… and looking across the Argolic Plain to the west and northwest of Nafplio, I could see the cloud-covered ridges of Ktenias and Artemisio beyond Argos.  So not only had the rhythms of the visiting tourists changed as we approached the end of September…but also the weather had begun its change…bringing in the grey clouds and forecasts of more frequent rain days to come.

I arrived at the Rebello Food Co., a harborside café, where my friend Kostas greeted me. He was one of the first people who befriended me when I arrived in June.  When I had asked if he spoke English, he responded with a slight British accent, saying, “Yes! Of course I speak English!”  We had some small talk in Greek as I used whatever vocabulary I’ve acquired so far, greeting him with, “Καλησπέρα, τι κάνετε”, etc. (good afternoon, how are you?) …then, in English, I told him that I wanted to have cold, refreshing drink.  He thought for a moment, then suggested a lemonade or an iced coffee…to which I quickly responded that the lemonade sounded like the right choice for my afternoon treat.

He returned shortly with a jar-like container filled with a dark red liquid…and on the jar was printed, “LEMONODASOS…breathtaking flavors”…and breathtaking it was, as the cool taste of Greek sour cherry juice, with a splash of lemonade, hit my taste buds.  I thought to myself, this is how a Saturday afternoon in Nafplio should be spent! …sitting outside a harborside café, sipping a uniquely Greek drink, just watching the grey clouds move into position around the harbor and beyond.  As I was enjoying this moment, I couldn’t help but think how it would not be possible to replicate this type of moment back in Oceanside, CA.  First of all, even if I drove the 15 minutes to the quaint harbor in Oceanside, I wouldn’t be greeted by “a new best friend”, like Kostas…because, due to the combination of having to drive there and the cost  of gas, I wouldn’t have visited frequently enough to nurture a friendship with a local manager…and I don’t think I could get a lemonade treat like the one I was enjoying, for less than $10-$15.  Here in Nafplio, I can simply walk into town and enjoy a refreshing sour cherry lemonade, without rushing…and the only worry I had, today, was whether the ominous clouds would begin to release all the water that they were carrying, before I had a chance to finish my drink and make the 20-minute walk back to my apartment.

As I contemplated my chances of staying dry…suddenly, “a short Greek drama” began to unfold right in front of me.  A young Romani girl approached the café.  I had seen several Romani children on the streets of Old Town Nafplio before and had once asked Kostas about them.  According to him, the local authorities attempted to get the children into the classrooms, rather than begging on the streets. He said that the children did very well in the classroom, but within a few months many were back on the streets.

And now, here was this young girl (about 8 or 9) having a discussion with another worker at the entrance to the café.  It was in soft tones and in Greek, so I couldn’t follow what was being said, but as I watched this “little drama” play out in front of me, I also noticed that she was clearly aware that I was watching.   After a few minutes, the young girl turned and walked away…but as she walked past my table, I noticed that she was still watching me out of the corner of her eye…then, without looking back at the café, she disappeared around the corner.  I asked the worker what had occurred.  He told me that she had wanted to get a gelato cone but didn’t seem to have enough money to cover the price.  I replied that if I had realized what was being said that I would have given him the small difference, so that she could have gotten her gelato…and that is when I got “a little education”.  He believed this was a familiar tactic the young girl had probably learned from her parents…and that IF he had accepted the ‘short’ amount for the gelato, she would return every day and ask for the same ‘favor’ – getting the gelato for yesterdays discounted price.  I was shocked by the thought that a girl so young might already be so astute and be willing to use sympathy to bargain for something as simple as a gelato cone.

As I sat at the table sipping on my lemonade drink…I was soon surprised again.  In less than 5 minutes, the young Romani girl returned and walked directly into the café.  A few minutes later… she exited with a gelato cone in her hand and a big smile on her face.  As she passed my table again, she noticed me watching her… and with a slight nod of her head…she winked in triumph…and walked on, enjoying her gelato as she turned the corner and disappeared, once again.

Then the worker came outside and explained what had happened.  She had returned with the additional money needed to pay for the gelato.  He smiled and told me that he believed she had probably had the money all along…and had simply gone around the corner, out of sight, before producing it.  So, as I finished my sour cherry lemonade, I thought about the young girl…the slight nod of the head and the little wink of “victory” she had given me as she passed…as if to say, “I got my gelato!”… just another unexpected experience on an ordinary Saturday afternoon in Nafplio…til next time…