Read The Greeks of Beaubien Street for Free Online Page A

travelers would come in, looking for the Greek experience. He always gave it to them, pretending he didn’t speak very good English in spite of having been born in the country, turning the radio up loud, bouzouki music ringing out. He would grab a white dish cloth and pretend he was going to dance, very Zorba the Greek. Occasionally, Estelle Nickopolos would stop by and join in, Dido spitting at the crowd for effect. Just once, a stunned and disgusted Jillian walked in on this scene and admonished her father for reinforcing stereotypes. Gus had been educated at Wharton, choosing to run the store his father started in Detroit after immigrating through Ontario.
    “Why’d you do it, Papa?” Jill asked. “Why’d you give up so much to keep this store open?” Gus was surprised.
    “I didn’t give up anything! I wanted to be here, to give the same life I had to my children.” This stymied Jill. What the hell was so great about growing up where you were considered a second class citizen? She didn’t want to hurt her father’s feelings, but she had to know why her experience was so different from his.
    “Didn’t you feel that your expensive education was worth more than working in a grocery store?” Her dad was a thrifty man; maybe focusing on the expense of a wasted education would make him think.
    “I went to college on a scholarship. Do you think my father could have afforded Drexel?” This was the first she heard of the scholarship.
    “Papa! Papou and Gigi must have been so proud of you!” Jill exclaimed. Gus snickered.
    “No, actually they weren’t. They hated it while I was in Philadelphia. My dad came once to visit me and said it was the dirtiest city he had ever been in, worse than Rome.” He was pensive. “Look, my beloved daughter, you could have gone anywhere in the world, but you stayed here. Ask yourself, why? Is it because being here made you feel badly about yourself? Or, is it because this is where you can be the best person that you were meant to be? I love it here. Your mother and I, we hated to go away for vacation or to weddings out of town. We went to my Cousin George’s wedding in Chicago. Every second we were away, we were miserable. ‘That’s the last time, Gus!’ your mother said. No more traveling for her. Do you think I stayed here all my life hating it? No, my dear girl. But if you hate it, you had better get out now.”
    Gus cleaned up his kitchen as he waited for the dinner crowd to come to shop. Jillian would come back too, probably close to closing. He would eat with her. His life was simple. He loved his store, loved buying the food for the shelves, shopping from the catalog the foreign foods distributor brought around, going to Eastern market every morning and on Saturday with Jillian. Once a month, he got his car out of the garage and drove to Plymouth to see his boy, Christopher. Any excitement he needed he got from his daughter, the homicide detective. He stuffed down the things that bothered him, the regrets. Life was good.
     

Chapter 5
    Jill got to the precinct five minutes after Albert and the Parkers arrived. Albert would take them to a private interrogation room. They videotaped and recorded any activity that took place after the doors were closed. Even though the Parkers weren’t suspects, Jill couldn’t shake the odd feeling she had about the father. She was glad they would have a record of whatever was said.
    Albert got coffee for the four of them although he would not stay for the entire questioning. Like Jill, he was chomping at the bit to get to Dearborn and find Mike Ahmed. The style of questioning that would work the best for the Parkers was Jill’s expertise. He would do better to bow out.
    Jill walked in and took a seat opposite Marianne and Jacob. She wanted to begin the conversation talking about something unrelated to death or Gretchen. She reached for a cup of coffee, her fifth in four hours.
    “Our coffee is really good. The beans come from the