Download Excerpt 2 Chasing Athens by Marissa Tejada

Even if Greg and I had problems, I simply couldn’t imagine getting a divorce. Greg and I loved
each other. I followed him to Greece and committed to follow him wherever his career would
take him. I quit a job I loved at Ithaca State. I left my only family in this world—my mother. I
gave up everything. There I was in the middle of Athens, wondering if I should have come in the
first place.
But divorce? Never. Greg would return the next day as he promised, and we would have a
serious talk. We had to find each other again.
I turned onto my street, Ploutarhou Street, and glanced up at the sign in Greek, understanding
how to read it. I walked slowly pass the little Kolonaki Café, named after the upmarket district. I
glanced at a couple sipping their Greek coffees that filled tiny round coffee cups. I peeked inside
the Despina Bakery window, which had changed the display since I remembered last. A set of
almond pastries and chocolate tarts caught my attention. I resisted the urge to go in and headed
farther up the sidewalk past a few rows of apartments, which, like my own, offered a sweeping
view of Greece’s capital, a sprawling metropolis.
To get to my flat I needed to dodge the orange trees planted right in the center of each sidewalk
tile. I used to wonder why some idiot planted them there after I almost crash-landed my face
into them several times. But as I breathed in the delicious scent of the orange blossoms, I
thought maybe their placement was part of a good plan. I closed my eyes. The strong essence of
the orange trees melded with the faint smell of melted milk chocolate and bitter coffee from the
shops I had just passed. A mix of voices speaking Greek danced around me as people took their
evening strolls. The din of traffic on the main city road, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, continued
beating its nightly rhythm even farther off in the distance behind me.
When I opened my eyes, I truly believed everything would be fine. I smiled. After all, I was living
in a great city, I was learning a new language, and I was lucky to make some great Athenian
friends. I convinced myself that my husband would come around. He was just in a bad place.
These kinds of things would come and go in a marriage.
As I unlocked my door, still awash in the magic of the orange blossoms, I found the lights were
on.
“Greg?” I called out.
He sat on the couch with his back to me, home a whole day early. My heart leapt for a second,
thinking he must have come home to apologize, to try to make things right with me, to start
over.
But then he got up at the sound of my voice and walked toward the window without turning
around. The sun had set and the city’s streetlights twinkled brightly in soft brilliant shades of
orange and yellow. He clutched the beige curtain with one hand, the other hidden in the pocket
of his gray trousers.
“Ava.” He stared out the window. A strange nervousness laced in his voice stood out and made
my skin prickle in the most uncomfortable way. “I have something to tell you.