Chapter 1
Melina was sitting at the dinner table, surrounded by her family. The conversations varied from work-related subjects to failed hair color attempts and the subject she absolutely hated… people’s weight. She was not tall, blond, and thin, so she knew that sooner or later her mom, auntie, and grandma would focus their attention on her and the fact that “She is beautiful but she needs to lose some weight for people to notice,” as they always said.
Melina was 5’5", with black hair, green eyes, and curves. She always felt she was allergic to any type of exercise, so her body was not toned, but she never thought of herself as heavy or fat. If anything, she was always getting attention from the male population, even though she was not really interested in it. No one was really catching her attention.
Surprisingly enough, the conversation diverted from the weight subject to another favorite: relationships!
“Nicky will bring her boyfriend over next weekend. They have been together for a few months now,” her grandma said. Nicky was her younger cousin. She was a relatively pleasant girl, but they were never too close. Her dad and Melina’s mom were siblings, but they were not very close themselves.
Argh! Melina thought she could do without discussing the lack of her romantic life, but at this point, she knew that was just wishful thinking.
“Melina darling, you should try to meet someone as well, like your cousin. She told me he is tall and handsome,” her grandma said. Ah! The height. Another amazing criterion for a successful long-lasting relationship, according to her grandma.
“Maybe if you lose a bit of weight, things will be easier,” her auntie chimed in. You might think that this was a snarky remark. Nope. Her auntie was not the sharpest tool in the box. She was the youngest of her mom’s siblings, married young to a short man (according to her grandma’s standards), had a child straight away, and became a stay-at-home mom because, despite the story that she wanted to focus on the upbringing of her son, the reality was that she could barely add 1+1 on a calculator. Melina loved her auntie, so she didn’t take offense.
“If my physical appearance and my weight are the only things that matter to someone, then I am okay being alone. I will be happy accomplishing other things in my life,” Melina said.
Her grandma and her auntie looked at her and gasped, while her mother gave her a look of desperation. Her mother always worried about her, but all she cared about was for Melina to be happy. If that meant being alone, so be it. But she could not cope with Melina saying this in front of her mother and siblings. A long time ago, Melina and her mom had a chat, and her mom asked her not to bring up touchy subjects at family gatherings. Touchy subjects included the fact that she didn’t feel like having a man in her life should define whether her life was successful or not, or the fact that she identified herself as an atheist (granted, the first time she mentioned it, her overly religious grandma almost had a heart attack, and her grandad decided to build a small church on his property to wash away her “blasphemy”).
Her brother sensed that the conversation was about to turn south, so he intervened.
“Melina, I am about to go meet the guys for some drinks. Do you want to come with me?” She was grateful for the prompt save but also for the fact that he gave her a way out of the gathering. She loved her family, but they could be a bit too much. Greek families tend to be loud and have no boundaries.
“Actually, little one, do you mind dropping me off at home instead?” she asked her brother, and he agreed.
She had made a decision a while ago that she wanted to leave Greece and live abroad, but she hadn’t shared it with anyone. She couldn’t just book tickets and leave without a job, so she was spending all of her free time applying for jobs in New York, where she had decided she wanted to live. The thought of leaving her family and friends behind was devastating, but she felt it was the right thing to do. She had lived in Greece all her life. She loved it and was proud of her heritage, but she felt like she would never accomplish what she wanted if she stayed put.
When her brother dropped her off at her house, she poured herself some iced tea, turned on her laptop, and opened up her CV. She read it again and made a few changes. She was satisfied. Then she started checking job sites with ads for positions in New York and began applying. She knew it would take a while, since any employer would have to be willing to offer her a job visa, but she wouldn’t give up just because it might be difficult to get what she wanted.
She had good experience in operational management, and she was sure she would be an asset to any company that gave her a shot. She applied to a few more jobs and then checked her emails. It didn’t take her long to run through the many rejection emails, and she almost missed the one that was about to change her life. She opened the email with moderate excitement (she didn’t want to get her hopes up), and she saw what she had been looking for for the past three months. An opportunity! The recruiter wrote in his email that the company was interested in setting up an interview. They thought her experience was impressive, and if she was successful, they were willing to offer her a job visa.
This is it, Melina thought. The interview was booked in two days’ time, and she spent the rest of her evening researching the company, making sure she was well prepared to impress them in the interview and get closer to making her dream come true.