‘My advice to you, Lucky: don’t grow into the wretched life my father has planned for everyone.’

‘I suggest you don’t spend time with Walter in public. Your father is like a crazy man at the moment.’

‘I rarely see Walter in public,’ said Penny, smiling voraciously. ‘Mostly I visit his house.’

‘If Achilles finds out, what’s he going to do to Walter? Your father hates Germans.’

‘My father is a fool. And you should hear what he says about Americans behind your back.’

‘I didn’t think you’d be this difficult. For a young person, you have a lot of edges, Penny.’

‘Thanks for this little talk. You’ve never been more impressive.’

If the Asproyerakas family were a plane, Penny was jumping out. If Penny were an open parachute, the family was row upon row of razor-sharp trees.

5.

For dinner, Achilles flattened keftedes into meat patties, hoping to surprise and impress his American son-in-law with a cheeseburger, or what Achilles believed was an improvement on the cheeseburger, a sandwich he’d heard about and further investigated while sitting on the backyard toilet, flicking through magazines that Valia bought and Penelope didn’t appear to ever read. Instead of buns Achilles used the ends of bread loaves.

Valia made a mess of her burger. She said: ‘This cannot go on the menu.’

‘We could call it the Achillion Burger,’ said Achilles.

‘I like it,’ said Lucky. ‘I like it a whole lot.’

‘I don’t,’ said Penny. ‘It’s a complete failure.’

‘That comes as no surprise,’ said Achilles.

‘I’m helping you make good business decisions,’ Penny said. ‘Take my advice or don’t.’

Achilles said: ‘Let’s forget about the burger. There’s more to tell you. I am getting what they call a pastime. At fairs and rodeos they hold boxing matches, and in future I will take part. I will become a boxer.’

‘That’s bare-knuckle boxing!’ said Valia. ‘That’s not a hobby, that’s dangerous. You’ll die. A man with ability will kill you.’

‘You may be in a difficult weight class,’ said Lucky. ‘Some people simply aren’t the right-sized human for boxing.’

‘I think I’m a perfect weight,’ said Achilles. ‘I have this energy building and building. What, you think I should play chess at the beach?’

‘It might be good for you to knock some sense into people,’ said Penny. ‘Or vice versa.’

Achilles did not know what vice versa meant. He said: ‘Next big decision to make: we need to fix up the cafe. This is a dialogue we’re having here. We’re in a philosophical mood. We need to give the cafe a stronger theme. Lucky, how well do you know this city?’

‘I’m learning all the time.’