Joey Schembri

Joey Schembri is Julia’s younger brother, a farmer’s son in Gozo whose open goodwill becomes practical care: he welcomes Creasy to the island, helps pull him from the sea, and stands ready to defend Nadia without pretending she needs him to speak for her. His brief appearances define him less through a separate plot of his own than through the trust, work, and family loyalties he brings to Creasy’s new community.

Arrival and Character

Joey first appears in a battered Land Rover, entering with a long stride and an open face, black curls, and a hand calloused by work. He introduces himself and welcomes Creasy to Gozo. Creasy only vaguely remembers him as Julia’s younger brother; Joey would have been about ten when Creasy last knew him. The meeting thus has a small but meaningful turn: a child from Creasy’s earlier life returns as a grown man, extending hospitality where Creasy is still an outsider.

Creasy sees Joey as resembling his mother, Laura Schembri. He associates him with an inquisitive, guileless mind and an unmistakable goodwill, and privately thinks that Joey’s dark good looks will attract women by stirring their maternal instincts. This is Creasy’s judgment rather than Joey’s own account of himself, but it captures the combination the narrative gives him: physical presence without menace, curiosity without guile, and a friendliness that quickly becomes action.

Rescue at Sea

Joey’s welcome is followed by a more urgent act of care. Creasy attempts to swim across the channel and is caught by the current. Exhausted and treading water, he sees a brightly colored fishing boat carrying Joey and Nadia Schembri. They have come looking for him after Nadia saw him swim out and realized the current was taking him away from Gozo. She called for Joey, and the two raced to Mġarr, where they found a boat preparing to leave.

When the boat reaches Creasy, he is too weak to climb aboard. Joey dives into the water and puts a shoulder beneath him; the two fishermen aboard take Creasy by the arms and haul him in. He lies gasping in the scuppers and vomits seawater, then sits silently as the boat returns to Mġarr. Joey’s role is specific and physical: he does not merely accompany Nadia or observe the danger but enters the water to make the rescue possible. The episode establishes a bond through action, at a moment when Creasy’s strength has failed and the islanders’ response keeps him alive.

Nadia and the Limits of Protection

Joey’s protectiveness is clearest after Nadia moves her belongings into Creasy’s rooms. While the men load sacks of onions onto a trailer, Joey falls silent and preoccupied before raising the subject of his sister. His manner is serious, embarrassed, and a little defiant. He explains that a man who seduced a woman under her own family’s roof would ordinarily be challenged, and makes sure Creasy does not mistake his acceptance of the situation for an inability to defend Nadia.

Creasy denies seducing her. Joey accepts that answer, but states plainly that if Creasy had seduced or hurt his sister, he would take him on, however tough Creasy might be. Creasy replies that he will not hurt Nadia intentionally, if he can help it. The exchange is not a simple claim of authority over her: Joey insists on his readiness to intervene, yet his joke afterward acknowledges Nadia’s own force. He imagines that, if he had tried to interfere, she would have hit him with a frying pan. The humor softens the confrontation without cancelling its seriousness; Joey’s loyalty is real, but so is his recognition that Nadia makes her own choices.

Family Loyalty and Narrative Role

Joey’s actions also place him within a network of family and community ties. He helps with the onion sacks, answers Nadia’s call for help, and accompanies her in the boat search. These are distinct forms of assistance—ordinary work, immediate rescue, and family solidarity—but together they make his goodwill concrete rather than merely a favorable impression formed by Creasy.

That loyalty appears again when Nadia’s mother, Rika Balletto, discovers that Creasy was hired for very little, merely to appease her. Rika angrily condemns the arrangement and Creasy’s suitability as a protector. Joey starts to protest, but Guido Arrellio silences him; Joey then helps gather Creasy’s belongings, and they leave. The scene gives Joey no extended defense or explanation. Instead, it shows him responding to a family confrontation through restraint and practical help, even as the dispute concerns his sister’s safety.

Joey remains a supporting character, but his scenes contribute to the story’s account of Creasy’s reception in Gozo. His greeting makes the newcomer welcome; his intervention in the water turns hospitality into care; and his conversation about Nadia shows that belonging comes with obligations as well as warmth. His most revealing quality is not that he is fearless or controlling, but that he offers protection while leaving room for Nadia’s independence.