One Greek Summer Wedding

Chapter 44

‘I’ve let her do this, you know,’ Cara said, stepping down onto the next step with around fifty more to go. There were hundreds of steps down the cliff face until they reached the bottom and Ammoudi Bay. ‘I sat back and I closed myself off and I let Margot run my life because, at that time, I really needed her to.’

‘Cara, slow down a little,’ Akis said. ‘The steps are steep and I think they will get slippery.’

‘I shouldn’t be here. And you shouldn’t be here. We are chasing some prince because Margot thinks he’s the key to the next stage of her business and yet she’s also just told me that she might not even know who she is any more.’

‘Cara,’ Akis said. ‘Please, the steps.’

‘I should leave. We should leave. Get the next plane back to Corfu,’ she carried on. ‘You have a wedding to be at and I should be rehearsing for that wedding instead of some event for rich people who won’t care who is entertaining them as long as the champagne keeps flowing.’

‘Cara—’

She slipped suddenly, one of her sandals giving way underneath her feet and Akis grabbed her arm, stopping her from falling any further. She held onto him, trying to recover. It was steep. Some people were holding onto the wall, others were on their way back up, a train of tethered donkeys were sadly stumbling…

‘Take a second,’ Akis said, keeping her upright. ‘Clear your thoughts and soak in the view.’

Cara repositioned herself, feet planted firmly back in place. It was such a panorama, the dramatic red volcanic rocks framing the Aegean Sea, boats out on the water far below.

‘Sorry,’ Cara said after a time. ‘You shouldn’t have to listen to this.’

‘Do not apologise,’ Akis said. ‘Families, they are complicated. You have met mine.’

She smiled. ‘Wait until you meet my parents. Not so much complicated, but definitely eccentric.’

Akis smiled back at her. ‘I am meeting your parents?’

‘Oh, wow, no, no of course not. That was a ridiculous thing to say, a figure of speech really. I mean, I haven’t even seen them for, well, a long time.’

He laughed. ‘I am playing with you. Relax, OK? Breathe.’

His hands were on her shoulders and it felt really reassuring and very very sexy.

‘Shall we make it down the next steps?’ he asked. ‘There cannot be many more.’

‘OK,’ Cara agreed. ‘But I am going slower.’

Ammoudi Bay was beautiful. A small inlet with a few tavernas, tiny boats moored at the edge of the dock, waves cresting at their hulls.

The cliff face they had walked down looked insurmountable from their position below now, as did the craggy red rocks all round the bay, a stark reminder that this island was formed by many volcanic eruptions.

‘The steps were worth it, no?’ Akis said, walking close to her along the dock.

‘Oh, the steps were definitely worth it,’ Cara agreed. He watched her drinking in the scenery. She was more beautiful than any of this. And last night, when she had sung harder and stronger than he had ever heard, he’d wanted nothing more than to feel her energy in his arms. Except it hadn’t happened. He had hesitated and the moment had been lost to Margot and Horatio. Perhaps there was a reason the universe was putting the brakes on.

They meandered along the dock, tucking in against the wall as the path narrowed and people had to pass, and finally arrived near one end of the dock at Ammoudi Fish Taverna.

‘Is it too early for lunch, do you think?’ Akis asked her.

‘Not if you haven’t had breakfast,’ Cara said. ‘Well, actually, looking at those octopus I don’t think it would be too early at any time.’

The octopus were strung on a line outside the taverna, like tentacled garments, their flesh soaking up the sunlight, pinky-orange bumps turning a little translucent. Nature was used for everything here, fish from the water, sunlight infusing all it touched, rocks providing drama.

‘Come on,’ Akis said, leading the way.

It wasn’t long before they were positioned at a table right by the edge of the water, the sunlight making the tips of the waves sparkle and shine like they were decorated with diamonds. They had been given water and had both ordered an Arugula spinach salad and the sundried octopus.

‘You know,’ Akis began. ‘I think there is a reason you are here in Santorini.’

‘Yes,’ Cara agreed. ‘I told you. The maharajah and this stupid plan of Margot’s.’

‘No,’ Akis said, shaking his head. ‘I do not think that is why you are here.’

‘No?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘Perhaps that is why Margot is here. Maybe you think you are only here to accompany her, but what if the real reason is so you can sing again? That what Margot is doing is, I don’t know, the side plot and you have the lead part in the main story.’

He watched her expression change just slightly, like she was mulling over his suggestion. She ran a finger around the rim of her water glass. And then she answered.

‘You’ve never asked me about my bad performance,’ she said softly.

‘What?’

‘I told you, when we first met, that I had a bad performance in front of millions of people, and you never asked about it.’

He nodded. ‘No.’

‘Why?’

He took a deep breath. ‘I am guessing for the same reason that you have not asked me the details of Cosmos’s accident.’

‘Your accident, Akis,’ Cara corrected him.

‘Yeah,’ he acknowledged, fingers going to the vacant space on his other hand. ‘My accident.’ He looked at her again. ‘I guess I feel I already know that whatever happened during that performance, it changed you. And not just a small part of you. All of you.’ He took a breath. ‘And I think to know that is the most important thing.’

She nodded. ‘But maybe now I want to tell you.’ She took a breath. ‘Maybe now I need to tell you.’

He could see her hands were trembling and he wanted nothing more than to hold them in his, but he held off. She had to do this on her own.

‘I was in the Eurovision Song Contest, if you know it,’ Cara said. ‘It’s a big show beamed across the world where countries compete against each other to win. And, I was one of the favourites. Me and the contestants from Sweden and Denmark.’ She took another breath. ‘It was supposed to be my big break. I’d put in months and months of preparation and I’d never felt more ready for anything. Nothing could go wrong. Even if I didn’t end up winning, I was going to give the performance of my life and I was going to have my pick of recording contracts to choose from.’ She took a sip of water and replaced the glass on the table with shaking hands. ‘When I was in position, waiting for the announcement in the arena I’d never felt more confident. Everything was going to go like clockwork just like it had in every rehearsal and then…’

Her words tailed off and Akis could see the emotion written on her face, a tell-tale quirk to her cheek. He could stop her. He could say it was OK, that she didn’t need to go through with reliving all this.

‘Then,’ she carried on. ‘Yodi happened.’

‘Yodi?’

‘He’s… a dog,’ Cara said. ‘He came out of nowhere. He leapt onto the stage. He ran straight at me. Like so fast, and I didn’t know what to do. The next thing I knew I was on the ground, and I was just completely disorientated and the song was going on without me and the audience were caught between shock and laughter and I just lay there frozen.’

‘Cara—’

‘I don’t remember how I got off the stage. But what I do remember is how my fiancé looked at me when I got back to the green room.’ Tears were spilling from her eyes now. ‘It was like disbelief. And not in a kind way. More like he was seeing me for the first time and realising that I wasn’t the person he wanted me to be.’

Akis reached for her hands then, but she withdrew them, folding her arms across her chest.

‘My parents didn’t know what to say. My dad had a conversation about global warming with the contestant from Germany right in front of me for God’s sake. There was only Margot reacting to me, what I had been through, instead of worrying about the whole of the UK being mocked for the next twelve months.’ She steadied her breathing. ‘Within a few weeks, my career was over, my relationship was over and my parents left to preserve the rainforests without looking back. Margot was the only one who took action. And she’s been taking action ever since. And I know that sometimes she takes advantage, and she gets it wrong, but she was the only one who was there for me when I needed someone most.’

Akis didn’t say anything, he just watched her, processing all the emotions passing through her expression. And then, when a few moments had gone by, he made his reply.

‘You said, about your boyfriend, that you think he realised you were not the person he wanted you to be,’ he said. ‘But what about the person you are? The person you want to become? Not the opinion of anyone else, remember?’

He looked at her, taking in what he had just said like it was a newsflash. He began to wonder if he had taken the wrong part of the information out of what she had given him.

‘Yes, and I blamed myself for him feeling that way about me. ’ She sighed. ‘And then I went to therapy. The kind where you live in. And they made it about me searching inwardly for the reasons I couldn’t even look at myself in a mirror.’ She shook her head. ‘Again, like how I felt, was everything to do with me and no one else should be held accountable for anything.’ She paused. ‘Sorry, this is a bit much for a not-even-lunch.’

‘No,’ Akis said, pouring some more water into her glass. ‘It is good to take time to reflect. I reflected too, after the accident.’ He took a breath. ‘I realised that I would do anything for my family. When Cosmos was stuck in the machinery, I could have done many things. I could have reached for something, a tool to help get him out. I could have waited and called for help. But I didn’t do any of those things. I acted fast, regardless of anything else. And that love for my family, that desire to do anything to protect them… that is why I am going to become a priest.’

Cara gasped and that’s when he realised what he had actually said. He nodded as if the decision was fixed.

‘I would not have taken a risk on Cosmos’s life. I cannot take a risk on the Diakos curse.’