Chapter 54
Pig was so beloved by the locals that there hadn’t just been a funeral for the sudden demise of the donkey, there was a wake too, here at this beautiful taverna. Bright pink bougainvillea cascaded down from the roof, arching over the entrance, the many terraces set with tables and chairs amid palm trees, vines and hanging gourds. It was the most peaceful, relaxing venue, right next to the glistening blue sea. Cara wondered why this hadn’t been anyone’s first choice for Cosmos and Wren’s wedding. But, as she stood looking out over the water, sucking in the scent of pink lilies, enjoying a moment of solitude away from the funeral party who were tucking into coffee, ouzo and baklava, her mind wandered to Seb. Of all the things she’d gone through, he was still something undealt with. Like a suitcase you’d brought back from holiday and never unpacked. They had been planning to get married. She had been at her lowest point and he had just left…
‘Cara, there you are.’
She turned around and there was Akis, striding towards her, looking a picture of perfection in black trousers and a smart white shirt, hair slightly tousled.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t eat another thing and it’s really hard to refuse your mother anything. I mean, I’m sure the baklava is delicious but?—’
He smiled. ‘It is OK. I understand. I would have come looking for you three baklava pieces ago but I am not good at saying no where my family is concerned. And that is the real curse.’ He stood next to her, leaned against the low fence, the only barrier to the water a few metres below.
‘I am so sorry about Pig. I know I said that last night but yesterday was a bit…’
‘Crazy?’ he offered. ‘Having all my family squeeze into a tiny house to carry a deceased donkey sitting on a chair outside?’
‘Irini is feeling better today though?’
‘The doctor tells us it is a miracle but if I start to believe in miracles then I might have to believe in other things that cannot be explained. And I am still undecided about that.’
She knew he was talking about the priesthood. How could it not be on his mind? The wedding was almost upon them, Irini had been terribly sick, everyone was panicking, it was a lot to carry on his shoulders. Perhaps her being in the mix was adding to his burden…
‘My grandmother told me last night that I must not become a priest,’ Akis told her. ‘In fact, she made me promise, right before she closed her eyes and said she was ready to die.’
‘What?’
‘I know. And then Pig made the strangest noise and my grandmother opened her eyes again and, well, you know the rest.’
‘So, what are you going to do?’
‘To be honest with you… I really do not know. The wedding is happening, my grandmother is still sick, Cosmos might have a nervous breakdown… it is a lot.’
‘I get that,’ Cara said. ‘And personally I didn’t think I was going to come to Corfu and have all my personal demons waiting on Greek shores.’
‘But you battled them, no?’ Akis said, nudging her arm with his.
‘Not all of them,’ Cara admitted with a sigh.
‘No?’
She looked into those gorgeous eyes and remembered seeing them for the first time, behind the mask in the church in Corfu Town.
She swallowed. ‘Akis, I like you. A lot. You know that. And everything you’ve done for me since I got here has been like nothing anyone has done for me in my entire life.’
He shook his head. ‘There is nothing I have done. Everything has come from you. It was all inside of you already.’
‘Maybe,’ Cara said. ‘But I wasn’t ever going to find it myself.’ She sighed. ‘This is hard to say but I’m going to have to say it anyway.’
‘Please, Cara, do not be afraid to say anything to me,’ Akis said.
She took a deep breath. ‘I don’t think I’m ready for any kind of relationship with anyone yet.’ She stopped for a beat, her heart thrumming with acknowledgement that this was such a big step. ‘I think I need to… properly process and come to terms with what happened with my last relationship so I can make sure that I’m in the right place to go forward with anything else that comes my way in the future.’
Akis nodded. ‘That is a very sensible plan. It is the right thing to do. Completely.’
‘Then,’ Cara began. ‘Why does it feel so horrible?’ She took a breath. ‘I mean, it felt right when I started to say it, but now I’m thinking about not spending time with you and it doesn’t feel right at all. I just didn’t want you to make any decisions about your future based on me if I can’t promise you anything.’
‘Ssh,’ Akis said softly. ‘You do not have to worry. It is a good decision and no one else’s opinion of it matters.’ He hovered his hand over hers but didn’t make the connection.
‘I know, I just, you have so much going on right now, I didn’t want to become something else that you have to worry about. If I’m not sure where I’m at with the whole relationship thing.’
‘Cara, please, it’s OK,’ Akis said. ‘You should not be thinking of me. You should only be thinking of you.’
Except now the only thought going through her head was that this man who she liked so much was never going to touch her again, hold her again, kiss her again…
‘Akis.’
‘Yes.’
She wanted to take it all back. She wanted to not think about whether she was ready to trust again, just act, wait and see, believe. But if he did become a priest that door would close anyway. It was hopeless.
‘I should… find Margot. Make sure she’s not winding anyone up any more than she usually does.’ She gave a half smile.
‘Yes, and I should find my brother. Tonight, it is his bachelor party and there is much to prepare.’
She gazed at him, drank him in, remembered how he’d held her and kissed her, wet from the Santorini sea…
‘I will… try to avoid the baklava,’ she said quickly. And then she headed across the terrace and back towards the funeral party.