The Greek Villa: A beautiful and utterly addictive summer holiday rom com

Chapter 18

Monday morning, after a breakfast on the balcony, I head over to the house and Yiannis has already arrived and is standing on the top of the roof, but there is no sign of Dimitri or the young men.

‘Kalimera, Yiannis,’ I call up. ’Are you okay?’

‘Yes, yes, I am okay.’ He waves down.

‘Where are the others?’

‘Maybe they come soon,’ he says, whistling as he hammers some nails into a wooden beam.

Maybe? I think to myself. I thought Sunday was the day of rest, not Monday, and wonder what on earth is going on. I busy myself sweeping dust from floors and pulling up weeds in the rear garden and more than an hour later Dimitri arrives.

‘Having a late start today?’ I try to keep the sarcasm out of my voice as he did work yesterday, but time is money on this project. Dimitri seems unfazed by my comment and just shrugs.

‘I was down at the harbour, to check out the boat. You are aware the tourist season starts fully in a couple of weeks.’ He pushes his sunglasses to the top of his head.

‘Yes. What do you mean about looking at the boat?’

‘I have a boat. I take the tourists out on trips in the summer season across the water.’ He takes a swig from a bottle of water before scrunching it up and tossing it in the skip.

‘I’m aware the season will soon be in full swing, but I didn’t realise you had another job,’ I tell him, disappointed that he will not be giving my villa refurb his undivided attention.

‘Most of the islanders are involved in tourism. My work on the house will maybe slow down a little. This is why I will always work Sundays in the meantime,’ he explains.

‘So, you’re saying work on the house will stop when the tourist season is in full swing?’ I ask, horrified.

‘It will not stop completely. Yiannis will still be here.’

Much as I am grateful for the hard work Yiannis puts in, he is an older man who works more slowly than the others. I might need to go and talk to Eric from the bar last night, who during our conversation mentioned that he was a retired builder.

‘What about the casual labourers?’ I enquire about the young workers with a feeling of rising panic. I had hoped that the renovation work would be continuing steadily when I head home, but now it would seem that the builders have summer jobs.

‘They work in their family restaurants down at the beach,’ he tells me, looking at the floor, unable to quite meet my eyes. ‘Maybe I should have been clearer about all of this.’

‘Yes, maybe you should.’

Like when you agreed to take on the work, I think, realising that this could drag on forever.

‘Don’t worry. Most of the work will be done soon, I promise. If not, we will continue properly at the end of September, it goes a little quieter then and by the end of October no one comes here at all, apart from a few people who fly over from Athens.’

‘End of September?’

This is not good news, and I’m now considering asking my dad over, maybe even my brother.

‘I hope I do not give the wrong impression. I will still work here after the day is over on the boats, but not as many hours.’

‘But you will be completely exhausted.’

I don’t want to have to employ new builders, but then again where would I find any, as it appears everyone takes on their summer jobs? I realise I am feeling desperate even thinking of asking Dad over here. He’s a little too old for any sort of heavy labouring, although he would never admit to that. I wish Dimitri would have mentioned this when he signed up for the job, although perhaps I should have asked more questions. Maybe I really can coax the guy I met at the bar out of retirement.

‘How long for the roof to be finished?’ I ask, thinking at least the house will be protected from the elements.

‘A few more days. It is not a large roof, it will be finished before you head home,’ he tells me, and I feel a sense of relief that at least one of the major jobs on the villa will be completed.

I can’t believe I have been so stupid. Why didn’t I do my research? Perhaps it would have been easier to have bought a place on the Costa del Sol.

‘Maybe you had better crack on then,’ I say, returning to the rear garden, taking out my frustration on the weeds growing between the cracks that I attack with such force the trowel bends. It seems my anger has been productive though as two hours later, before the sun reaches its height, I have filled a wheelbarrow with grasses, and a tidy crazy paved yard is revealed, with the olive tree at its centre neatly cut back. I’ve brushed and hosed it all down, revealing the white between the grey concrete flags. I am sitting on a bench taking a break, when Phoebe pushes the rear gate open.

‘Kalimera. You would like some?’

She is brandishing a huge jug of home-made lemonade with ice and glasses, for all of us to enjoy.

‘Thank you, that will go down really well,’ I say, wiping my perspiring face with a tissue.

‘You have been busy, very nice.’ She glances around the tidy yard and nods approvingly.

‘Maybe I will pitch a tent and live in the garden then, because I have no idea when the house will be finished.’ I tell her about the builders having summer jobs.

‘Everybody work near the beaches in the tourist season, always busy.’ Again, I wonder why no one really discussed this, but I can’t pin this lack of communication on anyone else, despite my frustration.

I call Dimitri and the other builders down for some of Phoebe’s delicious lemonade.

‘I am surprised we are allowed a break,’ Dimitri teases, taking the drink and glugging it down, as do the others. ‘But come, take a look up, most of the roof beams are on now.’

I’d been so busy in the yard I’d barely glanced above even though the banging had continued above my head.

‘We are about to put the last few beams across but first we need you to hang the gouri from the beams,’ Dimitri tells me.

‘The gouri?’

‘Yes. It will bring you good luck in your new home. It is symbol for new beginnings. May I?’

He pulls a red ribbon with a tiny metal house at its centre from his pocket. ‘I bought this for you, for good luck in your new home.’

‘Thank you, Dimitri, that’s so kind.’ Despite the worry over the ensuing build I am touched by his thoughtfulness.

‘You must be the one to tie it around the beams as you are the householder,’ he instructs.

He stands behind me then and guides me up the ladder towards a flat platform. I almost stumble at one point, and feel his hand on my backside for a split second as he steadies me, which almost makes me lose my footing even more. Glancing down, I notice Phoebe below with a huge grin on her face. I carefully tie the good luck charm around a beam at the centre, before descending the steps feeling flushed in the face, which may not be entirely down to my hard work in the sunshine.

Several hours later, the final beams of the roof have been nailed in and the crew break for lunch.

The builders take some slices of spanakopita from tubs and glug down water, whilst Dimitri seems preoccupied with scrolling through his phone. He takes a call and with a slow smile spreading across his face, he begins a conversation in Greek with someone as he strolls a short distance away.

Phoebe appears out of her front gate carrying a basket before heading to the local shops.

‘Tonight, you would like to have dinner at my house?’ she offers.

Phoebe always says, ‘You would like,’ rather than ‘Would you like,’ which kind of feels like she is telling me I will enjoy something. I will possibly correct her when the time is right; in return, I hope she may teach me a few Greek phrases.

‘Actually, yes, thank you, Phoebe, that would be really lovely.’

‘Good. I will make the cheese pie. My mother’s recipe.’

‘Wonderful. I will see you later and thanks.’

‘Tomorrow, we will continue working on the roof,’ Dimitri tells me as he returns from his phone call. ‘After that, the work inside will maybe not take so long,’ he assures me.

‘And the outside rendering?’

‘As soon as the roof is finished, we will begin. I will have that done in no time at all. Even faster if you like it rough.’

‘Pardon?’

‘A rough texture on the walls.’ He gives me a sidelong grin. ‘It takes longer if you want a smooth finish.’

‘Oh right, I see. I guess I would like it smooth, but I will have a think about that, especially now that time is of the essence.’

I’m about to apologise for my earlier frostiness, but remember how laid-back everything is here in Greece, including deadlines. I must keep reminding the crew how important it is to keep the building schedule on track before the influx of tourists.

‘So you are okay?’ He looks at me a little doubtfully.

‘Yes. I will have to be, I guess. Truthfully, though, I didn’t realise my workforce would disappear in the summer, but never mind. I trust you enough to know you will work hard while you are here.’

‘That is good to hear. And you have my word that I will. We all will.’

When the building work has finished for the day, Dimitri and Yiannis head towards their van and Dimitri takes some cash from a wallet and pays his two young labourers as he does each day. There is no contract I realise, which means they can disappear whenever they need to. Before they leave, Dimitri asks me if I am busy later.

‘I am having dinner with Phoebe, she invited me earlier,’ I tell him, suddenly wishing I was free. And wondering if he is going to ask me out.

‘I see. I was going to ask you to run a hose of water over some of the newly laid cement on the stone terrace upstairs. It can crack in the heat if it is not watered,’ he says, before picking up his tool bag. ‘But I can come back and do so.’ He smiles.

‘Oh. Right, yes.’ A silly feeling of disappointment runs through me, and I feel like such an idiot. Of course Dimitri wouldn’t be asking me out; he will have a girlfriend, why wouldn’t he, he’s gorgeous. Besides, am I really thinking about a holiday fling with my builder? A bit of fun? I really must stop watching those romantic movies. I firmly file any thoughts of romance into the corner of my brain and get a grip on reality. If only he wasn’t so damn attractive.

‘Have a nice night then, see you in the morning,’ he says, before firing up the engine and disappearing around the corner in a cloud of dust.

I take a bottle of water outside into the garden, watching the olive tree gently waving its branches in the late afternoon, and that’s where I answer a video call from Mum.

‘Hi, lovely, how are things? Is the weather nice over there?’ she asks.

‘Hi, Mum. Oh, it’s gorgeous, look…’

I turn my phone around and show her a view of the beautiful blue sky, the tip of the mountains in the far distance. I also show her the garden, which last time she saw it was a bit of a jungle.

‘Ooh you have worked hard, and the weather looks lovely. We had a nice time at the zoo on Saturday, didn’t we, George?’ she says to my nephew. ‘It was threatening to rain all day but thankfully it didn’t. Are you going to tell Auntie Claudia what your favourite animal was?’ she asks George.

‘The monkeys,’ says George, pulling a face and making monkey sounds at the camera and making me laugh.

‘I’m glad you had fun, George, I’ll see you soon.’ I blow him a kiss and he gives me a cheeky grin before blowing me a kiss in return, and my heart swells with love.

‘Hi, love, how is the building work going?’ asks Dad, who appears then, munching on an apple.

‘Good, but I’m not sure for how much longer.’ I tell him all about the second jobs the builders have once the tourist season is in full swing. ‘Probably my own fault for not asking enough questions.’ I sigh.

‘Maybe I should come and give you a hand after all,’ he says, and I almost take him up on the offer.

‘Don’t worry, Dad. The guy in charge of the build has assured me they will work hard at every opportunity, so I have to put my faith in them.’

Mum and Dad drift off then, telling me Countdown is about to start so I chat with my brother, who tells me what a great weekend they have had, and how he hadn’t realised how much he missed his home town.

‘So, you stayed an extra day?’

‘I did. I hate it when we have to rush off, and George will only be missing a morning in nursery. I’m making the most of it, before he starts school in September.’

‘I can understand that. Anyway, I hope all goes well when you head back. Perhaps you need to sit down and have a conversation with Zoe, see if you can work things out,’ I tell him, thinking about little George, although of course I want my brother to be happy too.

‘I know, I will. Thanks, sis. Talk soon, enjoy the rest of your time there, not jealous a bit.’

He pans the camera round the room and everyone waves before I hang up. I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family and can’t wait to have them all over here to enjoy a nice holiday. In the meantime, it’s time to head back to the apartment and get ready for dinner with my new neighbour.