27. Chapter 27
Chapter twenty-seven
I fully intended to look at the properties that Mary sent me as soon as I got out of the shower but instead, I ended up napping for a couple of hours and when I awake, it is already past noon. Meaning I have less than twenty four hours to find somewhere to stay on the island for the remainder of my time here. Mary sent me a list of several properties, a mix of places both here in Gialos and up in Chorio. Gialos is nice, it’s close to the water and I’ve become familiar with it. But Chorio is where everyone is. Where Dimitri is. So I decide I should change it up and choose a place there.
The first place she sends me is a cute studio-type apartment not too far from the taverna where we had dinner the other night. However, a quick check of the dates shows me it’s not available for the duration of my time left on the island.
I pull up the website for the next one, another studio apartment. It’s beautifully decorated with a large balcony and garden, but it’s also significantly more expensive. Since I’ve already extended my vacation, I need to be mindful of my spending and stay within my budget, so I cross that off the list as well and move on to the next one.
After looking through all the options she sent me, I decide on two possibilities. Both are in the same area and have a large bed with a private bathroom and mini-fridge. The décor is simple but the reviews are good. The big difference is that one has a balcony and the other has a garden patio area. I’m debating back and forth between the two when my phone buzzes beside me.
Dimitri: Did you find a place to stay yet?
Calla: Mary sent me a list. I’m debating between these two. Any thoughts?
I copy and paste the links in our chat, figuring I may as well take advantage of his local insider knowledge.
Dimitri: Don’t stay at either of those.
I blink as I read the words on the screen wondering what he knows that Mary doesn’t. Did I miss something in the reviews?
I click back over to the website, scrolling through the reviews looking for something negative when a new message pops up on my screen.
Dimitri: Stay with me.
I stare at those three words on the screen in front of me, unsure of how to respond. Unsure of what to think.
My brain spirals. Part of me is thrilled at the idea. The fact that he wants me. That we can spend more time together. After all, when I decided to stay in Symi for longer, a big part of that was because of Dimitri. Because I want to spend more time with him.
But I’m equally unsure. It’s his home, his space. Sure, we’ve seen each other every day, but I’ve only known him for a week and he wants me to basically move in with him? I’ve never spent longer than twenty-four hours with someone.
Not to mention the fact that I’m Canadian and he’s Greek. We live on different sides of the planet and while I regret nothing, I can’t help but wonder. Is this actually a good idea? Can I do a casual vacation fling? Or am I just going to end up hurt in the end?
Minutes pass and I still haven’t responded. I go back and forth between the two options, torn between embracing a go-with-the-flow mentality and choosing what makes me happy now or thinking ahead to whether or not this is smart in the long term.
I rest my head on my hands, sighing in frustration. Uncertain of what to do.
My phone buzzes again, a series of messages coming through.
Dimitri: I’m serious, Calla. Come and stay with me.
Dimitri: I’ve thought about it all morning. I’ve thought about you all morning.
Dimitri: I still have to work on the boat some days so you’ll have your own space. Plus, my house has two bedrooms so you can even have your own room if you want.
Another pause, but I can see that he is typing.
Dimitri: The decision is yours, and I don’t mean to push you. But I do want to spend as much time with you as I can.
I think back to yesterday. What he said to me and how he made me feel. I hesitate over the keyboard then tap out two letters.
Calla: OK
I press send and while there is a little bit of nervousness, I’m actually excited at this new development. Worst case scenario, I can leave. Get my own spot, get off the island. Best case scenario…well. I won’t think of that right now. Dreaming too far ahead is what got me into trouble in the past. I have one more week here, I’m just going to enjoy my time. Let it play out as it will. Right now, I’m happy. I’m happy in Symi, I’m happy with Dimitri, and I’m happy with my decision to stay with him. For now, that’s what I need to focus on.
I spend the rest of the afternoon getting organized and packing up. Since Dimitri lives up the hill in Chorio, he told me he’d arrange to borrow someone’s car to come get me and my suitcase. It would be too difficult on his scooter and there’s absolutely no way in hell I’m dragging my luggage up the Kali Strata.
We’ve also decided I’ll move there tonight, even though I technically still have my apartment until tomorrow. After yesterday, we both knew we would be spending the night together anyway and after Vera’s unimpressed look the other day, I would actually prefer it not to be here. But until then, I’m overdue for a call to Mel and even though she might kill me for calling her this early on a Saturday morning, I figure that I have enough juicy details to make her glad that I did.
“This better be good Calla. It’s 7am,” she groans into the phone.
“Oh. It is.”
“Yeah, but 7am good?” she whines.
I pause for a second, trying to think of what I can say that will immediately spark her interest.
“I used the condoms you snuck in my purse.”
I can hear the rustle of her duvet in the background as she sits up and I know I have her full attention.
“Ok. I’m listening.”
As promised, Dimitri shows up in the evening with Yiannis’ and Angela’s car. A small, white Toyota, ideal for the narrow roads of the island, complete with a baby seat for Anna in the back. Dimitri comes into the building to help me with my bags as I do one final sweep around the apartment to make sure I don’t leave anything behind.
I leave the key on the desk as per the check-out instructions, and close the door behind me. My intention is to email Vera when I get to Dimitri’s and let her know I checked out early, but we end up seeing her on the way out.
She glances between me and Dimitri and my suitcase in Dimitri’s hand.
“You’re leaving?” she asks me.
“Yes,” I tell her. “The key is on the desk. I was going to email you to let you know. Thank you for everything, I had a wonderful stay.”
I wait for her to move so we can pass, but she stays put. Instead, she nods towards my suitcase.
“You are going home?”
Dimitri steps in, “Not yet. Calla has extended her stay and will be spending the rest of her time with me. At my house.”
As he speaks, he reaches out his hand to grasp mine. I link my fingers through his and he gives me a reassuring squeeze.
Vera looks at us holding hands and her lips purse in a slight frown.
“Thank you again.” It’s an effort to smile, given her judgemental look, but I manage to fake it.
This time she moves out of the way, but I feel her eyes on me the entire time it takes to load the suitcase in the car and climb in the passenger side.
“She hates me,” I breathe as soon as Dimitri starts to drive away.
“She doesn’t hate you. She’s just…,” he trails off.
“Just what?”
“Wary,” Dimitri finishes.
“Wary?” I arch a brow in his direction. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know, a beautiful foreign woman comes to the island, enticing the na?ve local man.”
I stare at him wide-mouthed, even though I know he’s just teasing me.
“Excuse me, sir. I think it’s the other way around. Woman comes on solo vacation and is enticed by a mysterious and sexy local man.”
“You think I’m mysterious and sexy?
My cheeks heat up and I whack him on the shoulder playfully, but the smile doesn’t leave his face as he navigates the narrow streets, up the hill to Chorio.
“Nothing else happened with him, you know,” I say quietly, staring out the window.
Dimitri glances over at me confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Niko,” I clarify. “The guy from Rhodes. Nothing happened after you left. We stopped. I stopped. I went home alone.”
Now that I know that Dimitri recognized me from Rhodes, it’s been in the back of my mind to tell him. Especially now, with the way Vera treated me. I don’t want Dimitri to think of me like that. I want him to know that I didn’t sleep with Niko. That what he saw was as far as things went.
“I know.”
I’m not sure what I expected him to say, but it sure wasn’t that.
“Not that it matters!” he clarifies. “I don’t care. But, I know.”
“Wait, what?” I ask confused. “How could you know?”
He stays quiet for a minute, focused on the road in front of us.
“I didn’t leave right away,” he admits. “I stopped around the corner. Where you couldn’t see me. Just…just in case.”
His eyes dart over to me for a minute before turning back to the road.
I think back to that night. Of Niko kissing me against the wall. How mid-way through our makeout session, I started to feel anxious. Then, when Dimitri appeared, how he caught my eye on that dark side street, as if questioning to make sure I was ok before leaving.
“I didn’t mean…I wasn’t…” Dimitri stammers as he tries to explain but I understand.
Dimitri has waited outside my door every time he drops me off to make sure I get inside ok. I’m not at all surprised to learn that he’s the type of guy who keeps an eye out for women. To find out that he was looking out for me before he even knew me.
I place my hand on his. “Thank you,” I tell him, giving his hand a squeeze. “I mean it. Thank you.”
A smile tugs at his lips as he squeezes my hand back, “Always.”
We pull down a small side street in Chorio, coming to park in front of a small but tidy-looking house. The white-washed walls have a soft buttery glow to them in the evening light and the turquoise trim and matching door have clearly been recently painted.
Dimitri hauls my suitcase out of the trunk, wheeling it behind him as he unlocks the door and holds it open for me to step inside.
The inside is as bright and warm as the outside. The furniture is dated but in a charming, homey way. A small wooden kitchen table with four chairs sits between two large windows that look out to the bay. There’s a cozy sofa with a couple of colourful throw pillows in front of a wide-screen TV. Dimitri points out the kitchen, bathroom, and door to a small terrace before leading me up the stairs to the second level.
The walls are painted a creamy white and paintings in various sizes line the staircase. Each one depicts a scene from somewhere on the island.
“These are beautiful.” I pause to look at one in particular that catches my eye. It’s the windmills overlooking the bay. The painting reflects the viewpoint at sunset, the sun a half orb of orange behind the hills and the clouds tinged with soft yellows and pinks.
“My mother painted them,” Dimitri tells me. “She was an artist.”
It then occurs to me that this is Dimitri’s childhood home. Where he grew up. His mother must have left it for him when she passed away. Suddenly, the dated interior and homey feeling makes sense and I can’t help but wonder if he’s changed anything since she’s been gone.
At the top of the staircase is a small hallway with three doors. Dimitri leaves my suitcase in the hallway to continue playing tour guide.
The first room is a bathroom with a bathtub-style shower, toilet, and sink. A single electric toothbrush sits at the edge of the sink along with bottles of what looks to be cologne, mouthwash, hair product, and hand soap.
He then leads me to a bedroom. It’s neat and tidy with crisp white sheets and a folded red blanket at the base of the bed. There’s a night stand and a dresser and a single, large window. A couple more paintings like the ones on the stairs hang on the wall. It’s cozy, but impersonal and has clearly been done up as a guest room.
The second room is larger, still sparse but definitely more lived-in.
“This is where I sleep,” Dimitri tells me, leaving me space to walk inside.
Two windows offer clear views across the bay. There’s a large bed, tidily made but imperfect enough to know it’s been recently used. The white bed sheets are pulled up against the pillows and a thick, blue blanket rests at the end. There are two bedside tables with a small lamp on each. The table closest to the door also has an old alarm clock. A tall dresser sits against one wall, filled with an array of books and knickknacks. I scan the titles on the shelves noting volumes in both English and Greek. Some by authors I recognize, others I’ve never heard of.
Against the other wall is a dresser, the top clear except for a photograph in a silver frame.
I walk over to pick up the photo. I can immediately tell that the child in the photo is Dimitri. His hair is shorter and he doesn’t have the defined jawline yet, but his eyes and smile are the same. In the picture, young Dimitri stands beside a smiling woman with beautiful dark hair that tumbles over her shoulders. Her warm brown eyes, full of laughter, look straight into the lens of the camera. Dimitri’s mother.
Dimitri leans casually against the door frame, hands crossed over his chest as he watches me explore his room.
“You can stay in whichever room you like,” he tells me gently. “Wherever you feel comfortable.”
I nod, taking one more look at his room before I walk past Dimitri in the doorway and reach for the handle of my suitcase.
Wheeling it behind me, I re-enter his room, tucking my suitcase against the wall beside his dresser.
“I don’t think I snore,” I tell him shyly.
Dimitri’s eyes light up as he crosses the room, wrapping me in his arms and kissing me fiercely.
“I don’t care,” He whispers against my mouth.