33. Chapter 33
Chapter thirty-three
My eyes burn as I try to fight back the tears. My dark thoughts from last night have turned into a reality. Dimitri has let me go. He doesn’t think it will work and this is his way of telling me. By disappearing completely.
I’m hurt that he would do this to me but mostly, I’m angry at myself. Angry for putting myself in this position. For opening up and trusting someone. For thinking that he could want me long-term when nobody else ever has.
I feel like such a fool.
I press my hands up to my eyes in an effort to block the tears threatening to fall down my face. I don’t have the time to fall apart right now. I have a flight to catch. I need to get out of Greece. I need to get home.
The journey to the airport is a blur. I mechanically make it through check-in and security, my tired, red-rimmed eyes barely processing the people in front of me. My brain is functioning on autopilot as I hand over my passport to immigration. Wincing at the heavy thunk of the stamp on the page marking my official departure from Greece.
I absentmindedly scan through the duty-free section. At this hour in the morning, it’s the only thing open and I’m just biding my time. Stretching my legs as much as possible before the long flights ahead of me as I try to keep my mind busy and distracted. Trying to think of anything but him.
I walk past shelves of typical candies, perfumes, and alcohols that you can find pretty much everywhere along with a few specialty Greek products like olive oils, honey, soaps and lotions. All of it at least three times more expensive than the prices I saw in the islands. I leave empty handed, thankful for buying local, and make a quick stop at the bathroom before heading to my gate to wait for departure.
The plane is more than half full by the time my section is called for boarding. Joining the line, I shuffle forward slowly, forcing myself to smile at the gate agent who scans my ticket before wishing me a good fight. I walk down the hallway to the door of the plane, showing my ticket to the flight attendant who greets me. I suddenly feel incredibly self-conscious of my appearance; leggings, an over-sized t-shirt, and my hair in a messy topknot. Lip balm and moisturizer are the only products on my face. For the first time in over two weeks, I wish I had worn makeup. I wish that I had that layer of protective armour right now. As if it could help disguise the way I feel on the inside.
“Twenty-two F,” the flight attendant reads out loud. “Far side of the plane, left side.” She smiles warmly at me as she points. I nod in thanks, walking past row after row until I get to mine. So far, it’s empty. Sliding my carry-on backpack off my shoulder, I reach to push it into the nearly-full overhead bin above me when a familiar, low voice speaks up behind me.
“Can I help you with that?”
I freeze, not believing what I’m hearing. Or rather, who I’m hearing. I turn slowly to see Dimitri standing behind me. He’s wearing a fitted white t-shirt and grey trousers. His hair is more styled than what I’m used to but those dark, gold-flecked eyes and half-smile are 100% him.
Which means I’m not crazy.
Dimitri is here.
On the plane.
On MY plane.
A plane that is leaving Greece.
I gape openly at him like a fish out of water. My sleep-deprived brain too busy trying to process what I see in front of me to form an actual sentence.
“Allow me.” Dimitri takes my bag from me, fitting it into the space before gesturing at me to move in and sit down. We get out of the way, clearing the narrow aisle for the passengers behind us still boarding. I sit in my assigned window seat and he sinks down into the middle seat beside me.
“Happy to see me?” He grins mischievously, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes and I can tell that he’s nervous.
“What? Why? How are you here?” I’m torn - I want to throw myself at him in relief but I hold back, unsure of what this means.
“I told them when I checked in that I was surprising my girlfriend and asked to be seated beside you. They moved a couple people around.”
My heart soars as he calls me his girlfriend, but I keep my face blank, waiting for him to continue.
He takes a moment to settle in before answering, stashing a water bottle into the seat pocket in front of him before clasping his seat belt around his hips. I watch as he struggles to comfortably fit his long legs into the space; his knees squishing into the seat in front of him before he gives up and stretches out, extending them under the seat.
He should have picked an aisle seat, I think to myself as I realize that this isn’t a joke. Dimitri is actually taking this flight.
He leans back against the headrest of his seat, tilting his head towards me. “Arthur.”
“Arthur?” I repeat back at him, still incredibly confused.
“You know about his business, right?” He arches a dark brow at me and I think back to all the conversations I had with Arthur. About his years visiting Symi, his beloved wife Anne, the fact that they couldn’t have kids so they had adventures and travelled across the world. But I can’t recall him ever talking about work, much less a business.
I shake my head.
“Arthur owns an adventure travel company. He and Anne started it years ago. That’s why they have been all over the world. Scouting trip locations, partners, and properties. They founded one of the oldest and biggest adventure companies in all of Europe.”
He looks at me like it should ring a bell but I’m genuinely shocked.
“I had no idea,” I tell him honestly. “We talked about travel, but never of work.”
“Well, he’s mostly retired now,” Dimitri admits, “but still active on the board and decision making.”
“So how does that all tie into you being here?”
“Arthur knew I was unhappy in Athens. That I wanted a change, so he offered me a job. Thanks to my work at the hotel company in Athens, I have the travel and business experience he’s looking for. Arthur’s company has locations worldwide with various openings that would be a good fit for me. That’s what we were talking about the day you climbed the Kali Strata. When I took you to sunset by the windmills. You actually interrupted our meeting.”
He flashes me a teasing grin but it falls quickly when he sees I don’t return it.
“I planned on taking him up on it. I wanted to leave Greece but stay in Europe. Then you came along. I got to know you and started falling for you. So I asked Arthur if there was anything in North America.”
“And?”
“There’s not.”
“Oh.” My tiny bubble of hope pops.
“At least not yet.”
We’re interrupted by the buzz of the intercom as the captain calls out that boarding is complete. The crew walks up and down the aisles, double checking the overhead bins are properly closed and seatbelts are clasped.
“Seat all the way up, please,” a flight attendant asks me.
“Oh, sorry.” I hadn’t realized I was slightly reclined and I press the button to adjust it. Waiting for Dimitri to continue.
“Well, Arthur said he always wanted to go back to Canada. He said the skiing in the mountains there is incredible. He and Anne both had fond memories of Whistler and it’s been at the forefront of his mind since you arrived and told him that you were from Vancouver. So, when you and I decided we wanted to make this work, to make us work, he decided now was the perfect opportunity.”
“The opportunity to bring his business to Canada?” I question.
“To scope out the possibility, yes,” Dimitri nods. “Arthur’s sending me over for a month. The last couple of days have been busy getting everything arranged. He’s found an apartment for me in Whistler Village and rented a car for me to get around. He’s sent out over a dozen introductory emails with local contacts that I will be meeting while I’m there. There’s no guarantee but if everything goes as planned, the goal is to get winter ski trips to Whistler up and running in the new year.”
I’m completely shocked. Dumbfounded really. I had no idea that Arthur owned a major travel business and was thinking about expanding into Canada. Much less that he wanted to hire Dimitri to help make it happen. It all seems surreal.
“That’s why I didn’t respond to your texts and missed your calls yesterday,” Dimitri tells me softly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t reply. I wasn’t trying to ignore you, we were trying to get this all together. I had to wrap up everything in Symi and fly back to Athens last night to pack so I could be here with you. It was so rushed, so last minute. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure it was happening.”
The corners of his mouth pull down a little as he watches me, his concerned eyes scanning mine for a reaction. He knows that I was hurt by his lack of communication yesterday. But that hurt fades away as he explains. Dimitri didn’t forget about me. He wasn’t trying to avoid me. He did this for me. To be with me. He’s choosing me.
“But what about Athens? Your job here? Symi?”
“I quit the job at the hotel. I wasn’t happy there. Even if Canada doesn’t work, Arthur will place me elsewhere. I have a month to report back what I find to keep to our timeline. It will be tight, but both Arthur and I are optimistic that it will work. For now, the tours will be winter only which means I can go back to Symi for the summer. I’ll be able to work remotely from there and can travel to Canada if needed. Ideally, I’ll be able to split my time between the two.”
My heart soars in my chest at what he’s telling me. Sure, Whistler isn’t exactly Vancouver, but at a two-hour drive, it’s a hell of a lot closer than Greece. We can commute to each other on the weekends. I can probably even work remotely from Whistler sometimes. Excitement floods my nervous system as I realize what this means.
Dimitri is coming to Canada.
Dimitri is coming to B.C.
We’ll both still have our own lives, our own goals, and our own jobs. But it’s going to be in the same area. We’ll see each other regularly and be together. This really is going to work.
“So?” Dimitri interrupts my thoughts, “what do you think? Is it ok? Does it make you happy?”
I stare at the man in front of me. This tall, handsome Greek man who flipped my world upside down in just two short weeks. I came to Greece to find myself and I did. But in doing so, I also found him. The man who went from stranger to friend, then lover to partner. The man who makes me feel beautiful and special just for being me. Who uplifts my confidence and inspires me to get out of my comfort zone. The man who feels like home.
The man, I realize, that I have come to love.
“Yes,” I breathe out. “A million times – yes.”
Dimitri’s lips pull into one of his rare full smiles and he reaches for my hand. I grab it, smiling back just as widely and give it a squeeze as our plane takes off down the runway towards our next adventure.
The End.