Chapter 2
It was a few days later when a cloud of sadness was surrounding me as we headed into the village, holding hands as we walked through the cobbled streets until we reached The Smugglers Rest, our local pub.
On this occasion, it was definitely a very different vibe.
Instead of our long, lingering lunches where we put the world to rights, I knew that we had much to discuss.
I was well aware that we should probably just get everything out in the open.
My friends Emma and Jo always said that they loved my no-nonsense approach to life.
I said what I meant and didn’t, as they worded it, ‘fanny about!’ and I needed to bear that in mind during mine and Demetri’s conversation today.
We bumped into Emma and Jo outside as they were heading in too for a bite to eat.
These two ladies had become my closest friends and had made my life-changing mid-life crisis move to Sandpiper Shore a little less daunting.
After experiencing severe burnout in my role at work, and putting work before my health, I had been advised by my doctor to take some time out and reassess my life.
That led to a huge pivotal decision to leave the company I’d been with for over twenty years and take a gamble on myself.
Emma, after being suddenly plunged into the depths of widowhood and loneliness, had set up The Lonely Hearts Club which brought together people from the local community and further afield too.
It gave members the opportunity to have someone to do things with, whether that be meals out, nights out, holidays.
She’d also met up again with her childhood sweetheart Tom, a widower too, and they were taking it slowly but loving life second time around.
Jo owned what was now a gorgeous cottage at the edge of the sand dunes and on her land lay a couple of outbuildings which she’d made into dwellings.
She had originally thought about converting them into holiday lets, but when Emma had broached the subject with her, saying that she wanted to move from the home she lived in with her husband who had died a couple of years ago and was looking for somewhere, I had swooped in too.
Jo felt even more comfortable having regular income coming in and not having to deal with holiday folk coming and going, and it was working out perfectly for us all.
The best part about it was that Jo had an amazing area just at the back of her house with a view to die for over the dunes and out to sea.
It had become a bit of a ritual for the three of us to meet up and have cocktails on the covered terrace come rain, snow or sunshine.
Otherwise known as our ‘Cocks on Friday’ sessions, we caught up with each other’s weeks and talked about nothing and everything.
We covered the tiny things and the massive things that were going on in our lives.
While at times our men popped by to say hello, they wouldn’t dare to impose.
In every way I was loving life more than ever, and Friday nights were my favourite night of the week.
This week was no exception and I knew that we would have an awful lot to talk about when it came around.
‘Hey, Michelle. Hi, Demetri. How lovely to see you both. You’re very welcome to join us if you’d like to.’ Emma looked around. ‘We could try and find a table for four.’
Demetri shook his head.
‘If you don’t mind, while I’ve got the chance, I’d like Michelle all to myself.’ He was still clutching my hand.
I could feel a blush creeping up my face and laughed it off with a shrug.
‘And why wouldn’t he?’ I asked my friends, and we all laughed.
‘I’m making the most of having her to myself for the whole weekend,’ he responded.
‘We totally understand that. We’re only grabbing a quick sarnie before we go for a walk on the beach. It’s such a gorgeous day. Feels like summer might finally be on the way. I even took my cardie off earlier when I was in the garden.’ Jo giggled.
‘Ooh, you little minx,’ I replied. ‘Such a dare devil.’
A ringing tone broke into our laughter and I saw Demetri fleetingly frown when he realised it was his phone.
He checked the screen and I saw that same name that kept calling.
He bounced the call, but when it rang again immediately afterwards, he apologised and said he’d be back shortly, stepping back outside the front door.
A loud sigh left my body.
‘Everything OK, Chelle?’ Emma asked.
I hesitated before answering.
‘If I say it out loud it means that it’s real. So no, I’m fine and it doesn’t matter.’
Jo reached out and rubbed my arm.
‘It obviously does. What’s up?’
I looked over my shoulder to make sure Demetri wasn’t on his way back, but I could see him still on the phone, waving his hands around. He didn’t look particularly happy.
‘I’ve got so much to tell you,’ I admitted.
‘About that phone call?’ Michelle asked.
‘Well, that’s just one thing. His mother is ill and this woman keeps ringing him and he goes off to talk to her.’
‘And… that’s a problem because…’ Jo looked at me eagerly.
‘Because he’s constantly taking calls from her and they speak in Greek so I have no idea what they’re talking about.
I’m sure he doesn’t do it when he’s at work, so I don’t know why he does it when he’s with me.
’ I realised as soon as I’d said it how petulant it must have sounded to Jo and Emma so I played it down again. ‘It’s fine. I’m just tired I guess.’
This time it was Emma who reached out and touched my arm.
‘There’s clearly more to this than you’re letting on. You can tell us.’
I knew I could trust them with my deepest thoughts, but just as I was about to share the ultimatum that he’d given me, I saw Demetri disconnect the call, run his fingers through his hair and look up to the sky. He visibly took a deep breath and headed our way. I panicked.
‘He’s coming back. I’ll tell you Friday,’ I garbled out as he returned and stood by my side.
‘So sorry about that.’ He smiled. ‘Thanks for being here to keep Michelle company, ladies. Come on, let’s go and eat.’
Despite me normally wanting to get straight to the heart of any issue, we made small talk over lunch, neither of us wanting to spoil our time together. However, I knew that the next conversation we had was going to be one of the hardest ones of my life, one way or another.
The waitress came and took our plates away and suddenly there was an uncomfortable silence between us. Demetri took my hand in his and I sighed, knowing what was coming up.
‘So, have you had any more thoughts?’ he asked.
‘I have lots of questions,’ I replied.
‘OK, hit me up. I’ll do my best to answer you.’
‘Can you tell me a little more about where in Greece your family live and what it’s like?’ I asked. That seemed to be the most obvious thing to find out first.
‘So, it’s a big old farm that’s been in our family for years.
Set on the side of a hill on a beautiful little island off the coast of Rhodes called Amarissa.
There are glorious white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters but luckily hardly any tourists know about it so it’s rarely inundated with holidaymakers.
Our part of the island is known for its spectacular sunsets.
After my stepfather died, Mama used to walk up to the top of the hill behind our house and just sit for hours watching the sun go down.
She said it made her feel like she was saying goodnight to him. ’
‘And you’d be living in the family home?’ I asked.
‘We would be living in the family home, yes. It’s very large with many rooms so there would be plenty of space.
We’d probably have our own suite of rooms. There’s a lovely pool and an annexe down the garden.
The village centre is just a short walk away, where there are a few shops, a restaurant and a bar, all down on the seafront.
It’s very pretty. Want me to get it up on my phone?
’ He reached to the table to pick his phone up but I stopped him.
‘We can look later. It’s clearly very beautiful because your face lights up when you talk about it. Why did you leave if you love it so much?’
I thought I saw a flash of darkness cross his face, but then it immediately disappeared so I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it.
‘Oh, that’s a story for another day. Family stuff, you know how it is.
Me and my brother didn’t see eye to eye on something.
I decided to come to England to study, and the rest, as they say, is history.
’ He started to fiddle with the cuff of his shirt, and when he chewed the inside of his cheek, I instinctively knew there was something that he wasn’t telling me.
That same instinct told me not to ask more now though.
But there was one more question I needed to ask.
Who was the person who kept calling him?
The one who he softly spoke to in Greek.
‘Who is Katrina?’