Chapter 28 #2
‘You would think so,’ he replies. ‘People on cruises have all their needs catered for onboard, food, entertainment, etc so yes, they may buy a coffee or lunch here and there, or do a little shopping when they dock, but that does not really help the economy,’ he explains.
‘Don’t get me wrong, we are proud to have visitors to the island, the problem is the sheer numbers that descend all at once,’ he explains.
‘It literally puts pressure on the ground. Many footpaths and steps have had to be rebuilt,’ he tells me.
‘I don’t suppose we think about that when we visit places,’ I say, mulling over his thoughts. ‘Especially as so many people are travelling these days.’
‘Which is a wonderful thing, but maybe people ought to think about coming here in the autumn. I personally think it is a much nicer place to visit at that time of year,’ he advises. ‘Before the season ends. The island looks beautiful then.’
‘I will remember that next time.’ I smile.
‘So, you will return?’ He turns to me.
‘I am certain I will. It is easy to see why people fall in love with Santorini.’
‘I am pleased to hear it.’
I lean my arm on the open window as we drive, the breeze gently blowing my hair as we pass a strip of sea.
Eventually, we cut onto a beach road, passing a couple of gift shops, a beach café with people sitting outside having breakfast, and a surf shop that hires out boards and sells beachwear.
This little row of shops leads directly onto a gorgeous sandy beach with a good number of sunbeds.
A building at the end of the row of shops stands empty.
‘Gosh, what a gorgeous place. I would never have known it even existed,’ I say as I glance around.
‘It is a little gem, and very busy in the height of summer. It is not very well signposted from the main road, although there is always a lot of passing trade, especially from tourists.’
He leads me to the uninhabited shop, next door to the surf shop.
‘So, what do you think?’ he asks as we stop outside.
‘About what?’ I ask, puzzled.
‘I was thinking that maybe this would make an excellent workshop for my sculptures. And, of course, I could sell them here.’
‘Wow, you are thinking of buying this place? I can’t think of a nicer location,’ I say.
‘I already have.’ He grins. ‘Come on, let me show you inside.’
Stepping onto the wooden floor of the abandoned space, I can at once imagine Andreas sitting in a corner working, his art displayed on shelves around the studio. At the end of the room a large window lets in light, and gives an enticing glimpse of the beach beyond.
‘It’s absolutely perfect,’ I tell him as I walk around the room.
‘I think so too.’ He grins. ‘And this particular beach has lots of treasures, including plenty of driftwood.’
‘So you are finally going to go it alone? What does your father think about you not running the shop?’ I ask.
‘He is fine. As I say, my cousin is keen for more hours. In fact, my father has agreed to work in the shop himself a little more,’ he reveals. ‘Although maybe it is my mother’s idea.’
‘Your mother’s idea?’
‘Yes. She says retirement does not really suit him and he cannot spend all his time on the family yacht.’
‘Because that sounds like hell,’ I say, and he laughs.
I think of the day on the yacht with Christos, but push the thought to the back of my mind.
‘My mother is a social butterfly with lots of hobbies,’ he continues.
‘My father, not so much, so I think she feels better if he is occupied. Secretly I think he agrees.’ He smiles.
‘He is already looking at new suppliers for the shop, he always loved it there. My mother says he can relax when the summer season is over.’
‘My gran always says that people need a purpose in life,’ I tell him. ‘Which I guess is true.’
I head back towards the window, captivated by the view of the rolling sea as Andreas produces a tape measure from his pocket, ready to measure a wall.
‘I think that maybe she is. And you know? I guess I have finally realised that my purpose is to create things for other people to enjoy.’
‘I don’t doubt that for one minute, you have a real talent,’ I say.
‘Thank you. And surely your purpose is to bring the gift of your voice to people,’ he says as he joins me at the window, and we both glance out across the sea.
I can feel his presence as he stands next to me, taking in his calm, masculine demeanour, and his woody cologne.
He is tall, and more rugged than Christos, whose manicured look is probably a result of spending hours in barber shops and salons.
Not for the first time, I wish Andreas was the only Greek man I had met here in Santorini.
‘Shall we make a move?’ Andreas asks, although I would honestly be happy standing here for a while longer.
‘Sure,’ I reply, a little reluctant to leave.
‘Or maybe you would like a walk along the beach before we head off?’ he suggests.
‘I would love that. And you never know, you might find something interesting.’
We go for the door handle at the same time, and when our hands brush, I’m surprised to feel a jolt of something between us.
We walk quietly on the stretch of northerly beach that has a strong breeze. I watch a young boy with an older man, laughing gleefully as his kite takes to the air. One or two swimmers are braving the waves and enjoying a morning swim.
‘I can see why the surf shack is there,’ I comment, noticing the foaming waves as we walk. ‘Do you enjoy water sports?’ I ask.
‘I like to jet ski occasionally, although I prefer swimming,’ he says as he bends down and picks something up from the sand.
‘That’s pretty,’ I say as I watch him turn over a piece of green, marbled sea glass.
‘It is,’ he says, sliding it into his pocket.
As we stroll along, I realise how much I enjoy the company of Andreas, and don’t want our day to end. I also think of the feeling I experienced when our hands collided, and wonder if he felt it too?
At the far end of the beach, Andreas finds an unusual-looking gnarled piece of wood in shades of brown and cream and lifts it from the sand.
‘I should have brought a bag,’ he says, dusting the sand from one of nature’s treasures.
‘One moment,’ I say, diving into my shoulder bag. ‘Another thing my gran says is always carry a spare bag.’
I fish out a string bag I bought from an artisan market back home.
‘This gran of yours sounds like a remarkable woman,’ he says as he happily carries the bright-pink string bag with the piece of driftwood inside.
‘She is. I spend a lot of time with her. She’s funny too,’ I tell him, thinking of some of the hilarious conversations we have had.
‘My grandmother was funny.’ He smiles. ‘And you could always rely on her to give her honest opinion,’ he remembers fondly. ‘I miss her.’
I don’t even want to think about the time when my own grandmother is no longer here.
As we walk and talk, I realise my phone has been firmly in my pocket the whole time. I should probably be taking some photos for my social media accounts, yet I don’t feel compelled to do so.
Having not eaten breakfast, when we arrive back at the beach café, Andreas offers to buy us some breakfast.
‘Sure, but I insist on paying,’ I tell him as we take a seat outside. ‘I never did thank you properly for saving me from a fall that day in Fira.’
Andreas protests, but I insist. I am heading home in a couple of days, and I still have plenty of euros left. The sensible part of me thinks that I could change them into sterling when I return home, but as I don’t know when I will travel abroad again, I might as well enjoy myself while I’m here.
‘So what will you do for work when you get home?’ asks Andreas as he tucks into the daily special, an omelette with chunks of village sausage and feta. I ordered the same thing too, and it is absolutely delicious.
‘I have a couple of options,’ I tell him, which is not entirely the truth, but fingers crossed something will turn up. A recent chat with Mum revealed that the Royal Oak back home is, in fact, reopening at the end of the month, so hopefully I can secure a few paid gigs there.
‘What would you do if something turned up here?’ he asks, in between mouthfuls of food.
‘Here?’ I frown. ‘I don’t see how I could ever get a job here. It might be nice over the summer though.’ I idly daydream. ‘I’m pretty sure I could get used to spending mornings like this in the sunshine.’ I say, as I glance around the idyllic location..
We sip our lattes and Andreas is quiet for a moment before he speaks again.
‘Perhaps I could help you with that. If you wished to stay here a little longer, that is.’
He looks at me with those gorgeous brown eyes framed by long black lashes, and it is as if I am really seeing them for the first time.
‘You could help?’ I ask, puzzled. ‘I mean, I would love to stay here a while longer, but I don’t understand?’
‘A friend of the family owns a smart restaurant in Oia, with a piano bar. It is in a sublime position to watch the sunset,’ he tells me. ‘He is looking for a singer this summer, three, maybe four nights a week. I think your voice would suit such a venue perfectly.’
‘Me!’ My mouth falls open in surprise.
‘Why not? Didn’t you once tell me that we ought to follow our passions?’ he reminds me.
‘Well, yes, of course we should, but a job singing here in Santorin? I’m not sure I could do that.’ I shake my head.
‘Why on earth not? You say you have experience of singing in public back home? And I heard you at that karaoke bar, and you were amazing,’ he says kindly.
‘Thank you, and, yes, I do have experience but wow, here in Santorini, really?’ I let his words sink in as I wonder what is actually stopping me from staying out here for a while longer.
‘Well, at least think about it,’ he says. ‘And it would not be for another month, so you could maybe go home first if you have things to sort out,’ he says. ‘I will happily pay your plane fare back here.’
‘You would do that?’
‘I would.’ His hand reaches over for mine and I feel a rush of affection for this lovely man. ‘If it is what you want.’
During the drive back, I mull over Andreas’s words, wondering if I could actually make it happen? Lots of people do seasonal work, but then where would I stay? Any money I earned surely wouldn’t cover the cost of accommodation too. Perhaps it is nothing more than an impossible dream.
‘Can I see you before you leave?’ Andreas asks as he drops me off back at the apartments. ‘If you think about what I have suggested, I can take you to the restaurant in Oia to meet my friend.’
‘Do you mean to audition for a singing job?’
‘If you decide it is something you would like, then yes,’ he says.
‘Sure. He is hardly likely to hire me without hearing me sing, I guess.’
Although I do have a recording of me singing something to the music Ash wrote, I remind myself, although I am not sure how well that has been received.
I don’t have to wait long to find out though, as back in my apartment I take my phone from my bag and charge it up after the battery had died. As it springs to life, I notice two missed calls and several messages from Ash.
As I slowly scroll through the comments of me singing, I almost burst into happy tears. The comments are nothing short of fantastic, many people asking Ash who I am, and where can they watch me perform.
‘Finally,’ he says when I give him a call. ‘I was beginning to think you had vanished off the face of the earth.’
‘Sorry, I was out on a beach and my battery died,’ I tell him, realising once more that I hadn’t been preoccupied with taking photographs. ‘Oh my goodness, Ash, I can’t believe the response!’
‘I can. It’s had two million views already and you are currently viral on my TikTok.’
‘You are joking!’ I gasp.
All the hours I have invested uploading videos of eateries and shops, and my singing views have gone through the roof. Maybe I should have listened to my friends all along.
‘Nope,’ he says. ‘You are being discovered and appreciated, and rightly so,’ he tells me kindly.
‘Oh, Ash, I can’t believe it. And it may have just given me the confidence to take on a little singing job.’
I tell him all about the possibility of doing the summer season at the restaurant here in Oia. ‘If I can sort out somewhere cheap to stay, that is.’
‘Oia, hey that sounds amazing,’ he says. ‘And when you come home, I’m sure people will be queuing up to hire you,’ he says.
When we finish speaking, I do my little running on the spot happy dance, which I realise I haven’t done in a while. Suddenly life seems full of possibilities and it feels so good!