Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
T he last day of term looked like being a lot more emotional than Grace could have imagined when she’d started at the language school. Just the sight of the kids sitting quietly in front of her was almost enough to set her off. She was ending with her favourite Saturday class of eight- and nine-year-olds, Stelios among them.
All week long she’d been plied with homemade treats from parents, most of which she’d taken straight to Angeliki to share at lunchtime. Grace had seen how hard the poor woman worked. She never turned anyone away. The vet barely had time to breathe, let alone eat, and Grace had become her unofficial coffee maker and food provider, forcing Angeliki to take a break each lunchtime.
Karen the kitten was getting stronger by the day, and her playful personality was emerging. Grace had bought some cat toys for her from one of the many pet shops in town. She’d had Angeliki in fits of laughter as she dragged the fake mice along the ground and Karen timed her pounce exactly. Grace had upgraded her messages to Will from texts to videos of the cat they’d rescued together. He sent videos back of the various beaches and yachts he’d been on. Plus, one of a birthday cake and a bottle of champagne. Obviously, a tough gig.
‘Will you be teaching us again next year, miss?’
It was Stelios who had his hand up. The boy had become so much more confident in the past few weeks. He’d been allowed to bring Mikey in for the final lesson, and the dog was lying calmly by his side.
‘I hope so, Stelios. I’d love to see you all again next year.’
She meant every word, but she had absolutely no idea what she’d be doing next month, never mind next year. The idea of returning home to tutor spoilt children back in Oxfordshire didn’t hugely appeal, but she wasn’t sure what she’d replace it with.
‘We’re going to do some work on animals from around the world today, and then I have a treat for you all.’
After a quiz where the kids had to identify the animals on the cards, suggest what they might eat and then match them with the countries they came from, the noise level was rising. Grace had timed it just about right.
‘Now, children, we’re going to watch a film to finish off, called Lassie .’
Much as she’d like to, she wasn’t going to subject them to the black and white version, featuring the original dog, Pal, who’d lived to the ripe old age of eighteen. Instead, it was a later version in colour with a new dog, Mason, ably assisted by the actor Peter O’Toole.
Although the film didn’t have Greek subtitles, Grace was confident they’d pick up the story. They sat entranced throughout, eyes shining, and cheered loudly when Lassie finally made it home to his schoolboy owner, Joe.
Grace had to turn and wipe away a tear before she faced the children. The story always got to her, however many times she’d seen it.
‘Children, gather up your things, and go and meet your parents. I’ll be seeing some of you over the next few weeks, but for those who are going off on holidays, have a wonderful time and forget about school for a while. That’s an order.’
* * *
Grace stowed the last of the parents’ gifts in her room. She put some homemade courgette balls with tzatziki and a few pieces of delicious-looking baklava into cartons for the journey and added them to her packed holdall. She was meeting Anna downstairs in five minutes. At the last moment, she remembered her Kindle in case she needed something to do while she waited around.
Anna was already there, bag slung over her shoulder. They watched Elena and Giannis walk together to his BMW. He rushed round to open the door for his pregnant wife, which brought forth a snort from Anna. Grace was certain that neither she nor Anna wanted to bump into the dynamic duo if they could help it, so they hung back until Giannis’s beloved car had left the car park. There was plenty of time before their ferry left.
The cage-like waiting area was packed with passengers. The heat was intense, and some people had madly opted to wait in the sun. Grace managed to find two seats in the shade on one of the concrete benches.
Anna was quiet, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. Grace was still wondering why on earth she’d agreed to accompany her colleague to Athens, but there was no going back now.
After an uneventful boat journey during which Grace shared her snacks with Anna and they both had a little snooze, they arrived at the port of Piraeus to a teeming mob of people.
Grace followed Anna down the gangway into frenzied crowds fighting to be first to get on the boat. The port police blew their whistles as hard as they could, and the cars driving off the ferry tooted their horns to try and force a path through the mass of people. Children were crying all around her. A man going the opposite way managed to bash Grace’s leg with his suitcase and didn’t even glance back. It was utter chaos.
‘Sorry, Grace. I didn’t think. I have brought you to Athens on one of the busiest days of the year. Everyone is trying to leave for their holidays.’
The girl looked close to tears. It wouldn’t benefit either of them if Grace had a hissy fit.
‘Don’t worry. Let’s find a taxi, shall we?’
Grace had to smile as Anna bartered with the taxi driver over the price of the fare. Even the wealthy Greeks she’d met loved a bargain.
As they left the port behind, Grace stared out of the window at the furniture shops, cafés and petrol stations that lined the route. There was nothing out of the ordinary so far. The journey to the clinic in central Athens would take them a good forty minutes. It was still incredibly hot outside, and although the taxi had air conditioning, the car seats were boiling to the touch where the sun hit them. Another little doze wouldn’t hurt.
It seemed like the phone rang the second she shut her eyes.
It was Flo. She had to take it. They’d not spoken since the row earlier in the week. Grace had tried to message her, but there’d been no response.
Her daughter’s voice came through loud and clear.
‘Mum… I’m sorry for overreacting.’
‘And I’m sorry too, sweetheart, for not reacting enough. I really am thrilled about your news.’
‘I know, and I know you had loads of questions you wanted to ask.’
‘Well… a few.’
‘I can answer the one you were desperate to know the answer to. A friend called Max, who’s also a lecturer at the uni, is going to be our sperm donor. He’s gay too and wants to help us. He says he’s happy not to play any part in the child’s life unless we want him to.’
‘Sounds good.’
Grace wondered what the legal implications were, but she wasn’t going to voice that aloud, especially after they’d only just made up. She hated falling out with either of her daughters, even for a day. They only had each other.
‘I can hear that tone in your voice, Mum. You’re worrying that Max is going to change his mind and apply for custody or something.’
‘Of course not. I’m sure he’s a lovely guy.’
‘Mmmm. Anyway, remember Jilly is a law lecturer, so we’ll probably have some sort of document drawn up.’
‘That does make me feel better.’
‘See. I knew it.’ But there was a smile in her daughter’s voice. ‘We’re going to get on with it as soon as we’re back for the new term. I’d love to be pregnant by Christmas.’
Grace stopped herself from speaking.
‘And… before you say it, I know it isn’t always that easy. And that I might have to be patient.’
‘I wish you all the luck in the world, my darling.’
‘Thanks, Mum.’
The taxi driver was talking loudly in Greek to Anna.
‘What’s that noise? Where are you?’
‘In a taxi on my way into the centre of Athens, with a colleague. Official lessons finished today, so before we start the private ones, we’ve nipped over for a night.’
‘Oooh, lovely. I’ll let you go then. Love you.’
‘Love you too. Speak soon.’
Anna had obviously listened to the whole conversation. Or Grace’s side of it at least. There was a puzzled look on her face.
‘If I’m not being rude, can I ask, who was that?’
It was a little bit rude, but Grace could hardly complain– they were sitting so close to each other that it would have been virtually impossible for Anna not to hear her call.
‘My youngest daughter, Flo. Both she and her sister, Lottie, are older than you are.’
‘Wow. I had no idea that you had grown-up daughters. Sorry if I’m being nosy here, but it sounded like you were making up after some sort of row.’
‘Correct.’
Grace wasn’t going to give Anna any more information than that. She was in a surreal situation, accompanying a young woman she barely knew to have an abortion, while encouraging her own daughter to go ahead with a potential pregnancy that could be fraught with problems.
It was time for her to be a little nosy too.
‘Do you get on well with your parents?’
Anna put her head on one side.
‘Yes, as long as I do and say what they want. They are very strict. We would never have a conversation like you’ve just had with your daughter. I know they love me, but they’re a bit… formal.’
‘What do they do for a living?’
‘They’re both in international finance. We have lived all round the world, which sounds glamorous, but often means that you don’t really spend enough time anywhere to put down roots. Hence my lack of friends to come with me now.’ Anna smiled. ‘I sometimes wonder if my parents should even have had children. Their life is all work, travel and expensive dinners.’
Grace patted the young woman’s arm.
‘You mustn’t say that. I’m sure they love you to bits.’
‘Yes, I’m being a bit mean. It’s just a lot of pressure. They’d like me to follow them into their world when I finish my Masters.’
‘What are you studying?’
‘Economics, which of course is perfect… for them.’
‘And what about for you?’
Anna sat back in her seat and closed her eyes against the sun.
‘I’ve realised these last few weeks that I’m falling in love with teaching. Because of my degree and my contacts…’ Anna opened her eyes again. They both knew what contacts, or rather contact, she was talking about. ‘I was given the chance to teach the little ones this summer, which was fun. But I’ve watched the other teachers, including you, Grace, and I’d love to teach different age groups too, all the way up to university level.’
Grace had a little smile to herself at the effect Anna would have on teenage boys. They’d certainly turn up for lessons.
‘Well, your degrees won’t be wasted if you eventually become a teacher.’
‘It’s not that.’ Anna opened her eyes and Grace could see the sadness in them. ‘I don’t think my parents would ever allow it.’
At Anna’s age, Grace had already been working for two years, and was living in a rented flat with her husband. She did worry that young people grew up a lot later these days.
‘Have you tried talking to them about it? You may be surprised. I’m sure they’d want you to be happy.’
‘Mmmm, maybe.’
The taxi pulled up outside a small but obviously expensive hotel, and a uniformed flunkey rushed to open Anna’s door.
‘We’re here.’
In their room, which had two enormous beds, each the size of a double, plus a generous seating area with blue velvet sofas, the curtains were shut tight against the sun.
Anna drew them back with a flourish.
‘Surprise!’
Grace caught her breath at the view. In front of them in the distance was the Acropolis in all its ancient glory, with the columns of the Parthenon rising against the blue sky.
But Anna hadn’t finished. She flung open a door that had been hidden behind the curtains.
‘And look, we’ve got our own balcony!’
There was room for a table and four chairs, as well as two sun loungers. Grace hated to think how much it was all costing. But she remembered Giannis’s face at their meeting earlier in the week and decided just to relax and enjoy it.
Grace put her bag down on one of the beds and went to check out the bathroom. It had both a bath and a shower so large it could accommodate four people within its marbled walls.
When she came out, Anna was waiting, handbag already over her shoulder.
‘Sorry to rush you, but we need to go. The clinic is just round the corner.’
The young woman obviously wanted the whole thing over with as quickly as possible. Not that she could blame her.
The clinic was like a luxury hotel in itself. After a rapid exchange with the receptionist in Greek, Anna came back to where Grace was sitting.
‘She says that you definitely won’t be needed for two hours. Why don’t you go out and explore?’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Please, it would make me feel better about dragging you over here. They have your number, if there’s a problem…’
Grace enveloped her charge in a hug.
‘There won’t be. I’ll see you back here at six.’
The busy streets of Athens were an assault on the senses. Everywhere Grace looked there were restaurants and cafés with tables on the street. The smell of frying fish, sizzling meat and herbs filled the air. Four in the afternoon was peak lunchtime, and noisy groups laughed and shouted across tables to each other. The atmosphere was lively but good-natured. Every now and again Grace would glimpse the Acropolis or some other ancient monument looming above the diners at the end of a street. The avenues were lined with trees, some dripping with oranges, although she’d been told by Anna on the boat that they weren’t for eating, far too bitter. It seemed a shame that passersby couldn’t just reach up and pick one, but if they did, they’d get a shock.
Turning into Syntagma Square, the famous plaza located in front of the old Royal Palace, Grace took a moment to watch the guards in traditional dress. Their strange garb below the waist reminded her a bit of rah-rah skirts from the eighties, with white cut-off leggings underneath, but she was sure the Greeks would be just as bemused by the ridiculously tall fur bearskins of the King’s Guards.
In a little parade of shops off the square Grace spotted some hand-crocheted cat key rings. She bought a grey one for Will, to remind him of Karen, and two ginger ones for her girls in memory of their old cat Clooney. She’d wanted to buy Will something for his birthday, but nothing too flash or expensive that might give him the wrong idea, so this was ideal.
After she’d been walking for an hour, the heat was, if anything, intensifying, and Grace turned into a quiet side street. A café with a long line of tables covered in red checked tablecloths attracted her attention and she took a seat in the shade. A shower of mist raining down from the awning was an ingenious way of keeping the customers cool in the summer heat. Grace ordered an iced latte and a plate of loukoumia, which was very similar to Turkish delight, not that she’d be saying that out loud.
Athens was indeed fascinating, and she’d love to return, just not in August. It would be a treat to wander the streets with fewer people around and no queues for the ancient monuments. Grace had another quick glance at her phone to check that there hadn’t been any messages, before setting off to meet Anna. The young woman was already waiting outside the clinic and greeted her with a huge smile.
After a delicious room service meal served on their balcony– for Grace, stuffed squid, and for Anna, seafood risotto– they sat and watched the sun go down over the Acropolis, before turning in for an early night.
Grace woke just before dawn to hear Anna softly moaning and took her a glass of water and some painkillers, but otherwise the young woman seemed fine, thank goodness. After a leisurely breakfast back on the terrace, they braced themselves for the return journey.
But the port was much quieter, to Grace’s relief. Safely on board, she realised she was keen to leave the capital city behind and get back to her sleepy little island.
‘I’m looking forward to going home, aren’t you?’
Anna gave her a funny look.
‘Is that how you think of the island, as home?’
Grace thought for a moment. Such a lot had changed in such a short time. Since leaving Oxfordshire and her reliable but– she had to agree with Sofia– rather dull life, she’d met so many new people, and experienced the best that Greek culture, food, weather and good-natured hospitality could offer.
‘Yes, I really think I’m beginning to.’