Chapter 32
‘It’s not what you think.’ Dimitri breaks the silence that’s fallen between us.
‘Oh, really?’
‘Please, I am so sorry. I have no idea why she came over. Maybe I have been foolish in driving her to see her grandmother. Please let me explain.’
A part of me wants to scrape back my chair and head off, but I am not going to be accused of running away again.
‘Go on.’ I take a glug of my white wine.
‘Her grandmother is very ill, and she lives in a remote village. Athena no longer has her driving licence, so she asked if I could drive her there, once or twice. This will be the last time.’
‘And she has no friends who could take her?’
‘I have thought about that.’ He sighs. ‘Although she tells me the friend she is staying with does not have a car, I hope I have not encouraged her.’
‘Why would you say that?’
‘Because I get the feeling she is interested in me, now that her most recent relationship has ended.’
I feel the warmth of the evening turn cold.
‘So maybe I have been giving her the wrong impression.’ He sighs.
‘Are you sure it’s the wrong impression?’
‘I have no interest in her, romantically,’ he says, looking into my eyes. ‘You have to believe me. We are history. Do you think I could ever trust someone like her again? I regret agreeing to her requests.’ He shakes his head.
‘Yet you are taking her tomorrow?’
‘I have already arranged to do so, so I will honour that. But I will make it clear it will be the last time,’ he says, sounding genuine.
‘If you say so.’ I am trying to remain calm, but what am I to think? His beautiful ex is back in town, and I will soon be thousands of miles away.
‘Please, Claudia, you must believe me.’ He reaches across the table and takes my hands in his, and a mixture of desire and confusion races through me.
I can hear Athena’s voice behind us and the sound of her shrill laughter. I paint on a smile and try to enjoy the rest of the evening, but even the beautiful location can’t lift the heaviness I feel in my heart. When Dimitri escorts me home, I leave him at the door.
‘Can I see you tomorrow?’ He looks at me pleadingly. ‘I will take Athena in the morning, then I will be working until five o’clock on the boat. Maybe tomorrow evening, I can cook for you at my place?’
So, Dimitri is inviting me to his flat, a day before I leave?
‘Maybe. I have to log in tomorrow as I will be working from home.’
‘I will call you tomorrow.’ He gives me a peck on the cheek, before walking off.
It takes me a long time to get to sleep, going over the events of the evening. I can’t shake the picture of Athena from my mind, and how she placed her hand on his shoulder, but eventually I drift off and wake bright and early to the sun streaming through the windows once more.
I invite Phoebe in for coffee. She sniffs as she enters the kitchen.
‘You burn the dinner?’
‘I did, but I think even the stray cats in the street would turn their nose up at it, I’m sure.’
I tell her what happened with the spice mix and she roars with laughter.
‘A lamb-flavoured Christmas cake, I like it. Dimitri has humour. So you see him again?’
‘He has invited me to dinner this evening, at his place.’
‘Don’t be too hard on him,’ she tells me, when I tell her my concerns about his ex. ‘He is a kind man, who likes to help people. But remember, it is you he talks of all the time.’ She taps her nose and smiles. ‘Now, I know that you have work to do,’ she acknowledges as she stands to leave and I give her the magazines to take to Eliza. ‘You have been very kind.’
‘Nonsense, you have done so much for me too. We’re friends, right? It’s what friends do.’
After a breakfast of fruit, Greek yoghurt and honey, I spend the morning working, occasionally wondering how the conversation is going in the car between Dimitri and his ex. Is he really so certain that they will not rekindle their romance? After all, I will soon be back in England. But perhaps the time has come for me to let my guard down as Evie suggested, and have a little fun and expect nothing more, although I have never really been someone who is into casual encounters.
Later that afternoon, I log off and nip outside to stretch my legs and go for a walk along the beach. Dimitri’s aunt is there with Prudence, who jumps up at me in greeting.
‘Kalispera,’ she says.
‘Kalispera.’
She asks about Eliza and I inform her Phoebe will be visiting her later.
‘I have no doubt she will be inundated with moussaka from the neighbours when she returns.’ She grins. ‘Although I get the impression Phoebe will be happy to look after her.’
‘It’s funny how things have worked out between them, isn’t it?’ I say, having heard the story of their estrangement from Phoebe.
‘It really is,’ agrees Lena. ‘I think they have both been very lonely. Phoebe is a stubborn woman, although don’t get me wrong, I can see why. It just seems so sad, that with both of their husbands gone they could have been company for each other.’
‘Well, maybe this last chapter in their lives will bring them both some happiness,’ I suggest.
‘I hope so,’ Lena agrees with a smile.
The beach is quite crowded today, so Lena has Prudence on a lead, especially as there are a lot of children playing with a ball.
‘She will go crazy after that ball,’ Lena says as Prudence strains at the lead. ‘I am just heading to a quiet stretch of beach, if you care to join me,’ she offers.
‘I would love to. I have been at my laptop all day and I need a good walk.’
Presently, we arrive at an almost deserted stretch of beach, and Prudence races off as soon as she is released from the lead.
‘You know, I really admire you,’ Lena tells me as we walk. ‘Buying a house that needed some work doing. It must have taken some courage.’
‘A little, but it was easy for me to choose Roda. I spent a lot of my childhood holidays here, in the hotel near the sea.’
‘Yes, Dimitri told me about that.’
We stop at the water’s edge, and she tosses a pebble into the water. Prudence races after it, before abandoning the search and racing back on the sand, shaking herself.
‘He likes you, you know.’ She casts me a glance, to see my reaction.
‘I like him too. He’s a lovely guy.’
‘Well, I would obviously agree with that.’ She smiles. ‘But what do you really feel about him?’
I can’t think of how to reply for a moment and she apologises.
‘Forgive me. I have no right to ask you, it’s just that I know he has grown very fond of you.’
At the end of the beach is a tiny café, and Lena offers to buy me a coffee, so we take a seat at an outdoor table beneath a parasol and continue our conversation.
‘It’s so difficult. I think I have feelings for him too,’ I admit. ‘I have grown to know him quite well doing the refurbishment, and there is no denying I find him attractive.’
‘But?’ She stirs her cappuccino.
‘I can’t see a future,’ I tell her honestly. ‘I have no plans to emigrate, which since Brexit I would need to do, and I can’t see Dimitri in the North of England.’
‘I can understand that. But you never know what could happen if you open yourself up to the possibility, surely?’
‘Maybe you are right. But then, there is the small problem of his ex being back in the village.’
‘Do not worry about her,’ she says, with a dismissive wave of the hand. ‘She is back to see her dying grandmother.’
‘Yes, he told me that.’
‘My nephew has a soft heart, he can never say no to helping anyone. But he has no interest in her. She, stupid girl, lost her driving licence because she was caught drink driving,’ she says, shaking her head. ‘They were never a good match. She is immature, whereas Dimitri has always had an older head.’
I take in Lena’s words as I sip my delicious frappé. She thinks her nephew has an older head, so maybe the five-year difference between us might not be so significant. For the umpteenth time, I wish I hadn’t allowed myself to develop feelings for him; everything would be so much simpler then, but I guess nothing in life ever is.
I walk back with Lena, who tells me it is time for her to get back to work also. She is a sewing machinist and has a room in the rear of her house where she makes children’s clothes, supplying them to markets and a clothes shop in Corfu Town that she visits once a week.
‘Enjoy dinner with my nephew this evening.’ She smiles. ‘Believe me, it isn’t every day he invites someone to his place.’
‘Thank you. And thanks for the coffee.’
Inside, I shower and change into a lime-green shorts suit, with a black vest underneath. The colour suits my hair colour I think as I give a little twirl in front of the mirror.
I’m trying to stop the butterflies in my stomach as I glance at my watch. Dimitri will be here to collect me in twenty minutes. I debate pouring myself a drink, when the phone rings. It’s Josh.
‘Hey, sis, put the phone onto video, George wants to say hi.’
I switch to camera, and Josh lets out a little wolf whistle when he sees me.
‘Going somewhere special?’
‘No, I usually hang around like this, it’s just something I threw on,’ I joke.
George appears then dressed as a pirate, and brandishes a sword in front of the camera.
‘He wanted to show you his outfit. I’ve just collected him from a pirate-themed party at one of his friends’ houses after nursery.’
‘Did you have fun, George? You look amazing.’
‘Yes, thank you. And I won a prize in musical statues,’ he tells me proudly, lifting up a small gold whistle that he proceeds to blow loudly.
‘Lucky you. I’m glad you had a good time. I hope you will come and see us again soon when I’m back in England.’
‘We will, won’t we, Daddy?’ he says, turning to Josh.
‘We certainly will.’
George waves, then dashes off, swishing his sword.
‘Good luck with getting him to bed, after all that sugar.’
‘Oh, I know.’ He laughs. ‘He’s got a couple of hours to work it off though, I’ll let him run around the garden.’
‘Of course, I keep forgetting we are two hours ahead.’
I tell him all about my impending date with Dimitri.
‘Brilliant, I think you should go for it.’
‘You do? I texted Evie earlier and she told me the same thing.’
‘Why not? You’re always there for everyone else. It’s about time you had a little fun. I know you helped Evie get through her marriage slump, and you have always given me nothing but good advice. Maybe it’s time to concentrate on your own happiness.’
‘Thanks, Josh, and I know you’re right, but a long-distance relationship is hardly ideal is it? It’s the last thing I was expecting to happen.’
‘Just go with the flow. I know it wasn’t exactly Greece, but I moved hundreds of miles away to be with Zoe. Love can conquer anything, if it’s meant to be.’
‘Do you really believe that?’ I ask doubtfully.
‘I do as it happens, yes.’
Zoe pops into the room then, and says hi and chats for a second, before dropping a kiss onto Josh’s head, and saying she will go and prepare dinner. I don’t think I have seen them look as happy as they are in a long time.
Five minutes after finishing the call, Dimitri is tapping at the front door. I open it and his eyes widen.
‘Wow. You look beautiful. But then, you always do.’
‘Thanks. Although you wouldn’t say that if you had seen me earlier dressed in old joggers and a T-shirt, which I dripped honey on from eating some baklava,’ I tell him and he laughs.
Outside, there is no sign of his car.
‘We are walking?’
‘Yes. No more than ten minutes, if that is okay?’
‘Gosh, sorry yes, your aunt mentioned your place wasn’t far away.’
‘You have been discussing me?’ He grins.
‘What? No, I bumped into her earlier at the beach when I was taking a break. She mentioned it when we were talking about living here. Do you think you will stay around here?’ I ask as we walk.
‘I imagine so. I could never be too far away from the village. My friends and family are here.’
We stroll side by side in the early evening sunshine, Dimitri casting the occasional glance at me and smiling. I’m surprised when we take a walk down a side street not far from the beach, to what appears at first glance to be a block of holiday apartments.
‘They once were,’ Dimitri tells me when I remark on this. ‘They were sold off several years ago. I was lucky to be able to secure a large one-bedroomed place.’
He lets us into a public area with a cool, marble floor and potted plants dotted about in the entrance.
Dimitri’s apartment is on the first floor, and he leads me inside to a cool, stylish interior. The main lounge is white walled with a huge black-leather sofa and some striking art on the walls. The large window at the end of the room gives a side view of the sea. At the far end of the long lounge leading from the kitchen, a table has been set, with a candle at its centre.
‘Would you like a glass of champagne?’
‘Champagne? What’s the occasion?’ I ask as I follow him into the kitchen, which is just as stylish as the lounge with navy units and pale-grey marble work surfaces, although maybe I should expect nothing less from a builder. It does have a masculine, yet welcoming, feel. Dimitri most definitely has a good eye for design.
‘Do we need an occasion? Although maybe it could be a late toast to your new home.’
He pops the cork on the champagne, and pours us each a glass.
‘So what are we eating?’ I glance around but there’s only a single pot on the top of the stove.
‘A meze. Most of it is in the fridge, the rest on a low heat in the oven. Please, sit down.’
He guides me back to the lounge, where there is a bowl of olives on a maple-coloured coffee table. I glance around at the room, which could be in any modern European city; the only clue to it being in Greece is the sight of a Greek flag out of the window, fluttering in the breeze near the sea.
A short while later, I am seated at the dining table as Dimitri brings out dish after dish of delicious-looking food. There are stuffed vine leaves, meatballs, dips, bread and olives, as well as some deep-fried whitebait. He retrieves a small moussaka from the oven, and some tasty-looking roasted potatoes dusted with oregano and lemon.
‘You made all this?’ I stare in amazement at the crowded table. ‘Wait, you did make it, didn’t you, or is this courtesy of a local restaurant?’
‘You insult me.’ He looks at me in mock horror. ‘I told you I like to cook, although a lot of the meze is shop bought,’ he admits. ‘But I made the moussaka and the potatoes.’
‘Well, it looks wonderful, thank you so much. I’ve been saving myself for this all afternoon. Well, apart from the tiny piece of baklava,’ I tell him, remembering I had mentioned that.
‘So how was your day?’ I ask him.
‘Busy. We had some really fun guests on a boat trip earlier, with a man who liked to sing, and the children laughed a lot. It is so nice to see people enjoying themselves on holiday.’
‘How is Athena’s grandmother?’ I can’t stop myself from asking.
‘Do we have to ruin the mood?’ He edges his chair closer to mine and tops my glass up with champagne.
‘That’s not what I am trying to do. Why would I?’
‘Then forget about her. I dropped her off for a visit, went and had a coffee, then brought her back. I told you it was the last time. Besides, her grandmother is very unwell now and will be going into a hospice in the near future.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that, I really am. And I’m sorry for ruining the mood, as you say.’
The champagne has gone to my head a little, and I feel myself begin to relax more. The food was delicious, the company engaging, and I really don’t want the night to end.
‘Shall we take these outside?’ asks Dimitri and I nod.
We finish up with a Metaxa that we enjoy outside on his balcony. The sea has blackened, distant lights coming from the bars at just before midnight.
‘I’ve had a lovely evening.’
‘So have I. You mean a lot to me, Claudia. I haven’t felt this way about someone in a long time.’
I let his words sink in, realising I feel the same way about him.
‘It’s a pity I live so far away, isn’t it?’
‘But you have your second home here now. Tell me all about the city you live in back home.’
I tell him about Merseyside and the surrounding areas and how sometimes we travel into Chester by train.
‘I think you would like it there. It’s a pretty city, with some Roman ruins and great restaurants. Oh, and it has a racecourse.’
‘Horse racing?’
‘Yes, it makes for a great day out.’
‘Then we must do that sometime.’ He smiles. ‘I would also quite like to watch Liverpool play football. In fact.’ He swirls his brandy around in his glass. ‘How would you feel about me visiting you over the winter?’
‘You would come to England?’ I ask in surprise.
‘Why not? I don’t have as much work over the winter, and I can take a flight from Athens.’
‘And you would do that?’
‘Would you like me to do that?’ he asks searchingly.
‘I would love that. I’m not sure how you would cope with a winter in the North of England though.’
I have a vision of us snuggled up on the couch then, beneath a cosy blanket, watching a Christmas movie and sipping mulled wine.
‘I am sure I would not even notice the weather, if I was with you.’
‘Oh, believe me you would.’ I laugh at his cheesy line.
We go inside and sink back into the sofa, and Dimitri plays some music from a sound system. It’s slow mood music perfect for the evening.
I’m aware of his closeness, every nerve in my body tingling. He has just told me he hasn’t felt this way about someone in a long time, and however much I try to deny it, I know I feel the same.
I take a final sip of brandy, and he takes the glass from my hand, and edges closer.
And when he finally takes me in his arms and kisses me, there are no interruptions, and I don’t run away.
It’s just perfect.