16. SANTORINI
SIXTEEN
SANTORINI
Tess woke just after nine o’clock with a massive headache. Where the hell had she packed the Alka-Seltzers? She rose slowly and, trying not to wake up the still sleeping Orla, rummaged in her suitcase until she finally located them. She poured herself a glass of water and dissolved a couple of tablets before venturing slowly out onto the balcony. All that was visible was sea. If they were moving at all it was very slowly, but they should be docking in Santorini later in the morning. The sun was already very warm but there was a soft breeze.
Then some movement caught her eye. She looked down to the promenade deck and saw a vaguely familiar figure, in shorts only, jogging round and clutching a water bottle. It was – it had to be! Tess was almost certain it was Wally, although she’d seen no sign of him yesterday evening. Being Wally, of course, if he wasn’t running he’d probably be in the gym or eating vegan food. He would not be suffering from a hangover, that was for sure. Still, it had been a fun evening.
But alcohol equals calories, and Tess knew from her bloated waistband that she’d already gained a few pounds. With only a month to go until the wedding, she still had half a stone, and hopefully a little more, to lose before the end of July; and she certainly didn’t want to go back home with a single extra pound. Somehow or other she had to work it off and watch her alcohol intake.
As she went back inside, she heard some grunting from Orla.
‘What the hell sort of brandy was that?’ she groaned, easing herself up and clutching her head.
‘The usual kind,’ Tess replied. ‘We just drank far too much of it.’
‘Where are the Alka-Seltzers?’
Tess poured Orla a glass of water, and handed it to her along with a couple of tablets.
‘It wouldn’t have been so bad if we’d had a romantic evening with a couple of fabulous blokes,’ Orla muttered as she watched the bubbles fizzing up through the water. ‘Instead of boring old Ed.’
‘Well, he was very gallant taking us up to dance like that,’ Tess said. ‘He’s a nice guy and, my word, can he dance!’
‘Amazing, that,’ Orla mumbled, gulping her drink. ‘Couldn’t you manage to fancy him a bit?’
‘No,’ Tess replied. ‘Could you?’
‘Nope. What are we doing today?’
‘Well, I think we should be arriving in Santorini about now. According to the booklet there’s a very good winery tour.’
Orla grimaced. ‘No way! I’m not touching a drop of anything today!’
‘I’ll believe that when I see it,’ said Tess. ‘Shall I ask Spyros to get us some coffee?’
‘I can’t let him see me like this,’ Orla said, heading for the bathroom. ‘You deal with it.’
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Tess said, pressing the button .
An hour later they docked in Santorini, where there were buses to take them anywhere they wanted to go on the island and a shuttle service going to and from the boat every hour. Feeling marginally better after their coffees, Tess and Orla decided they could cope with sitting on a bus, but not much else. They nodded at everyone they recognised as they boarded, and Tess was relieved to see Barry had finally emerged from his cabin.
‘Have you been feeling rough?’ Tess asked him, looking into his thin, pale face.
‘Oh, just a bit, but I’m feeling OK now, thanks,’ he replied.
Tess felt sorry for him. The sea had been smooth ever since they’d set off from Piraeus, so it couldn’t have been seasickness, surely? She still didn’t feel she should pursue the subject though.
‘I’m afraid I didn’t see much of Mykonos,’ he said sadly. ‘But I know a little bit about Santorini. Do you see how rugged the landscape is? That’s because this island was devastated by a volcanic eruption around 1600 bc . And the main towns are Fira and Oia, which are perched on the cliff edges, or so I’ve read.’
He was right. Both towns appeared to be clinging to the cliffs overlooking the incredibly blue sea. Again, the streets were narrow and crowded with tourists, with the usual quota of gift shops and restaurants. And again Tess was enchanted by the whitewashed houses with their blue shutters and doors, the pots of geraniums and the spectacular sea views. She would always remember this trip in shades of blue and white: the blue of the sea, the white of the buildings, the white and blue of the boat, the white and blue decor of their cabin, and even the Greek flag! Plus, of course, the relentless heat of the sun, which gave these islands their sunbaked, bronzed background scenery.
There was time to have some lunch before they had to think about exploring further, and then finding the bus to take them back to the boat. Having only had coffee and fruit for breakfast, and now feeling almost normal again after the excesses of the previous evening, Tess said, ‘I’m beginning to feel hungry.’
‘Hmm,’ said Orla. ‘I suppose I could manage something.’
They’d been browsing in a ceramics shop and Tess had bought a plate with which to decorate her kitchen wall, adding to the collection already there. As they came out onto the street, Tess spotted Barry gazing into the window of the shop opposite.
‘I think we should ask him to join us for lunch,’ she said. ‘Poor wee soul.’
Orla shrugged. ‘He looks like he could do with a decent meal.’
He jumped as Tess tapped him on the shoulder.
‘Didn’t mean to scare you, Barry, but would you like to join us for something to eat?’
Barry looked confused for a moment. ‘That’s kind of you,’ he said, ‘but I don’t eat very much.’
‘You need to eat something,’ Tess said to him. ‘Come on, we’ll find a morsel to tempt you.’
It was cool and quite dark inside their chosen taverna, where the menu was chalked up on an enormous board attached to the wall, featuring some interesting spellings such as ‘God’s Roe Paste’ and ‘Lamb and Fate Kebabs’ .
‘I’m hoping not to meet my fate just yet,’ said Orla, ‘but assuming it’s feta, that’ll do me.’
Tess settled for courgettes stuffed with egg and lemon sauce, while Barry looked bewildered. Eventually he was persuaded to try some stuffed vine leaves and, while he waited, he fiddled about with a bread roll but ate very little of it.
‘Do you have some tummy trouble then, Barry?’ Orla asked, picking up the carafe of red wine which was already positioned on the table, and pouring out three glasses.
‘I seem to remember, about five hours ago you said were never going to drink again,’ Tess murmured, consulting her watch.
Orla ignored her.
‘Yes, I have some tummy trouble,’ Barry admitted. ‘Bit of a nuisance really.’
He ate only about half of the vine leaves and drank a few sips of wine, but said no more on the subject. Seeing that he was unlikely to be forthcoming about his lack of appetite, Tess changed the subject.
‘Have you known Alan long?’ she asked.
‘We were in the same sports club together,’ Barry replied. ‘We both played football and we got friendly, mainly because we both supported Liverpool. The football team. I come from Liverpool originally, you see.’
‘Are you married, Barry?’ Orla asked.
‘My wife died eight years ago,’ Barry replied. ‘And I still miss her. Her name was Heather.’ He turned to Tess. ‘She was Scottish, like you.’
‘And are you hoping to meet someone else?’ Tess asked .
‘Not now.’ He looked sad for a moment. ‘Alan is, though. I came along to keep him company really, and I’ve always wanted to see the Greek islands. It’s on my bucket list.’
‘Well, hope you’re not planning on kicking the bucket any time soon,’ Orla said cheerfully.
‘It wasn’t in my plan,’ Barry said quietly, pushing the vine leaves round his plate.
Tess was intrigued but decided to pursue the subject no further. She watched as he filled up his glass with water, withdrew a small box from his pocket, emptied several pills into the palm of his hand, and then proceeded to swallow them one by one. Tess didn’t want to stare but, out of the corner of her eye, she reckoned he must have taken at least five. She shook her head at Orla, who, she could see, was about to ask him something.
There was a short silence before Tess said, ‘Shall we get the bill?’
They’d done very little walking, but she’d seen an attractive church at the top of the hill which she’d planned to visit before they left. But Tess’s dream of walking quickly faded as she realised Barry was having difficulty keeping up. He was obviously unwell, and she planned to quiz Alan about him whenever she had an opportunity.
The church was, of course, white, with a rounded red-tiled roof topped with a gold cross. Inside Tess was relieved to find it cool and dark, with an abundance of gold detail everywhere.
‘Not a lot different to the Catholic Church,’ Orla observed, as she studied the paintings of saints and the icons, all embellished with gold .
‘It’s similar. In fact, the Greek Orthodox Church is one of the oldest institutions in the world, founded by St Andrew, the apostle.’ Barry had come into his own again. ‘But, Orla, it’s governed by bishops, not the Pope, and was in communion with Constantinople, as opposed to Rome.’
‘Gosh, Barry!’ Orla looked impressed. ‘Is there anything you don’t know?’
‘And don’t forget,’ Barry added, ‘that the New Testament was written in Greek.’
‘Are you interested in religion then, Barry?’ Tess asked, as they walked slowly back down the hill.
Barry shrugged. ‘Not especially. I just like history. I read a lot, you see.’
‘If you feel up to it,’ Tess said, ‘you must try to come sightseeing with us in Rhodes and Crete. You have so much knowledge up your sleeve, and we’d love to have you with us!’
Barry went noticeably pink but didn’t reply.
They found the shuttle bus in the town centre and, as they boarded, he said, ‘Thanks for letting me join you, girls.’ He sat down across the aisle from them.
As the bus filled up and it trundled its way back to the harbour, Orla murmured, ‘That guy is not at all well.’
Tess nodded. ‘He swallowed five pills in the taverna.’
‘Six,’ Orla corrected. ‘I counted. He took six.’
‘But obviously he doesn’t want to talk about it, so don’t go quizzing him, Orla.’
‘Changing the subject,’ Orla said, ‘there’s still time to do that winery tour. ’
‘No,’ said Tess. ‘Much as I love wine, I don’t feel like tasting any more at the moment. But you go if you want to.’
Orla considered for a moment. ‘Would you mind? I’ll stay on the bus and go back to the town.’
‘Of course I don’t mind you going but I’ve had enough for today, particularly after last night.’
As she spoke, Tess realised how much she’d relish some time on her own, to sit quietly and gaze at the scenery. Daydreaming time. When you live on your own, she thought, you get used to having time to daydream, reminiscing about the past and wondering about the future.
Having waved goodbye to the other two, Tess headed back to her cabin on the boat, got into her new pink swimsuit, and stretched out on the sun lounger on the balcony. She thought about poor Barry for a few minutes. Then she thought about Amber and the dress she was making for her, and wondered if she’d manage not to cry at the wedding; better remember to get some waterproof mascara. She also thought about how hopeless it was to try to meet someone within a specified time limit. Of course she wasn’t going to meet the love of her life in the next month! What had she been thinking of? These things only happened when you least expected them to, when you weren’t even looking for love, and sometimes when you didn’t even want to meet someone. It was the main reason marriages broke up, including hers.
Nevertheless, she’d plod on with the MMM dates, if only so she could claim her ￡150 back and forget the whole thing. And anyway, what was wrong with going to a wedding on your own? As long as she felt good and looked good, what did it matter?
Feeling completely relaxed, Tess drifted off to sleep .
She woke up to the sound of Orla letting the door slam as she came back into the cabin.
‘Oh, there you are!’ she exclaimed, as she spotted Tess on the balcony. ‘You missed a good tour. Lovely wines.’ She hiccupped. ‘I haven’t seen that swimsuit before, have I?’
Tess yawned and glanced at her watch. She’d been asleep for nearly two hours.
‘No, you haven’t,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t sure whether to wear this or the emerald green. Black swimsuits are so passé, are they not?’
‘Hmm. I think I need to lie down,’ Orla said, stripping off. ‘Otherwise I won’t make it through the evening.’
‘And I need some exercise,’ Tess said as she headed towards the bathroom. ‘I think I’ll go for a little jog round a bit of the promenade deck.’ She’d brought some shorts along, purely for the exercising that she wasn’t doing. As she slipped them on, she was glad to see that her legs were tanning nicely, which hid some of the cellulite. Anyway, what did it matter? Was anyone looking? Did anyone care ? And, as she was now resigned to not meeting a prospective suitor on this cruise, she might as well concentrate on the facilities on offer. In her T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, she made her way to the promenade deck. When she got there she realised it would be foolish to try to run in flip-flops. It seemed like a good way to break her neck. Just as she was pondering the matter, a voice behind her said, ‘It’s Tess of Milbury marathon fame, or do my eyes deceive me?’
She swung round and came face to face with Wally.
‘I thought it was you I saw running around,’ she said, noting his well-developed hairless chest and impressive biceps, none of which she’d been aware of when he was fully clothed .
True to form, he cast a disapproving look at her feet. ‘Where are the trainers?’ he asked.
‘In my cupboard at home,’ Tess replied. ‘I wasn’t planning on any marathons.’
‘Tut, tut!’ He shook his head in exasperation. ‘After all I taught you! Well, take those ridiculous things off, because you can’t run in them.’
‘Who said anything about running?’ Tess asked, knowing she sounded a little petulant.
‘I just did. You’re going to need to work all these Greek calories off, aren’t you? Isn’t it you who’s going to a wedding or something?’
Damn the man! She’d only planned a gentle jog and some brisk walking, and she recalled him being a hard taskmaster.
‘Don’t you worry about me,’ she said.
‘I only worry you’ll break your neck. Take those damned things off!’
Tess did as she was told.
‘Leave them behind that lifeboat stowage thing over there,’ he ordered, ‘and you can collect them when you get back.’
‘Do you mean we’re going to run all the way round?’ Tess reckoned it would be a long run because it was a big ship. ‘And I hope there’s no sharp bits on these decks.’
‘These decks are immaculate. I know because I run round twice a day. Now, flex your insteps and your toes, and off we go!’
Tess realised how out of condition she was after she’d been jogging for only a couple of minutes. That was the trouble with any form of exercise, she thought – you have to keep at it, otherwise you stiffen up .
Wally had to slow down to let her catch up. ‘You haven’t been running regularly, have you?’
‘No,’ she gasped, ‘I haven’t. Now don’t start bloody lecturing me!’
‘Wouldn’t dream of it,’ he said.
Tess had had no idea just how large this liner was. She trotted, she walked, she gasped, and she stopped twice to get her breath back. ‘I’ve got a stitch in my side,’ she moaned.
‘Nonsense!’ said Wally. ‘It’s because you’re not holding yourself properly. You need to work on your core. You need to go to the gym.’
‘I am not going to the gym,’ Tess said through gritted teeth. ‘Particularly if you’re there brandishing a whip.’
They continued trotting, passing groups of people, seeing Santorini for a mere couple of minutes, then sea, sea and more sea. Perspiration was streaming from her hairline into her eyes, dripping between her breasts and trickling down her back. She didn’t think she could walk another step, far less jog or run. Wally ran on for several yards before he realised she was no longer with him. He stopped and looked back at Tess, who was clutching the rail and trying to get her breath.
‘You giving up already?’ he asked, grinning.
‘This,’ Tess gasped, ‘is one enormous ship, and I have just run right the way round it for the first and last time. I am not going one step further. My sandals are just over there.’
‘Nonsense! You should be doing this every day. Although it would be more comfortable when it cools down a little. Fancy a drink?’
Tess hobbled over to where she’d hidden her flip-flops and slid her feet into them. ‘I’m a mess,’ she moaned. ‘I can’t go anywhere like this. ’
‘Of course you can! Everyone’s hot and sweaty at this time of day. C’mon, I know where there’s a nice little open-air bar, just round the corner.’
‘I’m not sure I can walk another step!’
‘Just think of a lovely ice-cold beer,’ he coaxed.
She tottered along and sat down with relief under a yellow sunshade at a small white table, while Wally went to the counter. They were the only customers. When he returned with two beers he sat down opposite her, clinked glasses and asked, ‘Are you here on your own?’
‘No,’ Tess replied, taking a gulp and then holding the cold glass against her hot face. ‘I’m with my friend, Orla. How about you?’
‘I’m with my mate, Greg. We’re in the same sports club at home.’
‘So where’s Greg?’
‘Weightlifting at the moment.’
‘Don’t either of you ever stop ?’
Wally laughed. ‘Occasionally. We’re taking part in a darts match this evening in the Seagull bar. Fancy coming along?’
‘Not really,’ Tess said, ‘but nice of you to ask.’ She had visions of a group of men swilling beer and aiming at a darts board, probably followed by a vegan meal.
‘So what do you do in the evenings then?’ he asked.
‘We eat, drink, talk, listen to music, dance occasionally,’ Tess replied.
‘All the more reason why you should do some exercise to keep in shape.’
Tess drained her glass. ‘I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks for the beer. Right now I’m off for a shower. ’
No doubt about it, Wally had set her off on the right track, but now she was doing things her way. And it seemed to be working out pretty well so far.
‘Ah well,’ Wally said, ‘see you around.’