17. RHODES
SEVENTEEN
RHODES
Orla was still asleep and snoring when Tess limped into the cabin. She stared in horror at her sticky, sweaty reflection in the bathroom mirror. She desperately needed a shower. And after that she’d have a luxurious soak in a scented bath to ease her aches and pains.
As she stood under the gushing hot water, Tess decided she would have a run round the promenade deck every evening, but at her own pace. Wally was right – she did need to burn the calories off – but she’d wait until it was cooler and, in the absence of trainers, would continue to do so barefoot.
After she’d showered, she ran a bath and squeezed in the sachet of White Rose Beauty Bath, which had been displayed on the shelf, then lay back in the scented bubbles and relaxed. She’d almost fallen asleep when Orla staggered in, bleary-eyed.
‘I wondered what all the splashing was about,’ she said. ‘Sorry to disturb you, but I need a pee.’
‘Be my guest,’ Tess said, waving an arm in the air. ‘What’s the plan for tonight? ’
‘I thought,’ said Orla, flushing the toilet, ‘we might try the Italian. And would you mind if Ed came with us?’
‘Of course not,’ Tess replied. ‘But I seem to remember you considered him to be boring.’
‘He’s not so bad when you get to know him,’ Orla said.
Tess wondered for a moment if that lovely doctor might frequent the Italian restaurant. She hadn’t seen him around anywhere else. No, probably best to forget him; leave him to Lavinia. ‘Do you fancy him then? Ed, I mean?’
‘No, of course I don’t fancy him,’ Orla said, ‘but he’s a nice guy. And, let’s face it, there aren’t many fanciable guys around, apart from all the lovely Greek waiters and bartenders.’
‘Well, you don’t want to be done for cradle-snatching, do you?’ Tess asked, as she got out of the bath and draped herself in one of the large fluffy white towels.
Orla snorted. ‘I’m almost ready to risk it. Stay out here, do a Shirley Valentine!’
‘Have you forgotten the sainted Ricky so soon?’
‘It would do him good to have a bit of competition,’ Orla replied. ‘Have him come out here looking for me. In the meantime there’s Ed.’ She yawned. ‘Right, my turn for the shower.’
An hour later, bathed and beautified, Tess and Orla made their way up to the top deck bar, where Ed was sitting in a solitary state at a white wrought-iron table, his camera on his knee, with a bottle of Prosecco in an ice bucket and three glasses. He was looking quite jaunty in a short-sleeved purple shirt and cream jeans.
‘My word, you two look very stylish!’ Ed exclaimed, standing up .
Tess had chosen a white shirt with dark blue straight ankle-length trousers, and Orla was wearing a turquoise shift.
‘You don’t look so bad yourself,’ Orla remarked.
‘Then shall we three beauties have some fizz? Sorry it’s not Bollinger or anything, but this is a really nice Prosecco.’ With that Ed filled up the three glasses. Then, picking up his own, he said, ‘Chin-chin!’
‘Salute!’ said Tess, doing the same.
Orla took a gulp. ‘Ooh, that’s nice!’
There were bowls of various coloured olives on the table, along with a little dish in which to deposit the stones. They discussed the day’s events and sightseeing. Ed had hired a moped and got round a large chunk of the island where, at one point, he’d come across the group of over-eighties avidly making notes at some archaeological dig, while being lectured to by an attractive young Greek lady. ‘All I could hear,’ Ed said, ‘was her telling them that, when they got home, they should campaign to have the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece.’
The bar was rapidly filling up with passengers, their skins varying in colour from bright pink to scarlet to bronze. Tess was glad she’d plastered herself with factor thirty while they were sightseeing, and she was acquiring a good tan.
Ed was refilling the glasses yet again, and thought they should have another bottle. And some Aperol, perhaps? Tess knew that, although Aperol was very low in alcohol, when mixed with Prosecco it was only too easy to gulp it down like lemonade. She really had to pace herself, particularly after overdoing it last night.
‘Mmm, nice!’ Orla said, glugging it down.
‘Go easy!’ said Tess. ‘You’ve been drinking wine all afternoon! ’
‘Only for research,’ Orla said, grinning. ‘You have to show some appreciation when they tell you about the various types of grape and then take the trouble to explain how each wine matures. It would be rude not to have a few slurps.’
‘And then you spat it out, of course?’ Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.
‘Are you kidding ?’
‘Time to eat,’ said Tess.
The Trattoria Aegeana had candles and tablecloths, plus baskets with rolls and breadsticks on each table, along with dainty dishes of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. It also had Graziano, who waxed lyrical about every dish on the menu. ‘Everything come from Italy,’ he informed them proudly and then, curling his lip, added, ‘No kebabs, no feta, no terrible Greek wine!’
Tess chose Neapolitan veal cutlets with mascarpone, and the other two opted for artichoke and olive spaghetti, accompanied by a very good Chianti. It was delicious. Then Tess averted her eyes while Orla tackled her zabaglione and Ed devoured a generous slice of Sicilian cheesecake. But she couldn’t resist the amaretti biscuit that came with her espresso.
‘Fancy the cabaret?’ Ed asked, wiping his mouth with the large napkin.
‘Oh, most definitely,’ said Orla. ‘Do you think it’ll be any good?’
‘Well,’ said Ed, ‘there’s only one way to find out.’ He tapped his camera. ‘Should get a few shots.’
It was as the three were leaving the restaurant that Tess saw Sanjeev heading towards them with two other men. But no Lavinia. When he saw her, Sanjeev excused himself from his companions and walked straight up to her. He touched her arm .
‘Tess!’ he said. ‘I was hoping to see you and to apologise for deserting you so abruptly the other evening.’
‘Oh, no problem!’ Tess said. Oh Lord, he really was a good-looking man. And he’d remembered her name!
‘These gentlemen are colleagues.’ He indicated the two men who were standing waiting. ‘We’re just about to have dinner, but hopefully you and I can catch up soon.’
‘I hope so too,’ Tess said. ‘We’re going to the cabaret now.’
‘Not sure I’ll make that tonight, but I’ll be sure to look out for you.’ He squeezed her hand, gave her a dazzling smile and a little wave, and then he was gone.
‘Who was that ?’ Orla, who’d been standing back with Ed, asked.
‘His name is Sanjeev,’ Tess replied. ‘And he’s a doctor. An oncologist. I met him briefly a couple of nights ago at the bar.’
‘Wow!’ said Orla. ‘Great-looking, great profession, great escort to Amber’s wedding – problem solved!’
‘Don’t be daft!’ Tess hoped she wasn’t blushing. ‘I hardly know him.’
‘Well, hang in there, Tess!’
Ed had stopped further along the corridor to chat to Peggy, the leader of the Sheffield four. Tonight Peggy was wearing a backless top, displaying a large blue dragon tattooed across her shoulder blades. She and the girls were going to the cabaret too; they were all in the loo at the moment, doing up their hair ‘and all that’. Peggy’s hair was starched into spikes and Tess wondered if she’d ever before seen such long false eyelashes; she looked as if she had a spider dangling from each eyelid.
In fact, the cabaret was better than expected. As they sipped Mediterranean Martinis – which consisted of raki, sweet vermouth and drops of orange bitters, she was informed – Tess was mesmerised by a group of Greek males, just like Il Divo at home, singing in perfect harmony. Their rendition of ‘Nessun Dorma’ brought a tear to her eye. They were followed by some acrobatic Ukrainian dancers, and then an ageing English pop singer named Riff Pritchard, who warbled his way through ‘The Young Ones’ and ‘True Love Ways’. During the entertainment, Tess noticed Ed’s arm snaking its way round the back of Orla’s chair. Did he fancy her? Did she fancy him ? Tess was intrigued. She had given up on the cocktails and was now sipping a low-calorie ginger ale, but these two were still knocking them back and God only knew what that might lead to. Tess didn’t plan to wait around to find out. It was already late and tomorrow they would be in Rhodes, probably the most interesting of the Dodecanese islands.
The entertainment over, Orla and Ed got up to dance and Tess slid quietly away.
When she woke next morning, Tess was aware that she was on her own in the cabin. So, where was Orla? She lay still for a few minutes and pondered the likeliest situation: Orla and Ed! It had to be! Then Tess began to worry. What if Orla wasn’t with Ed? What if she’d been accosted on her way back to the cabin? Surely that wouldn’t happen on a boat full of mostly middle-class middle-aged people. Should she worry? No, she shouldn’t. Orla wasn’t exactly in her first flush of youth, and had hopefully retained a few grains of common sense. She was a mother, a grandmother, a businesswoman, a respected member of the community, and she was free to do exactly as she pleased. And she usually did just that .
Tess washed, dressed, and was just about to buzz for Spyros to ask for some coffee and rolls when the door opened and in walked Orla, still in last night’s clothes, make-up smudged and hair uncombed.
‘Morning!’ Orla said cheerfully. ‘You ordered any coffee yet?’
Tess looked at her in bewilderment. ‘Where the hell have you been?’
‘I’ll give you three guesses but I’ll bet you’ll think the worst. I fell asleep on his bed, because I was knackered, but we didn’t do anything,’ said Orla, heading for the bathroom. ‘Can’t have Spyros seeing me like this.’
‘So you’ve been with Ed? Presumably he’s got his own cabin?’
‘Yes, of course he’s got his own cabin.’ Orla applied liberal amounts of make-up remover in front of the mirror.
‘I didn’t think you fancied him,’ Tess said.
‘I don’t. I told you, nothing happened, but I thought there was no harm in a kiss and a cuddle, if only I could have kept awake. He was still fast asleep and snoring on top of the bed when I left. But hey, he’s a nice guy.’ Orla continued wiping off her make-up. ‘No problemo, Tess! You weren’t worried, were you?’
Tess sighed. ‘I should know better than to worry about you. But Ed’s quite a character.’
‘Yes,’ said Orla, ‘he is. But my heart belongs to Ricky, and anyway Ed lives up in Newcastle.’
‘I suppose,’ Tess said, suppressing a giggle, ‘you could always get Ricky to drop you off there on his travels?’
‘Ha ha, very amusing. So, are we savouring the delights of Rhodes today?’
‘Doesn’t Ed want you all to himself? ’
‘Don’t be daft! We’re not teenagers . We’ll go as a threesome, unless you want to ask Barry?’
‘Yes, I would like to ask Barry,’ Tess replied. ‘He’s such a nice wee soul and so informative.’
Orla yawned. ‘We thought a day on the beach might be nice. Apparently there are some great beaches on Rhodes.’
‘There’s also an awful lot of interesting history in Rhodes, you know. So I’d like to see some of that first. That’s where Barry comes in.’
‘We might even be able to persuade Alan to get off his arse and come with us too,’ Orla suggested. Tess thought this was extremely unlikely. But she did wonder if the lovely doctor might be making some excursions too. She still couldn’t work out if he was an MMM member or not, although it seemed more likely he was part of the medical group, or whatever they were. Surely, by the law of averages, they’d run into each other again before they got back to Piraeus?
She decided to wear her wraparound cotton skirt, because she could always let her legs emerge to sunbathe, and a camisole top. She’d got to get the tan going as well as the exercise. She noticed there was more material to wrap around than usual, which was good. She was surely losing weight. Greatly cheered, she agreed with Orla when she suggested they meet up with Ed in the breakfast bar. And there was Ed, reading a three-day-old Daily Mail that he said he’d found abandoned by the pool when they left Santorini.
‘Hi!’ He gave Orla a wink. ‘Ready for breakfast?’
There was an extensive selection of cereals, fruits, cold meats, cheese, bread and pastries on offer. As Tess made her choice she spotted Alan, his pink chest bedecked with chains, sitting with Peggy and her gang. As she left the buffet he looked up, waved and said, ‘Hiya! Coming to join us?’
‘Thanks,’ Tess said, ‘but I’m with Orla. Just wondered though if I could have the number of your cabin, Alan, so I can ask Barry if he wants to join us to have a look round the island? That’s if he feels up to it.’
Alan gave her the number and directions to deck seven.
‘He’d like that,’ he said. ‘And I think he’s feeling OK today.’
Tess would have liked to ask him about Barry’s health, but it didn’t seem like an opportune moment with four pairs of female eyes scrutinising her. When they’d finished their breakfast, she set off to find Barry, wondering if he’d eaten anything yet. She eventually located the cabin, and he opened the door clutching a banana.
‘Just wondered if you’d like to come to explore Rhodes with us, Barry?’ Tess said. ‘If you’ve had breakfast?’
‘That’s very kind,’ Barry replied, chucking the banana skin into the waste bin, ‘and yes, I have had breakfast.’ He was wearing navy knee-length shorts and a plain grey T-shirt. ‘I’ll just find my sandals.’
Tess noticed a tiny breakfast tray with half a glass of orange juice and half a roll still remaining. And, while Barry was searching around for his sandals, she noticed the pill dispenser on his bedside table. It was one of the type that had separate compartments for pills to take morning, noon and night, all counted out and, as far as Tess could see, for the week. There were numerous pills of every colour and shape in each compartment. Then, when he finally found his sandals, he produced the little pill box and, with his back to her, filled it up with what was presumably his lunchtime quota and slipped it into the pocket of his shorts. Donning some sunglasses, he said, ‘Ready?’
They joined Orla and Ed in the coffee shop, where Tess introduced Barry to Ed. ‘Barry’s great on history,’ she informed Ed. ‘And Rhodes has plenty of that, I’m told.’
‘Not too many old ruins, I hope,’ said Orla, draining her coffee. ‘I fancy the beach a bit later on.’
They set off together, heading to the city of Rhodes where, in the Old Town, Barry led them into the medieval Street of the Knights which, he explained, referred to the Knights of St John during the Crusades. Then he directed them towards a castle-like building which he told them was the Palace of the Grand Master, once captured by the Ottomans and later held by the Italians, and which was now a history museum. Barry said he’d explore the museum later, or tomorrow, since they were here for two days. When it came to history, all of them were interested in where the famous Colossus of Rhodes had once been. This was the enormous statue of the sun god Helios, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Barry explained, as he shepherded them to the area where it had reputedly stood at the harbour.
‘It was said to be thirty-three metres high,’ he informed them, ‘and made of bronze but reinforced with iron.’
They all stared in awe, trying to imagine how it might once have looked.
‘Didn’t I read that it straddled the entrance to the harbour?’ Ed asked.
‘Technically impossible,’ retorted Barry. ‘Then it was toppled by an earthquake somewhere around 225 bc . And later, when Arabian forces raided Rhodes, they broke up the statue and sold the bronze for scrap.’
‘I must buy a guidebook,’ Ed said. ‘I’d like to read about all this.’
‘And you can’t come to Rhodes without seeing the acropolis and the Temple of Apollo,’ Barry continued, studying his map.
‘Why don’t we take a taxi?’ Ed suggested. ‘We can have a look at your temple and then the driver can take us on to the beach.’
They all agreed this was a good idea. The Temple of Apollo was situated on the western edge of the city and on the top of a hill. The taxi driver agreed to wait while they walked round the columns and ruins of the ancient temple. By this time they’d all had enough history, and Barry looked even more exhausted than usual.
‘Come to the beach with us,’ Tess implored. ‘You can look at your museum later. We need to find some lunch and relax in the sun.’
The beach, obviously popular, had a busy restaurant, with sunbeds and sunshades for hire.
‘I’m ravenous,’ said Ed.
‘Me too,’ said Orla.
‘Are you hungry?’ Tess asked Barry quietly.
He smiled ruefully. ‘Not very. I could probably manage a sandwich and I could murder a beer.’
Barry asked for a cheese and tomato sandwich while the others had kebabs and Greek salads.
‘Hope we’ve all got our swimming cossies,’ said Ed as he tackled his kebab, juice running down his chin.
‘I’m wearing my bikini under this,’ said Orla, casting a glance at Tess, who rolled her eyes .
‘I’ve got my costume with me,’ she said, patting her tote bag, which contained her other brand-new one-piece, the emerald green. ‘What about you, Barry?’
‘Yeah, I’m wearing trunks underneath,’ he said. He nibbled half his sandwich and drank about half of his beer, saving the other half, Tess guessed correctly, with which to swallow his pills. Again Barry brought out his little box and proceeded to swallow them one by one. Ed stared but said nothing.
They paid for sunbeds and sunshades to get as close to the water’s edge as possible, bearing in mind that Ed, if removing the prosthetic, would have to either hop or crawl into the water. Orla was wearing her pale blue bikini which, in Tess’s opinion, should have been passed on to the charity shop years ago. Her boobs and her belly bulged precariously over the cotton fabric, which was stretched to breaking point. Tess wore the emerald green and, for the first time in years, felt she looked good.
‘I haven’t seen that one before either,’ Orla remarked. ‘Glad you finally ditched that old black number. Now I fancy a dip.’
‘I can only hop so far,’ said Ed, surveying the sea. ‘I’ll need a bit of support.’ He glanced at Orla.
Meanwhile, Barry had removed his shirt to display his neat, hairless chest. Tess was horrified to see the zigzag of scars across his front. While she was trying to decide whether to ask him any questions or not, Orla said, ‘Jaysus, Barry! You’ve been through the wars!’
Barry smiled. ‘We all have to fight our demons,’ he said, as he lay down on his sunbed. Orla caught Tess’s eye and shrugged. Barry was not about to give out any information .
What disturbed Tess was that some of these scars were clearly recent. Her knowledge of anatomy was not good and she couldn’t decide whether these cuts had been made to access his stomach, his intestines or what. No more was said because Ed had stripped off to reveal his prosthetic leg, causing much interest all around. The leg had been amputated just below the knee. ‘I suppose I should have brought my crutch,’ he said, waving the leg in the air, ‘but I’d have had to leave it on the beach and, to be honest, I just didn’t think about it.’ As always, Ed’s humour saved the day. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘Maybe I’ve lost a bit of myself, but most people lose bits and pieces in a lifetime. What about you two girls?’
‘Only my tonsils,’ said Orla. ‘Where I come from in Limerick, the first time you had a sore throat they yanked out your tonsils.’
Tess thought for a moment. ‘The first ever thing that was removed from me,’ she said, ‘was Matt, my son, who flatly refused to come into the world in the normal way. So I had to have a caesarean, otherwise he’d probably be in there yet. However, since then I’ve had a hysterectomy and a chunk out of my left breast.’
‘Sure nobody’s perfect!’ said Orla.
Barry appeared to have relaxed a little. But he didn’t add much to the general chat. When Orla helped Ed hop into the water, Barry turned to Tess and asked, ‘You OK now?’
‘So far so good,’ Tess replied. ‘I hope I stay clear, but with this bloody disease you never quite know. What about you?’
Barry sighed. ‘Not so good. They can’t do much more; it’s gone all over the place.’
Tess tried not to show her horror. ‘Oh, Barry!’ she said, and leaned across to squeeze his hand. ‘I’m so sorry. ’
‘I’m OK,’ he said with a grin. ‘The pills do their job.’
‘It’s a bugger, isn’t it?’ Tess said sadly.
‘Couldn’t have put it better myself!’
Tess looked across at the sparkling sea, where Ed had made it into the water and was splashing Orla. She continued to watch as he dived into the waves and swam strongly out to sea, Orla laughing and following in his wake.
‘It’s why I wanted to make this trip,’ Barry went on. ‘I’ve always wanted to see the Dodecanese. I’m not here to meet anyone, but when Alan said he was coming on this cruise, it just seemed like a golden opportunity. Alan’s very kind, you know.’
‘I’m sure he is,’ Tess said, thinking guiltily of how she’d giggled at his chains and his medallions.
‘He’s been great,’ Barry went on. ‘Even got up in the middle of the night a couple of times to get me stuff. I really hope he meets someone nice on this trip.’
Tess wondered for a moment how he was getting on with Peggy and her dragon-tattooed shoulder blades. There I go again, she thought, all too keen to judge books by their covers. She glanced at Barry, who was now lying on his side and appeared to be asleep. Talking to him, and being impressed by Ed’s positivity, helped to put everything into perspective. What did it matter if she went to Amber’s wedding on her own or not? What was important was the here and now, to have all her limbs, good health, good family and good friends. She was a lucky woman and to wish for more was pure greed.
Tess had dozed off and only woke when Orla returned, followed by Ed on all fours. ‘Still got a knee, so might as well use it!’ he said cheerfully. ‘It’s got me quite an audience though!’ Several children had followed him, saucer-eyed, from the water.
‘It was either that or a three-legged race,’ Orla said, laughing, as Ed brushed the sand from his knees.
Barry appeared to still be asleep, so Tess decided to have a short swim on her own. The heat was fierce, even beneath the sunshade, and she felt uncomfortably hot and sticky and desperate to plunge into the cool of the water. She paddled close to shore, surrounded mainly by locals smiling and splashing. The Greeks were a friendly bunch. The White Rose was not sailing on to Crete until the following afternoon, and Tess looked forward to an evening here in Rhodes instead of on board. You couldn’t fault the boat – it was beautiful and offered every facility – but it wasn’t the real Greece. When she went back to join the others, they were discussing exactly that.
‘I just fancy sitting outside somewhere,’ Orla was saying, ‘in one of the squares with all the bars and tavernas, just to eat, drink and watch the world go by. It must be magic by night.’
‘I couldn’t agree more,’ said Tess.
‘That’s exactly what we’ll do then,’ said Ed.
‘Shall we ask Barry if he’d like to join us?’ Tess suggested. She looked across at Barry. ‘We should wake him up – he shouldn’t be sleeping in the sun like that.’ She shook him gently, and he slowly came round, sat up and looked a little bewildered. ‘Are you OK, Barry?’
‘Yes. I’m fine,’ he said, ‘but drenched with sweat. I think I’ll have a quick dip.’
As he headed towards the water, Orla said, ‘He’s such a nice inoffensive guy, but what about all those awful scars? ’
‘Yes, he is nice,’ Tess agreed. She decided to say nothing of the conversation she’d had with him earlier. If he wanted them all to know about his problem then he’d tell them himself.
As he emerged from the sea, Barry looked happier than Tess had ever seen him before.
‘That beats Scarborough any day of the week,’ he said as he towelled himself dry. ‘You need to be pretty hardy to brave the North Sea without a wetsuit.’
‘That’s for sure,’ Tess agreed, thinking of North Berwick.
As they gathered up their belongings, Ed turned to his audience of local children, who had reappeared as he began to put on his prosthetic leg. The biggest boy spoke some English. ‘You swim OK?’ he asked.
‘Oh yes,’ said Ed, ‘of course I can.’
‘And he can dance,’ Orla added.
‘And do lots of things, including chasing away little boys!’ Ed got to his feet and pretended to run after them, which caused many screams of laughter as they all ran off.
As they headed back towards the boat, Tess noticed for the first time that Ed was limping slightly.
Back in their cabin, Tess and Orla compared tans. They both had freckly skin, but nevertheless had acquired a good colour. Orla patted her tummy. ‘There’s one place you won’t get bronzed,’ she said to Tess. ‘You and your one-pieces. Mind you, that green number’s quite nice – so much better than that dreary black thing you used to wear. ’
Tess pirouetted in front of the mirror. ‘I’ve no intention of baring my middle,’ she said, pleased with her silhouette and with Orla’s comments.
‘But I have to say you look nice and slim,’ Orla added.
This was again music to Tess’s ears, since Orla was not forthcoming with her compliments.
‘I’m going for my run now,’ Tess said, ‘since I want to stay that way.’
‘At least until after the wedding,’ Orla said, grinning.
‘Oh, definitely until after the wedding!’ Tess agreed.
She ran round the promenade deck for about twenty minutes but there was no sign of Wally, only some regular runners and walkers that she’d already begun to recognise, as they acknowledged each other with a cheery wave. As she ran she realised that this wasn’t just for the wedding, but for herself, because she enjoyed feeling slimmer and fitter. And she intended to do her best to keep it up.
Barry opted out of the evening, admitting he was exhausted after his day on the island and he wanted to conserve his energy for visiting the museum the following morning.
It was dark when the three of them returned to Rhodes and located a square they’d earmarked earlier with its bars and tavernas, lamps glowing at regular intervals, and candles lit on all the tables. It was already packed with tourists talking, laughing and sipping their aperitifs, and somewhere in the background was the sound of the inevitable bouzoukis.
Later, while they were eating, a group of singers, strumming guitars, strolled from table to table. Tess enjoyed people watching, but didn’t at first recognise anyone else from the White Rose . Then, a couple of tables away, she spotted a vaguely familiar-looking cool blonde. Lavinia? She was almost certain it was Lavinia, but she wasn’t with Sanjeev tonight. She was with two prosperous-looking elderly men. So, where was Sanjeev? And did this mean that Lavinia and Sanjeev weren’t an item , as Orla would say? Not that it would do Tess much good, considering how rarely their paths crossed. Anyway, she’d already decided that she didn’t need a man. She relaxed, enjoyed her wine, ate her red mullet grilled in vine leaves, listened to the music and chatter all around, and decided that life was pretty good.
The following morning, Tess and Orla decided to explore the local shops in Rhodes. Tess needed to buy a little souvenir for Ellie, and perhaps a piece of pottery or something for Amber. Then again, what would Amber do with a piece of pottery in that monastic, minimalist flat she shared with Peter? Better to buy some miniature bottles of local liqueurs for both Amber and Matt, and hope they’d survive the flight home in her suitcase. She found another plate that would look terrific on her kitchen wall and had it bubble-wrapped in the hope that it, too, would survive the flight.
As they pushed their way through the throngs of tourists, Tess wondered what it would be like here in the winter after all the visitors had gone home. It would belong to the locals again, who probably sighed with relief to be on their own once more. She decided she wouldn’t mind coming here in the winter and being able to explore everything in peace. And surely the weather would be better than in the UK .
The White Rose was sailing at 5p.m. Tess decided she’d get back to do her run at that time so she could watch the island slipping away as the boat set sail for Crete, their last port of call, where it was scheduled to dock the following morning. She wanted to be up early to see the approach into Heraklion and, more importantly, the former leper colony of Spinalonga as they sailed past. She’d also arranged to meet up with Barry at 9a.m. to visit the famous Archaeological Museum in Heraklion. It was the best time to visit, Barry assured her, before the crowds got there. She wasn’t a history buff like him, but nevertheless she’d read about it in the guidebook and thought it would be well worth a visit. She couldn’t understand the Alans and Peggys of this world who never set foot off the boat, but lounged all day by the pool instead.
After her run, Ed suggested a sauna, a massage and an early supper in the Ocean bar. Tess didn’t feel much like any of it, and fancied a few precious minutes to herself. So she wandered back to the cabin, where she sat on the balcony and watched the moon weaving silvery patterns on the sea.