Chapter 17 #2
‘It’s not a date! How many times do I need to say it?’
Her voice level had attracted the attention of Thea in reception.
‘Everything OK?’ she shouted over.
‘Fine,’ Maddie shouted back, before lowering her voice again.
‘I don’t know what this thing with Thanassis is. But I wish you two would let me be a grown-up and make my own decisions.’
Sofia got up and pulled Maddie in for a hug.
‘Of course you’re a grown-up, but we also know that this is the first time you’ve spent any time alone like this with a man – I’m not calling it a date – since Tony died.’ Sofia held up her hands. ‘We just want to make sure you enjoy it and are not stressing out about it.’
‘Thank you both for your concern, but I’m not stressed … much.’
Her friends really did care, and although they felt like overprotective maiden aunts at this point, she couldn’t imagine being on this journey without them.
The noise of a motorbike pulling up outside put their squabble straight out of her mind as her stomach curled into a knot. The bike sounded just like Tony’s. For one insane second, she imagined him walking into the hotel, dark hair all over the place as usual, winning smile in place.
But it was Thanassis, in a red T-shirt and jeans, who appeared in reception, two helmets hooked over his arm.
Maddie clocked his bafflement at being confronted with three women rather than just the one he’d come for, but he recovered well, which was a big tick in her book.
He approached their group with a blistering smile.
‘My three guardian angels, all together. What a lovely surprise!’
Maddie stepped forward and took the helmet he was offering her.
‘Don’t worry. They’re not coming with us.’
‘Shame.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘But we don’t have room anyway.’
His attention was solely on her. The others might as well have been invisible.
It must be an unusual feeling for Sofia, thought Maddie, as she tried to avoid catching the smell of Thanassis’s aftershave again.
Not that he was Sofia’s type, far too old, but she was always the one out of the three of them who men looked at first.
In a tight long-term friendship, everyone had their assigned roles, and Sofia’s was definitely the man magnet. Not a role Maddie or Charlotte had ever craved, but Thanassis obviously hadn’t got the memo. His eyes were on her again. It was nice to be appreciated, but it wasn’t going anywhere.
‘Are you OK on a motorbike? Have you been on one before?’
‘I can honestly say hundreds, if not thousands, of times.’
His relief was palpable.
‘Ah good, as it is a lovely way to see some hidden parts of the island. Parts that most tourists never see. And we won’t be bothered by anyone wanting to talk to you about what happened.’
‘Works for me.’
Maddie blew a kiss back to her friends as Thanassis linked arms with her.
‘Goodbye, angels. Be good, and don’t wait up.’
Sofia waited until they’d gone out the front door.
‘He definitely wants to explore her hidden parts, no matter what she says.’
‘Very definitely.’
‘Char! That’s not like you.’
Charlotte smiled at Sofia’s shocked reaction.
‘I’m a bit bored of being like me all the time. We could all try swapping personalities for the day tomorrow. I’ll make endless raunchy remarks, Maddie can take us on a very long tour of ancient monuments, and you can spend some time communing with the elderly. What do you think?’
Sofia stared at Charlotte open-mouthed. She wasn’t sure what to think. She and Maddie still hadn’t got to the bottom of what was wrong with their friend after her wobble in the ice cream café a couple of days ago. But this sort of talk was very unlike Charlotte.
For Sofia, knowing with certainty how her schoolmates were going to react in any given situation was a big attraction of the friendship between the three of them, since the rest of her life had so little structure, especially now her job had been snatched away from her.
The idea that cool, calm Charlotte might suddenly become the wild one was disturbing. She’d get onto Maddie tomorrow and make it a priority to get their friend talking. It was definitely a two-woman job.
‘Sof?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m only kidding. Don’t look so worried. Now it’s just the two of us, shall we go outside onto the terrace for a drink and a proper chat?’
Sofia’s heart sank. She was all too familiar with Charlotte’s proper chat technique. It looked like she was going to be put under the microscope first.
‘Aperol Spritz?’
‘Yes, lovely.’
Seated on the terrace with the view down to the town and the beach beyond bathed in sun, Sofia forced herself to relax and wait for the first question with a semblance of ease.
‘Are you looking forward to moving on to the next island?’
At least Charlotte was starting with an easy one.
‘Yes, it will be lovely to show you both a place that I’ve come to know and love.’
‘What’s it like?’
‘A mixture between the two islands we’ve visited so far. There’s a sophisticated main town with loads of bars, restaurants and great shops, but it’s also got good beaches and plenty of hiking country.’
‘Sounds great.’
This was all a bit too easy. Sofia braced herself for the next one.
‘And why did you choose it for us out of the other two hundred and twenty-six inhabited islands you could have picked? Is it because you’re desperate to see Adonis again?’
And there it was.
‘What? Why are you saying that?’
Charlotte gave her straw a ferocious suck, depleting the level in the glass instantly.
‘This one’s a bit different, isn’t he?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I think you do. Tell me a bit about him. We know virtually nothing.’
‘Er, OK. He’s the manager of a very high-end hotel, which takes up too much of his time. He was born on the island, although he did his degree in hospitality in Athens and Paris.’
‘I don’t need his CV. What about personal stuff?’
‘He has a younger brother and sister and he’s an uncle to loads of kids.’
‘Better… Has he ever been married?’
‘No.’
Sofia finished her drink quickly. She’d need more alcohol to cope with this.
‘Another Aperol?’
Charlotte also had an empty glass.
‘Yes please, but Theo’s in my eyeline so I’ll order it. You stay where you are.’
Bang went any opportunity to escape to the bar, even for a moment.
‘So, where were we? Ah yes, Adonis. Never married and no kids?’
‘No, absolutely not.’
‘And exactly how old are we talking?’
‘I’m not sure…’
‘OK, now you’re lying. You might as well tell me, or I’ll just look him up later.’
‘Where’s that drink?’
‘Sof…’
‘Fine. He’s forty-eight.’
‘Interesting. That’s quite old for you.’
‘Rubbish. And it’s still a fourteen-year age gap.’
‘Does that worry you?’
‘What worries me more is that he’s so damn hard to get hold of. It would be virtually impossible to have a relationship with a man like him. Not that I’m looking for one, but he’s a workaholic.’
Sofia hadn’t meant to say any of that out loud. Charlotte had pierced her armour with ease.
Theo put their new drinks down on the table and received a big smile from both of them.
‘They’ve really looked after us well here, haven’t they?’ Sofia took the first sip. ‘I know I was a bit funny about there being no swimming pool at first, but it’s been so relaxing.’
‘OK, stop changing the subject.’
Sofia sighed. She’d tried a few of the tricks in her arsenal to avoid difficult conversations, but there was no getting away from her friend. Charlotte was wasted as an artist.
‘Interesting that you’d like to speak to him more than you do now.’
Sofia held on to the edge of the chair to stop herself fleeing. Why had she handed that piece of ammunition to Charlotte? Bad mistake.
‘But I’ll leave that for another time. I still need an answer to my previous question. I repeat, does the age gap bother you?’
‘Well, it never has before. As you know, I like younger guys. They’re fitter, usually a lot more easygoing, and willing to try new things … and I don’t just mean in the bedroom.’
Charlotte shook her head.
‘No, I get it. While women in their sixties seem to blossom and grow, a lot of men in their sixties, not all, but some, seem to get grumpier, more set in their ways, and one hell of a lot more predictable.’
Sofia could tell that last comment was a lot more personal than general.
Maybe this was a way of getting Charlotte to talk about her issues and steering away from her own for a while.
She was convinced it was tied up with Doug.
But before she could open her mouth, Charlotte waved away the possibility with her hand.
‘But we’re getting off the subject. So, why do you think the age gap is bothering you this time when it hasn’t before?’
‘I’m not sure. But I do know I need the loo.’
Surely Charlotte wouldn’t follow her in there.
‘Wait! Please don’t run away, Sof. We’ll change the subject in a minute. I’m not trying to interrogate you…’
Not much you aren’t. Sofia was up and out of her chair.
‘I just think you need to look at why it bothers you this time round. You’re very jumpy, and you’ve just admitted that you get annoyed if Adonis can’t talk to you when you want to talk.
You’re used to calling the shots, and it’s not quite working out with this one.
Maybe you like him more than you’re letting on. ’
Sofia had truly had her fill of talking about Adonis. His promised phone call was already late.
‘Shall we go into town later for a meal by the port? I don’t think we’re going to see Maddie again for quite a while.’
Charlotte accepted defeat gracefully.
‘Fine. Meet you down here in an hour.’
The moment she got into her room, her phone buzzed with a message.
Sorry. Can’t talk. Major problem. The flowers for the wedding weren’t good, so I’m hosting a special dinner tonight for the family at the hotel to apologise. Ax
What did she care about some unknown bride’s flowers? Sofia fired off a text of her own.
Sofia from the other day here. Do you fancy a drink in town later?
At last! Sounds great. Come to the Corfu Hotel bar any time after nine. Konstantinos x.
She’d give her friends jumpy and restless. And Adonis could swivel on it.