Chapter 21 #2
‘This is so cute.’ Charlotte waved at her friends on the terraces either side. ‘I think it’s my favourite one so far.’
Maddie’s heart was still with Theo and Thea’s unpretentious warmth, but this came a close second.
Sofia shouted from her terrace at the end.
‘You two need to get unpacked, pronto, as we’re going on a cliff walk from here to the next village and back to get our stamina up for clubbing tonight.’
Sofia skipped back into her room after making her announcement.
‘Are we?’ Maddie pulled a face at Charlotte. ‘She’s like the Duracell bunny. Spending time with Adonis seems to be making her even more hyper, rather than calming her down.’
‘There’s no point resisting. And it might be fun.’
She’d hardly describe it as fun exactly, but the breeze blowing in off the water as they followed the coastal path to the unnamed village was refreshing in the heat, Maddie had to admit.
There were plenty of things to look at out at sea, everything from cruise ships to fishing boats, not that she wanted to dwell on those too much.
And looking down occasionally gave her glimpses of hidden hollows with the golden skirts of their beaches fanning out into the water.
Maybe they should try another boat trip, preferably without a major incident at the end of it.
Surely Adonis would know someone who could take them.
Everyone on a Greek island had a relative who did something useful.
Maddie was aware she was keeping up with the others a lot more easily now. She’d deliberately cut back on the drinking too, after realising quite how much she was putting away compared to Sofia and Charlotte.
It didn’t take a genius to work out the two things were probably connected.
She was glad they hadn’t said anything about the booze or tried to stop her.
That would have probably encouraged her to drink even more, just to put two fingers up to being told what to do.
The only person who could change her life was her, something it had taken a long time to work out.
The peace of the islands had given her the space to think, along with a helping hand, or rather two helping hands, from a passing fisherman.
She smiled at her own joke, before promising herself she’d get back out on the moors when she returned home.
A memory of striding out over rough grass with her son, little Elsie strapped to his chest in a sling, hit her right between the eyes.
How much her granddaughter must have changed in the last three months.
What sort of grandmother was she if she didn’t fight for the right to be involved in her life?
She was probably never going to be best mates with her son’s wife, Hayley, but surely, she could put her anger and grief aside to be civil and make it work somehow?
A bus trundled past them, packed with holidaymakers heading for one of the big beaches at the other end of the island.
‘How much further?’ Maddie shouted ahead to Sofia.
‘Not much.’
She could swear she’d seen a secretive look pass between her and Charlotte, who was directly behind.
‘Where exactly are we going?’
‘You’ll see.’
Another couple of kilometres in and they seemed to be no closer to any villages. She was hot and thirsty and fast getting fed up.
‘Where is this bloody village? What’s it called?’
Both Sofia and Charlotte looked at the ground.
‘Only a tiny way to go now.’ Sofia pulled off her mini rucksack. ‘Let’s have another water break.’
‘Oh yes, let’s.’
The three of them drank in silence for a few moments before Sofia pulled out her phone.
‘Let’s get some nice shots of you two. You can use this in the blog, Char. Stand there.’
Maddie forced a smile as she put her arm around Charlotte.
‘That’s it! Cheese, or tiri as we say here!’
‘We? Is she becoming Greek after one night with lover boy?’
Charlotte tried to suppress a laugh.
‘Shhh. Just do as she says so it’s over quicker.’
Sofia clicked away and moved backwards to get an even better shot, far too near to the edge in Maddie’s opinion.
‘Careful, Sof. Not so close.’
The next second she’d disappeared from view completely. Only sea and sky were visible where a diminutive dark-haired woman had stood a second earlier.
They ran as one to the edge.
‘Sof!’
Charlotte had her hands over her eyes, so Maddie had to be the one who peered over to confront the worst.
Instead of seeing a body flayed over the rocks, blood everywhere, Sofia was on her bottom on a wide ledge only a couple of feet down, laughing her head off. Maddie’s heart stopped slamming in her chest.
‘Someone give us a hand up, will you?’
Charlotte reached for her friend and hauled her back up to the path, with Sofia still laughing.
The three of them collapsed onto the ground together and even Maddie was helpless in the face of her friend’s mirth. They sat and giggled while several walkers gave them strange looks.
Maddie was the first to recover.
‘Have you damaged anything?’
‘Just my pride. I’ll probably have a sore bum for a couple of days.’
‘You were lucky.’
Maddie put on the voice she used with the care home residents.
‘That was a silly thing to do, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, Miss.’
‘You’re not going to do it again, are you?’
‘No, Miss.’
‘OK, and a more difficult question. Just where the hell is this mystical village?’
Sofia’s expression became shifty and there were more looks at Charlotte before she pointed to a collection of white buildings only a couple of hundred metres away.
‘Over there.’
‘Doesn’t look much like a village to me. More like a hamlet, or just a ham.’
As they approached, Maddie could see the white stone walls around the property, and something moving in the gardens.
‘What is this place?’
Sofia and Charlotte pretended not to hear her.
‘Hello?’
‘You’ll find out soon enough.’
The road curved away from the buildings and along the cliff for the next few metres, so Maddie was none the wiser.
Sofia had brown stains all over the back of her expensive white linen shorts which she’d be absolutely furious about, was Maddie’s main thought as they rolled up to the entrance.
‘Surprise!’