Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
The sound of a vehicle pulling up in the courtyard, followed by a loud beeping, had Vicky rushing outside to see if there was an animal in dire need of attention.
But it was only Alex, sitting in the driving seat of his van, grinning. He had the windows fully open, so she shouted over.
‘Where’s the fire?’
His long legs appeared under the bottom of the door before he did.
‘I’ve brought you something.’
‘Okaaay.’
‘No need to look so worried. I suddenly remembered it had been sitting in the shed up at my parents’ place for years. Thought it might be useful.’
‘What on earth is it?’
She was imagining rusty tools or some of his old veterinary equipment he was donating to the clinic.
He opened the back doors and pulled out a large, high-sided wooden box on wheels, attached by a metal ring to a long, carved piece of wood with a smaller metal handle.
‘My pappou, granddad to you, was a carpenter, and he made it for my parents to carry three very tired small boys around the farm, or to put the brake on and leave them in there if they were sleeping.’
‘Right.’
Vicky still wasn’t entirely sure what he was suggesting.
‘I just thought…’ Alex halted a moment.
‘Yes?’
‘I thought it would be the ideal thing to cart Dolly around in while you were doing your rounds. It’s deep enough that she can’t get out and hurt herself while that leg’s still healing, but not so deep that she can’t benefit from some sun and fresh air.’
‘You genius!’
She’d surprised herself by uttering the words, but credit where credit was due, it was a very good idea. Alex looked far too chuffed by half at her comment.
‘I meant to say, what a genius idea, thank you so much.’
‘Glad you qualified that.’
Vicky ignored his comment. He was pointing inside the box and making an approximate measurement of the space with his hands, his long, thin fingers moving back and forth.
‘And the best thing is, there’s even room for Bruce too, so they needn’t be parted.’
The feeling of getting that Christmas present you’d always wanted filled her up. It was an incredibly thoughtful gesture.
‘Sounds great. Can we give it a go now?’
She’d never been one for waiting.
Alex glanced at his watch.
‘Yeah, I’ve got a few minutes before I have to be at the clinic for my first patient.’
Together, they carefully lifted Dolly out of her cage and placed her in the trolley, with a protective blanket underneath. Immediately she barked for joy and wagged her tail repeatedly.
Vicky couldn’t keep the grin off her face.
‘Look, she loves it.’
Alex reached over to stroke Dolly’s head.
‘She really does.’
Vicky looked round and spotted Bruce lying in the sun in the corner of the courtyard.
‘Bruce. Over here.’
The cat’s look of disdain at being summoned made them both laugh, but eventually he got up and ambled over.
Alex hoisted him up over the side of the box and placed him next to his great love.
‘Let’s see how they get on first before we make it a regular thing. Up till now their relationship’s been conducted through a metal grille, a bit like a prison visit, I imagine, unable to touch or smell each other, so let’s see how they interact on the outside.’
Vicky nodded her agreement. Mostly the vet was business all the way, but occasionally, and more and more in her presence, he’d voice some quite out-there stuff. Blessed with a more practical bent herself, she was fascinated by his fanciful notions.
Bruce’s arrival stopped Dolly’s barking in an instant. She’d settled down nicely at the bottom of the box, and Bruce had snuggled closer, and was now giving her a good wash with his tongue.
After a few moments, Bruce’s purrs could be heard far and wide.
Vicky clapped her hands together.
‘I think we could say it’s a success, don’t you?’
‘I certainly do. And before I go, I need to show you how the brake works.’
Alex bent down to demonstrate, gesticulating with his hands until Vicky couldn’t bear it any longer.
‘Yeah, I think I can cope. I did spend a couple of years pushing a pram around. I know it’s a long time ago, but it’s exactly the same principle.’
‘Ah, yes, of course.’
Alex’s face was tinged with red when he came to join her.
They stood a moment and just watched the sleeping animals curled up together at the bottom of the trolley.
Dolly was still worn out by her ordeal and spent quite a large part of the day dozing.
The little dog’s sleeping position reminded her a lot of the way Tasha had looked whenever she dropped off at a moment’s notice.
Memories of herself and Ian as new parents, leaning over the cot obsessively watching their daughter to check she was still breathing, surfaced unexpectedly.
Vicky swallowed and pushed them down again.
If she had a newborn experience again, it would be as a grandmother, not a mother. Her fertile years were long gone.
Whereas the man standing next to her could still meet someone and father children.
He obviously had a lot of love to give once you got under that crusty exterior.
Fifty wasn’t too old to become a dad, in her opinion, but the difference in their potential options when it came to fertility was a sobering thought.
Why was she thinking about Alex’s potential to father children?
She didn’t know him well enough to ask him if he even wanted to be a dad.
It was none of her business. She’d have liked at least another child herself, but it wasn’t to be.
But she’d had the joy of watching her precious daughter grow into a lovely young woman, even though she was so far away now on the other side of the world.
Dolly stirred in her sleep and let out a little whimper, which shook Vicky out of her musings on female fertility and the power of Mother Nature.
Alex moved back a step too.
‘I think those two will be fine here until you finish for lunch.’
‘Yes, I’ll move them out of the sun.’
‘And you’re still on for another patrol the night after next? Angeliki’s here for the next two days, so you won’t see me until then.’
‘Shame.’
Although she showed him a turned-down mouth, she had to admit she’d got used to him being around.
She no longer dreaded the announcement that it was Alex’s turn to volunteer.
She wasn’t quite sure when the turnaround had happened, but at least it made no difference to her working day which vet was on call now.
‘I’m sure you can cope. Bring the usual…’
‘Torch, rucksack, water, I know.’
‘I’ll provide the coffee. I can’t drink the stuff you serve here. See you then.’
Vicky gave him a thumbs-up and rushed to complete the rest of her tasks. She’d agreed to meet Suzie when she clocked off, to catch up on the latest instalment of her friend’s woes.
A bar high up at the back of the town was the venue for their lunch.
It was in the old quarter, full of churches and steps.
Vicky climbed up yet another flight of white-painted steps between narrow walls.
Now they were in June, she really needed her sun hat and cream if she wasn’t to turn into a leathery lizard woman.
Some of the houses had little terraces, painted a variety of blues and pastel colours, where elderly ladies in black greeted each other across the divide.
Cats of all colours and sizes passed her by as she went even higher, sometimes deigning to stop and be stroked.
It gave her something of a breather too; this was a real workout, no leisurely stroll through the back alleys, but Suzie had assured her the view was worth it at the end.
A tiny square dominated by a large olive tree and a couple of shops selling local produce from honey to organic wine showed her she was in the right place.
It couldn’t be far now. She’d stop on the way back down and buy some of the thyme honey.
There were hives all over the island, especially in the more rural areas, rows of neat little boxes cutting lines into the hills, their roofs painted in a kaleidoscope of colours to signify ownership.
And although the local honey wasn’t cheap, it was a mile away from the mass-produced stuff they sold in the shops in Britain.
Whatever the bees had been feasting on, be it orange blossom, lavender or heather, came through strongly, and the taste was heavenly.
Just the thought of honey on thickly buttered toast had her stomach rumbling.
Vicky checked her phone again. Two minutes’ walk.
A sharp turn to the left and she was in front of a café with tables and chairs painted in bright colours, blues and greens mixed in with reds and yellows, all set out on a terrace.
It was very picturesque, but the view was mainly of other houses in the square.
Suzie suddenly appeared at the foot of a set of stairs set back from the restaurant area.
‘Hi.’
She pointed skywards.
‘We’re up here.’
Vicky followed her friend up and stepped out onto a roof terrace with a view to die for.
It was a panoramic tapestry that took in the ships out at sea, the harbour, the white houses tumbling down the hill, the churches on the twin peaks either side of the town, and the shops and restaurants below them. She could literally see for miles.
‘Wow!’
Suzie took her hand and led her over to a table for two right at the front.
‘Wow indeed. It’s my guaranteed surprise venue.’
Vicky couldn’t take her eyes off the town below.
‘And you’d never even know it was here.’
‘That’s one of the benefits of being a local.
Most people who happen upon the place stop at the tables below; not many climb the stairs to find out what’s up here.
The restaurant’s owned by the mother of Irene, one of the bar staff.
She makes all the food fresh each day.’ Suzie held her hand up.
‘And before you say it, I knew you’d be starving after work and that climb.
So, I’ve ordered us a series of small plates. ’
‘Fan … bloody … tastic.’
Having a friend who understood even your most basic needs was a major win.
‘But drink first. Two Aperol Spritzes on their way.’
‘You’re on. Are we celebrating something?’
‘Dolly making it through her operation?’
Vicky had introduced her friend to her dog a couple of days ago. She could tell that Suzie was nowhere near as much of an animal lover as her, but her friend had been genuinely pleased she was happy, and that went a long way.
‘That’s as good a reason as any.’
The waitress appeared at the top of the stairs with their drinks and a big bowl of olives.
‘Ooh, lovely.’
Vicky could barely stop herself from shoving a whole handful into her mouth.
They positioned themselves facing the sea and sipped their drinks. Vicky sat back and sighed with pleasure.
‘Most men I know seem to hate this drink. They say it tastes like cough mixture.’
‘And do we care?’
‘No, we do not.’
The selection of small plates appeared one by one, and the waitress moved another table over to accommodate everything and explain the meze menu.
‘We have tiropita, cheese pies, dolmades, vine leaves stuffed with rice and mince, gavros, small fish, gigantes, butter beans in a tomato sauce, taramasalata, fava made with split peas, and of course fresh psomi, or bread. Let me know if you need more of anything.’
Vicky couldn’t wait to get stuck in. But before she could reach for the bread and smother it in taramasalata, Suzie laid a hand on her arm.
‘This is on me. I really do want to thank you for being there for me when I came back from Athens in such a state, and this is the best way I could think of.’
‘Spot on. You’ve certainly got to know me well in a short space of time.’
‘I’d like to think so.’
‘But now can I eat?’
‘Vevaíos, get stuck in.’
After a few mouthfuls to calm the hunger tiger in her stomach, Vicky looked up at her friend, who’d not yet put anything onto her own plate, but was three quarters of the way down her drink.
‘So, how are things going now? Any more from Gianni or Christian?’
‘Gianni and I have been texting a bit, and I’m hopeful that he’s almost ready to meet up. And to be fair, Christian has stayed away from the bar since he came in that first night.’
‘You sound a little disappointed by that?’
‘God, no, I’m relieved. I’m more worried that he doesn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to leave.’
Vicky raised her eyebrows in her friend’s direction.
‘Stop it!’
‘Just saying…’
‘You concentrate on doing justice to all that lovely food.’
‘I plan on doing just that, thanks.’
Sated and on their second cocktails, Vicky and Suzie had put their feet up on the wall as there was no one else on the roof terrace.
It was still fairly early in the season for tourists, although they could hear some chatter in languages other than their own below them.
The sun on her face and the food in her stomach allowed Vicky to drift off a while, until a loud buzz gave them both a start.
Suzie reached into her bag for her phone.
‘Speak of the devil. It’s Christian, asking me if I want to go out on a boat trip with him tomorrow.’
‘And do you?’
‘Not particularly. But it might hasten his departure.’
‘You keep telling yourself that.’
Suzie replied and dropped the phone into her bag.
‘And what about you? Off on any more ‘patrols of the grounds’ with the now not so grumpy vet?’
Vicky had asked for that.
‘I am actually, in a couple of nights’ time. But you know that’s just a business thing. We need to try and stop any more animals from being poisoned.’
‘Oooh. Very commendable.’
Both women drained their glasses and sat back to rest their eyes a moment.