Chapter 2 #2
I got home to find my cat had left a dead mouse in the middle of the kitchen floor, which he obviously wished to exchange for something more palatable.
Perhaps my daughter, who only lived twenty minutes away, would watch the house for me and feed Ivan if I went on holiday?
Yes, the more I thought about it the more the prospect of a trip to somewhere different did sound really appealing.
I felt a little shiver of excitement at the prospect.
The last holiday I’d had was to Spain with Malcolm, where he had made friends with a group of car dealers who were on a works jolly, and largely left me to my own devices.
Except for mealtimes when he had complained about everything from the cutlery to the service.
Being on my own and yet with some friends would solve the problem of being a solo traveller, and I would have my own room and bathroom, possibly one with a sea view, and the opportunity to do something a bit different for once.
I browsed through the paperwork Anita had copied for me.
The hotel looked clean but basic. The views were simply wonderful.
All the locals seemed to be happy and smiling.
There was a little internal courtyard where breakfast was served, lemon trees in the gardens and olive groves on the hillside outside the town.
And actually, the more I thought about it, I couldn’t think of any reason why I couldn’t go.
No, that wasn’t the way I needed to think.
I should go for a positive reason. Because it sounded like fun, and I wanted to.
And travelling to Santorini, a bit of painting, seeing the blue of the Mediterranean glittering in the sunshine.
New food to try, new friendships to consolidate, a bit of – dare I say it – excitement.
Yes, they were good reasons to accept the opportunity.
The alternative was nowhere near as interesting.
Ivan barged in through the cat flap as he always did, his progress impeded by either his thick black fur or his increasing gut from too many treats, and he stopped with something like outrage to see me in my own kitchen and fixed me with a look.
I tried meowing at him a couple of times to no effect and then went to check my emails. Then I watched a delightful reel on Facebook of adorable cats nuzzling up to their owners.
Ivan jumped up onto the other end of the kitchen table and watched me, so I turned the laptop around to show him.
‘That’s what you should be doing,’ I said.
‘Look at that nice cat, being cuddly and grateful. He’s not sneering at that rather hunky fireman who has just rescued him from under the floorboards as though he is useless.
I bet that cat won’t hawk up furballs in the middle of the night right where the fireman puts his feet down in the morning. ’
Ivan reached out a casual paw and knocked a tin of pencils onto the floor.
‘Right, that settles it. I’m going on holiday,’ I said. ‘I’ll get Nicky to come in and feed you while I’m away. If you’re lucky.’
Ivan sat down neatly, curling his tail around his front paws.
‘If you don’t like the idea, I’ll put you in the cattery for a week.’
Ivan ignored me, stretched hugely as though he had just finished a hard day’s work, and jumped down and started sniffing around the kitchen obviously looking for his mouse.
* * *
Three months later, after a horribly early start, we arrived in Santorini on a bright, sunny morning and found the transfer bus waiting outside exactly where it should have been.
Then there was an hour’s journey from the airport to the village where we were staying until at last we stood outside our hotel.
Hotel Costas was painted in curly script on the wall.
The building was charmingly rustic, with faded blue shutters at every window, canvas sun canopies over the balconies, and there to welcome us at the front door, a tabby cat with her three kittens. Almost immediately, the mother cat started meowing and practically pointing at her empty feed bowl.
A feisty-looking woman with an impressive bosom underneath her flowery overall came out and shooed them away, and they scattered, the mother cat leaping up the bougainvillea that covered the front of the hotel, reaching almost to the roof.
She threw her arms up. ‘Kalós ílthate se ólous sas – welcome everybody!’
We did what any party of older English tourists would do – we nodded and smiled and said how happy we were to be there.
Beryl leaned forward. ‘Boroúme na boúme? Can we come in? It’s very warm out here.’
We looked at her in amazement.
‘I didn’t know you spoke Greek,’ I murmured.
Beryl gave a modest smile. ‘I picked it up when I worked in Athens in the late seventies. The wonderful scent of all the citrus trees, red carnations all over the ground. I remember it like it was yesterday. There was a lot going on then and I had to blend in.’
‘Welcome to Hotel Costas! I am Nina,’ our hostess said with a wide smile, and she ushered us into the cool of the marble floored hallway where we saw a woman I assumed was our leader Jillian pacing around on her mobile phone and looking rather stressed and annoyed.
Her face lit up when she saw us and she ended her call.
‘Come on in, ladies, I’m Cassandra’s sister Jillian. So sorry not to be at the door to greet you. I’ve been having a few last-minute problems. There’s always something. Never mind, let’s get you settled into your rooms.’
She picked up a wicker basket of keys and started to hand them out.
‘Costas and Nina are the owners; they are here to answer all your queries. There isn’t a lift but Costas will take your bags to your room for you, so please don’t struggle.
Now then, Anita and Meg, here are your keys, rooms four and five.
You are in the front of the building on the first floor.
Beryl – I know you and your sister wanted ground-floor rooms, so you are in room one.
Effie is next to you in room two. She came on an earlier flight from Paris.
I think she’s up on the roof terrace at the moment. ’
‘I know what that means,’ Beryl said. ‘She’s sneaking a cigarette. I’ve been telling her to quit for years.’
‘All the others will be arriving soon. They chose the later flight and I think it was delayed,’ Jillian said, stabbing at the buttons on her mobile again.
‘What others? I thought it was just Dennis who hadn’t arrived,’ Anita said.
Jillian looked surprised. ‘Didn’t Cassie tell you?
Honestly, she’s so scatterbrained sometimes.
But it’s always nice to meet new people, isn’t it?
Such a treat. And I couldn’t possibly do this for just four people; think about it.
And Dennis of course, so that makes five.
I’m surprised he didn’t come with you. But then he and the others said the early flight and a four o’clock start would be too much for them.
Anyway, let’s get settled in and then at three o’clock prompt we can all assemble back down here, and I will take you for a special introductory walk around the town.
I’ve lived and worked here as a tour guide for years and I know a great deal about the area. So, synchronise your watches.’
Our rooms were small but spotlessly clean, each with whitewashed walls, a tiny shower room and pale blue curtains and shutters which were closed against the rising heat of the day.
Pushing them open, I stepped out onto the little balcony which was shaded from the sun by a white canvas awning.
I could see that it was also the kitten’s daybed, and three furry faces peered down at me. Heaven knows how they had got up there.
Looking across, I saw Anita on her balcony.
She called across at me. ‘Isn’t this great? Quick, get unpacked and we can go and find Effie. She’s quite a card, you’ll love her. Then we can get a drink and a late lunch somewhere. I’ll be round in ten minutes.’
‘What about the guided walk?’ I called back.
Anita pulled a face. ‘Not likely. I’m not waiting. Are you?’
‘Cooeee,’ someone shouted from the street below us, and we leaned over the balcony railings to see Beryl and another grey-haired lady sitting on the bench outside the front door.
‘Hurry up,’ Beryl called up to us. ‘We’re ready to go exploring. See you in a bit.’
I absolutely loved the thought that I was about to go out exploring the little town, and with some new friends too. It sounded far better than being taken on a guided walk, as though we were a school party who couldn’t be trusted not to get lost. I couldn’t wait.
I heaved my case on to the bed and unpacked it, wondering why I had brought two thick sweaters and even a scarf with me. Had I brought enough t-shirts? And should I have brought more than one sundress?
I hung everything up in the little white wardrobe, which threatened to topple forwards unless I spaced everything evenly along the rail, and then put all my toiletries into the bathroom.
Instead of the usual supermarket own brand, I had made some impulsive holiday purchases of expensive shampoo and conditioner, and I put them on the shelf inside the shower with considerable satisfaction.
I was filled with the wonderful sense of being at the start of an adventure.
I was somewhere different, sunny and undeniably picturesque.
Outside there was a delightful view of white houses, the occasional blue cupola and the tantalising backdrop of the sea shimmering in the sunshine.
And Anita, Beryl and Effie were waiting for me to join them.
Yes, I could have done this trip alone, but I had the feeling it was going to be a lot of fun with them there too.
‘Come on, there’s no time to waste,’ Anita said as she came in after a perfunctory knock on my door. ‘Oh, do hurry up, I’m dying to get out there and look around, and I’m so hungry, it’s ages since we had anything decent to eat. Beryl and Effie are still waiting for us by the front door.’