Chapter 3 #2
Moments later, another brightly lit shop facade attracted Sofia’s attention, but the others were ready. They put an arm through hers on either side and Maddie reached out and gently turned her friend’s head to the front.
‘Sof, we’re desperate for food. Eat first, shops later.’
‘OK, fine.’
Sofia’s lingering glance back at the shop had all the pathos of the heroine in a French tragedy watching her lover go off to war, and Maddie and Charlotte couldn’t look at each other as they knew they’d lose it.
The street led directly into the main square, now abuzz with noise.
Tables with pastel-painted chairs in different colours to denote the separate establishments were arranged around the edges under trees providing plenty of shade.
Fairy lights twinkled in their branches, and the centre of the square boasted a statue of an unknown man surrounded by stone benches.
Children darted hither and thither, and babies dozed in pushchairs while their parents ate, drank and talked loudly.
Charlotte marched them towards a restaurant in the top left-hand corner.
‘Always go for the one which looks the most popular. And listen out for people speaking Greek, rather than tourist languages.’
‘But we’re tourists.’ Maddie’s puzzled look made Sofia smile.
‘Oh no, Char likes to think of herself as a traveller rather than a tourist, don’t you, dear?’
Charlotte held up her middle finger, and then quickly added two others to the gesture as a waiter approached them.
‘A table for three please.’
They were shown to one on the edge of the restaurant with a view right across the square.
Settled with a large vat of rosé wine, bread and an interesting bright green dip made from parsley which Charlotte informed them was called maidanosaláta, Sofia poured them all a large measure and handed out the menus.
‘And breathe…’
The three women took big swigs of the wine and sat back in their seats. Sofia reached over to clink their glasses.
‘Yamas!’
‘Yamas!’ Maddie responded with gusto and took another swig.
Charlotte was already head down in the menu.
‘Shall we do it the Greek way and just order some dishes to share?’
Sofia and Maddie nodded.
‘I could read it out and we could all pick a starter and a main course?’
Only Sofia replied.
‘Fine. I really don’t mind. Surprise us.’
Maddie’s attention was focussed on a couple with a baby sitting a few feet away, as a toddler played around the parents’ feet.
The baby reminded her so much of Elsie that it squeezed Maddie’s heart. Just the Greek baby’s little face laughing as her dad played peekaboo with her was enough to make her stomach knot into a ball. When was she going to hold her precious granddaughter in her arms again?
‘Mads? Thoughts?’
Sofia’s eyes were on Maddie again as she watched the baby like a hawk.
Maddie’s appetite had disappeared, along with her sense of ease.
‘Anything’s fine with me.’
Charlotte put the menu down on the table with a bang, which made Sofia look up.
‘OK, I’ll just make the decisions then. Any allergies?’
‘Not that we’ve developed over the past year, Char. Calm down. You sound like the flight attendant on the way over.’
Charlotte turned to summon a waiter.
‘OK, don’t blame me if there’s something that makes you ill.’
‘We won’t.’
While Charlotte talked to the waiter and tried out some fairly tortuous Greek, Sofia laid her hand on Maddie’s shoulder and pulled her gaze away from the little family a few feet away.
‘Have you got any more pictures of your gorgeous granddaughter to show us?’
‘What?’
Why was Sofia asking her this now? Had she somehow worked it out? Maddie dismissed this as impossible. She hadn’t told a living soul about what had happened, and she’d made sure not to mention it to Tony either in their occasional, one-sided chats.
‘Well, I’m no expert, but Elsie will have grown so much since the last shots you showed us. It must be at least three months ago.’
Maddie returned from somewhere that looked very far away to Sofia and scrabbled for her phone.
‘Yeah, here she is.’
Several up-to-date photos of Elsie smiling in the arms of Maddie’s daughter, Becca, were exclaimed over.
‘Becca looks like a very happy aunty. She’ll want one soon.’
‘Mmmm, probably.’
In fact, her daughter had been trying for a while, but Maddie didn’t think it was her place to reveal Becca’s secret sadness each month when she failed to conceive.
Sofia tried to make her voice sound as calm as possible.
‘Is there one with you holding the baby?’
Maddie put her phone back in her bag and snapped it closed.
‘No, sorry.’
‘Ah, that’s a shame.’
‘Can’t be helped.’
Maddie glanced over at the baby again, now sleeping in its mother’s arms.
‘Maybe next time you see them?’
‘Yes, I must remember to get someone to take one.’
There was something off about her friend’s reaction, Sofia was sure of it. It needed further investigation.
Oblivious to the undertone at the table, Charlotte poured them all another glass.
‘The starters are here. Let’s tuck in.’
A parade of colourful dishes arrived at the table, and Charlotte pointed at each in turn.
‘We’ve got fava, a dip made with split peas, onion and garlic, kolokithokeftédes, courgette fritters served with a ramekin of yoghurt, and karpoúzi saláta, a large green salad with watermelon and local cheese. Haven’t I done well?’
Sofia did a thumbs up sign as she tucked into the dishes. A moan escaped her mouth as the separate flavours vied for attention.
‘Full marks, Char.’
Maddie forked up a mouthful of salad although eating was the last thing she felt like doing. But she was going to have to force herself, otherwise the others would know there was something seriously up.
‘Mmmm, this is gorgeous. I think there’s some honey in there as well.’
Charlotte waved her hands.
‘And there’s more to come.’ Charlotte looked at her phone. ‘I’ve ordered giouvétsi thalassinón, which looks like seafood risotto, but is in fact made with orzo pasta, and kotópoulo lemonáto, chicken with lemon sauce and rice. I think that will be enough.’
Maddie mimed falling off her chair.
‘Crikey. I don’t think I’m going to able to walk after this.’
Sofia beckoned the waiter over.
‘More wine will help us wash it down.’
Two hours later, with all the food eaten, mini ice creams in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavours were brought to the table.
Maddie groaned as soon as the waiter left.
‘Who ordered those? I can’t manage another thing.’
Sofia grabbed the chocolate one and ripped off the packaging.
‘It’s a tradition in Greece. If you’ve eaten a meal at the restaurant, they offer you a free dessert, and sometimes a liqueur as well. I think it’s offensive to turn it down.’
Charlotte picked up the vanilla.
‘Well, I don’t want to offend anyone. Mads, you’re left with strawberry.’
‘Fine. I’ll find a tiny corner somewhere.’
The waiter returned with three shot glasses and two bottles.
‘Raki or mastika?’
Both Charlotte and Maddie waved away the raki and all three of them opted for the mysterious sounding mastika, which Sofia didn’t have the heart to tell them was actually made from tree bark resin. Some things were better kept to herself.
‘Down in one! Yamas!’
Sofia’s voice in her ear shocked Charlotte into gulping it down before putting a hand on the table to steady herself. She’d tried to keep up with her friends, who had knocked it back with abandon. It meant she’d drunk more in one night that she usually did in a week, probably more like a month.
The music in the square had been getting steadily louder, and one table had already risen en masse and started dancing, arm over arm and feet crossing in a series of steps that looked far too complicated to master in a week, let alone a night.
Maddie threw out her arms and looked at Charlotte.
‘Look at that scene! Doesn’t it make you want to paint it? Believe me, I’m no artist and even I want to paint it.’
Charlotte spoke without thinking.
‘I haven’t painted anything in a month! Nothing. I’m not sure I can even paint anymore.’
Tears sprung into her eyes, and one tumbled out onto the tablecloth. She tried to cover it up by putting her hand over her face and lowered her head to the table.
But a gentle stroking of her hair on both sides told her that her friends had left their seats and were standing over her.
‘Shhhh. It’s fine.’ Sofia put a tissue in her hand.
Charlotte wiped her eyes and managed to sit back up in the chair.
It was Maddie who reached over to stroke her leg.
‘Your poor thing. Is it like writer’s block?’
‘Not exactly…’
They were both waiting for her to speak, to explain. She couldn’t tell them the truth, but she’d have to come up with something. As she tried to form the words in her head, a middle-aged woman at the end of a very long line of dancers approached her and attempted to pull her to her feet.
‘Dance, please. All of you. Feel the music of Greece.’
The three women looked at each other, nodded, and linked hands. Charlotte could have kissed her unknown saviour.
‘Try to follow me,’ the woman shouted above the music, which was speeding up considerably. ‘But if you can’t, den peirázei, it doesn’t matter, let the music guide you.’
After a few stumbles, Sofia and Maddie started to get the hang of the steps and the beat, although Charlotte wasn’t anywhere near. She was never going to be a dancer, but it really didn’t matter as the atmosphere was so welcoming. Men, women and children moved like one giant snake.
As the music built to a crescendo and more and more people joined the line which wound itself into a series of circles, Charlotte gave up any attempt to master the steps and just let herself be dragged along.
She glanced up at the faces of her friends, glowing with exertion but wreathed in smiles.
It struck her anew that she loved these women, heart and soul.
After her sons, they were the closest thing she’d get to unconditional love from another human being, now her parents were long gone.
Her husband had sunk right to the bottom of the pile, not that she’d ever been under any illusion that his love was unconditional.
But she couldn’t give him headspace right now.
Staying in the present was the important thing, feeling the music making its way through her body from the toes up.
Her heartrate soared and when the climax of the music came, the roar of the crowd was deafening. The circles within circles pulled apart and the woman who’d invited them to dance bowed extravagantly and put her hands together in thanks.
They flopped back down onto the chairs, too exhausted to even attempt to speak. Sofia topped up their glasses one last time and was pleased to see Charlotte looking way more relaxed.
She’d been about to tell them something significant earlier, Sofia was sure, but it could wait. It was only their first night together. They had plenty of time. Whatever it was stopping Charlotte from painting must be serious, but they’d had such a fun night it would be a shame to spoil the mood.