Page 54 of The Greek Café

‘On a boat?’

‘No, we are going to swim across.’

‘I know you are a good swimmer but…’ He frowns.

‘Of course on a boat.’ I roll my eyes.

‘You are funny.’ He smiles.

‘Funny humorous, or funny peculiar?’

‘I haven’t decided yet,’ he replies. ‘And I will try not to be offended that you didn’t choose to book your trip with me.’ He pushes his bottom lip out.

‘You’ll get over it, I’m sure. Anyway, I must be going,’ I say, as I glance at my watch. ‘I don’t want to keep Athena waiting.’

‘Have a nice day,’ he tells me. ‘Maybe I will see you around here this evening.’

‘Maybe you will. Bye then.’

Perhaps I have been out of the dating game too long to recognise if someone is flirting with me or not, but I get the impression Takis is taking an interest in me. Maybe he has broken up with his girlfriend, although it was only the other day that Zeta mentioned her. She told me his girlfriend never sees him and I wonder whether his aunt may have got things wrong about his relationship status.

I can feel his eyes on me as I walk to the entrance of the hotel. I consider turning around and waving but stop myself. No need to be over enthusiastic. Especially if he isn’t single.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Athena is waiting in reception wearing a yellow cotton dress and her dark hair tied back in a ponytail. I am hoping my two-piece cotton trousers and top will keep me cool, along with my wide-brimmed straw hat.

‘Good morning, Erin, how are you?’ Athena asks brightly.

‘I’m good. Ready for a nice day out. Much as I love my job, it is lovely to escape it for a while.’

‘Me too.’ She smiles. ‘I am currently dealing with a pretty intense divorce case.’

‘So, you are a divorce lawyer?’ I ask as we head for her car. ‘I bet business is brisk these days.’

‘Hmm, not so much in Greece, to be honest,’ she tells me. ‘Although sadly people seem to be getting divorced a little more frequently these days.’

After parking her car up near the harbour, a young guy scans our tickets on the boat and we take our seats.

I can feel the warm sun wash over my arms as we finally disembark. The boat waited ten minutes beyond the sailing time, whilst a young worker on the harbour attempted to drum up customers to fill some empty seats.

‘This is the life,’ I say fifteen minutes later, clutching a cold beer and feeling the breeze through my hair.

‘I love a boat trip,’ agrees Athena. ‘I find it such a great way to switch off.’

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ I say, turning my face to the sun. I already have a smattering of freckles across my nose.

As the boat makes its way across the foamy blue waters, we sit back and chat easily. Athena feels like someone I have known a long time, rather than someone I have just met recently.

The boat glides along the water, which shifts from a deep blue to a clear shimmer of aqua.

Presently, Symi harbour reveals itself, a welcome sight on a stretch of water that seems to go on forever. The sea and the land seem to blend, and it looks just as pretty as the last time I came here.

I gaze at the outline of the hills, which look a little parched as they sit beneath the blazing sun.

The entrance to Gialos harbour curves inwards, and I watch the busy harbourside as the captain expertly navigates the boat into a vacant spot. Waterfront tables are packed with diners enjoying chilled glasses of wine and plates of food.

Neoclassical houses climb sharply from the water’s edge, in shades of yellow, blue and faded terracotta; the painted shuttered windows give it a homely, yet almost exotic look.