Page 90 of The Greek Café

‘I never thought I would visit Kato Petres Beach again, since…’

He takes a deep breath.

‘You don’t have to explain anything to me,’ I say. ‘If it is too painful.’

‘I want to.’ He looks into my eyes. ‘It is time I confronted my grief.’

‘Oh, Takis.’

‘I probably should have gone to the beach sooner. It may have helped me to process things. Instead, I buried it inside.’

‘It’s a common reaction,’ I say softly. ‘Sometimes it is too painful to face things, even though we must do so eventually.’

Takis nods slowly and my heart goes out to him.

A thunderclap strikes somewhere in the distance, as the worst of the storm has passed.

‘He died in a boating accident,’ he says suddenly. ‘He was with a group of friends. They took a fishing boat out.’ He takes a deep breath. ‘It seems they were very drunk.’

‘I cannot even begin to imagine the pain you must have suffered,’ I tell him.

‘I should have protected him.’ He reaches for his glass and knocks back the last of his drink. ‘He was my younger brother; I always looked out for him. He came along when my mother was older. She doted on him. She has never been the same since he died.’

I listen without interruption as he talks.

‘What happened?’ I eventually ask. ‘Unless you would prefer not to tell me.’

‘It seems they stopped near some high rocks and dived into the water. Apparently, it was my brother’s idea.’

He walks over to the window and glances out.

‘He hit his head,’ he continues. ‘His friends tried their best to save him, but it was no use.’ He speaks with his back to me.

‘I know you must be in pain,’ I reply as he gazes out over the rain-soaked forest. ‘But your brother went out with his friends. You could not have known what was going to happen that day.’

‘You are right. Of course.’ He turns to face me. ‘And I am getting there. Maybe it is time to talk more.’

He returns to the sofa beside me.

‘It must have been a big step going to that beach today,’ I say softly.

‘Yes.’ He nods. ‘I guess it was. I am pleased that John was okay, though.’ He smiles. ‘And that you were there too. And you know, I read somewhere that you must allow joy to sit beside grief from time to time or it can consume you.’

‘I get that,’ I say, thinking of the days my heart would ache when I would miss Dad, but then I would hear birdsong in the garden or the sound of a child’s laughter in the swimming pool.

He curls his hand around mine before he turns to face me. And then we kiss. The most beautiful kiss I think I have ever experienced.

We sit silently, afterwards, neither of feeling the need to say anything. I rest my head on his shoulder and we watch the storm outside fade into the distance.

‘Are you hungry?’ I ask a short while later as the storm continues to subside.

Takis smiles. ‘I haven’t eaten much today, so I guess I could eat something.’

‘There is food in the fridge downstairs that needs to be eaten,’ I tell him. ‘Just in case the power stays down for hours.’

I am surprised to see that we have been talking for over an hour now.

‘But maybe I will check how Nicos and Phoebe are getting on first.’