Page 29 of Take a Chance on Greece

I paddled to the shore and set up camp under the shade of a parasol. A previous visitor had left a book on a nearby table, the spine splayed open, pages baking in the sun. I reached over and automatically took note of the page number before closing it, patting the blue and white cover affectionately as I realised it was a copy ofCaptain Corelli’s Mandolin.

‘Very appropriate,’ said Alexis, returning to my side with a couple of ice creams. Beads of condensation from the frosted glass bowls trickled down onto his hands. He set the bowls down on the table and then casually peeled his shirt over his head before settling on the lounger next to me. I blinked, glad that my eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. I was getting seriously carried away by the romance of my surroundings.

‘Beautiful. The book that is,’ I added hastily. ‘A tale of love and conflict and misunderstandings. I’d forgotten it was set here.’

‘And part of the movie was filmed on this beach. Some of the tavernas still have pictures up of the stars visiting in between scenes.’

‘I’m not surprised. Film locations couldn’t get more picturesque than this. The crew and cast must have counted themselves lucky to be working here. As do I. Very lucky indeed.’

‘I am glad you came back.’ Alexis cleared his throat. ‘Anyway, we must eat this ice cream before it melts away. What flavour would you like? This bowl has peppermint and chocolate, and this one has lemon and mango sorbet. You can pick which you prefer.’

‘I’m spoilt for choice. Perhaps we could share,’ I suggested. An image of the pair of us playfully spooning ice cream into each other’s mouths briefly flashed in front of my eyes before I firmly dismissed it. Maybe I’d got sunstroke.

The reality was more practical than my imaginings in that we set both bowls down next to each other and set to with our own spoons, but it was no less fun for it. And Alexis proved his gentlemanly status by letting me have the last spoonful.

‘True lo… friendship right here,’ I said, as I licked my spoon to make sure not a morsel of sweet mango goodness was left over. Heck, I’d nearly let slip the ‘L’ word. Where was my mind at?

I wondered if Alexis had heard the hastily swallowed word, but he quietly replied, ‘I am honoured by your friendship.’

I felt a pang of something like disappointment as we settled back on the loungers. As Alexis picked up the book and started reading it, I took my vocabulary notebook out of my handbag. I had never been the kind of person who religiously kept a diary, but something about this wonderful island was making me itch to put pen to paper. It was as if I needed to remind myself that my experiences were real by writing them down. I loved reading other people’s stories, but now I felt the urge to tell my own, to reassure myself that I was really here, that quiet, non-confrontational, conforming Lydia had actually done this, had stepped back from her life, reassessed and gone in pursuit of something better.

I flicked past the collection of Greek words and phrases I’d collated and found a blank page. Where to start with my story? There were still too many questions about the night of the inking, and writing about what had happened with Jim felt too much like focusing on an end rather than a beginning. And so, I started with a definite beginning: the first Andreas date with Athletic Andreas, describing how I’d found him online and detailing our eventful encounter. The words came out as more of a comedy sketch than the serious chronicling of the evening which I’d intended, but it was liberating to explore my thoughts through writing and to find a new form of expression. I realised I was proud of how daring I’d been in approaching him and putting myself out there. I found myself laughing as I wrote about Athletic Andreas’s obsession with his appearance and how I’d been deputised as his personal photographer.

‘You write well,’ said Alexis. ‘Have you ever thought about sharing your work?’

I glanced up and realised that he’d put down the book and was reading my notebook over my shoulder. I laughingly pretended to cover the page, as if I was outraged at the intrusion, but I was secretly thrilled to hear his words of praise. If it had been anyone other than Alexis, I think I would have felt exposed, but there was something about his calm acceptance of the notion that what I had to say would be worthy of sharing with others that excited me.

‘I don’t think I’d dare. These are just the ramblings of an accountant turned cleaner. Probably best kept to myself.’

‘Don’t do that,’ he said softly, leaning forward and clasping my hand.

‘Do what?’ There was a slight time delay in me asking the question because I was flustered by his sudden closeness.

‘Don’t underestimate yourself. Why shouldn’t your words be worth sharing with others? I for one would like to find out happens in the next chapter of your adventures.’

I found myself tracing the lines on his palm with my index finger.

‘Me too.’

I’m not sure what I expected to happen next, but it certainly wasn’t what actually happened. Because Alexis stood up so suddenly that his lounger nearly tipped over and the book fell onto the beach.

‘We should be going,’ he said, the words tumbling out so quickly that it took me a few seconds to process them.

Without waiting for me to respond, he pulled his shirt back on, then collected the ice cream bowls, almost hopping from one foot to another in his haste to be on his way.

‘Are you OK?’ I asked, but he didn’t seem to hear me.

I stood up slowly, reluctant to leave the haven of the beach. I took my time packing away my notebook and picking up my shoes, hoping it would give Alexis the space to answer my question. But when I looked at him, his gaze was far off into the distance. There was definitely something wrong, but I didn’t have time to press him further, because Alexis hustled us off the beach urgently. I thought I heard someone calling his name, but before I could be sure, we were back at the car and he was jumping into the driver’s seat.

As he’d said it would be, the interior of the vehicle was like a furnace, but Alexis seemed oblivious as he revved the engine and set the car bouncing over the rough ground back to the road.

‘What’s going on, Alexis?’ I asked, as he checked the mirror for the fifth time.

‘Sorry, I need to get back to the shop,’ was all he would say.

We drove back to Sami in near silence.

Chapter Fifteen

---